"This subject is guilty!"
In Taiji Palace, Meton personally came to Li Shimin to beg for forgiveness.
In an instant, all the officials in the court were moved. Of the entire western expedition army, only Mo Jiazi had been spared from imprisonment. But now, Mo Jiazi had personally come to beg for forgiveness. They couldn't help but be confused.
Li Shimin gave Mo Jiazi a deep look. He didn't know what Meton was up to, so he slowly asked, "What crime have you committed?"
"This subject's first crime is that when this subject learned of the robbery, I had already foreseen today's situation, but I ignored my comradeship and did nothing to stop it. I watched as my comrade-in-arms fell deeper and deeper, resulting in today's situation," Meton said with his head lowered.
All the officials couldn't help but sigh. Mo Jiazi had always been known for his intelligence, so how could he not know the consequences of ordering soldiers to rob? Although Mo Jiazi had kept his hands clean and did not participate in the robbery, he also did not do anything to stop it. Otherwise, today's situation would not have occurred.
"This subject's second crime is that, in order to not stand out, although this subject did not order soldiers to rob, this subject still took two secret techniques from Gao Chang. Although this subject did his best to remedy the situation, it cannot be denied that this subject had selfish motives." Meton bowed once more.
The entire court was in an uproar. Whenever Mo Jiazi had been attacked for stealing Gao Chang's secret techniques, Mo Jiazi had always flatly denied it. No one had expected that Mo Jiazi would personally admit to this crime for the sake of the western expedition generals.
"Your Majesty, since Mo Jiu has personally admitted that he stole Gao Chang's secret techniques, the value of this is no less than the loot of the generals. Your Majesty, please imprison him and punish him as well," Ma Jiayun excitedly said. Now that Mo Jiazi had admitted to his crime, he couldn't wait to add insult to injury.
"Your Majesty, this subject believes that Mo Jiu's actions are pardonable. As the saying goes, the tallest tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; the tallest tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; the tallest tree in the forest will be swept away by the current; the tallest person will be criticized by the masses. At the time, all the generals of the western expedition had already participated in the robbery, and only Mo Jiu was innocent. If you were in Mo Jiu's situation, what would you have done? "Qin Qiong defended him.
All the officials couldn't help but sigh. Back then, Qu Yuan had also loudly proclaimed that the world was murky and he was the only one sober. In the end, he had thrown himself into the Wu River. Mo Jiazi was thousands of li away in Gao Chang. All the generals were tainted. If Mo Jiazi had emerged from the mud without being tainted, he would have been in danger. It had to be said that Mo Jiazi had cleverly used two secret techniques to cover up his past, which could be considered smart.
"How can mere profits damage our moral integrity? The Minister would rather die than allow his moral integrity to be damaged. In the Minister's view, Mo Jiu was just using the secret techniques as an excuse. He loved the secret techniques the most in his life, and was not forced to do so to protect himself," Yu Zhining said, adding insult to injury.
Many of the officials agreed. "If Mo Jiazi took some property, perhaps he was forced, but taking the secret techniques was probably following his heart."
For a moment, the court was divided into two factions. One faction supported Meton and understood Meton's actions. The other faction wanted to punish Meton and immediately put him in prison.
Li Shimin's expression immediately became ugly. He didn't think that Mo Jiazi, who had already withdrawn from this matter, would take the initiative to walk into the trap. Was he helping the comrade-in-arms of the western expedition?
Seeing Li Shimin's difficult situation, Li Daozong couldn't help but remind him. "Reporting to Your Majesty, Mo Jiu has already been removed from his post. As the saying goes, one crime cannot be punished twice. Why don't we just let this matter go?"
The officials couldn't help but pause. Only now did they remember that they had attacked Meton twice. Moreover, Meton had already been removed from his post, and the Firearms Division had also been split into two. If they were to add on to the punishment, it wouldn't be justifiable.
Li Shimin took advantage of this situation and slowly said, "Let's just let this matter go. Moreover, since the great Mo Jiazi was able to escape from the Western Regions, I presume that you don't really want to ask for punishment today. If you have something to say, just say it. Don't beat around the bush!"
Meton's expression became awkward. "The Minister is here to intercede on behalf of his comrades."
As soon as Meton said this, the officials all revealed expressions that they had expected this.
"Intercede! At that time, you were in Gaochang and personally experienced this matter. You should understand even more clearly that the crimes of the generals of the Western Expedition were based on irrefutable evidence. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to escape from your crimes. "Li Shimin looked at the son of the Mo family with an unfriendly gaze.
Meton nodded slightly. "The Minister indeed understands. However, history can be used as a mirror to understand the rise and fall of the dynasty. I have flipped through the history books and discovered that there have been many cases of the Western Expedition Generals leading their troops to plunder. During the Western Han Dynasty, the General of the Second Division, Li Guangli, used up fifty thousand soldiers and hundreds of millions of gold. In the end, he only obtained thirty horses. Although he was greedy, tyrannical, and evil, in the end, Emperor Wu of Han still gave him the title of Marquis of the Western Sea.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Chen Tang, a military officer of the Western Han Dynasty, faked an imperial edict and killed Chizhi Chanyu. Emperor Yuan of Han imprisoned him and gave him the title of Marquis of Guannei. The Dragon General of the Western Jin Dynasty, Wang Jun, led his troops to plunder after pacifying the Eastern Wu Kingdom. Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty pardoned his crimes and rewarded him greatly. Even Han Qinhu of the previous dynasty also led his troops to plunder the palace of Chen Shubao of the Southern Chen Dynasty. Emperor Wen did not care about it and gave him the title of Pillar of the State.
In an instant, almost all the officials looked at Mo Jiazi as if they were looking at a scumbag. They could not believe that these words came from Mo Jiazi's mouth. However, for some reason, these words seemed to have a magical power. Even though they knew that something was wrong, they could not help but agree.
"This is simply fallacious logic. It is because of these examples from the previous dynasty that Hou Junji and the others were able to lead their troops to plunder and destroy the military discipline of the Tang dynasty. If they are not punished, I am afraid that in the future, there will be other generals who will follow suit." Ma Jiayun angrily rebuked. He considered himself a gentleman, so he naturally could not stand Mo Jiazi's words.
Li Shimin's face was gloomy. He knew how the emperors in history dealt with this kind of thing. However, he did not only want to punish Hou Junji, but also wanted to rectify the military discipline and prevent future generals from doing this. Li Shimin had higher ambitions.
"I am not only the emperor of the Tang dynasty, but also the Khan of the world."
Now that Gao Chang had been incorporated into the territory of the Tang dynasty, Li Shimin thought that it was necessary for him to make decisions for the people of Gao Chang.
Meton could not help but sigh and say, "Your Majesty, you know that the generals of the Western Punitive Expedition were able to travel seven thousand miles, easily conquer Gao Chang, and scare the Western Turks thousands of miles away. All of them are capable and brave. So, Your Majesty, do you want a group of generals who can win battles or a group of generals who abide by the law but do not do anything?"
Li Shimin could not help but ponder. His eyes flashed and he said, "What if I want generals who can win battles or generals who abide by the law?"
"Then the Minister has a plan that can satisfy Your Majesty," Merton said.
In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Meton. No one thought that Mo Jiazi would not only come to plead for mercy for the generals of the Western Punitive Expedition, but also to reform the military system.
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