Chapter 649 [1st update]
Liu Tan was stunned for a moment. This development was truly unexpected, but he quickly recovered and asked, "What's the situation now?"
The messenger's expression seemed indescribable: "His Royal Highness the King of Wusun is preparing to rescue people."
Liu Tan was filled with questions. "Why save them? Wait, is the entire camp lost? What's going on over there now? Forget it, I'll go check it out myself."
He had too many questions, and he didn't understand many things unless he saw them with his own eyes.
Liu Tan led his men all the way to the Xiongnu camp. From a long distance away, he saw the light reflected by the sunlight on the water.
When he arrived, Lu Xuan immediately approached him and asked, "Why are you here? It's a bit dangerous here, we don't dare to go near."
Liu Tan stretched his neck to take a look. The camp had become a vast ocean, and it seemed as if there was no end in sight.
He asked in bewilderment, "Did I blow up a lake?"
Lu Xuan also looked at him in surprise: "You don't know?"
Liu Tan said helplessly: "I don't know. They didn't say they found any water when they were digging the tunnel before..."
At this point, Liu Tan paused. This... it didn't seem to be his men's fault that they didn't discover it. The main reason was that the desert was a special place, and the soil couldn't hold water at all. However, the entire desert was not completely without water, otherwise there wouldn't be such a thing as an oasis. It's just that the water generally flowed underground, and there were even underground lakes.
If Liu Tan guessed correctly, he probably blew up the underground lake this time.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh and said, "Ah, these Huns are really unlucky. They actually chose a place with an underground lake as their camp."
Lu Xuan remained silent. Even if this kind of thing were given to him, he wouldn't dare to say that he could escape.
To be honest, the location of Youguduhou's base was quite good. It was open all around, so if the enemy army wanted to launch a surprise attack, they would be easily discovered. The soil was hard, and there were sand dunes nearby, so if there was a strong wind and sand, it would not be easily buried. If Lu Xuan were asked to choose from nearby, he would definitely choose this place.
Of course, the most important thing is that Yougudu Hou might have dug out water here. Since there is water, there is a high possibility that there is an underground river or underground lake.
However, they are generally underground rivers, and underground lakes are very rare. I don’t know whether to say that they are lucky or the Huns are unlucky.
Lu Xuan sometimes felt that things like a nation's destiny were truly mysterious.
Liu Tan didn't think about the issue of national destiny. He just wanted to know how many Huns could escape.
To be honest, this time it was really a matter of chance and coincidence. If Liu Tan had aimed at the tent of Yougudu Hou at the beginning, he might have only placed gunpowder barrels under his tent. In that case, it would be highly likely that no underground river would be created. Even if Liu Tan placed a few more gunpowder barrels to create an underground river, it would not be so easy to flood the entire Xiongnu camp.
As a result, Liu Tan ordered his men to place a circle of gunpowder barrels along the Huns' camp, which directly blew up the entire area, causing all the Huns to fall.
The water that now flooded the Hun camp was murky and had an ominous red tint, and no one knew what was going on.
In the end, Lu Xuan and Liu Tan could only have people guarding the surrounding area and capture any Huns who came up.
As for sending someone over to check… forget it. The ground here has been blasted loose, what if it collapses again? They've already won, so it's not worth sacrificing their own people over such a small matter.
On the way back, Liu Tan and Lu Xuan were at a loss for words. After returning to the camp, Liu Tan thought for a moment and asked, "Is this area also the Yougu Duhou? Next... are we heading straight to Dragon City?"
When saying this, Liu Tan felt a bit dazed. Isn't this... a little too smooth?
Lu Xuan seemed to know what he was thinking. He stroked his hair and said, "Although there are few Xiongnu cities on the map, since most of their people are still nomadic, we may encounter other tribes along the way, and... King Zuo Tuqi will definitely not give up."
Liu Tan curled his lips and said, "So what if he refuses to give up? I don't know where Li Xi and the others are now."
As Liu Tan said this, his subordinates quickly reported, "Your Highnesses, Captain Li has captured the Right Bone Marquis!"
Both of them were stunned. Liu Tan asked in surprise, "Is he still alive? Ask Li Ling to bring him here."
After the messenger went down, Liu Tan was puzzled. "His tent was in the middle. Logically... he should have suffered the most. How come he survived?"
To be honest, Liu Tan had already given up hope of finding the body of Yougu Duhou.
With such a large collapse, people would most likely be crushed to death by the sand or other objects like tents on the ground when they fell. Even if they were lucky enough to survive, since few Huns could swim, they would be drowned if not crushed to death. The Hun warriors on the periphery must have been blown to pieces because they were the first to touch the gunpowder barrels.
If we really have to talk about luck, the soldiers who were at the farthest point from the explosion and not too close to the center might have been better off.
Li Ling came over quickly, holding a half-dead and wet guy in his hand. If Liu Tan hadn't told him, he would have thought he was holding a water monkey.
Li Ling's face was flushed with excitement. He didn't expect that he was so lucky. He couldn't help but look towards the lake out of curiosity. As a result, he saw someone floating on the water holding a wooden barrel. When someone pulled him over, Li Ling knew that this was Yougu Du Hou as soon as he saw the other person's clothes. It was simply a merit sent from heaven.
Although the greatest contributions were undoubtedly made by the King of the North and the King of Wusun, but... the merits of these two were of little use. According to Liu Tan's previous habits, he would basically divide the merits among them and strive to have everyone be granted a title.
Li Ling did not expect to be granted a title of nobility this time, after all, luck played a big role. However, there were still many battles to come, and if he accumulated some experience, maybe... there would be hope?
Everyone in Chang'an City knows that it is difficult for Li Guang to be granted a title. In fact, it is not just his grandfather Li Guang. The entire Li family seems to have always been lacking one thing, that is, they cannot be granted a title of nobility. If he can be granted a title of nobility... then he will definitely bring honor to his family!
Li Ling gently placed the man on the ground. Yougu Duhou had no strength left and it was unknown whether he was injured or not. But he could not kill this man. A living Yougu Duhou was much more useful than a dead one.
Liu Tan took a closer look and immediately had Yougu Duhou taken away for treatment. He then patted Li Ling on the shoulder and said, "You are lucky, kid. Wait, I will write a letter to the emperor right away."
Li Ling grinned and didn't mind Liu Tan saying that he was lucky. He was just lucky.
Anyway, his prince said that luck is also a kind of strength.
Liu Tan turned around and wrote a letter to Liu Che. This time he did not write a memorial, mainly because... he really didn't know how to write it. How could he write in the memorial seriously that he originally just wanted to blow up the Huns' outer camp to reduce their number first, but ended up blowing up an underground lake and killing everyone?
To be honest, writing something like this in a memorial makes people wonder if it is just self-boasting. How could it be such a coincidence?
Seeing that he hadn't written a memorial, Lu Xuan knew what he was hesitating about and said with a smile, "I'll submit the memorial."
Liu Tan hesitated for a moment and said, "Then...don't write too exaggeratedly."
Lu Xuan responded and lowered his head to start writing, while Li Ling continued to watch his men rescue people to see if they could get some Xiongnu generals. After all, a mosquito, no matter how small, is still meat.
After Liu Tan finished writing the letter, he put it away. Lu Xuan had just finished writing and handed it over, saying, "Take a look at this and see if it works. If it does, you can make a copy."
Liu Tan took it and read the first sentence, he couldn't help but stand in awe. Lu Xuan's Chinese was getting better and better. This was not referring to daily communication. In daily communication, if you didn't look at Lu Xuan's appearance and only listened to him speak, no one would think he was a foreigner.
This is good because Lu Xuan also learned written language very well, especially the rhymes were very neat and there were almost no mistakes.
Moreover, the narrative throughout the article is appropriate. Not only does it make things clear, but it also learns Liu Tan's habit and praises Liu Che.
Well, yes, Lu Xuan directly attributed the smooth progress of the war to Liu Che in his memorial, believing that Liu Che was far-sighted in agreeing to the Northern King's expedition against all odds, and that with the gods' blessing and the prosperity of the country, such an accident occurred.
After reading it, Liu Tan gave Lu Xuan a long look and said, "You truly are a promising talent for the imperial court."
Lu Xuan seemed a little embarrassed: "There are still many places where the writing is not good, please revise it."
Liu Tan quickly said, "No need, this is very good. If you expand it a little, it can even become a good short fu."
I felt a little sad when Liu Tan said this. He had been in the Han Dynasty for so many years, but he was still clumsy in writing memorials. As for fu... it was okay to ask him to comment on them, but forget about asking him to write them.
As a result, he is still not as good as Lu Xuan. Could it be that this thing really needs to be taught from childhood?
Lu Xuan was very happy to hear him say this. In his heart, Liu Tan's praise was definitely more useful than anyone else's.
Liu Tan immediately took the memorial and letter and prepared to send someone to bring the Right Bone Capital Marquis to the capital. Lu Xuan was a little surprised: "Aren't you going to copy it?"
Liu Tan stared at him: "Do you think my father can't see it?"
Liu Che knew very well what kind of writing he did, right? Even if he copied it, Liu Che could tell at a glance that someone else must have written it for him. This wasn't a congratulatory letter or something that had to be submitted in person, so it wouldn't be the same no matter who wrote it.
Lu Xuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty has just finished offering sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. I'm afraid he'll have to do it again."
Liu Tan sighed after hearing this and said, "What a pity! If I had known earlier, I would have let my father spare Zuo Gudu Hou's life so that they could form a pair."
Lu Xuan: ...
He felt that Zuoyou Gudu Hou probably didn't want to be a pair like this.
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