Lu Xuan came back to his senses, held his hand, and said, "Nothing...it's just...what exactly was His Majesty angry about earlier?"
Liu Tan was a little surprised: "Why are you still thinking about this?"
Lu Xuan hesitated and said, "Is it because of me..."
Liu Tan finally understood what he was worried about. He squeezed his hand and said, "Don't overthink it. It has nothing to do with you. It's just because of a ballad."
Lu Xuan was a little surprised: "What ballad?"
Liu Tan recounted the story. Seeing Lu Xuan's frown deepen as he listened, he said without a trace of anger, "Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal."
Lu Xuan said seriously, "We have to find the mastermind behind this. Otherwise, if this plan fails, he will definitely have a second one. This first plan is already so cruel, and the second one will probably just take your life."
Liu Tan patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, they can only think about it. The guards around me are not vegetarians. They are all elite soldiers and generals."
Lu Xuan didn't say anything else. After much thought, he decided to send someone to investigate.
However, he did not make any arrangements in the Northern Territory. After all, it was Liu Tan's territory. If he put too many people there, Liu Tan might feel that he did not trust him.
But he was not at ease if he just ignored everything, so he said, "I will ask my people to ask those Huns."
Liu Tan did not object; letting Lu Xuan investigate would actually make him feel at ease.
Lu Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "By the way, what did you just ask me?"
Liu Tan was stunned for a moment before he said, "I asked you what you wanted to eat."
Lu Xuan thought carefully and said, "I don't think there's anything I want to eat." He turned to look at Liu Tan and said, "The food here is so good, I'm a little reluctant to leave."
Liu Tan said, "No, I just wanted to get something new for my father. I couldn't think of anything new at the moment, but now I have thought of it."
Lu Xuan asked curiously, "What?"
Liu Tan said, "Hot pot."
"What?" For a moment, Lu Xuan doubted his ears. "Hot pot?"
Liu Tan nodded seriously. Lu Xuan couldn't help but say, "This... sounds very hot. Isn't this weather suitable?"
"Wrong, wrong, wrong!" Liu Tan said, shaking his index finger. "Hot pot is so enjoyable in the summer. But, of course, you can't just eat it like this. Otherwise, sweating while eating would be too much of a pain."
Lu Xuan asked, "Then how do you want to solve it?"
Liu Tan turned to look at Lu Xuan and said with a smile, "Keep it secret!"
Lu Xuan almost lost control of himself when he saw the cunning look on his face. It had been a long time since the two of them had been close to each other.
It has been two months since Liu Che arrived in the Northern Border Kingdom. Although they meet every day and occasionally hold hands or hug each other when there is no one around, that's all. There is no further intimacy.
Liu Tan was relatively okay, as he was busy and didn't seem unbearable, but the problem was that Lu Xuan had a lot of anger and nowhere to vent it, and he felt that he was almost at his limit.
As soon as Liu Che saw Lu Xuan's expression, he knew what he was thinking. After hesitating for a moment, he brought him to his own bedroom.
However, because they were in the Changshou Palace, the two of them did not dare to act too presumptuously. At most, they just helped each other.
After the two men cleaned up and calmed down, Liu Tan asked drowsily, "The emperor asked you to submit your expeditionary strategy before. Have you written it?"
Lu Xuan said softly, "It has been handed in. His Majesty didn't say anything."
Liu Tan didn't ask any further questions. After all, he was definitely no match for Lu Xuan in terms of fighting, so he simply asked, "When will we go to war?"
"Around the winter solstice."
Liu Tan's sleepiness was instantly driven away. He asked in surprise, "What did you say? When?"
"It may be around the winter solstice, it may be earlier or later, but it will not be earlier than the beginning of winter."
Liu Tan raised his upper body slightly, looked at him, and asked, "I say, it was already very cold at that time. How could we fight in the ice and snow?"
His action allowed Lu Xuan to immediately see the traces he had left behind. Unable to resist, his Adam's apple moved slightly. He reached out and pulled the man into his arms, his voice slightly hoarse, "It's okay, we just had to choose this time. And it can't be as cold as ice and snow. Where can there be snow?"
Liu Tan said, "Although it doesn't snow often here, whenever it snows it's a blizzard, a disaster. What do you think?"
Lu Xuan said, "But the more this happens, the more vulnerable the Huns will be, right?"
Liu Tan frowned slightly. In winter, the Huns would not take the initiative to provoke a war except to plunder the border because they did not have enough supplies.
Of course, if we were tougher, military rations would definitely be supplied, but the price might be that countless Hun civilians would die this winter.
If Lu Xuan's idea was to fight and consume the Xiongnu at the same time, it would be a good idea, but...
He still couldn't help but say, "But... can you do it there?"
Lu Xuan kissed him and said, "Of course, don't forget, I have the support of the big man behind me."
Yes, so what if the Huns have no supplies and insufficient food? The Han has it. Although the Han generally does not fight in winter, Liu Che will not interfere with Lu Xuan's choice of the time to go on the expedition.
As for the food and grass that Lu Xuan needs, Liu Che will try his best to provide them.
Liu Che’s request was very simple: if there was a chance, try to kill Wu Shilu.
Wu Shilu pays too much attention to Liu Tan and is too obsessed with him, which is not a good thing.
Even if Liu Tan didn't take Wu Shilu seriously at all, it was still a hidden danger.
Not to mention that when Lu Xuan was young and ignorant, he had thought about taking Liu Tan back to the grassland. Although Wu Shilu was not young, he had a problem with his brain.
No one knows whether he will suddenly have a seizure and bring a large army just to take Liu Tan back.
Shuofang City where Liu Tan was located was not too far from the royal court. Thinking of this, both Liu Che and Lu Xuan felt very uneasy.
When Lu Xuan submitted the strategy, he once asked Emperor Wu of Han why he did not change Liu Tan's title. In his opinion, although Emperor Wu of Han indulged Liu Tan, he was definitely not the kind of parent who would discuss the outcome with his child in such a dangerous situation.
Liu Che's answer at that time surprised Lu Xuan a little, not for any other reason, but because Liu Tan was more suitable here and could better intimidate Wu Shilu.
Yes, shock.
No matter how much Wu Shilu coveted Liu Tan, he didn't dare to act rashly now, because no one knew how many cards Liu Tan had in his hand.
But if someone else were in charge, the newly revived Shuofang City would probably become the Xiongnu's "granary" again, and Chang'an would also be threatened.
With Liu Tan here, Chang'an can feel more at ease.
Lu Xuan didn't say anything after hearing this. He knew that Liu Che's idea was correct. In the face of national interests, personal feelings sometimes need to give way.
Did Liu Che have feelings for Liu Tan? Yes, otherwise why would he come every year and even try every possible way to give Liu Tan more power?
It's because Liu Tan is capable, and also because he wants to give Liu Tan more protection.
But that's all. If Liu Tan had just arrived in the Northern Border Kingdom, Liu Che would have thought about finding him a better fiefdom, but now he has completely lost this idea.
Lu Xuan could understand, but still found it hard to accept.
But he didn't tell Liu Tan about all this. The only thing he could do was to suppress Wu Shilu as much as possible.
Therefore, they had no choice but to take a risky approach, otherwise how could Wusun compete with the Xiongnu?
Lu Xuan didn't want to talk about these unpleasant things with Liu Tan. Just as he was about to change the subject, he heard Liu Tan say, "In that case, I'll have to find a way to get you some easy-to-carry military rations. Well, after the emperor leaves, there's still some time before you go to war, so it shouldn't be a problem."
Lu Xuan smiled and said, "Okay."
After he finished speaking, he paused and asked, "You don't know yet, do you? I just received news two days ago that Junxumi is seriously ill and is said to have only a few days left."
Liu Tan twitched his ears and asked, "Is he really sick or poisoned?"
Lu Xuan smiled faintly: "Is there any difference? A poison that cannot be detected is a disease."
Liu Tan understood immediately after hearing this and said with some regret, "I thought it was Junxumi who was doing evil and even the heavens were helping Danyang. But it doesn't matter. Danyang will give birth in a few months. If something happens to him then, it will easily cause Danyang to lose her pregnancy. Now is the perfect time."
Lu Xuan said, "You can rest assured about this. Princess Danyang is not stupid. The child she is carrying is very important. Once Junxumi dies, this is the only child left in the royal family. Nothing can happen to her."
Liu Tan laughed: "Who said it was Du Miaomiao's? What if they come after you?"
Lu Xuan said, "Me? I'm fine now, who would want to clean up their mess? Danyang may seem prosperous now, but once she actually takes over, she'll know that it's completely rotten from top to bottom."
Liu Tan frowned: "In that case, we must prepare in advance."
Lu Xuan asked, "What preparations are you making? Are you going to ask them to do the same as I did? Have Princess Danyang ask for a title for her child?"
Liu Tan shook his head. "No, it's different. If there's no one over there who can take charge, as you said, why should the Han Dynasty grant them a throne? They should just merge into the Han Dynasty and become its subjects."
Lu Xuan was a little surprised: "This... I thought you wanted Princess Danyang to take power."
Liu Tan said, "That's what I thought before, but... Danyang is too reckless."
Liu Tan had a headache. He really didn't expect Danyang to be pregnant with someone else's child, which led to him having to get rid of Junxumi in advance.
You have to know that Princess Danyang has only been there for a few years and has not yet established a firm foothold there. According to Liu Tan's idea, Princess Danyang should at least gather most of the people there, keep those who cooperate, and kill those who don't, and then kill Junxumi when she is sure.
As a result, a child suddenly appeared, forcing them to act in advance. If Lu Xuan had not helped them in time, who knows what kind of trouble would have arisen.
In this situation, Liu Tan was worried that if he asked Danyang to control Wusun, he might even lose his life.
Lu Xuan said, "Don't expect too much from that side. They're currently engaged in a fierce internal struggle. To be frank, with their abilities, Princess Danyang is more than capable of handling them. Perhaps you're not aware that Princess Danyang has already arranged a marriage for her child? She already has the support of the most powerful family there, so there's no need to worry."
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