Chapter 177 I Want Izumo Country
Nanba Town was considered the second largest city in Japan at that time. After all, it was the capital a few hundred years ago, but later the capital was moved to Nara Castle, also known as Heian Castle.
The entire city of Nanba is estimated to have a population of just over 300,000 . Although it cannot be compared with several large cities in the Northern Song Dynasty, it is actually a very prosperous city in this world.
The rumor that an immortal master had come to the Song State also spread in this city.
Many people wanted to come and worship, but they were all stopped by Yuan Dalang and his men.
So these civilians stood outside and worshipped in the direction of Lu Sen.
Thanks to this, Pang Meir, who originally had the desire to go shopping, stayed at home. After all, wherever they went now, there were people kneeling down.
It's not fun to play at all.
It was also in this atmosphere that Yuan Liangmei would occasionally go in and out of the system home temporarily built by Lu Sen.
On the one hand, he was trying to find out information about Lu Sen, and on the other hand, he was thinking about "tempting" Lu Sen.
She went to Hangzhou before to borrow seeds.
Unlike ordinary Japanese women, her original target was a big shot in the State of Song.
For example, there are geniuses who have emerged from the imperial examinations in the past two or three years, such as the Su brothers who are said to be very talented. If one can conceive a child with any one of them, it will greatly improve the bloodline of the Yuan family.
But plans are not as good as changes. Before she even arrived in Hangzhou, she met someone who really interested her.
Or in other words, someone who is destined to become an immortal in the future.
She did not expect such a noble man to marry her and stay with her for the rest of her life. Her goal had always been clear: to have a child.
It’s just that the seduction plan hasn’t been going well.
Firstly, Lu Sen and her didn't spend much time together, and with such a short time, it was difficult for feelings and opportunities to develop between a man and a woman.
On the other hand, there is Lu Sen’s concubine, Pang Meir.
A woman who is much more beautiful than her.
The other party's temperament, appearance and knowledge are all superior. His only disadvantage is that his figure is not very good.
After some thought, Yoshimi Ahara decided to change her approach and show off her outstanding strengths.
But it still doesn't work!
Even though the ravine was vaguely visible, Lu Sen still had no reaction.
This made Yoshimi Zaihara feel like a failure.
That day, she changed into her last black long dress in the mountain city. This was the expensive dress she wore when she was a "Ji".
There is a large golden butterfly tattooed on it, covering almost the entire back of the garment.
Then she put on a golden bun and combed her hair into a princess cut, then went to find Lu Sen with her maid.
But surprisingly, after changing into this outfit, Lu Sen looked at her two or three more times.
This made Zaiyuan Liangmei understand one thing, it turns out that Master Lu prefers more serious women.
But it was too late to understand. Tachibana Sakon returned to Namba Castle with a team of carriages and followers.
After entering Nanba Castle, this group of people did not go directly to find Lu Sen, but settled down in the nearby mountain castle.
After two days of rest, a man with white powder on his face, holding a black straight board, wearing white clothes and a black square tall hat, came to Lu Sen's fence with several maids.
"Your humble servant Pingjinyuan pays respect to Lu Tianzhang."
This is extremely standard Song dialect, and the fact that they hold a straight board is also very similar to the habits of court officials in the Zhao Song Dynasty.
Under normal circumstances, Japanese officials would call themselves "lower officials" in front of Song officials.
They considered themselves to be a vassal state of Zhao and Song.
Lu Sen walked out, clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Nice to meet you. I am no longer an official. You don't need to call me Lu Tianzhang anymore. Just call me by my name or Taoist name."
"Emperor Song did not take back Lu Tianzhang's official position."
"Come in." Lu Sen gestured.
The middle-aged man with a face covered in white powder took a deep breath and walked in cautiously.
Although his main focus was on Lu Sen, his peripheral vision was still taking in the surrounding objects and scenery.
Lu Sen led him to the hall, asked him to sit down, and asked Pang Meir to bring some fruits and vegetables to entertain the guest.
"It seems like you know a little about me?" Lu Sen asked curiously.
Ping Jinyuan leaned forward slowly and said, "Shangsong is our father country, so we naturally have to know some important matters of our father country, but there is a delay of about a year and a half."
This is normal, after all, information flows extremely slowly nowadays.
There is a vast ocean between the two countries.
Moreover, only the royal family paid more attention to the appointment and dismissal of officials in the Song Dynasty, while ordinary aristocratic families cared more about the soft cultural strength of the Zhao Song Dynasty.
For example, what is popular in the court recently, what kind of poems have been written by a certain celebrity and are very popular, etc.
"Then I won't introduce myself to you." Lu Sen offered the other party some honey water and said, "Master Ping, what important position do you hold in Heian-kyō?"
Anyone who studies can be called a bachelor.
The other party spoke fluent Song dialect, and his conversation had the flavor of a Song scholar. It was obvious that he was a person who had been influenced by Han classics.
Calling someone a bachelor does not humiliate the other person.
"I am the younger brother of His Majesty the Emperor, and currently hold the position of 'Dainagon'." Pingjin Yuan said with a smile.
"So he is a prince, and this official title sounds a bit like the Imperial Censor in our country."
Ping Jinyuan bowed slightly again: "Since Prince Shengde, we have called the upper country the father country. When we meet the nobles of the father country, we will lower our status by one level. I dare not call you the prince in front of Master Lu."
What he said was indeed from the bottom of his heart, and before he came, the emperor had already instructed him to treat the envoys from the superior country well and not to let them be dissatisfied.
Lu Sen smiled on the surface, but he didn't care too much about the other party's "enthusiasm" in his heart.
This is how the Japanese country is, they will lick whoever is stronger.
The Northern Song Dynasty was actually very strong militarily, but it just suffered more defeats.
In terms of soft power, the Northern Song Dynasty claimed to be second, and no one of its contemporaries dared to claim to be first.
No matter how much the Khitan (Liao Kingdom) suppressed the Northern Song Dynasty, their domestic system was almost copied from the Northern Song Dynasty, and the official language was still Chinese.
This is a typical "black fan". While bashing the Northern Song Dynasty, he shouted: Master Zhao, I am your fan!
And the country of Japan is now the one licking the Northern Song Dynasty the most enthusiastically.
Lu Sen put down the cup and said, "Ping Dainagon, I came to Japan this time for some business."
"Master Lu, please tell me. As long as we can do it, we will never say a word."
"I came here to find the place where all the mountain spirits are and build a practice palace."
"Oh, building a palace for cultivation in our humble place?" Ping Jinyuan looked surprised.
This old man Heping and Liangmei said something different.
Aren’t you here to find the spiritual vein?
Lu Sen chuckled and said, "All the land in this world was created by Pangu, the remnant of the Heavenly Dao. In the eyes of the world, there are high and low lands, noble and humble lands, but in the eyes of us cultivators, there is only a distinction between suitable and unsuitable lands in this world."
"So, in the eyes of Master Lu, Japan is also a rich and prosperous place?"
“Rather than saying it’s a place of wealth and honor, it’s better to say it’s a rare place for cultivation.”
Ping Jinyuan was quite surprised when he heard Lu Sen's praise. He said happily: "Master Lu, if you want to stay in Japan, we will certainly welcome you very much. Just tell me where you want to stay. I can ask my brother to allocate a piece of land for you."
Ping Jinyuan was very happy.
The more backward the place is, the more inferior people feel, and people with inferiority complexes more they hope to be appreciated by others.
Especially those who yearn for it.
Lu Sen thought for a while and said, "I just feel that this place is very suitable for cultivation, but I haven't decided where is more suitable. I will walk around in Japan during this period of time to see where is more suitable, and then notify Taira no Dainagon, okay?"
"As you wish!" Ping Jinyuan bowed in admiration.
Afterwards, the two chatted for a long time, listened to music, and ate and drank their fill before Ping Jinyuan reluctantly left.
Afterwards, he returned to the mountain city with his servants.
The three old monks, Heibetsudou, Arihara Yoshimi and Tachibana Sakon, were already waiting.
When they saw Ping Jinyuan coming back, the three of them walked up to him at the same time and were about to speak, but were interrupted by Ping Jinyuan raising his hand.
Then Ping Dangyuan said to the servant beside him: "Bring me a basin of clean water."
Seeing this, the other three stepped back, knelt down, and waited quietly.
After the golden basin filled with clean water was brought over, Ping Jinyuan carefully washed the white powder off his face with the water, then wiped his face with a dry towel, and finally asked the servant to bring him the bronze mirror.
Looking at the energetic face in the bronze mirror, Ping Jinyuan couldn't help but feel happy: "The dark spots and wrinkles on the face have really disappeared. This immortal fruit and honey water of Master Lu are really as magical as the rumors say."
The other three were a little stunned.
Ping Jinyuan smiled and said, "I got poisoned some time ago. Although the imperial doctor helped me suppress the poison, it still affected my body. There are a few black spots on my face, which is very ugly."
"So that's why Taira no Dainagon painted his face with white powder?" Tachibana Sakon clapped his hands suddenly, "I thought you were imitating ancient fashion recently."
Ping Jinyuan felt extremely relaxed. He said, "Now that Master Lu's identity has been confirmed, the next step is to pass on his request to the Emperor."
The old monk Konglin frowned and said, "Aren't you afraid that Master Lu has some ulterior motive in coming to our Japan?"
"Of course he has ulterior motives. If he didn't, why would he come to this bitter cold place like ours?" Ping Jinyuan chuckled, looked at the old monk Konglin, and said with a smile: "Cousin, this is why I can stay in Heian-kyō, and you have to come out to be a 'don't be'. Our mindsets are different. You just think that Master Lu has ulterior motives for coming here, and you always want to be on guard against him, but you didn't expect that this is also an opportunity for us in Japan."
"Cousin, as the Han Chinese say, you are trying to get the skin of a tiger!" The old monk Konglin clasped his hands and said, "I don't know what you are planning, but those who play with fire will eventually get burned."
"Okay, even if what you said is right, cousin." Ping Jinyuan looked at him with hooked eyes: "Then how do you make this Master Lu who has other intentions leave? Drive him away by force, or use your Buddhist teachings to influence him?"
"this?"
The old monk Konglin was suddenly speechless.
"Let's not talk about Master Lu, just look at the big ship at the port. It can hide thousands of soldiers and easily take down Naniwa Town." Pingjin Yuan sneered , "If the upper country can build one, it can build five, and it can build ten. If Master Lu is really offended, then ten big ships will come and tens of thousands of heavenly soldiers will come to the border. How do you think we should deal with it?"
The old monk Konglin closed his eyes and kept twirling the rosary in his hand.
Seeing that Kong Lin no longer contradicted him, Pingjin Yuan said, "I will stay here for a while until Master Lu is sure that he needs that piece of land. Before that, except for our three royal families, no one else is allowed to get close to Master Lu, especially the Genji and Abe families. Yan Ji, this is your territory in the Yuan family, so you are here to protect Master Lu's safety, do you understand?"
Yoshimi Hara nodded.
Seeing that she didn't seem to care, Ping Jinyuan said seriously, "Master Lu's bloodline is extremely noble, it's real immortal blood. Before I came, the Emperor told me that if Master Lu's identity is confirmed to be as rumored, then any woman in the three royal bloodlines who gets pregnant with his bloodline will be given a large fiefdom; and if the offspring is a boy, he will be named Ping and will be the future crown prince, and if it's a girl, she will definitely be the crown princess."
All three of them were a little surprised.
But if you think about it, it’s normal.
Especially Yuan Liangmei, her eyes were shining with excitement.
Lu Sen knew that Ping Jinyuan would definitely make some arrangements for him after he returned.
This is a very normal thing. If it were me, I would also have to make some arrangements.
But he didn't expect that these people would actually set their sights on his essence.
The days that followed were quite comfortable.
Every day, Lu Sen drives the aircraft and takes Pang Meir out for fun.
I have to say, flying vehicles are still very intimidating.
Every time he appears, the people of Namba Town are shocked and terrified, and then they worship Lu Sen, the legendary immortal, even more.
And this is also part of Lu Sen's plan.
He just wants to establish his "personality" here first.
Without saying anything else, he is undoubtedly worthy of the title of half-immortal.
He was indeed doing the right thing.
Although the fruits and honey produced in the system home are magical, the shocking effect they give people is far less than that of the aircraft.
Lu Sen flew in and out every day. After five days, Nanba Castle couldn't bear it anymore, and Pingjin Yuan came again with Zaiyuan Liangmei.
"Master Lu, I am sorry to bother you again."
This time Ping Jinyuan did not paint his face white again. His poison had been cured and his face was no longer ugly, so naturally there was no need to do so anymore.
Lu Sen smiled and said, "Please come in. I was just looking for you, Taira no Dainagon."
Ping Jinyuan smiled and said, "Really? I am really touched."
As he spoke, he looked around and asked cautiously, "In the past few days, a strange object flew out from Master Lu. Is it a fairy weapon?"
"It's just a thing that can carry people flying in the air. It's not worth mentioning." Lu Sen waved his hand and said, "Please come in and have a seat."
Ping Jinyuan was relatively familiar with the Song people and knew that it was not appropriate to ask further questions at this time, so he put his thoughts aside for the time being and took Zaiyuan Liangmei into the hall of the wooden building.
Lu Sen served fruits and vegetables as usual, and then said, "I flew my aircraft around in the sky a few times these days, and I really saw a piece of land I liked."
"Oh, which one?"
"You seem to call that place 'Izumo Province'."
