Chapter 2320
Kim Sang-hyun responded: "At that time, the assassin's whereabouts were exposed and he had no way to escape, so he committed suicide on the spot out of fear of crime. We found some items related to the Qing Dynasty from the assassin. It is basically certain that he was a spy under the orders of the Qing Dynasty!"
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Qian Tiandun nodded slightly, thinking that if he could survive, it would mean that all the previous speculations he and Tom Wang had made were wrong. Judging from what Kim Sang-hyun said, if this assassin really exists, his true identity is also doubtful. Since he is going to the palace to assassinate, how can he bring items that reveal his identity? This is a bit unreasonable both emotionally and logically.
Qian Tiandun looked at Li Xie and saw that his mood had not calmed down yet, so he asked Jin Shangxian: "Where is Cui Mingji?"
Kim Sang-hyun responded: "Cui Mingji knew that the matter was exposed and could not escape from the city. He committed suicide at his home last night by taking poison. In addition, there were dozens of party members who followed Cui Mingji and some of his family members who resisted and tried to escape last night. Outside the city, they were all wiped out in the end."
Qian Tiandun said thoughtfully: "No wonder so few people showed up today. So many things happened last night... Master Jin, thank you for your hard work!"
After hearing what Jin Sangxian said just now, it was obvious that Cui Mingji's insiders were almost dead. Qian Tiandun intuitively believed that this was not a coincidence, but a cruel annihilation operation.
"I still have some things that I don't understand, please Mr. Jin to clear up my doubts." Qian Tiandun continued to ask: "Since His Majesty the King has been assassinated, according to Mr. Jin, Cui Mingji has been in charge of the overall situation behind the scenes this month. , so what has he been doing this month, and why has he not taken further action? ”
"General Qian, I'm also very confused about this." Kim Sang-hyun responded to Qian Tiandun's question in a different way this time: "I thought Cui Mingji wanted to get the throne after assassinating the king, but later it seemed that It is planned to elect the second prince to take over the throne, and then he will continue to be in charge of the government. As for what he did during this month, I can only guess based on what I know. Maybe this was an order from the Manchu to let him delay. Time has muddied the waters. If your army is a few days late, Cui Mingji may regard me as a scapegoat and blame all the events of His Majesty’s assassination on me.”
Qian Tiandun said slowly: "At that time, as long as he silences Master Jin and all relevant people, the truth will never be revealed."
Jin Sangxian seemed not to hear the implication of Qian Tiandun's words, and still nodded in response: "That's right. Fortunately, evil never prevails over good. These rebellious ministers and traitors will not end well if they commit trouble!"
Qian Tiandun has traveled extensively over the years and has dealt with many high-ranking officials from various countries, but at this time, he couldn't tell whether Kim Sang-heon had a clear conscience or had amazing acting skills to respond so naturally.
Qian Tiandun believed that there were many loopholes in Kim Sang-heon's description, which was just empty talk. He could not provide any evidence at the moment to prove that Kim Sang-heon was actually involved in the coup. Now the other two parties involved in the incident, King Li Jing and Leader Cui Mingji, have died violently according to Kim Sang-heon. It is even possible that even the relevant insiders have died, and they want to dig out the truth of the matter. It's already difficult.
But even if there is no evidence, Qian Tiandun still thinks that Kim Sang-heon is not trustworthy. Even though Kim Sang-hyun had been very enthusiastic about the prospects of cooperation between the two countries before this, and seemed to be a good partner, trust is something that is very slow to develop and lost very quickly. The role he played in this coup was so suspicious that Qian Tiandun believed that the situation he described was not an objective fact, which was enough to make him lose Haihan's trust.
However, Qian Tiandun is not worried about how much tricks Kim Sang-hyun can play at this moment. The Haihan Army is taking over the defense of the city at this moment. If nothing happens, the handover with the North Koreans will be completed before sunset today. By then, the city's defense will be in the hands of Haihan. Even if there are lucky rebels who still want to take a chance, it will be difficult to make another big wave. After the situation in Seoul is brought under control, it will not be too late to slowly liquidate these people in the city.
An Daoshi did not enter the palace with Li Xie today, but stayed at Chongli Gate and took over the city defense together with the Haihan Army. Of course, Andao Shi currently has no troops available at all. It only symbolically accepts the command here on behalf of the Crown Prince. The actual control is still carried out by the Haihan Army.
The person in charge of taking over Chongli Gate in the Special Forces Group is Sun Zhen, who was promoted to battalion commander this year. Compared with a polished commander like An Daoshi, Sun Zhen has people with guns under his command, so he is naturally much tougher. Once he opens the door, he will ignore Sanqi. Twenty-one, first disarm the Korean troops inside and outside Sungnyemun Gate and gather them together to await their defeat.
According to the view of the Haihan Army, the troops that have been staying in the city during the coup and have been safe so far, even if they have not directly participated in the rebellion, are not necessarily loyal to the king, and their position is more or less problematic. However, the Haihan army entering the city is limited in strength, and it is difficult to take over the defense of the entire Seoul city at once. They can only start with a few city gates to control the traffic arteries in and out of the city.
Although there were some minor frictions during this period, in front of the Haihan soldiers with live ammunition, the city defense army obviously did not dare to make any mistakes. In the end, they followed Sun Zhen's instructions, lined up to hand over their weapons and equipment, and accepted the Haihan army's offer.
"Mr. An, are any of these people your former colleagues or people you know? Maybe we can get some useful information." While counting the number of city defense troops, Sun Zhen made a suggestion to An Daoshi.
Andao Shi shook his head and said: "Most of the officers of the city defense army are people with family backgrounds. I came from a poor family. I only started to have the opportunity to be promoted last year. I had very few opportunities to come to Seoul before, and I had no chance to contact the city defense army at all."
Sun Zhen nodded to express his understanding. The situation he mentioned was actually the norm in the military, and it was not just North Korea. People with good background conditions will be assigned to more important positions, while soldiers like him who come from a peasant family can only slowly climb up the ranks step by step based on military merit. Fortunately, the special operations group conducts frequent foreign military operations and accumulates military merit very quickly. Moreover, promotion does not depend on background, only military merit, which is very suitable for a hard-working Saburo like him.
This is not the first time that Sun Zhen and Andao Shi have cooperated. During last year's war against the Qing Dynasty, Andao Shi served as a guide in the special operations group for a period of time, and the two had contact at that time. But at that time, Sun Zhen was still the company commander, and Andao Shi was a little-known figure, far behind his status today. But the two of them never imagined that the place of cooperation again would be in Seoul.
After a moment of silence, Andao Shi added: "If I were not selected to study in your country last year, I would most likely have been transferred to the city defense army based on my military merit."
Sun Zhen didn't know how to evaluate such a coincidence. He held it in for a long time before he said two words: "It's so dangerous..."
An Daoshi understood what Sun Zhen meant, and nodded in agreement: "It's a good risk."
Last year, Andao Shi made great achievements in the battle when the Haihan Army pursued the Qing Army northward in the late war. The imperial court must have given him some substantial rewards. If he had not been able to stand out from the selection for studying abroad, most of the soldiers in Cao Yamen would still have Try to reward him in other ways, such as transferring him to the city defense army or the imperial guards, which are well-paid and prestigious units.
But if Andosi had stayed in Seoul as an errand at that time, he probably would not have been able to escape the current chaos. Even if he himself did not want to participate, other people who participated in the coup rebellion were doing it with their heads up, and naturally they would not allow internal opposition. If they did not want to die in confusion, they could only be coerced into participating in the rebellion. Sun Zhen had already explained to Andao Shi why the Haihan Army had to forcibly hand over the defense to the city defense forces who controlled the city gate immediately after entering the city. The position of these city defense forces was unreliable, and most of them were very likely to directly or directly Indirectly involved in this coup. Even if they didn't know their role in it and were just following orders, the Haihan Army would never trust these people.
As for the fate of these people, Ando Shi certainly couldn't decide, but he knew that some of them would definitely die, especially those officers who relied on their status and refused to cooperate honestly. Hai Hanjun is not a good man and a believer. This is the time to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. It depends on how many people are the unlucky ones who hit the muzzle of the gun on their own.
There will never be a shortage of fools in the world who misjudge the situation. In the process of taking over Sungnyemen, Sun Zhen had already ordered people to capture three officers who had a tough attitude and were unwilling to hand over their military power, tied them up and threw them at the root of the city wall. The three people were still unconscious after being tied up, and continued to curse. However, they did not dare to insult Haihanjun, but directed their conflict at Andao Shi.
Sun Zhen was not a good-tempered person. He had already received Gao Qiaonan's instructions before entering the city. Seeing that these three people were bent on death, he simply determined their fate: "These three people disobeyed military orders and deliberately challenged the authority of the Crown Prince." , I think it should be severely punished by military law! Mr. An, what do you think?”
Andao Shi said: "If you don't obey the military order, you will be punished with a stick. Each person will receive twenty sticks as a warning to others."
Sun Zhen said: "Twenty is too little. I'm afraid it won't be effective as a warning. I think it must be at least doubled."
Andao Shi had no objection to this and immediately agreed happily. However, An Daoshi had no subordinates or execution tools around him, so he could only ask the Haihan Army to do it for him.
The Haihan Army also had provisions for using military sticks as punishment, but it took a while to get the tools from outside the city. As soon as the sticks arrived, Sun Zhen ordered the three people to be brought out for execution, and at the same time, Andao Shi came forward to supervise the execution.
"Since they dare to insult you, you should let them watch carefully and bear the consequences." Sun Zhen said seriously: "If you want to do it yourself, that's no problem."
An Daoshi was not that radical. He just calmly announced the charges and punishments to the three people. Then the Haihan soldiers dragged them out and pushed them to the ground in front of the more than two hundred Korean soldiers who were under control. , buttocks upward, and the military stick hit him one after another.
The two people in charge of executions were military policemen in the Haihan Army, and they specialized in doing this. The white wax pole they used was as thick as an egg, and one end was wrapped with a cloth strip to prevent the hand from slipping. When the military stick was swung down from a high place, the faint sound of wind breaking through the air could be heard. One can imagine how powerful it was.
When this blow hit his body, the tortured man couldn't bear the pain and screamed out. But before he could feel the pain, the stick fell from the other side of his body, causing him even more pain.
The movements of the two men raising and lowering their sticks were staggered by half a beat, and they continued to hit the man on the ground at a steady speed. It seemed that the rhythm was not fast, but within ten sticks, the man's screams had turned into feeble moans. , it seems that it has lost its strength.
The two people who were still waiting in line to receive the punishment changed their faces when they saw this. They thought that with this kind of attack, even if they didn't die after being beaten with forty sticks, at least half of their lives would be gone. If the executioners had a little more work with their hands, it would be easy to kill or maim people.
"Mr. An, you have a lot of money, don't argue with the villain! The villain is a mean talker, so I'll apologize to you for my own words!"
"Master An, the villain realizes his mistake! Please, Master An, for the sake of being an official in the same dynasty, let the villain go!"
The other two people had already fainted from pain when they saw the person being tortured halfway through. How could they not know what was wrong? They quickly knelt on the ground and apologized to Andao Shi, who was supervising the execution.
Andao Shi's face was expressionless, his hands were behind his back, and he didn't respond at all. He knew very well that Sun Zhen's purpose in arranging this punishment was not only to scare the monkeys, but also to separate himself from these ordinary officers. If the backstage of these people is the local dignitaries and ministers, then his backstage is the crown prince Li Zhen who is about to take over the throne, as well as the Haihan army with guns and ammunition inside and outside the city.
As a soldier, if you want to establish prestige, you must not show mercy. Although these officers are currently not guilty of death, since they have jumped out to cause trouble on their own, Ando Shi does not intend to just accept it.
After forty sticks were beaten, the man who was being tortured on the ground had long since made no sound. He didn't know whether he was dead or alive, but the two men were breathing heavily with the sticks in their hands. Sweat was flowing down their faces. It was obvious that they had spent a lot of energy. .
In addition, the two people who were about to be tortured saw that their pleading was in vain and couldn't help but started to curse again, but An Daoshi was not moved at all. After waiting for a moment, he saw the two military policemen nodded, indicating that they had rested properly, so he ordered Said: "Then let's start the next one!"
The condition of the second person who was tortured was not much better. He also fainted from the pain after only receiving half of the stick. The last twenty sticks were like beating someone to death, and there was no response.
The more than two hundred Korean soldiers who were watching this scene were all silent, not daring to make any sound, for fear that An Daoshi would be slapped with dozens of military sticks on any random accusation at the next moment.
(End of chapter)