Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 370 Should the title be changed to Marquis of Jingguan? (12,000 words)

"Han Gao, a senior official in the Ministry of Justice... his family property was confiscated, and his entire clan was executed."

"Zhao Lin, the prefectural magistrate of Dongling Prefecture... his family property was confiscated and his clan was exterminated."

Emperor Ninghe slowly flipped through the account book in his hand. In an instant, that blood-stained account book was like the Book of Life and Death in the hands of the King of Hell, which would lead to the confiscation of property and the extermination of the clan.

Unlike the previous ones, here the amount of bribes he received was slightly less, and his assistance to the Ghost Cave was not as great as that of the previous Dongling prefects. Therefore, his punishment was changed from the execution of nine generations of his family to the execution of the entire clan.

The term "extermination of nine generations" had an extremely exaggerated impact.

There are four paternal relatives: one's own relatives, including parents, brothers, sisters, and children; one's married aunts and their children; one's married sisters and their children; and one's married daughters and their children.

There are three maternal relatives: the maternal grandfather's family, the maternal grandmother's family, and the aunt's family and her children's family.

There are two families with wives: the father-in-law's family and the mother-in-law's family.

If it really gets involved, even an ordinary person could implicate dozens or even hundreds of others. In ancient times, many people were sentenced to have their entire family exterminated, but very few were actually executed.

On the one hand, ancient household registration statistics were limited, often resulting in "escaping the net"; on the other hand, punishments were too cruel and easily aroused public resentment, so rulers had to use them with great caution. If we really count, in the two thousand years of feudal dynasties, Huo Guang is one example of someone whose entire family was executed, Yang Xuangan of the Sui Dynasty is another, and Hu Weiyong of the Ming Dynasty should also be considered one.

As for Fang Xiaoru during Zhu Di's reign, who was executed along with ten generations of his family, that's probably just historical fabrication.

Others sentenced to the extermination of nine generations of their family often only included very close relatives when the execution was carried out. The vast majority were not executed but were exiled or banished. The truly cruel punishment was the extermination of three generations, which meant that the father's family, the mother's family, and the wife's family were all wiped out.

As for the extermination of the entire clan, it's even simpler: it includes oneself, one's wife and children, and sometimes parents and siblings. If the parents are elderly, they might be spared. Moreover, whether it's the extermination of the entire clan, the extermination of three generations, or the extermination of nine generations, it seems that illegitimate children are not included. This should be considered the only benefit for illegitimate children.

Emperor Ninghe naturally wished he could exterminate all these corrupt officials and everyone connected to them, leaving no one alive. However, he also had to consider the practical consequences. If all two hundred-plus officials were to be executed along with their entire families, it would likely implicate hundreds of thousands of people—enough to fill the Yi and Luo Rivers with their heads. If things really went that far, these people would probably riot, which was clearly something he didn't want to see.

Sometimes, making appropriate compromises is an art.

And Song Yan was the most outstanding executioner.

Whenever Emperor Ninghe called out a name, a person would lose all strength and fall to the ground. Song Yan didn't even need to search... with a gentle twist, a head would appear.

Such behavior is definitely against the rules. After all, even if such a high-ranking official in the court were to be dealt with, it would most likely require a joint trial by the three judicial departments before a final result could be reached. And the three judicial departments—the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review—are likely filled with people planted by the Bailu Academy and powerful clans. The result of the joint trial by the three judicial departments would certainly be a mere formality, with little real impact, and the trial would be practically meaningless.

At this moment, watching Song Yan crush one head after another, neither Yang Hetong, nor Chu Licheng and Gao Hong, despite their ashen faces, dared to step forward to stop him, nor even dared to offer the slightest opinion.

Are you kidding me? Didn't you hear what was going on outside?

A series of shouts of battle were deafening.

The roar was deafening, like thunder, and it almost shook the imperial palace.

At this point, anyone who dares to speak up for these people will likely be beaten into submission by the enraged populace.

“Yang Guoen, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue… was beheaded, his property confiscated, and his wife and daughters exiled to the brothel.”

"Yang Guodong, a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue... was beheaded, his property confiscated, and his wife and daughters exiled to the brothel."

"Yang Guoqiang, the Inspector of the Court of Judicial Review... beheaded and his property confiscated."

Next are the officials related to the Yang family. Judging from their crimes, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to sentence their entire clan to extermination.

However, these are, after all, descendants of the Yang family.

If these people were sentenced to the extermination of their entire clan, the Yang family of Langya would likely rebel on the spot. The current situation, involving only beheadings without implicating others, seems to Emperor Ninghe to be an acceptable outcome for the Yang family.

The Yang family aspires to be emperors, but their preparations are insufficient. A rebellion at this time would not garner much popular support, especially since seven Yang family officials are implicated in the case, severely damaging the family's long-cherished reputation. For the Yang family's higher-ups, perhaps the best course of action would be to expel these individuals from the family register, feigning righteous indignation against family ties, which might salvage some of their prestige.

The Book of Life and Death is still being read.

The punishment gradually changed from beheading to execution with reprieve; then from execution with reprieve to exile...

As for the constables and other officials, they were all handed over to Fangshan for handling.

When Emperor Ninghe finished speaking, the civil and military officials breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize that their clothes were almost completely soaked with sweat, clinging to their bodies and making them extremely uncomfortable.

Outside the palace, corpses piled up like mountains.

Blood stained a large area of ​​snow.

A large number of official positions were vacant in the imperial court, but Emperor Ninghe had not yet made any arrangements for the civil officials.

The Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, Vice Minister, Assistant Minister, and Minister are all extremely important official positions. It's easy to imagine that in the coming period, there will inevitably be a lot of wrangling in the court over these positions. Bailu Academy and the Yang family will certainly try their best to squeeze people into their institutions, but in any case, they will definitely have to give up some positions, which will be the most important gain for Emperor Ninghe.

Many members of the Imperial Guard were also involved in the Ghost Cave case and were stripped of their official positions.

Emperor Ninghe then handed over all the soldiers under these men to Zhao Gaizhi for management.

In name, Zhao Gaizhi remained only a commander of the Imperial Guard, but in reality, he commanded over 15,000 soldiers, practically half of the Imperial Guard. Chu Licheng and Gao Hong raised some objections to this arrangement, but too many people from Bailu Academy were involved this time, so their voices lacked conviction, and their objections had little effect.

Yang Hetong, an old fox, could certainly see that Emperor Ninghe wanted to win over Zhao Gaizhi. However, Zhao Gaizhi's son and wife had both died at the hands of Song Yan, and the two were destined to be enemies to the death. Unless Emperor Ninghe was willing to abandon Song Yan, Zhao Gaizhi would never be won over.

Thinking about it this way, I felt at ease and didn't object, and that's how the matter was settled.

Subsequently, Emperor Ninghe arranged for Marquis Song Yan, the Champion, and Marquis Zhao Gaizhi, the Anning, to lead the Imperial Guards to arrest the remaining suspects and to confiscate their property.

This arrangement made some people wonder what Emperor Ninghe was up to.

Everyone knows Zhao Gaizhi and Song Yan are at odds, yet they've arranged for these two to be together. Aren't they afraid they'll fight? The idea is probably to use them to check and balance each other, preventing them from embezzling wealth during the raids. After all, raiding property is a lucrative business; there's room for manipulation, and even the slightest slip of the finger can bring in a fortune.

Subsequently, Emperor Ninghe made a high-profile announcement that the more than 400 surviving children would all be supported by the royal family.

These words sparked cheers from the surrounding crowd, and many figures knelt on the snow, shouting that His Majesty was wise.

“The heads of all the Ghost Cave members were cut off.”

"The heads of all officials whose families were exterminated and who were beheaded shall also be collected. I will build two large mounds of skulls outside Dongling City."

Emperor Ninghe's voice echoed between heaven and earth.

Upon hearing this, many people's faces twitched.

Damn it! This emperor was originally quite easy to control, but now he's been corrupted by Song Yan. Why is an emperor building a Jingguan (a mound of corpses)?

Aren't you afraid of being infamous for eternity?

"The matter of the Jingguan (a mound of corpses) is to be handled by Marquis Song Yan. On the day the Jingguan is completed, all civil and military officials should personally come to the site to observe it. I hope that all my beloved ministers will take this as a warning, for this is the consequence of harming the people."

This is only natural; Song Yan's experience in building Jingguan (a mound of skulls) is unmatched by any other official in the court.

Now look what's happened! This Jingguan fanatic is really going to build a Jingguan in Dongling City. And he even wants all the civil and military officials to come and see it! How outrageous!

Emperor Ninghe looked at Song Yan again, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything. He suddenly had an impulse to change Song Yan's title from Marquis of Champion to Marquis of Jingguan.

I always felt that the Marquis of Jingguan was more in line with Song Yan's image.

Building a mound of heads outside the imperial city is somewhat inappropriate. It's not that we're worried Song Yan won't be able to build it for a long time. Zhao Gai's family has four heads, and Guo Sheng's family has three heads, and they can still build a mound. This kind of thing is really pitiful. We made an exception to satisfy Song Yan's desire to build a mound of heads.

In the entire Central Plains, you absolutely cannot find another person who cares for their son-in-law as much as I do.

Thinking this, Emperor Ninghe felt a little smug and cleared his throat:

"My esteemed ministers, the court may now adjourn."

After uttering a single sentence, Emperor Ninghe returned to the palace. Some eunuchs and palace maids took care of the children, leaving only a group of civil and military officials standing atop the city wall, gazing at the dense crowd outside, none daring to descend. The crowd was in a state of heightened emotion; if anyone were to walk through this sea of ​​peasants and shout, "This person is connected to the Ghost Cave!" the hot-blooded masses would likely charge at them and beat them to death.

Unfortunately, there are so many ordinary people that even if they are killed, the murderer cannot be found.

A chill swept in.

Just in time, it started snowing again.

Snowflakes, as fine as goose feathers, drifted leisurely down from the sky.

Looking around, the entire city was a vast expanse of desolation.

Snowflakes fall on the scarlet and then melt quickly.

One by one, the still-warm bodies were gradually buried by the snow.

The civil and military officials stood on the city wall, unsure whether to leave or return to the palace, as His Majesty had not invited them. They could only endure it, as the drifting snowflakes fell on their necks, making their bodies shiver with cold.

There were even people who had been holding their pee all morning, their faces flushed red, scratching their ears and cheeks, looking quite comical... But ultimately, it was impossible to do something like urinating in front of tens of thousands of people, whether inside the palace or on the city walls.

Song Yan crossed his arms and leaned casually against the city gate tower, his eyes slightly narrowed.

With so many ordinary people below, he had no intention of passing through the crowd.

He could feel many people staring at him, but he didn't seem to care much.

Yang Hetong, Chu Licheng, Gao Hong...

Although Song Yan was once very popular, they didn't take him seriously. They thought he was just a lucky kid with some skill and a bit of ruthlessness, nothing more.

No matter how much a flea jumps around or how disgusting it is, it's still just a tiny creature. To behemoths like the White Egret Academy and the Yang family, crushing Song Yan is nothing more than a trivial matter.

But now, Song Yan has grown to a level that none of them dare to ignore.

This time, the Ghost Cave incident was said to be a joint effort between Song Yan and Fang Shan, but in reality, it's perfectly clear who was behind it.

Fangshan only wiped out a few insignificant strongholds on the surface and carried out one corpse after another from the dark ditch... That was Ghost Cave, a huge force with nearly a thousand martial artists. What kind of methods did Song Yan use to wipe them all out?
Relying on Luo Tianyi?
impossible.

Although a ninth-rank martial artist is powerful, it is absolutely impossible for them to wipe out the Ghost Cave.

Could it be that there is a Grandmaster-level expert lurking beside Song Yan?

That's a bit scary.

Even the White Egret Academy and the Yang family wouldn't dare to easily offend a Grandmaster-level expert.

What kind of luck did Song Yan have to be able to have such a powerful protector?
If it were just about eradicating the Ghost Cave, that would be one thing, but this guy took the opportunity to purge a large number of officials in the imperial court.

Both Bailu Academy and the Yang family suffered heavy losses.

However, this guy's attacks were indiscriminate, and even some royalist officials were implicated.

Yang Hetong, Gao Hong, and Chu Licheng exchanged a subtle glance, and they could all vaguely see the annoyance and regret in each other's eyes.

Perhaps... we shouldn't have left Song Yan in Dongling.

This kind of guy should be sent to the border to fight the Jurchens and the Xiongnu to the death, right?

About half an hour later, the officials gradually descended the city wall.

The crowd had dispersed.

But the roaring shouts, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, could still be heard all around.
"kill him!"

"kill him!"

"kill him."

The civil and military officials subconsciously tightened their clothes, perhaps because the weather was too cold, they felt chilly, and even felt a cold wind blowing.

They all lowered their heads and hurriedly left.

At this point, those in positions of power can no longer care about maintaining their dignity.

Song Yan yawned. He had been busy until late yesterday and was quite tired. He needed to take a nap when he got back.

"Lord Song."

Just then, an old voice came to my ears.

Turning around, I saw Yang Hetong.

At this moment, Yang Hetong had already returned to normal, even sporting a wrinkled smile on his face, giving him a kind and benevolent appearance at first glance.

"Would I have the honor of inviting you to my humble abode for a chat today?"

The court session had just ended, and there were still many people at the palace gate who hadn't had time to leave. Upon hearing this, their expressions all turned particularly strange.

Good guy.

The Yang family and Song Yan have an irreconcilable feud that could never be resolved, yet they actually invited Song Yan to be their guest?

what is this?
Do weasels pay New Year's visits to chickens?

(End of this chapter)