Wei Ni

In fact, Xia Houheng didn't know that Lu Fan was so young.

When he wrote a letter to the Lu family, he just claimed that he wanted to serve as a subordinate to Xiahou Hui. It was best to be someone who was not as good as a weak leader, but had extraordinary courage and could be trained to become a lieutenant general in the army.

Who would have expected that among the many nephews of the Lu family, who was not well-off and not well-established, only Lu Fan could be trained?

Moreover, the Lu family might also be worried that Lu Fan would be rejected by Xia Houheng because he was too young, so when they replied to the letter previously, they just said that Lu Fan was not old enough and was not yet married.

After the Lu family sent Lu Fan to Luoyang, when Xia Houheng saw him, it was already too late, and he could only make mistakes.

no way.

Lu Fan has already come, he can't possibly send people back, right?
Moreover, seeing that Xia Houhui dared to ask for 30% of the profit from selling horses for the first time to seek profit for the family, Xia Houheng felt that it was not good for him to have an eldest brother and worry about everything like a father. I'll make my own decision.

"You don't need to be polite."

After being stunned for a while, Xia Houhui quickly reacted, stepped forward with a smile, helped Lu Fan up, and praised him, "Well, you are indeed a talented person, worthy of being the queen of the sect!" After that, he took Lu Fan's hand and led him into the front hall to prioritize. He sat down and said, "Jun Sheng has been tired from the long journey. Can I have a meal?"

"General Lao is thinking about it, but Fan has already used it."

Lu Fan, who had just sat down, straightened up and cupped his hands after hearing this, and answered with some restraint.

"Hey, I told you no need to be polite."

Reaching out and pressing the button, Xia Houhui said with a smile, "General Congzulu, you are my ancestor's general, and our two families have many contacts and are close to each other. According to this argument, Junsheng As my sons and nephews, we feel like we are at home here, so there is no need to be restrained.”

"only."

This time Lu Fan obeyed and no longer saluted, but nodded gently with a smile.

Seeing this, Xia Houhui found some family members and chatted with him, such as how each branch of the Lu family was doing now, whether Chen Liu and the entire Yanzhou people were famous scholars or reckless people, and asked him what books he had read. The book of war, the geometry of a hundred steps and ten arrows when practicing archery, etc.

The effect is also very significant.

Lu Fan, who was originally answering cautiously and with a respectful and humble attitude, not only lost his formal expression, but also occasionally mentioned some interesting stories on his own initiative.

It’s just that the strange feeling of first meeting has been alleviated.

Therefore, Xia Houhui was finally able to ask about his age, "How old is Junsheng this year? Do you know, adults in your family, that although I serve in the Chinese Army, my duty is to guard the army in Huainan?"

"Back to General, Fan is fourteen years old."

Perhaps his family had mentioned to him that he was too young to fight in battle. When Lu Fan heard the question, his expression became respectful again, and his voice even had a hint of urgency. "My family knew that the general was stationed in Huainan, and they also told me before I left that I should be cautious in my work after arriving in Huainan, and not to cause trouble to the general out of impulsiveness."

Uh, okay.

The adults in your family are really tolerant.

However, according to current world trends, fourteen is not too young.

Just like my third brother who was not on holiday that day, he galloped his horse to shoot the tiger at the sixteenth hour of the year.

With a sigh in his heart, Xia Houhui also suppressed a smile and said slowly, "I am lucky that Jun Sheng is courageous and capable, and he is willing to serve as my servant. However, Jun Sheng is still too young to follow me." Go to Huainan.”

"General, although Fan is young, he is..."

Inevitably, Lu Fan immediately stood up and raised his hands to defend, but before he finished speaking, Xia Houhui raised his hand to stop him.

"I'm not questioning Junsheng's talent, but I have concerns."

Xia Houhui comforted him in this way, and even asked, "Well, Junsheng, have the elders in your family ever mentioned my fifth brother?"

Prodigy Xiahou Youquan?

When Lu Fan heard this, his eyes dimmed and he nodded numbly.

Of course he had heard of Xia Hourong.

And we also know why Xia Houhui is mentioning it now - it's nothing more than that Xia Houhui died in Hanzhong at the age of thirteen to prove that the march was dangerous and to dissuade him from persisting.

as predicted.

Seeing him nodding, Xia Houhui sighed loudly, "My fifth brother was able to write at the age of seven, and he has a photographic memory. The ancestors were very fond of him, and he thought that he would be able to prosper our family one day, so he also brought him into the army." Words of advice. But what a pity, he died in Hanzhong at the age of thirteen! This is my family's misfortune. Now Jun Sheng is also a leader of the Lu family. How can I forget the lessons learned from the past?"

At this point, Xia Houhui also lifted up his sleeves to reveal the scars on his forearms and wrists, and said in a serious tone, "The army is dangerous and dangerous, and it is normal to be on the front line. Moreover, the thief Wu has been raising troops to invade Huainan every year, so I can't help but face the battle." After being injured, how much more is it that Jun Sheng is still a young man? This is the reason why Jun Sheng cannot follow me. I know that Jun Sheng is very talented and has the ambition to make achievements in the battlefield. It is better to wait for a few years to be strong and healthy. How about looking for me?”

How many years later?

Fortunately, at least there is still a chance.
Lu Fan, who originally looked a little disappointed, became a little more excited after hearing this, and answered readily, "Wei, Fan will only follow the general's words." There was no way, it was useless not to be cheerful.

Xia Houhui seemed to be asking for his opinion, but in fact he had already made a conclusion.

Lu Fan came here to serve as a subordinate. If he didn't even have the consciousness to obey orders, how could Xia Houhui train him as a confidant!

"good."

Xia Houhui applauded with his hands and told Uncle Sun to go to Bingzhou to buy a good horse. On the pretext that he had nothing to do in the afternoon, he took Lufan out to find an open place to compare archery skills and test martial arts. Get close to him, and try his best to prevent the young man who has been temporarily rejected by him from developing negative emotions such as depression or unwillingness.

In fact, he was overly worried.

Although Lu Fan is young, he is not an ignorant person.

Naturally, he also understood that he did not take her to Huainan out of love. And knowing that he had prepared good horses and swords as gifts, he felt a sense of being treated as brothers.

I am just a commoner and a fourteen-year-old young man. I am lucky to be selected as a subordinate by Xia Houhui, who is a backbone general. Now I am being treated so seriously and favorably. How can I be ungrateful because I am not a tree? Thank you!
But he, who was always taciturn, did not say any words of gratitude.

Just keep some things in mind.

And after returning to Chenliu Sangzi in the future, I will diligently study military books and bow and horse, and strive to become a talented person as soon as possible, so that I can serve Xia Houhui. That is the best reward~
The two separated at sunset.

Due to the relationship between the emperor Cao Rui and his troops the next day, Xia Houhui entered the city before the city gate was locked and went to the Zhongjian camp to spend the night.

Although he has the deputy position of sitting in the camp, he does not need to worry about restraining the soldiers or preparing for the military parade, but no matter what, he is still the nominal commander, and he can't even say it without showing his face.

The Zhongjian Camp is located on the east side of the Forbidden City and inside the Jianchun Gate, almost next to Taicang. It is under the jurisdiction of the Central Guard Army rather than the Central Leading Army sitting in Simamen.

According to the practice of using Simamen to separate the Chinese (forbidden) army and the foreign army, the Zhongjian camp belongs to the foreign army.

However, it is estimated that changes will come in some time.

When he returned to get married the previous time, his eldest brother Xia Houheng specifically mentioned this matter when informing him about the affairs of the temple in a private letter.

Due to the frequent invasion of Shu and Wu, there are already voices in the temple, claiming that every time the Chinese army in Luoyang rushes to the front line to support, such as the Zhongjian camp, Zhongba camp, guerrilla camp and Xiaoqi camp, etc., they will inevitably be banned by the palace. The internal defense was weak, so it was suggested to reform the system. In order to retain the building number of each camp, a total of 6,000 soldiers were selected at each level and placed inside the forbidden area as the central army (forbidden army). They guarded the palace all year round and were not allowed to go out for conscription. The remaining soldiers were transferred to the five captains or other department commanders outside the forbidden area, with the position of Guarding the capital and going out to seek disloyalty are like the story of the Northern and Southern armies in the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Cao Rui still has not made a clear statement on this.

Because he knew that such a restructuring would give the nobles an opportunity to get involved in the military power of the Luoyang Central Army.

After all, although today's system is somewhat unreasonable, it can ensure that military power is under the control of the clan or the descendants of Qiao Pei's ancestors; and if the organizational system is retained and the battalions are divided, he will not have so many candidates to serve as commanders. General.

Unless, following the previous method of expanding the Xiaoqi Battalion with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry as the backbone, select people from the Suwei Hushi and send them to the Luoyang Chinese Army's battalions to serve as generals at all levels to firmly control the military power.

Or, when the ability and qualifications of the clan or Qiao Pei founders are enough to serve as generals of the central army, generals of the town army, or generals of the Fu army, some of the descendants of the founders with foreign surnames can be used as assistants, thereby avoiding the military power of guarding the capital. Fall aside. 【Note 1】

Under such considerations, Emperor Cao Rui temporarily suppressed the restructuring of each battalion.

However, it can't be suppressed for long.

Because during Cao Pi's reign, he had made Sima Yi the general of the Fu army and Chen Qun the general of the Zhen army.

There has been such an example, and Cao Rui has no sufficient reason to continue delaying for too long.

After all, he can't deny Cao Pi's actions, right?
It cannot be directly said that it is because the generals of the clan are withering and the governor Qiao Pei is not in charge, and he does not want to take charge of the military power of the capital with a foreign surname, which has chilled the hearts of all the ministers, right?
Xia Houhui suddenly remembered this because he saw Zhang Hu after entering the backbone camp.

Although Zhang Hu, who originally supervised 800 cavalry, was also affiliated with the Zhongjian Battalion, he had always been a separate camp stationed outside Luoyang City.

Perhaps it was because the Emperor was feasting on the officers and men the next day that he took up the position of deputy in the camp and summoned Zhang Hu and other cavalrymen so that the entire battalion could be inspected in strict formation tomorrow.

Xia Houhui didn't worry too much about this.

And in line with the long night and boredom, after pretending to patrol the camp with the camp deputy, he found Zhang Hu to come over and chat.

Well, the main reason was that he was in a hurry when he returned from Bingzhou and did not have time to ask Zhang Hu about how he killed Hu Kou and ambush Kebineng in Dingxiang County.

It’s just the right conversation piece to pass the time tonight.

"Is it because Gong Ben is leading his cavalry into the city to stay overnight because the emperor will inspect his troops the next day?"

When Zhang Hu arrived at the invitation, Xia Houhui asked with a smile like this.

But Zhang Hu's answer made him stunned for a moment.

He said: "Returning to the general, this is the reason. The other reason is that the last general and his 800 cavalry are no longer affiliated with the Zhongjian camp from the next day."
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[Note 1: During the Wei Dynasty, the status of the three generals of Zhongjun, Zhenjun, and Fujun was often second only to the Hussar, Cheqi, and Wei generals, and they often commanded the military power of the capital. 】(End of this chapter)