123 Chapter 123
◎In the army. ◎
The weather was nice on the 19th, the autumn air was clear and crisp, very suitable for traveling.
The Huo brothers were standing on either side of Liu Ju. He looked around and suddenly asked, "Cousin, have you taken Peng Zu to learn horseback riding from uncle?"
Huo Qubing said, "He is not yet three years old, not old enough to learn to ride a horse."
In fact, the child hasn’t even celebrated his second birthday yet, so his age in Chinese is really too empty.
Liu Ju sighed in his heart, but asked, "Is my uncle here today?"
Huo Qubing said, "My uncle has other things to do today."
"Very busy." Liu Ju said, "Ah Weng is also very busy."
Huo Qubing said, "Yes."
Liu Ju turned to Huo Guang and asked, "Have you been busy lately?"
Although he was not unfamiliar with the Crown Prince, Huo Guang remained very serious: "Your Highness, I am not busy."
Liu Ju comforted him: "You will be busy in the future too."
Being busy means promotion. This is indeed a comforting statement. Huo Guang was able to quickly understand the prince's logic. He smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness."
All the way to the military camp outside the city, Liu Ju observed carefully and found that there were no outsiders near or far.
The military discipline was strict. Liu Ju thought that in his previous life, after his cousin and uncle passed away one after another, the Han army not only started to lose battles, but the military discipline was also not as good as when they were there, or this was one of the reasons for the defeat.
The Han Dynasty cannot do without many people, but if the Han Dynasty wants to keep winning battles, it really cannot do without the general and the cavalry general.
They first settled down in the central military tent. Huo Qubing asked Liu Ju if he could rest for a while. After being rejected by Liu Ju, he led his men to visit the army.
The war was to begin next year, and the soldiers were now training intensively. The infantry could still go over and take a look, but they couldn't get close to the cavalry at all. Liu Ju watched from a distance for a while. He didn't intend to change the training plan for him, so few people in the army knew about the prince's arrival.
Liu Ju was not very familiar with military affairs, so he asked Huo Qubing when he had questions. From the training of soldiers to food and fodder, Guanjun Hou answered them one by one, which benefited the prince a lot.
At noon, Liu Ju had a meal with Huo Qubing in the army. The food of the Marquis of Guanjun was of course very good in the vicinity of Chang'an City, but when it came to the battlefield and marching thousands of miles away, General Huo had no choice but to eat.
Of course, Champion Hou wouldn't have been picky about this back then. He never cared about things when he shouldn't have. Otherwise, would his achievements really just be pie in the sky? They were all achieved through genuine skill and hard work.
When he went out again in the afternoon, Liu Ju saw a familiar person, Gongsun He was also there.
Huo Qubing said, "Your Majesty has appointed him as the Left General."
Although Gongsun He missed his deadline last time, military generals have always been favored by His Majesty the Emperor. Moreover, he was Liu Che's childhood companion and married the Queen's sister. For both public and private reasons, His Majesty the Emperor will definitely give him another chance.
Liu Ju said, "General Zuo... then you have to follow your uncle."
Huo Qubing continued, "My aunt wanted Gongsun Jingsheng to accompany my uncle, but General Zuo stopped her."
Liu Ju thought about the last time when he punished Gongsun Jingsheng and his aunt went to beg his mother for help. His mother relayed those words to his aunt, and he thought to himself, there are really people who think that being the Champion is a piece of cake.
Don't overestimate your abilities.
Liu Ju asked curiously, "How did you know this, cousin? Did General Zuo tell you?"
Huo Qubing said, "He complained to my uncle, and my uncle told me."
Liu Ju understood: "My aunt went to look for my uncle."
If Gongsun He had only complained to Wei Qing about a few family matters, Gongsun He would have certainly considered his status as the general and stopped there. He would not have bothered Wei Qing to complain to Huo Qubing. Wei Qing would only pour out his grievances to Huo Qubing if there was someone he could only sit there and listen to.
Huo Qubing nodded.
Huo Guang, who had been silent until then, suddenly said, "Minister Gongsun has also complained about my brother."
Gongsun Jingsheng held the official title of Shizhong, which was only a favor, but he still had to go to the palace on time to report for duty.
"Hmm?" Liu Ju and Huo Qubing both looked at him.
Huo Guang hurriedly explained, "I was reading in the shade of a tree. They thought there was no one there, so I overheard it accidentally."
"It's okay, it's okay. If he dares to say something bad about his cousin, he shouldn't be afraid of being heard." Liu Ju snorted, "In this family, there is only one person with a clear mind."
Huo Qubing said: "This one is also clear and bright."
Considering that Gongsun He doted on his son too much, this statement was not wrong, and Marquis Guanjun was worthy of his title, with a sharp vision. In his previous life, Gongsun He got himself into trouble by cleaning up the mess made by his son - of course, to some extent, he also deserved it, because he promoted his son to be one of the Nine Ministers when he became the Prime Minister.
Liu Ju said again: "Cousin, don't pay attention to what those people say."
Although I don't know what those people said behind Huo Qubing's back, I know it won't be good.
Many people were jealous of Huo Qubing, but Gongsun Jingsheng was too stupid to dare to act like a cricket champion in the Weiyang Palace.
Huo Qubing wondered, "Why should I care about others?"
Liu Ju smiled and said, "I am narrow-minded."
Is anyone worthy of being looked down upon by the Marquis of Guanjun? Huo Qubing certainly had the capital to be so proud.
But Liu Ju was a little worried. Perhaps influenced by later TV dramas, he wanted to prevent these insignificant people from causing a big mess. He took the opportunity to ask Huo Guang: "Do you know everyone who was with Gongsun Jingsheng that day? Do you remember them?"
Huo Guang had a good memory and nodded immediately: "I remember everything."
"Come, tell me." Liu Ju said hurriedly.
Huo Guang hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Highness, brother..."
Liu Ju made a shushing gesture and said, "Don't tell him. My cousin has something important to do. We will guard the rear for him."
Huo Guang was quite concerned about the disrespectful remarks made by those people towards his brother. He was immediately shaken by the Crown Prince's words. After reading out the names of the people, he asked, "What do you intend to do, Your Highness?"
Liu Ju stroked his chin and said, "Find someone to put a cap on their heads and beat them up. Is that enough?"
Huo Guang: “…”
Is it so simple and crude? Your Highness, don't you have any strategy?
"What are you talking about?" Huo Qubing's voice came from behind, startling Huo Guang.
"...What's wrong?" Huo Qubing asked.
Huo Guang's eyes widened and he said hurriedly, "It's okay! Brother, nothing happened..."
His guilty conscience was too obvious, Huo Guang stopped and looked at Liu Ju somewhat bewilderedly.
Liu Ju blinked innocently and said, "Cousin, you scared Huo Guang."
Huo Qubing glanced at the two men and reminded them, "Your Highness, you said you wouldn't run around. Listen to my instructions."
"I didn't run around." Liu Ju spread his hands, "Cousin, you asked us to wait for you here."
Huo Qubing glanced at Huo Guang again with some concern, but found that his brother did not dare to look at him. Guanjun Hou frowned and secretly became more alert.
However, until Liu Ju was sent back to Weiyang Palace, everything was normal and nothing unexpected happened.
Liu Ju said, "My cousin, you've worked hard today. Would you like to stay and rest?"
Huo Qubing said, "Thank you, Your Highness. I will return home."
Liu Ju said, "Be careful on your way, cousin."
Huo Qubing nodded, and before leaving, he asked, "Ju'er, do you have anything else to say?"
Liu Ju shook his head in confusion, as if he didn't understand what he meant.
After returning home, Huo Qubing had no chance to ask Huo Guang, as he was on duty in the palace and had not yet taken a day off, so he could not arrest anyone himself.
Maybe the prince was really fine, Huo Qubing thought again, he was just overthinking things. Since he had spent the day peacefully and the prince had not had any sudden ideas, then there was nothing wrong.
Five days later, Huo Qubing, feeling relieved, overheard gossip from some people saying that Gongsun Jingsheng and some other young playboys were beaten by someone while covering their heads when they went out.
Huo Qubing: "..."
The other names are fine, but Gongsun Jingsheng...
Was this what the Crown Prince was planning? Huo Qubing was helpless and could not help but feel soft-hearted. His little cousin was venting his anger for him, so he was not so ungrateful as to sympathize with Gongsun Jingsheng.
Liu Ju brought his father's wine to celebrate the victory with Huo Guang. Huo Guang was a little worried: "Your Highness, have you ever drunk wine?"
Huo Guang was already old enough to drink, and according to his own estimation, he could drink quite well.
Liu Ju said: "This is similar to a fruit drink. It's okay to drink some. Try it."
After arriving in Chang'an, Huo Guang tasted this kind of wine at his brother's place and found that it did not have much of a winey taste. However, he was the prince who had never drunk alcohol after all, so he tried to persuade him again.
"Your Highness..."
At this moment, the eunuch came in and announced, "Your Highness, the Marquis of Guanjun has arrived."
"Ah..." Liu Ju scrambled to collect the cups and bottles. "Hurry up! Put them away! I stole them from Grandfather. If my cousin finds out, he'll definitely tell Grandfather!"
Huo Guang: “…”
Everyone in the hall quickly collected the wine and the glass that Liu Ju used to drink the wine. Liu Ju did not dare to delay and asked someone to invite Marquis Guanjun in while collecting the wine.
When Huo Qubing stepped over the threshold, the hall had just been cleaned up. He walked up to Liu Ju and was about to salute when someone grabbed his arm.
Liu Ju warmly asked Huo Qubing to sit down, and then asked someone to bring water and snacks. "I don't have any tea here, cousin, please make do with it. I will go ask my grandfather for some good tea tomorrow."
Huo Qubing sat upright and said to Liu Ju, "Your Highness, there is no need to rush." Then he looked at Huo Guang and asked, "Huo Guang, are you hot?"
It was late August and the air in the palace was cool again. The layer of sweat on Huo Guang's forehead was indeed unusual.
Huo Guang stuttered. He hadn't yet mastered lying: "Brother...Brother, I don't..."
Liu Ju was afraid that he would be exposed, so he quickly changed the subject: "Cousin, you came here specially, is there something going on?"
Huo Qubing didn't seem to mind Huo Guang's strangeness. He turned around and replied to the crown prince: "I heard that Gongsun Jingsheng was beaten. I wanted to thank Your Highness and ask you one more question."
"I know you don't care about these insignificant people, but I'm the one who feels bad about it. It's not worth it for you to come and thank me." Liu Ju said hurriedly, "If you have anything to ask me, just ask!"
Huo Qubing asked, "Does Your Majesty know about this?"
Liu Ju smiled and said, "Of course, they are from Aweng's faction."
"Then..." Huo Qubing smiled slightly, "Your Majesty also knows that Your Highness stole his wine?"
Liu Ju: “…”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com