Despite being beaten so badly he was barely breathing, the hairy-chested guy still managed to maintain his composure, at least his eyes still held a fierce look.
However, he was frightened by the question of Zhao Qingyan's subsequent execution by slow slicing, and his eyes began to dart away, eventually even closing them.
It's as if doing this allows you to avoid facing the present moment.
How could Zhao Qingyan give him that chance?
A stick struck the hairy-chested guy's broken leg. The hairy-chested guy let out a miserable howl.
There's no need for Zhao Qingyan to threaten anymore; just quickly reveal your secrets.
Xuanfeng Village is a village located on Maotou Mountain, about 100 miles away from the natural barrier.
There are more than 300 brothers in total.
It's unclear whose ancestral graves the bandits in this area dug up, but around May, the government and garrison began to clear out the nearby mountain strongholds.
Those who ran fast managed to save their lives, while those who ran slowly were either killed or captured—it was a truly tragic situation.
Besides robbing, they had no other means of making a living over the years. Their hideout was raided, and their village was demolished.
Yes, it really was demolished. The good materials were transported down the mountain, and the unusable wood and other materials were taken home by the surrounding villagers for firewood.
What an utter disgrace this is!
Without the village and without money, they had no other means of making a living.
They had no choice but to return to their old ways, and these two carriages were robbed of passing examinees' carriages.
Being a scholar means being weak and powerless, but it also means having money to spare and being easy prey.
Therefore, the main targets of the fifteen remaining members of Whirlwind Stronghold were scholars traveling to take the imperial examinations.
As for whether he had any blood on his hands, even if Brother Chest Hair said he didn't, Zhao Qingyan wouldn't believe him.
Zhao Qingyan really wanted to kick the guy in front of her to death right now, and she was crying so horribly.
They're just a bunch of poor bastards. Anyway, whether what he said is true or false will be clear once we get to the prefectural city.
I asked Zhao Minggeng and others in the past, and the answers were largely the same.
Each person was given a rope, tied up, and thrown onto their carriage, and they continued on their way.
Zhao Qingshan and Zhao Minggeng each took charge of a bandit's carriage and headed straight for the prefectural city.
Because they had wasted too much time on the road, they sped up their journey and spent the night outdoors.
The Zhao family took out an iron pot and cooked a pot of wild vegetable and egg soup.
Zhao Qingyan went out for another stroll and came back with two pheasants and a rabbit.
They made beggar's chicken and roasted wild rabbit, and buried a lot of sweet potatoes and potatoes in the fire.
The aroma wafted into the noses of the bandits crammed into the carriage, causing them immense suffering.
The bandits kept shouting that they were hungry, thirsty, and needed to urinate.
The Zhao family ignored them all, saying they didn't care what they did and that they simply wouldn't serve them.
The next day, Zhao Qingshan and Zhao Minggeng, who were responsible for driving the carriage, could clearly smell an unusual odor coming from the carriage.
I gave each of them two masks and we hurried on our way.
Upon arriving in the prefectural city, the Zhao family immediately took their carriage to the prefectural government office.
When Zhang Rong came out and saw that it was a member of the Zhao family, he was pleasantly surprised.
"That's great! I was just thinking you guys should be here soon. I really couldn't stop thinking about it."
The Zhao family quickly brought over the carriage carrying the bandits, explained the situation, and went home. After all, Zhang Rong knew very well where their house was in the prefectural city.
Zhang Rong quickly reported to Lord Duan about the Zhao family capturing the bandits.
Lord Duan was overjoyed. During the previous bandit suppression, there was a group of bandit leaders who had not been captured. This was truly a godsend.
"Court is now in session!" A powerful voice echoed throughout the government office.
Lord Duan called out several times, but the prisoner was not brought up. He sensed something was wrong and sent Zhang Rong to see what was going on.
Zhang Ronggang sensed something was wrong as soon as he approached the carriage. He lifted the curtain and was so overwhelmed by the stench that he jumped back.
He pinched his nose and ordered the other constables to unload the man quickly.
Zhang Rong was disgusted, and others' sense of smell wasn't wrong either, but a higher rank can have an absolute crushing effect.
As they pulled them down one by one, they discovered that because their hands and feet were tied up and they couldn't move, they had either defecated or urinated, and some even had smelly socks stuffed in their mouths.
This is disgusting, we can't bring it into the lobby, what should we do?
Fortunately, there was a well behind the yamen. Only after opening their hands and feet did they realize that it was indeed the Zhao family's method, specializing in cutting off hands and feet.
Since we're all men anyway, let's just pull down our pants and flush under the hot sun. We have to get rid of that bag of poop and pee.
At this point, the bandits who had been disguised as scholars and sitting outside in long gowns were now at an advantage. Even if they had taken off their pants, at least they didn't have to show off their genitals in public anymore.
After washing the group clean, there weren't enough clean pants. The constables couldn't possibly wash the bandits' excrement and urine.
What to do? Zhang Rong looked around and noticed a lot of straw mats in the corner.
Okay, that's fine. Then someone handed out a straw mat. That covered their bottom.
Anyway, all these people have to be carried into the lobby.
A strange sight appeared: the defendants in the first trial in Lingnan Prefecture were all covered with straw curtains when they entered the courtroom.
Upon seeing this, Lord Duan thought, "Isn't this disrespectful to me?" Before he could even react, Zhang Rong stepped forward and explained the matter.
After hearing the whole story, Lord Duan quickly told Zhang Rong to stay five meters away from him.
The air, which hadn't smelled particularly bad before, now smelled like a latrine to Lord Duan.
This court hearing was the fastest case Duan had ever tried since he became an official.
He was incredibly quick-witted and decisive, convicting and sentencing the thieves without even consulting the clerk.
As for the Zhao family's merit in helping to capture the bandits, that was completely ignored.
It's all because this trial had a peculiar atmosphere; that's just how petty Lord Duan is.
He didn't even consider that the Zhao family consisted of eight people, including two women and a child. How could they possibly take the time to watch over the eating, drinking, and bodily functions of 15 people?
Who are they? They are bandits, bandits who want to kill people. How can the Zhao family help them solve their urgent needs out of humanitarianism?
As for the Zhao family, who had already returned home, once the person was sent to the yamen (government office), it had nothing to do with them anymore.
Forget about any reward; the Zhao family isn't short of money.
The house, which has been uninhabited for several months, needs to be thoroughly cleaned and inspected again.
Zhao Qianci sat in the courtyard, with Yunyou accompanying him.
I must say, the sight of two old men drinking tea under umbrellas is quite pleasing to the eye.
There was a lot of dust in the room, so after sweeping, we had to sprinkle snake and insect repellent powder on each room again.
The ground, the beams, the roof, the front and back yards, including the small open space behind the second courtyard, must all be thoroughly cleaned before one can feel at ease.
The scenes from the last time in the prefectural city are vividly remembered by everyone who visited before.
Fearing a recurrence of such an incident, after the imperial examination, Madam Huang decided to thoroughly search the entire house, making sure to find the snake's nest. Otherwise, the old lady would be truly uneasy.
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