Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 67: Huo Huqi, the Insignificant Cavalry

After returning to Chang'an, Huo Xian started to get busy. This master of gourmet food was going to improve the cooking methods of some foods again.

The so-called steamed bun originated in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and was invented by Zhuge Liang when he conquered Meng Huo. This is not absolutely correct, because the history of steamed buns can be traced back to at least the Warring States Period, when it was called "steamed cake".

Huo Xian is currently researching this. He is not very good at making pasta, but fortunately his family is big and he can keep trying.

There was no shortage of stone mills, so getting enough flour was no problem. Noodles were not new, either, and had already been introduced to China.

However, Huo Xian feels that there are still some differences between the noodles now and the noodles in the future, so he is constantly trying to improve them.

"Add water. If there's too much water, add flour. If there's too much flour, add water!" Huo Xian showed off his cooking style as a master chef while instructing the mother and daughter of the Jiang family on how to knead the dough. "You won't be able to make noodles if you do it this way!"

Jiang Xiaoniang was more lively and dared to complain, "My Lord, I just added water and powder before, and the basin couldn't hold it anymore!"

Chen Ju and others were also laughing, because they had failed several times according to the Lord's instructions!

Huo Xian was not embarrassed at all and said, "It's because you are not smart enough. I asked for some dough that is tough and soft, but you just can't make it. This matter is still your fault!"

Jiang Xiaoniang pursed her lips and said nothing. If she really continued to sabotage, she was not worried that the Lord would beat her, but that the Lord would make fun of her and Chen Sanlang.

Old Lady Jiang asked cautiously, "Sir, do you want it to be like the bread baked by people in the Western Regions?"

"That's naan, which is different from what I want." Huo Xian said, "Please help me try it first, I will be of great use to you in the future."

Improving the current noodles and steamed buns is to improve one's living conditions.

It would be best if the military rations could be further improved, and this is also one of his ultimate goals.

The military rations of the Western Han Dynasty were very complicated, including millet, millet, highland barley, barley, common wheat and peas.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, there was the policy of "sending millet to the border", which, combined with "establishing military farms at the border", was able to basically guarantee the food supply at the border.

As for vegetables and so on, the soldiers at the border basically had to be self-sufficient. The court was basically only responsible for the staple food, and meat could be seen occasionally.

According to the current normal level, a soldier's daily supply is about 7 taels of rice.

This level has already improved a lot. If the grain output is not enough, people will naturally not be able to eat as much as they want.

Most families have two meals a day. Not only do they rarely see solid rice throughout the year, but they often have to pair it with some wild vegetables, etc. This is the norm.

Now that he is on leave at home, Huo Xian is indeed not idle.

On the one hand, it was improving people's lives, and on the other hand, it was researching and manufacturing curved plows to further improve productivity.

It is impossible to have nothing to do all the time. You have to find something to do so that your life will be interesting.

Liu Mo suddenly came in a hurry, "My Lord, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is here to visit!"

Huo Xian turned around quickly and said, "Why didn't you tell me in advance? You didn't prepare this!"

Not only did Liu Ju not send a visiting card or give any notice, but given his status he naturally didn't need to wait outside. In fact, he followed Liu Mo directly into the mansion.

"Cousin, I want to ride a horse!" The naughty boy Liu Jin came running over, shouting as he ran, "Cousin, you promised me last time!"

Huo Xian dodged the naughty kid's pounce and chose to forget some things. "When did I promise you? Don't think you can lie to me just because you are the grandson of the emperor!"

Liu Jin felt very aggrieved, and said with his hands on his hips, "Before you left for the battle, you promised to take me on horseback! Cousin, you always lie to me!"

Huo Xian was a little worried. Perhaps in Liu Jin's heart, he was just an unscrupulous cousin who liked to deceive children and refused to admit his mistakes afterwards!
However, Huo Xian still hurriedly bowed first, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and to His Majesty the Concubine."

This time, Liu Ju not only came without saying hello, but also brought his wife and children with him.

This Shi Liangdi was just a concubine, but she was also the one with the highest status because Liu Ju did not have a crown princess now.

"Me!" Huo Xian was shocked, "Let go!"

The naughty boy Liu Jin was really angry, and while Huo Shan was bowing, he bit Huo Shan's thigh!
"Jin'er!" Liu Ju was both angry and amused, "Don't mess around!"

Liu Jin let go angrily and looked at Huo Xian aggressively. If he didn't teach this bad cousin a lesson, he would still dare to lie!
Rubbing his thigh, Huo Xian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Next time I'll take you horseback riding. It's winter now, and I don't ride horses anymore! In the summer, I'll take you hunting!"

Liu Ju suddenly felt that his son's bite just now was too light. Liu Jin would definitely still remember this incident next summer.

But at that time, Huo Xian would have to go on a military expedition unless something unexpected happened, so how could he possibly take him with him to ride a horse!
Spring hunting would have been a good opportunity, but they didn't mention it at all. If they did, they mentioned summer, which clearly showed that they didn't plan to take Liu in for a horse ride!
"You just like teasing Jin'er, you don't act like a cousin at all!" Liu Ju couldn't help but criticize, "Shan'er, you are also a general of the cavalry now, you should be more stable!"

Pointing at Huo Xian, Liu Ju continued, "Now the whole court is watching you. A few days ago, you said you were tired from the expedition and wanted to rest, but no one said anything to you. You should go to court after a few days of rest, but you still don't go."

"Uncle, it's not that I don't want to go, it's that His Majesty didn't say so." Huo Xian threw the pot and said, "I can't do anything in the court now, so it's better to stay in the mansion."

Liu Ju joked, "You have a beautiful lady to accompany you in your mansion, so you think of making some delicious food when you have nothing to do?"

It was no secret what Huo Xian had done in the Guanjun Marquis's mansion these days. Looking at Shi Liangdi, Liu Qie said, "Take Xian'er and the concubine to talk, and take Jin'er with you as well."

After everyone else had left, Liu Ju said, "You are now a general of cavalry, and you should have started to take charge of some of the army's daily affairs. Tell me yourself, is there a general of cavalry like you?"

The salary of the General of Cavalry was equal to that of the General, with a gold seal and purple ribbon, and the same rank as the Three Dukes.

Now the order has been formed as follows: the first is the general, the second is the general of cavalry, the third is the general of chariots and cavalry, the fourth is the general of guards, and then the front, rear, left, right generals and miscellaneous generals.

The titles of generals to Li Guangli, Zhao Po Nu, Gongsun He and others were only given during wartime. They were not permanent generals and naturally would not be in charge of daily military management.

Huo Xian smiled and said, "I haven't opened the government yet. I'm attending the court meeting now, and at most we're discussing military affairs."

This is also the current political structure of the Western Han Dynasty. The current generals and cavalry generals are only in charge of the military and will not participate too much in politics.

Historically, it was also from Huo Guang that he came to power in the name of Grand Marshal and General, and his power was above that of the Prime Minister.

As for the so-called Kaifu, there are still some differences between it and the later Kaifu Yitong Sansi.

Now the general and the general of cavalry all have their own government offices, and under their jurisdiction there are one chief secretary, one secretary, two assistants, twenty-nine subordinates, and thirty-one clerks.

This also started during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han. Now Huo Shan was also qualified to set up a government office, recruit some staff, and have a fixed place to handle official business.

Thinking about what Huo Xian said, Liu Ju also felt that it made sense. "Xian'er, when do you think you will be able to take charge of the Southern Army?"

Huo Xian thought carefully before saying cautiously, "It's hard to say. What I'm most afraid of now is that His Majesty will let me serve as the Weiwei."

The Weiwei led the guards as the Bingwei, and the Weiwei’s troops were called the Southern Army.

It’s just that sometimes there is more than one Weiwei, such as Changle Weiwei and Weiyang Weiwei. This is not a contradiction, as this is about guarding the palace pool.

Huo Xian pointed in the direction of Shanglin Garden and said, "The Jianzhang Palace is under construction. If Your Majesty appoints me as the Jianzhang Guard, this may be possible."

Liu Ju said with some concern, "It's not appropriate to appoint a general of cavalry as the commander of the imperial guards!"

It is a little inappropriate. Huo Xian's current position as General of the Cavalry is higher than that of the Three Dukes. It is definitely higher than that of the Nine Ministers, but this is not particularly contradictory.

Huo Xian reminded him, "Uncle, I don't have any official title from the outer court!"

As mentioned earlier, the official system of the Han Dynasty consisted of outer court officials, inner court officials, and palace officials.

The general and the general of cavalry were officials of the Central Court.

Previously, the prime minister had too much power. Since Emperor Wu of Han, power has gradually shifted to the central government, so most of Liu Che's confidants participated in government affairs with the title of Shizhong.

The Three Dukes and Nine Ministers were outer court officials.

Huo Xian's current identities are: Marquis of Guanjun, General of the Cavalry, Palace Attendant, and Commandant of the Imperial Chariots.

The post of Lieutenant Yao was lost after the war, not to mention the promotion to General of Cavalry. And no one mentioned the previous soldiers and guards, so who could really regard Huo Xian as an ordinary soldier and guard?

They were all officials from the central court or promoted officials. In the Han Dynasty, these officials were guards close to the emperor and were quite trusted by the emperor, but they were promoted officials without actual duties.

Liu Ju also became serious. "Father probably thinks you are too young. Although you have the title of General of the Cavalry, you will not be given the authority of General of the Cavalry. You will be assigned as the Guards to guard the palace and take charge of the Southern Army."

"Your Majesty must have had these plans a long time ago," Huo Xian also said, "Before I said I would not attend the court meeting, Your Majesty directly agreed!"

Laziness is real, and temptation is also real.

In front of Liu Che, who was an expert in political tactics, Huo Shan's little tricks were nothing.

Seeing Liu Ju's worried look, Huo Xian comforted him and said, "Uncle, you don't need to use troops now!"

Liu Ju glared at Huo Xian fiercely, "Be careful with your words! Your mouth will get me into trouble sooner or later!"

"Your Majesty must be in a difficult situation now. I am old after all. Maybe things will get better in two years." Huo Xian said, "In the next few years, I will just be a general leading troops in battle."

Liu Ju could only nod and say, "It seems that this is the only way now."

Huo Xian suggested, "Now that I am more famous, I will go to the Prince's Mansion in a few days to meet my cousin's retainers."

Liu Ju immediately agreed with a smile, "I had intended to do so, but since you didn't want to go to those banquets, I couldn't ask you to go."

It was impossible for him to have absolute power over the government, but Huo Xian's influence and reputation were constantly rising.

It was only right for him to "stand up" for the prince, so that Liu Ju would not be framed by countless people as happened in history because he lost the support of some people in the court and the public.

(End of this chapter)