20demayo Chapter 53 Even being torn to pieces wouldn't be enough to appease public anger!
Chapter 53 Even being torn to pieces wouldn't be enough to appease public anger!
Soon, the Embroidered Uniform Guard set up several piles of wood in Fengtianmen Square to be used for the execution by burning at the stake.
A stick used for binding people was erected on the pile of wood, with burning oil poured on the bottom. Once lit, it would blaze fiercely and could not be extinguished by water.
Not long after, the agents of the Eastern Depot also arrested Liu Daxia's family members in the capital.
Liu Daxia is over seventy years old and has four sons, three daughters, seven grandsons, four great-grandsons, and even two great-grandsons.
In the capital, there are quite a few people who are associated with Liu Daxia, and many officials in the court or local areas are also related to Liu Daxia by marriage.
Zhu Houzhao wanted to execute Liu Daxia's entire clan, and inevitably, he also arrested all the other officials involved.
The one with the highest status among them was Liu Daxia's first wife, who was the niece of Yang Pu, one of the Three Yangs.
As a result, the agents of the Western Depot are already on their way to Huguang, with the aim of capturing Yang Pu and his entire family and bringing them to the capital for execution.
It is worth mentioning that Yang Rong, one of the Three Yangs, had his entire family executed by Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshen as early as the Chenghua era.
This case was personally overseen by Wang Zhi, the director of the Western Depot, who escorted over a hundred members of the Yang family—men, women, and children—from Minzhou to the capital for execution.
Yang Shiqi, the leader of the Three Yangs, had his entire clan exterminated as early as the Zhengtong era.
With this, the entire lineage of the Three Yangs became extinct.
Liu Daxia's collection of national archives was not a one-off occurrence.
During the Chenghua era, Annam was defeated by Laos, and Wang Zhi wanted to take advantage of the situation to send troops to conquer Annam and reclaim it.
Zhu Jianshen then sent someone to the Ministry of War to request maps and materials related to Zhang Fu's southern expedition against Annam during the Yongle era.
Liu Daxia hid these things away, and said righteously: "If the Ming Dynasty starts a war, the people will suffer again. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty's country and society, we don't need that wretched place, Annam."
In fact, Annam's successful break away from the Ming Dynasty's control during the Xuande era was due to the secret manipulation of the Three Yangs cabinet.
During the Xuande era, the Ming Dynasty voluntarily and significantly reduced its military control over the surrounding areas.
Towards the north, they proactively abandoned Kaipingwei north of the Great Wall and withdrew back to the Xuanda defense line.
In the northwest, they proactively abandoned Hamiwei and retreated into Jiayuguan.
In the Northeast, the permanent office of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission was proactively abolished, and replaced with irregular inspections.
This laid the groundwork for the Uriyangkhai rebellion that occurred today.
As for the South, it completely relinquished its sovereign rule over Annam.
He voluntarily withdrew all Ming troops from Annam, recognized Annam's independent sovereignty, and restored tributary relations.
The reason why the Three Yangs did this was that after Annam broke away from the Ming Dynasty and became independent, the Ming Dynasty lost control of Southeast Asia and the surrounding seas, making it easier for smuggling groups in Jiangnan to smuggle goods.
Wang Zhi's desire to reclaim Annam is clearly an act of defiance against the Jiangnan smuggling ring.
As Yang Pu's nephew-in-law, Liu Daxia naturally had to do everything in his power to prevent the Ming Dynasty from recovering Annam.
Liu Daxia is so bad that even tearing him to pieces wouldn't appease public anger!
At that moment, a heart-wrenching cry rang out in Fengtianmen Square.
Liu Daxia's family was terrified. Looking at the execution platform in front of them and the vicious eyes of the guards around them, they realized that they were facing a terrible disaster.
Liu Daxia fainted several times from crying, but was always woken up by the Imperial Guards.
Didn't Liu Daxia say that he had already burned Zheng He's nautical charts?
Zhu Houzhao wanted Liu Daxia to watch helplessly as his son and grandson were burned alive in the fire!
Cao Zhengchun, the head of the Eastern Depot, came before Zhu Houzhao and bowed, requesting permission: "Your Majesty, Liu Daxia's family members in the capital have all been brought here."
"Your Majesty, when will the execution be carried out?"
"Execute immediately!"
Zhu Houzhao immediately gave the order, his eyes filled with hatred for Liu Daxia.
"Burn the small ones first, one by one, until Liu Daxia reveals the whereabouts of Zheng He's nautical charts!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The Eastern Depot was established starting with Liu Daxia's great-grandson, and later replaced by Liu Daxia's grandson.
As the stake was set ablaze, the raging flames instantly engulfed the body of Liu Daxia's grandson.
As the flames engulfed him, Liu Daxia's grandson wailed and begged Liu Daxia incessantly.
"Grandpa! It's so hot, Grandpa! It hurts, Grandpa!"
"Please help me, Grandpa! I feel so bad, Grandpa!"
"Grandpa, save me! Grandpa, save me!"
"..."
Liu Daxia's son, Liu Zuxiu, was heartbroken and devastated upon seeing this.
The one burning right now is his youngest son. He is heartbroken by his son's death and also terrified of his own.
After all, once the grandchildren are burned to death, it will be his son's turn.
In his anxiety, Liu Zuxiu no longer cared about any taboos and started cursing at Liu Daxia!
"You old geezer, why did you hide Zheng He's nautical charts?!"
"Our whole family is about to be burned to death, why are you still hiding that nautical chart?!"
"Why aren't you bringing out the nautical chart and returning it to His Majesty?"
"Only if you return the nautical chart to His Majesty will we have any chance of survival!"
"You old fool! Don't be so stubborn! You can't defeat His Majesty! Do you want to get our whole family killed because of you?!"
"You old scoundrel! Hand over the nautical chart! Did you hear me?! Hand over the nautical chart!"
"..."
Faced with Liu Zuxiu's outburst of insults, Liu Daxia himself had not yet said anything, but was glared at by a large number of civil officials.
These civil officials shared a very subtle commonality.
These officials were either from the southeastern coastal region or from Ganzhou.
The reason is simple: the gentry along the southeastern coast controlled smuggling channels.
The gentry of Ganzhou possessed the most valuable and largest quantity of smuggled goods: porcelain.
Ganzhou porcelain was sold all over the world, making a fortune, yet it did not have to pay a single copper coin in tax to the Ming Dynasty.
These officials glared angrily at Liu Zuxiu, wishing he would be burned to death on Zhu Houzhao's orders immediately.
How many people are there in your Liu family's nine generations?
All told, maybe only a few thousand people died?
But if Liu Daxia really handed over Zheng He's nautical charts to His Majesty, the number of people who would die would probably be as many as a million.
So let the Liu family suffer a bit, and let us enjoy the good fortune.
Zhu Houzhao was very satisfied with Liu Zuxiu's reaction.
He looked at Liu Daxia, wondering how long he could hold out before he would produce Zheng He's nautical charts.
To his disappointment, even when faced with the threat of having his entire family executed, even when insulted by his own eldest son, even when he watched helplessly as his grandson was burned alive.
Liu Daxia remained unmoved and refused to reveal where he had hidden Zheng He's nautical charts.
Zhu Houzhao narrowed his eyes. He wasn't in a hurry; he had plenty of time to wear Liu Daxia down.
"Cao Zhengchun, take Liu Daxia to the Eastern Depot prison and burn five of his relatives to death in front of him every day until his entire clan is burned to death."
"I want to see how many days he can keep quiet."
Cao Zhengchun's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly bowed and accepted the order: "Yes, Your Majesty!"