A tour of Japan's Warring States Period

(I’m really tired, my steam was stolen, my appeal is useless, I’m mentally broken.)

When time advanced to the hottest summer, Yamauchi Yoshiharu finally returned from Komaba. It was no longer suitable to soak in hot springs on such a hot day. On the contrary, the mansion in the mountain basin can occasionally see a breeze, which makes it cooler.

Since the stroke, Yamauchi Yoshiji's health has really deteriorated a lot. He is afraid of colds and heat, and can't stand even a little bit of high or low temperatures. In the past, I could ride on a horse during the rainy season, but now the weather is too hot, so I had to be carried back in a sedan chair.

However, after recuperating in the hot spring for more than a month, Yamauchi Yoshiji's complexion improved a lot. Although he still looked like he was in his twilight years, he was somewhat rosy.

Everyone went out of the city to welcome Yamauchi Yoshiharu back. Yamauchi Yoshiharu also deliberately paraded his troops through the Fuchu Castle Town with full ceremony, letting more than 20,000 people in the entire town see that Yamauchi Yoshiharu was alive and well and nothing happened.

Yamauchi Yoshiharu did not want to go back to the castle tower that was not suitable for living in the first place. It was originally planned to be placed in the Yamauchi Yoshikatsu Original Residence Hall under the castle, but there were still two widows inside, so it would be troublesome for them to move again.

In the end, Yamauchi Yoshiharu simply lived in the Yamauchi Bodhi Temple Shoryakuji Temple under the city. I don’t know whether it was because the forest in the temple was large and dense or because it was close to the Lianchuan River. In short, it was indeed much cooler than other places, and the temple was quiet. , very suitable for Yamauchi Yiji to rest and relax. 【Note 1】

Speaking of which, there is another important figure in Shoryakuji Temple. Many years ago, when Yamauchi Yoshinori was at his most energetic, he destroyed the Ejiri-Shirakawa clan. At that time, the Shirakawa clan's daimyo and young master both committed seppuku and committed suicide in exchange for the lives of all the soldiers in the city.

However, in order to show his tolerance, the Shirakawa family had a young son who was pardoned by Yamauchi Yoshiharu and avoided being executed on the condition of becoming a monk, leaving a bloodline for the Shirakawa family.

It was said that he was a monk, but the child was only that old at the time, so he was just sent to Songli Temple to become a novice monk. In fact, he was imprisoned in the temple.

As the Bodhi Temple of the Yamauchi clan, it was supported by the Yamauchi family and received land income from a samurai family of the Yamauchi clan. Usually, even if there is no incense, one can still live extremely comfortably. Moreover, as the largest Soto sect temple in Uchida County, he still has a lot of incense.

Yamauchi Yoshiharu, who lives behind the temple, is cool and quiet, so there is no big problem. Instead, I took Heita Xiao to visit the burial place of the ancestors of the Yamauchi clan.

According to Hosokawa Harumiya, his great-great-grandfather and the first generation Ashikaga Yoshiaki came to the country, and the three thousand lands in the Yamauchi countryside were all due to the hard work of the entrepreneurial Lord Yoshiaki.

From three thousand guan to the time of his death twenty years later, he was already a powerful master of 15,000 guan. If he hadn't died of a sudden illness and died young, he might have created a bigger family fortune.

After paying homage to the three generations of ancestors of the Yamauchi family with admiration and reverence, the group returned to the courtyard behind the temple to rest.

Now that Yamauchi Yoshiharu has arrived at Shoryakuji Temple, he must also want to meet the last son of the Shirakawa family who killed his father and brother and forcibly married his sister, and have someone bring him to meet him.

"How are you doing here, young monk?" Yamauchi Yoshiharu may have had a more comfortable temperature and climate in the temple, so he could speak coherently.

"The young monk is very good here. Your Highness, the Prime Minister, is worried about me." Looking at his stature, this young monk must be about thirteen or fourteen years old. He has a handsome face, is tall and thin, and his voice is not shrill at all.

Xiaopingtai vaguely remembered this child. He seemed to be only six years old when their family was destroyed, but he must be fourteen or fifteen now. As for other impressions, they were nothing. Little Pingtai never expected that she would interact with this child.

"Have you already been ordained?" Yoshitaka Yamauchi asked casually when he saw that there was no ordination scar on the young monk's head.

"Yes, I was ordained two years ago and my name is Shaocheng."

"Very good. If you have time, you can go to the city to visit your sister. She once mentioned you to me."

After seeing that the young monk seemed to be in no danger, Yamauchi Yoshiharu allowed him to leave the temple and go to the city to visit Mrs. Shirakawa. It is said that my wife is only in her early twenties, but she has already given birth at an early age.

"The young monk would like to thank the prime minister." Although the young monk's expression was still calm, there was still a little joy in his voice, and he proclaimed the Buddha's name to express his gratitude to Yamauchi Yoshiji.

A few simple words of conversation, and that's all. A young monk whose father and brother are dead and whose retainers are scattered cannot make any waves. Yamauchi Yoshiharu didn't bother to ask any more questions, so he waved his hand to let him go down.

Before leaving, Monk Shaocheng saluted Yamauchi again and said that he could order tea for Yamauchi if he had time.

There happened to be nothing going on, except for Yamauchi Yoshiharu, there were only a few important officials of the Yamauchi clan present. It's better to choose a day than to hit it, so let's just do it today, just to give everyone a rest.

This thing is not something you can just do if you want. It was originally intended to be a quiet room, but it was already very quiet behind the temple, so a small space was surrounded by a curtain in the pine forest, spread with straw mats, and everyone sat on the ground.

Then I didn’t start drinking tea or anything. First, four vases that looked like bamboo tubes but were actually fired from celadon were brought in. There was nothing else except a green bamboo leaf inserted in them, and they were placed at the four corners.

Then a purple and gold incense burner was brought. It was very simple. The purple-red incense burner had no decoration, and there was no value at all except for sprinkling gold skin.

The incense burned inside is also very mysterious. It smells like it is not there, and there is no refreshing feeling at all. However, it does have that faint fragrance that slowly penetrates into the chest, calming the mind and calming thoughts.

Later, a small clay stove was brought in, and long and thin white charcoal was used, section by section, to burn without smoke or odor. Boil it quietly with spring water from the mountain and dew collected from the trickle.

The original monk's robes were plain enough, but Monk Shao Cheng changed into a light blue linen robe, which was even more elegant.

After the water boils, use a bamboo spoon made of young bamboo to take out the matcha from the tea can, mix the gouache and stir it left and right. Slowly the aroma of tea came out, and the matcha tea soup in the bowl even the foam on it showed a Zen feel.

The first sip was naturally taken by Yamauchi Yoshiji. The tea was very hot, so I could only take a small sip before passing it to the next person.

When it was held in front of Xiao Pingtai, there was still more than half of the cup. Just smelling the fragrance really made people's noses widen. Taking another sip, it is extremely bitter. The first feeling is that it is unspeakably bitter, but then it becomes fragrant, and even the bitterness is relieved.

Endless aftertaste!

[Note 1]: The last time the author went to the Summer Palace in Beijing, there was an island in Kunming Lake. Everyone has some experience with how hot it is outside right now. The hottest place is 36 degrees or even 38 degrees?

It was also hot in Beijing that day, around 30. When I walked around outside, it was crowded and noisy, which made people bored in the heat. But after arriving at the small island in the middle of the lake, I felt a chill on my back. I sneezed loudly and was surprised to find that the island was inexplicably cold.