"I'm tired of my little brother, and wait!" Lin Heshui called Yuji, who was about to retreat, climbed out of the barrel, groped twice in the coat on the side, and flicked it out, Yuji instinctively reached out to catch it, and looked down and couldn't help but be surprised and happy, it turned out to be an eagle.

"Let's go buy something you like!" Lin Heshui smiled while wiping his body.

"Thank you, Mr. Lin, it's just—" Yuji had a look of embarrassment on his face, and it was clear that something was stopping him from taking Takayo.

"What's wrong? Why don't you take it? Lin Heshui asked in surprise.

"Uncle Yoshida usually said that samurai should not accept money unless they are outstanding!" Yuji had a contradictory look on his face, and it was obvious that he really wanted to accept this eagle in his heart.

"Oh?" Lin Heshui looked the young man up and down, and suddenly asked, "Then have you taken the yuan?" ”

"Not yet, Uncle Yoshida said that my swordsmanship and spearmanship are still far from a samurai!" Yuji's face showed a look of frustration, and he immediately raised his head: "But my bow skills and gunning skills are very good, and even adults can't compare to mine!" “

"That's because you're still young, your body hasn't grown yet, and after a few years, when you have more strength, natural swordsmanship and spearmanship will catch up!" Lin Heshui said with a smile: "Since you don't have a yuan suit, you are not a warrior yet, and it is natural to help people do things and take people's money!" ”

"Really?" Yuji couldn't help but be surprised and delighted when he heard this.

"Naturally, although you samurai have many rules, you can't be in charge of people who are not samurai, right?"

"That's right!" Yuji looked at the silver coin in his hand, and quickly convinced himself, he bowed to Lin Heshui, and left quickly, looking at his excited appearance, compared to the appearance of a little adult, there was a lot more childlike atmosphere.

"Mr. Lin!" At this time, the captain also climbed out of the barrel, and while wiping his body, he asked, "What are you going to do next?" “

"What should I do?" Lin Heshui laughed: "You and I have been traveling all the way, and we have such a good place to live, so naturally we have to live and raise for a few days!" “

"What?" The captain's eyes widened in surprise, and the body cloth in his hand fell to the ground, revealing his black carcass.

Sure enough, from the next day onwards, Lin Heshui slept until three o'clock in the morning before getting up, and after having a comfortable Japanese breakfast in Yoshida House, he went out for a leisurely stroll, and Yuji became his full-time guide and attendant (of course, it was more likely to be Yoshida Okiji's eyeliner), and he didn't come back until dinner, and Yuji followed behind him with a lot of things on his shoulder. When Lin Heshui came back, he went to take a hot bath first, and only came out to eat after half an hour. In the words of a certain Yoshidaya's janitor: "This Mr. Lin really lives a leisurely life that even the gods envy!" After dinner, he went around and gave the things he bought as gifts. As the saying goes, "Stretch out your hand and don't hit the smiling person", so after more than ten days, Yoshidaya's name for Lin Heshui behind his back also changed from "a somewhat strange Ming people" to "Mr. Lin", and from "Mr. Lin" to "kind-hearted Mr. Lin", and finally to "His Royal Highness Generous and Honorable".

In these days, Yoshidaya's happiest life is probably Yuji, who hangs out with Lin Heshui every day, does not have to bear the heavy chores in the store, and does not have to carry out the hard training necessary for samurai, just get up in the morning to serve Lin Heshui for breakfast, and accompany him to go out for a stroll, as long as he shows a little love for something on the market, Lin Heshui will not hesitate to pay for it and throw it into Yuji's arms. Lunch was in a variety of good hotels and restaurants, and this Mr. Lin from a strange background seemed to have an endless amount of money. At first, Yuji still felt a sense of guilt from time to time, as a samurai, he should be upright and simple, honest, and trustworthy, how can he be so indulged in enjoyment every day? But soon the samurai's sense of morality was overwhelmed by the gifts and delicacies that followed, and the boy began to immerse himself more and more in the vortex of happiness.

In the evening of that day, Yuji sent the things that Lin Heshui bought back to Lin Heshui's residence, and was about to take his share back to his residence, when he saw a companion running over: "Yuji, Yoshida-sama asked you to go to him immediately!" ”

"Ahh Yuji looked at the cage in his hand with some panic, and inside was a three- or four-month-old Philippine eagle, which has been endangered in the 21st century, and can grow to a meter in length when it reaches adulthood, with wings spread up to three meters, it is one of the largest eagles in the world, and is regarded as a sacred bird by the local aborigines. Yuji wanted to domesticate it as his own falcon, and he once heard Yoshida Okinoshi say that the greatest samurai would love eagle hunting, because it would not only improve the samurai's physique and vision, but also practice the art of war. When he met him on the street today, he could hardly take a step, and Lin Heshui saw it, so he immediately bought it at a high price of twenty eagles and transferred it to him. At this time, he naturally couldn't take this thing to see Yoshida-sama, so in a hurry, he stuffed the birdcage into his companion's hand: "You help me take it first, and I'll return it to me when I get back, but don't kill it!" ”

"Oh!" The young man was also immediately attracted by the beautiful bird of prey in the cage, and shouted enviously: "It's so beautiful, is this also a gift from His Highness Lin?" I envy you so much, if only I could serve Mr. Lin for a few days, can you lend me this bird to play with for a while? “

"It's an eagle, not a bird!" Yuji scolded impatiently: "Be careful, don't move, put it away and wait for me to come back!" With that, he hurried to Yoshida's residence.

Yoshida Okinoji lives in the innermost courtyard of Yoshida House, with a shrub and thatched slope in the background, and the surrounding area is quite secluded. Yoshida often watched his boys practice mounted archery, foot archery, wrestling, spearmanship, and swordsmanship here, and because the bird guns made loud noises, they would go to more remote and uninhabited places to practice. And when Yuji arrives at Yoshida Okiji's residence, the slope is empty, and only two young guards stand at the door of the house. Yuji subconsciously held his breath, lightened his steps, and walked up the steps.

"Is it Yuji? Come in and sit down! Yoshida Okiji sat on the ground, the clay pot on the small charcoal stove next to him was making a slight sound of boiling water, and he brought a bag of tea to his nose and closed his eyes comfortably, as if in the fragrance of tea leaves.

"It's me, Mr. Yoshida!" Yuji carefully walked to a place seven or eight steps away from Yoshida, sat down cross-legged, Yoshida Okuiji looked at Yuji, and knocked on the ground in front of him with a folding fan: "Sit closer!" ”

"Yes, sir!" Yuji got up, took a few quick steps from his body, and sat down in front of Yoshida. Yoshida Okinoshi ignored him, but carefully poured boiling water into a bowl filled with tea foam, and the air was immediately filled with a unique aroma of tea soup.

"It smells so good!" Yoshida Okuiji brought the tea bowl to his lips and enjoyed the aroma of the tea soup intoxicated, but did not drink it. After a long time, he put the tea soup back on the ground, and just when Yuji was surprised, he suddenly asked, "What gift did Mr. Lin give you today?" ”

"An eagle, a tiger eagle (the Aboriginal name for the Philippine eagle at the time)!" Yuji explained to himself in embarrassment: "My lord, I want to learn Takayama, just like Daigosho-sama (Tokugawa Ieyasu)!" ”

"Tiger Eagle? Eagle hunting? Yoshida Okuiji suddenly laughed: "Do you know why I don't drink this tea soup?" “

"Chayu, I don't know!" Yuji shook his head.

"Because I'm here to enjoy the aroma of tea, not to be captive by it!" Yoshida Okiji looked at Yuji's confused face and had to explain: "You want to use a hawk to catch prey, but you don't think that you have become someone else's prey, do you understand?" ”

"Yoshida-sama!" Yuji lowered his head in shame: "It's all my fault, it's me who violated your usual teachings to me, I'll go back right away and return all the gifts to Mr. Lin." ”

"No, it's not your fault!" Yoshida Rush shook his head: "It's my fault, I shouldn't have let you follow him all day, you're just a thirteen-year-old child, how can you deal with a character like Mr. Lin?" You go back first, and I'll take care of this matter!" ”

"Yes, Yoshida-sama!" Yuji stood up, his face full of shame, and exited the house. Yoshida Okiji lowered his head and took a sip of tea soup, and suddenly said in a deep voice: "Mr. Lin, do you have anything to say?" ”

"Yoshida-sama has a good way, after Yuji has experienced this incident, he will definitely sharpen himself and achieve a great cause, worthy of being the descendant of Lord Yamada Nagamasa!" Lin Heshui walked out from behind the screen, applauding with admiration on his face.

"Oh? How can you tell that Yuji is the child of an adult in Yama County? For the first time, Yoshida Okuiji showed a look of anger on his face: "Yuji shouldn't have said it, who told you?" ”

"Guess!" Lin Heshui sat down in front of Yoshida Okiji, with a smug smile on his face: "You are the deputy of Lord Yamada Nagamasa, and your attitude towards Yuji is very strange, your requirements are very strict, and you don't even say a word of seriousness." The rest of Yoshidaya is the same for Yuji, but he is a half-grown child of thirteen or fourteen, and everyone is close to him and a little distant, who else can he be besides the son of Lord Yamada Nagamasa? “

Yoshida Okiji's expression changed, and finally he sighed, but he didn't expect that it was his attitude that exposed the secret: "Mr. Lin looks at people in subtlety, and he is really a masterpiece, and the kingdom is really a great man, which is beyond my reach!" ”

"Yoshida-sama, you're not simple! It's been a few years since Lord Yamada Nagamasa died, but you can still hold the hearts of the people and open up another situation in Manila, where half of the children here are practicing military affairs, and their ambitions are not small! ”

"We are the children of the martial arts, and it is our duty to practice martial arts, and it is nothing. Besides, being in a foreign country, surrounded by tigers and wolves, this is also a last resort! ”

"Being in a foreign country, surrounded by tigers and wolves, well said!" Lin Heshui tapped his palm: "Lord Yoshida, if I show you a clear path below, will you go or not?" ”

"Minglu?" Yoshida Okiji smiled: "Take charcoal from the fire for you?" Are the Dutch that easy to deal with? Even if you take Dayuan Port, you may not be able to defend it, right? "He had been in Southeast Asia for almost twenty years, and he knew better about the Dutch at sea than most people at that time.

"The Dutchman's ships are strong and artillery, and they are all over the sea, which we naturally know, but if you want to say that he wants to die with us for a big port, do you think it is possible?"

"Huh!" Yoshida Okiji smiled: "Mr. Lin, a few years ago, Daming also fought with the Dutch in Penghu, and we all know what the final situation was." Let's put it this way, if it is on the shore or near the sea, the Ming Dynasty still relies on the large number of people and ships to take advantage of it, if it is a place like the big man, I am afraid that with the power of the Ming Dynasty, it will be difficult to win, right? “

Lin Heshui smiled, did not directly answer Yoshida Okiji's question, and asked, "Yoshida-sama, you said that this Dutch man came from thousands of miles away, what is it for?" “

"Silk, tea, porcelain, gold and silver, naturally?"

"Yes, the Dutch want that Dayuan Port is also to do business with our Daming, if you really tear your face and fight, if you lose, it's okay, if you win the Daming, if you ban trade with the Dutch and replace it with the Spaniards, what do you think the Dutch will do?"

"This-" Yoshida was stunned for a moment, indeed, as Hayashi Heshui said, after the Western colonizers came to the East in the seventeenth century, although they were extremely vicious and cruelly oppressed the backward natives; But the great and old unified empires on the road have tried to show a humble attitude, to adopt an attitude of cooperation, in order to obtain benefits that they cannot obtain by force. In many cases, these great empires were able to exploit the contradictions between their colonizers and adopt a divide-and-rule strategy, forcing them to make concessions with commercial interests. The main reason for this was that although the Western world at that time gradually surpassed the East militarily, its technological superiority was far from enough to compensate for the huge disadvantage in numbers and supplies, so the most advantageous strategy for the colonizers was naturally to try to cater to the empire against their own trade competitors, rather than unite to slaughter those ancient empires. Therefore, there was such a wonderful scene in Asia at that time, the Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and British people fought to the death for the right to trade with the Chinese, Mughals, and Japanese, and they were very weak in the face of the empire. This gave the rulers of the empire the illusion that compared with the fierce and warlike herdsmen in the arid areas outside the northern borders, these distant visitors from the sea, although they had unique characteristics in firearms and navigation, did not pose any threat, because what they sought was only a small profit in trade, not land and power, which was what the rulers of the empire really valued, and they were hostile to each other, and there were irreconcilable sharp contradictions, and the empire could use the traditional "raze to raze" to bind it at a very small cost. But what these wise rulers never expected was that in less than two hundred years, these seemingly weak invaders would grow into evil dragons capable of devouring the whole world, and their empires would be shattered, reduced to the dragon's mines, pastures, farmlands, and tea mountains, while their descendants would be reduced to slavery. (To be continued.) )