Qiu Yizhi, who was listening on the side, had different feelings - after the successful suppression of the rebellion last year, he went to visit Yang Yuanzhi, a veteran minister of three dynasties and prime minister of two dynasties; at that time, Yang Yuanzhi knew that he would not live long, but before he died, he talked to him about his experience in garden arrangement, and said that it was too pretentious and lost its natural wildness - which was quite similar to Yin Chengliang's feelings about calligraphy today.
Qiu Yizhi was sighing when he heard Yin Chengliang say, "Your Highness, please look, among these one thousand characters, I can only read seven or eight hundred, twenty or thirty are a bit ugly, and the rest are just average. However, there are quite a few points worth pondering about in the characters written by the ancients Ou, Liu, Yan, and Zhao. Take the four people of the previous dynasty, Su, Huang, Mi, and Cai, for example..."
It seemed that Yin Chengliang was about to talk endlessly about calligraphy.
Qiu Yizi took over the conversation and said, "Master Yin is really well-versed in history and the present! I am not good at calligraphy, so I don't know who the four people you mentioned, Su, Huang, Mi, and Cai, are referring to?"
Yin Chengliang looked at Qiu Yizi who interrupted him with hatred and said, "Master Qiu is a Jinshi, how could he not know this popular allusion? 'Su Huang Mi Cai' refers to Su Yuan, Huang Tingrou, Mi Fu, and Cai Yang..."
(The original names are Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu, and Cai Xiang. The dynasties here are unclear, so pseudonyms are used.)
Qiu Yizi nodded and said, "Oh, I see. I have heard of this before. But it seems that among these four, Cai Yang's calligraphy is slightly inferior to the previous three. I don't know how he can be on par with the other three?"
Yin Chengliang was stunned when he heard this.
Zheng Xin, who was standing by, was also very familiar with historical allusions. He knew the deep meaning of Qiu Yi's words, so he barely suppressed his laughter, pretended to be serious, and said, "Master Qiu doesn't know this. Originally, this Cai Yang was not among the four masters. The 'Cai' here refers to Master Cai. This person's calligraphy is outstanding, and among the four, he is only slightly inferior to Su Yuan. When he was alive, he was highly praised by the literati."
(Master Cai - enlightened by Cai Jing.)
"Then why was he eliminated?" Qiu Yizi asked pretending to be confused.
Yin Chengliang was listening to Zheng Xin and Qiu Yizhi's question and answer, and he already knew the meaning of their conversation, so he interrupted coldly, "Master Cai was a treacherous prime minister in the previous dynasty, and was despised by the scholars, so he was eliminated. Lord Qiu wants to say that I, Yin, am a corrupt official, a greedy official, and an evil official. Please speak frankly, why beat around the bush?"
Qiu Yizi felt embarrassed after hearing what he said. He laughed dryly to cover up the awkward atmosphere. Then he said, "Master Yin, why do you think so? I just took advantage of the good mood of the Grand Prince and Master Yin and listened to a few words about calligraphy. I have some experience."
Without waiting for Yin Chengliang to reply, he continued, "There has been a saying since ancient times that 'people are famous for their writings, and writings are famous for people'. Take this dynasty for example. I remember that Ge Heng, the treacherous prime minister during the reign of Emperor Chengzong, was also very good at calligraphy. At that time, many restaurants and inns in the capital paid him a lot of money to curry favor with the rich and powerful. Ge Heng also loved to leave his calligraphy everywhere, and it became a trend in the capital for a while. However, after Ge Heng's crimes were exposed, all the names of the stores he wrote were removed overnight; even if there were some that remained until now, the signatures were cut off and they have long been forgotten in the streets. So much so that when people mention Ge Heng today, they all despise his character, so who would care about his calligraphy?"
(Ge Heng - Yan Song)
Seeing that Yin Chengliang was listening intently, Qiu Yizhi sighed and said, "The sage of poetry once said, 'Your body and name will perish together, but the rivers and mountains will flow forever.' This is probably what he meant, right?"
Yin Chengliang was stunned by Qiu Yizhi's indirect questioning. It took him a while to react and said, "Master Qiu means that after a hundred years, Yin will definitely have no reputation left?"
Without waiting for Qiu Yizi's answer, Zheng Xin said, "Does Lord Yin still have a good reputation that can be passed down to future generations? Even if he does, it is just a negative example that will serve as a warning to future generations."
Yin Chengliang was stunned again, and after a while he suddenly realized something and said, "It turns out that the eldest prince and Lord Qiu came to Yin's place not to discuss calligraphy with me, but to call me to task."
Zheng Xin sneered and said, "You are quite clear-headed. Let me ask you, have you ever reflected on your own sins during the past few days you have been living in the Buddhist temple?"
Yin Chengliang smiled faintly and said, "It doesn't matter whether Yin reflects on his crime or not. Your Highness can deal with it according to the law. After all, Your Highness has already sent people to Qingya Temple to investigate!"
This time it was Zheng Xin's turn to be stunned. He said in a lost voice, "What? You are under house arrest here, how come you are so well-informed? Who did you hear about me investigating the Qingya Temple?"
Yin Chengliang smiled complacently and said, "Your Highness, please don't bother to find out who leaked the secret. I have worked hard in Jiangnan for nearly twenty years. If I don't have any spies at all, wouldn't I be too incompetent? It would also affect the judgment of the late emperor who promoted me."
Zheng Xin nodded solemnly and said, "In that case, I won't say much about your sins. After all, you have the nerve to do such a shameful thing, but I don't have the nerve to talk about it! I just want to ask you, what are your plans for the future?"
After hearing this, Yin Chengliang suddenly laughed out loud. After laughing for a long while, he said, "I didn't expect that His Highness would be so kind and righteous. At this moment, do I still have any choice? Braised or steamed, how can a fish on the chopping board decide?"
Seeing that Yin Chengliang had a rather carefree attitude, Zheng Xin could not help but admire him, "You have such insight, very good! Your Highness is in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Justice under the order of the Emperor. I have tried many notorious thieves and corrupt officials, but none of them had such character as you. This is not to embarrass the scholars of Jiangnan."
Yin Chengliang said, "I am so ashamed that someone like me could receive such an evaluation from His Majesty. How are you going to deal with me? Why don't you tell me now so that I can be prepared?"
Yin Chengliang's calmness and stability made Zheng Xin feel a little embarrassed. He kept organizing the words in his mind, but still didn't know how to start.
Qiu Yizi had quite a bit of contact with Yin Chengliang, and knew that the governor of Jiangnan was always so solemn and meticulous, so he said, "Sir Yin, let me tell you: you have committed one crime of shamelessness, one crime of privately mobilizing troops, and one crime of failing to govern your subordinates, all of which were personally determined by the emperor. With these three crimes, I'm afraid that no matter how much mercy the emperor shows, you will not be able to escape death."
After hearing this, Yin Chengliang's eyes flashed with a trace of fear, but he immediately recovered and smiled to himself, "I didn't expect that a small official like Yin could actually alarm the emperor! Yin also knows the rules. Since this is a crime determined by the emperor, I will not ask for mercy from His Highness, so as not to make things difficult for him."
Zheng Xin calmed down and said, "It is rare for you to have such an awakening. However, as the saying goes, 'Thunderbolts and raindrops are all grace from heaven'. The emperor has another grace. If you refuse to accept it, it will be a crime of disobeying the emperor's order."
Yin Chengliang seemed to be somewhat desperate after hearing this. He sighed and said, "Then I will leave it to your Highness to decide."
This is considered as admitting defeat and confessing guilt.
Zheng Xin was relieved after hearing this, and then he said seriously: "Yin Chengliang, as a frontier official, you have no moral integrity, and then you shielded your subordinates. You also dared to mobilize soldiers to attack innocent people and confront the imperial envoy in court. All these crimes add up to the fact that you deserve to be sentenced to death by slow slicing. However, the emperor considers that you have been in Jiangnan for more than 20 years, and you are still capable as an official. Even if you have no merits, you have worked hard. Although your crimes are unforgivable, he is unwilling to convict you of such a filthy and sensational crime. Don't you thank him?"
Yin Chengliang knew that he could not escape death, so he said indifferently: "Then Yin must thank the Lord for his grace. However, this can only save the face of the Jiangnan officialdom and even the entire court. This can also be regarded as a meritorious deed of Yin before his death."
Zheng Xin was frightened by his blunt words, and hurriedly said, "It's good that you know." He tried to cover up the past, and then said, "As for what crime to punish you with, the emperor will let me do whatever I want. I think the crimes of treason and conspiracy are too harsh, and your descendants may become pariahs in the future, and it will be difficult for them to turn back; the crimes of damaging morality and being unrighteous are contrary to your daily behavior, and it may be difficult to convince the public; as for the crimes of civil strife and unfilial piety, they are contrary to the orthodox teachings. If I convict you of these crimes, your family will inevitably be implicated by you..."
Yin Chengliang became impatient as Zheng Xin listed the crimes one by one. He said, "Your Highness may be kind and righteous, but you are focusing on the 'Ten Evils'. Isn't that a little inconsistent?"
Yin Chengliang swallowed his saliva and continued, "Your Highness, why don't you give in a little more and just charge me with corruption. I have been doing business in Jiangnan for a long time, and I own countless properties such as land, manors, restaurants, pawnshops, inns, etc. I usually pretend to be cultured and never pay attention to these mundane matters, but I know that I am rich. It is said that one of my housekeepers has done business in Japan and Luzon... In short, it is very easy for Your Highness to start from here..."
Zheng Xin's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he quickly turned around to discuss with Qiu Yizhi: "According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, officials who embezzle money and grain exceeding a certain amount can also be sentenced to death..."
Qiu Yizi nodded hurriedly and said softly, "Moreover, this is often a case of collusion or collusion, which can easily implicate subordinate officials. I think it is appropriate to convict them in this way. Please make your decision, big brother."
Zheng Xin also agreed with this, but he didn't want to simply fulfill Yin Chengliang's wish, so he pretended to be serious and said, "You are so cunning, Yin Chengliang. With just a few words, you escaped from the serious crime of the Ten Evils. You got it easy, didn't you?"
Yin Chengliang was not intimidated when he heard Zheng Xin's rebuke. He said, "I am not the kind of person who would accept favors for nothing. I guess Your Highness only punished me and thought my contribution was too small. It doesn't matter. This kind of corruption often leads to the emergence of mud. As long as Yin writes down his confession, Your Highness will follow the clues and catch all the officials in Jiangnan in one fell swoop!"
Zheng Xin was surprised and delighted when he heard this: In this way, he wouldn't have to waste any more effort to achieve his ultimate mission of sweeping the entire Jiangnan officialdom.
Thinking of this, Zheng Xin almost wanted to thank Yin Chengliang, but he was a shrewd man after all. He calmed himself down and said coldly, "Since Lord Yin is so sensible, I have no choice but to take care of him. I wonder if you have any wishes that need to be fulfilled. Just tell me now, and I will do my best to help you if I can."
But Yin Chengliang finally smiled and said, "This is what I've been waiting for, Your Highness. I've enjoyed all the glory, wealth and happiness in my life, and I have no regrets in my death. I just have a small thing to do, which is just a piece of cake for Your Highness. I hope Your Highness can help me." (To be continued)