A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 106 illustrious
Commander of the three armies?

The officials, generals, and officers of both the Chinese and foreign dynasties were shaken.

Does this foreshadow Huo Qubing's rise to power and command of the nation's armies?

The Han-Xiongnu War of more than a decade resulted in the severe loss of elite troops and generals, especially warhorses, which suffered heavy losses.

If the Han army were to integrate national strength and mass-produce troops without regard for the consequences, its light cavalry force would be approximately 80,000.

This spring campaign involved 40,000 light cavalry, roughly half of the nation's total light cavalry force. Li Guang, Li Gan, and Han Shuo each took 25%, while Huo Qubing alone controlled 75%. The emperor's favoritism was blatantly obvious.

If the Marquis of Champions fails to find the Xiongnu, or fails to find the main force of the Xiongnu right wing, the loss of manpower and horses will be no less than a major defeat.

"Your Majesty."

Even Huo Qubing himself realized he had gone too far, and said, "Your Majesty, I am still inexperienced..."

"When did seniority come into play in the military?"

Liu Ju interrupted him, laughing as he said, "If we were really going to rank people by seniority, wouldn't some of them already be marquises?"

Although Li Guang was not in the main hall, it seemed as if he was always there. The emperor's teasing immediately made the originally tense atmosphere much more cheerful.

The military has never been a place where seniority matters!

"Your Majesty, that is true..."

"Does the Marquis of Champion think he lacks the ability to lead 30,000 light cavalry to fight the Xiongnu?" Liu Ju interrupted Huo Qubing again, not hesitating to provoke him.

This time.

Everyone now fully understood that the Emperor's mind was made up. The Emperor wanted to make amends to the Marquis of Champion. Even without His Majesty, the spring of the second year of Yuan Shou belonged only to the Marquis of Champion.

With such a ruler, what more could one ask for?

The officials, generals, and officers were all moved. The emperor was good in every way, but he was too sentimental and righteous. He wouldn't let his own people suffer even the slightest grievance.

Gongsun Ao and his generals silently returned to their court ranks. The Emperor would certainly give them the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities and the merits they deserved, but this spring did not belong to them.

There was no question of jealousy, because they knew that sooner or later, the world would see their brilliance.

Wait a minute.

Wei Qing sat there, lost in thought; perhaps, he felt more gratified than anything else.

Huo Qubing's tiger-like eyes were red and slightly watery. Dressed in military uniform, he knelt on one knee and said in a deep voice, "Your subject will never fail Your Majesty's expectations!"

He wanted to conquer a vast empire, one even larger than the Han Dynasty. Wherever his iron cavalry could reach, he would conquer it, thus fulfilling his duty to his sovereign.

As Gongsun Hong, Zhang Tang, and other civil officials watched this scene, they all thought in unison that perhaps this was a model of mutual respect and understanding between ruler and minister throughout the ages.

The Grand Historian Sima Tan nudged the excited Sima Xiangru beside him with his pen.

"Ok?"

"Want one?" Sima Xiangru's eyes nearly popped out of his head. What a load of rubbish!
What kind of place is this? The Xuan Shi Hall of Weiyang Palace. What kind of occasion is this? A meeting between the emperor and the court during a war of conquest. If even a single word is written here, it would be considered a leak, the kind that would lead to certain death.

That old bastard wants to get me? No way!
Sima Tan felt a little regretful and disappointed. Such a magnificent scene could only be recorded in a few words in the annals of history: "In the second year of Yuan Shou, in the first month of spring, the emperor and the people from within and outside the court held a meeting in the Xuan Room to decide on the major plans for the north and south." No matter how good the writing was, there were still shortcomings.

With Sima Xiangru's literary talent, he could certainly have recorded the facts, and his writing would have captivated countless generations. But this old fellow dared not write for the sake of his own life. He was selfish and self-serving, lacking the courage of a historian to record events truthfully and not be willing to risk his life.

Sigh, I wonder when I'll ever get my revenge for being called a novelist.

The historian wrote again, "The fact that Sima Xiangru, the military officer in charge of the army, observed it without thinking of it is truly a disgrace to scholars."

As the rooster crows at dawn, all affairs gradually come to a halt.

The officials and officers then began to feel weary and took their leave, not to sleep, but to do what they had to do.

As a general, Wei Qing was surprisingly unharmed and was kept by Liu Ju to have breakfast together.

In addition to venison, mallow, patchouli, fresh leeks, and wild vegetables, there is also a bowl of "creamy tofu," which is tofu.

Although Liu An, the King of Huainan, died, his book "Huainanzi" and the tofu he accidentally made by curdling soybean juice with gypsum while burning medicine and refining elixirs on Mount Bagong have been passed down.

Soybean cakes, made by drying and grinding soybeans, even became offerings for imperial court and county and township sacrifices.

The morning drink was naturally soy milk, which the chef added honey and vinegar to make it sweet and sour, a flavor that was most loved by people at the time.

"Uncle, do you blame me for being biased?" Liu Ju asked, looking at Wei Qing.

After capturing Chang'an, Huo Qubing's power and status rose again and again, while Wei Qing's position was unshakeable, but his power declined again and again. This was only because Liu Ju did not openly make the officers choose sides; otherwise, Wei Qing's situation might have been more difficult than ever before.

"No."

Wei Qing shook his head without hesitation, his eyes clear and calm as he looked at Liu Ju. "On the contrary, I enjoy the present moment."

Compared to the immense popularity, fame, and accolades he experienced, his fear lessened when he was ignored and neglected.

Liu Ju didn't understand, and even Huo Qubing couldn't understand, how much psychological trauma that past experience as a stable boy had brought to his uncle. As the Grand Marshal of the court, Wei Qing always gave people a great sense of inferiority in all places except the battlefield.

It may be true that a happy childhood can heal a lifetime, while an unhappy childhood requires a lifetime to heal.

"Uncle, you seem to be afraid of something?" Liu Ju wanted to know what Wei Qing was afraid of.

Wei Qing paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Besides the Lü clan, the prominent maternal relatives of our Han Dynasty include the Bo clan, the Dou clan, the Wang clan, and my Wei clan."

Throughout history, only one member of the Bo family has been granted the title of Marquis; the Dou family has had three; the Wang family has also had three; but my Wei family has five members who are Marquises today, and perhaps more in the future…”

In the second year of Yuanshuo, Wei Qing was promoted to Marquis of Changping for his merit in recovering the Hetao region. In the fifth year of Yuanshuo, during the surprise attack on Gaoque, he also rewarded his three sons with their merits: his eldest son Wei Kang was made Marquis of Yichun, his second son Wei Buyi was made Marquis of Yin'an, and his youngest son Wei Deng was made Marquis of Fagan.

Huo Qubing also won the title of Marquis of Champion twice in the Battle of Mobei in the sixth year of Yuanshuo. During the entire Yuanshuo period, the Wei family produced five more marquises, successfully surpassing the prominence of all previous maternal relatives of the Han Dynasty.

"The Bo, Dou, and Wang families were all prominent for a time, but their fates were all more tragic than the last. According to my son, you will be a wise ruler and value loyalty. I am not worried that you will go on a killing spree to eliminate the power of the Wei family's maternal relatives. But I am worried that the people of the Wei family, like my three sons, will be used by others to actively seek their own deaths, just like the deceased Gongsun He and Gongsun Jingsheng."

Wei Qing tried to speak calmly, but his trembling voice betrayed the extent of his fear. "If it really comes to that, Ju'er, are you willing to let the Wei family go?"

(End of this chapter)