Chapter 693: The tomb sweeper at Zhaoling, beheading Di Renjie
Zhaoling Mausoleum.
An old eunuch was guarding the mountain gate.
He was already very old, with a emaciated appearance, and his white hair was like a bunch of withered weeds, floating gently in the night breeze. His face was covered with age spots, and his arms were covered with light blue blood vessels like leaf veins.
"Eunuch Gao, it's so late, why don't you rest yet?"
"Just let the servants do the gatekeeping!"
A young eunuch hurried over to help, but was pushed away by Gao Quan.
He said in a slurred voice: "The sword, the sword is moving."
"What did you say?"
"The sword is moving. He, he is back. He is back to see Your Majesty..."
"I have to...wait."
Seeing him talking nonsense, the young eunuch finally shook his head, put a coat on him, and turned away.
It is hard to imagine that this eunuch Gao was once the most trusted eunuch around Emperor Taizong. Even the prime minister treated him with great respect when he met him.
However, the 92-year-old eunuch Gao has been guarding Zhaoling Mausoleum alone for more than 40 years, exposed to the harsh wind and frost, and no one cares about him.
As the night grew darker, Gao Quan could no longer stand. He sat on the ground, leaning against the mountain gate and dozed off.
The sound of footsteps slowly began.
Gao Quan suddenly opened his eyes, and a light seemed to shine in his cloudy old eyes. His hands, as old as tree bark, tightly grasped the white clothes.
"Tomb keeper Gao Quan, I pay my respects to... the Imperial Master!"
He stood up tremblingly and wanted to salute, but Li Daoxuan waved his hand to stop him.
"Brother Gao, long time no see."
Li Daoxuan looked at him with a hint of emotion in his eyes.
In the face of time, life is really fragile. The once heroic Emperor Taizong has become a withered skeleton in a tomb, and the eunuch Gao, who was loyal to his master and worked hard without complaint, has not much time left and is about to follow his old master.
"I am just a eunuch with a filthy body, how can I be worthy of being called Brother Gao."
Tears welled up in Gao Quan's eyes. He looked at Li Daoxuan, whose hair was still black and whose appearance remained the same, and felt very ashamed of himself.
But the words "Brother Gao" made his heart excited and moved.
After forty years of ups and downs, he had become accustomed to people leaving him and forgetting about him, but he never expected that he would still receive the respect of the national teacher before his death.
Li Daoxuan looked at his white hair, sighed softly, and said: "How many people in this world can guard the mausoleum for forty years?"
Although Gao Quan was just a eunuch, in Li Daoxuan's eyes, his loyalty and perseverance surpassed those of most people in the world.
"Brother Gao, please wait here. Do you have anything to ask of me?"
"yes!"
Gao Quan took a step forward and bowed tremblingly, saying, "I beg you, Imperial Master, to do me a favor for the sake of the late emperor."
"you say."
Gao Quan said in a trembling voice: "I'm dying."
"But Zhaoling cannot be left unguarded. After the Empress came to power, fewer and fewer eunuchs were sent here, and the people here became less and less attentive. They don't respect the late emperor at all!"
"Please ask the Imperial Master... to find a reliable person to replace me!"
Li Daoxuan was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is this all?"
"Only this."
Gao Quan bowed deeply to Li Daoxuan again and said in a trembling voice: "As a dying man, I have no other wishes, except for this matter, which I cannot let go of."
"Okay, I promise you, I've brought that person with me. He's right behind me."
Gao Quan was stunned for a moment, then tried hard to open his cloudy eyes, only to find that there was a figure right behind the national teacher.
He was wearing a simple Taoist robe, looked to be in his forties or fifties, had a very ordinary face, and a hint of vicissitudes in his eyes.
For some reason, when Gao Quan looked at him, he vaguely saw the shadow of Taizong.
"Okay, okay, okay!"
He said "OK" three times in a row, feeling relieved. He naturally trusted the person chosen by the national teacher.
Under the moonlight, the white-haired old man laughed and left, his gray figure gradually disappearing into the night.
Li Daoxuan glanced at the somewhat moved man and said calmly: "Let's go. It's been a long time since you came to pay homage to Emperor Taizong."
There was a hint of shame in the man's eyes.
In Zhaoling Mausoleum, the man looked at the tombstones of Emperor Taizong and Empress Zhangsun with tears in his eyes, kowtowed repeatedly and cried bitterly.
After a long time, his emotions gradually calmed down, and he looked at Li Daoxuan with complicated eyes, including gratitude and confusion.
"Master, why don't you kill me?"
The person in front of him was the one who bore the stigma of regicide, but in fact he did not kill him. Instead, he concealed the truth and replaced the real one with the fake one.
What was burned to ashes by the Samadhi Fire was nothing more than a hair.
Li Zhi couldn't understand why. He could have gone down in history as an innocent and blameless person, but now he had to leave a record of regicide in history books and bear countless controversies.
Li Daoxuan glanced at him, as if he could see through what he was thinking, and smiled faintly.
"The world slanders me, defames me, praises me, and honors me..."
"What does it have to do with me?"
He smiled and said, "Whether I leave my name in history or be infamous for eternity, I only did what I wanted to do. If I wanted to kill you, I killed you. If I wanted to save you, I saved you."
His voice echoed in Zhaoling, so unrestrained and unrestrained, with an indescribable elegance.
At this moment, Li Zhi suddenly understood why his father respected and trusted him so much, and why so many people still missed him after decades.
Li Zhi did not say anything, but bowed deeply to Li Daoxuan.
"From now on, you are no longer the high and mighty Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, but just an unknown tomb sweeper at Zhaoling Mausoleum."
"I have sealed your magic power and body. You are no different from an ordinary person. You will gradually grow old and even die. Unless one day you can find out the demons in your heart and truly let go, you can break the seal and restore your cultivation."
"Before that, take good care of your parents' tomb."
Li Zhi bowed and left silently.
The mausoleum became quiet, with only the eternal lamp burning silently.
Li Daoxuan sighed softly, "Taizong, don't say that I don't give you face. If I were in my old temper, I would have chopped him off directly, no matter whose son he was."
"You and Empress Changsun only have three sons in total, and he is the only one still alive. I gave him a chance because he finally came to his senses and showed some responsibility."
"If he really died in Zhaoling, then you can't blame me."
Li Daoxuan took a sip of wine and then spilled a lot of it on the ground.
"Three pots of wine, three hundred years. Now that I think about it, I really lost a lot. If we can meet again in the future, you have to compensate me..."
In Zhaoling, voices continued to ring out, as if two long-parted friends were having a long conversation all night long.
…
The next day, early morning.
Li Daoxuan left Zhaoling. No one knew what he said that night, and no one saw him leave.
Only Li Zhi, who was sweeping the floor outside, seemed to sense something and looked back.
He knew that the man was gone.
After being in a daze for a while, he sighed softly and continued to sweep up the fallen leaves. His whole temperament became more and more quiet.
Strangely enough, away from the power struggle, he felt more at peace in this quiet Zhaoling Mausoleum.
…
Chang'an City, West Market Execution Ground.
This place is also called Duliushu, and it is one of the two major execution grounds in Chang'an. The other one is called Goujiling, which is the East Market execution ground.
Certain criminals were often executed at Duliushu, for example, Zhang Liang from the Zhenguan period was one of the twenty-four heroes in the Lingyan Pavilion. He was considered a traitor by Li Shimin because he adopted five hundred adopted sons and was eventually executed here.
The place was crowded with people early in the morning.
Watching beheadings has always been one of the few entertainment activities for ordinary people, especially when corrupt officials are beheaded, everyone applauds and is very excited.
What's worse, some people would rush forward and tear off a few pieces of flesh after beheading.
For example, the cruel official Lai Junchen was rampant in Chang'an. He bullied the people, raped people's wives and daughters, and killed people like crazy. In history, when he was beheaded, the people swarmed up to peel off his flesh and cut him into pieces.
People all over Chang'an were running around telling each other and celebrating with drums and gongs, just like it was New Year's Day.
But now, the abominable Lai Junchen was sitting high up on the stage, staring at the prisoner who was about to be executed with a sinister smile.
He was a fat man with a gentle face. Even when he was taken to the execution ground, he remained calm and composed.
Wu Sizong sat in the executioner's seat, looked at Di Renjie with a smug look on his face, and said with a smile: "Di Gong, I didn't expect you to have this day."
Di Renjie sneered and did not answer, but his mind was racing as lightning, thinking about how to escape.
Yesterday, he waited for Brother Kong to come back to the inn for a long time, so he went to Da Ci'en Temple alone, wanting to ask the monks in the temple and find out about the demonic possession of the holy monk Xuanzang.
However, he happened to see Wu Sizong and Lai Junchen abusing a woman who came to burn incense.
Di Renjie stepped forward and saved the woman, but Wu Sizong accused him of entering the capital without permission as the magistrate of Pengze County with the intention of rebellion.
Di Renjie took out the imperial edict, but what he didn't expect was that the two arrogant people actually said that the imperial edict was fake, forcibly arrested him, and then quickly imprisoned him and forged evidence.
Without a trial in the Dali Temple or reporting to the Ministry of Justice, they convicted him overnight and took him to the West Market for execution the next morning.
If Di Renjie was still the prime minister, they would definitely not dare to play like this, but now Di Renjie is just a small seventh-rank county magistrate, which is nothing in the eyes of these two people.
"The time has come, execute him now!"
While Di Renjie was still thinking hard, Lai Junchen sneered and threw out the token.
He was somewhat wary of Di Renjie, knowing that this man was extremely intelligent, had extensive connections in the court, and was quite prestigious. It would be better to execute him early, as it would cause trouble if he delayed further.
The executioner was puzzled. He looked at the rising sun and said depressedly, "Sir, it's not noon yet."
The Yang energy is strong at noon, so the criminals will not become evil ghosts after being beheaded.
A knife-like smile appeared on Lai Junchen's feminine and handsome face, and there was a huge sense of oppression in his calm voice.
"I said we're here, so we're here. Look again, is it noon now?"
The executioner trembled all over, sweating profusely, and said hurriedly: "It's noon, it's noon!"
He raised his sword and prepared to chop Di Renjie.
The people below came forward and shouted loudly.
"It's only morning now , it's still early for noon!"
"Di Gong pleads for the people, he is a good official, why do you want to kill him?"
"Oh my God, is it possible that even a good official like Di Gong, who takes good care of us ordinary people, will die at the hands of those incompetent officials?"
…
For a moment, the crowd was excited and the people rushed forward. If it were not for the soldiers who stopped them, they would have rushed to the execution ground.
Over the years, Di Renjie's reputation as an official had spread throughout the world . No matter where he served, he could benefit the local people and had outstanding political achievements. When he was transferred, people often came out of the city to see him off, stretching for more than ten miles.
If it had not been for him, hundreds of thousands of people in Weizhou City would have been slaughtered by Wu Sizong.
Temples of Di Gong and monuments to his merits and virtues have long been erected everywhere.
When the people of Chang'an heard that the person to be executed was Di Gong, they were not happy at all and they all cursed the executioner who was about to carry out the execution.
The executioner was also confused and seemed hesitant.
"If you don't kill them now, you won't have to kill them anymore in the future."
Lai Junchen's voice sounded faintly, with a chilling feeling that made one's heart tremble.
There was a struggle in the executioner's eyes, and he finally closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Dee."
Of course he knew that Di Gong was a good official, but there was nothing he could do. If he didn't kill Di Gong, he would be the one to die, and even his entire family.
"It's okay. You have a wife and children at home. Don't let them be implicated because of me."
At the critical moment of life and death, Di Renjie still showed his innate open-mindedness and kindness. He also wanted to live, but if that was his destiny, he would accept it calmly.
The executioner was shocked, but he could only grit his teeth and swing his knife.
Snap!
With a flash of the knife, Di Renjie's head fell down, and blood splattered.
The angry people were suddenly stunned and looked sad.
Di Gong...died at the hands of a villain like this?
At this moment, someone suddenly shouted: "Di Gong, Di Gong has grown another head!"
When everyone looked, they saw that there was already a head on the ground, but Di Renjie was still unharmed, as if another one had grown out instantly after the head was chopped off.
"Kill again!"
Wu Sizong, who was supervising the execution, suddenly shouted loudly with a hint of fear in his voice.
The executioner could only swing his knife again.
The knife flashed again.
Another head rolled down, and Di Renjie's head was still intact on his neck. He himself found it incredible.
The executioner's hand holding the knife trembled violently. He took a few steps back, turned around and said, "Sir, what should I do--"
The voices suddenly stopped, and the chief executioner Lai Junchen and the supervising executioner Wu Sizong were both headless, with blood gushing out from their necks.
His face turned pale and he quickly looked at the two heads he had chopped off before.
One was feminine and handsome, and died with his eyes open; the other had a pointed chin and a hideous face.
It was the cruel official Lai Junchen and the General of the Left Guard Wu Sizong!
"God has shown his power. Lai Junchen is dead! Wu Sizong is dead!"
"Everyone, hurry up and chop those two crooked officials into pieces!"
The people broke through the defense line like a tide, ran to the execution ground, and rushed towards the bodies of Lai Junchen and Wu Sizong like locusts. Those who had knives cut the flesh directly, and those who didn't had knives tore them with their hands, and soon cut them into pieces.
However, Di Renjie was untied and someone put a piece of clothes on him.
He touched his neck, feeling as if he had survived a disaster.
"Brother Di, I saved your life again."
Li Daoxuan came over and smiled faintly.
Di Renjie smiled bitterly and said, "Fortunately, Brother Kong, you arrived in time, otherwise I would have to go to see the King of Hell."
"Don't worry, even the King of Hell wouldn't dare take you in if I didn't agree."
