Chapter 628 [First Update]

When Liu Tan received this news, he was discussing the issue of the Huns with Huo Guang. His original idea was that he might have to stay in Yan State for the next period of time, and if the Huns got the news, they might come to cause trouble.

Of course, he was not worried at all about the Northern Border Kingdom's current defensive capabilities. What he needed to tell Huo Guang was to tell him not to worry. As long as the Huns came, he should send people to fight them. They now have the most advanced technology. Don't be timid, just do it. If anyone in Chang'an is dissatisfied, let him fight it. He has too many troubles recently and he urgently needs a target to vent his anger.

Unfortunately, the ministers in Chang'an are more shrewd than each other, and generally do not conflict with him until now. I don't know whether they are really convinced or they dare not.

Liu Tan was holding his breath but couldn't just line up and chop all the county governors of Yan State to death. It would be best if the Huns were willing to rush into his trap.

As a result, he was still tirelessly reminding Huo Guang not to be too cautious and to be radical when necessary. When Huo Guang was about to give him a long lecture, the Huns really came. What he didn't expect was that the Huns did not choose the Northern Border Country, but the Yan Country.

Liu Tan felt a little uneasy. Huo Guang, who was standing beside him, quickly came to his senses and said, "Xilihu is indeed cunning."

Isn't he cunning? He probably didn't dare to confront the Northern Border Kingdom head-on, so he turned around and ran to bully the Yan Kingdom, and he didn't dare to take advantage of Liu Tan's presence.

After Liu Tan came to his senses, he immediately jumped up and said, "Hurry up and pack your things. By the way, give me 20,000 soldiers and horses. I want to take them with me."

Huo Guang was stunned for a moment. "So urgent? Going there now... the Xiongnu are already in Shanggu Commandery. Your Highness needs to repel them before reaching Jicheng."

Shanggu County is located between Beijing State and Yan State, and borders Yanmen County. We have no idea what the situation is over there.

Liu Tan said, "Liu Ku is still in Jicheng. No matter what happens over there, I have to keep an eye on him!"

I originally thought that although Jicheng was not very good, the King of Yan's palace was good, and Liu Ku would have someone to take care of him there and would not suffer any grievances. What's more, he would be going back soon, and no one should be so blind as to treat Liu Ku badly. Otherwise, if you treat Liu Ku badly now, will he be punished when he returns?

What he never expected was that after he eliminated all the destabilizing factors, the Huns came.

Liu Tan suspected that Xulihu had already known that he had left Liu Ku alone in Yan State, and was planning to kill Liu Ku.

Once Liu Ku died, Liu Tan would have no excuse to govern Yan State on behalf of his brother, and Yan State would return to its previous chaotic state, which would be more suitable for him to fish in troubled waters.

Anyway, the Xiongnu have been forced to migrate eastward in recent years by Lu Xuan, so it is not surprising that they set their sights on the State of Yan.

Huo Guang calmly reminded him, "Your Highness, please write a memorial to His Majesty first."

Even though Liu Tan must have already arrived in Shanggu County with his troops when this memorial arrived in Chang'an, tracing back the time, we can know that Liu Tan first submitted the report and then sent the troops.

Otherwise, it would not be appropriate for Liu Tan to directly mobilize the troops of the Northern Border Kingdom without mobilizing the troops of the Yan Kingdom.

Liu Tan nodded. He had the same idea and wanted to tell Liu Che first by sending a carrier pigeon.

The letter carried by the carrier pigeon could only briefly explain the cause and effect, but Liu Tan guessed that even if he only told Liu Che what happened, he would understand why he did it.

Liu Tan hurriedly reported the news to Emperor Wu of Han, wrote a memorial, and then led his troops to the battle.

To be honest, apart from the elite regiment, this was the first time he led the troops of the Northern Border Kingdom to an expedition, and he was a little worried before going out.

Wei Buyi couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, how about I go with you?"

Liu Tan shook his head: "You stay here and take charge."

Wei Buyi said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. Even if only those captains are left on our side, we can stop the Xiongnu."

When they first arrived here, they really had nothing. The only ones who could fight were the newbies. But they have not been idle over the years and have promoted many newcomers. These newcomers all have great potential. In fact, at this time, the only ones who really have military power are the captains, except for the superiors who hold the tiger talisman.

The generals did not have much military power, so Wei Buyi felt that it would not matter if he left.

Liu Tan said seriously, "If you stay here, the Xiongnu will be too afraid to come. If you leave, even if we win, we'll have to spend a lot of equipment and may even suffer casualties. Don't worry, I have a powder keg. Li Xi and the others will probably send people to rescue Shanggu County after hearing the news. There won't be any problems."

Although Wei Buyi was worried, he finally stayed in the Northern Border Kingdom as Liu Tan said.

Huo Guang asked, "Should we inform the King of Wusun?"

Liu Tan glanced at him and said, "Don't mention it. Unless the emperor gives the order, he'll be in trouble if he sends troops. Even if he crosses Yanran Mountain to cause trouble for Xuli Lake now, it will take time to force Xuli Lake to withdraw its troops. It's better for us to repel Xuli Lake first and then deal with other things."

Huo Guang didn't say anything. The reason he thought of Lu Xuan was mainly because he was a little worried about Liu Tan.

Nowadays, people all say that the King of the North is victorious in every battle, but in fact, his Highness has not led soldiers into battle many times, and each time he was defeated. Now that the Huns are coming with great force, no one knows if they have caught something.

The destruction of Shanggu County was so strange.

Liu Tan did not give any instructions before leaving. He could not help but sigh that it was much easier to have Huo Guang around. He remembered that when Huo Guang left Yan State before, he was still giving instructions to Dou Sibo on the day of his departure. He was like a worried old nanny who had to take every aspect into consideration.

If it weren't for the situation in Yan State, Liu Tan would have wanted Liu Che to replace him with a smarter person.

But think about it, if a smart person is not under control, he will have to engage in intrigues with others while sorting out the affairs of the State of Yan. It would be worse than it is now.

Huo Guang prepared about 10,000 troops for Liu Tan, and before leaving, he said, "If there is a shortage of manpower, Your Highness must give orders in a timely manner."

Liu Tan said, "That's enough, no more."

No matter how many more there are, it is not only difficult to supply food and fodder, but there is also another problem that the Northern Border Kingdom does not have many soldiers and horses. He cannot take all the people away. He would rather let Li Xi divide the troops or let Liu Che send more people than let the Northern Border Kingdom be empty.

Many industries in the Northern Kingdom today have a wide range of influence. Once destroyed, it will affect thousands of households.

Thinking of this, Liu Tan turned to Huo Guang and said with a smile, "I feel that our position is still a bit dangerous. It seems that we should push the border line forward a little bit."

Huo Guang: ...

You should drive the Huns out first before talking about this.

Although they thought so, no one was worried about the outcome this time. Ultimately, they probably still trusted Liu Tan.

However, Liu Tan also encountered the same problem as Li Buyan and others, that is, he could not bomb at will when attacking Shanggu County.

The Huns directly occupied Shanggu County, closed the city gates, and then occupied the city walls. Not only that, they also dragged the people of Shanggu County onto the city walls.

As soon as Liu Tan saw this posture, he knew that they must be aware of the existence of the powder keg.

Miao Rui and Bi Gao, also in military uniform, followed beside him. Seeing this scene, they couldn't help but frown and asked, "Who leaked the news?"

Liu Tan's face remained calm. "The Xiongnu were quick to learn of my father's disappearance. They know I used gunpowder barrels to blow up the Qie Lan Kingdom, so it's not surprising. Furthermore, Li Xi used quite a few gunpowder barrels when he attacked the Wuhuan this time. Perhaps the Wuhuan sent someone to ask the Xiongnu for help this time, so they'd naturally tell them about it. It's nothing strange."

Miao Rui was a little worried: "But in this case... we can only fight hard."

When it comes to sieges, they actually don't have a particularly big advantage. Although the soldiers' armor is much stronger than before, the Huns are very good archers.

Liu Tan had long been coveting their archers, but he didn't know how the Huns trained them, and why no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't produce an archer as good as the other side.

Fortunately, they later improved the tread crossbow, and Liu Tan's obsession with the Archer was much less.

He looked at the civilians on the city wall and said, "Even if the Xiongnu didn't drag the civilians onto the city wall, we wouldn't be able to use the gunpowder barrel. Now that they are trying to make us cautious, they are not massacring the civilians. This is a good thing."

Yes, this is why Liu Tan can still remain calm today.

Both sides had their concerns, but in comparison, Liu Tan felt that he was the winner. After all, he saved the lives of so many civilians. If there was no powder keg, those civilians might have died tragically under the enemy's scimitars.

Bigao's face was determined: "If that's the case, then we can only attack with force."

Liu Tan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Let's try it first. If it doesn't work, we can only use other methods."

Both Bi Gao and Miao Rui were a little puzzled. In this situation, what else could they do except fight in the traditional way?

However, since Liu Tan asked them to make a trial attack, he must have his own ideas.

Liu Tan originally wanted to find a high ground to survey the overall situation. Since there were many mountains here, it wouldn't be difficult to find a peak. However, he thought about what would happen if he was ambushed and killed while going there. So, he finally sat in the middle tent and waited for the result.

The result... was not particularly good. Even after the feint attack, the Han soldiers retreated a little too quickly, and some were killed or injured in the process. When the captains saw the number of casualties, they guessed that His Royal Highness the King of the North would not be happy, so they immediately ordered a retreat.

When everyone gathered in Liu Tan's tent, they all had gloomy faces. The youngest one said dejectedly, "Shanggu City is located in the valley. The terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It's impossible to take this city without paying a huge price."

No one spoke, because this was the fact. The terrain of Shanggu City determined that it only had two city gates, and the remaining two sides were close to the mountains. The Huns only needed to guard the two city gates, and they could concentrate their forces better.

Some people couldn't help but complain: "How did they lose the city in such a terrain?"

The most important thing is that the damage was done very quickly. If they could hold on for a while, the Han people would not be in such a passive position now.

Liu Tan knocked on the table and said, "Alright, there's no point in discussing the crime now. We don't even know if the Shanggu County Magistrate is still alive. There's no point in saying this. If we can't defeat him, then let's not fight."

Everyone looked at Liu Tan in shock, wondering if they were hallucinating. This didn't sound like something the King of the North would say.

Facing the shocked faces of the people in the room, Liu Tan said slowly, "If the upper route doesn't work, we can just go down. We have to learn to be flexible, right?"

Everyone: ???