Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Pei Xingjian, looking excited, stood up from the back of the crowd.

His voice was trembling as he said, "I thank your majesty for the grace of heaven!"

After Pei Xingjian bowed to Li Shimin, he looked at Du He with gratitude.

If Du He had not recommended him to serve in the Eastern Palace and introduced him to Hou Junji, his powerful father-in-law, and given him the opportunity to go on a diplomatic mission to Baekje.

He is probably still staying in Hedong, worrying about his career as an official.

Pei Xingjian still remembered that when he received the invitation letter from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the direct descendants of his family mocked him in every way.

Except for his mother, no one thought highly of him.

"call!"

Pei Xingjian exhaled lightly, clenched his fists and thought.

"The direct descendants are no more than this!"

"Mother can no longer hold her head up high in the family. It's time to bring her to Chang'an to enjoy a better life!"

Pei Xingjian, who had depended on his mother since childhood, wanted to bring his mother, who had suffered for more than 20 years, to Chang'an as soon as he was appointed as the Minister of Honglu Temple.

Pei Xingjian believed that his life would get better and better in the future. In ten years or so, I'm afraid that everyone in the family would rely on him.

When the calm and handsome Pei Xingjian stood up to receive the order, many ministers turned around and stared at him with curiosity.

A small number of well-informed ministers pointed at Pei Xingjian and whispered to each other.

"That old bastard Hou Junji has really good taste!"

"It is said that this disciple of the Hedong Pei family is one of the most popular people under the Crown Prince!"

"This kind of young man from a big family looks much better than Hou Junji's former son-in-law Helan Chushi. He shouldn't die suddenly this time, right?"

These officials were more curious than each other about the sudden death of Hou Junji's ex-son-in-law Helan Chushi, and they all wanted to uncover the secret behind it.

However, the servants in Duke Chen's mansion were more talkative than anyone else. They sent people to inquire for a long time but did not get any useful information.

For more than an hour, the eunuchs announced rewards one after another.

The rewards in the Taiji Hall were only given to more than 30 people who had made great contributions, while the rewards for the remaining soldiers were announced by the generals of each guard.

General Wang Jun of the Left Guard was shocked and was promoted to General of the Left Guard!

Qiu Xingyan, Junior Architect of the Imperial Household, was promoted to Chief Architect of the Imperial Household!

General Niu Jinda of the Wuwei Army was given the title of Duke of Langya County!

Li Daliang, the General of the Right Guard, was given the title of Duke of Wuyang County!

Although Cheng Yaojin was not rewarded, Li Shimin promoted his third son Cheng Chubi to the position of county lieutenant of Chang'an County.

Although the county lieutenant's rank is not high, the county lieutenant of Wannian County is a seventh-rank official, in charge of public security, catching thieves, and judging the affairs of various departments.

At least it is a powerful position!

The most unlucky general was Xue Wanche. He led his troops at full speed to rescue Youzhou, but he didn't expect that when he arrived, the battle was already over.

The credit that I had gained for free was gone just like that.

When the eunuch who announced the reward closed the imperial edict and quietly retreated to the side of the imperial platform, all the civil and military officials in the Taiji Hall were stunned for a moment.

"Has the reward been issued?"

"Why didn't Yingzhou Governor Zhang Jian receive any reward?"

"Does His Majesty intend to punish Commander Zhang?"

Inside the Taiji Hall, all the ministers' eyes were on Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian was the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Road and a general who had been monitoring and investigating Goguryeo.

His role and status were second only to the three marching generals and the two deputy generals, Du He and Li Daozon.

At this moment, Tang Lin, the Imperial Censor, stood up.

He raised his tablet with both hands and reported in a serious tone: "Your Majesty, Yingzhou Governor Zhang Jian led his army to fight against Goguryeo. He was careless and underestimated the enemy, and his command was ineffective, resulting in heavy casualties among his soldiers!"

"I beg Your Majesty to severely punish Zhang Jian, rectify military discipline, and comfort the souls of the soldiers who died in the battle!"

When they saw Tang Lin, the adjutant of the Censorate, personally impeach Zhang Jian, all the civil and military officials instantly understood what was going on.

Your Majesty must punish Zhang Jian!

As soon as Tang Lin finished speaking, the Imperial Counselor Chu Suiliang stood up.

"Your Majesty, the army will be rewarded for its meritorious service in the battles, and punished for its faults!"

"Yingzhou Governor Zhang Jian had a total of 2 soldiers under his command, but suffered more than 1 casualties, all due to his personal command mistakes."

"If we don't punish Zhang Jian, we won't be able to explain to the families of the soldiers who died in the battle!"

Before the court officials could react, Sun Fujia, the Minister of Dali Temple, also stood up.

"Your Majesty, our army has never suffered such heavy casualties in its battles with foreign races!"

"Moreover, Zhang Jian's two defeats have seriously affected the morale of the army. If it weren't for the Crown Prince's calm and measured command, I'm afraid the battle would have developed in an unfavorable direction."

"Your Majesty, please punish Zhang Jian severely to show justice!"

The three ministers' impeachment words against Zhang Jian echoed in the Taiji Hall for a long time.

Zhang Jian, who had originally been holding out for luck, finally gave up when he heard that Tang Lin, Chu Suiliang and Sun Fujia were impeaching him together.

These three people dared to stand up and impeach him, they must have had the authorization of His Majesty.

Li Shimin said coldly: "Zhang Jian, do you admit your guilt?"

Zhang Jian, with gray hair on his temples, stood up tremblingly and responded with a bitter face.

"Your Majesty, I plead guilty!"

wow~

There was a sudden commotion in the Tai Chi Hall.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Jian did not speak out to defend himself, but directly confessed his guilt to His Majesty. This is really puzzling!

Although Zhang Jian was defeated, the prince's battle report clearly stated that except for the first defeat which was caused by his underestimation of the enemy, the second defeat was due to the gap in strength.

In the flat wilderness, Zhang Jian led 7 infantry and cavalry to fight against more than elite enemy cavalry, so it was understandable that he was defeated.

"Humph!"

Li Shimin snorted heavily, then gave an order in a cold voice.

"Remove Zhang Jian from his post as governor of Yingzhou and put him in the Dali Temple prison!"

what!

Put Zhang Jian in jail!

This punishment is a bit severe!

The faces of many ministers changed. They thought that Li Shimin's punishment on Zhang Jian was a bit too harsh.

Li Ji stood up and pleaded, "Your Majesty, although Zhang Jian made a big mistake, he also made great contributions. Please let his merits and demerits offset each other!"

As Zhang Jian's temporary superior, it is his duty to plead for his subordinates.

Chu Suiliang retorted: "Duke Ying is wrong. Merits are merits and faults are faults. How can they be confused?"

"Besides, how can Zhang Jian's mistakes be offset by his achievements?"

On the imperial stage, Li Shimin frowned with a serious expression as he thought.

Li Chengqian suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I think that Zhang Jian's two defeats were caused not only by his improper command, but also by the fact that the enemy was too numerous and we were too few."

"Besides, Zhang Jian not only fought to the death in Goguryeo, but also served the imperial court in the frontiers and guarded the country, making contributions to the Tang Dynasty."

"I think that dismissing him from his post is enough as a punishment. I hope Your Majesty will spare him the suffering of imprisonment for his meritorious service."

When Zhang Jian heard the prince pleading for him, his face was filled with gratitude.

However, after seeing the prince pleading for Zhang Jian, Chu Suiliang, Tang Lin and Sun Fujia did not continue to stand up and sing a different tune.

The work has been done, and now we just have to wait for His Majesty's decision.

Du He shook his head and complained in his heart.

"Everyone is good at acting. It was clearly a predetermined punishment, but they had to act out this way."