Jinyi Night Walk

Lianhua Jingshe is the place where Tianjie Temple entertains eminent monks from all over the world. At this moment, the temple is quiet, and an old monk with white beard is sitting cross-legged under the flowers, holding a small white porcelain Ding kiln bowl. Savor carefully.

What he drank was not tea but soup.

In ancient times, there was no monosodium glutamate, but there was a more delicious and nutritious condiment than monosodium glutamate: broth.It's just that ordinary people don't have the time or the financial resources to always prepare broth.There are meat and vegetables in the broth. The soup that the old monk drank out of his family was naturally a vegetarian broth.

After drinking a bowl of soup, the old monk smacked his lips and said with endless aftertaste: "This Lotus Abode, even if it is an offering of a bowl of soup, it is extremely delicious."

"Master, Master, the situation is not good!"

A man came in hurriedly from outside the courtyard speaking Japanese, looking at his attire, he was similar to the owner of the Kikyo shop in "Smart Ikkyu", with a short figure, wiping the sweat on his cheeks with a handkerchief.It was only the beginning of spring at this time, and the weather was not too hot yet, yet he broke out in a sweat. It seemed that he was really in a hurry.

The old monk put down the soup bowl, turned his head to look at him, and said in Japanese, "Ah, it's Fat Fu, why are you in such a panic?"

The person who walked in was Japan's deputy envoy Fei Fu, and Fei Fu was a big businessman in Japan who was very keen on reopening trade with Daming. Re-opening the exploration and cooperation trade, so this time Ashikaga Giyu sent monk Zua to Daming, and specially asked him to be a deputy envoy.

Fat Fu bowed to Zu'a, sat cross-legged on the futon opposite him, and said anxiously: "Master, I went out to inquire, and the situation is not good. Many officials in Ming Dynasty objected to reopening trade with me and Japan. The reason is that our Japanese pirates are constantly harassing the sea and territory of Daming, and our Japanese country is not effective in combating pirates, and even seems to be conniving, so they asked His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty to refuse to do business with our country. The news the day before yesterday was true, and today they went to court This matter was brought up again from time to time, and I think people from the Daming Rites Department always delay us, which may be the reason."

"No no no no..." Fat Fu, you don't understand Chinese people, hehe ear music..."

Zu'a remained calm, stroked his beard and smiled: "You don't have to worry, what you said won't happen."

Zu A Yiran said: "China is a country of gentlemen, good name but not profit. "Disciple Regulations" says: only moral learning, only talent, not as good as people, so you should encourage yourself. Like clothes, like food, not as good as people, don't Relatives. Chinese people only care about Tao, and the carrier of Tao is ritual, and the appearance of ritual is name. If they are stronger than you, they think it is the victory of Tao. If they are weaker than you, they are inferior to people. Dao In their hands forever, they think they are invincible forever, do you understand?"

"not understand!"

Fat Fu shook his fat face, and replied: "What the master said is really too profound, Fat Fu didn't understand."

Zu A laughed and said, "To put it bluntly, it's about saving face!"

Fei Fu suddenly realized: "Ah! Master said so, I understand!"

Zu Adao: "In the whole of China, from the emperor and the ministers of the imperial court, down to all the scholars who control the foundation of the Ming regime, they only live for one thing..." Face!Although they put all kinds of beautiful sayings on it, for individuals, it means that a gentleman worries about the way and does not worry about food, and a gentleman seeks the way and does not seek food. Yi Enyuan."

"So, even if some officials put forward different opinions, their emperor and ministers in power will not care. They only care about whether we are ministers and whether our attitude is respectful. As long as we do this, it is their way China's victory, the Chinese people's obsession with saving face is as tireless as your businessmen's pursuit of profit, which is incredible.

However, this is the guarantee that our mission to China will be successful.Don't worry, when their emperor receives us, as long as we show our humility and give them enough face, we will definitely get the benefits that your Excellency the General wants!Commodities, copper coins, poems and books..."Everything!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Hehehehe!"

Speaking of pride, the two laughed together.

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At the gate of the courtyard, Xia Xun asked the interpreter of Lilu Temple who was chasing after Zhouzhou in wonder: "I said, what are these two Japanese talking about so energetically? .

The interpreter was tall and thick, with a beard on his face. He looked like he was in Zhao Wu University. He looked into the courtyard and said in a low voice, "I don't know, my lord. I just heard a sentence when I chased him here." ... cut everything!".The translators were not necessarily learned, especially at that time, when the translators were not serious scholars, or even had no books at all, but they were proficient in foreign languages.At that time, most of the people in Ming Dynasty were from the northern ethnic groups, so most of the people from the Interpretation Institute were sent from Liaodong, such as Jurchen translations, Korean translations, meng ancient translations, Japanese translations, etc.

This tall, bearded Japanese translator is the Jurchen of Liaodong. His mother is a Japanese woman who was brought back when the Jurchens sailed out to sea and robbed the coast of Japan. Therefore, he is proficient in three languages: Jurchen, Japanese and Chinese. It is a general interpretation from the seventh rank, the highest level.

Xia Xun nodded, gestured to the little novice Yuantong, and Yuantong walked in, and said to Jishou, the Japanese envoy of the two days... Master Zu'a, the benefactor of the rich and rich, and the minister of the Ming Dynasty, Mrs. Yang, has arrived.

"Ah! Who is Lord Fuguo?"

Zu'a's face changed slightly, and he turned his head to see Xia Xun standing at the gate of the courtyard. He quickly stood up, walked to Xia Xun in a hurry, clasped his hands together, and saluted solemnly: "This must be Lord Fu Guogong. The old man, the monk Zu A of the Luyuan Temple in Japan, has seen your lord!" Unexpectedly, this person said so.Fluent in Chinese, Xia Xun glanced at the translator next to him, and thought, "This person is useless."

Fat Fu also hurriedly followed and bowed to the ground with a very respectful attitude.

Xia Xun bowed slightly to return the salute, and said, "Master Daoyi sent an eminent monk to our Daming? The Duke of our country has been running around for the past few days to clear up the troubles of the gangsters. Master Lao has been waiting for a long time.

After hearing this, Zu A raised his white eyebrows slightly, and took a second look at Xia Xun, his face not without surprise.

Daming regarded himself as the supreme kingdom of heaven, and he never had a deliberate understanding of the surrounding countries, and the same was true of Japan.When Ashikaga Yoshimitsu first sent an envoy to establish diplomatic relations with Ming Dynasty, he used the name of "Japanese Conquer General Minamoto Yoshimitsu..." Zhu Yuanzhang rejected the request of the Muromachi Shogunate, because at that time, Da Ming mistakenly believed that Prince Huailiang of the Southern Dynasty of Japan was the only one. He is the monarch of Japan, while "Chiming" (the then emperor's family in Japan) is a rebellious minister.Ashikaga Yoshimitsu is a general of the "Chiming" faction, let alone associate with him.

In the Jianwen Dynasty, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu sent Mitsuo Shimadzu and Shinemon to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute in the name of "Japan's three queens, Gen Mori..." At that time, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu had already become a monk Knowing nothing about this, Emperor Jianwen was very happy to see Fanbang come to court, and named Ashikaga Yoshiyu the "King of Japan".

Afterwards, the regime in the Central Plains changed, Zhu Di ascended the throne, and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu sent an envoy to the court again. This time, he used the name of the Japanese king conferred by the Ming Dynasty. The Duke of the Ming Dynasty not only knew that Ashikaga Yoshimitsu became a monk, but also called him a Buddhist name. It can be seen that this person has a very good understanding of the domestic situation in Japan, and Zu A couldn't help but be a little cautious.

Zu A and Fei Fu let Xia Xun into the meditation room. The environment in the meditation room was quiet and the sandalwood was light, and there was a set of tea sets on the low table. Sitting cross-legged on the futon, Zu'a took the tea with both hands and took a shallow sip.

Zu'a smiled and said: "Although General Yoshiman has become a monk, he is still the actual controller of Japan and the king of Japan enshrined by the Ming Dynasty. This time, the old monk and Feifu were ordered by the king to come to the Ming Dynasty and reverence and reverence. The Ming Dynasty is a monarchy, and I pray to the heavenly kingdom to reopen the door of trade so that we and the Japanese people can share the grace of the heavenly king.

We have been in Beijing for some time, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites said that His Majesty the Emperor has entrusted the matter to Your Excellency. When will Your Excellency introduce us to the Emperor?Our king is eagerly looking eastward in Japan, and he is already hopeful. "Fat Fu was on the sidelines busy responding, it turned out that Fat Fu can also speak fluent Chinese.

Xia Xun said: "I know that Minamoto Yoshiman is still the actual ruler of Japan. He is qualified to represent Japan and contact me, Ming. But the master didn't understand one thing!"

Zu A hurriedly said respectfully: "Duke, please speak!"

Xia Xun said: "His Majesty, the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, has entrusted the full authority of this matter to his subordinates. It is full authority, not just responsible for reception. Therefore, I can decide whether Daming accepts Japan as a vassal state, and whether to reopen trade with Japan." Before these things are finalized, the Jianwen Dynasty bestows on you, and my Majesty the Ming Emperor will not recognize it, so naturally there is no need to meet you!"

Zu A and Fei Fu looked at each other, they never expected that the Emperor of Ming Dynasty would completely delegate the power of establishing diplomatic relations with Japan to the young duke in front of him, startled for a while, then Zu A tentatively said: "Then, the Duke has already seen Our country's credentials? Our diplomatic relations with the Ministry of Rites..." Xia Xun interrupted him, and said bluntly: "No, I didn't read those things! I believe in your sincerity in establishing diplomatic relations with me, Ming Dynasty, but I have no interest in those false rituals! Sincerity should be manifested by honest actions! Master has stepped out of his family, practiced profoundly, and has insight into human feelings. Do you think what I said is right?"

Zu'a cautiously said: "Then, Guogong thinks, how should we express our sincerity?"

Xia Xun said: "To become a minister, one must fulfill the obligations of a minister. Look at how the North Korean country did it. Our emperor wanted to conscript horses, so they collected all the horses from the whole country and let my envoys choose them. Not enough, even farm cattle. Our emperor wanted to accept a few Korean women, so they forbade all girls of marriageable age to get married until they selected a woman dedicated to the Ming emperor. This is respectful. Kowtow a few heads Shouting long live, what good is this kind of vain courtesy?"

Zu A was stunned. The Duke of the Ming Dynasty in front of him was completely beyond his understanding. He had never seen such an official of the Ming Dynasty who was so straightforward and caring about actual interests.Since then, he has never considered this aspect at all.

Seeing that Zu A was stunned, Fei Fu was a little anxious. He was a businessman, just a pure businessman. What he cared about was only profit, only the huge profit he could get after re-opening trade with Daming. As for surrendering to Daming, it was just a matter of etiquette. He doesn't care whether he surrenders or fulfills these obligations.

Fatty glanced at Zu'a, and quickly said: "Your Excellency, regarding the two points you mentioned, I think...we can do it too. Of course, this needs to be agreed by our countries, but we can report this matter Guohu, I believe in our king..."

Xia Xun waved his hand and said, "I'm just giving an example, I don't want you to do this!"

Are you kidding, Japanese horses?At that time, there was no Dongyang Dataka horse. Whether the Dongyang horse was bred through the introduction of fine breeds after the Meiji Restoration. At that time, Japanese horses were not much bigger than donkeys. ", waving a long knife and shouting... "Ah and haha", it seems like that. If a bunch of Japanese horses are really recruited to ride for the strong men of the Ming Dynasty Frontier Army, the horses will not be suppressed. collapsed?As for Japanese women, if they wash off the ashes on their faces and grow those little tufts of "moth eyebrows", they may look a little more charming, but he is not a pimp.

Xia Xun said: "His Majesty the Ming Emperor, I am very satisfied with Yuan Yi's respectful attitude, but I hope he can prove his obedience with actual behavior."

At this moment, Zu'a had regained his composure, and hurriedly asked: "Then, His Majesty the Ming Emperor, what do you want us to do?"

Xia Xun said: "It's very simple, fight against pirates! You know that your country is now plagued by pirates. They not only plunder the people along the coast of our country, but also treat sea ships regardless of each other. They kill and rob.

They are the common enemy of Japan and Ming Dynasty!If our two countries establish a tribute trade, merchant ships exchange, but are taken by pirates, this is what our emperor does not want to see. "

Zua and Feifu have nothing to do with Japanese pirates, and they are not opposed to combating pirates, but this kind of thing is not so easy to decide, and the relationship between Japanese pirates and the people of the country is even more complicated. On the one hand, the Japanese government’s The fleet is not strong, on the one hand, if there is a little action, the news will be leaked in advance, even if they want to suppress the bandits, they are often exhausted and return in vain.

Fighting wars requires money. Even for Ming Dynasty, being tied up in a long-term war would consume a huge amount of national power. Considering the family background of Japan, they can't afford to toss it even more.At the same time, Zu'a always thought that he was right on Daming's pulse, and he was very unwilling to be led by the nose, so he hesitated and said: "Your Excellency, we also hate pirates, but the Japanese army has few generals and national strength. Thin, I'm afraid..."

Xia Xun said: "It's simple. Fighting pirates requires our full cooperation. However, considering the strength of your navy, the main task is of course ours. We only need you to do three things: [-]. Crack down on dirt trading, catch Catch dirty pirates, attack and encircle islands occupied by pirates that have been detected; [-]. Provide information to each other and the situation of pirates we know. When our navy needs your cooperation, we must work together and join hands Combat; three, since our Daming navy is the main force for killing bandits, when you go out to sea to fight, you must open the port and allow our Daming warships to dock, rest, and replenish!"

Zu A's white eyebrows furrowed tightly: "These conditions are not within the authority of the old monk..."

Xia Xun said bluntly: "I know! Therefore, I suggest that Master Zu'a stay in the capital, talk more about scriptures and Taoism with Master Daoyan, and exchange views with each other. Master Daoyan is proficient in Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. I believe you We can benefit each other a lot. As for this rich deputy envoy, why not ask him to go back to the country, meet the Daoyi master, and tell him our conditions. If he agrees, you will be immediately accepted by me. With His Majesty the Emperor's reception, the door to trade will be reopened."

Xia Xun smiled slightly and stood up on his knees. Zu A hurriedly got up to stop him: "Mr. Guo stays, we can discuss this matter."

"Not negotiable!"

Xia Xun said bluntly: "Negotiation is a very mouth-watering thing. Determine your attitude, understand your opponent, test your guns and tongues, intrigue, sometimes take detours as straight, and sometimes retreat as advance..." Hehe, these, Yang Also know a thing or two.But in front of Master Zu'a, I think we don't need to bother so much.

The master is an eminent monk with the right way. You should know that the straight heart is the place of Taoism, the heart and the mouth are the same, and the words and deeds are the same... Only then can you save yourself and others.Therefore, let me be honest with each other and tell you bluntly, our bottom line is here, and this is the only and most important condition.I know that the master can't be the master, this matter, please ask His Highness Yuan Yiman to come down to answer Xia, okay? "

"This one……"

In the face of such a person who only wants interests in vain, and the initiative of the negotiation is in his right hand, and he is the one who asks for others, Zu'a is really at a loss.The original calm and calm!After sweeping away, he suddenly felt that everything was out of his control. In an instant, he changed from a special envoy of the Japanese king to a dispensable messenger. Your Excellency General Man handed over the offer.

Is my mission coming to an end here?

Zu'a was still making the final struggle, trying hard to keep Xia Xun, Xia Xun said with a smile: "Master, it's because I don't want to stay, I really can't get away. I'm going to the east of Zhejiang soon to preside over the suppression of hunchbacks." One thing, I will be there, waiting for your good news! Master, farewell!" @.