Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 19 Sima Qian

Huo Xian had several little followers around him, all of whom were from good families with clean backgrounds. These were the young men who accompanied him in practicing horse riding and archery, and their backgrounds were even more noble.

The so-called good family children are those who come from families other than doctors, witches, merchants, or craftsmen. In addition to being engaged in agriculture, good families are also required to have good conduct, good education, no family criminal history, and a certain economic foundation.

A good family requires people to be above the "middle class", which is the so-called middle class.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, platinum was the income of ten middle-class families.

One gold was equal to ten thousand coins. An adult slave was worth ten to twenty thousand coins. A horse was worth about six thousand coins, and a cow was worth about two to three thousand coins.

These good family boys can be said to be politically reliable and have no problems with their abilities.

"Your Excellency, I would go to Qimen Doctor to select the candidates directly." Chen Ju gave his opinion, "These people are also familiar with you, so just select the best one."

Qimen, in charge of the military guards. This is the imperial guards, which will be renamed the Huben Army in the future.

Zhao Hexi immediately raised an objection, "Although the Qimen are all good families from the six counties, there are only a thousand of them. In my opinion, we should ask the eight lieutenants for them."

Five years ago, Emperor Liu Che added eight colonels, namely, the colonel of Zhonglei, the colonel of Tunqi, the colonel of Infantry, the colonel of Yueqi, the colonel of Changshui, the colonel of Huqi, the colonel of Shesheng, and the colonel of Huben.

The Colonel of Tunqi was in charge of the cavalry; the Colonel of Infantry was in charge of the garrison troops at the gate of Shanglin Garden in the southwest suburbs of Chang'an; the Colonel of Yueqi was in charge of the Yue cavalry; the Colonel of Changshui was in charge of the cavalry in the northwest suburbs of Chang'an; the Colonel of Huqi was in charge of the Chiyang Hu cavalry, and was not permanently stationed; the Colonel of Shesheng was in charge of the Shesheng soldiers; and the Colonel of Huben was in charge of the light chariots.

These are also some of the most outstanding elite troops of the Han Dynasty today.

"Stupid, how stupid you are!" Feng Xu immediately despised his life-and-death brother, "Go to Qimen and the Eight Colonels to ask for people, that's fine. If you need to hire people in the future, will you hire old people? If you want to find someone, look for the nephews and nieces of those comrades in arms!"

Eight hundred people. Huo Xian's starting team consisted of eight hundred people. They were the people he trained and would follow him into battle in the future.

Therefore, the requirements for these eight hundred people are naturally extremely high.

When Huo Qubing went on his first expedition, he led 800 light and brave cavalrymen and marched hundreds of miles away from the main army, beheading and capturing 2,228 people, including high-ranking officials of the Xiongnu, such as the prime minister and the head of the household. He also beheaded Ji Ruohouchan, the grandfather of the Xiongnu Chanyu Yizhixie, and captured the Chanyu's uncle Luo Gubi.

Huo Qubing was awarded the title of marquis after one battle. He was able to achieve such a record because the 800 cavalrymen under his command were the elite among the elite.

Zhao Hexi also reminded at this time, "Sir, you must not only select those who dare to fight. The desert is vast, and it is often difficult to tell east from west. We must find some Xiongnu people who know the way. They can find the place to go and find water."

Chen Ju immediately agreed, "I've thought about this before. When I crossed the desert with the general, it would have been impossible without the Huns in the army."

There were many Huns in the Han army, and these surrendered Huns could also provide a lot of help to the Han army.

Getting lost is a serious crime, but missing the opportunity to fight is a minor matter.

Huo Xian also knew this, he didn't want to learn from Li Guang. It was just that his previous military foundation and survival methods might not be useful in the desert.

Therefore, there should also be some "locals" in one's own army, and one must look for those reliable and capable Huns.

Everyone was discussing it at once, and they all had extremely high expectations and requirements for Huo Xian's eight hundred elite cavalry.

We must select the best from the best to ensure our combat effectiveness.

As for the people from his own farm, we will not mention them for now, because those people are not included in the organization of the 800 elite cavalry. They are all Huo Xian's followers and personal guards, and there are different requirements for their training, etc.

Huo Xian was in a good mood and said, "We need to think about this matter carefully. Now let's have a good banquet. An Guo, I will call you to my house in two days. I have to entertain those friends."

Zhao Anguo immediately said, "Don't worry, my Lord. They will all come to the banquet. They all want to make achievements with you, and they are very ambitious!"

This is not Zhao Anguo's way of flattering, he is speaking from his heart.

Even though Zhao Anguo's father was a marquis, there are differences between marquises.

In the eyes of some people, the Marquis of Xuye was already unattainable, but Zhao Po Nu and Zhao Anguo, father and son, also wanted to get close to Huo Shan. Although the people who practiced riding and shooting with Huo Shan were from good families, they were far inferior to Zhao Anguo. And by following Huo Shan, he would naturally get more opportunities to join the army.

If Huo Xian had the opportunity to lead troops to war in the future, these former companions would most likely become officers under his command. By then, the opportunity to make achievements would come, and they might even be awarded a title of nobility or a general.

In today's Han Dynasty, every good man wants to gain military merit.

Not to mention those from good families, even knights, criminals, etc., all desire to gain military merit.

Just when everyone was still rejoicing, a servant came hurriedly to report, "Sir, the Grand Historian wants to see you."

Huo Xian was stunned. Grand Historian?
The previous Grand Historian of the Han Dynasty was Sima Tan, who died of illness on the way to Mount Tai. Now, Sima Qian has just taken over the position of Grand Historian, reading the books collected by the royal family and starting to collect historical materials.

Huo Shan's feelings towards Sima Qian were rather complicated.

The significance and greatness of "Records of the Grand Historian" are there, and it is not at all Huo Shan's turn to evaluate them.

However, this young man from an aristocratic family looked down on foreign relatives like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing. He looked down on them from the bottom of his heart, and even despised them.

Sima Qian wrote in the "Records of the Grand Historian" an article called "Biographies of Favored Officials", which recorded: "Since then, most of the favored officials in the palace were from the families of the imperial relatives, but they were not numerous. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were also favored because they were relatives of the imperial relatives, but they were quite talented and able to advance themselves."

"Biographies of Wei General and Hussar" are combined into one biography. If it were just that, it would be fine. After all, there are many other famous generals and ministers in "Records of the Grand Historian" who have two biographies combined into one.

However, the biography of General Li focuses on Li Guang's wit, bravery, integrity and generosity, as well as his unfortunate experience of not being awarded a title despite his merits and being forced to commit suicide, creating the image of a tragic hero.

It is definitely unrealistic to say that Sima Qian did not mix in personal emotions when writing "Records of the Grand Historian". Li Guang, who was not appreciated for his talent, was suppressed and even deliberately humiliated by the emperor and Wei Qing, so that "Li Guang was difficult to be promoted" became an eternal regret.

As for Gongsun He, who had been stripped of his title, Sima Qian's evaluation was "He Qi was a general, but he did not achieve much in his attack on the Xiongnu."

But compared to Li Guang, Gongsun He's military achievements are real.
Huo Xian was thinking about something and said, "Anyone who comes is a guest, please come over."

The thin Sima Qian has not yet been implicated by Li Ling and is still a complete man.

Sima Qian was aloof and proud, but he was also polite. "The Grand Historian Sima Qian greets the Marquis of Guanjun."

Huo Xian smiled and asked, "Grand Historian, if you are not going to compile history books, what are you doing here?"

Sima Qian said, "My father was involved in the formulation of the Fengshan ritual officials, but he was stuck in Zhounan due to illness and could not continue. He was resentful because of this, which made his illness worse. I succeeded as the Grand Historian and inherited my father's will. I dare not make any omissions in compiling history books."

Huo Xian probably understood what Sima Qian meant, and asked directly, "Do you want to ask me about the Fengshan ceremony? Many officials from the court are accompanying him, so just go and ask him."

Sima Qian asked directly, "Earlier, when your majesty was on tour, there were officials and soldiers in Zhongyue who heard that he shouted "Long live your majesty" three times. Is this true?"

This is the origin of "Long live the king three times". Sima Qian also expressed doubts in the Records of the Grand Historian.

Huo Xian asked directly, "Go find the officials at that time. They know better."

Sima Qian suppressed his dissatisfaction and asked again, "Your Majesty, you performed Fengshan in Mount Tai. What is the Fengshan book?"

Huo Xian said directly, "I don't know, I don't remember."

Sima Qian asked again, "After the enshrinement ceremony, your Majesty went up Mount Tai alone with you to perform the enshrinement ceremony, and the next day we went down from Mount Tai. Your Majesty, you were at the enshrinement ceremony, and no one else knew about it. If your Majesty didn't tell me, how could I compile the history book?"

Huo Xian looked at Sima Qian leisurely and said, "Grand Historian, I have some good feelings towards historians. Cui Zhu killed his lord, and Cui Zi killed him. His younger brother took over the record, but two people died. His younger brother also wrote, so he was abandoned. When Nan Shi heard that all the great historians were dead, he took the bamboo slips and went there. When he heard that the record was finished, he returned."

Looking at Sima Qian, Huo Xian continued, "Your record of history is your business, and I have no right to interfere. But you have to make things difficult for me just because you record history? If you don't know, don't say anything. As for the Dengfeng Ceremony, just remember 'I climbed Mount Tai alone with the Minister of the Interior and performed the Dengfeng Ceremony.' Why ask about other things?"

Without waiting for Sima Qian to speak, Huo Xian said directly, "Show him away."

(End of this chapter)