On May 21, the first year of Guangwu, nine days had passed since the last riot, and Laizhou Prefecture was still under martial law.
Except for working and receiving food, the people in the settlement are not allowed to enter or leave without authorization, otherwise they will be punished under military law.
Under such strict control, all previous disasters caused by riots were eliminated within two days.
Although the food supply returned to normal, Zhang Dagui could no longer be happy because his wife who had accompanied him all the way died.
At that time, people were rioting, and rapes and robberies occurred everywhere, forcing Zhang Dagui and his family to hide. Wang was separated from them on the road.
Two days later, the government suppressed the rioters, and Zhang Dagui found his wife and took back Wang's naked body.
Such tragedies were not limited to the Zhang family, there were many other tragedies in this riot.
At this moment, Zhang Dagui was squatting in front of his wife's grave, looking straight at the mound of dirt in front of him.
After experiencing so many hardships along the way, he thought good days were just around the corner, but God made a joke on him.
Thinking of his sadness, Zhang Dagui couldn't help crying and beating his chest at the same time.
He hated the government, hated the thugs, and even more hated himself. He regretted that he failed to hold on to his wife's hand, causing her to die violently.
In the Zhang family, Zhang Dagui is not the only one suffering, his children are also suffering, but life has to go on, so the children are working in the fields at the moment.
But at this time, the eldest son of the Zhang family came over and brought a message.
"Dad, just now Old Man Zheng said that the imperial edict has come down... The emperor has decreed that Wang Qianwang, the beast, will be executed in Lingchi, and all the other thugs will be cut in half!"
Hearing this, Zhang Dagui's lifeless eyes regained their energy, and then he turned around and asked: "When will the execution be carried out?"
"The day after tomorrow, the hundreds of households on duty said that everyone can enter the city to watch the execution the day after tomorrow!"
"Okay... God has eyes, the emperor is wise!" Zhang Dagui cried.
…………
On the other side, Liu Jinghui, the imperial censor of the Imperial Procuratorate, had read out the imperial edict to Wang Qianwang.
The culprit, Wang Qianwang, was so frightened that his legs and feet were so weak that he could urinate incontinently. If not supported by the guards on the left and right, he would have collapsed on the ground.
Seeing his appearance, the officials of the Second Division of Hedong Fan Zhen behind Liu Jinghui, as well as other officials in various prefectures and counties, were deeply shocked.
Wang Qianwang was executed by Lingchi, which showed how furious His Majesty the Emperor was, which made them feel sad.
Although they are not as bold as Wang Qianwang, they have done a lot of tricks behind the scenes. If they are held accountable...the consequences are simply unimaginable.
After returning home, you must clean up your hands and feet and do your job conscientiously... This is what the officials are thinking at the moment.
Time soon came to May 23rd, and a large number of people gathered outside the south gate of Laizhou Mansion.
This place was spacious and could accommodate enough people to watch the execution, so Liu Jinghui chose this place to carry out his execution.
At the scene, the soldiers of Laizhou Guard had arranged the execution ground and isolated the people twenty meters away.
As the sun rose high, Liu Jinghui appeared with a group of Hedong County officials, and then the execution was announced by the Inspector.
Soon, more than thirty prisoners were led to the execution platform. These were the thugs who took advantage of the chaos to burn, kill, and loot.
Seeing these people, the people below were completely angry, and their families were harmed by these people.
Instead of being killed during the quelling the chaos, these people were allowed to live for so many more days. The people just wanted them to die immediately.
"Cut them, avenge my sister, chop these beasts..."
"These beasts are not human beings..."
"Kill, kill them..."
Looking at the angry people below, Liu Jinghui glanced to the left and right, and then said: "Everyone..."
Liu Jinghui was an imperial envoy. When he opened his mouth, everyone present did not dare to neglect him. They all acted as if they were listening to the instructions.
"When I was in Qiandi, I heard His Majesty say many times that officials are the people's livelihood. As an official, you should put the people's livelihood first, so that you can live up to your father's trust!"
"You are in charge of the government. A single thought can affect the livelihood of the people. You must be cautious and prudent!"
"Otherwise, if you offend the people, Your Majesty will be severely punished. It will be too late to regret it by then!"
Liu Jinghui's words came from his thoughts. As a grassroots member of the Central Committee, he sincerely hopes that the people will live a good life.
"Your Majesty's teachings, I will keep them in mind!"
While everyone was talking, executions began below, and one mob after another was cut in half. The scene was not ordinary bloody.
Although it was terrifying, the people did not blink their eyes. They did not want to miss the fear and pain of the thugs.
Compared with beheading, you will not die on the spot after being beheaded, but will die slowly with blood loss in pain and fear.
After dozens of thugs were completely dead, the soldiers endured nausea and removed the bodies, and then Wang Qianwang was carried to the execution ground.
He was tied to a rack, with all other parts of his body exposed except for the white cloth tied around his waist.
At this moment, Wang Qianwang was shrouded in fear, but his mouth was stuffed with cloth, so he couldn't scream even if he wanted to.
They hated the thugs, and they hated Wang Qianwang who caused the riot even more.
"I want to eat his flesh..."
"Hurry up and start cutting..."
On the top of the city tower, Liu Jinghui stood up, took the "trumpet" and shouted: "The Emperor has a decree..."
Hearing this, the people at the scene knelt down. This was their instinctive awe for the emperor, which had been engraved into their bones.
At this moment, all the officials on the city tower stood up and knelt down to listen to His Majesty the Emperor's instructions.
"Wang Qianwang, the prefect of Laizhou, deprived the people of their food, which resulted in civil unrest and heavy casualties among soldiers and civilians. This is an unpardonable crime, so he was sentenced to a lengthy punishment to comfort the people!"
"Execution!"
As the word "execution" came out, the executioner specially sent by the Ministry of Punishment took out a knife and started to do it, with two apprentices beside him to help.
The first thing to cut was Wang Qianwang's arm. As the executioner stabbed him with his knife, his howling could still be heard even though his mouth was gagged.
The officials couldn't bear to look directly, but the people cheered loudly, and they wanted to go up and cut them twice.
Ling Chi had to perform 3,600 cuts, which was a very technical job, but the red officer from the Ministry of Punishment was not very good at it. Wang Qianwang died after just over 1,000 cuts.
But even if the person is dead, he still has to be cut. The cutting continued until the afternoon, until Wang Qianwang was shaved into a skeleton.
There were still tears in the corners of his eyes. Although the great revenge had been avenged, his wife would never come back.
The people had different moods, but the officials agreed. Even though they had returned to the official offices, they were still surrounded by fear.
Watching Wang Qianwang being cut into a skeleton was a scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives and would always remind them to be cautious as officials.
Asking people like you to put down their errands and come all the way to watch the execution is not just to scare the monkeys.
If they were a little careless and ruined the emperor's land reclamation project, their consequences would not be better than Wang Qianwang's, and most likely would be even worse.