Chapter 2035: The Final Journey 4

After tense and rapid deliberation, Fan Zhigu found a way to respond and put it into action, using his actions to show the court and the old Emperor his attitude. He immediately sent people to contact the General Command and the Surveillance and Judicial Commissions, and with Fan Zhigu taking the lead, led the three yamen and the principal officials of Jiangling Prefecture in rushing to the temporary residence, kowtowing and begging for forgiveness.

Fan Zhigu understood very clearly that under such circumstances, the old Emperor had already taken measures with such decisive and swift means that the severity of the matter went without saying. There was simply no room for shirking blame; only a proper attitude would help resolve the matter.

Over a hundred officials, half of them senior officers of the Jinghu Northern Circuit, were those great personages who had once only existed in the talk of scholars and commoners, holding great power, even controlling life and death. These lofty lords of men, when facing power even stronger than their own, showed a posture of submission not much different from those lowly commoners in Jiangling City who toiled away at making a living.

Because of the "smuggling case," the upper echelons of the Jinghu Northern Circuit were shaken, the entire Hubei officialdom trembled three times over, and Jiangling City was in an uproar, with scholars and commoners alike reacting fervently.

Rumors spread quickly to begin with, and because of the great manhunt, speculation was already flying everywhere. But in the streets and markets, there was no tension, only curiosity, even excitement and encouragement.

After all, those being arrested were either officers or officials, not commoners being disturbed. When the powerful and privileged get into trouble, isn't that exactly what people love to see? And the actions of the senior Jinghu Northern Circuit officials spread like the wind, quickly reaching all of Jiangling.

Therefore, by before noon, the scene outside the temporary residence became even more lively. Besides the large batch of Hubei officials kneeling there, there were also Jiangling scholars and commoners who had come upon hearing the news.

The scholars and commoners swarmed in, posing no small challenge to the maintenance of order. The Imperial City, the Wude Office, and the Inner Palace all had to strengthen their control. However, even when pushed back and only able to watch from afar, it could not extinguish the enthusiasm of the onlookers—on the contrary, it grew even higher.

And those in high positions, finding themselves in such a noisy environment and being regarded by a crowd of common rabble with such peculiar looks, felt most uncomfortable. Even at this point, even kneeling in the sunlight, many still could not let go of their bureaucratic airs. Some were worried, some angry, some ashamed, and of course some who lowered their heads and closed their eyes, pretending not to exist.

Outside the temporary residence, there was an uproar. In fact, judging by how the Jiangling scholars and commoners reacted to this matter, one could imagine what the popular sentiment in Jiangling Prefecture was really like. At least one thing could be confirmed: it was not the picture of harmonious governance that had been presented to the old Emperor when he entered the city the day before.

Things had reached this point, and the tone had been thoroughly set, with no way to lower it easily. The scholars and commoners of Jiangling looked forward to how it would end, the officials and clerks of Hubei watched with concern, and the batch of officials kneeling before the temporary residence felt their hearts sinking ever lower—this would not end well.

Only now did the group realize belatedly that following Fan Zhigu to the temporary residence had perhaps been a most improper decision! His intentions were worthy of death! After all, he was an outsider—how could he possibly truly consider the welfare of these worthy gentlemen of Hubei?

And the old Emperor, who had been restraining himself, or rather preparing all along, seeing that the time was about right, also took further action as noon approached.

He did not deign to acknowledge that batch of Hubei officials, not even issuing a single edict. Four people came forth upon imperial command: the two imperial grandsons Liu Wenhuan and Liu Wenji, as well as the two spymasters Wang Xuanzhen and Zhang Bin. The four had different expressions, but their eyes all revealed similar emotions—the feeling of having received the same order.

Then came the old Emperor's next "grand move." A batch of people, about forty or so, were all brought forward together, hands bound, heads hanging in dejection, without time to change into prison garb. Each still wore military uniform, and judging by the rank insignia, they were all low-ranking officers at the squad and platoon level, clearly the Hubei naval officers and soldiers arrested the day before.

This manner of appearance drew nearly everyone's attention. Not only the Hubei Circuit officials, but even the watching Jiangling scholars and commoners gradually fell silent, because behind each person stood an executioner holding a gleaming executioner's blade.

Almost everyone present had some expectation of what might happen next, and it was soon confirmed.

The accompanying censor Zhang Zhibai slowly walked out, followed by two guards, each carrying a tray upon which lay a row of rolled documents. Zhang Zhibai picked up the first one, looked around, and shouted with a grave face: "By imperial decree!"

Almost all the kneeling officials prostrated themselves, and in that instant, it was as if a great boulder pressed down on their backs. As Zhang Zhibai read out the decree, a great stone had already sunk to the bottom of their hearts.

The first decree was not complicated. It mainly reported the crimes committed by those forty-odd grassroots naval officers, listing each person's name and the result of their punishment, with not a trace of hesitation: execution!

Almost without giving anyone time to react, dozens of flashes of blade light passed, dozens of heads fell, blood splattered all over the ground, and the scene erupted in clamor. Whether official or commoner, everyone was startled, and for a moment the scene fell silent.

It wasn't that the officials and commoners of Hubei lacked experience. In this world, where was there no death? Dead people were a common thing. The Yangtze would occasionally yield floating corpses, and as for ditches and wilderness, finding a corpse there was even more ordinary.

What was terrifying was not death itself, but watching heads fall and blood flow before one's very eyes. In the past, death-row criminals had to be escorted to the capital region, reviewed by the Court of Judicial Review, and then executed in the capital.

Therefore, a scene like today's before the temporary residence had probably not appeared in Jiangling for several decades. As long as the realm had been at peace, as long as the institutions had been established, that was how long it had been!

Moreover, this was a mass execution, and those killed were not ordinary people. Let alone naval officers—even ordinary sailors were worth far more than common folk. Now, before the steel blade and the national law, those necks were as fragile as tofu.

Still without giving anyone time to react, another batch of people was brought forward. This time, the number was somewhat smaller, fewer than twenty, still officers, but of higher rank, having risen to the battalion and company level.

Zhang Zhibai picked up the second decree, read it out, the blade fell, heads hit the ground. The same process, the same result, and the blood before the temporary residence continued to spread along the ground.

Following that came the navy's auxiliary units, including logistics, training, and military discipline, eleven people in total. At this point, over seventy mid- and low-ranking officers of the Hubei Navy had been executed.

But the matter clearly showed no sign of ending. The slaughter continued, and those brought up next were the arrested officials. Compared to the naval officers and soldiers who had violated military law, the investigation and conviction of officials was naturally more complicated, especially with so many people. But first there was the Wude Office's mountain of evidence, then the old Emperor's severity and swiftness, and so urgent convictions were made. After the verdicts were read, execution!

Heavy punishment and hasty executions naturally easily produced miscarriages of justice, and such methods once again damaged the Great Han's judicial system, even trampling upon the legal order the old Emperor himself had established and maintained with his own hands.

But times were different now. The old Emperor had done this sort of thing more than once or twice. It was just that in the past it had often happened in the capital; now, in the provinces, it let the officials and commoners of Jiangling truly experience just how powerful and unassailable central authority was.

The naval officers and soldiers were executed by rank, and when it came to officials, they were executed by department. Of course, the number of officials executed was somewhat smaller, fewer than fifty in total. Naturally, those arrested numbered more than just these—these were merely the ones hastily sentenced to death; the rest still awaited slow and careful interrogation.

And so, over a hundred heads fell. In terms of scale, it rivaled any mass anti-corruption execution that had ever occurred in the capital region, though the rank of those executed was much lower.

The flowing blood nearly dyed people's eyes red, and the air was filled with a nauseating stench. Heads rolled, hideous and terrifying. Over a hundred severed bodies, not yet cleaned up, piled together—it was truly a shocking sight.

The stench of filth was also unavoidable. More than one or two people had lost control of their bladders from the fright. Among the senior Hubei officials, some trembled uncontrollably, some fainted and were dragged away for treatment. Many of the watching scholars and commoners also dispersed—not everyone could bear such an impact—and those who remained had lost all their enthusiasm for cheering.

One could say that all of Jiangling, and spreading outward, all of Hubei, was cowed by what had happened. But the matter was still not over. Two final criminals were also dragged out, receiving "special treatment"—both had shackles on their hands and feet, stumbling with every step.

Upon seeing the scene of rolling heads before the temporary residence, the older ones turned pale but managed to hold themselves steady, while the younger ones had legs that went weak, crying and wailing toward the temporary residence, hoping the old Emperor would spare their lives.

Wei Zhong and Fu Zhaoshou.

These two could be considered the biggest criminals in this case, and also the most attention-grabbing. Everyone's hearts were in their throats, including those senior officials whose faces had gone pale with fright—they too perked up and opened their eyes wide.

No way! The Emperor's brother-in-law!

The two imperial grandsons, whose expressions had already gone somewhat numb, also had their emotions stir. They didn't care about Wei Zhong, but Fu Zhaoshou was their grand-uncle! Zhang Zhibai, whose throat was already parched, could not help but tremble as he read the final decree.

When the conclusion of execution sentences clearly reached everyone's ears, an uproar arose once more, and Fan Zhigu could no longer hold back. He repeatedly shouted "Stay the blade!" and then kowtowed endlessly, crying out for an audience, screaming with a heart-rending voice, hoping the old Emperor inside the temporary residence could hear him.

To be honest, Fan Zhigu was also frightened by the old Emperor's ruthless measures. He had made many calculations in his mind, thought of countless possibilities, but never imagined the old Emperor would stage such a slaughter in Jiangling. Yes, a slaughter!

It shouldn't be, it really shouldn't be! Over the past two years, the old Emperor's ferocity had already diminished considerably. What on earth had provoked him this time!

But regardless, as the highest-ranking official of the Jinghu Northern Circuit, Fan Zhigu had to make some kind of statement. He couldn't very well let His Majesty really kill his own brother-in-law, could he...