The big man has a living father

Chapter 8: Thousands of People Watching
Liu Che was in a very depressed mood.

To Emperor Liu Che, Huo Qubing was like his own son.

What about Huo Qubing's younger brother? In theory, he must be a godson, right?

However, Huo Hai's shot still hit Liu Che's forehead.

Since Liu Che ascended the throne, he felt that he was the son of destiny. Just like Qin Shihuang who carried on the legacy of six generations of emperors, Liu Che felt that he should be able to surpass Qin Shihuang's achievements easily.

So, Liu Che rebuilt the Shanglin Garden, which had been used by the Qin Emperor but abandoned by Liu Bang.

The "Shanglin Fu" written by Sima Xiangru for Shanglin Garden was very popular all over the world.

But at that time, Sima Xiangru wrote Shanglin Fu to persuade Emperor Wu of Han not to do these useless things, but why wasn't Liu Che angry?
Because Sima Xiangru described Shanglin Garden in his article as a paradise on earth, and praised it to the sky.

Ordinary people who were not qualified to enter Shanglin Garden read the article, which was written so "realistically" and "truthfully", and really believed that the emperor lived a life like a god. In this way, the emperor was deified.

That's why Liu Che was not angry with Sima Xiangru, but liked him very much instead.

After all, there are only two people throughout history who can brag so much, and the other one is Qu Yuan.

Although Shanglin Garden is said to be full of pavilions and towers, it is actually a place where Liu Che hunts. Its area is dozens of times larger than that of Chang'an City. The entire northwest of Chang'an is the territory of Shanglin Garden.

They were all purchased by Liu Che from the people for compensation.

Ordinary people may not be familiar with Shanglin Garden, but if scholars tell the people that there is Afang Palace inside Shanglin Garden, the people will know it.

After all, the damnable and abominable Qin Dynasty forced people to build the Afang Palace for them, which is a crime worthy of death!

But if the people knew that Liu Che's Shanglin Garden was bigger than Qin Shihuang's, and that any palace in Liu Che's Shanglin Garden was no worse than Afang Palace, and that Afang Palace only had a foundation laid and was never built, that would be a lot of fun.

That's why Liu Che was so upset when Huo Hai wrote "Fu on Afang Palace".

Are you cursing Qin Shi Huang? You are clearly cursing me, pointing at me!
If you were asked to learn how to write fu from Sima Xiangru, you wouldn't have learned a single word of his boasting about Lin Yuan. If you were asked to learn from him using sarcastic language, you would be even more embarrassed!
Even though he went out hunting today, Liu Che was unhappy.

When Liu Che thought that the Afang Palace was located inside the Shanglin Garden, he felt like he had eaten a dead rat.

However, the reconstruction of Shanglin Garden was just an ordinary thing that Liu Che did because he thought he had surpassed Qin Shihuang.

And Huo Qubing was the reason why Liu Che believed he could surpass Qin Shihuang.

The one who is disgusting him now is Huo Qubing's younger brother.

What should I do?
If I don't give him a hand, I'll feel unhappy and can't get over it.

If we do something to him, it would seem a bit unkind since he is just a kid and also Huo Qubing's younger brother.

The key is that there is no legitimate reason, so it’s difficult to deal with it!
Liu Che sat listlessly in the carriage, adjusting the feathers of his arrows.

The deputy commander of the Imperial Guard rode his horse and quickly caught up with the imperial carriage: "Your Majesty, there is news from Maoling."

Liu Che looked up: "What?"

The deputy commander of the Imperial Guards actually didn't want to say it. Now Huo Qubing is concurrently the commander of the Imperial Guards. If he reports his brother Shangguan now, he might end up in big trouble.

But the problem is, if you deceive the emperor, you will die.

The deputy commander gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, there is news from Maoling that the second young master Huo has left Maoling and is heading for Chang'an."

Liu Che clenched his arrows in excitement, but did not show it. Instead, he said softly, "This kid is really troublesome. I promised his brother to teach him a lesson, but he dared to skip school... Prepare horses and mobilize a group of people. I want to ride back to Chang'an."

Liu Che was not in a hurry either. He was about the same distance from Chang'an as Maoling was from Chang'an. It would take nearly two hours for a carriage to travel this distance, and Huo Hai could not walk that fast.

I have caught you red-handed this time, so I'm bringing you to Shanglin Garden to teach you a lesson and vent my anger.

……

Although one cannot become fat in one bite, Huo Hai has been living a good life in the past few days since arriving in Chang'an. His skin has quickly become elastic, but he is still a thin and dark-skinned man.

But at least it's watchable, not as outrageous as before.

Huo Hai rode a tall horse in front, while two servants held a painting frame as big as the door frame of the marquis' mansion, which was relatively stable on the ox cart.

Inside the picture frame, there was a huge piece of white paper with an article written on it in a flamboyant style.

However, in the end, Huo Hai did not use a big pen to write the article.

The reason was that Huo Hai suddenly remembered that if the paper was too big, it would be inconvenient to display.

The current size, which is ten feet wide and ten and a half feet high, is just right.

When Huo Hai's team came out of Maoling and entered the tomb town, they immediately attracted some people's attention.

Zhang Zhi and Zhang Pin, who were strolling nearby, became interested when they saw Huo Hai: "Hey, this horse from the Huo family, and this skinny black guy, could it be the legendary Huo Hai?"

Huo Hai saw the two people being carefree and said in amusement: "It is me, who are you two?" Zhang Zhi said in amusement: "I am the grandson of Zhang Shuo, Marquis of Anqiu, and Zhang Nu is my father."

Zhang Pin bowed and said, "My father is the second son of Marquis Anqiu, Imperial Censor Zhang Ou. I am Zhang Pin."

Zhang Shuo and Zhang Ou were also famous in history, but Huo Hai did not know them. However, after Huo Hai came to Chang'an, he still remembered some important figures.

For example, Imperial Censor Zhang Ou was one of the Nine Ministers for a long time during the reign of Emperor Jing, and now he is one of the Three Dukes. It is hard not to know him. After all, in taverns and streets, people with nothing to do are discussing the affairs of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers every day. Among them, Imperial Censor Zhang Ou is a popular figure.

Zhang Ou was born to Zhang Shuo's concubine, so he had no chance to inherit the title. However, he was the most promising and the highest-ranking official among the second and third generations of the Marquisate of Anqiu.

Huo Hai smiled and said, "So it's you two, why are you blocking my way?"

Zhang Pin: "Second Master Huo, the emperor seems to have ordered you that you should not enter Chang'an, and you should stay in Maoling and not come out."

Zhang Zhi laughed loudly: "I just like watching beheadings. I don't know if I can see it this time."

After hearing this, Huo Hai smiled happily while holding his whip: "I think because of this, I am qualified to come to Chang'an."

After saying this, he looked at Zhang Zhi with contempt: "People of our class should be well-mannered. Look at you."

The two cousins, Zhang Zhi and Zhang Pin, looked at each other. Zhang Pin chose to look at the other side of the "big wooden board". Zhang Zhi was about to jump up and sit on the knees of Huo Hai who was sitting on the horse.

Huo Hai: "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? If you move again, I'll have my retainers beat you up!"

When Zhang Pin went around the ox cart from the front, he found that there was a long line of people following the ox cart.

None of these people said a word, they all stared at the "big wooden board".

Zhang Pin turned his head and looked at the big wooden board. He was shocked: "Is this... hemp paper?! White? So big?!"

Hemp paper has appeared and spread in the last twenty years. Although it is difficult to write on it, it is sometimes used as a contract document.

But generally hemp paper is about the size of a pillow, and is dark yellow in color, with many black spots, and the texture is rough.

Why is this paper so huge and white?

Zhang Pin looked at the words on the paper again and couldn't help but admire them.

Since ancient times, only Li Si's handwriting can be considered beautiful, and his font has been regarded as a standard font popular throughout the world.

After that, no one could write beautifully on bamboo slips.

But in the past hundred years, there are still many people who can write beautiful words on stone tablets, but no one is interested in going to other people's graves to appreciate the handwriting.

So when all else fails, find a carved stone tablet with good writing.

And today, Zhang Pin saw for the first time some well-written words outside the stone tablet!

The word "Huo Hai" actually combines some key points of calligraphy in later generations. Although it is not considered anything in later generations, it is very powerful in this era when calligraphy has not yet been truly born.

As for Zhang Pin, he found the paper magical and the words on it astonishing.

When I read the words together, my blood rushes to my brain.

How can someone in the world write such a good article? !

……

Liu Che led a group of people on horseback back to Chang'an from Beihengmen. Liu Che asked, "Why is there no one here?"

The Yulin Guards who had gone ahead to investigate the news returned at the right time: "Your Majesty, the Second Master Huo entered Chang'an through the servants' gate! He was followed by countless people!"

Liu Che: “?”

Yulin Guards: "Everyone in the entire Ling County area is following behind!"

The city of Chang'an was full of palaces, prisons, and government offices. Only one-third of the area was inhabited by ordinary people, and it could not accommodate many people.

But Chang'an is the world's largest city, with an exploding population.

In fact, from the west gate of Chang'an City to the area where the emperor's tombs are located, an entire urban cluster has developed along the road.

These places were all born around nobles. If they were formed by a single noble family and their slaves, it was called a mausoleum town. If they were formed by many families, it was called a mausoleum county, collectively known as a mausoleum town.

There are many lvli (lv means gate, and lvli means inside the gate, which means the residential area with walls for the people, and it was the name of the residential area in the Han Dynasty) distributed in the area north of the city of Chang'an between the mausoleum city belt and Shanglinyuan.

The populations of the mausoleums where these nobles and officials lived and the neighborhoods where the common people lived were several times larger than those in Chang'an City!
When Liu Che heard that Huo Hai had entered Chang'an, he thought that Huo Hai had returned via a small path through the fields in the northeast.

No one expected that Huo Hai would parade through the city along the main road of this urban cluster and return to Chang'an!

Wouldn't it mean that all the nobles in Chang'an would know that this little bastard had disobeyed the emperor's order? This would be difficult to deal with!
(End of this chapter)