Chapter four hundred and ninety fifth execution ground
On the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, Dongchang's police officers, holding steel knives in their hands and dressed in fancy clothes, took the thirty-eight officials involved in the Taipu Temple silver hiding case and the relatives of the criminals who were to be executed on suspicion of crime, and took them all to the east of the city outside the capital.
Caishikou. Hundreds of death row inmates knelt on a makeshift execution platform under the gaze of countless people in the capital.
This time, the silver-hiding case had a huge impact and almost caused the decline of the Ming Dynasty. It has been designated by the emperor as the "Taipu Temple counter-case". Emperor Zhu Youjian issued an order on the afternoon of the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple and the capital
On the night of the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Procuratorate was mobilized all night. According to the list of memorials given by Duke Li Zhi, he followed the clues and grasped all the intricacies of the case in one day and one night.
This time, some civil servants were resistant to the meeting of the three departments. The Minister of the Ministry of Justice and the Yushi Zuodu of the Ducha Yuan did not cooperate with the emperor's actions. Zhu Youjian skipped these two people and appointed Zhang Guanghang, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and Du Cha, who had always obeyed the imperial authority.
The right deputy censor Shi Wenkaiting was responsible for ensuring the efficient execution of the joint review of the three departments.
At noon on the seventh day of May, people watching the murder of the traitor crowded into the streets and alleys near Caishikou in the east of the city. They filled the open space next to Caishikou of the execution ground. Even the roofs of nearby houses were full of people. Those trembling people
I don't know if the towering tiled roof can support the audience above. Looking from a high place, there are black heads everywhere.
Hundreds of prisoners were escorted to Caishikou with chopping sticks on their backs, and their cries were loud. However, no one onlookers sympathized with them.
Seeing the prisoners being led up one by one, the people were filled with indignation and shouted for death. Many people looked for stones on the ground and threw them at the prisoners. One or two stones could still hide, but if there were more than one, the prisoners kneeling on the platform
There was no place to hide, and he was hit so hard that his head bled, so he had no choice but to lower his head and lie on the ground to avoid it.
On behalf of the emperor, Wang Dehua, the eunuch of Dongchang, sat at the top of the execution ground and watched the execution. Next to him sat officials from the third department, cheering a lot. Hundreds of Dongchang's eunuchs held steel knives in their hands and surrounded the entire execution place, making the whole scene look more...
It was solemn and solemn. Because it was an imperial decision, a golden flag symbolizing the emperor was erected next to Wang Dehua.
Naturally, representatives of the 160,000 border troops were also indispensable. Li Zhi, the Duke of Jin, was invited to the city to personally witness the Tibetan Silver Case, the leader of dozens of treacherous officials. Also invited with him was the Chief Soldier of Datong.
Park.
Li Zhi rode the royal horse "Treading the Wind" and led 20 personal guards. They entered the capital through the reopened Chaoyang Gate with a guard of honor. When they arrived at the execution ground, Li Zhi found that the front was densely packed with people and was wondering how to get in.
, only to see the crowd suddenly separate to both sides.
"The Duke of Jin is here!"
"The Duke of Jin who killed the Tartars is here!"
The crowded crowd made way for Li Zhi and Wang Pu to enter.
When they got to the execution viewing platform, the officials quickly offered their seats to the two of them, so that they could sit on either side of Wang Dehua, who represented the emperor.
Li Zhi sat down on the execution platform and looked towards the execution ground. He saw dozens of disheveled officials and their family members who had been implicated by them.
Wu Zong, the second assistant to the cabinet, was killed this time and met the worst fate. He was kneeling on the execution ground with a pale face. He only stared blankly ahead, motionless. If you didn't observe carefully, you would have thought that he had already knelt there and died.
Li Daiwen, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, was executed by the three tribes. He knelt on the execution ground and burst into tears, and his tears fell on the execution platform drop by drop.
Chen Jishan, the minister of Taipu Temple, did not even have the strength to kneel down, so he lay on the execution ground, twitching.
Officials from other household departments and Taipus Temple also sobbed and howled with unspeakable regret. These officials were used to ignoring the interests of the country. How could they have ever thought that they would be punished for doing things according to the superior's instructions?
Li Zhi searched among the prisoners for a while and saw the Minister of Rites congratulating him on his longevity.
He Shishou was wearing a gray tunic with five stripes on his body. After not seeing him for a few years, Li Zhi felt that He Shishou had not aged at all. He still had the same wrinkles on his face. He had obviously lived a very healthy life these years. But God knows how old he is these days.
It's difficult to fall down, maybe he didn't sleep well, and the color on He Shishou's face is not good.
He Shishou also saw Li Zhi and stared at Li Zhi angrily, as if he wanted to bite Li Zhi.
As soon as noon arrived, a young eunuch came out and opened an imperial edict.
"The Battle of Jinzhou was of vital importance to the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty. All the Chinese people in Kyushu gathered their strength and gave their full support to fight the national disaster. However, at such a critical moment, Wu Zong and other thirty-seven people conspired to hide Taipu Temple Ma Zheng's silver, which was dangerous.
It led to the great defeat of Jinzhou. It was all thanks to the 170,000 soldiers of the frontier army who fought to the death that they narrowly won the victory."
"If Jinzhou is defeated, the Ming Dynasty will be in danger, and China will be in danger. Wu Zong and other thirty-seven imperial officials must be killed to show the law of the country. The first offender of a relative must be killed as a warning to others. The 160,000-strong frontier army Chen Shiqi
You must obey your orders sincerely. Now I will kill the criminals and 315 of their relatives to set the record straight."
The money hidden in Taipu Temple almost destroyed the country and almost turned the people of the world into subjugated slaves. After knowing the truth, the people in the capital hated these treacherous ministers with hatred. When they heard the eunuch's imperial edict, the people were filled with righteous indignation, raised their fists and shouted for death.
At this time, the people who had gathered had filled more than a dozen streets and alleys in the east of the city. The people behind could not see the scene on the execution ground. They could only hear the people in front shouting "kill". Knowing that this was about to be executed, they
He shouted loudly. For a while, the city for several miles around was full of people shouting for death, and the sound was loud enough to shake the sky.
Wu Zong, the second assistant to the cabinet, acted smart this time and was eventually ruined and disgraced all the nine clans. He shook his body amidst the people's shouts of death, could no longer hold on, and fainted on the execution ground with a thud.
But even if he fainted, he could not prevent the execution.
Two executioners, both tall and thick, walked up to Wu Di. One of them skillfully straightened Wu Di's body and pulled out the beheading stick from Wu Di's back. The other one raised his sword high and raised it with his hand.
Blood sprayed everywhere, several meters high.
Wu Di's head fell to the ground and rolled around several times.
The people in the audience were so angry when they saw the evildoer that they had committed the crime, they all clapped their hands and cheered loudly.
When the other prisoners saw this scene, they lost their original official style and fell down on the execution ground trembling. Chen Jishan, the former minister of Taipu Temple, did not know that the tendon was wrong, and suddenly rushed towards Li Zhi with all his strength.
He kowtowed and shouted loudly: "Dong Jin, please spare the Chen Jishan clan. Chen Jishan will be a cow and a horse for you in the next life!"
Li Daiwen, who was lying on the ground, also trembled and looked at Li Zhi in surprise, as if Li Zhi might spare them at the last moment.
Li Zhi didn't even look at the two of them.
The executioners gave these scum no time to beg for mercy. Several executioners rushed forward and helped Chen Jishan and Li Daiwen up.
The two screamed several times, but they couldn't stop the sharp steel knife, and their heads were cut off in two.
The relatives of the three officials were also killed one by one by the executioner.
Seeing that the culprits who had harmed the country were eliminated one by one, the people in the audience were even more excited. The people behind could not see clearly the execution ground, so they squeezed forward as hard as they could. The crowd was a little chaotic under the stage, and the crowd surged like waves.
When the common people saw that He Shishou, one of the four culprits, was still on the execution ground, they raised their fists and shouted loudly:
