plumnovel Chapter 46 Extinction of the Lineage!
Chapter 46 Extinction of the Lineage!
At the execution ground in Caishikou, the crowd was in a state of high spirits.
The people angrily cursed at these officials.
But these officials didn't care; the only person they cared about at that moment was Zhu Houzhao.
Zhang Mao kowtowed and pleaded, "Your Majesty, my family has been loyal and virtuous for generations. My grandfather and father both rendered great service to Emperor Taizong. I beg Your Majesty to spare me this time for the sake of my father and grandfather!"
Zhang Heling followed suit, saying, "Your Majesty, I was wrong. I will never dare to do it again. From now on, I will be obedient and will never dare to overstep my bounds again!"
Zhang Yanling immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please spare us this time! After all, we are your maternal uncles! We are all family!"
Xie Qian knelt on the ground, repeatedly begging Zhu Houzhao for mercy: "Your Majesty, this old minister is guilty, this old minister deserves to die!"
"But my wife and children are innocent. I beg Your Majesty to spare their lives. I am willing to pay for this crime with my own!"
"..."
Zhu Houzhao coldly looked at the crowd before him and retorted in a cold voice: "Zhang Mao, your family's generations of loyalty and virtue are not a get-out-of-jail-free card for your treasonous act of deceiving the emperor."
"Your father and grandfather sacrificed their lives for the Ming Dynasty on the battlefield, only to allow you to oppress the people, embezzle funds, and deceive me?!"
"And you, Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling, you know you are imperial relatives, my maternal uncles, yet for so many years you have not restrained yourselves, still running rampant and oppressing the people. You have completely ruined the reputation of the late emperor and my own!"
"You never think of me, you never cherish my kinship, so why should I cherish your kinship?"
"Furthermore, are you unaware that Empress Dowager Zhang and Empress Dowager Wang have already passed away?"
"Huh?! What?!"
Upon hearing this news, Zhang Heling, Zhang Yanling, Wang Yuan, and Wang Qing all stared wide-eyed and gaped, staring at Zhu Houzhao in disbelief.
They were stunned, frozen in place as if struck by lightning, feeling utterly hopeless, and experiencing waves of dizziness.
If Empress Dowager Zhang and Empress Dowager Wang were still alive, the four of them would still have a slight chance to survive.
But now that even the two empress dowagers are dead, there is absolutely no chance that they will survive alone.
"Sister! Sister, how come you've gone ahead of your brother!"
"Sister, I'm so sorry, so very sorry!"
"Sister! Sister!"
"..."
The four of them wept bitterly, their grief unbearable, it was unclear whether they were crying for Empress Dowager Zhang and Empress Dowager Wang, or for themselves.
Finally, Zhu Houzhao looked at Xie Qian and then spread his hands to Liu Jin beside him.
Liu Jin understood immediately and placed a piece of paper in Zhu Houzhao's hand.
Zhu Houzhao looked at the contents of the paper and revealed a cruel sneer.
"Xie Qian, your younger brother Xie Di rose to the position of Guangdong Provincial Administration Commissioner; your eldest son Xie Zheng donated money to become an Assistant Director of the Ministry of Rites; your second son Xie Pi was the third-ranked scholar personally selected by the late Emperor this year and appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy; and your third son Xie Dou received a position in the Court of Judicial Review through imperial favor."
"Will you bring your fourth, fifth, and sixth sons into the imperial court so they can all receive a government salary?"
"Xie Qian, do you dare say you didn't use your power to pave the way for your brothers and sons, or that you didn't promote them illegally?!"
Xie Qian panicked, his whole body trembling uncontrollably: "This...this..."
"These are all their own skills, they have nothing to do with me, nothing to do with me..."
"Xie Pi's third-place ranking was achieved through his own examination; it has nothing to do with me. I didn't preside over the provincial examination, so it's none of my business!"
Among the crowd, Yang Tinghe, the newly appointed Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, quietly lowered his head.
Because he was one of the chief examiners of the imperial examination in the eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, he knew very well whether there was any exaggeration or not.
It is worth mentioning that among the list of successful candidates in the imperial examination that year, two were appointed as Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet.
One was Gu Dingchen, the top scholar in the imperial examination, who succeeded Xia Yan during the Jiajing era and briefly served as the Grand Secretary.
The other one was Yan Song, a Jinshi who ranked second in the second class and would become a powerful minister who would later hold immense influence in the court!
At that time, Yan Song was serving as an editor in the Hanlin Academy.
Zhu Houzhao sat in a chair, looking down at Xie Qian with a cold expression.
"As I have said, the premise of 'misfortune not extending to family members' is that good fortune not extending to family members."
Whether or not you used your power to promote your younger brother and son is no longer important.
"Anyway, today, your entire Xie family will be wiped out!"
Zhu Houzhao said no more, waving his hand: "Execute them!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The next moment, the imperial guards moved with lightning speed, drew their steel knives, and first beheaded the relatives of these officials!
Let these officials watch their own sons die right before their eyes!
To put it bluntly, the money and grain these officials embezzled, and the benefits they sought, are more than they can spend themselves; it's all for the benefit of their descendants.
Zhu Houzhao killed their descendants to let them know that all their efforts in their lives to plan for their family and descendants were in vain!
One person embezzles, the whole family dies; only in this way can corruption be eradicated at its root!
The Eastern Depot agents killed Xie Zheng and Xie Pi one by one with a single stroke, making Xie Qian's eyes turn red with rage and roar wildly.
The West Depot agent drew his sword and beheaded Liu Jie. Liu Jian was heartbroken and couldn't utter a sound.
The Imperial Guard raised his sword and beheaded Ma Jie in one stroke. Ma Wensheng cried and screamed, but it was all in vain.
While the imperial guards were executing the sons of various high-ranking officials, the executioners of the Ministry of Justice were also carrying out the executions on these officials.
Officials like Ma Wensheng, Liu Jian, Xie Qian, Zhang Mao, and Zhang Heling didn't have it so easy to die.
Some of them were to be skinned alive, while others were to be executed by slow slicing.
They had to endure torture while watching their sons and grandsons die right before their eyes.
They watched helplessly as Zhu Houzhao wiped out their lineage one by one!
Following Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Ma Wensheng were Qin Hong, Zhang Jun, Liu Wentai, Shi Qin, and others.
Soon, blood stained the execution ground, and corpses filled the open space.
At this moment, they had only killed less than two hundred people.
There are still more than three thousand people waiting to be slaughtered one by one by the imperial guards.
Looking at the mountains of corpses, the officials watching the executions were all pale and drenched in cold sweat.
This time, the officials finally understood that Zhu Houzhao's earlier statement that "if one person embezzles, the whole family will die" was absolutely not a joke.
After watching for a while, Zhu Houzhao felt his anger subside and then yawned somewhat boredly.
"All officials, continue to observe the execution."
"You may leave the court only after you have personally cleaned up the execution ground after the execution is over."
"Cao Zhengchun, have your men keep an eye on things for me. Write down the names of any officials who fail to clean the execution ground. I will deal with them."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Cao Zhengchun smiled and bowed to accept the order.
The officials watching the execution grew paler and paler, their bodies turning cold as if they had fallen into an ice cellar!
"Return to the palace."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"