The person who spoke was none other than Xue Rengui!
Although he is Li Jing's apprentice, his fighting style is inherited from Xu Fenglei, which can be said to be excellent.
Of course, the main reason is because he is not short of money.
So much gold was taken from killing Songtsen Gampo. It was all stored in Fenglei Bank and managed by Li Qingquan. I don’t even know how much compound interest was given to him.
In addition, there is no overhead itself.
Therefore... Xue Rengui really has no idea of corruption.
We are rich and barefoot, so we don’t need to do such dirty things, okay?
"real?"
Li Shimin questioned,
"Do you dare to let me check it out?"
The world is as dark as crows. He really doesn't believe that Xue Rengui is so pure.
Even he was greedy at first! Otherwise, where would the gold and silver used by Tiance Mansion to bribe ministers come from?
"Your Majesty, feel free to check!"
Xue Rengui held his head high and said,
"If a general embezzles even a penny of money, your majesty will punish you!"
His confidence is so great!
For a time, Xue Rengui became famous!
But this kind of limelight will not arouse everyone's resentment. On the contrary, the generals will be grateful to Xue Rengui for sharing the pressure from the emperor.
"Okay, I believe you for now!"
Li Shimin snorted coldly,
"If you are really not corrupt at all, I will give you more food!"
"For no other reason than to set a model and set an example!"
"Is there anyone else who has never been greedy for ink? After fighting, I will also get a reward! And this reward will definitely be greater than those who are greedy for ink!"
These words are somewhat strange.
The generals did not dare to raise their heads.
In fact, Hou Junji was not greedy. He only wanted to save his life. Naturally, he wanted to be perfect. How could he dare to leave any flaws?
But at this moment, how dare he take credit?
If you ask for credit, the image of a person who wants to die will be ruined!
"Haha, it's gone now?"
Li Shimin said coldly,
“Such an army is full of moths?”
"It's so embarrassing, so embarrassing!"
"It seems that today should not be a day of rewards based on merit, but a day of reckoning with punishments!"
Seeing that the emperor became more and more angry as he spoke, Changsun Wuji quickly stepped out of the queue.
"Your Majesty, calm down."
He kept saying,
"Although the generals made mistakes, they have achieved great military exploits. Please consider their bloody battles on the battlefield and give them a lighter sentence."
Many ministers seconded the proposal.
It is not advisable to make a big deal about this matter, otherwise it will easily chill the hearts of thousands of soldiers, which will not be conducive to future foreign wars.
"Ah."
Li Shimin flicked his sleeves and said,
"I was hesitant just now, but now that I think about it, the merits and demerits cannot be offset!"
"Now that your generals have been stripped of their merits, I order you to hand over all your greedy property! You must not hide anything for personal gain! Do you have any objections?"
Li Jing immediately knelt down.
"I have no objection."
All the generals knelt down and took orders.
Li Shimin snorted coldly, waved his hand, and his eyes fell on Wei Zheng, as if to say——
Now, are you satisfied?
However, Wei Zheng seemed not to be satisfied yet, he just heard him say again:
"Your Majesty is right, merits and demerits cannot be offset!"
"Hou Junji has committed a serious crime before. It was a crime of beheading, but your majesty has protected him again and again, and he has been protected until now!"
"I dare to ask, will your Majesty continue to protect him?"
"If he is safe and sound, and can be exempted from crime only with military merit, then where is the national law? Where is the court law? Is the "Zhenguan Law" a child's play that can be discussed?"
As soon as these words came out, Hou Junji's expression suddenly changed!
This Wei Zheng must put him to death!
Li Shimin's face also darkened——
This old guy teased him in front of the civil and military officials of the court, didn't he?
The two people looked ugly, but Wei Zheng ignored it and continued to output:
"Besides, now that Hou Junji has reduced his merits to a second level, his merits will be even smaller and even less able to offset his sins!"
"I believe that he should continue to be brought to justice! The rest of the credit will be given to his family!"
Li Shimin sat back on the dragon chair again, his face expressionless.
"I second the proposal."
"I also agree that merits and demerits cannot be offset."
"I object! Your Majesty cannot treat meritorious officials like this! Who can be faultless without being a sage? Saints all say that they must be enlightened, not beaten to death with a stick! Wei Zheng, haven't you always respected enlightenment and not advocated severe punishment? Why are you talking about preaching now? ?”
"Yes! Wei Zheng, do you have selfish motives?"
"..."
For a time, there was endless debate in the court.
There are many people who support Wei Zheng, but those who oppose him also have valid reasons.
Hou Junji, who was at the center of the storm, suddenly grabbed the ground with his head and said loudly:
"Your Majesty! I don't want your Majesty to make a difficult decision!"
"I am willing to go to jail, but if there is a war in the country and I have not been beheaded, please let me continue to charge and die for the country!"
"Either victory or death in horse leather!"
"This is my only wish!"
The voice was impassioned and seemed to be filled with patriotic sentiments!
All the ministers became quiet.
Li Shimin also had a stern look and held the armrest with his palms.
"Are you really willing to fight on the battlefield forever?"
he asked in a deep voice.
"willing!"
Hou Junji said decisively without any hesitation,
"I only have three places to go!"
"The first place is the prison!"
"One place is a battlefield!"
"The last place is death!"
"I am willing to go to Tianlao, I am willing to live on the battlefield, and I am willing to die for my country to repay Heaven's kindness!"
"Your Majesty, please give me permission!"
At this moment, Hou Junji has abandoned his personality and is willing to be a puppet on the battlefield!
As long as you don't die, keep fighting!
Who has this kind of spirit?
It’s hard not to be moved!
Since it was Wei Zheng, his lips moved twice at this moment and he did not speak again to impeach.
People have said this, and they are willing to be used as consumables on the battlefield. How can they be impeached?
"well!"
Li Shimin patted the dragon chair and said decisively,
"I have a strong general like you, so why worry about foreign countries not conquering it?"
"My dear friends, I have decided in my heart that the Silk Road cannot be cut off, and Gaochang Qu Wentai must be killed!"
"I will raise another army to destroy the Gaochang Kingdom and establish a Protectorate!"
"We have enough money and food for our troops and horses! At this time of high morale, it's time to bring the power of Tuyuhun to destroy Gaochang quickly!"
He spoke very quickly and his tone was extremely domineering, not allowing the slightest objection!
Having money, food and soldiers, this is Li Er's confidence!
With this confidence, you don’t have to worry about hitting anyone! What's more, Gaochang is just a small country?
"Your Majesty, I would like to be the vanguard!"
Hou Junji immediately raised his hands and said,
"The guilty minister only needs 5,000 elite cavalry, and he will surely be able to enter the royal city of Gaochang, pluck Qu Wentai's head, and present it to His Majesty!"
When he volunteered, the generals also responded and recommended themselves one after another.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to go!"
"Your Majesty, I am also willing to go!"
The credit has just been cut off, and they urgently need to make up for the missing piece!
"Gaochang, Xiaoguo'er."
Li Shimin waved his hand and said,
"You don't need such a big battle, you just need to go all the way."
"As for who to send to exterminate, I have my own thoughts in mind, and I will have a decree at that time."
"I am tired, please retreat."
After that, he got up and left the dragon chair.
The emperor was so efficient that the ministers were a little overwhelmed, and there was silence in the court for a while.
After a while, someone finally said:
"That's it? We're going to fight Gaochang?"
"Yeah...what if?"
"No, why don't you say anything? War is not something His Majesty can say!"
"Didn't you tell me too? What kind of hindsight are you doing now?"
"..."
Several civil servants said a few words, but nothing came up.
Wei Zheng didn't say anything anyway, and if they didn't say anything, it didn't seem to matter...
Moreover, the Tang Dynasty now has a lot of money, and the granaries in various places where there is a lot of food cannot hold it. Just fight, it doesn’t matter!
One after another, the ministers began to leave.
Li Jing sighed softly and walked out of the hall.
"Master, His Majesty is very enthusiastic about fighting. Why don't you give it a try?"
Xue Rengui followed him and couldn't help but ask,
"Although Gaochang is not a big country, it is still a country after all!"
"No matter how small a mosquito is, it's still meat, isn't it?"
Li Jing rolled his eyes when he heard this.
"You won't be able to go out to war because you are a teacher, right? Let me tell you, from this moment on, I will start to take care of myself! Not to mention going to fight outside, even to suppress bandits, I have no part in it!"
He said angrily,
"The more you kid can be proactive and make more meritorious deeds, it will be a sign of honor for the teacher!"
When Xue Rengui heard this, he immediately showed a look of regret.
"That's a pity. Master obviously still has energy, and he is also proficient in using soldiers. He is in his prime."
He sighed,
"At least we can fight for another ten years!"
"It would be a waste of your talents to just quit like this."
Li Jing waved his hand.
"What does talent mean? What the Tang Dynasty is in short supply of right now is talented people. Just pull anyone out and they can lead troops to fight."
"Just like your other masters, don't you just attack Gaochang casually?"
"Don't think that you can get all the benefits by yourself. You have to see that others are waiting for support. Give your colleagues more opportunities, otherwise you will have no friends. Besides, I am not your eldest brother. People like me have contributed too much, Your Majesty. It’s something to be tabooed about.”
When Xue Rengui heard this, he seemed to understand something but not quite.
Why is the eldest brother not tabooed?
"Okay, let's go back, Lord Longmen."
Li Jing patted Xue Rengui on the shoulder and said with a smile,
"This time everyone has capsized, but you are the only one who stole the show!"
"If you have nothing to do during this period, come to my house and write a book. I have already written half of "Mirror of the Six Arms". In the following days, I will finish the remaining half!"
"In this way, your master and I can be regarded as having a masterpiece passed down from generation to generation!"
Make meritorious deeds and make a statement!
These are immortal things, and a man should do them!
"good!"
Xue Rengui said happily,
"I will help Master write it together. Master must take me with him when he signs it!"
Li Jing rolled his eyes again.
"You are so beautiful!"
The master and apprentice were laughing and joking, walking out, but saw a figure passing by and hurried away.
You can tell by looking at the back that it is Hou Junji.
He used to be high-profile and arrogant, but now he completely puts his tail between his legs and is extremely low-key, as if he is afraid of being seen.
"He finally broke free from the prison."
Li Jing slowly suppressed his smile and said softly.
"Hou Junji can be regarded as a person who put himself to death and survived. He is a character."
Xue Rengui followed Li Jing's gaze and nodded slightly.
"It's really cruel, even though I don't like him."
He commented,
"But if I were Your Majesty, I would probably agree."
"It would be a pity to kill such a strong general. On the Tuyuhun battlefield this time, Hou Junji's performance is obvious to all. He really fought hard."
"If there were such fierce generals in every battle, then any battle would be much easier to fight!"
Li Jing was noncommittal.
"ignore him."
"He himself said that there are only three ways. If you want to survive, you must always be on the road of fighting! One day, he can no longer fight, and he will be wrapped in horse leather."
"Your Majesty's fighting spirit has been activated. I estimate that there will be many battles to be fought in Gaochang in the future! The surrounding Xue Yantuo and Goguryeo will probably be severely punished!"
"I just don't know in which war Hou Junhui died... Rengui, do you think your elder brother would be satisfied with such a result?"
Xue Rengui thought for a while and finally shook his head.
"I don't know. Brother's thoughts are the hardest to guess."
"But I hope he comes back soon."
Li Jing laughed.
The implication is that this guy just hopes that Hou Junji will die soon.
…
It's night in the Hou Mansion,
Instead of punishing him, the emperor allowed Hou Junji to return home and be free.
This is already a great surprise for the people in the house, and it is worthy of a big banquet.
However, Hou Junji had no intention of eating or drinking. He just took a few mouthfuls of food and returned to his room. He took out a piece of white paper and wrote down a few names.
Li Shimin.
Li Chengqian.
Li Tai.
Xu Fenglei.
He looked at these four names, frowning, thinking silently.
"master."
Mrs. Liu came in, added a lamp to Hou Junji, and said with some confusion,
"Shouldn't you be happy today? Why do you seem more worried?"
Hou Junji put the paper away and sneered:
"Happy?"
"It's just a suspended sentence! I worked my butt off, but I could only barely get a chance to die on the battlefield."
"The emperor's heart is beyond my expectation!"
In his plan, the chance of coming back to clear his name and come back ashore should be very high!
But what's the result?
hehe……
"This...then you still want to go to war?"
When Mrs. Liu heard this, she was also a little sad.
"This matter is all coming back, but next time... Master, don't try too hard, it's important to save your life."
Hou Junji's eyes were cold.
"I also want to save my life, but there are many people who want me to die. If I don't die, they will push me to hell!"
He said coldly,
"Okay, don't worry about it. This is not something you women should take care of! Just take care of your home."
"I won't die so easily. On the contrary, I will find an opportunity to kill them all!"
"Even if I'm really going to die, I will definitely have a few more people to support me!"
"Damn it!"
A burst of crazy energy burst out from Hou Junji!
The plan in my heart is getting clearer and clearer!
Seeing Hou Junji's appearance, Mrs. Liu bit her lip with a complicated expression.
She had a feeling...the master would lead the whole family into the abyss of hell! But she couldn't persuade her.
(End of chapter)
