April is the rainiest season in Nagasaki, and as one of Japan's most famous foreign trade ports, Nagasaki is a bit depressed this year. In the drizzle, only six or seven Chinese flat-bottomed galleons and Japanese fishermen's boats were moored in the harbor. In previous years, there was not a single tall Nanban plywood sailing ship in the harbor.

Of course, this has something to do with the fact that the trading season has not yet arrived, as is customary in previous years, when Nagasaki is busiest between August and October. Because of the drizzle today, there were no merchants in the harbor to look at the goods, so the shipowners and sailors either hid in their cabins and slept or went ashore to have fun.

Nagasaki, the shogunate's key foreign port, attracted many Chinese merchants to live here because of its favorable geographical location and excellent port. In the third year of Chongzhen, there were more than 4,000 overseas Chinese living in Nagasaki. These overseas Chinese also built Kofukuji Temple, Fukuji Temple, and Chongfukuji Temple in Nagasaki, which served as places for overseas Chinese in Nagasaki to hold religious activities, as well as places for people to contact each other, handle funeral sacrifices, help each other, and reconcile internal conflicts.

Lin Guangxing, the owner of the Guangxing who had just arrived in Nagasaki, listened to the advice of other shipowners and specially came to Xingfu Temple to meet the leaders of overseas Chinese merchants in Guangdong, hoping to use the relationship of his fellow villagers to get rid of the goods in his hands.

Xingfuji Temple is the first Tang temple in Nagasaki built by Jiangxi merchant Ouyang Yuntai, and it is also the main place for overseas Chinese business in Nagasaki. The envoy sent by the Ming Dynasty to Edo to deal with the shogunate, Monk Shinfu, once visited here. He also convened a meeting of overseas Chinese businessmen in Nagasaki to persuade the four associations that had been clearly divided into four associations to merge into one, and established the Nagasaki Overseas Chinese Association in Kofukuji Temple, with Ouyang Yuntai as the president, to serve the overseas Chinese and Chinese businessmen in Nagasaki.

Lin Guangxing, who came to Nagasaki for the first time, quickly put his heart down after seeing Ouyang Yuntai. This overseas Chinese businessman from Jiangxi was extremely kind, and after listening to the goods he brought, he quickly asked people to find a Chinese man to come over, ready to introduce him to the Chinese man.

However, while they were waiting for the arrival of the Chinese, a sailor came to the dock in a hurry to report that a group of officers and men had just run to search the Guangxing, not only took all the people on board and seized the ship, but also asked the owner to go to Nagasaki Town to report on it.

Lin Guangxing was taken aback, he immediately got up and wanted to say goodbye and leave, but Ouyang Yuntai grabbed him and asked, "Where are you going?" ”

Lin Guangxing replied a little anxiously: "Old man, please let go, I will go to the town commission to ask for an understanding, there must be some misunderstanding in this." ”

Ouyang Yuntai still stopped him and said, "Ask me to understand?" Before the matter is clarified, you rush to go, and you are not throwing yourself into the net. The current Nagasaki Takenaka Picker is an extremely brutal person, and I'm afraid that if you run over like this, not only will you not see Takenaka, but you will also be arrested. ”

Lin Guangxing was stunned for a moment, and he pleaded with Ouyang Yuntai: "Then what should I do?" Please also ask the old gentleman to show the way. ”

Ouyang Yuntai let go of Lin Guangxing's arm at this time, thought about it carefully and said: "Although the girl in the bamboo is brutal, he will not arrest people for no reason. The value of your shipload is less than 100,000 yuan, and it will not be enough for him to be tempted to engulf your ship and goods. Are you carrying any people and goods on this ship that you shouldn't have brought with you? ”

Lin Guangxing scratched his head and said with a blank face: "I didn't bring anyone else on the ship, only two Portuguese missionaries, and they only brought a few boxes..."

Ouyang Yuntai quickly interrupted him, raised his voice by three points and asked, "You have a missionary on board?" Did they bring the scriptures with them? ”

Seeing that Ouyang Yuntai suddenly became anxious, Lin Guangxing suddenly panicked and explained: "These Portuguese missionaries are quite good in character, and the teachings they teach are also to guide people to goodness, I don't think they are bad people." When they heard that my ship was coming to Japan, they asked me to get on board..."

Ouyang Yuntai immediately shook his head and sighed: "If you want to come to Japan to do business, you should also ask those ship owners who have been to Japan, if there are any taboos in going to and from Japan, how can you close your eyes and be blind."

This Catholicism is known in Japan as Shishitan, and it is a religion that is strictly forbidden by the shogunate. Any foreign missionary found to be proselytizing in Japan was sentenced to death, as were sailors who brought Bibles and other missionary materials into Japan. If you go to the town now, you might be punished. ”

Lin Guangxing was dumbfounded, a little incredulous. It took him a long time to react, and he said angrily, "Why? Just bringing a few illegal books to be sentenced to death is too overbearing. ”

After venting, Lin Guangxing found that it was completely useless, so he drooped his head and asked Ouyang Yuntai, "Is there anything the old gentleman can think of?" If I can escape this fate, I will repay him when the old man returns home. ”

Ouyang Yuntai shook his head and said: "The Takenaka Lady is the loyal dog of the shogunate, he is capable but also lustful and greedy, and the criminals who fall into his hands will definitely be tortured to death." If you have a missionary and a book on board, he will not let you go. ”

Lin Guangxing's face was pale and uncertain, and after a while, he bowed deeply to Ouyang Yuntai and said: "I don't want the ship and the cargo, but I must bring back those brothers on my ship, otherwise my life will be left in Nagasaki, and I will ask the old gentleman to help me." ”

Ouyang Yuntai thought for a long time before saying, "Everyone is a Tang person, if I can help, I will naturally not stand idly by." But you don't have to give up your life easily, and if even you are caught, who else can save those brothers on your ship? ”

After Ouyang Yuntai finished speaking, he asked Lin Guangxing to wait in the room for a while, he got up and walked to the door and whispered a few words to the people outside, before he walked back and continued to drink tea with Lin Guangxing.

Although he was a little puzzled by Ouyang Yuntai's actions, Lin Guangxing still held back his patience and had a word with Ouyang Yuntai without a word. After about an hour, when Lin Guangxing was about to lose his patience, a servant in Tsing Yi opened the door and walked in, and said to Ouyang Yuntai: "Lord Onodera has already agreed, after a stick of incense, he will go to Qingwu Hengding." ”

Ouyang Yuntai nodded at the servant and said, "Go and say hello to Jiro, just say that I chartered his izakaya today, and let him dismiss the other guests..."

Aomono Yokocho is a small izakaya located in the northeastern corner of a kabaya. Behind the izakaya private room is a river, and in the distance are rolling hills. In such a drizzly and hazy weather, I opened the wamen facing the river, listened to the sound of water dropping on the eaves, looked at the hazy river and the distant mountain shadows, and warmed a pot of sake to drink myself, and felt that there were no worries in my life.

When Lin Guangxing followed Ouyang Yuntai to this private room, he saw a samurai sitting cross-legged on the side facing the river with his back to them, drinking sake and quietly admiring the rain outside.

After hearing the movement behind him, Onodera Goro put down his wine glass and turned around to say hello to Ouyang Yuntai. Lin Guangxing also took the opportunity to take a look at the warrior, and found that in addition to the weird hairstyle on his head, he was still quite energetic, but he was about thirty years old.

After watching Ouyang Yuntai sit down, Onodera Goro glanced at Lin Guangxing before he spoke: "This is the owner of the Guangxing?" ”

Ouyang Yuntai nodded and said, "It turns out that the adults already know, I don't know what happened to the people who were taken away on the Guangxing?" Can this matter be dredged? ”

Onodera Goro shook his head and said, "I'm no longer a servant, just before, Lord Ryō had demoted me to a miscellaneous servant. ”

Ouyang Yuntai suddenly asked in surprise, "What's going on?" ”

Onodera Goro smiled and said, "Actually, there is nothing wrong with miscellaneous work, at least I don't have to run around in the future, and I can come here often to drink." Since Mizuno-sama is no longer there, this day will be sooner or later.

It's just that our Takenaka-sama is too shameless, and I think he will be punished by the shogunate sooner or later, so staying away from him may not be a bad thing. ”

Ouyang Yuntai couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?" Adults aren't so decadent on weekdays. ”

Onodera Goro looked at the wine glass in his hand for a long time before he said, "Mr. Ouyang, have you ever heard the name of Saburo Hiranoya Emon?" ”

Ouyang Yuntai thought for a moment before replying, "Is the lord talking about the owner of the Wu clothing shop whose wife is missing?" His wife was found? That's a famous beauty. Her disappearance can't have anything to do with Lord Bong, right? ”

Onodera Goro was silent, just nodded slightly, and Ouyang Yuntai said with some surprise: "Chiyo was really abducted by the lord?" ”

Onodera Goro sighed and said, "It's not abduction, it's that I was forcibly taken back to the shrine by the priest on the way down the mountain to worship the Buddha." However, yesterday morning, Chiyo disappeared from the office, and Lord Ryō was furious about this and sent everyone out to look for it. Someone reported today that someone saw Saburo Uemon's elder brothers, Ichiro Bei and Chiyo, out of Nagasaki. So the lord ordered the arrest of the Ichiro guard, and after a few words of persuasion from the side, I was demoted to a miscellaneous servant by the adult. ”

Ouyang Yuntai didn't know how to persuade Onodera Goro, and finally could only sigh and say: "We have an old saying in China, which is called that if you do too much injustice, you will kill yourself. ”

Onodera Goro shook his head with a wry smile, then pulled the topic away and said, "You still don't interfere in the matter of the Guangxing." Even meddling doesn't do anything, it just traps you in the middle. You should arrange for the shipowner to leave Nagasaki and return to China as soon as possible, for if the lord finds out that you are harboring him, you will not have any good fruit to eat. ”

After Ouyang Yuntai relayed Onodera's words to Lin Guangxing, Lin Guangxing was unwilling to leave like this, he was bent on rescuing his crew. Seeing the shipowner so moralistic, Onodera Goro couldn't help but be moved.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Father Jolian, who was captured by Lord Confessor on your ship, is suspected of having a connection with the Chezhi Dan cultists in Kyushu, so he is being tortured in the Unzen Hell, and I want to obtain the contact information and list of the Chezhi Dan cultists in Kyushu from him. Therefore, it is impossible for you to unblock the relationship in Nagasaki and rescue the crew. Unless..."

Ouyang Yuntai hurriedly asked, "Unless what?" ”

Onodera Goro hesitated for a moment and said, "Unless you can get through the relationship with the shogunate, or turn to the Tokai Patrol Mansion for help." Now that the Shimazu family and the Mori family are in contact with the Tokai Patrol House, if these two daimyos are willing to come forward, maybe the lord will give him a face..."