Liu Che took a deep breath, waved to Liu Tan and said, "Come here."
Seeing his expression, Liu Tan not only did not move forward, but instead took half a step back, as if he was afraid that he would hit him.
In fact, Liu Che's expression did look like he wanted to beat someone up.
Liu Che narrowed his eyes slightly and emphasized his tone: "Come here!"
Liu Tan estimated that if he didn't go over, he might really be beaten, so he went over reluctantly, carefully measuring the distance and intending to keep a certain distance from Liu Che, so that he would have a chance to escape if Liu Che attacked him.
However, when he was within an arm's length of Liu Che and felt relatively safe, Liu Che suddenly reached out and grabbed the back of his neck.
Liu Tan: !!!!!!!!!
Well, he knew that the arm's length was his arm, not Liu Che's.
He was brought before Liu Che obediently, and then he heard Liu Che say, "Bring a sitting scale to the Fifth Prince."
Liu Tan was immediately very moved. Liu Che was actually willing to give him a sitting scale. He thought he had to kneel on the ground and repent.
However, Liu Che just held him like this and didn't let go until the scale came. Liu Tan even felt the skin on the back of his neck was numb!
After he sat down obediently, Liu Che looked at him seriously for a long while before asking, "Tell me, why did you have to choose Shuofang Prefecture?"
Liu Tan immediately said, "Didn't you choose that for me?"
Liu Che raised his hand and patted him on the back of the head.
Well, Liu Tan was sure that Liu Che called him over purely for the convenience of beating him.
After satisfying his desire, Liu Che asked, "Playing tricks on me?"
Liu Tan rubbed the back of his head and said, "It's nothing. I went out of seclusion and found that the Western Regions are not that bad. Besides... I can go and guard the border for my father!"
Liu Che was slightly stunned after hearing this: "Guarding the national gate? The national gate?"
Liu Che chewed on these two words. To be honest, in this era, there was no clear concept of country, but more of a concept of nation.
Liu Tan forgot where he had seen the discussion about the difference between civilization and nation. In any case, civilization can be better passed on through the concept of nation and country, while the narrow concept of nation and country can easily come to an end.
This land has always been a place where a hundred flowers bloom and all are inclusive. If possible, Liu Tan would like to work hard for it now.
This was also one of the reasons why he worked hard to make Xiao Wusun a vassal state.
It is just a vassal state now, but maybe in the future it will become one of the ethnic minorities in this country.
Of course, these were all his thoughts. Not only did he not dare to tell Lu Xuan, he didn't even dare to tell Liu Che.
Liu Che looked at the map, not knowing what he was thinking. Liu Tan also leaned over to take a look at the map. The more he looked at it, the better he felt that Shuofang was. To the north was the Xiongnu, to the east was the Yan State, and to the west were the countries of the Western Regions. Apart from the Yan State, which he could not mess with, there were two other places for him to mess with. And if he remembered correctly, the current location of the Xiongnu was basically the territory of the Mongolian State in later generations.
Because of the border between the two countries, the domestic archaeological community is quite familiar with that area of Mongolia.
Of course, none of this matters. What matters is that Liu Tan vaguely remembers that there really is a gold mine in that place in Mongolia.
He remembered that he once had a classmate who was a foreign student from Mongolia. His family was very poor, but one day a gold mine was discovered under his house, and he became rich overnight!
Even without mentioning gold, there seem to be a lot of copper mines.
In this day and age, copper really is money!
The more Liu Tan looked at it, the more he felt that it was a good place. Moreover, when he got there, he could join forces with Princess Danyang. If he was lucky, he could even further control the Western Regions and curb the Huns!
However, there are places like Xiliang between Shuofang Prefecture and the Western Regions, so if you want to make a big splash in the Western Regions, you have to coordinate with Xiliang.
When Liu Che came to his senses, he turned his head and saw Liu Tan staring at the Western Regions without moving. His round eyes were shining, and there was even a smile on his face, as if he had thought of something good.
Liu Che's heart tightened immediately, and he couldn't help but pinch Liu Tan's cheek and asked, "What are you thinking about that makes you so happy?"
Liu Tan couldn't help but twist his body in pain, looking at Liu Che in confusion, not understanding why this man was having another seizure.
Liu Tan said vaguely: "Nothing... nothing."
He didn't dare tell Liu Che that he was targeting the Western Regions and the Huns. Otherwise, if Liu Che suspected that he dared to covet these two places, would he have even greater ambitions in the future?
Liu Che sneered and said, "You talk about guarding the country's borders for me, but what you really care about is that Kunmi of the Wusun people, right?"
Liu Tan’s eyes widened and his first reaction was: How did Liu Che know?
However, he soon remembered that Lu Xuan had been very straightforward ever since she confessed her feelings to him. Not only in his manor and Shihe Garden, she had even said it many times in the palace. It was not surprising that Liu Che knew about it.
Liu Tan was simply surprised that Liu Che would think of this. Thinking about this in his mind, he quickly denied it: "What does this have to do with him? Shuofang Prefecture is a thousand miles away from Xiao Wusun. How could it be for him?"
Liu Che didn't know what to make of it, but he pinched his face and refused to let go, even saying, "Then do you want me to give you Xiliang as well? It's closer."
Liu Tan knew he should refuse, but... Xiliang is also good, who would dislike having a large territory?
He hesitated for a moment, then finally said with a heartbroken expression, "I think becoming a vassal has nothing to do with Lu Xuan. If I had any connection with him, I wouldn't have cheated him like this."
However, in Liu Tan's eyes, he thought that he had betrayed Lu Xuan, but in Liu Che's eyes, he thought that what Liu Tan did was natural and right.
Seeing Liu Tan's sincerity, he finally let go and said, "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't want to get involved in those matters, but he's different. You need to think clearly about it."
Liu Tan suddenly felt very embarrassed. Why did he feel like his parents had discovered he was in a premature relationship?
But the problem is... he is not in love!
Liu Tan was helpless: "It really has nothing to do with him. I just want to take back Wolf Mountain and the Vast Sea. Marquis Jing Huan worked so hard to leave behind the legend of Feng Wolf Mountain, and now it has fallen into the hands of the Xiongnu. I am heartbroken."
He didn't want to say this at first, after all, it sounded too arrogant.
Who is Huo Qubing? From ancient times to the present, he is the only one who has achieved the feat of sealing the Wolf's Lair and reaching the vast sea.
But Liu Tan saw that if he didn't tell Lu Xuan, he would not be able to get over it, so he had to tell him, otherwise... To be honest, in today's Han Dynasty, Qi is a truly rich place.
Think about the owner of the tomb of Marquis Haihun in later generations, King Changyi Liu He. One hundred and twenty kilograms of gold were unearthed from his tomb. It is said that much of this wealth was left to him by his father Liu Bo, the King of Changyi. Another part of it was left to him by Empress Dowager Shangguan after he was deposed, who showed leniency and allowed him to take away a lot of wealth.
Anyway, it couldn't be the wealth from Haihun. After all, it was really a smoke-filled and miasmic place in that era.
If Changyi was like this, one can imagine what the whole Qi area was like.
However, Liu Bo is still the King of Changyi and he is still alive. If Liu Tan becomes the King of Qi, he will definitely become his neighbor.
He had half actively and half indirectly killed Lady Li's entire family, and as far as he knew, Liu Bo had died when he was around twenty years old, so Liu He inherited the title of King of Changyi when he was very young.
If you calculate it this way, Liu Bo will be dead soon after he becomes a vassal. By then, it will be useless even if he says it has nothing to do with him!
So he would definitely not go to Qi. Only Shuofang Prefecture was the most suitable place for him.
After hearing this, Liu Che fell silent. He missed Wei Qing and Huo Qubing the most, and he couldn't bear to hear others mention these two people because it would make him sad.
What is even more sad is that the great foundation laid by Wei Qing and Huo Qubing is now being eroded bit by bit by the Huns.
Of course, Liu Che didn't think that Liu Tan could defeat the Huns, but... at this time he couldn't help but hold on to a little hope.
But he still sneered and said, "After arriving in your fiefdom, do you think you can still be as free as you were in Chang'an? By then, all affairs of the vassal states will be managed by the prime minister!"
Liu Tan only then remembered, yes, Liu Che had already begun to curb the power of the princes. Now the princes are basically just mascots in their fiefdoms. They have wealth and glory, but don't expect more.
He didn't seem to mind. "Oh, that's fine. I can go there and do business. It's suitable for growing grapes. Although they can grow them in Chang'an now, the cost is too high, and they won't be as good as those over there. I'll go there and make wine for my father."
Liu Che: ?????
Are you giving up so easily? Can't you just hold on a little longer?
He originally just wanted to attack Liu Tan, but he didn't expect Liu Tan's train of thought to change as quickly as the wind and directly shift to the grapes.
Liu Tan even started muttering, "The cattle and sheep over there are pretty good, too. I'll have someone get some meat for Father and Mother to make hot pot with in the winter. Hmm, there are other ways to eat it. And it seems there's more than just grapes there, right? I'll go over and take a look. Maybe I'll find some new fruit or something."
Liu Che suddenly felt a headache after hearing this and said unhappily, "You only know how to eat?"
Liu Tan said confidently, "Food is the foundation of life! Father is already rich, and it would be too hard for him to not be able to taste the world's delicacies!"
Liu Che didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said perfunctorily: "Well, I understand."
Liu Tan rubbed his face, leaned over and winked at Liu Che and asked, "Then..."
Liu Che said: "Even if you want to become a vassal, you have to wait until the little Wusun move to the new capital."
Liu Tan: "Ah? Where is their new capital?"
Liu Che pointed to a place, and Liu Tan was shocked to find that the place Lu Xuan chose was neither the capital of Huhu Kingdom that he had conquered before, nor the capital of Cheshi Kingdom, but a place that had been moved further west.
He even thought that if the Wusun moved further west, they might end up in the Persian Gulf!
Of course this may be a bit exaggerated, but... why did Lu Xuan move westward?
Hasn't it become a vassal state of the Han Dynasty? Wouldn't it be more convenient to be closer to the Han Dynasty?
As if he could see Liu Tan's confusion, Liu Che raised his lip and said, "Why? Are you worried about him?"
Liu Tan felt a chill down his spine. "No, I just wonder why he made such a choice."
Liu Che explained, "This is the best place for them. The area around Cheshi State is a battleground for the Xiongnu, and the little Wusun can only be bullied there."
It was rare for him to be so patient in teaching someone other than the Crown Prince. Liu Tan couldn't help but ask, "Then why don't you let them move to Xiliang?"
Liu Che frowned: "Xiliang is Han territory. How can we allow them to enter?"
Liu Tan chuckled and said, "So, once you come to Xiliang, you're a Xiliang person, which means you're a Han Chinese. If you use our land, you're our people. There's nothing wrong with that."
Liu Che sneered: "So Lu Xuan is yours, right?"
Liu Tan: Damn, there’s no way to get over this hurdle, right?
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