Hearing Lao Long's description of the "bald spy", Ji Yuan couldn't help laughing.
"Although I said it seriously, Master Huitong does have real skills. He has profound Buddhist knowledge and is protected by merits. He will be able to turn misfortune into fortune."
Luck is something that sometimes goes up and sometimes goes down, and sometimes it seems very mysterious. Even those who practice Taoism cannot fully grasp it. But there is a saying that merit can help luck, and the more pure the merit is without too many desires, the more so. Ji Yuan is also willing to believe this.
Monk Huitong had an aura of merit, and it was relatively pure. Most of it was the result of his sincere participation in various Dharma assemblies to pray for blessings and eliminate disasters. He also had the merit of liberating some wronged souls and evil spirits, either by using Buddhist scriptures or the magic of the Vajra King to subdue demons. Anyway, he liberated them.
Therefore, Ji Yuan felt that this monk's fortune would not be too bad, as long as he had good mental qualities and was not too erratic. This was also very reassuring.
While Ji Yuan's thoughts seemed to be drifting with the wind across Tingqiu Mountain, Lao Long beside him looked at the mountain and then at his friend beside him.
"Mr. Ji, I heard that you have a magical sword technique called 'Heaven Falling'. It is said that once this sword technique is used, it has the power to collapse the sky and sink the earth. If you don't have the mentality to fight against the sky, you will be powerless to face this sword power..."
Lao Long paused here before continuing.
"Today I am at Tingqiu Mountain again. I wonder if Mr. Ji would be willing to let me see it?"
Ji Yuan's eyebrows twitched twice. Did Lao Long want to spar with him? This was not a joke!
"It's nothing fancy, just a trick to scare people. Mr. Ying, don't take it seriously. It's just to scare outsiders away from entering Dazhen. Oh, by the way, there's a kind of local wine called 'Daoshao' in Tingshui County, Jinzhou. It tastes pretty good. I slept for half a year after drinking it last time. Now I still feel unsatisfied. It's a good time to go buy some."
Ji Yuan said a few words with a self-deprecating smile, then turned around and walked away on a cloud, directly rejecting Lao Long's proposal to see it.
Seeing that Ji Yuan had already left, Lao Long had no choice but to follow him. He couldn't force others to do such things. In his impression, although Ji Yuan was free and easy, he was also a serious person. So he gave up the idea for the time being.
The sword power sounded very mysterious. Lao Long was already quite interested in it. Especially after meeting the mountain god of Tingqiu Mountain today, he knew that this mountain god was no ordinary person. He became even more curious about how powerful the so-called "sword that overturns the sky" was and whether he could withstand it.
It was a pity that just when he opened his mouth to ask to see it, Ji Yuan tried to change the subject by belittling himself, which made Lao Long feel regretful and he couldn't help but imagine that the sword technique was perhaps too powerful and it was not convenient to use it in Jinzhou at this moment.
. . .
On the other side, in just a cup of tea time, at the foot of a mountain north of Tingqiu Mountain, a cloud of dust rose after the soil moved.
When the smoke and dust cleared, Monk Huitong and the mountain god of Tingqiu Mountain were revealed behind them.
The latter pointed to the mountain stream in the distance and the mountain village road with smoke rising from the side.
"Master, we have already set foot in Tingliang State. This is Nanyue Prefecture. If we continue north, we will enter the heartland of Tingliang State."
"Good be to the Great Light Buddha. Thank you, Mountain God, for seeing me off. I will leave now!"
Monk Huitong bowed to the mountain god, then walked forward with his Zen stick in hand without looking back.
"Master, wait a minute!"
Hearing the mountain god calling him from behind, Monk Huitong turned around and looked at the mountain god in confusion. He saw the latter stretch out his right hand and open his palm, revealing a small orange-yellow stone on it.
"Master, can you lend me your pearl necklace?"
Is this a gift for me
Monk Huitong thought for a moment, took off a string of Buddhist beads from his neck and handed it over.
The mountain god took the Buddhist beads with his left hand, clenched and opened his right palm, and the yellow stone in his hand became round. Then he pressed one of the beads on the Buddhist beads with his thumb.
“Pah~”
The bead fell from the Buddhist beads, bounced on the ground, and was caught by the mountain god. He then returned it to Monk Huitong along with the Buddhist beads with one bead replaced.
"Master, this is an earth stone, also known as a mountain god stone or earth god stone. If you hold it and use it to wield the earth escape talisman, it can have a good effect. If you crush it, it will have a strong earth spirit aura, which can easily attract a local land or mountain god. If you give it to them as a gift, they may help you."
"Mountain God Stone? Thank you, Mountain God Tingqiu, for the gift!"
Monk Huitong bowed sincerely once again before taking the Buddhist beads and putting them back around his neck, while carefully picking up the one that had fallen.
"Okay, Master, please take care. I'm leaving now!"
Seeing that the monks were ready, the mountain god bowed, then sank into the ground and disappeared.
Looking at the direction where the mountain god disappeared, the monk sighed.
"Ah... Even the mountain god wants to give me a treasure, I hope I can turn danger into safety!"
"Jingle Bell… "
The copper ring on the Zen staff rang, and the monk straightened his hat and walked out of the mountain, heading first for the mountain village.
. . .
On the tenth day of September, just one day after the Double Ninth Festival, while Emperor Yuande was still discussing alchemy with the heavenly masters in the court, something happened that had a significant impact on the court.
Chen Yuhe, the Shangshu You Pushe who had just taken office, angered the emperor because of his arrogance and was thrown directly into the prison of the Ministry of Justice.
For a time, Chen Yuhe, who had just been promoted from the position of Wanzhou governor and had been expected to be promoted to prime minister in the future, became a criminal. Although the emperor did not deprive him of his official position for the time being, everyone in the court and the country knew that the emperor was now increasingly suspicious and moody, which was very dangerous. Several censors had been beheaded over the years.
Later, there were rumors that Chen Yuhe, out of fear in the prison, actually confessed some secrets of Wanzhou. As a result, not only did he fail to avoid punishment, but he also angered the emperor, who directly dismissed him from all his official positions and removed him from the Ministry of Shangshu.
This not only caused endless discussions and speculations throughout the court and the public, but when the news was passed back to Wanzhou, countless officials in Wanzhou were uneasy and unable to sleep at night. Chen Yuhe had no idea how many times he had been scolded in private and how many times he had been stabbed with straw men.
At nightfall on October 12, in the backyard of the government office of Lishun Prefecture in Wanzhou.
Yin Zhaoxian was walking around and playing with the baby while his wife was sitting on the bed and looking at her husband and child tenderly.
“Boom boom boom…”
"Master, the prefect of Yunbo Prefecture is here to visit. Would you like to meet him?"
After the knock on the door, the voice of one of Yin Zhaoxian's confidants was heard.
Yin Zhaoxian handed the child to his wife.
"Madam, please take good care of the children. I will go see Lord Zhao."
"Um!"
Yin Zhaoxian nodded and turned around to open the door. What appeared in front of his confidant was the confident smile of his master.
"Let's go and meet Lord Zhao."
When Chen Yuhe got into trouble in the capital, the news was extremely sensitive, and immediately made the officials of Wanzhou, especially those corrupt officials, unable to eat. After much deliberation, many of them sent their confidants to send secret letters to the court to find connections and inquire about the situation.
When most of the secret letters sent to the court fell into oblivion and the few that received replies were unclear, many people thought of Yin Zhaoxian, who was deeply favored by the emperor.
He won the top three places in the imperial examinations and won them consecutively. He was highly regarded by the emperor and was expected to be the prime minister in the future. During this period, he also received many benefits from Wanzhou. The officials of Wanzhou believed that they had become familiar with Prefect Yin.
It’s just that Yin Zhaoxian had been avoiding him before, and this time the prefect of Wanzhou capital also came secretly, and it’s about time.
In fact, there was not only the prefect of Yunbo Prefecture in the reception room, but also several other officials who "happened to" come to visit, in addition to several county magistrates from Lishun Prefecture, there were also several officials from Yunbo Prefecture.
The sound of Yin Zhaoxian's quick footsteps echoed in the corridor, and also lifted the spirits of everyone in the reception room. They all said, "Lord Zhao is still very respectable."
"Master Zhao, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I was just looking after my wife and children... Uh, are you all here too?"
Yin Zhaoxian's voice came in with the crowd, as if he only realized there were so many people when he entered the hall.
"Hello, Lord Yin!" "Lord Yin, you are finally here!"
A group of officials stood up and saluted.
Yin Zhaoxian had a frown on his face and looked troubled. To anyone with a discerning eye, it seemed that he originally only wanted to see Prefect Zhao alone, but in the end he sighed and sat down.
"Yiqiu, take people to guard the hall and surroundings, and do not allow any servants in the mansion to approach!"
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing Yin Zhaoxian's men go out with this order, everyone except Prefect Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and felt a certain anticipation.
Several oil lamps with lampshades illuminated the hall brightly, and Yin Zhaoxian and Prefect Zhao sat at the head of the table.
Yin Zhaoxian stared at the crowd with expressions that were either uneasy or expectant.
"I have some connections in the court. Lord Chen's affairs in the court are... very bad. Although it can be said that it is only his one-sided statement, he has said a lot of things that should and should not be said..."
"Chen Yuhe is such a heartless beast!" "Damn him, he ate the most, but in the end he sold us out!"
“How hateful!”
…
"Please be patient, everyone. Yin said that this is only Mr. Chen's one-sided statement."
"Oh, at this time, Master Yin, you still call that beast Chen Yuhe 'Master'?"
"Yes, Lord Yin values friendship, but friendship cannot be given to the wrong dog!"
Several officials nearby could not help themselves, even Prefect Zhao.
Yin Zhaoxian sighed on his face but sneered in his heart. His friendship was not given easily.
"My Lords, in the past, when the inspectors came to Wanzhou, they could not find anything except for giving benefits. Even if they had suspicions, they had no evidence. In addition, there were people in the court who helped to speak up, so most of the time, nothing would happen. But this time..."
Yin Zhaoxian said with great sorrow.
"This time it was Lord Chen, Chen Yuhe who said it. This is really... Even though there is no evidence, the emperor has begun to believe it. Even if we are innocent, we can't let this go without dragging some people down with us."
Seeing the fear on the faces of several people, Yin Zhaoxian continued to work harder.
"To be honest, the emperor still trusts me. Yesterday, Yin received a secret letter from the emperor, asking me which officials in Wanzhou were corrupt and ordering me to collect evidence. He will send an inspector to investigate later."
At this point, Yin Zhaoxian took out the yellow silk roll with the imperial seal printed on it from his arms, and the officials beside him bowed and saluted as if by reflex.
Yin Zhaoxian quickly reached out to stop him.
"Chen Yuhe actually has a conscience. He only said that 20% of Wanzhou officials were corrupt. This time the emperor was furious, so he asked me to find someone to fill the 20% hole..."
Yin Zhaoxian's voice became lower and lower as he spoke, and he narrowed his eyes.
"There is a saying that goes 'strike first', and there is another saying that goes 'add insult to injury'! Ladies and Gentlemen, I, Yin Zhaoxian, do not want to be one of those 20% of officials!"
A group of officials looked at the imperial seal on Huang Juan and looked at each other with uncertain expressions.
Instead of trying hard to fight alone, it is better to drive the tigers and wolves to fight each other. This was a strategy that Yin Qing had discussed privately with his father before leaving Wanzhou.
In fact, Chen Yuhe only confessed a few people in the Ministry of Justice, including Yin Zhaoxian himself. This was naturally not enough. Even 20% was far from enough...
For the following two months, the entire Wanzhou was shrouded in a dark cloud. The originally united Wanzhou officials were forced by Yin Zhaoxian using various overt and covert means to form a small group where everyone was insecure and hated each other.
As the year draws to a close, a large team of imperial inspectors arrives in Wanzhou. At the same time, a group of experts dispatched from the imperial city secretly arrives in Lishun Prefecture to report to Yin Zhaoxian.
All parties launched attacks at the beginning of the Chinese New Year, catching the officials who thought they had escaped and could relax during the New Year off guard. Before the end of the first month of the year, six out of ten officials in Wanzhou had left, and each county even needed to use deputy officials such as the chief clerk to perform their duties. This incident is known in history as the "Bloody Silk Case."