Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 8 Trouble comes from the mouth
Liu Che no longer wanted to see his little disciple. That ungrateful guy was really too annoying.

Liu Che was very satisfied and happy with Huo Shan's view that "the way to be a general is to first govern one's heart". He felt that this child was knowledgeable and had potential, and he would not object to Huo Shan giving part of his wealth to the crown prince.

Even though Liu Che himself was very extravagant, he knew that many powerful people lived extravagant lives. But it was naturally more worthy of happiness that some officials spent some money on serious matters.

The only thing that made her dissatisfied was that the boy was always thinking about leaving the palace, which was annoying.

Huo Xian had some expectations for Shanglin Garden, because "Yuan" refers to a landscape garden where ancient emperors played and hunted, and Shanglin Garden is one of the most famous gardens in Chinese history.

It spanned five counties, namely Chang'an, Huyi, Xianyang, Zhouzhi and Lantian, and could accommodate thousands of chariots and horses. The garden encompassed eight rivers, namely Wei, Jing, Feng, Lao, Fu, He, Chan and Ba, which were later referred to as the "Eight Rivers Surrounding Chang'an".

Liu Che was planning to build the Jianzhang Palace in Shanglin Garden, and this was also his place of martial arts, with the emperor's personal guards, the Yulin Army.

Huo Xian wanted to build a house somewhere, and Liu Che naturally had no regrets. What he was not satisfied with was that the child was determined to leave the palace.

Seeing Huo Xian's sneaky look, Liu Che turned over and acted as if he didn't want to pay any attention to her.

Huo Xian didn't care. He picked up a scroll of bamboo slips and left stealthily again.

Liu Che was both angry and amused, and asked, "Chun Tuo, what did he take?"

Chuntuo immediately replied, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Guanjun has taken the chapter on military strategy from Sun Wu's Art of War."

Liu Che nodded slightly, then asked, "Is it the one I annotated?"

Chuntuo replied, "Your Majesty, that is the volume."

"From now on, when he takes military books, he can only take the ones with my annotations." Liu Che replied lazily, "When he is reading military books and war manuals, have someone watch him and write down what he has read and any confusions he has while reading."

Chuntuo naturally took note of this matter. It must be said that the treatment of this champion marquis made many people envious. The emperor was not just teaching him step by step, but really teaching him carefully and attentively, guiding him in every detail.

Huo Xian leaned lazily on the couch, flipping through the Western Han Dynasty edition of "The Art of War".

He also read some later versions of The Art of War, which included specific battle examples for explanation. The threshold was naturally much lower and easier to understand.

Huo Xian took out a brush and carefully wrote down his thoughts and some questions. "Which military marquises who have fought in wars are in Chang'an now?"

The eunuch immediately replied, "Sir, His Majesty said that if you have any questions, you can ask for advice, but you are not allowed to seek advice from others."

Huo Xian was speechless. Liu Che's meaning was very clear. Huo Xian could only be the emperor's apprentice, and no one else could participate in any guidance and education.

This is probably why Liu Che was worried that someone would teach his apprentice the wrong thing. The extremely confident emperor only believed in his own abilities and still had some distrust for others.

No one else is qualified to teach the emperor's personal disciples. This is his attitude.

"I'll be scolded if I go." Huo Xian muttered, "Will you let me go on duty tomorrow?"

The eunuch immediately replied, "Your Excellency only needs to be on duty when His Majesty is in court, and you don't need to go there at other times."

The court meetings in the Western Han Dynasty were divided into regular court meetings, inner court meetings, and grand court meetings.

Regular court sessions were mainly decision-making meetings held by the emperor to handle major military and national affairs and daily administrative affairs.

Basically, the court is held once every five days, with the first and fifteenth day of the month being the usual new moon and full moon, and the decision-making meetings being held in the Hall of Officials.

If there is an emergency, the minister will be summoned urgently.

The purpose of the grand court ceremony was to demonstrate the majesty of the country. A large number of people participated, some of whom were officials with salaries ranging from 2,000 to 600 stones, and some were envoys from neighboring countries that were subject to the Han Dynasty.

Huo Xian felt quite happy when he thought about it, "So I still have some time. It's snowing today too, so I won't go out."

If Huo Xian really didn't go out, other people obviously wouldn't be able to do anything about it, as he had a very high degree of freedom in this palace.

However, Huo Xian still had some things to deal with. "By the way, send someone to the mansion later to get the list of slaves and soldiers in the mansion. The winter solstice is approaching, and it's time to prepare." In the seventh year of Yuanfeng, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che, promulgated the Taichu Calendar, which restored the original winter tenth month as the beginning of the year to the first month of the lunar calendar, and absorbed the twenty-four solar terms of the Ganzhi calendar as a supplementary calendar to guide farming, and used the month without the solar term as a leap month, so that the calendar was more adapted to the farming season.

In other words, the Han people nowadays have no concept of celebrating the New Year, and the Spring Festival was gradually formed after this.

This is also the fundamental reason why Liu Che changed the reign title to Yuanfeng in October. Now October is the beginning of the year.

However, the Winter Solstice is meaningful. The saying "The Winter Solstice is as important as New Year's Day" is now very popular among the people. It is also a traditional festival for ancestor worship.

The eunuch immediately responded, "Your Excellency, rest assured. I will send someone to your house in a moment."

Huo Xian lived in the palace, but he also had a mansion called Guanjunhou. Although the owner was not there, there were still some slaves and the personal guards of Huo Qubing in the mansion.

Because of the rain and snow, Huo Xian stayed in the house for three days, reading books and daydreaming. His life was quite leisurely. On the fourth day, Huo Xian, wearing a custom-made armor and carrying a custom-made ring-handled sword, walked back and forth in front of the front hall.

After the court session, all the ministers left the palace. They were used to seeing Huo Xian walking back and forth in front of the palace gate.

A middle-aged man walked over slowly, and when he saw Huo Xian, he smiled and saluted, "Marquis Guanjun, are you all right?"

Huo Xian immediately returned the greeting and said, "Marquis Muqiu, are you well?"

Shi Qing, Marquis of Muqiu, is now the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. In the Western Han Dynasty, if one wanted to become the Prime Minister, one had to be a Marquis.

Last autumn, Gaoling Marquis Zhao Zhou was imprisoned for knowing about the loss of his title and was forced to commit suicide. Shi Qing was promoted to prime minister by Liu Che because of his highly respected family background and reputation for loyalty.

Shi Qing's father was Shi Fen, also known as Lord Wanshi. As one of the Nine Ministers during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, he was a 2,000-stone official, and his four sons all held the 2,000-stone official title. This one was even a minor official serving Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, and he summoned his sister as a concubine.

Although Shi Fen was not good at literature, he was respectful and cautious, and no one could compare to him. His descendants were all very filial.

When Shi Qing was the Grand Coachman, he drove the emperor out. The emperor asked how many horses there were. Shi Qing counted the horses one by one with his whip, then raised his hand and said: Six!
Even so, Shi Qing was still considered the most simple and rough of Shi Fen's sons. The strict family tradition and filial piety of the Shi family were also well-known in the Han Dynasty.

However, after almost a year in the position of prime minister, Shi Qing has not made any achievements.

The emperor was busy touring the country, repairing ancient temples, worshipping heaven and earth at famous mountains, and encouraging rituals and music. As a result, the treasury was empty and the national finances were tight. Sang Hongyang and others opened up new sources of income, while officials like Wang Wenshu implemented harsh laws, and Er Kuan and others promoted literature. These people became nine ministers and took turns in power.

Therefore, the major affairs of state were no longer decided by the prime minister, who became just a loyal and cautious figurehead.

"I'm fine." Shi Qing was not rude because of Huo Xian's age, and his attitude was respectful, "Thank you for your concern, Marquis Guanjun."

Huo Xian said casually, "It's a pity that I don't have the chance to meet Wan Shijun and Langzhongling. The Prime Minister's family tradition is strict and filial. I will definitely pay a visit in a few days."

Shi Jian was Shi Fen's eldest son. He was loyal, filial and cautious. After he was appointed as the Minister of the Imperial Household, he managed the affairs of the palace. After Shi Fen passed away, Shi Jian was so sad that he died of illness soon after.

Shi Qing immediately became serious, bowed and said, "I will sweep the courtyard and wait for the champion marquis."

Huo Xian smiled and returned the greeting, just to be polite.

As soon as Shi Qing left, Huo Xian heard a cough behind him.

Huo Xian quickly greeted him with a smile, "Uncle."

Huo Guang asked seriously and concernedly, "Xian'er, has His Majesty allowed you to leave the palace?"

Huo Xian answered directly, "No."

Huo Guang's expression suddenly changed. "How dare you agree to the Prime Minister's request? Shan'er, you almost made a big mistake!"

Huo Xian was stunned. They had just exchanged pleasantries when they met, and he was not familiar with Shi Fen. It was just like asking "Have you eaten?" to someone you had only met a few times.

But suddenly Huo Xian reacted and his expression became strange.

In the Western Han Dynasty, if someone answered "no food", and you invited them to "come to my house for dinner", it was not politeness. If they really wanted to come to your house and you didn't prepare food, let alone politeness and friendship, you would make enemies!
(End of this chapter)