Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 332
"Merchants Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, Huang Yunfa, etc., smuggled arms and funded captives. According to the "Law of the Ming Dynasty", the principal offender 420 and seven of the accomplices were sentenced to Ling Chi, and the three clans were assigned..."

"Execution!"

On the first day of June, when Zhu Youjian was inspecting the Yellow River, a horrible punishment was going on in the West City of the capital...

Regardless of the past and present, in the relationship between husband and wife, women often jokingly call their men "you who have suffered a thousand cuts", but if a person has really suffered a thousand cuts, it is too late.

This kind of pain is not the sudden blood collapse when the head is beheaded, nor is it the silent execution of hanging. It is different from the fast execution of beheading.

This kind of punishment can neither make life nor death, one knife closely follows the other, and the knife does not take life.

When the punishment of cutting one thousand and cutting three thousand is over, the person has already turned into a fiery red peony. Because of the cruelty, even the people in the capital will hardly see one in their whole life.

Even though they knew this kind of punishment was horrific, the curiosity of the people in the capital still drove them to surround the Xishi execution platform.

All the people watched the executioner drop the token, and the executioner began to prepare, and looked curiously at Fan Yongdou and other four hundred people.

What disappointed them was that there was no special expression on the faces of Fan Yongdou and the others. Instead, they looked like they had nothing to do with them, just like all the people who were punished.

Perhaps, this is because when a person looks directly at death, the brain intentionally makes the host feel numb and bored in order to avoid the host being scared to death.

However, among the prisoners, there were still many people who were frightened and shouted loudly, losing control of their bladder and bowels.

"Let go of me! Let go of me!"

"Zhu Youjian! Zhu Youxiao! You two cruel people will be punished by God!"

"Zhu Youjian, you must die!"

For a while, there was an endless stream of shouting and cursing, and generally in such a situation, the executioner would not need to signal the executioner. The executioner would hit the shouting person with a wooden stick, knock out all the teeth, and then use the pliers to pull out the tongue and cut it. Lose.

In this way, they had no way to yell and scold, but just such a move made many people in the audience feel disgusted, turned around and left.

After the clamoring people were settled, some executioners drew their knives from their backs, and numbly began to strike.

The small knife, less than two inches long, didn't look long, but it was extremely sharp. When the tip of the knife touched the prisoner's skin, with a slight twist of the executioner's wrist, a small piece of flesh fell off.

"Ugh! Kill me—"

"kill me--"

The pain awakened Fan Yongdou and others, who were paralyzed by the brain, and screamed again and again. They only felt the pain in the wound and kept crying.

It's just that this knife was just an appetizer. Even though Fan Yongdou and others pretended to be calm, the pain in their chest still made their faces ugly, and their gray lips trembled.

Soon, the executioner continued to torture with the knife, and with a dexterous turn of the wrist, the second knife was cast.

Such a neat use of the knife made many people who were clamoring for "quick torture" a second ago feel uncomfortable.

"vomit--"

"Let's go, let's not look at it..."

A large number of people choose to leave, and this is just foreplay...

For the third cut, the executioners chose the scalps of Fan Yongdou and others.

On this knife, the executioner raised and lowered the knife deliberately, but deliberately did not cut it, and used the hair on the skin to cover the prisoner's eyes, so that the four eyes would not look at each other, which was very strange.

The shrill screams made people feel like they had walked into the [-]th floor of hell. The screams made many people couldn't help but leave.

It's just that the people in front left, and the people behind crowded in again. In this land, there will never be a shortage of spectators.

The screams of Fan Yongdou and others made the executioner uneasy, so he simply found a rope and blocked their mouths.

After doing this, out of respect for this ancient and sacred profession, the executioners are still meticulously following the ancient rules.

Fan Yongdou and others complained that the sky was not working, and the earth should not respond. They could only bear the cover of their own hair and scalp, feeling the pain in horror.

Knife after knife, knife after knife... When the executioners had already cut off their flesh, the appearance of more than 400 Lingchi death row prisoners was extremely terrifying.

The flesh and blood on their chests had just been spun out, and the blood was blurred, scaring away batch after batch of common people, and ushered in one after another who came to watch the excitement.

The executioners were sweating profusely and panting heavily, while the executed prisoners were lifeless. Only when the executioner cut the knife would they instinctively twitch in pain, telling each other that they were still alive...

Faced with their convulsions, some executioners chose to change their knives, while some took a few breaths, adjusted their breathing a bit, and continued to execute.

From their point of view, they can clearly see how the death row inmates in front of them were "handled" by themselves.

Facing such a horrible and disgusting process and visual impact, some novice executioners couldn't help turning their heads and retching, but in the eyes of veterans, they only regarded themselves as butchers selling meat, and the people in front of them It is an animal waiting to be slaughtered.

The veterans held the knives in their hands, while the assistants next to them took off the clothes of all the condemned prisoners.

According to the rules, if Ling Chi is a male prisoner, after the scalp and breast meat have been spun, the thing should be spun off next.

This place requires three cuts, and the size does not have to be the same as the size of other parts of the meat.

According to the experience of many years of execution by veterans, what male prisoners are most afraid of is not the skinning and cramping, nor the cutting of the body, but the most afraid of being cut off, especially the dignitary.

The vast majority of men would rather have their heads cut off than have this thing cut off.

Similarly, in the face of this kind of thing, the hand of the knife user must be fast, otherwise the reaction of the death row prisoner will be very violent. According to the records of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, some people will directly break the rope and attack the knife user.

Therefore, the speed of the veterans is always so fast that even the death row prisoners can't react, but after hearing a "wail", the thing is cut off in just a moment.

"I'm fucking! Zhu Youjian! Zhu Youxiao! Both of you brothers must die early! I'm fucking"

"Cut off his tongue!"

Hearing Fan Yongdou's outrageous words, the executioner hurriedly yelled, and the executioner hurriedly swung his stick to knock out many condemned prisoners who were screaming.

Blood and teeth were spit out and scattered all over the place, and the executioners skillfully cut off the tongues of these people according to the executioner's order.

The severe pain woke these guys up, and blood spurted out of their mouths, mixing with saliva.

It's just that even though they lost their tongues, the physical pain still supported them to keep scolding, but after losing their tongues, they could only mutter, and no one could understand their words, including themselves.

Soon, the executioner continued to use knives, and the bloody and terrifying scene made many people stop.

"Forget it, let's go back to the palace..."

When the executioners arrived at the execution time, Zhu Youxiao's voice came from a private room on the third floor of Xishi Restaurant.

He closed the window and stopped observing the so-called Ling Chi, but many people standing beside him were pale, among which eunuchs such as Wei Zhongxian and Wang Tiqian had the most ugly expressions.

When Fan Yongdou and others were cut off, they all felt a dull pain in the same part, and they didn't want to watch it anymore.

After Zhu Youxiao said a word, everyone escorted Zhu Youxiao downstairs, boarded the carriage, and drove the carriage away from West Market.

It's just that when Zhu Youxiao got into the carriage, there was an extra memorial on the table, and when he picked it up, he found that what was written on it was obtained after the inspection.

Looking at the amount of 10 taels of gold, tens of millions of taels of silver, and more than 3000 million mu of land, the tragic situation of Fan Yongdou and others flashed through Zhu Youxiao's mind, and he couldn't help saying to himself: "Good punishment!"

But after he finished speaking, he frowned again, looked at Wei Zhongxian who was kneeling in the carriage, and then put down the memorial and asked:

"What punishment did the Third Division give Wei Liangqing and Hou Guoguang?"

"Distributed to Nanzhou..." Hearing the emperor's question, the pale Wei Zhongxian replied with his head down, and Zhu Youxiao also stretched his brows and said:
"It's not bad to be assigned to Nanzhou. You go back and comfort Ke Baba, so that she won't be too sad."

"Your servant understands..." Wei Zhongxian responded, although he didn't show any dissatisfaction on the surface, but there was some complaints in his heart.

After he became a eunuch, Wei Liangqing was his closest person, but now Wei Liangqing was dispatched to the so-called Nanzhou.

Not only that, but his grandsons Wei Xikong, Wei Ximeng, Wei Xiyao, Wei Xishun, Wei Pengcheng, etc., as well as his in-laws Dong Fangming, Wang Xuan, Yang Liuqi, Yang Zuochang, etc., were sentenced for crimes.

The reason why he was not beheaded, nor reduced to being maimed like Fan Yongdou and others, was the result of Wei Zhongxian's relationship.

If he didn't use these connections, I'm afraid his whole Wei family would be wiped out except himself.

Although the people are saved right now, all the properties of this group of people have been confiscated, and all their family members have been distributed. Wei Zhongxian lost his family and arms, and lost nearly a million taels of gold and silver.

If he hadn't complained a bit, it would have seemed that he was not a human being.

"How about the construction of the bell tower on Harawin Mountain?"

Zhu Youxiao suddenly asked about the things he arranged last year, and Wei Zhongxian could only flatter him:

"The [-] stone steps of the bell tower have all been repaired, and there is a pavilion for every [-] steps. Everywhere in the pavilion is written and engraved with His Highness's achievements to Daming."

"The clock tower is being repaired right now, and the big clock has also been cast, and it will be completed by the end of the year."

Wei Zhongxian's flattery is actually a kind of pathetic.

Even if his family members are assigned for crimes, he still has to flatter and laugh with him to please Zhu Youxiao and his master, and even greet Zhu Youjian with a smile.

"How is Dading Palace?" Zhu Youxiao was very satisfied with the speed of construction, and asked about his summer palace, and Wei Zhongxian also said:

"The palace is still under construction. It will take a lot of time to transport the trees from Liaodong. In addition, you have expanded the scale of Dading Palace, and it is estimated that it will take three years to complete the repairs."

Zhu Youxiao expanded the scale of Dading Palace, directly expanding the original 5 taels to 30 taels.

Perhaps for him, a wealthy emperor, 30 taels is nothing.

The same is true...

Looking at the memorial in his hand, it has been counted that nearly [-] victims have starved to death, Zhu Youxiao felt a little sad, and then closed the memorial and said:
"The victims are hungry and cold, how can I be so extravagant as the emperor?"

"Reduce the amount in the Dading Palace to 20 taels, and from now on, each hall can only have three vegetables and one soup for ten days, so that the concubines in each hall can understand the difficulty of the common people."

"Long live the grace of the common people, if the common people know, they will also be grateful for the long live to lead by example." Wei Zhongxian squeezed out a few tears, Zhu Youxiao also sighed and said:
"The current situation is not easy. The imperial court is using silver everywhere. The gold and silver seized this time should allow the treasury and the people to live a better life."

"Long live benevolence..." Wei Zhongxian flattered and praised, while Zhu Youxiao asked:

"Brother went south this time, can you tell me when you will come back?"

"Your Highness has not explained..." Wei Zhongxian replied with his head down, while Zhu Youxiao sighed and said:
"Your brother has been running around for me. From today onwards, the meal money in the Hall of Mental Cultivation will also be discounted in half."

"Yes..." Wei Zhongxian agreed, and the carriage gradually moved away with Zhu Youxiao's "self-blaming" sigh.

But when they were discussing the difficulties of the victims, Zhu Youjian squatted down slowly in front of a corpse in Chaoyi, Shaanxi.

He covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and the person in front of him was the body of a dead woman.

Her cheeks were sunken and her whole body was a bit stinky, with hay stuffed in her mouth, and her eyes were clouded squinting at the sky. The smell on her body proved that she had obviously been dead for many days.

Before Zhu Youjian had time to take a second look, two soldiers from the Gongwei Battalion carried the body away. After Zhu Youjian stood up, he saw a bare "forest" with only tree stumps left.

"Your Highness, you have seen it now, this is what the people of Weibei look like..."

Sun Chuanting's voice sounded, and he came from behind Zhu Youjian, and Sun Chuanting asked someone to keep the female corpse just now, so that Zhu Youjian could see clearly what the officials of the Ming Dynasty had done.

Obviously, he was afraid that Zhu Youjian would also forget his original intention, so he deliberately spent a lot of money to preserve the female body to the extent that Zhu Youjian could see it.

However, he obviously underestimated Zhu Youjian. From the beginning to the end, Zhu Youjian never gave up the idea of ​​wanting to make the people live better.

At the time of the Huaibei Great Famine, his strength was still weak and he could only compromise, but now, he has finally become a person who can wield authority.

It's just that under the torrent of the times, his personal ability is really insignificant.

Everything he is doing is to fight against drought and disaster.

He arranged the imperial store, foreshadowed the imperial village, trained soldiers and horses, and trained Yanshan students...

He thought he could get a clean and efficient team, but he didn't want him to underestimate the greed of people, and what he got was nearly [-] people who starved to death...

"This Sun Chuanting is a bit overstepped..."

When Zhu Youjian was silent, Gu Bingqian who was not far away whispered to Bi Ziyan, and Bi Ziyan nodded slightly:

"After all, the journey was too smooth, and I dare to say this kind of questioning to His Highness..."

"It's easy to break..." Gu Bingqian said something ambiguous, but at this moment, Sun Chuanting didn't think he was wrong at all, and stepped forward and said:

"Your Highness, if the eunuchs in the court are not cut off, how can the people enjoy peace?!"

"..." Zhu Youjian frowned, feeling that Sun Chuanting thought the question too simply.

If there is a chance, Zhu Youjian will naturally clean up the eunuch party and the five parties including Qi Chuzhe Xuankun, but the problem is that the current situation does not allow it.

There is a problem in the officialdom, Zhu Youjian knows this, but the question is, can he single-handedly sweep everyone in the officialdom into prison, and then replace them with Yanshan students?
impossible……

The various township parties still control the local power and the intertwined network of people. If they are thrown into prison, and the oldest Yanshan officials who have been in power for only three years are replaced, what will happen to the situation?
Not to mention how much time Zhu Youjian needs to spend to rebuild the new system of officials and clerks after sweeping away these officials and subordinates. Just this time, Yanshan officials shielded corrupt officials and corrupted them together. How can Zhu Youjian ensure that Will the students of Yanshan Academy not quickly become corrupt?

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian and Sun Chuanting looked at each other, and after a while he opened his mouth and said:

"Rats are caught every year, and they can't be caught every year... Corrupt officials are killed every year, and they can't be killed every year."

"Officials and subordinates are in the same boat, and the storm is together, no matter who falls into the water first and who falls into the water last, no one will be spared in the end."

"The bird you wear, the beast you wear alone..."

"In the eyes of the common people, why are you and I not beasts in clothes?"

"The protection of officials and officials is a problem that has never been solved throughout the ages, whether it is the Han Dynasty of the Liu family, the Tang Dynasty of the Li family, or the Song Dynasty of the Zhao family..."

"No matter how big or small their territory is, thousands of miles or tens of thousands of miles, there is no so-called one-foot pure land."

"Things above the officialdom are intertwined, just like this Shaanxi civil uprising, many officials are involved in the capital, the palace, the supervisor, the cabinet, and the emperor's brother."

"After some things happen, you can't just track them down."

"He will fight what should be fought, and endure what should be endured..."

"Should we just let those corrupt officials ignore human lives?!" Sun Chuanting felt aggrieved and uncomfortable, but Zhu Youjian's expression calmed down.

He glanced at Gu Bingqian and the others, and Gu Bingqian and the others immediately withdrew their gazes, honestly looking at their noses and noses, while Zhu Youjian continued to look squarely at the elm that was eaten by the victims and left only stumps, and said grandly:

"What is free will?"

"The officials who should be killed, those who should be exiled, and those who should be distributed, this is already the greatest fairness that the court and Gu Neng can do."

"Corrupt officials can't be prevented, and they can't be stopped. If you kill today, there will be tomorrow, and if you will kill tomorrow, there will be another day after tomorrow. There is an endless stream..."

"Do you think that the people below you are not involved in the following things?" Zhu Youjian asked Sun Chuanting, which made Sun Chuanting speechless.

But Zhu Youjian did not ridicule Sun Chuanting for such a lack of words, but said earnestly:
"Naturally, not only you, but also Gu."

"Don't think that if you are in a high position, people around you will be loyal and honest to you."

"You must know that the closer the power is to you, the more you are the one who is poisoned by the power. If you can't stick to your heart, you will become a corrupt official in your mouth."

"Kill the Eunuch Party today, raise a Zhejiang Party tomorrow, kill a Zhejiang Party tomorrow, and raise a Donglin Party the next day."

"Under the situation where officials and officials protect each other, corrupt officials can never be killed, and it is impossible for Yanshan officials to be as pretentious and lofty as you, Sun Chuanting, and Yang Wenru."

"It is still necessary to know that people who are greedy for power and money are more useful than those who are greedy for fame."

"Wouldn't the corrupt people harm the country and the people if they use it?" Sun Chuanting held his breath in his chest, but he also knew that what Zhu Youjian said was right.

"Look at the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, who has never been corrupt?" Zhu Youjian shook his head in hatred:
"He can do some things in that position, even if he is a bit corrupt, at least the people below can still live."

"Is such a person corrupt? No, such a person is a loyal minister."

"The so-called traitor is a person who takes his salary and does nothing, but instead exploits the people."

"According to what Your Highness said, isn't that all the eunuchs are loyal ministers, and there are no treacherous ministers?" Sun Chuanting disagreed with Zhu Youjian's statement, but Zhu Youjian shook his head and said:

"Everyone is a loyal minister, but everyone is a sycophant..."

"Whether it is loyalty or treachery is only in one person's thought."

"If you can use it, you will be a loyal minister, if you can't use it, you will be a traitor..."

Speaking of this, Zhu Youjian looked at Sun Chuanting, but saw that he was silent.

Zhu Youjian wanted to turn around and leave, but Sun Chuanting said:

"The lower officials still feel that this technique is the way to control the world, not the way to manage the world."

"Since I was a child, the officials have felt that I value the way of governing the world and neglect the way of governing the world, so I decided to learn the way of governing the world, only to repay the country's favor and the people after I have completed my studies."

"Your Highness's words are true, but what I, Sun Boya, learned is the way of governing the world."

"If I can't apply what I have learned, what is the use of what I have learned?"

"Besides, the sages said that since ancient times there has always been death, people cannot stand without faith, careers cannot prosper without faith, people cannot have friendship without sincerity, and there is no character without sincerity..."

"Your Highness taught in the words that the next official will remember it in his heart, but he will be a servant of the people when he is an official, and he will be a minister. As the parents and officials of the people, he must do things worthy of this official robe."

Sun Chuanting's words were convincing, and Zhu Youjian also knew that it would be difficult for him to talk to someone like him, so he could only sigh and say:

"It's easy to be a loyal minister, but it's very difficult to manage the affairs of the court well and protect yourself."

"I'm afraid that you will fall into it, unable to extricate yourself, and end up in prison..."

Zhu Youjian seemed to be talking about the ending of Sun Chuanting in history, but facing his words, Sun Chuanting, who didn't understand him, bowed optimistically and said:
"If you are really imprisoned, His Highness will naturally not sit idly by..."

"What you said..." Zhu Youjian's expression froze, and then he smiled wryly.

It's just that he smiled wryly just now, but Gu Bingqian, who was watching the conversation between the two, glanced at the sky.

He had just glanced casually at first, but he didn't want to glance at it, so he froze.

"Look! The sky has changed!"

"Turned red!"

"It really turned red!"

An endless stream of voices sounded from all around, and under their reminder, Zhu Youjian and Sun Chuanting also raised their heads one after another.

As soon as they raised their heads, the pupils of the two constricted immediately.

Looking up at the sky, the sight of the entire sky is blood red, as if a sea of ​​blood is about to crash down in the next second...

　"Hannan Xujun Zhi": "In the first year of Chongzhen, the sky in Shaanxi was as red as blood. Five years of famine, six years of floods, seven years of autumn locusts and famine, eight years of drought in Xixiang, Lueyang floods, There were no houses. Nine years of dry locusts, ten years of no autumn crops, 11 years of summer migratory locusts covering the sky... 13 years of severe drought... 14 years of drought".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)