Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 233 Jindiyuan Chongchuan

It didn't take long for Yi Xin Chongchuan to meet Joseph. Lin Hai waited for two quarters of an hour before seeing the British-Japanese warrior come out.

"How is it? Joseph, has your father's old friend brought you good luck?"

"Thanks to Mr. Tolin, everything goes well. I should be able to go to sea again next year."

Joseph's face was filled with joy. Lin Hai did not expect that his matter was actually accomplished. It seemed that the prime minister in black, Yi Xin Chongchuan, still missed his old friendship.

After all, Joseph was not as heavily relied upon by the shogunate as his father, William Adams, and he should be of absolutely no useable value to Isshin Chongchuan now. Perhaps the Zhuyinzhuang was really a trivial matter to Chongchuan, so he conveniently handled it for his old friend's son.

However, Lin Hai was not disappointed with this result. Given Joseph's current miserable situation, it was really easy for him to ask this person to do something for him.

"That's great, Joseph, where are you going next year?"

"Siam, I have some business partners there."

As soon as Lin Hai heard this, he knew that this guy must still plan to go to the Indian Ocean to do business with the EIC. There are currently only six areas where Zhu Seal Ship trade is allowed. Siam is the farthest and the closest to the Indian Ocean.

Zhang Jingquan returned the gift to the young monk, and then followed him into the meditation room, followed by Lin Hai.

Lin Hai was bored, so he took a look at the surrounding courtyard. Like Zhang Jingquan's courtyard at Wuzhen Temple, this courtyard adopts a dry landscape design, using stones to represent mountains and sand to represent water, so that all scenery can be seen at a glance.

After Joseph left, Lin Hai and Zhang Jingquan followed the Zhike monk to the courtyard where Yixin Chongchuan was located. They saw another young monk with good looks coming up to him. After chattering a few words of Japanese to the Zhike monk, they continued. Enter the Zen room and report to Yi Xin Chong Chuan.

Lin Hai really couldn't appreciate this kind of peaceful Zen. He just felt that everything was lifeless, and there was no interest at all like Jiangnan gardens, where every step is a scene, and the movement and stillness are harmonious.

EIC doesn't have any goods that sell well in the Japanese country. Joseph went all the way to do business with these poor people, which shows that he doesn't have high-quality supply channels overseas. This person is really miserable now.

Of course, the Tao here is not Taoism or Taoism, but the Shintoism of Japan.

This is somewhat similar to European-style gardens, which must reflect the role of people everywhere. This is also due to the cultural differences between the East and the West. Of course, Japanese gardens do not pursue regular geometric shapes like European gardens, which is in line with Lin Hai's aesthetics.

Although Yixin Chongchuan was the head of the Linji Sect, he always prided himself on studying both Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and he also studied Confucian classics. In Japan, which also values ​​the unity of the three religions, only those who practice all three religions can be valued. This is true for several major political advisors of the shogunate, Tianhai Senzheng, Yixin Chongchuan, and Lin Luoshan.

In fact, Lin Hai's feeling is very accurate. This painting was painted by Kano Sanraku, the sixth generation descendant of the Kano School. This person is also the royal painter of the shogunate. Kano School painters mainly serve generals and samurai.

Lin Hai did not know that the courtyard in front of him was one of the representative works of Japanese gardens, created by Obori Enshu, a garden and tea ceremony master in the early Edo period. The name of this courtyard is the Crane and Turtle Garden. The large sandstones in the courtyard represent the image of water, and the stones on opposite sides represent Crane Island and Turtle Island on the water.

Kobori Enshu, who designed the Crane and Turtle Garden, was the royal tea-master of the Tokugawa Shogunate and an architect, and he was also a famous figure in his own right. Seven years ago, Tokugawa Hidetada sent this person to design the courtyard for Ishimatsuden, which shows that he still favored the prime minister in black who was driven out of the center of power.

"Thank you so much!" Joseph's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he bowed to Lin Hai repeatedly, "I wonder if there is anything I can do for you?"

Unlike the Garden of Crane and Turtle given to him by Tokugawa Hidetada, this Kano style painting was painted by Shinshin himself, and perhaps this was his favorite style. As the contemporary head of the Japanese Rinzai Sect, Yixin Chongchuan can certainly be called an eminent monk of the previous generation, but at the same time he also has another name - the prime minister in black.

After entering the Zen room, a six-volume gold leaf paper screen caught Lin Hai's eyes. Birds of prey and tigers are painted on this screen, as well as some flowers, plants and trees. The whole painting is brightly colored and has rough lines, which is very eye-catching.

After Tokugawa Ieyasu's death, Ishin Shoden advocated the adoption of the Shinto god name. His political enemy Tenkai Monk Masanori advocated the use of power to realize the Bodhisattva name. This matter caused a political dispute between the Sunfu faction and the Edo faction in the Japanese political arena. In the end, the Sunfu faction, where Shinsoden was affiliated, was defeated.

"Joseph, I can sell you some goods that are very popular in Japan, such as ginseng, deerskin or silk. The price is guaranteed to be fair." Lin Hai changed the topic as he spoke, "However, you need to do something for me."

Lin Hai couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when he saw this. The style of this painting was very different from the dry landscape garden just now, giving people a very strange feeling. In short, he felt that the painting should not belong to a monk, but to a general, or an ambitious politician.

Fortunately, there are quite a few trees in this yard, unlike Zhang Jingquan's yard which has no greenery except moss. However, the growth of these trees has also been artificially suppressed and the pruning is very precise. They are not at all like Chinese gardens that advocate nature and wildness.

After waiting for a while, the young monk with delicate features came out of the meditation room again. He clasped his hands and bowed to Zhang Jingquan: "Elder Kongji, my master has invited me."

Lin Hai was stunned for a moment, and then he saw a tall and powerful monk in black turning out from behind the screen. He smiled like a bell and said, "Isn't it wonderful to have friends from far away?"

"This matter is just a piece of cake for you. Let's wait until next year when we meet overseas to talk about it." Lin Hai gave it up for the time being, and then said, "Next year you go to sea with my sworn brother Ou Zuoji, he will take you You came to me."

"Amitabha, the poor monk pays homage to Jindiyuan." Zhang Jingquan proclaimed the Buddha's name and bowed briefly to Yixin Chongchuan with his prayer beads in hand. Upon seeing this, Lin Hai followed suit and bowed to the long-famous prime minister in black.

He returned the salute to Zhang Jingquan with his hands clasped with sincerity, then nodded slightly to Lin Hai, and then asked Zhang Jingquan: "Master Kongji, who is this Tan Yue?"

Zhang Jingquan then gave a general introduction to Lin Hai's identity. Upon hearing this, Yi Xin Chongchuan knew that he had something to ask for again.

However, since Zhang Jingquan hadn't spoken yet, he didn't ask. He just asked his apprentice to pour tea for Lin Hai and the two of them. Then he invited the two guests to sit down, and he also sat down to continue chatting with Zhang Jingquan. Japanese people generally do not use stools, so this Zen room has no other furniture except the screen. Lin Hai sat cross-legged on the tatami that smelled of rice. The two old monks spoke all in Japanese and couldn't understand a word they were saying.

However, the Japanese country is a country that pays attention to etiquette, and it is difficult for Lin Hai to get up and move or look around, so he simply went into meditation like an old monk and pondered over this person with his heart.

Ever since he learned that Zhang Jingquan had a good relationship with Yi Xin Chongchuan, Lin Hai entrusted Li Guoshu to collect a lot of information about the prime minister in black, so he knew his past quite well.

The most prominent time for this person was in the last few years of Tokugawa Ieyasu's life. The most proud thing in his life was that he single-handedly planned the Hokoji Temple Bell Incident. Together with the shogunate Confucian official Hayashi Razan, he used the literary inquisition method to punish Toyotomi. Hideyori's accusation finally allowed the old turtle to find a reason to completely destroy the Toyotomi family.

However, after the death of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ishin Shoden quickly lost power. The reason is actually not new. It is nothing more than the emperor and his courtiers.

At that time, in order to show the world that the position of shogun was hereditary, and at the same time to test whether the daimyo of various places had different intentions, Ieyasu passed the throne to the crown prince Tokugawa Hidetada early, while he lived in seclusion in Sunfu Castle and played dual politics. .

But dualistic politics is not so fun. Since ancient times, there has been no family affection in the Tian family. If Tokugawa Ieyasu wants to firmly hold power during his lifetime, he must suppress his son from time to time. As a result, the upper echelons of the shogunate were naturally divided into two factions, Sunfu and Edo.

Honda Masazumi and his father Masanobu, who were friends with Li Dan, were the leaders of the Sunfu faction, and Yi Xin Chongchuan was also the core figure of this faction. The Edo faction that was their enemy was headed by Okubo Tadahiro. Tendai Sect leader Tenkai Senmasa also leaned towards the Edo faction. This person was also a shogunate monk who participated in aircraft maintenance and had been fighting openly and secretly with Yoshikoden Takaden.

After the death of the old turtle Ieyasu, the Sunfu faction naturally became the target of liquidation by the second generation shogun. However, in the eyes of Tokugawa Hidetada, Ishin Takaden and Honda Masazumi are still different.

After all, Chongchuan was just a monk and had no fiefdom in his hands. And Honda Masazumi himself is a famous name of 150,000 koku. In addition, both father and son are old middlemen, and their influence in the shogunate is intertwined. This makes Hidetada, who seems to be loyal but is actually vicious, very afraid.

What's more, in Ieyasu's later years, Honda Masazumi and his son also defeated the leader of the Edo faction, Okubo Tadenato, who was a good friend of Hidetada. The second-generation general was a henpecked man. He only married Asai E three times in his life. Back then, this son of a bitch raised a woman outside his wife's back, and it was through Okubo's loyal neighbor.

Because of this, although Ishin Takaden was a political opponent of Tokugawa Hidetada during the Ieyasu era, he was not completely defeated like Honda Masazumi. However, he was destined to carry this political baggage for the rest of his life. After all, Honda and his son of the Sunfu faction had recommended Hidetada's half-brother Yuki Hideyasu to succeed him.

But Yixin Chongchuan is destined to be unwilling to be lonely. He is more enthusiastic about politics than his old rival Tianhai Sengzheng. Carrying such a big political baggage, this old monk must have tried every possible means to please the Grand Imperial Palace, Tokugawa Hidetada.

Lin Hai had long thought about making a fuss about canonizing the king of Japan. After all, this was one of Tokugawa Hidetada's biggest wishes. However, it was not until he met Chong Chuan in person that Lin Hai decided to simply play his cards close to his chest. This man had gone through so many political turmoils in his life that it would be better to play tricks with him and get the real deal.

After finally waiting for the two old monks to talk about business, Zhang Jingquan asked Lin Hai to speak, and he got straight to the point: "Wansheng is a businessman, and I came here to make a deal with the master."

Yi Xin Chong Chuan has been working hard in the upper echelons of the shogunate all his life. He has seen many arrogant people. After listening to Zhang Jingquan's translation, he just said lightly: "The poor monk would like to hear the details."

Lin Hai then told his predecessor, Nagasaki, that he had been asked to help with the canonization of the Ming Dynasty, and then said: "Now that Wei Zhongxian's downfall is imminent, the father-in-law behind Lin will soon become one person less than ten thousand people. What needs to be done What Nagagawa Gonroku said should be a sure thing.”

There was no emotion or anger on Yixin Chongchuan's face: "Tan Yue wants to give this credit to the poor monk?"

"That's right." Lin Hai nodded calmly, "Hasegawa Gonroku has resigned. He can't handle my affairs, so I just came to see the master."

"May I ask what Tan Yue wants?"

"I wonder if Master has heard about the fact that the chief of the Aranda people in Takasago was kidnapped by a businessman from your country?"

It has been more than half a year since Hamada Yabei kidnapped De Wet, and the VOC Hirado Commercial Store has been ordered to close. Of course, Yixin Chongchuan knew about this. He twirled the rosary in his hand and said: "Tan Yue is here. A lobbyist for the Aranda people?"

"On the contrary, Lin and the Alanto people are in a competitive relationship in your country." Lin Hai stated his appeal. "As far as I know, the Alanto people have sent people to your country to negotiate. Lin does not want to see peace. The Arlando store reopened. ”

"When can the canonization be completed?" Yi Xin Chongchuan continued to move the rosary.

"If it is just a matter of canonization, it can be completed within one year. If it is both canonization and tribute, the father-in-law behind Lin is not 100% sure. Even if it can be done, it will probably take three to five years. "

Lin Hai's words were well thought out. The canonization could be faked. Wang Minzheng had also served as the official envoy to canonize the King of Joseon. This matter could be easily confused with the truth. But Tong Gong could not be faked, and it had to be approved by the court. He was really not sure about this matter.

Yi Xin Chongchuan was very active in the diplomatic affairs during Ieyasu's era. He also knew that the reason why the Ming Dynasty did not agree to Ieyasu's tribute request was mainly because it was worried that the Japanese mission would cause trouble when it arrived on Ming Dynasty territory. If it was just a unilateral canonization, This problem no longer exists.

"The poor monk is fully aware of Tan Yue's request. The poor monk will do his best to deal with the people of Alantu." Yi Xin Chongchuan didn't say too much, but it was obvious that he agreed to the deal with Lin Hai. Political deals.

Lin Hai also knew that Yixin Chongchuan was not completely sure. After all, he had not yet returned to the center of power. He could not directly participate in the decision-making on this matter and could only use his own connections to influence the decision-making results.

For Lin Hai, this is the only thing he can do at the moment. If Yoshin Shoden fails to do so, then he will directly put pressure on Tokugawa Hidetada on the matter of canonization. In short, the VOC Hirado Commercial House must be cut off.

When we set off from Kyoto back to Nagasaki, the north wind had already begun to blow in Japan, and the trip took half a month. When he returned to Nagasaki, Zheng Tingqiu happened to have returned from North Korea.

This time, Zheng Tingqiu successfully connected with Zhang Yong, and Lin Hai finally knew who the North Korean rebel behind Park Zhenghuan was.

(End of this chapter)