Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Huo Xian was quite self-aware. Many problems such as land annexation were issues that had been unsolvable in all dynasties.

Even two thousand years later, such problems have not been completely solved, but at that time it was not necessarily necessary to rely on output from the land to support the finances.

At least the land tax was abolished around the millennium, which has to be said to be a huge change. After all, land tax has been levied on this land for thousands of years.

Huo Xian couldn't think of a good solution for the land annexation issue at the moment, but perhaps he could find a way to delay the land annexation and slightly improve the financial problems of the Han Dynasty.

After accompanying Liu Che to inspect the people's livelihood and returning to the camp, Huo Xian found Liu Mo and asked, "Uncle Liu, does your mansion still support hundreds or even thousands of Xiongnu people in the south of the desert?"

Liu Mo was stunned and said quickly, "Sir, there are not so many Xiongnu in our mansion! There are at most twenty, and they are all slaves in the farm."

Huo Xian didn't quite understand, "But your majesty said before that our family still has a business in Mo Nan?"

Zhao Hexi immediately reacted and said, "My Lord, they are not our people. They are just protecting those people and paying tribute to our family. How can they be considered our people!"

It is clear with this explanation. It is nothing more than the surrendered Hun troops flying the flag of Guanjun Marquis Mansion, or the power of Guanjun Marquis Mansion helped those Hun tribes in dividing the pastures.

There must be a reason for such help. If there is no benefit, Huo Xian will definitely not do such a thing. And such things are not only done by Huo Xian's subordinates.

Zhao Hexi continued to explain, "We also have a horse farm in Hexi, and there are many horse slaves herding horses there. When the general conquered Hexi, our mansion got a piece of pasture there."

Liu Mo also quickly added, "The general's mansion has some, the prime minister's family has some, and the military families like us all have some horse farms."

Huo Xian quickly explained, "Don't think too much about it. It's only because your majesty mentioned it that I asked a little."

Liu Mo suddenly said, "My Lord, you definitely don't know how much property your family has. My Lord, this is not good. You should ask more about it."

Zhao Hexi also advised, "That's right! Your Majesty, it's Her Royal Highness the Queen and Her Royal Highness Princess Pingyang who have been helping to take care of it all these years. How can we keep troubling you all the time?"

Huo Xian really didn't know how much property his family had. He didn't worry about those things when he was young, and now he was old enough, but he still had no intention of "taking back the family property."

He just felt at ease letting Princess Pingyang and the Queen help manage it. No matter how much gold and copper coins were sent to the treasury, he just accepted them without worrying about the amount and never thought about checking the accounts.

Lin Mei beside him also said, "My Lord, when I was at the Prince's Mansion a few years ago, I also heard His Royal Highness say that the output of the Prince's Mansion was not enough, so the Prince had someone fill in some to make it an integer."

Huo Xian immediately became happy, "Listen, listen, the money in our house has always been in round numbers and easy to manage, so let's not waste our time. This has been helping to manage it for twenty years, and it would be so sad for the elders to go now!"

Zhao Hexi added, "My Lord, it has been thirty years. The general didn't like to manage the property in the mansion before, and there was no one in charge in the mansion."

Huo Xian was even happier. "So it means we are of the same lineage. Then there is nothing to worry about. This is good enough now."

Liu Mo and Zhao Hexi did not persuade him any further. Theoretically, the prince was an adult, so he should make his own decisions on many matters. However, the elders had been helping to take care of things for so many years, so there was no need to trouble the prince.

Besides, whether it is Her Royal Highness the Queen or Her Royal Highness Princess Pingyang, they treat generals and princes with great care and would rather suffer a loss themselves than lose the princes, so there is no need to think too much.

After all, over the years, the four generals never felt that the Champion Marquis's mansion was short of money, and they often felt that they had too much money to spend. Even though the Marquis was greedy and enjoyed pleasure, the property in the mansion was increasing.

But it’s better now, there is still a little prince. It would be a good thing if the little prince could spend more money in the future!
For the four generals of the Guanjun Marquis' Mansion, Huo Xian's love for fine clothes, expensive horses and fine wine was never a bad thing, and it was something they strongly supported.

The powerful should act like powerful people. If they don’t have fine clothes and delicious food, what kind of kings are they?
There is no need to worry about family property. The so-called "troops and horses" on the grassland are nonsense and there is no need to take them to heart. There is no need to worry about the emperor settling accounts with these things afterwards.

Because other powerful people also did the same, the Guanjun Marquisate's approach was relatively low-key. Moreover, if they really wanted to settle accounts, they would find a pretext to accuse them, and this would not be the reason.

Keeping his mind calm, Huo Xian said to Liu Mo, "Uncle Liu, arrange for someone to go back and deliver the message. When the army sets out tomorrow, have someone come to me to get the message."

Liu Mo didn't waste any words. He didn't ask who the letter was for or what it was about. That was not something he needed to worry about.

When the time comes, we will just need to arrange the most reliable troops to go back, and they will definitely deliver the Marquis' letter. This is the significance of the Marquis Guanjun's troops. Even though there are trustworthy people in the army, they are not our own family after all.

Lin Mei left the tent in a very polite manner, and Huo Xian began to prepare to write a letter, "My champion paper hasn't been made yet, but I have caused a lot of water pollution."

Looking at the silk in front of him, Huo Xian couldn't help scratching his head. He had always wanted to make paper, but he still hadn't made any breakthroughs, which was really a headache.

The good news is that some craftsmen in the palace have not given up and are still working hard. Some have even gained experience in soaking some plants, and the next step is to extract plant fibers and other processes.

If these things are done well, there will basically be no major problems in papermaking.

The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades, please continue to work hard!

He created the three pieces of armor, invented the cooking technique, and even made breakthroughs in the technology of castrating domestic pigs, but that didn't mean Huo Xian could be proud and complacent.

There are still many processes and technologies that can be improved, and he, a half-baked inventor, is also continuing to work hard, but what he wants to do now has not yet been truly accomplished.

Huo Xian, who was writing furiously, crossed out a line of words casually. His calligraphy has never been very good. This is not the fault of others. It is mainly because he cannot calm down and learn calligraphy.

However, no one has any requirements for Huo Xian's calligraphy. It's not like they have to become calligraphers. It's enough to be able to understand it. The rest are actually just trivial things that are not worth mentioning.

A new day has begun. The huge team marches slowly and continues to move towards the coast of the East China Sea, which is also the focus of this parade.

At least for the emperor, Fengshan and seeking immortals are the two most important things. Investigating people's livelihood is the secondary thing. When the two young men came to Huo Xian, it was natural that they were part of the group.

"One letter for the crown prince, one for the queen, and one for the general." Huo Xian took out the letter and said seriously, "Hand it over personally. No one else is allowed to get into their hands."

The guard immediately answered decisively, "Don't worry, my lord. I will hand it over to you personally!"

Huo Xian looked carefully and asked with a smile, "Two people are enough?"

"That's enough." Liu Mo answered immediately, "They are all experts. Not only are they skilled in archery and horsemanship, but they can also ride two horses. Ordinary people can't catch up with them at all."

This is the advantage of having a big family and a big business. Nowadays, it is difficult for some elite troops to have two horses per person. However, some of Huo Xian’s troops have Ferghana horses.

The others were basically Wusun horses, and they were relatively outstanding Wusun horses. It was no problem for the Champion Marquis' Mansion to have two horses for one person.

Huo Xian then took out a jade pendant and said, "This is a token of trust. Let's go to the General's Mansion first. I will assign five more guards to protect you two. There is no need to rush back. It is better to be safe along the way."

Although Liu Mo had great confidence in the young people in the village, since the Lord had made the arrangement, he naturally would not have any objection.

After arranging these things, Huo Xian rode his horse to find Huo Guang, "Uncle, does Shangguan An really want to follow me into battle?"

"Of course!" Huo Guang was still very concerned about his future son-in-law. "He is from a good family and wants to win some military merits."

Shangguan An's father, Shangguan Jie, is now the Shaofu. Although he is one of the Nine Ministers, he is not satisfied. He wants to go further. He doesn't have any extravagant hopes for the title of Three Dukes, but he still wants to win the title of a marquis.

At this time, Huo Xian probably understood some of the emperor's previous intentions. Even if he wanted to stop, some military interest groups in the Han Dynasty were unwilling to do so.

Only by fighting can these military merit interest groups be awarded titles and generals. As for the country's tight finances, or the deaths of some soldiers in the war, these people may not pay attention.

Obtaining a title is the most important thing. It is even a sign of a family's rise. After all, the title of a marquis can be passed down.
Shangguan An must want to climb up the ladder, after all, he is a young talent. The Han Dynasty has always valued military achievements, and now he has Huo Xian as his brother-in-law, which means the right time, right place, and right people.

If you miss such an opportunity, it would definitely feel unjust.

Huo Xian looked at Huo Guang and said, "I'll make some arrangements for him later. If he really goes to war, he must go to the army to perform his duties. As an officer, he should get to know his soldiers better."

Huo Guang immediately smiled and said, "Just take care of the arrangements. I'm not too familiar with these things."

This was also Huo Guang's real thoughts. He was very experienced in domestic affairs. Even though he did not seem to be in a particularly high position of power now, he was very clear about some things.

But even if his elder brother is Huo Qubing and his nephew is Huo Shan, they all rose to prominence through military exploits. However, Huo Guang himself had limited talent in military affairs, and the Huo family's genes may not really be in the military.

The gifted genes in Huo Qubing and Huo Shan might have come more from the Wei family, otherwise it would be hard to explain why the Huo family had no other "promising talents" besides Huo Qubing and his son.

Huo Guang still cared about his future son-in-law, but he cared more about his nephew. "Shan'er, if you put Shangguan An'an into the army, will it have any impact on you?"

Huo Xian said nonchalantly, "It's okay. I have a lot of people in my camp, so I don't mind having one more. But this time he can't enter Qimen and Yulin, and neither the Southern Army nor the Northern Army can enter."

The Qimen Army and the Yulin Army were the most important forces in Huo Xian's hands. They were also the emperor's royal guards. Now they were basically led directly by Huo Xian, and Zhao Anguo, the Marquis of Piao, was in charge of their daily work.

The Southern Army was rather special. Many people originally thought that Huo Shan should lead the army since he was the Weiwei of Jianzhang. However, the army was now controlled by Cao Zong, the Marquis of Pingyang.

As for the Northern Army, the situation was more complicated. Li Guangli, Gongsun Ao, Zhao Shicheng and others all had some influence on the Northern Army, and various military commanders were assigned responsibilities in the Northern Army.

After thinking about it carefully, Huo Guang felt that it made sense. The number of people Huo Xian arranged into the army was not particularly large, but they were basically his trusted old troops or some of Wei Huo's confidants.

"What do you think?" Huo Guang whispered, "Shangguan Jie has some military achievements and is considered a knowledgeable person. But I don't think Shangguan An has the talent to be a great general."

Huo Xian immediately complained, "I can't arrange for great generals. It takes talent. I have Zhang Anshi, Zhao Chongguo, and Han Zeng under my command. They are great generals."

Huo Guang was a little surprised to hear Huo Xian say this, "Are they so capable? When you sent me the victory report before, I thought you were giving away the credit."

Zhang Anshi was also born into a famous family, after all, he was the son of Zhang Tang, and he had also spent some time in the civil service system. Han Zeng was born into a family of nobility, and he was a descendant of a famous family. As for Zhao Chongguo, he was an out-and-out grassroots person.

Many people also knew that after Huo Xian "ran away in anger", he arranged for three young men to join Yulin and Qimen, and took them to the Western Regions, but they did not expect that they would achieve great success so soon.

Previously, I thought it might be Huo Xian’s deliberate promotion, otherwise how could they all be awarded credits in one go!

"It's a good thing that I don't take their military merits. I will give them up!" Huo Xian said with a smile, "I plan to send Shangguan An to the north. If he can't fight, he will train soldiers and raise military rations for me."

Huo Guang had no objection to this. Although being in logistics seemed to reduce the chances of meritorious service, even if it was reduced, there were still chances of meritorious service.

In Huo Guang's view, as long as he followed Huo Shan to fight, he would definitely be able to make meritorious service, not to mention that he would be given certain care.

Huo Xian smiled and continued, "They all say that I don't fit in with the group. I think those people are just jealous. I held the banquet earlier to let people know the appeal of my Guanjun Marquis Mansion!"

Looking at the high-spirited Huo Shan, Huo Guang suddenly became a little worried, because his nephew seemed to be much more high-profile.

But if you think about it carefully, this may not be a bad thing. After all, even a champion should be high-profile at times! (End of this chapter)