Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

The arrogant and domineering Champion Marquis began to hunt down thieves, and no one could stop this.

The mausoleum town system was originally special. It was the product of "strengthening the foundation and weakening the branches" and "defending against the Huns", so a large number of wealthy families moved here, making the population large and the economy developed.

Although they have left their familiar environment and cannot become local tyrants, most of the wealthy families still have some foundation and savings, and will try to continue to develop after migrating to Chang'an.

After all, those who were able to move here have some abilities, and they all think of themselves as extraordinary, and they are not content to just be a rich family.

Making friends with new powerful people and looking for new opportunities are what they are doing now.

Huo Xian entered a house with great fanfare, "Where is the person in charge?"

An old man with gray hair stepped forward and said respectfully, "I didn't know you were coming. I'm sorry for not welcoming you."

Huo Xian asked directly, "What's the matter with Zhu Anshi? I heard that he stood up for you. It seems that you have a good relationship."

The old man quickly explained, "Sir, we are a good family, so we naturally don't associate with knights. But my son always likes to play around and got to know some people on the street, so maybe he got to know these people at some point."

Huo Xian nodded slightly, then said jokingly, "No wonder, he came to your mansion after hurting someone. Go call your son out, I'll take him back and ask him."

The old man suddenly became anxious and shouted, "Sir, my son is innocent!"

"Innocent?" Huo Xian said sarcastically, "Someone saw him coming to your house after injuring someone, and then disappeared. If you didn't hide him, could it be that he grew wings and flew away!"

The old man became even more anxious, "Sir, my son is innocent, why are you arresting him?"

Huo Xian said calmly, "Harboring and sheltering a fugitive, is this a sufficient charge? If you think it's unjust, let me try him and I'll know."

If he was unreasonable, Huo Xian would be even more unreasonable. "Come here, go and catch him. I want to see how many people dare to shelter and harbor the fugitive!"

As to whether this old man’s son and Zhu Anshi are close friends, or whether he is really helping Zhu Anshi escape, these are not things that need to be taken seriously. What he needs now is an attitude.

The Han Dynasty had a martial spirit and some of the customs of the Spring and Autumn Period. Wanderers and retainers were common. Huo Shan could not change much of these things, but he could make the areas around Chang'an temporarily more stable.

If anyone dares to continue harboring fugitives and help them evade the court's pursuit, this matter will naturally not be easily resolved.

This kind of trend must be curbed, otherwise it will only get worse, especially at this sensitive moment. This is the uncertainty in Huo Xian's eyes.

The old man naturally wanted to stop it and plead for mercy, but there was no room for mercy at this time. It was something that he simply couldn't do.

A terrified young man was dragged out like this. Maybe he was a rich young man and could have been friends with the wanderers on the street, but now he was just a suspect of Huo Xian.

"Tie him up!" Huo Xian said to the crowd with a cold face, "You are harboring a criminal, and you deserve it! If you want to pay a fine to atone for your sin, you should also consider whether you can redeem him from me!"

This is simply unreasonable. For some rich people, committing a crime is not a big deal, they just need to pay a fine.

But this does not mean that everyone can be redeemed, nor that all crimes can be redeemed. Sometimes one is stuck there, and even if one is rich and powerful, one can only plead guilty and be punished.

Huo Xian's words still seemed to have some deterrent effect. It would have been fine if he had brought the army to arrest people, but the main reason was that everyone knew who this young general was. If he didn't release the people, they could only ask the emperor for help.

If you really have the ability to ask for help from His Majesty the Emperor, you would not just commit these crimes, and you would not just shelter a fugitive. Those are really trivial matters that are not worth mentioning.

This is not simply killing the chicken to scare the monkey, this is directly setting rules.

Just when Huo Xian was about to arrest someone again, a man suddenly rushed out, "My Lord, My Lord!"

Huo Xian was a little arrogant, "Who are you?"

"I am the mayor of Yangling." The mayor also revealed his identity and said directly, "Please calm down for now, my lord. I heard that Zhang Sanlang likes to wander around. He is just a good boy and has not committed any crime."

Huo Xian stared at the mayor and asked directly, "Speaking of which, I want to ask you something. Zhu Anshi committed so many crimes, and you just watched? It seems that we have to ask the court judge and the embroidered uniform envoy to investigate you."

The mayor was sweating profusely and said quickly, "Sir, it is against the law for you to come here to arrest people!"

"I like tough decisions and strong orders." Huo Xian laughed and said, "Just go find your superior and ask him. You are not qualified to know whether there is an imperial decree or a military order."

Since he was so arrogant and domineering, Huo Xian didn't care any more. "I may have to lead the army to war someday. Now I remember you. I will definitely take you with me next time!"

The mayor was a little panicked for a moment. He came out to plead for mercy, after all, he was an official. And he just said a few words, he didn't really mean to stop them.

However, the development of things was somewhat beyond his expectations. Huo Xian didn't care about so many so-called "rules" and tacit understandings at all. His style of doing things was to do things his own way.

Huo Xian ignored everything else and rode away to the next house to arrest someone. There were quite a few people to be arrested this time, so it was a relatively systematic and large-scale task.

This was naturally not a chaotic situation, and Huo Xian did not arrest people randomly. Those he arrested were basically those who had some connection with Zhu Anshi.

Regardless of whether they were the brave and aggressive knights or the idle rich kids, these people were Huo Xian's targets. It was also because these people were usually more active that they made a lot of noise.

Wei Buyi didn't know when he arrived, and he couldn't help but shake his head when he saw the group of people behind Huo Xian.

Huo Xian was very curious, "Uncle, has someone come to you for help?"

"I don't dare to ask for mercy, but some officials are worried." Wei Buyi said with a smile, "You arrested so many people this time and caused such a big commotion, so naturally they have to come and take a look."

Huo Xian lowered his voice and said, "Uncle, don't worry. I have always been very sensible in what I do."

Wei Buyi did not doubt this, "Aung also said that you look reckless, but you should be sensible in doing big and small things. If you do this now, some people will start to impeach you."

"How can it be wrong for me to catch thieves?" Huo Xian asked puzzledly, "These people can't catch the thieves, so I help them catch them. Is there anything wrong with that? The thief-catching officials under the command of Yangling Wei are also members of my army!" Wei Buyi had no way to refute Huo Xian's specious arguments for a while, because the so-called Yangling Wei was indeed a member of the army.

Huo Xian said carelessly, "Don't worry, cousin. His Majesty knows about this matter. He just thought I was looking for something to do because I was bored, so he didn't take it to heart."

Wei Buyi felt more at ease. "Just don't make a fuss too much, or you will lose face."

Huo Xian was surprised. "How does it have to do with my reputation? I'm catching thieves now. How can I lose my face for such a good thing?"

"They say you're amassing wealth!" Wei Buyi could only explain, "You're only taking money from these wealthy families now, which inevitably makes people think too much."

Huo Xian suddenly felt that it made sense, "It seems to be true! Don't worry, cousin, I am not interested in those things. I just want to investigate the case and catch the thief."

After hearing what Huo Xian said, Wei Buyi naturally would not try to persuade him anymore. He just came to take a look.

If Huo Xian went too far, he would have to intervene to persuade her. But everything was in order, and Huo Xian seemed rational, so there was no need to persuade her.

This was not just Wei Buzhi's idea, it was also the opinion of Wei Qing and Princess Pingyang. They all understood that Huo Xian might be fooling around by doing this, but maybe he had other arrangements.

He had done so many absurd things that for a while many people didn't know whether Huo Xian was just acting on a whim when he came to catch the thief.

Huo Xian, who was very proud of himself, returned with a full load and threw the people into the imperial prison. "Keep an eye on these people. If any of them escapes or if anyone colludes with others, don't blame me for not telling you the truth in advance!"

Not to mention Huo Xian, the powerful Marquis Guanjun, even some ordinary marquises were considered big shots in front of the jailers and others.

Of course, all this is based on the fact that these marquises are outside. There are countless dukes and marquises who have been imprisoned in prison, and many of them have never come out after going in, so there is nothing to be surprised about.

It's simply that the current Marquis of Guanjun holds great power and is the emperor's favorite minister, so everyone should be more respectful to him.

After finishing all these, Huo Xian ran to Jianzhang Palace in one breath, "Your Majesty, I think catching thieves and arresting robbers is quite interesting."

Liu Che threw the memorial away and asked, "What's so interesting about it? You're messing around outside, and I have to worry about you."

"Your Majesty, I am arresting thieves. This is serious business." Huo Xian said seriously, "I am catching a thief now. He has committed many crimes, but he often escapes. I have read some confessions and I think he is involved with some wealthy officials."

Liu Che was not surprised by this. "Back then, the great hero Guo Jie was able to get the general to plead for mercy. Otherwise, do you think these people could have escaped for so many years?"

Everyone is aware of these situations, but sometimes they are just unwilling to say them directly.

"I know, that's why I say these things are interesting." Huo Xian said with a smile, "I will drag their offspring away in front of everyone and make a big noise. I want to see who will come to beg for mercy!"

Liu Che looked at Huo Xian with some disappointment and said, "You are still thinking too simply."

Huo Xian immediately asked for advice, "Your Majesty, isn't that what you do? Your Majesty did the same thing before."

"It's okay to do this, but it's not your turn to do it!" Liu Che earnestly advised, and began to educate Huo Shan again, "I deliberately muddied the court situation before, so that I could naturally see the positions of all officials."

Huo Xian also nodded quickly, "That's how I learned it, too. I made things bigger and more confusing, and some people jumped out in a hurry."

Liu Che covered his head, "You are so smart, but you only want to fight? You are the Marquis of Guanjun. You have not interacted with the rich and powerful in recent years. You even quarreled with the son of the Prime Minister. Who would dare to beg for mercy for someone like you?"

Huo Xian looked dumbfounded for a moment, "No, I've only caught a few insignificant thieves now, I'm still hoping to catch the big fish!"

Liu Che waved his hand and said, "If you just go and arrest people, it's fine, but the investigation will be difficult. Shan'er, you should also think about people's hearts. You are always so arrogant and willful, and you only think about fighting. What should I do?"

Huo Xian immediately asked, "Your Majesty, what should I do next? I have already said it, if I can't catch the person, how embarrassed will I be?"

Jin Midi and others had long been accustomed to some things, such as the fact that it was difficult for the emperor to completely treat Huo Shan as a minister. When Huo Shan, a minister, encountered trouble, the first thing he thought of was to go to the emperor for help.

Liu Che looked at Huo Xian and said, "You are a great general and a general of cavalry. You don't go to the military camp but go to catch thieves and arrest robbers. Do you think you can have face?"

"Then I can't just sit there and hunt. I don't like attending court either." Huo Xian said seriously, "Your Majesty, I really can't sit still. Catching thieves can also help me practice my riding and martial arts. I think that's great."

After hearing what Huo Shan said, Liu Che didn't know what to say, as he also knew Huo Shan's character.

It is actually a good thing to catch thieves now. If he is left idle, he might get into trouble. After all, Huo Xian seems to be very sensible, but being too flamboyant can easily offend people.

Liu Che said jokingly, "This is trouble you brought upon yourself. I don't have time to deal with it. Think of a solution yourself. There will always be someone to help you."

Huo Xian's eyes lit up, "Her Majesty the Queen? That won't work, she doesn't understand these things. Your Majesty, how about the Crown Prince's cousin?"

Liu Che smiled and rejected it, "He is definitely willing to help you, but he doesn't have the people who can help you, so the more he helps, the more trouble he will cause."

"General?" Huo Xian asked himself, then denied it. "Otherwise, I'll go find the Prime Minister. He will surely forgive me and help me arrest the man."

Liu Che couldn't help laughing, "How can you be the Grand Marshal like this? If you are asked to do something, you will only ask for help. Shan'er, let alone the court, who else can you trust in the army except Zhao Anguo?"

"Feng Dan, he was made a marquis." Huo Xian immediately became confident, "Zhao Congxiao and the others are not bad either, but whether they can be made a marquis depends on luck."

Liu Che shook his head and said, "As for you, other people have to win over their colleagues when they are in office. If you are in a high position, you must have a deep foundation. But you are the Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry, but you only know a few people?"

Huo Xian said with a playful smile, "Your Majesty, isn't this a relief?"

Liu Che waved his hand impatiently and said, "Go find the Prime Minister and see if he is willing to help you. Remember this, be more careful in the future. You should also have some voice in the court."

Huo Xian stopped, now is not the right time, he really can't be so active at this stage, otherwise it will be very unsafe. (End of this chapter)