Liu Tan looked up at Huo Guang and asked, "Wu Shilu, write me a letter? Are you sure he will write a letter?"
Huo Guang said, "There are quite a few Han Chinese among the Xiongnu."
After hearing this, Liu Tan couldn't help but mutter, "Another traitor! What's Wu Shilu trying to do? He didn't feel satisfied after being beaten, so he wants to do it again?"
Huo Guang suppressed the urge to complain, and wanted to say that if Lu Xuan had not arrived quickly, who knows what would have happened to you.
Liu Tan opened the letter and laughed: "The handwriting is really ugly."
But after reading the contents of the letter, he couldn't help but slap the letter on the desk: "You wish!"
Huo Guang asked, "What did Wu Shilu say?"
Liu Tan said angrily, "He said he wanted to open a trade market!"
Huo Guang couldn't help but sneer after hearing this. If they want to fight, they can fight. If they want to open trade, they can open trade? Wu Shilu was thinking too much.
When Liu Tan thought of the miserable state of Shuofang City he saw when he came back and the coal mine that had not yet been fully operational, he felt so angry that he couldn't help but raise his hand and tear the letter into pieces.
Huo Guang felt a little distressed when he saw him like this, so he said decisively: "Don't pay attention to him. I'll send someone to send the messenger away."
If possible, Huo Guang would have wanted to kill the messenger directly, but the problem was that killing the messenger would likely touch Wu Shilu's sensitive nerves. If it happened again, the Huns would not be afraid, but they would not have the time.
Liu Tan took a deep breath and squeezed out two words from between his teeth: "No need."
Huo Guang looked at Liu Tan in surprise. Liu Tan said breathlessly, "I'm writing a letter to my father!"
Huo Guang was stunned: "Your Highness?"
Writing a letter to Liu Che means leaving the matter to Liu Che to decide, and the probability of his agreeing or not is basically 50-50, or in other words, the possibility of his agreeing is very high.
Opening up the trade market might have been able to prevent the Xiongnu from invading for a few years. Although the Han Dynasty had not fought any large-scale wars with the Xiongnu in recent years, it had actually fought many battles, large and small, and the country's financial pressure was also quite large.
For the people in Chang'an, their hatred for the Huns was not that deep. It was mostly out of indignation and not so unforgettable.
Liu Tan threw the torn letter aside and said, "If the trade can be opened, it will be beneficial to the Northern Kingdom."
If a mutual trade is to be opened, it must be in the country closest to the northern border, as trade can best boost the economy of a place.
Although the Western Regions are poor now, Liu Tan knows that once the Silk Road is established, the small countries in the Western Regions along the Silk Road will actually be richer than each other.
Mutual trade means money, so Liu Tan must strive for the most friendly conditions for the Northern Border Country. For example, he can try to get the Northern Border Country to collect taxes, and mutual trade can also provide many job opportunities for the people of the Northern Border Country.
Even if the people living on the border do not want to deal with the Huns, there will definitely be many caravans coming. With so many caravans coming, they will need services such as eating, drinking, defecating and urinating, which is an opportunity to make money.
No matter how angry or resentful Liu Tan was, he should not act on impulse. Besides, it was not his decision whether to open the trade or not.
Thinking of this, Liu Tan suddenly looked up at Huo Guang and asked, "That's not right. Why did Wu Shilu write to me? Shouldn't he be delivering the letter to my father?"
Huo Guang shook his head, unable to figure out what this lunatic was thinking. Originally, he was fine with hearing that Wu Shilu had written a letter to Liu Tan.
After all, the Xiongnu people did not care about those false formalities, and if Wu Shilu did not know that Lu Xuan was also coming, he would think that it was Liu Tan who beat him back. It would not be strange for him to want to communicate with Liu Tan, but it was strange to tell Liu Tan that he wanted to open a trade.
Liu Tan just asked a question so that Wu Shilu's letter to him would not touch Chang'an's sensitive nerves.
Or the people in Chang'an would laugh at Wu Shilu for lowering his status. He was clearly the Xiongnu king who was on par with the Han emperor, but now he put himself on the same level as the princes of the Han Dynasty. Who else would they laugh at if not him?
After Liu Tan finished writing the letter to Liu Che, he asked, "Do you think my father would agree?"
Huo Guang said, "Your Majesty...will probably agree."
Opening up trade is much easier to accept than marrying a princess, and it is a win-win situation. Wu Shilu did not get sick this time.
Liu Tan thought for a moment and said, "Then let's choose a place."
Huo Guang laughed: "It's not up to us to decide this."
There is no big deal about where the trade fair is opened. It is basically a matter of wrangling between the two sides. Everyone wants to be closer to their own territory and bring the place under their control. Let's not talk about politics, just economics. It's so easy to make money.
Liu Tan rubbed his hands and said, "We can choose a few more. There must be one that can be used, right? After the selection is made, I will write to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. If the emperor agrees, we will submit our ideas. This way, we can save time going back and forth."
Alas, although he has become accustomed to the life of this era, he still finds it inconvenient most of the time. Take the communication system for example. It’s okay for short distances, but it takes a lot of time to communicate over long distances.
Unfortunately, he could only think about making a phone and the like. No matter how omnipotent he was, he couldn't make a generator now, and the generator was just the beginning.
Forget it, it would be better to build official roads across the country so that riders can go faster.
Liu Tan thought about it while asking someone to bring a map.
Huo Guang laughed as soon as he saw it and said, "You are trying to make things easier for the governor of Dunhuang."
Liu Tan directly set his sights on the area north of Dunhuang, south of Zhuoxie Mountain, and relatively close to the Xiongnu River.
Liu Tan said, "Not entirely. North of Shuofang is either Shoujiang City or Madam Fan City. Madam Fan City is no longer in our hands. Moreover, north of Madam Fan City is a vast desert, making it inconvenient for Xiongnu caravans to travel. They won't agree. If we move eastward, we'll be close to the State of Yan, and I won't do anything to help them!"
Not to mention whether Liu Dan would get a share of the trade, Liu Tan didn't want him to come and cause trouble!
As for the west, if Liu Tan works hard, he might be able to take full control. But if he gets close to the State of Yan, even if he gets the control, if Liu Dan sabotages, will he clean up the mess or not?
In order to avoid such disputes, it is better to move it to the west. Moreover, he has a more reasonable reason: it is close to the Western Regions and may attract countries in the Western Regions to come and trade.
As for mutual trade, it was also mutual trade with the Huns and the countries in the Western Regions.
Liu Tan selected a few places and said, "These are good places."
Huo Guang looked at the area he had circled and ignored the few good spots he mentioned. Instead, he pointed at another ink spot and said, "What do you want to do with this, Your Highness?"
Liu Tan smiled slyly and said, "Build a city, a supply city. Look, there's Zhuoxie Mountain on the right and the Western Regions on the left. The closest larger cities are either Jiuquan or Dunhuang. Even on the map, they're very far away. When we actually leave, we'll have to bring a lot of supplies, which is very inconvenient. The biggest shortage here is water. Let's build a city near Juyan Lake and divert the water from Juyan Lake to make it a supply city. What do you think?"
Huo Guang couldn't help but say after hearing this: "The governor of Dunhuang must be going crazy with joy."
It was the only supply city on such a long road. Even if Huo Guang didn't know what monopoly meant, once the trade reached a certain scale, this city would have a steady influx of people.
Liu Tan said, "If you think it's a good idea, I'll write a letter to the prince."
Huo Guang said, "That's fine, but you can also mention it in your letter to Your Majesty."
Liu Tan nodded and continued to write quickly.
Meanwhile, Liu Che and Liu Ju were a bit surprised when they received the letter. Liu Che wasn't flattered, but he was certainly pleasantly surprised. "Tan'er just sent a letter a while ago, how come it came back so quickly this time? Could something have happened?"
Liu Ju was alert: Could it be that Kunmi from the little Wusun was bullying his younger brother?
Of course, he didn't say this out loud. This matter was one of Liu Che's trigger points. Even if he was in a good mood, he would instantly become unhappy once someone mentioned it.
Liu Ju didn't rush to open the letter, but observed Liu Che's expression.
Liu Che was actually a bit conflicted. He didn't want to see Liu Tan mention Lu Xuan, but he couldn't bear to read the letter. He slowly opened it and after reading it carefully, he was a little surprised: "Wu Shilu actually wants to open a trade?"
Liu Ju was somewhat surprised. "Wushilu? I heard that after he took office, he said he would definitely move eastward to restore the glory of the Xiongnu. He has indeed invaded several times. Why is he planning a trade this time?"
A country that takes the initiative to propose mutual trade is basically showing a signal of weakness. Although there is still room for negotiation, Wu Shilu took the initiative to propose it... This is too strange.
Liu Che sneered: "When you are beaten, you will bow your head."
Thinking about it this way, Lu Xuan does have his merits.
In other words, if Lu Xuan was born in the Han Dynasty, even if Liu Tan was hanging out with him, Liu Che might have turned a blind eye and not been so resentful.
After all, from now on, Lu Xuan may not be as stunning as Wei Huo, but he is not bad either. At least he is much better than many other generals of the Han Dynasty.
If he were in the Han Dynasty, Liu Che would never send a princess to marry the Wusun, even if she was not his biological daughter.
What a pity.
While Liu Che was sighing, Liu Ju opened Liu Tan's letter. After seeing the map included in the letter, he was stunned at first, then he couldn't help laughing and said, "My brother is really... He even chose the place. It really saves the trouble for the Honglu Temple."
Liu Che said, "Which one did he choose? Bring it to me and see it."
Liu Ju handed over the map. Liu Che looked down at it and couldn't help laughing: "This little guy is quite ambitious. He not only wants to do business with the Xiongnu, but also with the people of the Western Regions."
Liu Ju asked, "This location seems good to me, and he also intends to build a supply city."
Liu Che didn't think there was anything wrong with it. After pondering it for a moment, he couldn't help but ask, "Tan'er, do you have any hobbies? Why did you keep building cities after arriving there?"
Liu Ju thought about it and realized that was true. Although there was no movement when he first arrived in Shuofang City, it was obvious that they had made preparations. Just look at the speed of construction of Shuofang City. Now... it is conservatively estimated that he is building at least two cities at the same time.
Liu Ju couldn't help but feel a little worried: "Father, the tax revenue in Shuofang is not high. Will my brother be short of money?"
Liu Che thought for a moment and said, "Give orders that this matter be fully handled by the King of the Northern Territory. Send the Honglu Temple to assist, and have them bring some money with them."
Well, the collaboration is fake, but giving money is real, they just need to find a nice excuse.
So Liu Tan received the pocket money from his father with a confused look on his face, and his father also said: If it’s not enough, ask for more.
However, Miao Rui was actually very worried and said, "Your Highness, the treasury can no longer accommodate the money. What do you think... should we build another one?"
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