Everyone loves Huo Qubing

While Sima Xiangru sneaked out of the etiquette class without paying attention, I happily trot all the way to Xuanshi hall.As we get older, the cut style of the hem of dark clothes becomes longer and longer, and with the cumbersome pendants, it becomes more and more difficult to run in dark clothes.Stepping on the long steps, I finally realized my second uncle's advice on the first day of school, and Dongfang Shuo's embarrassment when he chased me and Cao Xiang in Beishi.

"Your Majesty, Huo Shizhong sees you." When I knelt down to His Highness, the emperor and his servants were rummaging through a large pile of bamboo slips, and my second uncle was sitting beside the desk writing hard.

After a while, the emperor poked his head out from the pile of bamboo slips and stared at me with both eyes.

"I heard that my nephew complained that I was not practical?" He spoke slowly, his voice majestic.

As the saying goes, good things don't go out, but bad things spread thousands of miles.I thought that this statement was true, but I still tried to maintain the superficial respect, cupped my hands and said: "Returning to Your Majesty, I just want to learn some real skills, so as to solve your majesty's problems as soon as possible."

"Hmph, my nephew has only been here for a few days, and he's dissatisfied with me?" The emperor put down the letter in his hand, frowned, and said in a stern voice, "Why don't you share my worries when you play with me? Really capable?"

My heart shuddered.People say that companionship is like companionship with a tiger, and it is true. If you use a wrong word, you will stroke the tiger's whiskers.Then he kowtowed and said: "Returning to Your Majesty, I dare not be disrespectful to Your Majesty at all, but I have never been good at composing poems. I hope to use my strengths to serve the country like my two uncles, and make the best use of everything I have." .”

After hearing this, the Son of Heaven stood up holding the desk, walked over the hill-like pile of slips, and walked to me.

"My nephew should think like this—" He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Now my uncle is in charge of the foreign court, and your uncle is in charge of the Chinese court. As nephews, we are only responsible for 'eating, drinking and having fun' Just fine."

When it came to "nephew", the emperor smiled lightly and pointed out, pointing back and forth between me and him.

If there is a color that can describe my current complexion, it must be pig liver purple; if the person in front of me is Li Gan, I will definitely greet him with fists without hesitation.However, what is in front of me at this moment is not only my little uncle, but also the emperor of a big man. I can't refute a word, so I can only stare wildly at the person in front of me not to be outdone.

The second uncle finally took his eyes off the nib of the pen. He raised his head and sighed: "Your Majesty, the child joked, if you really mean it, don't make people cry again."

"Okay, don't tease you anymore, let's get down." The emperor sat back in the hall with a satisfied smile, and was about to speak when the eunuch trotted in and said, "Prime Minister Tian begs to see you."

"Say uncle, uncle is here." He waved his hand and said, "Zhongqing should take his nephew to the side hall to avoid it."

"No." The second uncle picked up the half-written letter and led me to leave.

The eunuch opened the bead curtain of the side hall, and there were several desks inside, and two delicate couches against the wall, presumably for people to rest.The second uncle led me to one of the desks and motioned for the servant to grind the ink for me.

"There are all kinds of bamboo slips here. You can record the conversation between Your Majesty and Prime Minister Tian as verbatim as possible." After speaking, he sat down on the desk opposite me, spread out the bamboo slips in his hand, and continued to write. Go dragon snake.

The door of the palace opened, and a gust of wind blew up. From here, I could see Tian Fu in court clothes, hurrying over.When passing by the entrance of the side hall, Tian Fu glanced at me with dark eyes, and I suddenly felt the hair on my back stand on end.However, at this time, he was clearly and secretly, even if he saw someone in the inner court, he might not see it clearly.

"Your Majesty has important matters to decide." Tian Fu said.

"What made the prime minister so hurried?" the emperor asked.

Tian Fu said: "I recently learned that Guan Fu, the former Prime Minister of the country, lived in Yingchuan, made friends with the treacherous and cunning, kept nearly a hundred diners in captivity, and accumulated tens of millions of family property. He violated the royal family and ran rampant in the village. Suffering from it. Sometimes there are ballads saying: "Yingshui is clear, Guan clan is peaceful. Yingshui is turbid, Guan clan...'"

"Uncle, stop for now." The emperor said impatiently, "Punishing local bullies is within the purview of the prime minister. Why should I ask my nephew for instructions?"

"Che'er," Tian Fu sighed, "this matter is related to the lives of one side of the people. Guan Zhongru is backed by the former prime minister Wei Qihou Dou Ying, but your uncle and I, the current prime minister, can't help him."

"Don't be impatient, uncle," the emperor said after a slight pause, "I believe that I will be able to give uncle a satisfactory answer soon."

Tian Fu had already bid farewell and left. I stared at the word "Che'er" written in the middle of my bamboo slips, and was stunned for a moment.

Looking up again, the second uncle had already spread out the second bamboo slip, and was still concentrating on writing and drawing.The waiter carefully shook out the previous bamboo slip to dry.

I couldn't help asking curiously: "What are you writing?"

Hearing this, the second uncle raised his head and smiled at me: "Your Majesty wrote a volume in "Three Strategies of Heaven and Man" before looking for Dong Xiangguo, but I couldn't find it for a while. Give it to him."

As soon as Tian Fu left on the front foot, the eunuch came in on the back foot and reported: "Your Majesty, the master and doctor are asking to see you."

Hearing the Lord's father Yan's meeting, the second uncle seemed to chuckle lightly, then lowered his head again, as if this person's arrival had been expected by him.

Three years later, I saw the master father Yan. He was already wearing a brown court dress and a black silk crown, full of energy, and the wind was blowing under his feet;

When passing by the side hall, he also looked towards me.Just as the palace door opened and closed, the bead curtain moved slightly, and was blown out of the gap by the wind, I hurriedly bent over my desk and nodded, avoiding his gaze.

"Lord Father Aiqing, did you really write this memorial?" The Son of Heaven threw a scroll of slips at the feet of Master Father Yan, "I just checked the handwriting, it doesn't look like Aiqing's, but Dong Zhongshu's."

The master's father knelt down and said: "Go back to your majesty, I went to Dong Xiangguo's mansion and saw that Dong Xiangguo wanted to burn this memorial, so I stole it and presented it to your majesty. I hope your majesty will understand."

"Okay, I know you have good intentions, let's get back together." The emperor continued, "How much did Ai Qing hear about what I discussed with Prime Minister Tian just now, can you have a countermeasure?"

"This is exactly what I came here for." The master father stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Forgive me for speaking bluntly, even though Wei Qihou made great contributions in quelling the rebellion between Wu and Chu, but he sticks to the rules and doesn't know how times change. That Guanfu is just an ignorant and incompetent man. Arrogance is not condescending, it is not enough to cause trouble; but if Dou Guan and Dou Guan form a clique, it will inevitably lead to disaster. According to my humble opinion, we can first cut off Guan's party feathers, Wei Qihou is alone, even if it is difficult to fly far."

"Oh, tell me, how to cut it?" The emperor asked with great interest.

"Does your Majesty still remember the proposal to increase the number of people in Maoling?" The father-in-law Yan asked and answered, "I have a good idea. Why don't you send a big family like Guan Fu to move to Maoling. There are many family members and guards, and there are many servants and followers. First, the wealthy population of Maoling City can be rapidly increased; second, the tax revenue and labor supply of the capital can be increased;

After hearing this, the emperor laughed and said, "My father, Aiqing, deserves to be outspoken and good at admonishing. Who taught you the benefits of these population taxes, Sang Hongyang?"

"No, these are the words from the heart of the minister." The master father kowtowed.

"Okay, I got it." The emperor waved his hand, "When China and North Korea make a decision, I will send someone to inform Aiqing."

"Have you finished writing?" Looking up, the emperor just opened the curtain and came in.

"Return to His Majesty, it's finished." I put away the pen, shook the half-dried bamboo slips, and handed them to the emperor.

"The handwriting is not bad, and the imperial education is not in vain." The emperor nodded.He pointed to the end and said, "Fill in the official position here. Marquis Wu'an is the prime minister, and Zhufu Yan is the doctor of the Taizhong." He pointed to another place and said, "Fill in the date here. Zhongqing, what's the date today?"

"Return to Your Majesty, Gengxu in April of the fourth year of the second yuan, the time is not right." The second uncle did not raise his eyes and did not stop, "Forgive me for negligence of duty, forgot to tell Qu Bing to mark the time, place and personnel at the beginning of the paper."

"It's okay, just correct it next time." After I corrected it, the emperor glanced at ten lines, and after reading it, he handed the bamboo slips to the eunuch, and laughed, "Wei Qi, Wu An, my two uncles really don't let me worry. With Chang Jun and Zhong Qing as my humerus, Qu Bing really does not know his blessings while he is in the midst of blessings."

"Your Majesty's absurd praise, the subject and elder brother cannot be compared with the two princes and princes." The second uncle put down his pen and handed over the letter in his hand.The Son of Heaven sat down on the desk in front of me, and just after scanning the first few lines, he suddenly raised his eyes and asked me: "Is the post of Secretary of Records satisfactory today?"

Thinking of the tossing between Tian Cheng and his father Yan just now, I obediently and respectfully kowtowed: "Return to Your Majesty, I wrongly blamed Your Majesty before. Knowing people and being good at appointment is the most difficult skill in the world, I will not complain anymore."

"What a boy, how dare you tell Zhongqing about me." The Son of Heaven bared his teeth, rubbed my head with his hand, and said to the second uncle, "When Zhongqing is free, take him to the Qimen Army to learn more. You don’t need to ask me, just be safe.”

***

The footsteps of summer are approaching quickly, and the Greenhouse Palace is beginning to become uninhabitable.Eunuchs and imperial guards came in and out, moving the emperor's bedding to Chengming hall.

I squatted on the threshold, chewing caramel, counting the incense burners and candlesticks in the hands of the maids in a hurry.The emperor loves incense like his life, there are incense burners everywhere in Weiyang Palace, and my own clothes are finally contaminated with Suhexiang.It is said that styrax can cure headaches, and I really feel more energetic recently than before.

Having said that, I have never found out that my second uncle has any special hobbies.If you really want to count, every spring and autumn season, you will go back to Hedong to buy war horses every year?

"Qubing, where are the things you want to move?" Seeing me sitting at the door, the second uncle came over and asked me.

"Me? I only have two boxes, nothing big." I threw the remaining pieces of caramel into my mouth, clapped my hands and stood up.

The second uncle followed me into the room.

I am not qualified to wear a sword, and it is forbidden to carry arrows in the palace. Huoyun is raised by a special person in the stable outside the north gate, so there are several stone weights on a box of clothes, a box of books, and a yew bow hanging on the wall. Prove that what I say is true.

"Aren't you going to take this box?" The second uncle pointed to the red box on the table where the lock was smashed crookedly.

"It was stuffed for me by His Majesty, and it didn't contain my things. I want to keep it here, and I will return it to Your Majesty."

"Qubing, you can't dispose of the imperial gifts without permission." The second uncle said and opened the box.

When he saw the slingshot, the second uncle's eyes dimmed, but his attention was soon attracted by another object.

"Is this astrolabe also left to you by Han Yan?" He took out the astrolabe and looked at it carefully.

"Yeah." I remember that the emperor dug it out from the bag Han Yan left me.

The second uncle studied the light for a while, pointed to a corner and said, "The part on it doesn't look like the astrolabe used in our pass, but looks like the Xiongnu characters."

The mothers of the Han brothers were from the grasslands, so it is not uncommon for them to have astrolabes with Xiongnu characters.It's just that I can't figure out why Han Yan deliberately left it to me instead of His Majesty, Han Shuo or others.

"Qubing?" The second uncle called me back to the sky, and suggested, "It's better to hit the sun than to choose a day. Get up early tomorrow and go to the barracks with me. Someone in the army must know these words."

***

The next day I got up early, put on my Hu clothes, and carried a purple shirt and bow, wandering around the gate of the Chengming side hall.I gradually got used to the food in the palace, but sometimes I still miss Da Jinniang's local handicraft of stir-fried cold salad.

The servant at the side helped the second uncle fasten the light armor belt on the back.There are three pairs of long ropes on the back of the light armor, each pair is interlocked and fixed up and down.

"You're too slow, let me do it." I squeezed the waiter away, and quickly tied three knots.

"Hey Huo Shizhong, you can't tie the knot like this." The servant couldn't stop him and shouted.

The second uncle turned around and said with a smile: "It's not a problem, just go back and get it right."

When they arrived at Jianzhang Palace, the breakfast time had just ended, and the Qimen barracks shrouded in light smoke had already woken up.Several groups of Xuanjia infantry, each ranging from dozens to hundreds of people, each carrying red tassel javelins on their shoulders and holding iron shields, lined up neatly, are gathering in the center of the camp.

A familiar face walked up to him and greeted his second uncle warmly.

"Qu Bing met General Gongsun." I cupped my hands and said.

Gongsun Ao is also wearing silver and black light armor today, with a long sword on his waist, he glanced down at the silver buttons on my clothes, and patted me on the shoulder with a smile: "I haven't seen you for several months, my nephew has become more and more graceful, and his appearance talent."

"Thanks for the compliment from General Gongsun." I thought to myself, slim and beautiful was originally used by the palace people to praise the cousin of the chief guard, and he probably used the wrong place.

"I have something to trouble the general today." The second uncle handed the astrolabe to Gongsun Ao, "Can you find someone who understands the Xiongnu script to decipher the words on it."

"Coincidentally, Zhao Xin, the captain of the Huqiying Camp, happened to be in the army." Gongsun Ao nodded, "Xin Zhao was a minister in the Xiongnu before, so he should understand the language of the Xiongnu. We will invite him here in the future."

I remember Xin Zhao, the Hun who found Yeshan Gong, nicknamed Ah Huer, because he offended a little Hun prince, he fled to the Han Dynasty and joined the Northern Army.

There were bursts of horses neighing in the east and west camps, and there seemed to be crowds of people behind the camp gates.

"There's no rush to solve the problem. General, please pass this astrolabe to Colonel Zhao, and take a look at it after closing the camp." The second uncle said, "How are you preparing for the match?"

"The soldiers have already eaten and drank enough, eager to try, just waiting for General Wei's order."

As soon as the words were finished, the guard handed over a talisman taller than me, a canopy with golden spikes, and on the top was inlaid a golden bear with its front legs flying off the ground and baring its teeth.

Gongsun Ao patted me hard on the shoulder twice, smiled and said to the second uncle: "The first time my nephew came back to our camp, there was an exercise. General Wei must show his skills."

"Is there any helmet and armor suitable for Qubing?" The second uncle asked after taking the talisman.

Gongsun Ao checked my size with his eyes: "Yes, I will send someone to fetch it at the end."