Chapter 621 [Second Update]

After Liu Tan sent Li Xi away, he met Li Buyan. He said to Li Buyan with some regret, "If you had come a day or two earlier, you would have been able to see your father."

Although Li Buyan missed his father very much, he still smiled and said, "There's no rush for a day or two. We'll be able to see him once the army reunites."

He had read the entire battle plan on the way here. Basically, the task of retaking Liaodong County would be left to them, while Li Xi would lead the army straight to the Wuhuan Kingdom.

Li Buyan was very excited but also a little worried. This order was really too hasty. He originally thought that this war had nothing to do with him and he only had to guard the Surrender City. However, he did not expect that their prince would transfer him here temporarily, which led to his lack of understanding of the situation on the Wuhuan side. He could only talk about it after boarding the ship.

His only concern now is whether he will get seasick?

It shouldn't be the case. In the summer, they often went to the lotus pond for fun, and taking a boat ride was a common occurrence. However, Wei Deng and Li Ling reminded him in the letter that the sea and the lake are different. Even if there are a few waves in the lake, they are gentle, but the waves in the sea are much stronger. In addition, it is spring now, and the sea breeze is very strong. The waves will make the boat shake more violently.

Of course, they didn't want to scare Li Buyan away. They had a good relationship with Li Buyan and didn't mind having one more person on the expedition. Instead, one more person meant more strength.

Even if we take a step back, His Majesty has already given the order, so how can they just scare him?

They made such an instruction mainly to ask Li Buyan to bring more medicine for seasickness.

Li Buyan was counting the soldiers they had. Since they were selected from the main army, not elite troops, nor were they his own soldiers, Li Buyan was very worried and couldn't help asking, "Your Highness...are there a few missing?"

Because of the size of the fleet, there were only more than 10,000 people landing, which was not a large number.

The main reason they chose to take the sea route was to launch a surprise attack. If there were too many people, the fleet would become too large and easily discovered. What would be the point of launching a surprise attack then?

After hearing this, Liu Tan said, "Don't worry, I will send people over from another route, but their role is to distract Bo Xi's attention, so you must be quick and decisive."

In other words, we need to cooperate internally and externally?

Li Buyan asked, "Your Highness, does that require our cooperation?"

Liu Tan waved his hand. "No need. Follow your own pace. The three of you can just watch out for each other. Don't worry about the other team. They have their own mission. You won't see each other except for the final victory."

Li Buyan was immediately relieved. He had originally thought that if he knew who this person was, he would greet the other party in advance and communicate with each other. Otherwise, what would they do if they were held back by someone?

Since Li Buyan has arrived, it is time for the fleet to set off.

Liu Tan said with a sense of guilt as he led him to Guangling County, "You've just traveled a thousand miles to get here. Logically, you should rest. However, Li Xi has already led the team away. If you don't hurry up and Bo Xi gets the news, I'm afraid it won't be so easy."

Li Buyan laughed heartily and said, "Your Highness, what are you talking about? This little distance is nothing. I haven't taken action in so many years. My hands have been itching for a long time. Unfortunately, the Xiongnu have been frightened by the joint efforts of Your Highness and His Highness the King of Wusun, and they dare not act rashly. Now that I have this opportunity, I am overjoyed."

Li Buyan knew very well that this opportunity was compensation for his father's failure to board the ship the first time, so he still cherished it very much.

He also understood his own prince's style of doing things to a certain extent. Basically, whenever there was a chance, he would try his best to make everyone get military merit. Of course, this was also on the premise that their abilities were similar.

Previously, their prince took Wei Buyi to Jiaozhi State to welcome His Majesty. Wei Buyi made great contributions and was praised by the emperor. This time, Wei Buyi was left in the Northern Border State to guard it, and Wei Deng and Li Ling were sent out. As for Li Buyan, although there was not much difference between him and Wei Buyi and Li Ling in rank, he could actually be regarded as the lord of a city, and his status was naturally different, so he should not be there this time.

Li Buyan felt a little regretful before, but who knew that the opportunity would come in the blink of an eye?

Liu Tan took him to Guangyang County, and Guangyang County Magistrate Li Kangcheng came out to greet him. After meeting Li Buyan, he did not dare to mention the generation difference, and honestly said that their ancestors had some connection.

Liu Tan listened to their greetings, chuckled inwardly, and then headed straight for the newly built deep-water port.

He originally had no expectations for this port, after all, it was a product built in haste. What he didn't expect was that although the port was not particularly large, it was clean. Soldiers from Guangyang County were stationed at the entrance, and farmers coming and going to transport things needed to show their ID.

Wei Deng and Li Ling had been waiting there for a long time. After seeing Liu Tan and Li Buyan, they ran over happily to pay their respects.

After the group chatted and laughed as they entered, Liu Tan said in surprise, "I didn't expect this place to be so clean."

There are generally two roads, one is a cement road for vehicles and horses, and the other is a track for rickshaws. Each road is well organized. Even if he did it himself, it would be better than this. Well, it should be designed to be a little neater, but it is pretty good now.

Li Kangcheng touched his nose a bit embarrassedly and said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty previously asked someone to find some Northern Border Kingdom books. After reading them, I found that many of the facilities in the Northern Border Kingdom are very good, especially the roads. The roads in Guangling County are not good. I have been repairing them, but every time I repair them, they break down again after a short time. Now I have finally found a better way."

In fact, he had long known that the roads in the Northern Kingdom were very good, but such roads could not be built without money. Now he was doing his best to build a deep-water port, just hoping to make the King of the Northern Kingdom happier and then allocate more funds to Guangyang County.

Liu Tan laughed and said, "I see. You've done a good job here. As for Guangyang County...it's not just Guangyang County, the entire Yan State needs changes now. Let's wait for the war to end."

After hearing this, Li Kangcheng wished he could immediately transform into a giant to destroy the Wuhuan Kingdom.

He gradually understood Liu Tan's temper and knew that as long as he didn't cross his bottom line, it was generally okay to speak to him in a bold manner. So he boldly asked, "Your Highness, I heard they say you are the reincarnation of an immortal. If you are so angry, why don't you use your immortal magic?"

The people on the side were shocked after hearing and watching, and looked at Li Kangcheng with the eyes of a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger. Li Kangcheng's hair stood on end instantly. Could it be... that he said something wrong again?

But isn’t it a compliment to say that someone is an immortal who has descended to earth?

If it were in the past, Liu Tan would definitely be angry, he didn't like being deified at all.

However, he later discovered that after being deified, everyone would trust him even more, so he simply stopped explaining. After hearing Li Kangcheng's words, he smiled and asked, "Then do you know what they call me?"

Li Kangcheng thought about it carefully and said, "Qian Tong."

Liu Tan spread his hands and said, "Yes, this prince only knows how to make money, not kill people."

Li Kangcheng felt regretful but also thought it was good this way. They didn't have to face a prince who could take their lives at any time, and... these earthly matters could be left to them. It would be great to have immortals who could make money.

Thinking of this, Li Kangcheng looked at Liu Tan hesitantly and asked, "Then Your Highness, can you teach me?"

Liu Tan was very cold and ruthless: "This is a magic technique, you can't learn it."

Li Kangcheng: ...

Li Buyan and the other two standing by were almost laughing silly. Of course, they could see that their highness was making fun of Li Kangcheng, but this kind of fun was not malicious, it was just a little prank. This actually showed that their highness the King of the Northern Territory did not hate Li Kangcheng.

Yes, Liu Tan didn't hate Li Kangcheng. Although Li Kangcheng took the lead in testing his bottom line at the beginning, this man was a coward. When he saw that things were not going well, he immediately backed off and started to please Liu Tan.

Over the years, Liu Tan has learned that the world is not black and white, and human nature is also very complex, so as long as the other person has not done anything wrong and has only offended him, he is still willing to give the other person a chance.

The group chatted and laughed as they arrived at the port. Liu Tan got off his horse and saw the huge monster standing on the seashore.

Of course, this behemoth is relative to the current era. Liu Tan, who has seen larger ships in later generations, knows that this ship is like a baby compared to those giant ships. Its body seems to be only one-third of those giant ships, and it can't carry that many people.

However, Liu Tan saw hope in it, the hope of the Han Dynasty's future dominance over the sea, so he was a little excited.

The others behind him were also excited. This excitement came from seeing a more advanced and powerful armed force. They saw that the waves that were regarded as a source of terror by the fishermen became no threat in front of this ship.

Everyone's breathing became a little rapid, and after a while, Liu Tan was the first to come back to his senses.

He originally wanted to go on board to take a look, but then he thought that they should race against time, and the soldiers were already on board. If he went on board, everyone would have to come out and salute him, which was inappropriate.

Liu Tan turned his head and slowly looked at Li Buyan, Wei Deng and Li Ling.

The three of them were very excited at first, but under Liu Tan's very serious gaze, they gradually calmed down and regained their original composure.

Liu Tan looked at them and said, "This ship is the largest, fastest, and most heavily loaded ship in the Han Dynasty. The weapons on board are also the best, and we even have gunpowder barrels for you. I hope you will not let me down."

The three of them looked solemn, and immediately knelt on one knee and said, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, we will definitely fulfill your mission!"

Liu Tan nodded and said, "I believe in you. Now, go, rescue the people of the Han Dynasty, rescue our compatriots, and take back our territory."