The relationship between the Xie family and the Ning family, just like the Hu people and the Northwest Army, is a mortal enemy who does not share the sky.

It stands to reason that after taking Xinjing, the Ning family should have executed the Xie family a long time ago.

However, Ning Zhiyuan did not do this, but kept their family's life alive.

The reason why Ning Zhiyuan did this was actually for fishing: to catch some remnants of the Xie family who were still loyal to the Xie family one by one.

On the surface, the Xie family and others were locked up in the prison of Dali Temple, but in fact, it was just fake news as bait.

The Ning family had already set up an ambush in the heavenly prison, waiting for the people who wanted to save the Xie family to come to the net.

And the place where An Guogong's family was really imprisoned was actually in the barracks of the Northwest Army, and it was impossible for them to have a chance to escape.

This trick to lure the snake out of the hole really worked, and in the past two months, he really caught a lot of people who wanted to rescue An Guogong's family, including some private soldiers from the Jiangnan family.

The purpose of these Jiangnan families to rescue An Guogong's family is, of course, not really loyal to the Xie family, but to use the banner of An Guogong to fight against the Ning family who are carrying out clearance operations in various parts of Jiangnan.

As a result, not only did they not succeed, but they were also cleaned up by the Ning family on the charge of conspiracy with the Xie family.

After returning to Beijing, seeing that the wealthy families in all parts of the Yangtze River were either beheaded or beaten and subdued, Ning Zhiyuan decided to execute the Xie family and others to get rid of future troubles.

No matter what dynasty it is, those in power are extremely jealous and hateful of those who plot rebellion.

Therefore, the crime of treason is the first of the most heinous crimes, and it is a very serious crime that will never be pardoned or commuted.

Great Wei is no exception, Wei Taizu has made a clear order at the beginning of the founding of the country: the crime of the great rebel should be exterminated, the main culprit should be punished, the corpse should sink to the bottom of the river, and the inscription will be edicted.

The person who is killed, that is, Ling Chi is executed, which is commonly known as a thousand cuts.

The torturer was stabbed more than 2,000 pieces by the executioner, and finally died of agony, which was the most brutal form of execution.

Even if the sinner dies, he has to tie a stone tablet around his waist and abdomen with an iron chain, and the stone tablet is engraved with the person's name, identity, and all the evil deeds committed during his lifetime.

Then he threw the sinner into the river with the stone tablet, so that his body was eaten by fish and shrimp, and he couldn't even put it into the ground.

This is the so-called corpse sinking to the bottom of the river, inscription edict.

For the ancients, death without a place to be buried was the most miserable end, and there was no peace even after death.

And those who committed the crime of great rebellion not only had to be sentenced to death by Ling Chi during their lifetime, but their bodies were also thrown into the river to feed fish and shrimp after death, which shows how jealous and hated the rebels in power in the Great Wei Dynasty, and wanted to deter the world.

An Guogong Xie Mingshun, his two sons, and several grandsons were almost all the main criminals and accomplices who participated in the mutiny and rebellion, and should be punished according to this law.

In particular, Xie Mingshun is also suspected of killing Emperor Jing'an and Empress Xiao, that is, Shijun, and it is an unforgivable crime.

As for the entire Xie clan, regardless of whether they participated in the mutiny or not, they should also be exterminated according to the law.

The so-called Ci is not in charge of the army, the Ning family has been in the army for generations, and the successive heads of the family are all generals of the national pillars who guard the border passes.

Ning Zhiyuan's generation is no exception, he has led the army to fight against the Hu people several times over the years, and he is a ruthless man who kills decisively.

For enemies, especially mortal enemies like the Hu people and the Xie family, the Ning family will not be soft at all, and whoever can be killed will definitely be killed cleanly.

So Ning Zhiyuan, in the name of the minister of prison, ordered that the Xie clan who rebelled and rebelled should be executed according to Wei law, and An Guogong and others, who were the main culprits, were all executed by Ling Chi, and incense was burned to set up sandalwood to tell the spirit of the emperor in the sky.

As for the wives and daughters of An Guogong's eldest son Xie Yukun, second son Xie Yuheng and others, Ning Zhiyuan saw that they were women, so he exempted them from Ling Chi's punishment and beheaded them like other Xie clansmen.

A few days later, more than 500 members of the Xie family, including the Xie family of Anguo Gong, were forcibly escorted to the execution ground by thousands of officers and soldiers to be publicly tortured.

After many people in Xinjing learned about this, they flocked to the execution ground to watch the fate of the Xie family.

Prior to this, Chi Fei also took advantage of the situation to use the latest issue of "Seeking Truth" to list a large number of crimes of the Xie family over the years.

In particular, the process of conspiring with the eldest prince Zhao Yufeng, leading a large army to besiege the palace and killing Emperor Jing'an and Empress Xiao, as well as the details of the collusion with the Hu people outside the Guanwai in the Northwest War and the want to strangle the Northwest Army are also reported.

After seeing these reports, many people were shocked and at the same time, they all felt a strong sense of resentment towards the Xie family.

Some people may find it strange that if these reports are unfounded, will no one be suspicious?

There will indeed be suspicions, but most people will choose to believe the news.

The reason is very simple, although Ning Zhiyuan is not yet the emperor, he now represents not only the imperial court, but also the entire bureaucracy, and what he says is equivalent to the statement of the government.

At this time, the Xie family and others denied their guilt, and it didn't matter if there was evidence to prove that they had indeed done those things, the powerful Ning family said that they were guilty, that is, they were guilty.

Just like when the Xie family was in power before, they beat the Ning family and the people related to it as a chaotic party.

In addition, over the years that the Xie family has been in power, they have continued to increase taxes and taxes, which has led to people everywhere being unhappy and complaining, and almost not many people will have a good impression of them, but they dare not speak out.

Under this kind of hatred for Wu Jiwu, most people will subconsciously believe that An Guogong and others are some unforgivable villains as the report says.

There are even many people who believe that this time the Hu people's invasion of Xinjing caused the destruction of so many civilian families, and it was also the evil created by the Xie family.

Now that I heard that these great wicked people were going to be punished, I naturally wanted to go to the scene to see what happened to them.

At this time, on the execution ground, more than 500 members of the Xie clan were kneeling there crying, and many people were crying out for grievances, saying that they had not participated in the rebellion at all, and everything was the self-made initiative of Xie Mingshun, the Duke of Anguo, and others.

In fact, they are right, strictly speaking, this matter really has little to do with them.

Although the Xie family has other side branches, An Guogong became the patriarch of the Xie family by suppressing and dividing the various side branches, so he has always been wary of the resurgence of these side branches to seize power with him.

This makes it possible for not many members of the Xie clan to really stay in the center of power, and the nephew Xie Changping is a relatively rare exception.

An Guogong's real henchmen are all military generals who have been single-handedly promoted and cultivated by him over the years, and what he doesn't believe in the most is his own people.

Now that the Xie family is in ambush, they have all become the funeral objects of their own family, which of course makes them unacceptable, so they will keep shouting grievances.

However, Wei Lu clearly stipulated that the great rebels should be exterminated, so they could only be considered unlucky.

Since An Guogong and the others had to accept the punishment of Ling Chi, it would take a whole day to complete, so they had to be put to the end.

The first to be punished were those of the Xie clan who were implicated, and they were all sentenced to have their homes raided and beheaded.

At noon, Du Feng, the new head of the Criminal Department, who had been promoted by Ning Zhiyuan from the Northwest Army, read aloud the various crimes committed by the Xie family and others in front of all the onlookers.

After reading their crimes, Du Feng immediately shouted: "Execution! ”。

Under the watchful eyes of a group of ordinary people, including the wives and daughters of Xie Yukun, Xie Yuheng and others, more than 500 members of the Xie clan were first verified by the officers and soldiers, and then executed in five batches in turn.

When the first batch of prisoners were dragged and dragged to the center of the execution ground, they continued to let out loud wails and begs for mercy.

But as more than a hundred heads landed under the executioner's butcher's knife, all that remained of desperate cries remained in the crowd.

The strong smell of blood immediately dispersed, making the onlookers feel the urge to gag.

Some of the less courageous have quietly left.

When the second and third batches of prisoners were executed one after another, there was silence outside the entire execution ground, and no one dared to speak, and many people just looked at the rolling heads and blood all over the ground with blue faces.

It didn't take long for more than 500 members of the Xie clan, including the wives and daughters of Xie Yukun, Xie Yuheng and others, to complete the execution, and now only a few men from An Guogong's family were left.

If someone carefully identifies it, they will find that the second grandson of An Guogong, that is, Princess Yanfang's concubine Xie Changting, is not here.

In fact, in order to repay Princess Yanfang's favor for his youngest daughter and son-in-law, Ning Zhiyuan had already released Xie Changting.

It can be said that Xie Changting is the only person in the entire Xie family and even the Xie clan who can escape punishment.

Except for him, no one else was so lucky.

At this time, Xie Yuheng, Xie Changcheng, Xie Changyin, Xie Changping and others trembled violently, and everyone's faces became as white as paper.

And Xie Mingshun, the Duke of An Guo, who has been relying on Wuxiang to hang his life, is so sick that he can't even sit up, so he can only lie on the ground and catch his breath.

"Prisoner Xie Mingshun, are you guilty?" Du Feng, the director of the Criminal Department, questioned loudly.

An Guogong Xie Mingshun gasped and said: "The winner is the king, and the loser is the king...... Since the old man is defeated... There's not much to say...... You go back and tell Ning Zhiyuan, I will wait for him in the underworld.

I want to take a good look at this world... How did it ruin in the hands of his Ning family......" After speaking, he laughed sarcastically with a sarcastic face.

"When death comes, he does not repent. Someone comes, and the execution begins. ”

Under Du Feng's order, several executioners soon came over.

Before the execution, the executioners blindfolded each person with a black cloth.

This is to prevent the executioner from being distracted by the prisoner's painful and frightened gaze when the prisoner and the executioner look at each other, which will affect the execution.

After blindfolding everyone, these executioners, who were proficient in punishment, began to execute each Xie family member separately

At first, the onlookers watched with anticipation.

But it didn't take long for almost everyone to look stupid when the crazy screams of the Xie family continued to sound, and the extremely cruel execution process appeared in front of everyone's eyes in a bloody manner.

Many people only now know what kind of torture the legendary "punishment of inches" is used on the most rebellious people, and it is hard to imagine how painful it can be.

"Vomit ......" Finally, someone was stimulated by the too bloody and cruel scene to vomit.

This vomit caused a chain reaction, and more people immediately followed suit.

In addition to some people who began to vomit, more people turned away in panic, not daring to look any further, this "inch of punishment" is really terrible.

It didn't take long for the onlookers who had packed the execution ground to disperse, leaving only a few scattered people still there to stop and watch.

Among them, there was a man with a masked face who watched it with relish, especially when he saw the extremely painful expressions of the Xie family and the others and heard their heart-rending screams, his eyes even showed an incomparably joyful feeling.

There were a total of five people standing beside him, although they were all dressed in cloth, but their eyes were very vigilant to observe the surroundings, their right hands were always on their waists, and their faces faintly revealed a murderous aura.

Among them, the strong man who led it was Zhang Wu, who used to be the chief of the guard of Chi Fei, and now he has been promoted from 100 households to 1,000 households.

And the man who was surrounded by them and covered his face was Yan Beiqing, the only survivor of the Yan clan who had been the military advisor of the Great Prince of Hu, Alobu.

The reason why Zhang Wu appeared at the execution ground was that he was ordered by the marshal Ning Zhiyuan to bring Yan Beiqing to watch the execution of the Xie family.

In addition to them, in fact, thousands of ambushes had already been deployed in the entire execution ground, and among them, there were even 500 musketeers from the Shenji Battalion waiting for them.

Ning Zhiyuan deliberately laid a net on the side of the execution ground to prevent someone from taking advantage of the chaos to rescue the Xie family and others.

As a result, no one jumped out to do this, which made Zhang Wu and others, who originally wanted to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions, a little disappointed.

Looking at Yan Beiqing, who was excited and inexplicably watching the execution of the Xie family, Zhang Wu snorted coldly and stopped caring about him.

This person's family was wiped out by the Xie family and the Zhao family, and his face was also burned to the point that he was not human, and he was alone without relatives or reason, so it is no wonder that he wanted to avenge his family by any means.

But he shouldn't, he shouldn't go to the Hu people, and he did all the bad things for the Hu people, which is the most unacceptable place for Zhang Wu.

Zhang Wu himself is a native of the Northwest, and his hatred of the Hu people, like all Northwest people, is deep in the bone marrow.

If it weren't for the commander's order, he really didn't want to bring this person over.

After dark, Yan Beiqing, who had watched the entire execution process, followed Zhang Wu out of the execution ground with satisfaction and returned to the place where he was imprisoned.

The revenge has been avenged, and he has nothing to worry about now.

When he returned to the place where he was imprisoned, Yan Beiqing saw that there was already a good banquet on the table, all of which were good wine and food from the Lion Tower.

Yan Beiqing knew that this was his last meal.

The Ning family would not let him survive.

Not only because he once took refuge in the Hu people, but more importantly, he knew too many things that he shouldn't know.

However, the Ning family is quite kind, and they deliberately served him such a good decapitated meal, which can be regarded as benevolent and righteous.

Yan Beiqing smiled, and then ate unceremoniously.

When he had finished, a man walked in on a tray with a glass of wine.

"Ning Gong asked me to tell you, and he will help you fulfill your wishes.

The Yan family will definitely be rehabilitated and innocent.

You can go with peace of mind. ”

Xie Ning is righteous, and Yan Beiqing is grateful. The dust is over, and it is cleared. After speaking, Yan Beiqing picked up the wine glass and drank it all.

After a while, after confirming that Yan Beiqing had been poisoned to death, the man left the room.

……………………

After learning that Yan Beiqing had committed suicide by taking poison, Ning Zhiyuan couldn't help but sigh with some emotion: "This person is indeed a talent, it's a pity." ”

Chi Fei couldn't help but ask: "Father-in-law, such a talent, why don't you keep it for your own use?" Anyway, we don't know his identity except us. ”

Ning Zhiyuan shook his head and said, "If it were the previous time when the Northwest had just been established and everything was ready to be prosperous, I wouldn't mind taking in a resourceful and ruthless poisoner like Yan Beiqing.

A person like Yan Beiqing, who seeks an end and does whatever it takes, once the superior uses it, it will definitely be difficult to cut it off.

Because he can solve many dark things for the superiors that cannot be put on the surface, just like the Detective Mansion established by Zhao Yufeng.

However, this time is different from the past, and the Ning family will follow the royal road instead of domineering in the future, so I can no longer leave this kind of bottomless person to do things by my side, so as not to raise tigers.

What's more, I have long had you and Lao Zhang by my side to help me with auxiliary talents, is there still a lack of him Yan Beiqing? ”

Chi Fei smiled bitterly: "Father-in-law, you really think too highly of your son-in-law." I have no opinion on saying that Mr. Zhang has the talent of auxiliary countries, but how can the younger son-in-law dare to recognize this title with such a thick skin. ”

Ning Zhiyuan said with a smile: "You and Lao Zhang are taking different paths, Lao Zhang is good at strategy, insight into people's hearts, and is a real strategist."

And you are ingenious, flexible, good at reforming the old policy, pushing through the old and bringing forth the new, and taking the road of political reform.

Both of you are my right and left arms, and neither of you is indispensable. ”

Speaking of this, Ning Zhiyuan's expression suddenly changed, and he became extremely solemn, he looked at his little son-in-law and said, "Ah Zhen, you should have heard the phrase "power lust is consumed."

Soon after, I will lead the Ning family to sit on that chair and rule the world.

But I, Ning Zhiyuan, is just an ordinary person who asks himself, and he may be blinded by power and act recklessly, and he may even become a generation of faint kings or tyrants.

If the people of the world suffer greatly because of my wrong politics and chaotic government, then I, Ning Zhiyuan, will have no shame to face the ancestors of the Ning family even if I go below.

Ah Zhen, I'm not afraid to tell you honestly, I've actually been feeling a little uneasy about the enthronement in my heart.

I'm afraid that I can't afford to carry the world, let alone the lives of hundreds of millions of Han people.

Therefore, if I commit a crime in the future, and I really issue some decrees that will bring disaster to the country and the people, you must persuade me not to let me continue to commit trouble.

I believe that even if I can't listen to others, I will be able to listen to you. ”

Looking at the eyes full of trust and expectation in his father-in-law's eyes, Chi Fei couldn't help but feel a burst of warmth in his heart.

After thinking about it carefully, Chi Fei replied: "My son-in-law has heard a saying before, which is called to be in awe before you can stop doing something.

It means that only those who have reverence in their hearts can have a cautious attitude of walking on thin ice and prohibit their behavior.

Father-in-law, you are undoubtedly such a person.

I believe that only those who maintain this kind of thinking are qualified to become a generation of Ming Jun.

In addition, I have heard another saying, "If people are idle, they will have trouble, and if they are busy, they will have nothing to do."

In my opinion, many emperors in history gradually became tyrants because they were too idle and their own desires were difficult to fill.

Father-in-law, didn't you say that you want to turn this world into a prosperous world where everyone can eat enough?

This is an easy goal, but it is incredibly difficult to do.

From ancient times to the present, no one has been able to do this, whether he is an emperor or a saint.

If you really have this ambition, father-in-law, then we will have a lot to do in the future, so much so that you don't have the spare time to be a dumb tyrant. ”

After listening to this, Ning Zhiyuan showed a very comfortable smile on his face, "You're right, we have a lot of things to do, and we don't have time to think about these messy things."

Let's go out and have a look. ”

Looking at his father-in-law who was full of confidence, Chi Fei smiled and said nothing.

When the two walked out of the study, they found Su Zihang waiting outside with a happy face.

As soon as he saw Ning Zhiyuan coming out, he immediately ran over and knelt down and reported loudly: "Dashuai, good news." The expeditionary force won a complete victory, not only successfully taking Jiangkou Province, but also fighting all the way into the southern region occupied by the Hu people, and taking four cities in one go.

And that's not all, the army also seized a large number of cattle, sheep and livestock from the Hu people.

Now these hundreds of thousands of livestock are being driven by soldiers from the south, and they will arrive in Xinjing in about two months. ”

"Good, good, that's good news! Now we have enough food to feed the people of Jiangnan, great! Ning Zhiyuan was overjoyed, his hair and beard moved, and his face was full of red light.

With this batch of livestock, it is at least guaranteed that no one will starve to death due to lack of food before the autumn harvest.

Chi Fei, who was standing on the side, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Although he was full of confidence in the combat strength of the expeditionary force, there was no reason for winning such a war, and there were too many uncertain factors.

Now that he heard the good news from the front line, Chi Fei can finally rest assured.

n.