"You are all old ministers of the previous dynasty. You have worked hard for the Song Dynasty for decades. I don't want to and can't bear to punish you. Every one of you has gray hair and white temples. You have been loyal to the Song Dynasty enough. It's time for you to enjoy your retirement!" Zhao Huan's tone became stern in the last sentence.

"We deserve to die!" All the old ministers knelt down and kowtowed.

Zhao Huan knelt down with a thud: "Father, Queen Mother, I am unfilial. But for the sake of the Song Dynasty, I must do this!" Zhao Huan also kowtowed, then stood up and said: "Return to the palace!"

Zhao Ji and Queen Mother Zheng had mixed feelings. After all, the father and son had a deep affection for each other. When Zhao Huan walked to the door, Zhao Ji trembled and called out, "Huan'er!"

Zhao Huan paused slightly, without looking back, and left Daojun Palace directly.

Kang Huojian ordered a team of guards to surround the Yanfu Palace, and from then on, Zhao Ji and the Queen Mother were completely imprisoned. Zhao Huan's imperial power was no longer restricted, and he could boldly realize his dream of reform.

On the second day, there was an early morning court session in the Purple Palace.

A large number of old ministers offered to resign, hoping to return home to enjoy their retirement as they were old and virtuous, and Zhao Huan approved their requests one by one.

"I hereby announce an official appointment: Bai Shizhong, Li Guiyong, Zhang Sanying, Zhao Dagu, Li Mao, Li Dequan, Zhang Quanfa, and Zhang Mingyue, these officials resign and return home."

Zhao Huan looked at the list in his hand and continued reading: "Stephen Chow, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-fat, and Andy Lau have been transferred to other places in Beijing. The specific appointments will be announced by the Privy Council later."

The list of these people all belonged to the old ministers of the Huizong period, most of whom were once advocates of peace. With the fall of the retired emperor, Zhao Huan took this opportunity to eliminate dissidents and build up his own power.

Zhao Huan then took out another list and read out: "Zhou Qinglin, Wang Zhen, Wang Daoli, Zhang Dezhi, Kong Xiangxin, Meng Qinglong, Zhang Zhaofa, Xia Hailong, fill the vacancies of officials who have retired and returned to their hometowns. The specific positions will be issued by the Privy Council."

"Long live our emperor! Long live! Long, long live our emperor!"

"Withdraw from the court!"

…

Sky Prison.

Master Guo Jing lost all his modesty and humility, hiding in a corner, trembling. Lingchi, cut into pieces, is the most brutal form of punishment. Worse still, some bastard jailer had spread the rumor that he had to be cut two thousand times, not even one less.

The jailers all admired Zhan Yunpeng, especially the warden. These people didn't go anywhere else, but just chatted at the door of Guo Jing's cell.

"Have you heard? The emperor ordered the execution of this evil Taoist priest by slow slicing. It has been many years since we have seen such a thing. The last time was by Fang La, who flayed him for three days." said a fat jailer.

"I heard that there are some rules for lingchi?" a young jailer asked curiously.

The fat man nodded and said, "Of course. The Emperor has personally ordered this. If the execution is to be carried out with 2,000 cuts, the executioner cannot cut even one less cut. The prisoner must be flayed with all 2,000 cuts before he dies. If the prisoner dies before the 2,000 cuts are completed, the executioner will go to jail."

The prison warden immediately interrupted, "What? This evil Taoist priest needs to be flayed two thousand times. Did the Emperor personally order it?"

The warden blinked as he spoke, and the other two jailers immediately understood and nodded in agreement.

Guo Jing in the prison was so frightened that his teeth chattered and his whole body trembled: "I don't want to be tortured to death. I don't want to be cut into pieces. Ah~!"

Gao Qiu, in prison, heard the news of the Emperor's imprisonment and collapsed to the ground in despair. That day, in front of all the civil and military officials, he had asked the Emperor to rule the country. Now he thought he had committed a terrible crime. With the Emperor under house arrest, he was in grave danger.

The imperial edict was quickly issued, and at three quarters past noon tomorrow, Guo Jing and Gao Qiu were taken to the execution ground for execution.

That night, Guo Jing banged his head against the pillar three times. Three large bumps appeared on his head, but he simply didn't have the courage to die. In the end, the jailer was amused: "Let him bang his head, bang it hard."

This is not a movie or TV show. If a person simply hits his head against a pillar, it is difficult to kill himself because the force is not strong enough.

On the second day, Guo Jing was taken to the execution ground with three big bags on his head and shackled together with Gao Qiu.

The number of people watching this time was more than double the last time Zhan Yunpeng was executed. People were curious and wanted to see what it felt like to be cut into pieces.

Guo Jing was like a wooden stick. I mean, his whole body was stiff and motionless as he was held by two soldiers. The excessive fear had made him unable to walk. If the soldiers let go, he would immediately become a pile of soft noodles, lying on the ground and shaking.

Gao Qiu was lucky enough not to be cut into pieces, but was sentenced to immediate execution. Although he was also afraid, he was much luckier than Guo Jing, who was about to be cut into pieces two thousand times.

The sunlight was glaring, unlike before. This time, a row of tables were placed above the execution ground, and officials from various ministries sat inside. Officials from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, and the Privy Council were all present.

There were two executioners on the execution ground. One of them was holding a ghost-head knife and was dressed in flesh. He was naturally the one who executed Gao Qiu.

Next to the other executioner was a wooden box, filled with even more tools: tools for slicing, digging, gouging, shaving, picking, and cutting. It's best not to think about what these tools were used for.

The crowd below was buzzing with discussion, more concerned with the execution itself. The timid ones had already begun covering their eyes, but curiosity kept them peeking through fingers.

"It's noon, time to execute!" An official from the Ministry of Justice threw down two red sticks.

Gao Qiu was forced to the ground, but since he was General Gao, he remained calm. He neither resisted nor shouted, because he knew it was futile.

The executioner raised his sword and chopped off General Gao Qiu's head.

Then two soldiers carried Guo Jing, who was like a dead dog, and tied him to a wooden stake.

Guo Jing struggled desperately, tears streaming down his face, "Please spare my life, please spare my life!"

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