Chapter 111 Three Background Colors
June 19th, 19:00
Di Gong, the Privy Councilor, was the first military commander to hold the position of prime minister in the Song Dynasty, the first tough man who was hostile to both external powerful enemies and internal scholar-officials. This tough man who regarded killing as a necessary evil, never showed mercy to his enemies, and never reflected or regretted, finally realized on such a chaotic morning that he might be wrong.
Even though the entire civil service system was full of hostility towards a soldier with a tattoo who stole the position of prime minister, he never made him submit. His heresy was often even intentional, such as occupying the Daxiangguo Temple despite huge public pressure. This matter was not entirely a misunderstanding of Huailiang's exhortation to get close to Buddhism. He just wanted to deliberately provoke the censors to let them see that as a pillar that the country really needs to rely on, he has some small privileges that can be willful, which can also be regarded as a revenge on the civil servants who are full of benevolence and morality. If Xu Chong knew his idea, Xu Chong would probably applaud.
That ferocious and ugly mask was almost a portrayal of his entire life. It was not only used to scare the enemy on the battlefield, but was actually his disguise for half his life, to cover up his mortal face and the golden seal that was considered a shame. He spent most of his life deliberately avoiding the golden seal and deliberately hiding behind the ferocious disguise. In Huailiang's words, this is called a disguise.
However, Di Qing was not the only one who was obsessed with the subject.
Huailiang must also honestly face the fact that beneath his clever appearance, he was hiding an almost paranoid pursuit of hatred, to the point that he was willing to participate in the Maitreya conspiracy to avenge his enemy Di Qing. His slovenliness and carefreeness, like Di Qing's mask, became a disguise. The real him never admitted defeat, and was always the conceited and proud Huai Bing who refused to admit defeat.
As a result, the two men finally collided with each other as fate would have it. Di Qing's massacre of the city was even a hint of impulsiveness, while Huai Liang's revenge was vicious and long-lasting, and he was willing to push the entire Kaifeng people to the brink of the abyss.
Shen Kuo did not inform Lao Bao in advance, but brought Di Qing here without authorization, just to let the two of them resolve their inner demons and this grudge face to face. If Lao Bao knew, he would probably come to ask Huai Liang to come out of retirement, and there would be no chance for the two to face each other. And this private grudge would definitely continue.
Of course, there were some risks in doing this. Perhaps the two of them would not get along well when they first met, but now it seems that the risk was worth it.
The reconciliation between the two men may have come from the fact that they both suffered a severe blow from fate. Di Qing's pain was the sore on his back, which made him realize that his life was not that tough; and Huai Liang's frustration was that his trick was seen through by Shen Kuo, which made him sigh that he was not smart enough to have every possible plan. In short, it would have been impossible for them to reach a reconciliation at their most high-spirited moments, such as under the city of Huzhou.
In the end, Di Qing went out of the door in tears and got on the carriage with the help of Xu Chong. The monk gave him a basket of freshly picked vegetables, put his hands together and chanted scriptures, and watched the carriage go away until it was out of sight. Finally, the grudge between them was resolved.
After Di Qing and Xu Chong left, Shen Kuo stayed here. He came here not only to mediate the reconciliation between the two old stubborn people, but he also had something more important to do, which was to ask the monk to come out of the mountain and help him solve the case.
Of course, he also saw that Huailiang's return to Kaifeng this time was probably not because he missed the prosperity of Tokyo, but must be related to the guest star and the new case. Huailiang himself may not admit this. Monks are sometimes a little aloof, and someone must give him a way out.
Shen Kuo didn't say much nonsense and got straight to the point. The monk didn't hesitate and after listening to Shen Kuo's account of the case, he expressed his willingness to go to the palace to take a look. In any case, if he helped Shen Kuo solve the case, he would be able to win back a game and save some face.
Of course, after Shen Kuo told him how Xiao Ping had managed to get herself to the other side of the river in public, Huailiang couldn't help but slap his bald head hard, scolding himself for not seeing through such a trick.
They entered the city together, and were not in a hurry to report to Bao Zheng at the Military Headquarters, but first went to the palace to see the scene of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Huailiang did have a monk's certificate from Daxiangguo Temple, and the eunuchs at the palace gate all recognized him, so they naturally let him in.
The two of them went to the gate of Zuo Chengtian Xiangfu first. It had been cleaned up, but the ridge that had been blown off was still clearly visible. The gatehouse originally had a dragon on each side of the roof, but now only one was left. The dragon that received the heavenly book was gone. Shen Kuo described in detail what he had seen with his own eyes at that time, and the monk just listened with a frown, without answering. It was obvious that he had no answer for the time being. After Shen Kuo finished speaking, the monk only asked one question, was the dragon alive when it flew into the air?
Shen Kuo could only answer that it looked alive and could still move.
Then they went to Gyeongbokgung Palace together to see the Hell Transformation Painting.
The picture was still there. The official wanted to find someone to repaint the wall with white powder, but Lao Bao was reasonable and urged the official to keep it for now, as there might be some clues that had not been discovered. If it was painted over, there would be no way to inspect the scene now.
Huailiang walked into the main hall and went straight to the painting of "Hell Transformations".
He stood in front of the scroll for a full moment without saying a word.
The "Hell Transformation Picture" painted by Wu Daozi on the wall of Zhao Jinggong Temple was destroyed in the war a long time ago, but there are many copies in various painting books, so people today can still see the general content of the original painting. Shen Kuo also borrowed several versions of the painting to solve the case.
As a monk, Huailiang had obviously seen a copy of the painting. He first stopped to watch, then walked from one end to the other and back again, secretly counting his steps, as if measuring the length of this huge painting.
Shen Kuo did not dare to ask, and could only wait. He was already a little worried, because just now when he was under Zuo Chengtian Xiangfu's tutelage, he also expected the monk to have a flash of inspiration, but it did not happen, and the monk did not immediately see how the dragon with the magic pen's eyes was resurrected? Now, will it be another helpless wait? But it seems that he finally has some reaction, but I don't know what the point of measuring the length of the entire painting is?
"How can such a long scroll be completed in such a short time?" the monk spoke suddenly, as if talking to himself. In short, Shen Kuo, who was waiting on the side, felt very disappointed.
"Yes, I only heard that Wu Daozi spent a whole night to paint the long scroll, even though he was enlightened by the heavens."
“So, this must not be painted on.”
The monk suddenly laughed.
"What? It's not painted on?"
"The long scroll painted by Wu Daozi was a dream of falling into hell, and was completed in one night. In fact, it is only the solitary evidence of "Youyang Zazu". As far as I know, it also took several days to paint."
"oh?"
"Ten years ago, I went to Chang'an and happened to see the fragments of that mural."
"Are there any fragments left?"
"Well, during the chaotic times at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Zhao Jinggong Temple was destroyed, but perhaps the bandits were afraid of retribution in hell, so they did not burn the mural, leaving behind some fragments. The paint used for the portrait was very thick, and after the surface peeled off, the base color was exposed, and there was even a draft. It can be seen that it was not completed in one go, but was revised several times. So the story of the painting being completed overnight is just a folk story."
"Is that so?"
Shen Kuo was very happy that the monk had regained some of his former confidence.
"Haha, this painting is three meters long, similar to the original mural, but shorter."
"Shorter?"
"Yes, I measured the remains of the wall. It was more than ten feet high. Why is it so much shorter here? Look at these big and small ghosts. They seem to be stouter and shorter than in the original painting."
"Master, I didn't see that?"
"Yes, the layout of the whole painting is exactly the same as the original painting, the length is almost the same, and the positions of the ghost kings, oil pots, knife mountains, and blood seas correspond to each other."
"Master, I have seen the original painting copied from the picture book. The scene is almost the same, and all 26 ghost kings are there. But I never noticed that the characters were a little shorter. Now that you have reminded me, I see that they are indeed a little shorter."
"There is one more thing, have you discovered it?"
"Master, please explain?"
“Although this painting tries hard to restore the original painting, the colors are also missing.”
“Lack of color?”
"The blood sea is painted with cinnabar. The ghost face is painted with peacock green, which is made of copper rust. The human body is painted with gamboge..."
The monk is indeed an expert in the fake painting industry chain and he has indeed seen through some tricks.
"However, the Yunnan and other rarely used colors are missing. Look, the person who is about to be thrown into the oil pot is not naked, but has a green cloth wrapped around his buttocks, but it is missing here? The color of the oil in the oil pot is also lighter, not as golden as in the original painting."
"Why is that?"
So, this painting is not drawn. If it were drawn, it would not be difficult to add a few strokes of blue in some places.
"If it's not drawn, could it be growing out of the wall?"
"It's not growing out, it's... Do you remember the convenient seal I made for you?"
"I remember. Master, do you mean that this is a carved wooden board with a print on it?"
"In everything, first eliminate all impossibilities, and what remains is the only possibility. If you want to make a painting in a very short time, it can only be printed."
"But...how do we transport the huge carved plate into the palace?"
"Well, most of the things that can be printed on the wall are woodcuts, but woodcuts are not necessarily straight boards."
"It's not a flat board?" Shen Kuo suddenly realized what the monk was hinting at. "Could it be... a bucket?"
"Hahaha, Cunzhong, you are really one in a million smart. If it's a bucket, you just need to push it and roll it on the wall to print the picture."
Shen Kuo thought to himself, this monk really knows how to brag. If I am one in a million smarter, then wouldn't he be one in a hundred thousand smarter?
"Master, if it were a bucket, it wouldn't be easy to sneak into the palace."
"Think about it again? Is there any barrel that can be mixed in with the items in the palace?"
"Could it be...could it be the flagpole in the ceremonial procession?"
Shen Kuo suddenly remembered that when he saw the hat demon being led away in the palace that day, he saw the canopy leaning against the wall in the Queen's ceremonial procession outside. This thing seemed to meet the monk's statement. Not only was it a barrel, but there was also a long stick underneath. If the engraving was made into a barrel shape, disguised as that, and then when no one was around, the thing was contaminated with fuel and rolled over the wall... But it didn't make sense.
"Master, if it is a bucket like that, how do you make colors?"
"That's what I asked you just now. Have you noticed why only the red, green and yellow are the most neutral colors in this painting, while the rest are all dark or light?"
"Could it be that the mural was formed by rolling and printing with the three colors of red, green and yellow?"
"Yes, the main colors of hell are red blood, blue ghosts and light yellow human bodies. The rest of the colors can be made up of these three colors. However, if they are made up, it is difficult to control the amount and fine-tune the colors, so the colors will inevitably be wrong, so the colors of this painting are a bit weird."
“Can colors be put together?”
"Among all the colors, red, green and yellow are the most basic colors. The rest can be obtained by mixing three colors. So this painting was obtained by rolling the cylinder block three times with three colors. From the perspective of time, this is also the only feasible solution."
