After the court's political discussion, everyone knew that Gao Wei had completely lost power, and it was difficult to have a chance to turn over. Many honest and kind people sighed for the general. After all, this impeachment is too reckless, how can General Gao argue with the shrewd and cunning Shao An? Although the emperor favored Shao An, he couldn't bear to dismiss Gao Wei on New Year's Eve, so he decided to let Shao An and Gao Wei think about it behind closed doors and discuss it after the New Year.

In this controversy, it seems that Shao An won completely, but in fact, both sides lost. Even Li Hongyi can recognize the handwriting at a glance, how can the emperor not be able to tell who wrote it. But the emperor didn't say anything and did nothing. However, Shao An knew that this was just the calm before the storm. The longer the calm, the more intense the wind and rain.

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On the twenty-sixth day of the lunar month, the emperor sealed the seal (1), so he had time to free up his hands to deal with Shao'an's affairs.

Shao An stole a few days of leisure in the mansion, and finally someone came to deliver a decree announcing his entry into the palace. As soon as he saw that the person who carried the decree was Chen Huaien, a close confidant of the emperor, he knew that he should have come or come.

This time when he entered the palace, Shao An was not wearing an official uniform, but he saw him wearing a small crown and a navy blue round-necked shirt, just like a Yanju (2) outfit, so he went out with his shirt.

When Gonggong Chen saw that he was dressed plainly and neatly, and his expression was solemn, he knew that he was in a heavy mood. But think about it, this time Shao An really touched the scales. Although the emperor didn't seem to be angry on the surface in recent days, in the eyes of people like Gonggong Chen, who had followed the emperor for many years, he knew that his dragon face was angry, but he just couldn't bear it.

Shao An followed Gonggong Chen through the Zunyi Gate, but did not go to the west room where the emperor often approved the folds in the Yangxin Palace, but led him to the door of the east side hall of the Yangxin Palace, and stopped.

Gonggong Chen turned sideways and saluted Shao An, "Take care of the prime minister, the old slave will retire." ”

Shao An was stunned for a moment, watching Gonggong Chen leave quickly, as if there was something terrible in the hall. He looked around again, and found that he was the only one in the emptiness, and there was not even a little eunuch standing guard. Shao Anxin was suspicious, and pushed open the door of the hall with trepidation.

As soon as he pushed the door open, Shao An saw a black torture bench placed in the middle of the hall, two men holding bamboo canes, standing on both sides of the torture bench, one cold, the other serious, both staring ahead.

Their clothing is different from that of the palace guards, let alone the clothes of the inner prison. Shao An looked at the two of them suspiciously, and suddenly a flash of inspiration, as if he had a premonition, staggered into the threshold. He took two steps forward, and sure enough, he saw two more people deep in the hall. One is dressed in black and white-haired, standing with his hands in his hands; One person bowed his head and knelt quietly, it was Zhang San.

"Boss, Shao Xiang has arrived."

The cold man reported indifferently, but the person kneeling on the ground trembled, and suddenly looked back at Shao An, full of disbelief.

Shao An couldn't bear to look at Zhang San, tilted his head slightly to look around, and after thinking for a moment, he guessed that they were all hidden guard leaders.

Shao An looked at the boss of the hidden guard who had his back to him. He heard his brother talk about it, and the eldest was called Ding Yi. It is said that this person is very lazy, and although he is the head of the hidden guard, he never cares about the hidden guard. Even his own name was chosen with the least number of strokes. What's even more depressing is that he didn't bother to remember the names of his subordinates, so the custom of using numbers to name the hidden guards has been passed down in this way.

But at this moment, such a lazy person actually came to prison, which shows the importance of the matter.

When the white-haired old man heard this, he seemed to know that Shao An had been there for a long time, so he slowly turned around, bowed to him, and then said, "Prime Minister, there is a will." ”

Shao An bowed down and bowed, and the boss of the hidden guard announced: "The holy lord has decreed that Zhang San is not doing well, and he will be punished for eighty." Shao An observes the sentence. ”

Deterrence, this is deterrence! Shao An only felt a pain in his heart, how much he wanted to say, why is Zhang San innocent? It's all his fault! But he can't say that compared with dereliction of duty, the collusion between the guards and the courtiers to deceive the saint is even more heinous.

Shao An's head was cold, but he had to kowtow and say, "Minister...... I hereby advise. ”

Ding waved his hand, and the two people holding the stick stepped forward and pulled Zhang San up. Zhang San got up, and when he passed by Shao An, he saw him kneeling with a pale face, worried mixed with guilt. Seeing this, Zhang San smiled at him soothingly, and then was firmly pressed against the torture bench.

"Hit!" Ding Yi commanded coldly.

When the first stick was hit, Shao An couldn't help but shake his body, but Zhang San bit his lip at that moment to prevent him from shouting in front of his friends. As the board fell relaxedly, Zhang San endured the huge pain, reluctantly raised his head, and in the haze, he only saw Shao An kneeling on the cold ground, looking at himself with guilt in his eyes.

Zhang San shook his head slightly, wanting to tell Shao An that it didn't matter. The corners of his mouth turned up, and he pulled out a smile that he thought was gentle. But in Shao An's eyes, it was indeed a smile that seemed to be a smile but not a smile, and it was an unusually distorted smile

Shao An watched the stick fall again and again, looking at Zhang San's forbearant expression, his heart palpitated. It was as if those sticks were smashed on his back and on his heart. He knelt quietly, his gaze shifting from Zhang San's pale face to the back of his buttocks, where he had been hit. Although Zhang San was dressed in black, the blood stains on his body were not obvious, but there were still warm blood droplets, and as the trembling body fell little by little, they converged into a pool of blood, and the eyes were blood-red.

I couldn't bear to look at it, I couldn't bear to listen, Shao An finally closed his eyes, although his heart was painful, his eyes were still dry, the pain was extreme, and there were no tears to flow.

"Prime Minister Watching Execution!" Ding Yi's majestic voice sounded, forcing Shao An to open his eyes, otherwise he would start all over again. Shao An forced himself to open his eyes and watched the torture in front of him intently. He could only straighten his spine and pinch his thighs with his hands, trying to make himself kneel straighter.

After staring at it for a long time, Shao An's gaze gradually blurred, and finally only a scarlet was left. Listening to the sound of the board hitting the flesh, he felt so powerless for the first time. No matter how deep his scheming is, he can't defeat the majestic imperial power, let alone an iron-blooded emperor's heart.

By the end of the eighty boards, Zhang San had already fallen into a coma, and Shao An had also lost his strength. He crooked on the ground and watched as the two executors dragged Zhang San away like a sack, leaving a bright red trail of blood on the ground, meandering like a stream, extending to the door, and disappearing......

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It wasn't until Ding Yi closed the door of the palace that Shao An withdrew his gaze and stared coldly at the old man in front of him. He had learned from the words of Zhang San and his brother that the hidden guards were not the same as each other. They may share the same hatred on the outside, but internally they are divided into small groups, and there is sometimes friction between factions. Shao An looked at the ruthless old man in front of him, thinking about the two hidden guards who had just been executed without friendship, and was full of worries about Zhang San's situation.

However, Ding Yicai didn't care what Shao An was worried about, he continued to proclaim indifferently: "Shao Xiang, there is a decree in the saint, and he will be flogged forty." ”

Although this decree did not explain the crime committed, Shao An knew it, Ding Yi knew it, and the emperor knew it.

When lying on the torture bench, Shao An felt that it was cold under him, and when he touched the surface of the bench, his tentacles were wet and sticky, and the smell was fishy.

It was Zhang San's blood, and he was the one who harmed Zhang Sanliu. He calculated that he might be punished and lose power, but he didn't expect that the emperor could really punish his right-hand guard, just to make an example of the chicken.

Shao An raised his eyes and asked, "Where are you going to take Zhang San?" ”

"The prime minister can rest assured, the hidden guard has its own rules for the hidden guard. The punishment has been punished, and he cannot die. Ding Yi took the torture instrument in his hand, and did not forget to sneer, "The prime minister should care about himself first." ”

That's true, Shao An smiled bitterly, he was already unable to protect himself, how could he have the strength to care about other people.

Ding Yi wiped the blood stained with the bamboo cane, walked to the torture bench, and was about to start fighting, but Shao An said, "Tie me up." ”

"What?"

"Tie it up!" Shao An said in a cold and hard voice, "While I'm still awake." ”

Ding thought about it, and it made sense. Shao An doesn't know martial arts, let alone a hidden guard. When the time comes, I can't survive halfway through, and shouting insults to the literati will be humiliating. So he deliberately took a thick long rope to restrain Shao An's hands and feet.

When Shao An was exiled, he was whipped twice in three days, so he naturally knew the power of the bamboo cane very well. When he was delirious in pain, he couldn't help but beg for mercy from the cool officials, hoping that he would have fewer rods. But here, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, for some reason, he would rather die of pain than give in to the emperor.

After being tied up, Ding Yi personally carried out the execution with a cane. Although he was the leader of the hidden guard and was in charge of punishment, the executioners were usually his subordinates, a team of six criminal officers. Now that Ding Yi hadn't beaten anyone for many years, he picked up the bamboo cane in his hand, measured the strength, and smashed it at Shao An.

It hurts, how can it hurt so much! Shao An's body tensed, and the pain of the staff far exceeded his expectations, and he was shocked that his ability to endure pain had decreased. or accustomed to a pampered life, and have long forgotten the suffering of exile; Maybe it's been a long time since I've been whipped, and I can't stand it after just a few hits.

But Shao An didn't know that the leader of the hidden guards, mixed with the strength of deep internal strength, penetrated the bone marrow, and was once the nightmare of all the secret guards, which could be compared to the general overseers in Qianzhou.

Ten rods in a row, Ding's hand was accurate and ruthless, without the slightest stop, all smashed in the same place. Shao An finally couldn't hold on and almost screamed. He suddenly struggled violently, and Ding Yi stopped and shouted, "Don't resist the punishment." ”

Shao An rested his head on the damp torture bench, cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and he wanted to raise his hand to wipe the sweat, but he was tightly restrained by the hemp rope and couldn't move. When Ding saw that his silk trousers were stained with bright red blood, Ding finally showed mercy and walked from the left to the right, no longer hitting the same side.

“…… Gagged. Shao An spoke slowly, he still underestimated the power of the court staff, thinking that he could hold back and not shout, but found that his consciousness was gradually blurring and on the verge of collapse.

As if he didn't hear clearly, Ding Yi asked, "Do you want a wooden cork?" ”

"Yes." Shao An replied very decisively. Even to such an embarrassing point, he still has the determination of the imperial prime minister to kill, and he will never show weakness to others.

Ding Yi satisfied Shao An and gagged his mouth. He can see that Shao An is ruthless to others, and even more ruthless to himself. He had seen many hidden guards who couldn't bear it under the cane, but he admired Shao An more, knowing that he would not be able to stand it, but he still persevered to the end and did not regret it.

The punishment continues.

Ding Yi waved his bamboo cane and hit it down without hurrying or slow. He has his own knack for execution, although he will not beat people to death or mutilation, but he can beat people to death. He watched coldly as Shao An trembled violently under the torture staff, wanting to scream but unable to make a sound, wanting to dodge but having no way to escape. He watched Shao An's hands clenched into fists, trying to break free from the rope and rubbing violently. However, the rough hemp rope still restrained his hands, and even strangled his wrists to bleed.

Shao An clearly felt that the two strands were already wet, and even his body was soaked with sweat. Halfway through the punishment, the pain that penetrated deep into the bone marrow was unbearable, and I hated to faint. But Shao An suddenly raised his head fiercely, and then slammed his forehead against the torture bench again and again.

Ding Yi's expression changed, and he looked at Shao An with a little approval. Normally, the tortured person will eventually lose it and let himself pass out. But Shao An didn't, he had always remained awake, soberly experiencing the burning pain behind him.

In the last few sticks, Ding Yi finally made his hand a little lighter. However, for Shao An, who was full of pain, he couldn't tell the severity. He lay on his stool weakly, thinking that this was probably the heaviest punishment he had ever experienced. He remembered being beaten by his father when he was a child, then beaten by King An, and later beaten and scolded by the overseers when he was exiled...... After so many years and so many tortures, the pain is still painful, and I will never get used to it. Shao An seemed to remember in his ignorance that until the end of his exile, he had not learned to endure the punishment.

The execution is complete. Ding Yi looked at Shao An's sloppy eyes, and finally kindly helped him up from the torture bench. But not long after he stood up, Shao An fell to his knees with a "poof". Ding Yi looked down at him, and saw that his hair crown had fallen, his bun had been messed up, and a few strands of hair were messed up on his cheeks, and the whole person seemed to have just been drenched in a torrential rain, and his whole body was wet.

"Prime Minister take a break, the emperor will see you later." Ding Yi suddenly felt a little unbearable, and opened his mouth to persuade.

"Not necessarily." Shao An gradually came to his senses, pushed away Ding Yi's support, staggered up, and slowly moved to the door with his support against the wall.

The winter sun is warm and soft, and as soon as the temple door is opened, the brilliant light radiates from the sky, illuminating the earth, instantly dispelling the coldness in the hall.

After staying in the dark room for a long time, even a little light is a little light, and it is also very dazzling. Shao An raised his hand slightly, trying to block the dazzling light, but there were still traces of light leaking out of his fingers and spilling on his body.

The sky was bright and the sky was blue, but he couldn't enjoy it anymore.

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(1) Seal: The emperor generally "seals the pen" and "seals" on the 26th day of the lunar month, that is, stops working. On the first day of the first lunar month, the ceremony was re-opened and "opened".

(2) Yanju: retreat to the court; Idleness.