Feng Yanlu crossed the river overnight. In order to show the urgency of the situation, Judge Feng even added a scene for himself.
So when the boat passed Caishiji, Feng Yanlu, who cared about his country, fell into the water in great anxiety and almost died for his country.
This move was very dangerous, because Feng Yanlu almost didn't get rescued.
But correspondingly, the rewards are also great.
As soon as Li Jing saw Feng Yanlu's drowned appearance, he immediately believed what Feng Yanlu said. Zhou's army and thousands of cavalry had already crossed the river. The Lord of Zhou was even furious because he refused to go to the country and detained Sun Cheng and Han Xizai. Something happened.
Caishiji is only sixty miles down the river to Jiangning. Wanqi has already crossed the river and can reach the Qinhuai River in an hour at most.
If we add in the forceful crossing of the Zhou army from Yangzhou, the eastern capital across the river, there will be no suspense about the outcome!
In the past, Li Jing seemed a little confident. That was because he still had a way out. In the worst case, if he went to Hongzhou, who would be afraid of whom?
But now that his escape was blocked, he immediately felt uneasy. After all, no matter how important the country, wealth and face were, they were still more important than life.
So Li Jingsui couldn't run away. Since Lord Zhou asked for an important person to talk to him, only His Royal Highness Prince Qi could go.
Li Jing quickly held a simple ceremony and appointed his second brother, King Qi Li Jingsui, as the crown prince, and asked him to go to Caishiji to beg for peace from the Lord of Zhou in his place.
In Hezhou, Sun Cheng and Han Xizai, who were detained, were really frightened.
Because Zhang Zhao had to act like he wanted to know the inside story of Jiang Ning and was very eager to defeat Jiang Ning and capture Li Jing alive.
Otherwise, Feng Yanlu would be easily exposed, and Zhou Zong, that old fox, had already laid down and closed the door to create villains.
The only one Zhang Zhao knew well was Feng Yanlu, and Feng Yanlu had an elder brother behind him, Feng Yanji.
So on the first day, Sun Cheng and Han Xizai were hungry for almost the entire day, and only had a bowl of milk water at noon.
In the early morning of the next day, Zhou Shizi, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, and Shicheng Hou Zhang Liecheng personally took the imperial cook and served lamb wine to persuade them to surrender.
Although Sun and Han were weak from hunger, they still did not give in.
Among them, the staunch Sun Cheng kept silent and refused to cooperate at all. Han Xizai ate a lot of meat and drank a lot of wine, but he didn't say a word when asked about the information about Jiangning City, and he was prepared to be severely punished.
Seeing that this method failed, Zhang Liecheng immediately started the most common method - torture.
Of course this would not be torture for Sun Cheng and Han Xizai, that would be too rude.
Zhang Liecheng brought the two bandits caught by Jin Yiwei to them.
These two bandits were both from the vicinity of Hezhou. After the governor of Hezhou ran away in the Southern Tang Dynasty, these two led a group of bandits and thugs to plunder the people who fled the city outside the city.
A total of more than ten women were raped, dozens of people were injured, and nearly 500 pieces of property were looted. It can be said that the crime was extremely heinous.
Zhang Zhao has always severely punished such shameless evil elements.
Even in his army, plundering, raping, and beating civilians would result in loss of heads, let alone mountain bandits.
It's just that the two leaders were unlucky. The second before they were beheaded, they were pulled by Zhang Liecheng to kill the chickens and scare the monkeys.
The so-called torture is also very simple, it is nothing more than fingernail pulling and the tiger bench.
But for literati like Sun Cheng and Han Xizai, it seemed too terrifying.
When the leading bandit had all the nails on his hands pulled out in front of Han Xizai, Han Xi was so frightened that he was on the verge of collapse.
Because this was not a simple matter of pulling out the nails, the torture masters of Zhou Guojinyi's bodyguard first used bamboo sticks to slowly pry around the nails, exerting huge psychological pressure, then thrust them in suddenly and then slowly peeled them off.
In the bandit's earth-shattering scream, the entire nail cap was completely peeled off. The nail was in perfect shape, without any damage, and there was not even a trace of flesh and blood on the root of the nail.
After peeling it off, the torturers would use spirits and fine salt to repeatedly smear the wound to prevent it from rotting.
Each nail represents a pain, and there will be about thirty breaths between every time a nail is pulled out, because this interval is just enough for people to barely adapt to the pain in front of them.
And thirty breaths later, when the pain subsides slightly, the severe pain and terrifying screams will start again.
Even though the bandit was a very strong man, he almost fainted due to pain and fear before all ten nails were pulled out.
The torture expert saw that the bandit was about to pass out, so he turned around and looked at Han Xizai with some lingering thoughts.
"Does Mr. Lang know? I, a personal guard in Jinyi, serve in the Medicine Department and have invented a new type of golden sore medicine. It has miraculous effects on stopping bleeding and making flesh. It is a supreme treasure.
Another saint said that sheep intestines could be used as thread to remove evil spirits, disinfect and suture wounds. However, a certain family used this method to treat hundreds of warriors whose chests and abdomens were cut open, and only three people survived. "
As he spoke, the torture expert seemed to be lost in thought, "If this method is useless, no two or three warriors will be able to survive. If it is useful, why can't it even achieve 10% of the effect?
I think the medical experts that the saint saw must not be ordinary people. It is a pity that ordinary people in a certain family cannot be proficient in this skill.
After thinking about it, could it be that someone doesn't know enough about the internal organs? Or is it true, as the sage said, that there are three or nine types of human blood, and if you study it carefully, you can really take blood in exchange for your life? "
After saying that, the torture expert looked at Han Xizai and said, "I heard that Zhi Zhi Gao is a learned man from the South. Do you know the secret of human blood?"
Han Xizai's eyes widened in fear, amidst the victim's shrill screams, in this cell filled with the smell of blood.
A terrifying torturer wearing a white robe with blood on his hands spoke of cutting open a human belly in such a casual way.
It was as if the morals and laws in the world no longer existed. In his eyes, people were no longer human beings, but just like pigs and sheep.
The confined space, the blood that broke the bottom line of human morality, made Han Xizai's mind seem to be overloaded. The muscles on his face were twitching unconsciously, and he could not speak.
Seeing that he didn't speak, the torturer shook his head in disappointment, "Now that I think about it, I know that Zhigao is a person who has read the books of sages, so he will definitely disdain to talk to someone like this.
Then don't ask for advice. Tomorrow, someone will cut open this person's chest and abdomen and check his internal organs.
Then we find other thieves and test it repeatedly with human blood, chicken blood, dog blood, and rabbit blood. We always get results, but it's a pity that there are too few thieves and there is not enough! "
As he said that, the torturer regretfully made a small stroke on Han Xizai's belly.
Han Xizai suddenly felt a tightness in his anus, as if he was about to burst out. A sudden coldness hit his belly, and an earth-shaking pain came from his internal organs, as if his belly had been cut open.
When Li Xiaojie saw Han Xizai's appearance at the door, he quickly walked in. If he continued to be frightened, something might happen, but don't scare him crazy.
Seeing Han Xizai being carried out with a chair, Li Xiaojie raised his thumbs up to the torturers with satisfaction.
"The Eighteenth Prince is very capable. Not only is his medical skills superb, he is also very good at scaring people."
This torturer was Zhang Zhao's nephew, who was born in the eighteenth year of his life, so he was called Shibalang.
Shiba Lang looked at Li Xiaojie strangely, looked at Li Xiaojie with his somewhat cloudy eyes, and said strangely.
"Who said I was trying to scare him? Please ask the deputy commander to complete the necessary knife as soon as possible. I will start the caesarean section tomorrow.
correct! All the noon workers from the states along the Yangtze River were also attracted. Maybe some of these people knew the grotesque technique of caesarean section. "
At this time, the bandit who had fallen into a coma due to severe pain woke up. Hearing Shibaro's words, he screamed again and passed out.
Li Xiaojie suddenly felt a little cold. Looking at Shiba Lang, who seemed to have lost all human emotions, he shuddered violently, without even raising his hands, and said, "It must be done as soon as possible," and ran out immediately.
While running, he looked at the two Qianhu next to him and said, "These are not fucking human beings. I am taking the lead. You two and I will report to the commanding officer, the Marquis. We must remove the Medicine Department from our Jinyi guards." Eliminate it.
What we want is a master of torture, not a ghost who has lost his humanity. I doubt that one day he will be disemboweled and no one will be able to cut him open. "
The two Qianhus nodded their heads like chickens pecking at rice, and they agreed repeatedly.
On the other side, Sun Cheng was watching the execution of the Tiger Bench.
The painful part of this punishment is that the person's legs are squeezed to the limit. The pain is not a temporary pain, but a continuous amount of pain.
On the other hand, Sun Cheng was a well-informed man who could not stand up to the enemy, but he could still look at the executioner with a pale face and ask.
"A certain year ago, I saw tooth soldiers chopping people into pulp in Tokyo Prefecture. Can this kind of pain be compared to the pain of chopping people into pulp?"
Unexpectedly, before the executioner could answer, the tortured bandit couldn't bear it any longer. He screamed sharply, and tears flowed down his twisted cheeks.
"Chop it into pureed meat, and the pain will only last for a moment. The pain will last forever, how can it be compared to cutting it into pureed meat?"
After hearing this, Sun Cheng turned pale and stopped talking.
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Later in the evening, Zhang Liecheng personally took the two men to a secret room, served a banquet again, and persuaded them carefully.
"My father, Emperor Shaoming, inherited the virtues of the Tang Dynasty and obeyed the people's wishes.
In the past, there was great chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty, and wars broke out, and the emperor of the Han Dynasty invaded all directions.
The Rebellion of the Eight Kings of Jin also caused turmoil in the world. The North and the South were at odds for four hundred years. Therefore, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty briefly unified the world, and then the great dynasties unified China and revitalized the Central Plains.
It has been two hundred years since the Yan rebels invaded China. It is the right time for my father, Emperor Shaoming, to unify the world. Don't you two want to participate in this grand event and benefit all people in the world?
When the time comes, not only will he be a high-ranking official and his name will go down in history, but his master, Li Jing, will also have the blessings of Emperor Huai of the Han Dynasty.
Although the emperor is furious today and has put the two of them in prison, if they can abandon the secret and turn to the light and tell Jiang Ning's truth and truth one by one, they can escape from the prison and be guests of our great Zhou Dynasty. "
After the two of them listened, they remained silent. Han Xizai's heart was broken, but he couldn't do it even if he asked him to sell his goods for glory.
He was about to reply to Zhang Liecheng's words, but he saw Sun Cheng getting up and became furious.
Because Zhang Liecheng threatened and even forced him with hunger, Sun Chen couldn't help but think of the bad deeds of the five generations of the Central Plains. At this moment, the anger in his heart had been ignited and he could no longer hold back.
"It is not righteous for Emperor Shaoming to detain his envoys! It is not loyal to force his ministers to betray the emperor! It is not benevolent to think of destroying Jiangling when Yangzhou, the eastern capital, will lead to the loss of life!"
If you want to rectify the Liuhe and unify the world, if you cannot be loyal, filial, benevolent and righteous, even if you get a magical weapon, it will be just as short-lived as the violent Qin Dynasty.
The two of us are ministers of Jiangnan, and we will never betray the master of Jiangnan. "
Zhang Liecheng was extremely angry, laughed, and then walked away.
Zhang Zhao was waiting for him not far from the secret room, watching Zhang Liecheng's face flushed with anger, but Zhang Zhao didn't care at all.
Not to mention that Sun Chen and Han Xizai were unwilling to surrender, even if they were willing, Zhang Zhao was not prepared to take it now.
Because although Sun Chen has a reputation of loyalty, he is actually not very capable.
This is a loyal minister who is loyal, cautious, able to keep secrets, and can also complete the king's tasks in a strict manner.
With this ability, Zhang Zhao is qualified to be a stay-at-home officer in Xijing Chengtian Prefecture (Liangzhou) or Jingzhao Prefecture Chang'an. The rules in these two places are ready-made, as long as you are loyal and cautious.
But putting him in the Southern Tang Dynasty as prime minister and facing such a complicated situation, Sun Cheng would definitely mess things up.
Although Han Xizai was a talented man, his absurd and unruly history was also because the Southern Tang Dynasty was suppressed by the Northern Song Dynasty, and the country was destined to have no future, so Han Xizai gave up on himself.
But even if he does not give up on himself, this person has many shortcomings.
He has a strong personality, likes to argue with others, and likes extravagance.
If these three characteristics are combined with outstanding abilities, he will be a capable minister in governing the world and a hero in troubled times like Cao Cao.
Or like Zhang Juzheng, the famous figure through the ages who helped the building to collapse and turned the tide before it fell.
It is a pity that Han Xizai's ability is far from matching his temper. The dignified minister of the Southern Tang Dynasty ended up living as a low-profile version of Liu Yong.
Therefore, even if this person is to be a Taiping Prime Minister, he is not very qualified. If he is to be a king, he can be a lord of integrity.
So since these two people have average talents and Zhang Zhao doesn't want to recruit them, nor does he want to get information about Jiangnan through them, why should he treat them like this?
In fact, it is due to two considerations.
First, Zhang Zhao wanted to put on a big show for his men.
Zhang Shengren has been instilling loyalty in his subordinates since he was in Anxi, but now, there are few examples, and many people doubt whether the loyal ministers in the history books are true.
So Zhang Zhao wanted to find a few examples of loyalty. It happened that Huangfu Yu's wife had already been found. Liang Hanzhang's third son unfortunately died in the Battle of Chuzhou, which was a good lesson for the ministers of the Zhou Dynasty.
Second, Zhang Zhao wanted Li Jing to think that these two people were extremely talented, and even the Lord of Zhou wanted to possess them.
And with such a great talent and such loyalty and unyielding spirit, Li Jing will definitely be used more effectively after being put back.
This can lead Li Jing astray, making him mistakenly believe that the two are geniuses who will devote themselves to state affairs, and can also disrupt the political balance of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Because the political situation of the Southern Tang Dynasty was dominated by two parties, Sun Cheng and Han Xizai were in one party, and Feng Yanji and Zha Wenhui were in another party.
If these two people become popular, Feng Yanji and Zha Wenhui, who have the reputation of being villains but are actually very talented, may have to join Zhang Zhao.
Zhang Shengren saw clearly that after taking over Jiangnan, it was up to people like Feng Yanji to rectify the big families in Jiangnan and equalize the land in the world. People like Sun Cheng and Han Xizai were simply unable to do it.
Therefore, when Zhang Liecheng and other ministers and adopted sons were extremely angry, Zhang Zhao had a rather indifferent attitude and patted Zhang Liecheng on the shoulder.
"Perform the last step!"
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At the foot of Hezhou Jilong Mountain, not far away is the Yangtze River. This mountain is not very high, but in Hezhou, which is as flat as a flat river, it feels like you can see many small mountains.
Sun Cheng and Han Xizai, as well as more than a hundred officials from the accompanying mission, as well as officials and Lifu, were all pushed to the foot of Jilong Mountain by the Zhou army.
Zhang Liecheng was riding on a tall horse, looking at them fiercely, holding an ocher-yellow brocade silk in his hand.
"Sun Cheng, Han Xizai, the saint is asking a certain family to ask you again, are you willing to inform Jiangning City of the situation?"
Han Xizai trembled slightly and stopped talking. Sun Cheng was so angry that he held his neck and refused to bow his head.
After a while, Zhang Liecheng seemed to be impatient with waiting. His expression gradually turned bad and he waved his hand.
Two executioners dressed in red and holding strange thick-backed swords came forward. This look was specially designed by Zhang Zhao, including the shape of the sword.
"According to the imperial edict, Sun Cheng and Han Xizai have rebelled and violated the law. They will be executed immediately. The envoys will follow and kill them together!"
As soon as Zhang Liecheng finished speaking, more than a hundred members of the Southern Tang Dynasty mission immediately burst into tears.
Sun Cheng showed no fear. After throwing away the soldiers who were escorting him, he straightened his clothes and bowed to the east again and again, "I would like to die to serve the country!"
Although Han Xizai was trembling all over, he still threw himself to the ground, imitating Sun Cheng's example, and shouted miserably.
"The Tang Dynasty knew the imperial edict, and Han Xizai of Beihai died today!"
Several officials of the mission, knowing that death was inevitable, also began to tidy up their clothes.
Li Min and Li Jing's father and son promoted culture and education, and built academies in various places. Other effects have not yet appeared, but they have still cultivated a few loyal ministers.
Originally, the surrounding Zhou Dynasty officials and generals came to watch the fun with a little anger. These Nanwu people were so ignorant that they deserved to be beheaded.
But at this time, more than 20 people including Sun Cheng and Han Xizai from the envoys of the Southern Tang Dynasty were tidying up their clothes and saying that they would die to serve the country (the king). They were considered to have died calmly. In an instant, the hearts of Zhou Guo's civil and military officials were not satisfied. That’s the taste.
Among them, Huangfu Yu's nephew Huangfuchong and Wang Qing's son Wang Shoujun were the ones who felt the same way.
Both of them were working in front of the army at this time, so they rushed out together and shouted to Zhang Liecheng.
"I heard that the Holy Lord will not kill loyal ministers. Please command the envoys to report to the Saint and spare them!"
This role was originally supposed to be played by Murong Nobunaga, but unexpectedly, someone actually came out in advance.
When Huangfuchong and Wang Shoujun said this, Bai Congxin, Li Cunhui and dozens of other civil and military officials came out to ask for orders. Zhang Liecheng could only nod his head and flew to ask Zhang Zhao for instructions.
Not long after, Zhang Zhao arrived at the execution ground. Everyone knelt down, and Bai Congxin took the lead and came out and said.
"These two people are just blind scholars. Killing them will damage the reputation of the saint. It is better to pardon them to show the virtue of the saint."
Zhang Zhao did not answer, but looked at Sun Cheng and Han Xizai: "Would you two rather die than tell Jiang Ning the truth?"
Han Xizai was keenly aware of the change in Zhang Zhao's attitude, and was afraid that Sun Cheng would offend Zhang Zhao by saying harsh words again, so he responded first.
"It is a matter of eating the king's salary and being loyal to the king. How can one betray the Lord just because of glory and wealth?"
In fact, Sun Cheng was not stupid. He looked at Zhang Zhao and shouted: "Wealth cannot be lustful, power cannot be subjugated. This is what the sages admired, and it is also the wish of a certain person!"
Zhang Zhao sighed and said, "You are indeed a loyal minister! I think that this is how Imperial Master Huangfu, Duke Ming, Duke Ying, Duke Taiyuan, etc. died because of their insubordination to the Khitans.
Just now I heard Zhang Xibao reported that the bones of Duke Ming and two thousand soldiers had been recovered, and the wife of Grand Master Huangfu had also been found.
Wang Shoujun, come and see, is this the ring finger used by your father? "
Zhang Zhao took out a thumb ring that had just been given by Jin Yiwei. Wang Shoujun stepped forward after hearing this and burst into tears after taking the ring ring.
"Returning to the saint, it is the relic of my father."
Then, a crowd of palace people came, surrounded by an old woman dressed as a nun.
It turned out that Huangfu Yu's first wife, Huo, was disheartened and became a nun after hearing that Huangfu Yu committed suicide and died for her country. She was still in a small temple in her hometown of Caizhou, so no wonder she couldn't find her.
Huangfu Chong knelt on the ground and said sadly to Zhang Zhao: "Hui Sage, she is my aunt!"
Zhang Zhao helped Wang and Huangfu up and looked at Sun Cheng and Han Xizai proudly.
"There are loyal ministers in the southern kingdom, and there are righteous men in my northern kingdom. In the future, when the world is unified, loyal ministers and righteous men will no longer be divided into north and south, and they will no longer be loyal to the lord of the separatist regime.
You two claim to be loyal and righteous, but it is a pity that Li Jing did not have the ambition to end the troubled times and restore peace to the people of the world.
Not only Li Jing, but also Liu Zhiyuan, Gao Congjie, Ma Xifan, and Meng Chang do not have this ambition. I am the only one in the world who has it.
I am the master of the world and will not kill loyal ministers and righteous men, so I will not kill you today. "
As soon as Zhang Zhao finished speaking, the foot of Jilong Mountain burst into cheers and thunderous cheers. Everyone on the left and right shouted long live. Even Sun Cheng and Han Xizai, who had narrowly escaped death, also bowed down.
Immediately, Zhang Zhao went to the foot of Jilong Mountain and posthumously named Huangfu Yu the King of the Song Dynasty. He named Huangfu Yu Yu's wife Huo as the Lady of the Song Dynasty. He gave her purple clothes, ordered people to build a temple in Zhengding to commemorate Huangfu Yu, and gave the Huo family the royal title Zhenfan.
They also posthumously named Wang Qing as the Prince of Wu'an County, Liang Hanzhang as the Prince of Yanmen County, and Guo Lin as the Duke of Bing.
In addition, Sun Cheng was given fifty pieces of brocade, Han Xizai was given forty pieces of brocade, and everyone in the envoy was given twenty pieces as comfort.
After the two experienced great life and death, great sorrow and great joy, they came to express their gratitude in a very upright manner.
Zhang Zhao also specifically asked, "Since you two want to be loyal ministers, you should warn your master in the future not to cause such troubles as Song and Xuzhou."
Sun and Han repeatedly said that they would give Li Jing more warning.
After this performance, Zhang Zhao's 'great secret' Li Fang stood up and congratulated him: "The sage's magnanimity is rare in the world, and the wise kings of ancient times were just like this. I felt this and would like to congratulate him with a poem."
As he spoke, Li Fang recited the verses he had prepared long ago. With Li Fang taking the lead, officials from all walks of life came forward to offer poems.
Of course, all this is to elicit the "famous poem" written by Zhang Shengren.
Zhang Zhao immediately became popular in poetry and left behind Lu You's famous poems.
'A man with lofty ideals admires the ancients, and a loyal minister respects the strange festivals.
There is a place for death, and the sky is colorless.
Who knows that Taiyi is too righteous, but he lacks sound decision-making in the face of difficulties.
I think Gao Qing's hair is worthy of Ji Shao's blood. '
After finishing the poem, Zhang Zhao said deeply amidst the flattering sounds of the crowd: "Yan Gaoqing and Ji Shao are both great loyal ministers, but what they serve is great loyalty, the true loyalty to the destined emperor of the Central Plains.
I would like to share this poem with the people of the world, and hope that all loyal ministers and righteous men from all over the world will come to participate in this grand event and re-establish the great dynasty. "
This is the significance of Zhang Zhao's poem copying. In the cultural land of the Southern Tang Dynasty, nothing could spread faster and wider than poetry.
Zhang Zhao wanted to let the world know that instead of being loyal to the lords of various separatist regimes, it was better to be loyal to him, the true emperor of the Central Plains.
At this time, Li Jingsui, the envoy of the Southern Tang Dynasty and the emperor's younger brother, also crossed the river from Caishiji.
Zhang Zhao immediately pulled the tool man to Jilong Mountain, pointed at Sun Cheng and Han Xizai and said to him.
"You have several brothers, and it's all thanks to these two that you are able to keep the family business!"
After Li Jingsui arrived, it marked that the war between Zhou and Tang was basically over, and peace talks could begin immediately.
