The cross street on Yaqian Street is originally the most lively place in Qingzhou City with the most people coming and going. Today, the place was many times more lively than usual. Almost all the people in the city came to watch the execution of Gao Xiang and other officials. The entire street was occupied with three floors inside and three outside, and it was filled with water.
In fact, such a scene of killing the local magistrate and his family and cronies had happened once a year or two ago, and many more people were killed at that time than today. But in terms of sensation and people's attention to this execution, the previous one cannot be compared with today's one. This also shows how resentful the people are towards Gao Xiang and others.
As early as two days ago, Sun Tu had people set up a high execution platform here, so at this moment Gao Xiang and others were displayed in front of everyone at a glance, not only completely exposing his embarrassing and pitiful appearance. They came out, and could clearly hear the continuous scoldings coming from all sides, which made their hearts more frightened, but the only thing they could say at this time was the word "spare your life".
However, it was already too late. As soon as they were identified, a huge knife was carried to the stage by more than a dozen sergeants. After seeing this execution weapon, let alone the prisoners who were about to be executed. , even the people watching were screaming in surprise, they had no idea of the torture of being cut in half.
But soon, the people in the city became completely enlightened. As a general loudly ordered: "Behead Gao Xiang and the following on the orders of Sun Dujian!" Then someone listed their crimes and read them out one by one. At the same time, four soldiers had worked together to kill half of Gao Xiang. The rack was half dragged to the rack and laid down, and above it was the sharp blade that had just been raised.
"Spare... spare my life... I did all this because I was forced to do this. Sun Dujian, I don't dare to be your enemy anymore. I am willing to use all my wealth to compensate for my previous mistakes. I..." At this moment Gao Xiang had completely collapsed. In order to survive, he begged loudly for mercy and kept trying to use words to impress the people around him, but this was obviously in vain.
Accompanied by the word "cut!", what fell at the same time was the blade hanging at a height of about ten feet. With a swish, the sharp blade cut through Gao Xiang's body like tofu without any obstruction, cutting him into two pieces at the waist. Immediately, an extremely shrill scream spewed out from Gao Xiang's mouth. While he was spitting out blood and screaming, the upper half of his body was still struggling to crawl forward, and soon a shocking blood trail was dragged behind him. Come. Not only was there blood, but also parts such as internal organs and intestines were constantly falling off. The tragic situation was really unbearable to read.
The people watching the execution were completely stunned at this moment. They didn't even have time to react before they saw such a horrific scene. Although they had seen beheadings in the past, they had never thought that killing could be so brutal. This kind of death must be too miserable and terrifying.
After a while, as Gao Xiang died in pain, the people finally let out bursts of exclamations. People who were close to them were frightened and backed away, and many even lowered their heads and vomited. Obviously I was stimulated by such a bloody scene.
But today's execution was far from over. Amid the exclamations of the people, the Qingzhou soldiers frightened the next one and paralyzed him.
The limp, urinating official was dragged onto the knife stand, and then the horrific scene happened again.
People kept being cut in half and died tragically. This scene has been deeply engraved in the hearts of the people of Qingzhou, and it also made them clearly understand Sun Dujian's determination. As long as someone dares to do evil in Qingzhou, what awaits them will be the harshest law. punish.
After all these officials were cut in half, the remaining family members and subordinates were pushed to the stage and beheaded with a single sword. As these people's heads fell to the ground, today's public execution came to an end.
The total number of people killed today is only a hundred, which is far less than the killing of Murong Yanchao and his followers that day. However, the shock effect caused by it seems to be greater than that then. After the people were frightened, they felt that It was a relief. Officials who caused trouble to the local area like this should be treated with such cruel methods.
So at the end, there were cheers again and again. Qingzhou City, which had fallen silent because of Gao Xiang's perverse actions, finally revived completely at this moment!
Sun Tu, who was still dealing with the aftermath in the government office, had a happy smile on his face after hearing the cheers. This was the effect he wanted. Only when the soldiers and civilians in the city were united could his plan be carried out smoothly.
After getting rid of all the prisoners such as Gao Xiang and others, the next thing Sun Tu had to do was to reorganize military affairs and restore the original style of the Qingzhou Army as soon as possible. As he said before, political power comes from the barrel of a gun. Only if the army is strong enough can he have the capital to negotiate terms with those in the court and ensure the safety of his own family!
As a result, messages, documents and notices were sent to various parts of Shandong by Qingzhou officers and soldiers to let the Qingzhou Army officers and soldiers who had fled before know that Sun Tu had returned and regained control of Qingzhou. Right, it's time for them to come back.
While this news was still spreading rapidly throughout Shandong, the people sent by Sun Tu to Bianjing had already handed the letters and other items into Tong Guan's hands.
When he learned that Sun Tu was not dead and had returned to the Song Dynasty safely, Tong Guan felt happy. But after knowing that he had returned to Qingzhou quietly, he felt a little uneasy. Even though he had been mentally prepared, after reading Sun Tu's autographed letter, Tong Guan still felt a chill on his back in this midsummer day of early June, and his expression quickly changed: "Sun Qianli, his He was so courageous that he once again killed officials in the DPRK!"
Tong Guan was so frightened that he couldn't even sit still. He stood up and paced back and forth in his study, and it was hard for him to calm down for a long time.
The reason why Tong Guan, who had seen so many storms, was so rude was naturally not only because Sun Tu killed Gao Xiang and others without permission, but also because he had seen two extremely fatal things - first, Gao Qiu and the others were This time I really wanted to be cruel to myself.
As Sun Tu had guessed before, the incident in Qingzhou happened entirely with Tong Guan's acquiescence. Because things in the Liao Kingdom were brought to light, he was worried about being targeted by Gao Qiu and Liang Shicheng, so he compromised and gave back to them the dominance of Qingzhou that Sun Tu had worked so hard to grab.
Unexpectedly, these two guys have such a big appetite. It was just an opportunity to capture Qingzhou.
I want to use Qingzhou to pin charges of conspiracy on my head! After understanding this, Tong Guan was both hateful and wary, and felt that he should do something to fight back!
What made him even more worried was that from the letters, Tong Guan had discovered that Sun Tu was also aware of his ambiguous attitude towards Qingzhou. Although there was no expression of dissatisfaction in the letter, based on his understanding of Sun Tu, this person was not someone who was willing to suffer losses.
Just because of his acquiescence and abandonment, the strength of the Qingzhou Army was severely damaged, and the local people also suffered a lot. Will Sun Tu just kill Gao Xiang and others after returning to seize power? Will he also be resented by him
It's a bit ridiculous to say that Tong Guan, the Great Privy Envoy of the Song Dynasty, and the emperor's confidant and favorite, would actually worry about the dissatisfaction of a small fifth-grade governor? But he had to admit in his heart that Sun Tu was a courageous and capable guy. If he was really regarded as an enemy, he would be in quite a lot of trouble.
What's more, in Tong Guan's view, Sun Tu is still a very rare and capable subordinate. If this kind of person is used well, he will definitely bring a lot of benefits to himself. So if he is really bad, he can just deal with it at will - of course, now he may not really be able to deal with Sun Tu who is far away in Qingzhou.
After walking back and forth in the study for half an hour, Tong Guan finally cleared up his thoughts.
Now my advantage is that I must know everything that happened in Qingzhou earlier than Gao Qiu and the others, so I can strike first and catch them off guard. And hadn't Sun Tu already prepared all the serious crimes against them
Looking at the pile of signed and signed accusations that came with the letter, Tong Guan's eyes also showed a fierce light. It was Gao Qiu and the others who wanted to use this method against him first, so don't blame him for fighting back.
Of course, he also knew that this argument with incomplete evidence of guilt would not be very effective whether it was against himself or Gao Qiu and the others. It would only benefit some officials in the DPRK and China, but he could no longer care about it at this time. Because this is not only revenge and warning to Gao Qiu and the others, but also a way to make friends with Sun Tu.
After making up his mind, Tong Guan was more concerned about how to deal with Gao Qiu's counterattack. Since the incident started in Qingzhou, they will inevitably make a fuss about Sun Tu's actions in Qingzhou. Are they really sure that they can protect this guy who is so bold as to kill court officials again
Are his achievements in Liao and Xixia really enough to offset such charges
This is really no joke. The Song Dynasty was originally most afraid of military generals taking over power, and everything Sun Tu was doing in Qingzhou was obviously taking this dangerous path. With Tong Guan alone, it would be very difficult to save him, unless he could get help from another person.
At this moment, Cai Jing's unpredictable old face suddenly appeared in Tong Guan's mind. Master Cai was the one who could really make the final decision. But what should I do to get him to help me and protect my grandson
After thinking for a long time, Tong Guan finally made a decision, let's take the gamble! At least Gao Qiu and Liang Shicheng have to pay some price!
Having made up his mind, he didn't delay any longer and immediately pushed out the door and said to his confidants outside: "Tell someone to prepare the car. I'm going to see Grand Master Cai!"