Chapter 185: Offering Sacrifice at the Imperial Mausoleum, Sending Blood Offerings

In the civil official ranks, Grain Transport Governor-General Zhu Dadian, Ten-Prefecture Governor Zhang Guowei, and Shi Kefa all wore bitter expressions.

Zhang Guowei and Shi Kefa were the first to receive Zhu Dadian's message, and the two hurried over separately from Nanjing and Anqing. After entering Fengyang Prefecture, they were deeply shocked—the two guard stations they passed were filled with troops everywhere, bloodstains covered the streets, and captured guard soldiers were bowed over scrubbing away the blood.

Fortunately, the Tianwu Army had not taken the opportunity to plunder the people's property, which eased the anxiety weighing on Zhang Guowei and Shi Kefa considerably.

The three of them could never have imagined that the Crown Prince would resolve the matter of the eight guards and one station with such thunderous methods—even the garrison eunuch, the Fengyang Prefect, and half the officials of the five prefectures and thirteen counties had been arrested and were now locked in the death cells.

Seeing the Crown Prince's grim expression, Zhu Dadian said cautiously, "Your Highness, how do you intend to deal with these officials?"

Zhu Cilang said coldly, "The guard officers and soldiers who rebelled are guilty beyond pardon, and the local officials who colluded with the rebel soldiers are even more unforgivable. I intend to offer sacrifices to the ancestors at the Imperial Mausoleum and execute this entire pack of rebel soldiers and corrupt officials before the tomb of Emperor Renzu!"

Zhu Dadian and the others staggered, nearly losing their footing. Execute them all? The captured officers and rebel soldiers of the eight guards plus the arrested officials of the various prefectures and counties added up to over a thousand people—execute them all?

The officials of the various prefectures of South Zhili also wore faces of utter disbelief. Executing officials at the Imperial Mausoleum—this move by the Crown Prince—

At noon, escorted by over five thousand Tianwu Army soldiers, more than a thousand offending officials and rebel soldiers were all marched into the Imperial Mausoleum on the outskirts of the Central Capital.

The Ming Imperial Mausoleum, located ten li southwest of Fengyang in the Central Capital, was the burial site of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang's parents. The graves of Zhu Yuanzhang's three elder brothers and their wives, as well as his two nephews, were also interred there. It was initially designated Yingling, but after only three months it was renamed the Imperial Mausoleum. What was once a commoner's family grave had now been expanded into an imperial burial complex.

Civil and military officials gathered at the Imperial Mausoleum. Zhu Cilang first led the assembled ministers in paying respects to Emperor Renzu and Empress Renzu—these two were Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang's parents, genuine peasants. Zhu Wusi could never have dreamed in his lifetime that he would end up with an imperial title after death.

Think back—the Zhu family was poor, and the region had suffered drought. In a single month, four of the eight family members starved to death. In the fourth year of Zhizheng of the Yuan dynasty, on the sixth day of the fourth month, Zhu Yuanzhang's father starved to death; on the ninth, his eldest brother; on the twelfth, his eldest brother's eldest son; and on the twenty-second, his mother. Truly a tragedy too miserable to behold!

Just as the execution ground was prepared and they were about to swing the blades, a Censor who had come from Nanjing memorialized, "Your Highness, this is the Imperial Mausoleum—you cannot kill people here!"

Zhu Cilang laughed lightly and said, "Emperor Renzu and Empress Renzu were both hounded to death by corrupt officials and wicked gentry. What wrong is there in me executing corrupt officials and wicked gentry here?"

This Censor said, "Your Highness is the heir apparent. Executing over a thousand people in one stroke—how is that different from Xia Jie or Shang Zhou?"

Zhu Cilang stared at him and said in a cold voice, "Do you serve at the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang?"

The Censor said, bewildered, "What does Your Highness mean by that?"

Zhu Cilang said, "You sure talk a lot of crap!"

The Censor's face alternated between pale and flushed as he said, "We Censors are by office the ones who impeach the hundred bureaus, rectify injustices, supervise the various circuits, and serve as the Son of Heaven's eyes and ears. If Your Highness is displeased, you may use the court flogging on me. As a Nanjing Censor, I have long envied the court flogging of the capital!"

Having said this, the Censor laughed heartily, looking quite bold, and the other South Zhili officials nearby secretly chuckled as well.

Zhu Cilang's face turned cold as he said, "I have no court flogging here—only blades! Guards, this Censor has slandered his sovereign—drag him off and behead him!"

The Censor was taken aback and cried out in shock, "Your subject is innocent—why would you kill me!"

Zhu Cilang roared angrily, "I never put up with the Censorate's nonsense even in the capital. Who the hell do you think you are, daring to spout crap in front of me!"

Several personal guards immediately tore off the Censor's brand-new official robes, removed his hat, dragged him aside, and beheaded him on the spot.

This ferocious move shocked the officials of South Zhili to the core. The ministers of the Six Ministries of Nanjing and the Censorate felt their hearts pound violently—had the Crown Prince gone completely mad? He wasn't playing by any rules at all!

Several Censors from the Nanjing Censorate had just leaped out to support their colleague, but when they saw his head roll several meters away, the foot they'd just stepped forward retracted, and they stood obediently to the side.

If they'd encountered a benevolent sovereign like the Chongzhen Emperor, they might still have gotten away with a few rebukes, and with the right rhythm they could have enjoyed a verbal spar. But in the current situation, better to watch first—after all, this wasn't their turf. Such was the sentiment shared by every official of the Six Ministries of Nanjing and the Censorate.

Zhu Cilang swept his gaze across the assembled officials and said, "Anyone else?"

Anyone else? Go offer up their heads? The hundreds of civil and military officials all looked at each other, wondering if any iron-headed fool would step up for another round.

A strange Crown Prince whose temper no one could fathom inspired a kind of inexplicable awe in the officials, and the thousands of cold-faced armored soldiers around them created an immense sense of pressure. For a time, no one dared utter another word.

Seeing all the officials with their heads bowed in silence, Zhu Cilang said, "Gu Wei!"

Gu Wei stepped forward and said, "Your subordinate is here!"

Zhu Cilang gestured for Xu Sheng to hand over the Imperial Sword, and said, "Take the Imperial Sword—this time, you will carry out the executions!"

Gu Wei accepted the Imperial Sword with some hesitation. His rank was merely a sixth-grade military post, and now he was to behead several third-grade Guard Commanders and fourth-grade Prefects—

Gu Wei had originally been just a minor Battalion Commander. Zhu Cilang had promoted him to Director of the Military Justice Department, in charge of military law. But many in the army refused to accept him because of his originally low rank. Zhu Cilang now intended to use this matter to establish Gu Wei's authority.

Zhu Cilang barked, "I command you—behead them all!"

Even if Gu Wei were a fool, by now he understood that the Crown Prince was looking out for him. His heart filled with gratitude, and he shouted loudly, "Yes!"

Damn it—Zhu Cilang was startled by that shout and said irritably, "Carry out the execution!"

Gu Wei dared not delay. Holding the Imperial Sword, he walked into the crowd of prisoners and slowly drew the coldly gleaming blade. The sword bore finely chiseled patterns with clear designs—one side of the blade engraved with a soaring flood dragon, the other with a phoenix spreading its wings, and the blade was also adorned with the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper. Quite striking.

Gu Wei had no time to savor the sword's craftsmanship. Gripping the Imperial Sword, he faced Gao Chi, the Guard Commander of Fengyang Guard, his hands trembling slightly with nervousness.

Gu Wei was nervous, but Gao Chi was even more so. His mouth was stuffed, and though he couldn't speak, everyone could hear his frantic muffled whimpering, as if begging for mercy. Gu Wei gritted his teeth—a flash of sword light, and Gao Chi's nervousness ceased as his head tumbled to the ground.

Everything is hardest at the start. After Gu Wei beheaded the first high official, the pressure in his heart gradually lessened. By the time he'd chopped off several Guard Commanders' heads, he felt no pressure at all when cutting down the rest.

Gu Wei was now like a cook in his own kitchen, chopping melons and vegetables with practiced ease, growing more skilled with each swing. The civil and military officers watching the execution felt their hearts clench—damn it, was the Crown Prince going to have this man chop everyone?

Gu Wei chopped for a full half hour until his arm ached. When he reached the hundred-and-eightieth head, the blade that could cut through iron like mud failed to sever the victim's head in one stroke—the Imperial Sword had actually dulled and curled!

"This—" Gu Wei was speechless, and everyone else was even more so.

Many officials had already been scared half to death. When they saw the horrifying sight of an offending official struck by the sword but his head not falling off, still hanging from his body, their legs went weak with terror and they couldn't speak.

Zhu Cilang couldn't bear to watch either. Turning his head away, he said flatly, "The remaining prisoners will be executed by the Military Justice Department—cut them all down together!"

Immediately, squads of Military Justice Department soldiers stood behind the prisoners with blades drawn, saying in unison, "Ready!"

The remaining rebels felt their hair stand on end, vaguely knowing that doom was inescapable today. Many of them began trembling uncontrollably all over.

"Execute!"

At Gu Wei's command, over a thousand blades flashed, and over a thousand heads—including guard station military officers, civil officials of the various prefectures and counties, wicked gentry landlords, and hereditary military household soldiers who had joined the rebellion—tumbled to the ground!

Over a thousand corpses lay scattered every which way, warm blood gushing in streams, and a fierce killing aura suddenly surged into being.

The hundreds of South Zhili officials, civil and military alike, were all frightened out of their wits. Some of the more timid ones collapsed outright, and a few even fainted from terror.

It wasn't just the officials—the execution scene also delivered a tremendous shock to the Tianwu Army officers and soldiers watching. Everyone's heart was taut, thinking to themselves that the Military Justice Department was no joke, and they'd better be careful from now on.

This morning the editor sent word that this book will go on sale on September 1st. Allow me to compose my words and post an "Author's Note on Going on Sale" to play for sympathy—the details of the bonus chapter schedule will be mentioned there.