The King of Western India looked at the two dusty ministers who rushed over. His feelings were very complicated, and even his expression became complicated.
Of these two ministers, one was an important official whom he trusted very much, and the other was an important general of Western India. In the past, he relied on these two very much. He never dreamed that one day, he would personally order them to be punished.
At this moment, after receiving his orders, these two officials rushed over, covered in dust. They did not stop for even a moment on the way, which made the king feel somewhat sorry for them.
However, the national law was ruthless. The two of them accepted bribes from the pirates and harmed the interests of Western India, which was unforgivable. If the two of them were not punished, the prestige of the entire Western India court would be greatly damaged. Therefore, the King had to be ruthless and put these two to death.
"Come on, tie them up."
The King of Western India suddenly ordered.
Soon, the soldiers who had been lying in ambush rushed out and took control of the two.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing? What did we do wrong? What did we do wrong?"
"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
The two of them were suddenly caught, and they were a little confused and a little angry.
"You colluded with the pirates, accepted bribes from the pirates, and disregarded the interests of the court. The people have already complained, and you still don't know your crime."
The King of Western India questioned loudly.
The minister of the capital was the first to say with grievance, "Your Majesty, you agreed to compromise with the pirates in order to avoid the invasion of Dashi Country. This is a good national policy. As for the benefits I received, I gave half of them to Your Majesty. I am not guilty."
"Your Majesty, the military expenses are quite large. The benefits I received were all used in the military. I am loyal to Your Majesty."
The general also explained.
The King listened to their explanation, but instead of forgiving them, he became even angrier. This was because they wanted to push the blame to him, and this was something he could not tolerate.
In fact, as the King, he was also responsible. Although the idea was given by the minister, the final decision was made by him. If he had not ordered to condone the pirates, the pirates would not have been so rampant.
People were selfish, and the King of Western Tianzhu was no exception. In order to protect his reputation and the prestige of the Western Tianzhu Imperial Court, he had to sacrifice the lives of these two officials. Otherwise, he really couldn't explain it to the merchants.
"Nonsense. Take them away."
The Western Indian King ordered angrily.
In this way, the two travel-worn Zhu officials of the Western Heaven became prisoners.
In the direction of the Tang Army's camp, Ang Lee was studying the construction plan of the northwest harbor. Now that it was the territory of the Tang Dynasty, it was time to start planning.
As for the construction of the harbor, it was natural to adapt to local conditions. It was necessary to plan and construct according to local conditions. Only in this way could the construction effect be achieved with the least amount of money, time, and manpower.
"Assistant Minister Li, the pirate ship has entered the harbor."
A subordinate's report interrupted Ang Lee's train of thought.
Ang Lee put down the pen and paper in his hand, stood up, and walked to the port outside.
"Eh? Why are these pirates so drenched? Haha!"
Ang Lee observed with his binoculars and found that these pirates were all drenched. The corner of his mouth revealed a trace of a smile.
"It's probably raining on the road!"
One of the subordinates said.
"Let's go and have a look."
Ang Lee led a group of subordinates to the harbor, ready to welcome the triumphant warriors.
"Assistant Minister Li, more than a hundred pirates have been ordered to be escorted here."
The general in charge of escorting the pirates said.
"What's the matter with these pirates? Why are they so drenched?"
Ang Lee asked. In fact, he was asking the obvious. He just wanted to make sure.
"Assistant Minister Li, on the way here, there was a sudden storm, so they were drenched like this."
The general didn't think there was anything wrong with this at all, so he answered frankly.
"Very good. You've worked hard along the way. Take all these pirates to the busiest street and prepare to deal with them in public."
Ang Lee ordered.
"Yes, I understand."
A subordinate took the order, took a large group of people to the ship, escorted the pirates to the harbor, and sent a team of 300 people to escort more than a hundred pirates to the busiest street in Harbor City.
In order to prevent accidents, each pirate was escorted by two Tang dynasty soldiers, and the rest of the soldiers were responsible for clearing the way and covering the rear to further ensure safety.
More than a hundred pirates were tied into a line with ropes, and there was a Tang dynasty soldier on the left and right sides of each pirate. In this way, three lines were formed and marched to the busiest street in a mighty manner.
Along the way, more and more onlookers gathered. Everyone was talking about these pirates and praising the power of the Tang dynasty's army.
"Did you see that one-eyed man with an eye patch? I know him. He robbed my merchant ship last time. I can recognize him even if he turns into ashes."
"Oh, they're really pirates! It turns out that the leader of the pirates is not so good! I thought they were fierce. "
"Who says they're not fierce? Now they've been captured by the Tang dynasty's army, so they look submissive. When they robbed the merchant ship, they were fierce. Their eyes looked like they could eat people."
"Really? These pirates are so fierce. Fortunately, they've been captured. They can't harm the people anymore. "
Several merchants and the people on the road stood on the side of the road and talked about it.
A pirate who was walking past suddenly glared at a merchant on the side of the road with a fierce look. The merchant was so scared that he trembled unconsciously.
However, he soon calmed down, pointed at the pirate who was walking past, and scolded, "Why are you so fierce? You're still a prisoner. You're about to die, but you still dare to be unreasonable. Humph."
After the pirate turned around and glared at him again, he trembled unconsciously again, which made the passers-by laugh.
People liked to watch a good show, especially such a good show. It was not to be missed. Along the way, the Tang dynasty's army escorted the pirates, all the passers-by who were watching the show seemed to have forgotten what they were there for. They all gave up their work and watched the show wholeheartedly. Some even followed them all the way, which made the road, which was not very wide, even more crowded.
After entering the busiest downtown area, there were more onlookers. Naturally, there were more merchants who knew the pirates. The passers-by who had worked hard to follow them could hear more information.
"That bald pirate is a small leader. He robbed my goods last time and made me suffer a heavy loss!"
"What a coincidence. I was also robbed by this guy."
"I haven't seen him. It was the scar-faced man next to him who robbed me. He should be a small leader, too!"
"It's strange. Why haven't I seen any of the pirates who robbed me?"
"Did you see wrongly? Take a closer look."
"The pirates who didn't rob me were killed by the Tang Dynasty army, weren't they?"
"It should be about the same! I heard that there were more than a thousand pirates. Only a hundred or so were captured. The remaining nine hundred or so were either killed or fled. It's not strange that I didn't see any of them. "
"Oh, so that's how it is! What do you think will happen to these pirates? Will they be executed? "
"Of course. These hateful pirates must be killed to appease the anger of the people. They must be killed."
"Of course, they must be killed. Leaving them alive is a disaster."
The merchants gathered together and discussed. Many of them had been robbed by the pirates and hated these guys. Of course, they hoped that the Tang dynasty's army would execute these pirates.
"Do you think the Tang dynasty's army got a lot of treasures after capturing the pirate's lair?"
"The pirates have been robbing for more than a year. Those are all our treasures!"
"What? Do you still want to recoup your losses? Don't even think about it. It's too unrealistic. "
"Why not?"
"What a joke. The Tang dynasty's army sent thousands of soldiers to exterminate the pirates. Have you calculated how much it cost? The families of the soldiers who were killed or injured also need to be compensated, right? These all need money. In addition, the treasures obtained must be handed over to the Tang dynasty's imperial court for them to deal with. Besides, who can say for sure how many treasures you lost and how they will compensate you? "
"That's right. As long as these pirates are eliminated, our lives will be better in the future. Don't think about the treasures that were robbed in the past, and don't mention it again."
"Yes, yes, yes. I didn't consider it properly. These treasures should belong to the Tang dynasty's imperial court."
The merchants discussed again.
In the busiest downtown area, there was a slightly larger square. The location of the beheading was chosen here. This place had always been the place where prisoners were executed in the port of West Tianzhu.
There was a high platform in front of it that was taller than a person. The north of the high platform was higher, and the south was where the prisoners were executed.
In this way, the onlookers, no matter where they were, could clearly see the prisoners being executed without having to tiptoe or crane their heads.
Ang Lee was sitting on the main platform. The King and officials of West Tianzhu could only sit on the side, and they seemed to have no objections.
When all the pirates were taken to the platform, they were forced to kneel and wait for their punishment. In addition to these pirates, two ministers of West Tianzhu were also taken to the platform.
There was not much time left for the execution. The pirates on the platform would not live for long. Some of them looked lonely, some looked indifferent, and some even wet their pants unknowingly.
"How should we deal with these pirates? Let the merchants here decide!"
Ang Lee suggested democratically.
The King of West Tianzhu nodded in agreement.
Soon, some of the merchants who had been robbed by the pirates walked to the execution platform and saluted Ang Lee one by one, completely ignoring the noble King of West Tianzhu.
"Take a look first. Do you recognize these pirates?"
Ang Lee said.
The merchants nodded, walked to the hundreds of pirates kneeling on the ground, and carefully identified them.
"Assistant Minister Li, these are indeed pirates. We can recognize at least 20 of them. They are the ones who robbed our goods."
"Yes, I can also prove that they are pirates."
"I can also prove that the Tang Army did not catch the wrong people."
Several merchants confirmed.
Ang Lee smiled and asked, "How do you think we should deal with these pirates?"
"Everything is up to Assistant Minister Li."
The merchants did not dare to be arrogant and answered with a smile.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Hey, you don't have to be polite. I want to hear your opinions. Speak boldly. It doesn't matter if you are wrong."
"We can kill them."
"Pirates have harmed the trade routes and committed countless crimes. If we don't kill them, we won't vent the anger of the people."
"It will be a waste of food if we don't kill them. We should kill them."
The merchants' demands were surprisingly consistent, so Ang Lee had to make the decision to kill these pirates.
"Well, since you all think that these pirates should be killed, then let's kill them. They will be a disaster if we keep them. Get ready for the execution."
Ang Lee ordered casually.
"Get ready for the execution."
One of the subordinates shouted. Immediately, all the executioners were ready to carry out the execution.
There were more than a hundred pirates, but only ten executioners could execute them. Therefore, more than ten executions were needed to cut off the heads of all the pirates.
This would create an even more terrifying atmosphere. The first batch of pirates who had their heads chopped off probably didn't feel much, but when the pirates behind saw the bloody heads in front of them, their hearts would be filled with even more fear, and they would also regret their previous actions.
One by one, bloody heads rolled on the high platform like watermelons. Some rolled off the platform, and some even rolled to the feet of the onlookers. Many timid onlookers were frightened and stepped back nervously, causing a slight commotion.
"Those despicable pirates are finally dead. How satisfying!"
"Yes! The resentment in my heart is finally released today. It feels good. "
"Being able to see these guys being beheaded with my own eyes, that meal was worth it."
"Come on, are you still thinking about the meal you treated us to? Assistant Minister Li had already sent thousands of Tang dynasty troops to encircle and suppress the pirates before the banquet. It has nothing to do with your meal. "
"Is that what I mean? I said it was worth it, but I didn't say that the pirates being killed had anything to do with the meal. "
The onlookers were very excited when they saw the bloody heads. Many of them had been suppressing their anger for about a year, and now they could finally release it. They had an unprecedented feeling of joy, which made them even more excited than when they had just had fun with a young girl.
After the pirates were killed, only two Western Tianzhu officials were left. They looked at the more than a hundred heads in front of them and closed their eyes in despair.
At this time, it was too late. It was meaningless for them to quibble. If they angered the king, their families would not be able to save their lives. Therefore, they could only accept their fate. Moreover, they did collude with the pirates, so their deaths were not unjustified.
"What's the matter with these two people? Why were they brought here together?"
Ang Lee looked at the King of Western Tianzhu and asked.
"They are the ones who colluded with the pirates in Western Tianzhu. It was their actions that caused the merchants to suffer losses. Therefore, they must be severely punished and killed as an example to others. In the future, such things will never happen again."
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