(There was a mistake in the previous chapter, when the author went to check the complete Russian chronicles, he noticed that Ivan IV's uncle Andrei was actually stripped of his power and executed during the regency of Empress Yelena, so the prince Andrei in the second chapter was changed to the former regent Tuchkov, who had been exiled by Shuysky and returned to the court.) ）

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The statue of the Virgin Mary slowly spreads its arms, sharp thorns ready to meet the suffering Lamb.

Natasha looked desperate as she was pushed by the attendants into the Iron Maiden.

The Iron Maiden behind him let out a heart-rending scream. Natasha was forcibly shoved into a dark, spiky coffin by the guards, unable to move.

Sharp spikes cut through her skin and slowly sink deep into her bone marrow, and she wailed in pain, screams of despair echoing through the underground prison. The other prisoners in the cell subconsciously covered their ears after hearing this terrifying shout.

This was probably the most poignant and tragic wail they had ever heard.

Compared to the cruelty of Ivan IV, Empress Yelena cut off the prisoner's hands and poured tin water into her mouth was simply merciful.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty spares your life!"

"Everything is at the behest of Grand Duke Shuisky, I really don't know about the rest!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, don't kill me!"

Natasha begged Ivan IV for forgiveness with a crying voice, and after the alveoli were punctured, her mouth was covered with blood, and even her speech slowly became slurred. Blood continued to flow down the gaps, forming a blinding red on the ground.

The design of the iron nails avoids the deadly vital point, and the prisoners inside will not die quickly, they will be tortured and eventually slowly bleed to death.

Tuchkov turned his face to the side, for the first time in all his years as a prince of Moscow, he had seen the torture of poor prisoners with such torture instruments.

Ivan......

Tyuchkov felt that he was working with the devil.

However, Ivan IV only left Natasha with a cruel back, and slowly disappeared around the corner. He was left tormented in the torture instruments of the Iron Maiden.

The Virgin Mary's face slowly closed, shielding Natasha in a small sealed space filled with sharp spikes.

What had been a mournful cry turned into a dull hoarse.

As the blood continued to drain, the shouts in the coffin became weaker and weaker, and finally calmed down.

She's dead.

Stepping out of the gloomy prison, he took a deep breath to ease the visual impact of the bloody scene.

It was the first time he had witnessed the killing. The power of covering the sky with one hand made him realize for the first time that living beings are also a group of insignificant ants in your eyes.

Power is like the abyss, and when you stare into the abyss, the abyss is staring at you as well.

Tuchkov stood above the sun, dispelling the coldness and fear that brought about Lefortov's prison.

"Your Majesty."

Tuchkov, who was originally exiled to the countryside, was re-established here because of Ivan IV's connections. He did not agree with Ivan IV's practice of stuffing servants into the Iron Virgin.

"The servant doesn't seem to know anything about your comrades, and it seems unrealistic to try to pry open the hole of Grand Duke Shuisky through this. Shuisky, though domineering and covering the sky with one hand, was not stupid enough to make the most basic mistakes. ”

Ivan scoffed at Tuchkov's benevolence, and the short-sighted Grand Dukes always limited themselves to their political opponents, which is why they frequently capsized in the gutter. Prince Glinsky, one of the seven pillars of the kingdom at that time, was strangled to death by his own servants.

Ivan IV was committed to eliminating any possible danger, even if it was only one in 10,000.

"It doesn't matter if she knows it or not, who is the traitor, haven't I counted it in my heart? When the time comes, the attendants, guards, servants of the Moscow court, including cooks, are killed and exiled. ”

Tuchkov looked hesitant, he was originally the weakest of the seven kings, and objected to the direct brutality of Ivan IV.

"But to do so, it would cause panic throughout the Kremlin. I fear that those squires will act against the Tsar. ”

Hearing this, Ivan IV turned his head and said to the down-and-out regent beside him in a serious manner, "Do you hate Shuisky? ”

"Huh?"

Tulkov was a little confused, but he replied honestly, "Of course, my majesty." ”

Ivan IV said to him, "Shuysky killed your cousin Yuryev, and your closest ally in the Duma, Bersky, was arrested and imprisoned. He also deposed your good friend Bishop Daniel. I chose you precisely because I took a fancy to the bitter feud between Tuchkov and Shuysky. ”

Ivan sat down on the steps without hesitation, as if he was immersed in the memories of the past.

"When I was three years old, they killed Prince Andrei, who was loyal to the royal family, and my uncle could have fled to Lithuania, but he would rather be arrested than betray the royal family, and before he died, he was put on an iron hat of torture. From Moscow to Novgorod, there were many gallows, and all the nobles who had supported Prince Andrei were hanged one by one. ”

"At dawn, the Shuisky brothers stormed my dormitory, woke me up and intimidated me. Arrest their political enemies in front of me and arrest Archbishop Jo Asafo. Forced me to sing hymns next to the Holy Cross. ”

"They cunningly and premeditated many times to steal my parents' treasury to enrich their own property. Premeditated instigation of me to eradicate their enemies and adversaries, Grand Duke Tuchkov, do you still think that these people are not unfortunate to die? ”

Telling the history of humiliation at the hands of traitors in the past, Ivan did not show anger or rudeness, and seemed to be quietly complaining about the bitter past. Abandonment and loneliness had long been etched in the heart of the orphaned Tsar, who had grown up in the tyranny of the lords, whose misdeeds turned him from cowardice to unquenchable abomination.

When the tsar tasted the sweetness of power, his hatred of the grand dukes grew day by day.

Even if Vasily Shuisky was his brother-in-law, he would uproot the entire Shuysky family and cut the grass to the roots.

Before his death, his father, Vasily III, set up a council for him, which consisted of the lords of the Gongshang State who were next to his sickbed at the time of his death. However, Qi Ming, an important minister at that time, disagreed, and advocated that the major affairs of the state should be entrusted to the lord Duma, and that Ivan III should be assisted by the two appointed grand dukes.

Not a single person in the entire court was a good man, and although Ivan IV held power, all the people who appeared in front of him were treacherous villains.

There are a lot of people to kill, and there is a long way to go.

Tuchkov fell silent, amazed at the maturity and insightfulness of the thirteen-year-old Tsar, who had not escaped his eyes in all the struggles for power and the diversity of all beings.

"After the death of Ivan Shuisky, his brother Andrei Shuisky became the last head of the Shuisky family. He has now lost all lord support. The prominence of the seemingly glorious is nothing but the sadness of the waning mountains. ”

Ivan IV took a letter from his bosom and handed it to Tuchkov.

"Your Majesty, what is this?"

"Testament."

Ivan said bluntly, "This is a political struggle to the death, and it cannot be ruled out that Shuisky will eventually tear his face and fight each other, give me death, and put my mentally handicapped brother on the throne." If I die, and what you have to do is to publish the edict and replace Shuysky as Yuri's guardian. ”

Both fell silent.

Standing on the steps, Ivan IV looked at the tower-like palace spire in the distance, pondered for a moment, and finally issued the first official order to Tuchkov.

"Arrest all the attendants around me, including the palace guards."

"Anyone who has anything to do with Shuysky will be stuffed into the Iron Virgin."

And the last words of Ivan IV allowed Thutkov to see for the first time the shadow of his father, Vasily III, the Moscow tyrant, from the young tsar.

"Killing is not the best way to solve a problem, but it is definitely the most straightforward. It is better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let go of one. ”