Chapter 611 [Second Update]
On the day the vanguard of the army arrived in Liaoxi County, Liu Tan put everything aside and waited there, ready to weigh the other party's identity and character first.
However, when the general came in to pay his respects, Liu Tan stood up in amazement and asked, "Why is it you?"
The man in the hall was still kneeling on one knee: "Your servant Li Xi pays homage to the King of the Northern Territory."
Liu Tan quickly got down from his seat, helped Li Xi up, and said, "I didn't expect it to be you. Weren't you guarding Golden City before? Who have they sent there now?"
Li Xi was also clearly very excited, his face flushed as he said to Liu Tan, "Your Highness... Your Highness, I never imagined that the Golden City would be handed over to a newly promoted general. Please rest assured, Your Highness."
Both of them subconsciously ignored the fact that Li Xi was not a vassal of the Northern Border Kingdom, so strictly speaking he could not be called a vassal.
In fact, Liu Tan was not worried. Before, the Golden City was isolated, so a capable general was needed to guard it. Now the Colonel's Mansion and the Protectorate Mansion have been built there. Even if they are not fully built, there are still many soldiers stationed there to work. In addition, with Lu Xuan and Princess Danyang there, who would dare to touch the Golden City?
Perhaps it was because of this that Liu Che was able to let Li Xi leave with peace of mind.
Liu Tan pulled Li Xi to sit down and said, "You guys kept it a secret from me for too long. If I had known this would happen, I would have brought Li Buyan out."
Li Xi smiled and said, "I want to give Your Highness a surprise."
What a surprise. Liu Tan had wondered why Liu Che's edict had not come down yet. Even if he was allowed to lead the troops, he would need someone to assist him. He never expected that there was such a surprise.
Li Xi shook his head and said, "Li Buyan is also burdened with an important responsibility now, so let him guard Shoujiang City well."
Liu Tan's brows relaxed as he said, "Since it's you, I'm relieved. I'll leave the fighting to you and the rest to me."
Li Xi immediately bowed and said, "I have come here to assist Your Highness and would not dare to interfere in your affairs."
Liu Tan said calmly, "You know my situation. I can't fight."
Li Xi was helpless: "If His Highness says he can't fight, then how many people in the Han Dynasty can fight?"
Liu Tan sighed, "In the past, I relied on something special to win battles. Honestly, it was just superior armaments. But now... I'm a bit hesitant. Liaodong County is in the hands of the enemy, and our people are in their hands. We can't be so simplistic and crude."
Li Xi felt relieved. To be honest, he had studied Liu Tan's fighting style before. Even though he was close to Liu Tan, he had to admit that Liu Tan's way of fighting was too simple and crude.
When facing the enemy head-on, it means launching three rounds of long-range attacks and then letting the soldiers reap the rewards.
As he said, the weapons he has are the best. The crossbow has a long range, and there are hand crossbows for close range. The bow is also equipped with a sight, which reduces the talent requirements a lot.
Moreover, even the armor of their soldiers was much better than that of the enemy. If the enemy slashed them, they might just feel a little shocked, but if they slashed someone else, the person would either die or be crippled.
This time, Li Xi had thought about how to persuade Liu Tan on the way. This war is different from previous ones, and we have to take it easy.
Fortunately, His Majesty knew everything. Li Xi said with a look of relief, "In this case, we have to take a long-term view. The weather is getting cooler here, so it's not suitable for a major war. But if we wait until next year, we have to properly place these soldiers."
Liu Tan waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about that. Construction of the city has already begun."
Li Xi was stunned for a moment: "Build a city?"
Liu Tan immediately had the blueprints of the new city brought over and said, "Take a look at it and make changes if you're not satisfied."
Li Xi: ...
How could he be dissatisfied? Looking across the entire world, there was no one who could match his Highness in terms of construction projects. If his Highness didn't make a move, it would be fine, but if he did, it would definitely be the best.
The buildings and houses on the blueprint were all very neat, and even though Li Xi didn't have much ambition in that regard, he still liked them very much.
He hesitated and said, "Isn't this... a bit of a big deal?"
Could it be that His Highness is not optimistic about this expedition? He thinks it will be a protracted war?
Liu Tan said, "You've seen what Liaoxi County is like along the way. It's perfect for them to use this city as a new city after the war. It won't be a waste."
Li Xi couldn't help but sigh after hearing this: "I had heard that the situation in Yan State was not good before, but I didn't expect it to become like this."
Before the Qin Emperor unified the six kingdoms, Yan State was considered one of the powerful countries. Although many years have passed, it is still a bit sad to see it become like this now.
Liu Tan said, "It's useless to say anything. I can't pull Liu Dan out of the ground and kill him again. All I can do is see how to develop the Yan State. But let's not talk about that for now. I just wrote a letter to my father before you came. We'll find a place to build a deep-water port later."
Li Xi was stunned for a moment: "Deepwater Port?"
Liu Tan nodded. "Look at the map. I think we can definitely land by sea. The Wuhuan will definitely not expect us to take the sea route. We might be able to catch them by surprise."
Li Xi was completely numb. This was a bit beyond his knowledge.
He had fought all the battles on land in his life. When had he ever fought a naval battle?
He smiled bitterly and said, "This... I dare not say for sure. If Your Highness wants to fight a naval battle, why not ask His Majesty to dispatch a few warship commanders?"
If it were any other time, Li Xi might be eager to give it a try. He couldn't say that he was invincible on land, but he was also a relatively powerful general in the world. If he wanted to go further, he would either have to meet a powerful opponent or come to his senses.
Of these two points, he didn't want to encounter the first one, and he also knew that the second one was unlikely. At this time, expanding his professional scope would be a good choice.
Unfortunately, this time they are fighting against the Wuhuan, and the leader is the King of the Northern Territory. If he loses the battle due to his lack of experience, it will affect the reputation of his highness.
He himself doesn't care. It's not like he hasn't lost a battle before. Winning and losing are common in wars.
But the King of the North is different. His Highness has never lost a battle, so everyone around Liu Tan subconsciously wants to maintain this hard-earned achievement.
Liu Tan himself didn't care much about it. He didn't even know that his subordinates had this idea. If he knew, he would probably be amused and confused.
After hearing what Li Xi said, he realized belatedly that the Han Dynasty actually did have a navy. The commander of the navy was called a tower ship general. However, there were very few navy soldiers and this position was not often filled. The rank of a tower ship general was not very high. The people Liu Tan had been in contact with for many years did not belong to this class, so he subconsciously ignored this point.
However, if another general of the tower ship comes, he may become the main commander.
The one leading the troops now is Li Xi, and he certainly cannot go back, but if he chooses to go on the sea, then he will have to rely entirely on the general of the tower ship.
Without knowing the other person's character, Liu Tan didn't want to place all his hopes on him.
So he thought for a moment and said, "It's not a naval battle. The Wuhuan people don't have warships, so how can we fight a naval battle? We are at sea and they are on land. How can we fight? I just want to land from the sea and catch them off guard. If that doesn't work, we can always withdraw from the sea."
Li Xi agreed with what he thought. There wasn't even a large lake in the entire Wuhuan territory. There was a river, but that river was mainly used for their survival.
After they occupied Liaodong County, it became the only land near the sea in their territory. It is estimated that these people do not know much about the sea for the time being.
Li Xi's heart moved. Although he was far away in the Western Regions, he often communicated with Chang'an. He had heard that His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory had created a particularly wonderful tower ship, but he had never had the chance to see it. Maybe this time he would have a chance.
Li Xi looked down at the map and said, "That's all... I'm afraid we'll have to select a few soldiers who can board the ship."
Although traveling by sea is just a different method of transportation, if someone who gets seasick gets on board, their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced even after they get off the boat.
Liu Tan said, "That's perfect. I've already sent someone to bring a boat over. Since we don't want to start fighting anytime soon, let's just train first."
Li Xi asked, "Will it alert the enemy?"
Liu Tan pointed to a location on the map and said, "Let's go to Guangyang County. There's also a sea there, and it's quite far from Liaodong County. The Wuhuan people definitely won't be able to find it."
Li Xi nodded and said nothing more. For now, they just decided on a general strategy, and many things would have to wait until next year.
Liu Tan checked the time and said, "Let's set up the dinner. You can rest after dinner. Tomorrow I'll take you to see the military equipment. It's not a lot, and at most it can only arm about 10,000 to 20,000 people, so we have to select elite troops."
When Li Xi heard the word "armament", his eyes lit up and he wanted to go over and take a look without even eating.
Liu Tan was very familiar with this kind of look. Li Buyan and the others were all very nice when they were in Chang'an, but after arriving in the Northern Border Kingdom, they actually learned the bad habit of fighting for armaments. Every time they heard that Liu Tan had something new, they would have this expression and look.
Well, Li Buyan is quite similar to his father, so Liu Tan got a headache when he saw Li Xi's expression and said directly: "No one is competing with you for the armaments, you should eat your meal first!"
Li Xi smiled somewhat embarrassedly. After hearing these words, he felt relieved and behaved much more honestly. Of course, this was mainly because he was worried that if he did not listen to the Northern King's words, the Northern King would take back the armaments. What would happen?
During the meal, Liu Tan casually said, "Come to think of it, the governor of Guangyang County seems to be a relative of yours."
Li Xi looked bewildered: "Huh?"
Liu Tan suppressed a smile and said, "I heard him say that in terms of seniority, he seems to be your grandfather's generation."
Li Xi: ???
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