Chapter 642 [Second Update]

No matter what Li Xi thought, he had already boarded the pirate ship. It was useless to regret it. In the end, he could only run to the Northern Border Kingdom with a lot of worries.

He originally wanted to stay. Compared to his own son, he was more worried that Liu Tan would suddenly go to the battlefield to command personally. If something happened, he would not only have to think about the title, but also how to explain to the emperor and empress.

Oh, maybe the prince will hold him accountable.

However, neither Liu Tan nor Lu Xuan wanted him to stay. Liu Tan could not convince Li Xi after talking for a long time. Even if he made a guarantee, it would be useless - who would dare to believe the guarantee of the King of the Northern Territory? He has ten thousand ways to find loopholes.

Now, isn't he just trying to buy time, trying to act first and ask for permission later? There are too many such things, and Liu Tan's assurances in this regard are really useless.

Liu Tan deeply regretted that he was too extravagant in the past, which made no one trust him now.

Seeing his expression of despair, Lu Xuan couldn't help but smile. He patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, General Li. I'm here for you."

Liu Tan turned to look at Lu Xuan and thought to himself, "What's the point of me saying so much?"

However, Lu Xuan said that this was useful. After hearing this, Li Xi actually began to ponder.

Liu Tan couldn't help but twitch his lips, thinking deeply about what the difference was between him and Lu Xuan.

If there is a real difference, it is probably that Lu Xuan has rich combat experience and rarely loses his temper on the battlefield.

He is also very cunning in employing troops, but he will be steady when necessary, which is the type of person that many generals like. As for Liu Tan... this guy always does something unexpected, and although the results are always good, the process can indeed make people feel flustered.

The most important thing is that Liu Tan can listen to Lu Xuan's words. If it were someone else, Liu Tan might not be willing to listen. Now, the people who can persuade him are either in Chang'an or the person in front of him.

In addition, Lu Xuan is flexible and adaptable, so even if Liu Tan really comes up with something new, he should be able to handle it.

As a result, no one believed the Northern Border King's guarantee, but people believed the King of Wusun even without his guarantee. Li Xi decisively agreed to go to the Northern Border Kingdom first.

After he left, Liu Tan said angrily, "Why don't any of them believe me?"

Lu Xuanren smiled and thought to himself, you are becoming more and more skilled at executing first and reporting later. How can we not be afraid?

Fortunately, Liu Tan had some idea in his mind. After reflecting on it for a while, he felt that, well, he did have some problems, but he would dare to do it again next time.

Li Xi's departure made them both feel relieved. Liu Tan had complicated feelings towards Li Xi. He couldn't regard him as a simple subject. He always felt that he was half an elder.

With such an elder here, he and Lu Xuan didn't dare to get close to each other, and even drove Lu Xuan to live in the inn.

I don't know why, but he dared to flirt with Lu Xuan in front of Liu Che, but he started to care about his image in front of Li Xi.

After Li Xi left, Liu Tan and Lu Xuan confirmed the location and route of their troop storage. After Li Xi arrived in the Northern Border Kingdom, the two sides agreed on a time. Three days before the expedition, Liu Tan called Dou Sibo over.

Dou Sibo was very nervous when he entered the palace, and he kept thinking about whether he had done anything wrong recently.

After thinking about it, it seems that there is nothing else except that things are not done fast enough.

His Royal Highness the King of the North had lost his temper about this matter before, but later... he simply didn't bother to pay attention to them.

Liu Tan had no choice. The inefficiency of Yan State was not just a problem of these officials. There were problems from officials to petty officials. Unless all these people were replaced, it would not be possible to do so in a short time. All he could do was promote capable officials and change the official atmosphere of Yan State bit by bit.

This was a very slow process, and it also gave him new experience. The officials of the Northern Border Kingdom were the ones he brought over. Because it was not a vassal state before, he did not need to clean up the mess left by his predecessor.

After entering the palace, Dou Sibo bowed cautiously. When he looked up, he saw that His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory looked very amiable.

Dou Sibo's heart skipped a beat. Usually, when His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory made such an expression, it meant that he was either going to deal with someone or to torment them.

He made up his mind and asked, "Does Your Highness have any instructions?"

Liu Tan said, "The King of Japan will lead his troops to war soon, and the Kingdom of Yan will be handed over to you."

Dou Sibo: ???

Dou Sibo:!!!

Liu Tan immediately shouted, "Come here, bring the doctor over!"

Dou Sibo's face was flushed and his eyes were distracted. He looked like he was about to collapse at any time, which made Liu Tan quite worried.

He didn't say anything, didn't he? He just told the truth.

Hadn't he said the same thing to Liu Che, Liu Ju, Li Xi, and others before? Even Huo Guang said the same thing, but he had never seen Huo Guang react so strongly!

Fortunately, Dou Sibo recovered after a while. He covered his chest and said, "Your Highness, Your Highness, please...please go slower...I...let me slow down."

Liu Tan had no choice but to say, "Okay, okay, take your time."

After a while, Dou Sibo recovered and looked up and asked, "Your Highness, didn't the Wuhuan surrender? Who are you going to fight?"

In fact, although Dou Sibo lacked some flexibility, he was chosen by Liu Che and was not stupid after all. So he actually had the answer in his heart, which was... he was still not giving up and wanted to ask.

Sure enough, he heard Liu Tan say, "Have you forgotten that your King of Yan is still in the hands of the Xiongnu? He is your sovereign."

In fact, the people of Yan State have no feelings for the King of Yan now, and it is a bit difficult for them to have feelings for a little kid. On the contrary, the King of the North, although he has been drastic and decisive since his arrival, has given those who really want to do things seriously the opportunity to come to the fore.

Nowadays, the people of Jicheng are living a good life. Many people are renovating their houses. The previous houses were too dilapidated and basically uninhabitable. Houses collapsed every summer and winter. This happened in Jicheng, the royal capital of Yan State, not to mention other towns.

Moreover, as early as when the King of Yan was captured, they had basically acquiesced that the King of Yan would not come back, but no one said so, because they were all afraid that if it came true, the King of the North would leave.

Now the King of the North wants to rescue the King of Yan, and to be honest, Dou Sibo doesn't want to do that.

He really wanted to persuade Liu Tan, but it was not easy to tell him directly not to save his brother.

Liu Tan knew what he wanted to say as soon as he saw his expression. He raised his hand and said, "Li Xi has already returned to the Northern Border Kingdom. We will send troops from two directions at that time. This matter has been decided. All you have to do is stabilize the Yan Kingdom and complete the tasks I instructed you to do before. If I find anything wrong when I return... humph..."

His snort instantly chilled Dou Sibo to the bone. He didn't dare to say a word. He just did whatever the King of the Northern Territory told him to do. That was what the Emperor had instructed him to do. As for the rest... that was not his concern.

After giving Dou Sibo his instructions, Liu Tan glanced at the documents and couldn't help but sigh to Lu Xuan, "Actually, their slow pace has its advantages. At least even if I'm away from Yan State for six months, Yan State can continue to operate on schedule."

After Liu Tan prepared everything, he sent the victory report to Chang'an, and then without caring about anything else, he turned around and secretly went to the garrison outside the city with Lu Xuan. Fortunately, they had chosen to station the 100,000 troops along the Great Wall outside Yuyang County, so they could send troops at any time.

Of course he said it was a secret, but he did not hide it from the embroidered robe envoy.

The time difference has already been created. Li Xi had concealed it from the embroidered robe envoy before. If he continued to conceal it, they would be punished and would not trust him so much in the future.

When Liu Tan and Lu Xuan led their troops into the Xiongnu's sphere of influence, Liu Che received the news that the Wuhuan prince had surrendered. Just as a smile slowly appeared on his face, he received the news that his son had secretly led his troops to cause trouble for the Xiongnu.

Liu Che: ...