Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Huo Xian, a Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry, was keen on catching thieves, which was an interest and hobby that many people found very difficult to understand.

But there was nothing wrong with that, the rich and powerful were just like that, many of them had even weirder interests. It was just a thief hunt, which was actually nothing.

This is even considered relatively good. The only problem is that he exceeded his authority. It seems that he did some things that were not within the scope of the Grand Marshal's duties.

But since the emperor didn't care about these things, Huo Xian insisted that this was a military action and a training exercise. Even though the reason was indeed far-fetched, some people had no choice but to accept it. A higher-ranking official can crush a lower-ranking official, let alone many levels higher!

Whether it was the Chief Justice or the Embroidered Uniform Envoy, they sent a list of thieves and fugitives around Chang'an with the emperor's tacit approval.

Embroidered-robed envoys like Bao Shengzhi knew Huo Xian's interests and hobbies even better, and they mainly selected some powerful people and knights, who were the people that Guan Junhou liked to capture the most.

Village tyrants and active social elements, it doesn't matter if they are arrested. In the end, it is still to get rid of harm for the people. This is also to maintain some laws of the Han Dynasty. What he is doing is serious work, not eating, drinking and having fun.

Looking at the list, Huo Xian said, "From the looks of it, these people in Chang'an are not that good. So many of them are guilty of crimes, but none of them can be brought to justice. What's going on?"

Bao Shengzhi could only quickly explain, "My Lord, these people are people who violated the law with force and have no regard for the laws of the court."

This is also true. People like Guo Jie and Zhu Anshi call themselves "heroes", but they basically break the law by using force. They are the key targets of the campaign against organized crime and evil, so how can we allow them to get away with it?

Huo Xian had guessed this explanation long ago. "Since the Imperial Court and the Embroidered Uniform Envoy can't catch the man, the Five Officials in charge of catching thieves can't catch the man either. I have to do it for you."

Others could only listen to Huo Xian's arrogant words. After all, he was the Marquis of Guanjun. This was not the arrogance of youth or success, but the sarcasm of a superior towards his subordinates.

Bao Shengzhi and others were relieved. Huo Xian was just being sarcastic. If he went too far and insisted that these people were not doing their job properly and were incompetent, they would not be able to get away with it.

If that were really the case, these people would have to go to the emperor one by one to ask for punishment, and they would not be able to escape the blame for their failure to perform their duties.

It can only be said that the higher the rank, the more powerful the person. Even if they are older, when facing Huo Xian, they can only pretend to be listening to his teachings and dare not make much defense for these accusations.

Huo Xian didn't want to embarrass anyone. He pointed at the list and said, "I see that many of these people have good backgrounds. It seems that they haven't been arrested. I guess it's not just that you didn't try hard enough. Maybe someone is protecting them, right?"

Bao Shengzhi spoke the truth, "Your Excellency must have known that these people do have some backgrounds, and their family backgrounds are not bad, so they have many connections."

The last famous knight-errant was Guo Jie, whose grandmother was the famous fortune teller Xu Fu. They were related, so he could kill people for some trivial matters. Others only knew that he was willing to sacrifice his life to avenge his friends.

Those who don't know him would think he is a wise man and want to protect him, thinking he is a true hero.

Huo Xian smiled and said, "That's good. I think those who harbored the fugitives should be brought to justice. They dared to harbor criminals. I'm afraid these people think that prison is far away from them and want to live in it."

Bao Shengzhi said helplessly, "Your Excellency also knows some chivalrous people who only care about reputation and not the law. These people think differently from ordinary people."

Huo Xian could fully understand Bao Shengzhi's helplessness, because Guo Jie, Zhu Anshi or some of their followers often talked about brotherhood and loyalty and had no respect for the laws.

Naturally, there will be no shortage of similar people around these people, or they will provide some help for various reasons.

After all, there was a strong culture of retainers in the Western Han Dynasty. Some powerful people and wealthy people did not mind keeping retainers. In addition to gaining a good reputation, they also wanted to get these people to do things for them.

Providing him with delicious food and drink, and giving him some pocket money, etc., this is not just about keeping a retainer, but about keeping a warrior who can take action when necessary.

Of course, we cannot openly call them death warriors, but the positioning of this type of people and so on are almost the same as death warriors.

"I don't like knights-errant, and everyone in Chang'an knows it." Huo Xian said with a smile, "In my army, bad boys and criminals with good character can only escort baggage with the army at most, and rarely have the opportunity to fight in battle."

Bao Shengzhi and others naturally knew all these things. Every time the army went out to fight, in addition to the criminals who had to be exiled, there were also many wanderers and idle young men who would follow the army.

This is naturally also for the purpose of achieving success and gaining fame and wealth.

However, everyone knew some of Huo Xian's habits. He liked real soldiers and did not like to use criminals. As for the evil young men who volunteered to join the army, they could only stay behind to escort the baggage and do hard labor.

Huo Xian looked at Chen Ju and asked with a smile, "Uncle Chen, if these people were in our army, would they change?" Chen Ju smiled and said, "If these people really were in your army, they would definitely change. These people just need to be punished. After a few beatings, they will know not to be violent."

Zhao Hexi and the others also laughed. If these people were really caught by their own lord, they would be thrown into the army and either die or suffer a lot. If they worked as coolies and servants for a while, they would know how to live a peaceful life.

Moreover, once these people join the army, there is a high probability that they will not be incorporated into the formal army, and they will have to continue serving in the future.

Our own lord has high requirements for the army. Even though the Han Dynasty seems to be short of soldiers now, not everyone with a bad character can join the army.

Wanting to follow the Lord to build a career is a luxury. Those good family boys and those soldiers who have undergone rigorous training don't have enough opportunities, so how can we give more opportunities to the rangers and evil boys?

Huo Xian pointed to a name he had been waiting for for a long time and asked, "What's the matter with this person?"

Bao Shengzhi took a look and said quickly, "This man calls himself the Great Hero of Yangling. He is similar to Guo Jie and is aggressive and belligerent. He has some martial arts skills, so the villagers don't dare to provoke him."

Zhu Anshi's situation is the epitome of the so-called "hero", who is generally a typical example of someone who breaks the law by using force.

They are very good at bullying ordinary people, but they dare not provoke the real powerful people. They have a lot of so-called old friends, and it seems that they can be treated with good wine and food wherever they go, which makes them very powerful.

Today they help out their friends when they are in trouble, and tomorrow they kill someone and run away because someone disrespects them. Their reputations are spread everywhere, and as long as they are not caught, they are all alive and well.

They may even be proud to reveal their identities and crimes, putting the people who took them in in an awkward situation. For these people, the people who sheltered them have to commit suicide.

The reason is naturally that the officials are tracking them down. If the people who took them in reveal their whereabouts, these people will retaliate later if they escape, or seek revenge from their friends.

This kind of thing is very common. Guo Jie often cheated those who took him in. There were even many cases where he took the initiative to ask for shelter. As a result, the incident made a lot of noise and attracted officials to be dispatched, causing the host to be imprisoned or commit suicide.

These people cannot be called heroes. If they were really heroes, Huo Xian might look upon them with more respect and let them off the hook.

Seeing that it was almost done, Huo Xian said, "Alright, I know all these things. I'll go arrest the people, and you guys should not be idle. Continue to investigate those who should be investigated and arrest those who should be arrested."

Huo Xian's attitude was very clear. He was not a professional official, which meant that the task of arresting thieves was not his responsibility. Interrogation, sentencing, and other matters also had nothing to do with him.

Now that I am willing to do these things, it is natural that I can do some training or find something interesting to do when I have nothing to do.

As for the people in the Supreme Court, the Five Officials and other institutions, they should continue to perform their duties. Don't think that Huo Xian has taken all these things on himself.

The most important thing is that it is naturally Huo Xian's credit that these people were arrested. If he did not bring these people to justice, it would not be his dereliction of duty. This is what other officials should do.

Bao Shengzhi and others were well aware of this, and they had never expected Huo Xian to take all the responsibilities on his own initiative.

It would be best if the champion marquis caught someone, so that the champion marquis can take credit and the others can report back. If he fails to catch someone, it will be the officials of the relevant agencies who will continue to catch people.

After getting rid of Bao Shengzhi and his men, Huo Xian was happy. "Finally, I found something to do. Let's clean up. Catching thieves is much more interesting than hunting."

Chen Ju and others could basically understand Huo Xian's words. Hunting and catching thieves were two completely different things, and they were even more different from fighting.

However, these things have something in common, that is, they are more exciting and give people a sense of accomplishment.

This is also the reason why many people think Huo Xian has a special liking for catching thieves. After all, this champion has been active and likes excitement since he was a child. He is not good at playing pitching pots or Cuju, nor is it his favorite entertainment activity.

He was even less addicted to alcohol and sex, although Guanjun Hou was known as the best person in Chang'an at commenting on Chu dance. But apart from that, he just liked watching Chu dance, and he was obviously not particularly keen on women.

Whether it is fighting or power that is his pursuit, hunting, catching thieves, etc., these are also his hobbies besides his main job.

There is nothing more to say, let's go catch the thieves, what an interesting thing it will be! (End of this chapter)