Huo Guang was unable to catch his breath and nearly choked to death.

He had never seen such a suicidal prince. Is it something that can be done casually?

Huo Guang stared at Liu Tan, restrained his urge to hit him, and said, "Your Highness, do you know what you are saying?"

Liu Tan nodded seriously and said, "The captain said before that this is the work of ghosts and should not be taken lightly. I didn't want to agree to it, but... if the Xiongnu really agree to my conditions, it will be worth the risk."

Huo Guang did not refute his words, but just looked at Liu Tan quietly and waited for him to finish.

Liu Tan took a deep breath and said, "But the chances of assassinating the Xiongnu Chanyu being successful are extremely small. The biggest possibility is that the matter will be exposed, and Wu Shilu will become angry and embarrassed. At that time, he will definitely send troops."

Huo Guang couldn't help but say, "That's why Your Highness should ask His Majesty!"

Liu Tan shook his head. "No, if I act first and report later, then all the blame can be put on me. I made the decision on my own. If the emperor wants to fight, then he can send troops directly. If he doesn't want to fight, he can retreat. At worst, they can punish me."

Huo Guang was stunned and said helplessly, "Your Highness, do you really think that if you don't write to His Majesty, His Majesty will not know?"

Liu Tan thought about it and said, yes, there is no way to keep this matter secret. The most important thing is that everyone around him seems to be Liu Che's people, from Huo Guang to Jiang Chong, from Miao Rui to Bi Gao.

Among them, Miao Rui and Bi Gao might listen to him, and he could also fool Jiang Chong, but Huo Guang... once this man made up his mind, he would definitely follow that path, so he felt that he should tell Liu Che, and he would definitely write a letter secretly.

There must be an embroidered-robed envoy sent by Liu Che in this team. It is impossible to hide it...

Liu Tan thought for a moment and said, "There's a time lag. How can the embroidered messenger be faster than the courier? Anyway, I've already agreed. By the time the emperor receives the news, it will probably be a done deal."

Huo Guang: ...

Huo Guang could no longer bear it and said, "Your Highness! With His Majesty's temper, he would agree to it!"

Liu Tan certainly knew that Liu Che would agree, and he also knew that this matter would not succeed. The Left Grand Commandant would be killed, but Wu Shilu would also die of illness soon. Then, because his son was young, his uncle would succeed to the throne.

But to be honest, Liu Tan was very suspicious about the cause of Wu Shilu's death. After all, judging from the actions of the Left Grand Commandant, Wu Shilu was really unpopular, and there might be more than one person who wanted to kill him.

These are what Liu Tan just recalled. There is no other way. This part of history is too remote. His main research is not the Xiongnu. Naturally, he cannot remember very clearly what the Xiongnu's Chanyu encountered. It is good enough that he can remember when they died.

Huo Guang was puzzled when he saw Liu Tan remained silent. He keenly noticed that Liu Tan seemed to be pessimistic about this matter, but wanted to agree. He didn't know why he was so conflicted.

Huo Guang took a deep breath and said patiently, "Has Your Highness made a decision?"

Liu Tan asked, "Tell me, what's the deal with the Left Grand Commandant, that we need internal and external support? How can we do that? We've probably developed some spies in the Xiongnu over the years, so it wouldn't be easy to achieve that, wouldn't it?"

Huo Guang felt a little headache and said, "His Majesty will take care of this matter. Your Highness, please don't worry too much."

Seeing Huo Guang's determination, Liu Tan said, "Alright, Captain Huo, don't worry. I will personally write to the Emperor... Shit!"

Huo Guang was startled by his sudden outburst of curse words. Without even bothering to remind Liu Tan to be mindful of his image, he asked, "What happened?"

Liu Tan said awkwardly, "I just wrote a letter to the Emperor and sent it off. If I write another one, will the Emperor think I'm being too nosy?"

Huo Guang asked with a strange expression, "How many letters has Your Highness written to His Majesty since leaving Chang'an?"

Liu Tan immediately realized something was wrong: "Just...just now..."

Huo Guang's expression changed from questioning to condemning: "How could Your Highness not write to His Majesty?"

Huo Guang was a loyal supporter of Liu Che. His life was so influenced by Liu Che that Liu Che's guidance of him was more comprehensive than that of his father.

Huo Guang could tell from the farewell that Liu Che still liked Liu Tan very much and was really worried about him. But Liu Tan, this ungrateful little bastard, forgot about his father as soon as he came out and actually wrote a letter, and only wrote it after something happened. He almost shed a tear of sympathy for His Majesty!

Liu Tan also realized that something was not right. It seemed that... it was not right to be away for such a long time without reporting safety to his family.

He always subconsciously thought that everyone around him was Liu Che's people, and that someone would report his every move to Liu Che, but he forgot that those were not letters written by him personally and had different meanings.

What's more, they are so far away that even if Liu Che has placed people there, I'm afraid they won't report every detail, and may not even report unless something big happens.

Liu Tan said with a look of shame, "I...I will write another letter to my father right away."

Huo Guang didn't know what to say and had no choice but to leave.

After he left, Liu Tan had no choice but to lie on the desk and continue writing the letter. While writing, he thought that Liu Che would not care about such a trivial matter, after all, he was so busy.

However, in fact, Liu Che not only cared, but cared very much.

When Liu Tan's first letter arrived at the gate of Chang'an City, Emperor Wu of Han was complaining to Liu Ju: "This little bastard has disappeared since he left, and he didn't even write back a letter. I'm afraid he has gone wild. I don't think he can leave Chang'an City anymore!"

Although Liu Ju also felt that his father was right, how could he not write a letter to his father and brother?

But he subconsciously tried to break free from Liu Tan and said, "I'm afraid he's been so anxious to travel every day that he doesn't have the energy to write. Besides, they've reportedly already left Yumen Pass. Fifth brother must be trying to save his horsepower and not want the messenger to travel so much."

Liu Che glanced at him and said, "Even inside the pass, I haven't seen him write a letter back!"

Liu Ju was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to argue for his brother, so he had to find a way to appease his father: "Maybe he has already written it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Tan's first letter arrived.

Liu Ju asked someone to bring it up while smiling and said, "Is what your son said correct?"

Liu Che's expression improved a little, but he became unhappy again after he opened the letter. He read the letter from beginning to end and from top to bottom several times, and finally said in disbelief: "He actually only wrote about official business!"

Yes, Liu Tan’s first letter basically described what the Huns had done, and also described his own actions. The rest was to ask for his father’s instructions.

There was not a single word mentioned about his own situation, and as for whether he missed his parents... there was no trace of that.

After seeing the letter, Liu Che was even angrier than if he hadn't seen it. Even the Huns' obvious troublemaking behavior couldn't make him angrier.

Liu Ju noticed that Liu Che's expression was not right, so he asked cautiously, "Father, what did my fifth brother say?"

Liu Che was very unhappy and simply slammed the letter on the imperial desk and said, "Read it yourself!"

Liu Ju walked up, picked up the letter, and read it from beginning to end. After reading it, he smiled and said, "Your Majesty, your son congratulates you."

Liu Che said with a stern face, "What is there to be happy about?"

Liu Ju actually looked happy: "Fifth brother, at such a young age, already has the bearing of a great general. In time, he will surely become a man of great stature."

Liu Ju really admired Liu Tan, not because of his toughness, but because he was willing to take responsibility and was not afraid or backed down after making decisions when problems might arise. This kind of quality is the most valuable.

Of course, Liu Che knew that what Liu said was true, and he also appreciated Liu talking about this, but... that didn't work either, he was still angry.

Just when Liu Che was angry, Liu Tan's second letter arrived.

Liu Ju was very confused: "What happened that warranted another letter so soon?"

Because of the first letter, Liu Che subconsciously felt that Liu Tan must have encountered something difficult to solve again.

But this time Liu Tan learned his lesson. He first wrote about how much he missed Liu Che and also sent a local specialty - a stone.

Liu Tan said that he saw the stone while walking on the road, thought the pattern was beautiful, so he picked it up and prepared to give it to Liu Che.

By the way, he also explained that most of the places they were passing by were deserted and there was nothing new to see.

Originally, Liu Tan felt that it was inappropriate to give a stone as a gift, but he really had nothing else to give. He hoped that Liu Che would not be angry when he saw the stone.

However, what he probably didn't expect was that Liu Che quite liked this stone. The stone was about the size of a fist and gray-black, but a ray of light could occasionally show through the gray-black color, making it look like there was a star hidden in the stone.

Liu Che had seen a lot of good things, and he felt that Liu Tan really cared about him because he thought of giving him a stone when he saw one.

At the same time, he felt a little distressed, thinking that the climate outside the Great Wall was harsh and the sky was full of yellow sand, and Liu Tan would suffer if he went there.

But when he saw the rest of the story, the expression on his face was different.

The more he read, the wider his eyes became. After finishing the letter, he was speechless for a long time.

How can I put it? It has been many years since Liu Che met someone who dared to act first and report later on such a big matter.

Liu Ju had been standing aside. He also saw the stone and knew that it was sent by Liu Tan. He couldn't help but mutter in his heart that he shouldn't have sent another one.

As soon as he finished muttering, Liu Che said in a deep voice: "Ju'er, come and take a look."

Liu Ju picked up the letter and found that his father had only given him half of it. For some reason, the first half was withheld, so he could only read the latter part.

After reading it, Liu Ju said solemnly, "This matter is of great importance. Fifth brother was reckless."

Liu Che suddenly chuckled and said, "Reckless? I think he is very clear-headed."

Liu Ju looked up at Liu Che, who said, "This matter will bring only benefits to our Han Dynasty. With Wu Shilu's death, the Xiongnu will either establish his youngest son as Chanyu, or his uncles will fight for the position. In either case, the Xiongnu will be leaderless for a period of time."

Liu Ju was thoughtful after hearing this. "If the Left Grand Commandant's affair were to be exposed, Wu Shilu would undoubtedly be on guard. He would first withdraw his troops and purge the Xiongnu of their traitors. He wouldn't be targeting the Han anytime soon."

After he finished speaking, he couldn't help but frown and said, "But this matter... can Fifth Brother do it?"

Liu Che once again looked at Liu Tan's conditions and said with a smile: "He has a big appetite. No problem, let him try. If it really doesn't work, the Xiongnu are not stupid and will send people to Chang'an."

Liu Ju asked, "Then... do you want to give Fifth Brother some support?"

Liu Che knocked on the imperial desk and said, "Send an order. Appoint Gongsun Ao as General Yinqiu and build the Shoujiang City."

After hearing this, Liu Ju felt that his father might have changed his nature. Liu Tan dared to act first and report later on such a big matter, but he didn't even say a word of reprimand. Instead, he sent Gongsun Ao to build the Surrender City. This was his tacit approval.

However, with just one word from Liu Che, Liu Ju had to start working hard to figure out where to build the surrender city and how many people to send to build it.

After Liu Che gave the order, he sent Liu Ju away to work, then turned around and tore a piece of paper to write a letter to Liu Tan.

While Liu Che's letter was still on the way, the Hun envoy had already visited for the third time. Liu Tan's insistence on the condition at the beginning and his softening later gave the Hun envoy hope and made him think that he was going to succeed.

In fact, Liu Tan said to Huo Guang: "You are just asking for a high price and then paying it back. My bottom line is to at least give us Tokto, Dunhuang and Jiuquan, and then we can retreat a hundred miles. The rest can be discussed slowly."

After hearing this, Huo Guang finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this request might be more likely.

Liu Tan and Huo Guang focused their attention on the Xiongnu and naturally neglected the matter of marriage. Junxumi initially thought that they were just putting on an attitude, but after camping there for two days, he found that these two people were not in a hurry at all, and he immediately became anxious.

Just when he was about to find Liu Tan again to sound out the situation, he suddenly received a piece of news: the Xiongnu princess was missing.