Xu Xianchun looked at the inspector who was wiping sweat with his sleeves and robe, and he looked down on him from the bottom of his heart, with a look of contempt on his face.
Normally, when he sits in the government office and decides on cases, he pretends to be powerful and intimidating to the powerless common people. But when it comes to such a big occasion, his true colors are immediately revealed. No wonder His Majesty doesn't trust these civil servants.
This dull and lifeless expression looked so funny in Xu Xianchun's eyes.
He looked at the angry people, and he knew that the emotions of these people had been completely aroused, and everyone wanted to transform into an executioner with a knife on the execution ground.
Xu Xianchun stepped forward and reminded:
"Come to Taiwan, the time is coming. Prepare to order the execution. Your Majesty is still waiting for us to return and return. It's better to finish it as soon as possible."
The inspector suddenly trembled and immediately regained consciousness from his own thoughts. He coughed twice awkwardly, then straightened his clothes and took a sip of tea to moisten his dry throat.
"The Commander-in-Chief reminds me that your Majesty almost forgot your Majesty's request. After this incident, I hope the Commander-in-Chief can put in a good word for Your Majesty. Your Majesty has been serving as Inspector in Shanxi for seven years, so it's time for me to do so."
Move!”
A small earthquake occurred in Shanxi's officialdom, and a large number of officials were toppled. For middle- and upper-level officials with senior qualifications and no major faults, it is easiest to be promoted at this time.
There is no one who does not envy and covet the official position of governor.
In order to please this confidant who followed the emperor, he lowered his profile infinitely and even revealed his identity as a lower official.
The imperial envoy is an official of the third rank, and Xu Xianchun is also the third rank. However, in addition to being the commander of the Jinyi Guards, he also holds the position of the governor of the former military governor's office.
Although the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army has long existed in name only, and the official position of the Governor's Mansion has become an official position of honor and conferment just like the hereditary brocade, but after all, it is still the second rank of the Ming Dynasty. No matter how lonely it is, it cannot be changed.
Although there is a grade difference between the two parties, it is well known that in the Ming Dynasty, the status of military attachés was extremely low. It was very common for a third- and fourth-grade general to kneel down and salute a seventh-grade civil servant.
And this inspector actually "condescended" to call himself a subordinate officer, which shows that he no longer despises the military attache in his heart. He has put aside the invisible pride and arrogance of a scholar-official and a scholar.
And all this changed in just one night.
This night, the emperor, the royal guards, and the group of murderous sergeants shocked him so much.
And Xu Xianchun is obviously very satisfied with this subordinate. He has lived for so many years and grew up in the circle of Jinyiwei. When has he ever heard of a civil servant taking the initiative to do this to a military attaché, let alone his own personal experience?
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"I'm sorry, I'm just being polite. I'm just on an errand under the emperor's orders to serve His Majesty. Once the errand is done, Your Majesty will naturally see and hear you. This promotion will come naturally."
The Inspector nodded pretending to be respectful, indicating that he would not betray His Majesty's trust.
Then he touched his throat, coughed twice to adjust his state, picked up the command arrow on the desk, stood up and shouted loudly to the criminals who were kneeling on the ground waiting for death:
"You deceived the emperor, took bribes, sheltered bullies and profiteers, harmed the people, and embezzled the wealth of the imperial court. Your crimes should not be punished. Today, I have executed you by imperial decree. I vow to restore the people of Taiyuan Prefecture to a bright future and a sunny tomorrow!"
At this time, it is natural to express yourself well, not only to be seen by the emperor, but also to improve his favor in the eyes of the people.
Through careful observation, he already knew that the young emperor valued the people very much. Therefore, if he wanted to become the governor of Shanxi, or be transferred to the capital as a high official, winning over the people was also an indispensable part.
The onlookers who were on stimulants became even more excited after hearing these words, and they were all shouting to kill corrupt officials!
All the officials who were preparing to commit suicide were trembling and timid after hearing this. Death is not terrible, but what is terrible is waiting for their own lives to be terminated by others, and before they die, they have to go through some inhuman torture.
"According to the decree of His Majesty the Ming Emperor, these corrupt officials will be punished and executed according to their crimes!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he threw out the command arrow in his hand. When it hit the ground and made a collision sound, the guards and executioners who had been waiting for a long time began to take action.
According to the emperor's wishes, the small ones should be dealt with first and then the big ones, so the first to suffer are those low-ranking officials.
They were mercilessly dragged out from the kneeling crowd by the guards. The guards grabbed their hair and faced the people. After the executioner fired the sharp knife, he stabbed their faces with moderate force.
Then he clenched the handle of the knife with both hands, stood upright, and pulled it sharply from his forehead to his chin. The tortured criminals immediately started screaming in agony.
They instinctively released all their strength in an attempt to break free from the restraints of the guards, but the guards held their hands behind their shoulders and pressed their knees against their waists. Even if they exerted all their strength, they could not move at all.
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Their faces that had just been scratched by the sharp blade have all turned over, and the thick juice and blood from the wounds are still oozing out. Their eyes can no longer see, and their ears can no longer hear clearly due to the extreme pain.
The people who looked directly at all this had the best visual effect, and many people even felt sick because of it. They had never seen such a scene before, even killing chickens and pigs for several years.
A rare encounter.
But most people are still in a state of excitement. Being able to see with their own eyes the fate of these corrupt officials who persecute them, they only feel that they have not come to this world in vain.
Some people even clapped their hands in public and shouted, "It's good to stab. This is really a relief."
For these officials, the real pain had just begun. The executioner did not give them any time to rest, and once again pierced the skin of their foreheads with the sharp blade in his hand, and made another slash from another angle.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! This was repeated twice. When a big rice character appeared on their faces, the tattoo ended. When the guards released them, they were already because of this.
He was completely paralyzed by the heartbreaking pain.
Their throats were also hoarse from the screams just now, and the only thing that could be heard in the execution ground was their low and hoarse roars, almost the sound of death.
The guards placed their heads on the beheading table, and the beheading knife hanging above was aimed at their necks at a vertical angle.
Under the command of a Jin Yiwei Baihu, the guards let go of the rope, and the decapitating knife came down instantly, separating their heads with one blow.
"Okay, kill well, kill well, this is how you kill corrupt officials!"
The onlookers cheered wildly again, and it was obvious that their emotions had reached another climax.
"Master Hongwu has appeared, Master Hongwu has appeared, and Master Hongwu has come back to deliver justice to us mud-legged people!"
A young man dressed as a poor scholar and holding a copy of The Analects of Confucius shouted in the crowd.
Although he is a scholar, his speech is no different from that of a farmer or commoner.
His expression was also one of joy. Among the crowded crowd, he was the one who shouted with the most energy and the loudest voice.
Judging from his words and deeds, he seemed to have a deep hatred for these officials.
After the first batch of the lowest officials were dealt with, the guards pulled out the second batch of officials. In addition to being stabbed in the face, these criminals also had their fingers chopped off.
After these procedures are completed, they will be tied under a chopping knife, aimed at the buttocks, and beheaded in half!
The last group of officials were the two chief offenders, Cao Jixiang and Zeng Shijin. They were punished the most severely and for the longest time.
The executioner first chopped off their fingers one by one, and then stabbed them on the surface. Their stabbed surfaces were different from before.
Before, he used a sharp blade to cut his face one by one, but now he used a kind of iron claw to slide it randomly on his face. Compared with the sharp blade, this was heartbreaking pain.
The faces of the two people can no longer be called faces, because their skin and flesh have been turned over, and they are so densely covered with flesh foam and blood that even the sergeant who crawled out of the sea of blood from the mountain of corpses could hardly bear to look at them.
Spit it out.
Then they were forced to open their mouths and cut out their tongues with a quick knife.
In the end, they were stripped naked and divided into Ling Chi punishments. After a set of operation procedures, the people watching could be said to have seen the world and enjoyed watching it. This trip was not in vain.
…
…
Caishikou was extremely lively, and Zhu Youxiao, who was located in the Jin Palace, was not idle either. He personally told those officials who had not been liquidated to work conscientiously and put the people first in everything they do.
The officials had been fooled by the emperor. They had finally managed to save their lives. They had to cherish it. How could they dare to disobey the emperor's wishes?
After they retreated, Zhu Youxiao personally directed the raids. Under the leadership of Jin Yiwei, groups of Yulin Army sergeants came out of the palace and went straight to every corner of the city.
Zhu Youxiao also summoned the commanders of the Taiyuan Three Guards and personally comforted them, saying that today's matter has nothing to do with you, you don't need to panic, I still trust you very much.
When they first received the order, the commanders of the three guard posts were skeptical. Why did the emperor arrive in Taiyuan? He still wanted to summon them?
But when they saw the official seals of the governor of Shanxi and the prefect of Taiyuan, this suspicion no longer existed, and they followed the guards into the city with trepidation.
But after entering the city, they finally discovered that Taiyuan had changed. But it was too late for them to escape back. Under the hostage of the guards, they were forced to go to the palace to see the emperor.
The closer they got to the central area, the more frightened they became, especially when they passed by the Caishikou where the execution was being carried out, their faces were ashen as if they were the ones being tortured there.
There was a timid commander who was so frightened that he peed in public, and his legs almost gave out.
After meeting the emperor, the three of them were so frightened that they couldn't even speak clearly.
Zhu Youxiao really wanted to kill these losers with a single blow. When he oppressed the military households, all of them were not showing off their power with great arrogance, but now they are all reduced to soft-legged shrimps.
But he finally held back. He suppressed his anger and tried to talk to them calmly.
At this time, it was not the time to take action against Wei Suo. He had already completely broken up with the scholar-bureaucrats and civil servants, and was in the midst of an all-out war.
If you attack them in a hot head and offend both the civil and military parties, it will definitely cause chaos.
Again, the civil officials are not scary, nor are the military generals. What is scary is that both civil and military officials unite and target the emperor. This is the prelude to troubled times.
At this time, Zhu Youxiao did not have the confidence to challenge Wen and Wu at the same time, unless he thought that his life was too long and the fate of the Ming Dynasty was too long.
In the Ming Dynasty, only Taizu had the prestige and strength to deal with both civil and military forces at the same time. He issued an imperial edict, and no matter who you were, everything would be served to you.
During the Hongwu period, there were too many hodgepodge cases, too numerous to count. Basically, they colluded with each other, and ended up being chopped off by Taizu.
Zhu Youxiao was still able to recognize himself. His imperial power was still very weak. He had not even reached the level of Emperor Xianzong, so how could he compare with Taizu.
This is also the reason why he has never taken action against nobles. He must win over one of them.
The reason why he reused the British Duke was not only because of his loyalty, but also because he wanted to set an example and provide silent comfort.
These three commanders were also stunned by the emperor's deception at this time. They were summoned just to explain to them that they were not prepared to investigate them?
Zhu Youxiao didn't care whether they believed him or not. Anyway, that was the end of what he said, and they couldn't make trouble if they wanted to. He then detained them in the palace, saying that they could obey orders and act at any time.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Zhu Youxiao has already sent Ma Xianglin to secretly take over control of the garrison barracks in Taiyuan City.
These officials are really interesting. In order to prevent the generals from becoming bigger and threatening their status, they did not even appoint a chief general. The military camp of nearly 20,000 people was commanded by more than a dozen different generals.
At such a critical moment, there was not even a single person who dared to speak out and was qualified to speak out. Ma Xianglin took over without any effort.
Following Zhu Youxiao's instructions, Ma Xianglin quickly selected 5,000 people from them, who he directly commanded and cooperated with the Yulin Army to take charge of the defense of the city.
The recruited young men had also been organized long ago. Under the leadership of guides and escorted by the army, they went to various treasuries belonging to the Jin vassal to carry money and grain.
Thousands of young workers moved for two days and one night to complete the task. Zhu Youxiao paid them wages that were much higher than the market price. Each of these workers was so grateful that they bowed and kowtowed to the Jin Palace.
Then they left one after another.
The money and food obtained from the house raid was far beyond Zhu Youxiao's expectation. He thought that one or two million taels would be enough, but unexpectedly he found more than three million taels worth of money and food, as well as antiques, calligraphy and paintings.
Of course, most of them are Cao Jixiang, the guard eunuch. This kind of veteran eunuch who combines tax collection and guarding still has some family property, not to mention that he used to be a military eunuch in Datong.
A lot of fields and shops were confiscated from the names of these officials, with more than 100,000 acres of land alone. They were really rich.
Not all of these lands are their own, many of them are owned by powerful landlords who use their names to evade taxes. After all, the current Ming Dynasty practice is that officials and gentry do not pay taxes.