Liu Tan didn't understand why Liu Che suddenly asked him to sit next to him.
Perhaps his confusion pleased Liu Che. He drank the honey water handed to him by Lady Gouyi and said, "Didn't the Li family teach you the art of archery and horsemanship?"
Liu Tan had no idea whether the Li family had taught him or not. Regardless of whether the Li family had taught him or not, he simply couldn't do it, so he had no choice but to say, "It's just that I'm not good at this."
Liu Che glanced at him and said, "Li Xi's son is here to see you?"
Liu Tan took the opportunity to say, "Yes, he said that Li Xi's whole life was all about fighting in battle and that he had no talent for growing crops. Even if he didn't have to plant many things himself, he wouldn't understand."
Of course, Liu Che knew what Li Buyan had said. Not to mention that the people around Liu Tan would tell Liu Che, the prince was still there at the time. If the prince didn't tell him, wouldn't the people around him also tell him?
Liu Che showed no anger at Liu Tan's roundabout way of pleading, nor did he intend to bypass Li Xi. He simply said, "I have already shown some leniency. If he can't even handle such a small matter, why should he stay here?"
Liu Tan: ...
Is this a small matter? Speaking of which, it's a branch of scientific research. Since ancient times, has anything been easy to do with scientific research?
It was only at this time that Liu Tan remembered that in the Han Dynasty, no one knew what scientific research was. Even when grain production was low, the court's overall thinking was to encourage the people to reproduce more and reclaim more wasteland, rather than improve grain varieties.
Of course, this does not mean that the grain varieties have always been in their original state, but that the improvements are occasionally discovered and selected by people, rather than through human intervention.
Since there were differences in ideology, Liu Tan didn't dare to say anything. In fact, he also knew that pleading might not be of any use. Liu Che had been doing well for too long. The only thing that frustrates him was probably the early death of Huo Qubing and the fact that he couldn't even save his son.
Liu Tan smiled and said, "I think Li Buyan came to see me because Li Xi wanted to go to the border to atone for his sins. Your Majesty is nostalgic and doesn't want him to go to the battlefield again at his age. This is also out of consideration for his old ministers. They don't understand your good intentions. I'm afraid I need to explain it to them."
Liu Che's expression eased, and he nodded with satisfaction, saying, "That's right, Li Xi is old, and it's not appropriate for him to go to the border again."
This topic seemed to have come to an end, and Liu Tan suddenly felt a little miserable. He didn't know what to say.
Facing Lu Xuan, he didn't know what to say so he just kept silent, but facing Liu Che... if he didn't like to talk, wouldn't he deserve to be ignored?
But before he could say anything, Liu Che said, "The Li family has delayed you. From today... no, tomorrow, you will learn martial arts with Fuling."
Liu Tan: ...
Damn it, let him talk dirty!
Why did you have to stab Liu Fuling? Isn't this crazy? I got myself a physical education class. Learning martial arts is simply a hopeless subject for a otaku.
He would rather memorize books than learn martial arts!
He is already a prince and does not need to go to the battlefield. He has helpers around him when fighting. Why does he need to do it alone?
But since Liu Che had spoken, he couldn't refuse. He could only suppress his inner grief and pretend to be happy: "Thank you, father!"
How could Liu Che not see that he was saying one thing and thinking another, and he found him more and more interesting.
Among his sons, whether it was the seemingly gentle and weak Liu Ju or the intelligent and strong Liu Fuling, they were actually not weak in this respect, and they were both very popular.
As for the other sons who had been driven away, there was often news that they continued to practice martial arts. Liu Tan seemed to be an outlier among these boys.
Liu Che was really lonely. People came and went to visit him all day long, or to pay him a visit, but there were very few people who could talk to him.
There was a Huo Qubing in the past. Huo Qubing's temperament was really to his liking. In some ways, Liu Che even felt that Huo Qubing was very similar to him.
Later, when Huo Qubing passed away, at least there was still Wei Qing who could listen to him. Although Wei Qing was a man of few words, he would still speak at critical moments.
As a result, even Wei Qing was gone. Even though there were so many flatterers around him, he couldn't find that feeling.
Chen Ajiao, the only person who could talk to him on an equal footing, had such a bad temper that even Liu Che sometimes found it unbearable.
As for his sons and concubines, there is no need to mention them.
Now here comes Liu Tan. This kid is so interesting. Although it can be seen that he has been hiding his true thoughts, he is still too young. Even if there is nothing on his face, his eyes have already said everything he wants to say.
Ever since the first time he saw Liu Tan, Liu Che felt that the child's attitude towards him seemed a little strange.
It's not disrespectful, nor is it unadorable, but... it's just weird.
After observing for a few days, Liu Che suddenly realized that Liu Tan was respectful to him and spoke carefully, but he was not afraid of him.
No matter how well-behaved and obedient Liu Tan behaved, Liu Che could feel that he was not afraid of him like others, nor was he trying desperately to get close to him and please him like others. Instead, he seemed eager to stay away from him.
Because of this, Liu Che occasionally wanted to talk more with Liu Tan. Even if he didn't say anything, he still found it very interesting to look at those eyes that were clearly black and white and could reflect all his thoughts.
This made Liu Tan suffer. In fact, Liu Tan was not unafraid of Liu Che, but he did not have the fear of the emperor that was rooted in people's hearts.
After all, he was born under the national flag and received years of education that only kings, princes, generals and ministers are born with special talents. His only fear is that if he is not careful while living in the palace, he will be involved in the struggle for the throne and die a miserable death.
So he didn't really need Liu Che's favor, but now Liu Che seemed to be very interested in him.
When he heard Liu Che ask him, "What do you think of the situation between the young Kunmi and the Xiongnu?", Liu Tan felt that his expression must be very stupid, otherwise Liu Che would not have said with an amused expression, "Just say it casually. Is there anything that cannot be said between you and me, father and son?"
Liu Tan said reflexively: "Of course not, it's just... I'm not good at this..."
Liu Che reached out and pinched his face and asked, "Is this all you know?"
Liu Tan felt pain and aggrieved instantly, and really wanted to say, "Yes, I am one of those people who just eat and wait to die."
Unfortunately, I am too timid to dare.
Liu Fuling, who was standing by, couldn't help but interrupt and said, "I know that they are the biggest threat to our Han Dynasty. We must get rid of them!"
Liu Tan had just rescued his face from Liu Che's hands. After hearing this, he couldn't help but pull the corner of his mouth sarcastically. This guy really said whatever Liu Che liked to hear.
He didn't believe that Liu Fuling, such a clever kid, would be so short-sighted.
Liu Che was not as happy as usual. Instead, he looked at Liu Tan and asked, "It seems that you have an idea. Tell me about it."
Just as Liu Tan was about to open his mouth, Liu Che said, "Don't say anything like Fuling's thoughts. If you really think that way, you won't treat the little Kunmi well."
Liu Tan: ...
So is he waiting here?
He thought carefully for a moment and said, "Actually, the Wusun's attitude is easy to explain. They are a small nation with few people. They dare not offend the Han or the Xiongnu. They dare not offend the Han because the Han is powerful, and they dare not offend the Xiongnu because the Xiongnu are too close. Moreover, the Wusun... the relationship between the current Kunmi of the Wusun and the Xiongnu is too ambiguous. He has a grudge against the Xiongnu, but was raised by the Xiongnu. The grudges between them are hard to explain. It would be difficult to get the Wusun to completely surrender to the Han. The best that can be done is that when the Xiongnu raid the border in the future, the Wusun will not help either side."
Liu Fuling couldn't help but ask, "How did you know the Xiongnu would raid the border in a few days? Did the little Kunmi tell you? Why didn't he tell father? Is he really scheming?"
Liu Tan looked at him expressionlessly: "Which question do you want me to answer?"
Liu Fuling secretly glanced at Liu Che and found that Liu Che didn't seem to care about the quarrel between him and Liu Tan. Instead, he looked at Liu Tan with a hint of indulgence. For a moment, Liu Fuling became even more unhappy, because in the past, such a look belonged to him!
But Liu Fuling did not dare to be dissatisfied with Liu Che, so he could only vent his dissatisfaction on Liu Tan.
He then pressed the issue, "Of course it's what you just said: the Huns will come to plunder in a while."
Liu Tan looked at him in surprise. "Haven't you learned this before? The Xiongnu are mostly nomadic. It's already September, and it gets cold there earlier than here. Isn't it common for them to run out of supplies and raid southwards when winter arrives?"
Liu Fuling was stunned for a moment before realizing what he had overlooked, but he still managed to say, "How can this be considered common? They haven't dared to do this for years!"
Liu Tan was silent for a moment before he said, "That's because Marquis Lie was still around."
As soon as he said this, Liu Fuling subconsciously glanced at Liu Che, and sure enough, he saw that the smile on Liu Che's face faded. He couldn't help feeling proud in his heart. This time, it was Liu Tan who brought bad luck to him, because he didn't lead the other party to mention Wei Qing.
Liu Tan also noticed Liu Che's unhappiness, but he didn't care.
From now on, Liu Che's indifference after Wei Qing's death seemed more like an escape. He was unwilling to think about it or look at it, and he was naturally unhappy when others mentioned it.
But this is the fact, and the Han people must be prepared.
Without the Grand Marshal and General Wei Qing, the Han Dynasty might be seen as a potential provocation by the Huns.
Liu Che obviously understood this truth. He glanced at Liu Tan and said, "Is this what you mean by not being good at this?"
Liu Tan smiled shyly and said, "How dare I show off my humble opinion in front of my father?"
Liu Che then smiled, and then Liu Tan returned with a bunch of rewards, making Liu Tan wonder what he was doing there? Wasn't he called by Liu Che to apologize to Liu Fuling?
Lady Gouyi and Liu Fuling also felt that they had not achieved their goal, especially Lady Gouyi. She was still in her bedroom, watching the emperor chatting and laughing with other princes, while her son was left out. For a moment, she felt quite resentful, thinking that the queen was extremely cunning, and her son was indeed not a good person.
But Liu Che was still here, so she had to hold back her anger. Just as she was about to say something to Liu Che, she saw the emperor stand up and casually say to Liu Fuling, "Stay away from the Wusun people."
This almost sounded like a warning to Liu Fuling. Liu Che had never said this to him before, and he was immediately startled and nodded quickly. Lady Gouyi was about to say something when she saw Liu Che turned his head and looked at her expressionlessly: "Don't dote on Fuling too much."
After saying this, the emperor turned around and left. Lady Gouyi stood there, gritting her teeth and saying bitterly, "The Queen... is truly amazing!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
