Chapter 60 They don't know they were wrong; they just know they are going to die

Inside the county government office.

In a room surrounded by imperial guards, a eunuch in charge of document records walked in with a bow and spoke:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble servant has fully registered all the wealthy and influential households in the city mentioned by those people in the hall, and specifically requests Your Majesty's instructions on how to deal with them."

翻阅着手中的资料朱由检翻阅着手中的资料 (Chongzhen) flipped through the documents in his hands without raising his head: "Read out the crimes, confiscate their property, and execute their entire clans."

Chongzhen knew all too well how a nation headed toward its demise.

The wealth gap, unequal distribution, the unbridled annexation of the means of production... these were actually not the critical factors.

The most crucial point was this:

The underclass in a nation no longer had any room for upward mobility.

How to resolve this?

Kill everyone who encroached upon that room for upward mobility, and fresh blood would naturally begin to circulate again.

Simple, brutal, and sounding unreasonable.

Yet, it worked.

"This humble servant obeys the decree."

The young eunuch who came to inquire bowed and retreated, his face expressionless.

Before long.

A tall Embroidered Uniform Guard arrived outside the county government office and read aloud in front of everyone:

"The Imperial Edict: Within Tongguan County... the gentry, wealthy families, and county officials have colluded with one another, committing crimes and disrupting the people's livelihood. All of them shall have their properties confiscated and their entire clans executed!"

As these words fell, the commoners present were struck dumb.

Many of them knew well that the county magistrate was the root of all the suffering they endured.

However, the magistrate was ultimately too far out of their reach, while those gentry and their lackeys were the most direct source of torment in their lives.

Take the droughts of recent years, for instance.

The most hateful thing the gentry in the city had done was this:

Taking advantage of the severe disaster, they maliciously dispatched people to intentionally damage the crops in the fields of ordinary commoners.

That was food that could keep people alive!

And then.

When the commoners could no longer survive.

They would acquire the commoners' lands at rock-bottom prices, reducing the people to tenant farmers and serfs who had to cower at their mercy!

Did the commoners have any way to stop this?

None!

These people were in league with the official authorities. Previously, the farmers in Tongguan County whose fields had been forcibly destroyed had also tried to organize and resist.

But as soon as they made a move, the officials directly sent troops to drag them into prison.

The charge? Attempting to gather a mob and incite rebellion.

Damn your mothers!

Why didn't you arrest those bastards who destroyed our farmland, but instead dragged us into custody?

We just wanted to live humble lives... What did we do wrong?!

And do you know what happened after they acquired the lands at low prices?

They would dole out a few bowls of watery, barely-visible porridge with feigned benevolence when the commoners were on the verge of starvation.

Thus.

The county chronicles would record it for them: On such and such a day of such and such a month, a certain family established a porridge shed in the suburbs to save hundreds of starving lives.

A great benevolence!

They were too greedy; they wanted our land, they wanted our bodies, they wanted our sons and daughters to serve them as slaves and maids, and they even wanted to strip away every last scrap of that insignificant reputation...

Did they not deserve to die?!

"Execute the sentence!"

After the Embroidered Uniform Guard finished reading the imperial edict, several hundred officials and clerks were dragged out onto the main street.

The commoners looked at these officials, who had once been so imposing and arrogant but were now reduced to ugly, pathetic displays of terror, without uttering a word or cheering.

They only stared at them in silence.

These bastards, crying and begging for mercy, did not truly realize they were wrong.

They only knew they were going to die.

amidst the wailing and weeping, over a hundred heads were swiftly severed by the imperial guards of the Divine Might Camp in charge of the execution.

As these heads rolled onto the ground, the fire that had been suppressed for so long in the hearts of the masses was rapidly ignited.

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Well killed!!"

One person raised an arm and shouted, and immediately the surrounding crowd roared together with all their might.

The momentum was so overwhelming that it shook people to their cores.

Meanwhile.

The gentry and wealthy households within Tongguan City had also heard the news that their properties were to be confiscated and their clans exterminated.

Fleeing was out of the question; by now, every city gate of Tongguan was guarded by elite troops.

Therefore, after the initial extreme shock,

these people plunged into a bizarre state of madness.

Some of them began frantically stuffing their mouths with rare delicacies that ordinary commoners had never even seen.

Even though their bellies were bloated to the limit and they were vomiting up everything they had just eaten, they still refused to stop.

Others began tearing apart the precious silks and fabrics in their homes, lying on piles of silver and laughing foolishly without any awareness.

Some even began committing bestial acts with their own children.

This final madness did not last very long after all.

Because Little Hongzi had already ridden over on horseback, bringing a multitude of imperial guards from the Divine Might Camp.

In an instant.

Miserable, shrieking wails echoed throughout Tongguan City, sounding not of this world.

It was like an inferno of the boundless hell, yet also like a blissful celestial realm.

An hour or two later.

Several thousand people, encompassing every single member of the gentry and wealthy clans within Tongguan City, were utterly slaughtered. Blood flowed from the gentry's estates all the way out onto the main street.

Covered in blood from head to toe, Little Hongzi returned to the county office.

With every step he took, his bloody figure left a sticky footprint behind.

Arriving before Chongzhen, Little Hongzi dropped to one knee and spoke:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble servant has led men to completely wipe out all the gentry and wealthy households of Tongguan County. Please give your instructions on what to do next."

"Send the heads of the chief culprits around to all the counties, explain the reasons clearly, and order the counties to immediately gather nearby refugees. I will inspect them one by one."

"At the same time, issue a full seven-day ration of food to each of the refugees gathered in Tongguan City today. Let them rest for a night and return to their original native places tomorrow without lingering anywhere else. I have my own arrangements for them thereafter."

"This humble servant obeys the decree."

Soon.

Several teams of Embroidered Uniform Guards carrying imperial dragon banners and riding fast horses set off toward the surrounding counties, trailing strings of severed heads behind them.

An Embroidered Uniform Guard also approached the refugees and read out the imperial edict to them.

Upon hearing that they would each be issued a full seven-day supply of rations, most of them were pleasantly surprised.

A full seven-day ration could last nearly a month if eaten sparingly.

Furthermore, the emperor had stated that he would not abandon them; perhaps they really would be able to survive the upcoming winter.

Yet a small fraction of people harbored different thoughts at this very moment.

There was no help for it.

When people were starving, they usually only thought about filling their stomachs.

Once they were full, however, their minds began to wander.

What would happen when the seven-day rations ran out?

And winter was fast approaching...

With these thoughts, a sliver of cunning light flashed in their eyes.

If they could keep following behind the emperor like this, wouldn't that mean they could eat their fill every day without doing any work?

Moreover, since the emperor arrived, he had only killed corrupt officials and wealthy landlords, never once turning his blade against refugees like them.

If they voiced this idea, the other refugees who hadn't thought of it would surely echo it as well.

When the time came, with so many of them insisting on following the emperor, what could the emperor possibly do?

Everything the emperor did today showed deep affection for the people; surely he wouldn't refuse.

Harboring this notion,

a small group of them timidly knelt and asked the decree-transmitting Embroidered Uniform Guard:

"This lord... could you allow us to keep following behind His Majesty? Otherwise, winter is coming soon, and once we return, I'm afraid we'll still starve to death."

Among this small clique,

a few were the very ones who had muttered quietly when the magistrate was subjected to the punishment of a thousand cuts.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard frowned and looked at them.

To a certain extent, this was already defying an imperial decree.

However, since this matter involved refugees, the Embroidered Uniform Guard dared not make an arbitrary decision, so he turned back into the county office to seek instructions.

The matter finally reached Chongzhen.

After listening to the report,

Chongzhen calmly uttered two words: "Kill them."

"Parade their heads through the surrounding counties as well, and explain the reasons clearly."