The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 356: Cut into pieces by a thousand cuts
The news of the victory at Zijing Pass was immediately sent to Nanyang Prefecture.

At this moment, Hong Chengchou was sitting in his office, feeling extremely uneasy.

Although he had great confidence in Sun Chuanting, the bandit had been on the run for many years and was cunning and ruthless, so he had to prepare for the worst.

He is sending scouts in batches towards Zijing Pass, striving to obtain accurate information as soon as possible.

Soon, Sun Chuanting's good news arrived as expected.

When Hong Chengchou saw the words "Capture the rebel alive" with his own eyes, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"it is good!"

"Bo Ya is truly a pillar of the nation! His achievements in this battle are immense!"

The significance of capturing the bandit leader alive is extraordinary; this time, he can finally stand up straight.

Hong Chengchou then personally wrote a memorial to the throne, explaining how he had planned and executed the strategy, how Sun Chuanting had laid an ambush, how the soldiers had fought bravely, and how they had ultimately captured the great bandit.

He then sent the memorial to the capital at the fastest speed possible.

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

When the news of victory from the front lines appeared on Zhu Youjian's desk, he was overjoyed and almost held his breath as he read the entire report.

As he read, he unconsciously covered his face with the memorial, his voice trembling as he said:
"Our ancestors have shown their power! Our ancestors have shown their power!"

"The unworthy descendants have finally avenged their shame and avenged... avenged the humiliation of Fengyang!"

Seeing the emperor weep with joy, Wang Chengen, who was standing nearby, wanted to go up and offer a few words of comfort.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Youjian suddenly stood up, slammed the memorial on the table, and said sternly:

"The rebel leader has wreaked havoc on the world and committed heinous crimes. He must be punished according to the law to serve as a warning to others!"

"deliver an imperial order!"

"Order Sun Chuanting to immediately select capable generals and lead a large force to escort the bandit chief to the capital unharmed!"

Officials in Beijing soon heard the news, and the entire court and the public were overjoyed, celebrating their newfound positions.

The downfall of Gao Yingxiang finally gave them hope of completely eradicating the bandits.

Before Chongzhen's decree even reached Nanyang, Sun Chuanting had already imprisoned Gao Yingxiang in a heavy wooden cart and dispatched elite soldiers to escort him to the capital.

More than a month later, the escort team arrived in the capital region smoothly, and the convoy slowly entered the imperial capital through Xuanwu Gate.

The heavy wooden wheels creaked and groaned as they rolled over the stone pavement.

The people of the capital had already received the news and were now gathering by the roadside, craning their necks to see the legendary bandit who could supposedly stop children from crying at night.

Gao Yingxiang coldly surveyed the dark mass of people around him through his disheveled hair.

He had expected to be universally condemned, but the people around him just watched curiously, pointing and whispering, without taking any extreme actions.

"See that? That's the thief who's been causing trouble for over ten years!"

"He looks fierce, but I never thought he'd end up like this!"

"I heard they're killing officials and rebelling in the Northwest, it's really something!"

"No matter how capable they were, they still got caught by the imperial court...?"

Hearing all sorts of comments, Gao Yingxiang felt a mix of emotions: anger, resentment, but mostly sorrow.

He had fought on the battlefield for many years and killed countless people, but unexpectedly, he ended up becoming a spectacle in the eyes of the people of the capital.

The prison cart did not head towards the prison, but went directly to the Meridian Gate of the Imperial City, where a meticulously prepared ceremony for presenting prisoners was to take place.

Banners fluttered in the square, armor gleamed, a Han general held a golden mace and axe, and civil and military officials stood solemnly according to their rank, creating a solemn and austere atmosphere.

The emperor sat upright on the steps of the Meridian Gate Square, looking down below.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Gao Yingxiang and several of his entourage were roughly dragged off the prison van and shoved to the center of the square.

Unlike his entourage who were all dejected and trembling, Gao Yingxiang, despite being heavily laden, stood tall and stared fearlessly at the bright yellow figure above him.

According to the ritual system, the master of ceremonies loudly chanted the prayer for presenting the captives, listing Gao Yingxiang's numerous crimes, such as "usurping the throne, poisoning the people, and resisting the heavenly army".

When the song reached the line "The guilty prisoners kowtow to the Emperor's face," the burly generals of the Imperial Guards on either side shouted sternly:
"kneel!"

But Gao Yingxiang let out a cold snort. Instead of kneeling, he straightened his chest even more.

His throat bobbed, wanting to unleash a torrent of curses, to pour out all his resentment and contempt for this tyrannical and incompetent ruler, even if it only brought him a moment of pleasure.

However, his mouth was already stuffed with burlap, and he could only let out a few low growls in resentment.

Seeing this, the burly general standing nearby showed no mercy, and the two of them suddenly raised their feet and kicked him hard in the back of the knee!

A sharp pain shot through him, and Gao Yingxiang groaned, involuntarily kneeling forward.

But he immediately struggled to stand up, and more Imperial Guards rushed forward, pressing down on his shoulders and forcing him to remain kneeling, thus completing the symbolic "kowtow".

Throughout the entire process, Gao Yingxiang struggled fiercely, like a trapped beast, until he was exhausted.

In such a situation, he must not be allowed to make any sound.

Zhu Youjian, seated at the head of the table, coldly observed everything, feeling immensely pleased.

He thoroughly enjoyed the moment when the traitor was brought to justice, demonstrating the might of Heaven.

After listening to the final prayer, Zhu Youjian waved his hand expressionlessly and said in a deep voice:
"The traitor Gao Yingxiang is guilty of heinous crimes and should be executed by dismemberment in the marketplace."

"He is to be immediately taken to the West Market and executed by slow slicing!"

Upon receiving the decree, Gao Yingxiang was forcibly lifted up by several men, dragged away from the Meridian Gate, and headed towards the execution ground.

The crowds on both sides of the street leading to the West Market were even denser.

Looking at the numb, curious, and even somewhat excited faces around him, Gao Yingxiang felt his frustration grow stronger.

The execution platform was already packed with people, and Liu Zhifeng, the Minister of Justice, was ordered to personally oversee the execution.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Gao Yingxiang was stripped of his clothes and tightly bound to the execution post. Before his execution, Liu Zhifeng slightly raised his chin, and a young eunuch beside him understood, immediately stepping forward to pull the burlap sack from Gao Yingxiang's mouth.

"Ahem...Pah!"

Suddenly able to speak, Gao Yingxiang spat out a mouthful of blood and greedily inhaled the air.

Liu Zhifeng looked down at him and asked in a deep voice:

"Gao Yingxiang, you are facing your fate, with the axe at your side. Do you know your crime?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yingxiang abruptly raised his head, spitting out another mouthful of blood, and hissed:
"Pooh!"

"What crime has my family committed in leading starving people to survive?!"

Liu Zhifeng was furious upon hearing this and said sternly:
"Even on the verge of death, you still show no remorse!"

"They gathered crowds to rebel, attacked cities and seized territories, slaughtered officials, and ravaged the people, causing the Ming Dynasty to be ravaged and its people to suffer."

"You still dare to claim innocence after all these and every single one of these incidents?"

But Gao Yingxiang, upon hearing this, seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and burst into laughter, his laughter filled with grief and indignation:

"The people are suffering?"

"You corrupt official, why don't you open your eyes and see why the people of this land are suffering so much!"

"It is this Ming Dynasty court, it is you corrupt officials, who are driving the people to their deaths!"

"The taxes imposed by the court are increasing year by year. The Liaodong military tax, the suppression military tax, and the apportioned taxes—aren't they all squeezing oil from the bones of the people?"

His voice was hoarse but grew louder as he tried to make himself heard by more people:

"Which of the local officials, gentry, and bullies isn't a ruthless predator who eats people alive?"

"When people suffer from disasters and are forced to sell their children or even exchange their own offspring to eat, can't you see that?"

“I’m just a bandit who can’t survive, but when I raise my arm and call to action, tens of thousands of starving people rush to follow me.”

"It's not because I, Gao Yingxiang, am so capable, but because you simply don't let ordinary people live!"

He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, then suddenly turned and looked towards the direction of the imperial city:
"That tyrannical ruler surnamed Zhu..."

Before Gao Yingxiang could finish speaking, the eunuchs and imperial guards immediately pounced on him and covered his mouth tightly.

The guards quickly stuffed the burlap back into Gao Yingxiang's mouth, silencing his subsequent treasonous remarks.

Seeing that he was stubborn and unyielding, Liu Zhifeng said no more, but coldly threw the command token in her hand away:

"The time has come for execution!"

The executioner was a thin, middle-aged man with a gloomy face.

He slowly walked forward, looked at Gao Yingxiang with his eyes wide with anger, and said in a low voice:

"After all, you are a person who commands a region, and we respect you as a true man."

"From now on... please bear with me."

As he spoke, he took out one small knife of various shapes and sizes from the wooden box and introduced them to the various knives.

"So that you can understand what's going on, this is a piece of meat, let's start with the chest."

"This one's for hooking...this one's for gouging..."

The torture unfolded slowly in his lukewarm description, making the reader anxious.

(The execution process cannot be described; it can only be imagined.)
The executioner took a deep breath, selected a protrusion, and lightly sliced ​​it with the thin knife in his hand!
"Ugh——!"

A sharp pain struck, and Gao Yingxiang's body began to tremble violently involuntarily.

A deep, beast-like roar came from his throat, veins bulged on his forehead, and sweat poured out instantly.

The executioner was skilled, each cut avoiding vital organs.
Whenever Gao Yingxiang was about to faint due to severe pain or blood loss, someone would force-feed him ginseng soup to keep him alive.

Around the execution ground, a large crowd of people from the capital stretched their necks and watched with excitement.

Since the third year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the West Market has never seen such a lively scene. It truly lives up to its reputation as a notorious bandit who roamed the region.

That's impressive!
On this execution platform, there once stood a military governor named Yuan, who was in charge of the Ji-Liao region.

The scene back then was completely different from now. When Yuan Chonghuan was executed by dismemberment, the people of the capital were outraged and wished they could devour his flesh raw.

In the minds of ordinary people in the capital, the Ji-Liao governor surnamed Yuan was incompetent in defending the territory, which led to the Tartar army besieging the city and burning, killing, and looting in the capital region.

Many people's relatives and friends suffered as a result, which is why they hated him to the core.

Gao Yingxiang, on the other hand, was a bandit active in the Northwest and Central Plains. Although he had a great reputation, he did not actually pose a direct threat to the safety of the capital.

Therefore, the common people viewed his execution by dismemberment merely as a spectacle of curiosity.

The excruciating pain tormented Gao Yingxiang repeatedly, and his consciousness began to gradually become blurred and scattered.

In a daze, he seemed to recall the strong and well-equipped army he had seen in Sichuan.

"If only I had... if only I had swallowed my pride and sided with Jiang Han back then..."

"Perhaps...perhaps I wouldn't have to suffer this torment here."

"It fucking hurts..."

But there's no going back in life, and his only thought at that moment was to hope that the Han army in the southwest would really succeed.

One day, when we march north and conquer Beijing, it will be avenge for him and all the righteous soldiers who died tragically.

The torture lasted for two days, during which Gao Yingxiang fainted countless times due to excruciating pain and blood loss, only to be forcibly revived by being given medicinal soup.

Finally, after being stabbed more than 1,500 times, the rebel leader who had once stirred up half of the country could no longer bear it and died, ending his life full of resistance.

He was then beheaded and his head displayed as a warning to others.

(End of this chapter)