Chapter 56: Impeachment by the Censor
Chapter 56: Impeachment by the Censor
Guande Hall.
It is located to the north of Taiji Palace, within the Western Inner Courtyard.
You need to cross the entire Taiji Palace to reach the Guande Hall.
It was impossible for all the troops of Hou Junji to enter the palace. Only he, generals such as Xue Wanjun, and the accompanying Gaochang captives were allowed to enter with Li Chengqian and other officials to welcome them.
On the road.
Li Chengqian said nothing, wrapped in a cloak, propped up his head and dozed off.
Fang Xuanling, Hou Junji, Xue Wanjun and others followed behind the sedan chair.
Inside the Guande Hall.
Li Er was wearing the emperor's crown, and the ministers' official robes were new and beautiful. After the eunuch reported the news, they stopped talking and whispered to each other and looked outside the hall.
"His Royal Highness is here!"
The prince has arrived.
Then Hou Junji and others also arrived.
Li Chengqian walked slowly into the palace, and all the officials bowed down, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"Your Majesty!" Li Chengqian saluted.
Li Er was also very considerate, mainly because he was in a good mood today, and nodded and said, "The prince is here."
"sit down!"
Li Chengqian walked towards his seat.
A soft cushion had already been placed at the lower left of Li Er, in front of the ministers.
He didn't bring a chair today, so he had to follow the crowd and not try to be different.
The eunuch hurriedly brought a stool with armrests, and Li Chengqian sat down, leaning sideways to assist his sitting posture.
After he adjusted his sitting position, he leaned on the table, glanced at the ministers, then retracted his gaze and became restrained.
"Summon Duke of Chen, Hou Junji, and the general commander of the army, Xue Wanjun, to the palace to see you!"
Following the ceremonial officer's loud shout.
Hou Junji, Xue Wanjun and others walked into the hall.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you and wish you the best of health."
Li Er raised his head and laughed, "Hou Junji, you won a great victory this time."
"It showed the might and elegance of the Tang Dynasty."
"Get up."
Hou Junji laughed and said, "Your Majesty, Gaochang is just a clown. It's easy to destroy it."
He is not the least bit modest.
But he did not notice that the eyes of the ministers around him had changed.
You see His Majesty.
You don't want to see the prince, right?
How long has it taken the prince to deal with the Tibetan envoy Lu Dongzan?
I still remember that time vividly.
Today is such a grand occasion of presenting captives.
How dare you, Hou Junji and Xue Wanjun, ignore the prince?
Zhangsun Wuji, Gao Shilian, Xiao Yu, Fang Xuanling, Li Jing, Cheng Zhijie and others all quietly observed the prince's reaction.
But he found that the prince was indifferent. He leaned against a stool, his face remained calm and composed.
"Abnormal!"
“That’s so abnormal.”
Yuchi Jingde said in a low voice.
Even he felt something was wrong, let alone that old man Cheng Zhijie.
"If you know it's abnormal, stop talking." Cheng Zhijie sat upright. He had a premonition that everything would be fine in a while. If there were any disturbances, the prince would probably make Hou Junji pay for it.
Who is the prince?
If you don't respect him, he won't show you any mercy.
I'll slap your face until it's broken.
Li Jing whispered, "They have just returned to the court and are not aware of the changes in the court."
"Given Hou Junji's personality, he has probably offended the Crown Prince."
Li Er couldn't help but sit up straight.
He glanced at Li Chengqian suspiciously and saw that he really had no intention of speaking.
I started to have doubts in my heart.
"Could it be that he has changed his gender?"
He didn't have time to think about it, and said, "Hou Junji, you are so arrogant."
"Bring your captive up here and show him to me."
Hou Junji was totally unaware and shouted, "As ordered!"
"Present the prisoners!" the ceremonial officer sang loudly.
Led by Gaochang King Qu Zhisheng, a group of nobles went up to the palace, took a few steps tremblingly, prostrated themselves on the ground, and shouted: "The guilty king Qu Zhisheng bows to the Emperor of the Great Tang, His Majesty the Heavenly Khan!"
"The King of Sin?"
Li Er said coldly: "You still know you are guilty."
"I gave you Gaochang an opportunity, but you didn't know how to cherish it. You stubbornly resisted the Tang Dynasty and refused to repent."
"After destroying Gaochang, do you realize how sinful you are?"
Qu Zhisheng cried, "The guilty king is fully aware of his faults, please forgive me, Your Majesty..."
"Forgive you?"
Li Er said with a smile: "Your father Qu Wentai died of fear when he heard that my army was coming. After you ascend the throne, you should also know the power of the Tang Dynasty."
"Hou Junji gave you a chance, but you surrendered and apologized. This is understandable."
"You insist on leading your troops to resist and beg for help from the Western Turks."
"Now I am kneeling in this Guande Hall."
"You don't know you're wrong, you're just afraid."
Qu Zhisheng knelt on the ground, trembling, and said: "Zhisheng does not know the majesty of the Tang Dynasty. He deserves death. Death penalty."
Li Er said calmly: "I have said that I will ask you Gaochang to come to Chang'an and kneel down to apologize to me."
"Now that Gaochang has been destroyed, I have finally achieved my wish."
"From now on, you will be a minister in the Tang Dynasty. Qu Zhisheng, I will appoint you as the General of the Left Guard and the Duke of Jincheng County. Just stay in Chang'an."
Qu Zhisheng was filled with sorrow. He went from being the king of a country to being a prisoner and being kept in captivity in Chang'an.
He couldn't help but hate his father. How could he be so stupid and have the courage to offend the Tang Dynasty?
"I, your humble servant, thank you, His Majesty..."
Qu Zhisheng thanked him again and again.
"Go down."
Li Er waved his hand, and Qu Zhisheng and other Gaochang people were taken away.
this moment.
Li Er felt extremely accomplished. Nothing could make him feel more satisfied than destroying a country, capturing their king and giving him a good scolding.
Li Chengqian watched Qu Zhisheng leave, which did not surprise Fang Xuanling.
As expected, he was just given an empty title and kept as a pet.
Also.
It's better to keep this kind of person alive than to kill him.
Let foreign vassal states see at all times that this is the consequence of not obeying the Tang Dynasty.
Li Er was in a good mood, but seeing Hou Junji looking smug and proud, he couldn't help but scold him, "Junji, you got the credit for nothing this time."
"Haha, no matter if I picked it up or got it for free, it's all mine."
Hou Junji was very arrogant. How could he not be proud of his achievements in destroying a country?
But in fact, this battle against Gaochang was not a tough one.
When the Tang army arrived, Gaochang had almost no resistance at all.
The Western Turks saw that the Tang Dynasty was coming at them with such force that they ignored Gaochang altogether.
When Li Er said that he picked it up for free, he was being tactful.
He was just short of saying that he gave it to her himself.
"Your Majesty, I also brought back Gaochang musicians this time." Hou Junji said, "Your Majesty can also see the Gaochang music."
Li Er said without further ado, "If that's the case, then let's have a three-day banquet and let Gaochang Music entertain us."
"Ha ha!"
Hou Junji laughed out loud, but just at this moment, Li Er was about to say something when he saw an imperial censor standing up.
"His Majesty."
"I want to impeach Duke Chen and General Xue Wanjun!"
No one expected that such a problem would occur at this critical juncture.
The ministers' hearts skipped a beat; something bad had happened.
They all looked at the prince at the same time.
The prince remained calm and unusually peaceful.
Li Er's smile disappeared and he was greatly disappointed.
"What are you going to impeach?"
"The Duke of Chen privately divided up Gaochang's treasures, the soldiers stole, military discipline was completely destroyed, and the general Xue Wanjun abducted Gaochang women..."
(End of this chapter)