Soon, the Tang Emperor Li Shimin agreed to marry Princess Gaoyang, the daughter of Empress Changsun, to Fang Xuanling's son Fang Yiai, Concubine Yang's daughter Princess Baling to Chai Shao's son Chai Lingwu, and Concubine Yang's daughter Princess Qinghe to Cheng Zhiliang, the son of Cheng Yanjin.

The princess's marriage was an important means for the emperor to win over his ministers, and besides, the two women he trusted and loved the most, Empress Changsun and Concubine Yang, had already agreed. The Tang Emperor Li Shimin is also willing to be a favor and get closer to Fang Xuanling, Chai Shao, and Cheng Yanjin.

In Taiji Palace, Tang Emperor Li Shimin and Li Xuan sat opposite each other.

Li Shimin asked Li Xuan: "King Yong'an, how do you think this case of Hou Junji should be handled?" ”

After Li Xuan pondered, he replied: "Your Majesty, the minister feels that Your Majesty's case of Hou Junji should be held high and put down gently. The minister knew that His Majesty was very resentful of Hou Junji this time, but this was really not the time to severely punish Hou Junji. Not long ago, His Majesty had just risked his life and traveled thousands of miles to the grasslands to form an alliance with Tuli, Qibi Heli, and Yinan. The successful alliance means that our Datang is about to have a decisive battle with the Turks, and in order to ensure that my Datang can concentrate on and deal with the decisive battle with the Turks, it is necessary to maintain the stability of my Datang. Hou Junji is the left Qianniuwei general in the most elite army of the Twelve Guards in the Tang Dynasty, in the left and right Qianniuwei army, there are many old departments, and he is the confidant of His Royal Highness the Prince, and the future father-in-law. Once His Majesty severely punishes Hou Junji, the Hou Junji case involves a lot, and without a few months of effort, it will definitely not be able to eliminate Hou Junji's influence in the left and right Qianniu Guards, and Hou Junji will involve His Royal Highness the Prince. If Your Majesty severely punishes Hou Junji, it will inevitably affect the position of the prince of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, causing the entire Tang Dynasty to panic, which will be a decisive battle between my Tang Dynasty and the Turks. It's too disadvantageous. ”

After listening to Li Xuan's analysis, Tang Emperor Li Shimin frowned and said: "Yes, Hou Junji is an old minister of the Qin Palace, and he has his own great power in the army, and the prince is involved in the court. Severely punishing Hou Junji will inevitably cause instability in the hearts of our Tang court. The situation was restless, and the Northern Expedition could only become an empty word, and the shame of Chang'an City four years ago could not be washed away. And I have already risked my life and death to successfully form an alliance with Tuli, Qibi He Li, and Yi Nan, this Northern Expedition cannot be delayed, and every day it drags on, the risk of Tuli, Qi Bi He Li, and Yi Nan being exposed will increase by a point, and Jieli Khan has been suppressing them, their strength. It will inevitably weaken every day, and I am afraid that even if I join forces with Tuli, Qibi He Li, and Yi Nan, I will not be the opponent of Jieli Khan. Time is not waiting, the opportunity must not be lost, it seems that the disposal of this Hou Junji can only be lifted high according to what King Yong'an said, and gently put down, so that he can escape this punishment. ”

Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty soon revealed his opinions on the handling of Hou Junji at a meeting in the inner court. He did not advocate severe punishment, but only dismissed Hou Junji from his post as General Zuo Qianniuwei. Let him go home and reflect.

As a result, it led to a heated debate throughout the Inner Court Council.

The left servant of the Tang Shangshu, the secretary of the ministry Fang Xuanling, the right servant of the Tang Shangshu, the secretary of the criminal department Du Ruhui, the head of the Guanlong nobles, and the eldest Sun Wuji of the Ministry of Wenxuan Shilang all supported the decision of the Tang Emperor Li Shimin, and they knew that the current situation was indeed not a good time to severely punish Hou Junji.

Cui Gan, the head of the Ministry of Rites of the Shandong Hao clan, and Lu Chengqing, the secretary of the Ministry of War, strongly demanded that Hou Junji be severely punished. Hou Junji usually showed his loyalty by the side of His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and repeatedly showed his loyalty. But His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was not in Chang'an City, the capital of the Tang Dynasty for a few days, and he Hou Junji dared to order the Zuo Qianniuwei army to practice in Chang'an City, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, threatening the Tang Dynasty prince, threatening the Tang Dynasty officials, and then secretly contacting the old department. Vainly trying to control the military power of the army and control the Tang Dynasty court is really the work of the ministers and traitors. If these traitorous ministers and traitors are not eliminated, Datang will never have peace.

Liu Xun in the servant, Wei Zheng, the imperial historian, Zhong Cen Wenwen, the official of the Southern Shi Clan, and Xiao Yu, the secretary and supervisor, were silent.

The reactions of the ministers were all expected by the Tang Emperor Li Shimin.

Du Ruhui and the eldest grandson Wuji belong to the Guanlong aristocratic group, they support the prince, Fang Xuanling has just been pulled to his side by the prince, and Hou Junji is the prince's henchmen, whether they are out of the public heart of state affairs or out of the selfish desire to rescue the prince's henchmen, they will definitely support the plan of the Tang Emperor Li Shimin.

Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing of the Shandong Hao clan are the people of Li Tai, the king of Wei, and their only goal now is to weaken the strength of the crown prince until the crown prince Chengqian is beaten, and then support Li Tai to ascend to the throne. Now that Hou Junji has broken into a catastrophe, they will definitely hold on to it and completely defeat Hou Junji, and the forces of Prince Chengqian are bound to suffer heavy losses, which is very beneficial to them.

However, Cen Wenwen and Xiao Yu of the Southern Shi clan did not express their position, which surprised the Tang Emperor Li Shimin. Perhaps, after severely punishing Hou Junji and weakening the crown prince Chengqian, it was Li Tai, the king of Wei, who benefited the most, not Li Ke, the king of Shu. Perhaps, it is Cen Wenwen and Xiao Yu who also focus on national affairs.

Just when the two sides were arguing, Wei Zheng, the imperial historian, stood up and said slowly: "Your Majesty, the minister asks for orders to review Hou Junji's case, and when the case has a result, I will ask everyone to judge how to deal with Hou Junji." ”

Tang Emperor Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, but Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing of the Shandong Hao clan were secretly happy.

As we all know, Wei Zheng, the imperial historian, is the most fair and popular official in the entire Tang Dynasty, and Wei Zheng has a stubborn temper, as long as it is the right thing, he will stick to it to the end, and he will not even give the face of the Tang Emperor Li Shimin. The evidence of Hou Junji's case is conclusive, as long as Wei Zheng goes to trial, Hou Junji will definitely not be able to escape, and when the evidence is conclusive, I am afraid that the Tang Emperor will not be able to protect Hou Junji if he wants to.

Tang Emperor Li Shimin was secretly unhappy in his heart, and his eyes when he looked at Wei Zheng were also unusually cold, and he felt in his heart that Wei Zheng had ruined his big things; But Cui Gan and Lu Chengqing looked at Wei Zheng with gratitude on their faces. They felt that Wei Zheng was the son-in-law of their Shandong Hao clan after all, and they still cared very much about their Shandong Hao clan.

Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Liu Xun, Xiao Yu, Cen Wenwen, etc., all bowed their heads and were silent.

The Tang Emperor Li Shimin had no choice but to hand over the trial of Hou Junji's case to Wei Zheng. (To be continued......)

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