Several days later, in Song City! In the royal court!
Seated on the dragon throne was the emperor of the Song Dynasty. He wore a flat imperial crown on his head, and his complexion was old. There were even some age spots on his face. However, his eyes were exceptionally spirited as he stared at the Royal Court.
The civil and military officials stood at the two sides of the royal court. The two old officials at the front were also looking at the two people in the center.
One was Gao Xianzhi. She had a cold expression as she respectfully waited for the emperor's decree.
The other was the crown heir, Song Zhengxi, who had been riding his horse in the busy market not long ago. However, at this moment, Song Zhengxi seemed to have goosebumps all over his body as he glared at Gao Xianzhi.
"Your Majesty, this subordinate has already investigated and reported to Your Majesty and all the officials. Fifteen soldiers have disappeared. For now, there is no evidence pointing to the crown heir. However, Lin Chong's relatives and the entire village were all killed by the crown heir and his lackeys. The evidence is conclusive. To calm the hearts of the soldiers, I implore Your Majesty to issue a decree to punish the crown heir!" Gao Xianzhi shouted once more.
For a moment, the royal court fell silent. Everyone looked at Gao Xianzhi. Some praised her, some hated her, and others had different expressions.
Song Zhengxi was so angry that he jumped up. "Gao Xianzhi, how dare you! You dare to kill me? Why? Those were just a bunch of unruly commoners who wanted to attack me. I acted in self-defense! "
Gao Xianzhi looked at him coldly. "Crown heir, is there any meaning in quibbling now? You now have the hearts of eight hundred thousand soldiers in Great Song. You should take responsibility for what you did wrong! "
"You … you are courting death!" Song Zhengxi was about to attack.
"Impudent!" King Song shouted coldly.
Song Zhengxi paused and turned to look at the emperor.
"Imperial Grandfather, Gao Xianzhi wanted to kill me. I know that Imperial Grandfather set a heavy punishment for her. However, that was only after I got into trouble. After Imperial Grandfather issued the decree, I stayed in the residence and did not leave. Imperial Grandfather!" Song Zhengxi cried out anxiously.
At this time, one of the ministers opened his mouth and said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is young and ignorant. He was bewitched by his subordinates and is only an accessory to the crime. We should punish the leader of the evil, and all of his subordinates should be beheaded in public. As for the Crown Grandson, he should be stripped of his title and sent to prison as a warning to others! "
Song Zhengxi looked over and frowned slightly. However, he knew that this was to protect himself. He did not refuse.
"This subject agrees!"
"We concur!"
…
…
…
For a time, a large number of ministers pleaded for mercy for the crown grandson.
It was as if this was already the best outcome.
On the dragon throne, King Song looked at Song Zhengxi with a hint of affection in his eyes. He couldn't bear it.
King Song nodded his head lightly, seemingly agreeing with the actions of the ministers. He would protect his grandson first, and he could accept any other punishment.
Gao Xianzhi's face darkened, and she spoke once more, "Your Majesty, this subject will say one last thing. Our current opponent is Gu Hai. Back then, Gu Hai swept through the Seven Kingdoms and destroyed two of them. It wasn't Chen Taiji's ability but Gu Hai's secret mobilization of troops. This subject will do my best for Great Song, but the outcome will be decided by the heavens!"
Gao Xianzhi's words caused King Song's eyes to narrow. The expressions of the two rows of old officials also changed abruptly.
One of the ministers suddenly spoke, "Your Majesty, a country has its own laws, and an army has its own rules. Today, you are absolving the Crown Prince, but tomorrow, who will do the same for our Great Song? This subject suggests that the Crown Prince should be beheaded! Behead him immediately! This will pacify the hearts of the soldiers and uphold the country's laws! "
"Imperial Tutor Pang, you!" The Crown Prince glared at him furiously.
Another minister's expression changed as well, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince brought this upon himself. If we don't kill him, we can pacify our hearts. However, if we don't kill him, we will shake the foundation of the country. The calamity of the Song Kingdom should not happen again. For the sake of our Great Song, we implore Your Majesty to uphold the law and uphold the dignity of the country!"
"Prime Minister Liu, you!" The Crown Prince exclaimed.
Once Imperial Tutor Pang and Prime Minister Liu spoke, the ministers who wanted to protect the Crown Prince immediately fell silent.
"Putong!"
The Crown Prince immediately knelt down, "Imperial Grandfather, save me. I don't deserve to die. I didn't do it, I didn't do it. Gao Xianzhi isn't leading troops in the barracks. Instead, he is here to participate in politics. Imperial Grandfather …!"
King Song, who was sitting on the throne, looked at the Crown Prince and clenched his fists. The benevolence he had at the start slowly dissipated. Not everyone knew how terrifying Gu Hai was. King Song had experienced what happened back then. Back then, when the Song Kingdom was on the brink of destruction, they pleaded with the Immortal Sect to stop the war in the secular world. That was an unstoppable force. A national crisis loomed over them.
King Song had dozens of grandsons. However, the Song Kingdom only had one.
"Execute!" King Song shouted coldly.
"Imperial Grandfather, Imperial Grandfather …!"
No matter how the Crown Prince screamed, all that awaited him was the merciless guards dragging him away.
Song City, the largest market in the city:
At this moment, there was already a huge crowd. Behead the Crown Prince? In the past, this would have been impossible. However, the execution was about to begin?
"Grand Marshal Gao! Look, it's Grand Marshal Gao! "
"It's all thanks to Grand Marshal Gao. This Song Zhengxi has harmed countless young ladies. Good job! Good job!"
"Look, he's here. It's really Song Zhengxi and those lackeys. Hahahaha! This is great!"
… … …
… … … …
… …
Immediately, many of the ordinary people who came to the market cheered, clapping their hands in joy.
The main magistrate sat in the north. Before him was a huge wooden platform. Thirty executioners stood on the platform, waiting to be executed.
South of the execution platform was a huge crowd of ordinary people. In front of the ordinary people were Gao Xianzhi, Lin Chong, and the other soldiers.
On the Dongfang of the execution platform was a group of yamen runners escorting Song Zhengxi and the others.
Everyone's hair was disheveled, looking incredibly frightened.
"Don't kill me! Imperial Grandfather, Imperial Grandfather, don't kill me!" Song Zhengxi cried out. However, the noise in the surroundings was too loud, and he could not get far.
"Father! Father! Where are you? This child is about to be killed. Father! Father!" Song Zhengxi cried out in fear.
"Crown Prince, what should we do? What should we do? Sob! Sob! I don't want to die! "The group of lackeys cried out.
"You can't kill me. I am the Crown Prince. My father is the crown prince. In the future, I will be the crown prince as well. Sob! Sob!
Sob! "Gag them!" the main magistrate shouted coldly.
"Yes!" the yamen runners answered.
Then, they quickly covered the mouths of Song Zhengxi and his lackeys.
"Sob! Sob! Sob! Sob!" The crowd could not speak and could only make sobbing sounds.
However, they were soon covered by a black hood.
"Sob! Sob! Sob! Sob!" Under the hood, the prisoners could not speak at all. They could only cry out anxiously.
"Escort them to the execution platform!" the main magistrate shouted loudly.
"Yes!"
A group of bailiffs escorted the black-masked prisoners around the execution platform to the north of the huge platform. The line was quite long. Everyone stared at the long line. When some prisoners were covered by the platform, most of the other prisoners were exposed in front of everyone.
Thirty prisoners walked around the huge execution platform and slowly walked up the steps.
"Bang!"
The yamen runners kicked the prisoners' legs, and the thirty prisoners immediately knelt down.
Lin Chong stared at Song Zhengxi's figure. His eyes were bloodshot, and he clenched his fists.
The main magistrate looked at the sky.
"It's three minutes to noon. Execute!" Magistrate Zhu threw a token.
Pfft!
The executioners spat out a mouthful of white wine on their machetes.
"Roar!"
With a loud roar, they raised their machetes and chopped down. Thirty heads immediately flew into the air.
"Bang!"
Blood spurted from their necks and splattered three feet into the air, splattering everywhere.
"Wow!" Countless commoners were in an uproar.
They were killed just like that? That was the crown prince's grandson! The crown prince's grandson!
"Xiaodie, I've avenged you. I've let you down!" Lin Chong suddenly collapsed to the ground and sobbed.
"My Lord!" The soldiers supported Lin Chong.
Gao Xianzhi looked at the soldiers and said, "Did you see and understand? Apart from Lin Chong's relatives who were killed by Song Zhengxi, all of your relatives disappeared. They were all framed. It was all Gu Hai's doing! Not long ago, we searched the crown prince's residence and found no relatives. Do you believe me now? "
The soldiers nodded with reddened eyes.
"Grand Marshal, we believe you!"
"Grand Marshal, it was Gu Hai. It was all Gu Hai's doing. Aside from Lord Lin's family matters, it was all Gu Hai's doing!"
"Grand Marshal, this subordinate will definitely fight bravely at the frontlines to kill the enemy. Definitely!"
…
…
…
The group of soldiers immediately promised.
"Good. Let's rest in the afternoon. We will depart in the evening and return to the camp immediately. We will explain to our brothers that everything was Gu Hai's scheme. We need to take down Hulao Pass in one go to repay His Majesty's kindness! "Gao Xianzhi said with certainty.
"Yes!" the soldiers answered.
"Many thanks, Grand Marshal! Many thanks, Grand Marshal!" Lin Chong kowtowed continuously to Gao Xianzhi.
"Lin Chong, rest for a while. Come back with me!" Gao Xianzhi said.
"Yes. Grand Marshal took revenge for me. Lin Chong's life belongs to the Grand Marshal. Even if I die, I will die on the battlefield!" Lin Chong said gratefully with reddened eyes.
Gao Xianzhi nodded.
This time, for Lin Chong, Xiao Chen had already killed the crown heir. Lin Chong needed to return to the camp and boost the soldiers' morale. Lin Chong had to let the entire army know that military law was as firm as a mountain. No one could harm their family members.
Gao Xianzhi believed that killing the crown heir would be the best persuasion. All the soldiers would understand this. If they could even kill the crown heir, who would dare to bully their family members? At that time, no matter how many lies Gu Hai had, it would be useless.
However, Gao Xianzhi felt very confident at this moment. This was because she was certain that when they returned, the entire army would be united. After killing the crown heir, the entire army would be united. They would definitely be able to destroy Hulao Pass in one go.
What she needed to do now was to be fast, fast, fast!
When evening arrived, Gao Xianzhi led a group of soldiers away, heading for Hulao Pass.
However, the execution platform at Caishikou appeared extremely quiet under the night sky. During the day, this place was the busiest. However, at night, this place was the quietest.
Many people died here. Who would come here in the middle of the night for no reason?
However, at this moment, someone came.
It was the chief judge who carried out the execution earlier in the day. A black-robed person stood beside him. This was Gu Hai, the person who gave Gao Xianzhi a headache. There was a carriage at the side.
"This is …!" the chief judge asked with a slightly fawning tone.
"I am the crown prince's man. It is not good for you to know too much," Gu Hai said indifferently.
"Yes! Yes! I won't ask. I won't ask. When you showed me that letter, I believed you. After all, the crown heir is the favorite of the emperor and the crown prince. How could they kill him in one day? "the chief judge immediately said with a smile.
"Get your subordinates to keep their mouths shut about today's matter. If anyone leaks anything, they will be punished for treason!" Gu Hai said seriously.
The chief judge shivered and immediately nodded furiously. "I understand. I understand. They are all my trusted subordinates. Don't worry!"
At this moment, Gu Hai gently knocked on the execution platform.
Suddenly, a small door opened to the north of the execution platform.
"Sob! Sob! Sob!" Sob! Sob! Sob!
"Milord, according to your instructions, when the crown heir approached, we swapped him with that death row prisoner. The one who got beheaded was only that death row prisoner. The crown heir is fine!" that person said with a smile.
Gu Hai lowered his head and saw that Song Zhengxi's pants were dripping with urine. Clearly, he was given quite a fright.
Whoosh!
That person removed the black hood covering Song Zhengxi's head.
"Sob! Sob! Sob!" Song Zhengxi looked at Gu Hai in horror.
After removing the rag from his mouth, Song Zhengxi immediately exclaimed in horror, "I'm not dead? I'm not dead? I'm actually not dead? "
Gu Hai smiled faintly and said, "How could Lord Gao dare to kill you? You are the future heir apparent. This is just a cover. Once the Chen Nation is destroyed, everything will be fine."
"Ah? Lord Gao saved me? Which Lord Gao? "Song Zhengxi asked in a daze.
"Grand Marshal, Gao Xianzhi!" Gu Hai said with a faint smile.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
