Chapter 524: Torture (Part 1)
As a time traveler, even though he has been almost corrupted, Sun Shaozong still feels somewhat resistant to the harsh punishments in ancient times that often caused injuries.
Therefore, when Sun Shaozong investigated cases in the past, he rarely tortured criminals before obtaining solid evidence. The few individual exceptions were mostly due to roaring in court.
Perhaps it was because of this that Lu Hui was afraid that he would ruin things because of his soft-heartedness, so he specially sent an official file of the Northwest Rebellion before closing the net.
The above records in detail the various crazy actions of the White Lotus rebels in the winter of the 31st year of Guangde, as well as the subsequent impacts that resulted from them.
At that time, the White Lotus rebels had gone from being unstoppable in the summer and autumn to being completely routed. Almost every day, news of prefectures and counties being recaptured by government troops and the deaths of incense masters and helmsmen were reported back to the White Lotus's old nest, Pingliang Prefecture.
In the desperate atmosphere of three shocks in one day, the control of the White Lotus leaders over the rebels gradually decreased to a level infinitely close to zero.
This is where the chaos begins.
From October 19th to December 7th when Pingliang City was recovered, in just one and a half months, the total population of Pingliang Prefecture dropped by more than 30%, and nine out of ten houses in the city were empty!
After the recovery of Pingliang Prefecture, so many bones were cleared out in the city that even the mass graves could not hold them all, so they had to build mass graves to store them.
In the autumn of the following year, the number of women dying from childbirth increased fourteen times to that of previous years.
Between July and August, the fields near Pingliang City were filled with abandoned babies. Some refugees secretly ate them and even had their thigh flesh regrown.
Tsk~
The refugees who were living from hand to mouth actually ate abandoned babies so much that fat grew on their legs!
Even someone like Sun Shaozong, who had seen all kinds of murders, felt a chill down his spine when he read the few lines of small print in the file.
Not to mention that in addition to the cold data, the file also records many horrific tragedies in detail.
For example, in mid-November, Zhou, the leader of the Qingmu Hall of the White Lotus Sect, became blinded by an arrow in his right eye and suffered from sores. He therefore specialized in eating human eyes, eating dozens of them every day, and claimed that he was the reincarnation of Xiahou Yuanrang.
For example, at the end of November, Cheng, the Sima of the Left Army of the White Lotus Sect, set up a big pot in the street and forced the wives and children of the looted county officials to commit incest in the pot. If they refused, he ordered people to light a fire and cook them, and then served the minced meat to guests, which was called the Mother and Child Soup.
Another example is that in early December, the White Lotus Sect's Central Army Protector Su...
Looking at all these, it is no wonder that the ancients had the saying "It is better to be a dog in peacetime than a man in troubled times".
Of course, even if he was deeply touched after reading the file, it does not mean that Sun Shaozong would follow suit and commit brutal acts - in most cases, small tricks targeting the spiritual level are often easier to break through psychological defenses than bloody torture.
Let’s get back to the story.
But Sun Shao dropped the black material and hurried to the three-story house in the back alley.
This was originally a temporary base during the last operation. Since this time it is still near Qingxu Temple, it was reused.
When Sun Shaozong went in, he saw three plainclothes Dragon Guards dressed as servants sweeping the floor. He called one of them over and whispered a few words to him. After the man took his orders and left, he continued to rush towards the inner courtyard.
"Master Qianhu."
As soon as he passed through the second door, Yang Licai came out after hearing the news. He bowed and said, "As you expected, they are two stubborn people again. I have been asking them questions for a long time, using both coaxing and intimidation, but none of them are useful."
Although the White Lotus Sect is not very good at rebellion, its brainwashing methods are very powerful. Those who are sent to the capital to carry out undercover missions are all the best among the fanatics. It would be very difficult to pry open their mouths.
Fortunately, Sun Shaozong had already made up his mind, so he did not answer, but just raised his chin slightly, indicating Yang Licai to lead the way.
The two of them walked one after the other to a secluded courtyard in the northwest corner. The Dragon Guard guarding the gate lifted the thick cloth curtain, and they saw under the dim light that the shopkeeper Wu and his wife were lying in a cross shape, tied tightly to the wall with iron chains.
Shopkeeper Wu was fine, still dressed in the same green clothes and small hat.
But his wife, Xu, had been stripped naked, with only a crimson bellyband left on her body, barely covering her beautiful figure.
In order to prevent himself from chewing his tongue, Xu had a special bronze gag stuffed in his mouth.
The dark iron chain, the emerald green copper ball, the white flesh, and the bright red bellyband, under the flickering light, sometimes look like heavy ink and color, sometimes like ink and color painting...
Thick color shows mature charm, light color shows sorrow!
Originally Xu was just a slightly pretty girl, but after being manipulated like this, she was covered with a different kind of charm.
At this time, Yang Licai explained quietly: "I heard that Shopkeeper Wu loves his wife very much, so I thought of threatening her with her body. Unfortunately, although Shopkeeper Wu was furious, he still gritted his teeth and refused to speak."
After a pause, he added: "Perhaps I didn't dare to do it too far. Perhaps the time has come for me to take action..."
Before Yang Licai could finish his words, Sun Shaozong had already stepped in - no matter how depraved he was, he was not so low as to use the 'husband in front of the guilty' method to force a confession.
However, as a member of the national secret service, Yang Licai's unscrupulous approach could not be said to be wrong. Therefore, although Sun Shaozong disdained to listen, he did not intend to blame him.
After entering the house, Sun Shaozong's eyes first wandered over Xu's bellyband, staring at the embroidery of a Qilin delivering a child on it, secretly wondering whether he should think about having a "child".
For example, just like the time at the Prince's Mansion, they could fabricate the illusion that Xu was pregnant and use the "hope for the future" to defeat their will to die at this moment.
But on second thought, although the Wu couple are not doctors, they have been running the pharmacy for so many years and must be more proficient in medical knowledge than ordinary people. If their flaws are discovered, it will instead arouse stronger psychological resistance, which will affect the subsequent interrogation.
So he soon threw this method out of his mind - it would be safer to use the method he had thought of before.
While staring at something inappropriate and thinking about something extremely serious, Xu suddenly struggled violently and cursed incoherently: "You bastard, just use whatever you can do. If I frown, you are unworthy of being a disciple of the Holy Church!"
Sun Shaozong withdrew his gaze from the trembling Qilin Delivering a Child painting and was about to talk to her to find out more about her, but the shopkeeper Wu rushed to remind her, "My wife, today we are only going to die, don't argue with this bastard, or he might smell something and harm your fellow sect members!"
Tsk~
This shopkeeper Wu is really alert.
However, Sun Shaozong did not think it was a big deal to receive these insults.
But the several officers of the Dragon Guards nearby were not happy. Some took whips and some took branding irons. They all shouted at the same time, "How dare you, a traitor, be so presumptuous in front of my Lord Qian Hu!"
Xu snorted disdainfully, and Shopkeeper Wu remained silent, obviously having decided not to say anything more.
"well."
Sun Shaozong sighed helplessly when he saw this: "I originally wanted to get the job done in a friendly manner, but your attitude of keeping me at a distance makes me feel a little embarrassed."
"My lord, let's punish him."
Yang Licai stepped forward at the right time, put on a white face, raised his hand and slashed in the air, sneering: "As the saying goes, 'people's hearts are like iron, and official laws are like furnaces'. Under the three trees, we are not afraid that they will not tell the truth!"
Then he pointed to the west wall and said, "Look, I have asked someone to bring all the instruments of torture here."
As soon as he pointed, someone shone a lantern over there and saw a three-story wooden rack at the foot of the west wall, filled with all kinds of strange torture instruments.
Sun Shaozong approached with interest, picked up a hard-bristled horse brush, and asked curiously, "What kind of torture instrument is this?"
"Look, sir."
Yang Licai hurriedly picked up the copper kettle with a narrow mouth beside him and said with a smile: "These two are the same. First, pour boiling water on the skin and flesh, and then rub it vigorously with a brush until the bones are rubbed out. The Ministry of Punishment calls this "washing white."
This name is quite interesting.
Sun Shaozong put down the bristle brush and carefully picked up an iron ring with spikes inside and outside. Before he could ask any questions, Yang Licai rushed to explain: "This thing is called 'Ao Ren'. Just put it around your neck and you won't faint no matter how severe the punishment is."
"This is 'broken lotus roots and lingering silk', much more cruel than the clamp!"
"This is called 'sui cui'. The meat scraped off can be used directly as dumpling filling."
"This thing is used on the nose..."
"Unisexual..."
After explaining seven or eight things in a row, Sun Shaozong finally stopped. His eagle-like eyes moved back and forth between the torture instruments and the shopkeeper Wu and his wife.
Seeing this, Yang Licai pretended to be impatient and rubbed his hands, "Sir, which one do you think we should take first and let this couple have a taste?"
As he said this, he pursed his lips excitedly.
This performance was well-sung and well-composed, with the background of the creepy torture instruments on the rack. Not to mention the bystanders, even the Dragon Guards holding lanterns nearby couldn't help but feel their hair stand on end.
However, Shopkeeper Wu and Mrs. Xu did not even glance at each other. They stared at each other lovingly, as if they were in another dimension.
Although this does not mean that they can really withstand all the torture, their calmness and composure still make people sigh - these people armed with faith are different, even if they believe in a cult.
Sun Shaozong was silent for a while. Seeing that the couple still acted as if no one was around, he slowly shook his head and said, "None of them are necessary."
Yang Licai was stunned when he heard this, and blurted out, "What do you mean, sir?"
This time he wasn't pretending, but was really confused.
Sun Shaozong smiled calmly and said, "In fact, I have been studying how much blood a person needs to bleed before dying if the injury is not serious. It just so happens that I met two people who are willing to die, one man and one woman."
As he spoke, he opened his mouth wide to reveal his full set of white teeth and ordered, "Come here, take them to the cellar in the back kitchen."
Several Dragon Guards on the left and right responded in unison, and stepped forward to "pick" the shopkeeper Wu and his wife down from the wall. However, they did not remove the iron chains on them. Instead, they tied them up like a human stick, blocked the ball with a copper bar, and then carried them out like moving a box .
When the group reached the cellar under the cover of night, they saw the plainclothes officers who had received orders from Sun Shaozong earlier, leading their colleagues to add soil to two wooden stakes.
Seeing the leader coming, several people hurriedly put down the shovels in their hands and stepped forward to greet him.
Sun Shaozong nodded, went over and pushed the two wooden stakes, and seeing that they were firmly fixed, he ordered his men to tie up the shopkeeper Wu and his wife with their backs facing each other.
The plainclothes officer in charge of burying the wooden stakes got a large copper basin from somewhere and placed it in the open space between the two people.
"This test is actually quite simple."
Sun Shaozong said seriously, "I will cut a hole on your wrist and let the blood drip slowly into the copper basin. Someone will come in every quarter of an hour to observe the situation. If you are willing to turn from darkness to light, you might as well make some noise."
"If you are really ready to die, it's not a big deal. Just think of it as helping me solve my doubts. Anyway, my people are still waiting in the pharmacy. Sooner or later, they will lure your accomplices into the trap."
As they were talking, another person came forward, separated the right arms of Manager Wu and Xu, and fastened them tightly above the copper basin with several ropes.
Sun Shaozong asked Yang Licai for a dagger, stepped forward and cut each of their wrists, then slowly took out his pocket watch, looked at the scale on it and said, "It is now three quarters past the hour of Xu [seven forty-five], and the outcome will probably be known around midnight, so you two should enjoy yourself here."
After saying that, he invited everyone to leave the cellar without hesitation.
Touch~
Seeing the cellar lid fall down, blocking out the last ray of light, Yang Licai could not help but stepped forward and said, "Sir, I don't understand your method. The two knives only made a small cut, and it doesn't look like it will kill anyone."
"nonsense."
Sun Shaozong rolled his eyes and scolded with a smile: "It was not easy to catch him back. If he is really killed, how can we explain to the governor?"
"Then you do this..."
"There's a jar hanging on that beam."
Sun Shaozong laughed and said, "I just deliberately left the dagger in the cellar. When I send someone down to get it, I will quietly hang the jar upside down. The water inside will drip from the gap, creating the illusion of blood flowing."
"Just imagine, if you were tied up in a cellar, listening to your own and your wife's blood dripping into a copper basin, how much torment would you feel?"
"Especially for people. The darker and quieter the environment, the more likely they are to have wild thoughts. Once their thoughts start to move, they are not far from being afraid of death."
"When the time comes, we can take advantage of the situation and guide them. Why worry that they won't tell the truth?"
When Yang Licai heard this, he couldn't help but shook his head and exclaimed: "Your Excellency's methods are really amazing to me. It's really not unfair for them to fall into your hands!"
