Yinshan Record

Chapter 7 Unsolved Case
Su Che recounted his experience of spending the night at Kulin Temple in a truncated manner, omitting the part about meeting the herb gatherer and also erasing the preparations he had made while reviewing the files.

The story becomes very simple: a young official on his way to take up a post takes a dangerous mountain road in order to take a shortcut.

As night deepened, there happened to be an ancient temple ahead where one could find shelter. But in the middle of the night, a blue light suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

He waited for the blue light to fade away on its own, carefully enduring the night.

"What exactly is inside this Kulin Zen Temple?"

Upon hearing this, Instructor Gong lowered his head and ate his food, while Dr. Xu looked away.

County Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian exchanged a glance, and it was Old Tian who started talking.

“Lieutenant Su probably also knows that Guo Bei is full of spirits and Shan Yin has immortals.”

"Some things don't need to be explained too clearly. Let's just touch on them. If County Magistrate Su is interested, he can pay more attention to them in his spare time."

"The Kulin Temple in this county was built by imperial decree of Emperor Taizong of the previous dynasty. As for the reason for its construction, it is both simple and complex."

“During the previous dynasty, there was a great sage in the West. I don’t know why, but he suddenly had the idea to come to my Central Plains to spread the Dharma. He was invited by the emperor of the previous dynasty to practice Buddhism in the palace. Flowers fell from the sky and golden lotuses sprang from the ground. He spread the Dharma in this way for thirty-six years.”

This event was a major one in the history books of the previous dynasty. Later generations often pointed out that the disintegration of the previous dynasty and the evolution of the world into its present state were all related to the arrival of that great Western sage in the East.

When compiling the history books of this dynasty, it was clearly pointed out that it was precisely because of this person's arrival in the east that the previous dynasty became obsessed with Buddhism, and the worship of Buddhism by officials and commoners wasted the country's resources, ultimately leading to internal and external discord and the subsequent collapse of the dynasty.

"Then he suddenly left without saying goodbye, heading east all the way to the East China Sea, and was never heard from again."

"Some say he was suppressed by a powerful Taoist master and imprisoned in the Nine Heavens Extreme Prison for eternal torment. Others say he angered a sword cultivator, who shattered his golden body with a single sword strike, causing his Dharma body to break, and he was reincarnated to start anew."

"In short, no one in the world ever saw this master again after that."

These events are all recorded in detail in the historical records of the previous dynasty compiled by this dynasty.

But what does this have to do with Kulin Temple?

"Because of this person, there was a period of time in the previous dynasty when the worship of Buddhism was rampant. During the more than 30 years that great master spread the Dharma, he also took in many disciples. After he went east, these disciples lost their backers and were afraid of being purged, so they left one after another. One of them moved to this county."

"Kulin Temple was built at that time. It was named after a strange thing that happened when it was built here."

"Oh?"

"My Shanyin County has excellent feng shui and beautiful scenery. I'm sure Magistrate Su has seen it all along his journey."

Su Che nodded upon hearing this, confirming that what Clerk Tian said was indeed true.

"The original name of this Kulin Temple was Longxing Temple, which is a homonym for the rise of the dragon. It was also a way to say that it was for the good fortune of the country. Who knew that when the temple was built, all the vegetation on the mountain died overnight, and for the next fifty or sixty years, not a single blade of grass or tree could survive."

"Is there still such a thing?"

Tian, ​​the registrar, nodded. This was indeed a local anecdote. Outside the circle of local prominent families, even people in the county might not know the origin of it.

"That's right, that's why the local villagers call it Kulin Temple. Over time, even the monks in the temple forgot its original name, Longxing Temple, and changed the name to Kulin Zen Monastery. Hehe, although that's what they say, in this era of great strife after the collapse of the previous dynasty, what use is keeping that imperial-built Longxing Temple sign except to cause trouble?"

Tian, ​​the registrar, picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of mandarin fish.

"As for why Kulin Temple has become what it is today, it all started in the early years of this dynasty. Another strange thing happened in Kulin Temple."

"On the eighth day of the eighth month of that year, all 356 people in Kulin Temple, from the abbot and the supervisor to the young novices and the fire-worker, died overnight."

"A total of 356 corpses, all of them beheaded, and not even a headed monk could be found. From then on, the Kulin Temple was reduced to ruins and became a taboo in the county. Even today, some people in the county still say that they often see headless monks searching for their heads on that mountain."

Tian Zhubu added, "So locals don't usually stay overnight there."

Don't locals stay overnight at Kulin Zen Monastery?
Su Che suddenly understood some things.

"Let's not talk about that anymore. I suppose I only saw will-o'-the-wisps. Since it's my duty to catch demons and slay ghosts, I'll just level that dilapidated temple later."

"Ugh……"

"You can't say that..."

"Brother Su..."

As soon as Su Che finished speaking, the faces of the others at the table changed color.

Magistrate Jiang's face darkened, and he pointed his right index finger at the void above his head.

"Brother Su, be careful what you say, be careful what you say."

Within this county, the fear of demons is so profound.

Have the monsters in Shanyin County become so rampant?
Su Che had a general understanding of the situation in Shanyin County.

Magistrate Jiang's expression changed, and Registrar Tian immediately came to ease the situation.

“Lord Su, to my shame,” Clerk Tian chuckled, “there is a case that I would like to trouble you with.”

"Please speak, Your Excellency, Registrar."

Su Che got serious as he started talking about business.

According to the official ranks of the Great Liang Dynasty, the county magistrate of a county was an eighth-rank official, while the registrar was a ninth-rank official, and the county lieutenant himself was a ninth-rank official. Registrar Tian was one rank higher than him, and County Magistrate Jiang was four ranks higher.

On the positive side, he was the third-highest-ranking official in Shanyin County, being a county lieutenant. On the negative side, the only officials in the entire Shanyin County with a lower rank than the two scholars were those two.

The rest were all insignificant minor officials.

Su Che was willing to give his nominal superiors, Magistrate Jiang and Registrar Tian, ​​sufficient respect.

If someone treats me with respect, I will treat them with even greater respect. This is an irrefutable rule in officialdom.

"A strange thing has happened in the county's treasury."

Su Che listened attentively.

"About a month ago, some silver was going missing from the county treasury every day."

The treasury is missing? This sounds like something out of a TV series about outlaw heroes that I watched in my past life.

In fact, compared to the cold and aloof Fahai who said, "Snake demon, I need you to help me cultivate," Xu Xian was the real tough guy.

I think I saw it on some animal science program, saying that snakes rub for several hours at a time, making them the marathon champions of the animal kingdom's friction competition.

I really hope to have the chance to find a snake demon and have a showdown with it.

Sigh, I'm thinking too far ahead.

“Five taels of silver are being lost from the treasury every day, and this has been going on for a hundred days.”

Registrar Tian sighed deeply: "As the saying goes, water dripping wears away stone. A year's supply is over a thousand taels, and in ten years it's tens of thousands of taels of the people's hard-earned money..."

County Magistrate Jiang glanced at his partner.

Wasn't it two ounces just now? How did it become five ounces now?

"Have you checked the inventory?" Su Che asked.

“I made them work naked in the warehouse fifteen days ago.”

The newly appointed county magistrate of Shanyin nodded, impressed by the reliable work of Registrar Tian.

"Have you investigated thoroughly?"

Su Che carefully considered his words.

"Insert two inches," said Clerk Tian after a pause. "I plan to have someone insert three inches tomorrow."

It's not just safe, it's incredibly thorough. But that's not what I'm asking about.

"Oh? Shouldn't all the silver in the treasury be government silver?"

Su Che thought for a moment and realized that the Great Liang Dynasty was still in a stage where copper and silver were used interchangeably.

The exchange rate between silver and copper was one tael of silver for one thousand copper coins, although this exchange rate was constantly changing.

Ordinary people barely needed silver for their daily lives; copper coins were sufficient. After all, a bowl of noodles with minced meat only cost three copper coins. Even if you managed to scrape off a layer of silver to pay, the shopkeeper wouldn't dare to accept it.

On ordinary days, merchants and government officials are the ones who use silver the most.

The government's taxes needed to be circulated back and forth, and it was certainly impractical to move mountains of copper coins around. Therefore, the copper coins were exchanged for silver and cast into official silver coins of two sizes: fifty taels and ten taels.

They carried a five-pound silver ingot in through the land route and then carried it out.

You can't do it without practicing specific techniques.

"What was lost were the paper and pen silver that had been collected but not yet cast into official silver," added Registrar Tian.

Su Che immediately understood.

Before taking up his post, he specifically studied the expenditure system of the Great Liang Dynasty. It can be roughly divided into three levels of finance: the imperial court, the provincial administration, and the prefectures and counties.

Each prefecture and county has a fixed tax quota. After this quota is forwarded to the provincial administration, the provincial administration will make the first allocation. The surplus after the allocation will then be forwarded to the imperial court for central expenditures.

There's no need to go into the details above. Taking Shanyin County as an example, if the imperial court sets a quota of 2,500 taels for Shanyin County, then the portion of the taxes collected by Shanyin County that exceeds 2,500 taels can be kept for its own use.

The extra money had various names depending on its purpose, such as paper and pen silver, horse grass silver, cinnabar silver, and so on.

So although the amount of silver lost this time was relatively small, it was still a significant sum for the officials of all ranks in Shanyin County.

Su Che felt a sense of shared hatred towards the enemy.

Isn't this stealing my money?
Tolerable or unbearable?
"This case must be thoroughly investigated. Please wait a moment, Registrar. I will solve this case within seven days."

"Indeed, heroes emerge from among the young." The county magistrate laughed and raised his wine cup: "Please, County Lieutenant Su, drink this cup to the brim."

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

For the first time, everyone at the table was so united.

Two taels of silver may be a small amount, but it represents everyone's money.

(End of this chapter)