Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 59: Hou Junji

In the Liangyi Hall, Wei Zheng looked up at the emperor and continued his advice: "If you examine all matters in detail, the gains from reality are small, while the losses from emptiness are great.

In the past, Qin Mu gave wine to the horse thief, and Chu Zhuang pardoned the crime of cutting off the tassel. How much more so, Your Majesty is as virtuous as Yao and Shun, and falls short of those two emperors!

Li Shimin subconsciously nodded slightly in approval.

Li Chengqian pondered for a moment, and two stories immediately emerged in his mind.

Duke Mu of Qin's horses were stolen and eaten by the people, but he did not punish the people for stealing the horses just for a few horses. This refers to the incident of Hou Junji stealing treasures.

One of Duke Zhuang of Chu's ministers molested his concubine, who broke off the minister's hat tassel. Duke Zhuang then ordered all the ministers to take off their hat tassels and did not pursue the matter further.

This is about Xue Wanjun robbing a girl from Gaochang.

He was also suggesting to the emperor that he should simply give the two Gaochang women to Xue Wanjun.

Now that Xue Wanjun's problem was solved, Hou Junji was naturally no longer responsible.

The key still lies with Hou Junji.

On the surface, the responsibilities for these two incidents were very minor and they could be easily acquitted, but Wei Zheng did not mention a word about the serious responsibility of allowing soldiers to plunder.

……

Li Chengqian was sitting calmly under the steps, with his head lowered, carefully pondering the words of Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, and Wei Zheng.

When it comes to the matter of Hou Junji and Xue Wanjun, each of them has different opinions on everyone and everything.

For example, Wei Zheng did not like Xue Wanjun's act of robbing a commoner girl, but for the sake of the overall situation, he would choose to let Xue Wanjun go, but at the same time stabbed him hard.

This made the emperor think of Xue Wanjun's abduction of women every time he saw him.

It would be strange if he was not exiled to a distant place in the future.

As for the matter of Hou Junji, Wei Zheng’s meaning was basically the same. Everything should be done for the overall situation. This is the premise.

The same goes for Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji, each of them has his own purpose.

However, everyone is also trying to save themselves while also trapping others.

In his previous life, Li Chengqian could not understand the hidden meaning in the words of these old foxes at all, but now he finally understood some of it.

……

The emperor pondered Wei Zheng's attitude, then looked at Li Jing and Li Chengqian. After a moment's hesitation, Li Shimin finally looked at Li Jing and asked, "What does the Duke of Wei think of this?"

Back then, Hou Junji was ordered by Li Shimin to learn military tactics from Li Jing. However, whenever it came to the key and subtle points, Li Jing never mentioned them and passed them over easily.

Hou Junji was ordered to seek advice. After realizing this, he became dissatisfied and subsequently reported Li Jing for plotting a rebellion.

The emperor questioned Li Jing, but Li Jing replied, "Central China is now peaceful and harmonious. My teachings are sufficient to keep the barbarians in check. Now that you have gathered those who seek to learn all my skills, you may harbor ulterior motives!"

The emperor was well aware of Li Jing's ability. Hou Junji wanted to be the second Li Jing, but the emperor was the first to disagree, so the matter ended there.

But since then, the two have no further contact.

There were even rumors among the court officials that the two had a grudge against each other.

Li Jing raised his head calmly, then bowed solemnly to Li Shimin and said in a resounding voice, "Your Majesty!"

Li Chengqian couldn't help but show a trace of discomfort on his face.

Li Jing's voice was so loud that it kept echoing throughout the Liangyi Palace, making people wonder why his people were left idle?

"Your Majesty!" Li Jing raised his head, looking directly at the emperor, and said seriously, "From what Duke Liang said, it seems that Duke Chen's private hoarding of treasures is indeed true. He didn't just take one or two, but quite a lot. In my opinion, this matter should be handled according to the law."

The ministers frowned slightly at the private hoarding of treasures. If the punishment was really based on the law, it would be a severe one.

Li Jing turned to look at Fang Xuanling and said, "As for the claim that the soldiers were allowed to plunder for three days, I have doubts about this matter."

Fang Xuanling glanced at the emperor, and Li Shimin nodded slightly.

Fang Xuanling then turned to Li Jing and said, "Duke Weiguo has questions, but please speak frankly."

"Allowing the soldiers to plunder is a sign of a lack of military discipline. According to the law, they should be severely punished." Li Jing looked at Fang Xuanling and said, "According to what the Duke of Liang said, this matter should be true. But I don't understand. The Marquis has gathered veteran generals in his army, and they have strict military discipline. He is not ignorant of it. If he had plundered for one day, he would have been unrestrained. But plundering for three days is probably intentional. I don't understand why he did this."

Li Jing raised his head, looked at Li Shimin, and bowed, saying, "Therefore, I would like to ask Hou Junji if he has any reason. If the reason can be explained, then he should be given a lighter punishment."

Minor crimes should be punished severely, and serious crimes should be punished lightly. This is Li Jing's attitude.

The emperor nodded gently, and after considering for a long time, he looked at Li Chengqian and asked, "Prince, what do you think about this matter?"

Li Chengqian was slightly stunned. At this moment, there were two prime ministers, Gao Shilian and Yang Shidao, as well as the imperial censor Wei Ting in the hall. Why not ask them and ask himself directly?
……

Li Chengqian paused for a moment, then spoke cautiously, "Father, I also tend to agree with the Duke of Wei. Duke Chen has denied everything, but the facts are there. I need to hear his confession in person. Only then will I be able to ask him some questions."

"Do you also think he is hiding something?" Li Shimin nodded slightly, with an expression of understanding.

Li Shimin knew that Hou Junji was a bit greedy for money, but he found it hard to believe that the amount he robbed was so huge.

Even when he received the impeachment from the censor earlier, he was still a little skeptical.

That's why he asked the Ministry of Revenue to take inventory first. After the Ministry of Revenue confirmed it, his anger, which had been suppressed for a long time, erupted.

There is also the issue of allowing soldiers to plunder. If it was like what happened to Li Jing back then, where there was insufficient restraint, then a slight punishment would be fine, but now the soldiers were actually allowed to plunder for three days.

That's another story.

"Send a message to Duke Chen, I want to meet him in person and ask him why he did this?" Li Shimin's expression became cold.

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda immediately bowed, then quickly stepped back and turned around to convey the order.

Wei Zheng sat in his seat, glanced at the emperor, and then lowered his head.

The moment he lowered his head, he gently passed by Li Chengqian.

He was thinking about what Li Chengqian said.

I have something to ask, what are they?

After listening to the prince's words, he also believed that Hou Junji had privately stored treasures and allowed his soldiers to plunder, but how to deal with it depended on the reason.

Li Jing had the same attitude.

Wei Zheng forced himself not to look at the emperor. He had a feeling that the emperor was very interested in seeing the Duke of Wei and the prince give similar answers.

……

"Thump thump thump..." Heavy footsteps came from outside the hall, and Li Chengqian couldn't help but look up.

Hou Junji walked into the Taiji Hall wearing a purple robe, with messy clothes and disheveled hair, and even a straw hanging in his hair.

"Hmph!" The emperor snorted coldly. How could Hou Junji's pretending to be pitiful be hidden from his eyes?

"Your Majesty, I, the guilty minister Hou Junji, pay my respects to you. May your Majesty live forever." Hou Junji finally knelt down in the hall and kowtowed solemnly.

Li Shimin looked at Hou Junji with some dismay: "Now you finally know you have to plead guilty."

Hou Junji knelt on the ground and kowtowed, but did not speak.

At this moment, Li Chengqian, Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, and Wei Zheng could not help but frown.

Only Li Jing lowered his head calmly.

"The Duke of Wei said that you are a veteran general and would not easily commit such a robbery." Li Shimin leaned forward slightly and said, "The Crown Prince also has doubts. I was wondering, after all, you fought alongside me on the battlefield, and you know my rules. How could you ignore me this time and do such a reckless thing?
I'm giving you a chance now, you say."

As Hou Junji lowered his head, a sigh of relief finally appeared on his face. Then, his expression became serious, he kowtowed deeply, and said, "Your Majesty, I had no choice but to do this."

"Go on." The emperor's voice was cold.

"The biggest challenge in conquering Gaochang is navigating a 2,000-mile desert with no water or grass. The winds are as cold as knives and as hot as fire, making supplies difficult." Hou Junji shook his head slightly and said, "Even Gaochang's Qu Wentai never imagined I could lead such a large army so quickly. However, in reality, I and my fellow soldiers also face challenges."

Li Shimin's brows frowned instantly.

"I promised the troops that if they captured Gaochang, they would be rewarded with fine wine and delicious food, and countless military merits awaited them." Hou Junji smiled bitterly and said, "I have delivered on the fine wine and delicious food, but as for the military merits... I conquered twenty-one cities in Gaochang, without harming a single soldier. As for Gaochang itself, I tried to persuade Qu Zhisheng to surrender, but he refused. So I led my army to attack the city. I thought it would be just like before, but who could have imagined that after just a few rounds of catapult fire, he would surrender."

All the ministers in the hall felt as if their breath was blocked.

"The soldiers were on the verge of achieving merit when they were suddenly interrupted... I didn't notice it at the time, thinking it was a good thing that Gaochang City was captured without any casualties. However, when I woke up, everything was in chaos." Hou Junji shook his head helplessly and said, "I tried my best to control the situation and finally got it under control that day. The next day, there was almost no more trouble. Although the soldiers were in chaos, it only lasted for one day, not three."

After Hou Junji finished his explanation, all the ministers in the hall, including Zhangsun Wuji, Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, and even Li Chengqian, all had indifferent expressions.

On the Danbi, Li Shimin sighed softly and asked again: "What about you? Where are the treasures you took privately?"

(End of this chapter)