In 640 AD, the fourteenth year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty. A sudden war broke out in the Turpan region of Xinjiang. After this war, Gao Changguo, which was originally quite powerful in the western region, was destroyed by the Tang general Hou Junji in World War I.
After this battle, the Tang Dynasty was finally able to expand its sphere of influence to the western region. Since the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Central Plains Dynasty has finally once again controlled the Western Regions, which is of great significance.
However, it is strange that as the leading general of this great war, Hou Junji, the main general of the Tang Army, returned to Chang'an, he was quickly imprisoned by Li Shimin. Moreover, three years later, Li Shimin, who had always claimed not to kill the hero, actually broke a rare case and directly killed Hou Junji, a great hero!
As the tang dynasty's main general in recovering the Western Regions, what did Hou Junji do to make Li Shimin so angry? Even at the expense of making an exception to kill the heroes? The answer is actually very simple, because after Hou Junji led the army back, he was extremely arrogant, and finally even directly began to rebel, so Li Shimin moved his killing heart.
If we want to explain this matter clearly, we have to start with Hou Junji.
Hou Junji came from the Gu Hou clan, and the family had been officials for generations. His grandfather Hou Zhi had followed He Bayue and Yuwen Tai successively, and served as a general on horseback during the Western Wei Dynasty, but was later killed by Yuwen Hu, a powerful minister of Northern Zhou. After Yuwen Hu was killed, he was rehabilitated and posthumously sealed. In short, the Hou family is a typical Guanlong aristocratic family, and Hou Junji and his grandfather are definitely in the core area of the first generation of Guanlong Group.
In the following decades, although the world changed from the Northern Zhou Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty. But for the Hou family, the impact was not large. As the core family of the Guanlong aristocratic group, the Hou family has this qualification. However, the Hou family's tutoring is general, which leads to Hou Junji being particularly pompous when he was a child, and to put it in layman's terms, it is good to brag. Every day he blows his bow and horse skillfully, but in fact, his skills are mediocre and his ability is limited. He said he was very knowledgeable, but he hadn't actually read a few days.
Logically, such a person, when the stars shone in the last years of the Sui Dynasty, should have been obscure. Even if you go to the battlefield, you are still going to die. But after Hou Junji grew up, his family lineage once again profoundly affected his destiny. As one of the core families of the Guanlong Group, in the last years of the Sui Dynasty, he moved into Chang'an with Li Yuan. Almost all the families of the entire Guanlong group began to support Li Yuan one-sidedly, and so did the Hou family.
More importantly, Hou Junji's mother's surname was Dou, and he was related to Li Yuan's wife Dou Shi (that is, Li Shimin's mother), and the relationship was not far away. Under the influence of these two relationships, Hou Junji later directly entered the top level of the Tang Army and worked under Li Shimin.
In the following years, Hou Junji accompanied Li Shimin in his southern expedition to the north, and he also made a lot of merit. However, at that time, there were too many fierce men under Li Shimin's command, and Hou Junji, who was mediocre in skill, was actually not ranked. But it was such a Hou Junji, but later it was gradually favored by Li Shimin. Because Hou Junji has an advantage, that is, he is particularly loyal to Li Shimin, and he can basically be called a die-hard fan. Especially later, as the contradictions between Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng intensified, Hou Junji resolutely followed Li Shimin's side, and together with Wei Chigong, Changsun Wujie, and others, urged Li Shimin to directly kill Li Jiancheng.
It was under their persuasion that Li Shimin finally made up his mind to launch the Xuanwumen Incident and finally ascended to the throne. Hou Junji, as Li Shimin's confidant, naturally also participated in the Xuanwumen Incident, charging forward, which can also be regarded as a great achievement.
After this series of adventures, Hou Junji, who was originally of mediocre qualifications, became the right guard general of the Tang Dynasty all the way. I have to say that family history and luck are sometimes really more important than human efforts.
After the Zhenguan period, as Li Shimin's confidant, Hou Junji's position was naturally as stable as Mount Tai. However, at this time, Hou Junji's weakness was highlighted. In addition to this advantage as Li Shimin's confidant, Hou Junji's ability was actually not worthy of his status at all. Li Shimin was also very helpless about this at that time, and had the intention to give Hou Junji a more important position, but Hou Junji could not carry it at all. Therefore, for the purpose of cultivating Hou Junji, Li Shimin later transferred Hou Junji to the command of the famous general Li Jing, and asked Li Jing to teach Hou Junji the art of war, hoping that Hou Junji would grow.
In the years that followed, Hou Junji did follow Li Jing and learn a lot of abilities. But in this process, the shortcomings in Hou Junji's personality began to continue to be magnified. Hou Junji's personality is particularly pompous, and this kind of exaggeration sometimes makes him look very arrogant. Logically speaking, being able to learn the art of war with a famous general like Li Jing is an opportunity that many people dream of. However, Hou Junji was not satisfied with this, but because Li Jing had reservations about him, he did not give him advice, and secretly reported to Li Shimin that Li Jing had the intention of plotting rebellion. Later, although there was no solid evidence, it did not cause any trouble for Li Jing. But this incident also made Li Jing see Hou Junji thoroughly, and he was even more reluctant to teach him.
However, since he had studied under Li Jingmen for several years, even a little fur would be enough to deal with ordinary enemies. In the ninth year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin appointed Li Jing as commander and led the Tang army to clean up Tuguhun in the northwest. During this battle, Hou Junji was also appointed as a general under Li Jing. In the battle against Tuguhun, Hou Junji, together with Li Daozong, the prince of the Li family, pursued for more than two thousand miles, spanning the entire Qaidam Basin, and finally annihilated the main force of Tuguhun.
After this battle, Hou Junji could continue to promote him even if he had excellent merit. After returning to Chang'an, Hou Junji was directly made the Duke of Chen by Li Shimin, and then worshipped as the official Shangshu. Li Shimin's appointment was tantamount to directly transferring Hou Junji from the army system to the civilian official system, and the meaning of cultivation was obvious. And Hou Junji took this opportunity to also learn a lot of things about civil rule, and went in and out of the picture, which was passed down as a good story for a while.
It was in this context that two years later, when the State of Gaochang in the Western Regions changed and severed contact with the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin then appointed Hou Junji as the commander-in-chief and went to attack Gaochang.
On this side of the Western Regions, the situation is actually a little special. As early as the Han Dynasty, the Western Regions were firmly controlled by the Han Dynasty government for a long time. Later, after the fall of the Han Dynasty, because the Eastern Han government was too weak, the Western Regions were briefly lost for a period of time. Later, after Cao Wei unified the north, Cao Zhen, a famous general of the State of Wei, opened up the western region. But later, after sima jia usurped Wei to establish the Western Jin Dynasty, and the Western Jin Dynasty was rapidly decayed and destroyed, the Western Regions were completely out of the control of the Central Plains Dynasty.
In the hundreds of years since then, the Central Plains themselves have not been able to unify, and naturally they cannot take care of the Western Regions. After the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Sui Dynasty unified the world. However, after the Sui Dynasty unified the world, the main enemy was the Turks in the north. At that time, most of the western regions were also under the control of the Turks. After that, the Sui Dynasty began to exert force against the Turks, dividing the Turks into Eastern Turks and Western Turks, and finally subdued the Turks. But after that, it wasn't long before the Sui Dynasty died, so there was no time to do anything to the Western Regions.
After that, it came to the Tang Dynasty. During the Zhenguan period, Li Shimin first dealt with the Eastern Turks in the north, and in the fourth year of Zhenguan, Li Jing directly let Li Jing destroy the Eastern Turks. After solving the Eastern Turks, Li Shimin's next solution was Tuguhun in the northwest, which was the battle that Li Jing had fought with Hou Junji before.
After defeating these two enemies, the Tang Dynasty finally had more contact with the Western Regions and finally had the conditions to solve the Problem of the Western Regions.
As for the Western Regions, the situation at that time was more like a loose alliance. There are many small countries, of which Gao Changguo is the largest. As a buffer zone for the Western Turks and the Tang Dynasty, these small states naturally became the object of contention between the Western Turks and the Tang Dynasty. Before the Tang Dynasty defeated the Eastern Turks and became the hegemon of the entire East Asia, these small countries in the Western Regions also fell smoothly and recognized the Tang Dynasty as the big brother. At that time, Gao Changguo was naturally also among them, and the king of Gaochangguo, Koji Wentai, personally brought his daughter-in-law to Chang'an ten years ago and met Li Shimin.
But now, with the end of the internal civil strife in the Western Turks, they began to recruit Gao chang and give higher chips. Therefore, the king of Gaochang at that time, Koji Wentai, fell directly to the Western Turks. Not only did it completely cut off contact with the Tang Dynasty, but it even took advantage of Gao Changguo's geographical advantages to completely cut off the trade routes between the Tang Dynasty and the Western Regions.
For Li Shimin, what Gao Changguo did was undoubtedly punching him in the face, which was certainly unbearable! Therefore, Li Shimin immediately sent Hou Junji to lead an army to conquest Gao Changguo. In addition, although Gaochangguo was not very strong, its geographical location was very important, and after the capture of Gaochang, the Tang Dynasty was able to extend its sphere of influence to the western region. In the future, it will be easier to expand the territory in the western region and then attack the Western Turks.
It was with this mission in mind that Hou Junji set out with his troops and headed for Gaochang. When he learned of this news, King Mi Wentai of Gaochang almost did not frighten him to death. He originally thought that the Tang Dynasty was far away in the Central Plains, and it was impossible to cross more than two thousand miles and send troops to Turfan to attack him, so he dared to break off diplomatic relations with the Tang Dynasty. But at the moment, Tang Jun really came, and this was fatal. Devi Wentai had personally been to Chang'an, and naturally knew the strength of the Tang Army, and was immediately frightened. What was even more unexpected was that after Mi Wentai was frightened, he was actually sick and finally directly scared to death.
By the time Hou Junji took the Tang Dynasty army across the desert for more than two thousand miles and arrived in Turfan, Mi Wentai had already been scared to death. His son Mi Zhi succeeded to the throne as the new King of Gaochang. After Michi took the throne, there was no good way to deal with the mess in front of him. However, at that time, With the support of the Western Turks, Mi Zhi still planned to fight with the Tang Army first.
But what Mi Wentai never expected was that when he organized his manpower and was ready to fight a hard battle with Tang Jun. The Western Turks had long since run away, and they were not willing to come and directly engage the Tang army. With Gao Changguo's own army alone, it was naturally not the opponent of the Tang army, and it did not hold up for a round, and was quickly defeated by Hou Junji.
Seeing this, Michi was also dumbfounded, knowing that he had provoked the real big brother. So Mi Zhi hurriedly wrote a letter to Tang Jun, putting all the responsibility on his dead father, picking himself clean, and then expressing his willingness to surrender.
But where will Hou Junji let go of the military merit in hand? Besides, the Tang Army's labor expedition was not just to make Gao Chang simply submit, it was originally to destroy the country. Therefore, Hou Junji laid out conditions for Di Zhi to directly open the city, disarm all the troops, and let the Tang army fall. Mi Zhi was not stupid, knowing that after Kaesong, he was bound to die, and he did not dare to open the city at all. Hou Junji immediately commanded the Tang army to launch a fierce attack, and soon captured the capital of Gaochangguo and captured the entire high-ranking officials of Gaochangguo.
In this way, Hou Junji destroyed Gaochang in a battle, completely expanding the control of the Tang Dynasty to the western region. After that, the Tang Dynasty directly established the Anxi Capital Protectorate in the Western Regions, and then continued to expand its territory in the Western Regions, gradually moving towards the peak era.
Without mentioning the later situation of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions, we continue to say Hou Junji. After fighting this battle, Hou Junji was also a little fluttery, feeling that he also had the merit of destroying the country, and could be compared with a top-level famous general like Li Jing. However, looking at the entire campaign, it is not difficult for us to find that hou Junji's attack on Gaochang was really not a grade of difficulty compared with the Turks and Tuguhuns that Li Jing had destroyed. Hou Junji was able to destroy Gao Chang mainly by relying on the excellent combat strength of the Tang army at that time. As for his own command ability, in fact, it is not crucial, for other Tang army generals, in fact, the result is the same.
But at that time, Hou Junji obviously did not expect these. After destroying Gaochang, Hou Junji felt that he had the merit of destroying the country, and he suddenly drifted away. After capturing Gao Changguo, Hou Junji privately swallowed Gao Changguo's treasure. When Hou Junji did this at that time, it was basically equivalent to semi-public, and naturally he could not hide from Li Shimin's eyes and ears. After Hou Junji returned to Chang'an, naturally there would be imperial envoys to impeach him. Privately dividing the spoils of war was a serious crime, so Li Shimin had no choice but to temporarily arrest Hou Junji.
In terms of Hou Junji's identity and merits, this matter was actually not a big deal in the first place. He was not only Li Shimin's favorite, but also had the merit of destroying the country. If he had just embezzled some treasure, Li Shimin would not have gone to his heart at all, and would even feel more satisfied. What Li Shimin cared about was actually just that Hou Junji did not listen to his own orders. Moreover, this treatment was actually not only enjoyed by Hou Junji, when Li Jing returned from fighting Tuguhun, he was also impeached by Yushi.
Sure enough, after a short period of imprisonment, someone soon interceded for him, and Li Shimin finally 'remembered that Hou Junji had made a great contribution', released Hou Junji from prison, and did not even punish him much. Moreover, soon after, Li Shimin evaluated the list of Ling Yange's meritorious heroes, and also added Hou Junji to it, and ranked seventeenth. This ranking is actually quite high, you know, the famous Cheng Yaojin, Xu Maogong, Qin Qiong and other people in the Yanyi novel are all ranked after him. This is enough to show how important Hou Junji really is in Li Shimin's heart.
If this result is replaced by a famous general with great wisdom like Li Jing, he will definitely feel fortunate. But when put on Hou Junji's side, Hou Junji felt that Li Shimin was sorry for himself.
In Hou Junji's view, he had also destroyed a Gao Changguo, but he had taken some treasure, so how could he have been arrested? Because of this incident, the more Hou Junji thought about it, the more angry he became. Coupled with the previous credit for the destruction of the country, he became more and more inflated. In the end, Hou Junji even simply had the idea of rebellion.
Once this thought arises, it can no longer be suppressed.
Of course, Hou Junji is not stupid, knowing that only by virtue of his own ability, if he wants to compete with Li Shimin, he is undoubtedly looking for death. But just at this time, Li Chengqian, the eldest son of Li Shimin, who was the crown prince at the time, had a worse and worse relationship with Li Shimin for various reasons, and Hou Junji hit Li Chengqian's head with the idea.
The contradiction between Li Shimin and Li Chengqian's father and son is a long story. To put it simply, Li Shimin, as an emperor with great talent and great talent, was too strict with his prince. In the early years, when Li Chengqian's mother, Empress Eldest Sun, was alive, she was able to mediate in the middle, so that the father and son had a bridge of communication. But later, with the death of the eldest son, Li Shimin only knew how to teach the prince harshly, and did not care at all whether Li Chengqian could bear it, resulting in the relationship between father and son becoming more and more rigid. It just so happened that at that time, Li Shimin was very fond of his second son Li Tai, which made Li Chengqian think that Li Shimin planned to change the crown prince.
In order to protect his position as crown prince, Li Chengqian also began to have a hint of reaction.
At the same time that Li Chengqian had this hint of rebellion, Hou Junji's son-in-law, Helan Chushi, happened to be an official in Li Chengqian's Eastern Palace, and he was also Li Chengqian's confidant. After sensing Li Chengqian's objections, Helan Chushi introduced his father-in-law Hou Junji. In this way, Li Chengqian, the crown prince, and Hou Junji, a powerful general, made a decision to conspire against and usurp the throne.
I'll explain more here. In many TV drama novels, it is said that the reason why Hou Junji wanted to help Li Chengqian rebel was because his daughter married Li Chengqian, who was Li Chengqian's father-in-law. This matter is a shadowless thing in the history of zhengshi, and in the history of zhengshi, Li Chengqian's wife's surname is Su, and she has no relationship with Hou Junji's half-cents. Hou Junji and Li Chengqian were able to go to the past, which was entirely the reason why his son-in-law Helan Chushi was born.
The prince and the real power general colluded together, and this lineup was actually a top match. Moreover, at that time, as a strict father, although Li Shimin was very strict with Li Chengqian, he never thought that Li Chengqian would rebel and never suspected Li Chengqian. Therefore, this conspiracy plan of Li Chengqian and Hou Junji, at least in the planning stage, was really smooth and almost really successful.
But it was at this time that a sudden event occurred that changed history.
At this time, Li Shimin's other son, Li You, also because Li Shimin was too strict, had a misunderstanding and directly rebelled in the fiefdom. At that time, the Tang Dynasty fierce generals were like clouds, and Li You's rebellion was naturally easily quelled in the end. Logically, Li You and Li Chengqian had no relationship at all. In this case of conspiracy, li chengqian's head could not be found. But during the interrogation of Li You's party, censorship officials stumbled upon a man named Lu Gan Chengji. This person happened to be an official of the Eastern Palace, and he was also Li Chengqian's confidant. After Qigan Chengji was arrested, he accidentally shook out Li Chengqian's rebellion.
Now, the problem is big.
Before Li You plotted rebellion, he was just a prince, and it was not so complicated to deal with. But Li Chengqian is different, he is the prince, then the impact is too big. Moreover, during the investigation of the case, the interrogation officials quickly found Hou Junji's head. In the end, the evidence was conclusive, and Hou Junji could not do anything to deny it.
Li Shimin, who learned of this result, was greatly affected at that time. Because he never expected that his carefully cultivated son would join forces with his most trusted minister and want to force the palace to rebel. After this treason case, the later Li Shimin began to become suspicious. And Hou Junji, who participated in the organization of the rebellion plan, naturally died in the end. However, in the end, Li Shimin still remembered hou Junji's past merits, and in the end, he only killed Hou Junji alone, and did not connect the whole family. After Hou Junji's death, Hou Junji's wives and children were pardoned, and then they were exiled to Lingnan.
This result, for the Hou family, is already a blessing in misfortune.
Looking at the whole story of Hou Junji, it is not difficult for us to find that Hou Junji was killed in the end, but in fact, he was purely self-made. Hou Junji's problem is the typical 'mistake of the platform as a capability'. Hou Junji never understood that his status and merits were actually given by Li Shimin. Whether it was to pacify Tuguhun or destroy Gaochang before, it was Li Shimin who gave him a chance. At that time, the Tang Dynasty was able to beat a fierce man and grab a large number of people, why did Li Shimin want Hou Junji to go? Obviously cultivating him!
However, Hou Junji obviously did not understand Li Shimin's good intentions, and even resented it. Such a person, in the end, did not harm the full door, and li Shimin was kind. If this were to change for a certain murderous emperor, it was estimated that he would directly kill the Ten Clans of the Hou Family.
From hou Junji's story, we also get an inspiration: as a person, we must distinguish the difference between the platform and our own capabilities. Some people call for wind and rain in large companies, but after leaving large companies, they even have problems with food and clothing, which is actually the truth.