The atmosphere in Raozhou is particularly fresh after the rain. A few white clouds are floating in the blue sky, reflecting the warm spring breeze. The vegetation after the spring has returned to the earth is full of green, and occasionally a few small red, yellow, and purple flowers are dotted among them, which is full of life. scene.
In such a beautiful and beautiful time, Raozhou is in a state of excitement. People rush to Caishikou. There is a lot of excitement today.
The government invited two of the most famous butchers in Raozhou City. These two butchers were not those who killed pigs and dogs. They were people who specialized in killing people. There were executioners in every state and county, but executioners were divided into three, six, and nine grades, with the lowest being the lowest. It is not unusual for an executioner to cut off a prisoner's head with one strike, but it is not that easy for an ordinary person to take a knife and chop off a person's head.
The density of human bones is very high. If a knife hits the bone, the head will not fall off unless it is a sword. Even a strong man as strong as an ox may not dare to decapitate with a knife. In this case, beheading requires skills. The human spine The skeleton is composed of thirty-four bones, of which there are only seven in the neck. If you want to cut off the head with one knife, you need to know the positions of the human bones and joints very well.
Being an executioner does not mean just daring to kill people. The skills of an executioner cannot be achieved without three to five years of practice. Therefore, the job of executioner is mostly performed by a very experienced butcher. Of course, since the butcher is responsible for killing people, he is also responsible for it. He should become an executioner who specializes in killing people. Let me ask, if the murderer kills animals, who dares to buy and eat the meat?
Of course, the apprentices trained by the executioner can still kill animals, but there is no telling whether the master is doing the killing behind the scenes. As the saying goes: out of sight, out of mind, if the executioner kills as he does, the meat from his butcher shop will still be sold as usual. .
Intermediate executioners are best at not just beheading, but Lingchi. The Lingchi punishment method has a long history in China. The specific origins are not listed here. The Lingchi punishment method is very particular. The executioner uses a knife to cut off the prisoner's body. All skin and flesh must be cut off, and a total of 3,600 cuts must be made, with the last cut taking the life of the prisoner. More importantly, after 3,600 cuts, a human skeleton must be revealed.
If the prisoner's important bloodline is cut, the prisoner will definitely not be able to withstand the 3,600 cuts. In this case, the torturer needs to have a good understanding of the bloodline of the human body. Otherwise, he cannot be called a master murderer.
If we talk about the executioner's highest state, it is to remove all the flesh and blood of the prisoner during tea time. It is also the last knife that ends the life, and the same skeleton is revealed, but there is no particularity in the number of knifes.
As far as Da Kui knew in his life, Meng Ge was the only one who could reach the highest level of killing. Now that he couldn't find a top executioner, he could only find two pig-killers.
Drinking tea on the prison table, Dakui felt a little guilty. He had killed countless people in his life, but if we talk about Ling Chi, today was really the first time in his life that he got up in the morning and went to investigate the case without even having breakfast. He was afraid After seeing a bloody scene, he would spit out the food he had eaten.
In Yingtian, the King of Wu once had a secret decree that all officials who had embezzled more than ten thousand yuan would be executed without mercy. Officials who embezzled more than a thousand yuan would be beaten to death. Officials who embezzled more than a hundred yuan would be beheaded. Da Kui knew the outcome, but still sent for Raozhou police to arrest him. Fan Sizheng asked and found out that this move was just pretentious. As a minister, you would rather have dirty water poured on yourself than let your master bear the slightest infamy. This is the way to be a minister.
(ps: According to historical records, in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhu Yuanzhang vigorously rectified the administration of officials. Until his grandson Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, officials who embezzled more than sixty taels were punished with death. Some officials who only embezzled three, five, or even a few strings of copper coins were also punished. Escape from bad luck, this shows Zhu Yuanzhang's iron fist, regardless of Zhu Yuanzhang's ruthlessness, but in the early days of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, big corrupt officials were rare. Why, you know, I will not comment on politics here, I can only say that it was purged Official governance is a blessing to the people,)
The execution platform was ten feet in front of Dakui. There were four wooden stakes erected on the platform. At this time, Jiangxi salt envoy Si Fu Tailai, Jiangxi Raozhou Prefecture Yin Pan Ke, Raozhou Prefecture Master Ma Cuishan, and Pan Ke's party leader Li Mazi. It has been proven that he is tied to a stake and awaiting execution.
Da Kui had a plan in mind, but he didn't know how it would turn out after it was implemented. If it failed, the more than 100,000 taels of silver would be gone, and half of what he had achieved in traveling all the way to Raozhou would be lost. Da Kui couldn't help but feel a little confused.
Pan Ke and others planted a deep tree in Raozhou. In order to prevent the sudden change, Da Kui ordered the city defense troops to surround the site with a thousand infantry. Only ten of the fifty followers he brought were with him. Forty people were all guarding the Wu Mansion. Da Kui arranged this arrangement to prevent someone from robbing the execution ground and cutting his way out. He was not afraid of something happening at the execution ground. Da Kui was afraid that Pan Ke's gang would rob the Wu Mansion, and then he would be unable to do anything.
In addition to the ten personal followers, Fan Si was also by his side. At this time, Fan Si was actively setting up the execution ground and arranging executioners in order to show his clear line with Pan Ke and others. Seeing that he was so enthusiastic, I couldn't help but sneer at him. These people are the most duplicitous. If they take him under their control, they will die without knowing how.
They were colleagues in the past, but today they wish that Pan Ke and others were about to die, but such villains had to guard against them.
At three quarters of noon, two middle-aged executioners entered the execution ground with two apprentices. All four of them were dressed in red. The two apprentices were both seventeen or eighteen years old. Each of them carried a tray. The tray They were all covered with red cloth, presumably among them were knives used for executions. Dakui couldn't help but wonder why the two children were so bold when they came to attend the execution.
Dakui signaled to Fan Sizheng that he could start. Fan Sizheng came over and asked, "Sir, who should I start with?"
Da Kui said with a smile: "Let's start with Li Mazi and Master Ma. Only take off the skin of one arm, and then wait and see." Fan Sizheng immediately took the order to arrange the arrangements.
The four wooden stakes on the execution platform were exactly facing each other. Pan Ke and Li Mazi faced each other, and Fu Tailai faced Ma Cuishan. In this way, Pan Ke and Fu Tailai could see the execution process alive. This was also deliberately arranged by Da Kui.
The people watching the excitement crowded the outside of the execution ground, and the trees and houses around the execution ground were also crowded with people.
Dakui looked carefully from a distance and found nothing unusual, so he sat on the Taishi chair with peace of mind and waited for the execution.
The two executioners came up to the stage and came to Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi respectively. The two apprentices were also waiting with a tray in each hand. The two executioners respectively removed the red silk on the tray. As expected, there were long and short sizes on the tray. Different knives have different shapes and sizes, but their blades are generally thin and sharp.
The executioner turned around again and looked at the execution platform. On the execution platform, Da Kui took the command arrow and threw it down. With the sound of three cannons, the executioner loosened one arm of Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi respectively, then grabbed the arms with both hands and twisted and pulled them. The arm joints of both Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi were removed with a 'click' sound.
This is to ensure that the prisoner cannot move arbitrarily during the execution, which may cause the knife to be erroneous and damage the blood.
After removing the bones, the two executioners performed the same movement. One hand held the prisoner's arm, and the other hand took a sharp blade and clamped it between the index and middle fingers. The hand holding the knife with the blade facing inwards placed the prisoner's arm and slowly flicked it downwards. , I saw that Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi, who were tied to the wooden stakes, were shaking violently, and they could not scream because their mouths were blocked with rags.
Following the executioner's movements, we saw that Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi's tortured arms were dripping with blood. The executioner stopped when he reached the bowl with the knife, changed his knife on the tray, and then cut the knife on the arms of Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi. I wiped it in a circle near the shoulder and along the arm, with the same bloody and neat movements.
Next, the executioner grabbed the wound on the upper end of the prisoner's arm with his left hand, and used the knife in his right hand to separate the skin and flesh bit by bit. The swiftness of his movements showed that he was very skilled in this way.
Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi just let out muffled screams of "woo woo". They couldn't move or speak. No matter how they shouted, it was of no avail. No one had any sympathy. Only a few of the people watching couldn't bear to watch anymore and lowered their heads. , but there are still many people stretching their necks to stare at the execution, which shows that their interest has not diminished.
Dakui couldn't help but asked Fan Sizheng behind him: "With so much blood, will the criminal law be excessive and seriously injure people's lives?"
Fan Sizheng smiled and said: "Don't worry, sir, these two masters are very capable. They are able to execute Lingchi's punishment with ease. They all have a sense of proportion. Sir, don't worry. Don't you see that even the prisoners who are executed like this don't faint?"
Da Kui suddenly realized what he said, and he stopped saying anything and focused on what was going on on and off the stage.
The executioner peeled off the skin from the tortured arms of Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi, but the human skin was connected to the wrist. The executioner opened the knife from the palm of his hand and peeled off the skin from the prisoner's hand bit by bit.
Pan Ke and Fu Tailai, who were opposite Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi, were already trembling with shock. They both lowered their heads and did not dare to look anymore. Upon seeing this, Dakui ordered two of his followers to go to the execution platform, grabbed Pan Ke and Fu Tailai's hair and forced them to carry them. It started until all the skin was peeled off from the tortured arms of Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi.
The two executioners' craftsmanship was top-notch. The human skin they peeled off did not have any breakage or damage, but the two human skins were very thin. No wonder Fan Sizheng said to Da Kui, don't worry, it turns out that it is really a man of skill who is brave. .
There was a law in the Ming Dynasty. If the executioner made any deviation during execution, he would be punished with a rod. This shows that the executioner really needs to use his skills to execute the execution.
As soon as Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi were tortured, a doctor came on stage to bandage them. The herbs used contained salt. This caused Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi to scream dullly.
Da Kui took advantage of this opportunity and ordered people to prepare water and wine and bring them to the execution platform.
The person who delivered the wine was Shitou. Shitou held the wine jar in one hand and a sea bowl in the other and walked up to the execution platform. He came to Pan Ke and Fu Tailai and said with a smile: "Two adults, my Mr. Zhang Nianzai and the two adults were once. Colleague, I have asked you to bring me some wine as a gift," he said, taking the cotton cloth to block the mouths of Pan Ke and Fu Tailai.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the two of them could speak, they shouted in unison: "We just want to die quickly and are willing to confess."
Da Kui felt relieved after hearing this...
When the hall was raised again, Pan Ke, Fu Tailai, Ma Cuishan, and Li Mazi all came to the hall.
Dakui was sitting in the main hall, and after the official had finished singing the "Tang Wei", he slapped the wooden tree and announced the sentence: "I pronounce the sentence."
Looking at the four people in the hall, Dakui preached: "Pan Ke, Fu Tailai, as an official of the imperial court, knows the law and violates the law, embezzles money and seeks personal gain. He should have been punished with lingchi, but I hope that the two of them know their mistakes and can correct them. They will hand over the dirty money in full and all the other gangsters will be punished." And if they confess, I will sentence them to beheading and execute them immediately."
Dakui paused and said: "Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi are greedy for profit, but they also have repentance. I think that both of them are accomplices. Today they have been punished by rubbing their skin, so their merits and demerits are eliminated." I won’t investigate further and withdraw from the court.”
When Ma Cuishan and Li Mazi heard that they were still alive, they both looked excited and shouted in unison: "Your Majesty is fair and upright, thank you for not killing me." They both leaned down and bowed with one arm on the ground.
Dakui stood up and said: "You two have wives and children. From now on, you will not be able to help others and ignore right and wrong. Go down." As he said this, Dakui waved his hand, indicating that he could withdraw.
With this ending, Da Kui was already very satisfied. Pan Ke not only sold illegal salt, but also harbored prostitutes and gamblers in Raocheng, and sold them on land. All these were done in various ways, and together with Fu Tailai, he surrendered a total of 450,000 taels of silver. , there were only three boxes of silver notes, and in addition there were land deeds, gold and silver jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, etc., with a total value of five hundred thousand taels. Such a huge amount could not help but make Dakui amazed.