Before dawn broke, Yun Ye rode his horse at full gallop straight toward Chang’an City. At this time, the waning moon still hung in the sky, the sun was still beyond the mountains, and a thin milky-white twilight had already appeared. This was an ordinary morning, the only extraordinary thing being that Hou Junji would meet his end today.
No stars had fallen from the sky. Yun Ye had not slept all night, staring blankly at the sky the entire evening. He was quite certain no stars had fallen. “When a general’s star falls, a great general dies”—that’s what Yuan Tiangang had said. Could it be that someone like Hou Junji didn’t even count as a great general? Now that no stars had fallen, could it mean Hou Junji wouldn’t die?
What a joke! Li’er could even eliminate his own blood brothers—would he spare a mere Hou Junji? The history books said Li’er beheaded Hou Junji with tears streaming down his face. Yun Ye didn’t quite believe it. He decided to observe carefully today.
Entering Chang’an City through the side gate, he galloped wildly along Vermillion Bird Street all the way to the front of the palace city. The palace city hadn’t opened yet, but many people had already gathered before the palace gates. Yun Ye felt a bit regretful because today Old Cheng and the others were all wearing armor, all of it battered old-style iron helmets that made dull thunderous sounds with every step they took.
“I knew you wouldn’t wear armor. This old man brought Chumo’s armor for you. Go change in the carriage. Coming here in thin robes and light belts—are you here to watch the excitement? Old Hou took the wrong path and sought his own death, but his wife and children cannot come to harm. That dog Dai Zhou has dealt a killing blow. Today, if we want to preserve Old Hou’s wife and children, it will be very difficult. You’re young and eloquent—everyone’s counting on you to speak up more. We’re all from military families, and this is when we should exert ourselves to the utmost.”
Wearing fifty pounds of armor, Yun Ye felt that even if Hou Junji didn’t die today, he himself certainly would. He moved close to Old Cheng and Old Niu and said, “We’re not the only ones trying to save people. Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Dai Zhou—they also don’t want to see a meritorious official come to a bad end. So, Your Lordship, rest assured, Hou Junji cannot be saved, but his wife and children will definitely be fine. At worst they’ll be exiled to Lingnan, and hehe, once they reach Lingnan, would your nephew let them eat chaff and swallow vegetables?”
“Nonsense!” Old Qin became furious at this, slapping Yun Ye’s back with a palm that made the armor plates clatter noisily. “What do you know? His Majesty hasn’t spoken yet—who dares guarantee anything? Old Hou is already lost—we have no way to help with the wrong path he took, but his wife and children must be rescued. Boy, today you must not harbor any thoughts of luck. Whatever strength you have, you must exert it fully. Human lives are at stake—there’s no room for the slightest negligence. Military families are one body—we dare not play games.”
Yun Ye assented submissively. Turning his head, he saw Li Jing with an ashen face, his entire body of tattered iron armor covered with marks from knife cuts and axe chops, his fists clenched tightly. He and Hou Junji had never gotten along. This time he had forced Hou Junji into a situation on the grasslands where he had no moves to make, leaving him no choice but to bind his own hands and return to the capital from thousands of miles away to plead guilty. Although what he did wasn’t wrong, the old generals had all vented their fury upon him. His departure from the capital to Lingnan with Hong Funv was also unavoidable.
This old fellow hadn’t done a single thing right in his entire life. When Li Yuan rebelled, he went to inform on him. When Li’er rebelled, he remained neutral. When Hou Junji rebelled, he went to suppress it. From a legal standpoint, he hadn’t made a single mistake—he could even be called a person of high moral integrity. But from the perspective of human sentiment, he hadn’t done a single thing right. When Li Yuan rebelled, he should have helped. When Li’er rebelled, he should have charged forward. When Hou Junji rebelled, he should have stayed far away. That would have been correct. So now being treated like “a dog ignoring steamed buns” was really caused by his character.
The strongmen opened the palace gates, and the ministers began to line up. The Censorate officials walked back and forth with long faces conducting inspections. Into the queue of white-haired old men came Yun Ye. He was just about to find someone of similar age when he saw Li Pengcheng with his head lowered, standing behind him. He remembered now—this fellow had already inherited his father’s title, dropping one rank from duke to marquis, the same as himself.
Seeing this scene, Yun Ye felt a bit happy. After he died, Yun Shou would inherit the title and still be Marquis Lantian, and his grandson would be the same. If Li Pengcheng had no achievements in this lifetime, after the title passed down one more generation it would become earl—quite pitiful.
“Teacher, I don’t know how Lord Zhao is handling the murder case. I went to inquire, and they always say they’re still investigating. Exactly when will they finish investigating?”
Look at that—this was an absolute greenhorn in officialdom. He actually ran to ask Zhangsun Wuji when the case could be concluded. Even Li’er hadn’t asked—who did he think he was? That Zhangsun Wuji didn’t curse him out loud was already out of consideration for the deceased Li Daliang. Having such a student was disgraceful—this needed to be properly taught.
Yun Ye backhanded a slap right onto Li Pengcheng’s iron helmet. He didn’t control the force well and made his hand ache painfully. Suppressing his irritation, he said, “Who told you to go ask? Who told you to go ask? Lord Zhao says he’s investigating, so he’s investigating. Such a complex case—if you don’t investigate it for a hundred years or so, can you figure it out? If you dare to be so talkative again, go to the Yun residence yourself to receive punishment. How did your father give the title to such an idiot like you? Where are there so many matters of right and wrong, black and white in officialdom?”
Only then did Li Pengcheng suddenly understand, and he quickly expressed his thanks. Yun Ye saw the Censorate official walking over and quickly turned around to stand properly, pretending nothing had happened, but then looking back he saw Dai Zhou’s dark face.
“When Marquis Yun teaches his students, it would be better not to use veiled attacks on this old man. This old man serves as Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and my duty is to make unclear matters clear and transparent. If everyone just muddles through in confusion, what would the court become?”
Yun Ye cupped his hands and said, “The elephant moves diagonally, the horse moves in an L-shape. What I teach my students is my own business and doesn’t yet require a visit to the Court of Judicial Review’s hall. However, Hou Junji’s family made one trip through the Court of Judicial Review, and those who lost their heads lost their heads, and those who became singing girls became singing girls. In the future if I visit a pleasure house and accidentally patronize an old acquaintance, I’ll have to thank your Court of Judicial Review for it.”
Yun Ye’s words were extremely vicious. Xue Wanche even shouted “well said!” Dai Zhou’s face turned pale as white paper. Yun Ye deliberately said this to disgust Dai Zhou. Qin Qiong’s words were correct—if Li’er truly hardened his heart and dealt with Hou Junji this way, Dai Zhou would definitely become the target of everyone’s arrows.
“Silence!” The Censorate official walked over and shouted at Yun Ye. Such a tiny official, who knew where he got such authority from?
Lining up with civil officials on the left and military on the right, they passed through the Danxi. Who knew when the rules had been changed—before it had always been military on the left and civil on the right. It seemed the era when military generals had a status lower than dogs was about to arrive.
The advantage of Wanmin Palace was that it was big enough. Today’s grand court assembly had a dark mass of six to seven hundred people surge in. Previously when meetings were held in Taiji Palace, officials in green robes needed to sit outside the main gate. Now that wasn’t necessary—each person had a brocade cushion and sat quite comfortably. Yun Ye had already adapted to Tang Dynasty-style kneeling sitting—even dozing off while sitting this way was no problem.
“Do you ministers have memorials to present?” Li’er sat behind the dragon desk and asked in a low voice. Yun Ye realized this way of speaking actually made a lot of sense—without having to speak very loudly, the voice could carry very far. Li’er had already mastered the trick. The arc-shaped echo wall design on both sides was very suitable for Li’er to speak with this majestic voice.
“Your subject Fang Xuanling has a memorial to present. Today your subject inspected the treasury’s armor and weapons, which far surpass those of the former Sui. Your subject believes we should reduce the weapons stored in the armory, and the resulting surplus funds can be used to open mountain roads and pave routes to supplement insufficient state expenditures.” Fang Xuanling was the prime minister and always spoke first. Hearing his words, the faces of the military generals darkened by several degrees. Fang Xuanling clearly wanted to use Hou Junji’s matter to achieve his purpose of reducing military forces.
Li’er said impassively, “Armor and weapons are certainly indispensable military equipment; however, did Emperor Yang of Sui not have enough weapons? In the end he still lost his empire. If you all devote yourselves wholeheartedly to ensuring the people’s hearts are settled, this would be the best weapons for me. The danger to the empire lies in the hearts of the people, not in the advantage of weapons and armor. Since you ministers believe there are too many weapons, then reduce them by ten percent.”
Having achieved his purpose of reducing military forces, Fang Xuanling glanced back at the military generals and retreated holding his tablet. Dai Zhou, seeing that none of the other major officials had matters to report, knew they had deliberately made time for him to handle Hou Junji’s matter. He therefore stepped out of the ranks to memorialize: “Your Majesty, your subject was ordered to investigate Hou Junji’s illegal activities, and now there are results.”
“The investigation has found that Hou Junji showed no regard for his sovereign. On the fourteenth day of the first month in the twelfth year, harboring resentment, he executed the Wuli Commandant Diwu Zhou, which was already transgressive. On the fifteenth, he appointed Pan Yingshou as General Suppressing the Army on his own authority to command the Di and Liao peoples. On the seventeenth, he gathered the generals and said: ‘The Emperor is trapped in Liaodong, the Crown Prince holds Chang’an—this is the time for us to make our move. When we gain wealth and honor, we will certainly not forget each other.’ His rebellious heart was already manifest.”
“At that time, Deputy Commander Qie Duozhi questioned Junji about why he spoke such treasonous words and was chopped into mincemeat by axe-wielding men behind the tent. Chief Administrator Xiao Yan, Commandant Pei Zhong, Palace Guard Dou Huaide, and Commandant Han De refused to comply and were also executed by Junji. On the ninth day of the second month in the twelfth year, Junji ordered the entire army to withdraw, intending to invade Chang’an. When they reached Sanma Plain, they heard that His Highness the Crown Prince had already arrived in Liaodong to transport provisions. Only then did all the armies know they had been deceived. The six armies refused to move. Having no alternative, Junji could only bind his own hands and personally come to Chang’an to plead guilty. Due to this turmoil, one hundred thirty-one Wuli Commandants perished, officers who died numbered as many as seventy-four, personal guards were countless—nothing has ever so confused military morale as this.”
“The Court of Judicial Review has clearly determined that Hou Junji’s treasonous heart is manifest, and the evidence is irrefutable. According to the law, the sentence is: Hou Junji, as the chief culprit of treason, should be strangled! His sons Hou Jie, Hou Ying, and Hou Hu should be beheaded according to law. His wives and daughters should be confiscated into the palace, to be prostitutes forever, not pardoned even when general amnesties are granted.”
“The remaining rebels Pan Yingshou, Helan Chushi, Xin Liao’er, and Lei Ming were all captured. The Court of Judicial Review has already rendered judgment—their crimes do not permit clemency, and according to law they should be beheaded and their three clans exterminated. I request Your Majesty to carry out the proper legal punishment!”
Only now did Yun Ye learn that Hou Junji had actually done so many things. He personally knew both Xiao Yan and Pei Zhong—when in Chang’an they had often drunk together. The person guarding his family’s pasture was Commandant Han De, all of them decent drinking companions. How had they been chopped into mincemeat by Hou Junji? Who was guarding the pasture now? It was Li Jing who cleaned up the mess on the grasslands—he didn’t know if Li Jing had sent anyone to protect the Yun family’s pasture.
The court hall was silent as death. On ordinary days there would still be intermittent coughing sounds, but now there wasn’t a single sound. Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Niu Jinda—these men probably also only just learned that Hou Junji had caused such an enormous disaster. Each face was ashen as death, not knowing where to begin with words of pleading. No wonder Dai Zhou had to take this dangerous gamble and bet on Li’er’s merciful heart. Without doing it this way, other methods wouldn’t work. That bastard Hou Junji had blocked his own path to survival completely, and even cut off the survival path for his entire family.