Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 858: Aftermath
Last words… At such a young age, he had to leave last words. Not to mention a year or half a year ago, even half a month ago, the Second Prince would never have thought of these two words. However, at this moment, he really felt extremely uncomfortable, and the fear of possible death overwhelmed everything, so that although his hands behind his back were holding something, he still had difficulty breathing.
"Chu...Kuan, do you really dare...you won't leave even the slightest leeway?"
Squatting in front of the Second Prince, Chu Kuan sneered and said nonchalantly, "Room? Have you brothers and your mother ever left room for others? She occupies the seat of the Empress, and you two occupy the titles of the eldest and second princes. What messed up things have you done? You even want to inherit the country and ascend to the throne?"
The second prince's originally pale face finally lost the last bit of color. Although he was arrogant, arrogant and bold, and did not use his brain most of the time, but now in a desperate situation, he felt that his brain was working very fast. He didn't know who had thrown dirty water on the three of them, mother, son and brother, but now he felt that he had the answer.
However, he opened his mouth and wanted to shout, at least to let the people outside hear his voice, but he opened his mouth and tried his best, but not a single sound came out of his mouth. The more he took a deep breath, the more his chest felt his breathing became, and even the hateful face in front of him seemed a little blurry.
In the end, he was unable to utter a single word, and just stared with his dead eyes, and took his last breath. However, Chu Kuan still stood there quietly, waiting for a long while, and then he reached out his hand, gently rubbed the two eyes, and then said softly: "Go well, dust to dust, earth to earth, let the deceased rest in peace, and let the living be liberated again."
If Zhang Shou was here and heard such a sentence, he would be shocked even if he had never been a believer of any sect. The next moment, Chu Kuan stood up with his sleeves raised, and then said word by word: "Although it is an order, the responsibility of this matter is naturally mine, and it has nothing to do with others."
“Second Prince, if you go to the underworld and want to complain to the King of Hell, remember to only sue me, Chu Kuan, and don’t involve others.”
After saying this, he smiled in his heart. Emperor Taizu once said that villains die because they talk too much, but the second prince probably hasn't heard of this. His lungs were pierced by a dying blow, but he still wanted to talk and wanted to ask him if he was the mastermind behind the series of events. He was really tired of living.
Now, the last of the three of them, mother, son and brother, has closed his eyes forever, and finally no one can pursue the past anymore. And based on the two simple angry words he just said, no one would think of those aspects.
Therefore, when Chu Kuan walked out of the house, his face was covered with gloom, but he felt relieved. He solemnly ordered everyone to collect the body of the Second Prince. Seeing that the commander of the Ruiqi Battalion and the lieutenant general of Shanhai Road were trembling with fear, he said nonchalantly: "The emperor has already announced the death of the Second Prince. Now it is just to find the body. It has nothing to do with you."
The two generals with excellent hearing had roughly heard what Chu Kuan had just said to the Second Prince, so they had no choice but to respond. However, the Shanhai Road lieutenant general cautiously asked, "Among the people just dragged out, there are still two survivors. Should Eunuch Chu ask them in person?"
"That's right." Chu Kuan nodded gently, and then ordered, "Call four more people with good memories, who are not related to each other and can read. I didn't show much mercy when I took action before. After questioning them later, I may not be able to keep them alive and bring them to the capital. Record the confessions one by one, and they can also serve as witnesses."
At this point, he smiled again and said, "Of course, if you two are willing to come and listen in person, that's fine too."
The commander of the Ruiqi Battalion and the lieutenant general of Shanhai Road were not willing to get involved in such a mess, so they naturally did not dare to say anything and immediately went to select the unlucky ones. Having said that, they would not really select those who were at odds with them or those who they disliked in the past - Chu Kuan had just said so, including them and the soldiers under them, naturally they would not be silenced.
Otherwise, wouldn’t these so-called witnesses and confessions be a joke?
Since the two men tried their best, it only took a moment for Chu Kuan to lead four seemingly mighty and majestic men into a wing room of the post station. However, the four heroic and high-spirited soldiers felt a chill in their hearts when they saw the eunuch in front of them walking slowly with his sleeves gathered and his steps leisurely.
Almost all the dead bodies in the house in the yard just now were killed by this eunuch Chu alone! It can be said that if he hadn't been concerned about the second prince, he could have taken care of all those twenty guys with his long and short swords! What's even more frightening is that even though the second prince is dead, this eunuch Chu is still fine and is not afraid of the emperor's blame!
So, the four sharp soldiers, who were as silent as a cicada, dared not say a word and watched Chu Kuan wake up one of the two survivors, and then began to interrogate him with a slight smile. However, although the face was smiling and the voice was very gentle, it was completely inconsistent with the ruthless torture methods and the sharp words. Even if they were not asked the questions, they felt cold.
Even the bystanders were like this. Although the captured survivors also felt that they were dead men, facing such a calm but fierce interrogator, they still went from resisting in the beginning to gradually falling into panic and even despair. They all wished they could pour out what they had eaten last meal.
"That's right. We occupied Jeju Island of Goryeo. Goryeo was known as a great country. There was turmoil there in the past few years. We bribed a large number of officials from top to bottom. But now the new king has ascended the throne and many people have been implicated. It seems that we can no longer hide the truth about Jeju Island. So we thought of pretending to be envoys from the Haidonghua Kingdom and hoping to get a royal family member to go there."
"The person who came up with the idea said that the King of Goryeo was just a prince canonized by the Ming Dynasty. As long as we have a legitimate royal family member or even a prince, we can legitimately raise our flag in Goryeo."
"By then we won't be pirates, but the future yangban!"
"The people in Goryeo are stupid, especially the untouchables who are trampled underfoot. The majority of the people in the country are slaves, and those who rebel are just like children playing house. If we start a rebellion, we will surely be able to sweep across the entire country."
"It just so happened that the Second Prince was removed from the Emperor's family tree and was driven to Qiongzhou Prefecture by sea. We inquired about the news along the way and intercepted the ship. We calculated whether we could catch up with the New Year tribute, so we docked in Qinhuangdao."
This was the testimony of one of them, and the other one even swore that he had heard that another pirate group had occupied a corner of Japan, and the real daimyo was just a puppet. At this moment, the four sharp soldiers were simply amazed.
Pirates... they are pirates! They are so brazen that they have almost taken over the two small countries nearby? They are also planning to kidnap the royal family from the Ming Dynasty and use it as a banner? This is intolerable. Of course they should be killed!
Chu Kuan asked these questions from the two people, and seeing that they were both dying, he suddenly asked, "So, after those Koreans arrived in the capital, they didn't eat rice, vegetables, and other things, and then they stopped at Qinhuangdao near Shanhaiwei and landed. This can't be something you pirates who are entrenched in Korea came up with, right?"
This is also the question that the two sharp soldiers of Shanhaiwei wanted to know most, so they naturally pricked up their ears. As for the question of what the real Koreans eat when they arrive in the capital, they didn't care too much about it. However, this is what the two sharp soldiers of the Ruiqiying were very interested in.
Therefore, all four of them were very alert. Although the two people who were rotten like soft noodles in Chu Kuan's hands had no strength to speak, they certainly didn't want to endure it again when they saw the legendary bone-breaking hand falling on them. One of them quickly said, "Someone came to see my Master Zhu, and that person taught us this!"
"He swore that if we did that, people would think we were the real people from Haidong China!"
"We were sent out because of that guy's advice! We are criminals, and our wives and children are all over there!"
When he said this, he seemed to notice the contemptuous eyes of the people around him, and he was sad. He also valued his wife and children, but he couldn't stand it when he met a cruel and merciless executioner like Chu Kuan! Otherwise, even if he died, he would not dare to give up the master Zhu who occupied a powerful position in Goryeo!
However, when Chu Kuan continued to ask about the man's origins, where he came from, where he was going, and even the details of his accent and attire, he was completely clueless. How could he, a small fry sent out as a death squad, know so much?
Next, the four sharp soldiers witnessed the truly simple and rough side of it. They saw Chu Kuan strangle two dying people to death with one hand each, and then he stood up as if nothing had happened. He didn't even wipe his hands with the snow-white silk handkerchief commonly seen in operas, but just rubbed his wrists casually.
But at this moment, those who had killed people before couldn't help but take a step back. Then, one of the brave ones quickly asked, "Eunuch Chu, if you just kill someone like that, even though we four are witnesses, if you return to the capital and others don't believe you, then..."
"We just need to report this matter to the emperor. As for the others... the phrase "pirates held them hostage" is enough to explain everything." Chu Kuan laughed, his attitude seemed warm and friendly, without any of the cold and ruthless demeanor he had when he was tormenting people just now. Although he was laughing at that moment, the impression he gave was completely different.
"I remember that there has been a rule since the Han Dynasty that if bandits hold hostages, there is no need to hesitate, let alone negotiate, just storm in and kill without mercy! A famous minister in the Han Dynasty was so magnanimous that he was willing to sacrifice his son's life, let alone the emperor? As for some old men in the court, even though they usually like to shout, they won't say much this time."
"Okay, I'll have someone write down what I just asked, and if you guys have a problem with it, just sign your name on it."
This mission was incredibly easy. The four of them followed Chu Kuan obediently and saw him repeating the statements of the two men just now. Although it was consistent with what they had heard, it was not until this time that they suddenly thought of a question, which was - why didn't Chu Kuan ask one of them to take the statement just now?
But just as they remembered, they heard Chu Kuan slowly say, "Those two guys were only a breath away from death. If we ask someone to write down their words, even if they have a fast hand, it would be beyond their ability to write down their disjointed and incoherent words. Anyway, the four of you can fill in the gaps for each other, and I am confident in my memory, so let's do it this way."
Chu Kuan said so, how could the four people be so ignorant? After reading the confession carefully, and confirming it with each other again and again, they signed and sealed it solemnly, and of course, they could not avoid pressing their own fingerprints.
After doing all this, Chu Kuan threw away all the things to clean up the mess and rode back to the capital without even giving any instructions on how to deal with the Second Prince's body. By the time the commander of the Ruiqi Battalion and the lieutenant general of Shanhailu reacted, the emperor's confidant had already left without a trace.
Chu Kuan really didn't care about how to deal with the Second Prince's body. In this cold season, it would be very easy for the others to bury him on the spot, find a coffin for the Second Prince, and then transport him to the capital. Even if those two were brave enough to bury the Second Prince on the spot, he didn't think there was any problem.
After all, let alone the things the Second Prince did after being held hostage, someone who was expelled from the family tree is no longer worthy of being called a prince.
Traveling day and night by post was a great torture in the cold winter. However, Chu Kuan wrapped himself tightly in a black cloak, slept only two hours a day, and spent the rest of the time on horseback. However, relying on his excellent riding skills and the favorable weather, he finally arrived in the capital on the fifth day of the first lunar month.
Of course he knew that he had misinterpreted the Empress Dowager's order as the Emperor's, and thus had directly attacked and caused the death of the Second Prince. The nature of this matter was extremely serious, but since he had done it, the Emperor had given similar angry instructions before, so he was not afraid at all.
Of course, he knew nothing about Zhang Shou's bad idea to bring a young man from Florence to see if they could communicate. When he appeared in the Qianqing Palace, even Chen Yongshou, who rushed out to greet him, was surprised. He went up to him and bowed, then laughed dryly, "Eunuch Chu, you've come really fast."
After hearing Chen Yongshou's perfunctory talk about Zhang Shou's idea, and hearing that the people were about to set out but were stopped by the empress dowager's decree, Chu Kuan nodded, then took out the written evidence from his arms and handed it directly to Chen Yongshou.
"Please go in and present this to the Emperor, Eunuch Chen, and then tell His Majesty that Chu Kuan has accomplished his mission by killing 21 of the rebels. However, the Second Prince was kidnapped and killed, and it was all Chu Kuan's fault that he could not be rescued."
