Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

For Huo Xian, being homesick was not a problem, because he was used to going back and forth to Chang'an. It was common for him to go back and forth for half a year or more.

As we got closer and closer to Chang'an, there was naturally nothing much to say. Everything was focused on escorting the emperor back to Chang'an safely.

Liu Che was in a good mood. He hugged Zhao and said, "Shan'er, why didn't I see the people arranged by the crown prince to welcome him?"

Huo Xian grinned and said, "Your Majesty, if the people sent by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrive here, it will be my dereliction of duty. If it is less than 30 miles away from Chang'an, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's people must not be allowed to come here."

Liu Che pretended to be unhappy and said, "We have so many people and we didn't hide our whereabouts. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't know our itinerary, it's not right for him to be the Crown Prince."

"Your Majesty, I am the Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry!" Huo Xian continued proudly, "Your Majesty can only inform His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of your itinerary. How can His Royal Highness the Crown Prince take the initiative to send someone to look for me? I know everything I should know, but I don't know what I shouldn't know."

Liu Che did not doubt Huo Shan's ability. Although what Huo Shan said was a bit exaggerated, the prince might not be able to know the specific location of the large group of troops. This was a very realistic consideration.

Suspicious, overbearing, and full of arrogance, Liu Che did not trust anyone. Although he was smiling now and seemed to be complaining, it would be bad if Liu Ju really knew something.

Liu Che said, "Why don't you go to see the Wei River and the Yellow River? Then send someone to inform the prince tomorrow and go out of the city to welcome him in three days."

Huo Xian smiled and said to Liu Che, "Your Majesty, I see that many of the accompanying officials and soldiers are also tired. Your Majesty should be considerate of us. Next time I return to Chang'an, I will go to Weishui by myself to look for the divine tortoise and the dragon horse."

Zhao was much bolder and even dared to joke, "Your Majesty, I have seen that you have endless energy. You are worthy of being the champion marquis who can sweep across the Xiongnu and open up the Western Regions!"

Liu Che was even happier, as this was his second work. "You didn't see what he was like when he was a kid. He was very naughty and didn't look like he had any future. Now there are still people praising him, which makes me laugh just thinking about it."

Huo Xian raised his eyebrows proudly and said, "Your Majesty, that's because you think I'm unreliable. I'm so majestic outside. It's just that I'm not wearing armor or a visor, otherwise I'd be even more heroic."

Liu Che immediately laughed at me, "You? You are wearing armor and a visor, but all I can think of is you rolling around on the floor with your bare bottom, and you are pulling my pussy while I and the Queen are following you!"

This is the dark history, but some of the attendants nearby are envious. He is worthy of being the Marquis of Champion who was raised by His Majesty himself. His Majesty remembers every detail of his childhood.

Huo Xian didn't want to mention that anymore. He still wanted to save face. "Your Majesty, shall I arrange for someone to report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? By the way, let the Yulin Army and Qimen Army clean up the mess. The army must pay attention to their appearance when they return."

Liu Che smiled and nodded, "Okay, you are more rigorous in managing your army than anyone else."

Huo Guang, Jin Midi and others also agreed with Liu Che's words. Although Huo Shan seemed careless sometimes, he was extremely strict when it came to military management.

There is no need to mention military discipline at all, as it is the fundamental quality of a strong army.

Even in terms of military appearance, Huo Xian had strict requirements. Whenever these two imperial guards appeared in front of everyone, they were always dressed in bright clothes and had strong soldiers and horses.

His style of commanding the army was similar to that of Wei Qing, Lu Bode, Cheng Buzhi and others. It was definitely not like Li Guang's style of marching without strict formations and arrays, not having night watch for self-defense, and simplifying various paperwork and books in the shogunate.

Military management is simple and easy, and perhaps the soldiers are comfortable and happy, but once they encounter an enemy raid, they may be unable to resist. Even if some scouts are deployed far away, they may not have time to react.

There is no harm in being strict, even if the soldiers may suffer and have some complaints in normal times, but it is enough to win the battle.

As for other things, Huo Xian really didn't care much about them. It's not that he didn't care about his soldiers, but he would not lower his standards on some seemingly principled matters.

Huo Xian began to arrange some things, sending some officials to Chang'an to report the news and ordering all the troops to assemble. Even if they returned to Chang'an, there had to be a sequence and order.

Even when the troops return to Chang'an, they need to return to their respective camps. At that time, the officers leading each unit will also need to arrange for subsequent rewards, etc. These all need to be arranged.

It is not the case that there will be some rewards only after the army returns to Chang'an, but the moment the army returns to Chang'an, some basic rewards must be provided, at least some wine, meat, food, etc.

The subsequent rewards for some meritorious soldiers can be postponed a little, and there seems to be no need to be too anxious.

The Grand Minister of Agriculture Sang Hongyang appeared. He is the current "financial director" of the Han Dynasty. He came to prominence during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, and became a mainstay in the court during the reign of Emperor Liu Che.

In order to cope with the financial deficit caused by foreign wars, Liu Che adopted the advice of Zheng Dangshi, the then Minister of Agriculture.

He ordered the implementation of the state-run salt and iron policy, transferring the salt and iron originally under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu to the Da Nong Ling, monopolizing the production of salt and iron by the state, and appointed the major salt merchant Dongguo Xianyang and Daye iron merchant Kong Jin as Da Nong Cheng to be specifically responsible for this matter.

However, since Sang Hongyang was good at calculating economic problems, he still participated in the planning of the state-run salt and iron industry as a Shizhong, and was responsible for "calculation" and "talking about benefits".

Later, he participated in the establishment of public land for the people, the minting of five-zhu coins, the establishment of military farming in the northwest, etc. He promoted the state-run salt and iron system and the equalization of transportation system, established the price stabilization system, and implemented the policy of paying grain to be awarded titles, filling official positions, and redeeming sins.

The fact that the Han Dynasty's finances have not completely collapsed is due to the efforts of this two-dynasty veteran. He also tried his best to ensure that the army could go on several expeditions and provide entertainment for the emperor.

When seeing Huo Xian, Sang Hongyang, one of the Nine Ministers, did not put on airs, "Marquis Guanjun, after not seeing you for several months, you are still as heroic as ever."

Looking at the big man's money bag, Huo Xian also hurriedly said politely, "Grand Minister of Agriculture, have you raised the military funds for me? I can't wait any longer. I just want to fight the Xiongnu as soon as possible."

Sang Hongyang immediately looked bitter, and said quickly, "Sir, we just rewarded the army, how can the court have any extra money now!"

This is correct. Gongsun Ao, Zhao Anguo and others had just returned to Chang'an after leading the army on an expedition to the Western Regions. Naturally, they had to reward the meritorious soldiers, which was also a huge expense.

For the Han Dynasty, which was already somewhat financially strapped, this was another huge expense. It was true that the Han Dynasty had gained prominence in the Western Regions, but this did not bring immediate returns.

If you want to manage the Western Regions well, you need continuous investment, so that you can bring back more finances from the Western Regions. Huo Xian asked back, "I don't understand what you mean. I have emptied two or three small countries in the Western Regions, and now people over there don't know what to say to me."

Sang Hongyang joked, "Your Excellency, do you still care about this?"

Sang Hongyang is already over fifty years old, while Huo Xian is just in his early twenties. Now the two of them are still talking and laughing, and they really seem to be friends regardless of age. If you don’t know them, you would think they have a very good relationship.

But the actual situation is that Huo Xian and Sang Hongyang did not have much contact with each other. Even though both of them were the emperor's most trusted ministers, their personal and official contacts were not many.

Huo Xian seemed to be in charge of spending money, because fighting a war was expensive, and subsequent rewards, pensions, etc. were also a large expense. A money bag like Sang Hongyang was responsible for continuously creating income.

Huo Xian also laughed and joked, "My reputation in the Western Regions is definitely not worth mentioning. Many people in the Western Regions couldn't survive last winter, and that was all my fault."

Sang Hongyang didn't know how to respond because he also knew something.

Last year, Huo Xian destroyed the three kingdoms in the Western Regions and plundered almost all the grain and food. It was very difficult for the people of the three kingdoms in the Western Regions to survive the winter, and many people did not survive.

Huo Xian said to Sang Hongyang, "Grand Minister of Agriculture, do you know how the Xiongnu governed the Western Regions?"

Sang Hongyang was stunned for a moment, then said, "I have heard of this. The Xiongnu sent servants to plunder the Western Regions. The Western Regions countries offered food, horses, beauties, etc., and also sent troops to accompany the Xiongnu to the expedition."

Huo Xian nodded quickly and said, "We can learn from this, too. Although I have destroyed several small countries in the Western Regions, there are still some other small countries in the Western Regions. It is not good to continue to use troops. I want to fight the Xiongnu."

Sang Hongyang seemed to understand what Huo Xian meant, and suddenly asked, "Sir, how many countries in the Western Regions have you destroyed?"

Huo Xian thought about it carefully and said uncertainly, "Last time it was the Three Kingdoms, but many people said that the Marquis of Haixi destroyed Luntai, so that counts me as well, so that makes it four."

"Four countries, it is true that they are four countries, and they are all in the core area of ​​the Western Regions. In addition, countries such as Loulan dare not act rashly under your prestige, and will sooner or later be conquered by our Han Dynasty." Sang Hongyang said, "Your prestige in the Western Regions is absolutely powerful."

Even if his reputation could stop him from crying, Huo Xian's reputation in the Western Regions might be even worse than that of the Huns.

Although the Huns ruled the Western Regions for a long time and made the people of the Western Regions suffer from high-pressure rule, compared with Huo Xian who destroyed several Western Regions countries at will, the Huns' rule seemed much milder.

Moreover, none of the four Western Regions countries destroyed by Huo Xian could be considered a small country in the true sense. Even if they were not as powerful as Wusun, they were not ordinary small countries, but countries with medium or above strength, but they still could not change the fate of being destroyed.

Huo Xian did not feel embarrassed and said with a smile, "There are still many countries in the Western Regions that can create some benefits for the Han Dynasty every year."

Sang Hongyang glanced at Huo Xian and said with a smile, "There are many military marquises in the Han Dynasty, but you are the only one who can capture a lot of prisoners every time you go out to fight. The soldiers under your command have gained a lot of benefits, and the court can also spend less money on pensions and rewards."

There seems to be nothing wrong with this, because Huo Xian's reputation for being good at plundering is well-known.

This is not an exaggeration, Huo Xian fought three battles in total, and captured a lot of prisoners in all three battles. Especially the two times he led the army, he destroyed a country and brought back enough spoils.

In addition to the rewards from the court, the soldiers under his command also plundered a lot of benefits during the war. Although it was hard to follow the Champion Marquis, the training was intense and the military discipline was very strict, so there was no problem.

But each of them enjoyed it very much, because not only could they win the battle, but they also gained a lot, both overtly and covertly.

Huo Xian smiled and said, "I have always known that the court's finances are not very abundant. It is a shame to say that we have not fought a single war that could make the Han Dynasty a big profit!"

Sang Hongyang was so moved that he almost cried. "It would be best if other military marquises were like you. Although you have fought several wars on long expeditions, the court spent a lot, but it was far less than originally expected."

This is the advantage of being good at plundering. Although it is still a loss-making business, it is a good thing to lose less. For the Han Dynasty, which is increasingly financially exhausted, less expenditure is also good.

Moreover, one of the advantages of Huo Xian's expertise in plundering is that it has a certain long-term effect. In the short term, it is definitely a small loss, but in the long run, it is not a loss.

For example, the more than 3,000 Arabian horses that Huo Xian looted from Dayuan are now gradually showing their value. These excellent horses that are worth a fortune are naturally hard currency.

Huo Xian was not joking and said to Sang Hongyang seriously, "The court wants to fight the Xiongnu. This is inevitable."

Sang Hongyang naturally knew that this battle was inevitable. Not only was he trying his best, but many officials were also trying every possible way to achieve this.

"We will have to endure two more years of hardship. After we defeat the Xiongnu, things will get better." Huo Xian said, "We can plunder the Western Regions if we want. Many of the lands there are not even Han Chinese people anyway."

Sang Hongyang was not surprised at all by Huo Xian's point of view. "But if we do this, I'm afraid that the people in the Western Regions will resist if we want to incorporate all of the Western Regions into our territory in the future."

Huo Xian asked in return, "The Xiongnu had oppressed them for hundreds of years. When did they ever resist? Our Han Dynasty is strong, so they naturally dare not resist. We just don't kill the goose that lays the eggs. What's the big deal about plundering a little?"

It can only be said that the lives of the people in the Western Regions may not be easy. After the Han Dynasty drove away the Xiongnu, the lives of the people in the Western Regions may not be easy, because the Han Dynasty came to rule with high pressure and continued to collect taxes and grain.

Sang Hongyang thought for a moment and said, "We can discuss these matters in private. Your Majesty still has to make the final decision."

Huo Xian just chuckled at this. He believed that Sang Hongyang was definitely tempted because the Han Dynasty was so short of money nowadays.

Some of the policies of the Han Dynasty are, after all, just for the sake of finance. As for plundering the Western Regions, people actually have no psychological burden.

However, these matters are now just a simple private discussion between Huo Xian, who spends money, and Sang Hongyang, who is responsible for making money. In the end, they will definitely be discussed in the court, and the emperor will still have to make the final decision. (End of this chapter)