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The scholar continued strolling forward, and soon arrived at the place the old farmer had mentioned in his words. The location was unmistakable. Even before reaching it, one could sense its presence. A peculiar stench characteristic of decaying human corpses wafted through the air, so pungent that the scholar furrowed his brow.
This was an execution ground, deliberately established by the roadside. A reek of putrefaction—like a dozen rotten eggs laid out before you, then doused with a pile of overnight excrement and urine and stirred together. The scholar could almost feel as though the air itself was drifting with faint green wisps of this foul miasma. Even a single inhaled breath was enough to make one gag. Among the corpses, those that could be identified were overwhelmingly Xianbei, as indicated by their hair and the remnants of clothing on their bodies. As for those that could no longer be identified, even if an immortal descended, they could probably only recognize a human shape.
Similarly, the wounds on the corpses and the horrifying manner of their deaths spoke volumes about the agony these individuals had endured before dying. Though the scholar covered his nose with his sleeve, a glint flickered within his slender eyes.
This one had its wrist arteries slashed and bled to death. To ensure the blood would not coagulate, a reed tube had even been inserted into the wound at the wrist. This one had likely been flayed and then left to die under the blazing sun. Its face and head, stripped of skin, had attracted a swarm of flies. Fat maggots were burrowing in and out between the rotting muscle and bone. This one had been sawn apart. Mm, the technique was crude and vulgar, hardly worth a second glance. This one... he couldn't tell. But the scholar glanced at the corpse's belly, already turning green and swollen like a round ball, and subconsciously stepped several paces further away. This one was impalement by sitting: first, incisions were made with a knife, then the victim was allowed to sink slowly under their own weight until the stake finally pierced through the chest and abdomen. This one was gut-drawing. Ugh, utterly foul!
The scholar retreated a few more steps, his eyes narrowed to slits as he mused: This ruthlessness was certainly ruthless enough. But did they not fear incurring excessive resentment? Or fear that those fellows who spewed white lotus-scented words would launch into ferocious condemnations?
Interesting. He had not expected to find such an unexpected harvest here. Only, he could not tell whether this was the wantonly brutal Zi Shou, or the iron-fisted, merciless Zhao Zheng.
The scholar's slender eyes were squeezed into a single line. Just as he was about to turn and leave, he saw a troop of riders approaching from a distance—four or five cavalrymen, with infantry following behind. The scholar quickly assessed his own nearby guards and then retreated a few steps, his expression unchanging. When they drew near, he realized that the one leading them was actually a Hu person. Judging by his attire, especially that felt cap, he was nine out of ten odds a Xiongnu.
The Xiongnu rider reined in his horse and bellowed a few commands in the Hu tongue. Immediately, several men dressed in Xianbei fashion stepped forward, whips in hand, and began driving a few ragged, tattered individuals out from the ranks. The scholar narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze over these ragged wretches. Although their clothes were so tattered it was almost impossible to tell which side they belonged to, their hairstyles, hair colors, and facial features were all distinctly different. Most likely, they too were Xianbei. The Xiongnu mostly had black hair, but among the Xianbei, there were also those with blond or white hair; their facial shapes and eye colors also varied. Under the orders of the black-haired Xianbei holding whips, these Xianbei in tattered clothes began slowly clearing away the corpses within the execution ground.
One of the Hu riders dismounted and walked toward the scholar. He pressed a hand to his chest in a gesture of respect, performing a Hu salute, and then said, in an extremely bizarre accent: "Ze wei leng jin, qiao guan..." He seemed to have forgotten what else to say, and turned his head with embarrassment, shouting something. Another Hu man quickly came forward, seemingly mocking the first man a couple of times, and then also performed a salute and said, "Wo si a da, qing wen ran jun yao qu na li?" Mm, these words were somewhat more intelligible.
The scholar nodded and said, "My name is Zhen He. I am on my way to Pingyang to find a friend. Mm... Don't touch that!" Zhen He suddenly pointed at the corpse within the execution ground with the belly swollen like a ball and shouted. But those Xianbei slaves had no understanding of the Han tongue. Numbly, they continued untying the ropes binding that corpse.
Zhen He did not waste another word. He turned on his heel and ran! Just like a waterskin hurled to the ground from a height, there was a muffled thwump of an explosion. The moment that corpse with the drum-like belly hit the ground, the pressure in its abdominal cavity caused it to burst violently. In an instant, black, yellow, green, purple, and brown filth erupted everywhere! Fortunately, the corpse had fallen face-down toward the ground, so the spray only splattered onto the nearby earth and onto several of the surrounding Xianbei.
A piercing, nauseating stench instantly spread. Seeing this, Zhen He immediately fled even further away. From among the ranks, a Xianbei man, seemingly grumbling and cursing, lugged out a large, covered wooden barrel. He tossed it down from a distance and kicked it toward those yellow-haired Xianbei collecting the dead. One yellow-haired Xianbei righted the barrel, opened the lid, and scooped out what looked like a chalky white powder, scattering it about.
Eh?! The Hu people also knew this method? Although the chalk powder provided some cover, the foul odor still lingered and refused to dissipate. Zhen He could not bear to remain a moment longer. He nodded to the leading Xiongnu and Hu men, then returned to the official road and continued on his way.
"Truly interesting. Using the Han to command the Hu, and then using the Hu to control the Hu... It seems these Hu people are also divided into ranks of high and low... Heh heh..." Seated in the ox cart, Zhen He turned his head to look back at the scene within the execution ground and muttered under his breath.
In the distance, a crimson city came into view. Eh? Wait. Crimson? Zhen He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He looked carefully—it was indeed crimson, like the red of the sky just before the sunrise, or the red of ripe autumn fruit. Though somewhat dazzling, it was not harsh on the eyes. It was very distinctive.
Suddenly, something in front of a large encampment south of Pingyang City caught Zhen He's attention. The encampment seemed to be used for detaining Hu people. A great many ragged Xianbei Hu were lined up in formation outside. Those at the very front had stripped off all their clothes and were squatting, stark naked, into what appeared to be large, steaming wooden tubs, submerging their entire bodies in the water. Only after that did they stand up, move to another side, receive a set of clothing, and then enter the encampment. What was this for? Zhen He could not quite understand.
It was only when he drew near the walls of Pingyang City that Zhen He finally saw clearly how that crimson color on the city walls had come to be. It was slabs of red square bricks! They were actually using red bricks to build the city wall! The rammed-earth core of the wall seemed to have already been pounded firm. At this moment, numerous craftsmen were on wooden scaffolding beside the wall, laying the red bricks one by one onto the earthen layer of the wall to form the outer facing. Here, however, he saw no Hu people; it was all Han people busily working.
On a tall wooden platform beside the city, there appeared to be a civil official overseeing the work. As if sensing Zhen He's gaze, the official slowly turned his head around.
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T/N: Talk about brutal.