What was the status and influence of Hou Junji in the Tang Dynasty? Below, the History Encyclopedia editor will bring you a detailed article introduction.
In the 17th year of the Zhenguan reign (643 AD), Crown Prince Li Chengqian was deposed due to his involvement in a rebellion. Among the court officials involved in Li Chengqian’s rebellion, Hou Junji, the Grand Master of Guanglu, the Minister of Personnel, and the meritorious official of Lingyan Pavilion, had the greatest status and influence. Hou Junji also became the only two Lingyan Pavilion meritorious officials ordered to be executed by Emperor Taizong of Tang. So why did Hou Junji, who was about to become a high-ranking official, rebel?
In the 14th year of the Zhenguan reign (640 AD), Emperor Taizong of Tang ordered Hou Junji to lead his army to conquer Gaochang. The Battle of Gaochang during the Tang Dynasty was the first large-scale war launched by the Tang Dynasty after the retirement of the “military god” Li Jing. The commander-in-chief of this war was likely to become the representative of the Tang army after Li Jing, indicating the importance that Emperor Taizong attached to Hou Junji. After nearly a year of hard work, Hou Junji led his troops to defeat Gaochang and made great contributions.
After the Battle of Gaochang in the Tang Dynasty, Hou Junji, who was already the Minister of Personnel, felt that he could soon become a core prime minister and a high-ranking official. However, unexpectedly, the officials of the court discovered that Hou Junji had committed many illegal acts during the war against Gaochang, such as distributing innocent people without authorization, taking Gaochang’s treasures as his own, and condoning soldiers to plunder Gaochang’s property.
Because these illegal acts were all well founded, Hou Jun was arrested and imprisoned by relevant departments just a few days after returning to court. However, Emperor Taizong of Tang pardoned Hou Junji for his contributions and allowed him to continue serving as an important official such as the Minister of Personnel, which can be considered a loss of merit. But due to the illegal actions of the Battle of Gaochang, the possibility of Hou Junji becoming the core prime minister is hopeless.
Tang Taizong was very tolerant towards Hou Junji, but Hou Junji felt that Tang Taizong was unfair to him. When Zhang Liang, a hero of Lingyan Pavilion who was appointed as the governor of Luozhou, went to the Ministry of Personnel to resign, Hou Junji unexpectedly discussed rebellion with Zhang Liang, which scared him and made him quickly report to Emperor Taizong of Tang. However, Emperor Taizong of Tang believed that Zhang Liang’s report had no supporting evidence, and that Hou Junji did not necessarily intend to rebel, so he did not take it seriously.
But what Tang Taizong did not expect was that Hou Junji really wanted to rebel, because he felt that there was no future during the Zhenguan period. At that time, the Crown Prince Li Chengqian, whose status had already been shaken, greatly needed the support of important officials in the court, and Helan Chushi, the son-in-law of Hou Junji, was Li Chengqian’s Cavalier Attendant. So Li Chengqian established a relationship with Hou Junji through Helan Chu Stone and often invited Hou Junji to the Eastern Palace.
After going back and forth, Hou Junji felt that Li Chengqian valued him more than Emperor Taizong of Tang, and that following Li Chengqian was more promising than assisting Emperor Taizong of Tang. Therefore, he joined Li Chengqian’s rebel group and prepared to push him to the throne. According to historical records, Hou Junji, who joined the rebel group, vaguely knew that the rebellion was hopeless, so he often sat up in shock while sleeping. However, Hou Junji did not board the thief’s ship in time.
After Li Chengqian’s rebellion was exposed, Hou Junji was naturally sentenced to death and exterminated. However, due to the credit of Hou Junji, Emperor Taizong of Tang reduced the sentence of Hou Junji’s wife and one son to exile. When Hou Junji was studying military strategy under the “God of War” Li Jing, Li Jing commented that Hou Junji had too much desire and was likely to rebel in the future.
