Hou Junji (侯君集) (d.
April 29, 643) was a major
general and chancellor of
the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, particularly known for his
campaigns against Gaochang
and Tuyuhun. In 643, he was implicated in a plot
by
Emperor Taizong's
crown prince Li
Chengqian to overthrow Emperor Taizong, and he was
executed.
During Emperor Gaozu's reign
It is not
known when Hou Junji was born, and little is known about his family
background other than that he was from Bin Prefecture (豳州, roughly
modern Xianyang
, Shaanxi
). It
was said that he was pretentious and always wanted to appear
impressive. He favored using bow and arrows, and while he never
achieved greatness in archery, became known for his fighting
abilities. At a point early in the reign of
Emperor Gaozu, who was then still
trying to reunify China after the collapse of
Sui Dynasty, Hou came to serve under Emperor
Gaozu's son, the major general
Li Shimin the Prince of Qin. While
serving under Li Shimin, for his accomplishments, Hou was created
the Viscount of Quanjiao. He also became a close associate of Li
Shimin, often offering his strategies.
By 626, Li Shimin was locked in an intense rivalry with his older
brother
Li Jiancheng the Crown Prince,
and he feared that Li Jiancheng would kill him. Hou, along with Li
Shimin's brother-in-law
Zhangsun Wuji,
Zhangsun's uncle
Gao Shilian, and the
general
Yuchi Jingde, advised Li Shimin
to act first and ambush Li Jiancheng and another brother who
supported Li Jiancheng,
Li Yuanji the
Prince of Qi. Li Shimin agreed, and in 626 ambushed Li Jiancheng
and Li Yuanji, killing them. During the subsequent battles between
Li Shimin's forces and Li Jiancheng's and Li Yuanji's forces, Hou
led Li Shimin's forces. When the dust settled, Li Shimin
effectively forced Emperor Gaozu to first create him crown prince
and then yield the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong).
During Emperor Taizong's reign
Late In 626, when Emperor Taizong personally ranked the
contributions of the generals and officials in order to grant them
fiefs, Emperor Taizong ranked five of them -- Hou Junji, Zhangsun
Wuji,
Fang Xuanling,
Du Ruhui, and Yuchi Jingde to be contributors of
the highest grade, and Hou was created the Duke of Lu.
In 630, Emperor Taizong made Hou the minister of defense and gave
him the additional designation of
Canyi Chaozheng (參議朝政),
making him a
de facto chancellor.
In 634, Emperor Taizong, sending the senior general
Li Jing to command the campaign against
Tuyuhun's Busabo Khan
Murong
Fuyun, made Hou and
Li Daozong the
Prince of Rencheng Li Jing's assistants on the campaign. By spring
635, Tang forces achieved initial victories, but Tuyuhun forces
then burned the grazing grass to cut the food supplies to Tang
horses. Most Tang generals wanted to withdraw, but Hou advocated
continued advance, and Li Jing agreed, eventually allowing complete
victory, as Murong Fuyun was killed by his subordinates, allowing
his son
Murong Shun, whom Tang
supported, to become khan (as Yidou Khan). Around the new year 636,
after Murong Shun was assassinated by his subordinates, Emperor
Taizong sent Hou with an army to try to secure the throne for
Murong Shun's son
Murong
Nuohebo.
In 637, as
part of Emperor Taizong's scheme to bestow prefectures on his
relatives and great generals and officials as their permanent
domains, Hou's title was changed to Duke of Chen, and he was given
the post of prefect of Chen Prefecture (陳州, roughly modern Zhoukou
, Henan
), to be
inherited by his heirs. Soon, however, with many objections
to the system, the strongest of which came from Zhangsun Wuji,
Emperor Taizong cancelled the scheme, although Hou's title remained
Duke of Chen.
In 638,
Tufan's
Songtsän Gampo, after hearing that the
rulers of
Tujue and Tuyuhun were all able to
marry Tang princesses, requested to marry one as well, but was
rebuffed by Emperor Taizong. In anger, he launched a major attack
on Tang, capturing a number of prefectures. Emperor Taizong sent
Hou to counterattack, assisted by other generals Zhishi Sili
(執失思力), Niu Jinda (牛進達), and Liu Jian (劉簡).
Niu was subsequently
able to defeat Tufan forces at Song Prefecture (松州, roughly modern
Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous
Prefecture
, Sichuan
), and
Songtsän Gampo, in fear, withdrew, but still requested to marry a
Tang princess. (This time, Emperor Taizong agreed, sending
Princess Wencheng, a daughter of a
clansman, to marry Songtsän Gampo.)
Around new
year 640, with Qu Wentai (麴文泰), the king of Gaochang, in alliance
with Western Tujue and hostile to
Tang, Emperor Taizong sent Hou, assisted by Xue Wanjun (薛萬均), to
attack Gaochang. When Hou arrived at Gaochang, Qu Wentai
died in distress and was succeeded by his son Qu Zhisheng (麴智盛).
Rejecting a proposal by some of his generals to ambush the Gaochang
nobles when they were burying Qu Wentai (finding that doing such
would be immoral), he put Gaochang's capital under siege, forcing
Qu Zhisheng to surrender.
Emperor Taizong annexed Gaochang territory
(except for three cities, which Gaochang had seized from Yanqi, and therefore were returned to Yanqi after the
king of Yanqi met with Hou to congratulate him), and Hou returned
to the Tang capital Chang'an
with Qu
Zhisheng and his subordinates as captives.
Upon Hou's return to Chang'an, however, he would be in brief
trouble, as it was alleged that Hou himself had taken treasures
from the Gaochang imperial treasury and forced certain Gaochang
captives to be his slaves. The other generals, seeing Hou's
example, also did so, and he was in no position to stop them.
Emperor Taizong, when he found out about these events, put Hou and
some of his generals under arrest, less than 10 days after their
return to Chang'an. Upon the advice of the official
Cen Wenben, Emperor Taizong released Hou.
Death
Hou Junji
was resentful that, despite his great achievement, he was put under
arrest, albeit briefly, and in spring 643, when fellow general
Zhang Liang was sent out
of the capital to serve as the commandant at Luo Prefecture (洛州,
roughly modern Luoyang
, Henan), Hou tried
to instigate him by asking him, "Who squeezed you out?"
Zhang, in jest, responded, "Other than you, who can squeeze me
out?" Hou responded, "I conquered a kingdom, but I ran into someone
throwing a tamper tantrum big enough to overturn a house. What
strength do I have to squeeze you out?" He then rolled up his
sleeves and yelled, "I am so unhappy that I would rather die. Do
you want to commit treason? I will commit treason with you!" Zhang
secretly reported this exchange to Emperor Taizong, but Emperor
Taizong pointed out that this was a private conversation with no
corroboration, and took no action on it.
Also in 643, when Emperor Taizong commissioned the
Portraits at Lingyan Pavilion
to commemorate the 24 great contributors to Tang rule, Hou's was
one of portraits commissioned.
Around the same time, however, Emperor Taizong's
crown prince Li
Chengqian was becoming fearful because Emperor Taizong had
greatly favored another son,
Li Tai the
Prince of Wei, and Li Tai was making designs on the crown prince
position. Li Chengqian therefore gathered a group of men around him
to consider overthrowing his father, including his uncle Li
Yuanchang (李元昌) the Prince of Han, his cousin Zhao Jie (趙節), and
brother-in-law Du He (杜荷, Du Ruhui's son). Hou's son-in-law Helan
Chushi (賀蘭楚石), the commander of Li Chengqian's guards, was also
part of the plot, and through Helan, Li Chengqian invited Hou to
join the plot as well, as Hou agreed. However, he was deeply
disturbed by his own involvement, and he developed insomnia. His
wife sensed that something was wrong, and told him, "You, Duke, are
an important official of the state, so why are you acting like
this? If there is something you are doing wrong, you should report
yourself so that your life can be spared." However, Hou did not do
so.
Eventually, however, Li Chengqian's plot was betrayed by his guard
Gegan Chengji (紇干承基), and after an investigation ordered by Emperor
Taizong and conducted by Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling,
Xiao Yu,
Li Shiji, as well
as responsible officials from the supreme court and the legislative
and examination bureaus of government, Li Chengqian was deposed.
The other conspirators, including Hou, were sentenced to death.
Emperor Taizong initially considered commuting Hou's death sentence
because of his accomplishments, but the other officials opposed,
and Emperor Taizong stated to Hou, "I have to bid you, Duke,
farewell. From now, I can only see your portrait!" Both he and Hou
wept. As Hou was about to be beheaded, he stated to the general
overseeing the execution, "I, Hou Junji, am not the type to commit
treason, but I stumbled many times and reached this point. But as I
destroyed two kingdoms as a general, please speak for me to His
Imperial Majesty to request for me to have a son remaining to carry
the lineage, on the basis of my accomplishments."
Emperor Taizong, when
he heard this, pardoned Hou's wife and children but exiled them to
the modern Guangdong
region, and confiscated his
properties.
It was said that years earlier, after Emperor Taizong ordered Li
Jing to teach Hou strategies, Hou reported to Emperor Taizong, "Li
Jing is about to commit treason." When Emperor Taizong asked him
why, Hou responded, "Li Jing only teaches me basic principles and
does not teach me the best strategies, keeping them for himself."
When Emperor Taizong asked Li Jing about this, Li Jing responded,
"This is proof that Hou Junji will commit treason. China is secure
right now, and the empire is united. What I taught him is
sufficient to use against barbarians. If not for treasonous
purposes, why would Hou want to learn all of the strategies?" At
one point, Li Daozong also spoke to Emperor Taizong, stating, "Hou
Junji has too much ambition and too little talent. He overvalued
his achievements and found it shameful to be lower in position than
Fang Xuanling and Li Jing. Even though he serves as a minister, he
finds the position insufficient. I believe one day he will create a
disturbance." Emperor Taizong responded, "Hou Junji is very
talented and capable of serving in any position. It is not that I
am unwilling to give him the highest post; it is just that it is
not yet his turn. How can I distrust him and believe that he will
commit treason?" After Hou was put to death, Emperor Taizong
apologized to Li Daozong.
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