Heavenly Prison!
The generals of the Western Expedition were all dejected and lifeless. Once upon a time, they had returned triumphantly with the merit of destroying a country. How high-spirited they were. But now, they had become prisoners. Not to mention their official positions, they could not even keep their lives.
Only Hou Junji was still holding on. He did not believe that Li Shimin would really kill a Great General who had just destroyed the country. It was precisely because of this confidence that he had dared to embezzle Gaochang's wealth when Gaochang's fate was sealed.
However, many days had passed and the Imperial Court still locked them in the Heavenly Prison. They had no intention of letting them out. This made Hou Junji even more terrified.
"Creak!"
The Heavenly Prison's door was opened and a ray of light came in. The generals' hearts jumped and they looked at the Heavenly Prison's entrance nervously. They saw the Minister of Justice, Li Daozong, personally come to the Heavenly Prison.
"Minister!"
"General Li!"
The generals of the Western Expedition hurriedly said.
They knew that they had been in the Heavenly Prison for many days and that the Imperial Court would be in dispute. The situation was not clear. Since no one wanted to interrogate them and no high ranking officials appeared, Li Daozong's appearance in the Heavenly Prison meant that the Imperial Court had already concluded that they had robbed Gao Chang. Otherwise, Minister of Justice Li Daozong would not personally come to see them.
Li Daozong looked at them and said resentfully, "All of you! Foolish! "
The generals' faces dimmed and they were ashamed.
Hou Junji's eyes flashed. He could hear a hint of something from Li Daozong's words. His expression immediately changed and he said in shame, "General Hou Junji has betrayed the Emperor's kindness. His Majesty can punish me or kill me."
"We beg for your forgiveness!" The generals were smart people. They knew that if they confessed honestly, Li Shimin would be able to get away with it. Otherwise, they would only anger Li Shimin.
As expected, Li Daozong's words changed, "Fortunately, His Majesty remembers our past relationship and allows you to atone for your crimes. Everyone, please!" Li Daozong stretched out his hand.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The generals heaved a sigh of relief, feeling as if they had just survived a disaster.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!" Hou Junji bowed deeply in the direction of the palace, and the other generals followed suit.
Li Daozong looked at the performance of the ministers and nodded with satisfaction. However, he didn't notice that Hou Junji's eyes flashed with a trace of malice.
Atone for his sins with meritorious deeds!
Among all the generals, only Hou Junji had paid the most painful price. This was the merit of destroying a country that he had obtained with great difficulty. He had originally wanted to use this merit to take another step forward and become an existence on par with Li Jing. But now, it had all become empty talk.
Li Daozong said that he would atone for his crimes. Then, the merit of destroying a country that he had obtained with great difficulty would go down the drain. What made him even more depressed was that from now on, with this stain, his political future would be ruined. In the future, if he wanted to lead an army alone and obtain the merit of destroying a country, there would be no such opportunity.
When the generals of the Western Expedition walked out of the prison and saw the bright sunlight, they felt like they had been reborn. They felt even more reverence for Li Shimin.
"Master, please step over the brazier and get rid of your bad luck!"
In the marquis' mansion, Hou Junji was crying tears of joy as she placed a brazier in front of the door. Hou Junji was the pillar of the marquis' mansion. The return of the western expedition should have been the most glorious moment of the marquis' mansion, but who would have thought that something like this would happen? Now that Hou Junji had returned safely, Hou Junji was relieved. As long as Hou Junji was here, the marquis' mansion's glory and wealth could be preserved.
"Madam, don't worry. His Majesty cherishes old relationships the most. Your husband will be fine."
Hou Junji did not refuse. He stepped over and comforted his wife.
Hou Junji wiped away her tears and said, "Husband, don't be spoiled. This time, if it wasn't for Merton speaking out in court, all the officials would have accused you. His Majesty would not have been able to do anything about it."
"Mo Jiazi!" Hou Junji frowned. He did not think that it would be Mo Jiazi who would speak out.
"Merton personally went to Taiji Palace to ask for forgiveness. He said that he did not do his duty as a comrade and tried to persuade you. He also suggested using this as a warning to reform the military system. Only then did His Majesty allow you to atone for your crimes …" Hou Junji simply recounted what had happened in court.
Hearing this, Hou Junji frowned and said with displeasure, "Mo Jiazi, stepping on an Old Man to speak out."
This time, he had taken the lead in robbing Gao Chang and was directly accused by the officials. However, Mo Jiazi had done the opposite. On the surface, he was asking for forgiveness to speak out for the generals of the Western Expedition, but in reality, he was using this to reform the military system. From now on, Hou Junji would become a negative example for Mo Jiazi.
Hou Junji hurriedly advised, "Husband, do not say this. No matter what, Merton saved you."
"Saved me?" Hou Junji sneered. "Mo Jiazi was just fishing for fame. The generals of the Western Expedition were all imprisoned, but he was the only one who did not do anything. He would definitely be criticized by the world, so he had to stand out. This is good. Not only did he show his innocence, he also used the opportunity to gain merit. This is killing two birds with one stone. "
"But …" Hou Junji knew her husband's personality. She wanted to persuade him again, but was interrupted by Hou Junji.
"No need to say anymore. Your husband is tired and wants to be alone for a while!" Hou Junji said with a tired face.
Hou Junji knew Hou Junji's personality. She sighed helplessly and got up to leave.
After Hou Junji left, Hou Junji sighed and suddenly got up. He went to a secret room and saw two exquisite Golden Puppets. He suddenly showed an angry expression and pulled out his long sword, aiming at the two Golden Puppets.
"If not for you two vulgar things, how could this general have fallen into such a state?" Hou Junji's humiliation turned into rage, and he wanted to destroy these two culprits.
However, when he really swung his sword, he could not do it. After all, the Golden Puppets were very valuable and very exquisite. If they were damaged, then only a few golden threads would be left. It would be a great loss.
"Neither the Confucians nor the Mohists are good!" Hou Junji said hatefully. At this point, even if he cut the Golden Puppets with his sword, it would be useless. He had lost too much, and the Golden Puppets in front of him would probably be the most valuable spoils of war from his Western Expedition.
In the end, Hou Junji sighed dejectedly and walked out of the secret room. Behind him, the two exquisite Golden Puppets were still in the secret room.
However, Hou Junji did not know that it was not the treasures that were innocent, but his selfish and greedy personality that caused him to be in this situation.
In the same secret room, Yu Zhining and Ma Jiayun were facing each other in silence.
"It's all Mo Jiazi's fault for intervening and causing the Confucians to fail. Otherwise, we would have used Hou Junji to make an example out of him and teach the military a lesson." Ma Jiayun said hatefully. He was the most radical member of the Confucians and had always wanted to suppress the other schools of thought to maintain the Confucian school's position.
Yu Zhining shook his head and smiled. "Although the military managed to escape this time, it's not like we didn't gain anything. Mo Jiazi's proposal to reform the military system can be considered as tying the reins on the horse for the military. The military's arrogance will no longer be the same as before."
Although the process had been very tortuous, they had finally achieved their goal of defeating the military. Whether it was Hou Junji's imprisonment or the reform of the military system, Hou Junji had left behind a large number of treasures.
"Next is the Mohists' turn."
The two of them had a tacit understanding and looked at each other. The military faction's momentum had been defeated. Next was the Mo Clan, who was in the limelight. If they wanted to defeat the Mo Clan, the Mo Clan's son was the key.
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