Chapter 48: Yuan Wei’s entire family was beheaded, and the authority of the Han Emperor cannot be questioned!

Zhou Bi and his son Zhou Tong, as well as more than a dozen officials, were escorted out by the Imperial Guards one after another.

From the fact that their bodies were intact, even spotless, it was clear that the Jinyiwei did not torture them.

This was indeed the case. After they were detained separately, they were treated coldly without any severe torture or psychological tactics such as sowing discord.

Even from the time they left to the time they came out, not much time had passed.

The dozen officials behind him were confused and didn't understand what the Jinyiwei was doing. They wanted to make eye contact with Zhou Bi, but got no answer.

Under the strict supervision of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, they had neither time nor opportunity to communicate.

And so he made his way back to the execution platform.

When the onlookers saw Zhou Bi, Zhou Tong and others reappear, they were immediately surprised and began to whisper to each other.

Many people seemed to be betting on whether the Jinyiwei would force Zhou Bi and others to confess under torture, but when they saw that Zhou Bi and others were safe and sound, many people wailed, "We guessed wrong."

But as for those scholars, dignitaries and powerful people, they stared at the expressions of Zhou Bi and others. They did not think that the Jinyiwei's mobilization of troops to take Zhou Bi and others away and out of everyone's sight was just a waste of time.

So what if my body is intact?
It should be noted that some punishments do not leave visible scars.

For example, there is a kind of punishment that is so suffocating that it makes people despair. It is to wet sackcloth and cover the prisoner's face with it. The pain of suffocation will impact the prisoner's whole body, and an ordinary person will not be able to bear it for long and will confess.

There is also a kind of punishment, where the prisoner is blindfolded and locked in a small dark room without sound or light, and the prisoner will soon have a mental breakdown. Humans are social animals and cannot stand loneliness, especially dark and silent loneliness.

These punishments do not leave any visible scars.

However, these scholars, high-ranking officials and other knowledgeable people also did not see the kind of mental torture on the faces of Zhou Bi and Zhou Tong and others. They behaved very naturally.

There was a look of struggle and pain in his eyes, and a look of anxiety, as if he was making a difficult decision in his heart.

This also led everyone present to draw a conclusion -

Jinyiwei took Zhou Bi and others away and brought them back without using torture, coercion or inducement. I don't know what Jinyiwei was up to? !

Just as everyone was in confusion, the Embroidered Uniform Guards escorted Zhou Bi and others back to the execution platform.

In fact, during the time when the Jinyiwei were away, Zhu Jun had already sent someone to report to the palace at full speed, waiting for the emperor's decision.

Even if Zhu Jun did not report it, I believe the news would have been passed into the palace.

But before His Majesty could convey the imperial edict, the Jinyiwei came back and brought back prisoners including Zhou Bi!
Zhu Jun subconsciously looked at the time.

It was the third quarter of an hour in the afternoon, approximately eleven forty-five, and there were only fifteen minutes left until noon.

Zhu Jun raised his eyebrows slightly, not understanding what the Jinyiwei were doing? !
If Zhou Bi still wanted to impeach Yuan Wei, He Jin and Queen Mother He, saying that they poisoned Queen Mother Dong, how should he deal with it? !
If this matter is to be thoroughly investigated, Yuan Wei cannot be executed!

Just now, Zhou Bi's son Zhou Tong pointed the finger on the spot. This was clearly an opportunity. The Jinyiwei could have taken the man away and concluded that Zhou Bi was forming a clique for personal gain and slandering Empress Dowager He. The matter of executing Yuan Wei could have gone ahead.

But now, the Jinyiwei left and came back, what the hell is going on? !
Could it be that in such a short time, Zhou Bi would suddenly realize his mistake, turn from evil to good, and change his confession on the spot? !

This was no joke. Zhou Bi had already shown his willingness to die when he impeached Empress Dowager He for poisoning Empress Dowager Dong. Now that he had changed his confession, he would be a laughing stock.

Not to mention Zhu Jun, everyone present, including Yuan Wei and others at the execution ground, were also shocked and confused, unable to understand the Jinyiwei's train of thought.

only!

Yuan Wei stared at Zhou Bi closely. When he saw Zhou Bi's expression, a person suddenly came to his mind - the city gate captain Wu Qiong!
When Yuan Wei was being recklessly deposed and enthroned in Chongde Hall, the appearance of the city gate captain Wu Qiong dealt a fatal blow to Yuan Wei in the back, and even made it public that Yuan Wei was the mastermind behind the scenes!

And now-

Wu Qiong and Zhou Bi were different in height, appearance, and even habits. However, they showed the same expression at this moment.

The expression of about to be backstabbed!
Yuan Wei's heart gradually became nervous!
No way? ! No way? ! ! No way? ! ! !
"Click" sound!
Zhou Bi knelt directly in front of the execution platform, facing the direction of the palace, wailing and repenting:

"Your Majesty!!! I am guilty!!! I shouldn't have formed a clique for personal gain, slandered the Queen Mother in order to clear the Grand Tutor's crimes and prevent today's execution!!! I deserve to die!!!"
"Your Majesty, I have been blessed by the Emperor for my whole life, but I was blinded by profit for a moment. If it weren't for my son Zhou Tong's warning, I would still be stubborn and unrepentant!!! I am guilty!!!"

"Click" sound!
Zhou Tong also knelt down, kowtowed three times towards the direction of the palace, and wailed:

"Your Majesty!!! We in the Zhou family know that we have committed grave sins. Even if we are tortured to death, it will be difficult for us to obtain Your Majesty's forgiveness!!! Now before I die, I hope to make amends and make meritorious contributions!
"Father, leniency will be shown to those who confess, severity will be shown to those who resist!"

...

Zhou Se looked at Zhou Tong with tears streaming down his face, and then he said, "Your Majesty, I deserve death, but before I die, I decide to make the truth public and apologize to Your Majesty! I also apologize to the world!"

...

The reversal of the father and son Zhou Se and Zhou Tong made everyone present a little confused and stunned, and they stood there in disbelief.

Even the officials who followed Zhou Bi in impeaching Empress Dowager He on the spot had a blank mind, as if they had been struck by a bolt from the blue, and stood there in a daze.

They didn't know why Zhou Bi had undergone such a drastic change in such a short period of time. But they knew that what was to come would surely be earth-shattering!
Therefore, many officials wanted to rush forward to stop Zhou Bi, but they were caught on the spot by the Jinyiwei with their quick eyes and hands.

These people still did not give up, struggling and shouting: "Zhou Bi, what are you doing?! Do you want to betray the revolution?!!!"

...

But Zhou Bi ignored him. It seemed that in a short time, he suddenly realized his mistake and confessed his crime towards the palace:

"Your Majesty, do you know why the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out? It was because the aristocratic families headed by the Yuan family fanned the flames behind the scenes. They wanted to use the Yellow Turban Rebellion to cause chaos in the world and force the court to give up military power!"

...

“Wow!!!——”

As soon as Zhou Bi opened his mouth, the whole audience was shocked.

The uproar and the sound of people gasping for air at that moment combined together, almost resounding through the sky; even Liu Bian in Deyang Palace could hear it clearly.

Because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the foundation of the Han Dynasty was shaken!

Even many common people, merchants, scholars, and even high-ranking officials present were affected!
...

Zhou Bi continued:

"At the beginning, the late emperor appointed Lu Zhi as the General of the Northern Army. Lu Shangshu was indeed a 'Confucian scholar'. He led the five schools of the Northern Army to suppress the main force of the rebel army, Zhang Jue, and defeated the Yellow Turban rebels, who were trapped in Guangzong and had no way out. It was clear that the war situation had already tilted in the court's favor.

"but!
"The aristocratic families headed by the Yuan family wanted to achieve the goal of the imperial court being unable to suppress the bandits and giving military power to the local authorities. Therefore, they designed a plan to frame Lu Zhi, so that Lu Zhi was wrongly accused and escorted to the capital in a prison car to be interrogated by the court judge!
"Changing the coach during a battle is a big taboo!

"Not to mention the general who succeeded Lu Zhi, it was Dong Zhuo, the General of the Eastern Army, a former subordinate of Yuan Wei. Dong Zhuo led the elite troops of the Western Liang Army, who were good at fighting, and faced the desperate Yellow Turban bandits, but they were defeated in battle after battle.

"Because this was Yuan Wei's instruction. What they needed was the imperial army to be unable to suppress the bandits. They needed to be defeated. Only then could they achieve their goal of delegating military power and separatist warlords. And in the end, they obviously succeeded!
“This is also the reason why the generals of the Xiliang Army, after receiving pardons from His Majesty, still vowed to fight to the death rather than surrender!
"They deliberately allowed the Yellow Turbans to grow stronger and sweep across the country, bringing disaster to countless people and shaking the foundation of the Han Dynasty. This is a capital crime punishable by death for all nine generations of the clan!"

...

The chief executioner Zhu Jun's eyes suddenly became cold and solemn!

He was also affected by this war.

It was precisely because Lu Zhi was wrongly accused and escorted to Beijing that the northern front was defeated, which affected the southern front.

The southern front was under the charge of the Left General Huangfu Song and his Right General Zhu Jun.

Because of the failure on the front line, the court had to delegate military power, and Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song were inevitably punished.

They had speculated from the beginning that there was some conspiracy behind all this, because the general who succeeded Lu Zhi was Dong Zhuo, a former official of Yuan Wei, and Dong Zhuo had been defeated in succession.

What a coincidence!
Now Zhou Bi's on-the-spot identification has undoubtedly made the final decision, exposing Yuan Wei's evil intentions and treasonous crimes!

...

Amid the uproar of the people present, they suddenly looked at Yuan Wei. This Taifu, who was always calm and composed and remained calm in the face of major events, now showed an expression of disbelief and looked at Zhou Bi in disbelief.

Behind Yuan Wei, Dong Zhuo's entire family, Xiliang Army's Niu Fu and other generals, after being shocked, just laughed at themselves.

Now that things have come to this, what's the point in coming to your senses and begging for mercy?

Forced by the situation at the time, as Dong Zhuo's generals, could they still resist after Dong Zhuo agreed to let Yuan Wei release the bandits? If they had resisted, they would have been dead by now!

Once you are in the army, you have no choice!

Are they the only Xiliang army that have committed such a crime? Are there no Bingzhou army? Are there no Youzhou army? Are there no other armies of the Han Dynasty? !

It's just that they were caught in the act!

However, these people were calm and at ease when they were about to die, but the common people could not be calm and at ease, and those who were affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion could not be calm and at ease.

A speck of dust from the times can become a mountain when it falls on a person's head.

It might just be a conspiracy of the Yuan family and other aristocratic families, a power struggle to seize the military power, but it caused so many families to be broken up and wives and children to be separated!
Many people were kept in the dark and didn't know who was the culprit that destroyed their families. They could only curse the corruption of the court, the embezzlement of officials, and the stupidity of the Han emperor.

And now, the truth is revealed!
It turns out that the culprit is Yuan Wei!
"pat-"

At this time, a beggar trembled and threw the broken bowl in his hand, which was the thing he depended on for survival, directly at Yuan Wei. Unfortunately, because the distance was too far, it broke into pieces halfway!

"Fuck you!!!"

The beggar roared, tears streaming down his face, and he roared at the top of his lungs, as if he wanted to roar out the anger in his chest:
"I am originally from Jizhou. My family has fields, houses and mulberry trees. But because of the damned Yellow Turban bandits, my family of more than ten people was destroyed and my wife and children were separated. It's all your fault! Fuck your mother!!! You should be cut into pieces and go to hell!!!"

This seemed to be the beginning of something, and suddenly the common people roared, as did many beggars around. Porters, slaves and all kinds of people from all walks of life smashed the objects in their hands at Yuan Wei to vent their anger.

Obviously, these people were influenced by the Yellow Turban Rebellion! The Yellow Turban Rebellion was a peasant uprising, and its starting point was just, which is indisputable. However, when an organization becomes large, there will be a lot of filth and corruption. Not all the Yellow Turbans were working hard for "good fortune for the world."

There were many mountain bandits and many river robbers who mixed in. They robbed houses, burned, killed, looted, and robbed people. They were called "Yellow Turban Army" but they did "extremely evil" things.

The number of innocent people affected by the Yellow Turban bandits was even greater than the number of people rescued by the Yellow Turban Army.

These people in the capital are obviously just the tip of the iceberg!
But even if it was just the tip of the iceberg, the anger was enough to engulf Yuan Wei!
Originally, some people sympathized with Yuan Wei, thinking that he "loved the people, opened the granaries to release grain, provided relief to the victims, and served the country and the people." He was a good official, a good official who was wronged by the Han Emperor. Many people felt sorry for him!
But now, these voices of discontent have turned into ruthless anger!

If Yuan Wei wanted to take advantage of public opinion, he had to be prepared to be attacked by it. He was not surprised at all, he just looked at Zhou Bi with a look of disbelief!
Wu Qiong was like this, and now Zhou Bi is also like this, why do traitors appear frequently among them? !

...

Zhou Bi continued:

From the "Yellow Turban Rebellion" to "Dong Zhuo's occupation of the capital", Yuan Wei forged an imperial edict, ordering Yuan Shao and others to kill the eunuchs. This gave Dong Zhuo the opportunity to occupy the capital. He retreated behind the scenes, but insisted on deposing and enthroning.

If it weren't for your majesty's wisdom, bravery, and great talent, the Han Dynasty would have been turned upside down long ago! Now that Yuan Wei has been imprisoned and executed, he is trying every means to force your majesty to revoke his order.

Instigated the students and scholars of the Imperial Academy to parade through the streets... Instigated Yang Biao and other officials to bang the doors and cry... Instigated the Xiliang army to cause chaos in the capital... Forged an imperial edict to the princes to besiege the capital, with internal and external forces working together to shroud the capital in the shadow of war...

Even today, the day of execution, twelve blocks in Luoyang caught fire one after another. It was Yuan Wei who deliberately instigated grain and salt merchants to burn the people's stored grain. His purpose was to cause a famine in the capital and point the finger at Your Majesty!
And they impeached him on the spot...

and many more!

All of this is to force His Majesty to revoke his order!
These are things that happened recently, and many people only know the general idea but not the inside story.

After hearing this, I was shocked!!!
After listening to Zhou Bi's detailed account, they finally understood Yuan's evil ambitions. They had made so many crazy plans to overthrow the imperial power, and they almost succeeded!
Fortunately, Your Majesty is wise and powerful!

“Kill him!!!”, “Kill him!!!”, “Kill him!!!”

The people immediately glared at Yuan Wei in anger, wishing they could cut him into pieces immediately. They were eager for Zhu Jun, the supervising officer, to give the order to behead him in public.

They urgently needed to see Yuan Wei's body torn apart and his head dropped to the ground. Only in this way could they relieve the hatred in their hearts and calm the anger in their chests, and calm it with blood.

Zhu Jun looked at the time and saw that it was only a few minutes before noon. But he was not swayed by public opinion. As the executioner, he had to strictly follow the execution time and the orders of His Majesty.

But what was somewhat surprising was that amidst the turmoil and the curses from the crowd, Yuan Wei turned a blind eye and just looked at Zhou Bi in disbelief. Then he seemed to have figured something out and laughed at himself:

"You are not Zhou Bi!"

Zhou Bi and Zhou Tong felt a chill down their spines, with a hint of surprise in their eyes.

Because they saw from Yuan Wei's determined eyes that this sentence was a statement, not a question!

Yuan Wei was certain that 'Zhou Bi' was not Zhou Bi. Did he guess that 'Zhou Bi' was someone in disguise?!

impossible! ! !
Xuanwu, who was disguised as 'Zhou Bi', was absolutely sure that there was absolutely no problem with his disguise!

Perfect!

But Yuan Wei's eyes were so determined? !
Cheating?!

But what's the point of cheating now?!
The public is already outraged!

Yuan Wei closed his eyes at this moment, sighed and said:

"I finally understand why Wu Qiong betrayed me! Why Zhou Bi betrayed me! Because you are not them at all!"

This sentence is confusing, but the meaning is very clear. 'Wu Qiong' is not Wu Qiong, and 'Zhou Bi' is not Zhou Bi. Yuan Wei obviously saw through Xuanwu's disguise!

Xuanwu and Zhuque looked at each other and saw the solemnity in their eyes. They didn't understand why Yuan Wei suddenly saw the problem? !

Where is the flaw? !

Yuan Wei didn't see it at first, until Zhou Bi's crime was made public, Yuan Wei immediately saw it? !

Xuanwu understood immediately!
The more you talk, the more mistakes you make!

There must be something wrong or missing in these contents? !
The same is true!

Why was Yuan Wei so confident?

Because Zhou Bi had already realized the truth and wanted to turn from evil to good and make their crimes public, but he did not say the most important thing -

Battle of Liangzhou!

People only know about the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but they don’t know that at the same time, a major rebellion also broke out in Liang Province!

Now the Left General Huangfu Song is leading 30,000 elite troops to suppress Youfufeng, which is actually to suppress the rebellion in Liangzhou.

From the first year of Zhongping (184 AD) to the present, the Liangzhou Rebellion has not been quelled. Although the "Yellow Turban Rebellion" of the same period has often resurfaced, it no longer poses a great threat. This shows the far-reaching impact of the Liangzhou Rebellion.

Yuan and his cronies were also involved in this turmoil, and Zhou Bi also knew about it.

But he didn't say it!
Yuan Wei was suspicious and tried to cheat. Sure enough, he saw the surprise in the eyes of Zhou Se and Zhou Tong, father and son. They even looked at each other without leaving a trace, and Yuan Wei understood.

There is something wrong with these two people!

One is a coincidence, two is definitely not a coincidence, not to mention including Wu Qiong, that’s three, is this still a coincidence? !

Suddenly, Yuan Wei was stunned!
Yuan Wei thought of Dong Zhuo who was assassinated. According to the information revealed by Li Ru and Cao Cao's alibi, it is clear that the murderer was not Cao Cao. But many people have seen "Cao Cao"!
At this moment, Yuan Wei suddenly understood!

There are fake Wu Qiong, fake Zhou Bi, fake Zhou Tong, but are there no fake Cao Cao? !
correct!

The Xiliang army killed Diao Chan and ruined Wang Yun's beauty trap, but suddenly Diao Chan came back to life?

Which Diao Chan is real or fake? !
"Hahaha--"

Yuan Wei suddenly laughed miserably.

The Jinyiwei is a force secretly supported by His Majesty. In other words, His Majesty has been planning from the very beginning and has set up a trap for them to fall into.

Yuan Wei had not expected that despite all his scheming, everything was actually under the control of His Majesty, and he was being played at the fingertips of His Majesty.

Lost! ! !

Completely defeated!!!
Total defeat!!!

Yuan Wei looked back at the direction of the imperial palace, where palaces stood in rows, majestic and mysterious, and every brick and tile revealed the solemnity and dignity of the royal family. He had come and gone countless times and no longer felt awe for it.

But at this moment, Yuan Wei deeply felt a kind of unpredictable fear in the emperor's heart. That feeling was just like when he faced Emperor Ling, he was uneasy and felt like he was living with a tiger. And now, Your Majesty is even worse!!!

"Minister, I lost!!!"

Yuan Wei laughed miserably and spat out a mouthful of blood.

at this time,

When the people were clamoring to "Kill them!!!", when the scholars and dignitaries were confused by the reversal of the situation, when Xuanwu and Zhuque lamented that Yuan Wei was indeed a shrewd man who discovered their disguise,

Zhu Jun's voice echoed throughout the venue.

"It's noon time!!! Execution!!!"

Zhu Jun threw out the token.

When the body fell to the ground with a "click", the executioners on the execution ground took off the Ming shackles, the death cards, from the backs of Yuan Wei and others and threw them away. They took a gulp of wine from a bowl and sprayed it at the beheading knife.

Immediately, in full view of everyone, he cut down Yuan Wei and others without mercy and without changing his expression!

"Pfft-"

The head was torn off and blood splattered.

Yuan Wei, the Grand Tutor who came from the Yuan family of Runan, had three officials in his family for four generations and whose students and former officials were spread all over the country, was executed in court and his head was cut off!
At that moment, there was an exclamation from the whole audience!

There are also sighs from scholars and dignitaries!
But soon!
They were shocked by the sight of thousands of people falling to the ground behind them!

"Gululu——"

There were so many heads that they covered the entire execution ground. It was so horrifying, with thousands of heads falling, that the scene impacted everyone's senses, so much so that amid the uproar, there were waves of horror!

Blood spurted out, and the blood of thousands of people gradually gathered into a river, spreading around the execution ground.

The pungent smell of blood filled the air, and many people couldn't bear it and fainted!
This scene is extremely bloody, but it also fully demonstrates the unquestionable authority of the Han Emperor!

This scene was unbearable to watch, and scholars and dignitaries left one after another. The common people also gradually dispersed.

But today's horrifying scene is enough to be engraved in their hearts, and their awe of imperial power has become even deeper!
The supervising official Zhu Jun immediately reported the news of "the end of the execution" to the palace, and personally took charge of the cleanup work.

This scene is very bloody, but for Zhu Jun, who has experienced hundreds of battles and has been a soldier all his life, it is like a common occurrence and he does not feel any emotional waves at all!
only!!!

When he saw the head of Grand Tutor Yuan Wei, he sighed inwardly and expressed his heartfelt emotion:

"The old era has passed, and the new era has arrived!"

The Jinyiwei also participated in it. They salted the heads of the main culprits such as Yuan Wei and major generals and officers of the Xiliang Army such as Niu Fu, and sent them to the front line to intimidate the princes who were besieging the capital. They also used the heads of Yuan Wei and others to announce it to the world!

……

(End of this chapter)