Iron Dynasty

Chapter 1101

Execution ground.

After the public notice for the execution of the traitors was posted, this place was already packed with people, and all one could see were dense crowds.

“Your Majesty, are you really going to execute Luo Hong?”

In the supervision platform on one side of the execution ground, Niu Ben’s eyes were filled with regret. This was a room specially set up to observe the execution.

Outside the room, Luo Quan was standing with a Han-style rifle on his back, just like the execution soldiers. The expression on his face at this moment could not be seen.

Xiao Ming sighed. He said, “General Niu, if the soldiers in your army made the same mistake as Luo Hong, what would you do?”

“Of course I would execute them!” Niu Ben said. “The army fears nothing more than a breakdown in discipline. If punishment is not fair, it will be extremely detrimental to the army.”

“What if that person is the one you trust the most?”

“In the army, there is only military law, and no distinction between close and distant relatives!” Niu Ben said loudly.

“That’s it. The army has its military law, and the country has its national law. If a person breaks the military law and is not seriously punished, it will be the military law that breaks down. If a person who breaks the national law is not handled impartially, it will be the national law that breaks down. If Luo Hong can be pardoned today, others can also be pardoned tomorrow. What use would the national law be then?”

Niu Ben sighed slightly. He said, “Your Majesty’s lesson is correct. I was confused. If Luo Hong’s crime of rebellion were to be pardoned, the Empire’s laws would lose the people’s trust. If the people no longer trust the law, they will no longer trust the court. From then on, the country and the people will no longer be of one mind.”

“You’re right. That is the reason why I must kill Luo Hong. If the person on this execution ground were my own son, I would still kill him. The national law is like the law of nature. If the law of nature collapses, mountains will fall and the earth will crack, and the stars will fall, and all things will perish. If the law collapses, the people will fall into chaos, and the country will fall apart. I would rather lose all the land I have conquered than see the Empire’s laws trampled upon.”

Niu Ben looked at Xiao Ming’s cold expression and slowly nodded. He understood that the Emperor in front of him was not joking.

The era when the Great Yu Empire’s nobles could trample on the law at will was now over. From now on, everyone, from the monarch to the common people, would have to live under the constraints of the law.

A commotion suddenly rang out while the two were talking. Niu Ben looked out the window and saw that the soldiers were escorting the Cao family father and son and the remnants of the Merchant Parliament onto the execution ground.

“Traitor!”

“Traitor!”

“…”

Angry shouts erupted from the crowd. Vegetable leaves and stones rained down on the Cao family father and son.

There were two gallows on the execution ground. Cao Kun and Cao Zheng-tong were brought to one of them, while the others were brought to a very long white wall.

The execution soldiers stood in a long line, waiting for the command to execute.

“You scoundrels!” Niu Ben looked at the two of them and gritted his teeth. After a period of interrogation, they had obtained a lot of intelligence.

With their help, both Britain and France had made great progress in fundamental sciences such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and geography.

Although the students they took with them did not master advanced technology, they had a solid and comprehensive grasp of the knowledge they had learned in their daily lives.

The West was now in a stage of exploration in science. The knowledge they took was enough to improve the Western scientific system.

Even if it weren’t for these traitors, with the popularization of the Empire’s education, this knowledge would have been spread through trade sooner or later. However, their actions of actively betraying the country were still considered treason. After all, the West, which had now grasped the fundamentals of science, would only need to digest this knowledge to cause him a lot of trouble.

“Your Majesty, the criminals are all here. Should we proceed with the execution?” The execution official asked Xiao Ming for instructions.

“Execute them!”

Xiao Ming gave the command decisively. The statues of Cao Kun and Cao Zheng-tong’s confessions had already been cast. After the two were executed, these two statues would be transported to the Qingzhou city gate and kneel there for all generations to be cursed at by the people.

Under the gallows, Cao Kun and Cao Zheng-tong’s bodies were trembling as if they had dysentery. In front of them was a noose.

As long as their heads were put into the nooses, the wooden boards beneath their feet would be removed.

“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die…” Cao Zheng-tong murmured as if in a trance, but what awaited him was the execution soldier putting the noose around his neck.

Cao Kun was unable to speak and let the angry people throw things at him.

“I don’t want to die… ugh…”

Cao Zheng-tong’s murmuring soon turned into a struggling sound from being choked. At this time, their feet were suspended in the air. After struggling for a while, the two of them quickly stopped moving.

At the same time, a volley of organized gunfire rang out, and the remnants of the Merchant Parliament all fell.

A cheer suddenly erupted from the execution ground. After the traitors were dead, the people were ecstatic.

The bodies of the Cao family father and son were dragged away, and then another group of people was brought up. These were the traitors led by Ge Yiren and Luo Hong.

Seeing Luo Hong, Luo Quan’s body moved. He carried his rifle and went with the other execution soldiers to the execution position.

Niu Ben sighed again. He could not bear to look and turned his eyes away. Luo Xin’s eyes were slightly red. He had already accepted this fact, but even so, the person who was about to die was still his elder brother.

“Luo Hong, you were so foolish. Even if you died on the battlefield, it would have been better than dying here.”

On the execution ground, Luo Quan stood behind Luo Hong, looking very disappointed.

“Father, there is no need to say anything more. It was I who disgraced the Luo family. I am sorry to the Luo family, and I am sorry to Your Majesty, and even more sorry to the brothers who fought with me through thick and thin. It was I who led them to their deaths.” Luo Hong looked directly at the white wall in front of him. After a night of thinking, he had figured out many things.

The ups and downs of officialdom were normal, but he had been too obsessed with his own status.

“Making one mistake can lead to eternal regret. It was my fault, Father. I should have let you come to Qingzhou back then. In that way, the commander of the Southwest Army would have been you. Luo Xin’s personality is gentle, and he would not be as impulsive as you.” Luo Quan’s hand, which was holding the gun, was trembling. Luo Hong was his son, and personally executing his own son was a difficult but necessary decision for him.

“Father, this is not your fault. I just couldn’t bear to admit that I was inferior to Luo Xin. Watching him rise through the ranks, while I, his elder brother, was inferior in every way, my heart indeed became imbalanced. Now that I think about it, I was truly wrong. The Emperor was right not to make me a military region commander. Go on, do it. In my next life, I will repay your kindness.”

As his voice fell, a volley of gunfire suddenly rang out. Ge Yiren and the other nobles who had attempted rebellion all fell into a pool of blood.

Luo Quan raised his gun. His hand trembling, he pulled the trigger. The gunshot rang out, and Luo Hong’s body slowly fell.

Xiao Ming closed his eyes at the moment of the execution. He now finally understood how Zhuge Liang felt when he executed Ma Su.

Walking out of the room slowly, Xiao Ming said to Luo Xin, “Luo Hong’s military achievements were outstanding, and he was a pillar of the Empire. I have decided to posthumously confer upon him the title of Imperial Commander.”

“Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!” Luo Xin bowed in gratitude.

Looking at the sun peeking out from behind the dark clouds in the eastern sky, Xiao Ming, under the protection of the imperial guards, walked out of the execution ground step by step.

This rebellion that had affected the entire Empire had ended. He believed that this deterrent would surely make many people in the country see a truth: it was absolutely impossible to subvert the Empire while he was in power.

In this way, the internal affairs of the Empire would be peaceful, and he would have more time to plan for the Empire’s future.