Tiger Guards

Chapter 711 The Dust Will Settle
Pingyang Camp, Left Wing Camp Area.

This place is located on the east bank of the Fen River, in a flat and wide section of the riverbed.

On the fourth day of the second lunar month, the spring breeze was slightly chilly.

More than 30,000 officials and soldiers from both sides of the strait gathered to witness the execution.

The Court of Justice resumed its duties on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and began using torture to interrogate the accused on the sixteenth.

Within ten days, they obtained numerous confessions, which, coupled with Zhao Ji's letter of confession and surrender, allowed them to identify the first batch of key figures in the rebellion in less than half a month.

Some of the rebels were serving in Taiyuan and Xihe County, and have been successively detained at the Pingyang Camp.

There was a second batch, but with the first batch having complete evidence, confessions, and the individuals admitting their guilt, Zhao Ji decided to execute them immediately.

Otherwise, if the Court of Justice were allowed to continue digging, these convicted officials in prison would likely implicate and reveal the identities of even more people.

Guanqiu Yi oversaw the executions on the east bank. He sat on a makeshift wooden platform made of logs, facing south as he watched a line of thirty-six condemned prisoners being escorted to the riverbank.

Zhao Ji disliked beheading as a form of punishment and preferred execution by bow and arrow.

In this way, the psychological impact on the executioner is relatively controllable, and the onlookers will not feel too uncomfortable.

Beheading has a strong visual and psychological impact... In fact, beheading can be quite painful for the victim. But people are different; some people would rather die slowly from an arrow wound than lose their body.

Ultimately, they were criminal officials from Hedong, many of whom were originally from the Tiger Guard.

After careful consideration, Zhao Ji decided to use hanging to minimize bloodshed and transport the intact bodies back to their hometown for burial. These people were not qualified to go to the Longshan Martyrs' Cemetery.

Therefore, a wooden platform resembling a simple dock was built on the riverbank.

The first batch of convicted officials were verified one by one, and after signing their names, they received the strong liquor.

Zhuge Liang, who had just returned to the Pingyang camp, also joined in. Like the other civil officials and his companions, Zhuge Liang wore a black robe, a black gauze hat, and a hard lacquered mask on his face, revealing only his eyes.

Perhaps because his appearance was concealed by his clothing, Zhuge Liang did not feel any discomfort walking on the execution ground.

Although he was young, he had witnessed the unbearable and cruel scenes of this chaotic world.

The method of execution designed by Zhao Ji was actually quite benevolent.

Zhuge Liang carried a wooden box. After each guilty official signed his confession and wrote his will, he would seal the will with lacquer and stuff it into the wooden box he was carrying.

Another newly selected low-ranking clerk, Wang Xiang, was carrying a wooden box containing a confession. Wang Xiang had not yet adapted to his new status and was looking around with suspicion as he walked while wearing a mask.

Among the first batch of officials executed, Du Ji was ranked thirty-fifth.

He was originally quite overweight, but after being tortured for over a month, Du Ji lost a lot of weight.

So much so that Zhang Wei, who was in charge of verifying Du Ji's identity with the portrait, subconsciously glanced at Du Ji a few more times. He didn't recognize the man and asked, "Are you the convicted official, the registrar of the capital, Du Ji, a native of Duling in the capital?"

"He is indeed a criminal official."

Du Ji answered in a hollow voice, but he still stood up straight.

They had already bathed before nightfall and had their hair styled in a way that matched their official rank.

The crimson robe he was wearing at that moment was a brand new coarse cloth robe, and he also had hemp shoes on his feet.

They were all dressed neatly and seemed to be in good spirits.

Zhang Wei glanced at Du Ji again at the portrait, then looked at the two men standing behind Du Ji who were responsible for escorting him all the way: "After the guilty official signs his confession, the two of you will sign your names together."

"Here."

The two guards from the Court of Justice bowed and then untied Du Ji's hands, which were bound behind his back.

The guards who came with Zhang Wei also brought over a low table, on which were a pen, ink, paper, a pot of wine, and a wild vegetable dumpling.

Du Ji sat down calmly, shook his not-so-wide sleeves, spread out the paper, grabbed a wine pot in one hand and a pen in the other, and began to drink alone, writing his confession and will. As for the wild vegetable dumplings, no matter how hungry he was, he didn't want to eat such things.

Seeing Du Ji's extraordinary demeanor, Zhang Wei's doubts disappeared, and he turned to investigate the thirty-sixth criminal official, who was the county magistrate of Huo County, a former member of the Hedong Tiger Guard.

Upon seeing Zhang Wei approach, the man immediately exclaimed, "I am innocent! I have no knowledge of the Pei family's plot to rebel!"

Zhang Wei looked at the guards escorting the man with suspicion. One of the guards picked up a bamboo slip and spread it out: "Sir, this man's brother-in-law is a student of Pei Mao and serves as a messenger between Jingzhao and Hedong. Although no letters or physical evidence were found in his home, his wife and his assistants can be questioned and their testimonies can corroborate each other."

Seeing that Zhang Wei remained silent, the guard flipped through the bamboo slips and continued, "There is also evidence that he secretly recruited and raised fugitives. Even if this person is not involved in treason, he still has the intention and actions to cause chaos."

"To recruit fugitives?"

Zhang Wei muttered to himself, looking at the county magistrate: "The security in Hedong and Taiyuan is excellent. What you've done is truly inviting trouble."

The county magistrate opened his mouth but could no longer utter a word of rebuttal. He did not intentionally want to go against the laws of the court; it was just that he had been a dissolute person since childhood.

He couldn't manage things at home anymore, so he kicked the horse and took an old horse to join the elite troops.

Although he was brave in killing enemies during his time as a Tiger Warrior, he was still young and did not study hard enough in the army. In the end, he was transferred to a county magistrate as a Tiger Warrior Physician.

After taking office, he still enjoyed dealing with all sorts of outlaws and lawless madmen. He always felt that these chivalrous people were full of a free spirit, and at the same time, they spoke boldly and seemed very interesting.

The acting prefect Zhao Lian kept a large number of outlaws, but he didn't keep that many; he only kept a dozen or so as followers and companions.

Seeing that he no longer objected, Zhang Wei put away the portrait and signaled his attendants to set up a table, paper, pens, wine, and vegetables.

Ultimately, he was someone who enjoyed dealing with outlaws. He didn't mind the coarse vegetable dumplings, grabbed one and ate it in large bites to fill his stomach before drinking the wine and picking up a pen to start writing a confession.

Zhang Wei's work was done. He went to the execution platform, bowed to Guanqiu Yi who had a solemn expression, and then sat down to one side, squinting as he observed everything.

After drinking and eating, guilty officials continued to write confessions and wills. The tables in front of them were removed, and they were covered with black hoods.

Led by the masked guards in charge of the execution, they arrived at the gallows and waited quietly.

On the west bank of the Fen River, Zhao Ji sat upright in his chariot beneath a purple and blue canopy, gazing at the criminal officials on the opposite bank who were about to be executed.

As the hooded officials gradually assembled, Guanqiu Yi, who was in charge of supervising the execution, turned to Zhang Wei and asked, "Zhang, shall we begin?"

Zhang Wei looked up at the bright spring sun, then at the reflection of the pillar: "Let's wait another half a quarter of an hour."

"Alright."

Guanqiu Yi agreed, but sitting there felt like sitting on pins and needles.

He didn't know if he was an accomplice. He guessed that Zhao Ji would sneak to the Liangzhou battlefield, and he also guessed that Pei Mao would take the opportunity to cause trouble.

The only difference is that, after guessing how he worked and lived in the past, he still maintained his original life trajectory and did not try to network with his fellow villagers or old subordinates, or play any tricks like waiting for the right moment to strike.

They had a completely fatalistic and go-with-the-flow mentality, and as a result, they managed to avoid it.

If he was making armed preparations during this period, it's something that can't be explained.

Half a quarter of an hour passed quickly. Seeing Zhang Wei nod at him, Guanqiu Yi reached out and picked up the command arrow on the table, raised it to signal, and then threw it down: "Execute!"

Behind him, the drummers beat the war drums, and amidst the drumbeats, the criminals being tortured were hung by ropes, with a sandbag tied to each of their feet.

Soon, the wooden plank beneath the feet of the convicts fell abruptly, and all thirty-six convicts plummeted to their deaths, their nooses swaying slightly.

Everything seemed quiet and clean.

Guanqiu Yi felt a chill run down his spine; executions and killings should be associated with bloodshed and terror.

Zhao Ji's actions, without drawing blood or groaning, made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

On the west bank of the Fen River, Zhao Ji looked up at the blue sky and white clouds. Although his mood was heavy, he was beginning to feel relieved.

(End of this chapter)