novelAbuy Chapter 57: Huo Guang, do you acknowledge the Huo family or not?
Chapter 57: Huo Guang, do you acknowledge the Huo family or not?
"Greetings, Your Highness!"
Inside the Crown Prince's palace, a tall, slender figure stood in the hall and respectfully bowed.
"Should I call you Commandant of the Imperial Carriage, or Grand Master of the Palace?"
Liu Ju looked down at the quiet young man in front of him, who was seven feet three inches tall, with fair skin, sparse eyebrows, and a beautiful beard.
Judging from his appearance alone, no one would have imagined that Huo Guang would later become a powerful minister who held immense influence in the court, and that he would be the most powerful minister in history.
As Huo Qubing's half-brother, Huo Guang had no blood relation with the Wei family and was never accepted by the Wei clan. However, he did enjoy the benefits brought by the Wei clan, serving as a court attendant, a charioteer, and a grand master.
"I wouldn't dare!"
Huo Guang took a step back, his expression humble.
"I don't care about your official position."
"I am very concerned about your identity."
'Thump!'
Upon hearing these two sentences, Huo Guang was startled. With his intelligence, he naturally knew that the Crown Prince's words had a double meaning.
"Tap tap!"
With his hands behind his back, Liu Ju walked step by step to Huo Guang and said directly, "You can disown the Wei family, and you can also disown me."
"Your Highness."
Huo Guang was so frightened by these words that he immediately knelt down and bowed his head, not daring to get up at all.
"hehe."
Seeing this, Liu Ju smiled coldly: "Huo Guang."
"You're a smart person, and smart people often die faster."
"Without your cousin, your future might have been just that of a lowly, insignificant official."
My cousin is dead, but he has a son who is still alive.
"I'll ask you only one question: do you acknowledge the Huo family or not?"
"Your Highness."
Huo Guang raised his head, his face stubborn, and said, "You are humiliating me."
"The Marquis of Xiao Guanjun is my nephew and my elder brother's only son."
"If I don't even acknowledge him, how can I have the face to live in this world?"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Raising an eyebrow, Liu Ju asked with a playful tone, "If I asked you to die for Shan'er, would you be willing?"
What?
Upon hearing this, Huo Guang's expression changed drastically, his mood shifting between light and dark. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said firmly, "Your subject is willing."
Get up!
Liu Ju saw no superfluous emotion in his eyes, only resolute determination. He then changed the subject and said...
"promise."
Huo Guang slowly got up from the ground. Although the ground was cold, his back was already soaked with sweat.
This was a life-or-death conversation. He could feel the blade pressed against his heart; if he uttered a single wrong word, death awaited him.
Crown Prince Liu Ju was no longer the gentle and refined gentleman he once was, but a true ruler, second only to the emperor and above all others.
Let alone him, even if the Prime Minister and the Princess were here today, if the Crown Prince had murderous intent, they still wouldn't survive.
"Some things don't need me to say; you know them yourself."
"Huo Shan is my cousin's only son, representing the Huo family and the Marquis of Champion's Mansion."
"Many people didn't want him to live, but he stayed in the palace, so they didn't have a chance to take him down."
"But things are different now; he was raised in the Crown Prince's palace."
"I face countless challenges, and not many eyes can be on me all the time."
"He needs a talisman, someone to protect him from the wind and rain, and after much thought, I think you are the most suitable."
Liu Ju said in a deep voice.
"Your Highness."
A fierce glint flashed in Huo Guang's eyes. He hadn't expected that those people, who had killed Huo Qubing, would not even spare Huo Qubing's only son.
"His Majesty is not unaware of what happened back then, but simply chooses not to get involved."
"The dead are gone, but the empire must continue its journey."
"This involves not just the Li family, but also many powerful and influential figures you wouldn't even dare to imagine."
Liu Ju glanced at him and said meaningfully.
"call!!!"
Huo Guang exhaled a breath of stale air. The people he dared not think of were nothing more than royalty, princesses, and princes.
"Li Ling is already the supervisor of Jianzhang Palace, a fifth-rank official with a salary of 1,200 shi (a unit of grain).
"The Commandant of the Imperial Carriage and the Grand Master of the Palace are both officials with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), so they are naturally no less capable than him."
"But he has 2,500 Jianzhang Guards, the elite of the Southern Army."
Liu Ju's sudden remark sent a chill down Huo Guang's spine.
"To date, no one in the Huo family has held military power."
Having a knife but not using it is not the same as having no knife to use.
"You think you can protect Huo Shan? You're just making yourself a laughingstock!"
Liu Ju glanced at him again, shook his head, and said disdainfully.
"Please teach me, Your Highness!"
Huo Guang knew very well that the Crown Prince would never have said these words if he had no other choice, so he knelt down and pleaded loudly.
"Someone come here!"
Liu Ju beckoned, and a eunuch serving beside him handed a memorial to Huo Guang.
"rustle!"
Huo Guang opened it and saw that it contained the titles of Agricultural Supervisor, Agricultural Commandant, Agricultural Assistant/Agricultural Clerk, and Agricultural Soldier...
A completely new system of agricultural officials appeared before him. This was an official agency independent of the prefectures and counties, and it combined military and political functions.
Although he was only a third-rank official with a salary of 3,000 shi (a unit of grain), his power and responsibilities exceeded those of the Five Directorates and the Three Assistant Directorates, and were close to those of the Nine Ministers.
Moreover, from his perspective, this system was not merely for settling 550,000 refugees from Guandong. The combination of agricultural officials and immigrants would become the empire's trump card for expansion, and the combination of agricultural officials and tenant farmers would be a powerful weapon against local tyrants.
Once the empire established agricultural officials in counties and prefectures, these peasant soldiers became like nails embedded in the local area, like hedgehogs; whoever took a bite would inevitably get hurt.
The upper limit of the position of the Agricultural Attendant General is not just the third rank; its importance is beyond description.
"Once you make a choice, there's no turning back."
Liu Ju said something casually.
"Your subject understands."
Huo Guang's mood suddenly became extremely heavy.
Everyone in the court and among the people knew that the appointment of the Director of Agriculture was a suggestion made by the Crown Prince. If he accepted the appointment, he would undoubtedly be siding with the Crown Prince, and the most direct consequence would be the complete loss of Emperor Wu of Han's trust.
But he still chose to accept it because he needed to hold the power to contend with Li Ling, and he had to protect Huo Qubing's only son.
"I will have this memorial sent to Weiyang Palace first thing tomorrow morning."
"You only have three years. After three years, the refugees from Guandong will be fully integrated into Guanzhong, and the existence of the Agricultural Commissioner will become meaningless."
"promise."
Huo Guang couldn't help but glance at Liu Ju.
Three years is not his time, but the Crown Prince's time. He does not believe that the Crown Prince will stand by and watch the agricultural official position he has painstakingly planned be abolished after three years. This is the choice for him, and also the choice for the Huo family.
Without this foundation, countless greedy hyenas will pounce and devour not only the Crown Prince, but also the Huo family, this piece of fat meat.
"In the years since my cousin passed away, the Marquis of Champion's mansion and the Marquis of Champion's state (northwest of present-day Dengzhou, Henan) have been without a master."
"Shan'er is young, and it's hard to guarantee that there won't be any unruly servants who deceive their masters."
"You go there yourself and take care of these things."
Liu Ju said calmly.
"promise."
Huo Guang silently kept these words in mind and turned to leave.