Li Shui looked at Shi Wu and said calmly: "Master Shi Wu, have you given up? If so, I will take the head from your neck right now."
Shi Wu took a deep breath and said to Li Shui: "I haven't given up yet."
Li Shui said in surprise: "We have reached this point and you still don't admit defeat? You are really a hard-boiled duck with a tough mouth."
Chunyu Yue frowned and thought to himself: "Why does this guy Huai Guzi make so many witty remarks? How can he be so disrespectful in the court?"
Shi Wu said: "Without conclusive evidence, how can I admit defeat?"
At this time, the false messengers were brought up. They all received hundreds of sticks and were all covered with bruises.
Ying Zheng asked the young eunuch: "Have they confessed it?"
The young eunuch nodded and said, "I admit it. These people all admitted it. They were ordered by Shi Wu."
Li Shui looked at Shi Wu: "What did you say?"
Shi Wu said: "Submission and beating into a move cannot count."
Li Shui said with a smile: "So much evidence, doesn't it count? If you want more evidence, I have it too."
Later, Li Shui took out a lot of photos, which were clearly photos of Shi Wu talking with the envoy.
Some are in teahouses, some are in the Immortal Exile Tower, and some are in their own courtyards.
The photos in the courtyard were particularly blurry, and judging from the angle, they were taken by someone hiding on an airship.
When Shi Wu saw these photos, his blood ran cold.
He stared at Li Shui with his eyes widened: "How did you get these...these photos?"
Li Shui chuckled and said, "Master Shi Wu. I'm afraid you don't know yet, but now there is a special profession in our Xianyang City, and the people in it call themselves dog puppies."
Shi Wu looked confused: "What?"
Li Shui said: "I skipped class as soon as I saw the adults' current affairs class."
"In the current affairs class, I have already mentioned that the puppies are a group of idle vagrants who specialize in spying on news and then selling the news to General Tabloid and other newspapers to make a profit."
“Because dogs have the sharpest noses, they call themselves dog puppies.”
Shi Wu said: "This...how can Daqin allow such people to exist? Such people openly and secretly take photos of me. This does not mean, this does not mean..."
In this era, there was no concept of privacy, so Shi Wu was angry for a long time, but could not speak. He just vaguely felt that something was wrong with this matter.
Li Shui coughed dryly and said to Shi Wu, "Don't worry, sir, a puppy won't do this to ordinary people."
Shi Wu stared and thought to himself: I don't care if a dog does this to ordinary people. The key is...can you do this to me? What's the point?
Li Shui said with a smile: "As for the adults in the court, you have no right to complain. Because you have received the salary from the court."
"And these salaries are taxes paid by the people. As the saying goes, you eat and you pay, and the people fatten you."
"The people want to see what you have done, whether you have accepted bribes or whether you have betrayed the country and committed rebellion."
Shi Wu: "..."
courtier:"……"
what is this? Are you keeping everyone under surveillance?
Ying Zheng looked at Li Shui and fell into deep thought.
At this time, Li Shui patted Shi Wu and said, "Aren't you still pleading guilty?"
Shi Wu gritted his teeth and said, "So what if these people are my people? Maybe they did not pretend to be envoys, but the county magistrate's people framed them."
"After they framed them, they framed me again to find an opportunity to knock me down."
Li Shui chuckled: "Master Shi Wu has such a good idea. Then why are you willing to plead guilty? Well, I'll let the villagers of Gumai Village come in and see if they can recognize these messengers."
Li Shui glanced at Ying Zheng, who nodded slightly.
Soon, some people were brought up.
These people were not villagers from Gumai Village, but prisoners who had just been brought from prison.
These prisoners knelt on the ground with nervous expressions on their faces, not knowing what fate awaited them.
Li Shui looked at the prisoners and nodded with satisfaction.
These people were all injured to varying degrees, their noses and faces were bruised and swollen from beatings, and their clothes were similar to the messengers, they were all prison uniforms.
Li Shui mixed them together, and then ordered people to bring the villagers from Gumai Village.
Li Shui said calmly: "Point it out and see which one is the messenger who took you away in the first place."
The villagers of Gumai Village took a cautious look.
In fact, they immediately discovered the messenger among the prisoners.
But the villagers dare not identify him. Who knows what tricks these big figures in the court are playing?
If you don't pay attention and get yourself burned, isn't that the end?
Therefore, these villagers are cautious.
Li Shui said calmly: "Don't you have many grievances? Now that I have come to redress your grievances, you are unwilling to speak out your grievances? How can this be done?"
"With such courage, you still want to seek justice? With such courage, it is normal for someone to bully you."
Li Shui's words were actually addressed to Yangwei and others.
Sure enough, these people understood what Li Shui meant.
Yangwei stood up tremblingly and said, "I...I have something to say."
Li Shui nodded and looked at her with encouraging eyes.
Yangwei pointed at the envoys and said, "These people are the envoys who took us away in the first place."
At this time, Lao Niu also stood up: "Yes, it's the two of them."
Li Shui spread his hands to Shi Wu and said, "What else do you have to say now?"
Shi Wu wiped the cold sweat on his head and said, "This is nothing, maybe..."
Ying Zheng suddenly said coldly: "Isn't this nothing? When things have reached this point, are you still making excuses? Come here, pull this person down and punish him eight hundred times."
Shi Wu looked at Ying Zheng in horror. In his panic, he even shouted: "Eight hundred? This..."
Ying Zheng said: "Yes, it's eight hundred."
He looked at the young eunuch beside him and said, "This person is not allowed to die before eight hundred strokes are given."
The young eunuch was stunned for a moment and said, "What about after the beating?"
Ying Zheng said: "After the beating, he will not be allowed to live."
The young eunuch responded and hurried away.
…………
The executioner is playing poker.
These people are actually very leisurely and usually have nothing to do. Because they are the ones who make boards, and the use of boards in the palace is relatively rare.
When the emperor is angry, he usually kills people directly, and rarely makes a plan.
Although there are a few jobs today, they are not many, just a few in their 80s, and can be solved with just a few hands.
While playing cards, a newcomer sighed and said, "My life is a bit boring."
The executioner hummed and said calmly: "You know how boring it is, right? You haven't experienced anything before. If you had experienced it before, you would feel even more bored now."
The man asked curiously: "How do you say this?"
The executioner's eyes were a little deep. He looked into the distance and said: "At that time, there was a eunuch named Ji Ming in the palace. This person can be regarded as a talent."
The man looked at the executioner curiously: "What do you mean?"
The executioner said: "This man has to be beaten once a day. His skin and flesh are torn apart by the beatings, which is unbearable pain."
"Look at us, we are so skillful in our techniques and our beating skills are so superb. We were all trained on Ji Ming."
The newcomer said: "But where is this eunuch named Ji Ming? Why didn't I see him?"
The executioner shouted, "This eunuch has been killed."
The newcomer said oh, and said with some regret: "It's a pity that he has been killed. Otherwise, he could be used to practice his skills."
The person next to me said, "Who says it's not the case?"
The executioner smiled and said: "To be honest, our superb skills are all fed by our butts. Otherwise, how could we beat someone eighty times and still not die?"
"When I get the chance in the future, I'll let you play more often and you'll get the experience."
The new man thanked him gratefully.
At this time, a young eunuch led Shi Wu over.
Shi Wu was dejected, looking half dead.
The executioner walked over and said to the young eunuch: "What? This person needs to be beaten?"
The young eunuch hummed: "Your Majesty means that he will be beaten with eight hundred strokes, and that he will die at the eight hundred strokes."
The executioner was stunned and said to the young eunuch: "Is it eight hundred or eighty?"
The young eunuch said: "Eight hundred."
The executioner was silent for a while and then said to the young eunuch: "Did I make a mistake? Eight hundred sticks, how is this possible?"
The young eunuch said: "How can your majesty's golden words be false? You should remember this, and I want him to die on the 800th stick."
After the young eunuch finished his instructions, he turned around and left.
As for Shi Wu, he stood there blankly without saying a word.
The executioner looked at Shi Wu in confusion and asked, "What mistake did you make? To make His Majesty so angry."
As a result, Shi Wu staggered and fell to the ground.
The executioner said speechlessly: "What are you doing? Why did you fall down after just saying a word?"
The newcomer said nervously: "Sir, what should I do now? I can't do it if I want him to die with eight hundred sticks."
The executioner said: "Nonsense, of course you can't do it. Even I can't guarantee that you can do it."
The executioner rubbed his hands and said nervously: "I don't know if I can do it. I hope I can."
The executioner selected one of the wisest among them to be the counter.
Others said: "Sir, we don't need to be so entangled. First, give him seven hundred sticks lightly, and then at the end, hit him harder with one hundred sticks. Just beat him to death."
The executioner shook his head and said: "Of course people can be beaten to death in this way, but His Majesty will definitely be angry if we are opportunistic. If we are held accountable, none of us will be able to escape."
"What's more... those of us who are in charge of punishment must also have certain requirements for ourselves, and we cannot relax ourselves too much. Now that we have the opportunity to strive for excellence, we must find a way to do it."
"Once you break through this level, one day, holding this torture stick in your hand will be like your own body, and you can handle it with ease and be invincible."
The others nodded and said with admiration: "My lord, you are right, it is inspiring."
The executioner smiled slightly and said, "Let's begin."
Then, the executioner held the wooden stick and slowly hit Shi Wu.
Shi Wu snorted, and then discovered that it didn't seem to be that painful.
It hurts, of course, but it's not unbearable.
The executioner smiled and asked Shi Wu: "How is it?"
Shi Wu said: "It's okay."
The executioner smiled and said, "It's okay if you think it's okay."
Then, he struck down the stick one by one.
Shi Wu suddenly felt that the strength of each stick was the same, which was a bit magical.
He said to the executioner: "Brother, you can control this strength."
The executioner laughed and said, "As long as you like it, adults. Although you have made mistakes, we still have to take care of you if you can take care of them."
Two hundred sticks passed peacefully like this. The strength of these two hundred sticks is equal.
By this time, the new guy was dumbfounded.
Is there really such a powerful person in the world? A dozen sticks with exactly the same strength is nothing, but hundreds of sticks with the same strength are definitely extraordinary strength.
Half an hour later, the executioner had already struck five hundred sticks.
Each stick will leave a small red mark, but the accumulation of these red marks has already caused serious injuries.
Shi Wu finally felt the pain and couldn't help but scream.
The executioner smiled slightly and said, "My lord, you are quite tolerant."
Shi Wu breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "It's because your skills are so good."
The executioner laughed and said, "Thank you, sir. In fact, my skills are very average."
Shi Wu likes this kind of conversation very much because it can distract him and make him forget the pain.
But when he hit six hundred sticks, Shi Wu couldn't help it anymore and started screaming in agony.
The newcomer looked at Shi Wu, then at the executioner, and said, "Sir, you don't seem to have increased the force. Why is he screaming so miserably?"
Shi Wu said: "Before, the wounds were all hidden wounds, but now those hidden wounds have appeared, new wounds plus old wounds, isn't this an attack now?"
The newcomer said, "That's it."
By the time he hit 700 sticks, Shi Wu could no longer scream.
He lay softly on the ground, and every time the wooden stick fell, he jumped like a dead fish.
By the time the 750 strokes were reached, the executioner was already sweating.
Not tired, but nervous.
But his hand didn't stop, still falling slowly and raising it slowly.
Suddenly, Shi Wu shouted loudly: "Long live your Majesty."
Then there was no sound.
The executioner was a little worried and asked the people around him: "Is he dead?"
The people around looked at it: "Not yet."
The executioner breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
He continued to hit at a constant frequency.
When the number of hits reached 799, the newcomer said excitedly: "He's still alive. He's still alive. All he needs to do is hit him hard. Hit the vital part."
The executioner was silent for a while and said, "No, I also have requirements for myself."
Then, he still hit it with constant force. And the location of the blow has not changed. .
