Without waiting for an imperial command, Sun Simiao uncorked a small vial. Bitter, heat-clearing pills spilled into his palm, were washed down with water, and sent straight into Li Shimin's stomach.
The bitterness spread. And with it came a question Li Shimin could not resolve no matter how he turned it over in his mind.
Why?
Putting the future aside—even now, he could hardly be said to have treated Hou Junji poorly.
Hou Junji ranked first among those credited for the Xuanwu Gate incident. He had been ennobled as Duke of Lu, and recently Fang Xuanling had already begun the formal process to recommend him for appointment as Minister of War.
And yet, according to what the light screen recorded in later history, Hou Junji's destruction of Tuyuhun counted as merit; his annihilation of Gaochang had been a decision pushed through against widespread opposition, further demonstrating imperial favor.
So how did it end like this?
Letting troops loose to plunder. Privately torturing captives. Harboring resentment. And finally—raising arms from within?
Li Shimin did not want to think too closely about it. In Hou Junji's plan, was the palace meant to run red with blood? Or was he planning to "invite" Li Shimin to become Retired Emperor once again?
By comparison, Li Shimin found Li Chengqian's rebellion—though it had made him cough blood—almost easier to accept.
After all, hints of it had surfaced long ago. There were historical precedents to reflect upon: Crown Prince Ju of Han. And from the light screen's later perspective, the father–son tensions between Cao Pi and Cao Rui, or Zhuge Kongming's regency over Liu Shan.
Put together, Li Shimin felt he had grasped at least some faint pattern, however incomplete.
His earlier hope had been for Chengqian to surpass himself.
Now, that seemed impossibly difficult.
Which was why, at year's end, he had arranged for the imperial sons and daughters to spend time together in shared festivities. In hindsight, it seemed to have had at least some effect.
As for Hou Junji…
Li Shimin's gaze paused briefly on Yuchi Jingde.
The fierce general understood him immediately and rose at once.
"I will order fast horses prepared. Within three days at most, I will capture the traitor and return!"
There was a moment of silence. Then Li Shimin shook his head.
"Not yet."
After all, Xuanwu Gate had only been four years ago.
Still—for the sake of keeping Hou Junji's head attached to his neck, it truly would be necessary to find the right time and pretext to give him a thorough warning.
Later generations liked to say that those who conquer the realm then sit upon it.
But without the accumulated merit and prestige earned by cutting through thorns and blades—defeating Xue Rengao, Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong, Liu Heita, and the rest—did anyone truly think that Xuanwu Gate alone was enough to ascend in one step and sit securely on the throne?
Yuchi Jingde could only sit back down. Qin Qiong smiled faintly and patted the back of Yuchi Jingde's hand, murmuring in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"His Majesty is sentimental."
That was more or less common knowledge. The brothers of the former Qin Prince's household had all found good placements.
Which was precisely why no one stood up to speak on Hou Junji's behalf.
First, because everyone knew that after some inner struggle, His Majesty would at most impose a light punishment—he would never let Hou Junji escape blame entirely, but neither would he be ruthless.
Second, because they found Hou Junji's conduct on the light screen repugnant. It was like kicking over the very pot everyone ate from.
"Quan Wanji… if I recall correctly, he was Quan Huai'en's great-uncle. I've heard he was a man of fierce integrity. To meet such an end…"
"I remember him as well. Quan Huai'en entered the Qin Prince's household with a reputation for talent, and once followed us in pacifying Wang Shichong."
Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui skipped over—smoothly and in perfect tacit agreement—the crude phrasing about "Chengqian fooling around with men," which would only give His Majesty a headache.
Still, Du Ruhui could not help a quiet suspicion: the child of his own family who became entangled in this—could it be precisely this conspiracy?
[Lightscreen]
[The rebellion, though it had not yet been carried out, was still rebellion. By law, it meant losing one's head.
Li You, that great "genius," rebelled with great fanfare and was granted death.
Those who supported Li Chengqian's direct conspiracy numbered two: Hou Junji and Li Hanchang.
Li Hanchang, the seventh illegitimate son of Li Yuan, was ordered to die at home after the plot was exposed.
Hou Junji's family was exiled to Lingnan; he himself went calmly to the execution ground.
Li Chengqian was the exception. As Empress Zhangsun's son, Li Shimin ordered the Court of Judicial Review to deliberate again and again, and ultimately spared his life, exiling him to Lingnan.
Two sons of senior ministers were also implicated.
Du Ruhui's son Du He was a core conspirator and was beheaded, implicating Du Ruhui's eldest son Du Gou as well.
Du Gou had inherited his father's title as Duke of Lai and risen to Prefect of Cizhou, but because of his younger brother's rebellion, he was stripped of office and title, and the entire family was exiled to Lingnan.
Li Jing's eldest son, Li Dejian, was also implicated due to his close association with Li Chengqian. He was sentenced to exile in Lingnan as well, though out of regard for Li Jing, this was later commuted to relocation to Wu Commandery.]
"Well now, they ended up coming to our side," Zhang Fei muttered under his breath, finding the Tang dynasty more than a little unhinged.
"A grand general rebels, the crown prince rebels, an imperial prince rebels, even an imperial brother rebels."
Zhang Song, as a local, could not help objecting:
"General Yide, Yizhou is still far better than Lingnan."
Though Zhang Song also knew that many people were not well versed in geography, and tended to lump everything south of the Central Plains together as "Lingnan."
Pang Tong's face was alight with gossiping delight as he clicked his tongue.
"So even the Tang couldn't escape this fate. The affair of Crown Prince Ju repeats itself."
And with the light screen adding later generations' commentary, the experience was far clearer than the few sparse lines devoted to Crown Prince Ju in the histories, Pang Tong thought.
Kongming sighed, feeling that there were simply too many people with nothing better to do.
Look at Chancellor Zhuge—how exalted his position, holding the affairs of a state in his hands, exhausting himself to the point of burning out early.
As for himself, Kongming the military adviser, he simply left Jingzhou alone and delegated most of Yizhou's work to others.
Studying the light screen's words, reading later interpretations, digging through old texts for unresolved problems, and teaching students—how leisurely, how pleasant.
And yet Hou Junji had been one of Li Shimin's original followers. He should have understood this heroic and formidable ruler better than anyone. How could he have conceived of something so foolish?
The officials of the Chengdu prefectural office merely sighed over it. None of them found it especially shocking.
After all, watching the Tang and Li Shimin through the light screen carried a sense of looking through mist at flowers.
But if one overlaid the patterns—
Li Shimin as Emperor Wu of Han.
Li Chengqian as Crown Prince Ju.
Li Jing as Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.
It all fit rather neatly. Which was why they almost instantly guessed seven or eight tenths of the reason behind Li Chengqian's rebellion.
And so, almost despite themselves, they felt a trace of sympathy.
…
In Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin had already regained his composure.
Yet when he looked at Du Ruhui's vacant stare, and then at Li Jing's stiff, expressionless face, he could only make a solemn assurance:
"I will do my utmost to instruct Chengqian. Such a calamity will not be allowed to come to pass."
[ Lightscreen]
[Let us set Hou Junji aside for the moment and continue with Li Jing.
After Anecdotes of the Sui and Tang, the Tang dynasty produced another well-known image of Li Jing.
That would be The Tale of the Bearded Hero, composed in the late Tang. The story itself is quite simple.
A penniless young Li Jing goes to visit Yang Su, Grand Minister of State at the end of the Sui. With only a few words, he so astonishes Yang Su that the great man treats him as an equal.
Of course, in the official histories, Yang Su was already long dead by then, so from the opening one knows this is pure fiction.
Li Jing fails to win over Yang Su, but instead wins over Zhang Chuchen, a household courtesan in Yang Su's residence. Because she always carried a red horsetail whisk, she was also called Red Whisk Maiden.
After investigating Li Jing's lodgings, she went to him that very night. The two almost immediately performed a wedding ceremony, and thus hero and beauty became a pair.
Red Whisk Maiden was a woman of rare insight. She declared that Yang Su was finished, the Sui was doomed, and that Li Shimin of Taiyuan bore the aura of a Son of Heaven. They should go and join him.
On the road, they encountered the Bearded Hero. The three traveled together to meet Li Shimin, but the Bearded Hero, who had originally intended to vie for the realm, lost all heart upon seeing him.
He instructed Li Jing to assist Li Shimin in conquering the world, donated his entire fortune, then bought a boat and sailed overseas.
The story concludes in the tenth year of Zhenguan: Li Shimin has become the Heavenly Khagan, his authority commanding the four quarters, while the Bearded Hero has conquered Buyeo and become a king overseas.
A simple story—but once placed in its historical context, it becomes far more interesting.
Some have conjectured that the fictional Bearded Hero was in fact modeled on Li Shimin himself.
After all, Youyang Zazu records: "Taizong had a curly beard and often amused himself with bows and arrows."
The Bearded Hero in the tale kills enemies and eats their hearts and livers with wine. Upon first meeting Red Whisk Maiden, he harbors improper thoughts.
Murderous, vengeful, occasionally unscrupulous—these traits fit Li Shimin almost seamlessly.
Thus the tale can be read as splitting Li Shimin into two.
The wild, vengeful, supremely martial Li Shimin becomes the Bearded Hero, who leaves the Central Plains and conquers Buyeo.
Buyeo lay close to Goguryeo, and Li Shimin's greatest military regret in his later years was his failure to destroy Goguryeo.
With that portion of his character stripped away, what remained was a magnanimous, benevolent, open-minded Li Shimin—who ultimately became the model ruler.
And when one recalls that this tale was written after the An Lushan Rebellion, it perfectly reflects the late Tang's complex mentality:
When the Second Phoenix lived, none thought him extraordinary.
After the Second Phoenix was gone, none could match him.
As for Li Jing—once again, he emerged a winner in life.
Twenty years younger, married to a beauty, conquering the world with great merit, and addressing his sovereign as a brother—an enviable fate indeed.]
The light screen slowly displayed the original text of the tale.
Li Shimin had been reading with great interest, until the screen declared outright that this narrow-minded, lustful, man-eating Bearded Hero was none other than himself.
He immediately bristled.
"Absolutely impossible!"
Sun Simiao, who had been mentally wandering the heavens, curled his lip inwardly. Cannibalism aside—
As for being narrow-minded and lustful… well…
Li Jing, meanwhile, felt that a lingering puzzle had finally been resolved: why he now seemed to have acquired a wife known as Red Whisk Maiden.
He found it all rather amusing. And upon hearing the light screen mention His Majesty's lifelong regret, he smiled and said,
"If this minister were truly twenty years younger, I would surely help Your Majesty destroy Goguryeo!"
Su Dingfang nodded vigorously.
This I believe. Old General, please make sure to take me along.