Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 32: Unaware of Yourself
Huo Shan gave Liu Che a huge surprise. Not only did he see that the soldiers trained by Huo Shan were full of spirit, but also because this young general Huo Shan was full of vigor, youthfulness, and fine clothes and a fierce horse. He was exactly the same Huo Qubing as before!
The appearance of double-sided stirrups gave Liu Che and Wei Qing a huge surprise and unexpectedness. With their strategic vision, they could naturally see the great help these seemingly small improvements brought to the cavalry.

Then, Liu Che ordered the Jianzhang Camp Cavalry to continue training.

As for Huo Shan, he was called back to Chang'an and returned to the Weiyang Palace.

He discussed carefully with Liu Che and Wei Qing how to use and manufacture double-sided stirrups, and emphasized that the technical threshold of this thing is low and it can only be used by elite cavalry for the time being.

It was not that the Han Dynasty was unable to mass-produce them, but that it had to achieve a surprise victory and deal a severe blow to the Huns.

Liu Che and Wei Qing naturally understood that they could start manufacturing double-sided stirrups in large quantities now, but they also needed to keep it as secret as possible so that the soldiers could adapt and practice, and then use them in the war.

Seeing Huo Shan lying listlessly on the table, Wei Zifu said comfortingly, "Shan'er, you have been allowed to leave the palace and train with the troops. You are coming back now just to let you rest for a few days."

Liu Ju also advised, "Xian'er, you have been out training for more than a month and you haven't come back to the palace yet. How can this be justified?"

Huo Xian became even more depressed. He looked at Wei Zifu and Liu Chuo and said, "Aunt, cousin, I am an outsider. Now you all think it is natural for me to live in the palace, as if this is my home. If this continues, what should I do?"

After hearing what Huo Shan said, Wei Zifu and Liu Ju were both stunned.

In their subconscious, Huo Xian should live in Weiyang Palace, which is his home.

Huo Xian had been in the palace since he was a little kid. He was either accompanied by the emperor or running around in the Pepper Palace. Everyone was used to seeing him coming and going freely and unrestrained in the Weiyang Palace.

Liu Ju suppressed his laughter and said, "It will be fine in two years, it will be fine in two years."

Wei Zifu thought about it carefully and said, "Why don't you get married? Then I'll let you leave the palace."

According to the regulations of the Han Dynasty, "women aged 15 to 30 who do not marry will be taxed five times." That is to say, if a woman does not get married between the ages of 15 and 30, she will have to pay five times the tax.

The royal family of the Han Dynasty generally got married at a relatively early age; fifteen, sixteen, or even fourteen was very normal.

Huo Xian refused decisively, "How can I return home if the Xiongnu is not yet destroyed?"

Wei Zifu quickly advised, "Xian'er, you want to get married after all. I'll find a suitable family for you, okay?"

"No, I won't get married until I have made great achievements and found the person I like." Huo Xian was even more straightforward. "If it really doesn't work out, I will take a concubine in two years. At least you won't have to worry about the bloodline of my Huo family, right?"

Wei Zifu and Liu Ju were completely speechless by Huo Shan's shameless behavior.

Taking a concubine before marrying a wife, isn't this what Huo Qubing did back then?

When it came to Huo Shan, he felt more confident and pushed everything onto Huo Qubing because of family teachings.

What is difficult to say openly is that the Huo family is good at having illegitimate children, which makes it even more difficult to explain.

Huo Xian was likely to be unable to escape political marriage, etc. But he did not want to get married early, and did not want to have a wife without knowing what was going on.

So push it away if you can, and hide if you can, otherwise you may really be assigned a princess or something.

In the Han Dynasty, it was not uncommon for cousins ​​to marry each other, and Huo Xian thought it was best not to get too involved.

Liu Ju asked, "Xian'er, how come your father came back suddenly after watching you train?"

"The training was good, so His Majesty called me back because he was happy." Huo Xian said weakly, "Aunt, cousin, if His Majesty asks the Minister of the Treasury and the Minister of Agriculture to gather craftsmen or purchase ironware in a few days, you must help with this."

The Grand Minister of Agriculture was an official of the outer court, in charge of finance. He was in charge of all the revenues from land and ancestral taxes in various places, the salt and wine monopoly, the control of drum casting, etc.

The Shaofu was actually also an outer court official, one of whose duties was to manage the imperial finances.

Wei Zifu asked seriously, "Xian'er, is there something important?"

"It's a big deal, and a good thing." Huo Xian said vaguely, "My cousin has always disliked sending troops everywhere. This trip might help reduce the loss of war horses and soldiers."

Liu Ju quickly said, "Xian'er, it's not that I don't like to use troops, I just think they shouldn't be used too much!"

Huo Shan then flipped through the masks and took out the one pinned on her waist. "Aunt, ask someone to make a few masks for me." Wei Zifu looked at Huo Shan and probably understood what she meant, because Wei Qing had previously complained that Huo Shan's ideas were too unconventional.

Liu Ju also knew this and jokingly said, "When you fight, you wear armor with a visor."

"Those face masks are uncomfortable to wear, so I'd better make a few myself." Huo Xian said, "And my armor, my uncle said he would give me a few sets. My aunt is also thinking of a way to make me a set of heavy armor."

Wei Zifu said quickly, "Xian'er, although heavy armor is good, the cavalry you lead are all wearing light armor. I'm afraid heavy armor is not suitable, right?"

Wei Zifu did have some vision. Huo Qubing was good at leading light cavalry to advance straight into the enemy's territory and make large encirclement and defeat the enemy, so heavy armor was naturally not suitable for him.

"I ride two or three horses, and one horse is used to carry armor." Huo Xian said with a smile, "Aunt, I still like to charge into battle!"

Wei Zifu and Liu Ju looked at each other, feeling worried. This Shan'er seemed to be unaware of the noble and special status of his own. He only thought about fighting, as if he felt that a war that was not dangerous enough was not worthy of his status.

But they had no way to persuade her, because Huo Shan's character was not only liked by the emperor, but also admired by General Wei Qing.

The empress, the crown prince, the emperor, and the military commander have somewhat different views on some issues.

Liu Ju had no choice but to change the subject, "They said you're starting to use a stick now?"

"It's not really a stick, it's a club." Huo Xian joked, "Bo Ye holds a club and leads the way for the king."

Liu Ju joked, "That's still a stick. The people of Chu like Shu more."

Shu was originally a famous ancient chariot weapon in the pre-Qin period. It is generally believed that it developed from bamboo and wooden sticks used for hunting in primitive society.

This weapon is even considered to be the predecessor of the later mace, but the mace is believed to have become common only during the Song Dynasty.

Huo Xian didn't care about that and said, "Uncle, I'll go to your place to choose a few horses later."

Liu Ju was not stingy and said, "Okay, go pick a few good horses. They are of no use to me."

"Give me a few poor horses," Huo Xian continued, "preferably old and not very useful."

Liu Ju was puzzled. "Shan'er, what do you want a poor horse for?"

"I have nothing to do, so I want a few horses." Huo Xian said vaguely, "If they are killed or disabled, don't blame me, cousin."

Wei Zifu immediately thought that Huo Xian might want to eat horse meat. As for horse meat, no one likes to eat it now. Only in extreme circumstances, such as war, famine, plague, etc., will people have to eat horse meat.

For soldiers, especially cavalrymen, horses are their best companions, and they will not easily eat horse meat out of emotional reasons.

On the other hand, horses can not only be war horses, but also draft horses, used to pull goods and plow fields.

Liu Ju probably thought of this as well. He hesitated to speak, and after a long while he said, "It's up to you."

A maid entered the hall quietly, "Your Majesty the Queen, Your Majesty the Crown Prince, His Majesty is summoning you."

Huo Xian stood up and said to Wei Zifu and Liu Chuan, "Aunt, cousin, please remember what I said before. If you can grab this job, you must grab it. If you do a good job, His Majesty will praise you, and you will also gain some reputation in the army."

Hearing what Huo Xian said, Wei Zifu and Liu Ju suddenly became excited. Previously, they would naturally cooperate if it was just about Shaofu and so on, which was also considered to please the emperor. But now being able to gain prestige in the army is not a small matter.

Prince Liu Ju has good character and ability, but he has no prestige in the army and can only rely on General Wei Qing for protection.

Liu Ju immediately stood up and bowed deeply.

Huo Xian also hurriedly returned the greeting and said, "Your Majesty asked about this matter, but you pushed it onto me. But I think Your Majesty won't blame you. I think you should pay great attention to it and do it yourself."

Wei Zifu also said quickly, "Prince, please remember this. Don't let down the hard work of Marquis Guanjun."

(End of this chapter)