Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 45: Hou Junji: I can’t tell the difference. I really can’t tell the difference.

"Why don't you say anything? Did I hit the nail on the head?"

Hou Junji suddenly came back to his senses, and what came into his sight was a chubby, mischievous little face.

The corner of his mouth twitched, and he subconsciously put away the map, but then he thought that this would make him look guilty, so he opened the atlas again and said in a muffled voice:

"I was just thinking of someone I've known."

Li Ming stuffed a piece of dried apricot into his mouth, his eyebrows arched, and he said in a mean way:

"Who is it? Your partner in rebellion?"

"A fat pig as fat as you!" Hou Junji cursed angrily.

The fat pig's name is Li Jing.

A few years ago, Hou Junji asked Li Jing for advice on military tactics, but Li Jing reported him for plotting a rebellion.

Reason for reporting: Hou Junji was asking for advice on how to seize the ferry to quickly cross the river, how to climb over the mountains to take the basin directly, how to capture the plain city at the head of the river, etc.

You might as well just report the ID cards of the major rivers (Yangtze River and Yellow River), Hanzhong Bashu, and Tokyo Luoyang.

Do you want to fight the barbarians or start a civil war?

So, is it the Mobei grassland that has big rivers, the Kunlun Mountains that have basins, or Goguryeo that has plains?

Such a reason for reporting was naturally vetoed by Li Shimin.

From then on, Hou Junji had a lot of dissatisfaction with Li Jing.

As a result, now, the fat man Li Jing is closing his door to visitors and enjoying his old age, but a little fat man Li Ming, who is equally sharp... bah, equally neurotic, appears.

Li Jing developed a high level of vigilance because he was almost executed twice by the retired emperor Li Yuan.

What? Did you, Li Ming, almost get killed too...Oh, yes.

As that man's son, it's not impossible.

Hou Junji felt a little sympathy for Li Ming.

"Yawn~"

Hou Baolin woke up from his sleep.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Hou Junji's solemn expression, and immediately ran over to touch his face with worry:
"Are you feeling unwell, Aung? Did you have an upset stomach?"

Hou Junji rarely smiled and patted little Baolin's head lovingly:
"You are such a worrier. You don't act like a child anymore."

Watching the interaction between the grandparents and grandchildren, Li Ming felt like a light bulb, so he stood up and said:
"I have something else to do in the West Market. I'll go now."

"Hey, Brother Ming?" Little Baolin didn't know whether to accompany Brother Ming or Grandpa, as there were men on both sides.

Hou Junji nodded gently:
"You should come to see me every day now, and spend time with your friends occasionally. Don't isolate yourself too much."

"Okay."

Little Baolin agreed readily, holding Li Ming's hand, and skipping away from the courtyard where Grandpa was staying temporarily.

Hou Junji watched them leave, then picked up the military book on the table and muttered as he read it:
"That child is such a worrier. He's really not like a child."

Although it was annoying, His Highness Li Ming would always bring his beloved grandson with him, so he just put up with it...

Thinking of this, Hou Junji put down his book, refilled the empty snack box with snacks, and placed it at the entrance.

I even added a bunch of maltose that I tried to make myself.

"If I'm locked up any longer, I'll become an old woman."

Hou Junji smiled bitterly at himself, then sat back in the main hall and buried his head in reading.

Tomorrow, the little ones will come around this time.

During this boring period of house arrest, it would be nice to have someone to entertain me.

Before he knew it, Hou Junji was looking forward to the next day.

At this time, the door creaked open again.

Hou Junji immediately picked up the book and said calmly:
"Did you forget something? I just happened to have some dried peaches and plums. Eat some before you go."

"Oh? Hehe, since the general is so polite, then I won't be polite!"

A rude male voice came from the entrance, and it didn't sound very smart.

"Ok?"

Hou Junji looked up suddenly and found that the people coming were not children, but two rough men, one in red and one in white.

Xue Wanche, a warrior in a red robe and a heliotropium crown, grabbed a handful of dried fruits and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing the fruits together with the cores and swallowing them.

"General Xue, don't talk while eating."

Qibi Heli, dressed in snow-white clothes, whispered a warning to the rude warrior and quietly swallowed the remaining dried fruits.

As the two of them were eating, Xue Wanche suddenly pointed at the maltose stuck to the bottom of the box and shouted:
"Fuck! Dad!"

"I can't eat...what did you say?!"

The two of them immediately started to scratch their throats and retch.

Hou Junji's face twitched and veins bulged on his fists.

"What are Ning Liang doing here?"

…………

"The general has been wrongfully imprisoned, and we are deeply saddened. It is like a pearl covered in dust, or a fine bow hidden in the snow, which makes heroes all over the world shed tears."

The spirited Tang Dynasty man Qibi Heli had a swelling on his head and said sincerely. "I agree." Xue Wanche fixed the crooked He Yu and agreed casually.

"I feel relieved to see that my subordinates are in high spirits and strong enough to carry a heavy load."

Qibi Heli was not exaggerating at all. He and Xue Wanche used their own brains to prove that General Hou could indeed blow the bronze tripod to pieces with one punch.

"I agree...hiss." Xue Wanche rubbed the swelling on his forehead, grimacing in pain.

Hou Junji covered his aching fist and said unhappily:
"矍铄 is used to describe an old man, but I am not old yet."

"Oh?!" Qibi Heli was surprised and immediately took out the paper and pen he carried with him:
"I've learned something again. I'm going to write it down."

Looking at this funny couple, Hou Junji felt both angry and amused.

Among so many colleagues and subordinates, only these two idiots were willing to visit him, a criminal, in prison without fear of other people's suspicion.

Well, except for the former Prince Cao, who was always defying the heavens, the earth and the emperor.

"What are you here for?" Hou Junji asked straight to the point.

Xue Wanche did not hide anything and showed an innocent smile:

"Recently, the people of the capital have been scolding the court for imprisoning the general and speaking up for the general!
"General, rest assured, His Majesty will release you soon!"

"Oh, it's this matter." Hou Junji was not surprised.

The instigator of this wave of surging public opinion was just eating dried fruits here.

Strangely, Li Ming never took credit for himself in front of his father, Hou Junji.

All they talked about all day was whether he ate well, slept well, and other nonsense like actively reforming himself, becoming a new person, and returning to society as soon as possible.

But every time Li Ming left, Hou Baolin would stay with him for a while.

And it was through his grandson's big mouth that he knew the whole story of this public opinion war clearly.

To be honest, this bold move made Hou Junji drop his jaw.

Being able to bring together these naughty kids from different backgrounds and personalities to accomplish something that would make all the officials in the court scratch their heads is a miracle in itself.

He himself has experienced that children of this age are the most disliked by people and dogs. Just one of them is enough to make people tired, let alone a group of them.

As for Li Ming's so-called "public opinion war" of using irony to stir up public opinion...

To be honest, this clever idea amazed even the knowledgeable Hou Junji.

After all, he is your Majesty's biological son, and he is truly a natural politician.

"The situation is changing in a favorable way. The Dali Qing has finally allowed us to visit his subordinates." Qibi Heli said excitedly:
"Initially, all visitors were stopped by Sun Tingwei, so it was not until today that we were able to pay a visit."

No, the reason Sun Fujia was willing to show leniency was probably because of him... Hou Junji understood.

Qibi Heli's face darkened again, and he slapped his thigh angrily:

"I just regret that Prime Minister Fang is still obstructing your majesty and the court officials from releasing the general. The general is in prison because of him!"

Xue Wanche also complained:
"When soldiers go to war, they always put their heads on their belts. What's wrong with taking some treasures? Those civil servants are really... rigid."

Although they were angry, they did not dare to speak harshly to the civil servants, or give them a cold shoulder, saying things like "If you can do it, you do it."

Because those civil servants are really up when something happens.

Unlike after the Song Dynasty, the distinction between civil officials and military generals in the Tang Dynasty was not so clear.

Civil officials can ride to the front lines with just a sword, and military generals can get a civil job after returning victoriously.

For example, a Minister of Rites who convinces people with reason.

Even Hou Junji himself is now the Minister of Personnel, a solid civil servant.

Strictly speaking, this was actually an internal conflict within the civil service group and had nothing to do with Xue Wanche and Qibi Heli, two pure military generals.

This makes it more difficult to rescue Hou Junji.

Because you can’t respond with “You civilian officials know nothing about fighting a war.”

Anyone who has never led troops knows what is going on.

It would be fine if he just took some, but to empty out half of Gaochang like Hou Junji did... seems a bit too much.

The three of them fell silent at the same time.

Fang Xuanling, what on earth is that old man with expressionless face planning...

Hou Junji stroked his steel whisker playfully, and suddenly thought of someone:

"Did Lord Changsun Wuji offer any advice?"

Xue Wanche waved his hand unhappily:
"No, the uncle of the king would never care about trivial matters like corruption."

"Oh." Hou Junji's eyes became deep.

Changsun Wuji was the leader of the prince's faction.

If the eldest grandson doesn't move, the others won't move either.

The two pillars of the court, one is against him, and the other is standing idly by.

In other words, the real effort is now to get him out...

Only Li Ming?
But why does the kid only talk about nonsense like "morality and the rule of law" when we meet every day?

Why didn't you ever tell him face to face how isolated and helpless he, Hou Junji, was now, and how difficult it was to fight for his freedom?
Don't you want to win him over?
Hou Junji suddenly realized that he couldn't even see through a young child.

(End of this chapter)