In the dark courtyard, prisoners were kneeling all over the place. These prisoners were male, female, old, and they were dressed in rags. Their faces were pale. It was obvious that they had not seen the sun for many years. They had long lost the courage or desire to continue living. Death is very important to them.
For them, it may be a kind of relief. They knelt very numbly, without any sense of atonement, so the rain falling from the sky did not add much solemn feeling to the scene.
The officials from the Ministry of Revenue looked at this scene and couldn't help but feel a little nervous. The hand holding the pen trembled slightly, while the executioners waiting nearby seemed very calm, and the hand holding the handle of the knife was extremely stable.
"How to kill?"
Shangguan Yangyu stood behind Ning Que with a half-bow, and said in a low voice: "The practitioners who participated in the rebellion back then, except for those who died of illness and torture, are all here. Are we going to kill them all or just a few?"
Ning Que looked at the prisoners in Qiu Yu and said, "We may have to kill them several times, but don't kill them all today."
Shangguan Yangyu said: "What criteria should be used for selection? Is it important to the Xiling Temple or the severity of the crimes committed in the rebellion? These guys have blood on their hands."
Ning Que said: "Since it is for the temple to see, just pick some randomly and kill them."
Shangguan Yangyu didn't understand and asked in confusion: "Random?"
Ning Que waved his hand and said, "It's just a blind choice."
The officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs looked at each other, and even the veteran murderers who were holding knives and preparing for execution were a little stunned. Only Shangguan Yangyu did not hesitate, waving his hand to the rain, indicating that he would pick out half of them first.
The blade cut through the rain and fell on the necks of the prisoners, easily cutting through the dirt-covered skin and dry muscles, cutting off the bones, leaving a pool of blood that was not bright.
With a bang, the head fell to the ground like a ripe fruit. It bounced twice in the water on the bluestone and then became quiet. The blood that poured out was quickly diluted by the rain.
Seeing the death of their companions, the prisoners were finally stimulated by the fear of death and some of their numb nerves regained some vitality. Some tried to break free from the ropes and escape, some fell in despair and cried in the rain, and some watched
Ning Que's eyes were full of hatred as he stood under the corridor.
The scenes of murder were inevitably bloody. Ning Que was not perverted enough to appreciate it, nor was he interested in making eye contact or mental contact with those who were about to die. He turned around and walked back into the hall.
He raised the still warm tea cup and took a sip. He looked up and looked out of the court again. He saw that more than a dozen corpses had fallen in the autumn rain, and the blood on the bluestone ground became much richer.
In the miserable autumn rain, killing people in the courtyard was like weeding. Apart from the sound of the blade piercing flesh and breaking bones, there was only the sound of corpses leaning forward and hitting the ground hard, making water splash from the accumulated water.
Ning Que looked at the clear tea in the bowl and didn't know what he was thinking. Shangguan Yangyu looked at his side face and didn't know what he was thinking. The officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Affairs kept ticking and smearing on the prisoner list.
There are fewer and fewer names, and their faces are getting paler and paler. I don’t know what they are thinking in their hearts.
The autumn rain continued, and the frequency of the sounds in the court gradually slowed down. The breathing of the swordsmen and axemen became heavier and heavier. After all, it was still a tiring task to cut off so many heads.
The police officers sent by the Ministry of Punishment and the relevant staff from the Ministry of Revenue rushed into the court and began to inspect the corpses and prepare to dispose of them. The swordsmen and axemen took a break after drinking a bowl of strong wine.
It's not over yet. Ning Que said that many people will be killed today. These corpses will be moved away and the ground in front of the court will be cleared. After the swordsmen and axemen regain their strength, they will continue to kill.
Then more prisoners were sent. In addition to those brought by the Ministry of Punishment, there were also dozens of people specially sent by Ying Ningque's request from the Military Ministry. There was no way to kneel on the ground in front of the court, so they had to be divided into several groups.
"These... most of them are just family members." An official from the Ministry of Household Affairs flipped through the list of prisoners in his hand, looked at Shangguan Yangyu and said in shock: "Are these people also going to be killed?"
Shangguan Yangyu didn't answer his question. He looked at Ning Que and asked, "You're just trying to kill someone blindly?"
The faces of the officials were a bit ugly. The hundreds of people who were brought to the court were all family members who were implicated. Even if they failed to report their knowledge during the war, or even acted as accessories, it would be difficult to convict them of a death penalty according to Tang law.
Does the Ministry of Punishment or the power of Dali Temple have to kill people like this?
These hundreds of family members have been imprisoned for several years. They are in good spirits because they are not practitioners and are not subject to any restrictions. They can still make sounds. At this time, listening to the officials' words, they knew what was going to happen today and couldn't help but
Terrified, he cried and cried out for injustice.
Their crime was collaborating with the enemy. The biggest difference between collaborating with the enemy and treason in Tang law was whether they actively committed it. Therefore, the most common collaborators were often the family members of traitors. This is something that is easy to understand.
After the war broke out a few years ago, many Tang people returned from all over the world. Two-thirds of the Taoists at the south gate of Haotian Dao cut off contact with the Xiling Temple. However, there are still devout Haotian believers who swear allegiance to the Xiling Temple and refuse to
Returned, and even served in the cavalry of the Xiling Temple. These people are traitors, and their family members are collaborators. Regardless of whether they have severed ties with their relatives far away in Xiling,
You are always a collaborator, because the blood connection is unbreakable. This is the most cold-blooded and cruel law in the Tang Dynasty. In the past few years, the Tang Dynasty's government and the public were searching everywhere, guarding the border, and captured thousands of suspected collaborators.
people, and then imprisoned them in prisons in Chang'an City and various states and counties. In addition to clarifying the law, the most important reason was naturally to deter and restrain those traitors who were far away from the country.
Today, Ning Que is planning to kill these people. This is something that is very difficult to understand. Not only the family members cannot understand it, but also the officials in the imperial court.
The alley on the side of the courtyard was full of the smell of blood. The heads that had been chopped off earlier were temporarily piled on carts to be processed. Suddenly, a human head rolled down and rolled in the rain until it reached the courtyard.
Suddenly, it rolled in front of the family members, causing a burst of exclamations and tears.
Ning Que raised his head and looked at the men, women, and children kneeling in the autumn rain. He seemed to see the gray wall that was wet by the spring rain many years ago opposite the old pen studio, and saw the dead little Heizi.
Looking at the human head in the rain, he recalled the massacre that had occurred in the General's Mansion many years ago, the blood that overflowed from the cracks in the door, and the heads of acquaintances that looked like watermelons.
"There was a spring rain in Chang'an City that year. The imperial court and the temple were negotiating and preparing for peace. I led the Yulong Gang and the Yulin Army into the Qinghe County Guild Hall and killed all the people in Qinghe County in the rain."
He said: "Now that I think about it, I have some regrets."
The officials looked gentle, thinking that the academy was kind... But then Ning Que said: "At that time, we should have saved some and killed them slowly, or we could get more benefits."
The courtyard was completely silent except for the sound of rain and the uncontrollable crying of the children.
"I know you think you are innocent, and those Qinghe people probably feel the same way. Even from the perspective of Tang law or morality, some of you are really innocent."
Ning Que looked at the hundreds of people in the rain and said, "But I don't care."
The officials in the court and the Yulin army were all from the Tang Dynasty. They cared about these things very much, so their faces were a little ugly. However, Shangguan Yangyu didn't care and slowly raised his right hand in the autumn rain.
He and Ning Que are both atypical Tang people. Tang Law is just a tool for them. As for those beautiful morals or feelings, they can just appreciate them and don't need to possess them.
When the hand rises, the sword falls.
When the knife falls, the head falls.
Old cheeks, young cheeks, and still childish cheeks, due to the loss of blood and being washed by the autumn rain, instantly became extremely pale, without any breath of life. Accompanied by horrified shouts, miserable begging for mercy, and resentment
Screams, sad cries, and heads of all kinds kept falling in the rain.
Hundreds of traitor family members died one after another in the autumn rain. The blade cut through the flesh and bones, bringing death. The sound became more and more muffled because of the curling edge of the blade, until finally, the sound of beheading became a certain sound.
The blows were like a broken drum being beaten continuously, dull and terrifying.
The hand of the swordsman finally started to tremble, and the hands of the Ministry of Household officials could no longer hold the pen. The ink blocks smeared on the roster became larger and larger, and the hooks on the paintings were difficult to form, but they never heard the stop.
signal.
Shangguan Yangyu thought he really didn't care, but when he saw those men, women, and children falling to death in a pool of blood, and when he saw the pile of heads getting higher and higher in the rain in the court, he realized that his heart was still not strong enough and he reached out to wipe it away.
There were drops of sweat or rain on his forehead, and he looked at Ning Que and asked with a trembling voice: "Is it enough?"
Ning Que said: "The Ministry of Revenue is the best at counting money, food, and heads. I asked you to do this because I want to know how many people are enough to kill, so you should answer this question for me."
Shangguan Yangyu sighed and said: "I am an ordinary person and cannot understand the state of mind of the great practitioners. The most important thing is that I don't know how much influence the temple has on that person, so... I can't possibly know how many people are enough to kill.
, I even doubt that no matter how hard I kill, it won’t be enough.”
Ning Que knew that Shangguan Yangyu's statement made sense, but this was also the thing he was least sure of. Can the joys and sorrows in the world really affect people like drunkards?
The cold rain and wind made it cold, but it could not stop the pungent smell of blood from filling the courtyard. He looked at the thick blood that could not be diluted by the rain and said, "The autumn wind and autumn rain are very sad."
Even at this time, Shangguan Yangyu did not forget to praise: "What a poem."
Ning Que said, "Maybe you'll come too?"
Shangguan Yangyu smiled bitterly and said, "How can I be in such a mood?"
Ning Que stretched out his hand to catch the raindrops dripping from the eaves and said, "Hitting your child on a rainy day is just free time."
Shangguan Yangyu said: "Sir, you are very leisurely."
"I actually don't know how many people are enough to kill, but as I said just now, idleness is idleness anyway, and these people deserve to die anyway. The court still has to spend money on food to support these idlers, so you might as well kill them. Come and see if you have time.
Killing people when there is nothing to do, killing idle people in the autumn wind and autumn rain, it makes sense to say that this is leisure fun."
Ning Que walked into the rain, turned around and looked at the officials and said, "Or, you can try killing more. The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the rations of prisoners of war. You should know the number of people very well. How to kill them?"