Outside the courtyard gate, a group of children of different heights stared at the crowd in the center of the courtyard with their blank and timid eyes open. They are like a group of small beasts waiting to be slaughtered, innocent and unaware of the great calamity, and even their eyes are so clear that it is difficult to face.

Zheng Wuhu stared at the group of children and lost his voice, in the past, he could tell everyone righteously and solemnly that the remnants of the cult should be cut down and eradicated, and not the kindness of women, but in the face of so many young children, the decisions made on weekdays are now unspeakable.

The children's gaze was too calm, curious and fearful. They don't know what cult or anti-thief, and they don't know that the executioner's knife is already hanging over their heads. Zheng Wuhu was tall and had an iron armor, which was already conspicuous in the crowd, but now he was stared at by this group of children, his throat seemed to be blocked by something, and he couldn't say half a word.

Xiao Li watched from the side, secretly glad that Qingling's move was ruthless enough, his eyes were sharp, and he saw that Chang Lin, who was standing behind the child, was still holding a swaddling baby in his arms, so he deliberately asked loudly: "Chang Guard, what are you holding in your arms?" ”

Chang Lin was worried that no one asked him, but now that Xiao Li asked, Chang Lin walked through the group of children, walked into the courtyard gate, knelt on one knee, and replied in a loud voice: "Hui Shizi, this is the child of the Zhang family, a believer in the Holy Qing Dynasty, and he is not yet one year old." His parents were deceived by the Holy Puritans, and because he was born infirm, they took him to the Holy Puritan puja to pray for him. ”

There were so many Puritans that the officers and soldiers at that time were only in charge of taking them into custody and nothing else. So even Zhou Qingnian didn't know that there was still a baby in the prison.

This is a surprise for the current situation.

Mu Qingling knelt on the ground, raised her eyes to look at Zheng Wuhu, and said, "General Zheng! You are confident that you are not wrong, and you feel that in dealing with cult followers, you should quickly cut through the mess and eradicate hidden dangers. But these children, the eldest is only twelve or thirteen years old, and the youngest is not yet a month old. ”

As soon as Mu Qingling's voice fell, the courtyard was silent. Zheng Wuhu's throat rolled twice, as if he wanted to say something, but swallowed the words back.

At the door, the others in the group of children didn't understand, but Li Antai did. He is precocious and mature, after Mrs. Li was imprisoned, he became the pillar of their mother and son, and the idea of Mrs. Li asking for help from Mufu was also the first thing he thought of, and he also remembered the conversation between the cell boss and Mrs. Li on weekdays.

Seeing such a situation in the courtyard at this time, although he didn't know the cause and effect, Li Antai still guessed a rough idea from the words of others.

It's better to ask for others than for yourself, they have already arrived here, don't they do something worthy of their own lives, worthy of their parents and relatives who are still in prison?

Li Antai squeezed in front of the group of children, took the lead and knelt down, his crisp voice was a little hoarse, and begged loudly: "Please, adults, save us, we didn't mean to, we don't dare anymore." ”

As soon as he knelt down, several children who were excited reacted and knelt down, and begged: "Adults spare us, we know it's wrong!" ”

The children's begging for mercy is endless, and some of them are young, and their parents are already timid and panicked when they are not around, but now they are crying when they open their mouths when they are being beaten like this. The cries infected one by one, and after a while, even the older children who took the lead in begging for mercy had a crying tone in their voices.

In the end, they are all children, before this happened, which one of the families was not pampered by the adults in the family, and these families were not short of money, although they were not as good as the big families, but they never let them suffer half of the grievances.

Look at the present, one by one, they are dirty and fished out of the mire, starving and falling second, the prison is gloomy and terrifying, but the age of a child is imprisoned, and how much shadow they have left in their hearts, only they know,

The thousand words of others are not as good as seeing them in person. Zheng Wuhu is not a hard-hearted, cold-blooded and ruthless person, but his hatred was too deep when he was a child, and with his growth, it gradually became a thorn in his heart and his obsession, so when he encountered the cult again, he was more extreme and stubborn.

For a person like Zheng Wuhu, once he drills the tip of the horns, it is useless to say the truth a thousand times or ten thousand times. Only by letting him realize his mistake can he turn around.

Zheng Wuhu's heart demon is his sister's death, and if you want to break his heart demon, you can only start from this point. Fortunately, Li Dengyun was afraid that Zheng Wuhu would attack Zhou Qingnian, so Zhou Qingnian would not be able to do well, so he would have transferred the prisoner to the prison of the governor's yamen as soon as possible, otherwise Chang Lin would not have gone so quickly.

Mu Qingling secretly breathed a sigh of relief, even God is helping her, otherwise if it drags on for a while, Zheng Wuhu is furious, and it is estimated that even Xiao Lanhuan will not be able to stop him.

Li Dengyun saw that Zheng Wuhu's face had changed, and he was no longer as iron-blooded and indifferent as before, so he took two steps forward and said, "General Zheng, do you know who are these two hundred Puritan believers?" ”

Zheng Wuhu didn't say a word, and Zhou Qingnian, who was on the side, hurriedly stepped forward and said: "General Zheng, among the more than 200 people, in addition to the more than 20 children under the age of 14 in front of me, there are 40 people who are over 60 years old, and 10 people who are over 70 years old. There are 80 husbands and wives, and there are a few families, wives and children, old and young, who go to the meeting with their families. ”

Li Dengyun looked at the crying child kneeling at the door, and said slowly: "General Zheng, it is good that you have the intention of eliminating the cult, but everything is not black and white. The original intention of the law was to let me and other officials who govern one side handle cases in a reasonable and reasonable manner, and there is a law to follow, and the law is not only to educate and restrain the people, but also to restrain us, so we should not act rashly. ”

"General Zheng, do you know what the consequences will be if this official agrees to you beheading these more than 200 Saint Qing believers for public display? Could it be that just these 200 people lost their lives? It's easy for you to say that you will be executed in one sentence, but do you know how many families are involved behind it? Parents lost their children, husbands lost their wives, wives lost their husbands, white-haired people sent black-haired people, and even more importantly, all the old and young families died. ”

Zheng Wuhu lowered his eyes, his expression moved slightly. Li Dengyun didn't look at him, and sighed sadly: "General Zheng, we are the blade of the law, it is easy to kill, and it is difficult to survive. You kill them, but you don't do it a little hard. But the soul is clear, can you really have a clear conscience? General Zheng, this official begs you, think twice. ”

Lee Teng-yun's words were sincere, and everyone present was moved.

This is the biggest difference between civilian officials and military generals, military generals kill the enemy on the battlefield, without considering right and wrong, the long knife is aimed at the enemy. Whether you kill me or I kill you, for individuals, they are all loyal to the country, but their positions are different.

But the rule of civil officials is far from being so simple and clear. There is a law for everything, the so-called murder to pay off the debt and pay the money, murder and debt are all crimes, and the ways to deal with them are different. The important thing is a degree.

The thief stole a bucket of rice, and the vicious people slaughtered all over the house, these two must not be the result of a punishment. Otherwise, the law will not exist, and everyone will give up small evils to do big evils, which will eventually bring disaster to the country.

This is also the reason why Li Dengyun risked being killed by Zheng Wuhu with a sword, and he also wanted to stop Zheng Wuhu. Not only because he could not bear the death of more than 200 innocent people, but more importantly, because Lee Teng-yun wanted to protect the majesty of the law. If you should behead the side according to the law, and if you don't behead according to the law, you can't let them die on Xingtai.

"Please General Zheng think twice!" Mu Qingling followed closely to seek the Tao, and Zhou Qingnian and Xiao Li also persuaded him. Even the surrounding soldiers knelt down together and said in unison: "Please think twice, general!" ”

Zheng Wuhu looked up to the sky and sighed, the situation of his sister being sunk into the river by the goddess when he was young was still in front of him, and the crazy and terrifying proud smile on his parents' faces had never been forgotten. He has always kept these in his mind and recalled them from time to time to remind himself not to forget the grievances of the past. After so many years, those remorse and helplessness have become a shackle that traps him in it.

He couldn't escape, he couldn't forget, and the demons in his heart gradually appeared, and finally broke out today.

Thankfully, it's not a big mistake...... Zheng Wuhu lowered his eyes and looked at the Shang Fang sword in his hand, which was the emperor's trust in him, his rough fingertips slashed over the hilt, and then raised the sword in front of Xiao Li with his backhand.

"General Zheng?" Xiao Li was stunned.

"Ben would have been biased, and the case ...... Let it be left to the prince. ”