The people rushed out of their homes and cautiously followed Cui Boyong, who was shackled and chained, all the way to the government office.
A table was placed on the steps outside the government office.
Helian Jue, dressed in the court robes of a first-rank prince, sat imposingly behind the desk.
"Helian Jue, you are treacherous!"
Carrying heavy shackles, Cui Boyong arrived at the government office step by step, just in time to see Helian Jue looking so relaxed.
He was exhausted, hungry, and filled with fear; a host of negative emotions had accumulated within him.
The moment Cui Boyong saw Helian Jue, he finally had someone to vent his anger on.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared hatefully at Helian Jue, as if he were his mortal enemy.
Things had come to this point, and even if Cui Boyong still harbored some illusions, he knew that he could not escape his fate today.
escape?
How do we escape?
His henchmen were all captured and killed in front of him.
Madam Zheng was so frightened that she fainted. When she woke up, she was somewhat disoriented.
His home was ransacked, his Yuezhou camp was occupied, and all his retainers and assassins were wiped out.
He, Cui Boyong, only has one path: death.
Since he was destined to die, why should he fawn over Helian Jue?
Holding onto this pent-up anger, Cui Boyong planned to unleash a torrent of abuse on Helian Jue before he died.
Snap!
A rotten egg suddenly flew out from the crowd and hit Cui Boyong directly in the face.
Once there's a first, there's bound to be a second!
Swish, swish, swish!
Not only rotten eggs flew out of the crowd, but also rotten vegetable leaves, rotten fish and shrimp and other garbage.
Cui Boyong was stunned when he was hit by the first rotten egg.
By the time he realized what was happening and wanted to angrily rebuke those troublemakers, even more garbage was about to engulf him.
Helian Jue watched this scene with satisfaction, then said coldly, "Cui Boyong, do you see? The will of the people cannot be deceived!"
"Whether it is good or bad, the people have their own scale in their hearts."
"You have deceived the court and betrayed the emperor's grace, and you have also cheated the people and incited their anger. You are truly guilty of a heinous crime and deserve to die!"
"As the King of Yue, appointed by the sage, I am obliged to uphold justice and defend the people."
"I hereby declare in public that Cui Boyong has been corrupt, abused his power, oppressed the people, and forced innocent civilians into rebellion... He is to be punished for all his crimes, his property is to be confiscated, and his family members are to be exiled to Jiaozhou to perform hard labor!"
After Helian Jue finished speaking, Cui Boyong, who had just been thinking of being tough before he died, could no longer muster any more courage.
His legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.
Public beheading?
They actually want to chop off his head?
Did Helian Jue not know the custom of "the law does not apply to high-ranking officials"?
He comes from a prestigious family; even if he commits a capital crime, he can be redeemed.
His family fortune was confiscated, but the Cui family hadn't fallen yet. As long as the news reached the capital, the Cui family would come to his rescue!
Helian Jue gave him absolutely no chance to live!
In the past, Cui Boyong took advantage of Yuezhou's remoteness and lack of imperial authority to disregard human life.
This time, it was finally his turn to experience the despair of this wild and remote Lingnan region!
"Spare me! Your Highness, King Yue, spare me!"
As the executioner approached, Cui Boyong's instinct to survive took over.
He humbly pleaded with Helian Jue.
Unfortunately, it was too late!
Whoosh!
A chilling glint flashed, and blood splattered all over the ground.
Besides Cui Boyong, several other officials who had embezzled public funds and committed crimes against the local area were also executed.
A large patch of blood stained the road surface in front of the government office.
The air was thick with the stench of blood, yet the people showed no fear; instead, they reveled in unbridled joy.
The corrupt official is dead!
No one steals their property anymore, no one seizes their fertile land, and no one takes lives lightly.
They are finally free from the persecution and oppression of corrupt officials!
"King Yue is wise! King Yue is wise!"
"Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!"
"...His Highness the King of Yue is wise and mighty, and loves his people like his own children!"
After their initial joy, the people realized what was happening and knelt down, bowing repeatedly to Helian Jue, who was sitting on the steps.
In an instant, shouts of "Long live the King of Yue!" spread like a tsunami over He County.
Xie Ze hid among a group of officials who had not been purged, and was deeply shocked.
He never expected that Helian Jue would actually dare to kill Cui Boyong in public.
Wasn't he afraid that if the news got back to the capital, the emperor would suspect him of plotting a rebellion?
But then I thought again, so what if Helian Jue really did establish a separatist regime and harbored rebellious intentions?
The Great Zhou Dynasty was a new dynasty, just established, with everything in need of rebuilding.
The emperor and the ministers in the court were too busy with their own affairs to care about the Lingnan region.
Back then, Cui Boyong, Huang Zhida, and others weren't truly submissive; their submission was merely nominal. Even the sage tolerated it.
Helian Jue had one more advantage than Cui Boyong and others: his surname was Helian, and he was the son of a sage!
If Lingnan were truly to be divided up, the emperor would rather that person be his own prince.
Thinking about all this, Xie Ze suddenly felt somewhat defeated.
Helian Jue was a man who had schemed to the core.
He had thought of everything to ensure his invincibility.
Is there really a chance of winning against someone like that?
Xie Ze began to hesitate, wavering between the two sides.
"My lord, there is no way we can reconcile with Xie Yuan!"
"Are you really willing to hand over the Xie family, which you've worked so hard to acquire, to Xie Yuan again?"
As Xie Ze's wife, Cui was naturally the one who understood him best.
On the day Cui Boyong was beheaded in public, Xie Ze witnessed the entire process. When he returned to the backyard of the county government, Cui noticed that something was wrong with Xie Ze.
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