Chapter 27 third quarter

That night, the ninety-eight-year-old Zouhei was in high spirits from the beginning to the end, with plenty of wild vegetables and river fish in front of him.Maybe it was a long time since he met a suitable conversation partner again, and he was happy.He drank a little wine with the small tea bowl he made, his face flushed, and he kept talking, even forgetting that it was late at night. At that time, Tanba's pottery industry was rapidly changing from cave kilns to snake kilns introduced from Korea.It takes half a month to fire in a cave kiln, compared with less than one-third of the time in a snake kiln.Because of the higher firing temperature, the color of pottery can be more vivid through the fusion with artificial glaze.No matter who looks at it, the advantages of the snake kiln are clear at a glance.However, compared with other new production areas, Tamba pottery's conversion speed is very slow.In the past, most of the tea bowls they made could not be sold at a high price due to poor pottery clay, so they lacked the funds needed to change the kiln.However, Zoubei actually does not want the times to progress too fast.

"As you can see, I am an old man, but I don't intend to deviate from the progress of the times. Grandson Shiro dare not speak up about the introduction of the new snake kiln. Instead, I took the initiative to suggest to him. However, Lord Jifeng, the new Things certainly have many advantages, but at the same time they have lost some good things from the past. Please look at this." Sobei took out a large pot, "This is just a daily necessities, but this green stripe is not a glaze. In the past For some reason, the things fired in cave kilns naturally have this green color. If they are fired in a new kiln, if they are not coated with glaze, they will not have this color.”

Indeed, there are beautiful dark green glaze marks on the dark red body. "Yes, why? They are all fired from the same kind of soil." Niu put the big pot on his knees, touched the rough surface of the pot, and asked. "It's not very clear, maybe it's the charcoal ash hanging on the pottery, or it may be caused by the iron component in the original soil. Apart from these, I can't think of other reasons. In the cave kiln, the charcoal ash and iron components are in the furnace at a suitable temperature. Melted, turned into a natural green glaze. Maybe so." "Natural coincidence."

"You are right. It is indeed a natural coincidence. If you rely entirely on artificial coincidence like the new kiln, the natural coincidence will disappear in a flash." "I'm ignorant, do you mean that good things are washed away unconsciously?" "Yes. So people will always miss the lost past very much. Large pots like this with natural glaze are now used as daily necessities, and they are everywhere here, so it is not worth giving you. But in later generations, with those new kilns Compared with the pottery fired in China, it may be respected instead. Maybe decades, maybe hundreds of years, I don’t know how long, but that’s how it feels.”

"While alive, it is difficult for anyone to determine what is valuable." The chief soldier nodded silently. "Everything in this world is related to this. You teach well. I would like to ask one more thing, which is how ordinary people think of Tamba pottery." "Oh?" Zongbei squinted his eyes and looked at Niu Yi. "City people casually criticize Tanba pottery for its lack of color variation and beautiful patterns. What do you think of this?" "As long as the pottery is put into the new snake kiln, the color will change very quickly. As for the use of patterns, young people such as Shiro are also very active, and people's evaluation of Tamba pottery will change sooner or later. Before, the reason why we did not deliberately There are complicated reasons for firing pottery with patterns. Should I say it?"

He seemed a little hesitant, wondering whether he should tell outsiders. "If it's convenient, please tell me. Will you?" Niu Yi's curiosity was aroused, and he refused to let go. "You are the savior of my granddaughter, so I have to tell you." Zonghei looked at Afeng, took a sip of the wine in the big glass, and continued, "In the past, the potters in Tamba consciously did not burn pottery with patterns. .Because they have to be introverted, unassuming, and live quietly. I don’t say this because I’m not convinced.” "Really? Consciously not firing pottery with patterns?" Niu Yi approached.

"During the distant Heian period, our ancestors hid here quietly from Kyoto. There was a reason for the disaster, so we must keep a low profile. The only person who broke this precept, do you know who it is? Hashiba Hideyoshi." "What? Hideyoshi?" Niu was taken aback. "Yes, yes. Afeng told me just now that you stopped by Arima on the way here, and it seems that the water volume of the Taiko Wishing Spring has become smaller..." "We heard about the spring by chance a few days ago. At that time, I asked why that happened. A Feng said that people in Tamba can easily do it."

"My granddaughter, talk too much." The old man looked back at Afeng and smiled wryly. A Feng shrugged and looked at Niu Yi. "It's easy to set up the mechanism. Mix the slime of a certain plant that grows on the Void Hidden Mountain with the red soil for water-stopping to make a quick-drying sealant. We have that kind of red soil in our studio, If you are interested in this method, I can teach you tomorrow. The act of blocking the spring water is just a prank. Some people must have seen Taige's death and struggled in pain and found it annoying. That's why they did it. Danba Humans? Maybe. Hahaha."

His opinion is similar to that of A Feng.The old man lifted his head proudly and laughed loudly. "Speaking of which, in order to celebrate Hideyoshi's rise to fame, the Tamba people let the spring spew out. But after that guy became famous, he harbored a grudge against Maeno and us Tamba people, and finally betrayed us. Blocking the spring is a reasonable revenge. Maybe It's a little late." "So, Hideyoshi used to be your companion?" Niu was more interested in what the old man said. "Yes. That man and his dead mother seem to say that he was just a farmer. Speaking of which, I can be clear. Hideyoshi's father Yaemon is from Tamba. Hideyoshi's subordinates Hachisuka, Maeno, including Saito Dozo in the Mino area is all from our group. From the perspective of us Tamba people, the land in Mino and Owari areas is fertile and coveted. Unlike Gokinai, there are flash floods and rivers flooding here every year. After that, it became difficult to divide the land boundaries of each family, and disputes arose. Many Tamba people moved to the plains of Mino and Owari, trying to integrate into the local area. Hiyoshi’s father was one of them. His father was the first Hiji is the second generation.”

Neither Hachisuka nor Maeno directly served Nobunaga, but were willing to be Hashiba's subordinates all their lives. This may also be a manifestation of their unity.Niu felt strange early in the morning. Hideyoshi is obviously just a farmer, so why is he so good at equestrianism, city building, and quick calculation? The words of the old man melted all these doubts. "Hiyoshi's father, Yaemon, was called Jukage here in Tamba. He was a skilled bamboo weaver. He made tea sticks that were best-selling at the time. He saved a small amount of money and smoothly integrated into the local people after going to the Owari area. But he was injured because of fighting for land, and later died of illness because of this. Hiyoshi hated his stepfather, ran away from home, wandered around for a long time to do business, and suffered unbearably hard work. Finally, he went to Mr. Oda and changed his name from Shuyin to Kinoshita. Because he felt that the original name was unlucky and gloomy. After that, Mr. Yoshikaze, you should know that it is the boring history of Hideyoshi’s fortune. It’s because his father took care of him. We Danbo people have two iron rules.”

Sobei stopped drinking and started drinking tea slowly.It is said to be tea, it seems to be decocted herbs from the mountains, and it has a strong smell similar to Houttuynia cordata. The so-called two iron rules, the first one is not to tell others about your origin.The ancestors of the Tanba people were originally Kyoto nobles, but they were driven here because they were defeated in a power struggle.This rule is to protect oneself wisely.The second rule is, regardless of gender, do not commit adultery with inferior people.Tamba people firmly believe that the "Zhongguanbai" Fujiwara Michitaka was the ancestor of the clan. He died at the age of forty-three because he drank too much alcohol and messed around with lowly women.Guan Bai's position was taken away by his younger brother Dao Chang, and Dao Long's lineage was thus exiled to Danbo.Out of self-reflection and self-discipline, the Danbo people require their offspring not to have relations with inferior people. "Hideyoshi, it seems that he has never violated our second commandment in his life - not to commit adultery with inferior people." Shobei raised his white-haired chin and laughed. When he said this, Niu Yi remembered that Hideyoshi's concubines were all women from the families of princes and ministers.Niu Nian was old and weak. After retiring from the position of a close minister, he was responsible for protecting Hideyoshi's Mrs. Matsumaru.Her family has been a prominent Omi family since the Kamakura period.In addition, when Hideyoshi snatched the position of Guanbai from the Gosho family, he changed his name to Fujiwara Hideyoshi for a while. Outsiders privately thought it was just "the arrogance of the nouveau riche", but I may really think that I have re-realized the dream of my ancestors . However, as a writer's common sense, the more reasonable things are, the harder it is to believe.Niu Yi was like this at this time.Perhaps aware of Niu Yi's inner activities, Zouhei smiled slightly and continued talking. "However, these are rumors and conversations among us Danbo people in private. Master Jifeng, everyone believes that their ancestors are nobler than others, right. You think these are just jokes from the Danba people, and you will fall down after listening to them. Judging by the look on my face, you think so too, don't you?" Niu Yi felt that the old man had completely read his thoughts. "Not at all, I don't think so at all. I just feel that many things I didn't know before are now understood, like spring snow melting. However, I was really surprised." Niu Yi tactfully expressed his inner thoughts. "It's not surprising. In such a deep mountain and old forest, there are descendants of nobles and ministers. This kind of talk will only be considered nonsense to others. Hideyoshi believes in the legends of our Tamba people and is determined to climb up. His The idea of ​​utilitarianism and wanting to get ahead is even more terrifying, isn't it? For example, the battle in the barrel was a turning point for that man to change his destiny." Hearing the unexpected word "barrel gap", Niu was taken aback for a moment, and then asked questions. "The Battle of Ozazama you are talking about is the battle where Yoshimoto Imagawa of Sunfu was wiped out by Oda Nobunaga when he led his army to Beijing?" "That's right. At that time, we couldn't resist Hideyoshi's pleading, so we worked together to implement the plan." "Conspiracy? Hideyoshi and the mountain people did it together? Is that true?" Niu Yi was hit so hard that even his knees trembled. "Hideyoshi's task is to make a gesture of Nobunaga's surrender. Lead Yoshimoto to Ozama Mountain. It is said that Yoshimoto believed it to be true and added a condition-'If it is not a lie, Nobunaga himself will bring the peace agreement document and a small number of people. The entourage came, and no one was allowed to carry a sword.' So, so that Nobunaga could see him, he waited on the top of Mount Ozama. Perhaps Yoshimoto wanted to make Nobunaga drink poisoned wine there and kill him. In As nomads in the Mikuni Mountain area of ​​Xisanhe, we rushed over in one breath and launched a surprise attack. For us nomads, it is not difficult to judge whether there is a thunderstorm in the Ozama Mountain area. Thinking about it, it is not surprising. Because this Hideyoshi came out on top in the victory at Ozamayama, but that guy forgot the kindness of his comrades and betrayed us. Facts speak louder than words, look at Shiro's poor fingers." Sobei's eyes seemed to burst into flames. For a moment, Shiro withdrew his hands reluctantly, and opened them embarrassingly under the urging of his grandfather.The middle fingers of both hands were cut off by the knife. "That's unreasonable! How did you do it?" Niu Yi was astonished. "At Amitabha Temple, I was tortured by Hideyoshi's subordinates." Shiro's voice trembled with anger. "What? Torture?" "Yes. Hideyoshi wants to get the remains of the old lord Nobunaga and hold a formal funeral to prove that he is the successor. He continued to torture the monk—if Master Qingyu cremated him, where are the ashes, hand them over ——Even Shiro, the lowest class, was subjected to such severe torture. At that time, my grandson was only ten years old and had just entered the Amitabha Temple, and he was just a young monk doing odd jobs in the warehouse." Sobei answered for Shiro, with a look of resentment on his face. On July 13th, the tenth year of Tianzheng, Hideyoshi, who had finished the Kiyosu Conference, sent envoys to Amitabha Temple and demanded them to hand over their ashes.At that time, Niu Yi was still in the Echizen area, and I heard about it later, but I only found out today for the first time—in order to get the monk to speak, even the young monk was tortured! "Grandpa is right." Shiro continued, "They tortured me together—'Where are the ashes? You know. Tell me, don't tell me, I'll beat you like this!" In the end, I was hanged for three days , After putting it on the ground, they dragged me to the chopping board and threatened to chop off one finger with a kitchen knife every day...the result was like this.” "It's too cruel. However, why did Amitabha Temple refuse to hand over the ashes after suffering such a great ordeal?" "I heard someone say that it was Master Qingyu's unshakable decision - it is unreasonable to hand over the ashes to the usurper." "Someone? Who?" Niu Yi asked casually, suddenly became excited, and the phrase "usurper" resonated strongly with him. (Maybe that person is by Master Qingyu's side and knows everything.) Niu Yi felt this way, but Zongbingwei bluntly refused to answer. "That person's name, you can't say it!" "After I heard that Hideyoshi was rejected, I searched hard, but why didn't I find the ashes in Amitabha Temple? Shiro, do you know the reason?" This is Niu Yi's biggest question in the past sixteen years. "Well, I don't know. I just remember that Master Qingyu and Uncle Qingru repeatedly ran to the Benneng Temple, and they were very busy. I don't know anything else." "Uncle Qingru?" Since Shiro said so, maybe this is the person mentioned just now. "That's my younger brother's child." Chief Guard interrupted again, "When Master Qingyu was still a student monk, he served him. At that time, his position in the Amitabha Temple was second only to Master Qingyu." "Has he also been tortured so cruelly?" "No. Qingru disappeared a long time ago. He was going to guard the Amitabha Temple, but Master Qingyu ordered him to leave the temple." "Leaving the temple? Was kicked out of the temple? Is that what you mean?" Niu Yi cautiously confirmed. "Yes. Master Qingyu expected that Hideyoshi would come to suppress it, so he ordered Qingru to leave quickly, and quietly help Amitabha Temple outside in the future. So Qingru left the temple with snot and tears." That Qingru must be "someone", Niu Yi's speculation has become a certainty. "Just leave nephew Shiro in the temple?" Niu Yi followed this topic and continued to ask questions. "He didn't expect that even the young monk in the warehouse would be tortured. He later apologized to me, saying that he wanted to keep in touch with Master Qingyu through his nephew after leaving the monastery, so he left Shiro behind. I believe him, he is not A cowardly man who escaped alone." Shiro followed Zoubei's words and said: "Uncle is telling the truth, and I don't hate him. On the third day after I was tortured, someone secretly came to rescue me. Although it is not very clear, the reason why I survived must be Someone outside the temple bribed Hideyoshi’s subordinates and let me out in the dark. Others were tortured more cruelly, and only a few survived. Until now, I believe that it was the uncle who left the temple who wanted to release me. And, fortunately, they only cut off my middle finger. If the index finger is cut off, it will be even more difficult to do the job of "turning the tongue" here." Shiro seemed to be really grateful, and touched his index finger pityingly several times. The so-called "turning the mouth" operation is to pile the clay into a rope shape, knead it repeatedly, and shape the edge into a circle.Using the ingenious cooperation of thumb and forefinger, the potter carefully turns the formed edge to the outside.When he was young, Niu Yi also tried to draw a ladle from a gourd and tried to make it, but he couldn't finish the "turning" with his thick fingers, so he gave up making pots.If there is no index finger, even Shiro would not be able to complete this molding work. Seeing the right time, Niu Yi brought the topic back to the issue of the remains.Master Qingyu refused to hand over the remains to Hideyoshi, saying that the funeral was over.But in the Honnoji Rebellion, could he really find the remains without being discovered by the Zhizhi Army? "I'm sorry, maybe the remains of Amitabha Temple were not found in the first place? Can you think so? To this day, the nonsense that Amitabha Temple has the remains of Nobunaga in the area of ​​Dade Temple is a lie..." Shiro looked at his grandfather and said resolutely, "Master Jifeng, that's impossible. Master Qingyu and Uncle Qingru are not liars." "I can understand your feelings..." Niu Yi said to Shiro slowly, "Then, where did Nobunaga's remains go? Master Qing Yu died, and only Qing Ru remained. Yes What did he say about this?" Zongbingwei replaced Shiro and resolutely said: "Although Qingru is alive, he will never come out now. He is now being hunted down by Hideyoshi, and all our relatives regard him as a dead person and never mention it. Therefore, regarding Nobunaga's remains As for the ashes, Qingru will never say anything about it." "That's a pity. If Amitabha Temple really took in Nobunaga's body on the second morning of the Honnoji Rebellion, how did Amitabha Temple, which is far away from Honnoji Temple, know about it first? I'm going to babble again. Under the strict guard of the Mingzhi Army, how could they collect Nobunaga’s remains? I still don’t understand this question. If this question is not clear, I’m very sorry, but I can’t understand the relationship between Amitabha Temple and Nobunaga’s remains " Niu Yi looked at the two of them back and forth, and expressed his true feelings, "I, Ji Feng, was born with a lot of curiosity. No matter what, if I don't break the casserole and ask the end like this, I feel uncomfortable. This kind of character is also Not good. It’s by no means that I don’t believe what Amidaji and Shiro said.” Sobei replied, "However, one of the secrets of longevity is curiosity." "I'm so happy that you can say that. Once something like this gets in because of curiosity, it's hard to extricate yourself. Even if you lie down, you can't fall asleep. You should go to bed early. Shiro, I don't mean to blame you, don't misunderstand. " "Shiro and I, an old man, can understand. But, Mr. Jifeng, you are very strange. I don't think you are an ordinary reclusive businessman." For a long time, the Zongbingwei stared at Niu Yi intently, as if he wanted to see through him. Soon, the old man called Afeng and whispered: "Afeng, do you know the identity of Master Jifeng? If we tell the truth, we will also consider introducing Aquan to him. Master Jifeng, Qingru When I was a child, my name in this area was A Quan." A Feng did not join their conversation before.She left her seat from time to time, pretending to fetch water, and seemed to be listening with her ears up all the time.Suddenly being questioned by her grandfather, she hesitated for a moment, then answered directly. "I know the identity of Lord Jifeng very well. He has completely abandoned the past, and now he is reciting poems and traveling. But he will not be satisfied with the ordinary romance. The reason why I brought him here, to the land of pottery, is also because of this The reason. As he mentioned just now, Lord Jifeng has always said that he is very interested in Oda and Hashiba. If possible, he would like to write a book and pass on the real situation to future generations. Grandpa, for Uncle Aquan , for the sake of Amitabha Temple, and for the pride of our Tamba mountain people, please trust Lord Jifeng, okay?" Afeng said honestly, his face was a little pale, but his eyes were very serious. "Understood, since Afeng has said so, I believe it. However, what if Aquan says that since Mr. Jifeng doesn't mention the past, he also wants to keep the past dusty?" The commander-in-chief's expression remained serious. "Then it will be difficult. In that case, Lord Jifeng will spoil the fun. Grandpa, please help me with a good word." Afeng begged, but Shiro had a completely different opinion. "Since the incident at Amitabha Temple, my uncle has hated outsiders very much. Except for our relatives, he doesn't believe in anyone else. We can't say anything without asking him what he thinks." "It's really difficult." The chief soldier echoed. However, Afeng smiled and looked at the two of them. "Grandpa, Shiro, Yoshikaze-sama is no longer an outsider to me and Tsuboya's family." "What? Not an outsider? What are you talking about? A Feng." Zongbei looked back and forth at Afeng and Niu Yi.Afeng was not afraid, and said something unexpected. "I already have a child of Lord Yoshikaze. Grandpa, it's not that I want to mess around, but it's Feng... I admire Lord Yoshikaze, no, it's Lord Ota Ushi. I'm very happy. Grandpa, please understand this matter .” As she spoke, she lay on the ground in tears. Hearing Afeng's words, Niu Yi was dumbfounded, even he knew that his face was blushing. The commander-in-chief broke into a smile and shouted. "Great. Ah Feng, this is the best news."