Gu Shi has been very worried these days, and he is very reluctant to deal with people, but the great monk who came today has some background, and he has been friends for many years, so he has the patience to talk to the monk. He himself was well aware that he was a little cold to his guests; But knowing is one thing, whether he can do it is another, he knows that this is not hospitality, but he can't pretend to be enthusiastic, and in the end he has no choice but to let it go. If Shang Cheng hadn't come in time, he might have been sick and sent off guests.

As soon as Shang Cheng came, he first talked to the New Year, and then talked to the monk, and between three words, he stirred up the originally deserted scene on the pavilion. Gu Shi also showed a heartfelt smile on his face, let the guests sit on the pavilion, and asked someone to bring new tea soup, and casually brought some pastries and preserved fruits to accompany the tea, he was so dizzy that he forgot all these things! He glared fiercely at the two personal maids on the edge of the pavilion again: Seeing that he had made such a big omission, why didn't he say that he would help make up for it?

The maids were also aggrieved. He pulls his old face longer than a donkey's face all day long, and he doesn't have a good face for anyone except the cicada, who dares to assert himself in front of him?

When he turned his head again, he was smiling again, and he took the pot in his hand to pour tea and soup for the guests sitting around the stone table. The first one, of course, was Shang Cheng one by one, but Shang Cheng was frowning and glancing at him.

Gu Shi was stunned, and then reacted: he was really dizzy, until now, he hadn't even introduced who the great monk was!

"Look at me, look at me, one by one, I first reunited with the great monk today, and there are distinguished guests like Zida coming to the door, oh, and there are also masterpieces like Bo Nian, who actually made me so happy that I was confused!" Gu Shi readily admitted his mistake, and then said, "Zida, this great monk is a high virtue of Buddhism, the sutra bowl of the Nanshan sect is passed on again, and the first monk of the temple in Kyoto is the first to go abroad, and the Buddha's name is the first three. ”

The first three? Shang Cheng almost thought that he had heard it wrong. The first three, this is a mess of names? What else is the number one temple of Asuka Temple, and what the hell is that? However, the name seems to be somewhat familiar, as if it has been seen or heard somewhere; As for the Japanese trip overseas...... Could it be Japan?

He turned around and looked the first three up and down again, trying to find some evidence from him to confirm his suspicions. But the first three from appearance to clothing, from expression to accent, none of them are not authentic Central Plains customs, and when they speak, the accent is not particularly clear, with an obvious tone of southern Shaanxi people. He couldn't help but exclaim: "Tut, it turns out that he is still a Japanese monk!" Staring at the first three mouths for a few more looks, he shook his head and said with emotion, "Amazing, the great monk has courage and courage!" ”

Gu Shi and He Nian looked at each other, and they couldn't understand what Shang Cheng meant by such an emotion inexplicably. Only the first three understood in their hearts that Shang Cheng was referring to his own crossing of the sea to the east. In the past eleven years, he traveled back and forth between Japan and Dazhao three times, six times back and forth, during which only the second round trip was relatively smooth, and the rest were all misfortunes at sea. If it weren't for his strict precepts and devotion to the Buddha on weekdays, and with the blessing and protection of the Bodhisattva in times of crisis, he would definitely not be able to escape......

He was silently recalling several thrilling sea experiences, and then heard Shang Cheng ask: "The great monk is coming to the west, is he here to seek knowledge, or is he here to learn the Dharma?" ”

The first three arrived in Shangjing less than ten days, in the vassal courtyard for the record exchange of documents and then to Huaibao Li Temple to check the disc and place the order took almost two days, and then heard the news and rushed to visit the old knowledge of Buddhism and came to the door, even said that the scriptures and the Buddha with politeness, and went for several days, and finally found a line of time today, since it coincided with the day of the imperial court's rest, he immediately rushed to the mansion of the left minister Tang Xing to pay respects. However, when he arrived at the place, he learned that Tang Xing's old Xiangguo was seriously ill and had long been closed. Helpless, he had to go to find Dong Quan, who would have thought that Dong Quan would also resign from his official position and return to his hometown...... He went to three or four families in succession who had formed a good relationship in the early years, but they were all like Tang Xing and Dong Quan who couldn't see each other for some reason. Although there was no success, he was neither discouraged nor discouraged, and then ran to the fifth house. The fifth is Poyang Hou Gushi. From the Gu family's mansion in the inner city, he inquired about the location of the Gu family's Zhuangzi, so he asked all the way to find it. Gu Shi saw him, but his expression was very cold, and his tone was also very cold, and he knew at a glance that it was purely perfunctory. He saw that Gu Shi had something on his mind, so he took the opportunity to play chess and wanted to take the opportunity to find out what was going on, and he thought that if he could help Gu Shi, then in return, Gu Shi would definitely help him. It's just that Gu Shi is really interested, and he plays chess absent-mindedly, and he has let all the chess to the point where even He Langzhong, who is watching chess, secretly shakes his head and pouts, but Gu Shi can't even have the upper hand of half a star. When he saw Gu Shi's eyebrows showing a very impatient look, he hurriedly messed up the chess game, it wasn't Shang Cheng who came just right, he was ready to get up and leave. He thought, if it doesn't work this time, there will be a next time, and if it doesn't work next time, he will find a good opportunity again, as long as he doesn't teach Gu Shi to hate him and get bored, he will always have a chance to speak.

However, when Uncle Ying came, things suddenly became different!

He could see that this Ying County Uncle was very popular. A moment ago, Gu Shi still couldn't hide his sadness, and in the blink of an eye, the rain passed and the sky cleared, the etiquette Langzhong who clearly said that he was accompanied by the actual overseer, even if he gave him a bottle of small golden Buddha made of four taels of sand gold the day before, but he couldn't say a few words at the end of the day, and he had a bitter face anytime and anywhere, as if he still owed him a hundred and ten catties of sand gold, he was such a cold-mouthed and cold-hearted character, since he saw Shang Cheng, his face immediately smiled like a flower......

But the more this happened, the more he sighed in his heart. Gu Shi has already pointed out his origin in one sentence, he is one of the ordained monks of the Japanese National Ritsu sect. Shang Cheng was able to say that "knowing the realm of dust" is the fifth method of the Vinaya Sect's precepts of the Mind Testimony Method, and he has some origins with the Vinaya, but he also accuses himself of only cultivating the Hinayana "Arhat Fruit", which is obviously denigrating the Nanshan Sect; This is enough to prove that Shang Cheng is either the Xiangbu Sect or the Eastern Tower Sect. Nanshan, Xiangbu and Dongta are collectively known as the three families of Vinaya; In order to inherit the Vinaya, the three families argued fiercely with each other, and no one could convince anyone, and no one would convince anyone; It's just that the latter two have declined three hundred years ago, how did this Ying County Uncle's knowledge come about? Isn't it that in the past four years, the two families have made great virtues again, and the Xiangbu Sect or the East Tower Sect have made a comeback again? But it doesn't make sense. If the Vinaya Sect is prosperous again, I have seen so many old friends of Buddhism in the past few days, how can I not hear any rumors about it?

He was thinking wildly in his heart, but he replied: "Japan is a small country, and Buddhism is not prosperous, and I came to Dazhao because I have both requests." It is not only to seek the Dharma, but also to seek knowledge. ”

Shang Cheng smiled and said, "The words of the great monk are not untrue. If the Dharma is not prosperous enough for you there, where else is it prosperous? ”

Rao is the first three are known for their eloquence, and in the face of this sentence, they are also speechless and don't know how to answer. The answer is yes, that is, to admit that he is "a lie"; The answer "no" is to offend the character who even Gu Shi greeted with a smile in person; He didn't want to admit that he was "talking", and he didn't dare to offend Shang Cheng, so he could only smile and be reserved in the end.

Fortunately, Shang Chengcheng said it casually, and he didn't intend to listen to the answer at all, so he picked up the cup and drank water after speaking, and he didn't see the embarrassed look on the faces of the first three people for a moment. He took a sip of the tea soup, smacked the taste, nodded and said to Gu Shi, "Where did this tea ball come from today?" It tastes really good. Get me a few boxes when you go. After drinking two sips, he poured another one, and asked the first three sips: "I heard Gu Hou say just now, you are the first ......monk of Kyoto City in your country, and the monk of Asuka Temple is the first one" The first three nodded, and were about to say a few words of self-humility, who knew that Shang Cheng was not asking about this matter at all.

“…… Where is your Kyoto now? ”

The first three couldn't adapt to Shang Cheng's conversation of one hammer in the east and one mallet in the west. He originally prepared a set of humble rhetoric that was neither humble nor arrogant, but he didn't spit out a word, and he was all crushed in his belly. But Shang Cheng asked, he couldn't help but answer, recited a Buddha horn and forcibly pressed down a stream of open fire in his chest, and said, "Now it's in Heianjing." ”

Shang Cheng nodded. Now he understood that Japan was in the Heian period in history. He remembered that Japan's slave society ended in this period, and the new landlord class could not wait to start dividing the interests after overthrowing the old aristocratic class and the ruling group of monks. The landlord does not pay taxes to the state, which is "not losing"; The tax officials of the state were not allowed to enter the estate, which was called "not entering"; By combining the non-payment of rent, the exemption from miscellaneous labor, and the fact that officials were not allowed to enter the estates, the Japanese landlords succeeded in gaining all the rights to rule the estates and became de facto lords, thus completely and completely realizing the process of feudalism. Then the small manor lord swore allegiance to the big manor owner, and the big one was loyal to the larger manor, thus forming a pyramid-like system of sharing land layer by layer in Japan, as if there was a special word to explain this matter, is it called "main family" or "leading family"? It may also be both, the family is in charge of the leader, and the leader is in charge of the next level......

While thinking about it, he casually said some non-touching words, joked about Gu Shi's chess skills, inquired about the official duties of the Chinese New Year, and pulled a few Buddhist scriptures with the first three mouths. He didn't even know much about Zen Buddhism, which was the most widely spread in the Central Plains, and what he could say was "Zen Buddhism is the most epiphany", and he only knew Bodhidharma and Shaolin Temple. He also told a wild history story of "Shaolin Thirteen Stick Monks Saving the Tang King", and everyone listened to it with relish. He Sui said that he had seen a record of this incident in a book "Idle Grass Scroll" in the Middle and Tang Dynasty, so the story of Shang Bo cannot be said to be a wild history, but only that it was not recorded in the official history.

After pulling the seventy-two martial arts of Shaolin, Shang Cheng found the first three again. He inquired curiously: "Great monk, you have ventured across the sea again and again, it can't be that you just want to learn something, right?" Tell me, what the hell are you here for? ”

As soon as he said this, the pavilion immediately became silent. Gu Shi knew it well, so as soon as Shang Cheng's words came out, he had a headache; He Nian's rank is too low, and he doesn't know the situation very well, but his current thing is to supervise the first three at any time, so he can more or less guess some clues, but whoever asks him can speak out, but it is Shang Cheng who asks, so he is not easy to speak. The first three were a little hesitant. In eleven years, he ventured west three times, with the same mission, and if not one of them succeeded, he at least gained something. He was soberly aware of a cruel and grim fact, that is, the officials of Da Zhao had become more and more disgusted with him. The first time he came to Shangjing, he was not only a guest of Zhu Xuan and Chang Xiu, but also entered the imperial city to the prime minister's office; But the second time, at most, I could meet with a few officials in private offices, and I only talked about Buddhism and nothing else; This time it was even more bleak, others didn't even want to see him, he was closed to food everywhere. Now, should he tell Uncle Ying in front of him about the matter?

He was hesitant.

Although the first three are Vinaya, but now he has the "epiphany" of Zen Buddhism, and he has a very strange feeling that this young man in front of him will definitely help him, and he will definitely be able to help him. But he thought it was incredible. A hereditary county magistrate, even if he also holds the title of Shangzhu State, what power does he have to make those prime ministers change their minds? He shouldn't have trusted this man! He can't trust this man! He must not tell this person the mission, this is the tacit agreement he reached with the dignitaries of Da Zhao: as long as he does not spread his mission everywhere, the prime ministers and generals of Da Zhao will not completely close the door where the last hope is pinned; And he also believes that as long as that door is fully opened, then under the authority of God, all resistance will be praying mantis blocking the car......

When he was still hesitating, He Nian said hesitantly: "Uncle Shang, the matter of the first three great monks, this, this, I'm afraid it is, I'm afraid it's ......."

Shang Cheng waved his hand carelessly: "How big a thing, can't you say it yet?" This is Gu Hou's Shangshan Hall, and all the people here are acquaintances and friends, who will poke the news out with a big mouth? ”

Lunar New Year immediately shut up. Shang Cheng did not hesitate to put him on the list of acquaintances and friends, which of course made his heart flutter, but where his duty was, he couldn't help but express it, so he hurriedly glanced at Gu Shi.

Shang Cheng turned his head, raised his face and squinted at the New Year condescendingly: "I said Lao He, what's wrong with you?" I ask the great monk to solve my doubts, you should be happy for me, right? But what about you? Look at you, not only are you not happy for me, but you are also desperately winking at Gu Hou. What do you mean? ”

“…… I, I have dirt in my eyes. "Finally, I was in a hurry for the New Year, and I found a good excuse.

Shang Cheng looked at Gu Shi again: What advice do you have?

Of course...... Of course, there's nothing to advise. He closed his open mouth again, lowered his head and concentrated on his tea.

Shang Cheng looked forward to the three mouthfuls and said, "Master, so those who preach and teach and solve doubts." Dare to ask the great monk to solve my doubts. After Wen Crepe finished speaking, he saw that the first three people were still hesitant, and then smiled, "Actually, if you don't say it, I can almost guess it." Accompanied by the officials of the Ministry of Rites, you are obviously not an ordinary monk, at least some of the responsibilities of an envoy. You are an envoy to the country, and your actions are so secretive, you don't need to ask, it must be something that cannot be explained. The state affairs that cannot be said clearly are nothing more than two things, one is the change of the palace, and the other is that the war is about to start. Your emperor system is their king one by one," the latter sentence explains Gu Shi and the New Year. He estimated that neither of them knew that the king of Japan called himself the emperor, and the first three did not dare to say anything about the emperor in front of them. If Gu Shi and the others knew that the king of Japan actually called himself the emperor, the first three envoys would be the first to be the holy monarch of the Great Zhao, and the holy monarch of the Great Zhao could only be the Son of Heaven. What's more, the Emperor's clan is a branch of the Xia people in the Central Plains, and the Japanese country dares to overstep the system and steal the name of the honored person and claim to be self-proclaimed, what is the intention?

Sure enough, after listening to Shang Cheng's words, Gu Shi and He Sui both showed disgust when they looked at the first three mouthfuls again. They hurriedly didn't have time to react to what Shang Cheng said specifically about "Huang" or "Huang"; But whether it is the same word or homonym, it makes them feel very uncomfortable: Dongwei, but overseas Yier, how can it be ranked with the three emperors and five emperors?

The first three didn't expect that in Da Zhao at all, since someone would expose this matter, they felt a shock in their hearts. But since Shang Cheng talked about this issue, he couldn't help but defend himself, he forced a smile and said, "Uncle Shang, heh, Uncle Shang is laughing." How dare the king of our country be called the emperor? Even if there is, it is just a matter of digging between the markets. In the fifteenth year of King Tuigu, Prince Shotoku sent Ono to make Sui, but it was only a clerical error to write 'The Son of Heaven at Sunrise Sends a Book to the Book Day is not harmed by the Son of Heaven'. This incident is also recorded in the "History of Sui" of Shangguo......"

Gu Shi is a prominent figure in the dynasty, even if he can't say anything about what happened in the future, but now he is a well-deserved high and powerful position, so he can't say some things casually. The Chinese New Year is just a junior official in the sixth department, and he doesn't have so many worries, so he is naturally very polite when he speaks. He sneered: "You mean "The Book of Sui: The Legend of the Wa Kingdom", right? But since the great monk has recited this sentence, why doesn't he mention the following? 'The emperor's displeasure was said to be Honglu Qing said: If there are rude people in the barbarian book, don't hear about it. ’”

Shang Cheng ignored him and continued: "...... I heard that Ono lost his letter on the way, right? I made up one myself and submitted it. However, I suppose there should still be an archive of this kind of thing in your country, right? ”

What exactly is the content of that national letter, the first three people have no way of knowing. But since Shang Cheng asked like this, he obviously knew the wording of the national letter, and if the topic was not eliminated, there must be the word "emperor" appearing, otherwise Shang Cheng would not have said it conclusively. As for where Shang Cheng heard or seen the national documents archived by Japan for hundreds of years, the first three had no time to think. He was completely frightened by Shang Cheng's step-by-step progress, not to mention answering, even his eyes couldn't move half a minute, so he could only sit on the stone drum bench and look at Shang Chengyi and the Heavenly Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, what else did this person want to say? !

Shang Cheng no longer mentioned the national letter, but changed the topic back lightly: "...... Where did you just go? Oh, yes, you're here. As I said, there are only state affairs that cannot be said. Of course, war is impossible, and if you don't talk about your population and troops, it seems that your emperor and prime minister are not called prime ministers, right? Shogun...... It doesn't seem to be; Guan Bai? Regent? Forget it, don't talk about this. Let's just say that your emperor and the prime minister are arguing about it. Where is the time to fight until they pull it clearly? The change of the palace is also impossible, and the reason is the reason I just said, no one can sit in that position except for the Heavenly Emperor family. You have come to us for one of two things: first, to help your Emperor; Second, help your prime minister. He looked at the first three with a smile, "Great monk, do you say that I am right?" ”

Where can the first three people still say a word?

The other two listeners, the Chinese New Year is better, after all, he doesn't know much, at most he admires Shang Cheng's quick thinking; But Gu Shi is different. Shang Cheng is right, the first three came to Zhao three times in the eleventh year, all of them cried bitterly for help, saying that the regent of the Japanese country, the Fujiwara clan, bullied the monarch to control the government, slaughtered loyal ministers and expelled the clan, and extorted and poisoned the people, in short, they did all the bad things; For the sake of the king and subjects of Japan, and also for the sake of justice, the first three were secretly sent by the king of Japan to beg the kingdom to send troops to suppress the Fujiwara clan and return Japan to a prosperous country......

Shang Cheng pursed his lips. Sending troops overseas? That's not. Not to mention whether today's navigation technology can support the large-scale use of troops, that is, there is no problem in technology, where does the money and food for this war come from? What's more, Da Zhao himself was busy blocking the north and killing the south, and he didn't make a big deal about things at home, where did he still have the strength to send troops to Japan so far away.

He smiled and said to the first three who were still glazed-eyed: "Great monk, don't be like this, I said that it was a gathering of friends, and it was just nonsense." One by one, I'll ask you something. ”

The first three barely squeezed out a smile on their faces, and said weakly: "Uncle Shang has something, just say it." As long as I know, I must know everything and say everything. He suddenly had a new "epiphany". He felt that even if he didn't say it, people would know about it. Just like the record of the state letter sealed by Prince Shotoku in the imperial palace, don't others also know it clearly?

"Then I asked." Shang Cheng said with a smile, "What did you give us Gu Hou when you came this time?" ”

Gu Shi didn't have time to swallow a mouthful of tea soup, and suddenly sprayed all over the stone table and everywhere.

Shang Chenghun wiped the water stains on his sleeves carelessly, and continued to say to the first three who were already completely stupid: "I think, if you ask Gu Hou to speak for you, it is impossible to teach people to run away in vain, right?" It's this, I'm also a county uncle, big and small, and it's the same as Guhou, it's also a Shangzhu country. He looked at the first three sincerely. One by one, I can also help you speak. The weight of my words is certainly not as high as that of Gu Hou. But you know, in a position like Guhou, there are some things that can't be said, and some things have to be said depending on the time. But look at me? It doesn't matter who he is, as soon as he sees my face, he knows that I am a muddy person. If you talk to people, you don't have to worry about it so much. In a word, if you give more money, you will talk more; Give less money, less words; If you don't give money, then there's nothing to say. He patted the first three on the shoulder. Great monk, you can carefully consider my suggestion. ”

He turned his head, glanced at the New Year, who was not moving his eyes at all, and said, "Lao He, just look at it, don't say it!" When I get rich, I will definitely have your benefits. Then he said, "Hurry up and send the great monk back, so that he can be left alone and think about it." ”

Waiting for the New Year to take the first three people away, Gu Shi sat with his head down for a long time, and then asked, "Do you want to send troops to the country?" ”

Shang Cheng said with a smile: "This kind of thing is what Zhang Pu should consider." I just want to follow your example and take him a piece of money. He took a sip of tea soup, "How much did he give you this time?" ”

"Two bottles of golden Buddha and four bottles of golden arhats, together can have about 30 catties."

"Tsk, that's so much!" Shang Cheng smacked his tongue vigorously and said, "You finally did a good deed today, and you called me when you knew it would be beneficial." As he spoke, he put the chessboard back on, "The lottery head of our chess game today is the Golden Buddha and Golden Arhat." A set to decide the winner! ”

Gu Shi put the small rattan basket containing the chess pieces on the stone table, and said with a sneer: "My Golden Buddha and Golden Arhat are at home, what about yours?" ”

"Too stingy, right? You are all in the top ten outstanding big landowners, and you still care about this? ”

"Where's your jackpot?" Gu Shi held the rattan basket in his hand and continued to ask.

"If you lose, you go to my house and move by yourself. I don't have a golden Buddha there, there are many golden plates and golden bowls, all of which were brought back from the grassland by Sun Zhongshan......"