[Lightscreen]
[ Speaking of how the image of Li Weigong was perceived in antiquity, it naturally shifted with changes in the social climate of each era.
Once again, we can take Anecdotes of the Sui and Tang—the work that famously likens Li Shimin to Sima Yi—as an example.
That book contains another story about Li Jing.
Roughly speaking, it goes like this: Li Erfeng wanted to cultivate talent, but ruling as emperor was exhausting. So he tossed Hou Junji to Li Jing, asking Duke Wei to give him some private tutoring.
On the surface, this should have been a fine story. One was a founding follower from the Prince of Qin's household; the other, a top-tier general of the founding era.
Yet after studying for a time, Hou Junji submitted a confidential report to Li Shimin, accusing Li Jing of plotting rebellion.
Li Shimin was naturally curious, so he summoned both men to confront each other.
Hou Junji spoke with absolute conviction:
"Every time he teaches military strategy, he stops short at the crucial points. If that's not hoarding secrets in preparation for rebellion, what is it?"
Li Jing was just as firm in response:
"The Central Plains are now stable. What I've taught is more than enough to pacify the four borders. Yet you insist on learning everything—if that's not harboring rebellious intent, what is it?"
Li Erfeng, of course, did not believe either accusation, and the matter was dropped.
Later on, Hou Junji once returned in triumph and went to the Secretariat to report. Riding his horse through the gate, he passed several steps inside without realizing it.
By sheer coincidence, at that very moment the elderly, stiff-limbed Li Jing happened to be standing nearby and saw the scene.
Li Jing remarked to those around him, "Junji's mind is not here. He will surely rebel."
Everyone treated it as a joke, assuming the old man had gone senile. No one paid it any mind.
A few years later, Hou Junji's conspiracy with Crown Prince Li Chengqian was exposed, and he was executed. Only then did people marvel: Duke Wei could discern the great from the subtle.
Literary works are always bound to their times. The author of Anecdotes of the Sui and Tang, Liu Su, entered officialdom during Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan era and died of illness around the An Lushan Rebellion, having witnessed firsthand the decline of the Tang golden age.
In the text, Li Jing repeatedly denounces Hou Junji's rebellious intent—much as, in Liu Su's own time, the entire court knew An Lushan would rebel.
Then the narrative suddenly pivots, describing how Li Shimin compared Li Jing to Sima Yi. This may well have been a way of pointing at Emperor Taizong while scolding Emperor Xuanzong.
Anecdotes of the Sui and Tang itself has considerable artistic value. Beyond its accounts of Li Jing, it records many amusing details, such as:
Because Li Yuan had too many wrinkles on his face, Yang Guang called him "Old Granny Li."
Because Chang'an was overcrowded, the Tang instituted a rule requiring people to keep to the left when entering the city.
And the claim that the world's greatest treasure-calligraphy, the Lanting Preface, was taken by Li Erfeng to accompany him in burial also originates here.
"Chu Suiliang submitted a memorial: 'The Lanting was cherished by the late emperor and must not be left behind; thus it was sealed away in Zhaoling.'"
Whether this claim is true or not may only be known if Li Erfeng tomb is opened someday.
That said, after Li Jing defeated Tuyuhun and was enfeoffed as Duke of Wei, he avoided suspicion to such an extent that he would not even meet with relatives, let alone make dangerous remarks.
This old gentleman likely had no time to stroll around the Secretariat diagnosing rebels.]
[Server Chat Log]
XWar: I wonder if our generation will live to see Zhaoling opened, to find out whether the Lanting Preface is really there.
Raze: That would be difficult. Without adequate technical preparation, whoever opens it would become a sinner for all time—but what even counts as "adequate"? No one knows.
NyxWar: By the way, to this day I still can't understand how Hou Junji even thought of rebelling—or how he dared to.
Hexor: Perhaps Old Hou felt he had rich experience in rebellion… Mocking the Heavenly Khan—wouldn't that be easy? A sure thing?
AxelRuin: Seen this way, Old Master Li was quite busy too. From a frontier minister of the Sui to the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, from life to death his promotions never stopped.
Du Ruhui did not even need to look over. At this moment, whether it was His Majesty or himself, the smile on their faces had likely frozen.
Hou Junji's rebellion could at least be called regrettable; history had no shortage of such precedents.
But conspiring with the crown prince… well, that also seemed to have precedents.
Wang Xuance, sitting on his low stool, felt as though the temperature in the hall had dropped by at least ten degrees.
A chill seemed to crawl up from the floor, racing along his spine straight to the crown of his head. He shuddered.
Such secret matters could be discussed by senior ministers and dukes of state.
But he, Wang Xuance, was nothing more than a mere county deputy magistrate…
Li Shimin had no time to attend to Wang Xuance's thoughts. Though it was only a single name, "Li Chengqian" echoed in his mind like a great bell struck again and again.
In his agitation, he unconsciously tightened his grip on Sun Simiao's wrist, causing the Medicine King to wince and say,
"Your Majesty, I also have heat-clearing pills with me."
Li Shimin fell silent and quickly released his hand.
There was no need for pills. Li Shimin did not like to display weakness.
Perhaps his diet of fish over the past half year had been effective; perhaps he had long harbored suspicions about this matter despite not wishing to face them.
After all, he still occasionally went to Da'an Palace to pay respects to his father, the Retired Emperor.
In any case, though his temples throbbed faintly, it was nothing serious. He even had the presence of mind to calculate the timing:
"Hou Junji's destruction of Gaochang was in the fourteenth year of Zhenguan. That means Chengqian was still crown prince at that time…"
Which meant the crown prince's rebellion likely occurred around the seventeenth or eighteenth year of Zhenguan, after which Prince Zhi became crown prince.
This year was only Zhenguan four. There was still time—perhaps it truly was necessary to carefully review the old case of the rebellious crown prince as a warning.
Li Shimin weighed the matter in silence. Everyone else also kept quiet, including Zhangsun Wuji.
After all, speaking of Hou Junji alone was one thing. But on one side was his brother-in-law, and on the other his elder nephew—entangled with royal family affairs.
In such matters, Zhangsun Wuji would give His Majesty every kind of support except unsolicited action or advice.
"I have already begun addressing this matter. The old calamity will not be repeated."
In the end, Li Shimin sealed this minor disturbance with a single sentence.
Spending the New Year together in harmony—could that indeed be considered a solution?
That young lady of the Wu family truly did have a perceptive heart. In recent months, one could sense that Chengqian had become noticeably more lively than before.
The only issue was that thinking of how this young lady would later become his own talented concubine—
Li Shimin cut off the thought.
These words marked the matter as temporarily set aside. How the Tang emperor would handle the crown prince was something to be watched.
Which naturally led to the other side of things…
"So long as everyone gives the word, I will bind Hou Junji and drag him before the hall."
Yuchi Jingde rose to request permission.
This time, however, Fang Xuanling shook his head first.
"How can we punish a man today for a crime that has not yet occurred ten years hence?"
Yuchi Jingde sat back down. He understood now—if reckoned that way, His Majesty should first execute the crown prince…
The atmosphere grew somewhat heavy.
Su Dingfang stared at the words on the light screen, dumbfounded.
"If later generations so revere Your Majesty, why would they wish to dig up Zhaoling?"
Only after Li Jing quietly explained things to him did he understand:
"After a thousand years of warfare, many historical records and texts have been damaged or lost. By comparison, items buried in tombs have often been better preserved."
Li Shimin could not accept the idea of later generations opening tombs, but he could understand it.
After all, through the light screen he had seen how the Cao clan tombs were treated, and he could plainly see that the tomb of Emperor Zhaolie was still venerated.
For a moment, he even grew rather forceful in argument:
"In that case, the Lanting truly ought to enter Zhaoling!"
"Otherwise, wouldn't we be disappointing our descendants?"
Du Ruhui replied calmly,
"In that case, may Your Majesty offer the authentic Lanting to the light screen, as a gift to later generations."
Li Shimin immediately fell silent, and laughter filled the Ganlu Hall.
Of course, Du Ruhui was only speaking in jest. After all, judging by what these later generations said, even if it were sent over, how would one prove it was genuine? That alone would be a problem.
[Lightscreen]
[Why Hou Junji chose to rebel is a question that has left countless people scratching their heads.
Here, this humble UP creator dares to offer a conjecture.
In economics, there is a concept called path dependence. It applies equally to sociology, psychology, and historical research.
Simply put, the evolution of technologies or institutions tends to depend on their existing paths—whether those paths are good or bad. Hou Junji may well have been such a case.
First, Comrade Old Hou could be called a rising general, but not a great one.
After destroying Gaochang, he forgot that this campaign had been pushed through by Li Erfeng against heavy opposition. Once Gaochang's capital fell, Old Hou forgot who he even was.
He led his troops in looting the Gaochang treasury and, without informing the central government, privately exiled the Gaochang royal family and nobles. That was all Old Hou's doing.
As a result, upon returning victorious, what awaited him was imprisonment. Though he narrowly escaped conviction, any thought of rewards was out of the question.
So Old Hou began to mix with Li Chengqian. He personally maintained close ties with the Eastern Palace, and his son-in-law Helan Chushi even served as a Thousand Ox Guard there, becoming one of Li Chengqian's trusted men.
But from the fourteenth to the seventeenth year of Zhenguan—these were three years destined to send Li Erfeng blood pressure through the roof.
During these three years, Prince Wei Li Tai was compiling the Gazetteer of the Land, walking the broad road to immortal fame.
Prince Jin Li Zhi was currying Li Shimin's favor.
And Crown Prince Li Chengqian was messing around with men.
In the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, after privately bringing Turkic youths into the palace and being severely rebuked by Li Shimin, Li Chengqian set foot on the path of rebellion and never turned back.
In the sixteenth year, Li Chengqian took a fancy to a teenage male musician from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices named Chengxin, invited him to eat and live together, and favored Daoists such as Qin Ying and Wei Lingfu at his side.
When Second Phoenix learned of this, he flew into a rage and had them all executed. Li Chengqian wept incessantly, erected a spirit tablet for Chengxin in the Eastern Palace, and led everyone there in mourning—earning yet another furious scolding.
While his brothers charged forward toward the position of crown prince and his own status grew precarious, Li Chengqian asked Old Hou what to do.
Old Hou thought briefly, dug out the old Xuanwu Gate PPT, changed a few words, and handed it to Li Chengqian.
At this point, Hou Junji believed he could succeed. From his perspective, early Tang truly had only two fierce generals: Li Shimin in the north and Li Jing in the south.
Now Li Shimin had been emperor for nearly twenty years without fighting a war, Li Jing was old and frail, unable to act—and Old Hou himself had personally handled Xuanwu Gate.
All in all, it came down to one thing: the advantage was his.
The accident occurred with Prince Qi, Li You.
And this accident was so simple it was almost unbelievable.
Li You's tutor, Quan Wanji, was a restorationist who idolized Wei Zheng. He remonstrated at every turn—no staying out at night, no throwing parties. Prince Qi was miserable and rebellious, often talking back.
Quan Wanji's solution was simple: "Call your father here."
For a long time, Li Shimin scolded Li You, Li You caused trouble for Quan Wanji, and Quan Wanji filed reports with Li Shimin—a perfect closed loop.
Eventually, Quan Wanji had enough and decided to go to the capital to file a formal accusation.
Li You, equally decisive, intercepted and killed Quan Wanji, dismembering him.
But how to explain this to his father?
Li You slapped his forehead and had an idea.
Thus, with no food, no troops, and no money, Prince Qi rebelled.
The rebellion lasted less than fifteen days before it was suppressed by a local military officer and Li You was sent to Chang'an.
During the investigation, both Old Hou and Li Chengqian were dragged into the open.
Old Hou's Xuanwu Gate 0.0 PPT never even got used before the entire farce was over.]