Chapter 86: Scolding Mr. Hou (asking for monthly ticket)
Li Xiang moved very quickly and he didn't dare to be negligent at all.

Even though Hou Junji is now unemployed at home, he has been in the army for many years after all, and has deep roots. Who knows if anyone will take risks with him?
Before setting off, Li Xiang ordered a team of people to go to the Eastern Palace to arrest Helan Chushi and bring Ruyi under control. The Eastern Palace was placed under full martial law to protect the Crown Princess and Li Jue.

As one of the main culprits in this case, everything must be neat and tidy.

Li Xiang was riding on a horse, followed by a group of black-armored soldiers. Wherever he passed, passers-by would pay him respect and salute.

This is...what's going on? Even the Black Armor Army has been dispatched?

Li Xiang didn't care about the reactions of passers-by. His mind was now fully occupied by Hou Junji.

The Mansion of Duke Chen, also known as Hou Junji's residence, is located in Chongrenfang, a place where many nobles gather.

Li Xiang made a big fuss, with more than 200 people going out together, and they were the Black Armor Army, which caused quite a stir along the way.

Naturally, no matter how minor the incidents were when the Black Armor Army was dispatched, after passing by, they all knew that they were not coming for them, so they all rode on the wall, climbed trees, or simply opened the door and stood out to watch the excitement to see who had committed the crime.

Cheng Yaojin was originally playing with a stone lock at home. When he heard that the Black Armor Army had come out to arrest people, he simply threw the stone lock away and ran out to watch the fun.

He never thought that the Black Armor Army was here to capture him. After all, eating beef... was not enough to bother the emperor's personal troops.

Soon, they found out who these people were targeting - after arriving at Duke Chen's Mansion, these black-armored soldiers stopped.

When people saw that it was Hou Junji who was unlucky, they were not surprised; some people even gloated over his misfortune.

After all, Hou Junji's character is really not very good. When he was learning the art of war from Li Jing, Li Jing taught him a lot of things, but hid some of them. This BYD went straight to Li Shimin to complain, saying that Li Jing hid some of them and intended to rebel.

Li Shimin went to Li Jing to ask what was going on. Li Jing said that what I taught him was enough for now, and if he was still not satisfied, then he must have ulterior motives.

Old Li could only smooth things over and muddle through the matter, but which official in the court wouldn't feel disgusted...

Although Li Jing's popularity is average, he doesn't get close to anyone nor makes enemies with anyone...except Tang Jian of course.

But Hou Junji's behavior undoubtedly sounded a wake-up call to the nobles.

Someone taught you military tactics with good intentions, but not only were you ungrateful, you turned against him by reporting him for plotting a rebellion?

It's fine if you say you want to do something else, but treason is a serious crime punishable by the execution of the entire family!
So from then on, the nobles in Chang'an City did not have close contact with Hou Junji. After all, no one wanted to be reported to the emperor by Hou Junji for treason because of a small matter...

The most interesting thing among them is Li Jing’s mansion.

Li Dejiang rode on the top of the wall, turned around and shouted to Li Jing who was still reading a military book in the main hall: "Father, come out and see! Come and see! The Black Armor Army has been dispatched!"

"What a disgrace to be making such a fuss!" Li Jing stroked his long beard and scolded calmly, "A general should have thunder in his chest but a calm face. Look at you, what a disgrace!"

As he spoke, he hummed softly, feeling so comfortable.

Seeing that his father did not make any move, Li Dejiang was so anxious that he did not care about anything else and shouted directly: "The mansion of that old dog Hou Junji has been surrounded by the Black Armor Army!"

Hearing this roar, Li Jing lost control of his strength and pulled out several hairs of his beard.

Without mourning for Hu Zi for a moment, he looked up to the sky and laughed three times.

"Hahahaha... I had long predicted that Hou Junji would not have a good end, and today it has come true!"

Li Dejiang curled his lips and didn't dare to complain.

Their family situation is rather special. If he dares to complain about Li Jing, he may be hunted down to death by his mother.

Not to mention what happened in Li Jing's house, just say that when Li Xiang arrived at Hou Junji's mansion, he was surprised to find that the door of Duke Chen's mansion was wide open, as if waiting for them to come.

Li Xiang sat on his horse, looking at the open door, and said to the person beside him with a chuckle, "You come with bad intentions!"

"You are the one coming." Li Lifu reminded from the side.

Li Xiang glanced at Li Lifu, then turned and said, "Since they are ready, let's go in. As guests, we should not make the host wait anxiously."

"Prince, there might be an ambush here!" Duan Zan advised.

"That's fine," Li Xiang said with a smile, "Hou Junji is a Duke after all, he would never set up an ambush."

Duan Zan advised again: "As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. It is better for the prince to be cautious."

Li Xiang nodded and said, "Okay, Lifu, take some people to investigate first. After all, I can't let my brothers take risks."

One is to listen to advice, and the other is to cherish life.

Even if Duan Zan did not dissuade him, Li Xiang would still send someone to investigate first.

Since this old man Hou Junji could persuade Li Chengqian to rebel, Li Xiang really couldn't believe in his integrity. If he was ambushed by some people and captured, he would have no place to cry.

Li Lifu took the order and left, taking a few agile and experienced scouts with him. In a few seconds, they disappeared from Li Xiang's sight.

After a while, Li Lifu popped his head out from the top of the wall and made a few gestures.

"What does this mean?" Li Xiang felt it was a little strange, so he asked Duan Zan.

Duan Zan nodded and said, "This is a codeword among the army. Captain Li means that everything is safe in the mansion of Duke Chen, and there is no ambush."

Li Xiang nodded and said, "If that's the case, let everyone go in!"

Teams of black armored soldiers immediately entered through the main gate and poured into the Duke of Chen's mansion. Duan Zan followed closely behind, and only after he was sure that everything was safe did he invite Li Xiang in.

Li Xiang dismounted and walked all the way to the main hall, where he found Hou Junji sitting upright, seemingly waiting for him to come.

Seeing that the person coming was a twelve-year-old child, Hou Junji was slightly stunned and felt surprised.

I thought it would take at least someone like Yuchi Gong to capture him, but I never expected that it would be this young boy Li Xiang.

"Why is it you, a brat?"

"It's just right to deal with Duke Chen." Li Xiang smiled slightly and retorted neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Hou Junji showed a toothache-like smile and stared at Li Xiang with a sinister look, as if he wanted to force him back with his eyes.

However, Li Xiang was not moved at all. Even Yuchi Gong, who was as tall as a giant, could not make him feel afraid, let alone Hou Junji who was surrounded by the Black Armor Army?

Even if he roared and rushed forward, there were good men like Duan Zan and Li Lifu to protect him.

Hou Junji was not angry at Li Xiang's ridicule. Instead, he looked up to the sky and laughed: "Hahahaha... It's a pity that I, Hou Junji, have always prided myself on being smart, but I was defeated by a twelve-year-old kid like you."

"When Mr. Chen approached that idiot Li Yuanchang, he should have thought of this result." Li Xiang did not deny Hou Junji, but cursed Li Yuanchang.

In fact, he felt sorry for Hou Junji. It was hard not to think of "birds of a feather flock together" when he had such a bad teammate. "Now that things have come to this, there is nothing more to say. But could you please tell me how you found out?" Hou Junji raised his eyes and asked.

Li Xiang didn't intend to hide it, and since there was no rush anyway, he briefly told him what had happened today.

"The prince is so smart and decisive at such a young age. He truly has the demeanor of a saint." Hou Junji praised him without reservation.

The saint here refers to Emperor Li Shimin.

Even though they were in different positions, Hou Junji admired Li Xiang. This had nothing to do with his position, it was just appreciation for the outstanding younger generation.

At the end, he did not forget to insult Li Chengqian.

"If the prince had one-third of your talent, there would definitely not be the trouble we are facing today."

"Emperor Gaozu rose from Jinyang and needed the help of a saint before he could rule the world." Li Xiang sat in front of Hou Junji, stared at him and said, "As the saying goes, gold is not pure, and people are not perfect. As a human being, it is inevitable that we make mistakes. As a minister, you don't know how to give advice and admonish, but instead you want to alienate the flesh and blood of the royal family, instigate the prince and the king of Wei to be at odds, and even pretend to be someone from the Wei palace to kill the guards of the Eastern Palace, in order to alienate my father and his brothers. Is this what a minister should do?"

Hou Junji smiled again with a toothache in his eyes: "When the saint was in the palace, he was forced by Prince Yin and King Chaola. If I hadn't persuaded him and shown my heart and soul at Xuanwu Gate, how could he have achieved the supreme position?"

Having said this, he suddenly took off his clothes, revealing a body full of scars.

He pointed at the scar and said, "See? I have died so many times following the saints!"

"You said that people inevitably make mistakes and that we should give the prince a chance, but I only made a wrong move once in Gaochang. Did this saint you mentioned ever give me a chance?"

Having said that, Hou Junji stood up and questioned Li Xiang condescendingly.

Li Xiang was speechless. It was just that my grandfather was nostalgic. If it was the one with the surname Zhu, instead of chopping up all nine clans of your family into sauce, he would just write his surname backwards.

Did Lan Yu make a great contribution? Is he not worse than you? Didn't the Shu Palace get a set of legendary general skins?
He did not stand up, but raised his eyes slightly and snorted coldly.

"According to military law, the crimes you committed in Gaochang are enough to send you to the execution ground several times! If it weren't for the grandfather's nostalgia and his heartfelt appreciation for your contributions, how could you still retain the title of Duke? If you were an emperor like the Qin Emperor and Han Wudi, you would have walked back and forth to the gates of hell many times!"

This statement does not slander Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wu of Han. After all, these two were both famous for being mean and ungrateful.

"And what did you do? Is this how you repay his kindness?" Li Xiang asked sternly, "You are so narrow-minded that you don't even remember the kindness, and you even want to alienate your benefactor's flesh and blood. Today, you even have the nerve to question the emperor why he didn't give you a chance!"

"How dare you talk about opportunities? You really don't know if there is shame in this world! Last time you embezzled Gaochang's wealth, the saint forgave you because of our old friendship. Now you collude with the princes, murder the princess, and alienate the royal family. You are really crazy and your crime is unforgivable!"

Having said this, Li Xiang slammed the table hard, making a loud bang.

"Now that you have fallen into my hands, you refuse to repent and instead boast before me, calling yourself a hero. You are truly shameless and ridiculous!"

Hou Junji sneered and said, "What you are talking about is loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness. It's just a matter of success and failure. I'm defeated by you today, so why should I say more?"

As he spoke, he straightened his body and said, "Why are you talking so much nonsense? Let's get started."

Li Xiang shouted angrily, "If humans don't get rid of a wicked villain like you who is so rebellious and incompetent and doesn't know right from wrong, then Heaven will!"

"You are still here talking nonsense about the winner being the king and the loser being the bandit. Do you think there is room for traitors under heaven?"

By the end of his speech, Li Xiang had already stood up. Although he was not as tall as Hou Junji, his momentum had completely crushed him.

"Even if you are a meritorious official, you cannot ignore the laws of the country! You must know that we must drink from the golden cup, but we must not spare each other with swords!"

Hou Junji was panting heavily. Li Xiang's heart-piercing words really pushed him into a corner.

He wanted to retort, but didn't know where to start.

Seeing that Hou Junji was speechless, Li Xiang didn't plan to waste any more words with him.

"If you have anything to say, leave it to the palace and talk to the Saint."

Li Xiang snorted. This scolding made him feel much better.

The unhappiness did not disappear, but instead shifted to Hou Junji's face.

"I want to see if Duke Chen will still be so sharp-tongued when facing the saint." Li Xiang added.

Hou Junji took a deep breath and stood there in silence.

Li Xiang turned around to look at Duan Zan, only to find that Duan Zan was staring at him blankly.

"General Duan?" Li Xiang called out.

Duan Zan came back to his senses at this moment. He had just been focusing on the heroic figure of the prince scolding Mr. Hou. His words were polite, restrained and well-founded. They occupied the moral high ground and were wrapped in loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness. This combination of punches made Hou Junji dizzy.

This made it difficult for him, a military commander, not to admire him.

I wish I had this saying... Duan Zan thought sincerely in his heart.

"I am here." Duan Zan replied.

"Get a rope, tie up Duke Chen, and come with me into the palace to meet the saint!" Li Xiang ordered.

"Yes!" Duan Zan responded immediately.

Soon, Duan Zan took out a rope and, together with Li Lifu, tied Hou Junji up tightly.

Hou Junji felt a little uncomfortable being tied up. He struggled a bit and snorted coldly, "It's too tight!"

Li Xiang smiled.

"How can you tie up a tiger without tightening it?"

Hou Junji was stunned for a moment before he realized that the tiger Li Xiang was talking about was a big beast.

After all, Li Xiang had only been in the Tang Dynasty for a short time, and he was not used to avoiding the word tiger. Besides, he was a member of the royal family, so it was nothing to say two tigers.

But Hou Junji felt somewhat pleased to be compared to a tiger.

"Why are you tying it so tightly? Loosen it a bit." Li Xiang looked at Duan Zan and gestured.

Duan Zan immediately stepped forward and loosened Hou Junji's bonds slightly.

Hou Junji moved around for a while and felt it was not so tight anymore, so he lowered his head and thanked Li Xiang.

"Let's go." Li Xiang called out to everyone, "Follow me into the palace and meet the Saint together!"

(There is still one chapter left during the day, I am so sleepy)

(End of this chapter)