Chapter 238: Dusk Approaches

Crows cry, shadows are chaotic, the evening sky is about to darken.

In the vast Jingzhou Chief Clerk's office, only Liu Yin's family of five, plus a few slaves, were kneeling in the courtyard. Censor Zhang Bin (an administrative official sent by the imperial court to supervise money and grain in various commanderies, similar to a financial regulatory bureau) led several teams of yamen soldiers who filed in and stood in solemn formation.

The heavy dusk pressed down, dragging everyone's shadows long. Liu Yin's forehead pressed against the cold ground, and he could vaguely hear the forced, suppressed sobbing of his family behind him.

Twelve imperial guards (imperial envoys' attendants) dressed in Yulin white robes, with hundred-refined steel sabers at their waists, stood in a row, their figures like pines. Wang Yi stood on the steps, holding a yellow hemp imperial decree, his cold voice echoing in the suffocating Chief Clerk's office:

"Under the Gate:

The 'Spring and Autumn Annals' punishes intent, which ritual must punish; the 'Monthly Ordinances' regulate the law, and the times must not be lax.

Liu Yin, Chief Clerk of Jingzhou and concurrently Governor of Nanjun, is a humble scholar of low origin, lacking in integrity and reputation.

Taking advantage of the times, he suddenly held important power. With the capacity of a small vessel, he usurped the position of a regional official.

Not thinking of repaying the state, he instead acted with harsh cruelty. He recklessly initiated penal cases and abused the arrest of scholars.

He trampled on those talented in classical studies, applying the three wooden instruments at will; he crushed those with pure reputations, abandoning the five hearings.

This caused the schools to stop chanting, and slanderous discussions rose on the roads; the granaries were neglected, and complaints were heard everywhere among the people.

Is this not proof of usurping power and prestige, and bullying the superiors and oppressing the inferiors?

He is hereby stripped of all official duties, demoted to remain in this province, and appointed to the position of Water Works Adjutant.

Let the responsible officials announce this, and let it be implemented immediately.

Eighth year of Yongming, seventh month, Xinchou day (date of decree issuance), Gentleman-in-Waiting Wang Yi, official title and seal, announces."

At the end of the decree, there were also the signatures and routine formats of several officials from the Secretariat and the Chancellery responsible for drafting, reviewing, and issuing, such as "Respectfully received. The decree is as on the right." "Respectfully reiterated, please allow it to be implemented externally," and the Son of Heaven's imperial seal. However, these formats were not read when announcing the imperial decree.

Liu Yin knocked his head to the ground, word by word:

"Subject, Liu Yin, respectfully receives the decree."

Wang Yi handed the decree to the guard beside him. The guard walked to Liu Yin, who bowed and knocked his head again, receiving the decree with both hands, holding it above his head. Wang Yi's expression relaxed a lot. He stretched his muscles and said to Zhang Bin:

"I will leave the matters of handing over the seals and sealing the treasury to you."

Zhang Bin hurriedly bowed and said: "Your Excellency, rest assured. Once this official finishes, I will report back to Your Excellency immediately."

Wang Yi put his hands behind his back: "Let's go."

"This official will see you off."

At this point, Liu Yin's wife and children could no longer hold back and burst into loud sobs. Liu Yin remained expressionless.

"By the way." Wang Yi stopped and looked at Liu Yin:

"Adjutant Liu, I discovered on my boat trip to Jing that your waterways are a bit shallow, especially at Jiangjin Ferry, where it is difficult to dock boats. I heard that there is more and more silt upstream, leading to sedimentation, and there have been riverbank collapses and illegal logging of willow trees on the banks recently. Now that you are the Water Works Adjutant, this is your duty."

Liu Yin folded his sleeves and bowed woodenly: "This subordinate accepts the order."

The setting sun and evening drums fell on the eaves, the sound of flower sellers was fragmented, and the sound of the market was like boiling water.

Wang Yang walked through the noisy long street with his arms crossed. Chen Qingshan followed silently behind.

Wang Yang's steps were slow but extremely steady, like a lonely boat slowly crossing the sea as the tide came and went. The tide parted before him and closed behind him. The sound of the peddler's oil pan, the laughter of children, the hawking of the tavern, the shouting of the mirror polisher... various sounds slid past his side, all passing through his ears, but not a single sound touched his body.

The goods in the Linjiang Warehouse had already been taken away. This was within his expectations. The Prince of Badong had greeted him before and said that he would transport the goods in a few days, but he didn't expect it to be so fast.

After he left the warehouse, the second place he went to was the Ruyi Tower. As a result, the Ruyi Tower was under renovation, and the secret passage was blocked. Only after asking did he learn that the shopkeeper had been changed. Xiao Baoyue had said that after he made the color-changing jacket, they were even, and she would not make any more requests in the future, and Wang Yang would not need to come to her courtyard again.

Wang Yang didn't quite believe this at the time, but now it seems that what Xiao Baoyue said was likely true. And to put it another way, Xiao Baoyue had already crossed the river and no longer needed the bridge. She might not be able to dismantle the bridge for the time being. But to dismantle a bridge, one doesn't necessarily have to do it oneself...

What Wang Yi said had a certain deceptive quality and easily lowered people's defenses. If Wang Yi's words matched his heart, then for Wang Yang, it was a relatively smooth situation. But one needs to be optimistic in adversity and vigilant in prosperity. Although Wang Yi's words were pleasing, there was a key loophole: when things have nothing to do with oneself, one can naturally hang high and watch, but in this matter, Wang Yi had entered the game in person, which was equivalent to vouching for Wang Yang's identity in front of the Prince of Badong.

His vouching was different from Xie Xinghan saying at the Wang banquet that she had seen Wang Yang in Yixing Commandery. Xie Xinghan was not a member of the Wang family, so it was normal for her to have seen him once and not know his background. But Wang Yi had stated firmly that he had seen him, and no matter what Wang Yang said, he responded to it all without any evasion.

Whether Wang Yi did this for profit, out of necessity, or for some other reason, there must be a sufficient reason for him to take this risk. Or perhaps he still felt that even if he did this, there would be no problems, and that neither the Prince of Badong nor Wang Yang would have any problems...

Wang Yang thought intently, unconsciously lowering his arms, and suddenly there was something in his hand.

He raised his hand to look, and his originally deep gaze froze for a moment.

It was a piece of sesame candy.

"It's very sweet." Chen Qingshan didn't know when she had stood by Wang Yang's side, holding a lotus leaf package, and "recommended" it with an extremely serious expression.

Wang Yang put the sesame candy into his mouth and smiled: "It is indeed very sweet."

Seeing Wang Yang smile, Chen Qingshan's phoenix eyes flashed with a hint of joy, and she continued to take candy from her purse for Wang Yang to eat. Wang Yang said: "One piece is enough. I'm having a big meal tonight, why eat so much candy?"

"A big meal? Is it that Hongmen Banquet?"

Wang Yang smiled: "Yes, it is that Hongmen Banquet, but... one can also eat well at a Hongmen Banquet."

Chen Qingshan thought for a moment and asked: "Are we going now?"

"It's too early now, let's go to a place first."

"Eh? Didn't you go to Nanping Commandery?" Liu Tan was quite surprised to see Wang Yang.

Wang Yang said naturally: "I didn't go, my uncle came."

Liu Tan was overjoyed, grabbed Wang Yang's arm, and said excitedly:

"That's great! Take me to see your uncle!" Then he felt his tone was a bit rude and added: "Is that okay?"

Wang Yang suddenly asked: "Do you believe me, or do you believe my uncle?"

Liu Tan was stunned: "What do you mean by that?"

Wang Yang looked into Liu Tan's eyes:

"I can save Liu Cheng, but the premise is that you only believe in me."

Liu Tan looked at Wang Yang's serious expression, his expression was uncertain, and the hand grabbing Wang Yang's arm slowly loosened...

Dark night, dim lights, small courtyard, narrow alley.

Two little slaves were cleaning the courtyard, and several strong men in coarse hemp clothes were moving furniture into the courtyard.

Four tall men stood in the courtyard, dressed in bright clothes, all wearing short sabers at their waists, staring closely at the room door, their eyes very sharp.

Behind the door, a man who was dressed and looked quite wealthy was examining the furnishings in the room, frowning slightly:

"This place is too simple. How about this, I'll wrong you to stay for one night, and I'll find you a good residence tomorrow."

Liu Yin poured tea and pushed the teacup over:

"Steward Zhai, please."

"Oh, thank you, thank you."

Steward Zhai glanced at the teacup but didn't drink.

"The Prince approved four words for your matter—'Not a crime of war.' The Prince said that although you were at fault, the main responsibility does not lie with you. This situation in Jingzhou is indeed difficult to handle; it wouldn't be easy for anyone else either."

Liu Yin sighed: "The Prince is compassionate, Liu Yin is ashamed."

Steward Zhai changed the subject:

"It's just that this case is too big, and the Prince cannot protect you. Returning to your original post is impossible. But he won't let you stay here as an Adjutant forever. You stay until the end of the year. Rest assured, I have already greeted Yin Tancan, the Chief Clerk (Provincial Secretary-General, head of the Provincial General Office), and there won't be any major issues. Once the wind blows over, I will find an opportunity to transfer you to Jiangzhou to be a Penal Adjutant (Director of the Judicial Bureau), and then it will be up to you. As long as your performance review is top-tier for three consecutive years, you can be transferred back to the capital in a legitimate way. Penal matters are your specialty, so it shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Liu Yin bowed solemnly:

"I will do my best and not fail the Prince's grace."

"Good, I will convey your words to the Prince. However, you have just lost power. Although Yin Tancan is mediating, there will be no shortage of trouble. It is best if you don't attract attention during this time. The Prince's meaning is that you first hand over the accounts to me for safekeeping, and I will return them to you once it is confirmed to be safe."

"Now?"

"Of course, handing over early is actually a good thing for you. Rest assured, these businesses are all operated by you, and the Prince sees both your merit and your hard work. I am just keeping them for you. In this matter, the Prince trusts you more. Besides, I still have duties in the Wang Fu and won't stay in Jingzhou for long. Once you have completely passed the hurdle, I will return them to you perfectly."

Liu Yin frowned and said:

"Steward Zhai is wrong. The business belongs to the Prince. I am just keeping it for him, just like you. How can it be called 'returning perfectly'? I am already a person guilty of crimes. The Prince not punishing me is already a great reward. What face do I have to manage the accounts?"

Steward Zhai smiled:

"I said it wrong. But you don't have to say that. The Prince values your talent. Jingzhou and Jiangzhou are the Prince's money bags. If it were me, if the income were less, I would inevitably be scolded. To tell you the truth, if it weren't for the Prince's order, I really wouldn't want to take this job. I hope you can stand firm as soon as possible, so I can unload this burden and return to the capital to report."

"Then I will trouble Steward Zhai. I will go get the account books."

"Thank you."

Liu Yin went into the inner room and came out after a while holding a wooden box, which he placed in front of Steward Zhai:

"Everything is in here."

Steward Zhai opened the wooden box, took out the account books, and asked suspiciously: "Why is there so little..."

The oil lamp suddenly went out.

Liu Yin covered Steward Zhai's mouth, and the dagger stabbed fiercely into his left chest!

At the same time the lamp went out, a little slave outside the courtyard knocked over a slop bucket, and the swill splashed onto the clothes and pants of the four saber-wielding men. In the moment they cursed and lowered their heads, the laborers who were moving furniture in the courtyard suddenly moved like flying, swarmed up from behind the four men, and stabbed wildly with daggers!

Outside the room was a scarlet warmth, and the ground was sticky like mud.

Inside the room, Steward Zhai's mouth and nose were tightly sealed by a pale palm, and he could only make muffled, indistinct groans. Fresh blood gushed out along the dagger blade, quickly soaking his chest.

Liu Yin's forehead was soaked with sweat, and he stabbed with force, one after another, while saying in Steward Zhai's ear:

"Give, Prince, dream, my Liu Yin's life, not easy to take!"

——————

Note: During the Western Jin Dynasty, the previous precedent was followed, and the decree was sent to the Secretariat after drafting. By the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was changed to be reviewed and signed by the Chancellery first. In fact, general historical documents rarely preserve the complete format of the imperial decree (the content of the main text is also often abbreviated). The slightly more complete ones are in the "Wenguan Cilin," and all the Southern Dynasties imperial decrees in the "Wenguan Cilin" use "Under the Gate" as the header, rather than the "Imperial Decree" of the Western and Eastern Han periods. The "Book of Sui, Treatise on Officials" records the procedure for issuing decrees in the Chen Dynasty: "Draft the decree, report it to the throne, the decree is approved, write it on yellow paper and send it out of the Chancellery. The Chancellery responds to the decree and asks to be implemented externally." Therefore, the beginning of the decree is Under the Gate.

Of course, there is also a form of "Central Decree," which does not go through the Chancellery, which will be written about later.

Ps. Influenced by modern Western literary views, when talking about literature, one first thinks of poetry, drama, and novels, as if they are more like "literature" than other categories (in fact, they are more like Literature in the modern English world). This perspective extends to literary research on the style of imperial decrees, leading to two problems. One is ignoring the literary nature of imperial decrees, creating serious stereotypes, such as... forget it, there are too many examples and it offends people, so I won't list them.

The second is that research on imperial decrees is limited to impressions such as what metaphors, what magnificence, and what majesty, staying at the level of surface style, lacking problem consciousness and methodological self-awareness, which makes research degenerate into reading and appreciation-type "floating words" or "conclusions without thinking" like textbooks.

In fact, returning to the historical context of the Six Dynasties, imperial decrees are undoubtedly first-class texts. Those who drafted the decrees were also the best of the time. Using first-class writers to write first-class texts, is this not a magnificent event in literature? (Wang Rong is now a Secretariat Gentleman, also one of the officials responsible for drafting decrees.) Therefore, medieval literature attaches great importance to it. "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" and "Selections of Refined Literature" both open their doors to it, and "Family Instructions of Master Yan" and "Literary Brush Style" also list it. Yu Jiaxi examined the seventeen volumes and three hundred and sixty-six scrolls of imperial decrees recorded in the "Book of Sui, Treatise on Bibliography" during the Jin Dynasty, "which is three times more than the Great Imperial Decrees of the Tang Dynasty." Imperial decrees were also included in the collection department at that time, and it was not until the "New Book of Tang, Treatise on Bibliography" that they were transferred to the history department, but it was still not a fixed standard.

"Discourses Weighed in the Balance" says "governing the world with documents," while the Southern Dynasties "governed the world with imperial decrees." This does not refer to how the Son of Heaven issued orders to his subjects with the help of imperial decrees, but rather that when facing the legitimacy crisis of half the country, the dignity of the dynasty and the legal system of the emperor were maintained in the wording of the imperial decrees. This is a world created by words. While referring to the enemy, it also redefines itself. This huge communication between reality and ideals was a great test for the drafters of the fourth to sixth centuries. They had to use superb literary skills to find a balance between artistic norms and political intentions, established a stable connection between majesty and beautiful words, maximized the operational arrangement of language elements, selected appropriate narrative strategies, accurately completed non-singular (often complex) expression intentions, and reproduced, or rather reshaped, a kind of fact.

This is a concrete and verifiable case of "literature governing the state."

Literary researchers should have unique skills distinct from historical researchers. The main focus should not be on "what is written," but on "how it is written." Literary researchers should conduct "return-to-the-scene" reading, not only imagining themselves as a reader in medieval China, but also thinking about other possibilities of writing from the author's perspective, thereby judging why the drafter "wrote this way" instead of "that way." Zeng Guofan said that the imperial decree "should be swallowed and spit out" ("Zeng Guofan's Diary"), and Cen Zhongmian said that the parallel-style imperial decree "is easy to be ambiguous" ("History of Sui and Tang"). The task of literary researchers is to make these "swallowing and spitting" and "ambiguity" clear.

The introductory discussion composed of simple lists of literary elements such as complexity, lyricism, parallel prose, and analogy, which has knowledge but no thought, is of little benefit. As for peripheral research, it will certainly not be outdated, but this is the stuff of historians, not what literary researchers should specialize in; literature research is still important, but in the field of imperial decrees, it is difficult to become the hope for future development. The research paradigm that is more likely to "revitalize the overall situation" is—using the method of close reading, based on a clear problem orientation, to seek the literary expression and operational mechanism of power discourse, and to explore the practical strategies and deep structure of imperial decree writing.

Among them, text wording should be used as an academic quantification in the research paradigm of imperial decrees, and close reading of text wording is the only effective means to study this quantification.

It's been a long time since I wrote a long note, because I didn't have time. I wrote a bit more today. I reiterate that I add notes only after modifying the main text of each chapter, so whether there are notes or not has no effect on the length of the main text of the chapter. I will be busy as a dog for the next two weeks, but I will try my best to keep updating! Agumon evolves!! ===== CHAPTER 239 =====