Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Seeing Huo Xian coming, the people in the General's Mansion were not surprised at all. Whenever the Marquis of Guanjun was in Chang'an, he would run to the General's Mansion whether he had something to do or not.

Rumors that there was discord between Wei and Huo had long since vanished. Before Huo Shan grew up and had no military achievements, perhaps some people still mentioned these things, believing that the general and the general of the cavalry would definitely fight over the title.

But looking at it now, the discordant remarks might be fanned by someone with ulterior motives, trying to alienate the two most powerful marquises in the Han Dynasty.

This is not because Huo Xian is now in his prime and has great power, nor is it because Wei Qing is almost semi-retired and seems to have a declining power in the court.

The simple thing is that Wei and Huo have a very good relationship. Wei Qing loves Huo Shan very much, and Huo Shan also respects his great uncle very much. It's that simple.

When Princess Pingyang saw Huo Xian, she couldn't help but joked, "Are you done with catching thieves? I don't think you should be a general of cavalry. You should be a court judge. If you think that's too high, you can be a thief officer."

Huo Xian couldn't help laughing. It seemed that he had become quite famous in recent days. He might even be the talking point of Chang'an.

However, he obviously doesn't take these jokes to heart. There are too many rumors of all kinds, so there is no need to take them to heart.

If you feel troubled by these rumors, it would be a joke. If you don't have some psychological quality, how can you stand safely in the court? Huo Xian is well aware of this.

Princess Pingyang looked at Huo Xian and asked curiously, "You are not going to arrest thieves this time. Are you here to discuss fighting the Xiongnu with your uncle?"

Huo Xian nodded quickly and said, "I really can't hide it from you! I just came out of the palace, and His Majesty scolded me before, saying that I don't do my job properly every day."

Princess Pingyang couldn't help laughing, "You know all this too? You are the Grand Marshal and the General of Cavalry. Let's not talk about going to catch thieves. Just look at the period of time before that, how much did you do that a Grand Marshal should do?"

There is nothing wrong with this statement. At this stage, Huo Xian is indeed busy catching thieves, which seems to be a bit off topic.

But don't think that this is just the case at this stage. Before this, he did not do his job well. At least he did not manage the military affairs of the Han Dynasty, which was the job of the Grand Marshal.

Seeing Huo Xian's silly smile, Princess Pingyang couldn't help but say, "Your grandfather was also very high-spirited and flamboyant at that time, but he never neglected his work, unlike you who likes to play!"

Huo Xian immediately said, "While I can still play now, I will play for a few more years. I'm afraid I won't have time to play like this in the future."

There was no need to deliberately make the words clear, as everyone understood many things, so there was really nothing wrong with Huo Xian saying this.

Huo Xian, the Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry, seemed to be not doing his job properly, but there was nothing that could be done about it. Huo Xian had Wei Qing and Gongsun He on the front line, one was the general and the other was the prime minister, which was powerful enough.

If there was another power-hungry Huo Shan, the emperor would certainly be suspicious, so a Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry who did not really take care of things seemed to be a more reasonable position.

If we say that Wei Qing and Gongsun He were blocking Huo Shan's path to advancement, there is actually nothing wrong with this understanding.

Wei Qing, who was somewhat weak, slowly walked to the main hall, "It's rare, this is a thief hunt, are you here to show off to me?"

Huo Xian was inevitably embarrassed. It was fine if it was just someone else teasing him, but now the general was teasing him too. He was speechless. His going to catch thieves really became a laughing stock in Chang'an.

Wei Qing sat down slowly, smiling on his thin face, "You are better than me. I have never caught a thief before. You caught a hero, which is also impressive. The knights in Chang'an should be more afraid of you."

"If my uncle says so, I think it makes sense." Huo Xian admitted directly, "I don't like knights in the first place, and those people in Chang'an know it. Now they are definitely afraid to get close to me."

Hearing what Huo Xian said, Wei Qing and Princess Pingyang couldn't help laughing. This was indeed the truth.

If we were to say who among the Han Dynasty's powerful and wealthy disliked the group of knights the most, it would basically be Huo Xian. The knights were very afraid of him, and this was something that many people knew.

Wei Qing did not take it seriously. Rangers were not a good group, so they were punished. After all, most rangers would be killed if they were caught for committing a crime, or imprisoned or exiled to the border if they were caught for a crime.

Therefore, Huo Xian's behavior was not out of line, at most it was a bit unprofessional. He should not have captured the rangers directly, but should have let the captured rangers be properly dealt with in the army.

Princess Pingyang smiled and said, "There are many people asking for favors now. When Shan'er arrested the knight-errant, many wealthy families were implicated."

Wei Qing looked at Princess Pingyang and didn't know what to say for a moment.

He did not keep retainers and kept his distance from many officials in the court. Huo Xian did not keep retainers either, and only interacted with people from Wei and Huo, so even if he wanted to make friends with them, it was not easy.

But nothing is absolute, Princess Pingyang relatively prefers these interpersonal interactions. After all, she has the blood of the Liu family, and the princesses of the Han Dynasty generally like power.

Huo Xian said quickly, "That's not my fault. They are harboring fugitives. Since they chose to break the law knowingly, it's only right for me to deal with them. If these people abide by the law, those rangers will not be able to escape."

Wei Qing nodded slightly, obviously agreeing with Huo Xian's statement, because some of the practices of those wealthy families were obviously illegal.

Some powerful people like to keep retainers, and even if the rich can't keep retainers, they can still do something through other means. For example, knights-errant are suitable for being wooed and recruited by rich families.

With the promise of a small benefit, these rangers might come in handy at some point. This is why those rangers seem to be relatively well-off, and this is also the reason why some rangers can escape repeatedly.

Princess Pingyang smiled and said, "You are right. Everyone knows that you, the Marquis of Guanjun, have no selfish motives. Just be careful of the impact. You are not close to the rich and powerful and scholars, and now you are going to offend some people."

Wei Qing also warned him earnestly, "Han'er, although those wealthy families may not be very capable, they do have some wealth and are in Yangling. You should not offend too many people at once."

Huo Xian has offended many people, and he is not afraid of offending people. Everyone knows this.

But if you think about it carefully, there is no need to have enemies everywhere, and there is no benefit in that.

Huo Xian hurriedly said with a smile, "Don't worry, uncle. I know my limits in these matters. Even if I arrest people and interrogate them, I don't do it casually, and I don't intend to accuse them of crimes casually." Huo Xian naturally had the confidence to say this, because he believed that this was what he did. He really wasn't taking revenge for personal reasons, or arresting people at will, etc. There were reasons why some people fell into his hands.

"Besides, after being arrested, some people just pay money to atone for their crimes if they haven't committed any serious crimes." Huo Xian said with a smile, "If they cooperate with me in handling the case, I will release them if necessary."

Huo Xian is not just a reckless man. Even though he seems to be aloof and has average relationships with other powerful people, it does not mean that he likes to provoke others for no reason.

The one with whom the relationship was really bad was the Li family. That was because of Li Guang and Li Gan. It was because Li Guangli once threatened Wei Huo.

Or it was Tao Hou's side, this was a "sudden disaster", because Gongsun Jingsheng was such a bad teammate that they made a slight enemy.

In the true sense, Huo Xian simply did not associate with those powerful people, or it was because of his existence that the careers of many people seemed to be affected, and there was almost no possibility of replacing him.

There was no question of life-and-death feuds, or some conflicts that seemed obvious, etc. These had not happened for the time being, and Huo Xian was sensible in his heart.

"It's good that you know this. If they are guilty, punish them according to the law. If they are innocent, release them." Wei Qing also said, "You have caused unrest in Yangling. Maybe someone will impeach you."

Princess Pingyang also followed suit, saying, "Yangling is different after all. Although there are some wealthy families there, it is still a mausoleum."

At this time, Huo Xian only needed to nod obediently, because no matter whether it was Wei Qing or Princess Pingyang, what they said were very reasonable.

Yangling Town is the area where the mausoleum of Emperor Jing of Han is located. Therefore, if order is disrupted there, many people will definitely be punished. Huo Shan is well aware of this.

"I didn't intend to make a big deal out of it. I was just busy catching thieves these days." Huo Xian said with a smile, "Now that the people have been caught, the matter is over. Besides, I only caught some wealthy people."

Huo Xian definitely has a sense of propriety. He will definitely not let the situation get out of control, otherwise it would go beyond his original plans.

So although some of the people who have been arrested now seem to be wealthy or have a little power, there is no need to worry too much, as these people will not bring too much trouble to Huo Xian.

Wei Qing looked at Huo Xian and said with a smile, "It's good that you know these things. I won't ask you too much about your affairs now. You may have other thoughts and ideas when you go to catch thieves."

Not only Wei Qing thought so, Princess Pingyang also had similar thoughts in her mind.

Catching thieves seemed to be Huo Xian's hobby, but it didn't seem normal for a dignified General of Cavalry to catch thieves just for the sake of catching thieves.

What's more, Wei Qing and others also understood that Huo Xian seemed to be interested in investigating Madam Gou Ge's background, or wanted to clear out the unstable factors around Chang'an. These were all reasons why he was doing things under the banner of catching thieves.

So some things are enough to just be understood in your heart. If you really say everything out loud, that may not necessarily be a good thing. It is enough for everyone to understand it tacitly and maintain a tacit understanding.

Huo Xian just smiled. He was indeed not just doing this for the sake of catching thieves. He also believed that he had achieved some phased results and temporarily achieved some of his goals.

They were busy rejoicing secretly. After all, it seemed that some hidden dangers had been solved. This was very important for the Weihuo Group, and it might also solve some worries.

There was no need to continue talking about the matter of catching thieves, because Huo Xian already knew how to deal with these matters.

As for Wei Qing and Princess Pingyang, they did not intend to ask too many questions. As long as Huo Shan did not do anything too extreme, they would naturally let it go. After all, catching thieves was a good thing.

Catching thieves is never a bad thing, it's just that it's a bit inappropriate for Huo Xian to personally catch thieves. Bringing those heroes who broke the law with force to justice is something worth affirming.

Huo Xian looked at Wei Qing and asked seriously, "I went to His Majesty just now, and His Majesty mentioned the matter of attacking the Xiongnu. I didn't know how to answer for a moment."

Princess Pingyang looked at Huo Shan, then at Wei Qing, and chose to leave immediately. These topics were not suitable for her to participate in.

After Princess Pingyang left, Wei Qing asked, "What do you think? Do you want to fight this war next year, or in two or three years?"

"I actually want to wait two or three years before fighting. I also want to try to alienate the Xiongnu monarch and his ministers." Huo Xian said with a smile, "Besides, we are short of troops and food. It is definitely not a bad thing to prepare more."

Wei Qing could naturally understand Huo Xian's thoughts. After all, the Han Dynasty was too weak at the moment. It was not an easy task to launch a decisive battle. It would be difficult for everyone from top to bottom.

Wei Qing looked at Huo Xian with a calm expression, "You have a reason to think so, but you just didn't mention it in front of His Majesty, right?"

"I mentioned it once, and it was during a tour, and His Majesty scolded me." Huo Xian said with a smile, "Luckily I mentioned it during a casual chat, otherwise I would definitely have been punished by His Majesty."

After hearing what Huo Shan said, Wei Qing felt relieved. He knew very well that if someone mentioned delaying the war, the emperor would be very angry and dissatisfied, and even Huo Shan could not bear such punishment.

In the eyes of the emperor, no one could shake the strategy he formulated. The so-called delaying of the war might be seen by the emperor as cowardice, or even a delaying tactic to avoid fighting this war.

Especially when the emperor is getting older, if it is delayed any further, maybe he has some other intentions.

However, it is obvious that Huo Xian is a smart man. He realized that the situation was not right, so he naturally would not go against the emperor on this matter.

After all, there are some things where one can be arrogant due to the emperor's favor, and can argue and get angry with the emperor, but on some matters of principle, that obviously cannot be done.

Since Huo Xian did not break his promise, Wei Qing was naturally relieved. He understood some things, and Huo Xian also understood them, so he could only follow the emperor's strategies.

After all, the emperor considered things from the standpoint of a monarch, while Wei Qing and Huo Shan often considered things from the perspective of a minister, or even thought about issues from the perspective of a general.

So it is normal to have some disagreements, but when it comes to solving problems, the emperor's will must prevail. (End of this chapter)