Chapter 45 The Punishment of Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts)

Using their own bodies to block the dam.

Chu Jiubian had previously wondered if Zhou Boshan had done something to prevent the disaster victims from going to other counties.

But even the worst-case scenario he had considered couldn't have come to pass.

Liu Junqi seemed to have a lot on his mind these past two days, and he was in the mood to talk to Chu Jiubian. He continued, "And then there's that Prefect Lü Yuan. After learning about the flood, his first thought wasn't how to provide disaster relief, but rather to pin the blame for embezzling the construction funds on the people. He even had the craftsmen and people who built the two damaged sections of the dike beheaded."

"Those county magistrates are the same. They received orders from above, but they didn't even consider whether what they were doing was right or wrong; they just did it. It's said that the magistrate of Yunlu County even took those people directly to the yamen gate and beheaded them. It's utterly absurd!"

Liu Junqi became increasingly angry as he spoke, and even disregarded his manners by pulling off his straw hat and smashing it on the ground.

Chu Jiubian could no longer hear what he was saying; a buzzing sound filled his ears.

He suddenly stumbled and grabbed the side of the vehicle for support. The soldier who was holding an umbrella for him also helped him up.

Liu Junqi wanted to swear a few foul words, but when he saw Chu Jiubian staggering, he was startled and swallowed his words.

He looked at the man and saw that the young man was pale and his hair was wet from the rain, making him look somewhat disheveled.

It was only at this moment that Liu Junqi suddenly realized that this Grand Tutor Chu, who had stirred up such chaos in the capital, looked so young. If it weren't for his composed demeanor, one could easily mistake him for a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy just by looking at his face.

"It's nothing." Chu Jiu knew that his low blood pressure was acting up again. "You go ahead with your work, I'm going to Huai County."

"Yes." Liu Junqi watched Chu Jiubian get on the bus with a pale face and felt a strange emotion in his heart, just like when he saw Qin Xiao kill hundreds of people in one go yesterday.

Early yesterday morning, he, Jian Hongzhuo, and other officials from the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Revenue arrived in the prefectural city and discovered the death of Prefect Lü Yuan.

At that moment, several people, including Liu Junqi, guessed that there were many secrets and hidden stories behind this flood.

However, this secret is not something they can investigate.

Qin Xiao arranged for trusted officials to stay behind to investigate the inside story of Lü Yuan's death, and then led others, including the county commandant and a thousand county soldiers, to Pu County.

They arrived in Puxian in the morning, but after walking for a while, they still didn't see any disaster victims. Qin Xiao had a feeling something was wrong, so he quickly rode to Sanyang Village, where the breached dike was located.

The village had almost turned into a vast expanse of water. The water was already half a horse's leg deep just inside the village entrance, and it got deeper and deeper as you went into the village.

And gradually, corpses began to float in the water.

Some of the corpses were soaked until they looked like steamed buns, while others looked like they had just died. No one was collecting the bodies, and their numbers were increasing.

The civil officials had never seen such a scene before, and many of them vomited.

Even the thousand county soldiers looked grim, but at least they didn't react too strongly.

From the embankment ahead, a commotion could be faintly heard, sounding like crying or shouting.

Qin Xiao spurred his horse and hurried towards the dam; the water was almost up to the horse's belly.

However, they finally arrived at the dam, and Qin Xiao led everyone onto the dam.

The dam here has not collapsed. Liu Junqi squatted down to inspect it and found that the materials used were indeed good and sturdy, so it shouldn't be able to withstand a heavy rain.

It seems to be a man-made disaster.

As he stood up, he saw Qin Xiao leading his men along the embankment toward the source of the noise.

Liu Junqi hurriedly followed, and then saw that Qin Xiao and his group stopped shortly afterward.

Liu Junqi squeezed through the crowd and came to Qin Xiao's side. He looked ahead and immediately felt a chill run down his spine.

They had reached a point extremely close to the breach in the dike, where a huge gap had severed the entire dam in the middle, and the floodwaters were gushing out from there.

On the other side of the breach, hundreds of soldiers were kneeling.

Judging from their attire, they should be soldiers from Pu County and soldiers from Guangqing Prefecture, who were all carrying swords at their waists.

The group, who should have been swaggering and triumphant, were now kneeling and kowtowing before Qin Xiao and his men, trembling with fear.

Beneath the breach in front of them, amidst the raging floodwaters, dozens of people—men and women, young and old—were struggling and crying out in agony.

Behind them, in the waist-deep floodwaters, many people were begging for mercy, their cries shaking the heavens.

Liu Junqi was momentarily confused, not understanding what was going on. However, in the brief moment of his daze, Qin Xiao had already taken the thick, long hemp rope from a soldier, stuffed one end into the hands of several soldiers, tied the other end around his waist, and then lightly leaped into the water. In just two breaths, he had already rescued a woman who had choked on several mouthfuls of water.

Liu Junqi finally came to his senses and hurriedly called for help. He turned the woman over and made her lie face down on the edge of the embankment with her abdomen pressed against it. Then he patted her back hard, which finally made her spit out some water and regain her breathing.

The prefectural commandant finally reacted and roared at the soldiers opposite him, "What are you all standing there for?! Save them!"

The soldiers then hurriedly got up and, their faces pale, began to rescue the people.

After everyone was rescued, Qin Xiao led his group and all the surviving villagers to a higher area on the right side of the village, where they set up temporary shelters and soup kitchens.

When they arrived, they brought some rice and grains borrowed from a neighboring county. They found a farmer's house that hadn't been flooded and cooked porridge there. They also found some usable bowls and basins from other people's homes and distributed the porridge to the more than 8,000 cautious people of Pu County.

The people wept with joy and even knelt down to kowtow to Qin Xiao and the others.

Standing beside Qin Xiao, Liu Junqi felt a burning pain on his face, as if he had been slapped.

But he felt a sharp pain in his heart, a bittersweet feeling.

He had never felt the gap between the powerful and the common people so acutely before. It was as if he had finally noticed that there were countless people like ants struggling to survive right under his feet.

They are all people.

Because of their different backgrounds, they lead vastly different lives.

The power struggles between aristocratic families and nobles are paid for by ordinary people, who in turn have to kowtow to them.

It seems that to them, an official who bullies them is not too bad as long as he doesn't kill them; and if an official is willing to stand up for them, he is the best judge.

But Liu Junqi felt he was not worthy.

He didn't even dare to look into the grateful eyes of the people, nor could he accept their kindness with a clear conscience.

He couldn't help but look at Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao stood there, wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat, his expression as always, indifferent yet casual, as if nothing in the world concerned him.

In fact, the robe under the other person's raincoat was still wet.

So, what is right?

Who is right?

Liu Junqi recalled a saying that Minister Wang often repeated: "A gentleman understands righteousness, while a petty person understands profit."

A gentleman values ​​morality, while a petty person values ​​personal gain.

But now he realizes that none of the powerful officials around him, who spout classical phrases and claim to "govern the world with half of the Analects," actually live up to their so-called benevolence and morality.

All they care about is profit.

If they can use the people to block the breach today, what heinous things will they do tomorrow?

Could some of the things he did in the past have caused irreversible consequences in ways he himself was unaware of?

Liu Junqi was lost in thought until his subordinate tugged at his sleeve, snapping him back to reality.

Then he met Qin Xiao's icy gaze, and his scalp tingled instantly.

"Did I bring you here to just stand around doing nothing?" Qin Xiao asked calmly. "Go with Minister Jian to see how to repair the dike. If you can't repair it, you'll pay with your own life."

Liu Junqi sensed anger in his calm tone, quickly agreed, and followed Jian Hongzhuo to study the dam.

At the same time, he saw that a thousand county soldiers had already forced the prefectural soldiers, officers and soldiers, and even the magistrate of Pu County and the prefect of Guangqing Prefecture to kneel before Qin Xiao.

Not far away were temporary soup kitchens. The disaster victims hid under the sheds, their resentful eyes fixed on those people, wishing they could skin them alive.

The rain continued unabated, and thunder rumbled intermittently.

The magistrate was already terrified and cried out, "Your Honor, spare me! Your Honor, spare me! It was all Prefect Sun who ordered me to do it. I was just following orders!"

Prefect Sun immediately said, "Please investigate, Your Honor. I never said anything about instructing the people to block the dike! This magistrate acted on his own initiative. I came here today to provide disaster relief, and it was only upon arrival that I discovered how utterly depraved he is!"

As he spoke, he looked at the guards behind him and said, "Tell me quickly, did I bring you here to provide disaster relief?"

Yes, that's right!

"We're here to provide disaster relief!"

"You're spouting nonsense!" The soldiers in the county town were also getting anxious.

"It was clearly you who gave the order, yet you claim it was Magistrate Zhou who ordered us to do it. We were just following orders!"

"We know nothing about this!" The soldiers, as if they had finally found a way to survive, shouted loudly, "We're here to provide disaster relief!"

Now that the people had someone to stand up for them, they stood taller and shouted angrily, "You're talking nonsense! You want to use our bodies to block the dike!"

"That's right! You are all corrupt officials! Evil officials!"

The crowd was indignant.

Qin Xiao looked at the Commandant of Hexi Prefecture and said, "What are we waiting for?"

The prefect's expression changed slightly: "Sir, we can let go of the soldiers, but the prefect is at least a fourth-rank official..."

He was stared at by Qin Xiao's indifferent gaze, and his voice gradually weakened.

"What?" Qin Xiao's voice was somewhat sinister. "Could it be that you are the one behind them?"

The prefect's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat, and he hurriedly said, "This humble official dares not, this humble official will deal with them immediately."

Liu Junqi stood on the embankment, looking into the distance. He saw the county soldiers raise their swords and cut down all those people, regardless of their rank, leaving no one alive.

He couldn't help but recall the scene that had occurred in front of the Meridian Gate.

That's how it was back then; two scions of prominent families were beheaded right in front of everyone.

Qin Xiao didn't care about those powerful and influential families at all. No matter who was behind them, he could just kill them and that was it. Who could do anything about it?

Liu Junqi watched Chu Jiubian's carriage gradually disappear into the distance, his expression somewhat complicated.

However, he quickly composed himself and assigned the remaining soldiers and officials in the capital to oversee disaster relief efforts.

Meanwhile, Chu Jiubian also took the remaining two-thirds of the disaster relief funds and grain to Huai County.

It wasn't until dusk, when the sky was beginning to darken, that he arrived in Huai County.

The county town was very quiet, as if no one was there.

When they went to Pu County before, Chu Jiubian and his group did not pass through the county town, but took a shortcut to Sanyang Village.

However, to reach the breached dike in Huai County, one must pass through the county seat.

However, the county town is still some distance from the breach in the dike, and the floodwaters have not yet reached here, so it shouldn't be so quiet.

Chu Jiubian sensed something was happening ahead, so he ordered his soldiers to be on alert, and then proceeded cautiously forward with the convoy.

They walked from the east side of the city to the west side, and the closer they got to the city gate, the more shrill screams they heard, all coming from the same man.

Chu Jiubian lifted the carriage curtain and looked ahead. He saw a large crowd of people gathered outside the city gate. Many of them were dressed in straw raincoats and hats and were fully equipped. They must have been residents of the county town.

Some were dirty and disheveled, without even a raincoat; they must have been disaster victims.

These people were huddled together, their hat brims bumping against each other, but no one cared. They just stood on tiptoe and craned their necks to stare in a certain direction. Every time a scream rang out, the crowd couldn't help but make a commotion, but no one left.

Chu Jiubian frowned and ordered the convoy to stop.

With the city gates blocked, they couldn't get out even if they wanted to.

He ordered his men to stop all the carriages and horses and to remain on guard. Then he got out of the carriage, opened his umbrella, and walked towards the group of people.

A captain wanted to follow and protect him, but Chu Jiubian refused to let him.

He has bodyguards, who are more reliable than a captain following him.

Moreover, he felt that the strange scene in front of him might be related to Qin Xiao, and he even guessed what the other party was doing.

Zhou Boshan, the prefectural magistrate who ordered the use of civilians to block the dike, is now the son-in-law of a collateral branch of the Xiao family, and he is currently in Huai County.

There were just too many onlookers, and Chu Jiubian felt he might not be able to squeeze in.

Just as he was considering whether to ask someone to clear a path for him, he suddenly heard the system's mechanical voice prompt: [Host, the system can create a route for you, ensuring you won't be pushed around by the crowd. Only one point is required.]

The system knows that Chu Jiubian is currently short of points, so it doesn't need many.

Chu Jiubian bought it.

The next moment, he noticed that the people who had been blocking his way were moving aside, making way for a passageway more than a meter wide that stretched all the way to the very center.

In the very center is an open space with a chair.

A man dressed in a dark brocade robe sat with his legs crossed on the robe, while a soldier in a straw raincoat stood beside him, holding an umbrella over his head.

Ten meters away from him, there were several tree stumps, each with people tied to it.

On the tree stump at the very front, a young man was shirtless.

A soldier beside him was holding a dagger and was slowly cutting flesh off his body.

Pieces of flesh and blood fell to the ground, and the blood, washed away by the rain, stained a large patch of land beneath his feet.

It was the punishment of slow slicing.

Chu Jiubian stood silently in this vacuum-like area, holding an umbrella.

His gaze shifted from the screaming man to the man sitting in the chair.

The man seemed to sense something, and his sharp gaze went straight over.

Their eyes met, and Qin Xiao's gloomy gaze changed slightly.

His hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and even his back tensed up.

Another scream rang out, followed by a flash of lightning and a deafening roar of thunder.

Chu Jiubian heard the whispers of the people around him.

"This slow slicing punishment is extremely cruel, yet Prince Ning's expression didn't even change."

"Don't you know? The man who was executed by slow slicing was Zhou Boshan, the prefectural magistrate of our Hexi Prefecture. He used the bodies of our people to fill the dam in Pu County. Do you think he deserved to die?"

"That's certainly a death sentence! But isn't the punishment of slow slicing too much? Prince Ning is truly ruthless."

"If you were thrown in to fill the dam, let's see if you still think it's cruel..."