Chapter 163 The human trafficker was stoned to death by the angry mob.
The magistrate of Hewan County was stunned, still unable to believe that things had turned out this way.
Over the years, he has gotten whatever he wanted, living a life of luxury, with power and money dominating Hewan County. His life couldn't be more comfortable.
The people were at his mercy, his subordinates obeyed his every command, and he was protected by the governor of Longyuan.
How could everything suddenly be gone?
How could he possibly accept this!
"My lord... Lord You..." The magistrate of Hewan County looked at the prefect with a glimmer of hope, forcing a smile and stammering, "This is actually... you're just joking with me, right? Please tell me, this... this isn't real!"
Lord You remained silent, only slowly extending his hands, whose nails had been removed.
The bloodied fingertips trembled incessantly in the sunlight, severely stimulating the heart of the magistrate of Hewan County.
At this moment, the magistrate of Hewan County had no choice but to accept the reality that his world had collapsed. His face ashen, he murmured, "It's over...it's really over...it's all over..."
Duan Wu's interrogation of him then proceeded smoothly.
The magistrate, who had suffered a complete mental breakdown, confessed to all the listed crimes and even some illegal acts that had not yet been discovered. Then, he slumped to the ground numbly, as if he had lost his soul.
In short, not only were the officials and staff of the Hewan County government implicated, but his entire family was also implicated.
"Next, I, the general, will announce the verdict," Duan Wu said loudly.
The people pricked up their ears and looked at him with great anticipation.
Duan Wu recalled the way the emperor had told him before the public trial today.
In fact, His Majesty had already considered thoroughly how to deal with these corrupt officials over the past three days.
The reason for holding a public trial now is twofold: first, to give the people an explanation and allow them to vent their anger; and second, to take this opportunity to expose and deal with the forces behind Lord You.
From a higher perspective, the latter is more important.
The Emperor said that the Great Xuan has tens of thousands of officials, large and small, from the imperial court to the local level, and there are also nobles and princes involved. The Emperor has realized over the years that as the Great Xuan has become stronger, more and more serious problems have emerged within these systems. Moreover, the Fairy also said that such problems have always been the root cause of the demise of every country and dynasty.
Whether for the sake of long-term stability after the Great Xuan unifies the world, or for the glorious development of the Chinese nation, it is necessary to clean up the power structure within the Great Xuan.
The emperor now holds great power, and more importantly, the fairy provides endless resources, enabling him to accomplish many things that were previously impossible due to the limitations of the times.
Therefore, the case of Hewan County, which was brought to light by the initial incident involving refugees from Yuguo, became a very important opportunity.
"The magistrate of Hewan County is guilty of heinous crimes, and his relatives, servants, and more than a hundred related personnel are also unforgivable!" Duan Wu's voice was booming. "The verdict is now—the magistrate of Hewan County shall be executed by slow slicing, to be carried out publicly starting tomorrow! Furthermore, his entire family, including his nine generations of relatives, shall be exterminated! All related personnel shall also be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public starting tomorrow!"
"Great! Excellent!" The people cheered excitedly, clapping their hands in delight!
The cheers and applause were thunderous, and countless people wept with joy.
"Lingchi...I...I don't want...I don't want lingchi!" The magistrate of Hewan County seemed to wake from a dream, suddenly got up and rushed to the trial table, head down and heading straight for the corner of the table.
Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts) requires enduring countless cuts before one can breathe their last; the pain is even more terrifying than being torn apart by five horses or cut in half at the waist.
He would rather end his own life now and have a quick death than suffer such a terrible execution.
However, before he could hit the corner of the table, the soldiers next to him reacted quickly and stopped him in time.
He tried to bite his tongue to commit suicide, but the soldiers grabbed his jaw and tied his mouth with a thick hemp rope. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bite the root of his tongue.
"You've oppressed the people for so many years, causing countless families to be broken up and people to die. You still dream of dying a quick death? Dream on!" Duan Wu walked up to the magistrate of Hewan County, raised his hand and slapped him hard across the face, making his mouth bleed and his cheek swell and turn red.
The magistrate of Hewan County, his eyes filled with fear, sobbed and begged for a quick death.
Duan Wu sneered, "Take this corrupt official away and keep him under strict guard. He absolutely must live to see his punishment tomorrow!"
"Yes, General!" the soldiers replied, and carried the magistrate away, binding him tightly.
In the crowd, Xiao Qidi said to Xiumei, "Sister Xiumei, shouldn't you apologize to someone?"
Xiumei looked bewildered. "To whom? What did I do wrong?"
Hsiao Chi-ti reminded him, "Someone you've misunderstood."
"Who...who was the person I...misunderstood?" Xiumei couldn't figure it out for a moment, and her expression became even more bewildered.
Xiao Qidi was somewhat helpless.
Seeing his reaction, Ning Jinli immediately understood the situation and said to Xiumei with a smile, "You used to think that the county magistrate was imposing all sorts of messy taxes and corvée labor on the people because it was all orders from above, and that he would even scold someone severely."
"Oh, oh, oh! So you were talking about His Majesty." Xiu Mei suddenly realized, and a look of guilt appeared on her face. "I really misunderstood him. Luckily, he didn't hear what I said, or I would have lost my head."
Xiao Qidi was even more helpless. "Is he really that unreasonable?"
Xiumei said cautiously, "That's a high and mighty monarch. How could he possibly reason with us ordinary folks? Besides, I've heard that monarchs throughout history have been particularly petty, suspicious, and vengeful."
Xiao Qidi's cheeks twitched, and he was momentarily speechless.
Seeing his expression, Ning Jinli almost burst out laughing and immediately said to Xiumei, "He's actually a very nice person."
Seeing that Ning Jinli's tone seemed to be very familiar with the Emperor, and then thinking of the girl's extraordinary abilities, Xiumei wondered if she really was an acquaintance of the Emperor. She couldn't help but shudder and asked nervously, "Miss Ning, you... you don't know the Emperor, do you?"
Ning Jinli blinked her big eyes. "It's alright, hehe."
Xiao Qidi silently curled the corner of his mouth.
"Ah... so you know each other?" Xiumei panicked immediately. "You absolutely mustn't let him know what I said!"
Ning Jinli suppressed a laugh and said, "It's alright if you know. If you ask me, although the magistrate of Hewan County didn't instigate the trouble he caused, as a monarch, he must take full responsibility for the country and its people. He should be scolded for the dereliction of duty or even the evil deeds of his subordinates. If he can't even bear these responsibilities, he doesn't deserve to be a monarch."
Upon hearing Ning Jinli's "outrageous" remarks, Xiumei hurriedly said, "Miss, Miss, please stop, it's quite frightening..."
Ning Jinli turned to look at Xiao Qidi, grinned, and asked, "Little brother, do you think what I said is right?"
Xiao Qidi secretly complained to himself, "They even took this opportunity to lecture me," but he still nodded seriously, "Yes, that's right."
Xiumei sighed and said softly, "Alas, if only the Great Xuan King could truly possess such a broad mind and vision... But I've heard that the King is still quite young, I'm afraid..."
"So what if I'm young?" Xiao Qidi frowned slightly.
Ning Jinli held Xiumei's hand and said, "It's good to be young. When your mind isn't rigid, you're more likely to accept different voices and things, and you can also correct your bad habits in time."
Then, Ning Jinli looked at Xiao Qidi and asked, "You agree, right?"
Xiao Qidi silently exhaled, "Yes, very much so."
On the judge's bench.
Duan Wu signaled to his soldiers to bring up the three human traffickers who were still alive.
These three men, who were originally burly and strong, are now as thin as withered bamboo, with not a single patch of good flesh on their bodies. If it weren't for the medication they've been taking these past few days to keep them alive, they wouldn't have made it this far.
There's a purpose to keeping them here until now.
Duan Wu publicly revealed the identities of the three men, but before he could even list how many people they had captured and trafficked, some people grabbed bricks and stones and rushed toward the judge's platform, roaring that they would stone them to death.
Duan Wu quickly stepped forward and stood in front of the crowd, saying, "Everyone! Don't get agitated! I brought them here to give you an explanation."
"General!" The people glared angrily. "These beasts deserve to be killed by everyone! We want to smash them to death with our own hands!"
"My child and her mother fell into their hands years ago! They've disappeared without a trace! I dream of killing them!"
"And my grandson... he was kidnapped by them too!"
"If you don't let us take action, we won't be able to vent our anger, General Duan!"
It turned out that the people who rushed forward with red eyes were all family members of victims of human trafficking gangs.
Duan Wu looked solemn and glanced at Xiao Qidi in the crowd, casting an inquiring look at him.
Xiao Qidi pondered for a moment and nodded slightly at him.
Duan Wu breathed a sigh of relief. "Men, tie these three human traffickers up and bring them down from the platform. Let the people throw stones at them until they're dead!"
The soldiers were happy to do so and quickly complied.
The three human traffickers stared wide-eyed at the crowd of people who were gathering around them with stones and bricks, and finally, they were terrified.
They endured numerous forms of torture after being captured.
That's all because Lord You is still alright.
Now that even Lord You is struggling to protect himself, they have completely lost the confidence to continue resisting.
Soon, rocks rained down on the three of them.
A piercing scream echoed through the sky.
Xiumei handed her daughter to her husband and joined the execution of the human traffickers, after all, her daughter had almost been killed as well.
Xiumei's husband was still recovering and had to hold their daughter, so he couldn't participate. He said to Xiumei, "Hit it a few more times for me!"
"Definitely!" Xiumei picked up a pile of stones from the ground and rushed over.
Xiao Qidi quietly pulled Ning Jinli aside, lowered his head and whispered, "Don't you think what I'm doing is too cruel?"
"Huh? Why do you ask that?" Ning Jinli asked back.
Xiao Qidi said, "Because I once heard you say that in your time, there was no such extreme punishment, and even if someone was sentenced to death, the death row inmate would be executed cleanly and efficiently."
Ning Jinli shook her head. "The situations on both sides are different, so we can't generalize. Besides, in my personal opinion, no punishment is too much for these heinous criminals. And if the overall level of social civilization is not up to standard, torture is one of the most direct and effective ways to deter potential criminals."
Xiao Qidi breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Ning Jinli added, "When things develop to a certain point in the future, torture can be eliminated, but please don't abolish the death penalty. Some countries in our world that think they are developed have done this, under the guise of respecting human rights, but in reality, it has made criminals more and more fearless, and has also trapped the families of victims in pain and hatred for their entire lives."
Xiao Qidi laughed and said, "Of course I won't make such a foolish move."
At this moment, a Xuanjia Army scout dressed in ordinary civilian clothes came to Xiao Qidi's side and whispered a few words of report.
A glint of light appeared in Xiao Qidi's eyes.
Ning Jinli whispered, "They're here?"
Xiao Qidi nodded.
Ning Jinli looked at the prefect of Longyuan kneeling on the judge's platform, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. "Now he has no choice but to implicate others."
It was now noon, and the bright sun made the bloodstains on the ground in front of the judge's bench appear even more vivid and striking.
The three human traffickers were almost smashed to pieces by the angry crowd, and the soldiers had a lot of effort to clean up the bodies.
"Lord You," Duan Wu stared at the prefect of Longyuan, who remained largely unresponsive, "aren't you afraid your fate will be even worse than theirs?"
Lord You slowly raised his head.
Behind his disheveled hair, a cold smile flickered in his bloodshot eyes. "I'm not that stupid. If I really revealed those people, I would be useless and would surely die a miserable death. But... as long as I don't say anything, Xiao Qidi will have to keep me alive. General Duan, my death is not yet here, at least not today."
Three nights ago, after he was arrested, he was about to give up the struggle.
As a result, Xiao Qidi interrogated him overnight, wanting to know who in the court was protecting him and who his noble relatives were, which gave him a glimmer of hope.
His connection with his superiors was extremely secretive, leaving no trace whatsoever.
As for those relatives of princes and nobles, because their kinship was distant and their surnames and places of origin were different, there were no records of any connection between them and the palace.
Therefore, if Xiao Qidi wanted to uncover the network of relationships behind him, he had no choice but to pry him open his mouth.
Relying on this, he became fearless, and even though he had suffered a lot of torture these days, he still did not utter a single name.
"Aren't you afraid that the emperor will give up on investigating further?" Duan Wu threatened. "In that case, you'll still be useless. You might as well make amends and confess everything while the emperor still has patience. Maybe he'll even allow you to leave with a whole corpse."
Lord You said with a forced smile:
"Xiao Qidi went to great lengths, including concealing his identity and enduring hardship, to personally travel to Hewan County to investigate. I don't believe he would give up on getting to the bottom of this. Anyone would be unwilling to do that, right?"
"I also learned that although he has been crowned and is in power, there are still many ministers in the court who do not trust him. He is too young, who can he control? He must be in urgent need of using my big case to deal with a group of ministers and nobles and establish himself."
"With these two reasons, I can be certain that I can live for at least many more years. Xiao Qidi will even have to take good care of me. Moreover, who knows what changes might happen in the years to come? Perhaps..."
Lord You paused, a grin spreading across his face, his eyes gleaming. “Perhaps the powerful figures behind me can regain control and allow Xiao Qidi to continue as a figurehead monarch without real power, just like before his coronation. That would be my day to turn things around. Since there is such hope, how can I give up now?”
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