Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 13 Own People

After visiting Shi Qing, Huo Xian returned to the Marquis of Guanjun’s Mansion. He had many more visits to do.

But someone in the palace said, "Sir, the son of General Xionghe is waiting in the palace."

Feng Xu immediately cursed, "What son of General Xionghe? That's Zhao Shaojunhou!"

"He lost his title, so what?" Liu Mo couldn't help but retort, "Old Zhao is also confused, he lost the title he had earned after risking his life!"

The Xiongnu General is Zhao Po Nu. He was appointed as the Xiongnu General last year. He led more than 10,000 cavalrymen to attack the Xiongnu thousands of miles away, but returned without success when they reached the Xiongnu River.

After escaping from the Xiongnu and returning to the Han Dynasty, Zhao Po Nu was first the Sima of the General of the Cavalry, and later promoted to the General of the Eagle Strike, and then was granted the title of Cong Pu Hou. From the title of this title, we can know that he was the deputy general of the Grand Sima and General of the Cavalry Huo Qubing.

Huo Xian did not exchange pleasantries with Chen Ju and the others, and jokingly said, "You take Uncle Feng back first, I will go find An Guo."

Chen Ju immediately followed Huo Shan. Liu Mo and Zhao Hexi began to scold Feng Xu, saying that he had to join in the fun and couldn't even get off his horse!

A teenage boy was sitting in the main hall, eating fruits and daydreaming. This was Zhao Anguo, the son of Zhao Po Nu.

Zhao Anguo was very happy to see Huo Xian, "My Lord."

"Brothers, there's no need to be polite." Huo Xian looked at Zhao Anguo and asked, "Why aren't you in the mansion?"

Zhao Anguo smiled innocently, "I heard that the Lord was out of the palace, so I came here in a hurry. Why didn't the Lord call me when he went to pay tribute to the general last time?"

Huo Xian explained, "Time is tight, so I didn't have time to call you. Is Uncle Zhao okay now?"

Zhao Anguo said helplessly, "What good can it be? We fought to the Xiongnu River but couldn't find the Xiongnu. We returned empty-handed and are now very angry."

Huo Xian consoled him by saying, "Uncle Zhao will be reinstated as a marquis sooner or later, and he can make more military achievements. We will need troops in the next few years, so Uncle Zhao has a chance to be reinstated."

Zhao Anguo was anxious and asked quickly, "Lord, is it too late to go to Dongyue now?"

"It's too late. The war has to stop." Huo Xian said with a smile, "Weiwei Lu Bode attacked Lingnan as General Fubo with General Louchuan Yang Pu and others. This battle was naturally successful. Then General Louchuan joined forces with Lieutenant Wang Wenshu and General Henghai Han Shuo to attack Dongyue. How could Dongyue resist?"

Zhao Anguo said angrily, "That Lu Bode is not a good person! All the people on this trip are the general's subordinates, but he got involved!"

Chen Ju immediately chimed in, "I think he is unreliable, and his son is even less reliable!"

It seems that these people in Huo Xian's mansion all have complaints about Lu Bode. However, among the main generals who pacified Nanyue and Dongyue this time, most of them were once captains under General Wei Qing, except for Lu Bode, who was considered a general under the Grand Marshal and General Huoqi in the eyes of many people.

Huo Xian smiled and looked at Zhao Anguo, "What is your current position?"

"Lang Wei." Zhao Anguo said immediately, "My father-in-law was deposed from his title, and Your Majesty has shown mercy and appointed me as Lang Wei."

Langwei was under the jurisdiction of Guanglu Xun and was also one of the emperor's imperial guards.

Huo Xian thought about it carefully and said, "I will transfer you to the Bingwei. I am also on duty there now."

Zhao Anguo was immediately excited when he heard this, "My Lord, I will immediately ask for permission to go to the Weiwei and take over your duty."

Huo Xian found it funny and said, "You don't have to be like that. My duties are different from yours. You still have to do your duty well after you go to the Weiwei. Then I can help you to intercede and try to get a military position as soon as possible."

Zhao Anguo was smiling happily, and Chen Ju and others did not think Huo Xian was exaggerating.

If you really want to help Zhao Anguo seek a military position, it would be a bit difficult to get a general or a colonel, but it should not be a problem to get a Hubenlang, Qimenlang, etc.

Even with Zhao Anguo's background, he could normally be promoted. But with Huo Xian's help, it would definitely be a lot easier. Huo Xian became serious and said, "I'm practicing horse riding and archery, you should also practice horse riding and archery well. Privately, pay attention to finding some fourteen or fifteen-year-old men who are good at horse riding and archery. Do you understand?"

Zhao Anguo immediately stood up and saluted solemnly, "I understand. I will definitely live up to your trust."

Zhao Anguo was only fourteen or fifteen years old, still a young man. Huo Xian was even younger, so it was a bit of a compliment to call him a young man, an older child would be more appropriate.

Now Huo Xian wanted to find a group of 14 or 15-year-old "playmates", which was not a small matter in the eyes of many people. Especially those who were good at riding and shooting were more targeted.

Zhao Anguo was kept for dinner before being allowed to return home.

After Zhao Anguo left, Huo Xian said to the four generals, "I will be out of the palace for only ten days. You can make arrangements. I will go to the farm to check it out when the time comes."

Chen Ju and others immediately became alert. They were all soldiers and family generals. It might not be appropriate to call them private soldiers. But if Huo Xian wanted to lead troops to war in the future, all the young and strong people in the farms would be mobilized.

They will be Huo Xian's personal guards, and when the battle becomes stalemate, they may be needed to charge into the battle line at the risk of their lives.

Although the four great generals all lived in the Guanjun Marquis's Mansion, their relatives were either serving in the army or working on the farm. There were also some old soldiers who followed Huo Qubing in the past, who were said to have retired from the army, but this was also related to the military service of the Han Dynasty.

The Han dynasty inherited the Qin system, stipulating that all men, regardless of social status, had to register with the government at the age of 20. In addition, according to the principle of three years of farming and one year of storage, they would be required to serve in the army from the age of 23 until the age of 56.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, land annexation became increasingly serious, and a large number of small farmers went bankrupt and fled. Many wealthy families had the privilege of being exempted from military service. In addition, wars were frequent and the demand for soldiers was huge. The effective conscription system in the past could not be carried out normally and could not meet the needs of war, so the recruitment system was also implemented.

In addition, soldiers from exiled states, slaves, and vassal states were also widely used. This is also the case when Li Guangli attacked Dayuan in history, he brought 6,000 vassal cavalry, as well as various rangers and prisoners.

Chen Ju said at this time, "My Lord, we should go to the General's Mansion to pay a visit tomorrow."

"Do I need you to tell me that?" Huo Xian scolded with a smile, "By the way, prepare some ironware and recruit some craftsmen in the mansion."

In the early Han Dynasty, the emperor advocated governing by inaction, implemented a policy of recuperation, opened up private enterprises, and adopted a laissez-faire policy towards salt and iron, making the merchants who ran salt and iron businesses richer than kings and princes.

But now it has become a salt and iron monopoly, and a state monopoly system has been implemented for salt, iron and wine, and the operation of salt and iron has been taken over by the government and implemented as a monopoly. This is because the profits from salt and iron are too great, which is extremely important for the country's taxation.

Liu Mo asked, "Sir, what do you need the iron and craftsmen for?"

"Can I also make weapons privately?" Huo Xian joked with a smile, "But it doesn't matter if I make a few magical weapons, as long as I don't make armor."

Feng Xu was angry and yelled at Liu Mo, "Your Excellency should know how to act. Why do you care so much? There are so many people out there wearing swords and sabers. What's wrong with your Excellency making a few weapons?"

The Han Dynasty did not prohibit the wearing of weapons, and the prevalence of martial spirit was not just talk. When many prisoners and knights heard about the opportunity to go to war, they followed in large numbers, just to seek military merit.

Huo Xian was a little puzzled, and looked at Feng Xu and the others, "Uncle Feng, you guys quarrel every time you see each other, don't you get tired of quarreling?"

"My Lord." Feng Xu became serious and said, "They are really unreasonable. When they followed the general before, they never said anything nonsense. They just did what the general said. They are just bullying you because you are young. You have explained the matter to them, but they are still making excuses! My Lord, you must take me with you when you lead the troops to fight in the future. As long as you give the order, I will rush forward even if it means mountains of swords and seas of fire!"

Chen Ju and the others were stunned for a moment, and cursed Feng Xu for being such a bastard. It's okay to want to show off, but don't dig a hole. What do you mean by bullying the young prince?

Huo Xian was not angry, he just watched with a smile. These four family generals were his true confidants, if anything happened, these four people would risk their lives to protect his safety.

These are not just people who can block the knife, but in order to protect him, these four people are willing to abandon their families and relatives.

Such a family general is hard to come by at a high price!
Therefore, Huo Xian didn't care that they had no rules, because these four generals could be regarded as the masters of the Guanjun Marquis' Mansion!

(End of this chapter)