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

Chapter 147 Heir Apparent
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The flint struck the flint, sending up a burst of dazzling sparks that flew straight into the dry haystack.

Fragmentary sparks of fire sprouted up like mushrooms after rain, causing the surrounding withered leaves to curl up in fear.

At the same time, a long, drawn-out breath blew from the side, and the fire suddenly intensified.

As dusk approached, the firelight illuminated Huo Qubing's resolute face. He used a knife to slice the dried beef into thin slices and handed them to Huo Guang, whose skin had already turned dark.

As Huo Guang chewed on the dried meat slices, the faint taste of beef, fat, and salt instantly dispelled much of his sense of disorientation in the vast desert.

"Brother, so this is what the battlefield feels like?"

"It seems pretty good."

Huo Guang expressed his feelings on this matter.

For the sake of "absolute security," the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu, Yudan, established his headquarters west of the Gobi Desert, hoping to rely on the vast desert to block the Han Dynasty's attacks.

After years of attacks by Wei Qing, the right wing of the Xiongnu had long been crippled. Yu Dan understood this, and the Xiongnu Chanyu Yizhixie and the Left Wise King Wuwei also understood that the Hexi Corridor would be opened up by the Han army sooner or later.

What Yizhixie and Wuwei wanted was to exhaust the Han army's strength on the right wing, and once the right wing was defeated, they would stop attacking them.

Yu Dan was well aware of the thoughts of his uncle, the Chanyu, and his cousin, the Left Wise King. He blocked the right-wing tribes, such as the Yupu, Zhelan, Luhou, Hunxie, and Xiutu, who were at odds with him, in the Hexi Corridor of the Qilian Mountains, while he himself hid in the west of the desert.

If the tribes ahead are breached by the Han army, he will have ample time to withdraw from the right flank.

Where there are people, there is infighting. This amazed the young Huo Guang, but what shocked him even more was that his elder brother did not take the traditional battle route through the Hexi Corridor. Instead, he crossed the Alashan Desert, which was nearly a thousand miles long, to directly strike the main force of the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu. Then, he would open up the Hexi Corridor from west to east, and make sure to leave the entire Right Wise King of the Xiongnu behind.

As a member of the Han people, Huo Guang felt a strong sense of unease in the desert, but he was also captivated by its spectacular scenery. With beautiful views and beef jerky to eat, he felt that the battlefield was not as cruel as described in books.

Huo Qubing didn't eat meat. Instead, he took the leather bag he carried with him, shook it a few times, and drank a few sips of the slightly bubbly and alcoholic mare's milk wine. Looking at his brother with clear eyes, he said helplessly, "This is not the battlefield yet. In the past, when soldiers went to war, they didn't have dried meat to eat, but they could drink mare's milk wine."

There were never such conditions before.

Without a professional guide like Zhang Qian, the Marquis of Bowang, he might not have chosen the strategy of traversing the desert, but instead would have opened up the Hexi Corridor along the Qilian Mountains, forcing the Xiongnu Right Wise King's main force to retreat.

The desert scenery is unique and better than the Hexi Corridor, but it is also more dangerous. Once you get lost in the desert, this magical place will be your final resting place.

Young Huo Guang clearly only saw the scenery and was unaware of the dangers within.

This place is still in the desert, about 20 miles away from the main territory of the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu. It is too early to call it a battlefield.

Tomorrow will be the day of the great battle.

Before this, the young Huo Guang had merely been sightseeing in the desert.

Besides, during Your Majesty's reign, the generals of the Han Dynasty, including my uncle and myself, had no dried beef or mare's milk wine when they fought against the Xiongnu. They were lucky if they could have dry and hard flatbread to eat and bitter and astringent grain wine.

"Brother, I'd like to drink too," Huo Guang said, smelling the slightly sour aroma of the wine.

I heard that this was a drink specially prepared by the King for the army. All the soldiers could drink it while marching. Moreover, the King seemed to have given special instructions to my elder brother: when leading troops into battle, he could only drink mare's milk wine and boiled water.

His elder brother went even further, only allowing him to drink boiled water and forbidding him from drinking mare's milk wine, claiming that a boy shouldn't drink alcohol. But which people from the Central Plains or the grasslands didn't start drinking alcohol at a young age? When he was three, his father would feed him wine with chopsticks, and now he was over ten years old, yet his elder brother wouldn't let him drink the weaker mare's milk wine. "The Lord said you can't drink it," Huo Qubing said with a somewhat strange expression.

The fact that the boy cannot drink alcohol was something the King mentioned suddenly when he was talking to him about visiting his father in Hanoi County, as if the King knew he would bring his half-brother with him.

But he didn't think much of it, assuming that the emperor knew about his father's affairs and Huo Guang's existence, and was just making a casual remark to avoid excessive drinking during the celebration.

Huo Guang immediately deflated, gulping down cold water. Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he asked cryptically, "Brother, why do you think the Emperor is so eager to gain power?"

According to his elder brother, the Supreme Ruler was a wise and virtuous ruler, but the way he obtained power, which was almost a usurpation, made him somewhat disagree with this praise.

In his eyes, the emperor was a "crown prince".

In his view, the emperor did not need to do this. There are not many succession systems for the throne now, and there is basically nothing that can affect the emperor's succession.

The most orthodox system of primogeniture, with the debates of Dong Zhongshu of the Gongyang School, established the principle of "establishing the eldest son as heir," making the ruler the most suitable successor.

Even if it were a matter of "establishing a virtuous ruler," none of the princes could surpass the ruler's virtue. With the ruler's methods, he could have tormented the other princes eight hundred times over.

However, His Majesty has never backed down in the power struggle, employing various means and schemes. The fact that His Majesty has survived until now can only be attributed to his good health.

"The Emperor said that he could wait, but the common people could not," Huo Qubing said.

Since Your Majesty assumed personal rule, the changes in the Han Dynasty are obvious. If Your Majesty continues to rule, the chaos of the end of the Qin Dynasty will repeat itself.

"But surely they can't even wait a few years?" Huo Guang disagreed.

Emperor Xiaowen and Emperor Xiaojing did not live long lives, so how long can Your Majesty live?
Wait a moment. Once His Majesty has passed away, the new ruler can rightfully succeed to the throne and begin a new reign. This will not only be legitimate but also allow the people of the world to witness filial piety.

Huo Qubing looked at Huo Guang and shook his head, saying, "Zimeng, you don't understand. What the emperor loves is not the throne, but all the people under heaven. As the ruler of the Han Dynasty, to have such a benevolent and forgiving heart is more precious than filial piety."

"really?"

Huo Guang paused for a moment, then said, "I don't believe it."

Most Han emperors were harsh and ungrateful, and the fact that the emperor could take action against his own maternal relatives, the Wei clan, proves that he was heartless and ruthless. How could such a political system have so many subjects who loved him?

"You'll understand when you return to Chang'an and meet the Emperor," Huo Qubing said without further explanation.

The Supreme Ruler is truly a very special and unique monarch, one that Your Majesty cannot compare to.

Huo Qubing described the beef as chopped, cooked, and then repeatedly pounded and dried until it was inedible. He believed that being born into wealth was no small matter.

If it weren't for the need to remain hidden, he would definitely have the cook start a fire and prepare the meal.

"Champion Marquis, have some of this."

Zhang Qian walked over, took out a pinch of yellowish-brown powder from a small cloth bag at his waist. It was a mixture of fine salt and Sichuan peppercorns, which he sprinkled on the dried meat. The different flavor finally made Huo Qubing want to eat it.

After eating the beef jerky, Huo Qubing's strength quickly returned. Looking towards the horizon, he could already smell the scent of war.

(End of this chapter)