The two girls were not locked up in a small dark room. They worked, ate, and rested with the others. But escaping was impossible.

The news of the captive offering ceremony had spread far and wide, even to the laundry department. The two maids were terrified, wondering what would happen to their loved ones.

"They were all taken to Caishikou and cut into pieces!" A palace servant excitedly told others, quite proud of the first-hand information he had.

"How many days did he have to be flayed?" someone asked with concern, speculating, "Liu Jin was flayed for three days, with over 3,000 cuts!"

Lingchi began in the Five Dynasties, initially with eight to one hundred and twenty cuts; by the Ming Dynasty, the number had increased to one thousand to three thousand cuts.

Obviously, there is only one purpose for delaying the death process for such a long time, which is to warn the world through the extreme pain of the tortured person: this is the end if you dare to commit crimes.

The most famous person to be subjected to the lingchi torture in history is the eunuch Liu Jin. According to historical records, Liu Jin was sentenced to 3,357 cuts of lingchi, which was completed over three days.

It is unknown why people flocked to watch the lingchi execution and why they talked about it with great relish afterwards. It is said that every time lingchi was carried out, many people would buy the cut human flesh to use as raw material for treating boils and boils.

The news spread quickly, and it seemed that they were very interested in both the prisoner offering ceremony and the death by a thousand cuts.

"Bang!" The basin slipped from Hailanzhu's hand, and the water spilled all over the floor. She didn't care and squatted on the ground and burst into tears.

"Sister, our father and mother were killed!" Bumbutai also heard the news. She dropped the clothes she was washing and ran over crying. The two sisters hugged each other and cried bitterly.

The eunuch in charge was fed up. Even though he had been told not to make things too difficult for the two girls, he still couldn't allow them to be so presumptuous!

"Are you going to rebel?" the eunuch in charge stepped forward and shouted, "Get back to work, why are you crying so much?"

"They are Jiannu!" A palace servant, with sharp ears, heard Bumbutai shouting that her father and mother had been killed, and hurriedly reported to the eunuch in charge, "Among the Jiannu who were cut into pieces were their parents."

Huh?! The eunuch in charge widened his eyes in confusion. The people who were being tortured by lingchi were indeed Jiannu, but they were all men, no women!

"You, you are the Jiannu." Bumbutai sobbed and raised her tearful face, retorting angrily and sadly: "Your parents are the Jiannu."

The eunuch in charge was even more confused and angry. He cursed, "It's not Jiannu, why are you crying? What does it have to do with you if Jiannu is cut into pieces? Get up and get to work."

Bumbutai blinked her eyes, still not fully understanding what was going on.

"Were all those killed at the prisoner presentation ceremony Jiannu?" Hailanzhu reacted faster, looking at the eunuch in charge with tearful eyes and hope.

"Nonsense, who else should we kill if not the Jiannu?" The eunuch in charge rolled his eyes. "Today is the ceremony of presenting captives. The Emperor has personally ordered the execution. How could any other person be qualified?"

The two sisters heard it clearly now, and looked at each other, not knowing whether to be happy or sad, whether to laugh or cry with joy.

……………………

I don’t know how much the meat from the slow slicing can be sold for, but it is definitely not enough to ease the financial difficulties.

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youxiao was worried about money again, but he had a wild idea of ​​being cut into pieces.

The emperor smiled to himself and stroked his forehead, thinking about the possibility of issuing national bonds.

In order to produce, manufacture and transport sufficient ammunition and supplies in preparation for a major counterattack, the Tianjin Arms and Gunpowder Bureau had started production as early as two months ago.

Setting up a stall was a huge expense, and even though production had reached a new high, the cost was still a worry.

This war was a one-sided investment with no returns, and the same was true of the counterinsurgency war in the southwest, although in the long run, the rewards after victory were also rich.

With its vast land and abundant resources, Liaodong is a good place with huge potential for development.

But no matter how good the prospects are, how can we overcome the current difficulties?

The income from house searches is gradually decreasing, and even killing both tigers and flies cannot change this trend.

The clearing of garrisons and the payment of salaries were still in progress, but it could only guarantee the expenses of other northern border towns; the miscellaneous income from mirrors, banks, maritime customs, and currency offices, etc., added together, was still gratifying, but it was not enough to cover the expenses of the two wars in Liaodong and Southwest China.

The reason for the grand and elaborate captive-surrendering ceremony was that Zhu Youxiao was also preparing for the issuance of national bonds. With the hope of victory growing, the people were willing to invest their hard-earned money in a long-term investment.

However, Zhu Youxiao did not agree with the issuance of national bonds by the entire society.

As the saying goes, those who are capable must work harder. It is quite difficult for ordinary people to save a few taels of silver, but for the powerful and wealthy, it is a huge sum of money, and it will not have any impact even if they throw it away.

The Maritime Merchants Association, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, and the Yangtze River Merchants, who were anxiously awaiting a reply from the court in the capital, would surely respond enthusiastically with just one word from the emperor, and there was a high possibility of making free donations.

But the emperor had another idea, which was to issue national bonds, or more precisely, "Ping Liao bonds", to rally the hearts of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

The rise and fall of a country is the responsibility of every citizen. This saying did not exist at that time, and the emperor plagiarized it without a blush.

Why was it that when the Ming Dynasty fell, whether it was the nobility and the wealthy or the common people, who made up the majority of the population, mostly acted as indifferent spectators? The gentry in Jiangnan, in particular, only erupted in a fierce anger when they shaved their heads and changed their clothes.

From ancient times to the present, what does the change of dynasties mean? Is it just a change of lord to be loyal to and government to pay taxes to?

This kind of thinking not only existed in the feudal era, but also occupied a place in modern times.

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