Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Execution

The sun over Bald Mountain has gradually slanted to the west, and the entire hill is surrounded by two blockades. It turned out that at ten o'clock in the morning, the cavalry squadron that passed in front of the Governor quickly arrived at the Hebron Gate in the West City of Jerusalem.Prior to this, the infantry of the Cappadocian Battalion had already pushed the crowd, mules, horses, camels, etc. to both sides of the road, clearing the way for it.After leaving the city, the cavalry continued to ride their horses forward, flying white dust all the way up to the fork of the two roads.From here a road goes south to Bethlehem, and a road going northwest leads to Jaffa.The cavalry squadron galloped along the north-western road, which was also guarded by soldiers from the Cappadocian brigade, who also drove in time all the camel caravans on the way to Jerusalem for the festival.Many pilgrims abandoned their makeshift striped tents on the grass and crowded behind the Cappadocian soldiers to watch.After running about a kilometer out of the city, the cavalry squadron passed the second infantry battalion of the Blitzkrieg, and after another kilometer, it reached the foot of Bald Mountain first.Here, the cavalry dismounted and walked, and the commander immediately divided the squadron into many squadrons, and each squadron spread out along the foothills, encircling the not-so-high Bald Mountain, leaving only one who could go up the mountain from Jaffa Avenue. The only intersection.

①The ancient name of the plateau in the central part of Asia Minor, which now belongs to Turkey. Soon, the Second Infantry Battalion followed the cavalry to the bottom of the mountain, and then climbed up the mountainside, where they formed another encirclement. The last to reach Bald Mountain was the squadron under the command of Mark the Mouser.The soldiers marched in two rows along both sides of the road.In the middle of the two lines of skirmishers were several carriages, the first of which carried three prisoners escorted by secret guards, each with a white wooden plaque around his neck, on which was written "robbers and rebels" in Aramaic and Greek.者" in big characters.The following carts carried a few freshly made cross stakes, ropes, picks, buckets, axes, etc., as well as six executioners.Behind the convoy were several men on horseback, including Mark, the captain of the squadron, the captain of the Temple Guard in Jerusalem, and the man in the hood who had had a brief secret talk with Governor Pilate in the darkroom of the palace.After the whole team was cut off by a group of infantry, behind the infantry were a large number of curious people who were not afraid of the scorching sun and heat, and wanted to see this interesting scene. The number was about 2,000.

Now another wave of curious pilgrims joined freely at the tail end of the ranks of troublemakers following from the city.From time to time above the ranks of people there sounded the shrill shouts of announcers who, mingling with the crowd, repeated over and over again what the Governor had announced in the square at about ten o'clock.The brigade drove to the foot of the mountain mightily. The cavalry that sealed off the foot of the mountain allowed everyone to pass, while the second blockade on the mountainside allowed only those related to the execution to pass.After these people passed, the infantry on the second blockade line quickly dispersed the dense crowd to the entire surrounding mountainside, so that the crowd of onlookers was in between the upper and lower encirclement circles—infantry at the top and cavalry at the bottom.Since the infantry blockade was not very dense, the place of execution could still be clearly seen.

Let's say, the convoy has been driving up the mountain for more than three hours.The sun on top of Bald Mountain was fading to the west, but it was still unbearably hot.Soldiers on the two blockades complained about their hardships, coupled with their loneliness and boredom, they could not help cursing the three robbers secretly, hoping from the bottom of their hearts that they would die as soon as possible. The captain of the cavalry squadron guarding the mountain crossing at the foot of the mountain was a small Syrian.Beads of sweat stood on his forehead, and the back of his sweat-soaked white shirt was covered with dust, turning it dark gray.From time to time, he came to the leather bucket of the first team and took a sip of water in his hand to drink, and then soaked the turban.After a little briskness like this, he returned to the dusty uphill road to patrol back and forth.He strode forward, and the long saber at his waist collided with the high leather boots with belts, making a rattling sound.The squadron leader believes that he should set an example of the tenacity and patience of a soldier to his subordinates.But he cherished the soldiers very much. He asked the soldiers to stick their spears into the ground to form a pyramid, and put their white cloaks on it to make tents.So the Syrian cavalry could get into the tent to escape the scorching sun.The bucket soon bottomed out.Each team took turns to send people to a small river ditch at the foot of the mountain to fetch water. There were a few semi-dry mulberry trees there, and under the sparse shade of the trees, there was a muddy stream still lingering under the devilish scorching sun.Under the shade of the tree stood a few lonely horse watchers, they moved with the ever-moving shade of the tree, guarding the army horses that were listless now.

The tiredness of the soldiers and their cursing at the three robbers was understandable.The governor had feared that the execution of the death sentence in this abominable city might cause riots, but fortunately his fears did not happen.Unexpectedly, after the execution lasted for more than three hours, no onlookers could see between the infantry blockade on the mountainside and the cavalry blockade at the foot of the mountain: the scorching sun blasted away the crowd and drove them all back. Jerusalem.Now, there are only two dogs left outside the blockade line of the Roman infantry. I don't know whose family they belong to or how they got here.But they have also been exhausted by the scorching sun. They lie on the ground sticking out their long tongues, panting with difficulty, and ignore the green-backed lizards beside them—only these lizards are not afraid of the scorching sun. Continue to drill between hot stones and a creeping plant with large thorns.

Whether in the city of Jerusalem, which is full of troops, or on this tightly sealed Bald Mountain, no one was found attempting to rob the execution ground.The people had already returned to the city, and the execution scene was indeed nothing to look at.And every household in the city is already preparing for the great Passover that begins tonight. The Roman infantry guarding the mountainside suffered more than the cavalry below.The squadron leader, Rat Catcher Taibao, only allowed the soldiers to take off their helmets and wrap their heads with white turbans soaked in water, but asked them to continue to stand with spears and not to sit down.He also wrapped a white turban around himself, but it was dry and not soaked in water.He paced back and forth near several executioners, and did not even take off the two silver lion head armor, leg armor, saber and saber hanging on the chest of his coat.The blazing sun shot straight at him, but it couldn't hurt him at all. The silver lion head on his chest seemed to be burnt by the sun into tumbling silver water.

There was neither tiredness nor dissatisfaction on the ugly face of the Mousecatcher. It seemed that the captain of the giant could still walk like this for a whole day, a night, and an extra day. How long can you walk—just like now, with your hands on the heavy belt on which the bronze medal is hung, walking up and down, just like now, occasionally looking with stern eyes at the cross stakes where the tortured are tied, From time to time, I would look at the soldiers on the encirclement, just like now, use the toes of their furry leather boots to indifferently kick away the human bones or small tunnel stones that have been washed white by time, and walk around.

The man in the hood sat on a three-legged stool not far from the cross.He sat calmly and seldom moved, only occasionally scratching the sand with the twig in his hand out of loneliness. We have explained earlier: there is no one outside the infantry blockade.In fact, this is not accurate enough.There is still a person here, but he is not staying where everyone can see.He didn't stay on the side of the hillside where there was an uphill path that was convenient for watching the execution scene, but on the north hillside.The slope here is steep, the road is uneven, difficult to pass, and there are deep ditches and crevices.In a crevice of stones a sick fig tree clings to the little piece of waterless land cursed by heaven, struggling to stay alive.

The only person who is not the executioner, but the spectator of the execution, stays under the fig tree which has no shade at all.He has been sitting here on a rock since the beginning, that is to say, he has been here for more than three hours.Indeed, if he wanted to see the execution scene, the place he chose was not the best, but the worst.But here, too, were the stakes visible, as well as the two gleaming white spots on the chest of the squadron leader standing inside the cordon, and these seemed to a man who obviously did not want to be noticed or disturbed. Said, it seems enough. However, four hours ago, when the execution procedure had just begun, this person's behavior was not like this, but very easy to attract attention. Perhaps because of this, he changed his behavior now and hid aside.

Four hours ago, the execution convoy had just passed the straggler cordon and reached the top of the hill, when this man ran up the hill, and it was obvious that he was late.He didn't come up the mountain, but ran up panting through the crowd along the way.When he found that he was also separated from the blockade like everyone else, he pretended not to understand the soldiers' angry yelling, and naively tried to break in from the soldiers to the place of execution, because there had been The prisoner was pushed off the execution cart.For this he received a savage blow on the chest from the butt of the spear, which sent him back a few steps, and gave a cry--not from pain, but from despair.At the soldier who beat him, he only glanced at him with cloudy, indifferent eyes, as if he were a man insensible to physical pain.

He clutched his chest, coughing and panting, and ran around the hillside, trying to find a small crack in the security line on the north slope.However, it has already retreated: the blockade is strictly enforced.He was frowning and in great pain.However, he had to give up his attempt to rush to the execution vehicle.At this time, the cross stakes on the carriage had also been unloaded.He understands that if he tries to drill in again, there will be no good results. He can only be arrested himself, and today's plan definitely does not include the item of detention. Therefore, he came to the crack in the cliff, where it was quieter and no one would disturb him. Now, the man with the black beard and eye circles swollen from the scorching sun and insomnia was sitting on the stone, his brows were furrowed, his mind was full of thoughts.Sometimes he sighed and untied the dirty long gown that had been wandering around in it for an unknown amount of time and had turned from sky blue to off-white. He looked at his chest that was dripping with dirt and sweat and was wounded by the spear handle, and sometimes he couldn't bear it. In the midst of grief, he looked up at the three giant vultures circling in the sky (these three carrion raptors, who foresaw a rich feast, had already been circling in the sky), and sometimes stared desperately at the yellow land in front of him, looking at a piece of broken land. A dog skull and tuataras crawling around it. The great pain that could not be contained in his heart made him talk to himself from time to time.Enduring great mental torture, he swayed on the stone, scratched his dark chest with his nails, and cursed himself: "Ah! What a fool I am! What a fool, what a woman without a brain! Bastard! A dead body! I'm not human!" He drooped his head and remained silent.After a while, he drank a few sips of warm water from the wooden jug, and he regained his energy.From time to time, he touched the knife hidden under the long gown in his bosom, and then touched the parchment on the stone in front of him, a small pointed wooden stick next to it, and a small skin bag filled with ink. There are already some words written on the parchment: Time is passing, and I, Levi Matthew, remain on Bald Mountain, and death has not yet come! What is written below is: The sun has set to the west, but death has not yet come. Now, in desperation, Levi Matthew wrote this line with a sharp stick: God, why are you angry with him?Give him death quickly! After writing this sentence, he sobbed for a while without tears, and then scratched his chest with his nails. Levi Matthew was so sad and hopeless because of the terrible setbacks suffered by both Yeshua and himself, and, in his own opinion, also because of his own great mistakes made by Matthew.The day before yesterday, Yeshua and Matthew were guests at the home of a vegetable grower in Bethphage, a suburb of Jerusalem, because the vegetable grower loved listening to what Yeshua preached.The two guests had helped the host in the vegetable garden for a long time that morning, and they planned to wait until the evening was cooler before going to town.But for some reason, Yeshua was in a hurry to leave, saying that he had something urgent to do in the city, so he went to Jerusalem alone just after noon.This was Levi Matthew's first mistake.Why, why did he let Yeshua go alone? ! In the evening, Matthew himself was unable to go to the city again, because he suddenly fell ill.He was shivering all over, his body was as hot as coals, his teeth were chattering, and he kept asking for water.Unable to walk at all, he lay down on his horse in the vegetable shed until dawn the next day (Friday).Who would have thought that his illness would heal overnight.Although he was still weak and his legs were weak, he was disturbed by some foreboding, and he took leave of his master, and set out for Jerusalem.After entering the city, he found that the premonition was right-the catastrophe was coming.Matthew and the crowd heard the verdict pronounced by the governor. When the prisoners were sent to Mount Bald, Matthew ran forward along with the two rows of guards in the guard vehicle among the curious crowd, and tried every means to secretly let Yeshua know that there was still him, Levi Matthew, beside him. Beside, he did not abandon him in this last journey of life, he prayed for his quick death.But Yeshua looked directly at the distance he was taken to, and of course he didn't notice Matthew. When the convoy had traveled more than a mile, Matthew, who was running along in the crowd outside the guard line, suddenly had a simple and wise idea. He was very excited about it, and couldn't help cursing himself for not thinking of it earlier.The guard lines on both sides of the convoy were not very dense, and there was some distance between the front and rear guards.If he saw the right timing and moved quickly, he could rush from among the guards to the torture chariot with a single bend, and jump on the chariot, then Yeshua would be spared the torture. It only takes a moment to drive the knife into Yeshua's back and shout to him: "Yeshua! I come to save you and I go with you! I am Matthew, your faithful and only disciple. !" If God had given him one more moment of freedom, he could have thrust the knife into his chest again, so as not to die on the stake.However, Matthew, the former tax collector, did not give much thought to this second point.He doesn't care how he dies.He only hoped that Yeshua, who had never done anything bad to anyone in his life, would no longer be tortured in pain. The plan was good, but there was a problem: Matthew had neither a knife nor a penny with him. Levi Matthew squeezed out of the crowd angrily, and ran back towards the city.There was only one crazy idea in his burning head: to get a knife in the city by any means immediately, and run back to catch the execution vehicle. He ran to the city gate, nimbly squeezed through the city gate among the camels and crowds swarming into the city, and immediately saw a bakery with its door open on the left side of the road.Matthew, who was out of breath from running on the hot road, tried his best to control his breathing, and swaggered into the bakery.He greeted the proprietress standing at the counter and asked her to bring him the big bun on the top shelf, and he seemed to have a particular fancy for that one.As soon as the proprietress turned around, Matthew quietly picked up the long bread knife on the counter and slipped away.This knife couldn't be better, sharpened like a razor.A few minutes later, Matthew was already running on Jaffa Avenue, but he could no longer see the execution convoy in front of him.He continued to press on, sometimes obliged to lie motionless on the ground to catch his breath and draw the amazed looks of those who were heading for Jerusalem on mules or on foot.He lay on the ground and heard his heart beating not only in his chest but also in his skull and ears.After a short breath, he got up and continued running, but at a slower and slower pace.When he saw a large group of people flying in the dust in front of him from a distance, that team had already reached the foot of the mountain. "Oh, God..." Matthew groaned in pain, realizing that he was late.He was indeed late... The execution had lasted for a full four hours, and Matthew's pain reached its extreme.He fell into a state of madness: he got up from the rock, threw the stolen and now useless knife on the ground, smashed the magic jug with his foot, cut off his water supply, tore off the turban, grabbed The thinning hair cursed itself viciously. He cursed himself gibberish, snarled, spit, and even resented his parents for having such a fool. Cursing and complaining are of no avail.Nothing under the scorching sun has changed.So Matthew closed his eyes, clenched his two thin fists, and stretched out to the sky, to the sun, to the sun that was getting lower and lower at this moment, stretching the shadow longer and longer, and was about to fall into the Mediterranean Sea.He asked God for an immediate miracle to grant Yeshua death immediately. Matthew opened his eyes and saw that everything on the hill was still the same, but the two glowing spots on the squadron leader's chest went out.The sun is shining on the backs of several prisoners facing Jerusalem.Then he cried out aloud: "I curse you, God!" He yelled at the top of his voice that he had seen through it all, that God was not fair, and that he no longer believed in God. "God, you're deaf!" Matthew roared, "if you weren't deaf, you'd hear my cry, and you'd kill him right away!" Matthew closed his eyes, waiting to be struck dead by God's thunder.But that didn't happen either.So Matthew closed his eyes and continued to curse the sky viciously and loudly.He cried out his disappointment that there were many other gods, and all other religions!Other gods will never and never let a person like Yeshua be sunburned to death alive on the cross! "I was wrong in the past!" Matthew's voice was completely hoarse. "You are an evil god! Or is it that the cigarette smoke in the temple completely covers your eyes? Could it be that your ears can only hear the priests?" Loud hymns, and hear nothing else? You are not the Almighty God! You are the God of Darkness! I curse you, curse the robber god, the robber's protector, the robber's soul!" At this moment, Levi Matthew felt something blow on his face, and then something rustled at his feet.Then blew him again.So he opened his eyes, and he saw: the world had changed, whether it was because of the effect of his curse, or for some other reason, it had changed anyway.The sun is out of sight, but it doesn't sink into the sea it sinks into every night.A thick black cloud rising in the western sky swallowed the sun, and was coming towards the hill with unstoppable momentum, white spray off its edge, and yellow reflections from its smoky black belly.The dark cloud complained and threw out a few dazzling chains of fire from time to time.On the road leading to Jaffa, in the barren Valley of Zeon, above the tents of the pilgrims, a strong wind suddenly blew up, rolling up countless dust pillars.Levi Matthew was silent.He was thinking: Will the heavy thunderstorm that is about to fall on Jerusalem bring any change to Yeshua's unfortunate fate?So he looked up at the silver chains that split the dark clouds and began to pray, asking the lightning to hit the cross that bound Yeshua quickly.At this time, the flying white vultures could no longer be seen in the blue sky that had not been swallowed up by the black clouds, and they also went to avoid the thunderstorm.Levi Matthew looked regretfully at the blue sky, and secretly regretted that he should have been so eager to curse God, who now would not hear his prayers. Matthew turned his gaze down the mountain, and couldn't help but be attracted by the place guarded by the cavalry: the mountain has also undergone great changes.From a height, he could see clearly that the cavalry was hastily pulling up their spears and putting on their cloaks, and several horse watchers were leading a few black-maned horses galloping away.The cavalry squadron was clearly about to move.Matthew covered the dust flying towards his face with his hands, spit, and tried to guess: What does it mean that the cavalry is preparing to withdraw?He moved his eyes to the mountainside again, and saw a man in a purple military cloak walking towards the execution ground on the top of the mountain.A premonition of a happy ending made Matthew the tax collector feel tense. The person who came up the hill when the prisoners had been tortured for more than four hours was the captain of the Roman army brigade galloping up from Jerusalem with orderlies.Squadron Nian Mark gave an order, and the soldiers immediately flashed a way.Mark went forward to salute the tribunes of the brigade.The captain took Mark aside and whispered something to him.Mark saluted again, and walked towards the executioners sitting on the stone next to the cross.The tribune approached the man sitting on the three-legged stool, who rose respectfully to meet him.The tribune whispered a few more words to him, and they walked together towards the cross, the captain of the temple guard hastening to follow. Mark glanced contemptuously at the pile of rags next to the cross—the clothes that the executioners disdained from the prisoners, and ordered two of the executioners: "follow me!" From the nearest cross came a hoarse, inarticulate singing.And bound to this cross is Hestas, who in less than three hours has lost his mind in the fly sun, singing a song about grapes.But he was still able to shake his turbaned head now and then, and with each shake a layer of flies would fly up and land on his face listlessly. Dismas on the second cross stake suffered the most because he did not pass out.He kept tilting his head evenly to the left and right, and reached for his shoulders with his ears to drive away the flies. Yeshua was luckier than all of them.Not long after being tied up, he became dizzy for a while, and soon passed out completely.His head hangs down and the turban has come loose.So his face was covered with flies and bullfrogs, and his whole face was covered by a constantly moving black thing.In the groin, on the belly, on the chest, under the armpits, there were fat gadflies sucking on the waxy yellow naked body. With a few gestures the hooded man ordered one executioner to fetch a spear, another a bucket and a sponge.The first man walked up to Yeshua's cross, raised the butt of his spear, and stabbed him several times in each of his outstretched arms, which were tied with ropes to the crosspiece.His skinny body trembled.The executioner struck Yeshua's belly again with the butt of his spear.Yeshua raised his head, and the flies buzzed up.Only then did he see the victim's face: the eyes were swollen high, and the entire face was completely swollen from bites, making it almost unrecognizable. Yeshua struggled to open his eyelids and glanced down.His usually clear eyes were cloudy. "Nazarene!" cried the executioner. The Nazarene's swollen lips moved a few times, and he asked in a hoarse and rough voice: "What do you need? Why come to me?" "Drink water!" said the executioner, lifting the water-soaked sponge with the tip of his spear to Yeshua's lips.Yeshua's eyes shone with joy, and he pressed his lips to the sponge, sucking greedily.At this time, Dismas's angry voice came from the cross next to him: "It's not fair! I'm as much a robber as he is." Dismas tried to struggle, but he couldn't move: each arm was bound tightly to the crossbar in three places.He tightened his abdomen, grasped both ends of the crossbar with his fingers, and turned his head to the cross of Yeshua, with anger in his eyes. Suddenly a gust of wind blew up, and the flying dust covered the sky, and the execution ground was suddenly much darker.After the wind passed, the squadron leader shouted: "On the second pillar, shut up!" Dismas fell silent, but Yeshua's lips left the sponge.Yeshua tried to speak in a gentle and sincere tone, but could not do so, and he begged the executioner in a hoarse voice: "Give him a drink." It was getting darker all around.The dark clouds had already covered half of the sky, and they were rushing towards Jerusalem swiftly. The rolling white clouds rushed to the front, followed by the lead-like dark clouds full of water and lightning.Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning, and a loud noise shook the entire hill.The executioner removed the sponge from the tip of the spear. "Thank you Lord Governor for your generosity!" the executioner whispered solemnly to Yeshua, and then stabbed him lightly in the heart with the tip of his spear.Yeshua shuddered and said in a low voice: "My lord governor..." Blood flowed down his chest and abdomen, his jaw trembled a few times, and his head drooped. When the second thunder rang, the executioner was giving Dismas a drink and saying the same words: "Thank you, Governor!" As he said, he also stabbed him to death. The insane Hestasni executioner came up and cried out in terror, but as soon as the sponge touched his lips he grunted something and bit it tightly.After a few seconds, his body was completely lowered, and he was only tied to the post by a few ties. The hooded man followed the executioner and the squadron leader, and behind him the captain of the temple guard.He walked to the first pillar, looked carefully at the bloody Yeshua, touched Yeshua's feet with his white hand, and said to the people around him: "died." He did the same with the other two crosses. After this, the tribune gestured to the squadron leader, turned and walked down the hill with the captain of the guard and the man in the hood.The surroundings were already dark, only streaks of flashes pierced the black sky.Suddenly, a burst of fire erupted from the sky, and the squadron leader's command to "remove the post!" was drowned out by the rumbling thunder.The happy soldiers ran down the hill while wearing their helmets.Darkness has completely enveloped the entire city of Jerusalem. As soon as the infantry squadron ran halfway up the mountain, the torrential rain suddenly fell, and the rain was unprecedentedly violent.When the squadron reached the foot of the mountain, the turbulent current had already chased it down from the mountain.The soldiers ran sideways on the muddy mud, falling into the muddy water from time to time, eager to run onto the flat road.On the avenue, the drenched cavalry squadron could be vaguely seen through the rain curtain, galloping into the city of Jerusalem.A few minutes later, there was only one person left on the dark mountain with thunder, lightning, rain and fire.Swinging the long knife that was not stolen in vain, this man stumbled on the muddy hillside towards the cross on the top of the hill. He slipped and got up again, grabbed everything he could grab, and sometimes even walked on his knees; Sometimes his figure disappeared in the darkness, and sometimes it was illuminated by flashes of light. He finally struggled to the stake, stood in the water up to his feet, and took off his heavy gown that was soaked in rain.Wearing only a blouse, he leaned on Yeshua's leg, cut the rope binding his knees first, then climbed onto the lower beam of the stake, hugged Yeshua's body with one hand, and cut the upper beam with the other. Rope that binds the arms.Yeshua's wet, naked body fell on top of Levi Matthew, pinning him to the ground.Matthew wanted to immediately pick him up and walk away, but suddenly another thought left him behind.He let Yeshua's body lie on his back in the muddy water with his arms outstretched for a while, and then he staggered and ran towards the other two wooden posts by stepping on the muddy mud.He also cut the ropes of the two nearby crosses, and let the two corpses fall to the ground. A few minutes later, only two bodies and three empty crosses remained on the top of the hill.The corpse was washed by the rain and turned over. At this time, neither Levi Matthew nor Yeshua's body was seen on the top of the mountain.