Volume 2: The Capital, I’m Back Chapter 63: Going to Sea by Order
Beizhen Prefecture, Zhaoyu.
In the dim cell, only rats and cockroaches make rustling sounds, looking for some food scraps, and even climb on people, because there is no difference between living and dead people here.
With a click, the cell door opened.
Shi Heng raised his head and asked weakly, "Is it time to set off?"
The jailer did not answer, but untied the chains on Shi Heng and took him out.
Shi Heng smiled bitterly and said, "This is too stingy, not even a meal for the last day of execution?"
Still no one answered, and Shi Heng was taken to a side room, where he saw only a large bathtub.
"What kind of punishment is this?"
I've lived for so many years, but I've never seen anyone kill someone with a water tank. Is there any difference between drowning someone and beheading them?
"There are clean clothes next to it after washing."
The jailer said this, closed the door and left.
Shi Heng was completely confused. What was going on?
I've never heard that the head needs to be washed before being beheaded. What's this rule?
Well, this damn place is full of lice and it's extremely itchy. Taking a shower will make me feel better.
Besides, my life is almost gone, what’s the big deal about taking a bath?
I tore off my smelly clothes, took a nice shower, changed into clean clothes, and immediately felt much better.
"Are you done yet? Stop dilly-dallying!"
"Why are you rushing?" Shi Heng adjusted his hair and asked, "Beheading or slow slicing?"
"Stop talking nonsense and follow me!"
In the official quarters of the commander of Beizhen Prefecture, Zhu Qizhen, wearing a Confucian robe of dark blue brocade and a silk scarf on his head, was reading the confession attentively.
Yuan Bin stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the people have arrived."
"Well, bring it in."
Yuan Bin hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, Shi Heng is guilty of treason, I am worried..."
"No problem!" Zhu Qizhen said without even looking up, "I have something serious to discuss with him!"
Yuan Bin had no choice but to nod and say, "Yes!"
Soon, Shi Heng was taken to the public housing with a look of astonishment on his face. Yuan Bin followed closely behind him with one hand on the hilt of the knife.
"You bold prisoner, you are here to see the emperor, and yet you still refuse to bow?"
Yuan Bin shouted, and Shi Heng realized that the young man dressed as a scholar in front of him was actually the current emperor.
"I, the guilty minister Shi Heng, kowtow to His Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"
Zhu Qizhen raised his head, said nothing, and just looked at Shi Heng quietly.
Shi Heng was feeling uneasy. He thought, if he wanted to be beheaded, then so beheaded. What was going on?
"I have said all I need to say. I only ask the Emperor to forgive me for my many years of guarding the border. Even if I have no merit, I have worked hard."
Zhu Qizhen then slowly opened his mouth and said, "Answer me a question first. Do you want to live or die?"
Shi Heng asked incredulously, "Is there still a way for this guilty minister to survive?"
"Not necessarily," Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said, "I haven't thought about it yet!"
Shi Heng's face turned pale and blue, and he wondered in his heart, what was going on?
I have lived for so long, but I have never heard of anyone surviving the crime of treason.
Seeing Shi Heng standing there in a daze without saying anything, Yuan Bin urged, "The Emperor is asking you a question!"
Shi Heng collected his thoughts and asked tentatively, "How do you say you want to die? How do you say you want to live?"
Zhu Qizhen smiled faintly and said, "If you want to die, it's easy. Not only you, but also the hundreds of accomplices on the list. All the executioner needs to do is raise his knife and the heads will roll down. I guarantee that you will die to the death."
"Then..." Shi Heng seemed to have heard a turning point and asked cautiously, "What if the criminal wants to live? "
"If you want to live..."
Zhu Qizhen paused and said, "It's not impossible."
At this point, Shi Heng knew very well that the emperor was definitely not joking, and there was no reason for him to waste time joking with a death row prisoner like him.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to give me some advice!"
Zhu Qizhen suddenly asked: "Have you heard of the Japanese pirates?"
Shi Heng was stationed in Datong for many years and had never dealt with the Japanese pirates, but he had heard of them.
"They are just a group of pirates on the sea. Your Majesty, please let me know what you need me to do!"
Zhu Qizhen put the confession in his hand aside and shook his head, saying, "I just checked and found that Cao Jixiang, that bastard, actually recruited more than 500 people in the capital, all of them young and strong men. If we kill them with one knife, it will be clean and neat, but it is a pity after all..."
Shi Heng seemed to understand, and hurriedly said: "If the emperor is willing to give me a chance, I am willing to lead these 500 people to go overseas to eliminate the Japanese and quell the rebellion!"
Zhu Qizhen narrowed his eyes and said with a half-smile: "The court's 200,000 Japanese guards were unable to eradicate the Japanese threat, so what effect can a mere 500 people have?"
"Even if I die in battle, it's better than being beheaded!" Shi Heng said hurriedly, "I have fought all my life, but in the end I didn't die on the battlefield, but was accused of treason. Isn't that cowardly?"
"You still know how to be a coward?"
Zhu Qizhen immediately lost his temper and pointed at Shi Heng's nose and cursed: "When you were plotting a rebellion with that bastard Cao Jixiang, didn't you ever think that this day would come?"
Shi Heng was getting more and more unconfident. He sighed and then said, "Oirat Yesen led the main force to attack Datong. I, Xining Marquis Song Ying, Wujin Earl Zhu Mian and the enemy army fought at Yanghekou. But that dog eunuch Guo Jing, relying on Wang Zhen's support, kept interfering, causing the army to lose discipline and be defeated. Xining Marquis and Wujin Earl died in battle. I really shouldn't have fled. If I had died in battle, I would at least have a reputation as a loyal and good person. But now, I have become a traitor. It's really, really... Alas!"
Zhu Qizhen asked again: "Even if you can't hold it, you can explain the whole story clearly and try to make up for your crime. Why do you want to rebel?"
Shi Heng looked ashen, and said, "I thought that if I could curry favor with the King of Qing while the Emperor was away, I would have a chance to make a comeback. But the King of Qing did not take me seriously at all, and became increasingly distant from me. If this continues, I will still be killed when the Emperor returns to Beijing to settle the old scores. At this time, that bastard Cao Jixiang came to me, and I got on their pirate ship without thinking. I deserve to die!"
Zhu Qizhen said with a cold face: "I just took a quick look and found that you brought all the more than 500 accomplices of Cao Jixiang back from Datong?"
Shi Heng replied, "Your Majesty, you don't know that most of these people followed me and escaped from Datong. In fact, most of them didn't know they were going to rebel. I only said I wanted to do something big. I thought that when the Forbidden City was in chaos, even if these people knew the truth, they would have no way to retreat. I know that my crime is unforgivable, so I ask Your Majesty to show mercy and give them a chance."
Zhu Qizhen's expression finally eased and he said, "What do you think of what I just said about the Japanese pirates?"
Shi Heng's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, and he said: "If the emperor is willing to give me a chance, I will do my best to kill the enemy. Even if I die in battle at sea, I will die without regrets!"
Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said, "If I let you go out to sea like this, I'm afraid it would be without a legitimate reason."
The hope in Shi Heng's eyes suddenly dimmed, and he said, "Your Majesty is right. I have committed the crime of treason, which is unforgivable!"
"I don't intend to send you out to sea to suppress the pirates, but..."
Zhu Qizhen smiled mysteriously and said, "Going out to sea as a pirate!"
"What?"
Shi Heng was stunned for a moment. What does it mean to ask me to be a Japanese pirate?
"Do you know why the imperial army cannot eradicate the Japanese threat?"
Shi Heng scratched his head and said, "Your Majesty, please let me know!"
Zhu Qizhen said: "My Ming Dynasty has implemented a maritime ban for many years. The officers and soldiers are not good at naval warfare. The Japanese pirates come and go like the wind. They often land and plunder and then quickly withdraw . Before the Japanese guards can mobilize troops, they have already fled to the sea. Therefore, I ask you to join them, infiltrate the Japanese pirates, and find their base camp!"
Shi Heng was confused, so he asked, "How can a guilty minister... join them?"
Zhu Qizhen thought for a moment, then said: "I will exile you several hundred people to Qiongzhou. Before you reach Qiongzhou, you will escape and go out to sea to become pirates."
Shi Heng understood and nodded repeatedly, saying, "We will just wait for this criminal to infiltrate the Japanese pirates, find their leader, and kill him with one blow, thus eliminating the trouble forever!"
Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said, "These people are desperate criminals. Killing one or two leaders will not hurt the foundation. Your mission is to find their base camp, draw a sea chart, and then find a way to send it back to the capital and hand it over to Yuan Bin. Do you understand?"
"I understand!"
"If this can be accomplished, not only will you be exempted from the death penalty, but you will also be reinstated. If it fails, I will not collect your bodies!"
Shi Heng quickly knelt down and bowed his head, saying: "I obey your order!"
Zhu Qizhen looked at Yuan Bin and said, "You go and arrange this matter. Remember, the fewer people who know the truth, the better!"
Yuan Bin quickly bowed and said, "I obey your order!"
