"My lord, look there's someone over there!"

"Hmph, it turns out that they are all hiding here, surround me with this group of Diao people, don't let any of them go!"

"Yes!"

After hearing the report of the soldiers in front, Ma Ningyuan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and then commanded in a deep voice.

After receiving the order from their superiors, the soldiers took action one after another, they drew their long knives at their waists, lined up in battle formation, and approached step by step.

Seeing the many soldiers approaching him step by step, those villagers had long lost the heart to resist, and threw their hoes, kitchen knives and other weapons on the ground one after another, and consciously raised their hands.

"My lord, I waited for the thief to bewitch me before I made this big mistake! Now that the head of the thief has been captured by us, he hopes to spare our lives. ”

"Yes, sir! It's none of our business, we're being coerced. ”

"These things are all done by Da Niu alone, and they have nothing to do with us."

And Ma Ningyuan didn't seem to hear these begging for mercy, only to see him wave his hand and say coldly: "Beat me and teach this group of Diao people a hard lesson!" As long as you don't die, you can do anything. ”

When the soldier heard this, he couldn't help but smile on his face, like a wolf entering a flock, and vented his anger on the villagers, only to see a villager being knocked to the ground, his hands and feet were cut off, and from time to time there was a cry of pain, and some were covered in blood, crawling slowly on the ground, leaving only a meandering bloodstain.

All kinds of screams, cries of pain, and begging for mercy were intertwined, and the scene became more and more chaotic.

"Master Ma, let the soldiers stop, if you continue to fight like this, you will die!" Seeing the tragic situation of the villagers, Gao Hanwen couldn't bear it and admonished loudly.

"What if all these Diao people die, the more we die, the greater our credit, this is the extermination of the "traitors"! ”

Having said that, Ma Ningyuan still made the soldiers stop.

"Okay, now the official asks you questions, find someone who can still talk, I'll ask, you answer." Ma Ningyuan patted the dust on his hands and got off the horse.

The surviving villagers looked at Ma Ningyuan with only a look of awe, and after a period of pushing, a representative was elected.

"Who led the way to prevent the government from measuring the land and killing the court officials?"

Ma Ningyuan said, his eyes swept over the villagers one by one, and none of those villagers dared to look at him, and they lowered their heads one after another.

"Huh... Your Excellency! These are the heads of Zhang Daniu. The elected representative of the villagers hesitated for a moment, then replied resignedly.

"Changing rice to mulberry is a national policy, which is good for the country and good for you! I don't understand why such a good policy can't be implemented! There are still people who take the lead in opposing it. When Ma Ningyuan heard this, he yelled at the villagers.

"Who is Zhang Daniu?"

"My lord, Zhang Daniu has been tied up by us, right over there."

Ma Ningyuan followed the villagers' line of sight, and saw a person tied to the back of a big tree on the side, with a strip of cloth stuffed in his mouth, and he was struggling.

"Go, bring him to me." Ma Ningyuan turned around and commanded his soldiers.

"Yes!" The soldiers received the order and soon brought Zhang Daniu to Ma Ningyuan.

Zhang Ningyuan looked at the "culprit" with interest, and Zhang Daniu looked at him fearlessly, the anger in his eyes seemed to be about to erupt.

"Is it you who took the lead?" Ma Ningyuan looked at the swarthy young man in front of him.

"Hmm." Zhang Daniu struggled hard, unable to speak because of the strip of cloth in his mouth.

"Take off the strip of cloth for him." Ma Ningyuan waved his hand and ordered his soldiers.

The strip of cloth in Zhang Daniu's mouth was removed, and he didn't answer Ma Ningyuan's question, but just spat on the ground and scolded angrily: "Dog officer! ”

Ma Ningyuan was not angry, with a faint smile on his face: "It seems that you did this thing." ”

"What if I did it, if I can kill a corrupt official like you, grandpa, I will already be enough."

Immediately afterwards, Gao Hanwen also stepped forward and asked, "You wrote the words on those soldiers?" ”

"That's right." Zhang Daniu nodded proudly.

When Gao Hanwen heard this, he sighed and said quietly: "They are all good people, they shouldn't be treated like this." ”

"Hmph, when you came to annex our land under the banner of changing rice to mulberry, you should have thought that this would happen!"

"Who told you this?"

Gao Hanwen said, his expression became more and more indifferent, the death of those soldiers kept flashing in his mind, and then thinking of what happened to him recently, the string called reason in his mind gradually collapsed.

"It's... Why should I tell you? Zhang Daniu subconsciously wanted to answer, and then as if he remembered something, he stopped talking.

"Don't say yes, when you get to the yamen later, there will be a chance for you to speak." Ma Ningyuan laughed cruelly, and prepared to let the soldiers escort Zhang Daniu down.

"Wait, let me have a few more words with him." Gao Hanwen stopped, only to see him slowly come to Zhang Daniu's side.

"I wonder if you ever thought before you did these things that your family would be implicated?"

Gao Hanwen's flat voice came into Zhang Daniu's ears.

"What do you mean?" When Zhang Daniu heard this, he frowned, with a hint of imperceptible panic in his tone.

"It doesn't matter if you don't speak, I'll follow the people around you and check them one by one!"

"Since ancient times, only the people are afraid of the officials, how can there be a reason that the officials are afraid of the people? Do you know how many ways I have to slowly concoct your family? Gao Hanwen said, with a smile on his face.

"Take him down and escort him back to the yamen!"

Without waiting for Zhang Daniu to say anything, Gao Hanwen turned around and didn't look at him.

"Okay, Zhang Daniu's matter is over for the time being, and now it's time to settle the accounts of the soldiers you killed before." Gao Hanwen turned to the villagers and spoke.

"My lord, these are all Zhang Daniu's actions and have nothing to do with us." Hearing Gao Hanwen's words, the face of the previous villager representative changed suddenly, and he opened his mouth to explain.

"I don't care about this, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, since the moment you took up arms and slashed and killed the court officials, you have become a veritable "anti-thief"! Even if I order the soldiers to kill you all, there will be no consequences. ”

"I'm giving you a chance now to confess the perpetrators, and the rest will be fine, and the official guarantees it with credibility! If no one comes forward after a quarter of an hour, you will all die! ”

After Gao Hanwen finished speaking, he rode straight on the white horse, and the soldiers on the side began to count.

Gao Hanwen's words were like a bombshell thrown into the water, and soon caused huge waves in the crowd, and the villagers began to push and shove.

"You go out, you hacked an officer and soldier to death with a hoe before!"

"Bah, you got those pen and paper for writing!"

"You also have a share, it was you who hung those officers and soldiers from the tree!"

"Go out of all of you who killed the officials, don't implicate us!"

"yes, yes."

Soon, a quarter of an hour had passed, and the villagers who had participated in the killing of officers and soldiers had all confessed, and the remaining villagers were far away from them, their eyes full of luck and schadenfreude.

"Kill them all, and take revenge for your brothers." Gao Hanwen's eyes swept over them one by one, and he said coldly.

"Yes!"

"Spare us, we don't dare, ah!"

Hearing Gao Hanwen's verdict, the villagers immediately knelt down, tears streaming down their faces, and kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.

In the air, a strong smell of blood gradually spreads, which makes people can't help but be disgusted.