Chapter 46 A Heavy Punishment in Chaotic Times
The rain intensified.
The people crowded together, but there seemed to be a vacuum around Chu Jiubian, with no one getting close.
The surrounding civilians, and even the soldiers and officers around Qin Xiao, seemed oblivious to this scene. They appeared to be controlled by some force, instinctively ignoring this strange phenomenon.
Only Qin Xiao saw it.
He saw once again the extraordinary and unique qualities of Chu Jiubian.
I also noticed the other person's indifferent gaze.
This was Chu Jiubian's usual demeanor; his light-colored pupils rarely showed any emotional fluctuations, and he always had a sense of loneliness that seemed detached from the world.
Zhou Boshan's screams grew softer and softer. The officials tied to the other wooden stakes were from Huai County and Guangqing Prefecture. They were either dizzy or crying as they watched this scene, with cries of pleas for mercy and confessions rising and falling.
But almost all of it was swallowed up by the sound of the rain and couldn't reach Qin Xiao's ears.
Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian were separated by the rain, hundreds of meters apart, but neither of them moved, nor did they look away.
After an unknown amount of time, the man's screams finally subsided, and bright red blood flowed into a large pink pool.
Lightning flashed through the clouds, followed by a muffled rumble of thunder.
Qin Xiao stood up and instructed the people around him, "The disaster relief grain has arrived. Prepare to distribute the porridge."
This man was the Commandant of Hexi Prefecture. He had witnessed Qin Xiao's methods before when he was in Pu County. He could kill a fourth-rank prefect without hesitation. Now, this "death by a thousand cuts" made him both respect and fear him.
He didn't even dare to look at Qin Xiao's face anymore, and replied with his eyes slightly lowered.
Qin Xiao took a step and walked towards Chu Jiubian without using an umbrella.
Most of the onlookers had fled in terror when Zhou Boshan was barely recognizable as human, and the remaining small group were also fleeing into the city in a panic, their eyes filled with fear and dread as they looked at Qin Xiao.
It didn't look like looking at a savior, but more like looking at some kind of ghost.
Qin Xiao stood in front of Chu Jiubian, completely soaked, with a few strands of hair hanging down and clinging to his face.
Chu Jiubian stared at him for two breaths, then tilted the umbrella handle slightly and covered his head with it.
"Did you just arrive?" Qin Xiao asked.
"Hmm." Chu Jiubian glanced behind him. "What should we do with those people?"
He was asking about officials other than Zhou Boshan.
"Cut it down." Qin Xiao said calmly.
As if to cooperate with him, the soldiers who remained in place picked up their knives and, one by one, slit the throats of the officials after the prefect gave the order.
Bright red splattered, making the entire earth appear as if it were stained red with blood.
Chu Jiubian watched from afar when he suddenly heard a man's deep voice.
"Do you think I'm cruel?" Qin Xiao asked.
Chu Jiubian paused, then looked up and met the man's bloodshot, tired eyes.
"Why do you ask that?" he asked, somewhat surprised.
“Everyone says that,” Qin Xiao said, staring intently at him. “What about you?”
Chu Jiubian's gaze shifted slightly, landing on the stubble that was starting to appear on the man's chin.
He suddenly wondered if Qin Xiao had also had the same doubts and wavering in a world where he didn't exist.
Did he ask others the same question back then?
Or did Qin Xiao silently digest all these emotions from beginning to end, continuing to "do things his own way" and remain the "cruel and bloodthirsty" regent in the eyes of others?
At this moment, Chu Jiubian suddenly felt that he and Qin Xiao were not actually that similar.
“You did the right thing.” Chu Jiubian looked up and met the man’s gaze again, his eyes unwavering. “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.”
In the current situation, only by killing these people can we stabilize public sentiment and maintain the dignity of the court and His Majesty.
Moreover, this swift and decisive approach was Qin Xiao's third time intimidating everyone.
For the first time, Qin Xiao massacred the Shenwu Gate, suppressing the rebellious intentions of the powerful nobles and princes.
The second time, he beheaded two scions of powerful families in front of all the officials, showing that he was not afraid of the power of these families and ordered them to restrain their sons so that they would not dare to act recklessly and disobey the court again.
The third time is today.
Qin Xiao used the most cruel punishments to give all officials who were attached to powerful families the most direct deterrent.
Anyone can rely on a powerful family, anyone can find opportunities to climb the social ladder, but Qin Xiao's bottom line is "the common people," and morality.
The court can fight amongst itself however it pleases, but it must never use the common people as bargaining chips.
Qin Xiao has already shown everyone what the consequences would be otherwise.
Of course, this also serves another important purpose: to make all those who depend on powerful and influential families see clearly whether the big tree behind them will protect them if something really happens.
Qin Xiao understood the firmness and composure in Chu Jiubian's attitude.
But even so, he wanted to get to the bottom of things and get a clearer answer.
“But I used the punishment of slow slicing,” he said.
This punishment was established by the second emperor of the previous dynasty, an emperor whose posthumous title was "Li" (厉). He not only established the punishment of slow slicing, but also cruel punishments such as branding, skinning, and dismemberment by chariot.
Because these methods of punishment were too cruel, subsequent emperors never used them again in order to maintain their reputation for "benevolence."
Now that Qin Xiao has reinstated the punishment of slow slicing, even if he himself believes it is right, seeing the fear in the eyes of the people, he cannot help but waver for a moment.
He was not afraid of being misunderstood by the world, nor of his reputation for cruelty.
They even felt that such a fearsome reputation would be more intimidating to the world.
But now, facing Chu Jiubian, he really wanted to know the other party's opinion.
“Punishments vary in severity from generation to generation, and there are principles and requirements to follow.” Chu Jiubian said calmly, “In times of chaos, severe punishments are used. What about the punishment of slow slicing? Some people deserve to die anyway.”
"No matter how tragically they die, or how many times they die, the sins they committed can never be atoned."
The damage has already been done; any further cost is too little.
Those innocent souls who lost their lives because of Zhou Boshan's momentary lapse of judgment, even if he were to die a hundred times, they would never return.
Qin Xiao stared at him, remaining silent for a long time.
Chu Jiu was referring to Zhou Boshan, those corrupt officials, and all the powerful and wealthy who treated human life as worthless.
But that's not all.
He seems to be using this to say something more subtle, about certain people and certain things that only he knows.
Qin Xiao lowered his eyes and looked at the young man's left wrist, which was gripping the umbrella handle.
The marks there were already very faint, but as Chu Jiubian himself said, some wounds are invisible on the surface, but the damage caused can never be erased.
Qin Xiao's fingertips twitched slightly, but he immediately withdrew them and clenched them into a fist.
However, the next moment, he still raised his hand and grasped the umbrella handle.
Chu Jiubian then let go of her hand.
They didn't talk about it anymore and walked side by side into the city.
Qin Xiao gripped the umbrella handle, covering most of the umbrella over Chu Jiubian's head.
"Have the people been settled?" Chu Jiubian asked.
"They're all in the north of the city."
With the relief funds and grain under the supervision of Chao Shun, a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue, he dared not make any mistakes. Therefore, Chu Jiubian felt at ease and followed Qin Xiao along the city streets, heading north towards the place where the disaster victims were gathered.
Nearly 30,000 people in Huai County were affected, and nearly 10,000 people in the three submerged villages were also affected.
These people were settled in batches in different villages and county towns by Qin Xiao, and were placed under the care of soldiers sent by the prefectural commandant to prevent riots and accidents.
In Huai County, there are now more than a thousand disaster victims gathered in a dilapidated Taoist temple in the north of the city.
As they walked, they encountered many townspeople wearing straw raincoats, as well as a few scattered disaster victims.
They should all be the same group of people who were watching the excitement outside the city.
Upon seeing Qin Xiao, these people's expressions changed, and they hurriedly hid.
Chu Jiubian glanced at Qin Xiao, whose expression remained calm, as if he didn't care at all.
"What happened to the corpses of the common people?" Chu Jiubian asked.
Qin Xiao said, "Have someone fish it out and burn it."
Floods are most likely to breed diseases, so it's best to burn the fire as a precaution.
Including the people from Puxian who were thrown into the flood to block the dikes, Qin Xiao also ordered Liu Junqi, a clerk from the Ministry of Works who stayed in the area to repair the dikes, to keep an eye on them, and to retrieve and burn them, and to clean them up.
However, this caused the people who saw the bodies of their relatives and friends being burned to feel more complex emotions towards Qin Xiao, in addition to their awe and gratitude.
Nowadays, people value burial for peace above all else and abhor the idea of having their bones cremated and their ashes scattered.
But this is the safest course of action, and Qin Xiao has to do it.
The two traveled all the way to the north of the city, and by then it was completely dark.
The Taoist temple that housed the disaster victims had previously been quite popular, but later the magistrate of Huai County became more devout in Buddhism and disliked Taoism, so he drove away the Taoist priests from the area, and the temple fell into disrepair.
However, the temple occupies a considerable area, and it was not too crowded to accommodate more than a thousand disaster victims.
The two didn't go over; they just stood at a distance and watched.
The grain brought by Chu Jiubian has arrived here. The gate of the Taoist temple is wide open, and many local officials from Huai County are helping the relief troops unload the grain.
Some of the strong and healthy among the disaster victims were also helping, while others who were weak also wanted to do what they could to help. Some people even put their hands together in front of their chests and kowtowed to heaven and earth.
The people were somewhat restless because porridge could not be distributed tonight, but after hearing that Qin Xiao had executed those corrupt officials outside the city, the law-abiding people dared not vent their dissatisfaction.
Now that the rice has arrived, the initial dissatisfaction has completely vanished, replaced by gratitude.
I am grateful for the temporary favor, grateful for the officials' slight mercy, and grateful for the ethereal gods.
These are the disaster victims, these are the ignorant people.
They don't know many profound principles, and they can't even distinguish right from wrong. They can't even maintain their basic food and clothing, so how could they think about who treats them well and who treats them badly?
Anyone who can provide them with food and drink, ensuring they don't starve or freeze to death, is a good person and a good official.
Those who don't give them food and water are corrupt and evil officials.
Before the disaster relief grain arrived, Qin Xiao was already seen as a cruel and ruthless official in their minds. Now that the grain had arrived, Qin Xiao had become a good official who cared about them and had eliminated corrupt officials.
But it's not their fault.
Because both the previous dynasty and the past rulers of Da Ning implemented a policy of keeping the people ignorant.
The common people don't need to be sensible; they are merely tools of production, tools of war, tools for attacking political enemies, insignificant ants...
They can be many things, but they cannot be a person with a sound mind.
Even if a few individuals do gain intelligence, they will become dependent on various forces, large and small, for the sake of their so-called future and a better life.
From a tool, it has become a pawn that can be discarded at any time.
Even among those scholars and literati who consciously read books and sought to understand principles, how many of them truly comprehended those principles?
Chu Jiubian stood quietly, the umbrella shielding his head, but his clothes, shoes, and socks were already soaked through.
A faint commotion came from the Taoist temple in the distance, and then a figure rushed out from the door, laughing and shouting.
It's a woman.
The sky was dark, but just by looking at the silhouette, one could see that the person's abdomen was bulging high.
She was pregnant!
Chu Jiubian's expression changed, and he quickly walked towards the other party. Qin Xiao moved almost at the same time as him.
Several people also came out of the Taoist temple; they all appeared to be elderly women.
The woman skipped and hopped in the rain, then suddenly stopped, shyly touching a pearl flower stuck in her crooked hair bun, and spoke to the empty space, as if asking someone if she looked good like this.
Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao walked up to her and saw that her hair was messy and stuck to her face, and a birthmark the size of a copper coin could be vaguely seen on her face.
The woman tilted her head when she saw Chu Jiubian.
Then, as if remembering something, she ran towards Chu Jiubian, and Qin Xiao almost instinctively stepped forward to block him.
The woman reached out and gripped Qin Xiao's arm tightly, her dark eyes empty and unfocused.
"You're back." The woman said, then quickly withdrew her hand and smoothed her hair. Then she carefully took out a small, wet garment from her bosom. The red linen had faded and turned grayish from being soaked.
"This is for our child, isn't it pretty?" The woman's eyes grew increasingly unfocused. She held the little garment to her chest and smiled gently, "It's pretty, our child looks good in anything."
The women behind him caught up and seemed to recognize Qin Xiao. Their expressions changed, and they knelt down and kowtowed in fear.
"Get up." Qin Xiao called to the man and looked at the woman who was acting crazy.
A bolder woman spoke up, her voice trembling slightly: "Sir, she's a madwoman, did she offend you?"
"It's alright, take her back first," Qin Xiao said.
The other women immediately helped and supported the woman, surrounding her in the center and carefully leading her into the Taoist temple.
Chu Jiubian stopped the bold woman and asked, "What's wrong with her?"
"Replying to your question, sir." The woman dared not lie and hurriedly told everything she knew.
It turned out that Qin Xiao had previously ordered people to summon doctors from nearby counties and assign them to these disaster-stricken areas to treat the people. An old doctor from Yunlu County was assigned to this Taoist temple.
The old doctor was accompanied by a young apprentice, and besides that was this crazy woman.
"It's pitiful, really," the woman sighed. "Danniang's husband was wrongfully killed by the magistrate of Yunlu County. When she heard the news, she was so shocked that she would sometimes be lucid and sometimes insane. The old doctor took pity on her and has been taking care of her ever since."
Magistrate of Yunlu County?
Chu Jiubian had previously heard Liu Junqi mention that the one who brought innocent civilians to the yamen gate and beheaded them was the magistrate of Yunlu County, and he was one of the officials who had just been tied up outside the city and had his throat slit.
That kind of death was far too lenient on him.
Chu Jiubian felt dizzy again. He closed his eyes, endured the dizziness, and asked the system in his mind, "Can it be cured?"
[Host, this system can detect and provide a comprehensive treatment plan, which will cost 30 points. Are you sure you want to generate a treatment plan?]
I had just received over thirty points from the disaster relief team, and I didn't expect to use them so soon.
“I’m sure,” he said.
The patient has been located and is currently undergoing scanning and testing.
[Test complete.]
[This patient has experienced mild psychological distress and can be treated with specific medications. However, given her pregnancy, it is recommended that the dosage be reduced by half.]
Chu Jiubian felt a sense of relief.
[Because the host has reached the required spending amount within the system, the system is gifting you one course of treatment medication.]
If the host requires the system to provide testing on a wider range of individuals, please purchase a monthly subscription service for 300 points.
Chu Jiubian slowly opened his eyes and saw that the woman who had just spoken had already turned around and run back to the Taoist temple.
The surroundings were dark, with only a faint light coming from the Taoist temple in the distance.
The sound of rain blurred the voices inside the temple, but the pattering of raindrops on the umbrellas grew clearer and clearer.
Qin Xiao's deep gaze swept over the figures coming and going in the Taoist temple. The feeling of his arm being gripped by the woman was still clear. The tight feeling of being bound spread from his arm to his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.
Suddenly, the back of my left hand, which was gripping the umbrella handle, felt a chill, and the muscles in my arm tensed up instinctively.
Qin Xiao lowered his eyes and saw that the young man's cold palm was covering his hand.
The umbrella handle was tilted until it hung down completely, then the young man took it and closed it completely.
Qin Xiao raised his eyes and looked at Chu Jiubian in the extremely dim light.
With no shelter above his head, the other person was completely exposed to the rain along with him.
Chu Jiubian reached out and swept her wet bangs back, revealing her smooth forehead, which made her face look even more delicate.
His eyes, which were usually devoid of emotion, seemed to be gradually igniting with a spark, which was particularly clear in the hazy sky.
"In times of famine and chaos, taxes should be levied lightly and profits should be distributed," Chu Jiubian said slowly. "We must eliminate thieves and seek the help of spirits and deities."
In years of famine, relief supplies should be distributed to the people, corvée labor and taxes should be reduced, thieves should be eliminated, and spirits should be worshipped to find spiritual sustenance.
Qin Xiao accomplished the first few, but the last one, the Ghost God...
"Do you know why I don't believe in gods?" Qin Xiao asked, his voice soft and even gentle.
Chu Jiubian remained silent.
Qin Xiao seemed to smile, but then again, he didn't.
"If there truly are gods, why can't they see these sufferings?" he asked.
Chu Jiubian stared at the man's blurry outline in the darkness, his Adam's apple bobbing.
At that moment, he finally understood something.
Why did he always feel that Qin Xiao was indecisive? Why did the other party always seem to be wary of something?
Qin Xiao wasn't being wary, nor was he truly indecisive; he simply cared.
What he cared about were these ordinary people.
Chu Jiubian suddenly felt that he was both very close to the person in front of him and very far away.
A system voice sounded in his mind: [Monthly subscription function failed to activate. The host is 130 faith points short of activating it. Please try harder.]
"I can see it," Chu Jiubian said, his clear, cold voice devoid of any warmth or inflection.
Qin Xiao stared at him without saying a word.
“I need faith,” Chu Jiubian continued. “Give me this Taoist temple, and I will help these people get through this ordeal safely.”
Qin Xiao remained silent for a long time, as did Chu Jiubian.
The rain seemed to intensify, and Chu Jiubian could barely open his eyes.
Qin Xiao took the umbrella from her hand and put it over her head again.
Chu Jiubian raised his hand to wipe his eyes, but his eyelashes touched Qin Xiao's hand first.
His half-raised hand froze in mid-air. With his eyes closed, he felt the man's rough fingertips gently brush against his eyes.
Amidst the sound of rain, a man's deep voice rang out: "Okay."
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