A few days later, late at night, Zhang Liang, a criminal servant dressed in a black cloak, secretly went to the mansion of Li Tai, the king of Wei, and visited Li Tai, the king of Wei.

Seeing Zhang Liang, Li Tai, the king of Wei, said to Zhang Liang in surprise: "Zhang Liang, you are my person, no one in the court knows about the relationship between us, why did you come to see me today without an agreement?" ”

Zhang Liang said in a low voice to Li Tai, the king of Wei: "His Royal Highness the King of Wei, I came today for one person - the official department Shangshu Hou Junji. Hou Junji trekked more than 7,000 miles of desert and pacified Gaochang for the imperial court. Over the years, there has been an unwritten rule in the imperial court that "the general is in the phase", and Hou Junji is already the official secretary of the third grade. If he goes any further, he can only be a servant shot. Now, he is so arrogant, and he is going all out to suppress my Wei Wang family, if he does a servant shot, I am afraid that the crown prince Chengqian will be more powerful, and my Wei Wang family will be in danger of losing power. ”

Li Tai, the king of Wei, said: "So I'm also thinking of a way. No matter what, we can't let Hou Junji, the butcher, be a servant. ”

Zhang Liang said: "Now I have an opportunity here, I wonder if His Highness can take advantage of it?" ”

Li Tai, the king of Wei, said with a light in his eyes: "Oh, you have a chance, talk about it quickly, let's discuss and plan together." ”

Zhang Liang replied: "Not long ago, my subordinates caught thieves in Chang'an, and accidentally found a cart of jewelry. After some pursuit, it was discovered that the owner of the jewelry turned out to be a centurion under Hou Junji. The centurion had been wounded in the attack on Gaochang and had just returned from Gaochang. According to the centurion's confession, after Hou Junji conquered Gaochang, he first took part of the treasury of the Gaochang palace as his own, and even forcibly married the daughter of the Gaochang royal family as a concubine. The generals who followed Hou Junji saw that Hou Junji had seized the treasure, so they looted Gaochang one after another. After Hou Junji found out, he did not prohibit it because he took the lead first. Ignore it. ”

Li Tai, the king of Wei, said in surprise: "Hou Junji dared to seize the treasury of Gaochang Mansion and plunder? A centurion can own a cart of jewelry, and it is estimated that Hou Junji will seize more. Now it's okay, not only will I make that butcher Hou Junji unable to shoot a servant, but I will also take this opportunity to get rid of him in one fell swoop. ”

Chang'an, the residence of Li Tai, King of Wei.

In the study, Li Tai, the king of Wei, sat on the main seat, and the Zhongshu servant Lang Cen Wenwen, the secretary and supervisor Xiao Yu, the secretary and supervisor Cui Gan, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and the secretary of the military department Lu Chengqing sat on both sides of the head of the King of Wei, Li Tai.

Li Tai, the king of Wei, told Cen Wenwen, Xiao Yu, Cui Gan, and Lu Chengqing about Hou Junji's seizure of the Gaochang treasury and the looting of his troops.

Xiao Yu was overjoyed and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Wei, the old minister suggested that all the horses of our Shandong Hao clan and Southern Shi clan be mobilized to participate in the Hou Jun Collection. It is to drown with a song. also drown Hou Junji. ”

Cen Wenwen and others seconded the proposal, and Li Tai, the king of Wei, also nodded in agreement.

On the morning of the second day, the Tang Emperor Li Shimin had just sat down on the dragon chair.

Xiao Yu, the secretary and supervisor, stood up and said loudly: "The minister participates in my Tang Dynasty official department Shangshu Hou Jun Ji three major crimes. seize the treasury of Gaochang Mansion; The army plundered the people of Gaochang; There are major suspicions of destroying the door of the Ministry of Works, and the family of Du Chuke is 312. The minister asked His Majesty to severely punish Hou Junji to prove the justice and majesty of my Tang Dynasty law. ”

Officials from the wealthy clans of Shandong and the scholars of the south also came forward to second, strongly demanding that His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty severely punish Hou Junji in order to prove the justice and majesty of the laws of the Tang Dynasty.

Xiao Yu's twists and turns fell like a boulder from the sky and fell into the lake of the calm Tang Dynasty Hall.

The Tang Emperor was shocked, and the officials were shocked.

Hou Junji was stunned. Immediately, his eyes widened, and he scolded Xiao Yu angrily: "Xiao Yu's old horseman, you dare to slander Lao Tzu? ”

Wei Zheng, the imperial historian who supported the crown prince Chengqian, played the Tang Emperor Li Shimin and said: "Your Majesty." Gaochang is tens of thousands of miles away from Chang'an City, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and it takes a few months to go back and forth. The content on the fold must be verified. Your Majesty can't just rely on speculation and rumors to convict a general who has just made great contributions to the country. ”

Xiao Yu said without showing weakness: "Your Majesty." Not long ago, because of the capture of thieves, Chang'an Capture Kuai had inadvertently captured a centurion who had just returned from Gaochang to Hou Junji. The centurion owned a cart of jewelry. People are stolen and seized. Now the centurion and the cart of jewels looted from Gaochang are being seized in the prison of the Criminal Department. If Your Majesty and all the adults don't believe it, you can go and check it out.

According to what Wei Zheng Wei said, it will take a lot of time to send officials to Gaochang, but if the imperial court can set up checkpoints at Yangguan and Yumen Pass, the only way to return to the Central Plains from Gaochang, the ministers are sure that there will be more vehicles seized by Hou Junji's soldiers who robbed the property of the people of Gaochang. Those soldiers of the Tang Dynasty who went out with Hou Junji will inevitably transport all the belongings of the Gaochang people they plundered back to their respective homes in various parts of the Tang Dynasty. ”

Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty looked at Zhang Liang, the servant of the Criminal Department, and asked, "What Xiao Yu said is true?" Did the Criminal Department really seize a centurion under Hou Junji and the centurion who robbed a cart of treasure from the people of Gaochang? ”

Now the Shangshu of the Criminal Department of the Tang Dynasty is concurrently served by Li Jing, the right servant of the Tang Shangshu, but since the last time Li Jing and the Tang Emperor Li Shimin had a misunderstanding, he almost misfired and resigned from the post of the general of the auxiliary state, although he is now serving as the right servant of the Tang Shangshu and the Shangshu of the Criminal Department, but Li Jing, who has a cautious personality, only has eyes and ears, not a mouth. Don't say a word, don't ask anything. Therefore, Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty also knew about the Criminal Department in his heart, and it was useless to ask Li Jing, even if he asked, Li Jing was also a strong plea and confession, and he couldn't ask anything. Therefore, the Tang Emperor Li Shimin directly skipped Li Jing, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and directly asked Zhang Liang, the servant of the Criminal Department.

Zhang Liang bowed to Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty and said: "Your Majesty, some time ago, the Criminal Department arrested fugitives, and indeed inadvertently found a cart of jewelry and the owner of this cart of jewelry, after inquiry, the owner of this cart of jewelry is a centurion under Hou Junji. The centurion confessed that his cart of jewels had been snatched from Gaochang with Hou Junji. Now, the car and the centurion are seized at the Criminal Department. ”

Zhang Liang's words made Hou Junji silent, and also made all the officials of the court choose to believe what Xiao Yu said, and Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng, who supported the crown prince Chengqian, also looked at Hou Junji, shook their heads again and again, and showed regret. (To be continued.) )