A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 688 Execution
Wubenfang
Lu Jie, a retired official and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, was admiring the lotus flowers in the pavilion of his residence's garden.

The lotus buds are just beginning to emerge.
Plump koi carp frolic under the lotus leaves.
Under the covered walkway in the distance, the women of the household were arranging flowers and chatting. Today was the wife's birthday, and the married daughters had also brought their children home.
A few years ago, Lu Jie was just a seventh-rank military advisor in Bingzhou, Taiyuan. After joining the rebellion and capturing Chang'an, he was appointed as a senior official in the Ministry of Works, a substantive fifth-rank position. As a collateral descendant of the Lu clan of Fanyang, it is quite remarkable that he still had such an opportunity at over sixty years old.

After working for several years, he turned seventy at the beginning of the year and requested to retire. The court approved his request, and he lived in the capital after retirement, where he was still entitled to half a salary.

Now enjoying his retirement in the capital, surrounded by his grandchildren and with his daughters all married well and frequently visiting with their children, Lu Jie is very satisfied with his life.

What more could one ask for in life?
"Ah Lang, something terrible has happened!"

The butler rushed over in a panic, but he didn't notice the steps and tripped and fell flat on his face.

"Why are you panicking?"

Seeing that the koi carp among the lotus leaves had all scattered in fright, Lu Jie felt that his enjoyment had been disturbed and scolded them in dissatisfaction.

“My lord, there are many imperial guards outside. They say they have been ordered to arrest you, take you to the marketplace to be beheaded, and also to seize our property… My lord, you should go and see quickly, the imperial guards have already entered the house.”

The steward, oblivious to the mud that had gotten into his mouth, hurriedly reported the incident.

Lu Jie was stunned.

at this time,

A commotion came from afar.
The Lu family's servants did not dare to stop the fierce imperial guards and retreated all the way in.

A large number of imperial guards,

They were all clad in armor and armed with weapons.

That's how they forced their way in.

Where is Lu Jie?

Looking at the gleaming armor, swords, and spears, Lu Jie felt dizzy.

"I am Lu Jie. Who are you, and why are you trespassing on my property!"

At this moment, another general walked in from outside, surrounded by a large group of armored soldiers.

That person came all the way here.
Glancing at him,
"You are Lu Jie?"

"May I ask which general you are?" Lu Jie asked, noticing the impressive armor worn by the other man.

"Chang He, Deputy Commander of the Brigade Army, is hereby ordered by the Crown Prince Regent to arrest the criminal Lu Jie!"

Lu Jie's legs began to tremble involuntarily.
The Lüben Army was another name for the Left and Right Imperial Guards of the Eastern Palace's Six Guards. He had heard of Chang He; he used to be from Wagang, but later surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. The deposed crown prince regarded him as a confidant, but unexpectedly, on the day he was on duty at Xuanwu Gate, he blocked the crown prince in the palace.

"What crime have I committed?" Lu Jie already understood in his heart, but he still couldn't help but ask.

“You know perfectly well what crime you have committed. How dare you make accusations against the Prince of Dai? Lu Jie, you are already old, your hair is all white. Why would you give up a perfectly good retirement life and act so foolishly?”

Chang He looked at the old man,
Wubenfang was considered a relatively upscale area in Chang'an City. Because the Imperial Academy was located within the ward, the land there was very valuable, and many officials lived there.

Lu Jie's residence covers an area of ​​about twenty acres, with several courtyards and side courtyards, gardens, rockeries, lotus ponds, and fishponds.

The setting is also very elegant.

Even after retiring from office, he still insists on courting death.

"take away."

Lu Jie couldn't believe it. "Li Yi is only in his early twenties, a self-taught man, and has only been an official for a few years. How could he own tens of thousands of acres of land? How could he have acquired all of this without embezzlement..."

Chang He sneered a few times.

He gave a wink to the brigade commander beside him, and the burly man walked up to Lu Jie and slapped him twice hard, knocking out several more of Lu Jie's teeth and causing his face to swell up immediately.

The brigade commander wasn't finished yet; he reached out and twisted Lu Jie's chin, dislocating it.

Now, Lu Jie's mouth was agape, unable to close, and he could no longer speak.

Chang He didn't want to listen to Lu Jie's nonsense.

He was merely following the Crown Prince's orders to immediately escort this man to Gouji Ridge in Chang'an City for execution.

No interrogation required.

There's no need to wait until autumn to be executed.
There is no need for any review.
Execute him today.

Execute immediately!
Even a god couldn't save him.

The Lu family of Fanyang is nothing special.

Chang He looked at the disheveled and fearful old man with despair in his eyes and felt utterly disdainful.

Unable to understand their own position

This is how it ended.

"Seal off the Lu residence immediately. Tell the brothers to be careful and not make a mess of it. This place has already been bestowed upon the Prince of Dai by His Highness the Crown Prince."
Not just the plants, trees, tables, and chairs in this house,
This also includes all the servants and horses in the house.
All the women of the Lu family are now slaves of the Prince of Dai.

Anyone who's clumsy and damages anything here, watch out, I'll whip them! And anyone who dares to harbor ill intentions, steal from the manor, or even lay a hand on the women of this manor...

"I won't hold back. I'll drag him straight to Dog Ridge and chop him up along with that Lu fellow!"

ransacking homes

The original intention was definitely to steal something and get some benefits.
But now this place no longer belongs to the Lu family, but to the Prince of Dai.
The soldiers of the brigade became much more obedient.

It wasn't just because of the Prince of Dai's high official rank, but also because of his formidable reputation in the army—he was as invincible as the Crown Prince, leading the Tang army to countless victories.
Which soldier doesn't revere the Crown Prince and the Prince of Dai?

The things belonging to the King of Dai must not be handled recklessly.

Screams erupted from the distant corridor.
Heartbreaking
It was the women of the Lu family who violated the rules.
Lu Jie's elderly wife, along with his concubine, daughters-in-law, and daughters, were chatting and arranging flowers in the corridor. They had just witnessed the Imperial Guards storm in and Lu Jie being beaten to the ground.

She screamed in fright.

Chang He cursed, "Which son of a bitch is messing around? I've already told you that none of the women here are to be touched."

“General, our brothers didn’t do anything wrong, they were the ones making those noises themselves,” a squad leader shouted.

Chang He craned his neck and looked around.

"Take the brothers over there and control these women. Stop them from screaming; it's no use screaming, even if they shout themselves hoarse."

"Who told that guy surnamed Lu to be so stupid? He not only got himself into trouble, but now he's ruined his whole family."

From the female relatives of officials,

To the point of being reduced to a lowly slave,

Chang He sighed for these old and young women. Lu Jie wanted to speak, but his jaw was dislocated, and he couldn't say anything.

Even with his old bones, he was powerless to resist.
They were dragged away by the brigade's troops.

Drag it out the door.

Outside the walls of Wutou Courtyard, they were thrown onto a prepared prison cart and taken directly to Gouji Ridge.

There were two main execution grounds in Chang'an: Gouji Ridge and Duliu Tree, located in the East and West Markets of Chang'an, respectively.

Executions of criminals were generally required to take place in busy urban areas, that is, to be carried out in public, in order to serve as a deterrent.

Dog Ridge is located on a high slope in the northwest corner of Dongshi, and it is named after its resemblance to a dog's spine.

East is noble, West is rich.

Actually, the East Market has less foot traffic than the West Market.

However, since Lu Jie's family lived in Wubenfang, which was very close to the East Market, he was taken directly to Gouji Ridge for execution.

He was just enjoying his retirement.

In the blink of an eye, he was thrown into a prison van and taken to Dongshi.
Soon, Lu Jie was taken to the high slope of Dog Ridge.

Because it was a place where prisoners were frequently executed, it was known as a place of evil spirits, and merchants in the East Market usually avoided it.

The brigade's troops struck the gong.
Upon receiving the notification, the market officials of the East Market immediately followed suit and made the announcement.

I heard someone was going to be executed.
The person executed was a former fifth-rank official, and from the Lu family of Fanyang.

Merchants and ordinary people flocked to see the spectacle.

Such a distinguished official is not even allowed to enter the East Market in person normally; he is always escorted by a retinue.

Now he's going to be beheaded.

The common people always enjoy watching the spectacle.
I'm willing to watch any kind of excitement, whether it's killing chickens, ducks, pigs, or sheep, but I especially love watching murder.

There were even instances where, during battles between two armies, civilians disregarded their own safety and went to the edge of the battlefield outside the city to watch the fighting, only to be attacked by soldiers.
Back then, even the war god Wei Xiaokuan did this, driving away the onlookers to break up the enemy lines.

quickly,

The execution ground was packed with a huge crowd.

The people chattered excitedly.
Some people even went to a steamed bun shop, bought steamed buns, and held them high as they pushed forward desperately, waiting for someone's head to fall so they could immediately dip the steamed bun in the blood.

It is said that eating steamed buns dipped in human blood can cure many diseases, especially lung diseases, and has miraculous effects.

Many people believe in these folk remedies.

Is it the blood of a fifth-rank official, or the blood of the Lu family of Fanyang, one of the five surnames and seven clans?

In the eyes of those people,
It will definitely be more effective.

Chang He looked up at the sky.

Regardless of whether it was noon or not,

"Proclaim Lu Jie's crimes, then execute him immediately!"

Lu Jie's crime was simple: he falsely accused Li Yi, the Prince of Dai, who was serving as Minister of Works and Attendant-in-Ordinary.

"Execute him immediately, cut him in half at the waist!"

"cut!"

Gave an order,
The executioner, who specialized in carrying out executions, stepped forward.

Lu Jie's head was pressed against the wooden stake, unable to move. Looking at the dark red stains on the stake, one could only imagine how many heads it had chopped off.

At that moment, he was filled with regret, wondering why he had written that memorial.

Is it because the person looking for him is a direct descendant of the main branch of the Lu family?

In a trance,
He felt like he was flying...

Le'anfang, inside Anhuamen, is close to Shangdongmen and also very close to the Imperial City. It was the location of many high-ranking officials' residences.

Sikong Pei Ji lived in this neighborhood.

“Ah Lang,”

Attorney Pei practically ran into his father's study. The young Attorney Pei was pale and looked terrible.

"What is it?" Pei Ji was studying the chess game, his hand holding a jade chess piece.

Attorney Pei swallowed hard.

"My lord, just now, Lu Jie, the former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, had his home confiscated. Lu Jie has been taken to Gouji Ridge in the East Market for execution, and it is estimated that he has already been cut in half at the waist."
Lu Jie's wives and daughters were all confiscated and enslaved.

The air suddenly became very quiet.

snap,

The chess piece in Pei Ji's hand fell to the ground.
The sound of the piece hitting the chessboard was crisp and clear.

Lu Jie,

He and Pei Ji were good friends back in Jinyang, and their children were even related by marriage; one of Pei Ji's illegitimate sons married Lu Jie's daughter.

He could hardly believe his son's words.

"What did you say?"

Attorney Pei quickly repeated himself, he hadn't expected his fiancée's brother to be so ruthless.

Because of Lu Jie's single impeachment, he was executed without trial or conviction.

They also confiscated the property.

"Why?" Pei Ji asked, bewildered and dejected. "Why did this happen? Wasn't it just about having Lu Jie impeach Li Yi for corruption, extortion, and the large-scale annexation of farmland? How could it have turned out like this?"

Attorney Pei said, "I heard that Lu Jie listed twenty-one major crimes committed by Li Yi, including the crime of treason and rebellion."

Upon hearing this, Pei Ji glared and swept away the chess box and chessboard in front of him.

Sobbing and splashing
a mess!
(End of this chapter)