pappabearbooks Chapter 36 Heads Rolling By
Chapter 36 Heads Rolling By
Before dawn the next day, the people of Suzhou were awakened by a series of urgent gong sounds and the shouts of officials.
"All citizens, assemble immediately at the square in front of the government building!"
"The imperial court has an important announcement to make! There must be no mistakes!"
With a mix of surprise and uncertainty, people flocked out of their homes and towards the square in front of the government building.
When they arrived at the square, everyone was speechless with astonishment at the sight before them.
The entire square was now completely surrounded by thousands of soldiers dressed in black and wielding gleaming weapons.
These soldiers were all tall and burly, with sharp eyes, and exuded a fierce and bloodthirsty aura as if they had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Just standing there makes your legs feel weak and you feel breathless.
A temporary platform was erected in the center of the square.
On the high platform, a dark mass of people knelt.
Upon closer inspection, the people gasped in shock.
Those kneeling at the very front are none other than the Gu family, the Wang family, the Xu family... those powerful men in Suzhou City whose every stomp of their feet could shake the entire ground.
Every day, aren't they surrounded by followers and exuding an air of great power?
But now, they were all disheveled, wearing prison uniforms, kneeling there like dead dogs, trembling like leaves.
What... what happened? Has the sky fallen?
Just as the people were discussing and speculating...
A tall and imposing figure, surrounded by a group of soldiers, slowly walked up to the high platform.
It was Zhu Di.
He wasn't wearing a dragon robe; he was still dressed in black chainmail, carrying the Yongle Sword, which had drunk the blood of countless enemies.
He stood on the high platform, his gaze sharp as lightning, slowly sweeping over the tens of thousands of people below.
The entire square fell silent instantly.
"Fellow villagers."
Zhu Di spoke, and his voice, amplified by spiritual energy, clearly reached everyone's ears.
"I am your Emperor Emeritus, Zhu Di."
"I know you have suffered all these years."
"Most of the grain you worked so hard to grow has been stolen by others."
"Your sons have been taken to work as farm laborers, toiling away without earning a single penny."
"Your daughters, if they've caught the eye of those beasts, they'll have to obediently go and be abused."
Every word Zhu Di uttered seemed to resonate deeply with the people.
Suppressed sobs began to rise from the crowd.
"Do you hate them?" Zhu Di asked loudly, pointing to the group of gentry kneeling on the platform.
"hatred!"
I don't know who was the first to shout it out.
Immediately, a thunderous roar resounded across the square.
"hatred!!"
"Kill them! Kill these beasts!"
The resentment and anger that had been building up for decades or even centuries were finally ignited at this moment.
The people waved their fists and cursed the powerful men who had once made them fear them like tigers, using the most vicious language.
On the high platform, Gu Xiancheng and the others listened to the curses that surged like a tide, their faces turning ashen.
For the first time, they realized that these peasants, whom they usually regarded as ants, actually harbored such deep hatred for them.
"very good."
Cola Novels always has a story waiting for you to open.
Zhu Di nodded in satisfaction.
This is exactly the effect he wanted.
He wanted the people to see for themselves that he would avenge them.
He wanted to win the hearts and minds of the people completely, so that they would stand on the side of the imperial court.
"Zhu Xixiao!"
"Your subject is here!"
"read!"
"yes!"
Zhu Xixiao took out a long scroll, walked to the front of the stage, and began to recite it aloud.
"The Gu family of Songjiang, headed by Gu Xiancheng, seized 13,000 mu of fertile land, causing more than 300 households to be displaced. They forcibly conscripted more than 500 laborers to build private gardens, among whom 72 died from overwork. His son, Gu Mingyuan, forcibly abducted 13 women, of whom 3, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide by jumping into a well..."
"The Wang family of Hangzhou, headed by Wang Defa, monopolized the silk trade, colluded with Japanese pirates, smuggled contraband, and evaded taxes, accumulating a total of three million taels of silver. During this time, in order to cover up their crimes, they orchestrated a shipwreck, resulting in the deaths of one hundred and twenty sailors..."
Zhu Xixiao's voice, amplified by the megaphone talisman (kindly provided by Zhu Zai Rui), resonated throughout the entire square.
Each charge he read out elicited gasps and roars of anger from the people below.
These crimes are too numerous to list and are utterly outrageous!
When Zhu Xixiao finished reading the last charge, the crowd in the square was in complete uproar.
"Kill them! Kill them!"
"Death by a thousand cuts! He must be executed by a thousand cuts!"
"Cut their flesh off piece by piece and feed it to the dogs!"
Public opinion is as vast as a mountain and as deep as the sea.
Zhu Di watched all this and slowly raised the Yongle sword in his hand.
"Executioner!"
"exist!"
Dozens of burly, shirtless executioners, wielding daggers, walked onto the high platform.
"Execute!"
Zhu Di swung his sword downwards with a sudden movement!
"No--!!"
Gu Xiancheng and the others let out desperate screams.
However, their voices were quickly drowned out by the deafening cheers of the people.
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
One by one, heads that were once held high above rose into the sky.
Hot blood stained the entire platform red.
Hot blood stained the entire platform red.
Dozens of powerful gentry and wealthy merchants who had wielded immense influence and influence in Jiangnan were beheaded in broad daylight, in front of tens of thousands of people.
At this moment, the sky over Suzhou seemed to become much clearer.
The people, seeing the figure on the high platform who looked like a god of death, all knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhu Di wiped the blood from the sword onto Gu Xiancheng's clothes.
Looking at the kneeling masses below, a long-lost sense of pride welled up in his heart.
He knew this was just the beginning.
Murder was only the first step.
What comes next is what really matters.
He turned to Zhu Xixiao and gave his second order.
"Issue my decree."
"All confiscated property, gold, and silver will be deposited into the national treasury!"
"All confiscated farmland, shops, and workshops will be taken over by Zhang Juzheng's working group!"
"Then, tell all the people."
Zhu Di's voice once again resounded throughout the entire square.
At this moment, the sky over Suzhou seemed to become much clearer.
The people, seeing the figure on the high platform who looked like a god of death, all knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhu Di wiped the blood from the sword onto Gu Xiancheng's clothes.
Looking at the kneeling masses below, a long-lost sense of pride welled up in his heart.
He knew this was just the beginning.
Murder was only the first step.
What comes next is what really matters.
He turned to Zhu Xixiao and gave his second order.
"Issue my decree."
"All confiscated property, gold, and silver will be deposited into the national treasury!"
"All confiscated farmland, shops, and workshops will be taken over by Zhang Juzheng's working group!"
"Then, tell all the people."
Zhu Di's voice once again resounded throughout the entire square.
Dozens of powerful gentry and wealthy merchants who had wielded immense influence and influence in Jiangnan were beheaded in broad daylight, in front of tens of thousands of people.
At this moment, the sky over Suzhou seemed to become much clearer.
The people, seeing the figure on the high platform who looked like a god of death, all knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhu Di wiped the blood from the sword onto Gu Xiancheng's clothes.
Looking at the kneeling masses below, a long-lost sense of pride welled up in his heart.
He knew this was just the beginning.
Murder was only the first step.
What comes next is what really matters.
He turned to Zhu Xixiao and gave his second order.
"Issue my decree."
"All confiscated property, gold, and silver will be deposited into the national treasury!"
"All confiscated farmland, shops, and workshops will be taken over by Zhang Juzheng's working group!"
"Then, tell all the people."
Zhu Di's voice once again resounded throughout the entire square.
Hot blood stained the entire platform red.
Dozens of powerful gentry and wealthy merchants who had wielded immense influence and influence in Jiangnan were beheaded in broad daylight, in front of tens of thousands of people.
At this moment, the sky over Suzhou seemed to become much clearer.
The people, seeing the figure on the high platform who looked like a god of death, all knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhu Di wiped the blood from the sword onto Gu Xiancheng's clothes.
Looking at the kneeling masses below, a long-lost sense of pride welled up in his heart.
He knew this was just the beginning.
Murder was only the first step.
What comes next is what really matters.
He turned to Zhu Xixiao and gave his second order.
"Issue my decree."
"All confiscated property, gold, and silver will be deposited into the national treasury!"
"All confiscated farmland, shops, and workshops will be taken over by Zhang Juzheng's working group!"
"Then, tell all the people."
Zhu Di's voice once again resounded throughout the entire square.
At this moment, the sky over Suzhou seemed to become much clearer.
The people, seeing the figure on the high platform who looked like a god of death, all knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhu Di wiped the blood from the sword onto Gu Xiancheng's clothes.
Looking at the kneeling masses below, a long-lost sense of pride welled up in his heart.
He knew this was just the beginning.
Murder was only the first step.
What comes next is what really matters.
He turned to Zhu Xixiao and gave his second order.
"Issue my decree."
"All confiscated property, gold, and silver will be deposited into the national treasury!"
"All confiscated farmland, shops, and workshops will be taken over by Zhang Juzheng's working group!"
"Then, tell all the people."
Zhu Di's voice once again resounded throughout the entire square.
At this moment, the sky over Suzhou seemed to become much clearer.
The people, seeing the figure on the high platform who looked like a god of death, all knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhu Di wiped the blood from the sword onto Gu Xiancheng's clothes.
Looking at the kneeling masses below, a long-lost sense of pride welled up in his heart.
He knew this was just the beginning.
Murder was only the first step.
What comes next is what really matters.
He turned to Zhu Xixiao and gave his second order.
"Issue my decree."
"All confiscated property, gold, and silver will be deposited into the national treasury!"
"All confiscated farmland, shops, and workshops will be taken over by Zhang Juzheng's working group!"
"Then, tell all the people."
Zhu Di's voice once again resounded throughout the entire square.
Hot blood stained the entire platform red.
Dozens of powerful gentry and wealthy merchants who had wielded immense influence and influence in Jiangnan were beheaded in broad daylight, in front of tens of thousands of people.
At this moment, the sky over Suzhou seemed to become much clearer.
The people, seeing the figure on the high platform who looked like a god of death, all knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhu Di wiped the blood from the sword onto Gu Xiancheng's clothes.
Looking at the kneeling masses below, a long-lost sense of pride welled up in his heart.
He knew this was just the beginning.
Murder was only the first step.
What comes next is what really matters.
He turned to Zhu Xixiao and gave his second order.
"Issue my decree."
"All confiscated property, gold, and silver will be deposited into the national treasury!"
"All confiscated farmland, shops, and workshops will be taken over by Zhang Juzheng's working group!"
"Then, tell all the people."
Zhu Di's voice once again resounded throughout the entire square.