This is a very strange phenomenon, the Song Dynasty, all of them are better to use the paper of the Japanese country, when they write letters, they can use the paper of the Japanese country, and they feel very tasteful. However, the people of the Wa Kingdom liked to use paper produced in the Great Song Dynasty to show their dignity.

The letter written by the Kwantung samurai was also recorded on Song paper, a few words longer than the letter written by Sugawara-sama, but with the same meaning, it was written - "Please give him a dignified death!" ”

This is really a strange thing - such a famous "glass" and a famous public relations person, but everyone in the Manchu Dynasty wants him to die, and no one expects him to live.

Zhao Xing handed the letterhead to Su Shi, solemnly helped Park Yinguang with both hands, and gave the most solemn thank-you gift: "Thank you, Lord Park!" The adults have done their best, and I will definitely remember this kindness in the future. ”

At the other end, Su Shi took these two notes, and praised them in his mouth: "You see, there are people outside the wilderness who have written such a beautiful calligraphy of Wang Youjun, look, this stroke shows the skill, it is so beautiful." ”

Chen couldn't help but ask, "What is written?" ”

Su Shi dragged out the door, and said with a sigh: "Kill--tsk, these words are soft and beautiful, and the turning point is like a matter of course, like a flying stream of a hundred feet tilting down...... Amazing! ”

At this moment, even Chen couldn't bear it, he stretched out his hand to cover his eyes, looking miserable, and after a while, he asked again: "What about the letter?" Su Shi repeated the letter of belief. Gesturing back and forth in the air with his hand, he commented, "The person who wrote this word." The wrist must be very strong, you see, he strokes one stroke at a time, from beginning to end without hesitation or stickiness, which shows that the person who wrote this word is a hard-hearted person, and once he has made a decision, he will never regret it. ”

Chen blindfolded his hands and couldn't bear to put it down, on the other side. When Park Yinguang saw Chen's appearance, he was so moved that he almost cried: "Lord Chen loves Yuan Yeping so much, I will go back and tell him to solemnly thank him." ”

Chen put down his hand in confusion and looked at Su Shi with his eyes. Su Shi immediately followed suit: "Ji Chang's action is deeply in line with the ancient meaning - I can't bear to see it suddenly." ”

It turns out that Chen's action of covering up with his hands is also a kind of ancient etiquette. It means to express heartache by covering one's hands when hearing unfortunate news about someone one respects – a ritual similar to the modern Western courtroom when a person is sentenced to death, and the person in the courtroom covers his face with a handkerchief to show pity for his fellow human beings.

Su Shi didn't have to do this etiquette, because he was a letter reader, and Zhao Xing didn't have to do it. Because he is a party; Park Yin was just the messenger, and he didn't have to make a disguised move, which happened to be Chen - this means that he is also a samurai, and he respects Yuan Yeping. I don't want to hear the other person's condolences.

Putting down the two letters, Su Dongpo reluctantly looked away from the letters and turned to Zhao Xing: "Leaving people, how do you compare, what do you need me to do?" ”

Zhao Xing felt very strange. The group talked for a long time. But he never worried about his safety, and he didn't even mention a word. He looked at this and that in amazement, and asked depressedly: "Why did I listen to it for a long time, just to hear you praise the good writing, good paper, and good Zhou etiquette, didn't you ask me?" Genyehei is a well-known Tang swordsman in Kanto, aren't you worried about me? ”

Zhao Xing pointed at Chen: "Chen Daxia has been practicing beheading for so long, didn't he think that you might cut off my head with a knife?" ”

Zhao Xing muttered aggrievedly: "No one has ever comforted me...... Is my character so bad? ”

Chen replied first: "What am I worried about about you?" You beat the scoundrels of Bianliang City, Tokyo, all over the ground to find teeth, and hit the beggars and gangsters who were helpless to even Bao Longtu and hid in Tibet...... Why should I worry about that Japanese, who is not my relative. ”

Park Yinguang then added: "I heard that Lord Zhao has traveled the seven seas, experienced countless storms, and dispersed countless bandits, both in the South and in the West, and I have seen your achievements in Hangzhou. Although Yuan Yeping is famous, he is just a handsome and beautiful young man...... I only hope that your men will show mercy and don't slap his face—that's a pity! ”

Su Dongpo pointed to the two Japanese letters in front of him, and replied with a smile: "Look, you are familiar with this group of Japanese people, and they must know everything about your local skills, since they are all looking forward to it, why should I worry about you?" After all, we are scholars of the kingdom, and the sage said: Do not take by force, do not coerce. To convince people with virtue, you should not be too rude. ”

Rude – the word is ambiguous. Maybe Su Shi didn't know what kind of character Yuan Yeping was, so as soon as he said the word, Park Yinguang secretly laughed, and Zhao Xingzhi rolled his eyes and choked out of breath.

Without waiting for Su Shi to ask again, Zhao Xing immediately interrupted Su Shi: "Teacher, how is the discussion between the DPRK and China?" ”

Su Shi shook his head with a wry smile: "After being examined by the imperial doctor, the county lord of Lezhi is indeed pregnant." For the sake of royal decency, the courtiers have decided: to choose a princess and adapt to Zhan Miao. And the county lord of Lezhi marries as a concubine, and the court is not allowed to publicize this matter......"

Interesting, Zhan Miao's guy only glanced at the princess, and he could see that the other party was pregnant. This guy's eyes are comparable to B-ultrasound.

From another aspect, it can also be inferred that this guy Zhan Miao is a veteran of flowers, and he must have impregnated teenagers more than once...... But what's the matter with Zhao Xing? Zhao Xing shook his head: "I'm not asking about Zhan Miao's bullshit, I don't care about such trivial things." I'm asking about the Qingtang Rebellion, how does the imperial court plan to deal with it? ”

Su Shi opened his mouth, suddenly stunned, he was stunned for a while, and then slowly recalled Zhao Xing's meaning, and said softly: "Compared with the Japanese people, we are far from satisfactory." The Japanese people in the barbarian land beyond the four seas still know how to blame, but we have made such a big thing, and the war has broken out again, how can the people be embarrassed, but the Manchu ministers are arguing which daughter to marry to a scoundrel...... Ashamed, ashamed. ”

Listen to Su Shi's words. The imperial court deliberated all morning today, and apparently had no conclusion on the "Qingtang Rebellion". We plan to continue the discussions. Su Shi is a literati, although he is very interested in military affairs, but he has been besieged repeatedly, which has made him reluctant to do much, so looking at his attitude is that he doesn't want to mention this matter again, Zhao Xing is no longer reluctant, and then jumps the topic to Yuan Yeping.

"There is a etiquette in Japan that says: A gentleman has nothing to fight about. If there is a dispute, it must be a target - this is an oriental-style gladiatorial fight, and every year in the court of the Japanese kingdom, the emperor will organize a competition to shoot a live drama to calm the grievances and disputes between the ministers......"

"This is also a weekly gift!" Su Shi immediately interrupted Zhao Xing's words: "The Analects. It is recorded in "Eight Hundreds" that the gentleman has nothing to fight, and he will also shoot! Concession and rise. Drink it down. The contest is also a gentleman - this game ceremony must have been carried out according to this passage! Right? ”

Zhao Xing tilted his head and thought for a long time, and said with admiration: "That's true...... There is such a thing, it turns out that the source of "Shooting" is here! ”

Zhao Xing didn't know that this kind of contest archery ceremony was known as a "Chinese-style gladiatorial fight". Because it originated in China, it only existed briefly in China. Although this ritual was also popular in Japan and South Korea, after the rise of Japanese bushido, "Japanese-style gladiatorial fighting" became more cruel and intense; And South Korea was invaded by the Jin people, which disrupted the pace of civilization...... Thereafter. In the 21st century, this kind of gladiatorial battle has become a game played only by high school students from both countries.

"This is a good thing, I should let several of your brothers and sisters come to meet this authentic Zhou Li...... You wait, and I'll inform your junior brother." After getting Zhao Xing's confirmation, Su Shi was excited.

Without waiting for Zhao Xing to speak, Park Yinguang stopped first: "Bachelor, no." This kind of contest is a very sacred thing, after the game. There will be no one who will be unquestioned. If you turn it into a juggling. Or street sumo, that's an insult to the samurai – no. Bachelor. The entire Kanto, no, the entire Wa country is watching this competition, and the bachelor can't insult Genyehei like this. ”

No wonder? It is no wonder that it is often said that this ritual came from the Han Kingdom, but the details of it are never recorded in the ancient texts, and it turns out that those who have seen this ritual have maintained a sacred silence. Therefore, this etiquette is not to be heard. And while the Hu people invaded and destroyed the family, they also slaughtered all the people who knew this etiquette, so ......

It seems that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has described: Cao Cao convened the generals to hold a similar archery competition, but that game seems to be far from the ancient archery, thinking that Cao Cao was just a descendant of eunuchs, maybe his understanding of archery is just a scratch, so the ceremony is plausible.

What does a real salute look like? Right in front of you, the person in front of you can recreate the ancient archery. When Su Shi thought of this, his heart became even hotter, and he frequently signaled Zhao Xing with his eyes and asked him to help say a few words.

Zhao Xing muttered depressedly: "It's me desperately-take my life as a reward, and you want me to ...... No reason! …… Well, let's do it, the discipline is coming, and the teacher must come forward as a witness anyway. If the brothers and sisters are willing to swear in front of the Buddha: they will never write down this gladiatorial battle and inform others, but they can appear as observers. ”

After a slight pause, Zhao Xing added: "Since Master Park is at the scene as an intermediary, we simply add another person - my brother-in-law is from Vietnam, and he is the county prince of Da Yue Kingdom. In this way, this contest became a great battle witnessed by the four countries: the Wa Kingdom, Goryeo, Vietnam, and my Great Song Dynasty. ”

"This idea is good", Park In-kwang immediately exclaimed: "Great! There are four countries to witness, I believe that this game is fair enough, Yuan Yeping heard the news, he should be moved to death, I believe that Ji Shouzhong will also be satisfied. ”

Su Shi asked in surprise: "Who is Ji Shouzhong?" You mention this man repeatedly, is this man famous? ”

"Very famous, very famous", Zhao Xing couldn't help but say a ghost word: "The famous mess - this Ji Shou Zhongzu has produced many celebrities, one of which is the compiler of Japan's first poetry collection - "Ancient and Modern Waka Collection", he is also the first poet in Japan, the father of the world's pen name. ”

At this time, the trend of "pen names" had not yet been introduced to China, so it was a bit complicated to explain. This Ki Kanyuki was the first in the world to write a travelogue "Tosa Travels" using a pseudonym and using a woman's approach, and since then it has been the trend for writers to write under a "pen name".

Ji Guanzhi's nephews and grandsons all participated in the compilation of the "Ancient and Modern Collection". There are countless well-known poets up and down the Ji family. The fact that the Japanese people invited such a local person to be the company of Yuan Yeping shows that they attach great importance to this game. So, this game is especially hard to lose.

After Su Shi learned about this situation, he immediately moved to Zhao Xing, and urged Zhao Xing to practice archery. Subsequently, the six bachelors of Suman ...... Outside Li Gefei, this guy came to join in the fun. As for borrowing the Zhou Bang style from Zhao Xing's mansion, he was even more clamoring to participate. It makes this game even more powerful.

On the other hand, Yuan Yeping and Ji Shouzhong were moved to tears when they learned of Zhao Xing's arrangement, they accelerated their trip and rushed to Bianliang City, Tokyo within two days.

When Genyeping entered the city. It happened that there had been another snow the day before, and several widows were picked up by Zhao Xing at the gate of the city, and they were sent to Zhao Xing's mansion with the curtain lowered all the way, which made their entry into the city seem uneventful.

An archery horse farm has been set up in Zhao Xing's backyard...... At this time in the Song Dynasty, the armor that met the "shooting salute" was no longer available. So Zhao Xing used a set of "Beizhong Armor" to fill the number, he tied it tightly, and waited in the courtyard with his hands behind his back energetically, behind him, a group of widows knelt on the straw mat, holding bows of various sizes, long and short, and strange shapes.

Yuan Yeping opened with such a poem, he looked up at the branches after the snow and sang: "When will there be spring flowers?" There is no end to the heart. There is snow left on the branches, which also looks like flowers. ”

This poem was left by an unknown poet during the Tang Dynasty in Japan, and Genyehei recited this poem. It is not only a description of the scene, but also a metaphor for the mood - at this moment, he "has a vast heart".

Su Dongpo and the six bachelors of Sumen, plus Li Gefei and Zhou Bangshi, heard this poem, and they were all shaking their heads and reciting it. Park In-kwang on one side was unwilling. He immediately recited a poem by the contemporary Goryeo poet Choi Chong-di's "Quatrain": "The moon is full of smokeless candles. Sitting in the mountain light is not fast, and there are more loose strings to play the spectrum. It can only be cherished and not passed on. ”

This poem is not well quoted: there is no pine and no moon on the scene, no one plays the piano, there is only a courtyard. This poem is definitely not a scene.

Chen Gongchuan showed a contemptuous smile on the corner of his mouth, and immediately shot back a song "Fishing and Leisure" by a contemporary Vietnamese famous monk and Fujian immigrant (Yang) Konglu: "Thousands of miles of clear rivers and thousands of miles of sky, a village of mulberry and a village of smoke." The fisherman fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the day with snow on the boat. ”

In fact, this poem should not be the scene. Although there is a small lake at the scene, although it snowed yesterday, where is the "fisherman"?

Yuan Yeping smiled even more arrogantly, he sat down on the snow, and directly recited the Tang Dynasty monk Kukai (774-835) wrote "Hearing the Buddha, Dharma and Monk Bird in the Later Night": "Sitting alone in the idle forest in the grass hall, the voice of the Three Treasures hears a bird, a bird has a voice, and the heart of the voice is complete." ”

Tran Gong Chuan discovered his mistake and immediately remedied it, reciting a verse written by the contemporary Vietnamese poet Master Manjue (1052-1096, commonly known as Li Chang): "Spring goes to a hundred flowers to fall, and spring to a hundred flowers bloom." Things pass by one by one, and they always come from the beginning. It is not said that the snow remnants and flowers have fallen, and there was a plum last night in front of the court. ”

Park Yinguang was angry, he felt that only by reciting a longer poem could these two people be convinced, and in a hurry, he recited a poem that was even more insignificant: "Feixian Pavilion is in the green underworld, the moon hall sheng song has been listened to, the lamp shakes the bright bird road, the ladder is back to the rainbow shadow inverted rock, when the people are exhausted with the flowing water, the bamboo belt is cold and the mountains are green for all ages, try to ask right and wrong, and sit drunk for a hundred years to wake up." ”

This is the "Jingzhou Longshuo Temple" written by the Tang Dynasty Goryeo poet Park In-beom (birth and death unknown).

Yuan Yeping, who believed in the "well-dressed Tang system, etiquette and Han monarchs", felt that this battle had won a big victory, he no longer paid attention to Park Yinguang and Chen Gongchuan, and turned to Zhao Xing and recited: "I have not seen the monarch but I am famous, and the cold chrysanthemum is white at night." The end of the night is hesitant to revisit the day, and the soul is broken and the lovesickness is also light. ”

This is a love poem, this kind of poem made Yuan Yeping, the famous glass, recite to a male "comrade", which made Zhao Xing have goosebumps all over his body. He hurriedly changed the topic and pointed behind him with one hand: "Please check the bow!" ”

Zhao Xing interrupted, Qin Guan was not conscious, he was eager to try: "Leave people, what about your poems, quickly recite two poems, if you can't do it, I'll do it, I've already done three poems." ”

Huang Ting slapped him hard and scolded him in a low voice: "Poetry?!" Which one of you is here can't do it, and you are still needed? ”

Yes, all the poets present are famous poets in the Song Dynasty, and whoever throws them out can be the ancestors of poets from the other three countries - except for Zhao Xing.

Therefore, in this "Three Kingdoms Fighting Poems", in order to show that he is very cultured. When it was very tasteful, Zhao Xing didn't say a word. But the appearance of those heavyweight giants behind him has already shown that the strongest voice of this era is behind him, and what those three countries show off is just Han poetry.

Yuan Yeping did not answer, nor did he move. Ji Shouzhong, who was beside him, took a step forward and interjected and asked, "Where is the knife?" ”

Zhao Xingyi pointed to the Tang-style hut in his courtyard and shouted, "Please!" ”

According to etiquette, it was Zhao Xing who first showed the guests the knives or other weapons he had used. Zhao Xing made a mistake just now—mainly to cover up Qin Guan's rudeness—and forgot this detail. Right now. The ritual is back to normal.

In this Tang-style hall, Su Shi sat at the door - in the Wa Kingdom, it was the emperor who presided over the ceremony in this position. Behind Su Shi stood the group of six scholars of Sumen who did good things, and the two too curious Li Gefei and Zhou Bangshi also stood in the pile of scholars. Chen Gongchuan sat at the bottom, and sat on the ground with me who happened to meet a "one-given happiness" person. Zhao Xing and Chen, Yuan Yeping and Ji Shouzhong side by side. Sitting opposite each other, the four people were two feet apart, and sitting cross-legged in the center of the field was the intermediary Park In-kwang.

Zhao Xing had many weapons, and he presented five large and small swords. The first sword was the Ditang sword he once used, which is called the "Japanese katana" in modern times. He followed the sword salute, first holding up the sword with both hands, and then bending down to bow to the sword.

This bow is not actually a bow to the sword, but to the craftsman who made the knife. Show respect for their labor.

After bowing, Zhao Xing took out a piece of pocket paper (the Song Dynasty's name for "hand paper" was called "pocket paper" because it was placed in his arms). Bite into your mouth, then hold the scabbard with your left hand with the bottom of the sheath forward, hold the handle in your right hand and gently press the spine with your left thumb. Quietly. Without pause, pull out the long in one go

When the scabbard was detached, he placed the knife horizontally with the scabbard together. The handle is placed to the left - this is because the left side of the knife is the front of the knife, and the handle is to the left, which also means that it is not threatening. If the handle of the knife is facing to the right, it means that you can draw the knife with your right hand and unsheath it at any time.

Later, Zhao Xing pushed the knife and sheath to Park Yinguang.

Under the corridor, the widow named Cuiyi worked hard to record this scene.

Park Inguang turned the knife and the scabbard in a different direction, the blade facing him, and then moved to the place where Yuan Yeping was, then picked up the scabbard and pushed the blade flat in front of Yuan Yeping.

Yuan Yeping didn't stretch out his hand first, and he also bowed to the knife. It is also a bow to the craftsman who makes the knife. Then he took out a piece of pocket paper and bit it in his mouth, pinched another piece of pocket paper in his hand and held down the spine of the knife, held the handle of the knife in one hand, pinched the spine of the knife with the other, raised the knife to the eyebrows with both hands, started from the right side of the knife, and slowly moved his eyes behind the knife to admire the knife.

Before appreciating the sword, you bite a piece of pocket paper in your mouth to prevent the blade from foaming at the mouth. The purpose of kneading the knife with white paper is to prevent the hand from touching the surface of the knife body, so that the grease on the hand will stain the knife body and destroy the original anti-rust oil layer.

When appreciating, you should not speak, this is to prevent spittle from getting on the blade of the knife and causing rust. As a result, the entire hall seemed to be inaudible about breathing.

After Yuan Yeping finished appreciating it, he put down the knife and pushed it to Park Yinguang's side, solemnly admiring. "Good knives! This is a three-carcass sword given by His Majesty the Emperor. What a knife! It still smells of blood, and I guess this knife has drunk a lot of blood, ah, I hear it roaring! ”

Zhao Xing listened to the other party's statement, and laughed in his stomach - how could the knife roar, just a tool.

The ancients just liked to play with these mysteries.

Park In-kwang handed the scabbard to the other party. Yuan Yeping took it with both hands, moved the scabbard to his waist, then held the scabbard at the waist with his left hand, held the handle in his right hand, and inserted the knife into the scabbard silently.

The Japanese style of drawing and returning the knife requires that the knife and the scabbard do not collide, because this will damage the blade and scratch the blade or the inside of the sheath. This movement requires elegance and soothing, and it is best to make no sound at all. In this regard, Zhao Xing did a good job, and Yuan Yeping was also very good.

The sword was pushed back in front of Zhao Xing, who handed out a black arc knife, a patterned steel Arabic scimitar, a Venetian stabbing sword, and finally a Teutonic knight's sword.

After admiring these various weapons, Yuan Yeping was puzzled for a while, he looked at the dazzling array of weapons in front of Zhao Xing, and then looked at the lonely three long and short knives beside him, a little aggrieved: "Your Excellency Nagato uses such a variety of weapons, do you know how to use them?" ”

Zhao Xing nodded honestly, and while Qin, who was familiar with him, saw that innocent smile on Zhao Xing's face again, he couldn't help but shudder.

Then, Zhao Xing pointed to the weapons around him and took stock one by one: "This Tang knife is the earliest weapon I used, I love how beautiful it is made and how sharp the blade is...... But alas, this knife is made of low-temperature steel, and when drifting at sea, it is too easy to rust, and it needs to be maintained two or three times a day.

So, I began to look for a new weapon, the black curved knife, which I called the Uzi knife that was used by the warriors of the Gur kingdom (a regime established by the indigenous chieftains of the Gur region during the Abbasid era of the Arab Empire, known for exporting armor, weapons, police dogs, and slaves).

I exchanged ten pounds of tea for fifty swords with the Gurs, and with a hundred pieces of silk I bought twenty mountain warriors from them, and these mountain warriors, I called them Gurkha warriors...... Life at sea was boring, and when I was idle, I asked this group of people to teach me scimitar.

Later, I bought a number of Mamluk (slave) warriors and more than 100 scimitars from the Abbasid dynasty, and on land, I learned to ride a camel and learn to fight on horseback...... It was these people who protected me across the continent of Afriya and allowed me to reach the Mediterranean alive...... But it is a pity that in the continuous, brutal, and invincible battles, more than half of them were killed.

For three years, I lived like this: I lived on the edge of a knife every day, and when I opened my eyes, when you were drinking and writing poems under the cherry blossom trees, I was fighting for survival, I was dancing on the tip of the knife, I was desperately wielding these weapons to make a way forward. O Afriya continent, I didn't pass through it in a sedan chair, the road I walked, there was blood behind me, and it was they who helped me win the right to breathe. Think about it, what does it mean that I'm still standing here today? You ask me if I will use these weapons? ”

Yuan Yeping didn't answer, and Ji Shouzhong behind him pointed to the last two swords, one thick and one thin, with a very sharp contrast, and asked, "What about these two?" ”

"The two swords belonged to two Europaans, the wide one was a knight's sword on horse, possessed by a Norman earl; The thin one is a portable sword, and the owner is a French viscount. During one of my trips, I rescued them from a siege, so I learned from the former how to use the knight's great sword and the latter how to use the bayonet sword (modern as flower fending)......"

Zhao Xing glanced at Ji Shouzhong, pointed to the knight's big sword and said, "To use this big sword, you need to wear a full-body iron armor, which is a very gorgeous set of Norman full-body armor." In addition to this, it is necessary to cooperate with tomahawks, shields, maces, chains, fishing nets...... And so on, it's a very complex battle mode, and the optical grand swordplay took me a whole year. ”

After saying this, Zhao Xing looked at Yuan Yeping's ruddy, handsome and unusually handsome face, and he asked softly: "You practiced the arrow under the moon before the flower, and I practiced it in the sword light and sword shadow, in the jungle and desert, in the fight between life and death...... Do you still use comparisons? ”

With that, he gestured with his hand over his shoulder.

Ji Shouzhong's face sank like water, and he was silent.