Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 207 Joke
Huo Xian felt a little pressured, he knew that Wei Huo also needed to consider restraining himself, it was because Wei Huo was too powerful nowadays, they couldn't just keep trying to be in the limelight.

It’s not that they are declining after reaching their peak, it’s simply that being too strong is not a good thing, after all, they are subjects.

After being criticized intentionally or unintentionally by Liu Che, Huo Shan went back to sleep, as there were still many things that needed to be discussed later.

The new day started with Huo Xian sleeping until he woke up naturally, and then he ate breakfast leisurely. He didn't need to think about going to court or handling official business. He was almost in a state of idleness.

But no one said anything. His state was considered normal by everyone. Needless to say, this Marquis of Guanjun was just a rich young man in Chang'an when he was fighting.

Huo Xian went straight to the Pepper Palace. Some things needed to be discussed carefully with Wei Zifu.

Seeing Huo Xian coming, Wei Zifu said directly, "I still have some things to deal with. Go talk to the prince."

Everyone else had a lot of things to do, and the current queen didn't need to worry about any palace fighting. Although she seemed to have fallen out of favor, her position was still stable and she was deeply trusted by Liu Che.

As a queen, Wei Zifu naturally had a lot of things to deal with. A queen is not just a decoration, nor is she just there to give birth to children and be busy with palace fighting. The queen of the Han Dynasty had considerable power.

Huo Xian asked curiously, "Aunt, is there anything urgent now?"

Wei Zifu smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. I'm just looking at Tang Muyi's affairs now."

The so-called Tangmu Town in the Zhou Dynasty referred to the fiefdoms granted by the emperor to the princes when they came to pay homage to the emperor, where they could stay and fast and bathe.

But in the Han Dynasty, this became a private town where the king, empress, princesses and other recipients of titles collected taxes.

Wei Zifu's Tangmu Prefecture had forty counties, which was almost the size of an entire county, more than some princes.

Wei Zifu was a person who had both military power and wealth. Her Tangmu County had a population of nearly 70,000 people. The land taxes she collected from these people made her the richest woman in the world.

What's more, he also controls part of the military power of the armory and Changle Weiwei.

Huo Xian also understood it clearly, "Aunt, can I get an additional fief this year?"

"You should go to His Majesty about this matter. How can I know all this?" Wei Zifu saw that Huo Xian did not leave, and said helplessly, "You have a lot of fiefs. Do you really want to have a fief of more than 20,000?"

Huo Xian said nonchalantly, "Give it to Wuyou. I was afraid that my fiefdom would be too large, and it would be bad to exceed that of my uncle. It was only when Your Majesty reduced my fiefdom that I felt relieved."

Wei Zifu smiled and nodded, saying, "You have too many fiefs, and you are not very old. If you continue to be granted fiefs like this, 20,000 households will not be enough. You can't really become the marquis with the most fiefs in the Han Dynasty!"

Marquis Wanhu, this is a legendary title.

The first marquis of ten thousand households was Xiao He, the first meritorious minister of the Han Dynasty. Although Liu Bang said that he would give Zhang Liang 30,000 households, Zhang Liang would not choose to take 30,000 households. That was simply too much. A tall tree attracts the wind.

Huo Xian joked, "Luckily I have Wuyou now, otherwise I would have wanted to defile myself and made mistakes after coming back this time."

Although this is a joke, it is very reasonable. It is because he has too much fiefdom. Continuing to develop it is definitely not a bad thing, but it will not be a particularly good thing either.

As I said, a tall tree attracts the wind. There is no need for Huo Xian to do such a thing.

Wei Zifu smiled and said, "Wuyou is the real rich man. When the army returns in a few days, he should be granted a title of nobility. Your title of Champion Marquis is different. You inherited Qubing's title, while Wuyou granted himself a title of nobility."

This is of course a joke. Huo Xian's status and title all came from Huo Qubing.

The reason why Huo Wuyou was able to be granted the title of marquis was simply because he was Huo Shan's son and because Huo Shan had recently made great contributions.

Huo Xian asked curiously, "If Wuyou is to be given the title of marquis, what title will he be given?"

Wei Zifu smiled and said, "Your Majesty seems to have intended to give Wuyou a special title of marquis. I don't know."

Normally, the marquis of the Han Dynasty were named after places. Huo Qubing, Huo Xian, and Wei Qing were all from Pingyang, Hedong County. However, the Marquis of Pingyang in the Han Dynasty was Cao Shen, and the current Marquis of Pingyang is Cao Zong.

Therefore, it is normal for the emperor to use his literary talent to establish a new title of marquis, such as Marquis of Guanjun, Marquis of Bowang, etc. These were all created by Liu Che, and he also established a special official position for Huo Qubing.

Huo Xian suddenly smiled and said, "That's fine too. When the time is right, Wuyou's title will definitely be lost, and he will have to inherit the title of Marquis of Guanjun."

Wei Zifu also smiled but said nothing. The reason why Huo Wuyou was given the title of marquis now was because Huo Xian's "merits were so great that it was difficult to be given a title", and it seemed that there was no more title that could be given to him, so Huo Wuyou had to share the burden.

But when the time comes, Huo Wuyou will definitely lose his title, just like Wei Kang and others were deposed shortly after being conferred the title of marquis. But that doesn't matter.

The necessary procedures still have to be followed. Even if they lose their titles, it will not affect their status and future.

Huo Xian said with emotion, "It is because of your majesty's grace that I am so rich and my son has been granted a title of nobility at such a young age."

Huo Xian continued, "Aunt, don't you think that the three highest officials in the court are all occupied by me, Wei Huo? In the past, I was only the head of the military commanders, but now I am the head of all officials."

The term "Three Dukes" has a long history. It is said that this term already existed in the Zhou Dynasty and these official positions were established in the Qin Dynasty. However, after the Qin Dynasty, these three most honorable official positions began to develop in the direction of honorary positions.

In Qin, the prime minister, the general, and the imperial censor were the three highest officials. In Han, the prime minister, the great marshal, and the imperial censor were the three highest officials.

Wei Zifu also became serious and said to Huo Xian, "Did you hear anything?"

Huo Xian said, "My cousin Wei Kang is now a marquis and a general guarding the border. I will definitely take over and command the troops of the whole country. And my cousin Gongsun Jingsheng is now a minister of the nine ministries."

Wei Zifu became more serious and said, "You also know that there are not really only twelve people among the three dukes and nine ministers."

There is nothing wrong with this statement, because some people are just promoted and given a nice-sounding honorary title, which does not mean that they have any real power.

Huo Xian naturally understood these principles. "I know that many of those who fought with me were given titles of prefect or nine ministers. It's just a nice title, not really asking them to do anything." Wei Zifu stared at Huo Xian and asked seriously, "Tell me, did you hear something? Or does Your Majesty think this is inappropriate?"

Wei Zifu never doubted Huo Shan's positions. She knew that Huo Qubing and Huo Shan, father and son, had always been the most powerful assistants of Crown Prince Liu Ju. The father and son were the emperor's lonely ministers, but they only had one crown prince in their eyes.

Moreover, Huo Xian had always been by the emperor's side, and even Wei Zifu and Liu Ju would sometimes deliberately try to win her over.

The reason was very simple. Wei Zifu had fallen out of favor, and the emperor was naturally wary of Liu Ju, the crown prince.

Many people think that the people who understand the emperor's mind best are Huo Xian and Chuntuo, who remained calm and knew everything before.

"It's not your Majesty who thinks it's inappropriate, it's me who thinks it's inappropriate." Huo Xian said bluntly, "My Wei and Huo families are too glorious, and everyone is in a high position. I'm afraid some people don't know how to advance or retreat."

Wei Zifu immediately began to think. She didn't need to worry about her brother Wei Qing, as he had always been a very cautious person. Anyone could make mistakes, but Wei Qing would definitely not.

The same goes for Wei Qing's three sons. Although Wei Kang and others were not capable, they had good family education and were basically well-behaved.

There is no need to talk about Huo Xian. This child is very capable and intelligent. He looks a bit like a dandy, but no one thinks that this child will touch the emperor's bottom line. He knows how to please the emperor too well.

Where is my brother-in-law Gongsun He?

This is also quite reassuring. Although his ability is not particularly outstanding, he is not mediocre either. Moreover, he is not too daring. If the emperor had not forced him to do so, Gongsun He would never have been appointed as prime minister.

So after counting the circles, only Gongsun Jingsheng is left, who is an out-and-out member of Wei and Huo. Don't think that just because his surname is Gongsun and his father is the prime minister, the head of all officials, he can set up his own faction.

In the eyes of most people, Gongsun He, the nominal head of all officials, is actually not as good as Wei Qing and Huo Shan. The prime minister is just a decoration!
Wei Zifu asked coldly, "What did you hear outside? Is Gongsun Jingsheng arrogant and domineering outside, or is he corrupt and committing crimes?"

"I can't say he's domineering, but I can say he's corrupt." Huo Xian also became serious. "The root of my revenge is still Uncle Gongsun."

Wei Zifu's expression suddenly changed. She was too lazy to ask about Huo Shan's trouble with Tao Hou. She also believed that Huo Shan could handle these things. There was really no need to ask too much about it.

But now that I heard that the source of this incident was because of Gongsun Jingsheng, I have to take it seriously. This is actually some internal conflict within Weihuo!
It was said that the general and the general of the cavalry were not on good terms, or that their subordinates liked to fight for power and disliked each other. But what was unexpected was that Gongsun suddenly broke the balance.

Huo Xian did not hide it and said, "He is the Imperial Horse Master, in charge of the empire's horse affairs, so he is naturally in a high position with great power."

Wei Zifu naturally knew that the status of the Nine Ministers was already very prominent. In a dynasty like the Han Dynasty, horse policy was one of the most important and fundamental policies.

Huo Xian smiled and said helplessly, "The conflict between Tao Hou and I was just because of the grass cutting. My cousin sold the pasture that the court opened to the common people to Tao Hou."

In an instant, Wei Zifu's face turned pale. She couldn't believe that Gongsun Jingsheng was so bold. She couldn't believe that the son of the prime minister and the Grand Coachman of the Nine Ministers could be so short-sighted!

Huo Xian was not surprised to see Wei Zifu's shocked expression, because when he knew these secrets, he had mixed emotions for a while, and was a little bit unbelieving.

He is worthy of being the person who embezzled military funds in history. There is nothing he dare not think of, and even less anything he dare not do.

Wei Zifu immediately looked at Huo Xian and asked, "Does Your Majesty know about this?"

"If Your Majesty didn't know, you wouldn't have urged me to go back to the capital intentionally or unintentionally." Huo Xian said shamelessly, "I am going to seek revenge aggressively, which is a joke in the eyes of Your Majesty!"

Wei Zifu's face became even uglier. This time, not only Huo Shan was embarrassed, but the entire Wei and Huo groups were extremely embarrassed.

"Your Majesty is watching right now. His Majesty's attitude seems ambiguous, and I can't guess." Huo Xian said irritably, "But if we don't give an explanation for this matter, it will definitely not work."

Wei Zifu nodded and said, "If you want an explanation, I will take off my hairpin and plead guilty immediately."

This is also Wei Zifu's attitude. It would be fine if she didn't know these things, but since she knew them, she had to express her opinion.

After all, Gongsun Jingsheng was not only the imperial steward, but also the nephew of Wei Zifu. In fact, in many cases, what everyone cared about was Gongsun Jingsheng's status as a relative by marriage.

Huo Xian said, "Aunt, please don't rush to see His Majesty. If I'm right, His Majesty will definitely not see you."

Wei Zifu could only sigh. Since she grew old and her looks faded, it was obviously not so easy for her to see Liu Che. She had gradually gotten used to it over the years.

Wei Zifu then looked to the side and said to the maid, "Call the prince to visit the Marquis of Changping's mansion. If the general is in good health, let him enter the palace."

Wei Zifu couldn't leave the palace easily, so naturally she had to let Wei Qing in. Such a big thing must be discussed with Wei Qing.

Huo Xian looked at Wei Zifu, then sighed and said, "I went to the Prime Minister's Mansion yesterday and met my great aunt. I was embarrassed to speak at that time. If things don't go well this time, I won't be able to visit her again in the future."

"It's not your fault, it's really Gongsun Jingsheng who is such a jerk!" Wei Zifu said with a sullen face, "I thought he also contributed to sending away the horses of Marquis Tao, and I thought he was venting your anger!"

Wei Zifu now has every reason to feel angry, not just because what Gongsun Jingsheng did was so shameful.

It is also because if he had dealt with these things in time when they first occurred, he would not be in this situation now.

However, Gongsun Jingsheng just wanted to deceive as much as possible, and he deceived almost everyone, making people think that this was a contradiction and conflict between Huo Shan and Liu Ziwei, and had nothing to do with him!

Huo Xian smiled bitterly and said, "After this time, Uncle Gongsun and I will definitely have no more contact. I have no choice but to do this."

After hearing what Huo Shan said, Wei Zifu felt that Gongsun Jingsheng was really hateful. Some of the things that idiot did were really incompetent.

Maybe he relied on his status as an elder and thought Huo Xian was easy to bully!

If Huo Xian really didn't show any reaction, he would become a joke to the whole world. In fact, Wei Huo might have already become a joke now!

(End of this chapter)