79 Spring Breeze Enters Tusu
◎Huo Yan: Victory, but please be victorious in everything.◎
The Liquor Industry Bureau was a good organization, because their diligent senior leaders had been sidelined, and their junior leaders didn't wake up until noon each day. But as the saying goes, the pot fits the lid. Aside from Deputy Chancellor Huo Yan, the Liquor Industry Bureau had no official positions. They hired only part-time interns, who, paid by Huo Yan, would roam around Chang'an City to find businesses without official positions. If they didn't, they would invite them to the Liquor Industry Bureau for tea with the Chancellor. Don't ask, the Chancellor would just go to the palace to teach the Crown Prince.
Suddenly, with the exception of Ji An, whose face grew increasingly pale, everyone else was enjoying a carefree existence, gaining two kilograms per month. In stark contrast to their leisurely lifestyle was the growing demand for talismans from the wealthy merchants. But none of the Wuling youths cared.
It was another leisurely day. After Sima Qian, who was also a clerk, issued a few talismans, Sang Qian closed the window of the Wine Industry Bureau for issuing talismans without paying attention to the people queuing behind him. Sima Qian yawned and continued to write his masterpiece.
Zhang He was twelve or thirteen years old, following behind Sang Qian. Seeing his actions, he was confused. He was born with a gentle temperament. He raised his doughy little face and was about to speak when he was stopped by Zhang Anshi. This future one of the eleven heroes of Qilin Pavilion, the future Jinghou, was already calm and steady despite his young age.
Then Huo Yan, who was wandering to work, began to pinch and knead the soft flesh on Jinghou's cheek with a mischievous look.
"Brother Huo."
The child's speech is slurred.
"Be good, Anshi," Huo Yan smiled, rubbed Zhang He's head next to him, and handed him a candy.
Before Zhang He could ask more questions, Huo Yan directed him to open the door of the warehouse at the back.
When the door of the warehouse at the back opened, everyone was stunned.
Because it was filled with money, all of which were the money they earned in the past few days, piled here in several high piles. The strings that strung the money in some boxes had broken, and the copper coins were scattered all over the ground, forming a thick layer on the ground.
Huo Yan smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and grabbed a handful of food for each of the young men present. If they were not there, he would wrap them up in red silk and send them over to someone he knew.
Zhang He and Zhang Anshi, who had done nothing, also took a handful. They accepted it skillfully. The Huo family elder brother loved giving them money and showed concern every time they met. He loved them more than Aung.
The teenagers had the same idea as them. They all accepted the money from themselves and their friends, and smiled with their teeth showing.
Then Huo Yan left leisurely, and when he left, he only told them to come early tomorrow, and that they needed to bring dozens of people, as he wanted to take them to see the big scene.
The young men didn't know what was going on but they were eager to go with him tomorrow. After all, their brother Huo Yan would not cheat them.
The next morning, the mist still hung thick, and Chang'an, still slumbering, was still covered in dew. The locust trees lining Zhuque Street were still shrouded in dew. The rumbling of Huo Yan's oxcart over the bluestone slabs startled the bronze bells on the eaves. Dozens of wooden carts laden with money shone dark red in the morning light, their ruts deeply sunk into the soft spring mud beside the road. The young men carrying the boxes, their long coats smeared with mud, their faces cheerful.
They were very shrewd and knew that there was something interesting to watch today, so they wanted to follow even if they had to fall behind.
Huo Yan got up early today and seemed to be in a bad mood. It was early spring, and he walked up the steps of Xuanshi Hall wearing a scarlet white fox fur coat, looking very weak.
The eunuch Huo Yanyouen who was standing in front of Liu Che hurried forward and conveyed the message to Liu Che on his behalf.
Ji An was currently arguing with Gongsun Hong, who had earlier this morning scolded him for his prestige and the constant harassment he'd been sending to the Liquor Industry Bureau. Ji An, dissatisfied, resorted to verbal attacks, while Zhang Tang took sides, siding with Gongsun Hong. The three of them despised each other, but Zhang Tang disliked Ji An even more than Gongsun Hong.
At three quarters past the hour of Mao in the front hall of the Weiyang Palace, the pepper paste on the red pillars still had a strong fragrance.
Huo Yan put his sleeves down and listened to the increasingly loud voices of Ji An and the other two, and finally made eye contact with the group of young men who insisted on following him.
[It’s really a street curse!]
[Live broadcast.]
[It turns out that people in the Han Dynasty also cursed their ancestors!]
Liu Che was annoyed by what he heard, and when he was annoyed, he looked at Wei Qing. The general, who was kneeling in front of the ministers, was originally daydreaming, but when he got Liu Che's look, he seemed to suddenly come to his senses, looked around, and finally tried to stop the fight.
Liu Che was amused by him and laughed, and asked the eunuch to call Huo Yan in.
Three hundred large camphorwood boxes formed a long queue outside the hall. Huo Yan led the young men to carry three boxes into the Xuanshi Hall. As soon as they came in, many adults saw their brothers and sons winking at them, and their expressions suddenly relaxed.
The atmosphere in front of the hall is much more lively.
Huo Yan chuckled, accepting the attention of everyone in the court. He opened the lacquer box and picked up the red string holding the coins. Suddenly, the string snapped, sending copper coins cascading onto the bluestone floor like water. The imperial censor Gongsun Hong, about to swat Ji An with his tablet, clattered to the tiles. The mountain of money in the Xuanshi Hall and Ji An's sudden arrogance made Gongsun Hong's face turn pale.
The Imperial Censor, who judged cases based on the Spring and Autumn Annals, straightened his eaves cap and returned to stand behind Wei Qing. Wei Qing, with good manners, picked up his tablet and offered him a few more words of advice. Gongsun Hong looked from Huo Yan to Wei Qing and felt that Huo Yan had grown up crooked, not at all like his uncle, and now he was backing up that old man, Ji An.
The morning light slanted through the twelve caissons, illuminating the five-zhu coins scattered all over the ground with a golden glow. Some of the copper coins were still stained with oil from the wine shop, and a faint smell of turbid wine lingered in front of the emperor.
Liu Che's eyes suddenly lit up under his crown.
Sang Hongyang suddenly took half a step forward, and the hem of his robe accidentally swept over a bucket of copper coins, which rolled and jingled to the legs of the Minister of Agriculture Zheng Dangshi. Both of them grinned, and everyone in the Minister of Agriculture's office looked proud of it.
Hey, this guy is from our place.
Ji An straightened his back, his eyes full of light, and felt that all the fatigue from meeting with wine merchants every day had disappeared. His performance was even more exaggerated than that of his uncle Wei Qing.
Huo Yan blinked and looked at his uncle. The little red fox held his head high, waiting for his uncle to praise him.
Wei Qing was all smiles.
Except for a few who had watched Huo Yan grow up since childhood, all the officials in the court were re-evaluating this young man in their hearts. They knew that Ji An did not have the ability to amass such wealth in just two months.
With Wei Qing as the military advisor and this son as the literary advisor, the Wei family now reached its peak of power.
"I have received the grace of the Emperor to establish the Liquor Industry Bureau and to handle the various matters concerning liquor taxes. Since the Three Talismans appeared, thanks to the cooperation of liquor merchants from all over the country, after deducting the costs of setting up offices for the Liquor Industry Bureau, I have earned a profit of over three million yuan. Lord Ji has asked me to present this to you." Huo Yan was content, his sleeves cascading to the ground. The jade pendant at his waist remained motionless, and the red mole beneath his lip was dazzling. "I commend Your Majesty for the merits of these liquor merchants."
He knelt down, and the young men behind him also knelt down.
Liu Che's eyes brightened even more, and he couldn't help but look outside. Wei Qing also looked outside. When the emperor and his minister saw the boxes stretching as far as the eye could see at the bottom of the stairs, they couldn't suppress the corners of their lips.
Ayan, baby, I’m worried that I don’t have enough money to fight the war!
The imperial court was so poor that one could see horses baring their teeth, and Huo Yan's money was just the beginning to solve the urgent problem.
"Your Majesty, I beg for mercy—" Huo Yan sighed inwardly, seeing everyone dazzled by the money. "Look at how poor my right-hand men are! They look at money like ducks, and it's hard for him to win them over." He thought it was hard to win them over, then decisively slipped out the list from his sleeve and said loudly, "The liquor bureaus in various places are not yet established, and they are short of officials. I think it would be better to let these loyal and righteous families who took the initiative to recommend their sons to come to Chang'an to learn liquor management. I will fill these vacancies after examining them."
After Liu Che took over the list, the look in his eyes when he looked at Huo Yan changed. The Cheng, Lu, and Zhang families were prominently listed on the list. They happened to be all local wealthy families that monopolized the wine industry.
For a moment, he had no idea what kind of medicine Huo Yan was selling in his gourd. Wouldn't this just encourage greed? Wei Qing took the list from him, and thinking back to Huo Yan's previous operations, his forehead suddenly twitched, and he had a bad guess in his heart, and then nodded silently to Liu Che.
Your Majesty, don't worry.
Liu Che suddenly had an idea.
"The reward you requested is excellent." Liu Che's red shoes trod across the coins scattered on the ground, and his black sandal with twelve chapter patterns brushed Huo Yan's shoulder. "Let these noble families who are loyal to the emperor and the country recommend some of their sons to come to Chang'an for training. I'll leave this matter to Master Ji."
Ji An's heart skipped a beat. Turning back, he saw Huo Yan's smile widening. The little fox's beautiful eyes blinked at him, "My lord, you are very resolute. I am so grateful for your presence. I am still young and not in good health. I also rely on you for this matter."
Ji An's heart stopped beating. The main point was that it was not easy for the child, and he was carrying it.
Three days later, the emperor's decree had reached the ears of all the aristocratic families thanks to Huo Yan's intentional dissemination of "Han Youth".
Linqiong County.
Wine flags fluttered in the spring breeze, and construction was underway on the government-run winery next door.
The head of the Zhuo family, the largest local wine merchant, clutched the copy of "Han Qingnian" printed with the imperial edict, his hands shaking like sieves, pure excitement. If his son could take down the official in charge of the local liquor tax, then the day would not be far off when he would monopolize the Linqiong liquor industry. He flipped to the back and saw the document that recommended people according to the number of three talismans, three talismans per person.
Patriarch Zhuo's eyes lit up again and again. He had so many talismans. If he was lucky, his useless youngest son could also find a job. Wouldn't that be even better? After all, with his brothers around, he could restrain himself a bit.
"Immediately tie up that scoundrel who spends all his time fighting cocks and riding horses! Have him follow us to Chang'an."
He was not the only head of the family who thought so. Half a month after the decree was issued, this huge army representing family hopes, family disappointments, and family despair arrived in their disloyal Chang'an in a mighty force.
Chang'an has completely become a sea of joy.
All of Huo Yan's industries, including the horse farm, casino, and theater, are money-making pits, needless to say, but these people can't help but want everything. Huo Yan can't even be described as making a fortune every day. It would be more appropriate to describe him as making a mountain of gold every day.
Those people were also very sensible. They invited Huo Yan to dinner every day. Well, they also found out about Huo Yan's preferences and bribed him blatantly.
Huo Yan simply couldn't let go of these people.
That day, Huo Qubing saw his younger brother leaving in plain clothes, returning with gold and jade pendants on his body, wishing he could wear eight rings on his hands, and silently complained to Sima Qian.
"It's rare that no one steals his things when he walks around Chang'an like this."
Sima Qian widened his eyes, unable to imagine that these were words that Huo Qubing could say.
Huo Yan, the man involved, had pointed ears, the glittering jewel pendant on his ear slightly tilted to one side. He took two steps, tilted his head and smiled at the two of them, "Well, I have this face. Who in Chang'an dares to act rashly in front of my brother?"
Huo Qubing took a sword pendant from Huo Yan's hand. The gems on the sword pendant were gorgeous. Huo Qubing thought it was nice. He always liked gems with beautiful patterns and colors. Huo Yan smiled and took out four or five from his sleeves like a magic trick.
"I know you like it, so I asked those people to make it now. They are all very beautiful."
Huo Qubing was satisfied.
"I still lack a sword."
Sima Qian, who witnessed the whole process, was ready to take action while recording the eight trigrams.
This short passage was finally recorded in the Biography of Grand Marshal Huo Qubing and became famous because it was cute enough.
Whenever people in later generations read this article, they have to praise Sima Qian, and then they will wonder where Sima Qian was lying in the corner reading it.
Of course, this is a later story.
Huo Yan played for half a month and stocked up three large boxes of jewels and precious ornaments. In addition, the arrival of young men from various families in Chang'an stimulated the potential of wine merchants. Although the Three Talismans were no longer on sale, they were afraid that they would not be able to catch up next time. In order to get more places for themselves, they bought the Three Talismans like crazy, showing a very competitive spirit.
Huo Yan smiled and hoarded the money. He picked out the expensive jewelry, left a small box for Huo Qubing, gave a box to Wei Qing, a box to Wei Shaoer, and gave a small box each to the Wei family and Wei Chang, Sang Hongyang, Zhufu Yan, and Ji An. He also opened the boxes and let the young interns from the Wine Industry Department choose what they liked. These kids were all top-level nobles and would not stay for long, but the money they earned during this period was enough to eat for thirty years, so each of them picked two pieces.
For the remaining items, Huo Yan picked out some plain ones and sold them in the Weiyang Palace, still for three cents.
The remaining two and a half large boxes were thrown to Liu Che.
Liu Che was extremely happy and treated him like his sweetheart.
I’m so greedy for the barrage.
[Bao, I want one too!]
[Jealousy has distorted me beyond recognition.]
…
Huo Yan smiled, holding up a large box, and said to the commentator, "I'll bury these before I die, and leave them somewhere you know."
The barrage was full of "wuwuwu".
[I am Ayan’s dog.]
[My biological son from another world.]
…
Huo Yan: Get out!
The fifth year of Yuanshuo finally ended. Huo Yan sent away all the decent people and left only the unwise and arrogant second-generation rich people. Then the sixth year of Yuanshuo, which belonged to Huo Yan and Huo Qubing, finally arrived.
On the boat chartered by the Nanyang Kong family, a young man in brocade clothes was stuffing gold cakes into a leather bag belonging to a stone leaf. The river breeze blew his peacock feather cloak, and the jade pendant at his waist jingled against the inlaid gold belt hook. "Please tell Lord Huo that the Yingdong Wang family has a grudge against me. I must go there, and I'll definitely benefit from your kindness!"
Since I can't go home, I'll go out and vent my anger. Anyway, I'm the only one left at home.
Shi Ye had been obsessed with money for some time and had no expression on his face. He weighed the gold cake and then showed his big white teeth.
"That's natural. I definitely won't let go of my grudge."
The young man in brocade clothes smiled arrogantly, his face looking ferocious.
Shi Ye was not the kind of person who would do things without money, so the transfer order was issued that same day, and this cunning man was sent to Yingchuan by Huo Yan.
As soon as this young man started to show his talent, the dandies in Chang'an City immediately had a new target: bribe them, and if they worked hard enough, they could wipe out the whole family of their rival.
Go! A piece of gold to settle a lifelong hatred, the second generation of rich people who live only to cause trouble to others united unprecedentedly, and ran to Huo Yan like little fish scrambling for food to offer gold cakes.
How could the "upright" young master Huo be accepted when he was working for the court?
Not sensible!
Huo Yan thought to himself.
Xiao Kong is still good at it.
Shi Ye touched his neck; his hands ached from the weight of the gold in his arms.
During the Qingming Festival, when the rain fell, Huo Yan held a banquet at the theater. Tears welled up in his eyes, he held hands with the dandy. This incident was over, and he could only wait until the next blooming season. He then thought, this bunch of talented people will finally become the rat shit that spoils the soup, and he felt very relieved.
The next day, the playboys from the 136 counties were already on their way to the land of their enemies.
Meanwhile, on the official road along the Yellow River, a young tax collector coldly watched the wine cart of the Yingdong Wang family. Rainwater seeped through the cracks in the oilcloth into the ceramic jar, and he simply kicked over the expensive Lansheng wine. This tax collector was none other than the most domineering youngest son of the Nanyang Kong family.
"The seal of this wine jar is damaged, yet you still want to sell it!" Kong's son slowly poked a hole in the last pottery jar with a bamboo stick, and the key wine shop manager sent by Huo Yanzhen behind him handed over a ticket with a bright red official seal at the right time.
Another fine of a thousand coins was imposed. With this Kong around, the Wang family should give up brewing wine.
In the government-run winery ten miles away, Huo Yan, an old craftsman from Chang'an, opened the new mash of Suichun. The clear aroma of the wine startled the spring swallows that were taking shelter from the rain under the eaves.
"Twenty coins a dou—"
A burst of hawking sounds.
Twenty cents a dou, when did wine become cheaper than wine lees?
The tenant farmer's wife stepped forward in disbelief, then weighed out only half a bushel. She clutched the money she had saved for the wine, and in the drizzle, she touched the skinny little boy beside her and said in a voice as soft as raindrops, "My dear, mother still has some money left. We'll buy some fine linen later so we can make some beautiful clothes."
The child's eyes are bright.
good!
I won’t feel cold if my mother makes clothes for me.
Aong will not feel cold after drinking.
very nice!
This year, every household in Yingdong seemed to have added half a foot to the fine linen clothes they were making for their children. The skinny, dark-skinned tenant farmers squatted on the ridges of the fields, clutching half-broken pottery bowls, their cloudy eyes reflecting the official wine flags. At this time of year in previous years, they couldn't even afford the lees.
The spring breeze of the sixth year of Yuanshuo finally blew into millions of homes just as Huo Yan had imagined many years ago.
And Huo Qubing also took advantage of this trend.
This time, Huo Qubing finally persuaded Wei Qing and was able to join the army to the border as a cavalry captain.
In the autumn of the fifth year of Yuanshuo, ten thousand Xiongnu cavalry entered Dai County, killed the commander Zhu Ying, and captured more than a thousand civilians.
Liu Che was furious, and only after Wei Qing's persuasion did he restrain himself from sending troops in the autumn and prepare to attack the Huns in the early spring of the following year.
Now spring has come. Thanks to Huo Yan, the court is generous this year. The Ministry of Agriculture and Huo Yan have prepared food and all military supplies.
Before the army set out, Huo Yan, prompted by the barrage, pretended to be a ghost and told fortunes to Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.
[Zhao Xin City, Zhao Xin.]
[Su Jian and Zhao Xin's 3,000-plus cavalry encountered the main force of the Chanyu. Zhao Xin fought hard and surrendered to the Xiongnu with his troops. Su Jian escaped alone.]
…
[Kill the traitor!]
Huo Yan shook his head. "They surrendered after a fierce battle, not by deserting. They just didn't expect the main force of the Xiongnu to attack them."
Because of this shouting and calling for killing, my uncle and brother would lose their prestige in the army.
So he could only remind her.
Then there was a large group of people performing shaman dances, with Huo Yan in the middle.
Wei Qing didn't know when A Yan, who was the most skeptical of ghosts and gods when he was young, was now assimilated by Liu Che, but A Yan seemed to have divine will and looked like a golden boy.
Huo Qubing found it interesting and did not stop Huo Yan from performing the ritual.
Then the two heard Huo Yan, who was sitting on the ground, raise his head and speak in a low voice.
"If Su and Zhao join forces, please support us."
Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were both stunned, and then Huo Qubing responded with a chuckle.
Ayan is indeed a god who has come to earth.
In the spring of the sixth year of Yuanshuo, in February, the general Wei Qing led six generals and 100,000 cavalrymen, with Heqi Hou Gongsun Ao as the central general, Taifu Gongsun He as the left general, Weiwei Su Jian as the right general, Xihou Zhao Xin as the front general, Langzhong Ling Li Guang as the rear general, and Zuo Nei Shi Li Ju as the strong crossbow general, and marched out of Dingxiang again for hundreds of miles to attack the Xiongnu.
Huo Yan was seeing him off, but he didn't say anything. Just like when he saw his uncle off in the past, he silently straightened Huo Qubi's armor and tied the peace buckle he had carved for him and Wei Qing on his hand.
"I only hope that my brother can get what he wants."
Wei Qing smiled and told him to go back with Liu Che and the others.
Huo Yan didn't know what was going on, but his eyes turned red. When he smiled, it looked uglier than when he cried.
"Okay, I'll be back."
Wei Qing smiled gently, then jumped on his horse and waved at him.
Huo Qubing hugged Huo Yan tightly and mounted his horse. His face was full of sharpness. He had waited too long for this sword to be unsheathed and blood would be shed.
The black clouds quickly disappeared from sight, and Huo Yan suddenly felt that Chang'an was empty.
I wish the general and the captain of the cavalry a successful journey.
Yan bows.
【Author’s words】
In the next episode, Qubing will be so handsome that he’ll blow up the scene. I will definitely write a super handsome Qubing, definitely!
Champion Hou, hehe. [Let me see]
The purpose of life is to get rid of illness!!! [Come on][Come on][Heart eyes]
Cheer for getting rid of the disease!
Ah Yan: You called me Sweetie last week, forget it, write something more handsome, I love it too. Write "uncle" more handsome too.
Me: Okay, sweetie~
A Yan: I will tell my uncle that you teased me. Let my uncle look at you with disappointment for three days, and you will feel that you are not a human being.
I don't! ! !
Ah Yan: Humph, play with me, lululu~
Huo Ayan is a very humbly person.
Ah Yan: Humph! [rolls eyes]
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