Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 347 The Preemptive Palace Master

Temple and shrine power refers to temples and shrines.

The main difference between the two is that temples belong to Buddhism, while shrines belong to Shintoism.

The objects of worship in Shintoism are all-encompassing, they can be trees, people, or mountain spirits and water monsters.

The Kujira Sea Shrine is dedicated to whales and the sea. Hakata is a port city, so this kind of shrine is more popular here.

Under the tall corridors of the Kujikai Shrine, a graceful figure walked gracefully.

She wore an "edang" on her head, a white clean dress with exquisite patterns, a pair of "shallow shoes" on her feet, and held a folding fan in her hand.

Among Japanese people, she is considered to have a very tall figure. Her clothes are tailored very well, outlining her graceful and elegant figure. The swaying of her figure when she walks is particularly moving.

This person is Fujiwara no Himeka, the chief priest and priestess of Kujikai Shrine.

Female clergy were not uncommon, but female priests or chief priests were rare in this era.

However, Himeka's last name was Fujiwara, so it was normal for her to lead the temple and shrine forces in the Hakata area.

A warrior followed him down the corridor, reporting something as he walked.

Suddenly, Fujiwara no Kami stopped and asked calmly, "Are the ninjas from Iga and Koga secretly gathering in Hakata?"

"Yes!"

Fujiwara no Kami's eyebrows slightly raised, and a hint of murderous intent appeared in his bright eyes: "It seems that we don't need to decide whether to fight or make peace. Taira no Kiyomori has already made the decision for us."

The warrior stood solemnly in the corridor without saying a word, because he knew that the god was not talking to him.

Fujiwara Himeka slowly turned around, her neck still, graceful as a lotus, but her voice was indescribably cold: "I'll find their gathering place and strike first!"

The warrior bowed and turned to leave.

At this time, Monk Jinghai, the abbot of Dashan Temple, dressed in black monk's robe, came towards them.

Fujiwara Himeka narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled.

She has excellent bone structure, a round and sweet face, charming eyes, and pretty lips. When she smiles, she looks like a ripe peach that exudes sweet fragrance.

Monk Jinghai lowered his eyes, clasped his hands together respectfully and said, "Master Fujiwara."

"Why did Master Jinghai come here?"

"Perhaps, I have a way to make Ping Qingchao give up."

"Oh? Come in and talk!"

Fujiwara Himeka did not rush to ask, but calmly walked into a shrine.

As she stepped over the high threshold, her clean clothes formed an exaggerated curve behind her.

But Master Jinghai still kept his eyes down, and even when he was behind her, he didn't dare to look at her any more.

……

When Yang Yuan returned to the dock, Suzuki Taro had already contacted the transport fleet.

The dock was bustling with activity as trucks were loaded.

Gai and the two fire captains had disappeared, and only a few crew members were left on the ship.

Yang Yuan gave Mikami Chiya a few instructions, then took Uncle Gou back to the boat to rest.

As soon as he arrived in Hakata, he met a shareholder of "Yaki Shoji", who was also a person from Song Dynasty, which made Yang Yuan feel quite smooth.

Although Yang Yuan was a little overwhelmed by Jiangzhou Lie's enthusiasm, he was wary of Jiangzhou Lie only to keep his distance.

His arrival was not in anyone's plan, and he had no enemies in Bodo, so it was impossible for someone to intend to harm him as soon as he arrived.

Jiangzhou Lie's unusual enthusiasm was probably due to a businessman's instinct to gain benefits from him.

If it is a win-win situation, Yang Yuan is not opposed to cooperation. After all, doing business is part of his plan.

However, he doesn't want to eat someone else's food, live in someone else's house, or use someone else's things... He will be soft-hearted if he eats someone else's food, and will be reluctant to take someone else's things, which will inevitably make him passive when discussing cooperation.

Wang Changsheng did not return until very late, staggering all the way. If it were not for Uncle Ji's help, he would probably have fallen into the sea.

Wang Changsheng told Yang Yuan with great joy that he had gone to the "Yukou" in Hakata and found two prostitutes. The Japanese women were so gentle, considerate and especially obedient.

"Youkuo" is the local name for brothel.

Wang Changsheng also told Yang Yuan that when he came back, he met Fire Chief Gai and Fire Chief Kao. The two fire chiefs were also in "Youkuo" with a group of Siamese people. They also asked him to tell Yang Yuan that they would not return to the boat tonight.

Seeing that his legs were still shaking while he was talking, Yang Yuan could only persuade the old man with a helpless smile to take it easy.

Wang Changsheng, on the other hand, laughed heartily and patted his chest, boasting that he was still strong despite his age and in great health.

The reason why his legs were trembling was that the Japanese bed was too low, the two Japanese women were too petite, his knees were not very good, and he had been squatting in horse stance for too long.

For dinner, Yang Yuan went to Tangfang District and had an authentic Chinese meal.

It's okay to try Japanese food occasionally, but his stomach is not used to it and he can't eat it every meal.

It was about half an hour after he returned to the boat that Mikami Chiya came back. He had already found out some news about Ono Mingxi.

However, Ono Akihiro seems to be serving a side that is hostile to the temples, shrines, and aristocratic forces in the Hakata area.

So when he asked people for information, he aroused hostility from some people. Mikami Chiya became wary and did not find out more.

Yang Yuan thought for a while and said, "We don't have that much time to take it slow.

Ono Mingxi appears in our Song Dynasty as a businessman, so you don't have to worry about anything.

I continued to inquire about him on the pretext that I had business to discuss with him. As long as I offered him some benefits, I would definitely be able to find out more about him. As for the locals being hostile to him..."

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "This is a good thing for us. This way, our inquiries about his news will not reach his ears."

Mikami Chiya said worriedly: "But if it causes misunderstanding among the local forces..."

Yang Yuan said: "I don't care. I won't live in Tangfang and become the head of Hakata Gang. We will be back to Song Dynasty soon."

"Yes, I understand."

Yang Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Well, you should rest first and don't ask tonight. Wait until I go to Dashan Temple tomorrow and then ask again, so as to avoid any complications with my transfer of ownership."

"Yes!"

Mikami Chiya took the order and left.

As a ronin who committed a crime and escaped from Japan, Yang Yuan took him in. In his mind, this was recognizing his master, and Yang Yuan was the head of his family.

He carried out Yang Yuan's orders without hesitation.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the assassin "Yao Li" wanted to assassinate Qingji. In order to gain Qingji's trust, he took the initiative to ask the King of Wu to kill his wife and children, and then cut off one of his arms.

Such a ruthless man finally succeeded in assassinating Qingji. After the success, in order to give an explanation to his wife and children, he committed suicide.

The Japanese learned all of these concepts and combined them with their native Shintoism to create a set of samurai code of conduct and moral system that was entirely their own.

What they emphasized was "die for the lord without any regrets, die for the lord without any scruples, die for the lord without any hesitation!" As for right and wrong, they never considered it.

This is the idea that has been instilled in Chiya Mikami since she was a child. It has been engraved into her bones and cannot be changed.

However, he was Yang Yuan's man, so Yang Yuan could use him with confidence without having to go through a process of winning him over.

However, when Chiya Mikami returned to the ship, the news about Ono Akihabara's whereabouts was reported to the Whale Sea Palace.

The samurai who reported the news knelt on the ground and carefully recounted the situation in which Chiya Mikami inquired about the whereabouts of Ono Akihabara near the dock.

Behind the curtain, Fujiwara Himeka was clearly silhouetted by the light. She was holding a pen and writing something stroke by stroke.

She held a spirit tablet in her hand, on which she had written the three characters "Yang Sanyuan" in regular script. She studied it for a moment and smiled, "I see. Tomorrow, I'll go and see him off in person!"

(End of this chapter)