Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Huo Xian felt that he was more comfortable in the Marquis Guanjun's Mansion. When he was young and ignorant, he might have thought that it was better to live in the palace, which was not only more magnificent, but also had great scenery.

But it was not her territory after all. Even if she was favored by the emperor and empress and seemed to be free to do whatever she wanted, she still had to follow some rules. How could she do whatever she wanted?

But in the Marquis Guanjun's Mansion, there is no such concern. He can lie on the recliner with his bare chest now. The so-called etiquette has nothing to do with him.

Do whatever is comfortable and at ease. This is Huo Xian's current state. He seems extremely relaxed and at ease.

Just as Huo Xian was preparing to take a short nap, the sound of footsteps was heard.

Zhao Anguo laughed as soon as he saw Huo Xian. "My Lord, it's not even the hottest summer yet, are you so afraid of the heat?"

Huo Xian glanced at Lin Mei who was fanning herself and said, "Go prepare some wine for An Guo. He is so young and doesn't learn his lesson. It would be better for him to eat some fruits, but he just loves to drink."

"Your Excellency is wrong. Generals like us must ride strong horses and drink good wine!" Zhao Anguo put forward some of his own opinions. "It is rare in the Han army to find someone like you who only loves fruits and vegetables."

Lin Mei only bowed briefly and prepared to leave. She didn't think the Lord would blame Cong Biao. There were many people who could joke with the Lord, but there were not many people that the Lord really recognized.

And this Cong Piao Hou is obviously the best friend of the Lord. This is a friendship that dates back to their fathers' generation. They served in the army together when they were young and fought in many battles over the years. There is no need to doubt the relationship between these two.

Others might not be able to enter the Marquis of Guanjun’s Mansion even if they tried their best, but Zhao Anguo never needed any invitations or visiting cards, and even the guards of the Marquis of Guanjun’s Mansion never stopped him. He could just come in directly.

"We haven't seen each other for more than half a year. How come you look stronger?" Huo Xian joked, "If you keep growing like this, I'm afraid you won't be able to ride a horse."

Zhao Anguo patted his chest proudly and said, "My Lord, when we go out together, people outside will definitely think that I am the great general with outstanding military achievements, and you are at most an errand boy."

Huo Xian was speechless for a moment. It was because his physique was not that of a standard general. He was not the type that looked strong and powerful at first glance.

Zhao Anguo was big and strong, looked more like he was in his thirties, and had a face full of vicissitudes of life. Huo Xian might get a tan when he was on the battlefield, but he would become fair-skinned again after resting for two months.

This is a natural thing. It's what having good skin is like. It's a pity that Huo Xian not only looks fair, but also doesn't have fat-covered muscles with broad shoulders and a fat waist.

Good brothers don't necessarily need to play around all the time to have a good relationship. Huo Xian and Zhao Anguo are "old friends", which means they are childhood friends and brothers for life and death.

In other words, it is highly likely that Huo Wuyou cannot decide on his marriage, plus his age is not suitable. Otherwise, if Huo Xian really plans to become a relative of Zhao Anguo, Zhao Anguo is also disappointing and has no children yet.

"We have been back in Beijing for two months. The rewards were given by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on our behalf." Zhao Anguo said with a smile, "I thought some people would stay in the Western Regions, but the general only kept Tan Jie."

Huo Xian also knew about this. "The general's arrangement makes sense. Tan Jie will either stay in the Western Regions or go to the frontier. In any case, he cannot be allowed to return to the capital."

Li Guangli's return to Chang'an was something that had been expected long ago. It would have been strange if he had not returned to Chang'an.

As for Li Ling's return to Chang'an, it was somewhat different from Huo Shan's original arrangement. Huo Shan originally wanted to keep him in Dunhuang as support and response to the Western Regions.

However, I had discussed these things with Wei Qing before. Wei Qing's idea was actually very simple. On the one hand, he was executing some military orders of the emperor, and on the other hand, he was selecting generals for a possible decisive battle with the Huns.

Therefore, whether Li Ling or Feng Dan returned to Chang'an, it was acceptable. It did not necessarily mean that Wei Qing felt that Huo Shan's arrangement was inappropriate, but that some adjustments needed to be made.

Wei Qing was calm and steady in commanding his troops. His first priority was to ensure he was invincible, whereas Huo Shan could be a little impatient at times and liked to use risky tactics.

Since he likes to use risky and surprising tactics, he needs some trusted officers under his command, who can resolutely carry out his orders.

Huo Xian carefully thought that he could dispatch other officers, but Wei Qing did not think so. Even the Grand Marshal might not be able to make all the officers execute military orders perfectly. He did not need to worry too much about trustworthy people.

Li Guangli, Li Ling and others are naturally not considered to be Huo Shan's confidants, but they have high military literacy and are capable of acting on their own, so they can be assigned to Huo Shan.

Huo Xian naturally had no objection to Wei Qing's arrangements.

Even if it seems a little different from your own ideas at first glance, there is no need to worry too much. There is nothing wrong in being more cautious.

Huo Xian looked at Zhao Anguo with some curiosity, "You said that Li Guangli and Li Ling are also in Chang'an now. Are they going to come to my mansion tomorrow?"

Zhao Anguo immediately laughed and said, "Of course they will come. After all, they were granted the title of marquis because they followed you. Li Guangli now has 7,000 households, which is more than mine."

Huo Xian couldn't help laughing. Some of Zhao Anguo's depression was justified. As a Marquis of Pi, his fiefdom was not much, but it was definitely better than those marquises who only had a few hundred or one or two thousand households.

Zhao Anguo still had some aspirations. He was granted a title of nobility based on his military achievements, and he had always followed Huo Xian in his battles.

Being conferred the title of marquis at the same time as Li Guangli, Zhao Anguo, as Huo Shan's deputy general, would naturally feel depressed. It was obvious that His Majesty liked Li Guangli more, so Li Guangli had a higher fiefdom and official position.

Zhao Anguo was almost tied up, and everyone knew that he was Huo Xian's deputy general. Don't even think about it, once the Champion Marquis went to war, Zhao Anguo, the Marquis of Piao, and Gongsun Ao, the Marquis of Yiqu, would definitely be his deputy generals.

There is nothing wrong with being highly bound. At least everyone knows some of Zhao Anguo's positions.

Huo Xian was somewhat curious and concerned, "I left early last year. How is the situation in the Western Region?"

"Since we defeated the people of the Western Regions, they are naturally honest." Zhao Anguo said proudly, "In my opinion, some people just deserve to be punished. We just need to give them a good beating, otherwise they would be so rampant all the time."

Huo Xian thought this made a lot of sense, and said, "In the past, many Western Region countries were disloyal to our Han Dynasty. Not only did they kill and embarrass Han envoys, they also often followed the Xiongnu's lead."

Zhao Anguo smiled and said, "Now these people have figured it out. They know that our Han army is strong and powerful. They also know that if they disobey, our Han army will be able to kill them."

The prestige was earned through fighting, and the Western Regions countries that had once ignored the Han Dynasty were forced to bow down. In order to win over the Western Regions countries, the Han Dynasty had done nothing good, but there were still many Western Regions countries that were fickle and swayed from side to side. These people were obviously more loyal to the Xiongnu.

However, after Zhao defeated the Xiongnu and conquered Loulan, the Western Regions began to fear the Han Dynasty more and more. Especially after Huo Xian successively conquered Luntai, Dayuan, Qiemi and other Western Regions, the Xiongnu people began to be really scared.

Zhao Anguo was even more proud and said, "These people were oppressed by the Xiongnu before, and they didn't dare to resist. Now that my Han soldiers have arrived, the people of the Western Regions can think more open-mindedly and are all behaving well."

Huo Xian couldn't help but tease, "So, they figured it out on their own?"

Zhao Anguo smiled and nodded, "Now that I have come to terms with it and have seen your methods, how dare these people say anything? The Huns are powerful, but you are more powerful than them."

Huo Xian was smiling and nodding, thinking it was a compliment. But suddenly he felt something was wrong. This shouldn't be a proper compliment. Why did it sound so weird?
However, Huo Xian did not care too much about it. He could completely understand that this was just some compliments and some awe from the enemy. This was the greatest recognition for a general.

The soldiers and civilians of all the countries in the Western Regions are afraid of the Han Champion Marquis. It sounds like that is true. Sometimes reputation is far more deterrent than some benevolence.

It is obvious that this is not just a casual statement that villains fear power but not virtue.

The Han Dynasty had made many overtures to the Western Regions countries in the past, but it still could not change those people’s disloyalty.

Now that they were frightened by their beatings, these people had thought it through. They no longer dared to flirt with the Huns, let alone continue to cause trouble for the Han Dynasty at the instigation of the Huns.

Huo Xian was still a little worried. "To be honest, the Wusun people are also cunning. It's a pity that the court has to use troops against the Xiongnu now, otherwise I will make the Wusun people know what's good for them!"

Speaking of Wusun, Zhao Anguo gritted his teeth and said, "These people are two-faced. If we had more troops and time last year, we would have dealt with the Wusun people."

The Wusun were betting on both sides, and even wanted to use the Xiongnu to drive the Han forces out of the Western Regions. This was something that Huo Xian and others kept in mind, and they knew that this account would have to be settled sooner or later.

As for "admitting mistakes" and so on, this is just a laughable thing, Huo Xian and others will definitely not take it seriously.

There are certainly some regrets. Although the Han Dynasty now seems to be strong in both men and horses, there are basically no decent opponents when you look around, and most of them are defeated.

However, the Han Dynasty now does not have the spare energy to deal with all the enemies. The only option now is to concentrate all its energy on dealing with the main enemy, the Huns. This seems to be the most correct choice.

Let Wusun go for now. When the Han Dynasty has time and its national strength recovers, we can settle the score with them.

The two brothers were chatting and laughing, and were also discussing some situations in the Western Regions. The Western Regions were the place where they made their name and established their achievements, so it was naturally worthy of attention.

It can even be said that the countries in the Western Regions were where Huo Xian and Zhao Anguo truly gained a foothold in the military. When they went to fight the Huns for the first time, they were merely subordinates of Wei Qing and could not be considered the main generals.

Eating, drinking, chatting and laughing, Huo Shan was obviously in a good mood. Now that he was back in Chang'an, there would be plenty of opportunities for them to get along in the future.

So after having a meal, Zhao Anguo returned to his mansion in time. He has been feeling a lot of pressure recently, a series of pressures from all aspects.

As a Congpiou Marquis, even though he had always been Huo Xian's deputy general, he was also a General of the Central Army and had always been in charge of the two imperial guards, Yulin and Qimen, and had great influence in the military.

In front of Huo Xian and Wei Qing, Zhao Anguo may have an ordinary status, but in the eyes of others, he is also a great figure who has enough influence on the court and the military.

Various relationships, temptations, etc. are all placed in front of him. It depends on whether he can resist such temptations.

There are more temptations in front of Huo Xian, but his resistance to them is very strong, which can be regarded as the benefit of being well-informed.

Having been with the emperor since he was a child, he has seen all kinds of things. Some temptations that ordinary people find irresistible are not really too big a temptation for him.

Huo Xian got up early and went straight to Maoling with his four generals. For him, the sacrifice was a big deal and it was something that absolutely could not be delayed.

After the worship, Huo Xian looked around and said, "I should come to Lingyi in a few days. Uncle Chen, are there any heroes of Maoling or Yangling recently?"

Chen Ju and the others were not surprised at all when they heard Huo Xian say this. Although they did not understand, their own prince did like to cause trouble to the powerful when he was young.

The various wealthy merchants or big families who were relocated to Lingyi were the ones who suffered the most. If they did something illegal, they might see the Marquis of Guanjun leading the cavalry to break into the city.

In Huo Xian's eyes, the so-called knights-errant were equivalent to active social elements. Huo Xian did not give any face to the so-called heroes, and basically sent them to prison once they were arrested.

Chen Ju said, "I heard that a great hero has emerged in Yangling. He is said to be quite fierce and chivalrous."

Huo Xian was immediately happy when he heard this, "Yang Ling? Fierce and chivalrous? I like these people the most. It would be fine if he was really a hero. But a fierce and violent bandit is called a hero, which is really ridiculous!"

These "heroes" of the Han Dynasty are not chivalrous men who serve their country and their people. Most of them are people who break the law and bully the weak.

Huo Xian had never been very polite to this kind of group. Those who committed serious crimes would be arrested and handed over to the Chief Justice, and they would naturally be dealt with according to the laws of the imperial court.

If the crime is not too serious, they will be sent to the army. There are also many people who have committed crimes in the Han army. Even if these people cannot escape punishment by virtue of their military merits, they can still do work such as transporting supplies for the army.

The Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry did not care about military affairs, but instead wanted to seize the job of the Minister of Justice to catch thieves. This is simply like using a butcher knife to kill a chicken and using an anti-aircraft gun to kill a mosquito. It really is a bit of a waste of talent.

But Huo Xian didn't think so. He felt that what he did was very interesting and he was happy to do it.

Catch the thief, is the hero of Yangling about to appear? (End of this chapter)