Chapter 126: I watched the execution of a traitor and found a loyal minister on my way back
Chapter 126: I watched the execution of a traitorous minister, and found a loyal minister on the way home
Cai Jing, Gao Qiu and Wang Fu cried out for injustice and help at the end before leaving, and they were able to get their wish.
The execution officer Liang Shicheng immediately ordered: "Execution!"
The soldiers who handed over their names for execution came to Cai Jing, Gao Qiu and Wang Fu respectively, unlocked the wooden shackles around their necks, and took off the wooden shackles, but the shackles on their hands and feet were not opened.
Then, after checking the names of those who were executed and confirming that they were correct, they served each person a large bowl of farewell wine. As for the meals for Guixi, Cai Jing, Gao Qiu and Wang Fu had already eaten them in prison.<
/p>
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" Cai Jing held the wine bowl in both hands, tears streaming down his face. He was not in a hurry to drink the farewell wine for Guixi. Mr. Liang, for the sake of our long friendship, please..."
Before Cai Jing could finish speaking, Liang Shicheng sternly scolded: "Cai Jing, don't talk nonsense. What relationship do you and I have?"
Cai Jing smiled bitterly and said: "It doesn't matter, I have been prime minister for many years, been valued by Zhao Guan's family, and enjoyed prosperity and wealth for decades. This life is worth it!
I drank the last bowl of wine in this world."
"Gulu gud dong." Cai Jing drank the large bowl of farewell wine in one breath and sneered:
"Liang Daguan takes care of himself. I'm afraid it will be you, Daguan Liang, next to go to the Western Water Execution Ground!"
"Oh, Cai Jing, you old thief!" Liang Shicheng stamped his feet angrily, stretched out his orchid finger, pointed at Cai Jing's nose, and cursed: "Before you die, you still want to curse our family. It seems that you are sentenced to hanging, which is really a light sentence.
Got it!
Come, let’s execute the old thief Cai Jing first.”
The executioner's soldier said: "Young man, I obey."
Four soldiers came out, two soldiers held Cai Jing up, and the other two soldiers walked to the center of the execution platform, in front of the gallows, making preparations.
Hanging is actually divided into two types: hanging and strangulation.
Hanging in hanging, also known as hanging, is commonly known as hanging; the method is to hang the death row prisoner's neck in mid-air with a rope to make him die.
Strangulation in hanging is also called the death penalty by hanging. The method is to wrap a rope around the criminal's neck, and then let the executioners on both sides pull hard like a tug-of-war to strangle the death row criminal in the middle.
Today, in order to allow the tens of thousands of people who came to the West Water Execution Ground to see how the three traitorous officials Cai Jing, Gao Qiu and Wang Fu were hanged, Liang Shicheng consulted Zhao Guan's family in advance. p>
Zhao Ji's method of hanging Cai Jing, Gao Qiu and Wang Fu was a rebellion, so that the three of them could be seen by the onlookers who were far away from the execution platform.
Therefore, Liang Shicheng ordered people to erect two thick and tall wooden pillars in the center of the execution platform in advance, and mortise and tenon a strong log beam on the wooden pillars to create a simple hanging.
Frame.
At this time, the two soldiers who were making preparations had already placed three long ropes on the log beams of the hanging wooden frame that was more than two feet high, and hung the two ends of the ropes to the ground.<
/p>
Cai Jing was led under the gallows by two soldiers.
Cai Jing was shaking all over and was scared out of his mind.
The two soldiers quickly tied the rope around Cai Jing's neck and formed a loop.
This is just the last step before preparation for hanging.
Gao Qiu kept shouting: "My minister Gao Qiu has been wronged! I beg the officials to spare my life for the sake of my years of love..."
Zhao Ji, who came incognito, sat on the Grand Master's chair in the front row of the ministers, and was not moved by Gao Qiu's begging for mercy at all.
Originally, as a time traveler from modern society who came to the late Northern Song Dynasty, I had no good impression of Taiwei Gao Qiu at all.
Whether it was from the novel "Water Margin" that I read when I was in elementary school, or when I grew up and studied history, I learned that Gao Qiu was a treacherous official and a corrupt official. It would not be a pity to kill him. It would be a pity not to kill him and keep him.
It is a scourge. The imperial army in the capital is not effective in combat, and this is definitely related to Gao Qiu.
Can Gao Qiu be kept? Why should he be kept? Should he be kept for the New Year?
"Alas!" Zhao Ji sighed, turned to look at the princes on the left and right, Prince Yun Zhao Kai and Kang Prince Zhao Gou, and asked:
"What do you two think about the three court officials who are about to be hanged?"
Zhao Kai, the king of Yun, said: "Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and Wang Fu, these three traitorous officials formed a clique for personal gain, took bribes and perverted the law, and harmed the country a lot. They should be killed."
Zhao Ji nodded and did not praise Zhao Kai. The reason was what he said and had already been mentioned in the verdict of Cai Jing, Gao Qiu and Wang Fu.
Of course, Zhao Ji knew that at the age of seventeen, King Yun Zhao Kai was able to surpass the talented people from all over the country and win the first prize in the imperial examination. His cultural level was definitely high. However, the nineteen-year-old King Yun Zhao Kai may have grown up.
When talking about important matters in front of me, he would hesitate before and after, for fear of saying the wrong thing. Therefore, what he said had no new ideas, but only stated objective facts.
Zhao Ji looked at the thirteen-year-old Kang Wang Zhao Gou sitting on the right and asked: "Gou'er, what do you think?"
Kang Wang Zhao Gou immediately replied respectfully: "I feel that Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and Wang Fu can bring about today's disaster. The essence is that their virtues cannot match them, so they have this disaster.
In the future, the civil servants and generals we use in the Song Dynasty should have both ability and political integrity. If an unscrupulous person holds a high position, at least he will bring disaster to himself, at worst he will bring disaster to the country!"
After Zhao Ji listened to Xiao Zhao Gou's speech, he nodded repeatedly and praised: "What Gou'er said is absolutely true."
Prince Yun Zhao Kai, who did not receive praise from his father, felt very unconvinced.
With his talent and knowledge, he has already known about this "moral incompetence", and when his father asked the question just now, he also thought about speaking out about the "moral incompetence". However, I clearly considered it.
I wanted to take care of my father’s face, so I didn’t say anything.
After all, Cai Jing and Gao Qiu were important ministers who had been promoted by their father and reused in the past twenty years.
This kind of inattentive mistake in hiring should be the fault of his father. Therefore, when King Yun made his comments, he was thoughtful and could not say anything.
However, Prince Yun Zhao Kai’s little plan didn’t go very well.
At this time, Wang Fu, who kept shouting "Unjust", was taken to the wooden gallows in the center of the execution platform by the soldiers. The soldiers put a rope around Wang Fu's neck.
The preparations before the execution have been completed, and they are just waiting for the order to hang all three traitorous officials.
At this time, tens of thousands of people below Xingyang began to applaud and cheered...
After all, the people from the capital who came to this execution ground came to the West Water Execution Ground from early in the morning to get a good seat to watch the excitement. They wanted to watch the upcoming battle between Cai Jing, Gao Qiu and Wang Fu.
It was a wonderful show when a court official was executed. When he went back, he could brag about what he saw and heard in the execution ground with his relatives and friends who did not watch.
For the people in the capital of the Song Dynasty, it was an unheard-of legend to hang three court officials like Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and Wang Fu in a single execution!
……
On the execution platform, the execution officer Liang Shicheng said:
"It's three quarters past noon, the execution will be carried out immediately..."
Liang Shicheng gave the order, and the executioners immediately started to pull the rope hard.
At this time, as if a pulley was used to lift a heavy object, Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and Wang Fu were constantly being pulled backwards by the soldiers with the ropes around their necks...
Only a minute,
Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and Wang Fu were already hanging on the gallows more than two feet high.
At this time, the three of them were in great pain, struggling and groaning. They wanted to scream but couldn't make much noise...
Due to Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and Wang Fu's own gravity, the rope loops around their necks blocked the main cervical arteries and vertebral arteries of the victim, causing cerebral ischemia, dizziness, and even hallucinations.
……
At the same time, due to gravity, their cervical vertebrae were pulled apart while their bodies were suspended by the rope. The fracture of the cervical vertebrae caused damage to the central nervous system...
The rope was tied around their necks, which also caused their trachea to be blocked and they could not breathe...
The three traitorous ministers Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and Wang Fu, who once held high positions in the political arena of the Northern Song Dynasty and were the most influential officials, hung on the gallows after two or three minutes of feeble struggle. Their bodies were motionless and they could only drift with the wind.
Swinging slightly like a swing...
Under the execution platform, people gathered around to watch the excitement, shouting, celebrating, and applauding...
Zhao Ji turned his head and looked at Cai You, a great scholar among the ministers not far away.
I saw Cai You looking pale and frightened, staring blankly at Cai Jing hanging above the execution platform...
Zhao Ji secretly thought: "Cai You, you are not here to marry me out of righteousness, but because you want to destroy your own father for power and profit. For a person like you, although I can fulfill my promise to you, I will never fulfill my promise to you."
Once you become the Young Master, don’t think about how long you will be there.
I don’t dare to have a ruthless villain like you, Cai You, who will do whatever it takes to get power by my side!”
At this time, the prison officer Liang Shicheng on the execution platform and the prison officials from Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Yushitai all raised their heads and looked at Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, and Wang Fu who had been executed for nearly a quarter of an hour.
After a discussion, it was decided to put down the hanging body.
After the three corpses landed on the ground of the execution platform, after careful inspection, they were determined to be dead...
…………
Zhao Ji led Yun Wang Zhao Kai and Kang Wang Zhao Gou, and under the protection of more than a hundred personal officials from the Imperial City Division, they left the West Water Execution Ground before the other officials and returned to the palace...
He did not watch how Cai You collected the body of his father Cai Jing, nor did he have the intention to do so.
"Alas!" Zhao Ji, who was sitting in the sedan chair, sighed: I, as a time traveler, made Cai Jing, Gao Qiu and Wang Fu, the three treacherous ministers, die six years earlier. It is a blessing for the country that the treacherous ministers died early!!!
When Zhao Ji and his entourage were driving from the West Water Execution Site to the Xihua Gate of the Imperial Palace, they were stopped by a group of imperial students kneeling down.
Zhao Ji was sitting in the sedan chair and asked: "Who stopped my car and what do you want?"
The eunuch in charge ran to the group of imperial students to briefly understand the situation...
The eunuch who served in the chamber quickly ran back to Zhao Ji's imperial chariot, saluted and said in reply: "As the official family is about to begin, the person who kneeled down in front of the Xihua Gate to stop the charioteer was more than thirty imperial students led by Chen Dong, the Imperial College student.
He said he wanted to meet the Holy Spirit..."
After hearing this, Zhao Ji felt suspicious.
In his mind, he was frantically recalling the name Sun Dong, which sounded somewhat impressive...
I remembered.
In history, the name of the "Six Thieves" in the Northern Song Dynasty originated from a letter written by Chen Dong, a student of the Imperial College, in the seventh year of Xuanhe (AD 1125). Chen Dong said: "What happened today was caused by Cai Jing's mischief and Liang Shicheng's conspiracy.
Later, Li Yan made grudges against the northwest, Zhu Meng made grudges against the southeast, Wang Fu and Tong Guan also made grudges against the Liao and Jin Dynasties, and initiated border provocations. It is appropriate to kill the six thieves and spread them to all directions to thank the world."
Historically, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty did not dare to resolutely resist the Jin Dynasty. He did not accept Li Gang's proposal to restore the Central Plains, go straight to Huanglong, and welcome back the Two Saints. He secretly planned to flee to the southeast with Huang Qianshan, Wang Boyan and other villains. Later, he served as prime minister for only seven years.
Li Gang was dismissed as prime minister after seventeen days.
When Chen Dong saw that Song Gaozong had dismissed Li Gang, he wrote a letter requesting that Li Gang be retained and that Huang Qianshan, Wang Boyan and other treacherous officials be dismissed;
At that time, Ouyang Che, a civilian who was good at talking about national affairs (and very insightful), wrote a letter: He suggested reforming the government, resisting the Jin army, and reprimanding Huang Qianshan and others. Huang Qianshan used words to anger Emperor Gaozong, saying that if
If Chen Dong and others are not killed quickly, people will be encouraged to submit a letter to the palace again. Song Gaozong decided to kill Chen Dong and others for his own selfish interests, so he conspired with Huang Qianshan to get rid of Chen Dong and others. p>
On August 25, the first year of Jianyan (AD 1127), Chen Dong and Ouyang Che were killed together in the market.
……………
Today, Zhao Ji travels back to the Northern Song Dynasty. It is October of the second year of Xuanhe, and Zhendong has not yet proposed the theory of "six thieves".
Zhao Ji knew that Zhendong was a high-ranking student who fought against the Jin army, and he was an upright person.
Zhao Ji didn't count how talented Chen Dong was.
However, Chen Dong's moral character is very high.
Just like at the West Water Execution Ground, when Zhao Ji asked his princes, King Zhao Kai and King Kang Zhao Gou, he was very satisfied with the answer of King Kang Zhao Gou. It was because Zhao Gou, at a young age, knew "Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, Wang Fu,
The truth is that his virtue is not suitable, so he has this disaster.
In other words, hiring people should not only use their talents, but also pay attention to the virtues of the people they want to employ.
If the person he uses has bad morals, it is easy for him to backlash. For example, Dong Zhuo knew that Lu Bu was a strong martial artist and was good at leading troops in battle, so he accepted Lu Bu as his adopted son. This was regarded as a high-ranking use of Lu Bu. But what was the result?
Thinking of this, Zhao Ji really wanted to meet Chen Dong, who was very virtuous and well-known.
He declared: "Summon Chen Dong to see me."
"Uh?! I obey the order, little slave." The eunuchs in the chamber were a little confused. Although the imperial students were talents from the highest academic institution in the Song Dynasty, how could the Zhao Guan family summon the little imperial students so easily in the past?
The eunuch in the chamber knelt down at the Xihua Gate again, and declared to the group of imperial students who were kneeling to block the way:
"The official's oral instructions were passed down, and Chen Dong, a student of the Imperial College, was summoned to be a saint."
Chen Dong never thought that he would lead more than 30 Taixue students to kneel down and block Zhao Guan's carriage at the risk of getting slapped or being expelled from Imperial College. He really didn't expect that he would be summoned by Zhao Guan's family as he wished...
…
Then, I, Chen Dong, will definitely tell the Zhao family about the important military and state affairs...
The other imperial students who came to Xihua Gate with Sun Dong all cast envious glances at Chen Dong.
…………
Chen Dong followed the eunuch in charge and arrived in front of Zhao Guan's family.
Chen Dong knelt in front of Zhao Ji's imperial chariot, kowtowed and said, "Chen Sheng, a student of Chen Tai, would like to congratulate the official family for killing three traitorous officials!"
When Zhao Ji heard this, he realized that Chen Dong, an upright imperial student, actually said flattering words?!
However, Chen Sheng changed the subject and said:
"The officials have now killed the three most traitorous officials in the court: Cai Jing, Gao Qiu and Wang Fu.
However,
Cai Jing caused trouble and was executed.
Liang Shicheng conspired later and has not yet been convicted.
I have a grudge against Southeast, but I still live a good life.
Student Chen Dong led more than 30 Tai students to kneel in front of Xihua Gate.
It was begging Zhao Guanjia to kill Liang Shicheng, the eunuch who violated Yang and Yin, and Zhu Meng, who was extorting money in the southeast.
It is appropriate to punish these two thieves and spread the news in all directions to thank the people of the world!
Zhao Ji was stunned when he heard this. This humble thirty-year-old imperial student actually dared to speak his mind so honestly! Chen Dong, aren't you afraid of being retaliated by the powerful?