"Sir, look there's someone over there!"
"Hmph, they are all hiding here, surround me with all these unruly people, don't let any of them go!"
"yes!"
After hearing the report from the soldiers at the front, Ma Ningyuan breathed a sigh of relief and then gave instructions in a deep voice.
After receiving the order from their superiors, the soldiers took action one after another. They pulled out the long knives at their waists, lined up in a combat formation, and approached step by step.
Seeing many soldiers approaching them step by step, the villagers no longer wanted to resist. They dropped their hoes, kitchen knives and other weapons on the ground and raised their hands consciously.
"Sir, we were deceived by the thief, so we made this big mistake! Now that the thief's leader has been captured by us, we hope to spare our lives."
"Yes, sir! This is none of our business. We are also being coerced."
"These things were all done by Daniel alone and have nothing to do with us."
Ma Ningyuan seemed not to hear these begging for mercy. He waved his hand and said coldly: "Hit me and teach these troublesome people a lesson! As long as I don't kill them, I can do anything."
When the soldiers heard this, they couldn't help but smile ferociously, like wolves among sheep, venting their anger on the villagers. One villager was knocked to the ground, his hands and feet were chopped off, and he let out painful wails from time to time. , and some were covered in blood, crawling slowly on the ground, leaving only a winding blood trail.
Various screams, cries, and begging for mercy were intertwined, making the scene increasingly chaotic.
"Master Ma, tell the soldiers to stop quickly. If the fighting continues like this, people will die!" Seeing the miserable situation of the villagers, Gao Hanwen couldn't bear it and warned him.
"It doesn't matter if all these unruly people are dead. The more they die, the greater our contribution will be. This is to wipe out the "rebels"!"
Although he said this, Ma Ningyuan still asked the soldiers to stop.
"Okay, now I'm going to ask you questions. Find someone who can still speak. I'll ask and you answer." Ma Ningyuan dusted off his hands and got off the horse.
The surviving villagers looked at Ma Ningyuan with nothing but awe, and after a while of pushing, a representative was elected.
"Who took the lead in preventing the government from measuring land and killing court officials?"
After Ma Ningyuan finished speaking, his eyes swept over the villagers one by one, but none of the villagers dared to look at him and lowered their heads.
"... Sir! These are all led by Zhang Daniu." The representative elected by the villagers hesitated for a moment and replied submissively.
"Changing rice to mulberry is a national policy. It benefits the country at the top and you at the bottom! I don't understand why such a good policy cannot be implemented! There are actually people who take the lead in opposing it." Ma Ningyuan heard this and shouted at the villagers. road.
"Who is Zhang Daniu?"
"Sir, Zhang Daniu has been tied up by us, right over there."
Ma Ningyuan followed the sight of the villagers and saw a man tied behind a big tree on the side. His mouth was stuffed with a piece of cloth and he was struggling.
"Go, bring him over to me." Ma Ningyuan turned to his soldiers and ordered.
"Yes!" The soldier took the order and quickly brought Zhang Daniu to Ma Ningyuan.
Zhang Ningyuan looked at the "culprit" with interest, while Zhang Daniu looked at him without fear, and the anger in his eyes seemed to be about to burst out.
"Are you the leader?" Ma Ningyuan looked at the dark young man in front of him.
"Uh huh." Zhang Daniu struggled hard, unable to speak due to the cloth in his mouth.
"Take off the cloth strip for him." Ma Ningyuan waved his hand and ordered his soldiers.
The cloth strip was removed from Zhang Daniu's mouth. He did not answer Ma Ningyuan's question. He just spat on the ground and cursed angrily: "Dog officer!"
Ma Ningyuan was not angry either, with a faint smile on his face: "It seems that you did it."
"It doesn't matter if I did it. If I can kill a corrupt official like you, grandpa, I'm already good enough."
Then Gao Hanwen also came forward and asked, "Did you write the words on those soldiers?"
"That's right." Zhang Daniu nodded proudly.
Hearing this, Gao Hanwen sighed and said quietly: "They are all good people and should not be treated like this."
"Hmph, when you came to annex our land under the pretext of converting rice into mulberry, you should have expected such an end!"
"Who told you this?"
After Gao Hanwen said that, his expression became more and more indifferent. The death of those soldiers kept flashing in his mind. When he thought about his recent experiences, the string called reason in his mind gradually collapsed.
"Yes...why should I tell you?" Zhang Daniu was about to answer subconsciously, and then stopped abruptly as if he remembered something.
"Don't say that, right? When we get to the Yamen later, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to speak." Ma Ningyuan laughed ferociously and prepared to let the soldiers take Zhang Daniu down.
"Wait, let me say a few more words to him." Gao Hanwen stopped him and saw him slowly coming to Zhang Daniu's side.
"I wonder if you ever thought before doing these things that your family would be implicated?"
Gao Hanwen's plain voice reached Zhang Daniu's ears.
"What do you mean?" Zhang Daniu frowned when he heard this, with a trace of imperceptible panic in his tone.
"It doesn't matter if you don't speak, I will follow the people around you and check them one by one!"
"Since ancient times, only the people have been afraid of officials. How can officials be afraid of the people? Do you know how many ways I can slowly manipulate your family?" Gao Hanwen said with a smile on his face.
"Take him down and escort him back to the Yamen!"
Before Zhang Daniu could say anything, Gao Hanwen turned around and stopped looking at him.
"Okay, Zhang Daniu's matter is over for the time being. Now it's time to settle the accounts of the soldiers who were killed by you earlier." Gao Hanwen turned to the villagers and said.
"Sir, these are all done by Zhang Daniu and have nothing to do with us." After hearing Gao Hanwen's words, the expression of the previous village representative suddenly changed and he explained.
"I don't care about this. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, from the moment you took up arms and killed the court officials, you have become a veritable "rebel"! Even if I order the soldiers to kill you all, it will not happen. There are no consequences.”
"I am giving you a chance now. If you reveal the perpetrator, the rest of you will be fine. I guarantee it with my credibility! If no one comes forward after a quarter of an hour, you will all die!"
After Gao Hanwen finished speaking, he mounted his white horse and the soldiers on the side began to count.
Gao Hanwen's words were like a bomb dropped into the water, and soon caused huge waves in the crowd, and the villagers began to push and push.
"Go out, you were the one who hacked an officer and soldier to death with a hoe earlier!"
"Bah, you brought those pens and papers for writing!"
"You also had a share, you were the one who hung those officers and soldiers from the trees!"
"Those of you who killed officials, please get out and don't implicate us!"
"Yeah yeah."
Soon, a quarter of an hour was up, and all the villagers who had participated in the killing of the officers and soldiers were confessed. The remaining villagers stayed away from them, their eyes full of luck and schadenfreude.
"Kill them all, think of it as revenge for the brothers." Gao Hanwen said coldly as his eyes swept over them one by one.
"yes!"
"Sir, please spare us, we don't dare anymore, ah!"
After hearing Gao Hanwen's verdict, the villagers immediately knelt down, with tears streaming down their faces, and kept kowtowing to beg for mercy. After just a moment, the begging for mercy suddenly stopped.
In the air, a strong smell of blood gradually spread, making people feel nauseous.
