Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 6 Born to be rich
There is nothing wrong with living in the palace. Not only will you have enough food and drink, you can also receive the best education.

Liu Che was Huo Shan's teacher, and he taught him strategies and military tactics. This was a small class, and it was a one-on-one tutoring for Huo Shan alone.

Huo Xian naturally had some basics, but he still humbly studied, after all, some military tactics of later generations might not be suitable for this era. Of course, the most important thing is that Huo Xian did not dare to overestimate his own abilities, and did not think that he could underestimate the wisdom and abilities of the ancients by relying on some information explosion of later generations.

Reading and practicing calligraphy are also basic requirements.

Riding horses and archery are also one of the basic skills of a general.

In addition, Huo Xian also needs a main weapon. There are many weapons in the current Han army, but the main standard weapons are ring-handled swords, halberds, hook-shaped weapons, crossbows, etc.

This is naturally due to the improvement of smelting technology, and iron weapons have long become the mainstream.

The ring-handled sword is a straight-bladed long sword made from steel that has been repeatedly folded, forged and quenched. The later Tang sword was also improved on the basis of the ring-handled sword.

One of the weapons that goes with the ring-handled sword is the hook shield, which looks very magical. It is a small iron shield that can be used for both offense and defense.

The core part is a small iron shield, with a spike protruding from the middle for pushing and killing, and iron hooks extending from the top and bottom for hooking and blocking the opponent's weapons. The combination of hooks and ring-headed swords used by Han infantry can effectively restrain long-pole weapons such as halberds.

Needless to say, the long halberd and so on have been popularized long ago. And now the Han people are no longer using the cross halberd, but the divination halberd.

Needless to say, the crossbow is one of the most powerful weapons today, and can be called a real killer. Archers are certainly powerful, but in the military, the crossbow, which is easier to use, is more suitable. What's more, there are improved large crossbows, which are even more powerful.

"There is still room for improvement in the future. Horseshoes, high-bridge saddles, and stirrups can all be considered." Huo Xian walked with his legs apart because he had practiced riding for more than an hour. "The cavalry nowadays is very powerful. They can control the horses without much horse gear."

There are saddles now, but they are basically made of leather with a little padding inside. These padded saddles are flat and have no pommel at both ends, which makes it difficult for cavalrymen to maintain balance on horseback.

Stirrups are still available nowadays, but they are made of cloth, and only on one side.

The function of the stirrup is not only to help people get on the horse, but more importantly to support the rider's feet while riding, so as to maximize the advantages of riding a horse while effectively protecting the rider's safety.

As for horseshoes, it is actually simple to explain. The general loss of war horses is not just about injuries on the battlefield. In many cases, the horseshoes are cracked or worn out, and the war horses are basically useless because it is difficult to sprint.

Horseshoes are the best protection for war horse's hooves, and can greatly reduce the losses of war horses.

With the current iron smelting technology of the Han Dynasty, it is not difficult to make these things. However, Huo Xian has no intention of using this technology for the time being, and the main reason is that the timing is not right.

Thinking about these things, Huo Xian returned to his bedroom.

Although it is already the coldest time of the year, some nobles can still enjoy some vegetables occasionally. Such off-season vegetables are not easy to grow and the yield is low, so only a very small number of nobles can enjoy them.

"When I leave the palace, I will have to get a big iron pot to cook." Huo Xian ate the stewed meat and complained, "No matter how poor my cooking skills are, I can still make some simple home-cooked dishes. But some seasonings are hard to make, so forget about chili peppers. Nowadays, spicy food mainly relies on spices!"

Spices include cumin, pepper, etc.

"Garlic, this garlic must be used well in the future." Huo Xian looked at the garlic and couldn't help but be lost in thought. "It's a natural antibiotic. If you bring it with you during a war, it can also reduce infectious diseases as much as possible."

This is one of Zhang Qian's carefully selected products. His mission to the Western Regions was not only to persuade the Yuezhi people to form an alliance with the Han Dynasty to attack the Xiongnu. He also conducted on-site investigations and research in the vast Western Regions, allowing the Han Dynasty to learn a lot about the Western Regions and even Central Asia.

This pioneer of the Silk Road also brought back more than a dozen plants such as walnuts, grapes, pomegranates, broad beans and alfalfa, which were gradually cultivated in the Central Plains. The music and musical instruments such as the huqin of Qiuci enriched the cultural life of the Han people. When the Han army settled in Shanshan and Cheshi, they used the underground well-drilling technique, commonly known as "Kanerjing", which was gradually promoted in the local area.

Politics, economy, culture, etc., this is the great contribution Zhang Qian made to the Han Dynasty and even the entire nation.

It's a pity that Zhang Qian died of illness in Chang'an four years ago and was buried in his hometown of Hanzhong. As for the title, Zhang Qian lost the title of Marquis of Bowang eleven years ago. He followed Li Guang to Youbeiping to fight against the Xiongnu, but got lost, so he missed the opportunity to fight and used his title to atone for his sins. Not only were the ordinary laws of the Western Han Dynasty more severe, but the military laws were even more severe. No one would listen to your objective reasons. In this case, the generals would be executed for their crimes. Fortunately, you can now pay money to "redeem your sentence", even if it is a death sentence.

Huo Xian was lazily thinking about something when a eunuch cautiously pushed open the palace door and said, "My Lord, the Queen has summoned you."

Huo Xian immediately stood up, picked up the bearskin fur coat and put it on.

The winter now is not particularly cold, but it is not much better.

The passage of time is unimaginable. There is still a lot of vegetation on the Loess Plateau, instead of thousands of gullies and ravines.

Although rhinos are constantly being hunted, they are now basically unseen north of the Yangtze River. Tigers and the like are even less rare.

When Huo Xian arrived at the Pepper Room, he was immediately dumbfounded because the queen was entertaining some noble ladies, including some princesses, relatives and so on.

The Princess Guantao, who left a great reputation in history, is gone. In fact, the series of things done by these princesses of the Liu family are as absurd and shocking as those done by the princes and grandsons of the Liu family.

A graceful and elegant woman saw Huo Xian and asked jokingly, "What's wrong? You don't recognize me!"

Huo Xian quickly knelt down and saluted, "My nephew greets my aunt."

This lady in palace dress is Princess Pingyang, the elder sister of Liu Che. She is famous in history for not only marrying three times, but also for presenting beautiful women to Liu Che, including Wei Zifu. In fact, Wei Zifu was a dancer in Princess Pingyang's mansion, Wei Qing was a horse slave in Princess Pingyang's mansion, and Huo Qubing was the illegitimate son of a female slave in Princess Pingyang's mansion.

Princess Pingyang waved her hand and said, "Come here and let your aunt take a look."

"Aunt, I'm still young." Huo Xian said as he walked, "My family has an ancestral motto, 'As long as the Xiongnu are not destroyed, how can we have a family?' I don't want to get married now."

It's not that Huo Xian is being sentimental, it's just that his identity is somewhat special.

Liu Che's aunt, Princess Guantao, liked to act as matchmaker and present beautiful women to the emperor, and his sister did the same, because it was a political tactic.

Huo Xian's identity is actually worth investing in, and many people are watching him eagerly.

She was young, ten was not young, not to mention that she was about to be eleven. If it was impossible, then they would marry her. Didn't Emperor Liu Che say "hide a beauty in a golden house"? However, the arrogant Chen Ajiao was deposed as a commoner because she could not give birth to a son and cursed, and was now imprisoned in Changmen Palace.

Princess Pingyang laughed and said, "Now that you mention it, I really remember that I should find someone for you. Otherwise, you will be like Qu Bing, who only thinks about fighting and not getting married. This is not good!"

Wei Zifu said in distress, "Sister is right, he is just like his grandfather. He spends all day wielding swords and guns, riding horses and shooting arrows, and your majesty likes him that way."

Madam Li and the others who were sitting with him also laughed, and were very envious of Huo Xian, who was a person worth winning over. It was a pity that at present, the Marquis of Guanjun was only close to the Queen, and had some dealings with Princess Pingyang.

He doesn't care about other people.

"Your Majesty always said that Qubing was born rich and noble." Princess Pingyang looked at Huo Shan and said proudly, "Qubing was born rich and noble, and my Shan'er is even more so! Look at how heroic and sharp this child is, his eyes are like torches, and he is indescribably noble!"

Wei Zifu also smiled and said, "Sister, you are absolutely right. Shan'er's eyes are just like Qubing's!"

Huo Xian felt uncomfortable all over, being surrounded and discussed by a group of women, which was a bit awkward.

(End of this chapter)