No one knew what was in Li Guangli's kettle. Not to mention him, even the confidants he brought with him were unconscious at this time.

However, Liu Tan did not take a one-size-fits-all approach. He also sent people to investigate who were Li Guangli's subordinates. If there were anyone with a good reputation, he wouldn't mind giving them a chance.

The result was not beyond his expectation. What kind of young talents could be around Li Guangli? These days, except for the queen's family, other relatives were basically despised.

Even Wei Qing was not immune to this, and he had made real great contributions.

Therefore, most of the people around Li Guangli were speculators. With no other options, they decided to see if they could get ahead by riding on the bandwagon of this fake in-law.

Of course, those who could follow him on a thousand-mile journey to the outside of the Great Wall were all somewhat ruthless, but they were not well-known. Liu Tan looked for a long time but didn't see any familiar names, so he simply ignored them.

After waking up the next day, Liu Tan called everyone in. Of course, the number of people was a bit small, and currently there were only four people: Huo Guang, Jiang Chong, Li Buyan, and Wei Buyi.

However, this was enough to make Liu Tan feel relieved. At least he had reached the passing line of one main general and three deputy generals.

After everyone sat down, Huo Guang asked, "Where is General Li?"

Liu Tan smiled and said, "General Li has been traveling a long way these days, and he drank some wine and got some fresh air yesterday. He's resting now, so we shouldn't disturb him."

Wei Buzhi, who had also traveled a long distance to drink and enjoy the breeze, said: ...

He remembered how his cousin, the Crown Prince, had said to him with great concern before he came: "My brother has a gentle disposition. He must have suffered a lot on this trip to Wusun, and now he's been attacked. I'm sure he's frightened. When you see him, you must comfort him and urge Li Guangli to return quickly. If Li Guangli refuses, you can bring him back first. Don't worry, protecting the prince will also be a meritorious service."

At that time, Wei Buyi always felt that the Fifth Prince was not a threat to him, but his younger brother from the same mother, when listening to the tone of his cousin the Crown Prince. He called him "Senior Brother" in front of others, but just "Brother" behind their backs. What kind of magic potion did the Fifth Prince feed his cousin the Crown Prince?

Now Wei Buzhi is even more certain that his cousin the prince has been deceived. How can he be gentle at all? He is full of evil intentions!

As the accompanying captain, Wei Buyi went to see Li Guangli in the morning. When he arrived, Li Guangli had already woken up, but he was still not fully conscious. He said he had a slight headache, and then he was given a glass of water by a servant whom Wei Buyi did not know at all.

Oh, the servant said it was water, but based on Wei Buyi's sense of smell, he suspected that the thing was the same as what Li Guangli drank last night.

Li Guangli probably didn't smell it, so he took it and swallowed it in one gulp. Then he choked and almost coughed to death. When he recovered, his eyes rolled back and he fell on the bed. No matter how the servants shouted at him, he remained indifferent.

Wei Buyi was a little scared at the time and couldn't help but go over and touch Li Guangli's neck. He felt relieved after feeling his heartbeat.

Wei Buyi was just silent, but he was not really stupid. At this time, he also understood that Li Guangli must have been assassinated by the fifth prince.

It’s just that the Fifth Prince didn’t ask for his name directly.

Because of this incident, Wei Buzhi, who was already cowardly, became even more cowardly. He wanted to hide from the tent - look at this tent, except for him, everyone else had followed the Fifth Prince on the mission to the Western Regions from the beginning. Now that there is one more person, would people mistakenly think that he is here to steal the credit?

But the other three people didn't take him seriously at all. They hadn't taken action yet and hadn't killed any enemies. What kind of contribution did he have?

After confirming that Li Guangli would not hinder their work, Huo Guang said, "I have carefully examined the map that Your Highness asked Wei Guan to draw. The closest country to us is Cheshi, followed by Huhu, and then Jie. Jie is very close to the Xiongnu."

Liu Tan asked, "What are the situations in these three countries?"

Huo Guang shook his head. "We don't know much about the Western Regions after all. The only place we know more about is the Cheshi Kingdom. After all, it is a strategically important place. It was the Xiongnu's gateway to the Western Regions, and it was also our gateway to the Western Regions."

Liu Tan knew about the Cheshi Kingdom. He even knew that from the reign of Emperor Wu of Han to the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty had been engaged in fierce battles here, which was known in history as the "Five Battles for Cheshi."

Later, during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, there was an internal strife among the Xiongnu. A part of the Ruju King Xianxian Shan failed in his struggle with the usurper Right Xian King and turned to the Han Dynasty. Emperor Xuan of Han sent people to support them and they succeeded. The Xiongnu's control over the Western Regions gradually declined. At the same time, Emperor Xuan of Han also divided the Cheshi Kingdom into the Front and Back Cheshi Kingdoms.

During this process, historical books did not record the situation of the Cheshi Kingdom, how many people they had, or what the inclinations of their king were.

This country, which is often plagued by wars due to its important location, seems to be ignored by everyone.

Liu Tan originally thought that it might be due to the lack of historical materials in later generations and the fact that the countries in the Western Regions basically had no written language, so they were not recorded.

Unexpectedly, even at that time, not much was known about the Cheshi Kingdom.

However, if it were in the past, Liu Tan might have sympathized with this country. But now... the wounded camp was filled with wailing every day, and Lu Xuan's wounds hadn't even scabbed over yet. Asking him to forgive the Cheshi Kingdom? He was dreaming.

Liu Tan subconsciously stroked the jade pendant on his body, and said in deep thought for a while: "In this case, let's put the Cheshi Kingdom aside for now."

Since it is a place that must be fought for, directly sending troops to Cheshi State is equivalent to fighting for the throat. The Xiongnu cannot sit idly by, and the Han Dynasty is not ready for war yet, so this matter must be put aside.

Huo Guang breathed a sigh of relief. "That's fine, but... we only have 5,000 soldiers. Even with Little Kunmi's help, we still need to plan carefully."

Liu Tan said, "Knowing both yourself and your enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles. Right now, we know too little. Let me ask Lu Xuan. First, gather your troops and prepare for battle."

After Liu Tan finished speaking, everyone present was stunned for a moment. After everyone looked at each other, Li Buyan became more casual with him and asked in a low voice: "Your Highness, what is pre-war mobilization...?"

Liu Tan paused for a moment, then thought carefully before saying, "It's just... to inform them that we're going to take action, so they can get ready and give them some hope. After all, they probably didn't expect to fight when they came out."

Li Buyan smiled and said, "Your Highness is wrong. These soldiers are guarding the border and have to deal with various emergencies from time to time. They are always prepared at Yumen Pass, let alone here."

Liu Tan was silent for a moment, then sighed: "It's not easy."

As he spoke, the group dispersed for a while. Huo Guang deliberately slowed down a step. After everyone left, he turned to Liu Tan and said with some concern: "Your Highness, we are all inexperienced. I am afraid that these veterans below will not be convinced."

Liu Tan raised an eyebrow. "Does Li Guangli have experience? He's not as good as you guys. Besides... don't panic. Let me ask Lu Xuan."

Huo Guang felt uneasy: "Is it too late to let Little Kunmi know too much about such a big event..."

Liu Tan raised his hand: "I know what's going on, don't worry."

After Liu Tan finished speaking, he went to find Lu Xuan. He found that no matter when he came, there was always someone in Lu Xuan's tent, as if there were endless things to deal with.

However, upon seeing him, Lu Xuan immediately kicked everyone out. Liu Tan stood at the doorway, staring at the young and old inside with a somewhat awkward expression, and said, "You go ahead and do your work. I'll come find you later."

The gazes of these people made Liu Tan feel uncomfortable, mainly because not all of them looked at him with kindness, and the older people looked at him with more scrutiny.

People in the Western Regions don't seem to know what being subtle is. Even the top leaders of a country are like this. Their happiness and unhappiness are all shown on their faces.

Liu Tan didn't want to face those people's ugly faces at all. Few people in Chang'an dared to face him with such an expression. Even if they didn't like him, they would still greet him with a smile. So what were these people?

As soon as Lu Xuan saw Liu Tan's expression gradually become formal, he knew that something was wrong. He quickly kicked everyone out and said, "It's nothing serious, but Ah Tan must have something important to ask me."

Liu Tan walked in, sat down and said, "This is really a big deal."

Lu Xuan had someone pour him some kumis while he said, "Let me guess. Ah Tan is probably going to take action against Hu Hu and Jie Nation, right?"

Liu Tan was not surprised that he could guess it. Although five thousand soldiers and horses were not a lot just looking at the number, and looked a bit shabby compared to the numbers of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands in major battles, in fact, when five thousand people stood in front of him, he would find that five thousand soldiers and horses were really not a small number.

Of course, there are 5,000 soldiers, but horses... I guess there are not even 500 horses.

With so many people and such a big commotion, it would be strange if Lu Xuan couldn't guess what was going on.

It was obvious that Liu Tan was unwilling to stay here and swallow this humiliation. Otherwise, after the wounded soldiers' condition stabilized, he could have set off directly and entered the pass first. Why would he wait for these people to come here?

Liu Tan nodded and said, "That's true. However, the Han Dynasty hasn't had much contact with the Huhu and Jie Kingdoms in recent years, so I don't know much about them. I hope Little Kunmi will be willing to teach me."

Lu Xuan looked at him and suddenly said, "You call me Little Kunmi, so I can't tell you this."

Liu Tan was a little surprised. This was the first time Lu Xuan had rejected him, which made Liu Tan, who was originally very sure that Lu Xuan would tell him, feel a little embarrassed.

Liu Tan then drank some kumis to digest it and said, "Since that's the case, I won't force Little Kunmi. Why don't we..."

Lu Xuan was somewhat helpless: "Does Ah Tan really have to be so businesslike?"

Liu Tan looked at him blankly. Lu Xuan said in frustration, "As the leader of the Lesser Wusun, I naturally cannot give away the intelligence that my subordinates have worked so hard to gather to the Han Dynasty for free..."

Liu Tan suddenly realized and said, "I don't have much information about the Western Regions, but I can trade you something else... Hmm, how about Ruyi Golden Powder?"

Liu Tan originally wanted to offer the formula of Ruyi Golden Powder in exchange, but he swallowed the words back when they reached his lips. This formula was no different from other ones. He had finally dreamed of it, and it could reduce the mortality rate. So far, the effect was quite good.

The Han Dynasty and the Wusun people are now both enemies and friends, and Liu Tan doesn't know how long this relationship can last.

In fact, the relationship between countries that border each other is like this: they are good friends when they need each other, and strangers or even enemies when they don’t need each other.

If they really become enemies in the future, this Ruyi Golden Powder would be aiding the enemy, so he would rather have someone prepare a large quantity of it and give more to Lu Xuan than give him the prescription directly.

Liu Tan knew that his thoughts were a bit dark. Lu Xuan was sincere to him, but he had studied history. The Flower Planting Family had experienced so many hardships. Later, they were deceived and bullied during their rise. These scars were all experiences, and he could not ignore this.

At worst... we can divide the spoils later and give Lu Xuan more, or he can give him something that doesn't have a big impact.

However, the prescription of Yijinhuangsan...doesn't work.

Lu Xuan had already lost his temper with Liu Tan. He originally felt that he had been too straightforward before, which did not seem to be in line with the reserved nature of the Han people, so he was trying his best to learn.

Now it seems...there's no point in being subtle!

Lu Xuan simply said, "Why can't Ah Tan and I have a personal relationship? If we're just good brothers, what can't we share?"

Well, sworn brothers are still brothers.