The three of them rode their horses with more than a dozen guards, and soon came to the West Garden, which is the West Garden, outside Luoyang City.

To say that this Han Ling Emperor Liu Hong's little horse brother has always been very "admired", Liu Hong was born in Jizhou, and his great-grandfather Liu Kai, the filial piety king of Hejian, was the grandfather of Liu Zhi, Emperor Heng of the Han Dynasty. Because Liu Zhi had no children, Liu Hong was selected as the heir to the throne by the Dou family's relatives after his death, and it can be said that Liu Hong's position as the son of heaven was completely cheap.

Liu Hong ascended the throne at the age of twelve, and now he is only thirty-two years old, and he has been the son of heaven for twenty years. Throughout history, it can be said that Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty has no achievements, when he ascended the throne, the politics of the Eastern Han Dynasty was terminally ill, the world drought, floods, locust plagues and other disasters are frequent, complaints are everywhere, the people are not happy, and the country is further declining.

And Liu Hong did not work hard, but trusted the eunuchs, engaged in eunuch politics, implemented the party system, and set up the West Garden, cleverly set up a name to loot money, and even sold official porridge for his own pleasure.

Liu Hong was extremely desolate and extravagant, and in order to satisfy his animal desires, he asked all the palace maids to wear open crotch pants to facilitate his luck at any time. He also built a thousand houses in the West Garden, and let people collect green moss to cover the steps, and draw water from the canal around the thresholds and circulate everywhere. The canal water is planted with the lotus flower that the southern country offers, the flower is as big as the cover, more than one zhang high, the lotus leaf is rolled up in the night and the day, and there are four lotus clusters in one stem, which is called "night Shu lotus". And because this lotus leaves only unfold after the moon comes out, the moon god is famous for Shu, so he calls it "Wangshuhe" again. In this fairyland-like garden, Emperor Ling of Han ordered the palace ladies to strip naked and frolic and chase. Sometimes he himself was happy, and he took off his clothes and mingled with them, and he was so excited that he went on the spot. Therefore, he gave the garden the name "Naked Pavilion".

Emperor Ling has lived in the inner palace for many years, trying new tricks for fun. There are no donkeys in the inner palace, and a small yellow gate that is good at welcoming carefully selected four white donkeys from other places to enter the palace. After Emperor Ling saw it, he loved it like a treasure, and drove a small car to play in the palace every day. At first, he also found a driver to drive, and a few days later, the surname Suo personally held it. The news of the emperor driving a donkey cart came out of the inner palace, and many bureaucrats and doctors in the capital competed to imitate it, thinking that it was fashionable, and the price of donkeys among the people rose sharply for a while.

Just as the capital was filled with smoke and dust raised by donkey carts, Emperor Ling lost interest in donkey carts again. There are also eunuchs who are ingenious, dress up the dog, put it into the virtuous crown, wear court clothes, and wear ribbons, and swayed to the court. When Emperor Ling recognized that it was a dog, he couldn't help clapping his hands and laughing, and praised: "What a dog official." Although the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty felt ashamed and humiliated, they dared to be angry and did not dare to speak

Being an emperor can do this is also a "unique in the ages", although he died early, but the blessings are boundless, he has enjoyed more than 20 years, and he died of overindulgence, and he did not lose money when he died.

Zhang Rang explained to Brother Xiaoma, and then cooperated with Zhao Zhong to go in and report first. After a while, a small yellow door came out and said in a loud voice: "Please don't drive Sima under the command of Xiliang Taishou to see you!" ”

Ma Chao didn't dare to slack off, tidy up his appearance and walked in with the small yellow door, the West Garden covers a huge area, and the buildings and pavilions are criss-crossed. Along the way, Brother Pony didn't squint, but out of the corner of his eye, he also saw a lot of palace maids, all of whom were gorgeous, and they were all wearing open crotch pants.

After a while, he came to the Xiyuan Palace, the main hall of the West Garden, and saw that Liu Hong, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, was wearing a brocade robe and a single robe, without a crown, his face was ruddy, and he did not have the slightest intention of overindulgence, and he was looking at himself with a smile, while Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong stood respectfully behind the Emperor Ling's seat.

Ma Chao hurriedly bowed and saluted, and said loudly: "Sima Ma Mengqi under the command of Xiliang Taishou has seen Your Majesty, Your Majesty is Wentao Wuluo, wise and martial, diligent in government, eloquent and strategic, hard work, love the people like a son, his merits are comparable to Rao Shunyu soup, should be admired by all the people, may Your Majesty live long live long live!" ”

The system of the Han Dynasty was the co-governance of the monarch and the minister, and the concept was that the monarch and the scholars shared the world. Therefore, when the courtiers saw that the emperor did not kowtow, the important ministers and the emperor sat together to discuss matters, and even the emperor Yanjing could not call the courtiers by name, and they were slightly disrespectful to the words of the important ministers.

Liu Hong was overjoyed when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Aiqing doesn't need to be polite, speaking of which, our monarchs and ministers are not outsiders, the little daughter of Ruzu Ma Yuan is the adoptive mother of my great-ancestor Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, and the Ma family is a duke for generations, and she is really an important minister of the Han Dynasty!" ”

Ma Chao said: "Chao doesn't dare to rely on the shadow of the ancestors, I am willing to fight to the death for the Han with my blood and the halberd in my hand, and I will die after bowing to the end!" ”

"Well said!" Liu Hongxi said: "What a good one is to die after doing his best!" But I don't know why you want to do your best? I still want to die for me! ”

Brother Xiao Ma was furious in his heart, secretly calling out that it was dangerous, but he didn't expect Liu Hong to be so scrupling about He Jin, it seemed that he couldn't rely on believing in history, and he didn't hesitate to say at the moment: "My Ma family has been tired of the emperor's favor for generations, and the supernatural wants to serve Your Majesty, as for the general, he is just a courtier of His Majesty, how can he be compared with His Majesty?" ”

Liu Hong nodded and said: "He Jin's position was given to him by me, and I can take it back at any time, you can recognize this, I am very happy!" ”

"The minister is terrified! Today, it is said that He Fu's banquet is just to report the situation of the war in the north to the general, and he only talked about some things about Fengyue, so he thought that there was nothing wrong with it! ”

"Hmm!" Liu Hong said: "I have also heard of your deeds recently, if what you said is true, your achievements are comparable to the champion Hou of the year." Although you are young, there is a precedent here, and it will not cause people to criticize, I will issue an edict to crown you as the fourth champion of the Han Dynasty, can you be satisfied! ”

"Thank Your Majesty for the reward, the minister deserves it!" Ma Chao was slightly excited, you must know that the champion Hou is the liehou, and it is really a supreme glory to take the meaning of "brave champion and three armies". In the past 400 years, the Han Dynasty has only served as three champions, the first is Huo Quai, the second is Jia Fu during the Guangwu period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the third is Dou Xian during the reign of Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty.

Which of these three people is not amazing? Huo Quzhi and Dou Xian were both made marquis by virtue of their conquest of the Xiongnu, and Jia Fu was also a generation of famous generals, and he made supreme military achievements for Emperor Guangwu to quell Wang Mang's rebellion. Brother Xiao Ma thought that if he didn't have the advantage of being a traverser, his achievements would definitely not be as good as these three predecessors, at least it would be impossible to be a marquis at the age of twelve.

Liu Hong frowned and said: "It is a legitimate thing to lead the champion Hou with your merits, and no one can criticize it, but the position of hussar general is too heavy, although you have military merits, but your reputation and qualifications are still shallow, it is difficult to convince people, even if I want to be entrusted to you, I am also powerless!" ”

Ma Chao said: "The minister does not dare to hope for the position of hussar general, as long as he can contribute to the Han Dynasty and serve His Majesty, he is willing to be white!" ”

Liu Hong nodded, very satisfied, and Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong glanced at each other, and said: "General Ma's heart of loyalty to the country is deeply felt, I heard that you petition to take the Xiliang soldiers under your command to conquer the Black Mountain thieves and the remnants of the Southern Huns in Fuluo, I don't know if there is such a thing?" ”

"Exactly!" Ma Chao said: "The Southern Xiongnu have been pacified, only the remnants of the party in Fuluo and the black mountain thief Zhang Yan are mixed together, and the evil is exhausted, and the ministers will definitely kill the rebellious party that dares to defy my Han Tianwei." The Black Mountain thieves do not respect the imperial power and gather people to rebel, which is really a crime that cannot be atoneded for, and the young general is also willing to lead troops to recruit and subdue these chaotic parties! ”

"Good!" Emperor Ling applauded loudly, and said with joy on his face: "There is a loyal and brave general like General Arima, why don't you worry about it!" I have a plan to make you a hussar general, but you also need to have extraordinary courage and bravery, I wonder if General Ma can dare to do it? ”

Ma Chao was stunned for a moment, and said secretly: This is really a mountain and a river with no way out, and the willows and flowers are bright and another village! I just don't know what kind of medicine is sold in this Yinjun gourd, so I hugged my fists and said: "Please also ask Your Majesty to make it clear that as long as you can serve Your Majesty, you will not hesitate to go to the soup and fire!" ”

Liu Hong said: "What you lack in the position of hussar general is nothing more than fame and qualifications, in terms of fame, you first came to the aid of the founding general Fubo General Ma Yuan, and then you have the merit of breaking the northern Hulu, both civil and military, if it weren't for your father Ma Teng who had been a thief, it would be enough!" It's a pity! ”

Ma Chao nodded secretly, Ma Teng's rebellion did have a great negative impact on him, and he said: "My father is also confused for a while, since he was recruited by the imperial court, he has been thinking hard about the strategy of serving the country all night, so as to atone for his crimes. ”

Liu Hong nodded and said, "I have a way to let you lead the hussar general as a relative, so no one dares to criticize how to enter the general!" ”

Brother Pony couldn't help but be confused, what do you mean? Do you want my sister to be your concubine? Do you want me to be your uncle? Although the master has a younger sister, he is only six years old now! You silver king can't be such a beast, right? That's absolutely impossible, and besides, my sister is still preparing to fish for the Golden Turtle and the heartthrob of the Three Kingdoms in the future, how can you allow this short-lived ghost?

Liu Hong saw that Ma Chao's face was cloudy, and said with a smile: "I have a daughter and two sons, the eldest daughter, Princess Wannian Niangang, is the daughter of me and Queen Song, with a dignified appearance and a surname of Qing Shuxian, I have always regarded her as a pearl in my palm. Now I see that you are young and promising, both civil and military, and it is even more rare to be loyal to the heart of the country, so I would like to take the princess Xu Ru as his wife, so that you will lead the hussar general as the founding general and a relative! ”

Ma Chao's heart was shocked, and after thinking about it carefully, Emperor Han Ling had a daughter called Princess Wannian, but the historical materials did not record too many deeds about Princess Wannian, and he didn't even know who the year of birth and death and her mother were, let alone her husband. I only know that this princess is the only princess of the dynasty, and she is the half-sister of Liu Wei and Liu Gong!

Under the gaze of Emperor Ling, Brother Xiaoma's mind was racing, and he kept thinking about the pros and cons of this matter. In this era, it has always been that people get married first and then fall in love, and political marriages are even more so, and love is a little pale in this era. Brother Xiao Ma didn't think about the beauty and ugliness of the princess at all, but was thinking about what benefits being a court horse could bring!

The title of the horse began in the Western Han Dynasty, when the dynasty had an official position as the commander of the horse, responsible for the emperor's chariot ceremony. Although this position is held by the colt, the colt must not have to take up this position. According to the practice of the Eastern Han Dynasty, relatives generally held important positions in charge of the army, such as the general He Jin, the general of the cavalry, He Miao, and then to the previous Dou Xian, Dou Wu, etc., after the death of Emperor Ling, the Empress Dowager Dong also let the distant brother Dong Cheng serve as the hussar general to share the power of He Jin, but Dong Cheng has no military power. If you lead a hussar general as a relative, you can indeed block the mouths of the courtiers!