Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 133 Hold him steady

Liu Che, who was thousands of miles away, received the report again and was obviously very helpless.

He was surprised that Huo Shan went to Lingju, but he was not particularly surprised. After all, the Queen and the Crown Prince had sent people to stop him. If Huo Shan hadn't run away, Liu Che would have been disappointed.

Liu Che was not satisfied even after calling Wei Qing, Gongsun He, Gongsun Jingsheng and others, so he asked the crown prince to come and broaden his horizons as well.

Throwing Huo Xian's report directly into Gongsun Jingsheng's face, Liu Che cursed, "I made you the Grand Coachman and entrusted you with important tasks, and this is how you raise war horses?"

Gongsun Jingsheng immediately knelt down and confessed his guilt with great fear and trepidation, "I know my crime."

Liu Che was amused, "Okay, tell me, what is your crime?"

Gongsun Jingsheng was immediately speechless. He didn't know where he was wrong. He was scolded as soon as he was summoned. He didn't know the reason. But according to the past practice, when His Majesty was angry, he must make his attitude clear and admit his mistakes first.

"Look, take a good look at it!" Liu Che was really angry. "You have lived forty years in vain! Even Shan'er understands this truth, but you, the Imperial Household Manager, don't understand it. You disappoint me so much!"

Gongsun Jingsheng became even more anxious. Huo Shan and the emperor must still be angry with each other. If it wasn't a big deal, he would definitely not write a memorial directly. It is said that Huo Shan ran away for more than half a year and only wrote two memorials to the emperor, and they were all about official business and important matters!
Not only Gongsun Jingsheng was a little panicked, Gongsun He was also panicked. That kid Huo Shan must have seen something!
Gongsun Jingsheng hurriedly flipped open the memorial and started reading it, his face growing paler and paler. "Your Majesty, I acknowledge my guilt!"

"Others should also take a good look!" Liu Che was helpless and proud, "Shan'er is loyal to the emperor and the country after all. If Shan'er hadn't been concerned about important matters, Tianma would have been almost destroyed by this idiot!"

Gongsun He was on the verge of collapse. Everyone knew how much the emperor valued Tianma. But his own son almost destroyed Tianma. This crime could not be redeemed by a fine alone!
Wei Qing and Liu Ju were also a little panicked, because Gongsun He and Gongsun Jingsheng were also members of the "Prince's Party" after all.

The trembling Gongsun Jingsheng could only kneel down and plead guilty. He did not dare to scold Huo Xian, but felt lucky. After all, Gongsun Jingsheng was too lazy to care about some things in the horse farm, and thought that his subordinates should just follow the old ways.

But now, something almost went wrong, and he, as the Grand Coachman in charge of horse affairs, cannot escape the blame!
Liu Ju and Wei Qing also read Huo Shan's memorial one after another, and their faces did not look very good.

It's not that they have much complaints against Gongsun Jingsheng, but they all know Gongsun Jingsheng's ability. Gongsun Jingsheng has always been a person who does not seek merit but only seeks to avoid mistakes. In the position of Taifu, he just follows the rules of Xiao and Cao.

Gongsun He and his son Gongsun Jingsheng were both of similar character. One of them was prime minister and the other was imperial coachman, but they did nothing. They just acted as the emperor's yes-men and continued some of the previous policies.

The Han Dynasty now has countless war horses, but with the previous domestication methods, even if the Han Dynasty has obtained many excellent horse breeds, it is difficult to solve the problem of quality of the Han Dynasty's war horses.

Liu Che was extremely serious and said, "Since ancient times, there have been people who are good at judging horses. There are also some talented people who know how to breed war horses. What Shan'er said is very good. If there are no good horse breeds, should I send someone to Dayuan again?"

No one else dared to answer. More than 7,000 hard-earned Pegasus horses were almost destroyed. The thought of it made people terrified.

Liu Che looked at Wei Qing and said, "I don't trust anyone else for this matter, so the general should call someone to discuss countermeasures. Once you have decided on a solution, come back to me."

Wei Qing did not refuse. Although he seemed to be unemployed now, he still had to contribute when something important happened.

Liu Che pointed at Gongsun Jingsheng and said, "Shan'er is your cousin, yet he is so outstanding. You are the elder, yet you are so incompetent, how dare you be honored as a minister?"

Gongsun Jingsheng quickly apologized, "I am incompetent, please dismiss me from my position as the Imperial Household Official."

"Forget it." Liu Che warned sternly, "For the sake of the crown prince, I'll spare you this time."

Liu Che then looked at Liu Ju and asked, "Has Xian'er written a letter to your mother?"

"Xian'er said he was going to Guyan Pass, so he should have arrived by now." Liu Ju said helplessly, "Looking at this season, Xian'er won't be able to come back this year."

Liu Che rubbed his temple, feeling very tired. "Juyan Pass, this kid is still thinking about fighting the Xiongnu. This time he went all over the border, I'm afraid he was investigating the route out of the border."

"Your Majesty, I think Shan'er might also be selecting generals." Wei Qing took the initiative to speak, "In my opinion, now that he has returned, we should discuss the dispatch of troops."

Liu Che was even more exhausted. "Every one of them is a problem. My Grand Marshal, the General of the Cavalry, only cares about fighting. The envoy I chose actually went to kidnap the Queen Mother of the Xiongnu. Great! They are all very capable!"

Some inertia of history is still very strong. Originally, it was Su Wu and other envoys who went to the Xiongnu. On the surface, both sides released the detained envoys and showed some goodwill.

But it is hard to say about the moral character of the Han envoys. This time, Su Wu's deputy envoy Zhang Sheng, together with the Xiongnu King Gou and the Han traitor Yu Chang, hit it off and prepared to kidnap the Xiongnu's "Queen Mother". This was no trivial matter.

As a result, the plot was leaked, Xiongnu King Gou was killed in battle, Yu Chang was captured alive, and Su Wu almost died. However, Zhang Sheng, who was the one who caused the trouble, decisively chose to surrender.

This made Liu Che very angry. It would be the best if the task was completed. However, if the task was not completed well, the most important task of gathering intelligence would be delayed, which would not be worth the loss. Liu Ju, Wei Qing and others could not say much. Many envoys of the Han Dynasty were killed in recent years.

The previous example is Nanyue and Dayuan, both of which killed Han envoys. Although the Xiongnu did not kill Su Wu this time, they imprisoned and detained him, and the Han Dynasty could not send troops immediately.

Liu Che continued, "General, if Shan'er comes back, you can just scold him first. The time is not yet ripe, so you should calm him down for now."

Liu Ju and the others nodded in agreement. No one else could control Huo Xian. Only Wei Qing, who was a little stronger, could keep him under control.

Wei Qing thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, if I want to keep Shan'er stable, I'm afraid I can only use the method of leading troops. If I really rush him, I'm afraid he will run away again."

This time Liu Che was silent. He had always disliked Huo Shan learning military tactics from others, not even from Wei Qing.

The expressions of Liu Ju and others were hard to describe. This time, they made a scene and ran away in anger. Everyone felt that Huo Shan was hot-tempered and willful.

Although Huo Xian respected the general, he dared to contradict even the emperor, let alone others.

This is a donkey that is obedient and not easy to be ordered around. He will stop working if he is not satisfied. The more he is beaten, the more stubborn he becomes. He works especially happily when his temper is followed.

Noticing Liu Che's expression, Wei Qing quickly explained, "I will not teach Xian'er the art of war easily, I just want to calm him down for the time being."

"That's fine." Liu Che smiled and said, "Go back and tell my sister and ask her to find some prescriptions. Shan'er is old enough, and having a son might help him grow up."

Wei Qing and others thought this might be a good idea, but no one had the confidence. Back then, there was a Huo Qubing who was still very flamboyant even after he had children.

After letting the others leave, Liu Che asked, "General, if we are to send troops next year, when do you think it would be appropriate?"

"It will only be possible after spring, but in autumn the Xiongnu's horses are fat and strong." Wei Qing said with some concern, "What I am most afraid of is that the Xiongnu will flee and it will be difficult to fight them then."

This also touched the heart of Liu Che. It was impossible to fight in winter, and even spring was not suitable because the Han people's horses were relatively weak.

In addition to seasonal factors, there is also the habits of the Huns. Without a real settlement, it is not easy to annihilate the main force of the Huns in one fell swoop.

After fighting with the Huns for so many years, it was only the Battle of Mobei that year that barely forced the Huns to mobilize their entire army for a decisive battle.

"Yes, we have to find a way to force the Xiongnu to fight." Liu Che was also quite annoyed and said, "After Shan'er comes back, one is to use military tactics to stabilize him, and the other is to discuss the war with him more."

Wei Qing considered carefully before saying, "Your Majesty, I think it won't be difficult to keep Shan'er stable. If we gradually mobilize some troops, he won't act rashly in the next one or two years."

Liu Che also laughed, "This is also a method. Although this child has a bad temper, he can still keep his composure in major events."

Huo Xian obviously didn't know that someone in Chang'an was already worrying about him. He was still discussing the art of war with Lu Bode and reviewing the process of the Mobei Battle that year.

The most important thing is the route. Although Liu Mo and others have also experienced it, their understandings are different.

Liu Mo and others were loyal and reliable, but they were only personal guards. Lu Bode was one of the generals leading the army and had rich combat experience.

Only by being more fully prepared can we have a better chance of winning the next battle.

Even when facing the increasingly weakening Xiongnu, Huo Shan did not dare to be careless.

"Sir, it would be best if we could bring the infantry to the Xiongnu territory," Lu Bode said. "Given the capabilities of our Han infantry, it will be difficult for the Xiongnu to charge into the enemy lines."

Huo Xian naturally understood this point. The strength of the Han army was not only the personal military accomplishment of the soldiers. The most important thing was the quality of the weapons. It was a fact that the Huns could not withstand the rain of arrows and crossbows of the Han army.

But it is not easy to deploy troops over long distances. Infantrymen have to rely on their legs to travel thousands of miles, which makes them extremely weak. The Xiongnu are not Dayuan. Even the current Xiongnu can easily gather 100,000 cavalry.

It is not easy to let the Huns take the initiative to attack and jump into the pocket formation set up by the Han army!
"We should first find a way to drive the Xiongnu together!" Huo Xian was also worried. "If we annihilate them one by one, the court can't afford it. With 100,000 troops outside, it will be too difficult to solve the problems of baggage and so on."

The Han Dynasty can’t afford a protracted war!
Only by gathering the Huns together can we create the conditions for a decisive battle!

(End of this chapter)