Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 52: Not killing is not enough to appease the people’s anger

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Han requests an audience."

In the morning, Eunuch Wang came to report.

"Let him get in!"

There was lingering anger in Zhu Yuanzhang's voice.

"I, a guilty minister, pay my respects to the Highness and wish you the best."

As soon as Li Shanchang came in, he knelt down and kowtowed to Zhu Yuanzhang, which was much more respectful than before.

"If you're going to plead for Li You, keep it to yourself! Don't tell anyone else!"

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Li Shanchang and spoke bluntly.

"My Lord, I am not pleading for Li You. Li You has disregarded the law and is extremely audacious. He deserves his punishment!
Being skinned by a superior is the best!"

Li Shanchang actually spoke completely from Zhu Yuanzhang's perspective, as if he was willing to sacrifice his own family for the sake of justice.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not moved at all.

He knew Li Shanchang too well, and this was not something he would do.

There must be more words to come.

Sure enough, Li Shanchang's true intention was immediately revealed.

"I, a guilty minister, am willing to use my iron certificate of immunity from death to pay the penalty for his death.

Please grant his life."

Li Shanchang also knew Zhu Yuanzhang's temper. He didn't like people talking nonsense, especially in the current situation, so he had to be straightforward.

He was also sure that as long as he took out the iron certificate of immunity from death at this time, Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely accept it.

After all, this certificate of immunity from death was issued by Zhu Yuanzhang himself, and he couldn't go back on his word.

Another reason is that he felt that based on his status and position, he still had some face in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Regarding the matter of Zhongdu City, the emperor should also stop at the right time and not really break off relations with me.

Now that we have fallen out, it will be difficult to build this capital city in the future!

The fact that I came to ask for a meeting and Zhu Yuanzhang also wanted to see me meant that there was still room for discussion on this matter.

Zhu Yuanzhang was unwilling and dared not to make things too ugly.

Now, when he brought out the iron certificate of immunity from death, Zhu Yuanzhang felt both proud and confident.

Li You's life was saved.

"No, it's clearly written on the certificate of immunity from death that you are exempt from two deaths, and your son is exempt from one!
Li You is your nephew, not your son, so he is not eligible for being spared from death!

Your nephew’s life is a life, but the lives of so many innocent people are not lives?

Li You must die!"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head decisively, his tone firm.

Li Shanchang was stunned for a moment when he heard this and looked surprised.

Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction once again exceeded his expectations.

"To be in power, must...must one kill?"

He looked up at Zhu Yuanzhang with pleading eyes.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked directly into Li Shanchang's eyes and spoke with great emphasis, "He must be killed! If he is not killed, it will not be enough to appease the public anger!"

Li Shanchang and Zhu Yuanzhang looked at each other for a while, then slowly lowered their heads.

"I understand. I will take my leave."

His voice was low, and seemed to carry endless fatigue.

He got up from the ground and walked slowly outside, looking as if he had aged several years in an instant.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Shanchang's desolate back, with only cold determination in his eyes.

In the previous life, Li You had avoided the affairs of Zhongdu City.

Couldn't really do anything to him.

Later, Li You even married Hu Weiyong's niece.

Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong married in this way.

It was not until the 13th year of Hongwu that Hu Weiyong was executed for his treason.

In this life, I will not allow him to live for another five years.

Li You must die this time!
No one can save him!

……

The clanging sound of gongs rang out in Zhongdu City and outside Zhongdu City, immediately attracting the attention of many people.

Many people were curious about what these officers and soldiers were supposed to do.

Many laborers who had just eaten two full meals were even more nervous.

They were afraid that they would hear some terrible news next.

They have suffered so much that they have become frightened birds.

For them, the light-hearted sentence above is nothing compared to the mountain.

Amid their anxiety, they received a surprising piece of news.

The emperor wants to skin Li You alive on Hongwu Street!

And Li You is actually the nephew of Li Shanchang, Duke of Korea!

At the same time, he also learned about the many serious crimes committed by Li You, such as instructing people to pretend to be bandits and behead those who came to Beijing to file complaints with the emperor.

Such as forcibly abducting women, destroying families, and arbitrarily lynching people...

After hearing the news, everyone was stunned. They had never expected that they would hear such news!
This... is so unexpected, so shocking, and so surprising!

This is Li Shanchang’s nephew!
Who is Li Shanchang and what is his authority?
Having lived in Zhongdu City for so long, they already had a very profound understanding.

As a result, now the emperor, in order to serve the people, actually wanted to skin Li Shanchang's nephew alive in public to vent the anger of the people!
After the shock and surprise, many people immediately headed towards the center of Hongwu Street.

To see this delightful, rare spectacle...

Before noon, the wide streets were already crowded with people.

Shen Jing came here early in the morning and waited, occupying the best position to watch the execution.

Zhu Yuanzhang personally supervised the execution along with Crown Prince Zhu Biao and his three other sons.

Being able to have the emperor of a country, the most stable crown prince in history, and three princes oversee the execution together, Li You's move was worth it.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, no one has ever had such a poker face. Li You has been tied up on the high platform, looking extremely embarrassed.

There was feces all over his body, face, and head, and there were many scars.

These are the traces left by the warm hospitality received by many local people on the way here while being escorted here not long ago.

If the soldiers and officers had not tried their best to stop him, Li You would have been overwhelmed by the angry crowd before he could get here!

"Execution!"

Zhu Yuanzhang saw that most people had arrived and was too lazy to wait until three quarters past noon. He picked up the red brush, circled the word "behead" in the order, threw it out, and gave the order.

He doesn't want Li You to live any longer!
The executioner received Zhu Yuanzhang's order and carried out the execution immediately.

Two buckets of cold water were poured over his head, washing away the dirt on his body and making the drowsy Li You sober.

When I opened my eyes, I was faced with the skinning knife held by the executioner!

He was so scared that he screamed.

The person urinated again.

"You can't kill me! You can't kill me!
My uncle is the Duke of Korea! My uncle and my father have both made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty!

I haven’t committed any serious crime, you can’t treat me like this!!!”

He screamed and twisted his body wildly, which was not like a human voice.

Compared to his previous arrogant and condescending self, he is now a completely different person.

The executioner was not surprised at all.

He calmly took out four silver needles, each about half a foot long, and inserted them into four different positions.

Li You immediately became obedient, and even his voice became much softer.

But he was still very sober.

You can fully feel the real feeling of the knife cutting your body.

The pain from each cut and the endless fear tortured him to the point of collapse.

As a man who was extremely afraid of death, he soon burst into tears and began to beg the executioner to kill him quickly.

The executioner ignored his pleas and continued cutting with his knife, one after another, with a focused look on his face.

The people around the platform were watching very attentively.

Shen Jing, his young wife, sister, and other family members beside him were all watching extremely seriously, not daring to blink their bloodshot eyes.

Afraid of missing any moment.

They want to see with their own eyes the demon who tortured them beyond recognition being punished and executed!

Peeling daylilies is a skill that most people cannot do, and it is also very time-consuming.

It took more than an hour to completely peel it off.

Li You didn't die until the entire punishment was completed!
Zhu Yuanzhang, along with his sons and many other people, watched the entire event.

Shen Jing, Shen Jing's sister, Xiao Niang, couldn't help but burst into tears and sobbed loudly after seeing Li You completely die.

Soon, there was crying everywhere.

Of course, it was not about mourning for Li You, but Li You's public execution gave hope to many people who had suffered and been oppressed for a long time, and allowed them to release their accumulated emotions.

The eyes of Zhu Biao, Zhu Chong, Zhu Gang and Zhu Di brothers were also red.

"I am Zhu Yuanzhang, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty! I am late!
I'm sorry for making you all suffer and feel wronged!"

After the crying had subsided and their emotions had stabilized, Zhu Yuanzhang stood up, looked at everyone and spoke.

His eyes were also red.

There were pre-arranged messengers who shouted one after another, spreading Zhu Yuanzhang's words far away so that more people could hear them.

The people's crying quickly subsided, and they stopped looking towards the platform, listening to the emperor's words.

After understanding what the emperor said, many people's tears, which had just stopped, began to flow again.

"I came from a poor background. Now that I'm an emperor, I can't forget my roots!"

"Li Youduo has committed many illegal acts, and now he has been skinned alive by us!
We know that Li You is not the only one who harms the people!
Among all of you, there are certainly many people whose grievances have not been redressed.

We reappointed the Fengyang prefect and ordered him to open the court to hear cases from the people.

For those of you who have been wronged, don’t be afraid, just go ahead and sue!

Let’s take a good look this time to see who dares not to accept the people’s cases, and who dares to retaliate against the people who file complaints!

Anyone who dares to do this will be skinned alive!!!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was sonorous and powerful, and compared with Li You's unrecognizable appearance, his words seemed particularly convincing.

Shen Jing's eyes were filled with tears again, as if countless things suddenly filled his chest and wanted to burst out.

He couldn't help but kneel down in front of the tall figure on the platform.

"Long live the Holy King!"

"Long live the Holy Lord!!!"

This was a cry from his heart.

His younger sister, mother, and other members of the Shen family beside him also knelt down.

Then he shouted: "Long live the Holy Lord!"

There seemed to be a light flashing in their eyes!

This action attracted more people, and they quickly radiated towards the rear with Shen Jing and his group as the center.

The crowd rolled like waves, and people, as far as the eye could see, knelt down one after another.

He shouted, "Long live the Holy Lord!"

At first, the sound was not uniform, but after a while, the spontaneous shouts from countless people became uniform and combined into one sound.

The sound rolled and moved straight into the sky!
It was like the spring thunder after the Waking of Insects, shaking the earth and trembling the sky!!!
Zhu Yuanzhang stood on the high platform, watching this scene, his heart filled with emotion.

Who are the cornerstones of the Ming Dynasty? These are the cornerstones of the Ming Dynasty!
How low their demands are!
I was just making decisions for them, and yet they treated me like this.

Endless emotions are rolling in my chest, and the surging feelings want to pour out.

Suddenly, an idea came to Zhu Yuanzhang's mind and a sentence appeared in his mind!
"Long live the people!!!"

Zhu Yuanzhang tried his best and looked at the people shouting.

"Crack!"

At this moment, it seemed as if lightning flashed across the sky!

(End of this chapter)