Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

It was a rare opportunity to rest in the city, so Liu Che was in a good mood. "Where's Xian'er? Why haven't I seen him for so long?"

Jin Midi quickly replied, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Guanjun inspected the troops setting up camp outside the city and said that they would not enter the city today."

Liu Che glanced at Cao Zong and said, "I don't want to enjoy my blessing! I am in the territory of the Han Dynasty and I have many guards around me. How can I be in danger? Forget it, let him be!"

Cao Zong was a little embarrassed for a moment. He was also doing his duty and was protecting the emperor. Why did it seem like he was being lazy while the Marquis of Guanjun was doing his duty faithfully?

As God knows, he usually did much more than Huo Xian, but it seemed that the emperor never noticed it. Or in other words, his efforts and loyalty to his duties were just natural in the eyes of the emperor.

Forget it, I'll just accept it once I get used to it. There's no way I can compare with the Marquis of Guanjun. Even if the Marquis of Guanjun does something small, the emperor can always find something worthy of praise.

Huo Xian ignored all these matters. After a careful inspection, he said, "Order the rear to transfer more food. The whole army will have dry food for breakfast tomorrow!"

Huo Xian waved his hand and the officials in charge of logistics broke out in a sweat. In fact, when going out to fight, the soldiers could still have a meal, after all, the Han Dynasty also had good food rations.

No matter whether it is bean rice, wheat rice or something else, most of the soldiers are much better off than ordinary people. Although they can eat dry rice every meal and enjoy it to their heart's content, at least they don't have to worry about being hungry.

Huo Xian then continued to give orders, "Order 50 men from each of the Yulin Cavalry and Qimen Army to hunt everywhere immediately, and drag the prey back to the camp to reward the soldiers."

Huo Xian then said to Zhao Hexi, "Go to the city and find a way to get some pigs to make oil. The soldiers have traveled thousands of miles, and they cannot survive without oil in their stomachs."

Zhao Hexi immediately answered neatly, "I will obey your orders!"

"Send someone to find the fishermen to bring back some fish. If there is oil, the fish can also be eaten as meat." Huo Xian continued to give orders, "Without oil, the fish meat is unpalatable. With oil, the army can have meat tomorrow!"

The total number of people traveling with the emperor this time is nearly 20,000, of which more than 16,000 are generals and soldiers. This is naturally a huge consumption, not to mention the county soldiers along the way who will be responsible for the outer defense.

Even if this arrangement is just a drop in the bucket, not everyone can eat meat. But being able to see meat and oil is very rare for many soldiers.

There was no fat in their stomachs, so the soldiers were all very good eaters. Having some fat in their stomachs would help them to withstand hunger a little and not get hungry too quickly.

Hunting and fishing, buying some pigs and sheep in the county town and slaughtering them, the nobles or senior officers can eat the meat, and the soldiers can also get a little share of the profits, which is not bad.

Things like cooking oil are not very common nowadays, but people have some knowledge about them now.

It's not that Huo Xian invented the practice of adding oil to cooking, but there are some records in the "Shennong Bencao Jing", such as sesame oil, which is a high-end cooking oil.

Of course, don't count on peanut oil, sunflower oil, etc. Now, that is very unrealistic because these are basically crops native to the American continent.

Even with the current shipbuilding technology of the Han Dynasty, don't expect to cross the Pacific Ocean. So soybean oil and sesame oil are still worth looking forward to.

In fact, Huo Xian was also thinking about rapeseed oil, but this kind of rapeseed oil was somewhat different from what he imagined.

Many of the rapeseed flowers that bloom in the later generations are Brassica rapa, which originated in Europe, while most of those that originated in China or Central Asia are Brassica rapa or Brassica juncea.

Huo Xian also knew clearly that even if potatoes, corn and other crops were found in the Americas, they might not be able to solve the food problem of the Han Dynasty all at once.

Ultimately, the cultivation of high-yield crops is not a matter of one or two days. It requires constant improvement, continuous investment, and so on.

Even if we can get rice seeds that can produce 1,000 kilograms per mu, the reality is that these seeds will continue to "degenerate".

Forget it, Huo Xian is not a great druid, he has tried hard to change some things. He is not just obsessed with fighting, he also works hard to improve some production tools and so on.

For example, the curved plow, but this good thing is now attributed to the emperor's great achievements. It was the father and son Liu Che and Liu Ju who gained a good reputation and continued to promote and produce these tools.

What Huo Xian needs to do is to make further improvements. Perhaps some eating habits and so on can also bring certain help to the Han Dynasty.

After carefully checking the issues such as setting up camps of various units, they were elite troops after all, and the middle and low-level officers also had very good qualities, so naturally I could feel more at ease.

The new day began with the cheers of the soldiers. Some improvements in food were of great help to morale and military spirit, and Huo Xian was very knowledgeable about this.

When he went out to fight, logistics was never a problem for him. In addition to carrying a large amount of baggage himself, he would also "get food on the spot" and try his best to ensure that his soldiers would eat more and eat better.

Huo Xian did not eat with the soldiers. He rode into the city on horseback. "Is your Majesty awake?"

Huo Guang smiled and said, "Your Majesty has not yet gotten up. It will take about half an hour."

Seeing Huo Xian nodded, Huo Guang smiled and said, "Xian'er, I heard that you gave the soldiers extra food today?"

"Only when you are full can you have the strength to work. We can't treat the soldiers unfairly." Huo Xian said with a smile, "Uncle, you don't know something. Soldiers in the army have the simplest things. They just need to be full and have enough food and wages."

Although this statement may not be completely correct, Huo Guang could not find any fault with it. In essence, many people join the army just to have enough food, to get promoted and make money, and to achieve success.

Huo Guang reminded him, "Xian'er, there is nothing wrong with giving extra food to the soldiers. But I heard that the extra food was given in your name. How could you do this?"

Huo Xian was also stunned for a moment, then immediately smiled and said, "Uncle, what you said seems a bit abrupt. This is originally the food and salary from the court, how come it becomes like I am doing a favor? I have to check it out when I get back!"

Huo Guang really didn't know what to say about Huo Xian's pretending to be stupid. After all, his nephew was accustomed to pretending to be stupid.

It is a taboo for the emperor to buy people's hearts. Having great prestige in the army will make the emperor feel unhappy, which is understandable. Especially Huo Xian used the court's food and salary to enhance his prestige and reputation, which was simply seeking his own death. This practice was really the most unacceptable mistake for some generals.

Huo Guang sighed and said, "It's useless for me to say anything. You should just know some things. You shouldn't be too presumptuous just because of His Majesty's favor."

Huo Xian was naturally aware of this. He had always been extremely sensible. Others might think that he had crossed the line, but he knew that he had not touched the emperor's bottom line.

There is no need to even talk about the bottom line, because if it is really touched, it will not be long before the emperor is disgusted, and that is something Huo Xian will not do.

Cao Zong, dressed in military uniform, came over and patted Huo Xian on the chest. "You are the most unrefined. When you went to inspect the camp yesterday, His Majesty criticized me. You have fulfilled your duties faithfully, but I have become a person who seeks pleasure."

"It's time for you to enjoy yourself. It's not good to work so hard all the time." Huo Xian winked at Cao Zong and said meaningfully, "You love your soldiers like your own sons, and you are still so young. How can that be appropriate!"

Cao Zong didn't know what to say for a moment, because in terms of age, Huo Xian was slightly younger than him.

But he also understood what Huo Xian meant. After all, he was too close to the prince, so he needed to be more low-key at this time.

Huo Guang was an extremely cautious person. He knew it was not appropriate to stay any longer, so he left with steps accurate to the centimeter, not one step more or one step less. He could clearly know how far he had walked and how many steps he had taken.

Cao Zong couldn't help but joked, "Your uncle is really too cautious. If you were half as cautious as him, you would become a great general in the future!"

General Wei Qing can be said to be a model of a minister. His achievements are naturally needless to say. However, despite his great achievements and prestige, he always maintained a humble and respectful attitude and would not be suspected by the emperor.

No matter whether he was valued by the emperor or idle by the emperor, he never complained. This was exactly how the emperor's favorite minister should be.

"If you really look like the general, I'll be so frustrated!" Huo Xian said with a wink, "You should learn from him. After all, you are the Marquis of Pingyang, which means you have a longer-term vision than my Marquis of Guanjun."

Cao Zong then whispered, "Sir, we brothers don't need to lie. There are some things that you and I understand. You can't just rely on your family background and your majesty's trust to do whatever you want, right? Don't you understand the fate of so many important officials?"

There is definitely nothing wrong with this statement. The last example is Zhou Yafu, and there is no doubt that the Liu family emperors were mean.

Huo Xian naturally knew what was going on, so he smiled and said, "So sometimes I think that after I have defeated the Xiongnu, I will die before Your Majesty gets tired of me. That would be the best."

Cao Zong was puzzled, "Are you willing to give up your current wealth? Besides, you still have Wuyou, you should also consider him, you should always teach your children well."

As expected of the sixth generation of Pingyang Marquis, this was some of the noble heritage, and he was still thinking about family inheritance, etc. However, Huo Xian, the "upstart", obviously didn't think that far ahead.

Hearing Cao Zong's words, Huo Xian couldn't help but laugh, "What you said is true. If I die, everything will be over. But it's hard to say whether my child can keep the family business in the future."

"That's it!" Cao Zong said with emotion, "I think you are the same as me. You would rather die than to disgrace the foundation left by your ancestors and bring down their reputation."

There was nothing wrong with this. Huo Xian was the Marquis of Champion. The title of "Marquis of Champion" alone was an unparalleled honor, but it was also a huge pressure. If he failed to do some things well, he would be laughed at and infamous for eternity.

Cao Zong naturally felt even more deeply about this. The title of Marquis of Pingyang had been passed down to him for the sixth generation, and there were not many marquises who could have such an inheritance among the founding marquises of the Han Dynasty.

If he destroyed the family business passed down by his ancestors, he would have no face to face his ancestors even after his death.

For Cao Zong, he not only has to ensure that he has a promising future and not be driven out of the center of power, but also has to cultivate his descendants well, and the title must be passed down. This is his greatest responsibility.

Huo Xian could empathize with some of Cao Zong's feelings, but he obviously didn't think too much about it.

Huo Xian looked around and said, "When we arrive at the East Sea in a few days, you should avoid appearing in front of His Majesty, otherwise you will increase the risk of being scolded. It would be bad if His Majesty was really angered because of some trivial matter."

Cao Zong immediately understood what Huo Xian meant and asked worriedly, "You don't think we can find the immortal mountain this time?"

Huo Xian was reserved and said, "Of course I want to find the fairy mountain, but who can guarantee such a thing!"

There was no need to make it clear, as everyone knew it. It was too difficult to find traces of the fairy mountain now, and it was almost an illusory thing.

However, the emperor was obsessed with this. If he were to return disappointed again, the probability that he would vent his anger on others would be relatively high. Even if Cao Zong was his grandson, he might be blamed for some trivial matters.

Cao Zong couldn't help but start to get nervous. "If that's the case, what can you do? Others can hide, but you definitely can't."

Everyone is very clear about this. There is no suspense at all about who the emperor's most close minister is. Once the emperor starts to vent his anger, Huo Shan will definitely not be able to escape.

Although Huo Shan was a close minister of the emperor and was very popular, compared with the emperor's dream of seeking immortality, Huo Shan was actually not worth mentioning.

Huo Xian smiled and said, "What's the big deal? When the time comes, it won't matter to me. After all, I have been traveling with His Majesty for many years."

After hearing what Huo Shan said, Cao Zong suddenly felt that it made a lot of sense, and it seemed that there was really no need to worry about Huo Shan.

The reason is very simple. After all, the emperor has failed more than once or twice in his search for immortality, and he is no longer surprised by it.

In this process, Huo Shan can be said to be the most important participant. The number of times he and the emperor failed was equal. This was not just the emperor's failure, but also Huo Shan's failure.

Others' tricks might be useless and would only annoy the emperor, but Huo Xian was different. He could discuss his experience of failure with the emperor.

Huo Xian has some experience in dealing with the emperor! (End of this chapter)