Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 254 I Became a Flatterer Again

Chapter 254 I Became a Flatterer Again
The matter of fighting the Huns can be planned in the long term, but the process of heading towards the coast of the East China Sea cannot be delayed.

Huo Xian was not going to catch a big whale or watch dolphins, nor did he think of catching some abalone or prawns to whet his appetite. This time, his main purpose was to accompany the emperor to seek the elusive immortal fate.

Driving the carriage forward at full speed, Liu Che was like an old man with the arrogance of a young man, "Huan'er, how do you think my carriage is?"

Huo Xian, with a serious expression, controlled the horse closest to the side and said, "Your Majesty, run faster!"

The emperor loved excitement, and with the addition of a daring Huo Xian, they made a terrifying combination, making the guards nearby terrified.

After Liu Che had driven for a while and had a lot of fun, he was still not satisfied, "Shan'er, I am a little surprised. I have been out for so long, why haven't these people reported any auspicious signs?"

This was a puzzling thing for Liu Che, as it was fundamentally different from some previous situations.

In the past, whenever the emperor went on tour, officials or elders from counties and prefectures would often report some auspicious signs or miracles, which made the emperor feel happy and excited.

Huo Xian said, "Some people reported it, but I couldn't bear to read some of it. They were all fake at first glance. Your Majesty, someone made a big footprint. I asked someone to go and see it."

Liu Che snorted coldly and asked, "You sent someone to see it? Can you see it clearly?"

It’s no wonder that Liu Che was so unhappy. It was mainly because it involved his fate as an immortal, so he would easily become confused and particularly obsessed.

Huo Xian was not afraid either. "Your Majesty, don't underestimate me. I would say that those alchemists have no new tricks at all. They are all the same old sayings. A quick check will show that they are fake."

After hearing what Huo Shan said, Liu Che was speechless for a moment. He had been deceived so many times, almost every time, and the deceived was different every time.

Liu Che said with a hint of sarcasm, "Why? Are you so sure now?"

Huo Xian said without any modesty, "Well, I am mainly smart, and secondly, a bystander can see things more clearly. If someone wants to deceive Your Majesty, they have to deceive me first! If I am not sure, I will ask Your Majesty for advice."

Liu Che couldn't say anything about this. He still trusted Huo Shan very much on some things and would never doubt the position of the child he had raised.

The bottom line is that Liu Che had been deceived too many times. Not only did he have experience and insights, but some people around him also had enough experience.

Cao Zong, who was standing beside him, also seized the opportunity to speak up, "Your Majesty, someone found an inscription on a stele in the mountains a few days ago. I was ordered by Marquis Guanjun to send someone to investigate, and found the craftsman who carved the inscription. He said it was carved by someone from the previous dynasty, and he wanted to deceive Your Majesty."

Liu Che was slightly curious about this. "Why? Are you using the inscriptions from the previous dynasty to deceive me?"

Cao Zong explained, "That's right. We asked a doctor to interpret the inscription, and he said it was bronze inscriptions."

Liu Che instantly became more interested, "Then bring it over for me to see, it's quite interesting."

The standardization of writing and wheel gauge is one of the achievements of Qin Shihuang. Before that, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the princes were divided and the writing systems of various countries varied, with one character having multiple forms.

The current standard is of course the small seal script, but before that there was the large seal script. However, this large seal script also includes bronze inscriptions and zhuan scripts.

Many people even think that there were oracle bone inscriptions in the Qin Dynasty, and the Zhuanwen and Jinwen carved on stone, which are the large seal characters in a broad sense, are the earliest stone carvings.

Mao Gong Pan, Stone Drum Inscriptions, etc. are outstanding representatives of the Great Seal Script.

Huo Xian said to Liu Che, "Your Majesty, what's the point of looking at those? Let's go hunting, shall we?"

Liu Che looked at Huo Xian with disdain, and then said to Cao Zong, "Are you tired of dealing with this untalented warrior?"

Cao Zong immediately said, "Your Majesty, I dare not do that."

"Don't dare?" Liu Che laughed and said jokingly, "It seems that you also think this man has no air of wealth and nobility. He has been with me for twenty years, how come I haven't taught him any literary talent!"

Cao Zong glanced at Huo Xian, who was lying on the mat with his legs crossed, and really didn't know what to say.

Liu Che was curious about the so-called stone inscriptions, but that was only because he now had outstanding literary talent, so naturally he wanted to take a good look at them.

This is not about seeking immortality, but about appreciating ancient relics. These things are also very attractive to Liu Che.

In fact, as long as it does not involve those supernatural things, Liu Che is an emperor with great talent and high cultural accomplishment.

Although it is a bit exaggerated, Liu Che was very smart when he was a child. It is a bit exaggerated to say that he had a photographic memory, but his memory was indeed very good and he received the best education since he was a child.

Liu Che looked at Cao Zong and asked seriously, "Xian'er, I know you don't trust alchemists since the gunpowder incident, but you shouldn't go too far. Do you understand this?"

Huo Xian nodded immediately and said, "Your Majesty, I know my limits. I also said that if I am not sure and there is a miracle, I will definitely not hide it."

Gunpowder was not only Huo Shan's concern, but also Liu Che's concern. This was another case of him being deceived by the alchemists. The so-called elixir was used by Huo Shan to blow up other people's cities.

These things not only scared Liu Che, but also many powerful people. Many alchemists also lost the opportunity to further cheat.

Liu Che was relieved to hear Huo Shan say this. He naturally trusted Huo Shan, but he was also afraid that Huo Shan would "overcorrect" and thus lose some of his chance to become an immortal. After all, Huo Shan now seemed to have no trust in the Taoist priests at all.

But Liu Che was different. Even though he had been cheated many times and had gained experience, some old-fashioned scams would definitely not fool him, but he would still fall for new scams.

Suddenly, Liu Che also realized that something was wrong. "Xian'er, I didn't think it was wrong. Now those cheating sorcerers can't see me, and the officials who lied about auspicious signs can't see me either. That's the truth, right?"

"Your Majesty, I am not Zhao Gao or Li Si!" Huo Xian felt that he was being slandered and immediately jumped up and down. "Your Majesty summoned the ministers, when did I stop him?"

Seeing Huo Shan jumping up three feet high, Liu Che was a little dazed for a moment, and even felt a little guilty, as if he had really wronged the good child and made Huo Shan suffer. But Cao Zong, Huo Guang and others beside him were either envious or terrified. It was really hard for the comparison cases that the Champion Marquis sometimes brought up to make people think too much.

Liu Che then joked, "So you are somewhat different from the man who called a deer a horse. If I want to see the minister, I can see him."

Huo Xian nodded repeatedly, "Your Majesty, I have always been sensible and smart. I did stop many people from seeing Your Majesty, but what they did was really clumsy and only disturbed the peace."

There is nothing wrong with doing this. There are so many local officials, village elders, etc. who want to see the emperor. If the emperor meets each of them, he won't have time to do anything else and will be too busy to handle it.

Therefore, even if Huo Xian did not take action in this matter, some other ministers would have taken action. There are still many rules for who can see the emperor, and you can't just see him if you want to.

"What about the beauty presented to us?" Liu Che suddenly asked, "It's fine if you don't want to get married, but there's still no news about the beauty presented to us. Shan'er, what's the reason for this?"

At this moment, Huo Xian didn't know what to say, because this matter was really a big deal for the emperor.

Liu Che has always been known for his love of pleasure. It is as normal for him to get tired of the old and love the new. So now, people like Lady Xing are almost out of favor.

This woman has been favored for three or four years. Emotionally speaking, it is time for Liu Che to start shifting his relationship. He now needs a beautiful woman who can bring him a sense of freshness.

Affectionate and loyal are the characteristics of Liu Che, but all of this is only within a short period of time. After this time, Liu Che's affection and loyalty will be transferred to other beauties.

There is no Daming River, but when the emperor went on tour, some people would offer beauties to him, including deliberately creating momentum, etc. Many of the so-called beauties were also packaged.

Madam Li is a typical example. A song called "Song of the Beautiful Lady" aroused the emperor's curiosity, so she was allowed to enter the palace and the Li family became prominent as a result.

Huo Xian said, "Your Majesty, it is true that someone has presented beauties to you. I naturally don't want to go and see them too much. But I think that some rural girls are not worthy of your Majesty to meet." Liu Che was unhappy, "You don't want to get married all day, you only want to fight. Do you know what a beauty is? I heard that when you were fighting in the Western Regions, you still needed beauties from small countries to sleep with you, right?"

Huo Xian felt a little guilty for a moment. He had indeed done such a thing. He had been fighting in the war for a year or so, and he couldn't just rely on his left and right hands.

As for the fact that there are some soldiers in the army who solve the problem in other ways, Huo Xian would not be curious even if she saw a very beautiful man, she would just feel a little uncomfortable.

Some of the powerful and wealthy people are more curious about the flowers they play with, but that doesn’t mean Huo Xian is the same. He still likes women, or more precisely, beautiful women.

It doesn't necessarily have to be a Han woman. He actually prefers beautiful women with exotic looks.

Huo Xian learned his lesson and immediately said to Liu Che, "Your Majesty, I understand. Next time someone offers a beautiful woman as an offering, I will pay attention. Chuntuo is no longer here, otherwise it would not be my turn to worry about these things."

Liu Che also sighed and said, "If that old man were here, I would feel much more at ease. If he were here, it wouldn't be your turn to make decisions for me!"

"Your Majesty, if this gets out, I will be called a sycophant again." Huo Xian said unhappily, "Your Majesty, many people now say that I am a sycophant, and that I only gained your Majesty's trust and respect because of the Queen and my grandfather."

Liu Che looked at Huo Xian and asked, "Then tell me yourself, why are you valued because of this? Is it unfair to say that you are a close minister?"

There is definitely no way to refute this. Huo Xian is a typical example of nepotism. If he didn't have a good background, he would definitely not have his current status, etc.

Huo Xian emphasized, "Your Majesty, I am a close and lonely minister. Everyone knows this. But I am not happy when you say I am a flatterer. How can I be a flatterer when I am so capable?"

Liu Che couldn't help laughing and said, "If you can't stop the people from talking nonsense, you should just do your job honestly. When you defeat the Xiongnu, don't ride your horse in Chang'an. Maybe your reputation will be better by then."

Huo Xian immediately collapsed to the ground and said, "That's a bit difficult. If you don't let me eat, drink and have fun, I might as well die. Apart from fighting, I only have a few hobbies. I can't be restrained and cautious in everything. I'm not a general!"

Huo Guang stared anxiously, but he didn't know what to say. He certainly wouldn't dare to do that, but the emperor just liked Huo Shan like this.

"Your Majesty, if there really is a beauty, I will let someone see her first." Huo Xian said seriously, "If she is really sent to your Majesty, you will have to teach her the rules."

Liu Che smiled and nodded, "General Huqi did these things, if you are not a treacherous minister, then who is a treacherous minister?"

Huo Xian was not happy about being teased, and immediately got up, "The Grand Marshal and the General of Cavalry have gone to inspect the troops and check the camps and defenses."

Seeing Huo Xian jump on the horse and urge it to go, Liu Che looked at Cao Zong with a smile, "Don't learn from him, you can't learn it even if you try. In recent years, many people think that I favor Marquis Guanjun because I like his personality, and they are trying to imitate him in everything."

Not to mention Cao Zong, even Huo Guang, Jin Midi and others lowered their heads and dared not speak, because this kind of situation did exist, and some people were also studying how to please the emperor.

The Champion Marquis is the best example. Both generations of the Champion Marquis were so ostentatious and confident, and had no rules in front of the emperor, so much so that some people thought that the emperor just liked people who were disrespectful.

"Don't you see what Xian'er can do?" Liu Che said seriously, "Let's not talk about his countless military achievements. Can you guess what I am thinking?"

Seeing that the others did not dare to speak, Liu Che looked at Huo Guang, "You are his uncle, and you have always been cautious. So tell me, what exactly did Shan'er do?"

Huo Guang replied without thinking, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Guanjun was talking about inspecting the camps. I think after the inspection, we should arrange for the departure."

"Yes and no." Liu Che said confidently, "He is going to inspect the camps and arrange the departure. Even if he is angry with me, he will not miss the important matter. Do you believe that when he comes back, he will bring a woman with him?"

Others dared not answer, but Liu Che said proudly, "The woman he brought here is a little pretty, not absolutely beautiful. She must be presented by counties and prefectures. If he were to say in front of me that she is a mediocre woman, unbearable to the eyes!"

Huo Guang and the others were shocked, for Huo Xian and the dead Chun Tuo had guessed the emperor's thoughts most accurately. As soon as Huo Xian raised his butt, the emperor knew what shit was going to happen.

Neither of these two can hide anything from the other!

(End of this chapter)

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