The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 278 Punishment
Penglai County Magistrate Ge Yewen did not attend the lingchi ceremony for the Kaiyuan rebels held at the Wendeng Grand School.

In the past year, Ge Yewen was very dissatisfied with Liu Zhaosun's various presumptuous actions in Dengzhou and repeatedly refused Kang Yingqian's bribes.

He submitted a memorial to the imperial court, opposing the Kaiyuan Army's recruitment of refugees and the establishment of agricultural land in Wendeng.

He believed that if this continued, Wendeng would become a paradise for refugees from Southern Zhili, and Kaiyuan would gradually erode Shandong, which would inevitably affect the prestige of the court.

The memorial brought him trouble. In addition to Kang Yingqian's threats and suppression of him, other colleagues around him also disliked him.

After Song Yingsheng and Zeng Qixiao took control of Wendeng, the first thing they thought of was to win over the stubborn and stubborn Ge Yewen.

Song Yingsheng knew very well that it would be difficult to convince the people with just the title of Silijian and Liaoxi Army, and he needed support from more forces.

Hearing that there was a person named Ge Yewen, he wanted to win him over to deal with Liu Zhaosun together.

"Has Magistrate Ge arrived?"

"Replying to Lord Song, I sent someone to invite Magistrate Ge the day before yesterday to join us in this important event, but I don't know why he hasn't arrived yet."

"Forget it, I won't wait for him anymore, let's execute him!"

The large parade ground was crowded with people. A temporary wooden platform was set up in the center, and the area was densely populated with Wendeng people.

The soldiers guarding against the Japanese invaders and the water camp soldiers transferred from Dengzhou and Laizhou prefectures, holding long spears and swords, looked fiercely at the people who kept pouring in from all around, and shouted loudly to drive the people away from the execution ground.

Commander Yang and a group of servants stood guard with knives on the north and south streets, closely monitoring any signs of trouble.

Many people had just received the news that the Kaiyuan soldiers were planning a rebellion. Fortunately, a eunuch named Zeng came from the capital and turned the tide, thus saving Dengzhou from the disaster of war.

Today, Eunuch Zeng is going to publicly execute all the rebels in the parade ground, including the wife of Marquis Ping Liao and a baby.

Song Yingsheng, with his elegant figure, lifted the sleeves of his third-rank robe and reached out to grab the command token on the table. The head of the East Factory coughed twice and said nervously:
"Master Song, it's better not to kill this child. He's less than half a year old."

Song Yingsheng grabbed the command arrow, on which was painted a blood-red word "剐". Seeing Zeng Qixiao's dissuasion, he smiled coldly:
"Eunuch Zeng, when Liu Zhaosun was killing our Song family, he didn't spare a single one!"

He said with a serious face:

"Eunuch Zeng, you came from the East Depot after all. Don't you know the law? According to Ming Dynasty law, treason is punishable by extermination of all nine generations of the clan. All three generations of the clan shall be crucified, that is, cut into pieces. As the saying goes, to cut the grass, you must remove the roots. The traitor Liu usurped the throne and rebelled. He should have expected this day to come."

"Not only Liu Zhaosun's family, but also the maids at the Wendeng County government office, were skinned alive. And the shopkeepers and clerks in Kaiyuan were all spies, so kill them all."

After hearing this, Zeng Qixiao took a breath and stopped talking immediately.

He had been in the East Factory for many years, rising from a strongman to a big boss, and became Xu Xianchun's most capable subordinate.

Over the years, he has confiscated countless families and killed many people. He is considered a ruthless person, but he has never done such a ruthless killing as Song Yingsheng did today.

As expected, when the civil officials become ruthless, the eunuchs have no chance.

"Eunuch Zeng, you don't think that if we kill one less person, the thief Liu will let us go? I know this beast Liu Zhaosun very well. He would kill meritorious officials for 200 taels of silver! We fought from Kaiyuan to Wendeng, killing so many of his men. He would hate to grind us to ashes."

Song Yingsheng suddenly raised his voice and slammed the command arrow in his hand on the table, causing the wooden table to creak uncomfortably.

"In the 47th year of the Wanli reign, the three brothers of the Linchuan Song family gave up their promising futures in the capital and followed Liu Zhaosun to Liaodong. They faced fierce battles and narrowly escaped death. We helped him manage civil affairs and businesses, and even brought people from Jiangxi to Liaodong to teach in private schools, helping Liu Zhaosun transform from a Chinese to a barbarian. Without us, the three brothers of the Song family, Kaiyuan wouldn't be what it is today! My brother Song Yingding only took a few tens of thousands of taels of silver, money earned by the trading company himself, and yet the thief Liu killed my brother and his entire family! He even wanted to attack me! What do you think? Does this thief Liu deserve to die?"

"Forget it, let's not talk about the past!"

Song Yingsheng let out a long breath, restored his elegant image, and said to Commander Yang Qilong who was sitting next to Zeng Qixiao:
"Commander Yang, is everything arranged?"

Yang Qilong didn't dare look directly at Song Yingsheng. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and stammered:

"An, everything is arranged. Alright, we have troops ambushed on the main roads and side roads, and we have also posted servants at the docks."

Song Yingsheng nodded, expressing his affirmation of Yang Qilong's ability to do things.

"What about around the execution ground?"

Yang Qilong said quickly:

"We have three hundred retainers lying in ambush, and the soldiers are dressed as civilians. We have our men all over the surrounding roads."

"Well done! Commander Yang, you did a great job. When we return to the capital, this official and Eunuch Zeng will not forget your contribution."

Song Yingsheng looked at Wu Xiang who was sitting at the edge.

"General Wu, the thief Liu is attacking Guangning and will conquer it soon. I'm afraid your brother-in-law Zu Dashou will not live long. Only you and your son have escaped from your Wu family... In short, Liu Zhaosun is our common enemy, and we must work together today!" Song Yingsheng suddenly stood up and threw the command arrow with the word "gua" written on it with all his strength.

"Today, Jin Yuji and her daughter are our token of loyalty. Cut them into pieces. From now on, the four of us will be our own people!"

The order fell and the slow slicing began.

The parade ground was bustling with people.

There were more than a dozen wooden stakes standing on the high platform. The last twelve Kaiyuan rebels were tied to the stakes and subjected to the torture of lingchi.

Because the executioner was beheaded yesterday (it was said that this person was involved with the thief Liu), all the butchers in Wendeng County were arrested by Lord Song and executed.

Sharp knives, whetstones, basins of water and bamboo baskets were neatly placed next to the twelve wooden stakes.

The bamboo basket was used to hold the human flesh cut off during lingchi.

The butchers were busy sharpening their knives. The eight-inch-long beheading knives tore at the grit on the grindstones, and the rustling sound was like a poisonous snake gnawing at a human heart.

Next to the twelve rebels, there was a swaddling cloth, and the sound of a baby crying could be heard from the swaddling cloth.

After Liu Zhaosun's concubine was captured, her three-month-old child was also escorted here. Lord Song specifically instructed that the little prisoner must not be allowed to die prematurely, so the servants kept feeding the baby rice soup, trying to maintain this little life.

More than thirty white birds fluttered out from the Qingchun River (a river in Wendeng), flew across the blue sky above the crowd, then turned east and flew towards the golden sun.

Jin Yuji saw egrets flying in the blue sky. A lone egret flew over the execution ground, let out a mournful cry, and quickly flew towards Liaodong.

She lowered her head and looked at her daughter lying on the ground crying loudly.

Two servants dragged a bloody man towards a high stake.

Jin Yuji did not immediately recognize the guard from the central army.

After Wendeng fell, this guard hid on the beam of the Wendeng County Government Office. Before he was captured, he shot and killed five of Song Yingsheng's personal soldiers with a short crossbow.

Lord Song specifically instructed that this man be subjected to the torture of lingchi before the twelve rebels.

Jin Yuji saw a beaten humanoid monster.

The guard's head swayed like a rattle, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, following the footsteps of the servants on both sides, like a broken ear of wheat swaying in the wind.

The blood scabs on the top of his head stuck together with the bun, making his head look like an indestructible iron ball.

The guards' feet sometimes hovered in the air, sometimes touching the ground, creating ripples on the bluestone slabs of the training ground.

With this ripple as the center, the crowd, like birds in the river of youth, all retreated unconsciously.

For a moment, the training ground was completely silent, and the only sound that could be heard was the mournful cries of egrets overhead.

Jin Yuji saw the servant drag the humanoid monster to the wooden stake, and as soon as he let go, the monster collapsed to the ground like a pile of boneless meat.

Jin Yuji struggled and cried out, "Captain Zhang!"

Zhang Bazong was wriggling slowly under the wooden stake, like a giant snake that was almost frozen to death.

He knelt on his knees, his head slightly raised. His face was swollen and translucent, and his eyes were reduced to two slits, through which two deep green rays of light shot out.

The two bodyguards shouted at the top of their lungs.

"This is what will happen if you continue to work for Liu Zhaosun!"

The servants tied General Zhang to a wooden stake.

Wang Er, the most famous pig butcher in Wendeng County, was pushed and brought over by Song Yingsheng's personal soldiers.

He held a sharp knife in his left hand and a bucket of clean water in his right hand, and walked tremblingly to Captain Zhang.

The personal guard came up and said:
"Master Song said he wants to open the eyes of the people of Wendeng today. This is the first course, and there are more to come! Three thousand six hundred cuts, not a single one less. If you don't cut it right, I'll cut you open and throw you into the River of Youth to feed the turtles!"

Wang Er was shaking all over, and the butcher knife in his hand was shaking as well.

(End of this chapter)