Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Because of the competition for the candidate to visit the Ming Dynasty, a melee broke out between the old and new capitals of Japan.

Master Yama, Master Temple, and Master Nara have a big melee!

Perhaps it came from the tradition of sending envoys to the Tang Dynasty. Japanese envoys to China generally selected monks to participate, and monks often served as nominal envoys.

Now, it doesn't matter which monk should be the official envoy. It doesn't matter whether the emperor or the emperor decides. Disputes must be resolved by force.

Master Yama and Master Temple both came from Mount Hiei.

The relationship between the two can be understood as sword sect and air sect. If they disagree, they will start fighting or even fight in the streets of the capital.

The Nara Masters are no less generous. Their territory is in the old capital of Nara. Not only are they strong, but they also have the support of the Fujiwara clan.

The three factions all own manor territories, and they are quite close to each other.

Whenever there was a dispute over the territory, the monks did not bother to debate the scriptures and simply sent monk soldiers to reason.

Emperor Shirakawa once lamented: "The water of the Kamo River (natural disaster), the dice of Sugoroku (luck), the priests (monks) of Mount Hiei, none of these can follow my heart."

In the eyes of Emperor Shirakawa, those monks were as uncontrollable as natural disasters and luck.

After a melee in which 6 people were killed and 283 injured, the list of monks visiting the Ming Dynasty was finally released.

Monk Yuanxin (the master of the temple) served as the envoy, and Zhaojue (the master of the mountain) and Liangran (the master of Nara) accompanied the delegation.

The deputy envoy actually responsible for the negotiations was Shikibe Kwon Daisuke Oe Weishun.

This position is somewhat similar to the temporary acting minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Ming Dynasty.

His late biological father, named Oe Mabofang, was not only a great scholar, poet, and singer, but also the last military strategist of the Heian era. It is advocated not to copy "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, but should proceed from the actual situation in Japan.

For example, Sun Tzu said, use military force to achieve victory by surprise and use harmony. And Oe Mabobo said, don’t talk about this in Japan, just keep your advance and retreat in a controlled manner, and then just pass by without observing etiquette and ethics!

This Dajiang Kuangfang left many writings.

There are serious books on history, literature, military affairs, and fashion, as well as miscellaneous books on famous prostitutes, eminent monks, onmyojis, puppet masters, and monastic health. He even wrote a novel about a nine-tailed fox that transformed into a beautiful woman, and the image of Tamamo Mae was mostly derived from this.

By the way, there is also a copy of "The Silver Tribute to Tsushima".

…

Ishijian Guocheng.

Zhu Xiaozhong looked at Yuan Sheng who was kneeling in front of him and asked: "We captured many armored warriors this time. I asked them to tell them what silver mines there are in Japan. One of them, named Oe, said that there are silver mines on Tsushima Island. He also said that he had read a book called "Silver Tribute to Tsushima". Where are the silver mines on Tsushima Island?"

Yuan Sheng saw that Zhu Xiaozhong looked unhappy: "How could Tsushima Island be the Kingdom of Tsushima? This book was written randomly. There is indeed a silver mine on the island, but it has been mined long ago. When the silver mines were prosperous in the past, there were even There are also temples and monk soldiers. These things disappeared when I was a child."

Zhu Xiaozhong thought about it carefully and felt that Yuan Sheng was not lying because this guy was extremely poor.

However, in view of Japan's terrible prospecting and smelting technology, Zhu Xiaozhong planned to let the master prospector go to Tsushima to give it a try.

A month later, a silver mine was actually found on Tsushima Island, and it was right next to the old silver mine.

The reason why Yuan Sheng said that the mining was finished was purely due to insufficient smelting technology.

It's just a soot blowing method. It already appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and Japan also learned it. However, the Song Dynasty improved the soot blowing method many times, but the technology learned in Japan stagnated.

The master prospector even discovered many ores that could be used to refine silver among the waste ores on Tsushima Island...

What a waste of natural resources!

In the first year when Zhu Xiaozhong was ordered to go to sea, he exceeded the task. He not only discovered Iwami Ginzan, but also discovered the Tsushima Silver Mine.

…

There were three routes between China and Japan in ancient times. The route suitable for sailing from Japan in winter was from the Ryukyu Islands to Fujian in China.

After the Japanese mission arrived in Fujian in winter, they were unable to take the sea route due to headwinds and currents. So under the arrangement of Fujian officials, they traveled over the mountains and ridges to Zhejiang, and followed the canal all the way north.

They were so anxious that when they reached the north, the rivers were frozen, and they even rushed to Kaifeng through the snow.

Yuan Xin, who defeated other monks to become the envoy, said to Ojiang Weishun with great emotion: "The Emperor of Ming Dynasty is the reincarnation of the Demon King. When we rested in a temple in Fujian, the monks there lamented that the government suppressed the Buddha and demolished temples everywhere and confiscated them. When we arrived in Kaifeng, there were no monks even in the rumored Taiping Xingguo Temple."

Ojiang Weishun said: "Let us not interfere with the affairs of other countries. Can the mage assist the emperor and defeat the demon army of Ishigami country with his supreme magic power?"

Yuan Xin fell silent immediately.

Emperor Toba also approached the three major mage legions in their Kinki region, and they all ignored him when faced with this difficult problem.

It is true that these monks have monk soldiers, but they only work hard when fighting for territory and occasionally bully the common people. Ping Zhongsheng's 30,000-strong army was defeated. How could the monks dare to send monk soldiers?

The Japanese envoys were allowed to wander around Tokyo City when the snow was clear and they were accompanied (monitored) by a Honglu Temple official throughout the process.

Dajiang Weishun, who had been familiar with Chinese classics and history since childhood, gradually developed a feeling of inferiority after wandering around the city. He said to Monk Yuan Xin: "I was walking in a hurry and didn't appreciate the cities along the way. Today I visited Kaifeng and I realized that The prosperity of China described in books cannot be described in words."

The round monk nodded: "It is indeed rich."

Dajiang Weishun, who was less than 1.4 meters tall, looked at the vendors and lackeys on the street, and said with emotion: "China has its own people, and this race has its advantages and disadvantages. When the two countries are fighting, even if they don't use magic, they will know how tall they are." Wearing strong armor, I, the Yamato Warriors, are no match."

Oe Weishun's biological father was, after all, the last military strategist of the Heian era, and he also left military instructions to his descendants.

As the second son of Ojiang Kuangfang, although Ojiang Weishun has never led an army, his basic military strategic vision is actually better than that of many armored warriors who lead troops to fight.

Along the way, he observed China's social prosperity, then saw the soldiers stationed at the city gate, and finally simply observed China's civilians. The conclusion reached is almost desperate. In front of the powerful China, Japan is like an ant.

A hawker carrying a load walked past Dajiang Weishun.

"Hey!"

The vendor looked at the Japanese envoy curiously and then let out a strange laugh, probably because he was amused by the monkeys in silk clothes.

When Dajiang Weishun heard the laughter, he felt angry and at the same time felt an inexplicable sense of inferiority.

Returning to Sifangguan in the afternoon, Dajiang Weishun began to record what he saw today.

As I was writing this, an idea suddenly came to me: Japanese nobles could choose daughters from separate families and borrow seeds from people who came to the Tang Dynasty. The heads of each family could choose the children born from borrowed seeds to intermarry, gradually improving the racial disadvantages of the Japanese aristocracy.

There is even no need for intermarriage. The main family and the branch family can directly marry close relatives to prevent the good borrowed blood from flowing out.

A few days later, they were received by the Prince of Ming Dynasty.

The palace guards are all selected from the best and are exceptionally tall.

When Ojiang Wei walked past a guard, he found that he was only as high as the guard's armpit, which further strengthened his idea of ​​borrowing the seed.

…

"Shi Jian Yin Shan has been found, and we should no longer worry about the scarcity of silver in the short term," Zhu Ming said. "When the first batch of silver is shipped back, we will increase the amount of silver coins minted. The mint is operating at full speed, and in big cities in all provinces across the country Issuance. Anyway, there will be no inflation at all if wealthy households absorb and hoard.”

Zhu Guoxiang said: "With silver as the backing, banknotes can also be tried to be issued."

Ju Ming smiled and said: "There is actually a silver mine on Tsushima Island, which surprises me a bit."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "I plan to send a few civilian officials over to manage Tsushima Island and Iwami Ginzan. There will definitely be conflicts between them and the local garrison if they get along for a long time, but this situation is irreconcilable."

Ju Ming said: "We are not afraid of conflicts between civil and military officials, but we are afraid of collusion between civil and military officials to deceive the court. Or it may be one-sided, with civilian officials completely suppressing military personnel, and military personnel completely suppressing civilian officials. This can turn the court into a blind man. Therefore, it is best for civil and military forces to check and balance each other, even if they hold each other back. acceptable."

"Indeed." Zhu Guoxiang nodded.

Ju Ming said: "The system of sharing a small amount of money into an acre has been steadily implemented in Gyeongsang Province, Hubei, Hunan, and Hebei, and has achieved good results. Let's continue to promote it next year, and choose Sichuan and Henan."

Zhu Guoxiang muttered: "I'm afraid there will be quite a bit of trouble."

Ju Ming smiled and said: "We won't fight next year. What are we afraid of? Those who disobey will have their families exiled to Youzhou, which happens to be in urgent need of population."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Henan criminals were exiled to Youzhou, but Sichuan criminals should be exiled south. Now in Sichuan, even Yibin is full of barbarians, which is really outrageous."

"I originally planned to bring Bai Chongyan back to be the governor of Kaifeng, but now I plan to make him the governor of Henan Province," Zhu Ming said. "I gave him two tasks. One is to set up stalls in Henan, and the other is to move the capital. Make preparations in Luoyang."

Zhu Guoxiang was surprised: "The capital is going to be moved so soon?"

Ju Ming said: "The imperial city of Kaifeng is too small and crowded everywhere. It is a waste that an imperial city as big as Luoyang has been vacant. It is just a bit awkward to live in. When Cai Jing's relatives renovated the Luoyang Palace, they actually used it Human bones were ground and whitewashed to brighten the palace walls.”

Zhu Guoxiang's facial muscles twitched and he said: "Whenever the capital is moved, I will retire. Anyway, I will not live in the Luoyang Palace."

"It's a beautiful idea." Zhu Ming firmly disagreed.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "This is not a negotiation. I will directly abdicate when the time comes."

The father and son were talking nonsense for a while, and they broke up unhappy.

Ju Ming returned to the East Palace by car, and for the first time, he turned out the Heavenly King Armor, intending to frighten the Japanese envoys.

Dajiang Weishun and monk Yuanxin, together with several key members, were led by eunuchs into the East Palace.

The Prince of the Ming Dynasty was not in any palace, but standing in the corridor shooting arrows.

The warm sun shines in winter, and the well-maintained Heavenly King's Armor shines goldenly under the sunlight.

At the first meeting, Dajiang Weishun was almost blinded.

Monk Yuanxin seemed to have seen the Bodhisattva Vajra. His legs softened and he knelt down, shouting "Bodhisattva Prince".