"General Cui, you hold the post of Left General of the Imperial Guards, which makes you a top military commander. Qiu Yizi is only a seventh-rank county magistrate, the lowest among civil officials. On what basis does he give you orders? Qiu Yizi has always been bold and reckless, so it's not surprising that he did something so disrespectful. But General Cui is in a high position, so why does he follow his lead?"
Yin Chengliang's two questions hit the nail on the head, and Cui Nan, who was slow to speak, could not answer them directly. So he simply pretended not to hear Yin Chengliang's questions and continued to play deaf and dumb.
Seeing Cui Nan's dull look, Yin Chengliang was helpless and could only flatter him: "General Cui, we have no grudges in the past or today, why are you making things difficult for us at this critical moment? Is it because I have not been good enough in entertaining General Cui since he came to Jiangnan? If so, please be kind now, General Cui. Once this matter is settled, I will come to the general's central army tent to apologize in person."
Cui Nan waved his hand and said, "There is no grudge between me and the governor, so please don't think too much about it."
"In that case, why doesn't General Cui withdraw his soldiers and let us go? The Japanese officials will definitely come to thank you!" After saying this, Yin Chengliang no longer cared about his status and bowed with his fists clasped.
Unexpectedly, Cui Nan still refused to buy it and remained silent.
Yin Chengliang saw that he had been talking for a long time but General Cui in front of him still looked indifferent. He immediately felt like an ant on the hot pan. If he had not cultivated excellent self-cultivation skills over the past few decades, he would have been scratching his head and at a loss.
Yin Chengliang paced in circles in the hall, then walked up to Cui Nan and said, "General Cui, I am not going to argue with you. I am a high-ranking official of the imperial court, the governor of Jiangnan Province, in charge of more than one-third of the imperial court's tax revenue. Qiu Yizi is just a subordinate of mine, a seventh-rank county official who has been in office for less than half a year. Let me ask you one question, are you on my side or his side?"
Yin Chengliang was confident that there was a huge gap between his status and Qiu Yi's, so it would not be difficult for Cui Nan to make the choice when faced with this multiple-choice question.
Cui Nan did not hesitate and said, "In my opinion, Lord Qiu is more reasonable."
Yin Chengliang was shocked when he heard this.
He has been in charge of Jiangnan for a long time. Although he has tried his best to grasp the court's trends by relying on his relationship with his fellow townsmen and classmates, he is far away from the center after all. He has no idea what kind of relationship Qiu Yizi has with the emperor - and therefore cannot figure out why Cui Nan would favor Qiu Yizi without reservation.
After thinking it over, Yin Chengliang could only think of the possibility that Qiu Yizhi had just gone out and bribed Cui Nan with a large sum of money. So he threw away all his politeness and walked to Cui Nan's ear and whispered, "Did Lord Qiu give a tribute to General Cui? I am willing to double the tribute, just ask Lord to give me some convenience!"
After saying that, Yin Chengliang took off a child's palm-sized jade token from his waist and stuffed it into Cui Nan's hand.
This jade plaque is carved from top-grade Hetian mutton-fat jade from the Western Regions, which is extremely valuable. After being rubbed and played with by generations of collectors for hundreds of years, it has become extremely smooth and emits a pleasing luster.
However, this priceless jade had no value at all in Cui Nan's eyes. He handed it back to Yin Chengliang without a care and continued to sit in the chair with his eyes closed and remained silent.
Seeing Cui Nan still being so indifferent, Yin Chengliang became more and more anxious. He knew that it would be useless to say more, so he simply bypassed Cui Nan and said to the group of soldiers under Cui Nan who were blocking the door: "What are you trying to do? Do you know what crime it is to imprison an official appointed by the court?"
Yin Chengliang paused, then answered himself: "It is a capital crime! No, capital punishment is still a light punishment. If it goes wrong, it will be slow slicing and the whole clan will be implicated!"
However, these soldiers were all brought up by Cui Nan from the old Youyan Dao army. They would not give face or obey anyone's orders except Cui Nan himself and Emperor Zheng Rong, let alone Yin Chengliang's empty threat.
The group of soldiers were seen blocking the exit motionlessly, looking at the furious Yin Chengliang with a mocking expression.
Seeing that his threats had no effect at all, Yin Chengliang had no choice but to lower his head and sit back on the chair under the plaque "A Clear Mirror Hanging High". He also called over a few trusted civil and military officials and gathered together to discuss countermeasures.
After a long discussion, Yin Chengliang stood up from his seat again, walked to the entrance of the county government hall, and shouted to the outside: "Someone come! I have a military order to issue!"
Cui Nan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly became alert when he heard the word "military order". He opened his eyes and asked, "What is Governor Yin going to do?"
Yin Chengliang discussed with his officials and decided to use their numbers to suppress Cui Nan. Seeing Cui Nan asking this question, he thought his plan was successful and said with a smug look on his face: "General Cui has soldiers, and I also have soldiers. Since General Cui can order his soldiers to block the gate, I can also order soldiers to take us out!"
Cui Nan sneered after hearing this and said, "The county government office has been surrounded by me. If Lord Yin wants to call for help, just go ahead."
Yin Chengliang was stunned again and asked in surprise, "So, General Cui is determined to imprison us here?"
Although Cui Nan was taciturn, he did not want to bear the charge of imprisoning an imperial official, so he smiled and said a few more words: "It's not imprisonment, but I just want you to stay here for a while longer. Just tell me all the supplies, and I will send people to meet them. You just can't step out of the hall."
Although Cui Nan spoke politely, how different is “not being able to step out of the lobby” from “being imprisoned here”
Yin Chengliang naturally couldn't accept it, and he didn't believe that Cui Nan had really cleared out the county government office without saying a word, so he continued to shout at the top of his voice: "Someone come! Someone come! Someone come!" However, he still didn't see any of his subordinates who usually followed him around.
By the end, even Yin Chengliang himself had lost hope. With a hoarse voice and a hint of tears, he shouted, "Someone, come! Is there anyone outside the door breathing? Even a squeak would be helpful!"
Cui Nan was annoyed by his shouting and said, "Sir Governor, please stop shouting. Even if you call the soldiers from Jiangnan, they won't come to my place to die."
After hearing this, Yin Chengliang fell silent. He knew in his heart that Cui Nan was right - he had gathered nearly ten thousand Jiangnan Dao Jiedushi troops and attacked fiercely for several days against all odds before he managed to subdue Qiu Yizi, who had less than twenty men. But now Cui Nan had thousands of men under his command, and he was in his hands again. If he attacked, he would inevitably be cautious and would have no chance of winning.
But now is not the time to give up easily.
You have to know that Qiu Yizhi's case is of great importance. In order to cover up the past, he mobilized so many people and lost so many soldiers, and barely gained the upper hand. He still has no idea how to deal with the aftermath. Now that Cui Nan has done this, not only has the initiative changed hands in an instant, but it is even more difficult to cover up after such a lot of trouble.
If this matter fails in the end, not to mention his own disgrace, the Jiangnan officialdom that he has worked so hard to build will also be greatly shaken, and his so-called fellow townsmen and classmates who are related to him will also be liquidated, and his fellow clansmen, young and old, will have no chance of turning things around.
Thinking of this, Yin Chengliang felt a chill down his spine. He didn't know where he got the courage from, but he suddenly pulled out the sword worn by one of his generals. He picked a slightly short but sturdy soldier from among the group of soldiers blocking the door under Cui Nan's command, pointed his sword at his nose, and shouted sternly: "Are you going to give way or not? If you don't, I'll chop you to death right now!"
The soldier was also a brave warrior who had survived hundreds of battles. How could he be frightened by the bluffing of a skinny scholar like Yin Chengliang? He simply turned his face away and ignored him.
Yin Chengliang seemed to have been greatly insulted for a moment, and his head felt dizzy. In a daze, he raised his sword and chopped at the soldier's shoulder!
The short and strong soldier originally thought that Yin Chengliang would not dare to attack him, so he was caught off guard and was hit by the knife on his shoulder without dodging. Blood immediately flowed out. However, Lao Youyan said that the army emphasizes "obeying orders and prohibiting prohibitions". He was so seriously injured, but he did not move at all, letting the blood flow down, and his feet did not move at all.
Yin Chengliang was, after all, a weak scholar. When he saw this scene, he was immediately frightened by himself. He even forgot to pull out the sword that had cut into the soldier's shoulder. He staggered back a few steps and almost fell on his back.
Yin Chengliang's reckless behavior finally angered General Cui Nan, who had been patient for a long time.
He jumped up from the chair and kicked it to pieces. He walked up to Yin Chengliang, grabbed him by the collar, and shouted, "How dare you!"
The Left General Cui Nan had climbed up to his current position step by step, relying on his military exploits in hundreds of battles with swords and spears. He had killed countless enemies with his own hands, and there was a terrifying murderous aura about him - especially the half-red and half-purple scar on his face that ran down his left cheek. It rose and fell under the pull of the twitching muscles on his face, making him look even more terrifying.
Yin Chengliang was frightened by Cui Nan's ferocious look. He seemed to have forgotten that the incident was caused by him. He kept struggling to break free from Cui Nan's big hand, while asking: "What are you doing? What are you doing?"
Cui Nan ignored him completely, holding onto his collar with his right hand without letting go, and turned to instruct his soldiers, "Why don't you help him down and hand him over to the military doctor for careful treatment?"
Yin Chengliang seemed to have regained his senses and said with an apologetic smile: "General Cui, why do you have to be like this? He is just a small soldier. I was wrong just now. I will pay more money and comfort him."
Cui Nan was originally a soldier, but was selected from the ranks by the wise King of Youyan, Zheng Rong, because he had real talent in using troops. Therefore, he was the most generous in leading the troops, and he hated those acts of oppressing the soldiers.
Yin Chengliang had no idea of such a background, and with just a few words he completely aroused the anger in Cui Nan's heart.
Cui Nan no longer cared about respect and dignity. He picked up Yin Chengliang like a chicken and threw him in front of the soldiers blocking the door. He ordered his soldiers: "Take off your armor!" (To be continued)