Planet Rebirth

Pilate didn't want to waste any more time on this. As the highest administrative and military officer here, and at the same time a big man with judicial power, he still had a lot of things to do, so he didn't want to ask such a Jew any more.

So he turned to the priest and asked, "Where is your master?"

The priest said in awe: "He is waiting for your notarized judgment outside the door."

Pilate finally asked Jesus before walking out the gate, "Do you think you are the king of Israel?"

Jesus replied: "You say that I am a king, then I am a man of Israel, and I have come to this world to testify for the truth!"

Pilate smiled and said, "Then what is truth?"

After speaking, he left Jesus and walked out the gate.

At this time, many Jewish nobles in Jerusalem, headed by the chief priests, gathered outside the gate. They were looking forward to their Roman governor Pilate to decisively execute the shepherd who claimed to be the Messiah.

Pilate's chubby figure appeared in front of everyone, and the square immediately fell silent, and everyone shut their mouths to listen to Pilate's speech.

Pilate looked at the people in front of him and said loudly: "I can't find out what crime this man named Jesus has committed. He is a law-abiding citizen. You Jews once asked me to let me die every year after Passover." Release a Jew unconditionally, then I want to release this Jew named Jesus this year, do you agree?"

As soon as Pilate's words fell, all the people shouted excitedly: "We don't want to release this lunatic and liar, let's release Babiba, we would rather have this robber!"

Faced with such calls, Pilate seemed a little at a loss. He could not rely on his own authority when facing these Jewish nobles, because he knew that abuse of authority would lead to disasters. His last job was assassinated by a Jew. It is because of being too arrogant and oppressing the Jews.

Pilate waved his hand to silence the crowd and continued, "Roman law does not prohibit anyone from spreading teachings. Besides, this Jesus is very law-abiding. I have no right to arrest him."

The chief priest roared: "He is blaspheming our gods, he is committing a crime, arrest him and execute him, otherwise the anger will set the whole of Jerusalem on fire."

Seeing everyone's unanimous plea, Pilate had no choice but to change his original mind, and he had no choice but to order someone to take Jesus into prison.

However, in the days that followed, letters requesting the execution of Jesus flew into his office like a snowflake, and the even more disturbing news was that a large number of people from the entire Judea province were flocking to Jerusalem, and they were all followers of Jesus.They vowed to rescue their master.

Pilate was caught in a deep conflict between killing and not killing.

In the evening, facing a large table of rich dishes, Pilate had no appetite at all, but kept drinking the luscious wine shipped from Sicily.

At this moment, a centurion of the Roman legion appeared in front of Pilate. Pilate stood up immediately when he saw this man. He knew this man.

This centurion used to be Caesar's entourage, Octavian's think tank, and the important figure who had influenced the fate of Rome. This person was Yang Rui.

Yang Rui walked up to Pilate with a smile and asked, "Tell me quickly. What made you lose your appetite."

Pilate sighed and said: "It is a man who claims to be the Messiah. He teaches Jesus and is a law-abiding Roman citizen. Although the teachings he preaches conflict with Judaism. But I have no reason to deal with such a person. Rome pays attention to the law. and notarized."

Yang Rui made it to the opposite side of Pilate, poured himself a glass of wine, took a deep sip, and said, "Don't talk to me about these polite words. Tell me what you really think."

Pilate smiled and said, "Nothing can be hidden from you."

After that, Pilate continued: "I can execute Jesus, but that may provoke a civil uprising. But if I don't execute Jesus, I will also offend all the Jewish nobles, and the tax revenue of the Jewish province will drop sharply. Can not afford."

Yang Rui nodded and said with a smile: "I'm very glad that you can be honest with me, then I will tell you my thoughts."

Pilate quickly filled Yang Rui with wine and said with a smile, "Please tell me, I really need reasonable advice now."

Yang Rui suddenly asked, "Are you afraid of war?"

Pilate shook his head and said, "Of course I'm not afraid. I was born as a general of the Gaul Legion and fought bloody battles in Gaul and Egypt. Octavian once awarded me a medal."

"That's good!" Yang Rui nodded and said: "The civil uprising is not terrible. You have a sufficient number of Roman legions in your hands. For these common people who only have hoes and sickles, Roman daggers and shields are the most powerful responses. You Do you understand me?"

Pilate nodded, but did not reply immediately, but expected Yang Rui to continue to give him guidance.

Yang Rui continued: "You can't treat the nobles in Jerusalem like that. Of course, you can kill them all, but the property and wealth of these Jews are all kept in Rome. If you kill them, you will pay a penny in taxes." You can’t get it, without taxation, the province of Judea will fall, and the people will rebel, but then, what will the Roman emperor think of you?”

What he said made Pilate break into a cold sweat, and Yang Rui continued: "Your political achievements have already made the Roman emperor very unhappy. If you condone all this and anger the Jewish nobles, then your political career will also end here. It's over. I think you already know how to choose."

Pilate threw his wine glass on the table and said, "Then I must execute Jesus."

Yang Rui nodded and said, "Yes, Jesus must die so that you can keep your official position. However, in order to maintain your image among the people, you must do something properly before executing Jesus."

Pilate said, "Do what?"

Yang Rui said: "You have to let the people think that you are forced to do so by the nobles, and transfer the conflict to the people and the nobles, so that even if you do something, you will not be blamed on you."

Pilate strode up to Yang Rui, held his hand and said, "Thank you for your teaching, I know what to do."

Yang Rui also stood up and stared at Pilate seriously, saying: "Never use hanging or beheading, short-term pain cannot satisfy everyone, and short-term pain is easy to forget, only long-term torture can It will be remembered by all.”

Hearing this, Pilate was surprised and said, "You mean to use..."

Yang Rui nodded and interrupted Pilate and said, "I'm glad you understand what I mean."

It was late at night, and Jesus was locked in the deepest part of the prison in the Governor's Mansion, in a dark separate cell, when a figure flashed outside the railing, Yang Rui appeared in front of him.

Jesus stood up from the haystack, knelt on the ground and said, "Father, what instructions do you have?"

Yang Rui asked: "Your time is coming, are you ready?"

Jesus was silent for a moment and said, "I'm ready, but..."

Yang Rui said, "Just still thinking about Magdalene and that unborn child?"

Jesus nodded and said, "Yes."

Yang Rui said: "You don't have to worry about this. I know that although people like Peter are spying on your status after death, they will do their best to protect Magdalene and that child, but what I want them to do is to commemorate you. To your credit."

Jesus said, "Why do those who believe in me still think like this?"

Yang Rui said: "Because they are human, they will have weaknesses, otherwise you will not be betrayed and appear here. Only your death can wake up the world! You have to die for this, you are not afraid ?"

Jesus shook his head and said, "Don't be afraid, if the Father wants me to do this, then I will do it, because I know where I am going in the future, and I am looking forward to it happening."

Yang Rui sighed and said, "Maybe it's my fault for letting you see the truth cruelly."

Jesus asked, "Father, what do you mean by this?"

Yang Rui waved his hand and said, "It's not important."

After finishing speaking, he continued: "Tomorrow you will accept the cruelest torture in this world, Jesus, are you ready?" (To be continued...)