Qian Ergou quickly proclaimed his innocence: "I did not burn, kill, or commit adultery. The first rule of our Wolf Fang Stronghold is that we cannot touch women, and the second rule is that we cannot take lives unless absolutely necessary."
Qian Ergou sighed helplessly, "Actually, we all know each other well in our villages. We became outlaws just to survive. There aren't many truly wicked people here. We usually just rob some grain to make ends meet, and that's all. We often share our surplus grain with the refugees. It was only this time that we were blinded by greed and followed Chen Chuan to rob government grain, committing a serious crime. I wonder how the Prince will deal with us?"
Qian Ergou's words made everyone fall into deep thought, and now no one present was without regret.
They really shouldn't have taken this step.
Even if the officials in the northern government are inhumane and disregard the lives of the people, the disaster relief grain that reaches them may not amount to much, and it may not reach the people and refugees.
Even so, they shouldn't have dared to touch the government's grain rations.
When the people are suffering from famine, they rob the government's grain meant for disaster relief. What a terrible crime that must be! Even if they were princes, they wouldn't be spared.
Li Yuanbao looked at Bai Ying in the cell next to him with some resentment: "Bai Ying, do you think we still have a chance to get out?"
White Eagle saw through his thoughts and said silently, "If you stay put, you might still have a chance to live. If you try to escape, you'll only face death!"
Upon hearing Bai Ying's words, Li Yuanbao immediately abandoned his thoughts.
He did indeed have the idea of escaping from prison. This prison was full of bandits. Although the bandits from other strongholds had been moved away, the bandits from Liuying Village and Yinhu Village were still there, and there were at least 20,000 of them in total.
If they escape from prison together, they might actually get away.
However, Bai Ying is right. This time, the prince brought so many soldiers. Even if they manage to escape from the prison, they will probably be caught again soon.
Moreover, the prince hasn't said how he plans to deal with them yet. Perhaps the prince doesn't even want them dead. But if they really escape from prison like this, and are caught again, they will definitely die.
Let's just stay here and not worry about it. Anyway, we still have food every day. The prince probably doesn't intend for them to starve.
White Eagle himself had no intention of escaping, since so many of his brothers were still there, and he would never abandon them.
Moreover, he believed in the prince, thinking that the prince wouldn't really want their lives.
Qian Ergou slapped his thigh and said, "I wonder if the prince will see us again. If I have the chance to see the prince again, I will definitely plead with him on our behalf."
The prince doesn't seem like the kind of person who only cares about killing and is unreasonable, otherwise he wouldn't have just locked them up in prison.
If we plead with the prince, perhaps he will release them!
Although the others didn't speak, they were all eager to see Xuan Yuanzhan.
Outside, Xuan Yuanzhan personally oversaw the executions of these people from the execution platform.
Many people from the north also came to watch the execution.
"Besides these officials, there are also quite a few bandits!"
"I heard they've all committed serious crimes and are going to be beheaded!"
"Well done! These are all heinous criminals; they deserve to be killed!"
"That Magistrate Li Xianlong of Beifeng City is a really bad official. He forcibly abducts women and drives innocent girls to their deaths. He's committed all sorts of evil deeds. This time, finally someone has come to deal with him."
"Those who were killed by them can finally rest in peace."
"The Prince is truly a savior sent by Heaven to our northern lands! He has done a great service to our northern lands!"
"This is not the only good thing. Everything the Prince has done in our northern lands is a great thing for the people of our northern lands!"
"Your Highness is so kind! We really hope that Your Highness can stay in our northern lands forever, so that we will never go hungry again!"
Amidst the lively discussion, Xuanyuan Zhan dropped the execution token.
There were over a hundred people to be beheaded on the execution platform. It took the two executioners quite a while to finally behead all the kneeling people.
Heads littered the execution platform, blood flowed like a river, yet the people cheered with joy.
"They all deserved to die, good riddance!"
"Long live the Prince!"
"Long live the Prince!"
The people's cheers pleased Xuan Yuanzhan as well.
They're so happy to have killed some people who deserved to die; these people really need this kind of appeasement!
Xuanyuan Zhan had the corpses collected and then returned to the government office, instructing Ye Feng: "Go and fetch Bai Ying from the prison for me."
"Yes," Ye Feng replied, and then went to the prison.
When Bai Ying was led out of the prison by Ye Feng, the bandits of Liuying Village instantly became excited.
"Let go of our boss!"
"Come at us if you have a problem! Our boss is a good guy!"
"Quiet down, everyone!"
The constables immediately knocked on the cell doors to quiet the bandits.
But the bandits all thought that White Eagle was going to be beheaded, since those who had been dragged out before were all going to be beheaded, so how could they stay quiet?
Seeing that chaos was about to break out in the prison, Bai Ying immediately shouted, "No one is allowed to make a sound! The prince wants to see me, but he doesn't necessarily have to cut off my head. No one is allowed to make a sound. Wait for me to come back!"
As soon as Bai Ying spoke, the bandits of Liuying Village finally quieted down.
No one dared to cause trouble anymore.
Qian Ergou immediately grabbed the fence and shouted to Bai Ying, "Bai Ying, if you really see the prince, you must plead for us! We are really not wicked villains. Please, Your Highness, investigate and spare our lives!"
Bai Ying glanced at Qian Ergou and the others, said nothing, and then followed Ye Feng away.
After Bai Ying left, Qian Ergou looked at Zhang Debiao and asked, "Zhang Debiao, what do you think the Prince wanted Bai Ying to do? Could it be that he wanted to kill Bai Ying?"
Zhang Debiao frowned, looking tense: "I don't think so!"
If the previous bandits being taken away hadn't bothered Zhang Debiao at all, now that Bai Ying had been taken away, he was truly panicked.
Like them, Bai Ying was also a leader. If the prince wanted to execute Bai Ying, then the rest of them would not be far from death.
Qian Ergou suddenly thought of something: "Do you guys remember when Bai Ying fought with the Prince at Chunmanlou? Could it be that the Prince wants to kill Bai Ying because of that?"
Zhang Debiao couldn't say for sure either, but he instinctively told himself that the prince wasn't that petty: "Probably not, the prince isn't that kind of person."
If the prince is the kind of person who holds grudges even for such trivial matters, then which of these people wouldn't have to die?
And the people in their village—everyone who participated in robbing the government's grain—are probably beheaded by now.
Li Yuanbao said in a muffled voice, "Stop thinking about it, just wait patiently."
Their fates should be decided soon!
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