Edward Clark said this as he was about to tell the coachman to steer the carriage away from this street corner. Mainly, he was worried that since William Thompson had just recovered from his illness, if he witnessed such a bloody beheading, it might traumatize him again.

However, William Thompson suddenly grabbed Edward Clark and said, “Cousin, you brought me out so I could broaden my horizons. It’s rare to come across an execution like this—wouldn’t it be a pity to miss it?”

William Thompson’s thinking was actually quite simple: since he would probably face the blade himself sooner or later, he might as well take this opportunity to learn from the experience of those being executed, so that if the knife ever fell on his own neck, he wouldn’t be caught unprepared.

Seeing William Thompson insist, Edward Clark thought it over and finally nodded in agreement. But there were just too many onlookers; it was impossible to squeeze forward. In the end, the two of them simply climbed onto the roof of the carriage, and only then could they finally see what was happening in the execution ground.

They saw a row of criminals in prison garb kneeling in the middle of the execution ground, with a group of burly executioners standing behind them, each holding a broad, menacing blade, just waiting for the presiding official to give the order.

“So many prisoners!” William Thompson roughly estimated that there were more than a dozen kneeling in front, and behind them was a whole crowd of prisoners under guard—by the looks of it, there must have been over a hundred.

“I don’t know either. If there was such a big case, the whole capital should have heard about it by now, right?” Edward Clark asked in confusion as well. To execute so many people at once, it definitely wasn’t a minor case.

Just as Edward Clark finished speaking, a clever servant ran up to the carriage and reported, “Young master, I’ve found out: these people are rebel bandits from Yunnan. After being defeated by Duke Ying, over a hundred of them were captured. His Majesty has ordered their public execution as a warning to others!”

“So they’re Yunnan rebels!” Upon hearing this, Edward Clark looked enlightened, and then went on to introduce Duke Ying to William Thompson.

Actually, even without Edward Clark’s introduction, William Thompson already knew that Duke Ying’s name was Arthur Foster, because this man had died a most unjust death. Zhu Yuanzhang killed many people, but at least he would always find a charge first. Yet Arthur Foster was killed despite being innocent.

Speaking of Arthur Foster’s death, it all started a few years later when Crown Prince Zhu Biao died of illness. At that time, Lan Yu was purged, and since Arthur Foster was close to Lan Yu, this aroused Zhu Yuanzhang’s suspicion. So, during court one day, Arthur Foster’s son was punished by Zhu Yuanzhang for not wearing a sword pouch, and Arthur Foster was ordered to kill his own son. Arthur Foster complied, but then Zhu Yuanzhang accused him of being too ruthless. Enraged, Arthur Foster shouted, “Isn’t it our heads you want?” and then killed himself.

In terms of injustice, Arthur Foster was even more wronged than Dou E. Especially considering the great military achievements he made for the Ming dynasty—campaigning west to Bashu, north to the desert, south to pacify Yunnan and Guizhou. In particular, Yunnan and Guizhou were almost single-handedly conquered by him, with even Mu Ying only serving as his deputy. Later, when there were rebellions in Yunnan and Guizhou, he was the one who led troops to suppress them. Yet in the end, he died such an unjust death—it truly makes one sigh in regret.

“Dong dong dong dong~” Suddenly, the execution ground’s drums sounded, and the previously noisy scene instantly fell silent. The presiding official picked up a command arrow and casually threw it to the ground, ordering, “Execute!”

At the official’s command, the condemned prisoners each showed different expressions—some faced death with dignity, some wept bitterly, some were numb and indifferent. But regardless of their reactions, the executioners all moved in unison: they pulled out the death plaques from the collars of the condemned, raised their broad blades high, and then brought them down with a sudden chop.

“Shhh~” As the sharp blades sliced through flesh, more than a dozen heads rolled to the ground. Blood spurted several meters from the necks of the headless bodies, some even spraying onto the watching crowd, causing a wave of startled cries.

From atop the carriage, William Thompson saw with his own eyes that when some heads hit the ground, their eyes actually blinked several times, and their mouths opened and closed as if trying to say something, but no sound came out. This scene had a huge impact on him, and after a long while he muttered to himself, “So… when your head is cut off, you really don’t die instantly!”

Chapter Five: You Have to Play Whether You Want To or Not

With over a hundred condemned prisoners, as soon as one batch was executed, another was brought up. Sitting atop the carriage, William Thompson stared blankly at the heads rolling on the ground, his mind a complete blank. Every time the executioner’s blade fell, he felt a chill on his own neck, and in the end, he even began to wonder if his own head was still attached to his shoulders.

“Cousin, what’s wrong with you?” Edward Clark also noticed William Thompson’s abnormal state and immediately grabbed his arm in concern.

“N-nothing!” William Thompson forced a reply, even managing a smile. But he didn’t realize that his face was as pale as paper, and his smile looked even worse than crying.

“It’s all over now, let’s get down quickly!” Edward Clark didn’t dare let William Thompson watch any longer. He jumped down from the carriage and helped William Thompson down as well. Only then did he realize that William Thompson’s whole body was limp—he had to support him, or else he would have collapsed.

“How are you feeling, cousin? Should we find a doctor?” After helping William Thompson into the carriage, Edward Clark asked with concern again.

“No need, maybe… maybe I just caught a bit of a chill and I’m not feeling well.” William Thompson forced another smile to explain himself.