Seeing that Xu Zhiqiong was fine, Tao Huayuan was surprised and happy, and stepped forward to hug Xu Zhiqiong.
Unexpectedly, Chu He rushed down from the middle of the mountain, rushed into the camp, and hugged Xu Zhiqiong first.
"Brother, I thought you couldn't bear it anymore. I really wanted to rush down and help you, but they said I couldn't stop my evil thoughts. I was really scared..."
Xu Zhiqiong hugged Chu He tightly and sucked most of the energy from him.
Chu He's body went limp and fell to the ground. Xu Zhiqiong regained some strength and walked from the center of the camp to the outside of the camp.
There were people sitting on the ground in pain everywhere. They were wronged and sad, but the moment they saw Xu Zhiqiong, the hatred in their eyes was still there.
Some people wanted to escape, but He Fang drove them back with his army. No matter what the reason was, they were rebels after all. How they would end up depended on Emperor Changle's decision.
Chang De then brought Peng Xiunian over.
He was stabbed through the heart by Chang Decai, but he was not dead yet. After all, he had a fifth-grade physique.
The first time he saw Xu Zhiqiong, Peng Xiunian exclaimed: "Xiao Situ!"
Xu Zhiqiong nodded and said: "It's me, we are all our own people."
Peng Xiunian looked around at the crowd and asked, "What on earth is going on?"
Xu Zhiqiong lowered his voice and said, "I'm here to rescue you. Don't make any noise. I'll find a place to put you down first."
Chang De then found a tent and took care of Peng Xiunian for the time being. Xu Zhiqiong wiped the blood, changed his clothes, walked into the tent, looked at Peng Xiunian and said: "Peng Tan Master, I'm here to save you."
No matter how stupid Peng Xiunian was, he still understood the situation.
A burst of curses came from the camp: "Traitor! Villain! The majestic true God above will definitely cut you into pieces when you return to the mortal world!"
Xu Zhiqiong lowered his palms to signal Peng Xiunian to calm down: "Don't shout, don't break your heart. I have a few things to ask you. Who is Da Sikong?"
"You don't have to ask any more questions. I don't want to say a word to you. You're going to die anyway. Just do it!"
Xu Zhiqiong said to Chang Decai: "Do it."
Chang De just tore off a piece of flesh from Peng Xiunian's body. She was very measured and only tore off more than thirty pieces the size of a fingernail at a time. Peng Xiunian was willing to tell the truth.
"Da Sikong is Gongsun Wen."
After the words fell, Xu Zhiqiong shook his head at Chang Decai and said: "Go on."
Chang Decai stepped forward to peel off the skin again, and Peng Xiunian wailed: "I'm telling the truth!"
What you are telling is a bullshit truth!
I saw with my own eyes that it wasn’t Gongsun Wen!
Although it's just a back view, it can't be Gongsun Wen!
Even if Gongsun Wen changed his appearance, he would not be able to master the secret technique of stacking the puppet. This is a method that even Li Shabai does not know.
Gongsun Wen is a third-grade Confucian. If he had such a high level of cultivation in Mohism, he would have become a spirit long ago!
Chang Decai tore off more than twenty pieces of flesh, and Peng Xiunian cried: "What I said is all the truth, all the truth!"
Chang Decai pulled Xu Zhiqiong outside the tent and whispered in a low voice: "Master, I have seen many people who lie. I should not be wrong about this person. He did not lie."
Xu Zhiqiong believed in Chang Decai's judgment, and he also felt that Peng Xiunian was not lying.
But if Gongsun Wen is really great Sikong, many things cannot be explained.
This matter must be investigated and brought to light.
Xu Zhiqiong discussed with He Fang to first collect some food from the surrounding area so that the people could have a full meal and a solid night's sleep. He personally wrote a letter and sent it to the palace through Tao Huayuan's magic circle.
Tao Huayuan said: "If you don't have that incense burner, why are you wasting so much effort?"
Xu Zhiqiong said: "The incense burner is not stable. Send the letter to the Department of Yin and Yang and find someone trustworthy to deliver it to the palace in person and deliver it to the emperor."
Tao Huayuan nodded, and then said: "According to the Great Xuan Law, treason is an unpardonable crime. I'm afraid none of these people will survive."
Xu Zhiqiong said: "I'll let them live, don't worry."
In the evening, Emperor Changle received a letter from Xu Zhiqiong.
The letter explained clearly the cause and effect, which scared Emperor Changle into a cold sweat.
He called Liang Jixiong and told Liang Jixiong the matter.
Liang Jixiong trembled for a while, wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "This matter must be told to the true God!"
He was about to go to Canglong Hall to pray when he heard Emperor Changle say: "What should we do with the hundreds of thousands of people in Yunzhou?"
Liang Jixiong was in a dilemma.
He felt that these people should not be killed.
But how to convince the emperor?
"Those who conspired to rebel should be punished, but they were all citizens of Daxuan. They were bewitched by the traitor Peng Xiunian, but they made a big mistake. According to my wishes, all the rebel generals were executed, and the rest were sentenced to death. Just hard labor."
"Sentenced to hard labor? Is it appropriate?" Emperor Chang Le narrowed his eyes.
Liang Jixiong smacked his lips and said, "Also, it would be good to find some people and kill them as a warning to others."
Emperor Changle still shook his head: "This matter must be discussed with the cabinet. Ancestor, please don't go back to Canglong Palace yet. I will call Yan Anqing, the chief minister of the cabinet, and see what he says."
Not long after, Yan Anqing came to the Secret Pavilion. Emperor Changle did not say anything about the death of Tao Zhu, but only said that Xu Zhiqiong had put down the rebellion, and called Yan Anqing to come and discuss how to deal with the rebels.
Yan Anqing thought for a long time and said: "The rebels should be punished!"
Emperor Changle frowned: "Execute all the more than 100,000 rebels?"
Yan An took stock and said: "Kill them all!"
Liang Jixiong gritted his teeth and looked at Yan Anqing.
Elder Shengwei could not interfere in political affairs, but Yan Anqing's attitude made Liang Jixiong very angry.
Emperor Changle asked Yan Anqing: "The people of Yunzhou were bewitched by the prefect Peng Xiunian and blamed all the harsh government of the state on the imperial court, so they got involved in this rebellion, but the reasons were not considered?"
Yan Anqing let out a long sigh and said: "It is excusable due to circumstances, but cannot be forgiven due to reason. Conspiracy is an unpardonable felony, and the national law cannot tolerate mercy."
Liang Jixiong couldn't bear it anymore and said from the sidelines: "More than 100,000 people have been killed, but how deep the hatred has the imperial court forged with Yunzhou? How to explain it to the families of these more than 100,000 people? There will still be peace in Yunzhou in the future. What?"
Yan Anqing shook his head and said: "There is no need to explain. All the members of his family will be confiscated and sent to the north."
Liang Jixiong said angrily: "In this case, are we going to make Yunzhou extinct?"
Yan Anqing said: "We can move the people from surrounding counties to Yunzhou. In ten years, Yunzhou will definitely return to its old appearance."
Emperor Changle poured blood into Tongren, stared at Yan Anqing with a pair of bright red eyes, and said: "Is this really your intention?"
Yan Anqing saluted and said: "I know that this move is not in line with His Majesty's wishes. However, in order to promote the country and the country, the rebels must be severely punished. Those who have meritorious service must be rewarded, and those who are guilty must be punished. This is the foundation of national law!"
Emperor Changle stared at Yan Anqing for a long time and suddenly laughed and said: "Guilty must be punished, but it is a good saying. The people were angry and rebelled because they could not bear the exploitation. Although the state government did this under the guise of the imperial court, the imperial court made an oversight. You have to admit this, right?"
Yan Anqing was startled and remained silent.
Emperor Changle said again: "If we care about guilt and responsibility, the imperial court can't get away from it, and even I can't get away from it. How should I deal with my sins?"
Yan Anqing was speechless and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
Emperor Changle sighed softly and said: "Yan Aiqing, please go to Longtuge to rest for a while. I will discuss it with you after I have made up my mind."
Yan Anqing resigned, and Liang Jixiong said angrily: "In the past, His Majesty said that there was an angry husband in the court who taught careful work, but I still didn't believe it. Now I see that Yan Anqing is a careful work!"
Emperor Changle shook his head and said: "He is not doing it carefully, he is really considering the imperial court."
Liang Jixiong said in shock: "Your Majesty, do you really want to kill those more than 100,000 people?"
Emperor Changle shook his head and said: "If I did what I did, what is the difference between me and the faint king that Peng Xiunian made up? What is the difference between this court and the court that Peng Xiunian made up?"
After speaking, Emperor Changle handed Xu Zhiqiong's letter to Liang Jixiong.
In the letter, Xu Zhiqiong asked Emperor Changle to forgive the people of Yunzhou and listed three reasons.
First, the imperial court was guilty of negligence and cannot place all the blame on the people.
Secondly, if there is a blood feud, there will never be peace in the Southern Territory of Daxuan.
There is only one reason left that cannot be told. The people of Yunzhou know that they have committed the crime of treason, and they are full of fear. If they are killed now, it will be equivalent to activating the sacrifice ceremony of Yongzhu.
Liang Jixiong breathed a sigh of relief after reading the letter.
Thanks to Zhi Qiong for your thoughtful consideration.
He not only saved the people of Yunzhou, but also saved Daxuan.
That night, Emperor Changle issued an edict that Peng Xiunian, the chief culprit in the rebellion, should be executed late, and more than 30 accomplices should also be executed, leaving the rest alone.
In addition, Emperor Changle also wanted to raise a sum of money and grain to appease the people.
Yan Anqing was quite dissatisfied with this, but he did not have the final say in the cabinet now. With the insistence of a group of cabinet ministers such as Wang Yanyang and Qiu Dongcai, the cabinet approved the draft and the edict was sent to Yunzhou the next day.
The night before the execution, Xu Zhiqiong interrogated Peng Xiunian all night.
After being tortured, Peng Xiunian told everything he knew.
Unexpectedly, his confession was completely consistent with Xiao Songting's.
Peng Xiunian has never met Xiao Songting, and there is no possibility that the two of them colluded in confession. Why did they even make up the same lie?
Didn't they lie?
But logically, their confessions make absolutely no sense!
At noon the next day, Peng Xiunian was tied to the execution stake and executed. He Fang gathered more than 100,000 people to watch the execution.
Li Shabai used nine stacked puppets to create a magic circle, allowing all the people to see the execution process clearly and hear it vividly.
Every time the executioner made a cut, Peng Xiunian and others wailed.
The people watching the execution actually shed tears. A veteran who had chatted with Xu Zhiqiong cried: "The prefect is a good man. If the prefect dies, it will be our turn."
This was expected by Xu Zhiqiong. Xu Zhiqiong walked to Peng Xiunian and whispered: "Tell the truth, I will let you suffer less. First, let's talk about what the extra taxes collected over the years have gone to."
place?"
Peng Xiunian had been tortured for several days, and his will had long been destroyed. He just wanted to be freed quickly, and he cried loudly: "In the thirteenth year I have been the prefect, I have overpaid more than five million taels of tax, and two million taels have been turned over."
The Nufu Sect General Forum gave one million taels to colleagues in the prefectures and counties, and the remaining two million taels were divided into four places and hidden. What was said at that time is true!"
Word by word, it was clearly transmitted to the ears of the people.
The old soldier cried: "The prefect is a good man, the prefect... is a good man, good, good..."
He blinked, suspecting that he heard wrongly.
Xu Zhiqiong asked again: "Who killed the Yanghuo people in Yunzhou?"
Peng Xiunian cried: "This is not my intention, it is an order from the Nufu Sect General Forum, and I am acting according to orders!"
The veteran wiped his tears, and this time he was sure that he heard correctly.
Xu Zhiqiong said again: "Repeat what you just said, and say it more carefully, especially how the money came from. It's best to explain it clearly step by step."
Peng Xiunian said it seriously.
He listed the taxes collected privately over the years, one by one.
After saying that, Peng Xiunian looked at Xu Zhiqiong and said, "You told me to have fun, but you can't break your promise."
Xu Zhiqiong is a man of his word. How can he break his promise on such a thing?
"According to the imperial court's order, the penalty should be 900 knives. You just told the truth, and you said it twice. I will spare you 2 knives, 898 knives. You see what is fair!"
Peng Xiunian shouted: "I can say it a few more times, as many times as you want me to say!"
Xu Zhiqiong shook his head and said with a smile: "Twice is enough, let's continue with the execution!"
The executioner made a cut.
Peng Xiunian wailed.
The people no longer cried.
Until the last cut, no one shed a tear.
Peng Xiunian died, and more than thirty accomplices were executed late.
All those who deserved to be killed were killed, and fear once again surged into the hearts of the people.
They feel it's their turn.
Xu Zhiqiong stood in the center of the high platform and shouted: "Do you know who I am?"
The audience was completely silent.
They really didn't know who this person was.
"I am Xu Zhiqiong!"
Everyone commented: "What kind of poverty is he?"
"The firmament of the firmament!"
Everyone whispered: "Why does he say Cang is poor?"
"I am the Marquis of Yun of Daxuan, and my seat is in Yunzhou. As the Marquis of Yunzhou, I tell you that the imperial court has issued an order. I forgive you for waiting!"
The people stared at Xu Zhiqiong with wide eyes, they couldn't believe this was true.
Xu Zhiqiong prepared an impassioned speech, first detailing the crimes of Peng Xiunian and others, then detailing the evil deeds of Nufu Cult, then detailing the court's new policies, and then focusing on the heroic deeds of Marquis Yun.
But when the words came to his lips, Xu Zhiqiong only said: "You have suffered, each of you can get some food, some money, and go back to live your life!"
The people continued to stare at Xu Zhiqiong, believing that this was definitely not true.
Xu Zhiqiong turned around and left. Under the sunlight, his figure looked very tall.
Can't speak, can't say a word.
Walk more steadily and take every step steadily.
Refining meritorious deeds!
No, I can't stand anymore.
This time the quantity is huge! This chapter has been completed!