A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 886 Subduing the Dragon and Subduing the Tiger

Dengzhou Prison,

Gao Meng was pushed into the prison by two jailers.

The cell door was locked and the jailer left.

Gao Meng staggered, and the shackles on his hands and feet clattered, "Shipmaster." Several voices sounded in the darkness, and he recognized them as his own men,

My eyes slowly adapted to the darkness in the prison,

"Where are the brothers?"

"I was taken for interrogation and haven't come back yet," a one-eyed subordinate replied.

Another one-armed pirate said, "Those Tang people were so cruel. I was taken over, and without saying a word, they hung me up and whipped me twenty times. The fucking whip was still dipped in salt water.

I was beaten to death by the smoking. After I finished smoking, I took a red-hot iron and branded several marks on my body."

The corners of Gao Meng's mouth twitched,

He also enjoyed what One Arm said, and even doubled it. He was whipped forty times, dipped not only in salt water but also in pepper water. He was whipped to death three times in the middle.

It's not that he is physically weak. As a pirate captain, he used to be a small officer in Goguryeo. Later, he committed a crime and fled, and finally died at sea. His physical fitness is still very strong, but he can't withstand the ruthless attacks of those guys.

After forty lashes, he was branded with seven red irons. Those patches of skin were already cooked and were still burning and painful.

"Are we going to die here?" A man lying in the corner said with a weak voice. He was seriously injured and couldn't get up.

The prison was dark, damp and cold, and filled with a foul stench.

However, these pirates are still used to it. Although being a pirate sometimes allows you to enjoy eating meat, drinking, and playing with women, most of the time it is very painful and embarrassing.

It's not going to be any better in the cabin.

die,

Hearing that word, everyone trembled in their hearts. Although pirates are ferocious, they are actually afraid of death.

"What did Tang Ren ask you?" Gao Meng sat down.

"I didn't ask any questions, I just kept smoking it, burned it, and then threw it back."

"Yeah, it's just a beating without asking anything. They can just ask anything."

Gao Meng lowered his head,

This time I really encountered a ghost.

"It's all the fault of that Silla Nujin Chunxin. Damn it, he wants to buy our ship's slaves at a low price. If you don't give it to him, he will tell the truth. Don't let us get out alive. Otherwise, he will be cut into pieces on the sea in the future. .”

The pirates were miserable, but they still said harsh words, perhaps to offset some of the fear in their hearts.

······

Dengzhou Yamen.

Chun Yufeng and Fang Dade came to report.

"Now all the Hu merchants' ships in Dengzhou Port have been searched. According to the instructions of the Minister of War, we focused on the slaves and found some Han women from Goguryeo. Many were after the Sui Dynasty, and some were from the Sui Dynasty. After entering the Central Plains of Goguryeo earlier."

In fact, the Han people who entered Goguryeo before the Sui Dynasty could still maintain some Han identity, that is, some of the people brought over by the Gao family after the fall of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

Those from the Northern Wei Dynasty, or even earlier, have actually already entered the barbarians and been assimilated by the barbarians.

"We also found some smuggled prohibited goods,"

There are iron tools, copper coins, and even some books that are not allowed to go to sea, as well as seeds such as corn and potatoes, and even some weapons.

There are many items that are prohibited from being traded out of the port.

Many ships carried some of them,

In fact, if we really talk about it, for example, in the Silla Kingdom, Silla maids are now prohibited from being sold to the Tang Dynasty. But as long as it is profitable, who will comply?

Similarly, although the ban in Datang is strict, there are still people who continue to take risks, and it is even obvious that there is collusion with someone from Dengzhou Port.

Now that Wu Huaiyu has conducted a thorough investigation, some things have been exposed.

Fortunately, it's not particularly serious, and Wu Huaiyu doesn't want to worry about it. Once the news comes out, someone will naturally handle the follow-up.

At least some people want to be killed, some want to ransack their homes and become slaves, and some want to be exiled. As for taking off some official hats and taking off some crimson clothes, that's all for sure.

"Prime Minister Wu, what should we do with these maritime merchants? We can't keep them detained forever, right?"

"Dispose of it as you should." Huaiyu waved his hand.

Searching all maritime merchants and ship cargo in Dengzhou Port is a bit sudden and even a bit inappropriate, but again, I have the final say on my territory. Since I come to trade with the Tang Dynasty, I must abide by the rules of the Tang Dynasty.

Occasionally, Datang did something a little too much, and they had to endure it.

"Those who dare to smuggle in prohibited items will naturally be severely punished. A few will be killed and a few will be imprisoned. After the relevant items are confiscated, others involved will be severely fined. Let's forget about it."

"Of course, that's what serious maritime merchants do,"

"Those pirates, no matter where they are plundering, but since they are pirates and have fallen into the hands of the Tang Dynasty, they cannot be let go,"

Huaiyu did not tell them how to deal with them specifically. He only said that after these people were found out and registered, they were all handed over to him for disposal, including the boat.

Those maritime traders who found no problems during this search were released.

······

Gao Meng was taken out of prison again. In just a few days, this was the third time he was taken out.

The pirate Gao Meng, who was very famous at sea, had his legs shaking when he was taken away.

I'm really scared of being beaten.

If you want to whip a whip, just whip it with a leather whip, but you have to dip it in chili pepper and salt water to whip it. It is really not an ordinary pain. As for other soldering irons, it is also very cruel.

Those people didn't ask anything every time, they just beat me.

To be honest, Gao Meng is not afraid of death and has been mentally prepared to flee on the sea. But they can't stand it if they don't give him pleasure but torture.

And now there are new punishments,

The nails are pulled out and the face is tattooed,

I even heard that someone had two of his treasures cut off. In comparison, things like cutting off ears, cutting off noses, and chopping off fingers are not that scary.

Gaumont is about to collapse,

In addition to being tortured, they were still hungry, had no food or water, and had to drink their own urine to survive the past few days in prison.

But a young man in his thirties or forties, who had been hungry for a few days, really couldn't resist it anymore.

Finally, he was taken back to the torture chamber.

"Please give me a pleasure."

All the Tang people in the room had gloomy faces. Some were cutting red dried chili peppers, some were dipping their whips in chili salt water, and some were putting a soldering iron on the burning charcoal stove.

Someone is sharpening a long, pointed drill...

This atmosphere made Gao Meng despair,

He knelt down.

"Give me a good time."

He spoke Chinese, which was okay.

"Gao Meng, you have done many evil things, and now you want to be happy, how can there be such a convenient thing? Even if you die, you think it will be fine. When people like you go to the underworld, you will have to go to the eighteenth level of hell and suffer The king of hell judges various punishments..."

Another person said, "I'm too lazy to talk nonsense with him. Just follow the old rules and give him a set."

······

"Prime Minister Wu, those pirates are almost collapsed,"

Whether it's their will or their body, they have actually reached their limit.

"The heat is almost done,"

The pirates were taken out of the dungeon and finally saw the long-lost sunshine, but they were all dizzy from hunger and could not walk steadily.

The wounds on the body from whips and burns are also very bad,

In fact, more than ten pirates could not resist and died.

But no one cares, not even the pirates themselves can afford to shed a tear or two for them. Even if the pirates are on the same boat, they are not brothers of life and death, they are just a group of thieves who have come together. When disaster strikes, they all fly away.

"Want to live?"

A voice came,

All the pirates were shocked when they heard the sound and looked towards the sound.

That was a man full of majesty. Gao Meng recognized him. He was the man on the dock that day, the top nobleman of the Tang Dynasty, a man who he needed to completely look up to, Wu Huaiyu.

"You pirates, your life and death depend on my thoughts right now,"

"I'm going to kill you like an ant."

"And you don't regret dying, you deserve it."

The autumn wind rustled.

Everyone's mood fell to rock bottom.

This is true.

"but,"

"God has the virtue of good life, and the earth has the depth to carry things. I am also willing to give you another chance. It depends on whether you can cherish it."

Huaiyu said to these half-dead people.

Gao Meng suddenly knelt down and kowtowed to Wu Huaiyu, "I want to live, please give Mr. Wu a chance. I am willing to go through thick and thin for Mr. Wu even if I die."

"Actually, I am also Han Chinese. My grandfather was Gao Baoning, the governor of Yingzhou in the late Northern Qi Dynasty."

Gao Meng said with all his strength.

Wu Huaiyu looked at him,

He knew Gao Baoning, a distant branch of the Northern Qi royal family. In the late Northern Qi Dynasty, he served as the governor of Yingzhou and guarded Huanglong. He was very famous among the barbarians outside the pass.

When the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty, Gao Baoning refused to accept the imperial edict from Emperor Wu of the Zhou Dynasty, and even wrote a letter to support Gao Shaoyi, the king of Fanyang who had fled to the Turks, to proclaim himself emperor.

Gao Baoning has been defending Yingzhou for six years, often leading Mohe and Khitan troops to counterattack.

Later, Yin Shou sent people to induce Gao Baoning's generals to surrender, and Gao Baoning was eventually killed by his subordinates.

It is said that Gao Baoning had a son, Gao Sengjia, who was also very brave and often led light cavalry to plunder.

Later, Gao Baoning was defeated, and it is said that Gao Sengjia died in Goguryeo.

Calculating this way, it is possible that Gao Meng is the son of Gao Sengjia. Of course, it is also possible that Gao Meng just mistakenly recognized his ancestors, but these are not too important.

The important thing is that Gao Meng surrendered.

With this guy, all the other pirates who were caught in Dengzhou Port this time also surrendered.

Some of these pirates are real desperate pirates, but many of them are actually half-merchants and half-thieves. They usually transport goods at sea and trade. When there is an opportunity, they also do some business without capital. Of course, their main identity is still merchants. It's the ship owner and the sailor.

But now, having been tortured to death by Tang Jun, he could no longer care about anything else. It was good to be alive.

"it is good,"

Huaiyu waved his hand and asked someone to bring them sugar water. Each person could drink a bowl of sugar water first to supplement the meal, and then there would be porridge.

The arrangement for them was to recuperate in Penglai for a few days and then be sent to Zhifu Mountain, which is Yantai Harbor.

These real and fake pirates were sent there for training, and they would be put to great use next. However, Huaiyu also selected more than thirty pirates, including Gao Zang, to take with him to participate in the next operations.

He will personally lead a team to Qingnipu to rescue Asang's father Dong Teng and the others. After completing this task personally, he will continue to return to Lingnan according to his schedule.

(End of this chapter)