Chapter 296: "Preparing for the New Year" (Part 5) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"Shen Jun is here!"
"This is Shen Jun?"
"So young..."
Whispers continued, but Shen Tang, without looking to the side, walked straight through the crowd, lifted the hem of her dress, and stepped onto the simple platform. The onlookers were blocked by soldiers. The platform was simple, with three tiers of steps; climbing it, the onlookers could easily see what was happening.
Shen Tang ignored the murmurs and chatter of the crowd.
He sat upright at the head of the table and waved to those below.
Soon soldiers carried up heavy bamboo slips.
With a thud.
The heavy object fell to the ground, kicking up a thin layer of dust.
Shen Tang casually picked up the top scroll and opened it.
Let her choose a "lucky one" to lead the way.
"Oh, what a coincidence, bringing Steward Diao from the Zhang family up here." Shen Tang casually closed the book and set it aside, then dragged a man onto the stage like a leopard grabbing a chick. The people took a closer look and immediately recognized the man as Steward Diao from the Zhang family.
This person's mother was the wet nurse of the Zhang family head.
He always considered himself the wet nurse of the Zhang family patriarch.
Furthermore, since his entire family worked for the Zhang family and were highly valued, he used this relationship to commit many heinous acts, such as abducting women, seizing fertile land, beating tenants to death, and driving orphans and widows to their deaths.
A person who will stop at nothing to gain profit.
The Zhang family openly owned over a hundred hectares of fertile land, employing more than five hundred tenant farmers. A steward surnamed Diao was in charge of managing a portion of the land, but secretly oppressed several families of tenant farmers, forcibly taking wives and daughters—his evil deeds were utterly outrageous.
As for the case file that Shen Tang had seen by chance before—that Diao falsely accused someone’s son of stealing fighting cocks, forcing a widowed mother to cut open her son’s abdomen to prove her innocence, this matter was not even in the top ten in terms of severity among all of Diao’s crimes!
Shen Tang frowned deeply.
"No, is there even a need for an interrogation? Just drag him away and chop off his head, that'll be the end of it, don't waste time."
However, Qi Shan and the others completely disagreed with her suggestion.
Shen Tang sighed and said to Steward Diao, whose eye socket was bruised and who was trembling, "Alright, alright, I understand, I understand. The procedure still needs to be followed. Lingde, you read it to him."
This trivial matter was originally Chu Yao's responsibility.
However, he claimed that he was getting old and had stayed up all night, so his voice was a little hoarse. He then asked his apprentice, Lin Feng, to take over – the child needed more training to strive to reach the level of "remaining calm even if Mount Tai collapses before him, and not blinking even if a deer runs past on his left".
A scholar must have an iron will.
They can handle any scene, big or small, with ease.
Lin Feng suppressed her nervousness, her youthful voice carrying from the high platform to the ears of the people below. She read a letter clearly and with intonation, and then Chen Tang asked Steward Diao if he pleaded guilty.
Steward Diao kowtowed and begged for mercy, making a loud banging sound on the platform—if only Zhang's family had been taken down, he could still be stubborn, but Shen Tang had taken down seven families (gangs) in one night, which showed how ruthless the other party was.
No more beating around the bush, let's get to it!
How could someone who falls into the hands of such a person possibly survive?
He wasn't unaware of what he had done; he had simply been fearless in the past—the Zhang family was his biggest backer, and as the head of the family and his elder brother, to touch him was to disrespect the Zhang family—now that his backer had fallen, and even his backer himself was in dire need of protection, how could he possibly survive?
Now I just hope it's not the death penalty.
As long as I can live...
Shen Tang asked calmly, "Do you plead guilty or not?"
Manager Diao hurriedly said, "I confess, I confess my guilt."
In fact, he couldn't even remember if he had done it, how many he had done, or when he had done it... there were just too many.
Seeing that Steward Diao confessed his guilt, Shen Tang questioned Gu Chi.
"How should the sentence be determined?"
Gu Chi said, "The punishment of nose amputation should be imposed."
Shen Tang laughed and said, "Alright, then let's use nose amputation."
The crowd below erupted in uproar upon hearing this, while Steward Diao on the high platform revealed a faint smile of relief, as if he had escaped a disaster.
The so-called "nose-cutting punishment" was cutting off the nose of a criminal. Compared to losing one's life, losing a nose was nothing.
The people were dissatisfied that Diao had committed so many evil deeds yet still managed to escape with his life, only having his nose cut off!
How unfair!
Even so, some people couldn't stand it anymore and prepared to leave.
but--
Diao screamed and fell to the ground with blood streaming from his nose. The executioner applied wood ash to the wound to stop the bleeding.
Shen Tang didn't even look at his nose, casually picked up another scroll, glanced at it, and gave a meaningful smile.
He handed it to Lin Feng, who was standing to one side.
“Lingde, you read it.”
Manager Diao was immediately dumbfounded.
Shen Tang played with the accessories at her waist, her smile bright and sunny.
"Who do you think this basket of books represents? Nose amputation, that's the price you have to pay for what you just did. Now we're going to interrogate someone else. Two separate matters, one for each. I'm a very merciful man, and it's not advisable to kill too many people as the year draws to a close. I'll temporarily waive the combined punishment for all your crimes, and settle accounts with you one by one!"
Manager Diao's pupils trembled violently.
He looked at the large basket of books beside Shen Tang.
Despite his fierce struggle, he was kicked to the ground by Tanuki and held behind his back, unable to break free.
Lin Feng read the second volume.
Manager Diao refused to admit fault this time.
But it doesn't matter. She disdains using uncivilized and bloody methods like torture to extract confessions. We are all civilized people, so let's be civilized.
Wenxin Wenshi allows you to speak the truth!
After Diao confessed uncontrollably, Shen Tang smiled and turned to Gu Chi, asking, "Wang Chao, how should this be sentenced?"
“He should be subjected to castration.”
The so-called "severing punishment" refers to amputation of the feet.
Shen Tang said, "That won't do, will it? Cutting off his foot, with such a big wound, how many more breaths can he hold on? It's too bloody during the New Year."
Gu Chi: "The punishment can be reduced by cutting off the right toe."
Shen Tang nodded in agreement.
So he ordered someone to cut off the right toe of Steward Diao.
Volume 3, Severe Punishments, "Scratch Punishment".
Volume Four, Severe Punishments, "Scratch Punishment".
Volume 5, Severe Punishments, "Scratch Punishment".
Shen Tang frowned repeatedly as she looked at him.
He was deliberately muttering so loudly that the people in the audience could hear him.
"Hey, if your parents hadn't given you seven or eight legs, I don't know where you got the nerve to commit so many crimes punishable by death? As a human being, please be kind. Before you do anything, think about how many times your parents gave you this body you could chop off!"
Based on the existing case files, even with a lenient sentence, it wouldn't be enough to chop off all of Steward Diao's ten fingers, ten toes, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Shen Tang's purpose was to intimidate, establish credibility, and establish authority, not to teach the human pig technique on the spot. He gave Steward Diao a quick death and ordered his men to cut off his head with a knife.
His head rolled several times with the help of the gushing blood.
Blood splattered, staining Lin Feng's shoes and socks.
She was just a little pale, but she managed to stay composed.
Shen Tang asked Lin Feng to finish reading the remaining files related to Diao.
According to these circumstances, not only him, but his entire family would have to be buried several times over. Given the current climate, Shen Tang didn't mention anything about excluding family members from the blame—not to mention that Diao's parents, brothers, sisters, wife, and children were not clean either, even if they were innocent, they were still direct beneficiaries of the benefits Diao had gained.
If they were unaware of the situation, they might cry foul, but as the real beneficiaries, how are they innocent?
Fifty-eight people were directly killed by Diao! The number of those indirectly killed would probably double that!
Shen Tang: "Bring up Diao's wife, Wu."
We're family...
It's better to keep things neat and tidy.
Shen Tang calmly sipped her hot tea. In less than a quarter of an hour, eight heads appeared on the high platform. She felt uncomfortable looking at the heads and had them arranged neatly, all facing the same direction—hmm, that looks much better now.
The only daughter in the family whose crime was relatively minor was also sentenced to fifty strokes of the cane and then sent to pound rice for a living.
After finishing with the Diao family, the next basket didn't take so long, because it was the main event, the Zhang family of He Yin!
Shen Tang randomly picked up a scroll, and it immediately contained death sentences! Not believing it, she picked up another scroll, and it still contained beheadings, hanging, and even the extermination of three generations of one's entire family... Good heavens...
This is a death sentence package!
Gu Chi said, "It's not that complicated. Given the crimes committed by the Zhang family head, the lightest punishment would be the extermination of his entire family and the imposition of all five punishments."
Shen Tang: "..."
The so-called "extermination of three generations and the five punishments" is easy to understand. Simply put, before exterminating three generations of a family, the perpetrators would cut off the nose, chop off the toes, be flogged to death, cut off the head and hang it up for public display, and finally chop it into mincemeat...
The punishments in the states of Xin and Geng are different.
The former generally involved beatings and exile, rarely resulting in limb mutilation; such punishments were reserved for extremely serious crimes. In contrast, the Geng Kingdom readily resorted to knives to cut off people's eyes, ears, mouth, nose, hands, and feet. Now, under Zheng Qiao's rule in the Geng Kingdom, the Zhang family naturally wouldn't fare well.
In the past, one could use their family property to avoid punishment.
Not now.
Because the Geng Kingdom had a custom of confiscating property before dealing with people.
The Zhang family's assets were once again "purchased" by Shen Tang as New Year's goods, and even if he wanted to atone for his sins, it wouldn't work. So every volume of the case file could contain a "death sentence" package. The executioner's hand was tired from carrying the knife, and even the specially sharpened cleaver became dull.
Looking at the neatly arranged heads...
The common people didn't find it cruel; they only felt a sense of satisfaction.
The only ones who found it cruel were the "escaped fish" who were mixed in with the crowd and watching the execution. They watched as familiar faces were dragged onto the high platform by Shen Tang's men, and then, without any dignity, their hair was grabbed and their necks were exposed, waiting to be slaughtered...
A strong sense of grief and hatred filled my heart.
This grudge must be avenged!
A venomous gaze was fixed on the boy on the high platform.
They could only see their own people being killed, and they could only see Shen Tang's cruelty and ruthlessness. It was Shen Tang who made them fall from the clouds to the mire overnight, leaving them like stray dogs, forced to hide in commoner's clothes... no longer the glorious days they once had.
They must lie low, even if it means enduring hardship and biding their time, to secretly accumulate strength and deliver a fatal blow to Shen Tang!
Some people were also planning a prison break.
Gu Chi: "..."
Ah, this...
Can't we at least respect his scholarly way of life?
Gu Chi's eyes turned slightly cold. He chuckled and beckoned Gong Shuwu over, telling him the general direction and appearance of the "fish that slipped through the net"—why keep them around knowing they are a hidden danger?
Only by killing them can we eliminate the threat forever!
In his early years, Gu Chi traveled all over the country and saw many so-called "former nobles." These people were all the same at heart, unable to let go of their former glory and wealth. They hid among the people and secretly plotted to restore the old country! They would do anything as long as they could restore the country.
They sought opportunities to sabotage, became outlaws, intercepted and killed ordinary people in the new nation, and spread poison and disease to villages and towns.
These lingering toxins...
Kill them as soon as possible!
Gu Chi's eyes were colder than ever before.
ε≡(><)
Goodnight, my darlings!
Before I go to sleep, I'll ask for one more monthly vote.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com