Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 77 Weight Loss Plan
Since his triumphant return, Marquis Guanjun has basically been living in seclusion, and it is said that he has only visited the Marquis Changping's mansion.

The rest of the time he was either in the palace or in the mansion, but now he suddenly had to entertain his 'old subordinates', which was like a bolt from the blue.

Huo Xian's prominence in the past few years was only because he inherited the title of Marquis Guanjun and the emperor's preference for him was obvious to all.

But this year the situation has changed, Huo Xian has made great contributions in the military campaign. Now he is not only concerned about his status, but also his ability.

Huo Xian was called to the palace again, and Liu Che joked, "Why do you want to host a banquet for your father-in-law's old subordinates?"

"Someone is urging me, someone is testing me, I have no choice but to do this!" Huo Xian complained, "Your Majesty, I am the General of the Cavalry and I don't care about anything, why do they want to join me?"

Liu Che smiled and said, "You are the Marquis of Guanjun. The general is in poor health now. If he wants to make military achievements in the future, who else can he find except you?"

Huo Xian smiled evilly and said, "Isn't there a general called Ershi? You can also serve under him in the future."

Liu Che instantly became angry and grabbed the bamboo slips and threw them at him. Huo Xian dodged flexibly, as he would not stand there and get hit.

Li Yannian and Madam Li were both very embarrassed. Li Guangli suffered a defeat in the first battle and wasted the opportunity to be conferred a title of nobility that His Majesty had prepared for him.

They also hated Huo Shan, and would take Li Guangli out and torture him whenever they had the chance!
"You can't hide away. Not to mention after the general returns to the court, it should be like this now." Liu Che said calmly, "Marquis of Guanjun, General of the Cavalry, if you were not so old, I would give you the title of Grand Marshal."

Huo Xian said, "Your Majesty, I don't form a party."

"Who said you formed a clique?" Liu Che said sternly, "Your grandfather had such great prestige, but after he passed away, there were still people who found their own way. The general has made great contributions and has such high prestige, why can't there be people who change their allegiance!"

Liu Che became serious and said earnestly, "Those people cling to you only because you have the ability to lead them to meritorious service. If you have the ability, just use them."

Wei Zifu and Liu Ju hoped that Huo Xian would take up the banner of Wei and Huo as soon as possible, which would help them in the court. With such a help, no one would dare to frame the prince.

The emperor also needed Huo Xian to take up the banner as soon as possible, because there were no generals in the court, and now there was only one great general, Wei Qing.

Liu Che was also depressed. Wei Qing had emerged earlier and he had a general. Then Huo Qubing came out of nowhere, so Liu Che had two choices for generals. The trouble with happiness was that he had to consider decentralization.

But now, Wei Qingnian is old and weak. Huo Xian seems to have made it, but his age makes him look awkward.

There are no generals in the court. The extremely powerful Han Dynasty now has no suitable candidate for general!
Liu Che continued, "You were trained by me, so just trust me. In the future, I will still count on you to lead the troops in battles."

"One battle is not enough, I need to fight one or two more." Huo Xian said, "Even though we won this time, some people are still not convinced and think it's all the general's work."

Liu Che understood this logic very well. It seemed that Huo Shan was the most meritorious officer of the entire army. He rescued Zhao Po Nu, burned the Xiongnu's baggage, and captured the Xiongnu Zuoxian King. These were all great achievements.

However, the prestige of General Wei Qing was too high, and many people subconsciously thought that all this was Huo Xian's military achievement and was the result of Wei Qing's deployment and arrangement.

Huo Xian's rise was very rapid, but some people still had some doubts and suspicions in their hearts.

Huo Xian had never led a large army alone, which was now one of his shortcomings, even more worrying than his age.

"You still want to attack Dayuan?" Liu Che sat up and asked seriously, "After all this hustle and bustle, you're asking me for this mission again?"

"Besides attacking Dayuan, where else can I attack?" Huo Xian asked in return, "Dongyue and Nanyue have been pacified, Bashu has also been pacified, and the arrogant Yelang has been destroyed. Joseon has been destroyed and four counties have been established. Now I am also drawing my sword and looking around, feeling lost!"

Liu Che immediately became happy, "Drawing your sword and looking around, you are confused? When did you become so knowledgeable?"

"I have a lot of knowledge, but I don't like to show it off!" Huo Xian knew that Liu Che was very talented in writing, so he joked, "One or two sentences are fine, but I definitely can't write a fu."

Liu Che laughed and said jokingly, "Writing a poem? I think you are dreaming! I asked you to fight the Xiongnu, why did you stare at Dayuan?"

"Only after I conquer the Western Regions can I conquer the Xiongnu!" Huo Xian was not exaggerating. "The Western Regions are restless to begin with, so we have to clean them up. If we conquer the Western Regions, we will cut off the Xiongnu's right arm."

Even now, the countries in the Western Regions often attack and rob Han envoys, and make things difficult for them. The rule of the Xiongnu in the Western Regions has not been fundamentally shaken. Some countries, frightened by the pressure from the Xiongnu, will also bring some pressure to the Han Dynasty.

Previously, Zhang Qian's visit to the Western Regions not only enabled the Han Dynasty to have a deeper understanding of the Western Regions, but also expanded the Han Dynasty's influence in various parts of the Western Regions, thus laying the foundation for the Han Dynasty to defeat the Xiongnu's power in the Western Regions and ultimately unify the Western Regions.

But this is far from enough, the Huns' forces must be driven out of the Western Regions.

The Han Dynasty does not have any military presence in the Western Regions at present. The Protectorate of the Western Regions was established during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han.

The first time in history that the Han Dynasty had a military presence in the Western Regions was after the attack on Dayuan. Only then did it set up an envoy colonel to lead hundreds of soldiers to cultivate land and store grain in Luntai and Quli areas to supply the envoys going to the Western Regions.

Liu Che and Huo Xian stared at each other. They were both very clear about the importance of the Western Regions, and they both felt that they must take it and control it. The key issue now was Li Guangli and some of the structures in the court. Liu Che needed a new relative or a powerful person who could slightly restrict Wei and Huo.

Many of the former founding heroes are now no longer able to hold important positions, or have some dealings with Wei and Huo.

As for the meritorious officials and dignitaries in recent decades, most of them have a great relationship with Wei Huo. Their power is too strong for the emperor to ignore.

Liu Che is now in a dilemma. On the one hand, he wants Huo Shan to have more prestige so that he can completely replace Wei Qing and have a truly reliable and capable general in the military.

It was also because Li Guangli was so disappointing that a new powerful person had to be introduced, and Liu Che would not waver on this point.

This is also a protection for Huo Xian, he is too young now. If he makes too many contributions, it will become a huge hidden danger in the future.

Huo Xian was once again driven away in disgrace. He ran to the Pepper Room and said, "Aunt, His Majesty still won't allow me to attack Dayuan."

"If you don't allow it, then don't allow it." Wei Zifu said with a seemingly calm face, "Even if General Ershi conquered Dayuan, he can't compare with you."

This is also true. Dayuan was a powerful country in the Western Regions. However, in the eyes of the people of the Han Dynasty, the Western Regions were basically small countries. Such a war of annihilation was only slightly stronger than the arrogant Yelang.

The real military achievement is to defeat the Huns, that is the only convincing one.

Huo Xian captured Zuo Xian Wang, and no matter how great Li Guangli's contribution was, it could not compare to that.

"Xian'er, there are many people who want to propose marriage these days." Wei Zifu's focus was different, and she advised, "I have also met a few, and some of them are good-looking."

"Let's wait until the Xiongnu is destroyed." Huo Xian used the same excuse, "I'm not in a hurry about this matter, and neither is my aunt."

"I'm not in a hurry, but many people are." Wei Zifu said with some distress, "Now I don't know how many powerful families have asked me to do something. If your marriage is not settled, I won't be able to rest here."

This is not an exaggeration. Huo Shan is a popular woman, especially among powerful families, who hope to guarantee their status and influence in the court through marriage.

"The girls in their family have to get married, how can they wait for me?" Huo Xian didn't care about that. His focus was on fighting. "I am waiting for my uncle to come back. Only when he comes back can I go to fight Dayuan."

Wei Zifu asked curiously, "What's the reason for this?"

"My uncle didn't take care of things in the past few years. This time when he came back, he didn't ask about military affairs. Only then could His Majesty give me the military power." Huo Xian said with a playful smile, "Aunt, my uncle is now blocking my way!"

Wei Zifu laughed and scolded, "If this word gets out, just wait and see how people all over the world will scold you! Your uncle is a cautious person. If you hadn't gone to the first battle, His Majesty wouldn't have allowed him to lead the army."

"I know, so when my uncle comes back this time, I have to get rid of some people." Huo Xian was very helpless, "His Majesty is watching me. If I want to hold a banquet, His Majesty will call me over for questioning."

Wei Zifu was a smart woman, and she said calmly, "You don't have to use all of your father-in-law's old friends. It doesn't matter if you don't show any mercy to the general's old friends."

Huo Xian immediately perked up and quickly said in a flattering manner, "Aunt, can you please tell me who wants to show some mercy?"

Wei Qing was considerate and would take care of some of his friends and old colleagues. But Huo Xian did not plan to take care of so many people. It would not be good if the whole court was full of people from the Wei-Huo group.

So just keep it simple and keep the people who are truly useful.

The Weihuo Group also needs capable people to be promoted and mediocre people to step down. A group that seems to be very powerful is actually not as good as some reliable and capable teams.

Wei Zifu said worriedly, "I'm afraid your majesty won't allow this, right?"

This touched Huo Xian's sore spot again. Liu Che liked to see "forming factions" and liked to see most of the generals and officers under his wing.

Huo Xian wanted to leave only the elite troops, but Liu Che disagreed.

"I have always been a hypocrite, so I won't drive them all away." Huo Xian said with a playful smile, "I am holding a banquet now, and I will hold another banquet when my uncle comes back. Then I will ask for his presence in front of the general!"

Wei Zifu thought about it carefully and said, "I know a few who are pretty good. I'll tell you about them first. When your uncle comes back, you can ask him. He knows more about military affairs."

Huo Xian naturally nodded repeatedly, and the Weihuo Group's weight loss plan was about to begin.

On the surface, the entire army seems to be composed of his own people, which seems to be impressive, but it is definitely of no benefit.

What's more, the emperor now wants to further weaken Wei Qing's influence, so Huo Shan can only act as a pawn.

He really had no choice in these matters!
(End of this chapter)