Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

Chapter 143 Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts)

The capital city, the headquarters of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Menda had just returned from Dengzhou, Shandong, when he ran into a Jinyiwei spy who had just returned from Yongqingwei to deliver a message.

The Imperial Guards who went to Yongqingwei this time were divided into two groups.

One group consisted of about twenty people led by Lu Guo.

Another group was responsible for perimeter surveillance.

Upon learning that Lu Guo's men had all been captured, Zhao Hu and others had been killed, and Lu Guo's fate was unknown, Menda's hands trembled.

He had worked with Lu Guo for many years; although they were colleagues, they were like brothers.

In the inner chamber of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Lu Zhong's face darkened after hearing the report.

Zhou Ang is incredibly audacious!

How dare they surround and kill the Imperial Guards!

Yongqing is located two hundred li southeast of the capital.

It can be reached in a day if you ride fast.

But that was a messenger.

The large group will need at least three days to set off.

Three days.

Can Lu Gao hold out for three days?

"Let's go, into the palace."

Menda was taken aback: "My lord, now?"

Lu Zhong put on his outer robe: "Go wait outside the palace first, and report to His Majesty as soon as he gets up."

At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), I was on duty at the Qianqing Palace.

Xing'an was on duty tonight. The eunuch on duty came in to report: "Eunuch Xing, Commander Lu of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is outside the palace."

Xing'an frowned. The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had come to the palace in the middle of the night?

"Let him in."

After Lu Zhong came in, he recounted what had happened in Yongqing.

Xing'an's expression changed drastically upon hearing this: "When did this happen?"

"Early yesterday morning."

Xing'an was silent for a moment: "Wait here, I will inform His Majesty."

He knew Zhu Qiyu's temperament.

His Majesty will be furious if this matter is not reported to him immediately.

When Zhu Qiyu arrived at the outer room, Lu Zhong was already kneeling there.

"Stand up and speak."

Lu Zhong got up and recounted the story of Yongqing Guard once more.

Zhu Qiyu: "Did Zhou Ang know that Lu Gao was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Lu Zhong: "I'm not sure, the undercover agent wasn't at the scene at the time."

The hall was quiet for a moment.

Zhu Qiyu said, "Issue my decree, ordering Shi Heng to lead five hundred elite cavalry to set off immediately, traveling day and night to Yongqing."

Lu Zhong was taken aback; this was a tactic of surprise attack.

Zhu Qiyu continued, "Tell Shi Heng that if Zhou Ang runs away, he can come back with his head on his hands!"

Lu Zhongxin understood immediately and bowed, saying, "As you command!"

Half an hour later, Shi Heng received the imperial edict.

His face turned extremely ugly after reading the imperial edict.

Zhou Ang is his brother-in-law.

However, Zhu Qiyu let him go, wanting to see what his choice would be.

Shi Heng immediately dressed himself, mustered his men, and left the city with Lu Zhong.

Yongqing Guard.

Zhou Ang didn't sleep well for the past two nights.

He had been on edge ever since he arrested the Embroidered Uniform Guards the day before yesterday.

That bastard Zhou Fu disappeared that very night.

Zhou Ang sent men to search the entire city, but they could neither find him alive nor dead.

He had hoped to extract some information from Lu Dai.

But that guy was too tough; he didn't utter a single word after three days of beating.

Zhou Ang knew that Zhou Fu must have fallen into the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Suddenly, a bodyguard stumbled in, shouting, "Sir! Something terrible has happened! A large number of cavalry have arrived outside the city!"

Zhou Ang's heart sank: "How many people?"

"I can't see clearly, it's a dense, dark mass, they're already at the city gate!"

Zhou Ang's face turned deathly pale.

Some of the Imperial Guards actually escaped!

Zhou Ang rushed out of the back hall and climbed the city tower.

Five hundred elite cavalrymen lined up below the city, with the leader wearing black armor and holding a long sword.

Zhou Ang used the torchlight to see the face clearly.

Shi Heng.

His brother-in-law.

Shi Heng reined in his horse at the foot of the city wall, looked up at Zhou Ang on the city tower, and said, "Zhou Ang, open the gate!"

Zhou Ang was trembling all over.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

Shi Heng waited for a moment, but there was no movement. He sneered, "Not opening the gates? Then we'll attack the city."

With a wave of his hand, five hundred elite cavalrymen charged toward the city gate.

When the cavalry charged to the city gate, the gate had already been opened.

With Marquis Wuqing personally leading the team, who would dare to stop them?

Zhou Ang tried to escape, but Shi Heng blocked him under the city wall: "Where is Lu Gao?"

Zhou Ang's lips trembled: "In—in the dungeon."

"lead the way."

In the dungeon, Lu Zhong saw Dai Guo chained up.

He was covered in wounds, his face was swollen and disfigured, and there was a deep cut on his neck.

Daiguo is already dead.

Shi Heng stared at Lu Guo's corpse with a grim face.

He turned to look at Zhou Ang.

His gaze seemed to want to devour Zhou Angsheng alive.

Zhou Ang trembled all over and backed away repeatedly: "Sister—brother-in-law—I—I'm not—"

Shi Heng raised his hand and slapped him.

Zhou Ang staggered a few steps after being slapped and crashed into the wall.

Then Shi Heng turned to Lu Zhong and said, "The prisoner Zhou Ang is now in your hands."

Lu Zhong looked at Shi Heng, and after a moment of silence, he nodded.

Five days later, Zhu Qiyu publicly announced Zhou Ang's crimes.

They seized 4,300 mu of farmland, employed 1,200 people without working, privately employed soldiers, bribed officials in Beijing, and murdered 22 members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhu Qiyu looked at Yu Shiyue: "Minister Yu, what is Zhou Ang's punishment?"

Yu Shiyue stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Zhou Ang has been embezzling farmland, embezzling salaries without working, and privately employing soldiers. According to the law, he should be exiled three thousand li away."

He murdered twelve officials appointed by the imperial court, and according to the law, he should be executed.

Given the combined severity of the two crimes, I believe the perpetrator should be executed by slow slicing.

His family property was confiscated, and his family members were exiled three thousand miles away.

The hall was silent; the executioner was to be slowly sliced ​​to death.

Such a judgment had not been made in the Ming Dynasty for a long time.

Zhu Qiyu continued, "What about those officials who accepted bribes?"

Yu Shiyue said, "I believe he should be dismissed from his post, investigated, and exiled three thousand li away."

Zhu Qiyu nodded: "Let's do it this way."

He looked at Zhang Peng and Wang Xuan kneeling in the hall: "When you impeached Minister Jin, you kept saying it was for the sake of the court."

I thought you were truly sharing the burdens of the country.

It seems you're all helping Zhou Ang out of his troubles.

Zhang Peng lay on the ground, trembling all over, unable to utter a single word.

Wang Xuan kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! I was just confused for a moment—"

Zhu Qiyu, too lazy to listen any longer, waved his hand and said, "Take him away."

The Han general stepped forward and dragged the two men out.

On the day Zhou Ang was escorted to the West Market, the crowd of onlookers was so large that it was impossible to move.

Lu Zhong looked at Zhou Ang and said in a chilling tone, "Zhou Ang, do you know how many cuts it takes to be executed by slow slicing?"

Three thousand six hundred cuts, one cut at a time, over three days.

Don't worry, I guarantee you'll live for three days!

Zhou Ang's screams echoed for three days.

Many of the Imperial Guards stood at the front, watching from beginning to end.

After Shi Heng returned from Yongqing Guard, Zhu Qiyu ordered him to stay home and reflect on his actions.

He hasn't said how long he's been reflecting on his actions.

Shi Heng felt wronged.

He was not involved in Zhou Ang's affairs.

Although Zhou Ang would occasionally send him some treasures before the New Year.

But Shi Heng thought it was just a common case of encroachment on military farmland, nothing serious.

After all, he had done the same thing when he was in Datong.

Ninety percent of the commanders of the garrisons across the country did the same.

Moreover, Zhu Qiyu had not yet proposed to reorganize the military garrisons at that time.

Therefore, he accepted it with a clear conscience.

It wasn't until after the New Year that I witnessed Zhu Qiyu's handling of Gansu, Datong, and Xuanfu.

This made Shi Heng realize that His Majesty was serious this time.

He immediately reminded Zhou Ang to keep a low profile.

If the imperial court sends people to investigate, cooperate fully and return the money and land.

Given his status as the Marquis of Wuqing, his life would certainly be safe.

But he never expected that his brother-in-law would be so bold.

To dare to kill a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is tantamount to treason.

Although Zhu Qiyu only punished Shi Heng by deducting some of his salary.

But he knew that he had lost his status as the top warrior in the defense of Beijing.

If it weren't for the war, he would probably have been under house arrest in the Marquis's mansion for the rest of his life.

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Fortune