coobybook Chapter 144 Decision
Chapter 144 Decision
Chapter 144 Execution
In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, 13 men in black were beaten to death by the enraged family members of the victims.
Wang Chengen stood silently in the crowd and gently shook his head.
“Wang Wenzhou has the talent of his ancestor, excelling in both literature and martial arts, but he acts arrogantly and eccentrically, doing whatever he pleases. He dares to execute criminals without reporting to the Emperor, which is a taboo! He is still too young and needs a few more years of experience,” Wang Chengen muttered to himself.
During the riot, Wang Chengen feared that Wang Wenzhou would be unable to handle it, as more than a hundred rioters were quite a lot for a county town. Most counties only had a few dozen yamen runners.
Wang Chengen then ordered Sun Bing to meet with the commander of Hezhou Guard and request that he send troops to suppress the rebellion.
The Hezhou Garrison Command comprised nine garrisons, including the Left and Right Naval Garrisons, the Right Garrison, the Guangyang Garrison, the Right Cavalry Garrison, the Zhennan Front Garrison, the Huben Right Garrison, the Yingyang Garrison, and the Shenyang Right Garrison, totaling approximately 50,000 soldiers.
However, when Sun Bing arrived at the city gate, he was stopped by Wang Wenzhou's subordinates.
Sun Bing did not reveal his identity. Seeing that the city gate had been sealed, he thought that Wang Wenzhou should be able to handle it, so he turned around and went to report to Wang Chengen.
Upon learning of the situation, Wang Chengen wanted to take another look. Unexpectedly, Wang Wenzhou quickly quelled the rebellion and annihilated all the bandits. When Wang Wenzhou entered the city, Wang Chengen saw his appearance and felt that Wang Wenzhou possessed the talent of a great general, truly a fine young man of both literary and military prowess in our Great Ming Dynasty.
However, Wang Chengen disagreed with Wang Wenzhou's handling of the case. He felt that Wang Wenzhou had deliberately done this to incite the anger of the people of Hanshan. While this might be understandable in terms of sentiment, it was not legally justifiable. A mature official would not do such a thing. Giving such a handle to the authorities would be met with fierce criticism if the censors found out.
Wang Chengen silently watched Wang Wenzhou; he still greatly admired Wang Wenzhou's talent.
Seeing that the men in black had been beaten to death, Wang Wenzhou ordered his constables to disperse the crowd. In a short while, only 13 corpses of men in black remained on the ground.
"Fellow elders of Hanshan, I know you hate these villains who killed our compatriots, but the country has laws. What you are doing is no different from these villains who indiscriminately kill innocent people!" Wang Wenzhou shouted.
The people all lowered their heads. Yes, what Wang Qingtian said was indeed reasonable.
"Alas..." Wang Wenzhou sighed and said, "I understand that you all acted out of grief over the loss of your loved ones. These villains are indeed at fault, so I will not pursue the matter further."
"Thank you, Judge Wang!"
"Wang Qingtian truly has the people at heart!"
The family members of the victims who had just intervened all knelt down and kowtowed to apologize.
"Alright! Everyone, please rise!" Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly, it seemed he could win over many people's hearts again this time.
"I will personally behead the bandit leader Lin Feigang." After saying this, Wang Wenzhou took the broadsword handed to him by the yamen runner and walked imposingly to Lin Feigang.
Lin Feigang's mouth had already been gagged, and two constables forced him to kneel on the ground.
Wang Wenzhou was thoroughly enjoying the Hero Show. The last time he played, Zhao Fengmin offered herself to him. Wang Wenzhou fantasized that perhaps another beautiful woman would come knocking on his door this time.
"The suspect has been identified. Execute him!" Wang Qiang shouted.
Wang Wenzhou swung his broadsword and slashed Lin Feigang across the neck.
Damn it! Wang Wenzhou was immediately embarrassed. His first attempt at beheading had failed. The broadsword was embedded in Lin Feigang's neck.
Wang Wenzhou kicked Lin Feigang several times before finally pulling out the broadsword.
"Waaah..." Lin Fei had just started cursing when his mouth was gagged, and he couldn't make a sound. "Wang Wenzhou, you big liar! I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
Wang Wenzhou swung his broadsword again, using all his strength, and "Bang!" the broadsword fell, and Lin Fei's head fell to the ground.
"Pfft..." Blood spurted from Lin Fei's neck.
Wang Wenzhou's face was instantly covered in blood; this was the first time he had killed someone. At that moment, his heart was racing, he was terrified, his whole body was trembling, and he didn't even have the strength to stand.
Everyone says someone is too weak to even kill a chicken, and Wang Wenzhou always thought that described the frailty of scholars. Now he realized it wasn't! It was because someone who had never seen blood was afraid to even kill a chicken. The trauma of killing someone for the first time was simply too great.
"Lord Wang!"
"Wang Qingtian, what's wrong?"
The people shouted because they saw Wang Qingtian suddenly kneel down on the ground.
Damn it! What else could have happened? I was so scared my legs went weak and I couldn't stand up! Wang Wenzhou smiled bitterly to himself; this heroic performance was a complete disaster.
Wang Wenzhou lay face down on the ground, his mind racing, trying to figure out how to save face in his current predicament.
"Bang!" Wang Wenzhou kowtowed to the people.
"Fellow elders of Hanshan, I, as the magistrate of Hanshan, feel ashamed. Because of my lack of consideration, I allowed rioters to wreak havoc in Hanshan, causing many innocent people to lose their loved ones. It is all my fault!" With that, Wang Wenzhou kowtowed twice more.
"Wow..." The people were astonished. Wang Qingtian was truly dedicated to the people! It was always the people who knelt before the officials, never the other way around.
"Bang!" A man knelt down on the ground, weeping bitterly, kowtowing and shouting, "Wang Qingtian, please get up! We can't accept this! How can we blame you for the evildoers' mischief?"
"Yeah yeah!"
"Wang Qingtian, please get up! We can't accept this!"
The people knelt down and kowtowed.
Damn it! I wanted to stand up, but my legs are too weak to stand! Wang Wenzhou smiled bitterly to himself. You think I wanted to kneel? I just wanted to find a way to save face.
Liu Rushi went over and helped Wang Wenzhou up.
"Hey... Wang Wenzhou, you're shameless! If you're a coward, don't try to be a killer." Liu Rushi said softly.
Wang Wenzhou tilted his head and saw Liu Rushi's disdainful look. He laughed and said, "Rushi! You're so smart. I can't fool you no matter what."
"Hmph!" Liu Rushi rolled her eyes at Wang Wenzhou and said irritably, "The people are so simple and honest. How can you, as the county magistrate, fool them?"
Wang Wenzhou was too embarrassed to reply. He waved his hand at the people and shouted loudly, "Fellow villagers, please get up. I can't accept this! After the government has compiled the statistics, it will provide some compensation to the families of the victims of this riot. In addition, in order to raise funds for the victims, a second charity auction will be held the day after tomorrow."
"Wang Qingtian is mighty!"
"Wang Qingtian is truly a Bodhisattva reincarnated!"
The grieving victims' families were moved to tears upon hearing these words.
Actually, Wang Wenzhou originally planned to hold this charity auction after his wedding so he could generously pocket the small sums of money he hadn't received at the wedding. Who knew so many things would happen these past few days? Now, he's using this as an excuse to make it sound more respectable and to instill gratitude in the public.
Liu Rushi pinched Wang Wenzhou hard and said coldly, "You scoundrel! Take your pig's trotter off me! If you dare to do this again, don't blame me for slapping you in front of so many people!"
"Hehe!" Wang Wenzhou chuckled, reluctantly removing his large hand from Liu Rushi's body.