Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 327: Watching the Execution
That figure was certainly not an assassin, but Zhu Er, who was showing great joy: "Brother-in-law, you are finally back!"
Zhang Shou didn't know if it was his own illusion or some other reason, but he always felt that Zhu Er's eyes were filled with tears... No, it should be said that he felt like crying with joy. When Zhu Er almost attentively helped him off the horse, he was completely clear about this. Sure enough, Zhu Er said something that shocked him.
"Brother-in-law, when Yingying gets angry, it's impossible to stop her. We went to three workshops, and at the third one we happened to run into a group of guys who were destroying the workshops. Those guys were holding hammers and axes, but Yingying was as brave as a ghost and rushed forward without caring about anything. She kicked down two of them and knocked down one, and the remaining three were taken care of by Zhu Hong and his men!"
Zhu Er held up three fingers, and was terrified when he thought of the previous scene. "You don't know, those guys' hammers rubbed her arms, shoulders... and even her face several times. I was almost scared to death by her! After she tied up those people, she went to see Big Brother. I didn't dare to follow her in, for fear that Big Brother would know about this and beat me up instead of scolding her!"
Zhang Shou really couldn't say that Zhu Er was worrying too much. He looked at his pitiful second uncle, turned around and gestured to Ah Liu, and dragged Zhu Er inside. Ah Liu, who was lagging behind, saw that Xiao Huasheng was dumbfounded, so he patted the boy's shoulder again with sympathy and said meaningfully: "You'll get used to it."
Habit... what? The second son Zhu was talking about just now should be his sister, right? She is the daughter of the Duke of Zhao, and she actually rolled up her sleeves to fight...? When he saw her for the first time, he felt that she was not as domineering as those young ladies in Cangzhou, but now it seems that she can fight and kill, and servants, villains, and lackeys are all no match for her?
When Xiao Huasheng followed Ah Liu into the Changlu County Office, he was so confused that he forgot about the fact that his secret had been discovered by Zhang Shou and Ah Liu. When he followed Ah Liu to the lobby of the County Office in a daze and heard the cold voice inside, he suddenly woke up.
"Don't want to talk? In that case, come, drag them down and beat them until they talk . Remember, be gentle and slow. Beat them for an hour or two, and maybe they will confess!"
He looked inside with wide eyes, and saw two strong men carrying a vaguely familiar hook-nosed man with his hands and feet tied up. They threw him directly onto the platform, dragged him down, and beat him. As the thumb-thick wooden stick rained down on the man's hips and legs, he couldn't help but scream like a pig being slaughtered. He couldn't help but take a deep breath, completely forgetting what he was thinking just now.
And just like that, the second, third, fourth... people were dragged out one after another, thrown on the ground and beaten. But all I could hear were screams, groans, and cries for mercy , and occasionally there were voices shouting, "I'll say anything." But even so, the beatings did not stop.
At this time, Xiao Huasheng only heard Zhang Shou whispering, "So the wooden sticks used to beat people these days are this thick... Yes, if they really used a large board like a boat paddle, it wouldn't take thirty or fifty times, maybe just three or five hits to kill someone."
Although he didn't understand why Zhang Shou was concerned about this kind of torture instrument, Xiao Huasheng still quickly said, "I heard from my uncle that these torture instruments are specially made in size, but even if it's this thin, it's easy to kill someone if you hit them on the back... So Emperor Taizu said that in the future, in addition to using a small stick, you can only hit the buttocks and legs, not the back. If someone is beaten to death, the person in charge will be guilty!"
Peanut paused, imitating the tone of Old Salty Fish when he first told him, and whispered: "Emperor Taizu said that caning, torture, or punishment is to make people suffer physically, not to beat them to death or disability. Therefore, how to make people suffer the most, learn the biggest lesson, but still retain the ability to be punished next time, the person in charge of the punishment must know the limits."
"As for those who rape wives and daughters, rob and kill, kidnap and kill people, kill people without reason, and other extremely vicious people, they will all be executed immediately, without waiting. And before the execution, they will be beaten with 40 sticks on the buttocks in front of the government office every three days until they are beheaded. This will serve as a warning to future generations."
These were really too flowery words, and Xiao Huasheng was not used to saying them. Seeing Zhang Shou looking at him in surprise, he could not help scratching his head and explaining with an apologetic smile.
"My uncle is usually not serious, but when he talks about the old stories of Emperor Taizu, he always quotes from classics and says that he read them from books. Because I heard him recite them countless times when I was a child, and I can recite them by heart."
Zhang Shou already had a clear understanding of Lao Xianyu's political inclinations. Xiao Huasheng's words only made him further convinced that his guess was correct. He couldn't help but smile knowingly: "Emperor Taizu hated those who committed crimes and were extremely evil, so he implemented severe punishments. Although it was once criticized for being harsh, it now seems that it is indeed a great deterrent to evildoers."
As he spoke, he added another required course to his list of required readings in his mind - Ming Dynasty Law. It must be said that the senior time traveler did have a lot in common with him.
He has always despised some human rights activists who clamor for the abolition of the death penalty and criticize the death penalty at every turn. In his opinion, for some vicious crimes that challenge people's tolerance, giving them a bullet is simply too cheap! The additional punishment before the death penalty by Taizu is obviously aimed at those who have committed many evil deeds - is this the so-called law as the criterion, and whipping him a few times before the execution?
Others just talk casually, but this one turned imagination into reality! While laughing, Zhang Shou didn't notice that their topic had turned from Zhu Tingfang's torture of prisoners to another weird angle, but he felt that this kind of thing was too difficult to execute and could easily lead to another situation.
"However, knowing that they will die but still have to suffer in bits and pieces, these prisoners may commit suicide out of anger before they can survive the execution. Moreover, knowing that they will die, they may just continue to commit evil. This is also possible. Moreover, it is difficult to define the most evil, and it is easy for it to spread to all capital crimes due to changes in the court's policies. By that time, the original intention of punishing evil and promoting good may no longer be maintained."
" I heard that before the execution, all those who were beaten on the buttocks and displayed to the public had to be personally approved by Emperor Taizu." Speaking of things that happened so many years ago, Peanut was a little unsure. He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Uncle said that Emperor Taizu had specially erected iron plates in government offices in various places, writing down the crimes that were suitable for such punishment. As for those who committed suicide before the execution..."
The young man couldn't help but shudder and whispered, "It is said that the decree at that time was to grind their bones and scatter their ashes into the Yellow River, so that they would never be reincarnated. Even though those who have committed many crimes, most of them still believe in the afterlife, and sometimes they even hope for an amnesty, so they have to endure the hardship. Although only one or two of these heinous criminals are pardoned every year, at least there is hope."
"My uncle has read some manuscripts that were preserved back then, and he said that Taizu's amnesty order was actually a lie. Often, among the prisoners reported for death row, those who had committed less serious crimes and only needed a few beatings as a 'light punishment' were selected and then let go. It is impossible to grant amnesty to ordinary people. But don't tell these things to Dr. Zhang."
But at this point, Peanut suddenly came back to his senses, and seeing those people on the platform being beaten and crying, he suddenly thought of another decree and turned pale. "But what you said is not wrong, Dr. Zhang. After Emperor Taizong, the death penalty was preceded by public caning. The ten heinous crimes were also added, and it seems that treason and rebellion were also included... Uncle Yunhe will not be included in this category, right?"
Zhang Shou saw that Peanut seemed to be about to cry, and Ah Liu was patting the little fellow's shoulder to comfort him, so he also said to comfort him: "The matter has not been clarified yet, don't worry."
Peanut nodded vigorously, but his face was full of worry. "My uncle not only adopted me, but also taught me to read and write. Uncle Yunhe did the same. But in Cangzhou, there is no way to pass the exam to become a minor official. Later, in order to make a living, he followed my uncle to go to sea. After my uncle's ship sank, his mother had a big fight with my uncle and refused to let him go to sea again. She also forced him to learn spinning."
Zhang Shou narrowed his eyes slightly and then asked, "Speaking of which, I am a little curious. It seems that there are more male weaving workers than female weaving workers in Cangzhou?"
"Yes, there have always been more men than women. First, there are more men than women in Cangzhou. Second, there is not enough land to farm. Nowadays, there is more shipping than water transport, and the canal docks do not need so many laborers. Third, if there are several spinning machines at home, and all the men and women in the family spin yarn, they can earn more than farming."
"Although the cotton cloth woven in Cangzhou does not have as many patterns as those in Jiangnan, it is strong and durable. It can be sent to the capital by water. Because the distance is short, the freight is cheaper than that of Jiangnan cotton cloth. The price of ordinary cotton cloth is only two-thirds of that of ordinary cotton cloth in Jiangnan."
Zhu Er didn't expect that Zhang Shou and Xiao Huasheng could digress so far while watching someone being executed, and he couldn't help but cough loudly.
He doesn't have such a good psychological quality. Facing this scene, his scalp was tingling and he even had the urge to rub his butt.
Moreover, he couldn't help but think of the family punishment he had received in those years. Although it wasn't as continuous as the raindrops now, it was still a start of ten, twenty as a warm-up, thirty as a ghost-wail-wolf-howl... This kind of experience has not been missed. Of course, the family punishment only spanked the buttocks, unlike now, not to mention the buttocks, even the thighs were beaten with the wooden stick until there was no good flesh left!
When Zhang Shou came back to his senses and saw Zhu Er's conflicted expression, he knew what he was thinking. He did not expose this future uncle who was a professional at getting beaten, but he did not rush in either. Instead, he continued to watch the fun from outside.
Not long after, one of them, who kept shouting that he was willing to say anything and whose voice was the loudest, was dragged back in.
In just a few moments, his buttocks and legs were already covered in blood. It seemed that he had been hit at least dozens of times.
When the other people who were being beaten saw this, they couldn't help but shout for mercy.
But there was no sound of ordering to stop, and no one could even do anything to dodge, and could only stand there and endure. Not long after, the person who seemed to have been dragged in for questioning was dragged out again, thrown on the ground and beaten again. But this time, the person could only make a groaning sound, because his mouth was blocked by a piece of rag.
Before the others could gloat over their misfortune, another person was dragged in. Not long after, he was dragged out again, gagged and continued to be beaten. By the time the third, fourth, fifth and sixth people came, Zhang Shou had already figured out what was going on.
It turns out that Zhu Tingfang intended to compare the confessions of these guys and at the same time use them as a warning to others.
Sure enough, after the sixth guy was dragged out and beaten countless times, Zhu Tingfang slowly came out of the lobby, followed by Zhu Ying, who was dressed as a man. When he saw him, the former just nodded slightly, but Zhu Ying, with bright eyes, immediately walked around the crowd and came to him, smiling and said: "A Shou, you are really predictable. We only went to the third house and intercepted these guys."
As she spoke, she pumped her fist with pride: "I gave them a good lesson!"
"Yes, yes, you taught him a lesson. But he was holding a hammer and an axe, and you went in with your bare hands... Yingying, when will you remember that a daughter of a wealthy family should not sit in the hall?"
Seeing Zhang Shou sigh, Zhu Ying immediately laughed: "I have suffered so much in martial arts training since I was a child, just so that I would not have to hide behind and make comments in case of such a situation. It's okay, I know my limits. Besides, my grandmother and mother persuaded my father to let me out, also wanting me to have some good experience. You don't have to worry about my safety, I am wearing soft armor."
Zhu Ying spoke the last sentence in a very low voice so that only Zhang Shou and Ah Liu beside him who had sharp eyes and ears could hear it.
Even so, the master and servant who heard it reacted completely differently. Ah Liu nodded in agreement. As for Zhang Shou... he was really a little amused. If it was Zhu Er, no matter how much experience he had, it would not be too much. Wearing soft armor for self-defense would be reasonable. But Zhu Ying needed experience? Even if it was experience, it would not be for her to beat someone up! Zhu Ying couldn't help but want to beat someone up!
Seeing Zhang Shou looking at her with a half-smile, Zhu Ying avoided his gaze guiltily, then snorted and said, "There are too many rules in the capital. Even I can't go looking for trouble for no reason... It's my fault for letting these people run into me, they deserve it!"
While the two were talking, Zhu Tingfang had already ordered the execution to be temporarily suspended, and then ordered the few people to be sent to the palace and handed over to Du Heng for custody - he treated the palace as a prison, only he had the mentality and means to do so.
When those guys, who were still groaning miserably despite having their mouths blocked, were taken out of the county government office, the huge place gradually became quiet. Only the bloodstains on the platform told people what had just happened. But with two buckets of well water poured on it and a few officers diligently wiping it with a mop, the bloodstains could no longer be seen clearly.
Only those tiny specks of dark brown stains remained, and no one knew whether they were the blood and tears of past generations or pure filth.
Zhu Tingfang called everyone to the second hall, and then he said concisely: "I have already found out that the ones who ordered these people were the big families who run the workshops. When I hadn't sent anyone to watch over their house yesterday, someone from their family who happened to be away hired them to frame Xian Yunhe. They hired thugs, so the beating they received before was not unjust."
Zhang Shou sneaked in as if he hadn't noticed. Peanut, who was hiding behind Ah Liu at the moment, nodded slightly at Ah Liu with a half-smile and said, "Ah Liu, it seems like you should go and deliver the invitations tonight."
