He had just eaten his last meal and then drank his last wine.
Before going to the execution ground the next day, Jiang Quan, a female official serving in the Nankang Princess Mansion, actually came to the death row of the Ministry of Justice with a pot of wine.
Mao Xiang had never expected that a female official would come to see him, so he quickly pulled out the weeds from his messy hair, tried his best to tidy up his prison uniform which was as wrinkled as five-year-old pickled mustard greens, and wiped his face with overnight tea, barely making himself presentable enough.
Jiang Quan passed the wine jug through the prison bars, "This is what Concubine Fan asked me to bring to you. It contains a secret recipe prepared by Liu Si in the palace. After drinking it, you will become slow to react and gradually lose your senses. The cuts on your body will not hurt as much. Now everyone is in danger. Even Concubine Fan cannot leave the palace to visit you as she pleases. Only I am in the princess's mansion and can come and go more freely."
Fan Shang Gong was the former Fan Gong Zheng, who succeeded Hu Shanwei as Shang Gong.
"Fan Shang Gong said that she had worked with you for many years, and she was always doing things in the dark. She was the royal knife and the emperor's footcloth, and she had to throw it away after use. Now that she left the palace because of Hu Shanwei, she has the opportunity to turn from the dark to the light and take over the position of Shang Gong. You didn't leave a way out for yourself. Now this ending, she is powerless. Drink this pot of wine, go quickly on the road to the underworld, don't look back, drink Meng Po soup and quickly reincarnate, and forget all this."
Mao Xiang finished his pot of wine and said with a smile, "I had already guessed the result, but I didn't expect that the people who came to see me off would be you ladies."
Jiang Quan laughed at himself, "Women in office are always laughed at for being indecisive and sentimental. But if there is no sentiment at all, life will be boring. Concubine Fan has always been cautious, and it is not easy for her to send this pot of wine. If Concubine Hu was still here, she would definitely not sit idly by and watch you being tortured to death and Ji Gang being wanted by the whole city. However, I am also very glad that she left the palace, so she doesn't have to be so passionate and destroy herself together."
Mao Xiang thought to himself that all of this was arranged by the emperor. The emperor was like a shrewd chess player, arranging every chess piece carefully. Hu Shanwei was sent away by the emperor on purpose. Yunnan is far away and news is cut off. By the time she knew that I was tortured to death by slicing, grass would have grown on my grave.
However, these secrets could not be told to Jiang Quan, lest she be dragged into the water. Mao Xiang said: "This is my fate, I accept it. I killed many innocent people, this is an unchangeable fact, the death penalty is justified, I accept this sentence."
Jiang Quan showed a trace of regret, "This matter was caused by the consort Hu Guan. I really didn't expect that Hu Guan and the emperor had already agreed that maybe he would take the lead in impeaching you, which was also one of the conditions for becoming the consort of Princess Nankang. At that time, Hu Shanggong had doubts about Hu Guan's selection. She felt that it was a bit strange to choose a poor young man who was stripped of his title and almost exterminated from his family among so many excellent candidates. But I was only concerned about making Princess Nankang happy at the time and didn't think about it too much. If I had known earlier... I would definitely find a way to get Hu Guan out. Princess Nankang's marriage should not be reduced to a transaction."
Jiang Quan regarded his granddaughter as a treasure. He watched her grow up and felt that she should be matched with the most perfect man in the Ming Dynasty and have the happiest marriage. However, her father, the Hongwu Emperor, did not think so and always put imperial power first.
Mao Xiang smiled, "Mrs. Hu is a kind-hearted person. She even asked Ji Gang to check whether Hu Guan is bald like his elder brother. In fact, if Hu Guan wasn't there, there would be others. Don't blame yourself. The entire family of Hu Yu, the Marquis of Dongchuan, was indeed wiped out by me, and he was indeed innocently implicated. He wanted revenge. How many relatives and friends of the ministers in the court died at my hands? A broken drum is beaten by thousands of people, and a collapsed wall is pushed by thousands of people. I... died a worthy death."
At this time, the nerve paralysis drug in the wine had begun to take effect. Mao Xiang's pupils gradually dilated, and his tongue became somewhat out of control. He was so powerful that he didn't want to be speechless and embarrassed in front of Jiang Quan, so he waved his hand at her and said, "Let's go. Don't implicate... you..."
"I'm over sixty years old. I've seen a lot of life and death, and I'm not afraid of death." Jiang Quan took out a comb from Maoxiong's bun, reached in through the gap in the railing, opened Maoxiong's bun, combed out the tangled hair bit by bit, and finally put it into a bun again to let him go in a more decent manner.
An hour later, the Wumen execution ground was packed with people who had come to watch the execution. There were civilians as well as dignitaries. The executioner made more than a thousand cuts, and each cut was only a piece of flesh the size of a fingernail. With each cut, the onlookers cheered, tears filled their eyes, and shouted, "God has opened his eyes and revenge has been exacted."
The drug paralyzed Mao Xiang's nerves. He didn't feel much pain, just like being bitten by mosquitoes. The crowds of people in front of him became double images, and he couldn't see clearly. His ears were full of noise, as if he was underwater and could hear the outside sounds through the water. He was still breathing, but his soul had already left his body. He squatted coldly beside him, watching himself being tortured.
The executioner was very skilled and had cut the corpse into the shape of a human skeleton. There was not a single intact piece of skin on his body. Mao Xiang was still gasping for breath, and the onlookers could clearly see that his chest, without a single piece of good meat, was faintly moving.
All the hatred was relieved with every stroke of the sword.
The cutting lasted from morning to noon. It was noon, and the final moment had finally arrived. The executioner stabbed the man's chest with a precise knife, and a flaming heart was pulled out.
Mao Xiang finally died and lowered his head. The executioner raised his knife and chopped off his head. The head fell to the ground and rolled down the execution platform. In this way, the Lingchi punishment was completed.
The onlookers rushed over to grab the body, and countless people wanted to grab the head to comfort their dead relatives.
Princess Nankang's husband, Hu Guan, had already ordered his men to hide here. As soon as the head fell, they wrapped it in white cloth and put it in a box filled with lime that had been prepared long ago.
A dozen people protected the box and handed the head to Hu Guan. Just as Hu Guan was about to take it, another group of people suddenly rushed over and snatched the box.
In broad daylight, someone actually robbed the prince consort's things!
"Bring back the head! Send these street hooligans to the government office of Yingtian Prefecture! I am the son-in-law of the emperor, why don't you kneel down!" Hu Guan was furious and led his men to take it back, but the other party did not give in. His men even walked up to the execution platform and collected the heart and flesh.
The man who stole the head turned around and was extremely handsome. His appearance was only second to Ji Gang, who was wanted by the whole city. However, this man had a noble temperament and was elegant and noble, far superior to Ji Gang.
No wonder this person dared to compete with Hu Guan for the head, because this person is also the son-in-law of the emperor, Wang Ning, the Earl of Yongchun. They are all relatives, and Hu Guan should call Wang Ning his sixth brother-in-law.
Hu Guan is different from Wang Ning. Hu Guan's father, elder brother and second brother all have military achievements, but Hu Guan has none. He is a typical gigolo. Wang Ning has his own talents. He was awarded the title of Yongchun Earl for his outstanding intelligence achievements. He is a key figure in the victory of the third and fourth northern expeditions of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Hongwu likes this sixth son-in-law very much.
Therefore, when Hu Guan saw that it was Wang Ning, his anger instantly disappeared. He stopped his men from snatching and said, "All of you retreat. I have something to say to my sixth brother-in-law."
Hu Guan bowed to Wang Ning with family etiquette and said, "Mao Xiang and I have a grudge for killing my brother and destroying our entire family. Today I want to use his head to sacrifice to my second brother's family. Please return the head to me, my sixth brother-in-law."
Wang Ning said: "We both know why Mao Xiang died. He was tortured to death. Why do you have to insult his corpse?"
Hu Guan said: "My entire Hu family was almost wiped out by this man. I am the only one left alive. I have long vowed to take Mao Xiang's head to offer sacrifice to my family."
Wang Ning refused to give in and said, "Mao Xiang was very kind to me. He died today to apologize for his crime. All grudges have been settled. I will collect his body for him."
When the Second Northern Expedition failed, Mao Xiang chose Wang Ning, who fought desperately against the eagles that pecked at the corpses of his comrades. He faked his death, changed his name, and placed him in the Northern Yuan Dynasty as an undercover agent to collect intelligence.
Wang Ning lost his mother and fiancée, but also achieved fame in his life. In Wang Ning's opinion, Mao Xiang was a loyal and patriotic general, and his body should not be desecrated after his death.
Hu Guan pointed at the pile of minced meat on the execution platform and said, "It's already like this, how are you going to collect it?"
"Even if I can't put his body together, I will try my best to put it together and bury it." Wang Ning asked back: "Why do you still want to humiliate his body after it has become like this?"
Seeing that the differences were too great and there was no way to reach an agreement, Hu Guan became angry and said coldly: "You have not experienced the tragedy of a wealthy family being wronged and wiped out in one day like I have. You don't know the grief and resentment in my heart."
Wang Ning said, "You are not me. How do you know that I don't know what it feels like to lose my family? From the first cut, you have been watching the execution here. Your revenge has been avenged. Today I will bury Mao Xiang."
Wang Ning's men had already packed the skeleton, head, flesh and heart into a thin wooden coffin and were about to carry it away when Hu Guan winked at his men and they all rushed forward to scramble for the pieces.
Wang Ning was well prepared. He blew a whistle, and one group of people stopped the fight with Hu Guan's men, while another group of people carried the coffin and rushed towards a carriage.
No one dared to hit the prince consort, so the prince consort could only hit the prince consort.
Fifteen years ago, Princess Huaiqing was looking for a prince consort. Mao Xiang casually submitted Wang Ning's name to fill in the number. As a result, he had a conflict with Hu Bin, the son of Dongchuan Marquis, who had faked his hair, during a polo match. Wang Ning knocked Hu Bin's bun apart with one ball, revealing his wig, which exposed the fact that the young man was bald, and he failed to be selected as a prince consort.
It was really a narrow road that enemies met. Fifteen years later, Wang Ning and Hu Bin’s third brother Hu Guan fought at the execution ground for the remains of Mao Xiang.
Hu Guan is a pretty boy, while Wang Ning has real skills and has never slacked off over the years. The winner was immediately apparent. Wang Ning subdued Hu Guan, then mounted his horse and quickly left the execution ground with his men. When Hu Guan tried to chase him, it was too late.
Hu Guan was furious and said, "Go to various cemeteries and ask where Yongchun Bo buried the thief's body, and dig it out for me!"
Hu Guan was determined to whip the corpse, but his men came back at night and said that there was no news of Wang Ning burying Mao Xiang. It was very likely that Wang Ning was worried that Mao Xiang had too many enemies, so he buried him in secret.
"What a bunch of rubbish!" Hu Guan slammed the table and stood up. "Yongchun Bo returned to the princess's residence that night. It was impossible for him to bury the body outside Nanjing in such a short time. It's probably in the imperial farm granted by the emperor. The fields are so big, he just found a random place to bury it. You can go to the several farms granted by the emperor to Yongchun Bo's family and look for them."
The men took the order and left.
Princess Huaiqing went to the palace to complain to her father, Emperor Hongwu, "… In the past two days, I don't know what's going on with my eleventh brother-in-law Hu Guan. He didn't ask Nankang to tell me directly when he had something to do. He sent people to hang around my daughter's princess mansion and several farms in the suburbs all day long."
Princess Huaiqing said coquettishly, "Father, I am about to marry a daughter-in-law, and I value my reputation. Why is my good brother-in-law following me all day instead of serving Nankang in the Princess's residence? I don't care about my reputation."
Princess Huaiqing's accusation was extremely clever. Everyone knew why Mao Xiang died, but they couldn't say it, especially in front of Emperor Hongwu, which was tantamount to seeking death.
Princess Huaiqing was the daughter of Consort Chengmu Sun, and the sixth among the princesses. She was favored by the emperor and empress since childhood. Before her, all the princesses had married into wealthy families. After several rounds of purges by Emperor Hongwu, four of the first five princesses became widows. Only the second daughter, Princess Ningguo, and her husband, Mei Yin, were still alive. Like Wang Ning, he was highly valued by Emperor Hongwu.
The eldest daughter, Princess Lin'an, married Li Qi, the son of Li Shanchang, the former prime minister of the Ming Dynasty. Because of his family's treason case, Li Qi was first exiled and then died.
The third daughter, Princess Chongning, married Niu Cheng, was involved in a treason case, was exiled, and died.
The fourth daughter, Princess Anqing, married Ouyang Lun and was executed by Emperor Hongwu for smuggling tea...
The fifth daughter, Princess Runing, married Lu Xian, who was implicated in a treason case and was killed.
Princess Huaiqing, the sixth princess in the family, had lost four brothers-in-law before her. She knew that her father was ruthless to his sons-in-law, so she concealed the conflict between Wang Ning and Hu Guan and only singled out Hu Guan, making it seem as if Hu Guan had 'ulterior motives' towards her.
Emperor Hongwu had many informants in the capital, so he knew the real reason, which was that the two sons-in-law had fought over Mao Xiang's body. Wang Ning's move actually won the favor of Emperor Hongwu. On the one hand, Emperor Hongwu felt reluctant and guilty about Mao Xiang, and on the other hand, he felt that his sixth son-in-law was a man of affection and justice, who knew how to distinguish between gratitude and resentment.
Emperor Hongwu also saw through it but did not say anything, saying: "I know, Princess Xuannankang and her husband Hu Guan have come to the palace, I have something to say to them."
The couple entered the palace, and Emperor Hongwu summoned Hu Guan alone, while Princess Nankang was called to the Yanx Palace by Concubine Cui Shufei to talk.
No one knew what they said, but when she left the palace, Princess Nankang's eyes were a little red and her makeup was freshly put on. Hu Guan was trembling with fear and immediately withdrew his followers. The next day, the couple took generous gifts and went to Princess Huaiqing to pay their apology.
Everything returned to calm.
The Crown Prince again reported to the Hongwu Emperor that the previous cases of Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang's rebellion and the Lan Yu case involved too many officials and civilians. Many people were forced to sign and accuse others under the torture of the criminal Mao Xiang. Many people died in unjust imprisonment. Even now, court officials often use the method of reporting the Hu Party and the Lan Party to exclude dissidents and frame others. If this kind of evil trend is confirmed and spreads, the court will inevitably be in a mess. The more it is involved, the more evil it will be. Good and upright officials will be executed, and there will only be eloquent flatterers in the court, which is not good for the Ming Dynasty. He requested the emperor to pardon the criminals who were arrested and imprisoned because of the Hu Party and the Lan Party, and not to punish them for the past. In the future, officials are not allowed to use the crimes of the Hu Party and the Lan Party to attack others.
In other words, it is a one-size-fits-all approach. From now on, there will be no such thing as the Hu Party or the Blue Party. That’s it.
In addition, in view of the numerous evil deeds committed by the Jinyiwei and their repeated wrongful convictions, it was suggested that Emperor Hongwu disband the Jinyiwei.
Emperor Hongwu agreed, announced the disbandment of the Jinyiwei on the spot, and issued the "Pardon the Lan Party and the Hu Party"
"Among the officials in the court, there are some who are not loyal and righteous, such as Li Shanchang, who secretly conspired to cause trouble. When the matter was discovered, they were all executed. This year, the Lan bandit rebelled, and the plot was leaked and captured. 15,000 people have been executed. The rest have been pardoned. I am still worried that the treacherous and ignorant people are still suspicious and can't rest easily."
"Now, a special decree is issued to the whole nation. Except for those who have committed crimes and are in office, all those who have committed crimes but have not been arrested or have not committed crimes, regardless of whether they are members of the Blue Party or the Hu Party, will be pardoned."
What this means is that more than 15,000 people have died because of Lan Yu's treason case. Except for the criminals who have been convicted, from today onwards, all those involved in the related treason case will be pardoned, and you are free.
As soon as this amnesty order was issued, all the civil and military officials in the court cried for joy, praising the emperor for his wisdom and the crown prince for his kindness.
Thousands of miles away in Yunnan, Mu Chun received a pigeon message and learned that Emperor Hongwu had issued an amnesty. He immediately went to a stone city where new immigrants lived and arrived at a seemingly ordinary house. There was a two-story building with a room in it. It was surrounded by walls on all sides, with only a small window above the head for ventilation and light.
The wanted criminal Ji Gang lay on the bed, staring blankly at the dust flying in the sunlight through the window.
Mu Chun took out three keys, unlocked three locks, and finally opened the door. He took out two pieces of paper and gave them to him. One was a wanted poster with Ji Gang's portrait on it, and the other was the "Pardon for Lan and Hu Party Members". He said:
"The emperor has announced a general amnesty, and past crimes will be forgiven. You are free now, but I suggest that you do not go to the capital for the time being, because the Jinyiwei has been disbanded, and other guards are unwilling to accept them. Most of the former Jinyiwei people have become unemployed refugees and have been driven away and excluded. If you go to the capital, you will end up like this. It is better for you to stay in Yunnan. I will create a household registration for you and start over."
"No need. I'm not going to the capital, and I won't stay here and get you and Hu Shanwei into trouble. The portrait on this wanted poster is really too ordinary. My portrait is obviously a hundred times better looking." Ji Gang jumped up from the bed, his words were light-hearted but without warmth:
"A wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in. I have plenty of skills. I'm leaving now."
Muchun asked him, "Where are you going?"
Ji Gang looked towards the north, "A big tree provides good shade. Of course I will find the strongest one to be my new master. One day, I will avenge Master Mao."
The author has something to say: Lord Mao is offline and Lord Ji is online.
To give Mao Xiang away, I will test you on a Mao Xiang-related question tonight to test your ancient Chinese and mathematics skills. The first person to answer correctly will receive a 100-yuan red envelope!
"Ming Taizu Shilu Volume 74"
Commander Mao Xiang defeated the Japanese pirates at Xiahu Mountain in Wenzhou and chased them to Shitang Ocean, where he captured twelve Japanese ships and captured more than 130 people alive, as well as Japanese bows and other weapons. They were sent to the capital, and the emperor ordered the Secretariat to determine the reward standards. All soldiers and archers who captured a bandit alive would be rewarded with ten taels of silver, and those who beheaded him would be rewarded with eight taels of silver. Civilians who captured a bandit alive would be rewarded with twelve taels of silver, and those who beheaded him would be rewarded with ten taels of silver. On the day of the army's return, the commanders of the thousand-household and hundred-household garrisons would be evaluated for their merits and rewards. In addition, three Koreans who had been captured were also captured. When the Korean envoys arrived, he was ordered to take them back.
Please tell me, according to this reward rule, Ji Gang was a small flag of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He killed five Japanese pirates and captured nine of them alive. How much gold and silver did he get in the end