"The matter has come to this, and it is useless to talk about it anymore!" Zhuge Wen said: "Actually, if this matter is really done, it will be a good thing. In any case, Xiao Langjun is also Ming Gong's biological brother. Why don’t you avoid relatives?”
"Then what do you mean-" Cai Dingshan asked.
"Just follow what Fan Changan said. Anyway, even if a huge trap is created, Ming Gong is still there to take it. Who else in Jiannan Road can be bigger than him?"
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Japanese country, Nambajin.
In the distance, faint light penetrates the ocean fog and shines near the horizon.
"Is it a star?" Cao Wenzong asked.
"No, it's the lights of Nambajin!" the Japanese guide laughed.
The captain was giving orders loudly, and the sailors climbed up and down the three tall masts, busy fiddling with the rigging and the thick crimson sails. Below, the oarsmen sit beside two long rows of rows and paddle hard. The deck creaked and tilted to one side, and the three-masted sailing ship "Ryukyu" turned to right rudder and prepared to sail into the bay.
Under the lights of Nambajin, Cao Wenzong stood on the side of the ship, holding on to the bulwark with his right hand, trying to recall the scene when he first came here, the bare breakwater, chaotic houses, trestles, and rows of Japanese boats. The rest He has lost some memories, but there are only swords, fire and blood, and battles again and again. In the end, Wang Wenzuo drew his sword and killed Baima, holding the hand of Princess Saitama, holding the newborn baby, and thousands of Japanese warriors. Make an oath of alliance. He obviously only left for a few years, so why does it seem like a century has passed?
"I have been wearing a military robe for half my life, but I am already a hundred years old when I look back!" Cao Wenzong sighed.
The noise on the deck brought Cao Wenzong back to reality. When he turned around, he saw the recruits climbing onto the deck and pointing at the sea in the distance. Although most of them were from Jingkou and Yangzhou, the waves crossing the East China Sea still tortured them miserably. When they heard that the journey was finally coming to an end, these young men also climbed onto the deck and looked around.
"Didn't you say it's coming? Why is it still the sea!" A soldier shouted in disappointment.
"That's right, you're not lying to us, are you?" the person next to him said.
"We are indeed almost there!" The Japanese veteran explained patiently: "Look at the color of the sea water. It is no longer the original blue-black, but light green. This means that it is close to the land. Also, look over there!" He stretched out his right hand and pointed to the northeast: "Did you see it clearly? Those two bright spots!"
"Highlight? Aren't those stars?"
"No, those are not stars, they are two eyes. Buddha is looking at us!"
The Great Buddha of Nambajin, anyone who has been to Japan will mention this. The ears of these recruits are calloused along the way. It is as high as a mountain, and you can see it a hundred miles away from Nambajin. , whenever there is wind, waves and fog, his eyes will emit light, allowing the surrounding ships to see and not lose their way.
"Buddha? As high as a mountain?"
"You are not lying to us, are you? There is no such a big Buddha in the Tang Dynasty, how can you have one in Japan?"
The recruits looked at the Japanese veterans who explained with suspicion. As people of the Tang Dynasty at that time, they had a very simple concept: you may not have what the Tang Dynasty has, and you definitely don't have what the Tang Dynasty does not have.
"Forget it if you don't believe it!" The Japanese veteran laughed: "Anyway, you will be able to see it with your own eyes after dawn. This Buddha statue was built in accordance with the order of His Highness the Minister of Taizheng. Firstly, it is to commemorate His Highness's defeat of the eldest brother among the rebels, the prince. To pacify the world; secondly, it is to commemorate His Highness’ late wife, Princess Saitama! It is a unique thing in the world! Your visit this time is an eye-opener!”
Everyone looked at the Japanese with suspicion, but the Japanese didn't care and said with a smile: "The Shitennoji Temple in Nambajin has two unparalleled treasures. One is the mountain-like statue of Amitabha; the other is the Buddha's golden body relics. With the protection of these two treasures, our country will be peaceful from generation to generation, and will be as auspicious as turtles and cranes for thousands of years!"
As time passed, the two lights became brighter and the distance between them increased. Now everyone could see it was not a star. Cao Wenzong also looked curiously at the light. He had also heard about the order to build a Buddha statue, but when he and Wang Wenzuo left the Japanese country, it was just a blueprint and had never been seen with his own eyes.
"Look, look!" the Japanese guide shouted loudly: "It's over there, do you see it?"
The fog receded in front of us, and the bow of the ship divided the jagged gray curtain. The Ryukyu split the gray-green water, its sails like billowing crimson wings. Cao Wenzong heard the screams of seabirds above his head. Where the guide points, a row of rocky ridges rises suddenly from the sea. The steep slopes are covered with pines and cypresses. On the side of the ridge facing the sea, Amitabha sits here with shining eyes, a kind expression and a smile.
There was a gasp on the deck, and the recruits even forgot to exclaim. This huge Buddha statue was completely carved out of the mountain. The entire body was made of hard stone. The eyes were two caves, and the fire was in the cave. One hand The thumb points to the navel, and the thumb of one hand points to the sky. The lotus throne under the body has not been completely completed, and traces of scaffolding can be seen. Looking at this giant thing, it is completely unimaginable that it can be built by human beings!
"How is it?" the Japanese veteran said proudly to the silent recruits. The performance of these little guys who were usually pretentious at this time greatly satisfied his vanity: "Everyone thinks that His Highness, the Minister of Taizheng, It is the gods and Buddhas who protect and protect those who love them, otherwise it would never be possible to build such a giant statue. People from all over our country, who are unhappy, all come to pay homage, offer incense, and beg for the blessings of the gods and Buddhas. In fact, it is not just our country. People from Silla, Baekje, Goguryeo, and even people from far away come to visit with gifts! It won’t be long before Shitennoji Temple becomes the largest temple in Haedong, no, in the world!”
"The largest temple in the world, this Japanese boy really knows how to brag!"
"There are many great temples in Luoyang and Chang'an, how can they be inferior to the Four Heavenly Kings Temple!"
"It's just a Buddha statue, they blew it into the sky!"
"Yes, in the final analysis, it is just a vassal of the Tang Dynasty. There is a Buddha statue like this, shallow, shallow!"
The Tang soldiers on the deck retorted angrily. At that time, it was not uncommon to build grotto Buddha statues on mountains. Longmen Mountain in Luoyang and Yungang Mountain near Yunzhou (Datong) both had a large number of grotto Buddha statues. The artistic level of the carvings can be said to be The Amitabha statue built under the orders of Wang Wenzuo was actually brought in from the Tang Dynasty and Baekje.
The only advantage of this Buddha statue in Shitennoji Temple is that it is large - it is nearly fifty meters high from the lotus throne to the top of the head. The construction naturally required more manpower, and Wang Wenzuo had no shortage of manpower at all - he did not need to build the Great Wall, build a large mausoleum for his wife, build a capital, and maintain a large standing army to fight civil war, and agriculture was seasonal. Strong production activities, as long as it is the slack season in the Nara Basin, there is a lot of idle labor in the Kinki area. Considering the devout Buddhist beliefs of the Japanese people at that time, it did not even require much coercion to recruit enough labor to build the temple. Buddha statue.
The cost of hiring craftsmen can be earned back - even if the effect of Buddha statues in adding prestige to the regime is not considered, the large number of pilgrims who come from all directions every year to worship is a very considerable income - the flow of people is logistics, and logistics It is the capital flow. Compared with agricultural taxes, commercial taxes, and lending and finance, although the volume is much smaller, the collection costs are also much smaller. What you get is not bulky grain and cloth with extremely high transportation costs, but gold, silver, and copper currency. , that would be much more affordable.
The bell interrupted the quarrel on the deck, and thousands of seabirds jumped into the air at the same time. The people on the deck stared wide-eyed, and they saw the Japanese laughing. "He informed the pilot boat of our arrival," he shouted. "You need not be afraid!"
The wind and waves drove the Ryukyu's crimson sail with all their strength, pushing her quickly towards the outstretched ground. The double-layer long oars paddled rhythmically and steadily, the sea water was stirred into white foam, and the shadow of the Buddha statue blocked the sky and the sun. For a moment it seemed as if the boat would smash to pieces on the rocks beneath his feet. Cao Wenzong stood at the bow of the boat, with seawater splashing on his face and smelling salty. He had to hold his head high to see the head of the Buddha statue: "Such a big change has occurred in Nambajin in such a short period of time. Has the Buddha really come here?"
As the ship rounded the headland, people on the deck immediately felt that the waves had become much smaller and the wind weakened. The Ryukyu sailed into a huge lagoon. There were many Japanese boats on the sea, fishing for fish and shellfish, and there were people on the shore. There are many buildings, the most conspicuous of which is the shipbuilding dock. The most prominent of them is the long and narrow sailing boat. The painted dragon bow protrudes from the shed on the shore, like a hunting dog locked in the boathouse. , fierce and fierce, always waiting for the master's command. Cao Wenzong tried to count how many there were, but there were simply too many. As the coastline meandered inland, there were more docks, sheds, and docks.
Two rowing boats came forward, like dragonflies gliding on the water, their white oars flying up and down. Cao Wenzong heard the injured people shouting at them, and then the captain of the Ryukyu responded loudly. Due to the sea wind, he couldn't hear clearly what was said. With a loud horn, the two rowing boats separated to both sides, so close that he could even hear the drumbeats in the oak hulls, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, like The two oars were living creatures, with living hearts beating.
As the Ryukyu continues to move forward, the Buddha statue has been left behind, and ahead is a vast expanse of turquoise water, like glass with waves. People on the deck could see the rows of houses on the inside of the headland. The top of the pagoda inlaid with gold foil shone dazzlingly in the sun, and the people on the deck let out a cry of exclamation. This is when a recruit suddenly asked loudly: "It's strange, why is there no city wall here?"
"Hahahaha!" the Japanese guide laughed: "Have you forgotten? This is a big island, and the ocean is the best city wall!"
"Blow the horn!" Cao Wenzong said to the captain: "Let all the ships lower their sails, the whole team, and the soldiers are dressed up. It's time to get ready to go ashore!"
The horn sounded from the stern deck of the Ryukyu. Almost at the same time, all the sails were lowered, and the ship's speed also dropped sharply. The six ships following behind also slowed down. Under the scolding of the officers and veterans, the new recruits began to put on their armor. When everything was dressed up, they began to distribute burqas - all made of crimson Sichuan brocade. Under the sunlight, the gorgeous Sichuan brocade and polished armor leaves appeared. and metal helmets shone like a sea of crimson.
"Very good!" Cao Wenzong swallowed. Although he had already been mentally prepared, seeing it with his own eyes was another matter. If he didn't know the inside story, he might have been shocked by this empty show. He took a deep breath. He shouted at the top of his lungs: "Line up and get ready to go ashore!"
As the cable tightened, the Ryukyu, pulled by the rowing boat, moved toward the trestle on the shore. Standing on the forecastle, Cao Wenzong could clearly see the Japanese people standing on the shore, who were curiously whispering and pointing. Very good, very good, Cao Wenzong thought to himself, everyone here will tell twenty people everything they saw, and soon the news of the arrival of reinforcements from the Tang Dynasty will spread throughout the Japanese country. This is exactly what I hope . Thinking of this, he subconsciously tightened his stomach, straightened his waist, and showed an arrogant expression on his face.
The ship finally docked on the trestle, and the sailors put down the gangplank. Cao Wenzong saw the familiar face of He Bayong from the crowd, and couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"How many people did you bring?" As soon as the springboard was stabilized, He Bayong rushed up. He grabbed Cao Wenzong's arm: "Where is Sanlang? Isn't he here?"
"The imperial court has asked Ming Gong to be the envoy to handle the troops and horses in the camp in Jiannan. How can he come if the safety of the southwest is at stake?" Cao Wenzong replied.
"Jiannan Branch's camp is in charge of military affairs and military affairs? Okay!" A trace of disappointment flashed across He Bayong's face: "There is really no way out, but what about the Japanese country? His farms, mines, and sugar huts are all Here, if we don’t succeed here, we won’t be able to defend the Xiongjin Governor’s Mansion!”
"Can't we defend the Xiongjin side? How could this happen?"
"Gao Kandu moved the administrative seat of the Andong Protectorate. There were only a thousand people stationed in Pyongyang. Rebels were everywhere outside the city. The Silla people built their mountain cities on the banks of the Datong River, and they couldn't care about it at all. This is the Xiongjin Governor's Mansion. I have to give Zhou Liucheng two thousand guan of money and food every month, otherwise Master Shen won't be able to survive at all!"
"How did it get to this point?" Cao Wenzong was anxious when he heard this: "What about the Japanese country? I think Nambajin is pretty good here!"
"Of course it's fine here!" He Bayong laughed: "It's all thanks to Fujiwara Fubi. Thanks to him for building the Shitennoji Temple. There is an endless stream of pilgrims and businessmen coming and going, and the monks are also on our side. The territorial kingdoms of Nara, Omi, Mino, and Owari have also stabilized, and with the addition of the territorial kingdoms in the northwest that believe in the main god of the great power, the foundation is considered to be on a firm footing!" (End of this chapter)
