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Chapter 397 Japanese Monk 2

"Everything is true, don't dare lie! Although Foolish Monk was born in Shishan, his childhood memories are in Hirado Koshoji Temple..."

Otani Guangdao didn't know whether the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had any divination skills, but compared with just now, his expression was obviously much more solemn, and his tone was no longer so calm.

"Let me do the math... The sky is full of spirits, the earth is full of spirits, ghosts and monsters are about to appear, heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals are coming to invite me, the Queen Mother is in a hurry! You should have three brothers above you, right?"

Then the emperor suddenly interrupted again, twirling orchid fingers with both hands and raising them high, rolling his eyes and shaking his head, his fat face kept twitching, and his voice was extremely erratic. After a moment, Otani pointed his finger fiercely, and his expression and voice returned to normal, as if something had just left his body.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, the young monk does have three brothers, but they are not brothers from the same mother."

Otani Guangdao was dumbfounded. Coming to China this time was an accident. Entering the palace and meeting the emperor was even more surprising. But no matter how unexpected it was, it was no more unexpected than now. The Emperor of Ming Dynasty actually had the unique ability to communicate with gods!

"Oh? I haven't calculated this level yet. You might as well explain it in detail."

Looking at Otani Guangdao's face that was a little red due to fear and excitement, Hong Tao felt that the heat was almost over, so he put away the posture of a dancing master and returned to a mortal, still a mortal who likes to listen to other people's gossip.

Could it be that Hong Tao really knows the royal secrets and has the ability to pinch and calculate? If you ask Wang Chengen, he will nod devoutly and give a series of examples as evidence.

Even if Yuan Keli was present, he would not dare to say that there was nothing. Gods and ghosts were very popular in ancient times. From emperors and senior officials to ordinary people, when they encountered a phenomenon that was difficult to explain, their first choice was to think about the gods and ghosts.

But most people in later generations will not believe in any royal secrets. Even if they don't understand how Hong Tao calculated it, they will still firmly believe that there are no gods and ghosts in the world, only routines.

That's right, it's a routine. Hong Tao just relied on reading some history books and took advantage of the ancient people's weakness in superstitious gods and ghosts to make up lies. But the purpose is not to deceive people, but to hear the truth.

At the end of the Warring States Period in Japan, there were two famous temples, one was called Honnōji Temple and the other was called Honganji Temple. The former is a small temple of the Hokke Sect in Kyoto; the latter is located in Ishiyama in Settsu Province and is the main temple of the Jodo Shinsect.

Although there is a huge difference in status between the larger one and the smaller one, the two temples are famous because of one person. His name is Oda Nobunaga. He was the first of the three heroes of the Warring States Period in Japanese history and made great contributions to the unification of Japan.

In the tenth year of Wanli, Oda Nobunaga, who was almost on the verge of completing the great cause of unification, passed by Honnoji Temple with a light servant and stayed there. However, that night he was surrounded by tens of thousands of troops led by his general Akechi Mitsuhide. He was defeated and burned himself in the temple.

Next, another of his generals, Hashiba Hideyoshi, withdrew his troops from the front line, turned around and attacked Akechi Mitsuhide, and successfully defeated him. This led to the emergence of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the second of the three heroes of the Warring States Period.

Youdao is a small demon in the temple, but this coup directly changed the direction of Japan's Warring States Period. If Oda Nobunaga had not died, there might be no emperor in Japan in the future. Legend has it that he intended to depose the emperor, which may be one of the reasons for Akechi Mitsuhide's rebellion. Honganji Temple became famous earlier than Honganji Temple, but Oda Nobunaga is still one of the protagonists. Although he is the final winner, it is not easy to win. It can be seen that this Japanese hero may be in conflict with the temple. If he stays away from the temple, he may live a few more years.

So how could a temple, no matter how large it was and have as many monks as it could, compete with Oda Nobunaga and cause a lot of trouble? Well, no one would believe this in ancient China, but in ancient Japan it was not only believable, but also extremely normal.

There is only one reason. Although the temples in ancient Japan and China both believed in Buddhism, they were far apart in terms of attributes. No matter how large the temples in ancient China were, they were only one of the means used by rulers to maintain their power. Temples in ancient Japan were already an integral part of the rulers.

Not only does it have territory and tenants, it can also support monks and soldiers. Many nobles and politicians choose to live in seclusion in temples after they are down or defeated, so they generally will not be driven out by their opponents.

Beginning in the late Kamakura period, the hierarchical aristocratic system in ancient Japanese society began to gradually disintegrate. More and more farmers, local tycoons, samurai and monks formed armed groups to fight against the increasingly greedy lords. This phenomenon has played a major role in Japanese history. There is a specific noun in it called "一揆".

Oda Nobunaga actually started by relying on a bottom-up organization. This behavior was called the following at the time. But as his power grew and he gained status, he became the most determined to suppress the Yikui organization. This makes sense, since colleagues are enemies.

At the end of the Warring States Period, the most powerful organization had Honganji as its core. Since the Jodo Shinshu is also called the Ichigo sect, the Ikei organized by Honganji Temple is also called the "Issei Ike".

From ancient times to the present, armed groups established with religion as the core tend to have relatively strong combat effectiveness. Xiang Yikui was no exception. He fought very bravely, and his iron artillery troops were particularly powerful. In his heyday, he conquered cities and plundered villages and became a country of his own. His overall strength was as good as that of a daimyo.

Oda Nobunaga and Ichigo fought back and forth for ten years, and finally won a complete victory after the Battle of Ishiyama. The Ishiyama Honganji Temple was burned down, the eleventh generation Buddhist master Hianru abdicated and lived in seclusion, and the Jodo Shinsect was inherited by his eldest son Jianru.

Can a monk have a son? How should I put it? Japanese monks are a bit like Chinese lamas. They are divided into many schools. Some allow eating meat when getting married, some do not, and some half allow and half do not. Jodo Shinshu allows it. Not only does it allow it, but it is also hereditary, just like being an emperor.

Later history books say that Honganji Kenru had three sons, the eldest son Mitsuju, the second son Mitsumi, and the third son Mitsuaki. His name was Mitsusa. The Japanese's knowledge of naming is as good as Hong Tao's. The father is from the "Guang" generation, and the son is also from the "Guang" generation. They are not particular about it.

But the Otani Mitsuchi who suddenly popped up was definitely not the grandson of Kenru of Honganji Temple based on his age. He used the royal secret technique to deceive, and sure enough, he turned out to be the fourth son of Kenru, and he was not the same as the three elder brothers. Same mother. Illegitimate child, this big melon would probably be enough to chew on for a while if it were placed in Japan.

In fact, the bigger melon is yet to come. Not two years after Otani Mitsumi was born, Ishiyama Honganji Temple was attacked by Oda Nobunaga, and Xianru was forced to live in seclusion in Zaga Township, Iki Province. But according to Otani Mitsumi, his childhood memories are all at Hirado Koushoji Temple.

(End of this chapter)