"Where's Master Liujie, have you killed him too?" Shopkeeper Li asked tremblingly.
"How could that happen?" Xiao Chen chuckled, "Master Liujie and you, the shopkeeper, are both talents I admire. How could I kill him?"
"But there are so many monks, and you don't even try them. You just catch them and kill them. Isn't it a bit too cruel to do this? Even the cruel King of Han would not do this." Shopkeeper Li said.
"I am a principled person. If I go against Dongchang, there is only one word for it: death. Since these people have chosen to create public opinion against Dongchang, they should have the consciousness to be killed by Dongchang."
"Then Master Liujie and I, if we don't follow Dongchang's wishes, will we also die?"
"Hahaha." Xiao Chen smiled a little awkwardly, "You are no longer enemies of Dongchang, so of course you should not be killed."
"What I'm asking is, what if you don't follow Dongchang's wishes."
"As a person, you must have principles. If the shopkeeper insists on being an enemy of Dongchang, then I will have to treat him the same way I treat my enemies."
Shopkeeper Li lowered his head and said no more words.
"Shopkeeper, just stay here and I'll have someone bring you some books early tomorrow morning."
After taking a look at the Tao Te Ching placed on the quilt, Xiao Chen opened the iron door and walked out.
Ten days later.
The square outside the Meridian Gate in the capital was crowded with people.
Today is the sixth day of June in the 19th year of Yongle. It is also the day that the people in the capital are most concerned about besides the Chinese New Year.
Before the May and Sixth Day, notices were posted at every intersection in the capital, saying that on the sixth day of June, the largest execution rally of the Yongle Dynasty would be held outside the Meridian Gate, and those headed by Ma Yunshan who had invaded the imperial court would be beheaded in public.
All participants in the resource case.
The notice listed in detail the names of those involved, with their original positions indicated at the back.
There are more than 200 military attachés in Jinyiwei alone. Officials from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Household Affairs, etc., from various departments of the imperial court, were implicated.
In total, there were more than 400 and nearly 500 officials to be killed that day.
This is really a great excitement for the people.
Whether it is the military attache of Jinyiwei or the civil servants of other departments of the imperial court, there is no one who does not raise his head with his nostrils pointing to the sky on weekdays.
The people were curious whether these officials continued to raise their heads one by one when they were about to be executed.
Not only did he call on the people of the capital to come and watch, Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty specifically canceled the morning court today and asked Xiao Chen to build a viewing platform and arrange for all officials in the court to watch the execution process at close range.
The Meridian Gate Square was originally quite big. Two or three people standing in the square were like flies landing on the back of a cow, just a few black spots.
But today, the surrounding areas were already crowded with people, so that the way for the officials to enter the stands had to be cleared by the imperial guards in order for them to pass smoothly.
The stands are built on four floors, facing north to south, at the northernmost part of the square.
There are flat wooden boards on top and chairs placed on them.
In front of the stands, there is a platform about three feet high, which is also made of flat wooden boards. The difference is that it is covered with a thick carpet, and there are a few large chairs displayed on the stalls.
This is the execution platform.
The executioner for this execution was the current prince Zhu Gaochi.
Originally, Ming Chengzu planned to come in person and watch Ma Yunshan and other imperial worms be killed. But in the end, Lin Shangli stopped him.
Lin Shangli believed that no matter how angry the emperor was, killing was only a means, not an end.
The reason why this execution was so solemn was simply to tell the world that the imperial court's assets were inviolable.
If the emperor were to come in person, the people would definitely think that these people had occupied the imperial assets, which had made the emperor very angry.
In this way, the execution became petty and a place for private venting of anger.
The emperor cannot go, but the status of the supervisor cannot be lowered.
Otherwise, how can the people of the world think that this is a "murderous feast" sponsored by the imperial court.
The most powerful department in the imperial court was the Six Ministries.
No matter which department the minister is in, he can only represent his own department.
This execution represents the position of the Ming Dynasty.
Lin Shangli thought for a long time before recommending to the emperor the most suitable candidate for the executioner: Zhu Gaochi, the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty.
The second-in-command of the imperial court is the most suitable person to replace the emperor and supervise and kill these worms in the imperial court.
On the execution platform, Zhu Gaochi had already landed on the chair in the middle.
A young eunuch with delicate features held a light red canopy in his hand, blocking Zhu Gaochi's head to block him from the scorching sun.
In front of the execution platform is the place that attracts everyone's attention, the execution platform.
On the left, five hunky-backed, bare-chested executioners stood.
Holding a five-inch wide sword in his arms, his face was expressionless and he stood with his legs crossed.
On the right is a long crossbar, more than one foot high, tied to a pillar.
Below the crossbar, there were also five shirtless executioners standing.
The difference is that they don't have big knives in their hands, but a rope in their hands, hanging around the crossbar.
At the end of the rope is a live buckle that can be big or small.
This is the multi-person gallows invented by Xiao Chen.
As the current executioner, Xiao Chen stood in the middle of the execution platform with his hands behind his back, quietly looking at the sun in the sky, waiting.
The people around him pointed to the execution platform one by one and discussed with each other.
The officials in the stands all had serious expressions, remained silent, and sat quietly.
Now, in this execution to serve as a warning to others, how dare all the officials show any unserious expressions.
The sun slowly moved westward and turned to the top of Xiao Chen's head, making his shadow completely turn into a dot. When he was stepped on, Xiao Chen turned around.
He walked a few steps towards the execution platform, folded his fists, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, it's three quarters to noon, do you want to execute me?"
Zhu Gaochi spread his hands, placed them on the armrests of the chair, and nodded to Xiao Chen: "Execution."
"Yes." Xiao Chen saluted respectfully again.
Turning around, he shouted to the dark group of officers and soldiers on the left: "Bring someone to commit the crime."
As soon as the voice fell, there was a commotion among the officers and soldiers.
Immediately afterwards, the ten soldiers were divided into five groups. Each of them held an arm of the prisoner and led the five prisoners in prison uniforms to the executioner.
The five prisoners had name tags on their backs with their names and positions written on them.
The leader is Zhang Jin, a Qianhu member of Jinyiwei.
The current Zhang Jin still has the same momentum as when he saw Ming Chengzu in the Jinluan Hall and did not kneel down.
His face was pale, without any blood. Even the whip wounds on his face were white flesh.
My whole body was paralyzed and I didn't even have the strength to kneel down.
Rather than saying that he was escorted up, it was better to say that he was dragged up.
"Zhang Jin from one thousand Jin Yiwei households, Wang Qi from one thousand Jin Yiwei households, Liu Ming from one hundred Jin Yiwei households, Jiang Zhong from one hundred Jin Yiwei households, and Li Pei from one hundred Jin Yiwei households." Xiao Chen stood in front of the five people and checked their identities one by one.
After reading the name of the last person, Xiao Chen stepped aside, raised his right hand, and swung down fiercely: "Cut."
The soldiers next to the prisoners quickly pulled off the name tags on their backs, grabbed their shoulders with one hand and clasped their wrists with the other, and pushed forward, exposing their necks to the knife edge.
The five shirtless executioners each took a step back, with the five-inch-wide sword in their hands, the tip of the knife touching the ground. They grasped the handle of the knife tightly with both hands. They took a look at the distance between the prisoner and themselves, and then exerted force instantly.
The sword was swung in a circle from behind, drawing a silver arc in the air, and landed accurately on the chins of the five people.
"Bang", the big knife cut into the skin and flesh like it hit a watermelon.
The bit of bone in the neck could not withstand the sharp thrust of the sword, and was cut off like a torrent.
Immediately afterwards, the big knife cut off the throat again, and together with the skin and flesh on the front of the neck, fell on the prisoner's chest. When it was about to hit the ground, the executioner stopped him.
"Gululu", several living human heads with messy hair rolling on the ground.
Some had their mouths wide open, and some had their eyes widened.
Zhang Jin seemed to have been frightened to death in advance, his head fell quietly to the ground, his mouth closed, and his eyes closed tightly.
Five bloody arrows were shot from the prisoner's shoulder for three or four breaths.
As the blood arrows gradually disappeared, blood bubbles began to bubble out of the necks of the five people.
Seeing that the beheading was completed, Xiao Chen waved his hand: "Collect the corpse."
The soldiers did not say a word, dragged the five corpses to the edge of the execution platform, and threw them towards the cart that had been prepared.
He walked back, picked up the human head on the ground, threw it at the cart, and threw it casually.
