knife

Chapter 595 Witnessing the Execution
Zhu Cheng stood on the platform, looking down at the dozen or so prisoners who were bound hand and foot and forced to kneel on the ground, ready to be beheaded that day. His heart was filled with rage.

He was ordered to come and witness the execution.

Moreover, among those who were beheaded below, one was a member of a collateral branch of the Zhu family.

The newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) last year was the most outstanding member of the next generation of the Zhu family, but now, everything will be lost.

The Zhu family is considered a long-established and prestigious wealthy family.
On the night of the coup, they did not send out a single soldier, which made Xiang Ying extremely dissatisfied. However, the old master of the Zhu family died that very night, leaving him unable to vent his anger.

Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important!

However, such cunning and opportunistic behavior cannot go unpunished. Since the main branch of the Zhu family is difficult to deal with, making an example of them is a viable option.

So, a little digging revealed that this newly appointed scholar, a key figure in the next generation of the Zhu family, became this chicken.

How could Zhu Cheng not be furious?

Speaking of the Zhu family, wouldn't you say they were royalists?
When Jiang Qian first came to power, the Zhu family was almost wiped out because of their opposition. If it weren't for Old Master Zhu's decisive action in using almost all of the family's assets to buy the family a way out, the Zhu family would have been gone.

In that life-or-death moment, did Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi say a single word? Did they offer any help?

You were the ones who abandoned us first.

Can you do the first day of the lunar month, but we can't do the fifteenth?
Was the Zhu family's subsequent resurgence due to their ingratiation with Jiang Qian?

of course not.

That was the achievement of Zhu Chi, the head of the Zhu family in this generation, who went to the border and risked his life to open up the Maritime Silk Road, opening up a new source of wealth for the Great Chu, and making the treasury of the Great Chu, which was short of funds, increasingly full.

Besides these, the eldest brother also obtained the latest warship blueprints from outside the Great Wall, and these blueprints were confirmed by Chen Yan to be authentic.

They couldn't see all the great benefits the country and its people had to offer; all they saw was that the Zhu family didn't send troops that night.

However, the Zhu family also paid the price with the death of their patriarch.

Fortunately, Zhu Chi did not return. Zhu Chi now controls the overseas shipping routes of the Great Chu Pass. If he had stayed in the country, I wonder how these people would have treated the Zhu family?
Perhaps the old man's life is nothing in their eyes.

Zhu Cheng knew very well that a certain powerful family in China had long wanted to take over this air route.

However, they were being too optimistic. If the Zhu family hadn't been involved, would their merchant ships have been able to escape the warships of the Cai family of Xuanwu Prefecture that roamed the seas?

Zhu Cheng had seen the Sea Falcon once when it had just been launched, and to be honest, it really scared her.

Such a colossal creature was unheard of before.

This Chu state is no place to stay!

Zhu Cheng thought to herself.

Once the situation calms down a bit, we need to start arranging the retreat.

Ideally, one should go beyond the Great Wall; if that's not possible, then Sichuan or Yong'an would also be fine.

In terms of magnanimity, Xiang Congxiongyi is far inferior to Jiang Qian.

A commotion arose in the distance. Zhu Cheng turned his head and saw the last prison van slowly approaching. Inside the van, a white-haired man with heavy shackles and iron chains on his feet leaned against the fence, his eyes closed and his body covered in blood.

That was He Han, the former Grand Eunuch, a master of the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan. But now, his martial arts were completely ruined, and his life was like a candle in the wind, an old man who could be extinguished at any moment.

This is the most important person to be beheaded today.

He came,
That means the execution is about to take place.

Zhu Cheng had initially thought that He Han might not die. She had heard that Jiang Qian in Yong'an had proposed exchanging Yi Hong and other naval commanders for He Han, and there had been some debate in the court. However, for some unknown reason, Xiang Ying and his men actually refused the exchange request.

Zhu Cheng was completely baffled.

He Han was just a eunuch, and his martial arts cultivation had been crippled, while Yi Hong and his men were valiant naval generals in their prime!

This rejection has chilled the hearts of countless people!
The iron bars rattled as the soldiers roughly dragged He Han out of his cell and pulled him into the line of men awaiting execution.

As the executioner threw the bright red scepter into the bluestone slab below with a clatter, the executioners raised their gleaming swords.

Zhu Cheng looked up at the sun in the sky.

It was noon.

The sun happened to drift into a cloud, and the sky instantly darkened slightly.

Start,

The knife fell.

Heads fell to the ground.

At noon, the blood spurted several feet high.

Some were cheering, some were crying, and some were sighing.

Human joys and sorrows are different for everyone.

Here, one can truly witness all walks of life.

Wu Bing and Hu Ze hid in the crowd and watched as He Han was beheaded.

He Han never opened his eyes until he died.

At the moment of his beheading, it was difficult to determine whether he was alive or dead.

The two exchanged a glance, then turned and disappeared into the bustling crowd.

He Han's death was the order that officially launched their decapitation operation.

He Zudao was also watching the execution.

Those who were beheaded below the stage could all be considered the elites of the Chu Kingdom today. However, what Jiang Qian considered elites, Xiang Ying and the others probably saw as treacherous officials who were causing chaos in the court.

Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi were unable to efficiently gather the power of the entire court like Jiang Qian did. In order to ensure that there would be no obstruction or noise in the upcoming campaign to conquer Yong'an and Ruyin, they had no choice but to take ruthless measures and use bloodshed to deter all opponents.

To quell external aggression, we must first secure internal stability. Without a peaceful internal environment, who knows how the subsequent campaigns will turn out?

The reason for not changing the player is to prove to Jiang Qian that this confrontation between the two sides is one of no compromise or negotiation; it's either you die or I die.

Xiang Zhuang stood up, walked to the edge of the platform, and coldly swept his eyes over the crowd below, as well as those who had come to watch the execution on both sides of the platform. These people were a group that could be killed but were not convenient to kill right now, and could still be used. "Those who bring disaster to the country and the people should take heed! Men, hang these people's heads on the city wall, and throw their bodies into the mass grave. Do not allow anyone to collect the bodies!"

Watching Xiang Zhuang lead his men away triumphantly, the group of monkeys on the high platform, pale with fright, looked at each other, trembling, and left this blood-soaked place.

Zhu Cheng took a deep breath, letting the stench of blood fill her chest.

This time, the Zhu family is no longer helpless. If they really turn against each other, the Zhu family will certainly be destroyed, but they can also make their opponents cough up blood.

(End of this chapter)