Northern Dynasties

Chapter 1291 Qi Yean is here

The executed person shall be executed in the market place and abandoned with the crowd.

Apart from some overly cruel killings and collective punishments, the punishment of public abandonment should be the most severe of the conventional punishments. The reason why it is carried out in a busy city is that, in addition to being a punishment for the prisoner himself, it also has a certain function of warning and promoting education.

But in reality, when beheading is carried out in a busy city, people often just watch the fun, and the warning and educational effects are not that great.

It's not because the public is indifferent, but in a normal social order, people who are subject to such punishment are usually not ordinary people, or they have committed crimes that are not ordinary. It is really far away from the public life, making it difficult for people to feel any empathy.

Although the world is not completely peaceful yet and wars are still raging in various parts of Guandong, social life in Guanzhong has been running in an orderly manner for many years.

Since the present emperor came to assist the old Wei dynasty last year, there has been little social unrest and political struggle in Guanzhong, social customs have improved, and judicial sentences have become more lenient. Unless it is an extremely serious crime, there are very few sentences of execution.

Whenever something like this happened, the government would post notices in the city a few days in advance, and at the same time, the village elders, neighborhood chiefs and other grassroots civil officials would arrange for the villagers to watch the execution. After all, not everyone could accept or appreciate the bloody execution scene.

When Chang'an West Market first opened, there were already thousands of shops, and merchants from all over the world gathered here, making it one of the busiest areas in the city. In the northeast corner of West Market, beside the Tuoma Market, there are Shanfu Temple and the Free Life Pond, and next to these places is the West Market Execution Ground.

Because of the special identities of the people being executed today, it was said that among them was the emperor of Qi, which undoubtedly aroused the curiosity of the people in the capital. So after the West Market opened, the people flocked to the execution ground. When the execution time was about to arrive, the outside of the execution ground was already overcrowded with people and it was difficult for vehicles to pass.

"Here it comes, here it comes, the prison van is coming!"

Shouts were heard outside the arena. People in the crowd looked in the direction of the sound but only saw densely packed heads. The prison cart and prisoners were nowhere to be seen. Some people were even pushed down and trampled by the crowded crowd as they tried to make way for the prison cart. They could not help but shout loudly, "You dog slaves, watch out for your dog feet. You're crushing your father-in-law to death!"

The people who were lucky enough to be standing by the road could see the prison van passing by with their own eyes. They stood on tiptoe and shouted, "Who is the Eastern Bandit Qi Lord? Why don't you dare to stand up in front of people? You really lack dignity!"

"What a bullshit Qi Lord! He is nothing but a mad thief who usurped the title and stole it. Now he is captured by the royal teacher. He really deserves it. Heaven will destroy the thief Qi. I, the emperor, am the one who inherits the destiny of heaven. Who can defy heaven and bring prosperity to the country?"

There were all kinds of shouts from the crowd, some expressing curiosity, some expressing disdain, but more importantly, there was a surge of confidence and a sense of honor.

  In the past, the East and the West were divided and became enemies, each wanting to kill the other. Now the West has finally won and lured the powerful figures of the East to the West and executed them directly in the market. This is naturally very gratifying!

Especially since Guanzhong is different from Hebei, many of the young men have joined the army and fought under the Tang Emperor. Now punishing the Qi bandits in the downtown area is also an explanation to the elders of Guanzhong, allowing them to witness with their own eyes the achievements created by their young men after joining the army!

Unlike the excited people watching the execution, Gao Zhan and several other death row prisoners, after howling and begging for mercy along the way, eventually inevitably arrived at the execution ground. Their voices were already hoarse and they were sobbing. They curled up in the prison van and didn't even dare to open their eyes to look at anything.

The following execution process was also clean and neat. When the butcher knife was raised high and then suddenly chopped down, the scene of the head rolling to the ground and blood gushing out shocked the people around and they cried out in surprise for a long time.

At this time, besides ordinary Chang'an people, there were also many people from Guandong in the crowd, and even some of Gao Zhan's former relatives in the palace. When they saw the scene of Gao Zhan and others being beheaded, their feelings were much more complicated than those of the people in Chang'an. For them, the butcher's knife cut off not only the heads of Gao Zhan and others, but also their past sins.

The government only cares about killing but not burying. All those who are beheaded or thrown into the market need their family members and friends to collect the body. But now Gao Zhan's wife and children are still in the custody of the government, so naturally they will not come to collect his body.

As the crowd of people watching the execution dispersed, his body was still left on the execution ground. Although there were many people from Guandong entering Chang'an, no one came forward to collect his body.

Firstly, most of Gao Zhan's confidants fled eastwards, and there were several of them who were executed together today. Other people who were distantly related to him would naturally not take the risk to come forward to collect his body. Secondly, the entire Guandong Shiliu group is still in an uncertain state, and their future is still in trouble, so naturally they don't have much time to care about other people.

Although the imperial court announced a series of punishment and reward decrees for the Guandong Shiliu at the beginning of the year, it only set a standard for their punishment. As for what position the Guandong Shiliu would occupy in the future political situation of the Tang Dynasty, there is still no clear situation.

Previously, almost all members of the Zhaojun Li family were executed in Hebei, but that was a special case under war circumstances. As the war against Northern Qi came to a temporary end, the court showed a relatively lenient side in the subsequent punishment of the Northern Qi remnants. It did not kill them indiscriminately, and most of the Northern Qi's old ministers were pardoned one after another.

Of course, this pardon was not unconditional. After all, many Northern Qi officials had actually caused harm to the Guanzhong regime during the years of the East-West confrontation. Although they had served different masters before, it would be unfair to the soldiers who had sacrificed their lives on the battlefields of the East-West war to erase the past just because of this!

Therefore, for these Northern Qi officials, anyone who had participated in the East-West War or served in border states and counties, depending on the level of their original official rank in Northern Qi, had to pay money to atone their sins.

As for the redemption money and silk handed in, the court would use it to help the families of the soldiers who died in battle since the Datong period. If there was any surplus, it would be sent to Hebei to build charity granaries in prefectures and counties to help the people who became widows and orphans due to the war.

This order was naturally an exploitation of the former Northern Qi bureaucracy. Li Tai was not worried that the Northern Qi officials would defect because the situation in Guandong was now settled, and the Fubing system had already established a firm foothold in Hebei. Linking the confiscated money with the relief of the orphans and widows in Hebei could also avoid incitement based on personal feelings. It would be even more difficult to stir up any waves with the remaining administrative structure of the Northern Qi alone.

Because many Northern Qi officials were directly taken to Guanzhong as prisoners of war, they naturally could not carry too much valuables with them, and it was difficult for them to raise enough money for redemption at once.

In view of the universality of this situation, in order to prevent those officials from being imprisoned for a long time because they had no money to redeem themselves, Li Tai specially ordered the officials to temporarily lend the items in the imperial treasury to the prisoners, so that they could redeem themselves and be exempted from punishment as soon as possible, and then raise money and goods to return to the imperial treasury after they regained their freedom.

If these people are willing to settle in the capital, no interest will be charged, and they only need to pay back the money and goods within a specified time. If they are homesick and insist on returning home, they will not be stopped. The relevant money will be collected by the local government, and the emperor will naturally not lend money for profit, but the labor required to transport the money and goods will still be borne by them.

Therefore, these Northern Qi officials who were imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishments were pardoned one after another, and none of them were harmed, except that they had an additional IOU issued by the Imperial Household in the Forbidden City.

Of course, there were also people whose families were well-off and whose family and friends could raise enough money in Chang'an in time. They would choose to pay the fine directly to avoid some subsequent troubles. Among them was Zhao Yanshen, an important official of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

The reason why Zhao Yanshen was able to redeem himself was not because of his wealthy family, but because he took advantage of a loophole in the order. The amount of the fine was determined according to the official rank of the original Northern Qi, but before the fall of Jinyang City, Zhao Yanshen happened to dissuade Qi Lord Gao Yan from holding a grand funeral for his mother Lou, which angered Gao Yan, and thus he was stripped of his official rank and expelled from the palace. Therefore, when Zhao Yanshen was taken to Guanzhong, he was a commoner. If he had not been famous, he would probably not have been taken to Guanzhong.

The Tang Dynasty court was very strict in enforcing the decree. Since the special circumstances of Zhao Yanshen were not taken into consideration when the decree was first issued, the fine was set according to the list of officials and titles confiscated from the Qi court when Jinyang was captured. Zhao Yanshen, who was stripped of his official title, paid a very low fine and regained his freedom.

Zhao Yanshen was trusted by Gao Huan and his son in the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties, and participated in the selection of officials in the Northern Qi dynasty. He was also modest and cautious, so he was also very popular among the Guandong people. As he regained his freedom, many Guandong people who were now staying in Chang'an came to visit him. And because he had a guest-host relationship with Sima Xiaonan's father Sima Ziru, Sima Xiaonan specially invited Zhao Yanshen to a banquet at his home.

Because he was demoted and punished for making a fuss before, Sima Xiaonan has become much quieter than before. Today, he only hosted Zhao Yanshen and several other old acquaintances from Guandong at his residence, and they only talked about old things in Guandong.

Sima Xiaonan asked Zhao Yanshen about his future plans. Zhao Yanshen sighed and said, "Although Guanzhong is prosperous, it is not my hometown. I have been pardoned by the Tang emperor and have survived the disaster. I am also tired and lazy. I just want to return to Jinyang and live in the countryside. I don't want to experience the prosperity of the world again."

"Although Chang'an is nice, it is not my hometown. There are countless people who bully others by taking advantage of their power. When I heard you say that you want to return home to take care of your family, I deeply agree with you. Rather than drifting in the officialdom and wasting your ambition, it is better to return home!"

Sima Xiaonan has been feeling quite discouraged lately, and after hearing this he sighed with sympathy.

A few people were chatting sadly when a servant came to report that a guest wanted to visit them. When Sima Xiaonan looked down and saw that the name on the name card was Zu Ting, he immediately frowned and said unhappily: "I have no friendship with this disciple, why is he visiting me now!"

His cousin Sima Zirui leaned over and whispered, "Although Zu Xiaozheng is a villain, he took advantage of the situation. He followed Duke Xu to the east to attack the remaining people in Qingzhou. This time he came to the court as a meritorious soldier. Now he has sent a letter to visit us, so we should not treat him lightly."

Zu Ting had previously served as a military officer under Han Xiong and had been on the expedition with the army. After pacifying the remaining bandits in Qingzhou, Han Xiong was awarded the title of Duke of Xu for his meritorious service. As for Zu Ting, he was also admitted to the imperial court as a meritorious official, which was considered a relatively good situation for a Northern Qi official. Sima Xiaonan was no longer as glorious as before, so it was better not to offend a powerful villain like Zu Ting.

After hearing Sima Zirui's persuasion, Sima Xiaonan ordered his servants to invite Zu Ting into the house. As for himself, he certainly would not stand up to greet him personally.

Not long after, Zu Ting, wearing a brand new robe, was ushered in. When he saw everyone in the hall, he bowed and said with a smile: "When I came to Beijing a few days ago, I intended to come to visit Lord Xingyang. Due to some matters, I have been delayed and have only come until now. I hope Lord Xingyang will forgive me. I didn't expect that Minister Zhao is here. It's really a surprise... No, I shouldn't call you by your old name now. It's rude!"

Although Zu Ting had great talent and reputation in the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties, he did not have much reputation. Therefore, Sima Xiaonan, Zhao Yanshen and others did not have a good face towards him and just nodded slightly in greeting.

Zu Ting was not impressed. He walked to an empty table and asked Sima Xiaonan's servant to sweep the dust before he sat down. He pointed at his clothes and said with a smile, "Qi silk and Lu silk are both rare treasures in the world. During this expedition to Qingzhou, the court rewarded the meritorious soldiers with stolen goods and tailored them for them. I dare not stain this meritorious robe."

When he said this, his smug look was evident on his face, and Sima Xiaonan and the others couldn't help but frown.

After sitting down, Zu Ting looked at Zhao Yanshen and said with a smile: "In the past, I often heard that Lord Zhao was virtuous. I didn't expect that in addition to this, Lord Zhao was also very talented in managing his family business! The court recently issued a new order to redeem himself, and in the blink of an eye, Lord Zhao was already out of prison. In the past, you held a prominent position in the rebel court, and no one could match you. Now that you can redeem yourself, I guess it must have cost a lot of money?"

After hearing this, Zhao Yanshen said in a cold voice: "This matter does not require me to spend time thinking about it. The Emperor of Tang is magnanimous and wise. Do you have any objections?"

Zu Ting waved his hands and said with a smile, "The court is fair in its use of power, so I dare not question it. I am just curious about how Lord Zhao is so rich. It is really amazing. I used to work with Lord Zhao, but I lack his ability to run a business and make money. Now I have come to Guanxi, and it is not easy to find a place to live in the prosperous capital. I beg Lord Zhao to teach me how to be self-sufficient."

Zhao Yanshen's face darkened when he heard this, and he couldn't help but say angrily: "How could a treacherous villain like Zu rise to prominence at such a high time? How unfair the world is!"

After hearing Zhao Yanshen's scolding, Zu Ting did not show any anger on his face. Instead, he smiled and said, "Since Lord Zhao claims to be loyal and upright, how many talented people have you recommended to the traitor court? The King of Qi was very sincere to you last year. Where is Qi's power now?

"You have been eating salary for many years, but you cannot help the country, and you cannot die for the country. However, you have a huge amount of money to redeem yourself. Is the world fair to you? In the past, I repeatedly recommended myself to Jinyang, but I was always blocked by Zhao. Now I think about it, Zhao has made contributions to the Tang Dynasty by preventing talented people from taking office. It is hateful and difficult to justify myself. Now you still need a huge amount of money to redeem yourself. It is really ridiculous! Ting seeks advancement because of his merits, while Zhao spends money to protect himself. Who is more treacherous and evil?"

Zu Ting's words were so harsh that even his host Sima Xiaonan couldn't help but frown and said, "I'm very happy that Zu Jun has come to visit me, but please don't disturb my guests like this!"

"Please forgive me, Lord Xingyang. A man should distinguish between gratitude and resentment. I deeply admire the Lord Xingyang's actions of fleeing to the west out of worry and hardship. You are now living in this mansion and enjoying glory. You were dismissed and reinstated, which is also a great reward. It is enviable."

Zu Ting didn't care much about Sima Xiaonan's attitude, but pointed at Zhao Yanshen and said, "Zhao blocked my career in the past. Now I have met him at the right time. If I don't take revenge, what's the point of human grudges? I came here to tell you, don't think you can escape the disaster by redeeming yourself with a huge sum of money! You repeatedly used insults and insults to offend Guanxi in your memorials. If you are unwilling to buy it back from me, I will calmly report it to the authorities and let you die in Guanxi!"

Now that the relationship has been broken, Zu Ting no longer pretends. He came here to target Zhao Yanshen. In addition to revenge, he also coveted Zhao Yanshen's wealth that could be used to redeem himself, so he wanted to take advantage of the situation to extort money and generate some income while taking revenge.

Zhao Yanshen was naturally extremely angry when he heard what Zu Ting said, but when his eyes fell on the new clothes made of Qi silk and Lu silk on Zu Ting, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He knew that such a villain should not be offended easily, and he didn't want to let the old grudge between them continue to deepen, so he took a deep breath and said patiently: "Zu has misunderstood. I was stripped of my official title in Jinyang before, and I was arrested without any money, so I redeemed myself without any money..."

Zu Ting burst into laughter when he heard this, and then pointed at Zhao Yanshen and said angrily: "I am already showing courtesy to you by coming to discuss this. If Zhao is still stingy and greedy and refuses to make peace, you and your son will never be able to leave Guanzhong!"

After saying this, he no longer paid attention to his master Sima Xiaonan and others who had livid faces. He stood up and left.

(End of this chapter)