Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

As they got closer to the coast of the East China Sea, not only Huo Xian was nervous, many people became nervous as well.

According to past practice, the emperor would not necessarily kill people out of anger just because he did not find the immortal fate. However, if the emperor held a grudge against someone in the process, he would not be able to escape the punishment.

This is what it means to serve the emperor like serving a tiger. Today's emperor is the kind of person who will turn against you ruthlessly after he has squeezed out all the value of a person or completed some special mission.

Huo Xian would naturally be a little nervous, but there was no need to be trembling with fear or treading on thin ice, as he still had some insights and experience.

Looking at the large ship in the distance, Huo Xian was delighted. "Your Majesty, such a large ship can definitely sail to the open sea."

Liu Che did not comment on this. "Make arrangements. Except for the accompanying officials and soldiers, the rest of the people will go north by land. There is no need for me to tell you to make the arrangements."

"Let Cao Zong lead his troops north." Huo Xian gave a clear and concise suggestion. "He still lacks experience. I feel that he has been away from the battlefield for a long time. He should lead the army on a long journey of thousands of miles."

Liu Che stared at Huo Xian and said with a headache, "I told you that if we really go to fight the Xiongnu, Cao Zong may not go out to fight."

"Then we can think of a way, Prime Minister, to make him atone for his crime." Huo Xian's bad idea came up again, "It's just that the Prime Minister hasn't led troops in these years, but he is a veteran after all, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

Huo Guang, Jin Midi and others beside him were completely stunned. The dignified Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry was now "slandering" the prime minister to depose him. Theoretically, the prime minister was the head of all officials and one of the three highest officials.

But now, in order to fight the war, Marquis Guanjun has come up with a perverse idea to demote the Prime Minister and then transfer him to lead the troops. Is this an idea that a normal person can come up with?
"The prime minister is no good, I will keep him." Liu Che was helpless. It was not the first time that Huo Xian proposed this bad idea. "Now you and Wei Huo are two great marshals and one prime minister. You should work together."

Huo Xian disagreed. "The Prime Minister hasn't made much of a difference in his tenure anyway, so it's best to send him to the army, where he can still fight. Your Majesty, Wei and Huo are too powerful now, and the general and I can't do anything about it, so we'll just depose the Prime Minister!"

Seeing Huo Shan's noble, upright and loyal appearance, Liu Che could not help but walk away. He did not think Huo Shan was playing dumb, but really wanted to do so.

Gongsun He never wanted to be the prime minister, and he did not make any achievements in this high-risk position, becoming the emperor's yes-man. But that was enough, this was what Liu Che required of Gongsun He, and this was the best prime minister.

As for Wei Huo, he had three of the Three Dukes and seemed to be extremely powerful now, but Liu Che was not worried about anything.

Gongsun He was his yes-man, Wei Qing was loyal to him. As for Huo Xian, the emperor knew what he was going to say before he even raised his butt.

Two Grand Marshals and one Prime Minister seemed to have brought the Wei Huo Group's momentum to its peak, but they were just tools for the emperor to directly control internal affairs and military affairs. These three people were the best knives.

Huo Guang glanced at Huo Xian and whispered, "Xian'er, be careful with your words!"

"Then I will ask His Majesty to transfer my uncle to the army, and I will seek some military merits for him." Huo Xian had another crooked idea, "It's fine for Shangguan Jie and Shangguan An to be granted titles, but they are still a layer of relationship apart."

Jin Midi, who was standing next to him, held back from saying anything. It was true that the Marquis of Guanjun's way of thinking was different from that of ordinary ministers.

Huo Guang was anxious, "Xian'er, I don't know anything about military affairs. I have never led troops or fought in a war!"

"Practice, learn more and watch more, maybe it will be okay." Huo Xian said worriedly, "Although uncle is now a nine ministers, he just doesn't have a title. Uncle, if not for yourself, you have to think about Huo Yu!"

Huo Guang was speechless. His son was his biggest weakness. It was no problem for Huo Guang not to have a title, but he still hoped that his son could have one.

Of course, Huo Yu will definitely have opportunities in the future under Huo Xian's care, but if he works hard, things will be easier for Huo Yu in the future!

Seeing Huo Guang thinking, Huo Xian looked at Jin Midi and said, "Guanglu Doctor, how about you also consider it? I will arrange for you to be a lieutenant in the army?"

Liu Che had two major artificial intelligences around him, one was Huo Guang and the other was Jin Midi. Both of them were cautious in character and would not make mistakes for more than ten years or even dozens of years around the emperor, so they were deeply trusted.

In particular, Jin Midi aroused resentment from many ministers, who felt that they were all of good descent and were not as trustworthy as Jin Midi, a young Hun boy.

Jin Midi did not expect to bring trouble upon himself, and quickly said, "Marquis Guanjun, you are joking. I have never known military affairs. But if your majesty gives an order, I will naturally obey it."

Look, he is indeed Huo Guang’s close friend, and nothing he says or does leaves any flaws.

Although many people were vying for Huo Xian's support, Huo Guang and Jin Midi were not necessarily tempted by such an opportunity. The main reason was that they knew their own abilities.

Moreover, I am very satisfied with my current position and have certain plans for future development, so there is really no need to be led by the king of bad ideas.

Because some people are just fearless and some of the ideas they come up with are simply destroying other people's jobs.

Huo Xian seemed a little regretful, as he had originally wanted to see whether these two ministers who had left their names in history had any potential to be further explored.

But now it seems that they are not willing to accept my kindness at all, and they obviously don't seem to have much enthusiasm for things like fighting.

There is no way. Not everyone is warlike, and not everyone yearns to gain military merit and be awarded a title or become a general on the battlefield, even in an era like the Han Dynasty that respects military merit.

The king of bad ideas was despised, but he was not angry. It was just a matter of trying to make a difference. Huo Guang and Jin Midi had never expected them to join the army.

These two people are more talented in domestic affairs, and they are political masters. Although they are not completely ignorant of military affairs, there is no need to delay their development, so they should continue to stay in front of the emperor.

Huo Xian began to get busy, thinking about who could board the ship, how the fleet would sail, and what to do with the remaining people. These things still needed to be arranged, and fortunately everyone basically knew their positions before this.

Cao Zong was relieved. He didn't have to appear under the Majesty's nose for the next few days. Not having to encounter any unexpected disaster was one thing, and this was not a deliberate escape. This was a heavy responsibility.

"I'm going to lead the troops north, you should be careful." Cao Zong lowered his voice and whispered, "Your Majesty has sent people to test me a lot recently, and he must have noticed something."

Huo Xian couldn't help but complain, "It's not a big deal, but you're talking about it as if it were a conspiracy. You should just be more restrained. His Majesty won't punish the Crown Prince and you for these things."

Cao Zong was naturally embarrassed, because Huo Xian's words were not polite at all, but they were also true. Being too close to the prince was not good, even if there was no conspiracy. In the final analysis, the emperor did not allow the prince to have access to military power, and Cao Zong, the general, had gone too far.

It was really because Cao Zong was too eager to make progress, and probably also because he felt that the emperor was getting older, and the prince's status and prestige over the years were all worthy of Cao Zong's trust.

This was not a reversal of events, as Liu Ju's position was solid. Cao Zong did this simply because he wanted to make further progress.

The young generation of marquises and even the middle-aged generals would feel tremendous pressure because of Huo Xian's existence. They did not seek to surpass him and become the number one in the military, but they could strive to be the second.

Watching Cao Zong riding away, Huo Xian couldn't help but smile.

Cao Zong was indeed not a Wei or Huo in the traditional sense, but he was still a supporter of Crown Prince Liu Ju.

Just in case, and in order to avoid some of the most extreme situations, we should preserve some of Liu Ju's strength, so we still need to work hard to preserve it.

This did not conflict with Huo Xian's loyalty to Liu Che. After all, he would definitely not watch such an extreme situation happen. Once some signs appeared, he would naturally strangle them.

He has made a lot of efforts for this, but there are some things that other people may not even know.

This is probably a way of doing good things silently. It is a kind of "a good warrior does not have glorious achievements", which can completely nip some risks in the bud.

After arranging everything, Huo Xian boarded the ship. Liu Che couldn't help but joked, "Are you trying to persuade the people around me to join the army again?"

Huo Xian looked around and complained, "It was just a joke, how did it get to your Majesty's ears?"

Liu Che said helplessly, "You haven't made any progress. What else can you think about besides fighting? I have told you long ago that when it comes to fighting, you can't just think about sending troops."

"Let me ask you, if the internal affairs are unstable and the political situation is unfair, how can we let you go out to fight?" Liu Che said earnestly, "If it really comes to that, shouldn't we let you lead the troops to guard Chang'an?"

Huo Xian nodded, but his words made people angry. "Your Majesty, I understand the truth. But your Majesty is wise and brave, so how could he go to that extent? Besides, they don't have the ability to share your worries."

Huo Xian was not the type to speak ill of others behind their backs, so he "degraded" Huo Guang and Jin Midi in front of them, but the two of them had no objection.

Huo Guang naturally did not argue with Huo Shan, and would usually try his best to help Huo Shan clean up the mess.

Jin Midi's situation is even simpler. He is confident in his own abilities, but he thinks it is normal that Guanjun Hou looks down on him, because Guanjun Hou is more powerful.

Since the conversation had come to this, Liu Che said directly, "It's easy to talk about the others, but these two are not. Take a closer look, and tell me if you find any talents. Since you are a general, you should also know the soldiers and the generals."

Huo Xian was busy selecting generals. Liu Che was naturally aware of this matter and did not think there was anything wrong with it. It all seemed natural.

Because Huo Xian was the Grand Marshal and General of Cavalry, and because the Han Dynasty would sooner or later launch a truly decisive battle against the Xiongnu, as the undisputed commander-in-chief, Huo Xian would definitely need to select a few reliable generals.

This has nothing to do with Liu Che's love for Huo Shan or anything like that. It was simply because of the needs of war. It's just that simple.

Huo Xian looked at the vast ocean and said with some anticipation, "Your Majesty, the weather is looking good now, we should be able to see more!"

Liu Che naturally understood what Huo Xian meant, and said expectantly, "I think so too. I hope I can get what I asked for this time!"

These were just Liu Che's expectations. He really hoped to make some discoveries this time. This was even his biggest dream and expectation for this tour.

There is no need to exaggerate at all. As he grew older, Liu Che's inner fear continued to increase. The so-called desire for immortality is essentially due to the fear of death.

He is about to turn sixty years old, which means he is already an old man. How can he not be afraid?

It is said that death is like life, and that one can enjoy the same life as today in the underworld, etc., but no one has truly seen life in another world.

For Liu Che, the more realistic thing was to preserve his current life. He was an emperor who held great power and enjoyed all the glory and wealth. He did not yearn for life in another world at all.

As long as he could achieve immortality, everything now could naturally continue to be maintained. This was Liu Che's ultimate dream.

Huo Xian probably knew what the emperor was thinking. But he couldn't say it clearly about things like immortality, because whoever broke the emperor's extravagant hope would have to pay the most painful price.

Liu Che understood how far-fetched immortality was, but as an emperor, he always fantasized that he could do things that others could not because he had enough power.

Liu Che's flagship started slowly, and Huo Shan immediately ran to the bow. He still needed to be low-key when it was time to do so.

As they walked along the way, Huo Xian felt that the emperor had almost reached his limit, because there were some things during this tour that made the emperor not very satisfied.

Huo Xian would stop the beauties offered by various places if he could. Huo Xian would not report the fake auspicious signs from various places to the emperor. Even if the so-called fairy traces were investigated, they were still suppressed.

In other words, Huo Xian basically prevented all the things that the emperor wanted to do.

How could this not make the emperor angry? After all, in the past, even if he could not find the immortals during his tours, at least he could still be satisfied in some other ways.

But now, Huo Xian is fully responsible for this tour. It seems that the arrangement is very good, and basically no one can find any fault with it. This should be a great achievement.

Money was saved and the expenses of the emperor's tours were reduced, but if the things the emperor wanted to accomplish were not accomplished, that would be a big deal.

Huo Xian had to stay out of the spotlight and behave himself. Especially at this critical point, the emperor was about to enter a state of rage and capriciousness. (End of this chapter)