Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 199 Selfishness
As for the preparations for the upcoming war, etc., the Han Dynasty court must be fully prepared. Only by being more fully prepared can they be more confident.

The window of war is getting narrower and narrower. Everyone knows that the Han Dynasty is not as wealthy as it used to be, so it needs to concentrate resources in order to be more confident in the next war.

Liu Che was in a good mood. He looked at Huo Xian and asked, "Take a good rest these days, and then find something to do."

Huo Xian immediately had an idea and said, "Your Majesty, I will train the troops first and fight against the powerful."

Seeing that the emperor's face was about to change, Huo Xian quickly said, "Your Majesty, those powerful people in Lingyi are really outrageous. Some of them are too rich. I will raise some military funds when the time comes."

Liu Che immediately said, "No! You are the Grand Marshal and the General of the Cavalry. How can you do such things? You used to be young, but now it is inappropriate to do this!"

Huo Xian immediately said, "Your Majesty, I am only twenty-two, so what if I am a little young and frivolous?"

"That's not appropriate!" Liu Che said earnestly, "Now who cares whether you are twenty-two or thirty-two? Now those people only know that you are the Grand Marshal and the General of Cavalry!"

Huo Xian thought it made sense. "When I did something in the past, others just thought I was young and impulsive. Now, although I am still young and unstable, I just have the identity of Grand Marshal and General of Cavalry, which is inappropriate."

Just when Liu Che felt that Huo Shan had finally made progress, he gave up hope the next moment.

"Your Majesty, I will definitely save face. I will arrange my men to do these things!" Huo Xian said confidently, "It would be disrespectful for the Grand Marshal and the General of Cavalry to arrest the tyrants. It would be respectable for them to go!"

Liu Che didn't want to say anything. Huo Xian had been like this since he was a child. With or without the identity of Grand Marshal and General of Cavalry, there wouldn't be much change.

Huo Xian continued to talk nonstop, "Your Majesty, you know me well. I can't sit still. If you don't find me something to do, I can't just watch Chu Wu and eat, drink and have fun in the mansion all day, right?"

Liu Che immediately said, "What about the court? Can't you go to the court? How long do you want me to protect you?"

Huo Xian said shamelessly, "It doesn't matter if I don't attend the court. The military affairs are going smoothly. If I were to take care of things, I would definitely make a mess. Your Majesty, it's not that I'm lazy. What will happen if I go to do things?"

After hearing what Huo Shan said, Liu Che fell silent. He seemed to think that this might not be an exaggeration.

Huo Xian continued, "Your Majesty, if I were in charge of the military, the southern and northern armies might be doing well, but the border troops and county soldiers would have a hard time. With my personality, I would definitely train and evaluate them every day."

Liu Che felt a little horrified. If Huo Xian had some "ambition", the resentment in the army might increase sharply immediately.

The Han army has some training and assessments every year, and this should not change. There are definitely benefits to doing so, as it can maintain the army's combat effectiveness.

It's just that the young disciple taught by Liu Che himself was also ambitious by character. Moreover, he was thinking about wars everywhere all day long, so everything he did was in preparation for war.

If he were really asked to manage the daily life of the army, there would be no doubt that the scene would be even more exaggerated.

There would be no problem letting Huo Xian lead the troops to fight, as this kid could win battles. However, it seemed that he only knew how to fight, not how to train troops or manage the daily affairs of the army.

This is the difference between Huo Shan and Wei Qing. Liu Che was naturally very clear about these characteristics.

Huo Xian continued, "I wanted to go to court before, but I didn't have the patience. If an official said to stop the war or something like that, I might have started to curse him in court, and I might even have come to blows."

Liu Che was silent for a long time before he said, "If you really go to the court, you need to control your temper."

"Your Majesty, I can't restrain myself!" Huo Xian said firmly, "I endured it when I was in power, but after I leave the court, I might find a reason to fight back!"

Liu Che gave up again. He didn't think Huo Shan was exaggerating. If he really did these things, it wouldn't be surprising. This was Huo Shan's character. He had been like this since he was a child.

Even if you think about it, it might have been better when you were a child. At that time, you were just following the emperor. You were just a marquis who inherited the title. You were simply favored by the emperor and were a close minister to the emperor.

Now that Huo Xian has military merits to his name, the way people in the court and the public view him has naturally changed. He is no longer just a close minister.

Liu Che thought for a moment and said, "Forget it. The general is still here, so you don't have to do some things. But judging from the general's physical condition, you can't be free and easy for long!"

Huo Xian said with a playful smile, "It's better to be free for one day. Anyway, I have the protection of the elders now, so there is no need for me to block them!"

Since Huo Xian had said so much, Liu Che was speechless, and it seemed that this was indeed the truth.

Huo Xian now has the title and military merits, and even his age is not particularly sensitive. It seems that he does have some reasons to go to court or take over power.

But the emperor is still relatively healthy now, and Wei Qing can also try his best to hold the situation, so naturally it is not the turn of a junior like Huo Shan to step forward.

With these elders around, it doesn't matter if Huo Xian is idle, not to mention that he has some skills.

After finishing his meal with Huo Xian, Liu Che waved his hand and said, "Go to the Queen. You've been away for more than half a year, and she's been worried about you. Wuyou is also there now."

Huo Xian said somewhat unhappily, "Even if I go, I won't be able to see my son. Your Majesty, I still think it's better to leave the palace. No one outside the palace dares to say anything about my arrangements!"

Liu Che snorted coldly, "I know that you will be unruly if you leave the palace, so Wuyou can't leave the palace easily! Keep her in the Queen's care first, and then take her out of the palace when she grows up. If I really follow you, I will definitely learn to be unruly!"

Huo Xian didn't take it seriously, and naturally became numb after being told so many times. In front of the emperor, he was always so disrespectful and heartless, which could also be understood as being arrogant because of the emperor's favor.

Huo Xian strode out of Jianzhang Palace, swinging his sleeves, and took a detour to the Pepper House Hall of Weiyang Palace via the flying bridge.

"Aunt, I'm here!" Huo Shan said before she even arrived, "Let me take a look at Wuyou, and see if the child looks like me!"

A female official stepped forward and said quickly, "My lord, the young lord hasn't woken up yet. It would be bad if we really startled the young lord. Please keep quiet!"

Even though he was used to being disrespectful, Huo Xian also had some sense of propriety, so he stopped shouting loudly. It really wasn't good to disturb the child, as that was his son he had never met!
Wei Zifu walked out of the bedroom and said with satisfaction, "After all, you have a son and you know how to love him. If you really don't have some rules at this time, I will teach you a lesson." Although it was a little embarrassing, Huo Xian didn't care too much. He had been told too many times. Besides, this was not completely a criticism, there was still a certain amount of praise.

Seeing that Huo Xian was silent, Wei Zifu said, "I thought you had made some progress in the past few years because you have been fighting outside so often. Now I see that it is hard to change your nature!"

"If I really change, I won't be myself anymore!" Huo Xian sat down lazily and said, "Aunt, I think it's hard for a person to change his personality all of a sudden unless something big happens or he is too scheming."

Seeing Huo Xian's confident words, Wei Zifu said with a smile, "You see it clearly. You know the reason, but you just can't do it, right?"

Huo Xian nodded firmly. I understand the general principles, but it is unlikely for me to put them into practice.

Huo Xian didn't joke around and said, "Where's the Crown Prince? I wanted to talk to my uncle about something."

"He went to Bowang Garden. If you don't fight this year, go to Bowang Garden." Wei Zifu arranged, "Your prestige in the army is getting higher and higher. Those who want to join you can only go to your uncle."

Huo Xian immediately said in dissatisfaction, "How can you count it like this? Those who go to Bowang Garden are all here to support my uncle. My uncle is the crown prince, and I am just a subject!"

Wei Zifu said, "All those who want to join the army want to make achievements. If they can win battles with you and be awarded titles and become generals, they will naturally want to join you. But you never form a clique, so those people can only find other ways."

The words may be rough, but the logic is there. This interpretation seems to make sense to some extent, and it seems to be the case.

Liu Che and others were very confident in Huo Shan, in large part because Huo Shan seemed to just want to be a general and was not very interested in other things.

If he raised his arm and called for action, there would really be a lot of people who would join him and want to follow this champion marquis to achieve great things and become a marquis or a general.

Huo Xian smiled and said, "There must be a lot of people available under my cousin's tutelage. Although many of them are not well-known scholars, they are capable people after all."

All other schools of thought were abolished and Confucianism was the only one respected. Now the status of Confucianism is getting higher and higher, and the path for Confucian scholars to enter the official career is wider. This is the prominent school of thought in the Han Dynasty.

But this does not mean that other schools have no chance, especially some neglected schools that are now trying to reverse their decline, so naturally they will go to the prince's school.

Wei Zifu sighed and said, "Your uncle doesn't have much to do. He seems to accept people who are unorthodox, but he likes Confucian scholars after all."

These are actually completely understandable, because no matter what kind of doctrine it is, rulers often care about whether those doctrines can be used by them and whether they can contribute to their rule.

There is a reason why Confucianism is favored by the emperor nowadays. The bottom line is that compared with other doctrines, some of Confucianism's doctrines are more conducive to governance.

It is true that Liu Ju now has some disciples from other schools, but that does not mean he supports other schools.

Huo Xian didn't take it seriously and said, "Aunt, doesn't my cousin have a chief eunuch and a doctor in his hands now?"

Seeing Wei Zifu shaking her head, Huo Shan could only sigh. Liu Ju's position was very stable, but he did not have any military power. The only thing he had with military power was the relationship between Wei Qing and Huo Shan.

But everyone also knows that Wei Qing and Huo Shan are the emperor's men, and Prince Liu Ju does not even have the most basic guards for the crown prince of the Eastern Palace. This is the emperor's attitude.

"Tan Jie will definitely be promoted to the position of Nine Ministers or the Governor of a County this time, but he has become more complicated in the past few years outside." Huo Xian said, "I was going to talk to my cousin about this matter."

Wei Zifu suddenly became serious. Tan Jie was the prince's disciple and seemed to be one of Liu Ju's most reliable generals in the future.

If this person gets out of control, it will definitely be a big blow to Liu Ju.

Huo Xian explained, "It's normal for someone to be ambitious and join his uncle's school. It's just that as his official position gets higher and higher, he has more and more things to think about."

After hearing what Huo Xian said, Wei Zifu could naturally understand it. This was actually the situation. People's desires and pursuits were constantly changing, which was also very easy to understand.

Wei Zifu thought for a moment and asked, "Can this person still be used?"

"I have a military mindset and don't like court affairs." Huo Xian said with a smile, "Tan Jie will definitely be useful in my uncle's hands, but I plan to transfer him to my uncle Wei Kang's side."

Wei Zifu probably understood and said with a smile, "Then you should experience more. Your uncle will surely understand this. Now that you have really returned, it will be difficult to place you."

Huo Xian whispered, "That's what I'm afraid of. Now that he's done something great, he's in a hurry to return to Chang'an. He doesn't even think about his cousin's situation."

Wei Zifu smiled and said, "You think your uncle's position is stable now, and you are afraid that you will be replaced. But don't you think that if you really have the ability, you will still be afraid of being replaced?"

Huo Xian disagreed and said, "That's not right. It's more reliable to use our own people. When I fight outside, I just like to take An Guo with me, but An Guo is not a great general."

It takes three to make a fence. Huo Xian did not necessarily select people based on their merits when hiring. Sometimes, he also appointed people based on personal connections.

Wei Zifu said with some worry, "Xian'er, although I don't know much about the affairs of the court, I also understand that there are no reliable generals now."

Huo Xian also understood these situations. "It's a bit exaggerated to say that there are no generals in the court. There are still many people who can be used. There will always be people who can be trained. I don't think we need to worry too much about this matter."

It is a reality that there are no generals in the court, but this also means that there are no real talented leaders, so there is no need to worry too much.

Huo Xian continued, "As long as we defeat the Xiongnu, we won't have to fight large-scale battles in the future. By then, it won't matter much even if we don't have a general."

Wei Zifu looked at Huo Shan. She felt that what Huo Shan said made sense. After defeating the Huns, there was no need for the court to continue launching large-scale battles.

But if you think about it carefully, this might also be Huo Xian’s selfish motive!
(End of this chapter)