Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

"It was him. I heard that they found letters between him and a small-time businessman, in which he wrote clearly about selling national treasures."

If this falls into the hands of petty people, wouldn't our country's assets be given away for nothing?

An old man wearing a felt hat chimed in, his voice extremely low.

"Tsk tsk, he looks like an honest person, but I didn't expect him to be so wicked."

"Exactly! You can know a person's face but not their heart. What do you think he's after? How much money could the Japanese possibly offer him?"

"Even if you have a lot of money, will you live to spend it?"

"I heard that he came to Beijing as a refugee during a period of war..."

Another murmur rippled through the crowd.

Someone spat on the ground: "Traitor! He deserves to die!"

On the city wall, two jailers were escorting Yi Zhonghai out.

He was wearing a drab gray prison uniform, his hands were tied behind his back, and heavy iron chains dragged around his ankles.

His clothes were covered in dust and straw, his hair was disheveled, and he was looking down, so his expression was not visible.

The crowd was silent for a moment, then suddenly erupted into chaos.

"That's him! That traitor!"

"Pooh!"

"Treason and collusion with the enemy deserve to die."

Someone threw a pebble, which hit Yi Zhonghai's feet.

He didn't dodge or look up; he simply paused for a moment, then continued walking forward.

The jailer shoved him, and he stumbled. Another jailer grabbed his arm and dragged him all the way to the foot of the city wall.

The jailer pressed him down in front of the wooden stake, his knees digging into the mud, and then secured him to the stake with hemp rope.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Cuihua was also brought up.

She struggled more fiercely than Yi Zhonghai. Two prison guards held her up on either side, but she kept twisting and screaming:

"I am innocent. I did not collude with the enemy. I have never even seen Xiao Ri Ren."

The jailer dragged her to another stake and pressed her down, but she struggled to get up again.

A jailer kicked her in the back of the knee, and she finally knelt down, where she was tightly bound with hemp rope.

"What did this girl do wrong?"

Someone in the crowd asked.

"I heard that he instigated the children to steal, and even threw dirty water and cursed people in the alley, disturbing the peace of the neighbors."

"You're going to execute someone for something so trivial?"

"Not only that, she also colluded with Yi Zhonghai to commit treason, and this time she was directly caught and got herself into trouble."

Zhang Cuihua was still shouting, "I didn't betray the country and collude with the enemy. I'll change, I really will. Commander, commander, come out and give me a chance..."

Nobody paid any attention to her.

Her voice gradually faded, turning into intermittent sobs.

Yi Zhonghai remained silent throughout, kneeling there like a dead man.

It wasn't that he wasn't afraid of death, but that he had seen things clearly.

Lin Tian wanted him dead.

Above the city wall.

Lin Tian looked at the two people below with a calm, unwavering gaze.

Brigade Commander Chen said in a low voice, "Sir, may we begin?"

Lin Tian nodded: "Read it aloud."

The executioner walked up the city wall, unfurled the notice, and read aloud in a loud voice: "The criminal Yi Zhonghai has been found guilty of treason, colluding with the Japanese invaders, and selling out China's confidential intelligence."

The crime is irrefutable and the evidence is sufficient; therefore, the death penalty is imposed in accordance with the law.

The criminal Zhang Cuihua was found guilty of instigating theft, disturbing the neighborhood, and repeatedly refusing to mend her ways. Her actions were egregious, and she colluded with Yi Zhonghai to commit treason. She was sentenced to death in accordance with the law.

The two men are to be executed today to uphold the law and serve as a warning to others. This is hereby promulgated.

When Zhang Cuihua heard the word "death penalty," she felt as if her bones had been removed, and she collapsed.

"No! I didn't! I really didn't! Commander! Commander, come out! I can change, I don't want to die..."

She cried her heart out, her voice echoing across the execution ground.

Yi Zhonghai didn't look at the executioner or Zhang Cuihua; his gaze passed over the crowd and landed on the children on the city wall.

"I'm innocent..."

The words were spoken so softly that only he himself could hear them.

But Lin Tian heard it.

His eyes, from a distance of more than ten meters, were fixed on Yi Zhonghai without blinking.

He knelt at the foot of the city wall, his hair disheveled, his face pale, his eyes filled with confusion, fear, and resentment.

Lin Tian murmured, "Yi Zhonghai, aren't you the one who cherishes your reputation the most? Everyone in Beijing is watching you. They know you've colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. Your reputation will be ruined from now on."

Zhang Cuihua was still crying, only muffled pleas remaining: "I don't want to die... Commander... Commander... You deserve to die, why won't you let me go? I curse you to a terrible death..."

The executioner raised his hand: "Ready!"

The crowd quieted down.

Even the wind stopped.

"put."

Gunshots rang out beneath the city walls.

Two short, muffled sounds.

Zhang Cuihua's frantic crying stopped abruptly. She fell forward, burying her face in the mud, a few strands of loose hair covering half of her face.

Yi Zhonghai's body jolted, tilting to one side as he slowly slid down the wooden stake, leaving a faint bloodstain on the rough wood grain.

On the city wall, Lin Tian shook his head, wondering if he had somehow traveled back in time to when Yi Zhonghai was young and killed him.

Killing Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi twice in a row, this feeling... is really great.

There was a moment of silence in the crowd. Some people sighed, some shook their heads, and some whispered, "Serves him right," "Good riddance," "This is what a traitor deserves."

Some people were so frightened that they turned and left, unwilling to look at it again.

Several middle-aged women huddled together, whispering as they walked outside: "That Zhang Cuihua, she didn't actually do anything that serious... how did she end up being executed?"

"You don't know anything and you're just talking nonsense. Zhang Cuihua colluded with Yi Zhonghai to betray the enemy. Next time you're having a chat, listen carefully, otherwise you're spreading rumors and breaking the law."

The discussion continued.

The bodies below the city were lifted onto carts, covered with straw mats, and transported to mass graves outside the city.

The creaking sound of the wooden planks rolling over the bluestone road was long and drawn out.

Lin Tian slowly walked down the city wall.

Brigade Commander Chen followed behind him, remaining silent for a few steps before finally speaking: "Sir, what did you mean by what you just said?"

Which sentence?

"It's about... reputation."

Lin Tian watched calmly, "Yi Zhonghai is a man who only cares about his reputation his whole life."

He did so many bad things just to save face and prevent himself from being exploited and left with nothing.

He hasn't done those things yet, but his reputation is already huge enough.

"In a way, I've done him a favor."

"By the way, they were my enemies from my original world."

Commander Chen watched his retreating figure and said indignantly, "It's such a waste to kill them like this. They should have been made to experience the Ten Great Tortures of the Qing Dynasty."

In the distance, the chimneys of the steel rolling mill were emitting pale gray smoke.

Further away, the foundations for new buildings are being laid, with the sound of pile drivers echoing throughout.

The two bodies had been removed, and the soil beneath the city walls had been turned over to cover the bloodstains.

The crowd dispersed, leaving only a few idle men squatting by the wall, idly discussing what had just happened.

The city of Beijing will not cease to function because of the deaths of Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi.

He is taking off.