When Liu Che saw the news of Li Guangli's death, the expression on his face paused slightly.
However, he had been emperor for many years and knew very well what could be discussed in the court and what could not.
Now everyone is discussing this victory. Victory is inspiring, although everyone is wondering how the fifth prince led that team to victory.
No matter how they analyzed it, they didn't think they had the strength to do so. According to what the fifth prince wrote, the little Wusun seemed to have helped, but they only killed a part of the Xiongnu cavalry and did not intervene in the siege.
Many people were eager for the army to return home immediately because they were too curious.
Some people even wondered if this was the time for a rising star like Wei Huo.
However, everyone soon thought of Liu Tan's identity, and for a moment they couldn't help but feel a little sorry.
Even if Liu Tan was a slave, he might not be unable to follow Wei Qing's path. It would be even better if he came from a military family.
The person who felt the most regretful was probably Li Xi. When he learned about this, Li Xi knew that his son must have made a lot of contributions, and his first reaction was happiness.
What he was most worried about in the past was his eldest son. In his opinion, Li Buyan was a little silly. If he became an official, let alone got promoted, it would be good enough if he could just keep the family business. Li Buyan also wanted to lead the army, but was fighting a war so easy?
Li Xi had been worrying about his son for a long time. Now, this achievement was enough for him to live a worry-free life for the rest of his life.
This achievement certainly wasn't enough to earn him a title of nobility, but what good was a title of nobility? The emperor could confer it, but he could also take it away. He might even find all sorts of charges to take it back, and by then, he might lose more than just the title.
On the contrary, now that he has made such contributions, he can get a good official position, and he has a good relationship with the fifth prince. This is enough.
When Li Xi thought of the fifth prince, he hated him so much. If he was his biological son, what would he be worried about?
What's more, if this was his son, the Han Dynasty's chess game would be in jeopardy.
When he heard someone say sarcastically, "Maybe it was because the Fifth Prince was lucky and the country was not too prepared at that time."
Li Xi immediately mocked back, "Good luck? Good luck is also strength. Sometimes war depends on luck. To have such luck that you can directly destroy an entire country is simply a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
But what good would it do? At most, it would only make his fiefdom a little better.
Li Xi thought that even after the fifth prince returned to the court, he might soon be crowned king and then become a fiefdom.
After hearing Li Xi's words, Liu Che glanced at him and said with a smile, "Lord Li, you have raised a good son. Li Buyan has worked hard and made great contributions this time. When he returns, I will certainly reward him generously."
Li Xi broke out in a cold sweat after hearing the first half of the sentence. He even began to wonder if the phrase "raised a good son" was a real compliment or a metaphor?
It's no wonder that he suspected Liu Che. He was really badly betrayed by the emperor. If it weren't for the fifth prince, he would have become a eunuch and entered the palace.
After hearing the latter part, he was sure that Liu Che was really praising him, and then he said happily: "It is worth it for me to let that kid go by showing favoritism to be able to share your majesty's worries."
Everyone knew that Li Buyan got in through connections, but no one said anything. There were three ways to become an official in the court now: first, you were born in a family of officials, so that you could get in touch with this circle; second, you were good at studying, had a promising future and became famous, so that officials in the court noticed you, and some even began to become your students, and then you would be noticed by the court and be extended an olive branch; third, just like the previous order to seek talents issued by Emperor Wu of Han, recruiting knowledgeable people from all over the world, and then knowledgeable people recommend themselves. If they are appreciated, they will naturally be retained, but it is hard to say what official position they will hold after being retained. The most famous one is Dongfang Shuo.
Therefore, Li Buyan's situation is the most common in the court. If someone has a problem with Li Xi because of this, then he is breaking the rules, and his children will never be able to follow this path in the future.
No one thought it was a big deal, and Liu Che thought it was even less so. He smiled and said, "It's a pity that you and your son will probably have to meet again in the Western Regions."
Li Xi looked up at Liu Che in bewilderment: "Your Majesty, what do you mean...?"
Liu Che said, "Fifth Prince has been gone for over half a year, and it's time for him to return. However, there are still things to do there, especially the robbery of the royal city. We can't leave it alone. So you go there first, and you will naturally know what to do when you get there."
If someone else heard this order, they might feel depressed, and think that life is hopeless, and that they are about to be kicked to eat sand.
However, Li Xi was very happy. He was really scared when he stayed in Chang'an. He always felt that his life was saved and he didn't know when it would be taken back.
It would be best to be able to go out now, and take over the job of the Fifth Prince.
The emperor did not explain it clearly, but Li Xi had vaguely heard that there was something else very important. He guessed that he was sent into exile not just because Liu Che disliked him.
Some people vaguely knew the news. Li Guangli was not a big mouth, but the people around him were a mixed bunch, and they had leaked some information.
No one knew much about the gold mine, but they vaguely knew it was very important, so it wasn't that no one wanted to go there.
Liu Che had no choice but to let Li Xi go. He was afraid that if he replaced him with someone Liu Tan disliked, what would happen if Liu Tan killed that person again?
He had not yet read the letter in detail, but he was a little worried about Li Guangli's death. At this time, he didn't know how to tell Mrs. Li about this.
He had good intentions in letting the concubine's brother get some benefits, but ended up losing the person.
Liu Che put his personal feelings aside and talked about the little Wusun, and by the way expressed Liu Tan's thoughts.
Prime Minister Shi Qing's eyes lit up after hearing this. As a stone prime minister, his health has not been good in recent days, so he has become increasingly invisible in the court.
He hadn't expressed his opinion for a long time, but at this moment he couldn't help but say, "Your Highness is very talented, this method is very good."
At this time, Liu Che was just like an ordinary father. He was of course happy when someone praised his son, especially Shi Qing, who often asked him one question after every three. The fact that he took the initiative to praise Liu Tan showed that this method was indeed very good.
Liu Che said, "The Kunmi of the Wusun may come to the court next. Before he comes, we should discuss and come up with a set of rules to ensure that he is not treated unfairly."
Everyone understood instantly that this was the first Western Region country that clearly wanted to rely on the Han Dynasty.
Even though all nations came to pay tribute every New Year, in reality those countries were fence-sitters. They would bow before the Han Dynasty and before the Xiongnu. Don't even think about counting on these people at critical moments. But it would be different if the little Wusun really became a vassal state.
This is because Lu Xuan is young, so people don't have too many doubts about his motives. Think about it, it is normal for a young monarch to seek support from a more powerful country when surrounded by wolves.
Liu Che did not expect to resolve the matter in one grand court meeting. Moreover, even if he had a preliminary plan, he would have to discuss it with Lu Xuan later.
After the court was dismissed, Liu Che hurried back to the Weiyang Palace with the letter.
When he finished reading the entire letter, he didn't know what to say for a moment.
He knew that Li Guangli was corrupt. To be honest, Liu Che didn't care much about the gold, so he turned a blind eye.
As a result, he seemed to have forgotten to inform his son. Liu Tan didn't say anything in the letter, but just said that he could not tolerate Li Guangli's deception of his superiors and subordinates.
Even though the words and sentences were simple, Liu Che felt that he understood Liu Tan's idea.
Liu Tan did not mention the dozen or so lives in the letter. He knew very well that only he cared about these lives, so he took all the responsibility and apologized to Liu Che at the same time.
But was Liu Tan wrong in this matter? Of course, there was nothing wrong with sending people to arrest someone who had broken the law. As for what happened later, it seemed like he had it all his own way.
Liu Che sighed, got up and went to Lady Li's bedroom.
Mrs. Li has been in a very good mood recently. Although her son was thrown into the fiefdom early, she still wants to have another child.
Her brothers were also very capable, especially the second brother, who was able to lead troops to the Western Regions.
Lady Li herself had little knowledge and didn't know that there were huge differences between generals. She just thought that Li Guangli would definitely be granted a title of nobility when he returned this time, so every time Liu Che came, she would ask about Li Guangli.
However, when she first saw Liu Che that day, she found that his expression was very unhappy.
As a favorite concubine, Lady Li did not have the confidence to ignore Liu Che's mood like Chen Ajiao, so she served Liu Che very carefully and asked, "Your Majesty, have you encountered any troubles?"
Liu Che looked up at Madam Li and said, "Li Guangli died suddenly."
Madam Li was stunned for a moment. She had just been dreaming that Li Guangli could be made a marquis, but the next moment she heard the bad news.
She stood there in a daze for a long moment before she said, as if she had lost her soul, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, please don't joke with me. I... I will take it seriously."
Liu Che looked at her silently. Only then did Lady Li realize that it was all true, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
Even when Madam Li was crying, her tears were like pear blossoms in the rain. She choked with tears and asked, "Why...why?"
Seeing her like this, Liu Che felt a little soft-hearted. Lady Li must have been good-looking to be favored, and she was also gentle and considerate, which best suited Liu Che's aesthetic taste.
Liu Che couldn't help but sigh, and pulled Madam Li into his arms, saying, "He...he entered the cave. The cave was already unsafe due to mining, and after he entered, he was hit on the head by falling rocks."
After hearing this, Mrs. Li cried so hard that she could hardly breathe.
Liu Che held her and comforted her for a long time. Finally, Lady Li suppressed her grief and said, "After all... it's just that my brother has a miserable life. Your Majesty, please don't waste your time on me. I... I will just take it easy."
What a knowledgeable and interesting beauty! Liu Che felt more and more pity for her. After giving her a lot of rewards, he went to handle government affairs.
Madam Li sobbed for a long time before wiping her tears. She turned to look at the maid beside her and said, "Send a message to Sanlang and ask him to find out how Erlang got there. Why would he go to the mine when he was fine? If His Majesty won't tell me, then there must be something wrong!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
