noffsinger Chapter 297 Cut to pieces
Chapter 297 Cut to pieces
"Commander Zhang!"
A hunchbacked old man pointed at the monks of Huichang Temple with his dry fingers, trembling, and cried out in tears, "It's these bald donkeys, it's these bald donkeys!"
They have occupied the fields in our village!"
Tears streamed down his wrinkled face and his eyes burned with anger.
"What are you talking about buying? Fifty cents for an acre of land! This is sheer robbery. Our ancestors have been planting and harvesting on this land for generations. It's our lifeblood. How can they trample on our livelihoods so wantonly?"
"We'll report it to the authorities!"
A dark-faced young man roared angrily, veins popping out on his forehead and his neck flushed red.
"That official told us that according to the law, this was considered a sale, not embezzlement!"
"This is simply a distortion of right and wrong. Where can we redress our grievances? Who will uphold justice for us? We have no place to seek justice!"
"If it weren't for Your Majesty! We wouldn't be able to survive!"
His voice was filled with tears, causing the people around him to nod their heads, their eyes full of grief and anger.
The villagers spoke one after another, expressing their previous resentment, and their accusations exposed the ugly faces of the monks in Huichang Temple without reservation.
Xuanzang was originally sitting aside with his eyes closed, immersed in his own world of meditation, muttering to himself.
Listening to the angry complaints of the people below, his body shook violently and he slowly opened his eyes.
Those originally calm and peaceful eyes were now filled with shock, pain and disbelief.
He slowly raised his head and looked solemnly at the group of people below whose faces were filled with anger and sorrow, with mixed feelings in his heart.
After a moment, Xuanzang slowly knelt on the ground in front of the group of people. His movements were a little slow, but extremely firm.
With his hands clasped together, which were trembling slightly due to the pain in his heart, he kept reciting Buddhist scriptures. His voice was low and slow at first, and gradually became rapid and flustered, as if he was praying for the Buddha's forgiveness, and as if he was deeply repenting for the sins committed by himself and the temple.
Zhang Xianhuai stood aside and watched all this coldly.
Looking at Xuanzang's heartbroken expression, he frowned, the muscles on his face twitched slightly, and he felt angry in his heart.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
His hand unconsciously tightly gripped the handle of the Embroidered Spring Knife, and the handle made a creaking sound as he gripped it.
The last group of victims were brought up. The previously noisy and boisterous crowd suddenly quieted down, and the scene suddenly became completely silent. Only the heavy breathing and the faint sobs of the victims filled the air.
These children are disabled children who often begged on the streets when Your Majesty first ascended the throne.
This is just a small group, and the income from this small group of children actually all goes to Huichang Temple.
The Jinyiwei conducted in-depth investigations on these children.
None of them are from Chang'an. Most of them were abducted from other remote places.
Their eyes were dull and empty, and they had almost no thoughts of their own. They were like walking corpses with their souls taken away, no different from wild beasts.
A small part of their tongues was uniformly cut off. The wound on the mutilated tongue had long since healed, but a shocking scar was left behind, silently telling of the inhuman abuse they had suffered.
There were both boys and girls, some of whom had their ears cut off. The hideous wounds at the base of their ears had long since scabbed over, but they were still chilling.
Some had their hands and feet broken alive, and their twisted and deformed limbs hung in strange postures, which was a horrible sight.
Some had their eyeballs gouged out, leaving empty eye sockets sunken into their faces like two endless black holes, which was horrifying. Some had their legs twisted into a knot, which was even more unbearable to look at...
In addition to gaining the sympathy of passers-by, the most important thing is that in the past in the Tang Dynasty, some dignitaries actually had such a twisted hobby and liked these exotic things, which gave rise to such a cruel and evil transaction.
There were a total of thirty-two children, all in various distorted appearances. The scene was like hell on earth, causing everyone who saw it to feel their souls tremble.
Everyone was stunned, their mouths opened wide, their eyes widened, their faces full of disbelief.
In the past, they often saw one or two disabled children like this on the street. They would feel sorry for them and give them a few copper coins, their hearts full of pity and sympathy.
But who could have imagined that these monks would dare to do such unforgivable things under the feet of the emperor!
No one spoke, but just stared fiercely at the monks from Huichang Temple.
That look could penetrate their bodies and reach the depths of their souls. He would have to cut them into pieces and skin them alive to relieve the hatred in his heart.
When Xuanzang saw that these children were actually created by Huichang Temple, his hands fell down weakly, his lips trembled slightly, and he could no longer recite his Buddha's name.
He was filled with despair. This was not some pure Buddhist place, it was simply the Avici Hell!
He pointed at the group of disciples with a trembling finger, his chest heaving, his breathing rapid and disordered, and he couldn't utter a word.
Zhang Xianhuai slowly opened his eyes, his gaze firm, like a sword drawn from its sheath.
"Xuanzang, the Mahayana Dharma is right before your eyes. What you should worship is not your Buddha, but all living beings."
His voice was low and echoed in the silent air.
"Your Majesty has classified this behavior as mutilation, a crime more serious than kidnapping."
"Anyone who cuts or mutilates a living person will be executed by slow slicing and his property will be confiscated."
"Those who encroach upon land of less than one mu shall be punished with sixty strokes of the cane, and one more degree shall be imposed upon those who encroach upon land of less than one mu."
"Those who harm women will be punished with 100 strokes of the cane. Those who abuse women will be punished with one additional degree of punishment, totaling 105 strokes of the cane. Those who cause fractures will be punished with one additional degree of punishment for fractures."
"Multiple punishments for multiple crimes."
He paused, raising his voice.
"Your Majesty has issued a verbal order that the offending monk from Huichang Temple be cut into pieces and executed in the street as a warning to others."
"The victim can take action themselves or inform the Royal Guards of their request to relieve their grievances!"
As soon as Zhang Xianhuai finished speaking, cheers broke out from the crowd behind him.
"Good!" A big bearded man shouted at the top of his lungs, his face filled with excitement.
"That's how he should be killed!"
Everyone echoed in agreement, and the sound was like thunder, echoing between heaven and earth.