Chapter 29 Section five

Entering August, it's not so hot all of a sudden.One morning, a man stood in front of Niu Yi's residence, as if scrupulous about his surroundings, he called in a low voice, "Is anyone home?" Niu Yi was busy deworming the vegetables in the vegetable field in the courtyard, but he didn't hear him at first.After planting by himself, Niu Yi discovered that there were many pests in the vegetable field. After returning to Osaka, he came to the vegetable field to eliminate insects almost every morning.Those vegetables with fewer wormholes enriched his and Tazhi's dinner table, but the price they paid was that their hands and feet were swollen from mosquito bites.Niu Yi couldn't let the mosquitoes bite him silently like Uncle Aquan said by Duozhi. He slapped the mosquitoes to the ground many times——he thought of Qingru in his mind at this moment.

He heard the cry and had an intuition in his heart. (Could it be him?) A man walked into the courtyard. He was wearing a fat underworld uniform with wide cuffs, and his bamboo hat was pressed down very low. He was tall and taller than Niu Yi by a punch. "Are you Ota-sama? This is the first time we met, I am Qingru." The tall man slowly took off his bamboo hat and bowed deeply. Qing Ru has a shaved head, gray hair can be seen from the roots of his hair, his face is fair and his white eyebrows are thick and long, which looks uncoordinated. "Oh, oh. I didn't expect you to come. I'm sorry."

Niu Yi took off the gloves he wore when working in the vegetable field, and saluted back. "After thinking about it last night, I felt that I should still visit the house, so I came from Kyoto rashly." His voice was soft and incongruous with his tall stature. "From Kyoto?" "I run a pawn shop in Takakura-dori, Chukyo, and I'm also called Haya Gonbei." After exchanging pleasantries, Niu Yi invited him to the study.He originally planned to let Duozhi make tea, but Qingru wanted to drink boiled water.Qing Ru drank two cups in one breath, sat down again, and spoke.Qingru's eyes are clear, and he stares straight at Niu Yi.

"I am here this time for no other reason. After careful consideration, I decided to ask three points and tell the story seven points." Niu Yi didn't speak, but nodded, but the long-lost tension still ran down his spine. "After you have finished asking and answering the questions, I plan to tell some things about Amitabha Temple, including the remains of Oda Nobunaga, the secret of the cremation, etc. I have considered that Master Qingyu, the dead teacher who fought to keep the secret together, also wants me to Just do it. This is all speculation and imposition on my part, please bear with me."

Ask questions first, and then consider whether to tell and how much to tell after listening.Although he speaks softly, Niu Yi can still feel that he is very principled and he does things in an orderly manner. Quan Bingwei spoke forcefully, but his expression was still kind.He has a serious expression, an imposing manner, and strong words—the will of the dead teacher.For a moment, Niu Yi took a deep breath, thinking about Quan Bingwei's true intentions. Now, what I want to know most is the whereabouts of Nobunaga's remains. This is a long-cherished wish for many years. If it has been cremated, where are the ashes.If the truth can be revealed from Quan Bingwei's mouth, it will be a windfall.Although he didn't know what his problem was, and he didn't know why his tone was serious, but Niu Yi still understood that he was very straightforward and could accept his request.

"Understood. After a while, I will ask about the remains of Oda Nobunaga and the cremation. You can ask first, as long as I know, I will speak openly. What do you want to know?" "Thank you. Let's not talk about what you know, Ota-sama, I want to hear your frank opinion first." The other party's expression eased slightly, as if he was relieved. "Yeah, what about it?" "Do you like or hate Nobunaga? Or do you think he is a respectable person?" Niu Yi smiled wryly, "This is a very difficult question to answer." "I heard from Afeng that Mr. Ota wrote the memorabilia of Oda Nobunaga. I think that since you can write a person's life with all your heart and soul, you must respect him very much." He looked at Niu Yi again, his eyes burning.

"It's absolutely correct. If you don't admire that person, you won't want to write a memorabilia." Niu Yi admitted this honestly. "Is Nobunaga really worthy of respect? The benevolent sees benevolence, and the wise see wisdom. Looking back on the past, I hated Nobunaga very much in the first half of my life, and Hideyoshi in the second half of my life. Although it is a little bit weaker now, I still have a grudge against Nobunaga. Because of this, I always feel that there is an invisible wall between you and me, preventing us from having a heart-to-heart talk."

The other party's confession was very direct. "I see. So, does Lord Qingyu hate Nobunaga as much as you do?" "My master is different. The master has always pitied Nobunaga. He has a compassionate heart." "Poor... compassionate heart..." Niu Yi remembered hearing the same words somewhere. I remembered.A maid once said that when Nobunaga was young, he disguised himself as a boy and hid himself.At that time, that's how the woman commented on Master Ji - "Poor little lord." Niu Yi temporarily sealed that memory in his mind, took a deep breath, and talked about his thoughts.

"To be honest, to this day, I still think that Nobunaga has a charm that transcends good and evil. This is my motivation for writing." "Charm? What exactly is charm?" Quan Hei's eyes lit up, as if to say don't fool me. "This may be the key turning point in today's talks." Niu Yi told himself word by word in his heart, and spoke slowly. "That kind of state of mind, how should I put it? It's like facing a high mountain without fear, but just looking forward to it without distracting thoughts. For Nobunaga, you can't think about it in the way of ordinary people. There are some things in him that you can't use likes and dislikes, good and evil. Come to judge and judge. He not only killed samurai, but also killed thousands of innocent people, the old and the weak, women and children. If you let the monks of Mt. He has become a murderer and a person who is not tolerated by heaven. However, no matter how great his shortcomings are, his strengths are too outstanding, which does not affect his stalwart and tallness at all. Isn't it? I want to pass on Nobunaga's extraordinary life to future generations. It's my state of mind... He has been dead for sixteen years, but for the sake of this country, we still need Nobunaga. It is a pity that he died before he was fifty. I firmly believe that the times need Nobunaga."

"Why do you need Nobunaga? Why is it a pity? Please enlighten me." Quan Bingwei leaned over and looked straight at Niu Yi with a focused expression, wanting to hear Niu Yi's opinion further.Niu Yi was moved by him, and for the first time wanted to express his inner thoughts seriously.He didn't even say these words to Omura Yuki. "Okay, then wait a moment." After making up his mind, Niu Yi went to the library, thought for a while, took out ten pieces of Jinping candy, and two file bags, big and small, and put them between the two of them. "One is candy from the West." He looked straight at Quan Beiwei, observing the other party's reaction.

"Hey, this is Jinpei candy. I know it." Gonhei's eyes lit up, "In the past, Oda Nobunaga often gave these candies to my master, and I was there with him. I haven't seen this kind of candy for several years." , I miss it so much. After being imprisoned by Hideyoshi, Master also quietly brought that candy in. And..." Having said this, Quan Bingwei suddenly choked up. "Oh, oh, I'm sorry. I heard that after being imprisoned by Hideyoshi, the master could only get a bowl of porridge as thin as clear water and a glass of salt water every day. He was skinny and skinny. Therefore, the eunuch who survived secretly mixed Jinping sugar In the scriptures given to him. This is the last food for the master to survive. I suddenly thought of these, and unconsciously..." "I really didn't expect Master Qingyu to be treated like this." Niu Yi couldn't hide his surprise. "Okay, excuse me. I'll talk about the specifics later. Please continue talking about Nobunaga's Kopeito." Quan Bingwei clenched his hands into fists, wiped his tears, and urged Niu Yi to continue talking. "Even now, the confectioners in this country can't make this kind of Kopei candy. Not to mention cannons and iron boats, even such a candy, this country is inferior to Western countries. It is sad and disappointing. When Nobunaga was alive, he often did this. Lament. Today, if we don’t catch up with them, this country will be attacked by the West sooner or later, and it will be completely vulnerable. In history, when fighting the Mongols, because of the decisive decision of Kamakura-sama (Hojo Tokimune) and the typhoon The country survived the attack. But the next time it is invaded, it will not be so lucky. The Westerners are different from the Mongols, they have iron ships and cannons, and more importantly, they are more familiar with the sky than us, and they will not be killed by typhoons. Take death. That's what Nobunaga-kun said to me. Look!" Niu Yi opened the document wrapped in persimmon lacquer paper. "This is a variety of calendars in our country, including Omiya calendar, Mishima calendar, Beijing calendar, Nanto calendar, Ise calendar, etc. I heard that there are some different calendars in other places. The regions are different, not to mention the days, even the months. Different, this is the calendar of our country. When I wrote the memorabilia of Mr. Nobunaga, it was very painful to adjust the date because the calendars were different. In contrast, Western countries are dozens of times larger than our country, but their calendars are unified. And Westerners tell Lord Nobunaga, their almanacs are very accurate, with a difference of only one day in four years. I asked why the Japanese almanacs are not accurate, and Lord Nobunaga said on the spot - that is because the imperial court in charge of the calendar did not have the power to unify the calendar , not only that, those onmyojis who are responsible for observing the celestial phenomena are also neglectful and incompetent." "Will Nobunaga be worried about that kind of thing?" Gonbei opened his eyes wide, looking surprised. "Yes. Lord Nobunaga saw another world, a world more advanced than ours. In the Ten Years of Tensho, when Lord Nobunaga was murdered, it was strange that two things related to astronomical phenomena happened in the West. One was the fall of that year, The Westerners changed all the dates in the almanac at once. They said that the whole country was advanced by ten days. After hearing about it from the missionaries, Nobunaga-kun told the matter to Lord Yumon Hisashi, the head of the court’s onmyoji, and advised him. ——In Japan, there is also a big difference between the almanac and people’s sense of the seasons, and corresponding countermeasures should be taken. But the other side turned a deaf ear to it, and instead slandered Nobunaga, accusing the emperor who is in charge of the astronomical phenomenon, saying that he is a troublemaker.” "Observation and timing"——according to the correct data of celestial observations, issuing almanacs—has been the duty of emperors since ancient times, and it is also a symbol of emperor's authority.The Japanese court, which had acquired this authority from China, demanded that the common people tacitly observe the calendar established by the Emperor as proof of allegiance.This is probably the first time that the imperial court's erroneous calendar has been openly criticized by people with Western knowledge. Since the abolition of the Tang Dynasty (894), the Japanese calendar has been in use for about 700 years. No new astronomical knowledge has been introduced from China, and no reforms have been made to the calendar theory at all.Therefore, there is a big difference between the seasons on the almanac and the seasons felt by people. This is the fate of the lunar calendar. ——The lunar calendar formulated according to the moon is about eleven days shorter than the solar calendar, so there is a seasonal difference of ten days every year, which is close to one month in three years, so a leap month is added to make it thirteen months, in order to try to adjust the seasons. This is called the lunar solar calendar. During the Tianzheng year, there are leap months in the second, fifth, and eighth years of Tianzheng, but this is only a standard for adjusting the error of eleven days. Strictly speaking, there is still a difference.At that time, there was a big difference between the seasons on the almanac and the seasons felt by people. Even in daily life, people could feel it through their skin; even Western countries abolished Yuri The Uz calendar, using the Gregorian calendar, changed October 5th to October 15th. When farmers plant rice seedlings and raise silkworms, they must refer to the almanac. For the ruler Nobunaga, this must not be taken lightly.When deciding to mobilize troops and issue orders, the almanac also plays an important role, and cannot be ignored. Farmers at that time were so troubled that they could not believe in the almanac, so in order to indicate the seasons, they had to add twenty-four solar terms to it.This is a manifestation of the chaos of the almanac. Considering this background, Nobunaga's criticism of the court is correct, and it is by no means a criticism. "One more thing. In the tenth year of Tianzheng, there was a dispute between the West and China in predicting the solar eclipse, not just on a certain day, but when it was accurate. They competed with each other-whether it was an hour early or an hour late. However, the Japanese imperial court always believed that the solar eclipse was an ominous omen, closed the palace gates, did not go to the morning court, and blindly rested. Nobunaga, who had a strong curiosity about everything, was shocked by this inaction of the imperial court and wanted to start from Fundamentally change the country. He started with Azuchi Castle first." "Is Antu City a pilot for reform?" Quan Bingwei showed an incredulous expression, Niu Yi ignored him, spread out the large document, and continued talking. "This is the blueprint of Azuchi Castle. Look. This is the castle tower." The schematic diagram of "Tenshu Diagram" is the painstaking effort of the ghost Okabe Mataemon, and it was given to Uiichi by Kimura Jirozaemon. Since he wrote "Nobunaga Ji", this is the second time he has opened this diagram.As predicted at the time, Jirozaemon died in the line of duty while fighting the Akechi Army at Hyakuhyakubashiguchi. "Tianshu? Is that the frightening tower? The surrounding people call it the Tower of Evil Ghosts. I heard that hundreds of ordinary people who moved the foundation stone disappeared, and all of them became sacrifices..." Quan Bingwei stared at Jian Tu bitterly. "Nobunaga did not take them as sacrifices. When they were about to lift the boulder, many people were buried under the rope because the rope fell off. The officials in charge of the construction were afraid that Nobunaga would be angry. In order to conceal the failure of the construction, the farmers' The body is hidden. This is the truth. After all, there is no need to use such a large stone to build a city. Hashiba, Takikawa, and Niwa came up with this bad idea in order to please Nobunaga. Blame the three of them. I also heard that it is now in ruins, but near the place where the farmers were buried, there are still groans every night." "My master originally planned to go there to recite sutras, but he never had the chance to go." Quan Bingwei's face was gloomy, perhaps recalling the scene back then. "That's a pity. Well, let's talk about this castle tower. In Azuchi Castle, these two characters should be written as 'God'." ——The current daimyo is indiscriminate. As long as the castle is built, the castle tower must be built. They all want to imitate Azuchi The city built a watchtower for the lord of the city. In fact, that is not the case at all. The castle tower of Azuchi Castle has other uses." "Then why did he build such a tower?" "No one is allowed to go to the top seven floors. Everything is just my speculation. It is not for looking down from the top, but to see the higher places from there. If you want to monitor the actions of the enemies below, you should rush The castle tower was built along the street, but the castle tower in Azuchi Castle was built facing east, west, north, south." "Above? Is it the sky?" "That's right, it's the sky. It's observing the sky! I think the so-called Tianshou means 'watching the sky'. And, it's with the emperor." "With the Emperor? You mean he intends to bring the Emperor to Azuchi?" Gonbei showed an expression of disbelief. "Maybe he planned that. Otherwise, why did Lord Nobunaga build a wide road in Azuchi Castle? Why did he build an imperial cab in this city? Everything is for the emperor to come and live in Antu. The reason why Nobunaga The purpose of taking craftsman Mataemon to Kyoto is to let him explain the structure of the living room to the Emperor." "However, why did the emperor abandon Kyoto? It is an ancient capital with a long history. To say something offensive, Oda Nobunaga is just a general. Can we forgive him for his monopoly?" Quan Bingwei still refused to give up, very stubborn. "Indeed, Kyoto is a great ancient capital, with beautiful mountains and clear waters. Why did the emperor be brought to a remote country like Azuchi? People will find it strange. In fact, as the residence of the emperor, Kyoto has fatal flaws." "Flaw? What flaw?" "In Kyoto, you can't see the sun, the moon rises, and you can't see the stars clearly. It's just because it is a basin surrounded by mountains, so you can't grasp the correct time and position of the celestial phenomena, and you can't figure out the seasonal movement of the celestial phenomena. I heard that No matter China or Western countries, they build tall imperial cities on flat land. This cannot be done on basins.” "Does the emperor agree?" "In order to convince the emperor, Nobunaga took great pains. Only I know this now. Ten years after Tianzheng, Nobunaga was impatient, so he went to Kyoto to persuade him one last time. He gave the emperor a deadline before June 2 Tell me whether you are going to Azuchi. On that morning, Nobunaga was attacked by Akechi Mitsuhide. At that time, why Nobunaga, who was in Beijing, entered Honnoji Temple without troops. People thought it was because of his arrogance and negligence, but it was not. Before we set off, those of us Anzu's close officials were also worried about this kind of thing, and we talked to him. Nobunaga was also very aware of the lack of guards, but he only smiled and told me his thoughts-if he led the army to seek I don’t know how future generations will comment on such an important answer from the Emperor. He does not want to leave a notoriety like Takashi Ashikaga. Speaking of which, you can somewhat understand my state of mind—this country needs Lord Nobunaga, he forty It's a pity to die at the age of nine. Now, are you willing to tell the secret between yourself and Master Qingyu?" Niu Yi asked confidently.As expected, Kwon Hei smiled and nodded. "The haze in my heart dissipated a little, but..." "What else is there to ask?" "To be honest, you just said too many things about the upper class, which I didn't expect. However, Nobunaga's attitude towards the emperor is indeed very tough. It's not that I don't believe Mr. Ota, it's just that the people in Kyoto at that time were very strict with Nobunaga in the palace. Zhong’s domineering appearance was very disgusting, and he sympathized with the poor emperor in private. In November of the seventh year of Tianzheng, Nobunaga built a new house in Erjo, and asked the then prince of the East Palace to move there, insisting on separating him from his father. When the prince of the East Palace moved When we moved to the new residence, the atmosphere was gloomy, and it felt like a funeral. The people on both sides of the road cried and saw him off. Even my master Qingyu sighed for Nobunaga’s behavior to the emperor. The real thoughts of the people are—good job! As a result, the evil spirits disappeared. These circumstances are completely different from what you just said. I didn't expect that Nobunaga planned to observe the celestial phenomena in harmony with the Emperor... Time, I can't believe it. What evidence do you have for this?" "Indeed, his tough attitude towards the court made people sweat. He once asked the emperor to abdicate, and the subordinates committed crimes. Later, he divided the court into two parts: the emperor and the princes and ministers. He thought calmly. He once clearly said to me , in order to eliminate the influence of princes and ministers, the emperor must be invited to Anzu. He never thought of taking the emperor's position, and I have evidence..." "Do you have definite evidence?" Quan Bingwei looked at Niu Yi suspiciously. "Of course. However, after listening to what Kwon Hei said, I will make it clear again. Although I said to answer the question first, I didn't say to show evidence. I didn't play tricks." Niu Yi smiled.