After intense and quick thinking, Fan Zhigu figured out a way to deal with it, put it into action, and used his actions to express his attitude to the court and the old emperor. Immediately sent people to contact the Dusi and the Second Department of Ancha. Fan Zhigu took the lead and led the three yamen and the main officials of Jiangling Prefecture to rush to Xingzai and kowtow to pray for sin.
Fan Zhigu understood very clearly that under such a situation, the old emperor had already taken such decisive and swift measures. The seriousness of the matter was self-evident, and there was no room for shirk. Only a correct attitude would be enough. Help solve the problem.
There are hundreds of bureaucrats, half of whom are high-ranking officials in Jinghu North Road. They are all big figures who were once only mentioned in the mouths of the people. They hold great power and even control life and death. These superior men and women, when faced with more powerful forces, their attitude of submission is not much different from that of the untouchables in Jiangling City who are working hard to make a living.
Due to the "smuggling case", the high-level officials of Jinghu North Road were shocked, and the entire Hubei officialdom trembled. However, Jiangling City was in an uproar, and the response among the soldiers and the people was enthusiastic.
Rumors spread quickly because of the large-scale manhunt, and speculations flew everywhere. However, there was no tension in the market, only curiosity, and even excitement and encouragement.
After all, those who were arrested were either officers and soldiers or bureaucrats, and they did not disturb the people. Isn't it just what you like to see if something happens to the powerful? The actions of the senior officials of Jinghu North Road spread quickly throughout Jiangling like the wind.
Therefore, before noon, the scene outside became even more lively. In addition to the large number of Hubei bureaucrats who knelt down, there were also Jiangling people who came after hearing the news.
The influx of scholars and civilians brought great challenges to the maintenance of order. The Imperial City, Wude, and Ouchi had to strengthen control. However, even if they were excluded and could only wait and watch from a distance, they could not be extinguished. The enthusiasm of the onlookers, on the contrary, became even higher.
The superiors, being in such a noisy environment and being looked at with such strange eyes by a group of bastards, feel very awkward. Even at this point, even if they are kneeling under the sun, many people still can't let go of their bureaucratic airs. Some are sad, some are angry, some are ashamed, and of course some lower their heads and close their eyes as if it doesn't exist.
Outside, there was a commotion. In fact, just because the people of Jiangling reacted like this to this matter, one can imagine what the public sentiment is like in Jiangling Mansion. It can at least be confirmed. It is not like what appeared when entering the city the day before yesterday. Give the old emperor that kind of political leadership and people-friendly attitude.
When things have reached this point, the mood has completely risen, and there is no way to calm down easily. The scholars and people in Jiangling are looking forward to how it will end, and the officials in Hubei are also concerned, while the mood of the bureaucrats kneeling in front of them continues to sink. , not a good ending.
At this time, a group of people realized later and followed Fan Zhigu to the front line. This decision seemed to be very inappropriate! His heart can be killed! After all, they are outsiders, how can they really care about the good people from Hubei like them?
The old emperor, who had been restraining himself, or rather preparing, saw that the time was almost up, and took further action as noon was approaching.
He didn't pay any attention to the Hubei bureaucrats, and didn't even issue a warning. Four people came forward under the imperial edict, the two emperor's grandsons Liu Wenhuan and Liu Wenji, and the two chief secret agents Wang Xuanzhen and Zhang Bin. The expressions of the four people were different, but they all showed similar emotions in their eyes, which was a feeling of receiving the same order.
Immediately afterwards, another "big move" by the old emperor, a group of people, about forty or so, were marched forward, their hands tied, their heads dejected. There was no time to change their prison uniforms. Everyone was still wearing military uniforms, and they looked at the military rank signs. He was a low-level officer, of some rank in the team, and he was obviously an officer and soldier of the Hubei Navy who was arrested yesterday.
This way of appearing attracted the attention of almost everyone. Not only the bureaucrats of Hubei Province, but also the people of Jiangling who were watching gradually became quiet, because behind everyone, there was an axe-wielding man holding a bright axe. beheading knife.
Almost everyone present had an expectation of what might happen next, and it was quickly verified.
The accompanying censor Zhang Zhibai slowly walked out, followed by two guards, each holding a tray with a row of rolls on it. Zhang Zhibai picked up the first one, looked around, and shouted with a serious face: "Control!"
Almost all the kneeling bureaucrats knelt down, and at this moment, it was as if a huge boulder was pressing down on their backs. As Zhang Zhibai read out the order, a huge stone sank into their hearts.
The first order was not complicated. It mainly reported the crimes committed by the more than 40 grassroots naval officers, with each person's name and the result of the punishment. There was no sloppiness at all. Kill!
With almost no time for anyone to react, dozens of sword lights flashed, dozens of heads fell off, and blood spilled on the floor. The scene was in an uproar. Everyone, both officials and citizens, was shocked, and the scene was silent for a moment.
It’s not that the officials and people of Hubei are ignorant. In this world, there are no undead people, and dead people are a common thing. From time to time, floating corpses can be recovered from the Yangtze River. As for those ditches and wilderness, picking up corpses is even more common.
The scary thing is not the dead people, but the sight of people's heads falling to the ground, dripping with blood. In the past, prisoners on death row were taken to the capital, and after being reviewed by Dali Temple, they were executed in the capital.
Therefore, a scene like today's Xingqianqian has probably not happened in Jiangling for decades. The world has been peaceful and the system has been established for as long as it lasts!
Moreover, it was still this kind of collective beheading, and the people killed were not ordinary people, not to mention naval officers, even ordinary sailors, their lives were much more valuable than ordinary civilians. Nowadays, in front of the steel knife and the national law, that neck is as fragile as tofu.
Before everyone had time to react, another group of people were escorted up. This time, the number was smaller, less than twenty, and they were still officers, but their ranks were higher, having been promoted to the battalion level.
Zhang Zhibai picked up the second book-making process, read it out, cut the knife, and his head fell to the ground. The same process, the same result. The blood in front of him continued to spread along the ground.
After that, there are the auxiliary units of the Navy, including logistics, training, and military discipline, a total of eleven people. So far, more than 70 middle- and lower-level officers of the Hubei Navy have been killed.
But the matter obviously did not end. The killings continued, and the arrested officials were the ones who were pulled up again. Compared with naval officers and soldiers who have violated military laws, the investigation of bureaucrats and the determination of crimes are of course more complicated. With so many people, but first with the heavy evidence of Wude, and then with the sternness and speed of the old emperor, Therefore, he was urgently convicted, and after the verdict was read out, he was beheaded!
Severe punishments and sudden killings will of course easily lead to unjust, false and wrongful convictions. Moreover, such an approach once again undermines the justice of the Han Dynasty, and even tramples on the legal system established and maintained by the old emperor himself.
However, at this time and that time, the old emperor did this kind of thing not once or twice. However, in the past, it often happened in the capital city, but now in the local area, Jiangling officials and people have truly experienced how powerful and indestructible centralized power is.
Navy officers and soldiers are classified according to rank, and when it comes to officials, they are classified according to department. Of course, the number of officials who were killed was smaller, less than fifty in total. Of course, there are more than just these people arrested. These are just those sentenced to death urgently, and the rest need to be investigated slowly and carefully.
Just like that, more than a hundred heads fell to the ground. In terms of scale, it was comparable to any collective anti-corruption execution that had ever happened in Gyeonggi Province, but the level was much lower.
The flowing blood almost dyed people's eyes red, and the air was filled with a disgusting smell. The human heads were rolling and hideous. More than a hundred corpses were separated and piled together before they could be cleaned up. It was really shocking.
The stench was unavoidable. Not only one or two people were frightened by this scene, including senior officials in Hubei, some were shivering, some fainted and were dragged away for treatment, and many of the onlookers dispersed. Not everyone can bear such an impact, and the rest have no energy to cheer.
It can be said that the whole of Jiangling was spread to the whole of Hubei, and the officials and the people were shocked. However, the matter was not over yet, and the last two criminals were also pulled out. Their "treatment" was more special, with their hands and feet shackled, and they staggered every step.
Seeing the crowds of people in front of them, the older people's faces turned pale, but they were still able to hold their own. As for the younger ones, their legs were a little weak, and they were crying and howling in front of them, hoping that the old emperor would survive. .
Wei Zhong and Fu Zhaoshou.
These two were the biggest culprits in this case and the most eye-catching ones. Everyone's hearts were in their throats, including the senior officials whose faces were pale with fright. They also cheered up and opened their eyes wide.
No way! Uncle Guo!
The two imperial grandsons, whose expressions were already somewhat numb, also had some mood swings. Wei Zhong and the others didn't care, but Fu Zhaoshou was their uncle. Zhang Zhibai, who had already gone dry, could not help but tremble in his voice when he read the last step of book making.
When the conclusion of beheading clearly appeared in everyone's ears, the uproar reappeared, and Fan Zhigu couldn't bear it anymore. He even spared people under the knife, and then kowtowed, shouting to see him, and breaking his heart. I shouted at the top of my lungs, hoping that the old emperor could hear me.
To be honest, Fan Zhigu was also frightened by the old emperor's cruel measures. He made many deductions in his mind and thought of countless possibilities. He just didn't expect that the old emperor would come to such a massacre in Jiangling. He didn't expect it. Wrong, it’s massacre!
It shouldn’t be, it really shouldn’t be! In the past two years, the old emperor's anger has become much less violent. What exactly stimulated him!
But no matter what, as the highest officer of Jinghu North Road, Fan Zhigu must express his feelings. He can't really let His Majesty kill his brother-in-law...
(End of chapter)
