Chapter 119 Disposal

Ten days later, the ceremony to worship Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong began as scheduled. At 2:15 a.m. on that day, the carriages of the black ship nobles meandered into Edo Castle, passed through the streets filled with fluttering white cloth and incense (all generously contributed by the daimyo), and rested temporarily at the foot of the castle tower, leaving the samurai and officials on both sides crawling all over the street, without revealing their faces at all.

At this point, the preparations made by the daimyo before came into play. No matter how arrogant and conceited this young nobleman of unknown origin was, he had to show respect to the previous emperors of Da'an. After resting for a while, the nobleman stepped down from the carriage, went to the portraits of saints displayed outside the castle tower to pay their respects, and devoutly burned incense to them one by one.

Of course, the Japanese barbarians were not familiar with etiquette, and there were many jokes in the ceremony; but the nobles were magnanimous and tried their best to tolerate them (such as Emperor Gaozu's shoe-horn face). However, some mistakes were too outrageous, and even with compassion, they could not be tolerated.

"Whose portrait is this?"

The nobleman stopped at a portrait behind Emperor Taizong, and his expression suddenly became quite mysterious.

Sakai, who was serving beside him, was slightly stunned. He looked carefully at the face in the portrait and found that he could not recognize it at all. Of course, this was also very normal. The daimyo would never know the appearance of the emperor of the Central Plains. These portraits were purchased from Chinese merchants who were staying in Japan at a high price. Many of them were simply fabricated and played by themselves. Even the person in the underworld might not recognize their own face. This kind of fabrication was naturally a great offense, but it was excusable after all, and it was not necessary to be petty...

...Oh, no, there is a line of small words written under this strange portrait:

[Emperor Daanrang’s Imperial Statue]

"Emperor Rang." The nobleman said calmly, "I have also paid respects to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, so how come I don't know who this Emperor Rang is?"

Mr. Sakai was dumbfounded, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead!

Of course, the nobles in the Central Plains would not know about this emperor who abdicated, or even if they knew, they would never admit it - because this so-called "emperor who abdicated" was actually the Emperor Jianwen who left on a white cloud!

Although the government tried its best to erase all traces of Jianwen, the people - especially those in the south - were still quite sympathetic to this emperor who disappeared inexplicably; "Giving up the throne" was also a title given to Jianwen privately by coastal merchants, implying that Emperor Jianwen was humble and took the initiative to give up the throne to his good uncle Zhu Laosi. Fujian and other places even had wild ideas. Based on the legend that Jianwen fled to Southeast Asia, they enshrined this "Ren Emperor" as a god who protects navigation and fishing, and even combined the worship with that of Emperor Taizong Zhu Laosi, hoping to dispel the resentment between the uncle and nephew - I wonder what these two would think in the underworld.

Daan’s intelligence channel is a big colander. Even if they know something, they can only turn a blind eye. But no matter how tolerant and patient the court is, you are now dancing in front of the master, which is too outrageous!

You dare to offer sacrifices to the emperor today. I dare not even imagine what you will dare to do in the future!

"...Let the emperor, let the emperor, how bold." The noble said softly: "After hundreds of years, has the Wandering Jianwen Plan spread to Japan? If this continues, are you going to counterattack the mainland?"

Mr. Sakai:? ? !

The monk was totally confused and didn't understand any crazy talk like "The Wandering Jianwen Plan". He just instinctively caught the key word "Jianwen" and blurted out subconsciously:

"How can our country know about such a thing? This must be instigated by treacherous people!"

Once the matter of Emperor Jianwen is weighed, even a thousand pounds cannot stop it; instead of making futile excuses, it is better to pass the buck quickly!

"A traitor instigated? Which traitor is instigating?" The nobleman said calmly, "Is the Zen master hinting that there are also remnants of Jianwen on the island?"

"Yes, it's the remnants of Jianwen!" Sakai's forehead was covered with sweat: "It's all the remnants of Jianwen who are responsible for this omission..."

"Who are the remnants of Jianwen?" The nobleman muttered to himself, but suddenly realized: "Satsuma Domain? No wonder they dared to treat Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong with such disrespect that they didn't even prepare any fruits for the sacrifice!"

Too bad for Satsuma! It turns out that in addition to tolerating the Japanese pirates, the Satsuma clan was secretly colluding with the remnants of Jianwen and plotting a counterattack on the mainland! Now it seems that their deliberate failure to prepare persimmons and grapes for sacrificial offerings is irrefutable evidence of their contempt for the monarch and their intent to usurp power!

Mr. Sakai: ………Ah?

This sudden turn was so unexpected that he felt completely at a loss as to what to do. But now that things have come to this, I can't just bite the bullet and take the blame for others, so I can only reluctantly agree:

"…Your Excellency is right."

"The remnants of Jianwen have evil ambitions, so we must not let them go lightly." The noble said, "Since they are so arrogant, shouldn't all the people involved be severely punished?"

"……yes."

In just a few words, not only the Satsuma Domain, but also many daimyos and feudal lords who had ties with the Satsuma Domain would probably suffer severe punishment, and their power would be almost wiped out, making it difficult for them to recover. What is even more terrifying is that such punishment is not even within the control of the shogunate. Even if the general intends to let someone go, there will definitely be daimyo who aspire to advance and bravely step forward to take the initiative to act as a sharp knife for the people of the Central Plains!

According to the outline of the Black Ship Agreement, Da'an merely recognized the secular authority of the Shogun over the entire East Japan, but did not recognize the shogunate's eternal lineage and the succession from father to son; as long as the power was reversed and an outsider received the favor of the Central Plains, it would be possible for a usurpation of power.

This is a sword hanging over their heads, enough to intimidate the shogunate's officials into being unable to move. But it turns out that there is more than one mine buried in the Black Ship Agreement. After staying for a while, the nobleman met with several prominent officials of the shogunate and ordered rewards to be distributed to reward them for their hard work in preparing for the ceremony. The superior country is always magnanimous. Although the so-called "Emperor" and the Shogun were not present (the Emperor was so poor that he could not even afford the travel expenses, and the Shogun was seriously ill and could not get up at all), the rewards prepared were also complete. However, when the shogunate's elder family leader Mito clan examined the gifts, he was shocked: there was nothing wrong with the reward to the shogun, but there was inexplicably one more reward to the emperor, and the specifications were exactly the same!

No detail in diplomacy can be neglected, so he quickly bowed and asked for instructions, asking whether there was any deviation in the gift.

"Deviation? There is no deviation." The nobleman glanced at the gift list and said, "The other one is given to the leader of the Buddhist monks in Japan, as a token of the grace of the current emperor."

In order to demonstrate the great grace of heaven, the Central Plains also gave rewards to the religious circles of vassal states. But isn’t there something wrong with the level of this reward?

"The gift from the upper country is of the same standard as the emperor's." Mito said carefully: "Isn't this inappropriate..."

"So what?"

"Hasn't the Supreme Power already agreed that the Emperor is the leader of our country's religion..."

"That is the leader of the 'local gods.'" The noble corrected him and explained the spirit of the Black Ship Agreement: "The so-called 'Emperor' of Japan is qualified to lead the eight million local gods. We recognize this. But Buddhism - whether it is exoteric Buddhism or esoteric Buddhism, can't be regarded as the local gods of Japan, right?"

Buddhism spread eastward and became localized as it went along. But no matter how much you localize it, you can't monopolize the Buddha as Japan's private property, right? Do you really think you are Korean?

Since he is not a local god, he is not under the rule of the "Emperor". Since we are not under the rule of the Emperor, then there is nothing wrong with preparing a separate gift... No, it is a big problem!

Mito's heart skipped a beat, and he spoke reluctantly:

"But, in the Buddhist community of Japan, there is no 'leader' who can be compared with the emperor."

"Then choose a leader and submit it to the Central Plains court for approval." The noble said calmly: "Master Sakai once told me that the emperors of all dynasties were grandsons of Amaterasu, the god of Shintoism, so they were named 'Tian'; this is the custom of the Japanese religion, and the Central Plains has no right to interfere. But religions are always equal. Since Shintoism can have an 'Emperor', then Buddhism can certainly have its own emperor - Dharma Emperor? Living Buddha? Dharma King? The title doesn't really matter. The key is that religious leaders are all equal and accept the canonization of the court together. There should be no difference in status..."

It is true! That's it! A carefully planned chess move was actually placed here!

Mito's heart was pounding, and he found it unbelievable: no matter how destitute the emperor was, the tradition of more than a thousand years was continued, and he was still the supreme leader of Shintoism and the spiritual leader of Japan, an insurmountable position; but after being disrupted by the "Agreement", the emperor automatically retreated to a mere hereditary priest of Shintoism, and Buddhism would come from behind and would definitely greatly encroach on the emperor's position.

No, it's more than just Buddhism. If "all religions are equal", then Shintoism has its own "Emperor", Buddhism has its own "Dharma King", what about other religions? If this continues, I am afraid that on the three small islands of Japan, there will be countless people founding religions and claiming to be emperors!

It was not easy to seize power in Kyoto, but it was not difficult to spread religion and influence the ignorant people. Even with the deliberate suppression by the shogunate, the religious cause in the Japanese archipelago is still prosperous today. There must be at least dozens or even hundreds of sects that the charlatans and religious leaders are in contact with. If the imperial court in the Central Plains truly fulfilled its promise of "treating everyone equally", then dozens of religious sects would be dozens of "emperors", and if dozens of emperors lived on this small island, what kind of vibrant and flourishing world would that be?

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in China, "the one with the strongest army and the most powerful cavalry becomes the emperor", the sacred power of the emperor was completely destroyed and chaos was untold. But even if he was a self-proclaimed emperor, he had to have strong troops and horses to claim the throne; but if the Black Ship Agreement could really be implemented, then maybe some idiot leader could stuff a few hundred taels of silver into the hands of the Central Plains envoys and get the throne...

Don’t do that kind of thing! You can buy the throne of the emperor or something like that with just a few hundred taels...! Even if we have to buy and sell, at least... at least it has to start with one thousand taels!

Mito was devastated - of course, it was not that he had any special respect for the emperor. He was just trying to prevent it, fearing that such bizarre behavior, behavior that encroached upon the sacredness, would lead to unpredictable consequences... Unfortunately, before he could react, the noble had already spoken.

"I don't know much about the sects in Japan." The nobleman seemed to be thinking about something. "But from the contact I have had in the past few days, I have a deep impression of Master Sakai... Yes, I wonder if Master Sakai is interested in becoming the leader of Buddhism? If the master also wants a title of 'emperor', the court can agree to it."

The sickly Sakai was slightly stunned, and before he could react, he saw the family elder Mito suddenly turned around and gave him a fierce and sharp look!

The atmosphere all around suddenly became tense, but the nobleman seemed to be invisible. He looked around and walked straight into the gate of the castle tower.

At this time, the bells and chimes on the pavilion rang loudly, echoing throughout the area. The sacrifice, which had been painstakingly prepared for several days, was finally about to begin.

·

Although it was a small ceremony held in a hurry, all necessary regulations were followed. Before going up to the pavilion to pay respect, the distinguished person must first change clothes in a secluded place, burn incense and wash his hands, and then wear a new set of clothes; then he will be accompanied by a male and a female guard, each holding a whisk to protect him. The Japanese building was small and dim, and the staircase could only accommodate a few people. The followers in front and behind could not get close, leaving a large space for the boss. The man holding the whisk looked out for a moment, and finally spoke in a low voice:

"Do you really want to be crowned the Emperor?"

"Of course." Nobleman Mu Qi said, "Only in this way can we satisfy Lao Deng and at the same time erase the sacredness..."

The emperor of the Central Plains would never tolerate a second emperor; if there really was a so-called "emperor" who ruled Japan, he would definitely be a bandit who Da'an wanted to eliminate as soon as possible. But on the other hand, if Japan could produce dozens or hundreds of "emperors", Master Feixuan would definitely not bother to deal with such a farce - one emperor is disobedient and rebellious; but if hundreds of emperors were running rampant... that's called cosplay.

"I thought you would forcibly change the emperor's title."

"If there is a steamship, I will definitely do this." Mu Qi said, "But you should also know that it takes at least 20 days to travel to and from Japan. The emperor is far away. Even if they are forced to give in and change their name, it will not stop them from doing what they want in private. It is better to give up this name and squeeze out the last value..."

At this point, he also shook his head; Buddhism is now prevalent in Japan, and monks even occupy fields and have private soldiers, always coveting greater authority. As long as the bait is thrown out, they will surely bite it hard, trying to rob the sacredness that originally belonged to Shintoism - how many rounds of biting can the myth of the so-called emperor's "eternal line" and "uniqueness" withstand?

"Besides, this is also a way of respecting the invisible hand of the market." Mu Qi added: "It is really outrageous that the throne of the 'Emperor' is monopolized by Shintoism alone; we still need to carry out supply-side reforms and fully marketize..."

“Marketization?” The woman who was listening was stunned: “Wait, you want to—”

"I plan to let Yan Xiaoge Lao be in charge of the Emperor's canonization. What do you think?"

Since ancient times, enthronement has been a good job. For each trip to Goryeo by the Ministry of Rites to confer titles, the bribe received would be at least five or six thousand taels of silver, and the amount of old mountain ginseng and other things would be countless. However, the number of Goryeo kings, queens and crown princes was limited after all, and it might not be possible to have a turn once in more than ten years, and it was very troublesome to earn extra money. But it was different in Japan. In this vibrant land, there were dozens of emperors queuing up waiting for the country to send documents to hold ceremonies, and the expenses for carriages, tea, and the hard work of the envoys. What a fat piece of fat meat this was! How much profit can Yan Donglou squeeze out of such fat meat?

With the skills of Mr. Yan, if you don’t squeeze two kilograms of oil from your bone marrow, you island people will be considered vegetarians!

Amid the astonished gazes, Mu Qi smiled slightly and looked up at the top of the castle tower:

"…The sacrifice is about to begin. Do you want to stay and kowtow to Zhu Chongba? If you don't want to, go back first. I'll call you when we get to Jinling."

·

Huang Shanggang walked quickly into the main entrance of Qingliang Palace and carefully placed a stack of memorials on the mountain of books on the rosewood table. He glanced at the memorials that were overturned and blown all over the ground, and lowered his head in fear.

It has been more than four months. Ever since the news that the Prince of Duke Mu had arbitrarily killed scholars in Shandong under military law reached the court, the anti-Mu faction has united and has been entangled with the emperor for more than four months. During these one hundred days or more, no matter how many means Feixuan Zhenjun and Wanshou Emperor used to calm the situation, and no matter how vague and ambiguous their words were, the anti-Mu faction refused to give in. They persisted with great willpower and have been pursuing the issue until now - and the situation has developed to this point, with both sides almost at a life-and-death showdown, with no room for maneuver!

Forcing a showdown in front of the emperor and forcing the supreme ruler to deal with the nobles, all these actions were arrogant and tough, tantamount to insulting the imperial power. But facts have proved that after trampling on the bottom line of civil officials, even a noble power like the imperial power is powerless to save the situation - unless he learns from his grandson Jin Baizong and completely lies down and refuses to have any communication with civil officials; otherwise, as long as there is any desire to maintain order, Lao Deng will have to step forward to resolve the matter!

After all, Master Feixuan and Emperor Wanshou had not fallen to the level of a demon, so no matter how windy and rainy it was, with the evil fire burning in his heart, he could only grit his teeth and persevere, trying to maintain the balance of power - Master Feixuan would never be willing to sacrifice his confidants among the nobles unless it was absolutely necessary. But now the sudden storm seems to have reached the point where no other options are available.

Such unavoidable pain and depression will of course be vented a hundred times. Therefore, the personal eunuchs and palace maids were always blamed for anything and were filled with indescribable fear. Now the situation is becoming more and more critical. Even a close confidant like Huang Shanggang is terrified and unable to control himself when submitting memorials. Especially the memorial submitted today is of vital importance and may even arouse unspeakable anger.

...Strangely enough, Master Fei Xuan sat cross-legged among the memorials scattered on the floor, but he did not show any particular anger:

"What's that in your hand?"

"In reply to the emperor's words." Huang Shanggang lowered his head in fear: "It is a memorial from the six ministries, which lists all the faults of the prince and proposes a severe punishment..."

After a long delay, the court finally completed all the procedures for conviction. And having the six ministries jointly list the charges and report them to the emperor was tantamount to the strongest form of pressure - the opinions of the six ministries were the opinions of all officials in the court; if the emperor blatantly rejected the opinions of all officials, then the state system would have no chance of functioning!

Using the operation of the system to threaten the emperor, what else could this be but forcing the emperor to abdicate? Given the emperor's usual temper, he would probably fly into a rage and throw everything he could get his hands on at the emperor, turning the situation upside down. But unexpectedly, Fei Xuan Zhenjun Wanshou Emperor did not have much reaction. He was even silent for a moment, and then spoke calmly:

"...I understand. Since they have all convicted me, I will not read it. Send the memorial to Jinling and let the prince of Muguogong handle it himself."

Huang Shanggang:?

...No, according to the previous memorial, shouldn't Prince Mu be confined to Shandong to reflect on his mistakes? Why does the memorial have to be sent to Jinling again?

Eunuch Huang did not dare to ask more questions, so he had to agree respectfully and carefully put away the letter. Master Fei Xuan thought for a moment, then spoke again in a relaxed voice:

"In addition, you can find a few smart eunuchs to go to the Ministry of Rites to check the archives of our ancestors, and then ask the Imperial Ancestral Temple to make preparations."

"As you command." Eunuch Huang bowed and said, "Please tell me, Your Majesty, what should I check?"

"It's not a big deal." Zhenjun said, "You can go and have a look. During the reigns of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong, when the country defeated the calamity and declared victory in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, what specific sacrificial ceremonies were performed? The Ministry of Rites should prepare in advance to avoid mistakes in a hurry."

At this point, Zhenjun's expression fluctuated, and finally he couldn't help it anymore, and a mysterious smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.