Two days later, in the morning.

Imperial Palace.

Under the long eaves of the hall, Meiji sits facing the lawn.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip,

Then he sang:

"The spring night is short, and the pontoon bridge of the dream is suddenly broken-"

The rhyme is long.

Not far away, Takasaki Masakaze walked with small steps bowed, saluted respectfully at Meiji's side, and then said, "Your Majesty, this song of your singing spring is very beautiful. What about the last few sentences? ”

Meiji: "......"

The atmosphere was inexplicably awkward.

After a while, he sang: "The clouds are like ...... belts"

As soon as this sentence ended, Takasaki Masafeng next to him shouted: "Good! ”

As a result, the atmosphere became more awkward.

Meiji cleared his throat, took another sip of tea, and asked, "Sensei, what are you looking for me?" ”

Takasaki Masafu handed over the newspaper with both hands,

"Your book review is in the newspaper."

It was the Yomiuri Shimbun, one of the best-selling newspapers in Tokyo.

Meiji glanced at it and couldn't help frowning,

"Why do you want to post it on the front page? This will only make the reader confused, and they will focus less on the content and instead think about the so-called 'deal' behind it. ”

Takasaki Masakaze didn't answer,

But I thought to myself,

Your Emperor's old man's article appeared in the newspaper, and there was already a behind-the-scenes deal.

He said cautiously: "Your Majesty, I don't think there is any need to shy away from it. ”

The emperor waved his hand,

"It's time to avoid it. Didn't you see me using a pen name? ”

"Ah......h

Takasaki Masafu glanced at the author column of the book review,

It was written:

Listen to the world to the south.

From "Zhou Yi Hexagram", "The sage faces south and listens to the world, and governs to the Ming".

With the current composition of Japanese intellectuals, most of them who can read and write also understand some Sinology, and when they see the pen name of "the south and listen to the world", they will inevitably associate it with "ruling to the Ming Dynasty".

It's all like this, can you still not know that it is Meiji's handiwork?

Takasaki Masakaze said: "Your Majesty does not need to shy away from it, because you have taken the lead. Remember the repeal of the Meat Prohibition Order? ”

Due to the influence of the Buddhist idea of non-killing, the "Meat Prohibition Order" was promulgated during the Tianmu period of Japan.

Since then, many emperors have attached great importance to fasting, abstaining from meat, and being cautious in words and deeds to purify themselves.

The upward and downward effects have led to the growing custom of the Japanese not to eat meat, which has made Wu Dalang per capita, one shorter than the other.

How can this enrich the country and strengthen the army?

So, in the 5th year of the Meiji era (1872), the Japanese people suddenly saw a report of Meiji eating meat.

Meiji is a little complacent,

"Indeed, with me taking the lead, people began to race to eat beef pots. To this day, I still remember a sentence in "An Yu Le Nabe", "If you don't eat beef pot, you won't be civilized", and in two years, the number of beef pot restaurants in Tokyo surged from 70 to 588. ”

Even the numbers remember that there are zeros and whole numbers,

It can be seen that Meiji really considered it one of his indelible achievements.

Takasaki Masako took the opportunity to pat himself on the back,

"Your Majesty, the evaluation of Lord of the Flies is the same. Yesterday, its author, Lu Shi, said a lot of unashamed things at the University of Tokyo, and if you stand up and make your views public, you can set things right! ”

This sycophant is slapped, and Meiji is full of comfort.

He said slowly, "You're right. Lu Shi was able to write "The Nature of Japanese Civilization", which shows that this person has sophistry skills. Although the people of Japan are open-minded, how can they be the opponents of the cunning people? ”

Takasaki Masafu nodded again and again,

"Yes! The people need your guidance! ”

Meiji "um",

Looking back now, it was indeed the right choice to post on the front page.

He picked up the newspaper,

The book review is called "In the Face of Survival, Everything is a Small Thing".

The article begins with a clear meaning,

——

Secular, which began with the first sacrifice of Fauvism.

It is not a sacrifice to the gods, but to the "beasts" around them, to the dangers that loom at all times.

In order to hunt wild boars, the Fauvists gave up their original student attire and painted their bodies all over their bodies.

They are right!

——

"Tsk...... Tut-tut......"

Meiji was staggered,

"That's good. I'm really good at writing. Even if Lu Shi himself stood in front of me, he would be persuaded by me and give up his ridiculous and superficial views, right? ”

Takasaki Masafu nodded again and again,

"That's nature."

MeijiContinue reading,

Even though he had read the manuscript no less than ten times when he was proofreading, he was still full of satisfaction when he looked at the printed font.

The wind was blowing, and the newspaper was making a soft noise.

On an early spring morning, the sun shines softly on every corner of the Imperial Palace,

The air is filled with a faint scent of flowers and earth, which is refreshing, and the occasional bird hovers over the palace, adding to the crisp call of the bird.

At this time, a palace man walked with small steps,

"Your Majesty."

Meiji is still indulging in his own articles,

He was absent-minded, his head was still buried in the newspaper, and he said, "Uh-huh, you say, what's wrong?" ”

The palace man replied, "Hisato Hisato Hijikata asks to see you." ”

Hisamoto Hijikata previously served as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce and Minister of the Imperial Household, and after resigning from his post, he focused on education and became the president of the Imperial Family System Bureau of the Imperial Family of the Imperial Household of the Imperial Palace, and was quite favored.

In a way, he was also Meiji's teacher.

Meiji couldn't help but be surprised,

"Hijikata-sensei has returned from Yokohama?"

He waved his hand,

"Okay, please."

The palace people left immediately.

After a while, a short man in a suit walked in,

His outfit is quite Westernized, especially the pocket watch chain that peeks out from the open suit, which is full of British style.

Meiji whispered, "Hijikata-sensei! ”

Hisakata Hisamoto bowed,

"Your Majesty, I haven't seen you for a long time, and you are becoming more and more wise and martial."

After speaking, he took a step forward,

"I saw a Chinese newspaper in Yokohama called "Xinmin Cong Bao", and one of them was called "Lord of the Flies" which was very interesting. After that, I bought a Japanese ...... Not...... Your Majesty, have you heard? ”

Meiji laughed,

"I've read it all!"

He shook the newspaper in his hand, and was just about to say that he had written a book review.

As a result, Hisamoto Hisato didn't notice it, and continued the topic: "Then have you read this book review?" ”

He began to fumble on the inside of his clothes.

Meiji's smile became brighter,

"I was the author of that review...... Forehead ......"

The smile froze.

Because what the other party took out was not the Yomiuri Shimbun, but a magazine-

"Cuckoo".

Meiji has heard of it, and the haiku on it is quite charming.

Hisamoto Hijikata flipped over,

"Look, this article "Japanese, why don't you reflect? ", the writing is really incisive, the point of view is spicy, and I am very embarrassed to see it. ”

Meiji is full of black lines,

￣□￣｜｜

When he heard the name, he instinctively felt that it was absolutely diametrically opposed to the opinion of his own book review.

Takasaki Masakaze next to him was also stunned, and he glanced at Hisato Hijikata.

Hisamoto Hisakata: ???

"Takasaki-kun, what's wrong?"

Takasaki Masafu was speechless and could only remain silent.

Meiji silently took the magazine and began to read that book review,

——

How is the denial of civilization different from a beast?

Living in this "magical" country, there are always many things happening that make us unbelievable.

I wonder when I see that the teachers in the university are always reading from the textbook, and our students can tolerate it;

When I see the law of the jungle and the pedestrians on the side of the road turn a blind eye, I feel helpless.

When I see ......

I was puzzled by all this, even after reading "The Nature of Japanese Civilization".

Until the advent of Lord of the Flies.

——

The article was written by a writer named Masaoka Shiki.

Miraculously, he seemed to have foreseen the content of the Meiji book review, and almost refuted it point by point, and it was justified and convincing.

After reading Meiji, the whole person is not good.

Silence falls,

“……”

“……”

“……”

The three people under the veranda seemed to be silenced, and they were silent.

I stayed like this for about two minutes.

"Whew~"

Meiji exhaled, adjusted his mentality, and then said, "There is some truth in what I wrote. Not much, just a few points. ”

Hisamoto Hijikata was surprised,

Somewhat?

Still "that's it"?

He wanted to advise Meiji to read it again.

Takasaki Masakaze next to him tugged at his sleeve, and then nodded to the Yomiuri Shimbun not far away by an extremely small margin.

Hisashi Hisakata squinted his eyes and read quickly,

Then, he smiled disdainfully in his heart,

That article "In the face of survival, everything is a trivial matter" is simply a strong word,

If you haven't read "The Japanese, why don't you reflect?" Maybe you will be surrounded by the bullshit logic in it,

But now, Hisamoto Hisashikata's evaluation is:

That's it!?

He muttered quietly, "The Yomiuri Shimbun is getting worse and worse off the stage." ”

Takasaki Masafu almost vomited blood, and quickly pointed at the author of the article.

Hisamoto Hijikata looked at it carefully,

Facing south and listening to the world?

"Hiss......"

He gasped,

"It's a book review written by His Majesty!?"

This was said in a bit loud voice, and Meiji could hear it clearly.

He looked up,

"What handwriting? What did I write? ”

This is ready to admit it.

At this moment, he was extremely glad that he used a pen name when submitting his manuscript.

Takasaki Masakaze: "......"

Hisamoto Hijikata: "......"

The two looked at each other, and then laughed at the same time,

"No, Your Majesty didn't write anything. Ha ha...... Hahahahahaha×ha......ha

They tacitly spoke in unison.

……

Buchanan House.

Lu Shi and Natsume Soseki sat on the same wide sofa,

On the opposite side sat three people who had not seen each other for a long time,

Shimazaki Fujimura,

Tatsunosuke Hasegawa,

Masaoka sub-nori.

They sat on their lapses, their eyes swept over the delicate decoration of the room from time to time.

Obviously, the owner of this mansion, the British minister, put tremendous pressure on the three of them, like Mount Tai overpowering.

On the coffee table in the middle of several people, a newspaper and a magazine were spread out.

"Yomiuri Shimbun", "Cuckoo".

Lu Shi saw that one head and two big,

He didn't expect that the book review would crash into the car,

The worst thing is that Masaoka Zigui drove an overloaded mud truck, and directly killed Meiji, who drove the baby bus.

Outrageous!

Masaoka asked cautiously, "Sir Lu, what do you think?" ”

Lu Shi said: "Frankly speaking, the book reviews you wrote are very good and the angles are relatively rich, and I appreciate it very much. However, this Emperor's ......"

Before the words fell, Natsume Soseki coughed wildly,

"Ahem, ahem......"

He shook his head at Lu Shi,

"Lu, don't bump into Your Majesty."

Lu Shi was speechless,

“……”

He thought to himself,

It's not himself who killed people, it's clearly Masaoka Zigui.

As a result, Tatsunosuke Hasegawa on the opposite side said: "Yes, Sir Lu, don't mention Your Majesty's name lightly. I don't understand why you're talking about him. ”

Lu Shi pointed to the "Yomiuri Shimbun" spread out,

"This article is not ......"

He was interrupted again,

This time it was Shimazaki Fujimura who spoke,

"Sir Lu, you said this article. This 'south and listen to the world' is really poorly written. ”

Lu Shi: "......"

Okay, okay, that's fun, isn't it?

can be regarded as seeing the realistic version of "The Emperor's New Clothes".

But there are some things that are really hard to say more,

He joked: "Okay, it's also my short-sightedness. It turns out that you still have the surname 'Minami Yoshi' in Japan. ”

Everyone was stunned,

After that, I couldn't help but laugh.

Masaoka Zigui was sick, and his laughter quickly turned into a cough, and he almost coughed his lungs out.

He calmed his breath, and then said: "There is a surname 'Nan' in Japan, maybe this person's surname is 'Nan' and his name is 'Face and Listen to the World'?" ”

The crowd laughed again.

It is said that it does not collide with the emperor,

As a result, these guys hit each other harder than anyone else, and they also joked about Meiji's pen name.

For a while, the three Japanese were no longer nervous, as if the mansion of the British minister was not so terrible.

Masaoka Zigui said, "Sir Lu, you seem to be satisfied with my book review. ”

Lu Shi spreads his hands,

"You are the reader, I am the author. You write a book review, how can I be satisfied? ”

Masaoka Zigui chuckled,

"Sir Lu is close to the people and soft, and he is a model for my generation."

Many people who are engaged in literary and artistic creation are very arrogant.

Ordinary people who can't understand their work, they will be dismissive, thinking that "it's your problem that you don't understand".

Especially in a work with an allegorical nature like "Lord of the Flies", the author can even find fault with readers.

Candidate Letter;

The book also chooses people.

An easy-going writer like Lu Shi really makes people feel good.

Masaoka Zigui is curious,

"Well, I'll ask you another way. Sir Lu, what angle do you think "Lord of the Flies" can be appreciated? ”

Lu Shi scratched his head,

"With this article "Japanese, why don't you reflect? Are you not enough? Still want to write? ”

His gaze couldn't help but sweep to the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Meiji was killed, and they had to rush up to whip the corpse, which was really the awakening of the bloodline of "Xia Ke Shang".

Launch an onboard charge at the onboard!

(PS: "Onboard" is a homonym for the Japanese word "banzai.") ）

Lu Shi asked, "You guys are like this...... Ahem...... I mean, you're going to work against the 'south and listen to the world,' aren't you afraid of problems? ”

Masaoka Zigui shook his head solemnly,

"Sir Lu, this is a purely literary discussion."

Shimazaki Fujimura and Hasegawa Tatsunosuke next to him bowed at the same time,

"Please Sir Lu!" ×2

Lu Shi fell into deep thought,

Masaoka Ziki was able to write "Japanese, why don't you reflect? ", indicating that the thinking is still relatively normal,

Of course, it could also be a demon man, but the direction of the demon is different.

But either way, Lu Shi didn't want such a person to be harmed by the Japanese royalist forces.

What's more, Masaoka Zigui is suffering from lung disease, and according to history, he will die in a few months, so there is really no need to toss it so much.

Lu Shi thought about it, and gave an example that didn't hurt,

"You all remember the character of the piglet, right? The chubby, short-sighted boy. ”

Several people nodded in unison,

"Of course I do."

Lu Shi said again: "Then have you ever wondered why the piglet's glasses can make a fire?"

A question confuses everyone,

“……”

“……”

“……”

They made eye contact, completely unaware of what Lu Shi was talking about.

Lu Shi spreads his hands,

"Myopia glasses are concave lenses, which have a divergent effect on light, so it is impossible to concentrate sunlight to make a fire directly with a concave lens. You see, you read books, and you don't even find such an obvious problem, how can you write a book review? ”

The remaining liberal arts students were all "Who am I?" Where am I? Expression.

After a while,

Smack-

Shimazaki Fujimura clapped his hands,

"I see!"

His face was full of eagerness, and he said, "Fire is the origin of human civilization, but the glasses that brought fire are short-sighted glasses." Then, the so-called civilization in the book becomes an illusion. This foreshadows that Keiichi Amano will eventually fail. ”

Natsume Soseki nodded,

"Makes sense!"

On the other hand, Tatsunosuke Hasegawa disagreed: "Don't think too much. I think we should start from ourselves. ”

Shimazaki Fujimura was puzzled: "What do you say? ”

Tatsunosuke Hasegawa spreads his hands,

"Is it possible that the piglet doesn't know that he's actually farsighted? The child doesn't know farsightedness, only knows myopia, plus he is a good baby who listens to his aunt, and what his aunt says is what he says, so there was a misunderstanding. ”

"Tsk......"

Masaoka Zigui is staggering,

"That makes sense."

Several people had a heated discussion.

Lu Shi was very broken next to him,

The most likely reason, he thinks, is that the original author, Golding, made a technical mistake.

Even if Golding is a top student at Oxford University.

It's all about making mistakes.

Lu Shi cleared his throat,

In an instant, the attention of the rest of the people was drawn to him, and their eyes were full of eagerness.

He said: "This kind of problem should still be considered with an open mind. To put it simply, don't always go around in circles on literature. ”

This sentence made several Japanese people fall into deep thought,

After a moment, Masaoka Zigui nodded,

"I see."

"Whew~"

Lu Chang let out a sigh of relief,

"It's good to understand."

"When Sir Lu talks about glasses, it's clear that it's a matter of physics, which tells us to think across disciplines. Like your books "Guns, Germs and Steel", "The Rise of Great Powers", etc. ”

Lu Shi: "......"

"That's what I meant."

Tatsunosuke Hasegawa seemed to have been enlightened, and suddenly realized: "Sir Lu likes to use the relationship between economics and sociology the most. For example, the desert island where the children live, the low productivity determines that this can only be a primitive society. ”

Shimazaki Fujimura echoed: "So, Katsuiichi Amano's 'civilization' is doomed to failure. This is the cruel prophecy! ”

When several people looked at Lu,

"It's worthy of Sir Lu!"

Lu Shi doesn't care at all,

He just wants to know the result,

"So, you're going to continue writing book reviews?"

Masaoka shook his head,

"More than just writing book reviews? I now know that there are so many details hidden in Lord of the Flies that looking at a single perspective is tantamount to looking at a leopard in a tube. I decided to break it up, crumple it, and read it. ”

Tatsunosuke Hasegawa: "Me too." ”

Shimazaki Fujimura: "Me too. ”

Natsume Soseki: "Me too." ”

Masaoka Shiki is very satisfied,

"Okay, then you can contribute to "Cuckoo". Perhaps, we will form a school in the future. ”

Just like "Dream of Red Mansions" has red learning,

Later, "Lord of the Flies" developed a school in Japan, but it was not called "Lord of the Flies", because it was too disgusting to be named like this, like studying biology, but "Lord of the Flies".

Masaoka Zigui said: "In the next period of time, the direction of the reception of "Cuckoo" has been determined. ”

This old brother is going to go all the way to the dark,

Because no matter whose book review is, it is difficult to agree with Meiji's article "In the face of survival, everything is a small thing",

As long as it is written, it is equivalent to whipping Meiji's corpse.

Launch an onboard charge at the onboard!

(End of chapter)