I

Yagyu Jubei's sword was taken and he stood there thinking about how to compete.

Zhao Han glanced outside the door and asked, "Who is on duty today? Everyone, come in!"

The four emperor's personal guards stepped into the side hall.

Zhao Han said to one of them: "Zhou Yingkui, come and compete. Remember, don't kill him."

"According to the order!" Zhou Yingkui said with cupped hands.

Zhao Han's two thousand personal guards, except for the armored soldiers who were all in plate armor, had also been on the battlefield. To be selected as the emperor's personal guard, one must meet three conditions: first, a person of pure origin; second, bravery in battle; third, tall and mighty.

Zhou Yingkui was born in a merchant family and liked to dance with swords and sticks since he was a child. After fighting on the battlefield for three years, he was selected as a personal guard and practiced swordsmanship with a famous master.

Seeing that Yagyu Jubei had no armor on his body, he took off his armor as well, held his hands in his hands and said, "Nice to meet you!"

Yagyu Jubei bowed in return and said something Zhou Yingkui couldn't understand.

"Qiang!

Zhou Yingkui unsheathed his sword and threw the scabbard to his colleagues.

Yagyu Jubei also slowly drew out his sword, bent down and placed the scabbard on the ground. Then he raised the knife forward with both hands, stared at his opponent's eyes, stepped forward with his feet and walked slowly.

Zhou Yingkui also held a sword with both hands. This was a broad battlefield sword, but the blade was shorter than a sword.

Although the sword is short, the man is long.

Yagyu Jubei's head only reached Zhou Yingkui's chest. This battle seemed very unfair.

Suddenly, Zhou Yingkui took half a step forward and struck the opponent's right shoulder with his sword.

Yagyu Jubei raised his sword to block, suddenly stepped forward with his left foot to close the distance, and then slashed Zhou Yingkui's left shoulder with his sword. This is a classic move of Yagyu Shininryu. Unfortunately, he met the wrong opponent. Zhou Yingkui's move was so powerful that it caused Yagyu Jubei's subsequent moves to deform.

Moreover, when Yagyu Jubei slashed his left shoulder, Zhou Yingkui did not dodge, and stabbed the opponent's throat with both hands.

Yagyu Jubei quickly blocked and took advantage of the situation to distance himself.

This kind of competition cannot go on. Yagyu Jubei is a master of martial arts, and his sword skills are very advantageous when the two are duel. Zhou Yingkui practiced battle formation swordsmanship and usually wore armor. When his opponent slashed his left shoulder just now, he didn't even bother to dodge. Instead, he stabbed his opponent in the throat with his sword.

If Yagyu Jubei did not block and dodge, one of the shoulders would be injured and the other would die on the spot without both sides wearing armor. If both sides wear armor, Zhou Yingkui can instantly kill Yagyu Jubei at the cost of minor injuries.

Lin Luoshan couldn't understand it at all, and was quite anxious. He was afraid that Yagyu Jubei would lose, and he was also afraid that the Chinese emperor's bodyguard would be injured.

"Okay, no need to compete." Zhao Han suddenly stopped. He had already seen what was going on.

If you continue to fight, you will either die or be injured.

Yagyu Jubei quickly picked up the scabbard, bowed to Zhou Yingkui, and then knelt down to Zhao Han. He was so frightened that his vest was sweating. The sword that had just stabbed his throat seemed to feel death approaching.

Sitting back again, Lin Luoshan asked in a low voice: "Who won?"

Yagyu Jubei said: "It's a tie."

"Tie?" Lin Luoshan didn't understand.

Yagyu Jubei said: "This is a battlefield warrior. If you continue to fight, there are only two results. One is that one person is killed and the other is injured, and the other is that everyone dies. And his sword is too heavy and different from Japanese swords. . I have never encountered it before, and I may not be able to cope with it and suffer a loss."

Zhou Yingkui blushed and said, "Your Majesty..."

"Don't blame yourself, go back to duty." Zhao Han said with a smile.

Zhou Yingkui bowed and backed away, feeling a little frustrated. As far as martial arts skills were concerned, he had already lost just now. Using a life-changing style of play to destroy all the opponent's tricks is simply unreasonable.

Of course, if he wore a full set of armor, like Yagyu Jubei's, he felt he could fight five with one.

Zhao Han praised: "Your Excellency is indeed superb in martial arts."

Yagyu Jubei quickly stood up: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the compliment."

Zhao Han said to Lin Luoshan again: "I like General Tokugawa's gift very much. When you leave Nanjing, you should also bring him a gift back."

"Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty!" Lin Luoshan felt that the establishment of diplomatic relations was stable this time.

The gifts sent by Tokugawa Iemitsu were a famous sword and a folding fan. Apart from this kind of thing, Japan could not get anything else.

As for Zhao Han, just give him a few pieces of porcelain in return.

Zhao Han said: "No matter how big or small, I know the teachings of the sages, and I hope Japan will remember them."

Along with the gift, I received a diplomatic letter from the shogunate.

It is nothing more than the rhetoric that big things should be done small, big countries should treat small countries with benevolence, and small countries should treat big countries with sincerity. Both sides follow Confucian diplomatic principles and have a common language, at least... on the surface.

Lin Luoshan explained: "Your Majesty, the pirates who have repeatedly attacked Ming merchant ships have nothing to do with the shogunate. They are all defeated and expelled ronin. If there are still pirates attacking Chinese merchant ships, please send an envoy to inform them, and the shogunate will do everything possible." Destroy with all your strength."

Zhao Han smiled and said: "If we encounter pirates, my navy will destroy them."

Lin Luoshan added: "After the two countries have established diplomatic relations, please allow your Majesty to allow Japan to send envoys to the Tang Dynasty."

"These envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty should stay at Jinling University to study." Zhao Han agreed.

There will definitely be a fee!

Lin Luoshan said: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

What the Tokugawa Shogunate meant was to open three ports to Chinese merchants. One is in Nagasaki, the second is in Iwami, and the third is in Shimonoseki. The first two are direct jurisdictions of the shogunate, and Shimonoseki plans to become a direct jurisdiction, which is nothing more than an exchange of interests with the feudal lord.

However, Chinese businessmen could only trade with the shogunate, and privately trading with daimyo would be tantamount to breaking up.

Lin Luoshan took the delegation back to the hotel and went to visit Nanjing the next day. He will live in Nanjing for a while, go to Japan with the canonized envoy from Datong, and also take the opportunity to exchange knowledge with the great Confucian scholars in Nanjing.

Toilet paper is useful, and Qian Qianyi is useful again at this time.

He was responsible for accompanying Lin Luoshan on his outings, and the two hit it off and collaborated in many fields such as Neo-Confucianism, painting, and calligraphy.

Returning to the hotel in the evening, Lin Luoshan sighed: "As expected of China, there are indeed well-educated people."

Another day, Lin Luoshan went to a bookstore. The dazzling array of books made him dizzy.

I bought one or two books of various kinds, including Classics and History, Laws and Water Conservancy, and finally opened this year's "Datong Collection".

"Sanyuan Chapter" was printed at the front. Lin Luoshan was shocked after reading it and said to the bookstore owner: "This, this, this... this kind of nonsense, how dare you put it on the bookshelf for sale?"

The bookstore owner was also frightened and said quickly: "Sir, please don't talk nonsense. This is a legitimate book. Your Majesty personally wrote the preface! There are several articles in it that are written by His Majesty."

Lin Luoshan quickly looked through it, and was so shocked that he finally understood what kind of emperor Zhao Han was.

This kind of book must not be spread to Japan. When you go back, ask the shogunate to ban it!

"Sir, there are Nanman." Yagyu Jubei suddenly reminded.

Lin Luoshan turned around and saw that there were both red-haired ghosts and golden-haired ghosts. He asked the bookstore owner in a low voice: "Are there people from Sifan often here?"

The bookstore owner smiled and said: "Two of them are from Qintianyuan. They helped to revise the new calendar. Your Majesty gave them the title of bachelor. There is another one whom I don't recognize. He may also be Mr. Fan Bang."

Lin Luoshan asked again: "Is Western religion allowed here?"

The bookstore owner said: "There is a church in the west of the city. You are only allowed to preach inside. If you are found preaching outside the church, you will be expelled overseas. Last year, one was expelled and fined fifty taels of silver."

"That's okay." Lin Luoshan nodded.

Lin Luoshan didn't want to be in the same room with the Xifan barbarians, so he asked his men to leave with their books.

After wandering around for a while, I came to a cloth shop.

Lin Luoshan stroked a piece of silk, and he couldn't put it down because of its delicate and smooth touch: "Such fine silk and satin is rare even in Edo. It is like a girl's skin."

When asked about the price again, Lin Luoshan was stunned.

Not because it is too expensive, but because it is too cheap. The price is only one-fifth of that in Edo.

Lin Luoshan almost spent all his money on buying silk. Yagyu Jubei also bought one and planned to take it back to Japan to make clothes. This thing saves money and can be worn for half a lifetime.

Seeing these Japanese people, who looked like they had never seen the world, the store clerk sent them away with a flattering look on his face, then turned around with a contemptuous smile.

Although he hated "Datong Collection", Lin Luoshan liked Nanjing and went shopping every day. He almost visited all of Nanjing in half a month.

"This is a place for retirement!"

Lin Luoshan was sitting in a private room of the restaurant, and even ordered artists to sing songs, feeling intoxicated by the delicious food.

Especially the red-oiled and white-chopped chicken, Lin Luoshan was so spicy that it gave her a stomach ache, but she still came here to eat it every time. This stuff has been introduced to Japan a long time ago and is called "Tang Xinzi" or "Nanman Pepper". It was used as an ornamental plant in the early days, and now it is used as a seasoning and medicine, but they only know how to grind it into chili powder.

Yagyu Jubei burped and was in a daze. He was so happy these days and had gained several pounds. Unfortunately, all the money he brought had been spent.

"Where have all the poor people in China gone?" Jubei Yagyu suddenly asked a question.

Lin Luoshan was stunned, and then he remembered that they had never seen any poor people along the way.

Of course, the poor people in their impression are the kind of poor people who have no clothes and can only hug each other in the shack to keep warm in winter.

Lin Luoshan couldn't understand, so he could only forcefully explain: "Ruling the country with Confucianism and educating all the people will lead to great governance in the world and everyone will be well fed and clothed."

Lin Luoshan himself doesn't believe this kind of nonsense. He is not only a Neo-Confucian, but also a Japanese politician.

The Huang Mao they met in the bookstore before was Peter Mundy, who had communicated with Zhao Han in Guangzhou.

This British businessman, explorer and travel writer is writing in the inn at the moment:

"I handed over the business to my younger brother and took a boat to Nanjing, the capital of China. I visited Quanzhou, Fuzhou, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Zhenjiang on the way. Except for the emerging Shanghai, the other cities were prosperous and wealthy. Every city can serve as the capital of a European country..."

"China is just like what Marco Polo described, full of gold and endless wealth."

"You won't see beggars and vagrants here. I asked the Chinese officials. If there are beggars and vagrants, they will be sent to the north for reclamation. The emperor will allocate land to them, lend them seeds, and rent them cattle for farming. , these things need to be repaid in installments. I heard that the north experienced a brutal war and many people died there. But as long as His Majesty the Emperor insists on immigration, the north will definitely be as prosperous as the south."

"There is a miracle in Nanjing. It is a pagoda that is 270 feet high and made entirely of colored glaze. God, I was scared that day and I was so excited that I couldn't sleep."

"The lowest citizens in Nanjing can also get abundant food through work. All children here can go to school for free, and those ten-year-old children, even girls, can read and read. It's unbelievable, it's really unbelievable, China is full of scholars.”

"The skin color of Nanjing people is paler than that of the Guangzhou people I have seen. Perhaps the sun here is not so harsh. The Chinese people's skin is the work of the gods. They are fair and delicate..."

"I learned to use chopsticks. I retract my previous inappropriate remarks. Using chopsticks to eat is not a barbaric act. Many delicacies in China must be tasted with chopsticks, otherwise it will be a very embarrassing thing..."

"There is another important discovery. From Guangzhou to Nanjing, citizens in these cities use glass to decorate their doors and windows. The doors and windows are made of wood with many small grids, and beautiful light green glass is inlaid in these small grids. Not only does it transmit light, it also allows The interior is bright and gorgeous. It is so luxurious that even His Majesty the King cannot decorate the castle with a lot of glass..."

Peter Mundy's travel notes to Guangdong a few years ago had caused a sensation in the UK. This time he came to China for business and was entrusted by the King of England to bring a private letter from the King of England to the Emperor of China.

"Destiny, King of England, Charles, to His Majesty, the greatest and invincible Emperor of China..."