Chapter 67: Executing the Traitors

After posting notices offering large-scale bounties for reports, within a single night the common folk had denounced and identified more than two hundred second-tier Tartars.

Such swift efficiency struck Zhu Cilang as somewhat incredible, and it also reflected just how deeply the people had come to hate these second-tier Tartars over this period.

As for these two hundred-plus people, Zhu Cilang ordered a careful screening — not one good person was to be wronged, and not one traitor was to be let off!

After rounds of interrogation and the careful secret investigations of Yang Qili and the other Night Scouts, over a hundred people were ultimately released. These were mainly craftsmen and women who had been compelled to repair weapons and wash clothes for the Qing army — they could still be forgiven.

In the end, one hundred and four second-tier Tartars were confirmed in Liangxiang city. These were all people who had voluntarily thrown in with the Jianzhou barbarians, willingly serving as their running dogs, aiding the tyrant in oppressing their own people.

The common folk loathed these people to the utmost and earnestly begged the Crown Prince to punish them severely without mercy, showing no leniency whatsoever.

Seeing the fierce public indignation, Zhu Cilang immediately issued an order to summon the entire city's populace to a trial assembly at Caishikou in Liangxiang's West Market.

Why was the execution site chosen at Caishikou? In fact, this was an old tradition — the Book of Rites already contains the saying, "Execute criminals in the marketplace, and let the multitude cast them aside."

In ancient cities, the West Market was generally where commoners did business, with heavy foot traffic — killing people here could serve as an excellent deterrent.

Don't ever think that a place where people have been killed would be bad for business. Quite the opposite — after the common folk finished watching an execution, they would immediately cover the bloodstains with yellow earth and continue buying and selling vegetables there.

Every time after an execution, business at the vegetable market was better than on ordinary days. In this roundabout way, Zhu Cilang was also boosting Liangxiang's economic development.

That afternoon, squad after squad of Yongwei Camp soldiers escorted the one hundred and four second-tier Tartars and one hundred and thirty-two surrendered officers and soldiers, heading straight for the execution ground at Liangxiang's Caishikou.

More than two hundred prisoners were bound in heavy iron chains, with disheveled hair, heads hung low like the walking dead, their facial expressions impossible to make out — most likely dominated by fear.

"Second-tier Tartars, die a horrible death!"

"Betraying your country for glory — may you never be reborn as humans for all eternity!"

The common folk watching from both sides of the road packed the area like a sea of humanity, cursing without cease, while others hurled rotten vegetable leaves, stinking eggs, and other filth at these people. Some even went to extremes, carrying loads of night soil on shoulder poles and splashing it over them.

The procession slowly made its way to Caishikou, and the eyes of all the onlookers were filled with contempt. Second-tier Tartars were held in universal disgrace, reviled by ten thousand voices.

At Caishikou there was a huge temporary trial platform that had been erected, and in a spacious area below the platform was the execution ground. The execution ground was surrounded by Yongwei Camp soldiers as tightly as an iron barrel, holding back the surging tide of the crowd.

On the high platform stood three enormous curved-handle nine-dragon umbrellas. Beneath the central umbrella sat Zhu Cilang in formal posture, while Yongwei Camp officers of Mobile Corps Commander rank and above stood erect at his sides.

The prisoners were escorted one after another to the execution ground and made to kneel in a row that stretched nearly two hundred meters. Beside each prisoner stood a Yongwei Camp soldier holding a firearm.

The countless common folk all around cast looks of hatred. It was these people who, when they themselves were being plundered by the Jianzhou barbarians, had seized their wealth, violated their wives and daughters, and murdered their families. They wished they could devour their flesh raw — even dousing them with night soil counted as gentle!

Feeling the hateful gazes around them, these second-tier Tartars grew greatly uneasy. Especially upon seeing squads of soldiers holding firelocks appear at their sides, their bodies began trembling uncontrollably.

At this moment, Zhu Cilang rose to his feet and walked to the front of the high platform. He slowly looked over the crowd, then declared in a loud voice: "Born as Han people of the Great Ming, some among you chose to become traitors, willingly serving as running dogs for the slave bandits, wreaking havoc upon your neighbors — utterly insane!

Officers and soldiers are supposed to be those who protect the people of a region, yet some have disobeyed military law, harmed the populace, and even gone over to the enemy and betrayed their country — crimes truly heinous and unpardonable! This Prince declares that all these people shall be cut down to the last! Shoot them! Shoot them! Shoot them!"

The common folk below the platform looked up at this Crown Prince bristling with killing intent, utterly dumbstruck, and for a moment the place fell into dead silence.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The officers and men of the Yongwei Camp raised their weapons and shouted in unison, and in an instant a sound like mountains toppling and seas overturning cowed everyone present.

Suddenly, the tens of thousands of common folk around them, as if ignited, burst into furious curses and shouts like an avalanche and tsunami: "Kill! Kill the traitors!"

"Kill them all!"

Hearing the shouts of the tens of thousands of commoners around them, the more than two hundred prisoners turned ashen-faced, trembling without cease. Many wept bitterly, kowtowing and begging for mercy without end.

Zhu Cilang was not moved in the slightest. At a time like this, there could be no mercy. In troubled times, severe laws must be applied — he had to use an iron hand, killing one to warn a hundred, killing a hundred to warn ten thousand!

He shouted sternly: "Carry out the execution!"

Huang Degong, who had the loudest voice, followed with a great shout: "Carry out the execution!"

Immediately, orders rang out from all sides in the Yongwei Camp: "Carry out the execution!"

"No, I don't want to die!"

Some prisoners were scared out of their wits and twisted their bodies, trying to stand up and flee. But the moment they rose, they were kicked back to the ground by the Yongwei Camp soldiers beside them, landing face-first in the dirt.

A row of more than two hundred Yongwei Camp soldiers all stepped back a few paces, loaded their powder and shot, then raised their firelocks and aimed at the heads of the kneeling prisoners before them.

"Fire!"

At the command, the ear-splitting roar of simultaneous gunfire rang out. The condemned fell row by row, and a cloud of smoke rose over the execution ground. The stench of blood mixed with the smell of gunpowder drifted through the air, enough to make one retch.

The tens of thousands of common folk watching the execution all turned pale with fright, feeling their legs go weak. No one dared to move so much as a hair — the scene was simply too shocking.

Though somewhat afraid, more of them afterward felt a great sense of justice being served.

Huang Degong on the high platform continued to command in a loud voice: "Give them another shot!"

The more than two hundred Yongwei Camp musketeers expressionlessly loaded their powder and shot, then fired another round at the traitors' heads before them. A few traitors who had been lucky enough to be missed by a bad shot still could not escape death at this moment.

"Give them another shot!" Huang Degong's booming voice came once more from the high platform.

"Bang!"

The Yongwei Camp soldiers loaded their powder and shot once again and fired another round into the bodies of the traitors, who had long since collapsed limply on the ground.

In truth, they were only a few paces away and aiming at the head — after the first volley, the traitors had basically all been executed. Many people couldn't understand why so many extra shots were needed.

Sun Yingyuan, standing beside Huang Degong, asked curiously: "Old Huang, why did you order three volleys?"

Huang Degong raised his head proudly and said: "Because His Highness just said 'shoot them' three times. If the Crown Prince said a hundred times, I'd shoot them a hundred times over!"

Sun Yingyuan: ""

Zhu Cilang: ""

Everyone: ""

This trial assembly allowed Liangxiang city to restore order in an extremely short time, and at the same time Zhu Cilang won the hearts of the people.

The corpses of these traitors were ultimately hauled together to an uninhabited spot outside the city, piled high with dry grass, and burned to ashes in a great fire — truly dying without even a place to be buried.

This afternoon the work got a recommendation slot. Begging for collections and recommendation tickets — whether we can advance to next week's continued recommendations depends on you esteemed readers!