Chapter 398: Going out to fight, the first meeting between the two (two in one!)
Dong'a Marquis Mansion.
"Brother, be careful when you go out to fight. Don't leave your spiritual weapon. Be cautious when doing things. When you are on the grassland, don't drink raw water or eat random food. Be sure to bring enough doctors. If the grassland tribe throws the dead cattle and sheep into the river, it may harm your health. This is what I am most worried about."
Luo Jinxiu packed Luo Wuji's luggage with great concern, muttering to herself. She knew that this was Luo Wuji's fate, but as the eldest sister, how could she not worry?
Luo Wuji listened carefully and nodded in agreement from time to time, but in fact he knew that the thing he was least worried about was the epidemic because he had the protection of the spirits of his ancestors.
[Intermediate Explorer: Activate luck, you can give family members titles, the children can gain language proficiency, and when in a foreign land, they can be exempted from certain diseases, which can be granted to people traveling with them in small amounts. PS: It is recommended to bring a doctor.]
Luo Zhongkan once traveled thousands of miles without getting sick. Luo Wuji would go to the grassland with this title, and something like what happened to Huo Qubing would never happen to him. It's just that Luo Jinxiu didn't know it.
After the luggage was packed, Luo Wuji laughed loudly and said, "Don't worry, sister. Wuji will definitely come back safe and sound. Father's last wish has not been fulfilled yet. Wuji will always swing his sword forward."
Luo Jinxiu raised her hand and touched Luo Wuji's head and said, "Sister knows that although you have never seen father, you must be father's greatest pride, and also the pride of Luo's family. You are a roc flapping its wings to the sky, and you will eventually fly high. Sister will not be an obstacle to you. The sons of Luo's family should forge ahead bravely."
Luo Wuji left the villa with his bag on his back, and then he saw his cousin Luo Jing, who was admiring the beautiful scenery in the courtyard with his hands behind his back. He turned around and smiled when he heard the noise: "Are you ready to leave?"
Luo Wuji smiled and said, "Sister is a little reluctant and sad, I hope brother can take good care of her."
Luo Jing smiled and said, "A Xiu is my sister, so it is my duty to take care of her. Besides, Xiu'er will soon return to Zhaocheng to learn the sacrificial rituals, so I'm afraid she won't stay in Chang'an City in the short term.
As for you, boy, are you sure about going to the grassland this time? I praised you to the sky in front of the emperor, saying that you are comparable to the ancient gods. There are not many generals like you in the family for thousands of years. Are you sure you can be crowned a marquis in one battle?"
Although Luo Jing and Luo Jinxiu did not have much time to meet Luo Wuzhi, the feelings between the direct descendants were innate and could not be erased by time and distance. To some extent, Luo Jing probably treated Luo Jinxiu better than some of his daughters.
Luo Wuji said proudly: "Since you have signed a military order in front of the emperor, I, as your younger brother, naturally cannot let you lose face. This time I must make great achievements so that the emperor can make you a marquis and a general, and let the world know that the Luo family will always produce outstanding people."
The words were spoken seriously. If other family members said this, it would be very encouraging and show that they were very ambitious. However, it was very abnormal when it appeared in the Luo family. Upon hearing this, Luo Jing patted Luo Wuji on the shoulder and said unhappily, "You are such a scoundrel, get out of here."
Luo Wuji chuckled and walked out of the Dong'a Marquis Mansion with his spiritual soldiers. Outside the mansion, three hundred warriors were already ready to go. Except for the fact that they were not wearing armor, all the equipment was ready. The Yingyang Cavalry Captain's unit had 1,200 people under their command. Naturally, these 1,200 people could not all be armored soldiers. In fact, only the 300 warriors that Luo Wuji brought from Zhaocheng were fully armored soldiers. The other 900 were both regular soldiers who fought on horseback and shot, and auxiliary soldiers who were there to assist the warriors in wearing armor. They only had leather armor on their upper bodies. Compared with the soldiers without armor at all, they were already quite elite cavalry.
Luo Wuzhi brought the Yingyang Cavalry to serve under General Wei Qing and was under his jurisdiction.
…
Imperial Palace, Pepper Room.
Huo Qubing was wearing a shining suit of armor, a helmet in his hand, and a sharp sword on his waist. This military uniform brought out his heroic spirit to the fullest. He kept looking at it with great joy. This was completely different from wearing armor normally. He knew that this time he was really going to the battlefield, and he would use the sword in his hand to completely defeat those Huns.
"Aunt, do you think your nephew is a mighty general?"
The palace maids in the Pepper Room looked at Huo Qubing with burning eyes. They all laughed when they heard this. Wei Zifu also laughed and said, "You are always so jumpy. Your uncle is the one who acts like a general. You should be more calm."
As soon as Wei Zifu finished speaking, a strong voice came from outside the palace, laughing loudly: "I think Qubing is very good like this!"
Liu Che walked into the hall from outside the hall, passing the screen. Everyone saluted. Liu Che continued, "I just like Qubing's heroic spirit of bravery and courage. The Huns are extraordinary, and the war on the grassland is extraordinary. Only people like Qubing can win the war."
Then he patted Huo Qubing on the shoulder and said, "Qubing, I appoint you as the lieutenant of Piaoyao and give you 1,200 men, all of whom are my imperial guards. They are the bravest soldiers of the Han Dynasty. Kill the enemies for me."
Huo Qubing's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately patted his chest and said, "Your Majesty is waiting for good news from me in Chang'an. I will apply all your teachings over the years to the Xiongnu people, and let them know that there is a supreme emperor in the Han Dynasty's Chang'an City."
Liu Che burst into laughter upon hearing this. He really liked Huo Qubing so much that he raised him as his son. As he was the emperor and could not go to war in person, he asked Huo Qubing to go to the grassland to have a look. Then Liu Che thought of Luo Wuji and said, "Qubing, there is another Yingyang Captain under your uncle's command. He seems to be the same age as you. He is very capable. You can observe him more."
Huo Qubing pondered and said, "Your Majesty, are you talking about the cousin of the Marquis of Dong'e, the son of the Luo family who came to Chang'an last year?
I once read history books and when I read about Lord Wu of Luo, I was envious. He was brave and resourceful, beheading generals and seizing flags. He was truly the pinnacle of warriors like me. My uncle studied the Huaiyin Military Strategy and wanted to become a commander like Marquis Wu Mu of Huaiyin, but I want to be a general like Lord Wu of Luo. I wonder how much of his ancestors' true teachings this son of the Luo family has?"
Huo Qubing actually wanted to talk about Luo Wugong and Xiang Yu, but although he has always been straightforward, he is not without intelligence after all.
Although the Han Dynasty officials had a very high opinion of Xiang Yu and even carried him into the Eight Main Temples for worship, and gave him the position of Lord of War, second only to the Lord of the Four Seasons, there was no need to praise Xiang Yu directly in front of the royal family. It would be fine to praise Luo Wugong instead.
Liu Che had high expectations for Huo Qubing.
The Luo family sent Luo Wuzhi to participate in the war against the Huns, and Liu Che gladly accepted. Although he was arbitrary and did not like to share power with others, he would not refuse the benefits offered by the Luo family.
Since Luo Ling's fall, Liu Che has determined the way to get along with the Luo family, which is both cooperation and confrontation.
Cooperation means that we all work together to expand the pie of Zhu Xia, I build my lasting achievements, and the Luo family gains reputation and other benefits from it; confrontation means fighting for the initiative and leadership in this cooperation process, that is, who has the final say in Zhu Xia.
You, the Luo family, have Luo Wuji, and I, Liu Che, have Huo Qubing. Let's see whose offspring is stronger.
If Luo knew what Liu Che was thinking, he might just smile and say that Liu Che might have read too little history. If he had just read a few more pages of history books and the books of various philosophers, he would not have done such a thing.
"Okay, you have ambition."
Liu Che patted Huo Qubing on the shoulder and said, "Good boy, take the elite cavalry I have prepared for you and go to the grassland to make achievements. I hope that when you come back, I can openly confer you a title of nobility based on your military merits."
Liu Che said this mainly to motivate Huo Qubing. It was not so easy to be granted a title of nobility, especially a marquis. At the beginning, Wei Qingge killed the deputy king of Zuo Xian Wang as well as the hundred and thousand households, but he did not even get the title of Marquis of Guannei. It was not until he later attacked the Huns and captured two thousand of them, and all the others had been defeated, that he was awarded the title of Marquis of Guannei for the sake of boosting morale. This shows how rare the title of marquis was in the Han Dynasty.
The main reason was that the marquisate titles of the Han Dynasty were too valuable, and each marquisate was a goose that laid golden eggs. One of the national policies of the court was to suppress the local powerful people. Since Emperor Wu of Han came to power, the mild migration system of the Liu Heng period was abolished, and forced migration began again, especially around Liu Che's own Maoling Mausoleum, which was full of powerful people who had migrated from various places.
Under this national policy, the marquisate was the legal powerful state allowed by the imperial court!
Even though Liu Che restricted the size of the marquisates, the only marquisate that could occupy an entire county was the Dong'a Marquisate, and the system and control of the marquisates were greatly strengthened, but the marquisates were still iron-clad crops that could guarantee a harvest regardless of drought or flood, and an investment that would always bring positive returns. As long as the marquisates existed, a temporary failure would not matter, and sooner or later the family members would rise again.
Huo Qubing often communicated with Wei Qing. He knew the difficulty of being granted a title of nobility at the beginning, but the young man was fearless and said proudly: "Your Majesty, rest assured, my nephew will definitely make great contributions this time. I will ask you to grant me a title of nobility and appoint me as a general. I will go to find my uncle now."
After saying that, he quickly slipped out of the Pepper Room with his sword in hand, as if he was just running away after boasting. Liu Che and Wei Zifu looked at Huo Qubing's figure and laughed.
This time, Wei Qing commanded a total of 120,000 troops in three routes. He led the main force of 60,000 to find the main force of the Huns and fight a great battle to annihilate the Huns' vitality. This was Liu Che's ultimate strategic goal. Through repeated wars, the Huns would be completely wiped out, and the pressure of guarding the northern border would disappear.
Luo Wuji and Huo Qubing were both captains under Wei Qing, so naturally they met. After Luo Wuji arrived in Chang'an, he had been living in seclusion in the Dong'a Marquis' Mansion, while Huo Qubing was either in the Changping Marquis' Mansion or in the imperial palace. Both of them didn't like to socialize with others.
This was the first time the two met.
Luo Wuji.
Huo Qubing.
Seeing one of the names alone is nothing, but when the two names appear together, it will arouse interest.
Especially since one of them is the son of Luo and the other is the queen's nephew, there is quite a dramatic conflict.
Huo Qubing's attitude towards Luo was mainly curiosity, which was also the attitude of most people, and the more capable they were, the more so.
The Luo family had a high reputation, but this reputation was different from that of the Confucian scholars in later generations. The so-called reputation of the Confucian scholars was essentially a pursuit of power. Those people monopolized the channels for upward mobility. If one wanted to gain power, one had to join their circle. The Luo family's reputation was a trust that came from the heart and was a very high political credibility.
However, this kind of reputation will not make people bow down to it easily. It can only be said that at the critical moment, when there are two choices in front of them, one is to believe in Luo's son, and the other is to believe in another person, then basically everyone will choose to believe in Luo's son, even if this Luo's son is a stranger.
When Huo Qubing saw Luo Wuji, his first reaction was that this man was so heroic that he was even taller than him. Because Huo Qubing was tall and rarely saw someone like Luo Wuji, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "Are you Captain Yingyang? I am Captain Piaoyao Huo Qubing. I know you are a hero at first sight. Can you shoot a strong bow?"
Luo Wuji basically had the same feeling when he saw Huo Qubing. Huo Qubing was full of youthful heroism and was unrestrained and uninhibited. He could clearly feel a vibrant vitality emanating from Huo Qubing.
The difference between the two is that after being polished by his family, Luo Wuji's sharp aura can be restrained in his body, while when Huo Qubing was being trained, Liu Che wanted him to be unrestrained, so Huo Qubing was like a sharp sword.
Luo Wuji bowed and said with a smile: "Captain Piao Yao is polite. I can naturally shoot a strong bow. Captain, do you want to try it?"
Huo Qubing raised his eyebrows, turned sideways and waved his hand, laughing loudly, "Please!"
Luo Wuji laughed and walked out of the tent. The group followed him out one after another. Even Wei Qing followed out curiously to watch. When they arrived at the parade ground, the spirit soldiers brought out extremely tall war horses. Luo Wuji patted the handsome horse and said to Huo Qubing, "Captain, this is my mount. It's called Mo Qilin and it's a BMW I plundered from the grassland."
Huo Qubing looked at the warhorse without envy, because he also had a BMW captured by Wei Qing from the grassland. Luo Wuji jumped onto the horse and clamped his legs against the horse's belly. Huo Qubing's eyes lit up when he saw this move, and he exclaimed: "Captain Yingyang has great riding skills!"
Without the three treasures of horse riding, riding skills are the key thing. The three treasures of horse riding greatly enhanced the capabilities of cavalry and indirectly led to the rise of nomadic peoples, but without these things, the Central Plains would be even more unable to defeat them.
In Ji Zhao's previous life in the Western Regions, the herdsmen's children could ride horses at the age of eight or nine, and that was without saddles or stirrups. Even in modern times, they still have horse-riding rituals similar to coming-of-age ceremonies. The riding skills of those herdsmen are really not something that the farming people of the Central Plains can match in a short period of time.
Luo Wuzhi took the bow from the spiritual soldier. Many people gasped when they saw the bow. An arrow from this thing could penetrate leather armor. Unless it was good armor like the general wore, other armor would probably not be able to withstand it.
Huo Qubing smiled when he saw this, and he also led a horse over, carrying the same large bow. The two of them rode on the horses. Everyone looked at them and thought for a moment that they were brothers. The only difference was that the holy mark on Luo Wu Ji's forehead was too obvious.
"drive!"
"drive!"
With two light shouts, the two men sat on their horses as steady as a rock. They raised their hands and drew their bows. Their muscles bulged high, and endless power filled the bowstring and then transferred to the arrow.
“Bang! Whoosh!”
“Bang! Whoosh!”
First there was the sound of a bowstring being loosened and bouncing violently. Even after the arrow was shot, the bowstring was still vibrating at a frequency that was invisible to the naked eye, and it continued to make a buzzing sound.
The arrows were like meteors; everyone could even clearly hear the sound of them piercing through the air, heading straight for the target more than a hundred steps away from the training ground.
"boom!"
"boom!"
Just like being hit hard by a huge hammer, a heavy roar came from the target, and then it broke directly, and this happened to both targets.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
The horses that were galloping at top speed gradually stopped, and the training ground was filled with smoke and dust. Huo Qubing saw this and laughed out loud, "What a warrior! This is how the ancestor of the Eagle Captain, Duke Wu, killed the generals and captured the flags. Every time I read history, I yearn for this."
Huo Qubing was a very proud person. After all, he was really awesome. He looked down on ordinary people. But Luo Wuji was born with a good impression of him, and he was also awesome. Once Huo Qubing recognized him, he immediately became a boaster. However, Luo was the real boaster. He gave him chicken soup as soon as they met. Luo Wuji immediately clasped his fists and said, "Captain Piao Yao is even more courageous. Our ancestor Wu Gong was not only a warrior who could kill generals and seize flags, but also a commander who could lead a large army. Wuji is still far behind."
Huo Qubing said: "I have heard that the greatest respect for ancestors is to surpass them and defeat them. Now is a time of great contention. Since Duke Huan of Qi, the Hu people have never been stronger.
Your Majesty is wise and has called on all the warriors in the world to achieve fame and honor on horseback. Although you are a noble relative, now is the time to surpass your ancestors."
Luo Wuji laughed loudly upon hearing this and said, "Sir, if the Hu people dare to invade the Xia, we will defeat them!"
Wei Qing laughed out loud and said, "Get dressed, it's time to go to war."
After the group dispersed, Huo Qubing rode his horse to tidy up and reorganize the troops under Lieutenant Piao Yao's command. The appearance of Luo Wuji made him feel a little pressured, and he wanted to make contributions and not let the emperor lose face.
Luo Wuji said to the brave warriors around him with some emotion: "Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, they are both heroes. The power of my Luo family alone is indeed not enough to compete with the world. Fortunately, we have the blessing of our ancestors. We must work harder."
Of course, the power of the Luo family alone cannot compete with the world. Except for Ji Zhao's era, there are people in every era who can be compared with Luo's son, or even surpass Luo's son. After all, Luo's son cannot always maintain his attributes above 90 points, and there will always be those geniuses appearing in the world.
However, the Luo family has accumulated a deep foundation and has already formed a great trend. Moreover, the biggest advantage of the Luo family's descendants is that they have few weaknesses. Unlike those powerful and famous ministers in history, each of them has their own fatal shortcomings, such as domineering, jealous, intolerance, lust, greed, etc. How many capable ministers died and their families were destroyed because of such shortcomings.
Luo Xin was not the top prime minister, but he eventually became the regent. This was the result of thousands of years of accumulated heritage, good luck, noble character, and the political reputation of the Luo family.
If other people heard Luo Wuzhi say "the strength of one family can compete with the best talents in the world", they would probably think that he was showing off. The strength of one family can compete with the best talents in the world, what a joke!
In the past, why did the Cao Wei regime allow the gentry to check and balance each other in the middle and late stages, instead of using clans to check and balance the gentry like during Cao Cao's time?
Don't say that Cao Pi was elected to the throne by the gentry and that he alienated the royal family. The emperor is completely different before and after he came to the throne. After Cao Pi ascended the throne, he still followed the political principle of having royal generals guard the four directions to balance the gentry. But the problem is that there are only so many people in the Cao family and the Xiahou family, and if the next generation fails, they will be wiped out. How can they be compared with the gentry who have an endless stream of talented people?
Therefore, in the end, using the Hebei and Henan gentry to compete with each other was a last resort. Having no one in the royal family is a problem that every royal family will eventually encounter.
Even if a well-known foreign regime has an entire ethnic group and allied ethnic groups to provide talents and maintain a balance of officials from various ethnic groups, once it encounters a major chaos, it will not be able to maintain its position and collapse. This is the inevitable result of having too small a base.
The defeat of the aristocracy by the aristocracy of military merit was the ultimate manifestation of this principle. The same was true of the replacement of the clan system with the gentry system. However, in the future that Ji Zhao saw, the gentry system had not yet been broken, because the gentry's base was already very large. Unless productivity continued to improve and more people were liberated, it would be a long way for everyone to be like a dragon.
But these are all based on normal circumstances. The Luo family's situation cannot be generalized. After all, the effect of the ancestors' blessing is so strong that it completely transcends the rules. Moreover, the Luo family has various methods to gather those outstanding people. Who knows, they may be able to compete with the world with the strength of one family.
At least one thing is certain, if Luo became emperor and ruled the world, hard times would come for officials all over the world.
Luo Wuji shook his head and put aside all these complicated thoughts. He rode his horse and took the brave warriors to check the armor and weapons such as swords, bows and crossbows. There were three horses for one person, which could be said to be extremely luxurious in the Han army. Under Wei Qing, only Huo Qubing and he had this treatment. It can be seen that the Luo family valued Luo Wuji and Liu Che valued Huo Qubing.
An army of 120,000 marched out of Daijun. Wei Qing's goal was simple: to rush directly to the Xiongnu holy land of Longcheng and annihilate the main force of the Xiongnu royal court there.
At this season, the Huns' livestock were scattered across the grassland. Farming people could store food, but nomadic people could not. The herdsmen were scattered all over the grassland and there was no time to recruit them. The Huns' nobles had no time to support them, so only the Huns' royal court's army was left.
This was exactly the opportunity Wei Qing wanted. Driving the Huns out of the steppes south of the desert was the first major stage of the Han court’s war plan against the Huns!
————
"The Legend of the Two Heroes of the Han Dynasty" is a novel written by Xuan Yi, a well-known martial arts novelist. This long martial arts novel is set in the history of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It combines traditional stories of gods and demons. It tells the story of two noble sons, Luo Wuji and Huo Qubing, who received the guidance of the destiny of the Su Wang Shanghuang and eventually defeated the Xiongnu Chanyu, who was the reincarnation of the Heavenly Demon King, and became a generation of masters. It is well received by readers. ——"Encyclopedia"
It’s two in one again, I’m so awesome.
There is an activity in the book club circle, where you can vote for three famous scenes for free every day. Everyone can try it out and click. It seems that there will be some visual interpretation of the top 30. It should be quite interesting. Just click the one that praises the emperor.
I would also like to recommend a historical novel. The first order grew to 25 and the average order grew to over 2,000, proving that the quality must be good in the future. The author is really persistent and that is awesome.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
