Chapter 66 Huo Qubing the Delivery Man

Zhang Bo fell into a brief silence.

More than just famous—one could say that Huo Guang, much like his elder brother Huo Qubing, exerted a profound influence on later generations.

While Huo Qubing achieved the highest military feat possible in history by sealing the mountains at Langjuxu, his younger brother, Huo Guang, achieved the highest civil feat possible for a minister in history:

Dethroning and enthroning emperors.

Yet, despite holding monstrous and overwhelming power, Huo Guang still strictly adhered to the duties of a loyal subject, which was precisely what made him so exceedingly rare.

However, the powerful ministers who came after him, seeking to usurp the throne through the act of deposing emperors, invoked the names of Yi Yin—the powerful minister of the Shang dynasty—and Huo Guang, thereby coining a phrase that belonged exclusively to treacherous regents:

Acting the deeds of Yi Yin and Huo Guang.

In The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dong Zhuo also used this as a pretext when preparing to depose the emperor and enthrone the Prince of Chenliu. However, anyone with discerning eyes could see that Dong Zhuo intended to usurp the throne, which subsequently led to the famous incident where Yuan Shen rebuked Dong Zhuo.

Zhang Bo cast a glance at Huo Guang, who stood with his hands at his sides, looking somewhat apprehensive as he gazed around.

Who could have imagined that in history, it would be this very youth who, after the death of Emperor Wu of Han, propped up the collapsing mansion and turned the tide against a desperate situation? Not only did he halt the impending collapse of the Western Han dynasty, but he also propelled it to new heights, driving its national power to its zenith during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, whom he assisted.

It was precisely because of these great contributions that Emperor Xuan of Han ranked him as the first of the eleven meritorious officials of the Qilin Pavilion.

However, all of this no longer had anything to do with the Huo Guang standing before him.

Had Wei Qing and Huo Qubing not died young, and had Liu Ju successfully ascended the throne, Huo Guang most likely would have become a vital pillar of the Great Han, but he would never have reached the heights of a tyrannical usurper as recorded in history.

Zhang Bo smiled kindly at Huo Guang and then spoke.

"What the Champion Marquis says is correct; Huo Guang does indeed have a tiny bit of fame in history."

He had no intention of directly telling Huo Guang about his historical records. On one hand, if Huo Guang knew of his future accomplishments, it would inevitably exert an unusual influence on who he was right now.

On the other hand, even telling Huo Guang would be of no use.

The Western Han of the present had already embarked on a path vastly different from the Western Han of history.

"Zimeng (Huo Guang's courtesy name), did you hear that? The shopkeeper says you, too, will achieve considerable renown in the future."

Huo Qubing grinned, then gently patted the back of Huo Guang's head.

A few minutes later, Zhang Bo and Huo Qubing stood facing each other. Huo Qubing untied the parcel he was carrying and spread it out upon the table.

Amidst a dazzling flash of brilliant light, Zhang Bo's eyes went wide.

So many gold beans.

"Shopkeeper, these are the gold beans smelted from the ten gold cakes of last time. They are all right here."

"Good, good, good. Sorry to trouble the Champion Marquis for making the trip."

Seeing this, Zhang Bo wanted to repack the silk cloth and put it away in his own room.

"Shopkeeper, wait."

With Huo Qubing's vocal interruption, Zhang Bo loosened his grip on the parcel.

Huo Qubing reached his hand into the package, groped around for a moment, and pulled out a roll of silk.

"Champion Marquis, what is this?"

"This is an imperial edict prepared by His Majesty for Liu Bei, which can be considered an official recognition of Liu Bei's legitimacy."

With that, Huo Qubing handed the edict to Zhang Bo.

Zhang Bo took the edict and looked at the dense rows of characters inscribed upon it. Regrettably, he could not recognize a single one.

"Shopkeeper, do you know what the seal on this edict is?"

Zhang Bo's gaze shifted to the seal stamped upon the silk.

It was also written in Lesser Seal script, which he could not read.

"This seal is the Imperial Seal of the Realm."

Holy crap, the Imperial Seal of the Realm!

"Originally, the Imperial Seal of the Realm was kept enshrined and was not supposed to be used. However, upon hearing that the Imperial Seal of the Realm from the Eastern Han was in the hands of the rebel Cao Cao, His Majesty decided to use this seal to verify Liu Bei's identity. For Cao Cao, while not fatal, it is sufficient to strike a heavy blow at the orthodoxy of his rule."

Listening to Huo Qubing's explanation, Zhang Bo gently stroked the silk cloth.

It would be an absolute pity not to take a few photos of such a commemorative item.

Thinking of this, Zhang Bo pulled out his smartphone and took several pictures from various angles.

Looking at the photos on his screen, Zhang Bo could not help but think of the incident involving the Edict on the Girdle.

In order to fight against Cao Cao, Emperor Xian of Han had written an edict in his own blood, sewn it into his garments, and had someone smuggle it to Liu Bei. Afterwards, the plot leaked, everyone else was executed, and only Liu Bei managed to escape.

An edict on a clothing sash without any official seal was enough to provoke such a massive reaction from Cao Cao. If an edict stamped with the Imperial Seal of the Realm were to appear, Cao Cao probably wouldn't be able to sleep a wink tonight.

"Elder brother, what are you doing?"

Liu Ju watched as Zhang Bo pulled out his phone and made a series of motions toward the silk, asking with some curiosity.

"Little Ju, I'm taking pictures. Oh, right, your phone has arrived. I'll go get it for you right now."

A minute later, Zhang Bo placed the phone into Liu Ju's hands and spent the next half-hour teaching him how to use it.

Having obtained the phone, Liu Ju held it as if he could not bear to put it down.

"Zimeng, would you like to learn the script of later generations? When that time comes, older brother will buy a phone for you too."

Buying a phone was no difficult task for Huo Qubing, but getting himself to learn the writing of future generations was certainly beyond him; it would be much better to have Huo Guang learn instead.

"Elder brother, can I do it too?"

Huo Guang looked at Huo Qubing with hopeful anticipation.

"Naturally."

"By the way, shopkeeper, I wonder if Liu Bei and his party have been here?"

"They have, but they left just a short while ago. Though, considering your timeline, they probably left a few days ago."

"In that case, we shall wait here for a little longer."

"Since that's the case, Champion Marquis, I have a few other items here that I think you might find interesting."

With that, Zhang Bo brought out things like telescopes from the garage all at once.

"Champion Marquis, this item is called a telescope..."

Huo Qubing had initially taken the telescope from Zhang Bo with a leisurely interest, but upon hearing the explanation, he paused his tinkering.

"Shopkeeper, are you saying that this thing can see scenes two or three miles away?"

"Yes."

Huo Qubing's gaze returned to the telescope, and the fiery intensity in his eyes could no longer be suppressed.

Such a formidable weapon could undoubtedly confer a tremendous advantage on the battlefield.

He understood the advantages of striking first better than anyone else.

"Champion Marquis, there is another item called a walkie-talkie..."

Following Zhang Bo's introduction, expressions of wonder and excitement flickered continuously across Huo Qubing's face.

This device could actually achieve real-time communication over a distance of twenty miles!

He had thought today was merely a simple delivery errand, but he had never expected such a bountiful harvest.

"Splendid, splendid."

Huo Qubing stroked the walkie-talkie in his hand, utterly enchanted by it.

"Zimeng, come, let's go with older brother to test this out."

Huo Qubing led Huo Guang out of the agritainment resort, only to run right into Liu Bei coming the other way.

"Xuande."

"Champion Marquis."

Naturally, Liu Bei was not alone on this trip; walking by his side was an elderly man in his sixties.

Hearing Liu Bei's form of address for Huo Qubing, the old man looked visibly stunned.

"Master Yuanhua, allow me to introduce you. This is the Grand Administrator of the Horses and General of the Household Cavalry of our Great Han, the Champion Marquis, Huo Qubing."