As early as the 17th century, the sea belonged to the Netherlands, when it was still called the Netherlands.

This small European country, known as the "coachman of the seas", has more merchant ships than all other countries combined. At one time, the Dutch East India Company accounted for 50% of the world's total trade. At that time, there were 20,000 seagoing vessels in the world, of which 15,000 belonged to the Netherlands.

From the end of the 17th century, however, the Netherlands rapidly declined, ending its brief golden age.

In Amsterdam in May, the climate is pleasant, and Zhou Hexuan even needs to wear a coat to keep out the cold.

Affected by the global economic crisis, this European super port now seems to be a bit depressed, and there are very few merchant ships coming and going.

"Woo~~~"

Amid the long steamer whistle, Zhou Hexuan walked down the gangway with his entourage, and saw the Chinese banner on the pier from afar.

Zhou Hexuan walked over quickly and said to a few Chinese people who picked him up for the boat: "You have been waiting for a long time! ”

At this time, the Nanjing Nationalist Government did not send diplomatic envoys to small European countries. Only Gu Weijun, Yan Huiqing, and others are actively campaigning, intending to win the support of the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and other countries, and send Jin Wensi as minister to Belgium and the Netherlands next year, and Hu Shize to serve as minister to Switzerland.

Therefore, Gu Weijun and Yan Huiqing should hate Zhou Hexuan very much. They worked hard to win international support from Belgium in Geneva, but Zhou Hexuan was in trouble with the Belgian company in Tianjin, which in the eyes of the two of them was an act of disregard for the overall situation.

Zhou Hexuan doesn't think so, the iron has to be hard, and the support of small European countries is useless. What's more, what is the difference between diplomatic support in exchange for the interests of the people of one's own country, and wagging the tail and begging for mercy?

At present, the people who are giving Zhou Hexuan the wind are all non-governmental people in Europe, and there are no official representatives.

A middle-aged woman with a slightly fat figure hugged her fists very boldly and said: "Mr. Zhou, I am Lu Bicheng, welcome to Amsterdam!" ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said, "Mr. Lanqing, I have admired the name for a long time!" ”

"Fei will crown the world of words, and he is born with wisdom and civilization. The silk curtain alone embraces the envy of people, and pushes Lu Bicheng everywhere. ”

This is the poetry of Miao Shanru, the secret history of the inner court, who praised Lu Bicheng, as the first talented woman in the late Qing Dynasty, at that time she did reach the grand occasion of "pushing Lu Bicheng everywhere", and Qiu Jin was called "Women's Double Hero".

As for the friendship between Lu Bicheng and Qiu Jin that circulated in later generations, most of them were fabricated.

Qiu Jin did visit Lu Bicheng, but what "at first sight, righteous marriage Jinlan" is a lie. The differences between the two are too serious, one is an anti-Qing revolutionary, the other is a reformist constitutionalist, one subverts tradition and wears men's clothing, and the other maintains tradition and likes women's clothing.

Qiu Jin invited Lu Bicheng to study in Japan and participate in the revolution together. Lu Bicheng is unwilling, she has been praised to the sky in Pingjin and Tianjin, and she needs to work hard with Qiu Jin, a "mud leg"?

The only meeting between the two heroines can be described as an unhappy parting.

Only in the matter of emancipating women, Qiu Jin and Lü Bicheng had a common language, and Lü Bicheng later wrote articles for the "China Women's Daily" founded by Qiu Jin.

But no matter what, Lu Bicheng also wrote a strong stroke in the history of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. As a woman, she served as Yuan Shikai's confidential secretary of the presidential office, and later served as the presidential palace to participate in politics, which made countless men at that time ashamed.

Zhou Hexuan asked, "Why is Mr. Lan Qing in the Netherlands?" ”

Lu Bicheng explained: "I was in Geneva a few days ago and met Gu Shaochuan (Gu Weijun). He heard that you were coming to the Netherlands, so he asked me to help with the reception, after all, there is no Chinese consulate in the Netherlands. ”

"That's a real nuisance." Zhou Hexuan said.

Lu Bicheng introduced a few companions, all of whom were celebrities and students in Europe, and they went to a nearby hotel together.

After Zhou Hexuan put his luggage away, everyone went to a nearby Chinese restaurant to eat. There was no wine or meat on the whole table, all the ingredients, and the cups were filled with water.

Lu Bicheng said with a smile: "If you want to avoid human bloodshed, you should start from the dining table." Protecting animals and advocating peace are both the development trend of civilization, and Mr. Zhou won't mind being a vegetarian, right? ”

"Whatever the guest wants." Zhou Hexuan declined to comment, although he did not agree with "animal protectionism" in his heart.

It is necessary to protect animals, such as protecting wild and endangered species, but if chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep are also protected, it is too difficult for strong people.

As for linking the protection of animals with the call for peace, Zhou Hexuan can only scoff - he is full!

Lu Bicheng raised his glass and said: "I will replace wine with water, and welcome Mr. Zhou to come to Europe again and run for the cause of peace in China." ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled: "Thank you for your hospitality!" ”

They raised their glasses and ate while discussing the situation in the Far East and Europe, and occasionally Buddhism and art.

Lu Bicheng suddenly asked, "Is Mr. Zhou religious?" ”

Zhou Hexuan replied: "I believe in science, but I do not reject normal religion, and I dare not deny the existence of gods. Perhaps, there is indeed a god in the underworld, but this god cannot bless the world, only we can save ourselves. ”

Lu Bicheng said with a smile: "I have read Mr. Zhou's French version of "The Goddess", which involves a lot of myths and legends. When the heroine is in a coma in the wilderness, she sees the Buddha in the sky in a trance, which I think is a kind of spiritual epiphany and a manifestation of Buddha nature. All living beings have Buddha nature and are born with a yearning for goodness and light, while war and killing are both acts of annihilation of human nature and Buddha nature. ”

This woman believes in Buddhism and is already crazy......

Zhou Hexuan could only follow her words and said: "In my opinion, Buddha is the embodiment of great wisdom, great compassion and great power. To put it in layman's terms, a Buddha represents a personality that has attained a state of perfection in all of his intellect, emotion, and abilities. From a philosophical point of view, this is the ultimate human pursuit. From a religious point of view, the biggest difference between Buddhism and other religions is that Buddha is not omnipotent, and Buddha cannot give us liberation. The Buddha can only teach us and lead us to liberation by our own efforts. The Buddha cannot send us to heaven or hell, whether it is the heavenly Western Elysium or the terrifying eighteen layers of hell, it is all obtained by our own actions. ”

Lu Bicheng's eyes lit up, and he nodded: "Mr. Zhou's understanding of Buddhism is quite insightful, but do you have any plans to believe in Buddhism?" ”

"There is a Buddha in the heart, and everything is a Buddha," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "For hundreds of years, the Chinese have spoken of three religions as one. Confucianism has gentlemen, Taoism has sages, Confucianism has Buddha, and I think the descriptions of these three are the same. It is through their own efforts that they achieve the perfection of their intellect, emotion, and ability, and the gentleman is the Buddha, the Buddha is a saint, and the saint is also a gentleman. As long as a person has attained that state, he can become a Buddha and become holy in the flesh. Whether you believe in Buddhism or not is secondary. ”

Lu Bicheng thought hard for a long time, and suddenly folded his hands and bowed: "Mr. Zhou, Bicheng has been taught!" ”

Zhou Hexuan asked again: "Which school of Buddhism is Mr. Lan Qing cultivating?" ”

Lu Bicheng said: "Pure Land Sect." ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said, "Why do you have the luxury of being reborn in the Western Pure Land? As long as everyone works hard and everyone struggles, China can also become a pure land on earth. Zhou Hexuan pretended to point to the heavens and his heart, "The Pure Land is not in Elysium, but in your heart and mine." If there is a Pure Land in the heart, then the Abi Hell is also a Pure Land. If there is hell in the heart, then Western bliss is also hell. ”

Lu Bicheng said: "Mr. Zhou is talking about Zen Buddhism, which is still a little different from the Pure Land Buddhism. ”

"Is there a difference between a Buddha and a Buddha?" Zhou Hexuan asked.

Lu Bicheng was suddenly surprised, let alone her, this question was difficult for even those virtuous monks to answer.

Zhou Hexuan asked again: "Since there is no difference between Buddha and Buddha, what is the difference between Zen Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism?" ”

Lu Bicheng began to think confused, she only started to convert to Buddhism two years ago, and the theory and cultivation of Buddhism are still relatively shallow, how can she figure out such a profound question?

After being silent for a long time, Lu Bicheng clasped his palms together and said, "Mr. Zhou, I am not good at cultivation and cannot answer your question. See smiled. ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "Whether it is a human being or a Buddha, we should have great compassion. Now that the national crisis is at hand, why doesn't Mr. Lan Qing return to China to advocate for peace? This is also a spiritual practice. King Jizo Bodhisattva made a great wish and said: Hell is not empty, and you will not become a Buddha. Seeing that the land of China is about to become a hell on earth, how can a cultivator only think about his own bliss in his own life? Now Venerable Hongyi is also practicing, but his practice is not to escape from the world, but to actively advocate for China. He often said: Do not forget to love the country when you read the Buddha, and do not forget to remember the Buddha to save the country. What does Mr. Lan Qing think? ”

Lu Bicheng's thoughts became more and more confused, and he finally got up and said, "I will return to China tomorrow and ask Master Hongyi for Buddhist teachings!" ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled and stopped talking, this flickering wasted a lot of his brain cells.

What Zhou Hexuan didn't expect was that his brain cells would continue to suffer, and the next day three more masters suddenly came to visit: Freud, Romain Rolland and Einstein.