Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 1 Champion

About one kilometer east of Maoling, there is a mausoleum shaped like the Qilian Mountains.

In front of the tomb are stone carvings of stone men, stone horses, stone elephants, stone tigers, etc. These stone carvings are refined in knife skills, with both form and spirit, and the style is simple and ancient.

One of the stone carvings is called "Horse Trampling Xiongnu". The warhorse has a well-proportioned skeleton, strong muscles, a sturdy body, strong leg tendons, and hooves gripping the ground. One of its front hooves tramples a Xiongnu soldier to the ground. The Xiongnu man lies on his back, holding a bow in his left hand and an arrow in his right hand, with his legs curled up as if struggling in a panic, and his beard and hair are disheveled.

All of these stone carvings demonstrate the achievements of the tomb owner!
At the age of eighteen, he was appointed as the captain of Piao Yao, and led eight hundred cavalrymen deep into the desert. He won the most merits in the army twice and was awarded the title of Champion Marquis!
At the age of 20, he was promoted to General of Cavalry and commanded two battles in Hexi. He annihilated and surrendered nearly 100,000 Huns in Hexi, captured the Huns' golden man for offering sacrifices to the sky, and went straight to Qilian Mountain.

This was also the first time that the Chinese nation took control of the Hexi Corridor, and established four counties here: Jiuquan, Wuwei, Zhangye, and Dunhuang.

The Xiongnu people sang a sad song: "The loss of Yanzhi Mountain has made our women lose their color. The loss of Qilian Mountain has made our livestock unable to reproduce."

At the age of 22, he led 50,000 cavalrymen, out of Dai County and Youbeiping County, and marched northward for more than 2,000 miles, crossing Lihou Mountain and Gonglu River, and fought a great battle with the Xiongnu. After defeating the Xiongnu army, he chased them to Langjuxu Mountain, held a ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven on Langjuxu Mountain, and held a ceremony of offering sacrifices to the earth on Guyan Mountain, and his troops pushed all the way to the North Sea!

After this battle, the Huns fled far away, and there was no royal court south of the desert!

After this battle, this vigorous young general was awarded the title of Grand Marshal specially created by the emperor, which was equivalent to the prime minister. The rank and salary of the General of Cavalry were equal to those of the General!

However, such a gifted man died suddenly of illness at the age of 24.

At this moment, a team of cavalry approached quickly, led by a boy about ten years old.

Jumping off the horse, the young man slowly walked to the tombstone. The words on the tombstone were awe-inspiring.

'The Tomb of General Huo Qubing, Grand Marshal, and Marquis of Guanjun, Han Dynasty'.

The attendants who had accompanied him immediately scattered and vigilantly surrounded the tomb.

Looking at the tombstone, the boy said, "My lord, I didn't bring any candy this time. You were 24 years old when you left. In my era, many people at this age still loved to eat candy. But I brought enough wine, so we can have a good drink together."

Slowly putting down the offering, the young man sat cross-legged in front of the tombstone.

He poured a bottle of wine before saying, "I didn't find a particularly ideal wine, but the wine of this era is not bad."

The young man took a big sip of wine and wiped the corner of his mouth casually. "I really envied and admired you back then. Which man doesn't want to ride a horse and lead thousands of troops on the battlefield?! I didn't even finish college, and I served in the army for two years. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay."

Conquering the Wolf's Lair, this is the greatest dream of many men and the lifelong pursuit of many generals!

"Jiuquan, Jiuquan will have a launch base in the future, and we can fly into the sky!"

"In Wuwei, there will be a chief guarding Zhangye named Zhang. In his tomb there is a horse stepping on a flying swallow. It is a national treasure and a tourist symbol!"

"There is also Dunhuang and the Mogao Grottoes, which are magnificent. I heard that, but I have never been there."

"There are no old friends west of Yangguan Pass, and there are fine grape wine and luminous cups. So many stories have happened there. I wonder, if there were no ancestors like you, what would we be like now?"

The young man chattered incessantly, just sitting in front of the tombstone and muttering non-stop.

"In fact, I was deceived by you. How can I have a family if the Xiongnu is not destroyed?" The young man laughed and said, "I thought you were single because you didn't want a big house or beautiful women. But I didn't expect you to have a child and become what you are now!"

This young man is none other than the current champion marquis Huo Xian, the only son of Huo Qubing.

Huo Qubing did not get married, but that did not mean he did not have children. Huo Shan's biological mother was only a concubine of relatively low status, and could not enter the palace. Huo Shan smiled and said, "I am doing well now, and I am deeply trusted by the emperor. Although I am only ten years old, I have been a champion marquis for three years, a real marquis of ten thousand households. I am also a minister of the court and a commander of the imperial carriages, which is already the top of the pyramid."

"I used to feel a little regretful because I had never heard that you had any descendants." Huo Xian said with a smile, "Now that I am here, I have to complete your unfinished work no matter what and ensure that your bloodline will not be cut off. This is also my responsibility, right?"

Watching Shao Junhou paying homage in front of the tomb, the family generals and soldiers who came to escort him shed tears secretly. They were all the personal soldiers who followed Huo Qubing in his battles in the past.

When Guanjun Hou died, Shaojun Hou was only three years old and was taken to the palace. His Majesty has been raising him and teaching him carefully. It is said that His Majesty hopes to train Shaojun Hou to become the next Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry.

Although it is said that His Majesty dotes on him immensely, and even during the previous Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, he only brought the young prince with him to perform the Fengshan ceremony. Such favor and trust are beyond compare.

But Shaojunhou is only ten years old now, and he almost died of a serious illness before. Now that he has just recovered a little, he has asked to leave the palace and pay tribute to him. How can this not make Huo Qubing's personal soldiers sad and excited.

Huo Xian sat in front of the tombstone and continued, "I didn't expect this to happen, but no matter what, I will live well as Huo Xian and will never disgrace the legendary title of Champion Marquis!"

As he was speaking, a middle-aged man with scars on his face stepped forward and said, "My Lord, it's time to return to the palace."

Huo Xian asked in confusion, "Are you going back so soon?"

"My Lord, the Emperor has repeatedly warned us, and His Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the Crown Prince have also given instructions." The middle-aged man hurriedly explained, "The General has also sent someone to inquire about it. We really can't delay any longer."

Huo Xian immediately became happy and said, "You guys go and make the arrangements. I'm talking to the adults and will be leaving in a moment."

Huo Xian's status in the current Han Dynasty is extremely special and prominent.

He inherited the title of Marquis Guanjun when he was four years old. Two years ago, in the fifth year of Yuanding, Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, stripped him of his title on the pretext that the "chou gold" offered by the princes for the sacrifice was of poor quality or insufficient weight. A total of 106 people had their titles stripped.

This included Gongsun He, Marquis of Nanhuan, who was also Huo Qubing's uncle and Empress Wei Zifu's brother-in-law. Huo Qubing's deputy general Zhao Po Nu, Marquis of Pi, and Wei Buyi and Wei Deng, who were granted titles for their contributions under General Wei Qing, were all stripped of their titles.

There was also Liu Zhen, Marquis of Lucheng County in Zhuo County. He was the fifth son of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan. He was stripped of his title and his fiefdom because of this incident. One of his descendants made a living by weaving mats and selling shoes in Zhuo County.

But these had nothing to do with Huo Xian, because he was still a marquis and lived a stable life.

In addition to his title, the ten-year-old Huo Xian was already a Shizhong, an inner court official, who was given a higher rank by Emperor Wu of Han as a close minister.

There was also a proper official title, Fengche Duwei, whose rank was equivalent to two thousand stones, and who was in charge of the imperial carriage. If one climbed up a level, he would become Guanglu Xun, one of the Nine Ministers.

As the only son of Huo Qubing, too many people paid special attention to and favored Huo Shan, and even some princes were jealous of him.

This is the emperor's "disciple', the "grandson" whom the emperor takes with him wherever he goes.

The Queen often asked about her nephew, and the Crown Prince often cared about her cousin. Outsiders thought that the General and the Grand Marshal had a grudge, but when the General Wei Qing saw Huo Shan, he was always friendly and caring.

And that serious uncle Huo Guang, his face was full of love when he saw Huo Shan.

The current Huo Xian is the most dazzling "third generation" of the Han Dynasty.

Everyone understands that all this is because he is the only son of Champion Jing Huanhou, and he deserves to be loved by so many people.

Because, that is Champion Hou!

(End of this chapter)