Chapter 643 [First Update] 643

When Liu Che received the news, Liu Ju was beside him. Liu Ju secretly glanced at his father's expression and felt that his father's emotions might be a bit complicated. It seemed that he didn't know whether to be happy first or angry first.

Just when Liu Ju was thinking about whether to say something, Liu Che returned to his expressionless state and calmly placed the victory report on the table.

Liu Ju felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he saw his expression. His father always seemed to have this expression before dealing with someone. Although Liu Tan was indeed being audacious in this matter, but... Liu Ju also felt that the Huns had bullied them. If he didn't deal with them, would they dare to target his brother next time?

At this moment, Liu Ju was almost like many parents. He would rather his own child bully others than let others bully his child. He even supported Liu Tan's behavior.

Hey, if possible, he also wants to conquer the desert.

Forget it, this is not important. What is important now is how to appease his father. Even if we want to deal with his brother, we have to wait until the Huns are driven away.

But Liu Che remained silent, and he didn't dare to express his opinion easily. After pondering for a long time, he was about to speak when he heard his father ask coldly, "Does he have enough food and grass?"

Liu Ju: ???

He looked at Liu Che cautiously again. Well, Liu Che's expression still looked scary, which was in stark contrast to his question.

Fortunately, the embroidered robes envoy knelt on the ground with his head bowed and did not see the emperor's expression change from beginning to end, otherwise he probably would not have known how to answer.

The embroidered-robed messenger tried to sound emotionless: "The Northern State Minister Huo Guang has been collecting military rations for some time."

After hearing this, Liu Che laughed out loud and was very angry.

"These little bastards are so powerful." Liu Che really didn't expect that Huo Guang would go along with them.

Originally, he was not surprised that Liu Tan did this, after all, it was not the first time that he executed first and reported later. But Liu Che was very surprised that Huo Guang did the same. This was not in line with Huo Guang's character. Had he been influenced by his son after a few years?

Liu Che thought about it, if Huo Guang had Liu Tan's personality... he suddenly felt a headache. It was already a bit unbearable for him to have such a son. Now he had another Huo Guang who was not a son but was raised as a son. He was afraid that all his hair would fall out.

Liu Ju's mouth twitched. "Dad, when you scold that little bastard, shouldn't you take my brother out first? Otherwise, you'll scold yourself too."

He glanced at Liu Che secretly and found that Liu Che was trying to gather his strength. He coughed lightly and asked, "What are their plans?"

The embroidered-robed messenger reported, "The King of the Northern Territory is leading his troops from the State of Yan, and General Li Xi is heading out from Dunhuang."

Liu Che frowned immediately. "He led the troops himself? What on earth did those people from Yan do?"

Liu Ju originally thought that his father was going to scold his brother for being ignorant, but he was caught off guard when he heard his father put all the blame on the officials of Yan State. He suddenly felt a little uneasy.

Given his brother's temper, if those Yan officials had truly provoked him, wouldn't he have just dealt with them? How could he possibly tolerate them? And would he have taken his anger out on the Xiongnu?

Liu Ju whispered, "Father, my brother... should have had this idea long ago."

Liu Che glanced at him and said, "Don't you understand him? If he had something else to play with, even playing in the mud, he wouldn't bother the Xiongnu for no reason."

Liu Ju originally thought that Liu Tan was very afraid of the Huns and had been eager to beat them a long time ago, but unfortunately the timing was not right, so his current choice was very normal.

Unexpectedly, his father said this, and he suddenly felt that it made sense. Every time his brother returned to Chang'an, he would lock himself in the palace for a period of time to play in the mud. Oh, he also played other things, anyway, it was all the same.

Chang'an is such a prosperous place, and there are so many things for a young nobleman to play with, but none of them have much appeal to Liu Tan. Now it seems that Liu Tan's expedition this time is either a problem with the Yan officials or a problem with the Huns, or maybe a problem with both sides.

When Liu Ju thought of this, he suddenly came to his senses. That’s not right. This is not the point now!

He quickly said, "Since my brother has made the decision and is ready, he must go to the battle. However... he can't lead the troops himself, he..."

Liu Ju originally wanted to say that Liu Tan had no experience and the battlefield was very dangerous.

Before I even finished, I felt something was off. Liu Tan didn't have more experience, did he? He'd fought the Xiongnu, the smaller states in the Western Regions, even the rebels, and he'd been undefeated.

But the question is why does he always feel that it is dangerous for his brother to go to the battlefield?

Liu Che actually had a similar opinion to his, but he did not think that Liu Tan lacked experience. He simply did not want his son to take risks.

No matter how powerful a general is, he cannot guarantee victory in every battle. Not to mention how dangerous the battlefield is, the living standards will also plummet when going on an expedition, especially since there is a desert there. How could he bear to let Liu Tan suffer this hardship?

But before Liu Che could say anything, the embroidered envoy below couldn't help but say after hearing Liu Ju's words: "Your Majesty, the King of Wusun is also with the King of the Northern Territory."

Liu Che: ...

Then he understood why his son suddenly had the confidence to lead the troops into battle alone.

You have to know that in the past, even when he went on an expedition, there would always be some more professional generals around him, and his role was usually the one who came up with all kinds of unconventional ideas.

This time, only Li Ling was left by his side, and Liu Che instinctively felt that something was wrong. Now that the case was solved, Lu Xuan was actually there.

Liu Ju let out a long sigh: "Lu Xuan is there? Then..."

He subconsciously glanced at his father halfway through his words, only to find his father's expression had become even uglier. He immediately changed his tone, "That still won't work! How could the King of Wusun be so ignorant that he wouldn't even bother to persuade my younger brother."

Liu Che's expression was not very good. In an instant, he thought of a lot of things, even thinking about the post-war problems.

If Lu Xuan had a hand in this, then when the spoils were divided up later, would the Wusun Kingdom also have to take some?

Logically speaking, this is fine, but Liu Che does not want the Wusun Kingdom to continue to grow stronger.

Lu Xuan is still so young, and it’s hard to say about his civil and political skills, but he is only slightly worse than Wei Huo in terms of marching and fighting. If this continues, will the Wusun Kingdom bite back after it becomes stronger?

This worry was not out of petty thoughts, but because too many such things had happened.

The embroidered-robed messenger whispered, "The Wusun King has said he is willing to serve as a vanguard for His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory. This time, he brought no soldiers other than his personal guards."

Liu Che's expression suddenly became better. It seemed that Lu Xuan had simply gone there to help and protect Liu Tan.

Liu Ju originally wanted to ask Lu Xuan to take the people back, but after hearing the news, he didn't know what to do. Intellectually, he felt that such a thing should not happen, but emotionally, he felt that it didn't seem so surprising.

He decisively turned to look at his father.

Then he saw his father knock on the table a few times and then said, "Since that is the case, issue an edict to appoint the King of Wusun as General of Cavalry and accompany the King of the Northern Territory to the battle."

Liu Ju: ????