When the time entered the middle of September, the drought that enveloped the land south of the Yangtze River for nearly a year was like a drought that splashed the urine of a child, and finally was prostituted. Fortunately, the autumn harvest has ended, and it has not had much impact on this year's harvest, which is already worse than in previous years.

On this day, the Qinhuai River beach in the south of Nanjing was full of people, and countless people gathered inside and outside Wuwuyang, and there were also hawkers on the official road not far from the river beach who pushed carts and carried burdens to set up stalls, hoping to earn a few more pennies in this opportunity for 10,000 people to gather.

If a foreigner comes here, he will definitely think that there is a temple fair by the Qinhuai River, but the truth is the opposite. Today, the Qinhuai River beach has been set up as an execution ground, and the one to be beheaded is the hundreds of greedy civil and military forces in Nanjing. Among them, what is particularly eye-catching is several officers belonging to the Three Guards, among which Li Shuangcai is the leader, it is said that this person is the confidant of the Marquis of Zhenyu, who once managed the entry and exit of materials at the wharf outside Shangyuan Gate. Although this is not a decent official, he has tens of thousands of fortunes in his hands every day, which is an out-and-out fat shortage. Moreover, the announcement even stated that Li Shuangcai was the main person responsible for the wharf fire a month ago.

Originally, everyone didn't think that the Marquis of Zhenyu would cut off his own confidants, but now the movement has reached this point, and the officials and people in the city all know that this is no longer groundless, but an iron-clad reality.

Suddenly, there was a bang in the crowd, "Look, the Marquis of Zhenyu is here!" ”

The people gathered outside the river beach immediately craned their necks to see what the legendary murderous marquis looked like.

But in the midst of the crowd, a swarthy man in a bright red military uniform stood on top of a green horse, and they soon came to the execution ground on the river beach, where the vigilantes finally stopped the eyes of the people who were following them all the way. Li Xin rolled the saddle and dismounted, handed the horse whip to the soldiers around him, and then took off the military hat on his head and held it on his chest, and solemnly came to the death row prisoner who had already been killed by the neck.

The death row inmates apparently also discovered Edom, and when they looked up and found that it was the general Li Xin, some people immediately cried bitterly.

"The Great General......

However, after a call, he couldn't cry for a long time. Li Xin glanced at the former subordinates who were lying in heavy locks and kneeling on the ground in a row, and his vision couldn't help but blur. After a moment, Li Xin withdrew his gaze from the hundred-pound locks on the hands and feet of the death row inmates, and turned to ask Zhu Yuncai, who was accompanying him:

"Can you unlock these people?"

Zhu Yuncai frowned slightly, his face was embarrassed, and he said euphemistically: "These heavy locks are all smashed together with a giant hammer after being heated, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to untie them in a hurry...... Besides, although they were once the meritorious generals of the Three Guards, if the Marquis of Zhenju wanted to make an example of one hundred and deter lawlessness, he must not favor one over the other. Otherwise, in the eyes of outsiders, they will be treated differently from those civil officials who are corrupt, and they will be criticized all over the world, and the hard work of the town captives will be in vain, and these meritorious generals will also die in vain? ”

In fact, Li Xin's heart has always been entangled, and he has hesitated and wavered, but in the end, he still made up his mind to make a clear statement. In this regard, it is not that no one has questioned the opposition, and Mi Yan is the most fierce opponent among them.

It was claimed that Taizu was the worst official who was corrupt, and he peeled off the skin and hung it outside the government office for ten taels of silver, deterring lawlessness. With such a heavy punishment and cruel law, it still can't put an end to corruption, and killing a few of your own people can clarify the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty like a sewage and dung pit?

No, definitely not! Li Xin answered Mi Yan so clearly and straightforwardly, and then reluctantly added in Mi Yan's puzzled gaze, I only need fifty years of Qingming time, as long as I complete my heart's wish, how can I care about the monstrous flood behind me!

After hearing this, Mi Yan was not worried but happy, and bowed down to call everything but obeyed the general's orders.

The cries of the death row inmates brought Li Xin, who was temporarily unconscious, back to reality, and he saw Li Shuangcai crawling forward through a layer of fog, and for a moment he felt that he was despicable and cold-blooded, and even his siblings and robes were ruthlessly killed in order to achieve his goal. In Li Xin's heart, he actually didn't advocate the strict and handsome methods of the Legalists, until he realized that this kind of soft-heartedness could become an anthill that broke the embankment, and the Three Guards could not be as quickly corrupted and degenerate as thieves such as Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong when their ambitions were not rewarded.

All in all, he had 10,000 reasons to be obsessed with whether or not to kill these fellow criminals to deter lawlessness, but there was always one reason he couldn't get around. That is, after he Li Xin came to the Ming Dynasty, what did he want?

Although he was confused and hesitated, there was always one thing that never wavered, that is, he had to do his best to avoid this tragic history, and not let the people of the Han family become slaves who broke their backbones, so that this nation may really have to repeat the same mistakes in a hundred years.

"Listen, this is my last lecture to you!"

Li Xin didn't speak, but this speech caused a burst of relatives. Li Shuangcai only had one sentence in his mouth and repeated it: "General, it was Li Shuangcai who blinded his heart with lard, did an unforgivable sin, and killed many brothers, Li Shuangcai deserved to die!" ”

The rest of the thousand generals also echoed, and one of the thousand generals suddenly cried: "The general will give the humble post another chance!" ”

Li Shuangcai suddenly roared: "Zhang Ba shut up, the eldest husband will die if he dies, what kind of girl, embarrass the three guards, and the general!" Since you dared to have a violation of the law, you should have thought of today's difficulties! ”

These people are Li Shuangcai's old subordinates, and at the same time, they have filled their own pockets, although many of their official ranks are higher than him, but they have always been under Li Tong's subordinates.

The Qian Zong, who was named Zhang Ba, said with a stiff neck: "The general I am not afraid of death, I am afraid of the crimes I committed, I bear it!" I only hope that the general can give us a chance to die on the battlefield, so that we can be blind even if we die! ”

Originally, Li Shuangcai was going to reprimand that chapter eight, until this sentence of defense came out, and he immediately fell silent and burst into tears again.

These people are all good men with hot blood, they may not have ideals and ambitions, but they are Li Xin's life and death robes, Li Xin finally couldn't help it, and consciously burst out of his eyes with hot and fiery. At this time, Mi Yan, who was following Li Xin, suddenly spoke.

"Brothers, please listen to Mi Yan say a few words, your death on this execution ground is far more meritorious than killing a few thieves on the battlefield!"

Several death row inmates suddenly showed a confused look on their faces, and they didn't know what Mi Yan meant by this.

"Punishing corruption and lawlessness, the Three Guards won the hearts of the people in Jiangnan, isn't it your neck blood in exchange?"

This sentence was clear and thorough, and the death row inmates were not slow-minded, and they immediately understood why the execution ground was set up on the bank of the Qinhuai River today, and tens of thousands of people were summoned to watch the execution. Now, what else is there to say, Li Shuangcai suddenly said solemnly: "General, I am willing to die for the Three Guards!" Please, don't be upset! How could he not see the clear light in Li Xin's eyes?

For a moment, Li Xin was like a bone in his throat, and he didn't know how to answer them.

At this moment, the rumbling cannons in the distance rang out one after another, Li Xin knew that this was a life-urging cannon, and every time it sounded, Li Shuangcai and they were one step closer to death.

Zhu Yuncai, who was the prison officer, made several last sounds, and immediately ordered the gendarmes with a black face to drag all the death row prisoners to the execution ground. He was entrusted by Li Xin with full authority to investigate and prosecute the corruption and illegality of hundreds of officials in Nanjing, and in ten days, no less than 100 officials were found to be greedy for ink, and more than 20 people were sentenced to beheading, including his old boss, Zhen Shu, the left waiter of the former ministry.

The civil officials who were the first to be tied up at the execution site were already frightened and paralyzed. A death row prisoner struggled desperately to the death, crying and criing, and was forcibly dragged by the gendarmes to a wooden stake and tied up, the sharp axe held by the executioner next to him shone with a cold glow, and the stench was already under the stake......

Suddenly, dozens of wooden stakes on the Qinhuai River beach were tied to death row prisoners waiting to be executed, and special executioners stripped the clothes of the death row prisoners tied to the wooden stakes one by one, and then stacked them on the riverbank, like a bulging hill bag. At the same time, the sounds of cries and begs for mercy came from time to time, mixed with a few sharp curses, and these officials and gentlemen, who had been pampered in the past, came shirtless as they were when they were born, and died shirtless.

Dozens of red. Strip. The pampered bodies of the white flowers were exposed under the curious and gloating gazes of thousands of people, and this humiliation completely shredded all their dignity.

As soon as the time came, the drum beat suddenly, and the prison officer Zhu Yun gave an order. The axes in the executioners' hands were raised high, and they slashed at the necks of the death row inmates. Soon, the cold, sharp blade of the axe sliced through their well-maintained skin, tearing open the scarlet muscles, severing the thick veins of the fingers, and with a click, the neck bone was easily sliced in two like crisp rotten wood.

Filthy and foul-smelling heads tumbled to the ground, and in an instant, still tied to the broken neck of the stake's torso, spewed out scarlet blood arrows, as high as a handle, splashing the executioners all over their bodies. After a few moments, the power of the blood arrow weakened, and it gradually turned into a bubbling stream of blood, flowing down the neck like the letter of the poisonous snake Yin Hong to the ground.

The rapid beating of the drum suddenly turned and then stopped abruptly. The onlookers stopped to the beat of the drums, and in an instant, they erupted in earth-shattering cheers. Although there is no lack of schadenfreude, it is more of a kind of catharsis from the heart. It is a vent of their anger that they have been ridden on the head by the officials and rich people for many years. Of course, the eyes of the officials sitting around the torture table showed more sadness for the death of the rabbit and the fox.