"General! Spare my life!"
"General!!"
At that moment, inside the General's Residence, dozens of men had been bound and were kneeling in the snow, their faces terrified as they begged ceaselessly for mercy.
Sima Zhao stood on the steps, staring fixedly at the men before him.
They all wore prison clothes, their hair hanging loose and disheveled, despair showing in their eyes.
These dozens of men were all officials from across Henan Commandery.
Among them were county magistrates, county commandants, county deputies, and even several township officials.
The highest-ranking was probably Sima Ban, Chief Clerk of the Grand General's Residence.
Several men also stood beside Sima Zhao, including Secretariat official Fu Gu, Commandant Yin Damu, recording secretary Xun Xu, Attendant Cavalry Pei Xiu, and other trusted aides.
Those kneeling before Sima Zhao were all offenders brought there by Fu Gu.
After Wang Yuan rose in revolt, these men had wantonly slaughtered innocent commoners in the name of suppressing rebels, cutting off their heads to pass them off as military achievements.
The county magistrate now kneeling beside Sima Ban and bawling had massacred over a thousand people, then submitted a memorial requesting credit for his accomplishments.
Of course, Sima Ban had killed most ruthlessly of all.
Now, however, the fellow was exceptionally frightened too, kowtowing incessantly and begging forgiveness.
Sima Zhao gritted his teeth, his expression ugly.
"The Imperial Court appointed you as local leaders so that you would protect the common people and guard the localities for the state. Yet look at you! Slaughtering commoners indiscriminately, passing them off as military achievements, deceiving the Imperial Court-your crimes are monstrous!!"
"If officials everywhere were as vicious as you, wouldn't Great Wei's realm be destroyed in the hands of petty men like you?!"
"In just four days, you murdered nearly ten thousand