The prince is more stable

Chapter 976 Calm and Calm
In the first year of the Jingkang era, on a snowy day just before New Year's Eve, officials brought out over a thousand prisoners from the Dali Temple prison.

The prisoners, wearing heavy shackles and thin prison clothes, shivered from the cold wind and snow outside the cell.

Despite the cold weather, the fear in their hearts was overwhelming. The group of prisoners, young and old, were being escorted by officials and slowly made their way to the execution ground outside the city.

The ringleaders were Li Huai, Zhang Xiran, and others. As they walked, they wailed and cried, confessing to an elderly man with white hair among the prisoners that they should not have been so heartless as officials, causing the deaths of their entire families.

Zhao Xiaoqian eventually issued an edict ordering the extermination of the entire family of the six ringleaders involved in the case, including Li Huai, the Nanjing garrison commander; Zhang Xiran, the prefectural judge; and Chen Su, the county magistrate of Xiayi. The remaining accomplices were to be beheaded.

Not only were corrupt officials executed, but also more than a hundred powerful landlords under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture.

It wasn't that the emperor was cruel and bloodthirsty, but rather that the laws of the Song Dynasty clearly stated that those who plotted rebellion were unforgivable. These people colluded with officials and merchants, secretly instigating popular uprisings, which was extremely serious. If they weren't killed, the people of the world would never remember this lesson.

Braving the swirling snow, the officials escorted the prisoners to the execution ground outside the city.

Today, the executions were personally overseen by the three judicial authorities. After each prisoner's identity was verified, they were bound hand and foot and made to kneel on the execution ground, bending forward and stretching their necks out in extreme fear.

The execution ground was already surrounded by a dense crowd of onlookers. Despite the freezing weather, the people did not feel cold at all. As they watched the criminals who were about to be executed, the crowd's curses and spitting were endless.

The crimes of the criminals have long been made public, and the people know what they have done, so they naturally hate them to the extreme.

Not only was he unable to be a good official, but he also embezzled millions of coins, colluded with powerful landlords to seize the land of poor peasants. Not only that, in order to cover up his crimes, he went so far as to secretly instigate a peasant uprising, causing the entire Yingtian Prefecture to suffer and become a living hell.

They certainly deserve to die. Even the seemingly innocent members of the three clans—who among them didn't enjoy ill-gotten gains from corrupt officials while they were alive? Who among them didn't bully others by abusing their power?
So, are they really innocent?
Killing over a thousand people at once is truly a grand gesture.

In preparation for today's execution, the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review urgently borrowed many executioners from various local governments in the capital region and also forged many brand-new, sharpened ring swords. If the blade became dull, they would replace it with a new one, all so as not to delay the beheading.

At noon, the drums suddenly resounded in the execution ground. The drumbeats were like the death warrant of the King of Hell. The prisoners kneeling in the execution ground trembled, their expressions growing more desperate. They knew that their lives could only go so far.

Many prisoners burst into tears. Some cursed the corrupt official's family members, some cried out their innocence with all their might, and others lamented that they did not want to die, that they had not received a single penny from the corrupt official, and why they were being implicated and killed by him...

All the pleas for mercy and cries for justice could not win the sympathy and pity of the officials and executioners.

Xing Shu, the Minister of Justice, was the executioner. He looked up at the sky; the time had come.

Xing Shu then stood up, forcefully threw the command arrow onto the execution ground, and coldly said, "The time has come, the prisoner has been identified, begin the execution!"

The executioners moved in unison, raising their gleaming broadswords high, their eyes fixed intently on the prisoners' necks.

As the drumbeats suddenly stopped, the executioner's blade slashed down fiercely.

Blood spurted out, and a head fell to the ground.

How painful, how exhilarating!

…………

Inside Yanfu Palace, Zheng Chunhe stood before Zhao Xiaoqian, bowing and reporting in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, all 1,212 officials and their families who were convicted in Yingtian Prefecture have been executed. Minister of Justice Xing Shu has reported back to the court."

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't raise his eyebrows and said calmly, "Tell the Kaifeng Prefecture to handle the aftermath properly. The execution ground has been demolished, the ground has been cleaned up, and a Taoist priest should be invited to perform a ritual to exorcise evil spirits."

In just one day, more than a thousand people were beheaded, but Zhao Xiaoqian's expression remained completely calm.

According to the law, treason is punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. Zhao Xiaoqian only issued an edict to exterminate three generations of his family, which was truly merciful.

Of course, if it really came down to executing nine generations of relatives, it would inevitably involve arguing with the court officials, exchanging insults and trying to reason with each other, which would be too tiring.

Don't be fooled by the frequent depictions of exterminating nine generations of a family in movies and TV dramas. In reality, throughout China's thousands of years of history, there are very few instances of such executions explicitly recorded in historical texts—you could count them on one hand.

The execution of nine generations of a family was tantamount to the extermination of the entire clan, and the cancellation of the entire family's household registration. In ancient times, when kinship was everywhere, the impact of executing nine generations of a family was enormous.

Some of the prisoners had common surnames, with relatives within nine generations scattered all over the world. Many villages were named after a single surname, such as Chen Family Village and Li Family Village.

They hadn't caused any trouble or disaster, and they lived their simple, impoverished lives peacefully, eating hotpot and singing songs. Suddenly one day, imperial officials came and imprisoned all the people in the village who shared the same surname.

Then they were told that their relative had committed a crime, and according to the law, nine generations of their family would be executed. Unfortunately, they happened to be among those nine generations, so they should accept their fate and go on their way. In the end, all the people with the same surname in the entire village were taken to the execution ground and beheaded in a confused state. The entire village was wiped out, which was equivalent to a legal massacre, and it was very likely that more than one village was slaughtered.

Put yourself in this villager's shoes, how would you feel?
I don't even know this relative who committed the crime, I've never even met him, so why should I die with him?

When he was riding high, I didn't get a single benefit from it, but now that he's in trouble, I'm being dragged down with him. What did I do wrong? Besides being born into the wrong family, what else did I do wrong?
Therefore, in this era where everyone is related by blood and a single move can have far-reaching consequences, no emperor would easily resort to the punishment of executing nine generations of a family unless the crime was truly too serious and unforgivable. Otherwise, the emperor would ultimately show some leniency and would not make such an extreme decision.

The same applies to Zhao Xiaoqian.

Of course, he wasn't soft-hearted. He had been on the battlefield and commanded battles himself, and he had personally witnessed soldiers beheading tens of thousands of people. His temperament had long been honed.

After careful consideration, Zhao Xiaoqian decided to exterminate the entire clan of Li Huai and his associates in response to their crimes.

Executing only the heads of the offending officials is far too lenient. Their families are still alive and well. Such punishment will not teach officials across the country a lesson.

Exterminating nine generations of a family is too severe, as it would implicate too many innocent people and inevitably leave one with a reputation for cruelty and bloodthirstiness.

After much deliberation, the most appropriate course of action was to exterminate the entire family, as the relatives within the three clans were the direct beneficiaries of the ill-gotten gains and power amassed by the corrupt officials.

Since they benefited from it, they were not innocent. Exterminating their entire clan would serve as a warning to officials throughout the land, using the blood and corpses of their relatives to tell them where the emperor and the court's bottom line was, and that they should never cross it, for crossing it would mean certain death, with their entire clan dying.

After explaining the aftermath, Zhao Xiaoqian's gaze fell upon a thick list of officials in front of him.

Those who deserved to die are dead; they paid the price.

However, the Nanjing officialdom was completely purged, and the administrative work of the Nanjing Garrison and its seven subordinate counties was almost paralyzed. The court had to immediately select a group of officials to fill the gaps and restore the normal operation of the government.

The list of officials before him was presented after discussions between officials from the State Affairs Hall and the Ministry of Personnel. Looking at the unfamiliar names on the list, Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head.

This list isn't necessarily inappropriate, but it's riddled with the petty schemes of both the old and new parties.

Clearly, this list is the result of behind-the-scenes maneuvering between the new and old parties, containing officials from both sides, with the new party making up the majority and the old party a minority.

As for the personal abilities of the officials on the list, their resumes were all impressive, but Zhao Xiaoqian did not believe them.

Li Huai's resume is impressive enough, isn't it? He became the garrison commander of Nanjing in his forties, but what did he end up doing?

After carefully scanning the area, Zhao Xiaoqian frowned, and suddenly a name popped into his mind.

Zheng Chaozong, formerly a retired official and a member of the Imperial Academy, was later sent to the countryside. He wrote a lengthy memorial criticizing the current affairs, which was incisive and insightful. His understanding of the new policies was unique, and he was not afraid of powerful figures and dared to speak frankly.

Later, Zhao Xiaoqian appreciated his abilities and promoted him to Academician of the Zizheng Hall, Acting Governor of the Jingji Circuit, and also put him in the New Policies Department to participate in the discussion and formulation of the new policies.

Undeniably, Zheng Chaozong is a rare talent. Such a talent should not be kept in the New Administration Office, where he only knows how to talk about things on paper. Instead, he should be placed directly at the grassroots level to personally understand the hardships and problems of the people.

Another important reason is that although the Fangtian Equal Tax Law had been promulgated, local governments still outwardly complied but inwardly defied it.

Just as the Nanjing officialdom had been purged and many powerful landlords who had obstructed the new policies had been killed, Nanjing was in a period of power and influence vacuum, which was conducive to opening a gap for the Fangtian Equal Tax Law and allowing it to be implemented quickly.

Zheng Chaozong was a suitable candidate. Appointing him as the governor of Nanjing would allow him to faithfully and thoroughly implement the new policies, and the results would be visible within a year or two, setting a benchmark and model for officials throughout the country.

With this in mind, Zhao Xiaoqian no longer hesitated and wrote Zheng Chaozong's name at the top of the list.

"Zheng Chaozong is hereby appointed as the garrison commander of Nanjing. After taking office, he shall investigate the land, return public land to farmers, and curb the encroachment of public land. He shall not fail in his duties or be negligent."

Zhao Xiaoqian put down his pen and let out a long sigh of relief.

The shocking case in Nanjing has finally come to an end, and the aftermath has been largely handled.

Leaning back in his chair and taking a short nap with his eyes closed, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly opened his eyes, as if he had remembered something, and said loudly, "Old Zheng, where is my son Sang Biao? I haven't seen him for several days. What important matter is he busy with?"

Zheng Chunhe was taken aback, and it took him a while to realize who Sang Biao was. His old face twitched slightly, and he didn't know how to offer any advice. He could only honestly say, "Your Majesty, the Privy Councilor Xu has been frequently visiting the palace to see the young prince recently. He takes him to play in the palace, and the young prince is gradually becoming close to Xu and is having so much fun that he doesn't want to leave."

(End of this chapter)