Liu Tan rarely saw Lu Xuan look so serious. Lu Xuan always smiled in front of him, whether it was a faint smile or a shy smile. In short, he would never let Liu Tan see his serious expression.
Maybe he was afraid that he would be too serious and scare people away.
However, at this moment, he didn't care about much else and pulled Liu Tan and said, "Follow me!"
Huo Guang also walked over quickly and said, "One of our scouts has been killed. Your Highness, we must retreat."
Lu Xuan turned around and said something to his knights, then turned to look at Liu Tan and explained, "I'll send some people to stop them, but they may not be able to stop them. You..."
Huo Guang decisively said: "We will also send a team of soldiers to join us!"
How could Huo Guang possibly put Liu Tan's safety in the hands of the Wusun people?
At this time, Huo Guang's strong coordination ability was demonstrated. They had already set up camp and everyone was relatively relaxed. Suddenly they were asked to leave and had to pack up their things quickly, which would definitely cause chaos.
But after the initial panic, everything soon became orderly again.
Miao Rui and Bigo quickly brought Liu Tan's horse over, but everyone was a little worried. It was fine to ride it for a while, but if he had to escape now, his highness's riding skills might not be enough.
Liu Tan knew what was going on and quickly said, "We have more people on both sides combined than them, right? Can't we beat them back?"
Lu Xuan didn't bother to be polite at this point and said directly, "You didn't bring any heavy cavalry. These people are well prepared. My men don't have much baggage with them. We can only hold them back for a while, but we may not be able to repel them. This place is not far from our Wusun people. Once we reach Wusun territory, I can mobilize troops to drive them away."
Liu Tan turned to look at Huo Guang. At this time, he felt that it would be better for him not to give any rash advice.
Huo Guang looked at Lu Xuan and asked, "Little Kunmi seems to know the identities of these people?"
It wasn't that he doubted Lu Xuan, it was mainly because Lu Xuan's reaction was too quick. When their scouts had no casualties, Lu Xuan had already started to let them pack up and prepare to run. It seemed that he knew the other party's identity, but why did he guess it?
Lu Xuan was very calm, speaking quickly out of anxiety, "These cavalrymen are from nearby small nations who have banded together to pose as bandits and specifically rob Han envoys."
Liu Tan was stunned: "What?"
Lu Xuan quickly continued, "Many countries in the Western Regions know that Han Dynasty envoys always bring a lot of treasure with them. For some small countries, that treasure could be several years' worth of tax revenue, so they came up with this plan. Why? Didn't the Han envoy report this?"
Before Liu Tan could say anything, Huo Guang said coldly, "They are afraid of your Majesty's wrath, so they dare not speak. As long as the result is good, your Majesty will not question how much money they spent."
Liu Tan frowned at first, then calmly said, "If they just want money, that's fine. Give them money!"
Jiang Chong was a little surprised: "Your Highness, if we give it to them, how can we get back?"
Liu Tan said, "Didn't Little Kunmi say that? These people may not necessarily kill them all."
Lu Xuan pulled him aside and said, "You can try, but it's best to be well prepared. I'm worried these people are coming for you. If they just want money, it's fine. Even if you give it all to them, it doesn't matter. I'm still here for you."
Liu Tan then remembered that his little money was nothing and the person in front of him was the real rich man.
And it’s not like he can’t pay it back!
As for favors, after tonight, they were already owed. They had already sent out more than half of their troops, which was equivalent to putting their own safety aside. If Liu Tan and the others had any bad intentions at this time, Lu Xuan would be almost defenseless and unable to resist at all.
This favor is so big, are you afraid of owing some money?
Liu Tan is very open-minded, but the reality is not so good.
Just as Huo Guang was having his men count their belongings and prepare to send them out, Lu Xuan's expression suddenly changed when he said, "Agamu!"
After he finished speaking, he ran towards the northwest. Only then did Liu Tan see a man lying on the back of a horse and being carried by the horse all the way.
It was not until he reached the fire that Liu Tan saw that the man had been running and bleeding all the way, with an arrow even stuck in his back.
Liu Tan's expression changed when he saw this: "Huo Guang, tell everyone to prepare to leave, and send more people over!"
This was the first time Liu Tan called out Huo Guang's full name, and he was indeed quite nervous.
Bows and arrows are extremely lethal weapons in any era, but they are also very expensive weapons that ordinary people cannot afford, let alone bandits.
According to Lu Xuan's previous statement, these people have been pretending to be horse bandits. If they want to pretend to be more convincing, they will not bring things like bows and arrows, because horse bandits cannot afford such things.
Now they have brought out bows and arrows, which shows that these people’s purpose is to kill people!
Don't say anything, just run.
Huo Guang's expression changed as he said, "But...sending more would not be enough to protect His Highness."
Liu Tan's expression was grim in the flickering firelight. "If I can't stop them, it's useless for them to stay by my side. Hurry! Tell them that I will do my best to treat the injured, provide for the disabled, and provide for the families of those who died in battle!"
Huo Guang took a breath. Not only him, but no one expected that Liu Tan would have such courage at this time.
There are hundreds of people after all, and their duty is to protect Liu Tan. Liu Tan doesn't have to do this at all. What's the difference between this and throwing money around?
However, Liu Tan felt that there was a huge gap between completing tasks perfunctorily and fulfilling obligations proactively. He did not expect these people to swear allegiance to him until death, but only hoped that they could stop the attacking "horse bandits" more often so that he could quickly deploy troops.
After Liu Tan finished speaking, he quickly got on his horse. He knew that if he stayed here, he would be useless except being a hindrance, and everyone would have to go to the trouble of protecting him.
After he mounted his horse, the knights who were responsible for protecting him also mounted their horses, and Lu Xuan, Huo Guang and others followed closely behind him to protect him.
But I don’t know if it was because the little white horse had never experienced this kind of thing, or if Liu Tan’s nervousness was transmitted to it, but Liu Tan was almost thrown off the horse after getting on the horse.
At that moment, Liu Tan felt a little regretful. He shouldn't have left the horse harness in Chang'an. At least he could have brought it out. Even if he didn't show it to others, he could use it at a critical moment!
The little white horse swayed, and Liu Tan subconsciously leaned forward and hugged the horse's neck, thinking with a gloomy face that he might become the first prince of the Han Dynasty to die from his poor riding skills.
He didn't blame the little white horse, after all, he was also very nervous.
Just when Liu Tan was about to tell Huo Guang and the others to go ahead, he suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing behind him. As soon as he turned around, he saw Lu Xuan riding his black horse towards him. After getting close to him, he reached out and put his arm around his waist.
Before Liu Tan could react, Lu Xuan used his waist and abdomen to lift Liu Tan up and transferred him from the small white horse to his own horse, and covered Liu Tan with his cloak.
Liu Tan was enveloped by the natural, floral fragrance of Lu Xuan. When he realized he was sitting sideways, he couldn't help but reveal his face from under his cloak and said, "This won't work! It'll only hold you back!"
Lu Xuan's response was to help him adjust his sitting position, allowing Liu Tan to sit on the horse in a normal position. He then lowered his body to protect him in his arms and said, "It's okay, Abu, you can do it. I believe in it, and you should believe in it too."
Liu Tan didn't say anything after hearing this, mainly because the horse was running too fast and the night wind was so strong that he could hardly open his mouth.
He turned his head with difficulty and found that the little white horse was running beside them. Now the little white horse had nothing on it and looked a little tired to follow.
Huo Guang's horse was pretty good and he followed very closely, but the rest of the people were not so good. It was obvious that Lu Xuan and he were the first echelon, followed by Lu Xuan's followers, then Huo Guang, and finally the guards protecting Liu Tan. As for Jiang Chong... Jiang Chong was at the back, and his horse was really not that good.
He didn't know if it was an illusion caused by his being too nervous, but he thought he even heard the sound of an arrow breaking through the air.
Liu Tan initially thought he was overthinking things, but when Lu Xuan pressed his head into his arms and he heard screams from behind, he knew it wasn't an illusion.
He couldn't help but gasp: "How many people are here? Even with so many of us, we couldn't stop him?"
Lu Xuan's voice sounded very calm in the night wind: "It's not a group. It seems they are well prepared."
Liu Tan was about to say something when he suddenly heard Lu Xuan groan softly. He looked up at Lu Xuan and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lu Xuan's expression remained normal. He even took the time to lower his head, smiled at him, and said, "It's okay, don't worry. Abu is very fast, we will be there soon."
Liu Tan suddenly remembered something and looked up and asked, "Where's the flare? Use it quickly."
That thing must be very conspicuous in the dark, so Lu Xuan's people can find it without them running over.
Lu Xuan coughed lightly and lowered his head to ask, "What is that?"
Liu Tan was stunned for a moment, then he remembered that there was not even gunpowder in those days, so where did the flares come from!
It would be priceless if he had known this earlier, otherwise he would have definitely made this thing!
Liu Tan was so angry that his teeth were itching. He made up his mind to do this when he returned. He didn't care whether it shortened the time of cold weapon rule. He was narrow-minded and could not look at the problem from the perspective of the entire human history. He just hoped that his own people would not be harmed.
What Lu Xuan called fast was really fast. They ran to the nearest town almost at the darkest time.
After a long journey, Lu Xuan's horse was gradually running out of energy, carrying two people. Lu Xuan turned around and ordered in a low voice, "Go and gather the troops first!"
A guard rode away quickly, and not long after, Liu Tan heard the sound of a horn being blown. In an instant, all the people in the town were awakened by the sound. The young and strong men quickly put on their clothes, took their weapons, and walked out leading their horses.
This was the first time Liu Tan had come face to face with the well-trained people of the Western Regions. No, it wasn't quite right to say they were well-trained, because their formations were not very neat and the clothes they wore were not consistent, but their rapid transformation from ordinary people to soldiers was shocking.
Even if he didn't want to admit it, he had to say that the Han people seemed to be inferior to him in this regard for the time being.
Those people came galloping on their horses to rescue their little Kunmi.
When passing by Liu Tan's team, these people were talking loudly but did not stop.
At the same time, Huo Guang coughed softly and said, "The pursuers seem to have retreated."
Liu Tan turned his head and indeed saw no trace of the pursuers, and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, he felt Lu Xuan's hand, which had been around his waist, suddenly loosen, and then he pressed his entire body against Liu Tan.
The author has something to say: Huo Guang: Don’t dare to lose the fifth prince, otherwise my whole family will be in trouble.
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