In the Han Dynasty, the execution of prisoners, except for major crimes such as rebellion, which could be executed immediately, the rest of the condemned prisoners generally had to wait until the period before the autumn frost fell to the winter solstice. The three splashes who were sentenced to death by Xun Yu are still locked up in the county jail at the moment, waiting for the execution after the autumn. When the people in the city saw that the government had posted a post, saying that they were going to execute two criminals who had fornicated with the yellow turban thieves today, they helped the old and the young to come to see the excitement.

The people standing on both sides of the road craned their necks to watch the two wooden cage carts carrying the prisoners, and they were pushed towards the execution ground by the officials. The county soldiers commanded by Dian Wei stood on the side of the road with spears in their hands to prevent the people from approaching the prisoner cart.

The wooden platform for the execution was just erected, two zhang long and one zhang wide, and no more than five feet high, but it was enough for the onlookers to see the execution process clearly. Around the execution platform, a circle of county soldiers stood out, blocking the onlookers from the outside.

When the prisoner cart came to a stop in front of the execution table, the official opened the wooden gate, took the prisoners out of the car, and inserted a sign with the word "beheading" written on it.

Chen Cha had long been frightened and incontinent, and the official forcibly endured the stench, dragged Chen Cha off the car like a mess of mud, and dragged him to the execution platform.

And the other prisoner, he is Chen Cha's cousin Chen Tang, who is also the mastermind who attempted to kidnap Han Zhan, and compared with his cousin, who is not angry, his performance is remarkable. After he got out of the car, he raised his head and let out a long whistle, and then shouted: "Lao Tzu will be a good man again after eighteen years." His shout immediately caused a round of applause from the surroundings.

The two Chen brothers knelt on the execution platform, Chen Tang also looked up at the executioner standing in front of him, and said with a nonchalant expression: "Official, when you do it later, your subordinates will be neat, give me a good time!" He didn't notice why only one executioner was on the stage.

Seeing that the two prisoners were already in place, the executioner walked up to Han Zhan, who was watching the execution, and bowed and saluted: "Envoy, the prisoner has already experienced the correct body, and he can be punished properly!" ”

Han Zhan nodded slightly, picked up the long sign with the names of the two prisoners written on the table, and after reading it for a while, he only used a red pen to tick off Chen Tang's name, and then handed it to the executioner.

The executioner took the long sign, and seeing that only Chen Tang's name was ticked off on it, he hurriedly reminded Han Zhan in a low voice: "Envoy, there are two criminals today, but you only hooked one." ”

"I know," Han Zhan nodded and said, "Only Chen Tang was killed today, and Chen Cha accompanied him." After the execution was over, he was escorted back to the county jail. ”

When the executioner turned around and strode towards the execution platform, Han Zhan saw that among the crowd of onlookers in the distance, there were actually many men carrying their children on their shoulders so that they could see more clearly. Seeing this situation, Han Zhan couldn't help but smile bitterly, saying in his heart that such a scene of murder, adults can just look at it, how can such a young child be allowed to watch, maybe it will make them have a psychological shadow. Perhaps the next time the execution is carried out in public, a paper should be published prohibiting minors from being present to watch.

The executioner returned to the execution table and announced loudly: "By the order of the envoy, behead one prisoner Chen Tang." After the execution was completed, the prisoner Chen Cha was returned to the county jail for safekeeping. Executioner, prepare for execution! ”

The people watching below couldn't help but be in an uproar when they heard that only one person had been killed. Everyone is talking about it, there are two criminals on the execution table, why only one person is killed?

Hearing that only one person was killed, in addition to the surprise of the people, it was Chen Tang who was even more shocked. He turned his head and yelled at the executioner standing behind him, "Why only kill me and not him?" The two of us are complicit, and we should be beheaded together! I don't want to die alone, I don't want to die alone! He twisted and tried to get up, but the rope that bound him slowed his movements, and before he could get up, the executioner had reached out and pressed his shoulder, making it impossible for him to stand up.

Hu Cha, who was sitting behind Han Zhan, asked in surprise after seeing this situation, "Envoy, what's wrong with this person?" Just now he was still acting like a hero, how could he be like crazy in a moment of hard work? ”

When Han Zhan heard this question, he sneered and said, "He originally thought that the two brothers would die together, but now that he found out that he was the only one who was going to die, he was naturally going crazy." I think if he is loosened, he will probably kill his brother with his own hands, so that he can have a companion on the Huangquan Road. ”

At this moment, Chen Tang, who was kneeling on the ground, was still struggling desperately, and at the same time kept shouting in his mouth: "This is not fair, you can't just kill me, he is also an accomplice, and he must die too!" ”

Perhaps his shouts upset the executioner, so he beckoned to the officials standing in the audience and motioned for them to come up and help. The two five big and three thick officials went up the small staircase and stepped forward to grab Chen Tang's arms respectively, so that he could no longer struggle. The executioner stepped forward and pulled out the guilty card inserted in Chen Tang's back, threw it on the ground casually, and raised the ghost head knife in his hand.

The executioner motioned for the two officials to let go and retreat, and before Chen Tang could continue to struggle, the ghost-headed broadsword swung down violently. With a flash of the knife, Chen Tang fell to the stage with a bang in two places. The executioner, on the other hand, bent down to pick up Chen Tang's head and held it high to signal to the onlookers in order to receive their cheers.

…………

The first thing he did when he returned to the county office, Han Zhan ordered Luo Bu to bring Chen Cha up.

As soon as Chen Cha, who had escaped death, entered the lobby, he knelt on the ground with a puff, kowtowed to Han Zhan desperately, and kept saying with gratitude: "Thank you for your grace, thank you for not killing!" ”

Han Zhan coughed heavily, and then said, "Chen Cha, are you willing to tell the envoy the location of the black-clothed hidden cottage now?" ”

When Chen Cha heard Han Zhan say this, he immediately couldn't cry or laugh, he said in his heart I wanted to confess just now, but who knew that you didn't listen, and let people escort me to the execution ground, which made me pee my pants in fright. But these dissatisfactions, he can only suppress them in his heart, he dare not show them on his face, he knows in his heart that if he offends the envoy, maybe tomorrow he will end up with his brother Chen Tang. He hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, the little one is willing to tell the envoy everything he knows." ”

After Han Zhan listened to Chen Cha's confession, he realized that the crime in black was monstrous. He usually does some things from time to time in front of Lin San and other subordinates, in order to win people's hearts, and from time to time he also does some things to rob the rich and help the poor. But in fact, more than 30 miles away from the cottage, there is also a hidden cottage, in which there are more than a dozen of his cronies, who are specially following him to do some murderous and overselling things. The money and belongings from the robbery were stored in a cave in the cottage, and his own brother Black Bear was guarded by him.

After sending officials to bring Chen Cha back to the prison, Han Zhan and Xun Yu discussed: "Uncle, according to Chen Cha, there is countless money stored in the black-clothed hidden cottage, Zhan'er plans to lead troops to clean up there tomorrow, and my uncle will be in charge of the county town." ”

Since Xun Yu knew that there were only a dozen bandits in the cottage, he didn't persuade Han Zhan, but took the initiative to suggest to him: "Qujun Hou Dianwei is brave, it's better to let him go with you." ”

"There are generals, but there is still a lack of a strategist to accompany them." Although he knew that tomorrow's clean-up operation would not be much dangerous, Han Zhan wanted Guo Jia to accompany him. Therefore, he pretended to regret and said, "It's a pity that Cousin Gongda is not here, otherwise I would have let him accompany me." ”

"Although Gongda is not here, there is another person who can accompany you." Xun Yu really fell into Han Zhan's little trap, and said honestly: "Guo Fengxiao's ability is far better than Gongda, and having him accompany you will definitely be a success." ”

Seeing that Xun Yu's reaction was really in his own conjecture, Han Zhan couldn't help but be ecstatic in his heart, but he also pretended to hesitate and said, "But what if Feng Xiao doesn't agree?" ”

"Zhan'er, please rest assured." Xun Yu took the initiative to ask: "Uncle will go to see Fengxiao in person later, and you must persuade him to accompany you to the cottage to suppress bandits." ”