The big man has a living father

Chapter 4: Fighting with the Sage at the Middle Gate

The queen's bedroom.

Wei Zifu prepared wine and food.

Liu Che walked in with swagger.

"Where is Juer?" Liu Che looked around.

Wei Zifu rolled her eyes: "What are you talking about? Didn't you arrange for me to go to class? I study for five hours a day and it's not over yet."

Liu Che smiled awkwardly: "I have to find something for those old guys who are always discussing academic matters to do, so that they won't bother me."

Wei Zifu poured the wine: "Is Qubing back today?"

Liu Che nodded: "I have grown a little taller since returning from the desert this time."

Wei Zifu: "I heard that he brought his two younger brothers to Chang'an. Has Your Majesty seen them?"

Liu Che's mouth curled up: "I have seen them, one is Huo Hai and the other is Huo Guang. Huo Hai behaves erratically and likes to make trouble, while Huo Guang's every word and action is more respectful than the ministers attending the court."

Wei Zifu: "Then how will Your Majesty arrange for them?"

When Liu Che was mentioned, he wanted to laugh: "Qubing asked me to train his two younger brothers. As for Huo Guang, I arranged a position of counselor for him and prepared to bring him by my side to hone his skills."

"That Huo Hai, I left him to Chang Qing and asked him to learn how to write poetry."

When Wei Zifu heard the name Chang Qing, she still didn't remember who he was. When she heard about writing poetry, she realized, "You sent a child to Maoling?"

Liu Che: "He is learning poetry from Changqing. When I approve of him, I will release him."

Wei Zifu didn't understand.

Liu Che laughed loudly: "This boy, in front of all the ministers today, played a cynical act for me. He just doesn't want to be an official. If he doesn't want to be an official, then don't even think about staying in Chang'an City."

Wei Zifu was so smart that she figured out the trick right away. It turned out that our Majesty was in a playful mood and was playing a game with the second kid from the Huo family. How dare this kid take the challenge?
Fortunately, it was our Majesty. If it was the previous Majesty... remember to weld the chessboard shut.

……

Huo Qubing held a whip in his hand and said, "Go!"

Huo Hai hugged the maid's thigh: "I won't!!!"

Huo Qubing was so angry that he laughed: "Do you really dare to disobey the emperor's order? If you really disobey the emperor's order, His Majesty will really execute you, even if you are my brother."

Huo Hai cried and said, "He has no good intentions. After I go to Maoling, can I come back to this world of pleasure?"

"What's the point of learning poetry? It's obviously going to jail!"

"The colorful world?" Huo Qubing said: "You are good at putting words together."

"But you have to go whether you want to or not. Just go and endure the suffering this time. When I lead the Xiongnu army back to the interior and reward them for their merits, you can speak well to His Majesty and you will be released."

"Maybe I'll make you a marquis by then."

Huo Hai rolled his eyes: "Brother, you think I'm uneducated, right? It's common for a father to be granted a title of nobility when his father has done meritorious service, but it's unprecedented in the entire Han Dynasty that a brother can be granted a title of nobility when his elder brother has done meritorious service."

"Isn't this what you told me when you were teaching me to read?"

Huo Qubing was a little helpless: "If I can't be made a marquis, what about the reward money?"

Huo Hai raised five fingers.

Huo Qubing raised two fingers.

Huo Hai: “Deal!”

……

Maoling.

The gray-haired Sima Xiangru, wearing armor and holding a spear, stood at the gate of Hanque in the garden.

His expression was so serious, as if he was about to go to war.

On the road, a group of people came in a mighty procession.

This time Huo Qubing was really going to set off. He had to go to the northern border to bring back the army, as well as the people who had migrated from the Huns.

Before setting off, Huo Qubing had to ensure that Huo Hai was sent to Sima Xiangru, otherwise there was no telling when Huo Hai would slip away. It would be no fun if he returned from the expedition and found that Huo Hai had been beheaded in public.

Of course, Huo Qubing had no intention of bringing a large group of people to demonstrate.

The main reason is that these people are all capable people in Chang'an City. When Wei Qing first became successful, they were retainers in Wei's Mansion. Now that Huo Qubing has become successful, they also want to pursue a promising future, so they all went to Huo's Mansion.

Now the eldest master is going to the war, the third master is training with His Majesty, and only the second master is still outside.

The guests must follow closely.

When Huo Qubing reached the gate, he heard a loud shout: "Stop!"

Sima Xiangru was seen holding a red tasseled spear in both hands with a murderous look on his face.

Huo Qubing held the whip in his hand while sitting on his horse and bowed: "Mr. Sima."

Seeing Huo Qubing saluting, Sima Xiangru could only put away his airs and bowed: "Marquis of Guanjun."

Huo Qubing smiled and said, "Give me some face and don't use the spear head, how about that?"

Sima Xiangru glanced at his red tasseled spear and nodded.

Huo Qubing said: "Someone, bring me a good white wax stick." One of the retainers came forward with a white wax stick.

The retainers who followed behind brought gifts of money and repairs.

Sima Xiangru felt disgusted when he saw those things.

Huo Qubing bowed and said, "Mr. Sima, my brother is not very honest, so I will leave him to you to educate. I have the emperor's order, so I will leave first."

Sima Xiangru bowed and said, "Have a good time, Marquis Guanjun."

After Huo Qubing left, Huo Hai stared at Sima Xiangru.

Is this Sima Xiangru?

In the TV series, the poet Sima Xiangru always looks elegant and graceful, but in reality, the 59-year-old Sima Xiangru looks quite burly.

However, Gongyang School is popular now. There are no weak scholars anymore. They are all scholars after the Song Dynasty.

Today's scholars are able to draw a bow weighing 200 jin (two jin is equal to one jin in later times, or half a kilogram). Most archery enthusiasts in later times cannot even reach half of this standard.

Sima Xiangru is a typical Han Dynasty literati.

But...why is he wearing armor?
Sima Xiangru's face was as gloomy as water: "Boy, pick up your weapon!"

Huo Hai 0.o: "Want to fight one-on-one?"

Sima Xiangru immediately understood the meaning of a duel: "A duel!"

Huo Hai: "No way, you're just going to lie on the ground, how can I afford to pay you? What if you try to scam me?"

Sima Xiangru didn't understand what "碰瓷" meant, but he understood its meaning, as if he had suffered a great insult: "Am I that kind of person? How could I...碰瓷?"

Huo Hai: "You don't want to scam me, right? Bring me my gun, I'll let him know how strong I am, I can punch the Beihai Nursing Home and kick the Nanshan Kindergarten!"

A retainer stepped forward quickly and handed over an iron spear: "Second Master, kill him!"

Huo Hai was displeased: "Get lost, how can I lift this pure iron spear?"

Another retainer hurriedly took out the same white wax spear barrel that Sima Xiangru was holding at this time.

As the two of them made a gesture, Huo Hai saw that the gun in Sima Xiangru's hand had reached his chest.

It took a violent swing of the wax gun barrel to swing the gun tip free.

The next moment, Sima Xiangru's spear came at him again like a bone-eating maggot! He had no martial ethics and was attacking by surprise! Fortunately, Huo Hai was not careless and dodged quickly.

However, although Huo Hai was skinny, he was young after all, and his body was built up through farm work. In recent months, he had been training with the army, and he had eaten meat every day for the past six months, so his body was well maintained and his strength was much greater than that of an ordinary person. Even with such great strength, he was unable to interrupt Sima Xiangru's spear.

Although Sima Xiangru is old and not as strong as before, his spear skills are much better than Huo Hai's.

One of them had excellent marksmanship, and the other had great strength, so they started arguing.

When you are tired of fighting, take a rest, and then fight again.

The sun was setting and people nearby had finished their day's work and were heading home.

An old man passed by Sima Xiangru's house and saw Sima Xiangru and Huo Hai fighting with spears: "Sima Gong, aren't you going to accept new students today? Why are you in the mood for fighting?"

Fighting? Sima Xiangru: "Isn't this my new student? I'm teaching him how to use a spear."

Passerby: "Didn't His Majesty order you to teach him how to write poetry?"

Sima Xiangru: "You know nothing. If you have learned the spear, you will also be able to write poetry!"

Passersby laughed and walked away.

Sima Xiangru put away his gun and said, "You bastard, you came all the way here to make fun of me."

Huo Hai propped himself up on his knees: "Who is that?"

Sima Xiangru said: "He was in charge of the construction of Maoling. I was originally the magistrate of Xiaowen Garden, but Your Majesty allowed me to oversee the construction of Maoling here, so he and I are not on good terms."

Huo Hai's eyes lit up: "This is a lucrative job! I heard that your new wife is the daughter of the wealthy businessman who is responsible for providing building materials for Maoling?! Old Sima, you know how to make money."

Although Sima Xiangru was out of breath, he still raised his gun: "Tui, boy, let's fight again!"

Huo Hai: "I'm afraid of you! But I'll eat first, then I'll fight."

The servants brought cooked braised beef, boiled sea cucumber, fried eggs and fragrant noodles.

Sima Xiangru had never seen any of these things before, except for the braised beef, which smelled a little familiar.

"Is this braised pork?" Sima Xiangru was suspicious: "This is the first time I have seen braised pork since leaving Chengdu."

Huo Hai: "My braised beef is more delicious than anything you've ever had."

Stewed dishes originated in Chengdu in the Qin Dynasty, but they did not evolve much over the past 100 years. It took 2,100 years for them to mature and spread throughout the country.

Huo Hai used the seasonings of later generations for braised meat, so of course it was very fragrant.

Sima Xiangru and Huo Hai had been fighting for the entire afternoon and were now hungry and hungry, but they could not afford to lose face.

Huo Hai: "Come on, eat first and then fight, or you won't be full and have no strength and say that I won unfairly!"

Sima Xiangru: "Okay!"

(End of this chapter)