Chapter 1497
The Final Battle, Su Canzheng's Reminder
Chapter 1497 The Final Battle, Su Canzheng's Reminder
Qi the Angel and the Imperial Guards used the palace's secret medicine and finally managed to save Councilor Su.
"There's no need to torture him anymore. Let him rest and he can confess in public tomorrow." Qi Tianshi abandoned the trial of Councilor Su and went to discuss with Prince Ye, Lord Yan, Deputy General Lang, and others the matter of carrying out the execution tomorrow to give Wei Min an explanation.
Prince Ye held Su Canzheng's confession in his hand, remaining silent for a long time. Finally, he mustered his spirits and continued to perform his official duties.
The following day, October 13th.
"Reporting to the King of Ye, the affected areas in the four districts of the southeast, north, and central regions have expanded again, with the total number of infected people reaching 280,000 and more than 3,200 new deaths. The total number of deaths from this plague has reached more than 10,000!"
Upon receiving such devastating news so early in the morning, the Prince of Ye, Lord Yan, Deputy General Lang, and numerous students, who were resting in the office lobby, felt their hearts sink.
But Si Pei said, "Not counting the bad news, only more than 10,000 people out of 280,000 died. The mortality rate of this plague is far lower than the estimated number given by Master, Master Qin, and all the doctors."
"Our master and the doctors all said that three or four out of ten people would survive this plague. Of the 280,000 infected people, about 100,000 should have died. Now only a little over 10,000 have died. What good news!"
Ah this?
Lord Yan was speechless, feeling that Si Pei was 'utterly inhuman'.
"It is indeed good news, but you can't say that about things related to death. The death of one person is also a sad thing." Old Qiong taught Si Pei how to say nice things.
Having followed Old Man Xun for so long, Si Pei no longer liked to speak hypocritically: "In short, such a mortality rate is a blessing in disguise. And this blessing is the result of the joint efforts of Grandmaster, Master Qin, the military doctor, and many heroes who risked their lives to enter the wards to treat the plague!"
"Let's give a high five and cheer for our heroes!" Si Pei, as if drunk, led the applause.
Clap clap clap, Yu Chenghao and the others high-fived, saying words of praise for the heroes.
“It’s just that…” Yu Chenghao said softly, “The enemy also calls us heroes, so if we call them heroes too, we feel like we’re letting down our grandmaster and the others.”
Si Pei, hands on his hips, angrily retorted: "The word 'hero' was created by the sage Dan to praise brave warriors who performed righteous deeds for the world. The enemy shamelessly stole our ancient word, so should we abandon it? Wouldn't that be betraying our ancestors and benefiting the enemy instead?"
Yu Chenghao was shocked, feeling that his mind had become clear: "Pei, you are becoming more and more reasonable, you have the potential to become a sage! I admire you, I bow to you."
"A bunch of nonsensical kids..." Lord Yan thought to himself, then looked at the Prince of Ye and pointed out a key difficulty: "Prince of Ye, such a low mortality rate is achieved by relying on many new medicines for relief... With the supply lines cut off and no new medicines entering the capital, I fear that this method of delaying the death from the plague is not a long-term solution."
The medicine storeroom is almost empty.
This?
Si Pei and Yu Chenghao stopped laughing.
"After the execution, we'll go knock on the doors of the aristocratic families and ask them to donate more medicinal herbs."
"Zhao, the chief steward of Changji Pharmacy, has committed a crime. On this grounds, the entire medicinal herb warehouse of Changji Pharmacy in the capital city is confiscated."
Upon hearing this, Master Qiong felt a chill run down his spine: if these students were to return to Taizhou Academy, he feared he would be expelled from the academy.
A short while later, General Chu sent another messenger with the battle report on the defense of the city the previous night.
After carefully reviewing the documents, the Prince of Ye and his entourage discussed the matter further and inquired with the envoy Qi, Chief Wei, Prefect Zheng, and Prefect Fei about the latest results of their interrogations of the rebels, before finally concluding the morning meeting.
"The evidence is sufficient. There is no need to waste manpower on torture. Issue a notice that at noon, the traitors will be beheaded in the open space at the intersection of Wuyuan Street. Each household may send one person to witness the execution," the Prince of Ye ordered.
Commander Ling immediately ordered his soldiers to carry it out.
Boom boom boom!
"King Ye, Wang Ling, the evidence of your rebellion is irrefutable. At noon today..." Wang Ling, who was about to be executed, was repeatedly shouted.
There was a rat plague in the city, and the people of Wei were afraid to go out, but they were even more afraid of losing contact with the outside world. Therefore, many families, or at least one resettlement house, would draw lots to send one person to witness the execution, in order to bring back the most accurate news.
The villagers from Baofu County were very supportive. People from major clans such as Zhou, Lü, Han, Pan, He, Shi, Kong, Miao, Wu, Huang, Wang, and Tang all came with their clan leaders and a group of clansmen, and they waited early in the open space at the street corner.
"Father, there's no one here yet. We're here so early, like street thugs looking for trouble. Isn't that a bit much?" Brother Lü whispered to the clan chief. "Besides, the rat plague floats in the air. If we stay here too long, what if we inhale it..." *Slap*, the clan chief slapped him on the back of the head. "We've been protected by our relatives and moved into Wuyuan Street, avoiding the hardship of living in those cramped resettlement houses. We're just coming out early to let the other villagers who are watching in the city see that there are Wei people here, so they can come with peace of mind and let the Prince of Ye do his job of suppressing the rebels and deterring them. If you can't even help your relatives with this small favor, then your whole family should move out of Wuyuan Street right now."
Brother Lü felt wronged: "Father, I didn't mean that."
“If you didn’t mean that, then just squat down and set a good example for the villagers.” After scolding his son, Chief Lü pulled him up and stood next to him, saying, “Squatting doesn’t look good, so just stand.”
Alright, the entire clan shall stand as punishment.
When some villagers saw the group of people from afar, who belonged to several major surnames and numbered quite a few, they grew bolder and ran over to ask, "Are you here to witness the execution too? Are none of you running a fever?"
After a series of questions, they stopped talking and decided to wait together for the execution at noon.
Around noon, a large open space at the street corner was already filled with Wei citizens who had come to watch the execution; a rough count showed that there were several thousand of them.
Many of the servants were there to witness the execution and gather the latest news on behalf of their masters.
dong dong dong dong!
The war drums sounded.
"Prince Ye, Lord Yan, Envoy Qi, and Deputy General Lang have arrived!"
"All criminals have arrived!"
With a whoosh, rows of traitors, their hands and feet bound, were brought out, shocking Wei Min, who had come to witness the execution: "There must be at least a thousand of them!"
"It's not just a thousand, you didn't hear the announcement, there were several thousand people involved."
"Silence! Serious offenders have arrived!"
With a whoosh, several hundred more criminals were escorted out. This group of criminals included Chief Steward Zhao, Manager Zou, and other scions of powerful families.
"The main culprit has been brought!"
At a shout, the deputy treasurer, the granary soldiers, the squad leader, and the minor officials were escorted out of the gate.
last of the last……
"The primary culprit, Councilor Su, has been brought here!"
Councilor Su was carried out by the imperial guards. There was no other way; the torture was too severe. Councilor Su was still alive and could still speak, but he could no longer walk.
"It really is Lord Su!"
Wei Min exclaimed in shock: "Why would a meritorious official like Councilor Su create chaos? Has he gone mad?"
"Could he be a descendant of spies from the Eastern Desert? Otherwise, it doesn't make sense."
"He is probably the descendant of a spy; otherwise, why would such a high-ranking official risk his life's achievements to create trouble?"
"Even if they are descendants of spies, they shouldn't do this! Isn't it better to be a high-ranking official in our Great Wei than to be a lackey of the enemy in the east?!"
Ugh, Councilor Su was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood, his whole body trembling, and shouted with all his might: "I am a Wei person!"
The villagers were rebellious and didn't believe him at all: "You, a Wei man, are a spy for the enemy! You truly deserve to die!"
Indeed, there are people of this dynasty who act as spies for foreign enemies for their own benefit, and the villagers believe that Councilor Su is one of these kinds of people.
Councilor Su: "???"