Empress Lu turned around and wanted to talk to Chen Xiaomu, but she saw him walking over just now, but now he was nowhere to be seen. She asked Su Xingchen strangely, "Chen'er, where is my uncle?"
Su Xingchen pointed angrily at the city wall far away from the city gate building, "Isn't that him?"
Empress Lu looked in the direction of Su Xingchen's finger and saw Chen Xiaomu standing alone on the city wall far away from them, lowering his head and silently watching the crowd standing silently below the city.
"Chen'er, go and call him over. Why is this kid standing so far away from us!" Queen Lu ordered Su Xingchen who was standing beside her.
Just as Su Xingchen was about to move, he saw Chen Xiaomu in the distance suddenly raised the Weeping God Trumpet in his hand and blocked his mouth. The first thing Chen Xiaomu played this time was Verdi's "Triumphal March", which was sometimes low and melodious, sometimes high-pitched. The exciting, blood-heating trumpet sound broke through the sky and rippled in the air. Not only Su Xingchen was shocked, but everyone in the pavilion downstairs of the city gate looked at Chen Xiaomu in disbelief.
The troops below the city gathered at the moat's suspension bridge and Zheng Jun began to take action. Looking from above, it was really like a forest of swords, guns, swords and halberds, and there were crowds of people. Amidst the loud military music, Zheng Jun stepped across the suspension bridge and moved into the city. This scene was really real. It was so shocking that Queen Lu's eyes filled with tears, and her emotions were simply beyond words.
After the infantry had passed, the more than a thousand cavalrymen behind them urged their horses onto the suspension bridge. The sound of horse hooves could be clearly heard on the city gate. Chen Xiaomu also changed the military music to "Cavalry March" in time.
After finally waiting for all the Zheng troops outside the city to enter the city, Chen Xiaomu was so tired that he was out of breath. He couldn't remember how many pieces of military music he played from later generations. In short, he played all the ones he could find in his mind.
The people in Xinjing city also had their eyes opened today. Not only did they hear the majestic military music for the first time, but the Zheng army came back again. Because the city was massacred by the Chu army, the people in Xinjing city hated the Chu people. She greeted Zheng Jun who had returned from fighting, and stuffed Zheng Jun with all the food she could take out. Looking at this scene, Empress Lu said to Su Xingchen beside her: "Chen'er, I will definitely wait for your father to come back." We should advise him to treat the people of Zheng well."
After Chen Xiaomu said goodbye to Queen Lu and Su Xingchen, he met up with Ximen Ruoen and Zhou Huiniang who had been waiting at the city gate for a long time, and prepared to go to the original Xinjing Mansion Prison where Li Gui detained Wu Yan, Zhang Yong and others to interrogate Wu Yanhe. Zhang Yong, who didn't expect to take a few steps, bumped into Zhang Yun who came to see him. As soon as they met, Zhang Yun began to complain, "Mr. Chen, I can't stay in the new capital! Ever since I learned about Zheng Jun After the fight came back, because we had not replaced our armor, the people in Xinjing City began to attack us. It was useless for you to defend them. In less than an hour, we had dozens of soldiers injured among the people in the city. Under the bricks and tiles!”
Chen Xiaomu thought about it again and again, and the best way now is to let Zhang Yun take his thousands of Hubei troops to withdraw from Xinjing City first, camp temporarily outside the city, and wait until he has finished handling the matters at hand before making any plans.
Zhang Yun followed the order and left. Chen Xiaomu and Ximen Ruoen were led by Zhou Huiniang to the prison of the former Xinjing Mansion. Li Gui, who was waiting for him at the door, saw the three of them and came over from afar. After saluting, he said to Chen Xiaomu He smiled and said: "Mr. Chen, that old boy Zhang Yong was frightened when he saw Wu Yan. So far, he has at least asked me to see you for eight years."
Chen Xiaomu also followed Li Gui and said with a smile, "Oh, this old guy is so afraid of death! Looking at his posture this morning, he looked a little resigned to death. I almost admired him in my heart! Since he wants to see me so much, then I’ll just meet him.”
After Chen Xiaomu finished speaking, he walked into the prison. The two scouts guarding the door immediately pushed open the large wooden door covered with iron. The prison was divided into four prison areas, with the men's cell on the left and the women's cell on the right. There is a wall in the middle that divides it into two parts. The entire cell is half above ground and half underground. The men's and women's cells are divided into two parts by a thick wall. The front is full of ordinary prisoners, and the back is stepped into a thick iron-clad wooden door. They were all death row inmates sentenced to death, and the layout of the women's cell next to them was similar to that of the men's cell.
There are no windows in the cell, and the light gets darker as you go inside. When you reach the second door where death row prisoners are held, you have to hold various torches, lanterns and other lighting equipment before you can go inside. Chen Xiaomu is in Li Gui, Ximen Ruoen Accompanied by Zhou Huiniang and others, they walked in holding torches. The thick wooden fences on both sides of the cell were filled with various prisoners. Basically, there were more than 20 people in a single room of more than ten square meters. Chen Xiaomu walked all the way Counting it over, there were nearly two hundred such single rooms on both sides of the men's cell, not including the death row cells in the second door at the back.
When they saw someone coming in from outside, and it was a large group of people, the prisoners who were held here thought it was a high-ranking official coming to inspect, so they stretched out their hands from the wooden fences on both sides, and started shouting about injustice. In such a scene, Chen Xiaomu could only I have seen it in later costume dramas, but I didn’t know that such a thing really happened in reality.
The further they walked in, the more people complained. Chen Xiaomu couldn't help but frown, and turned to ask Li Gui beside him, "Have you taken over this prefect's prison?"
Li Gui shook his head, "Our reconnaissance company only has more than a hundred people. It is up to General Zhang Yun of the Hubei Army to take over such a large company."
"I have just ordered General Zhang Yun to move the Hubei army to station outside the city. Later, you will send people to General Tang Huai of the Zheng army. Tell him that it is my order and ask him to send at least one commander to take over the prefect prison. , and you tell him, all the people who were imprisoned after the Chu army occupied the new capital, as long as they did not commit murder or arson, will be released!"
"'Yes" Li Gui immediately nodded in agreement.
The two of them walked and talked, and soon came to the second gate. Here were five soldiers of the Hubei army wearing Chu army armor and black cloth strips on their arms, and two scouts under Li Gui. When they saw a group of people coming, The two scouts immediately stepped forward to open the chain lock on the iron-clad wooden door, picked up the lantern hanging on the wall and the key to the cell inside, and led the way. As soon as they entered the death row, there was a damp musty smell inside. The smell of feces and urine in the toilet hit their faces, and everyone quickly covered their noses with their hands. Since there were no windows for ventilation, the smell became stronger the further inside.
In the last two single cells at the end of the death row, a small oil lamp with a bean-like head was hung on the wall. The footsteps of everyone immediately attracted the attention of a man in the first cell with disheveled hair and heavy shackles sitting on hay. , he raised his head and stared blankly at the group of people standing in the aisle, "This is Chu General Wu Yan." Li Gui put his mouth to Chen Xiaomu's ear and whispered.
Chen Xiaomu nodded and signaled the two scouts leading the way to open the cell door. The floor of the cell was paved with a layer of blue bricks, and a layer of hay was spread on top of the green bricks. A bed was built with green bricks against the wall, facing There is a toilet in the corner of the bed.
Chen Xiaomu clasped his hands behind his back, walked into the cell, and stood in front of Wu Yan. Wu Yan looked up at Chen Xiaomu and asked in a hoarse voice, "'Who are you? Are you coming to kill me?"
Chen Xiaomu sighed and said, "Actually, you didn't deserve to die, let alone be chopped in half, but you did it yourself and you won't survive!"
Wu Yan was stunned when he heard Chen Xiaomu say the word "cut in the waist". As a military general, he was not actually afraid of death, but this cut in the waist was too painful. He used the guillotine to cut open the waist of the condemned prisoner. His upper body was still conscious, but his lower body was still awake. The internal organs were bleeding all over the ground, and the pain was not much better than being executed by Lingchi. These tortures have been used on the most heinous and heinous people since ancient times!
"Why did you use such torture on me?" Wu Yan yelled at Chen Xiaomu.
"You used the people of other countries as human shields for your own soldiers, and how many families were destroyed and killed? How many innocent people were killed after you occupied Xinjing, the capital of Zheng, and massacred the city? In my opinion, cutting you in half is a lenient punishment for you! "Chen Xiaomu sneered.
"Using the people of other countries as human shields is what I ordered us to do when I asked Prime Minister Shi Lei to do so. He said that this would greatly reduce the casualties of our Chu army and put great mental pressure on the enemy's army. I was just following orders. If you must If you want to pursue the case, you should go to Shi Lei, the prime minister of our country. Besides, the massacre of Xinjing City has nothing to do with me at all. It was entirely the work of Meng Da, the deputy pioneer officer of the Chu army who attacked Xinjing! No matter how you pursue these two things, You can’t be held accountable!”
Chen Xiaomu smiled softly, "I wonder if General Wu has ever heard of a saying? It's called a general who will not accept your life. What's more, this Shi Lei is just a prime minister. Faced with this inhumane order, you There is no trace of compassion for others, but the execution is carried out as usual, and even intensified. Do you think you should die? As for the massacre in Xinjing City that you said has nothing to do with you, can you guarantee that when you were massacred in Mengda, you Didn't you connive at the participation of your soldiers? Do you want me to find some witnesses for you now?"
Wu Yan stared at Chen Xiaomu blankly, unable to say a word. Chen Xiaomu glanced at him and turned around to leave. Wu Yan suddenly rushed over to hug Chen Xiaomu's legs. Two scouts who were watching immediately rushed over and pulled him over. He dragged it back and threw it on the hay.
"General, can you give Wu Yan a chance to atone for his sins?" Seeing Chen Xiaomu about to walk out of the cell, Wu Yan shouted anxiously from behind.
Chen Xiaomu turned around and said with a smile: "How much gong do you need to atone for the heinous crime you committed?"
Wu Yan's eyes were fixed on Chen Xiaomu and he said: "The merits Wu Yan wants to accomplish may not be worth his own death penalty, but I beg the general to allow me to keep a whole body!"
Chen Xiaomu stood in front of the cell door and thought for a moment, then turned back and walked into Wu Yan's cell. He said to Wu Yan expressionlessly: "What achievements have you made? Can you tell me about it?"
Wu Yan looked at the two scouts who were staring at him, and looked at Chen Xiaomu with some embarrassment. Chen Xiaomu waved to the two scouts. The two scouts hesitated for a moment, then walked to the aisle of the cell door and stood with Li Gui and others. behind.
"Tell me, what kind of contribution do you want to make in front of me?" Chen Xiaomu bent down and stared at Wu Yan sitting on the hay.
Wu Yan cleared his throat, glanced at Li Gui and others not far behind Chen Xiaomu, and said softly: "General, the reason why our Chu army attacked Xinjing City and slaughtered the city was to rob the wealth of the rich households in the city, including the treasury of Zheng State. We have collected all the money and treasures in the palace and prepared to transport them back to Chu State. Because the war is not over yet, we haven’t had time to transport them away. Now I know where these treasures are!"
"Approximately how many?" Chen Xiaomu's heart moved, but his face remained expressionless.
Wu Yan was a little disappointed. He didn't see Chen Xiaomu's surprise as he imagined, but he still said, "It is estimated to be equivalent to about 15 million taels of silver."
Chen Xiaomu nodded, "Tell me where it is hidden?"
''General, what about me...? "Wu Yan took the opportunity to threaten.
Chen Xiaomu looked at him and said, "I can leave you a whole body, but if you take the opportunity to threaten me, I will kill you and you won't be able to take away a tael of silver. You will have to suffer in vain. Besides, such a large sum of money only costs It will be discovered sooner or later in Zheng State, and you are just saving us a little time."
Wu Yan's eyes dimmed, and it turned out that he had indeed had a small intention to blackmail Chen Xiaomu into sparing his own life.
