Preface
Deng Haishan, the last executioner, had a rough life, but in the end he couldn't escape the arrangement of fate. Could he have avoided the greed and indulgence of his life, the hardships and loneliness of his old age?
1. The embarrassed family has no choice but to plunge into the bloody storm
Deng Haishan was born in the late Qing Dynasty, during a turbulent period of internal and external troubles, bureaucratic decay, and poor livelihood. At that time, the rural landlords were in large numbers, and taxes were everywhere, and the poor peasants were becoming poorer and poorer. Lower-class people like Deng Haishan have miserable families and hover on the death line all year round.
Deng Haishan, who lives in a poor family, has been poor since he was a child, and his parents died. Deng Haishan has a restrained temperament and is not good at words, but he is as careful as a hair, and often starves to let his young siblings eat more. In his eyes, he was ashamed of his family, and he was extremely self-blaming and worried in his heart.
This year, Deng Haishan was seventeen years old, and as the eldest son, he provoked this overwhelmed family. Deng Haishan went west to find a job, but he ran into walls everywhere. Many well-wishers advised him that his children were still young and that it would be better to send them to a welfare home. Deng Haishan thought of the sibling group in another place, his heart was like a knife, and tears the size of beans burst out of his eyes. He insisted on taking care of his sister and brother and would never send him away.
One day, Deng Haishan met a man with a blue face on the street, who claimed to be the executioner Tong Shaoji. Tong Shaoji saw at a glance that Deng Haishan's bones were strange and his strength was infinite, which was a good material for practicing martial arts. He was immediately recruited as an apprentice, taught him Xi the art of executioner, and promised him a considerable reward.
Deng Haishan hesitated. Executioner, an eerie profession that people avoid. But as an unemployed vagrant, what qualifications do you have to choose? As soon as he thought of his poor and hungry siblings, Deng Haishan gritted his teeth and followed Tong Shaoji to learn art. He secretly vowed to practice peerless martial arts and earn more money so that his family could have no worries about food and clothing.
Second, the day Xi is big and silent
After following Tong Shaoji, Deng Haishan understood the hardships of the executioner's job. Tong Shaoji was stern and indifferent, sitting under the porch every day, teaching him the posture of holding a knife and standing. At the beginning, Deng Haishan held a wooden knife and repeatedly figured out various actions of beheading. Tong Shaoji strictly requires the precise angle of each blow, and the range of action can only be a millimeter. Deng Haishan's hands were stiff, sweat was like rain, Tong Shaoji's face was expressionless, and he only coldly repeated the request.
Day after day, Deng Haishan's face became more and more silent. In addition to practicing, he looked out the window, thinking of his distant hometown, and of his siblings who were still waiting for him. Every time he was tired from practicing, he would silently recite their names, which was Deng Haishan's only solace in this bloody and bloody black world.
Three years later, Deng Haishan armed with a broadsword and began to Xi death row prisoners and melons and fruits. Tong Shaoji asked him to follow the rules and regulations, drop the knife at the designated part, and kill the prisoner in seconds. At the beginning, Deng Haishan's hands trembled violently, and he had not yet Xi such cruelty. When he cut off the neck of a death row prisoner for the first time, blood splattered all over his face and arms, and Deng Haishan's stomach twitched, and his heart palpitated.
He tried to retch, telling himself it was all for his siblings. In order to give them a future of food and clothing, and in order to prevent his sister from living on the streets anymore, he must become a qualified executioner. Again and again, Deng Haishan gritted his teeth to complete Tong Shaoji's request. Three years later, he had developed an astonishing skill of cutting off heads, performed well in front of his master, and was finally able to earn a living.
3. Be the first to make a name for yourself and monopolize business
In 1915, Deng Haishan helped Tong Shaoji to cut off the first head perfectly and officially graduated. At that time, the Beiyang government was promoting the rectification of the new law, and the shooting gradually replaced the traditional beheading sentence. Tong Shaoji sighed that the dynasty was no longer and planned to retire to the mountains and forests. Before leaving, he instructed Deng Haishan that this karma would accumulate damp breath, and he would be punished for cutting off more than 100 heads, hoping that his disciples would not be greedy for fame and fortune in the future.
With endless gratitude and reluctance in his heart, Deng Haishan watched his master go away. I thought of my old mother and younger siblings at home, and I still relied on him to make a living. Deng Haishan chose to continue his career as an executioner, came to Shaanxi alone, and began to fly solo to make a living.
At first, Deng Haishan was deserted in the Shaanxi industry and almost couldn't support himself. Fortunately, he was strict with himself and meticulous in his work, and soon established an image of a very deterrent executioner.
Gradually, when the government and judicial organs need it, they will give priority to Deng Haishan's execution. This opened a gap for Deng Haishan's economic resources. In private, he also took great care of the families of death row prisoners, helping to settle the funeral, reflecting human care. It didn't take long for the family members of the death row inmates to ask others to come to the door to thank Deng Haishan and express their gratitude, and many people offered to thank him.
As a result, Deng Haishan's reputation has been greatly enhanced, and his business has become increasingly prosperous. Soon, local governments invited him to behead one after another. Deng Haishan incarnated as an executioner and rushed all the way to other places to serve justice, and the number of executions surged. The bill for his hotel accommodation ballooned rapidly, and everywhere he went, he was greeted by judicial officers from the authorities. Deng Haishan was proud and did not squint.
Fourth, false benevolence and false righteousness, and a surge in executions
In the past five years, Deng Haishan has been executed more than 100 times. With both fame and fortune, he gradually forgot his master's advice and lived a life of fame and fortune, unable to extricate himself. With a wave of his hand, Deng Haishan bought mansions and fields in Shaanxi, and he was hearty every day, with delicious wine and food.
Deng Haishan created a frame of fame and fortune. He went in and out of various places in brocade clothes, with his head held high; In the face of officialdom, they are even more pretentious, talking and laughing. Deng Haishan heard about any fine wine, so he asked his henchmen to buy it.
He even kept courtesans and maids. This has been done for many years. It's just that in the dead of night, he will suddenly think of his mother and his siblings when he was young, and he can't help but feel guilty, but he also quickly suppresses it. He said to himself that it was all about giving them a good life and living up to the determination he made at that time.
Born in troubled times, it is no wonder that Deng Haishan would embark on such an evil path. He was originally a kind-hearted person, but because of the compulsion of life, he fell into a dangerous path by mistake, and finally it was difficult to return to his original intention.
Fifth, the dynasty has fallen, and it is difficult to be an executioner again
Time flies, and in 1924, the Qing Dynasty collapsed, and the executioner industry also declined. The new government implemented the modern rule of law, gradually abolishing the punishment of beheading and replacing it with execution. Deng Haishan became famous, but faced decline. For a time, there was no more beheading on the execution ground. He waited for a long time, and no one came to his door to ask him to be executed.
Deng Haishan visited various government and judicial institutions, only to get them to shake their heads helplessly. The new government no longer employs traditional executioners. Deng Haishan was lonely, wandering in the depths of the streets. He vaguely remembered the feeling of helplessness when he was young, and his panic for no reason. At this moment, Deng Haishan suddenly felt that the glory of the first half of his life was like a white horse passing through a gap and no longer existed.
Sixth, old age and difficulty, helpless
Today, Deng Haishan is over 50 years old. He was late in the hotel to face the mirror, and only then did he realize that he was full of gray hair, gray sideburns, and no longer majestic. Deng Haishan suddenly felt that time had passed, and his life was unpredictable. The high-spirited self back then is now only a decaying body.
The fear of growing old and lonely looms over my heart. Deng Haishan thought of his siblings in his hometown, and he didn't know what was going on now. He desperately wanted to go home and see, but he was too poor to pay for the journey. Deng Haishan suddenly burst into tears, regretting the debauchery and wastefulness of this life. He didn't take care of his family, and even the last reunion seemed so far away.
The impoverished Deng Haishan searched everywhere to make a living, and ran into walls everywhere. Whether it is manual labor or clerical work, everyone respects this executioner who has walked the rivers and lakes for most of his life. Deng Haishan begged hard but couldn't get the point, and slowly felt at a loss for the future.
7. Begging on the streets, no one cares
After years of displacement, Deng Haishan was penniless and begged on the streets of the city. Pede-watched in disgust, avoiding the old man's gray beard and withered hands. Deng Haishan was ragged and erect, no matter how he looked at it, he didn't look like the young master Deng back then. Occasionally, acquaintances will be embarrassed and leave in a hurry.
Deng Haishan, who was hungry and cold, died in a dark corner of the street. No one even paid for the corpse, so it had to be buried hastily. Within a few days, the cemetery was as smooth as ever, as if no one had ever been laid to rest.
epilogue
After Deng Haishan's death, he knew that his master's prediction was true. In this life, he went astray because of his greed for fame and fortune, and finally fell into a place of no return in his later years, without any redemption.
Deng Haishan does not know. He only felt that a hundred years were instantaneous, and the past was like a cloud of smoke. Those golden iron horses eventually came to naught. Born without a support, and died without a support.