Huo Guang originally did not want to inform Liu Tan so early, but the matter was stuck in the interrogation. No matter how Jiang Chong pressed the issue, those people insisted that they were not instructed by anyone and that they had said so in a moment of confusion. They hoped that the court judge would let them off.
This matter has been delayed for a long time, and Huo Guang was worried that Liu Tan would find out through other channels. After all, he had often asked about the current living conditions of the people in Shuofang City in the past two days.
What if one day he suddenly felt like leaving the palace to go on a secret visit? It would be bad if others knew about it.
This time, Huo Guang rarely hoped that Liu Tan would play with the sand for two more days, but unexpectedly, with the help of Gongshu Jia, Liu Tan quickly skipped the most difficult part. Seeing that Liu Tan's experience was moving away from the sand, Huo Guang could not think of any way to divert his attention, and finally had to confess.
Unexpectedly, Liu Tan didn't seem to care at all and just let them kill the man.
Liu Tan looked at the rare confused look on Huo Guang's face and wanted to tease him, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Zhu Shanfu who was sorting documents next to him. Although Zhu Shanfu lowered his head and looked very serious about his work, Liu Tan knew that he must be listening with his ears perked up, waiting to hear gossip.
For a moment, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful. With one more person around him, he couldn't tease Huo Guang anymore. Such opportunities were too rare.
As he thought about this, he asked seriously, "These people say they are not being instructed by anyone. Do you believe them?"
Huo Guang shook his head decisively: "I don't believe it, that's why I need time to interrogate you further. Your Highness, please be patient and wait."
Liu Tan shook his head. "I don't know what methods Jiang Chong used, but I don't think he would show mercy to these people. They were able to hold out for so long under Jiang Chong's command. This means that they are either desperate criminals, gambling that we won't kill them until they tell us, and waiting for others to save their lives, or they are risking their lives to protect the people behind them."
He shifted his posture, leaning against the table, and said lazily, "The first possibility is self-explanatory. If the prisoner was kidnapped, it would be better to just kill him with a knife and feel relieved. As for the second possibility... there are also two possibilities. The first is that the person was originally trained as a death squad by the rumormonger. However, using a death squad here is a bit of a waste of talent. After all, it's not easy to train one. The second possibility is... the person behind the scenes offered something that the person couldn't refuse in exchange. No matter what it is, anyone with a sense of humility will know that it's too late for him to go back on his word and give up the person behind the scenes. It's better to go all the way and get something for his family."
After Liu Tan finished speaking, he looked at Huo Guang with a smile and said, "Do you think it would be easier to kill them?"
Huo Guang was stunned by what he said, while Zhu Shanfu, who was listening to the gossip at the side, couldn't help but raise Liu Tan's danger level in his mind.
In Zhu Shanfu's mind, the serious prime minister was the most powerful one. On the one hand, it was because Huo Guang did look very serious, and secondly, among the vassal states, the prime minister was the one in power.
Later, he discovered that the ecology of the Northern Kingdom was somewhat different, but watching the two people get along with each other in daily life, he often saw that the King of the Northern Kingdom did whatever he wanted, and those unreliable ideas would be suppressed by the Prime Minister, so he naturally thought that the Prime Minister was the person that the Northern Kingdom could not afford to offend the most.
However, he now discovered that the King of the North, who had always been silent and seemed soft and easy to talk to, was actually the real tough guy.
He does things simply and roughly, no matter how complicated the process is, he just follows his own ideas. Who can handle it?
Didn’t you see that the Prime Minister hasn’t reacted yet?
In fact, Zhu Shanfu's thinking was unfair to Huo Guang. After his initial surprise, Huo Guang quickly understood what Liu Tan meant. If he followed his logic, it was indeed true.
But he was somewhat unwilling to give in, and couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, are you really not going to pursue this? This person harbors evil intentions..."
Before he could finish, Liu Tan interrupted him and said, "This person can only harbor evil intentions. At most, he can spread rumors, but he can't do anything bigger. Anyway, if I dislike someone, I definitely won't choose this method."
Huo Guang was quite interested when he heard this and asked, "Your Highness means..."
Liu Tan said, "What has he spent all this time trying to do? Sowing discord among the common people. Oh, and some of those common people are refugees with nothing. Does he still expect these refugees to attack Shuofang City? That's obviously impossible. Why did I set up the refugee camp in the first place? Because I was afraid it would have a negative impact on Shuofang City. Now it seems that this move was a good one. So the next question is... What if he just ruined my reputation among the refugees? Do any of the princes of our Liu family have a good reputation? Why does he think I care about my reputation?"
When Huo Guang heard him confidently knock down all the princes of the Liu family, he was speechless for a moment, and Zhu Shanfu, who was standing beside him, almost choked to death on his own saliva.
However, what made them helpless was that what Liu Tan said was absolutely correct.
The princes... from the founding of the country to the present, basically none of them have a good reputation. Of course, this good reputation refers to the reputation among the people. As for the reputation in the court... Actually, there are still some. Probably the princes who are honest and do not cause trouble have a good reputation in the court.
Seeing they had no objection, Liu Tan said, "Besides, I know best what the people need. As long as they have enough food and clothing, their current resentment won't last long. So this person's efforts are in vain. Why bother with him? Prime Minister Huo is so busy with all sorts of affairs every day. It's not worth wasting your energy on someone like him."
Huo Guang: ...
Although I don't want to admit it, what their prince said makes so much sense.
After all, Liu Tan had been with Huo Guang for a long time, and he could tell from his expression that Huo Guang had listened to what he said.
However, Huo Guang still did not give up and asked, "Your Highness, do you really not want to know who is your enemy?"
Liu Tan said, "I don't have many enemies, but I don't have many either. First of all, those in the Western Regions probably aren't my enemies. The Xiongnu couldn't do that, so there are only a few of them. Of course, there are also the county governors who hold grudges against me. It doesn't matter. They can't cause any trouble."
Huo Guang: ...
These were clearly words that should be particularly domineering, but why did he hear a whiff of "too many lice won't itch, too many debts won't worry" when they came from the mouth of their prince?
Seeing his speechless expression, Liu Tan looked at him expectantly and said, "Put these unimportant things aside. I have something to discuss with you."
Huo Guang instantly became alert. These were all unimportant things. So what were the important things in Liu Tan's eyes?
Liu Tan pushed the document in front of him and said, "Take a look at this."
Huo Guang looked down and saw a few big words written on the cover of the document: Provisional Version of Glass Promotion Plan.
Huo Guang: ???
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