I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

Chapter 344 Huo Guang’s troubles: The emperor is not stupid, the queen is disobedient, and there is no success in the north of the country! (Please subscribe)

On the tenth day of November, in the main hall of the General's Mansion, Huo Guang was dealing with the military affairs at hand as usual.

The Shangshu Office has been reorganized according to the emperor's edict.

Every day, various memorials and court affairs will be distributed to the six ministerial offices for specific processing through the hands of the minister.

As a result, Huo Guang really had a lot of free time.

In the past, he would stay in the Shangshu Office for several hours every day and would not leave until all the government affairs were handled.

But it was different now. Huo Guang only stayed at Shangshu Office for at most half an hour every day.

Because Zhao Chongguo, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Fan Mingyou, the censor of the Ministry of War, were not in Chang'an for the time being, matters related to the Ministry of War were still handled temporarily by Huo Guang.

When Zhao Chongguo and others come back in the future, Huo Guang may not be able to stay in the Shangshu office for even half an hour.

Instead of staring at the Emperor in the Shangshu Office and chatting lukewarmly, Huo Guang preferred to stay in the General's Mansion to coordinate the Northern Campaign.

This actually made Huo Guang feel more comfortable.

Just after Si Shi, Huo Guang finished handling the important military affairs.

He raised his head and looked at the sky outside the main hall. Dark clouds rolled in and formed an airtight curtain of clouds, making the sky appear particularly low.

Like other subjects and people in Chang'an City, Huo Guang is also waiting for the snow to fall as soon as possible.

Compared with Xue Xue, Huo Guang wanted to know whether the 15 troops who expedition to Mobei achieved any results.

In the more than ten years that Huo Guang had been the auxiliary minister, there had never been such a large-scale deployment of troops in the direction of the Xiongnu: almost all the troops in the northern counties and the entire Guanzhong were mobilized.

With such a huge momentum, results must be obtained, otherwise Huo Guang's situation in the court will not only not improve, but may become even more serious.

Although the planning of this war was a little hasty, the Han Empire had been cultivating and recuperating for many years, and its manpower and material resources had reached their peak.

With this huge gap, Huo Guang had no doubt that he would win a big victory.

However, that confidence began to wane over time.

But on this day, Huo Guang's confidence has turned into anxiety.

These five armies left the fortress on October [-], and more than a month has passed now.

Although there were thousands of miles between the outside of the Great Wall and the city of Chang'an, it could be reached in less than ten days by hurrying up and exchanging horses and people at the post station to convey military information.

But there is no news yet, which means that before October [-]th, several armies did not obtain decent battle reports.

The day for the Five Route Army to return to the fortress was set at November [-]th. Huo Guang calculated with his fingers that they would have to return south one after another in ten days at most.

Ten days, this time is really pitiful.

How could Huo Guang not feel anxious and nervous?
Now in the court, the young emperor still respected Huo Guang on the surface, but Huo Guang felt more and more suffocated day by day.

It was already the end of the year, and there were not many important affairs to deal with in the court, so Huo Guang was already feeling depressed.

The next spring is coming, the new year is here, and many important things will be implemented.

The transfer and promotion of the governor of the county, the change of the color of the tiger talisman, the ruling of the Confucian classics, the implementation of the first imperial examination, the successful corruption case of Tai Chang, the reinstatement of the prime minister's appointment...

Each of these things is very important.

Not only is it inseparable from Huo Guang, but it also determines the life and death of "Huo Party".

If Huo Guang cannot regain the power in the court before then, the emperor may take this opportunity to once again reduce the strength of Huo Guang and Huo Dang.

Huo Guang has retreated too much in terms of face, and he can no longer retreat, otherwise the emperor, courtiers, and Huo's party will all think that Huo Guang is at the end of his rope and has run out of gas.

When the time comes, I don’t know how many people will pounce on Huo Dang like An Le.

The emperor may take Huo Guang's "contribution to the establishment" and "contribution to the administration" into consideration, but those who want to step on the Huo family and ascend to power have already sharpened their knives.

Under this situation, Huo Guang needs Fan Mingyou, Tian Shun and others to give him a hearty victory.

Looking at the uncertain dark clouds, Huo Guang stood up from the couch.

He rubbed his sore back, walked to the door of the main hall and looked out: the officials were still performing their duties, and the soldiers in the pavilions were even more obedient.

Huo Guang finally felt a little satisfied. No matter how the Shangshu Office changed, the General's Mansion remained the same.

The things that haven't changed are the best things.

But inadvertently, Huo Guang saw signs of decay on the eaves, columns and carved window lattice.

If you think about it carefully, the front office and back house of the General's Mansion have not been renovated for several years.

In the coming year, we must carry out a lot of construction work in the General's Mansion to give this place a new look.

When Huo Guang was thinking about whether he should ask Da Sinong for money or the Ministry of War, Huo Xian came from the direction of the back house and saluted in front of Huo Guang.

"Husband, lunch has been prepared. Should you bring the lunch here to the main hall, or should you go to the back house?" Huo Xian asked carefully, with a look of fatigue between his eyebrows.

"The good news on the Northern Front is coming in the next two days. I want to see it as soon as possible, so I will trouble my wife to bring the lunches for the past few days to this main hall."

"promise."

Huo Xian replied sweetly and went down immediately. Although she didn't say much, she blatantly gave Huo Guang a charming look when she left.

This bold and aggressive way of flirting made Huo Guang's heart skip a beat. He smiled slightly and shook his head helplessly - this was the reason why Huo Guang couldn't live without Huo Xian.

After Huo Chengjun entered the palace, Huo Xian was in a very happy mood, and finally returned to his "suitable room and IKEA" appearance: the anxiety, anger and panic that Huo Xian had often shown in the past few months finally disappeared.

Huo Xian, who does not have these shortcomings and anger, is still lovable, which naturally makes Huo Guang forget the daring things she has done.

Moreover, the Huo family cannot do without Huo Xian.

Especially these days are the days when the Huo family plans their family's future at the end of the year.

In other wealthy families, the people in charge of this matter are all men, but the Huo family is very different.

After all, if Huo Guang wants to be the home of the entire Han Empire, then Huo Xian will be the home of the Huo family.

Calculating the family fortune is not a simple matter. Huo Xian often has to stay up all night in the accounting room with his retainers to check the Huo family's various expenditures and income over the past year.

So much so that the couple had much less fun.

However, Huo Guang heard Huo Xian mention it several times that the Huo family seemed to have a lot of surplus this year.

Huo Guang didn't care about money, but every time he saw Huo Xian talking about it happily, he naturally felt a little complacent. Who would really hate money?

About a quarter of an hour later, Huo Xian personally brought the lunch. She placed the food on the tables in the main hall, and then softly called Huo Guang over to eat.

"Husband, lunch is ready. Let's eat. It's a rare thing today."

Huo Guang walked back to the table and sat down before looking at the food on the table.

There are many plates, large and small, filled with colorful side dishes.

In the middle is a large bowl, which contains more than half of the steaming "soup" - much more refreshing than ordinary soup.

In the soup, there was something like a thick white thread, which made Huo Guang feel his index finger moving.

"Huh?" Huo Guang expressed his doubts in one word.

"The county magistrate and the queen sent the palace cook to send a recipe. I heard it is called rice noodles. It is a food that the magistrate just came up with."

"The county magistrate is really thoughtful." Although Huo Guang said this, he still felt contempt for the emperor thinking about these things of eating and drinking.

How could the emperor be in charge of political affairs if he was just obsessed with eating, drinking and having fun?
But suddenly Huo Guang had a strange idea: the emperor might not be obsessed enough with eating, drinking and having fun.

"Husband, it won't look good if it's cold. Eat it while it's hot." Huo Xian urged softly while adding the side dishes to the soup bowl.

The soup is hot, the vegetables are fragrant, and the person's voice is soft and alluring.

"Okay, let me have a taste."

Huo Guang picked up the ivory chopsticks and started eating without stopping for a moment.

After a while, Huo Guang, who was already a little hungry, finished the large bowl of food.

The soup and vegetables not only filled Huo Guang's belly, but also made his whole body feel hot and comfortable.

After Huo Guang put down the bowls and chopsticks, Huo Xian, who was waiting at the table, immediately brought tea and asked Huo Guang to eat and rinse his mouth.

With a full stomach, people's minds are no longer so panicked. Huo Guang's anxiety is temporarily forgotten, and he has time to ask about the trivial matters in the back house.

"What is this eating called?" Huo Guang asked. "I heard it's called rice noodles. It's a recipe the county magistrate came up with in the past few days."

"I'm afraid it won't take a few days for this rice noodle to become popular in Chang'an again." Huo Guang said with some contempt.

In the past half year, many recipes have been passed down from the palace, and they have been widely circulated among the people in Chang'an City.

"Husband, no matter what, the county magistrate first thought of letting us have a taste, which shows that he still respects my husband."

Huo Guang nodded, but did not comment.

Xuanjiu, Roujiamo, mung bean porridge, moon cakes, glutinous rice balls... have all entered thousands of households and become a frequent visitor to the common people of the Han Dynasty.

Along with these delicacies, there is also the reputation of the emperor.

"Without the emperor, we wouldn't be able to eat these good things." This is a saying on the lips of many people.

These things more or less increased the emperor's reputation.

And because people are flocking to these foods, there are many people who make a living from them.

Needless to say, there are a lot of food that can be sold in restaurants, and merchants have begun to sell wheat, rice, sesame oil and other goods from Guandong to Chang'an City.

Over and over again, these businessmen benefited, but it made the people impetuous.

In Huo Guang's opinion, this is still a loss that outweighs the gain.

Huo Guang looked at the tea in his hand. This little "hobby" had become a custom in the Han Empire.

From the nobles to the peddlers, they all drink tea every day.

There are more people drinking tea, more people selling tea, and more people growing tea - then there are fewer people growing food.

It is based on agriculture. Without the people who grow food, can the world still be stable?
Huo Guang was one of the best people in the Han Empire, but due to the limitations of the times, he did not understand the principle of "interests driving change".

If there are fewer people farming, then food prices will rise again, and naturally some people will farm - thus forming a kind of adjustment and cycle, which will not completely collapse without strong intervention.

Moreover, this coming and going may seem like a hassle, but it is not meaningless.

Grain farmers who grow grain will find ways to increase production, and tea farmers who grow tea will also find ways to increase tea production.

Over time, grain and tea will be harvested further.

Huo Guang preconceivedly held the view that "agriculture is the foundation of the country", and of course he could not see Liu He's idea of ​​using the consumption side to drive the supply side.

Naturally, he could only equate these efforts of the emperor with the "hobby of extravagance and waste" of previous emperors.

Huo Guang put down the teacup and followed Huo Xian's words.

"Did the Queen send someone to deliver this recipe?" Huo Guang asked.

"The visitors from the palace said that the county magistrate and Cheng Jun jointly issued an edict to send them." Huo Xian said.

"Well, don't call me Chengjun anymore, call me queen, otherwise outsiders will say that the Huo family doesn't know the importance." Huo Guang reminded.

"No." Huo Xian replied quickly.

Huo Guang wouldn't let Huo Yu call him father, and certainly wouldn't let Huo Xian call Huo Chengjun his daughter.

This seems to be strictly abiding by the ethics of monarch and ministers, but in fact it is just an attempt to cover up.

"Did the queen send you a message privately?"

Alone and privately, these four words convey the smell of conspiracy.

"Not yet. Maybe the queen and the county magistrate were at loggerheads and haven't had time to write a letter yet." Huo Xian carefully observed Huo Guang's mood and anger.

This reason is actually unjustifiable. Huo Chengjun entered the palace not only for one or two days, but for ten days.

If you have time to send me this insignificant recipe, don’t you have time to write a letter back?
Not to mention that in the days before Huo Chengjun entered the palace, Huo Xian reminded her again and again.

She was asked to send a letter back in three to five days, reporting to Huo Guang and Huo Xian the emperor's daily life in Weiyang Palace.

Which courtiers did the emperor meet?

Is the emperor feeling well?

What is the emperor’s special preference?

What's the news in Weiyang Palace?
……

Since the Weiyang Guards were cleaned up by Wang Ji under the emperor, Weiyang Palace has become a real "palace ban" for the Huo family.

Although Huo Guang could still enter and exit the palace, he could not spy on things around the emperor.

This caused Huo Guang to lose a lot of opportunities when making decisions.

The most direct and obvious function of sending Huo Chengjun to Weiyang Palace is to monitor the emperor's daily life, allowing Huo Guang to regain control of the emperor's movements.

Now that no information has been sent out, this hope has naturally come to nothing.

"Didn't you also send six or seven long-term maids to the palace with the queen? Did they also deliver the message?"

Huo Guang was not angry, but his emotionless tone revealed a trace of dissatisfaction that could not be concealed.

"I heard that Weiyang Palace is now very tightly guarded. Ordinary slaves and maids are not allowed to communicate with outside the palace..."

"These old maids have just entered the palace. If they want to bribe Lang Wei and Bing Wei in Weiyang Palace, they will find a loophole to exploit. I'm afraid it will take some time."

Huo Guang didn't answer after hearing Huo Xian's explanation. He just said "hmm" in his nose, indicating that he didn't want to delve into the matter, but he still felt dissatisfied.

"Don't worry, husband, I will write a letter and send it to the palace today to the queen. If I add a few more reminders in the letter, the queen will definitely remember to write the letter immediately."

If there is no secret channel in Weiyang Palace, we can only ask openly and openly: The Queen is not like those old maids. No one can stop her from sending messages outside the palace.

After Huo Xian finished talking about the remedy, Huo Guang's expression finally softened a little and he nodded.

"You should also mention a few more things about the emperor's heir. Only you, a mother, can speak about this matter."

"You want the queen to know that everything in Weiyang Palace is fake. Only the birth of the emperor's heir is real. Only in this way can she maintain her glory and the respect of the Huo family."

Huo Guang said these words in a condescending manner, and not even a trace of emotion could be heard in them.

At this moment, in his heart, Huo Chengjun was no longer his daughter at all, but a tool.

"No, I know, I know." Huo Xian agreed quickly.

Huo Guang nodded again and stopped worrying about this matter. This made Huo Xian finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Besides, I have one more family matter to ask Madam."

"Husband, just ask."

"In the past few days, Madam and her retainers have had a hard time calculating the household affairs of my Huo family. I never pay attention to the affairs of this family, so I feel a little ashamed."

Huo Guang said stiffly and put his hand on Huo Xian's hand to express comfort and approval.

This finally allowed Huo Xiansong to let go of his last worries and tensions, and his face became bright again.

"The male leads the outside and the female leads the inside. This is what a bitch should do." Huo Xian said politely.

"What I want to ask you is, how many family members does my Huo family have now?"

After hearing this, Huo Xian was shocked.

She didn't know why Huo Guang, who had never interfered in this household chores, suddenly asked about this matter.

"Husband, why do you suddenly ask about this matter?" Huo Xian asked with some vigilance.

Of course, Huo Guang did not do it on a whim, but because of the success that was still locked in prison and did not know whether he would live or die.

The emperor sent someone to capture Cheng Cheng, and also sent his cronies Chen Xiu and Huang Ba to take care of him. Apparently, he regarded this person as a card in his hand.

Moreover, the emperor issued an edict asking officials in Chang'an City to report their hometown.

They even want to use anti-corruption campaign to spark party strife.

This reminded Huo Guang of something. He wanted to see if there was any corruption and perversion of law hanging behind him.

"Madam, don't worry, I just succeeded in being impeached. One of the charges is corruption and bending the law."

"I see that the emperor has the idea of ​​launching a large-scale prison, so I want to have a bottom line." Huo Guang asked calmly.

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(End of this chapter)