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Volume 13: Reviving the Ming Dynasty Chapter 641: Kill them all

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    The execution of felons is usually carried out in the autumn of September or October, because that is when all things are put to death. What the Chinese people pay attention to is the unity of heaven and man, which is the autumn execution.  Of course, for some people who have committed serious crimes, the court will also make changes to execute them.  However, executions in December, which is near the end of the year, and in the first month, which is the beginning of the year, are very rare. After all, these two months are a time for universal celebration, and it is really not suitable to see blood.

    But there are always exceptions to everything. On the 19th of the first lunar month ten years ago, the 9,000-year-old Wei Zhongxian, who had controlled the government for several years and had many party members in the officialdom, was sentenced to death in Caishikou.  Ten years later, at the end of December of the 10th year of Chongzhen, some people were executed in public. They were rebels who had repeatedly raised armies to cause rebellion and were enemies of the imperial court. Among them, Li Zicheng was the leader.

    After deciding to execute all these people, Tang Feng personally went to Tianlao to see Li Zicheng, a famous uprising leader in history.  Then he came to the conclusion that meeting him was not as good as being famous. Li Zicheng, who had become a prisoner, did not have the heroic spirit and domineering appearance he imagined. Instead, he was very depressed, no different from ordinary people.  Maybe it's because his long life as a prisoner has drained his energy, or maybe it's because he's not very mature yet. Anyway, he's just a slightly stronger person than the average farmer.

    In this regard, Tang Feng felt that he paid too much attention to this person. He actually ordered this person to be executed personally and even went to the prison to see him.  However, Tang Feng also knew that he could not relax against these unstable factors. Historically, they had been killed by the army before they invaded Beijing, but they finally got an opportunity and turned around.  But as long as there is a chance, Tang Feng will kill it. This will only make the entire Central Plains more chaotic and the people suffer more.

    "The matter has been settled. Tang Feng's current status naturally makes it impossible for him to go to Caishikou to watch those people who can no longer live being killed, because he has more important things to deal with.  In addition to some trivial political affairs between the DPRK and China, Tang Feng was most concerned about two things. One was the situation of the clans in various places who were currently being watched closely.  Several days have passed, and according to the intelligence, they are almost ready. Tang Feng must always pay attention to their every move. Once they raise an army, he will exterminate them with lightning speed, and then confiscate their homes and exterminate their clans.

    And another matter, although much smaller than that of the clan, Tang Feng did not dare to be careless at all, that was Li Yan whose whereabouts had long been unknown.  Although he alone did not pose a threat to the entire world, keeping him would be a disaster after all. From previous inquiries, Tang Feng already knew that a series of rebellions and rebellions were closely related to him.  If he were allowed to continue wandering around, he would probably cause even greater trouble.

    So after knowing everything, Tang Feng asked the Ministry of Punishment to issue a sea arrest document, which was sent directly to the 613 provinces in the South, Seven and North, and this person must be caught, whether dead or alive!  Because he was afraid that the people from the Ministry of Punishment would be in trouble, Tang Feng specially rushed to meet with the officials there on the day when Li Zicheng was to be killed as a sign of solemnity.

    "Not only does this person have good martial arts skills, he is also alert and changeable, and he also knows the tricks of the White Lotus Sect. Therefore, yamen everywhere must not take him lightly. I hope you can pass on my words and be careful."  Tang Feng finally told the officials with a solemn face.

    Seeing that Tang Feng was so concerned and valued this matter so much, the officials from the Ministry of Punishment, who originally regarded him as an ordinary criminal, no longer dared to be careless and nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, we will do our best to capture him.  As long as this person is still in my land of Ming Dynasty, he will definitely not be able to escape!"

    "Okay, then everything depends on you. After the person is captured, I will definitely ask the emperor for credit."

    Seeing what Tang Feng said, everyone was overjoyed. Now An Guogong's power is almost the same as that of the emperor. With his words, everyone is naturally more motivated.

    In less than two days, traffic jams were set up on all traffic arteries in thirteen provinces in the two capitals, and people coming and going were interrogated. Anyone who looked similar to Li Yan would be taken into the yamen for comparison. It can be said that  All the efforts of the whole country have been devoted.  But after a few days, no news about this person came out, which made everyone a little strange.

    In fact, at this time, Li Yan was in a residence he had bought earlier in Shaanxi. As the saying goes, there are three burrows for a cunning rabbit. How could a person like him not have a few hiding places?  This house is not conspicuous, and there is an old man who was loyal to him when he was in the White Lotus Sect watching over him. Li Yan doesn't have to go out in person to eat, so it can be said that it is very safe.

    But Li Yan was also very anxious. This time the court was serious. Not only did Li Zicheng and others beheaded, but they also issued a warrant to arrest him. This was completely different from what he had imagined before.  Judging from what the imperial court had done before, Li Yan only thought that Li Zicheng and others would still be able to keep their sex this time.If he was destined to die, he could still make a comeback, but it was obviously different now.  Sometimes he was thankful for his previous judgment and took advantage of the chaos to leave, otherwise he would have suffered the same fate.

    But in this case, it will be extremely difficult to start another uprising. Without a leader, it is impossible to make a big wave by yourself.  The White Lotus Sect has already declined, and there is no hope for it. Is this the end of it?  Of course he would not be willing to just let it go. With so many brothers from the White Lotus Sect, his fathers all died at the hands of those court officials and Tang Feng. How could he let it go?  And even if he wanted to give up, the government would not let him go.

    At this time, Li Yan thought of a person who had gradually been forgotten by him. Maybe if he found him, there would be some changes. After all, he had made arrangements before and could use his power to retaliate against the imperial court.  However, it is impossible for him to show up again for the time being. He can only hide it first and wait until the news passes before thinking of another way.

    Although the large-scale manhunts in various provinces, prefectures and counties did not find Li Yan who was hiding in the deep, they played another role, that is, they forced the clans to revolt in a hurry.  Seeing the various prefectures and counties' yamen looking like they were facing a formidable enemy, these guys who had never done anything big and had a guilty conscience became a little panicked.

    The communication between these people is not smooth. They are afraid that someone has been discovered by other officials and exposed themselves, so even if the preparations are not ready yet, they still decide to take action.  When these clans interacted with local officials in the past, the officials were very respectful because of their status. This gave them the illusion that local officials were nothing more than this.  Therefore, although they acted hastily, they were not afraid. In addition, some officials had a good relationship with them, so naturally they were not worried about failure.

    Chunhua County in Shaanxi Province is the fiefdom of one of the counties, Marquis Zhu Zejiang, and he is considered a tyrant in the local area.  Not to mention ordinary people, even county magistrates and even prefects must be polite to him, which makes him domineering on weekdays.  But this time he was humiliated and imprisoned like never before in the capital. How could he swallow this breath?  Therefore, he was the strongest supporter in this rebellion.

    From Zhu Zejiang's point of view, the world and the people belong to the Zhu family. As a descendant of the Zhu family, it is really intolerable that he should be treated like this.  As for what he said after the rebellion, he didn't take it seriously. He only thought that he was on the side of Qing Jun.  So after returning to Chunhua, he immediately started preparations.

    In the past, there were quite a few local gangsters who followed him to oppress good people. With the help of these people, Zhu Zejiang quickly assembled a team of nearly a thousand people.  But when it comes to weapons, he has a problem.  After all, these ruffians are not regular officers and soldiers. They have no real military equipment at all. They only have swords and sticks used in general fights, which makes their combat effectiveness impossible to improve.  In addition, these people are not very organized, so they really don't pose much of a threat.

    But Zhu Zejiang didn¡¯t see it that way. In his eyes, the people he had attracted were all very impressive. If they had their own prestige, they would be enough to make big waves in the county.  Now he is just waiting for news from other places. Once the time is determined and everyone cooperates, he will be able to capture most of the world in one go.  Thinking of the glory after success, Zhu Zejiang was very excited.

    He did not wait for news from other places, but waited for something that frightened him. That was that the official road leading to the outside of Chunhua was filled with government troops and government officials, and everyone entering and exiting the county must be carefully inspected.  During the cross-examination, he was so frightened that he thought the court had learned of his conspiracy and was going to deal with him.

    Without further understanding, Zhu Zejiang decided to take the initiative and invite all the gangsters he recruited to his house in the name of a festival on December 23rd, and then prepared to start making trouble on the spot.

    But they didn¡¯t know that every move they made had been carefully investigated by the Jin Yiwei people. As soon as they saw these people gathered together, the spies knew their intentions.  These people did not dare to neglect, and immediately divided their troops and rushed to the county government office and the nearby military camps.  Not only did they have the badge of Jin Yiwei, but they also had the troop deployment order that the imperial court had given them long ago. With these two things, Chunhua's troops had to obey their orders.  Soon, thousands of government officials, officers and soldiers gathered together and headed straight for Zhu Zejiang's mansion.

    At this time, in the county prince's mansion, the faces of all the gangsters were already glowing. They were completely excited after drinking a lot of good wine. After Zhu Zejiang's mobilization and the appointment of officials and their wishes, these people became even more excited.  , one after another shouted that they would go to the mountain of swords and the sea of ??fire for the Marquis.

    Seeing that the time was right, Zhu Zejiang pulled out the sword from his waist and said loudly: "Everyone come with me and kill the county government. Soon the whole of Chunhua and the whole of Shaanxi will be our world!"

      Everyone agreed loudly, and then ran out happily.  These hooligans like to make trouble for nothing, but now that they have such a marquis supporting them, what else can they have to fear?

    But as soon as they went out and turned across the street, everyone was stunned.  Because an armored army had appeared in front of them. The two or three hundred people in front were holding crossbows, and the gleaming arrows made them intimidated.

    "What's going on?" Looking at the officers and soldiers who were ready, Zhu Zejiang's face immediately turned pale, and some ruffians began to feel regret, wondering if they should turn around and run away.  What Zhu Zejiang, who thought he could do great things, didn't know was that the people he recruited were not even a mob at all. They knew nothing but bullying good people.

    Although the people in front of them obviously wanted to retreat, the generals leading the troops had no intention of stopping just yet.  He had already received accurate information from Jin Yiwei that these people wanted to rebel, and once the rebellion was successfully quelled, he would definitely take credit for it.  As for the identities of these people, he didn't care.

    So after waving his hands, the officers and soldiers shot out dense arrows.  Amidst the sound of "whoosh" piercing the sky, the gangsters screamed and scattered one after another. They were just gangsters and had never fought against the real army.  Now the arrows are coming again, and they are not able to resist them.  In less than a moment, hundreds of people fell in a pool of blood.

    Those gangsters wanted to leave, but they had no chance, because the government officials, encouraged by the officers and soldiers, also rushed forward with weapons such as fire sticks and water sticks. The remaining officers and soldiers also surrounded them with swords and shields.  A great battle ensued.

    No, in fact it cannot be called a war, but an arrest.  When they saw the bright weapons approaching, the gangsters completely lost the courage to resist. They wisely threw the tattered swords in their hands to the ground, then squatted down with their hands on their heads. This was a complete surrender.  .

    Seeing that the people he recruited were so vulnerable, Zhu Zejiang couldn't believe his eyes. His ideals were shattered just at the beginning.  While he was still feeling sad that his ambition was shattered, several officers and soldiers had already rushed up and put a knife on his neck.

    "Who are you? How dare you do this to me? Do you know who I am?" Although he had become a prisoner, Zhu Zejiang was still arrogant. In his opinion, the local officials did not dare to do anything to him.  As for the matter after it was reported to the court, no one would really dare to touch him.

    Those officers, soldiers and government servants really didn¡¯t dare to do anything to this clan member, even though he committed a serious crime.  However, this does not mean that he will be released, but that he will be temporarily placed under house arrest until all the people involved in the matter are arrested and then handed over to the court for a decision.

    After that, there was chaos inside and outside the entire Chunhua County. Those gangsters had no identity to protect themselves. Anyone who had anything to do with them was put in jail by the government.  Some people were released after a reprimand, while others were convicted. It depends on whether these people's families recognize them and whether they pay filial piety to the government.

    At the same time, Shaanxi province also started an arrest operation because other evidence of crime had been found from Zhu Zejiang¡¯s mouth.  After all, he was a member of the clan who had never suffered any hardship. How could he keep any secrets after being frightened by the Jin Yiwei people?  Therefore, the clans in several other prefectures and counties in Shaanxi have been taken over by the government before they can be mobilized.

    Just such a commotion gave Li Yan the opportunity to leave the place. Because they wanted to arrest those people's accomplices, and the people on the wanted order never showed up, the local officials relaxed their vigilance. This made Li Yan  Yan was able to take advantage of the chaos and leave Shaanxi, turning around and heading northeast.  Along the way, he stayed day and night, and easily avoided many inquiries.

    The incident in Shaanxi soon spread to other provinces. Those clansmen were just weaklings and did not need to be tortured. They only needed a few words to scare them and confessed everything they knew. This greatly exceeded the expectations of the officials.  outside.  In just seven days, all the clans in each province who wanted to cause rebellion were captured, which saved a lot of trouble and turmoil.

    When the news spread back to the capital, it was already the first month of the coming year.  Although all government offices were closed before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, no one dared to delay handling such an important matter, so it was quickly sent to Tang Feng.

    When he received the news, Tang Feng was hosting a banquet for some officials staying in Beijing.  These people have now completely surrendered to Tang Feng's account. Of course he has to express this. After all, political affairs always need some people to help deal with them. He still has too many reforms that need the help of these people.

    After reading these reports, Tang Feng¡¯s face changed in court.??: "Everyone, look at what these dragon sons and grandsons have done! Can they still call themselves the descendants of Taizu?"

    After reading the reports from each province, the officials all changed their expressions: "I wonder what the Duke is going to do with these people?" In fact, everyone could guess that everything must have been planned by Tang Feng, but now these people are guilty.  Having committed a heinous crime, it is indeed impossible for him to be spared lightly.

    "Hmph, they could be forgiven for setting fire to the clan's mansion before, but now they have intensified and committed such a treasonous act. Do you really think that because of your noble status, you can ignore the laws of the Ming Dynasty? You are all members of the court.  I have been a veteran minister for many years, so I guess I should know very well what the crime should be for those who caused trouble, right?" Tang Feng said with a gloomy face.

    "But Duke, there are too many people involved this time, and they all have titles. If we really execute them all, wouldn't it be bad for the court?"

    "Huh, now our Ming Dynasty has not yet eliminated its internal and external troubles, and these people are coming out to make trouble. If we condone them, it will be even more detrimental to the court. However, considering their special status, my father-in-law can show them some kindness.  Just give them both Bai Ling and Zhen Bar, so that some dignity of the Ming Dynasty can be preserved. As for their families and belongings, they will all be confiscated!" Tang Feng made a decisive decision that made everyone look at them!
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