The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 296: Unknown Volcano Monk
"When two tigers fight, one of them will be injured."

"The duty of a warrior is to educate and enlighten the people, farmers, merchants, and industrialists, not to kill each other!"

June of the eighth year of Genwa during the reign of Emperor Go-Mizunoo.

West of Nagasaki Port, Japan, Tangguan (1) Street was bustling with people.

A down-and-out samurai who was determined to avenge his lord, strictly followed the samurai code, and was willing to sacrifice his life for loyalty, after twelve years of ups and downs, finally found his enemy in Nagasaki.

He stopped his enemy's carriage alone.

Not afraid of the dozen or so warriors on the opposite side.

He raised a worn but sharp sword.

The cold light illuminated the frightened face of the enemy in the carriage.

A group of Nagasaki townspeople stood on both sides of the street, pointing and talking, urging the samurai to act quickly so as not to delay everyone's business.

Yes, Nagasaki is a businessmen's world.

There was a faint scent of rouge floating in the air. Several women wearing kimonos as thin as gauze, with thick black hair and blackened teeth, chirped like sparrows and looked over here in horror.

Nagasaki was the only foreign trade city under the Tokugawa shogunate and was also a city of customs.

There is no shortage of women at any time of day or night.

Nagasaki is located between mountains and is connected to the open sea only by a narrow canyon in the south.

In the 16th century, with the active management of Jesuit missionaries and Portuguese merchants, this small border port became a Japanese missionary center with a cathedral and a church school.

Liu Zhaosun led the Kaiyuan army into the pass to quell the rebellion. While being ordered to supervise the country, the shogunate was in turmoil again.

The conflict between the Portuguese forces, who were unwilling to give up their missionary mission, and the Tokugawa shogunate reached its peak.

In the 15th year of the reign of Emperor Keicho, Adams, the president of the Dutch Far East Chamber of Commerce, reminded Tokugawa Hidetada:
Beneath the surface of the Portuguese enthusiasm for missionary work, they were trying to "liberate" the souls of the Japanese and thus gradually make Japan submit to the Pope.

What made the shogunate even more uneasy was that the old Christian countries of Portugal and Spain were ambitious and attempted to colonize Japan. They also joined forces with the anti-shogunate forces led by the Toyotomi clan, threatening the unified regime that had not yet established a firm foothold.

After destroying the Toyotomi clan, the shogunate began to crack down on Catholicism in Japan.

The second shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada, decided to abandon the ambiguous attitude towards the red-haired foreigners and Catholicism during the Ieyasu era.

He was determined to carry out a bloody purge of Catholics in Japan and completely expel Portuguese influence.

The rain is coming and the wind is all over the building.

Nagasaki Dejima (2), located in the vortex, was calm.

"If only Miyamoto Musashi were here, he could have ended the battle in a flash. If all else fails, he could have used his pistol."

"Hahaha, that villain Miyamoto, is he worthy of being called a samurai?"

"I heard that he died in the Ming Dynasty, killed by Tang warriors..."

The vengeful and down-and-out warrior in front of him was surrounded by a group of enemies, and the situation did not look good.

The Tokugawa shogunate hoped to use Confucianism to reshape the various feudal domains, so it did not prohibit samurai from "revenge" and "avenge their lords."

As long as you file a report in advance and don't kill people in the core urban areas of Edo and Osaka, you'll be fine.

Everyone is accustomed to samurai revenge.

Someone mentioned Miyamoto Musashi.

This famous Western warrior finally died.

The Nagasaki people, who were good at gossip, immediately began to talk about the news they had received from Ming merchants.

"It was done by the eunuchs of the East Factory under the command of Prince Ping Liao (a Japanese mispronunciation). In Ningbo, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, Miyamoto was cut in half with a single sword!"

So Shen Lian became a eunuch.

There was a commotion in the distance, and then the townspeople started screaming.

A group of well-armored hatamoto warriors surrounded the family elder's carriage and hurried through the crowd, and a group of people immediately knelt down.

When the carriage had gone far away, someone exclaimed:

"It's Miyamoto Musashi's father, Lord Miyamoto Tokunari!"

The discussion about Miyamoto Musashi stopped.

The old man of the Miyamoto family has a strange temper and a bad temper. After losing his only son, he is already heartbroken and like a tiger in the mountains, he should not be provoked.

Miyamoto Katsunari's carriage quickly passed through the crowd. The family elder sitting in the carriage turned a deaf ear to the townspeople's discussions and even seemed not to see the samurai duel on the street.

He was going to rush to the Nagasaki Bugyo's residence to pay a visit to the Bugyo.

After escaping death from the Ming Dynasty, he had lobbied the Hosokawa clan many times over the past six months, asking the feudal lord to persuade the shogun to launch military action against the Ming Dynasty.

Hosokawa suspected that the family elder had gone mad due to excessive grief, so he asked him to go home to recuperate and return to pledge allegiance to the domain after he recovered.

Miyamoto Katsunari sold his property, left the Hosokawa clan, and went to various feudal domains to lobby.

The time spans spring, summer and autumn.

From the snow to the cherry blossoms blooming again.

From the countryside of Satsuma to the city of Osaka.

The stubborn figures of old people are everywhere.

He begged the feudal lords to persuade the shogun to launch an attack on the Ming Dynasty.

All I got was a flat rejection.

"What? The shogunate is busy dealing with the red-haired barbarians and the Christians! Let the general attack the Ming Dynasty? You fool!" Attacking the Ming Dynasty really sounded like a fantasy.

It should be noted that the Toyotomi clan, which had just been defeated not long ago, wanted to annex the Ming Dynasty and launched the Bunroku-Keicho Campaign.

Later, Toyotomi was defeated in Korea and died in depression.

This led to the rise of the Tokugawa clan.

As long as Tokugawa Hidetada was still clear-headed and not blinded by the beauties of Edo women, he would never have agreed to the Western Expedition.

However, in order to avenge his son and let Miyamoto Musashi's soul find peace, Miyamoto Katsunari decided to spend the rest of his life to capture the enemy who killed his son.

He buried the murderer alive under a cherry tree so that when the cherry blossoms bloomed next year, his son's soul would rest in peace.

Twilight Quadruple.

The geishas, speaking with a Kansai accent, painted their teeth black, their mouths reeking of money, and flirted with the Chinese merchants.

The Miyamoto family elder surveyed the city with indifference.

Gray Nagasaki looked like the mud seeping from between the open toes of a verdant mountain.

The smell of seaweed and sewage, as well as smoke from countless chimneys, was everywhere. Clumps of waterweed floated on the sea, and the streets were bustling more than Edo.

There were traces of blood on the streets.

The vengeful warrior vanished with his enemy.

Looking at the warriors coming and going on the streets, and looking at these distraught nobles, fighting endlessly over trivial matters.

He remembered a limerick popular in Edo:

“To quarrel over a trifle, the clash of scabbards, to engage in meaningless fights, to strike down the opponent and return with his life intact is the true nature of a warrior.” (3)

This was Miyamoto Katsunari's third visit to Nagasaki, to express his gratitude to the Nagasaki Bugyo (4).

He was turned away when he first met Baba Toshishige.

The Nagasaki Bugyo was named Baba Toshishige, a former subordinate of Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada.

Tokugawa Hidetada entrusted the management of the richest trading port in the world to this man, which shows his trust in him.

The Nagasaki Bugyo was required to travel to Edo every year to serve as a sankin-kotai (5). Such a person was the most suitable person to persuade Hidetada to attack the Ming Dynasty.

However, when he heard that Miyamoto wanted him to persuade the shogunate to attack the Ming Dynasty, he immediately sent his retainers to see him off.

I was kicked out on our first meeting.

For the second meeting, Miyamoto prepared even more generous gifts.

Baba Toshishige accepted the gold, silver, and jewelry that the Miyamoto family elder had looted from the Ming Dynasty and gave this father, who was determined to avenge his only son, a piece of advice:
The Shogun longed for immortality, fearing that he would not live as long as his father (Tokugawa Ieyasu).

It is said that Tokugawa Hidetada once studied red-haired barbarian witchcraft in his residence.

The general is not interested in wealth and jewels.

If you want to gain the general's trust, you must offer him a more precious gift, which is the art of immortality.

Baba Toshishige promised that he would write a letter to the shogunate, reporting that the Liaodong Trading Company was constantly infringing on Japan's trade interests and accusing Ming merchants in Nagasaki of various illegal activities:

For example, prostitution, prostitution on credit, drunkenness and fighting...

Miyamoto Katsunari thanked the governor.

Half a month ago, Miyamoto visited the unknown mountain deep in the Koga domain with gifts.

Rumor has it that the monk on the volcano has discovered the secret of eternal life.

After going through many hardships, Miyamoto climbed up Mount Unknown and stood in front of Todai-ji Temple.

The monk did not come out for a long time, so he only sent his disciples to tell the family elder to return to the domain and wait.

Miyamoto refused to leave like this.

He stood at the temple gate, unafraid of the scorching heat, and waited for three days and three nights.

The family elder's sincere and humble attitude towards Buddha finally moved Huiran.

Huiran accepted the gift.

He agreed to go to Edo and persuade the shogunate to use military force against the Ming Dynasty.

Huiran was active during the Bunpo period (1310-1319).

He received the Bodhisattva precepts at the age of sixteen and became the elder of the precept hall of Todai-ji Temple on Mount Shiranui.

He lived in the temple for a long time, studying the doctrines of various religions such as Vinaya, Taimitsu, and Huayan.

Emperor Go-Uda (6) bestowed upon him the title of "Eren Kokushi".

All in all, the monk is now more than four hundred years old.

Note:
1. Tangguan: A gathering place for Chinese merchants at Nagasaki Port
2. Dejima: An artificial island built during the Edo period as part of the shogunate's policy of isolation. Its area is equivalent to two football fields. The original plan was to house the Portuguese. After the Portuguese were expelled, the island was inhabited by Dutch merchants, and Chinese merchants were also allowed to visit.

3. Ihara Saikaku: The Story of the Giri of the Samurai

4. Nagasaki Bugyo, the chief official who oversees the tasks assigned by the shogunate and is in charge of Nagasaki's political affairs.

5. Sankin, also known as sankin, is pronounced "mamieru" in Japanese, meaning "visit" or "an audience." Sankin-kotai refers to a system during the Edo period whereby daimyo would report to the emperor in their fiefdoms and Edo at set intervals. The daimyo's reports in Edo were called "sankin," while their return to their fiefdoms was called "kotai." The daimyo's children and wives were also required to remain in Edo. The daimyo would often return to their fiefdoms for periods of time, only returning to Edo to be with their wives and children.

6. Emperor Go-Uda (December 1267, 12 – July 17, 1324), the 7st Emperor of Japan. In 16, Emperor Kameyama abdicated the throne in favor of the eight-year-old Prince Yasuhito, who became Emperor Go-Uda. During his reign, the Mongol (Yuan Dynasty) army invaded Japan, marking the Bun'ei-Kōan Campaign.

(End of this chapter)