Chapter 297: Kill

Chapter 297: The Slaughter

Cheng Ge kicked Lian Wujing's head expressionlessly; the head rolled twice on the execution platform, covered in dust and bloodstains.

Cheng Ge spoke flatly, his voice devoid of inflection: "Hang it up."

He slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping like a cold blade over the remaining terrified officials. "All of you, come here."

"Spare my life, Lord! I offer all my wealth!"

"Have mercy, Censor Cheng! I was forced by Lian Wujing!"

"Mercy! I still have an eighty-year-old mother at home..."

Cries for mercy and wailing filled the air.

Dozens of officials were dragged forcibly onto the execution platform and pressed down into the still-warm blood.

Some went limp, some kowtowed desperately, and others wet themselves and fainted from fear.

A corpulent official tried to break free, but armored soldiers stomped hard on his back, burying his whole face in the blood, letting out muffled, suffocating sobs.

Cheng Ge's face remained impassive; the Ghost-Head Saber in his hand rose and fell again and again.

One cut, two cuts, three cuts...

The sound of the blade slicing flesh and breaking bone was ceaseless.

Blood sprayed continuously; the blood on the execution platform grew deeper and deeper, gradually overflowing the bluestone slabs, turning the snow a muddy dark red.

Blood dripped through the cracks of the platform, forming small puddles below.

When the last official's head hit the ground, the edge of the Ghost-Head Saber in Cheng Ge's hand was already curled and blunted, with bits of flesh and bone fragments clinging to the blade.

He casually tossed the saber into the blood; the clang startled the stunned executioner.

He turned to look at the already deathly pale executioner beside him.

"Cut like this," Cheng Ge said, his voice terrifyingly calm.

His pale face was splattered with blood, only his eyes bright as daylight. "Understand?"

The executioner nodded as if in a trance, his stomach turning over, but he dared not look away.

Only then did Cheng Ge slowly walk down the execution platform, his bloodstained official boots leaving dark red footprints in the snow.

He straightened his bloodied robe; the Xiezhi badge on his chest gleamed red in the sunlight.

"Continue."

With his command, the execution resumed.

This time, the executioner dared not hesitate any longer; as the Ghost-Head Saber rose and fell, blood kept splattering in front of the coffins and spirit tablets.

On the high flagpole, Lian Wujing's head swayed gently in the cold wind, his expression frozen in eternal terror.

Blood flowed down the flagpole, forming dark red icicles of frozen blood at the base.

Cheng Ge sat quietly in the grand armchair, watching this bloody sacrifice.

The cold wind blew his blood-stained robe, carrying the heavy stench of blood across the entire square.

This bloodbath lasted from noon until late at night.

Before the blood on the platform could even dry, new officials were brought in.

At first, it was those arrested at the banquet, then those who fled upon hearing the news, only to be caught.

Later, even those who hid in mansions, cellars, or disguised themselves trying to sneak out of the city were all rooted out and hauled to the execution ground.

Cheng Ge remained seated in the armchair, his face pale as parchment, only his eyes were shockingly bright.

The bloodstains on his official robe were layered thickly, the original color long since unrecognizable.

Whenever the executioner tired and was replaced, Cheng Ge merely raised his hand a little, and the execution would resume.

"Mercy! I'm just a petty clerk!"

"Have mercy, Lord Cheng! I'll atone by meritorious service!"

Cries for mercy and wails continued, but Cheng Ge ignored them.

Sometimes he looked up at the two large coffins, sometimes he stared at the densely packed spirit tablets, as if peering through these dead souls at something.

When night fell, the soldiers lit torches.

The flickering flames illuminated the execution ground as bright as day, making the spurting blood even more dazzling.

Blood formed a stream under the platform, flowing slowly along the terrain, eventually freezing into dark red ice in the low temperature.

By midnight, the last official's head had fallen.

A total of two hundred and thirty-seven officials—from provincial commissioners to county magistrates, from military officers to civil clerks—had all been executed.

Cheng Ge slowly rose and walked to the front of the platform; his steps were unsteady, but his spine remained straight.

"Leave the corpses exposed for three days." His voice was hoarse, almost inaudible.

After saying this, he took one last look at the Imperial Edict Flag still vivid under the torchlight, then turned and left.

The next morning, news spread like wildfire throughout Chengping Province.

"Did you hear? The new Censor Cheng executed over two hundred corrupt officials at the West Market yesterday!"

"Even the head of Provincial Commissioner Lian Wujing is still hanging on the flagpole!"

"He is truly a righteous official, clearing away great evils for us!"

The people spread the news joyfully, and many even went to the square to curse the corpses.

Some even burned incense and offered sacrifices before the spirit tablets, comforting their deceased relatives.

"Father, your soul in heaven can rest now! Lord Cheng has avenged you!"

"My son, those corrupt officials who harmed you have all received their retribution!"

The entire officialdom of Chengping Province was emptied.

Government offices at all levels were almost paralyzed, leaving only some low-ranking clerks trembling as they managed the most basic functions.

Three days later, when the last body was collected, the bloodstains on the square had already seeped deeply into the gaps between the bluestone slabs, impossible to wash clean no matter how hard they tried.

And thus, the title "Lord Cheng of Clear Skies" began to spread by word of mouth among the common people of Chengping.

Some said he was a star descended from heaven, sent specifically to punish corrupt officials.

Others said that the Xiezhi emblem on his robe came to life after being splattered with blood, helping him distinguish the loyal from the treacherous.

But Cheng Ge never heard these rumors—on the morning after the executions ended, he fell ill.

He suffered from persistent high fever for days; the physician said it was due to mental and physical exhaustion, and a relapse of an old poison.

Upon hearing this, many common people set up longevity plaques for him in their homes.

Incense burned continuously at temples and Daoist shrines, all for the people praying for Cheng Ge, while the front of the Censorate was covered with peace talismans.

…

In the Throne Hall.

The news that Cheng Ge had beheaded two hundred and thirty-seven officials in one go in Chengping Province was like a boulder crashing into a deep pool, stirring up towering waves.

"Your Majesty!" An official stepped forward first, his voice indignant. "Although Cheng Ge bore the Imperial Banner and had discretionary authority,

yet in a single day, he executed over two hundred Imperial Officials. This is a tragedy unprecedented since the founding of our dynasty. How is this any different from a butcher? This trend must not be allowed to continue!"

"I second that!" An official from the Ministry of Personnel immediately stepped forward. He was a clansman uncle of the Second Prince.

"Cheng Ge's action, in the name of rooting out corruption, is in fact indiscriminate killing! Now in Chengping Province, all government offices are empty, orders cannot be transmitted, and the government is nearly paralyzed!

This is a disaster that shakes the very foundation of the state! If censors in other regions all imitate this villain and treat the laws of the land as worthless, the official system of our Great Zhou will cease to exist!"

"Your Majesty, Cheng Ge has shown contempt for the throne and defied the law! The Imperial Banner was entrusted to him by Your Majesty's trust—how can he be allowed to trample on it thus and carry out such cruel deeds?

I beg Your Majesty to issue a decree at once, arrest Cheng Ge and bring him to the capital, and handed over to the Three Judicial Offices for a joint trial, for execution as a warning to others!"

Another official from the Second Prince's faction spoke sharply, directly accusing him of contempt for the sovereign.

For a time, the court was filled with voices of impeachment that rose one after another, nearly unanimous in their condemnation.

Requests for severe punishment of Cheng Ge came like waves crashing one after another against Zhou Mingqi on his throne.

"Bullshit!" A thunderous roar suddenly exploded, drowning out all the clamor.

Wu Zhongzi, with his beard and hair bristling with fury, burst out of the ranks of officials like an enraged lion, pointing at the officials who had been shouting the loudest, he cursed:

"Lord Cheng killed corrupt officials! They were the nation's pests, draining the treasury and driving the people to ruin!

The officialdom of Chengping Province was rotten to the core. Without such thunderous methods, how could the filth be purged?

You here prattle on about the laws and regulations of the state—why don't you go ask those people who were driven to ruin and death whether they agree?!

I'd like to see who dares to touch him today! Whoever dares to slander a loyal and good man again, I'll stake my old head—I'll dash my head against this dragon pillar and splash his face with blood!"