When Changsheng and Datou rushed to the west gate, the execution platform had been set up, but the prisoner had not yet been brought there. For some unknown reason, a large number of onlookers gathered outside the city. The crowds were huge, rubbing shoulders, and the expressions on everyone's faces were surprisingly consistent. , all with a bit of anticipation in their excitement.
Changsheng was the executioner, and he sat on the stage. The place where he sat was only three to four feet away from the execution place. Since there were too many prisoners to be executed today, the Ministry of Punishment sent three executioners and six auxiliary executioners. At this time The three executioners are ready, wearing red clothes to avoid evil spirits, holding ghost-head swords in their hands, standing solemnly, expressionless.
The newly appointed Minister of Punishment and Minister of Dali Temple Yang Shuyun have arrived first. Although the Yushitai can supervise all officials and propose punishments and prisons, it is ranked lowest among the three law departments, so the seat is arranged for the new appointee. On the right hand side of Xiao Cunzhi, the Minister of Punishment.
Seeing Changsheng's arrival, Xiao Cunzhi and Yang Shuyun hurriedly stood up to greet him. Changsheng was now a popular figure around the emperor. Although he was promoted to the position of Minister of Household Affairs, he was still the imperial censor. He was a powerful figure that all officials feared and feared.
After a brief exchange of greetings with the two of them, Changsheng sat down and closed his eyes. He had been too busy these past few days, and he only slept for half a night in the morning, and he still hasn't recovered yet.
As the hour drew near, the prison vans brought the prisoners to be executed out of the city. All the prisoners were tied up and had gags in their mouths. No one was allowed to scream.
Seeing the prisoners being brought in, the people were so excited. They didn't understand the people's ignorance of the so-called excitement. Killing was cruel and bloody. What was there to see and what was there to look forward to?
Since Changsheng is not the chief judge, he does not need to personally direct the execution. He only needs to watch quietly. In fact, he does not even want to watch. These corrupt officials do have a way to die, but they just watch the executioner helplessly. Cutting off their heads still makes me feel uncomfortable.
It was now 2:00 noon, and there was still a quarter of an hour before the execution. At this time, the death row prisoners were still locked in the prison cars, and their faces were ashen, and they were lying collapsed and collapsed.
According to criminal laws and regulations, death row prisoners must eat guillotine before death and drink guillotine before beheading, but looking at the situation in front of them, these death row prisoners have not eaten their last meal, and there are no wine jars or bowls around the altar. Neither the Eastern and Western Punishment Ministries nor the Dali Temple were prepared.
Among the onlookers were many family members of death row inmates. Seeing their sons, their fathers, and their husbands about to be beheaded, they were all heartbroken and heartbroken. They cried and wanted to rush to the prison car to talk to them while escorting the prison car. The government officials shouted loudly and drove them away violently.
Although Changsheng couldn't bear it, he couldn't break the rules, because once a precedent was set, the situation would be uncontrollable.
Seeing that there was still a quarter of an hour before the execution, Changsheng ordered Datou to go back to the city and bring some jars of wine. Datou nodded and accepted the order and rode eastward.
At three quarters past noon, the officials opened the prison cart and pulled the condemned prisoners out of their cages.
Most of the people to be executed were civil servants. They were all frightened when they knew that they were about to die. Few of them could walk on their own. Most of them were so frightened that their limbs were weak. They were helpless and relied on the government officials to drag them.
Datou hurriedly hurried slowly, and finally brought back the wine before three quarters noon. Since the execution was quite hasty, the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple did not have anyone to prepare the wine or pour the wine. Changsheng looked at Datou, and then at those who were waiting. The beheaded prisoners, with their big heads understanding, came to the east side of the altar with drinks. They only waited for the condemned prisoners to walk onto the altar before feeding them wine.
Soon the first batch of three death row inmates were pulled to the altar. The reason why these death row inmates were gagged was because the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple did not want to give them a chance to speak in order to avoid causing trouble. However, Chang Sheng instructed Da Tou to feed them wine. Naturally, they have to remove their gags.
A smart subordinate can always be keenly aware of the boss's intentions. Datou knew what Chang Sheng was thinking, so he removed the gags from the three death row prisoners, then poured wine from the jar and delivered them one by one.
Datou's approach gave the death row inmates a last chance to speak. This had two purposes. One was to give the death row inmates a last chance to appeal, and the other was to allow them to say a few more words to their families.
As soon as the gag was removed, someone immediately shouted loudly to the audience, asking the family to take care of themselves and support the elderly and the young. The cry was desperate and tragic, and it was touching to hear it.
There was only one person shouting, and the other two were already stunned. One of them was even scared to the point of peeing. He was in a daze and had no reaction to the drinks that the big head sent him.
At three quarters of noon, Xiao Cunzhi did not dare to delay, so he threw out the order and began the execution.
It wasn't until the executioner's hand pressed down on the wooden pillar where the beheading was placed that one of them realized what he was doing, struggling violently, begging and wailing.
Seeing Changsheng frowning and closing his eyes, Datou shouted loudly, "You are responsible for your own fault. Who should you blame? Show some blood. Don't let your family underestimate you."
Before the big head could finish shouting, the executioner had already raised his knife and dropped it. The three heads fell almost at the same time, blood spurted out, and their heads were missing.
When the onlookers saw this, they exclaimed almost at the same time. For these onlookers, Changsheng was somewhat disgusted. Although these people died innocently, executing prisoners was a cruel thing after all. People who like to watch this kind of excitement are He is not a good person, and he gains false comfort and a twisted sense of superiority by watching the miserable endings of others as a reflection of his own lack of misery.
After the officers of the Ministry of Punishments carried the corpses off the altar from the west side, the second batch of death row prisoners were immediately escorted onto the altar. As usual, the leader removed their gags and gave them a final chance to speak.
Most of the prisoners on death row had the same reaction. They were all scared to death. No one was really afraid of death. One moment they could still breathe and hear, but the next moment they would be dead and never see the world again. I can't see my relatives, and everything in this world has nothing to do with me. I feel helpless, sentimental, reluctant, and regretful. There are few who can maintain their grace. Some cry, some shout, some beg for mercy, and some struggle hysterically. There are also.
The moment the Ghost Head Sword was swung down, the cries, shouts, and begging for mercy stopped abruptly, and were replaced by the chorus of exclamations from the onlookers.
Although Changsheng felt compassion, he also knew that these people's deaths were not unjust. If he had not stabilized the situation yesterday, he might be the one who was beheaded today. People always have to bear the consequences of what they have done, and no one is an exception.
The official should be a good official who is self-denying and devoted to public service, and the civilian should be a good person who abides by the law. The law applies to everyone, and no matter who violates the law, he will be punished.
Changsheng had seen a lot of fighting and fighting, but this was the first time he personally supervised the execution. Although the people he killed were all corrupt officials who were unable to resist, it still made him feel depressed. He had an indescribable feeling, as if there was something blocking him. My chest felt very heavy.
Living in troubled times, it is difficult to live, but it is even worse to die. After death, everything is over. Nothing is yours and has nothing to do with you.
Even though he was depressed, Changsheng still insisted on sitting until the end. He wanted to make sure that all the prisoners on death row were not killed by mistake. As long as someone complained about injustice, he would suspend the execution. However, none of the beheaded prisoners on death row complained about injustice, which shows that there were no cases he tried. Unjust and false.
The execution process lasted for an hour, and this hour felt extremely long to Changsheng. He didn't like killing people, and he didn't like watching people kill people. What he thought about was not that these people deserved their crimes and deserved to die, nor did they enjoy the pleasure of punishing rape and eradicating evil. Some just Helpless and regretful, it would have been better if these people had not made mistakes. If they had not made mistakes, they would not have died.
Returning to the Yushitai, Changsheng continued to explain, and saw no one, so he closed the door and lay in bed.
Although he was tired and tired, he was not sleepy at all. After this execution, he found that he was not as decisive as he thought, and his mood was not as mature and stable as he thought. When he was passive, he could do it neatly. Treat others in their own way, and once you gain the upper hand and seize the initiative, you can't bear the heartache and kill.
After finally calming down and feeling sleepy, there were footsteps outside the door. Changsheng could hear Ni Chenyi's footsteps. It was Ni Chenyi.
Before Ni Chenyi could knock on the door, Changsheng got up and opened the door.
Ni Chenyi looked slightly anxious, "I just got some news, bad news..."
