Chapter 288 Su Shi's Little Plan
Izumo Shrine has not had a good time recently, mainly because the Abe family suddenly cut off its supplies.
In order to create a sense of mystery, the Izumo Shrine had to be built deep in the mountains, and the main supply of materials came from the main family, the Abe clan.
Then recently, the support suddenly stopped, and the news they received was that... the Main Family was at war with the Minamoto Family.
Then a series of bad news came. The Abe family was defeated by the Minamoto family and lost all their weapons. In a short period of time, large tracts of territory changed hands.
The people at Izumo Shrine originally thought that since they were located in a remote area deep in the mountains, the Minamoto family would not be interested in them. However... they had not been able to rest easy for a few days before the army surrounded the foot of the mountain.
In fact, it is not considered a large army, with no more than two thousand people at most. But in Japan, such a force is already a real large army.
In previous wars, when the total number of troops on both sides exceeded one thousand, it was considered a large-scale war. With this in mind, when the people of Izumo Shrine saw a force of more than a thousand people surrounding the foot of the mountain, how could they not be like facing a powerful enemy and become uneasy?
In the main hall of the shrine, Shota Izumo and a group of the shrine's core members knelt in a circle, looking gloomy and worried.
"The foot of the mountain has been surrounded by Genji's bandits." Izumo Shouta looked quite handsome in his white hunting robe, but his face looked old. "And the exit of the secret passage is also within their encirclement."
As a large community with hundreds of years of history, they naturally took emergency risk avoidance measures.
However, this method is only aimed at small-scale battles. The encirclement of the army was too large and directly blocked the secret passage.
He continued gloomily, "Thanks to the Okuninushi God, we have some divine power, which is good enough to deal with villagers and women, but not with a large army. I originally planned to let the priestesses leave through the secret passage, but now... Sigh."
The shrine maidens serve the gods and cannot have any sexual relations with mortal men before taking off their shrine maiden clothes. If they really want to get married, it is done internally.
When these soldiers come and break into the shrine, they don't care whether you are a shrine maiden or not. They just grab you and drag you into the bushes.
If such a situation really happens, it will not be just a humiliation for Izumo Shrine.
Fortunately, his two daughters, Izumo Akuni and Izumo Mariko, both left the shrine.
Although this idea is a bit despicable, in the heart of his father Shota Izumo, it is a real joy.
Other shrine maidens are also important to the shrine, but there are always differences in closeness and distance.
"Why don't we just fight them? We'll all die anyway."
"We can't use force. We can't cut off the inheritance of the shrine."
"Alas, I hope that the Okuninushi God will protect us."
"This is a test from the Great Lord of the Okuni."
"Izumo Palace Master, you make the decision. It's up to you whether to fight or surrender. After all, you are the incarnation of the Lord God."
A group of core members discussed it and finally put the decision in the hands of Shota Izumo.
After all, it's times like this that require a backbone.
"Let's fight." Izumo Shouta said calmly, "It's better to die in battle than to die in humiliation. The Abe family and the Minamoto family are already fighting to the death. There is no reason for us to have a chance of being spared."
When everyone heard this, they agreed, but also felt a little sad.
If they can survive, if they can live with some dignity, who would be willing to die?
Several key members also stood up, ready to mobilize all the people in the shrine to fight to the death.
But at this moment, a little witch ran in in surprise, she was in a panic, and even tripped over her left foot and fell.
After a loud thud, the little witch sat up with a cry of pain, looking a little aggrieved.
The people around were already used to it, and Izumo Shouta asked, "Kiyoko, why are you running so fast?"
"Sister Aguo and Sister Yuanzi are back." The little miko jumped up and shouted happily, "They also brought back two very powerful shikigami."
When everyone heard this, they were silent for a while, then burst into laughter, thinking that Qingzi was extremely cute.
God formula?
In this age when the magic of both humans and gods has faded, Shikigami have long since become legends.
Almost all of these priests of Izumo Shrine also practice Onmyoji's magic. After all, their main family is the Abe clan, so they have the conditions.
Therefore, they knew very well that no one could control the Shikigami now, and their own weak magic power could only be used to fool the villagers.
However, Shota Izumo frowned again. His two daughters are back?
How did the two of them get through the encirclement of the army?
Or are they related to the bigwigs of Genji?
Izumo Shota felt very strange. He did not doubt that Kiyoko had lied to him. Although this girl was a little naughty, she would not lie.
Although he was confused, Izumo Shota was both happy and worried when he heard that his daughter had returned.
His daughter was previously ordered by the Abe family to approach a mysterious person, but he himself didn't know the specific circumstances. More than a year has passed, and there has been no news at all.
Now that I hear that she is back and know that she is safe, I am naturally happy.
He had mixed emotions in his heart, but he still walked quickly out of the hall and headed towards the front yard.
The other backbone members of the temple quickly followed.
Soon they arrived at the lobby and saw a group of witches happily surrounding four women.
Two of them were actually his daughters, and the other two... Izumo Shota looked closely and was suddenly shocked.
Not only him, but also the key priests of other temples are like this.
In their eyes, the "evil aura" of Lu Xianxian and Xue Nu was too obvious.
One of the priests couldn't help swallowing his saliva and muttered to himself, "Big demon."
Izumo Shota's expression was even more horrified. As the chief priest of Izumo Shrine, he had come into contact with many of the Abe family's core secrets.
For example, the portrait of Tamamonomae, the nine-tailed fox, the most powerful shikigami under Abe Haruaki in the legend!
Just like the woman in front of me.
A great demon... and looks the same as the legendary Tamamonomae, isn't the answer obvious?
Izumo Shota subconsciously straightened his clothes and walked over respectfully.
Seeing Izumo Shrine Master coming, the priestesses immediately made way for him.
In full view of everyone, Izumo Shota knelt down in front of Lu Xianxian and performed the five-heart-pressing-on-the-ground salute.
"Izumo God Sagi Miyaji Shouta, I pay my respects to Tamamonomae-no-Mae."
In Japan, there is no distinction between demons and gods. From another is a great god.
The priests and priestesses around were stunned for a moment, then they reacted and knelt on the ground in unison.
Lu Xianxian nodded slightly: " Get up, I didn't expect you to recognize me so quickly."
In fact, she didn't really want to get along with the Japanese people under the identity of Tamamonomae. After all, she was Lu Xianxian now, not the man-eating fox in the legend.
If it gets out, it will have a bad impact on my husband's status.
But now that I've been recognized, there's nothing I can do.
Izumo Shouta stood up, lowered his head and didn't dare to look at the other person, because he felt that the other person's identity was too dazzling: "Excuse me, why did Tamamonomae-sama come to our Izumo Shrine?"
Rumor has it that Tamamonomae has been suppressed and turned into a killing stone, but now it seems... the information given by the main family is not entirely true.
"The Genji surrounded the Izumo Shrine. Akuni and Mariko were very upset when they heard about it. So, after getting Mr. Lang's consent, we came to help!"
The language they are using now is also Song language, which has always been the way the upper class in Japan communicate.
Izumo Shota has a deep knowledge of Chinese studies. Not only is he an excellent calligrapher, he can even write poems and lyrics himself. Of course, his level is very average.
But it is precisely because of this that he knows the meaning of the word "Langjun" in modern Chinese.
It turns out that the god served by his two daughters is actually an immortal from the Celestial Empire?
Then everything makes sense. According to rumors, Tamamonomae originally came from the west. She can act arrogantly in Japan, but she certainly can't in Central China.
It is estimated that only the immortals in the Central Plains can suppress Tamamonomae. On the Japanese side, even Abe Haruaki finds it difficult to restrain this peerless demon.
All the doubts that had been weighing on Izumo Shota's heart were resolved, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The crisis at Izumo Shrine was resolved.
Not only him, but the actual priest also figured it out, and suddenly the entire Izumo Shrine was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
Meanwhile, in Hangzhou, Lu Sen returned home and stayed overnight. The next day, he was about to leave for Dingzhou, but he did not expect his family member, A Huang, to come and report: "Sir, the governor of Su County wants to see you. He said he has something important to discuss."
Although Lu Sen was in a hurry to go to Dingzhou, it would not hurt to take some time to meet Su Shi, so he took the initiative to go to the Hangzhou government office.
The two met again in the backyard of the government office, and Su Shi was brushing sauce on pork pieces.
Thanks to the establishment of the Spice Islands route, the cooking level of the entire Northern Song Dynasty has been greatly improved. As one of the best chefs and the creator of certain dishes, Su Shi is particularly adept at using spices.
"This is Su's Thirteen Spices, which I created originally. Master Lu, you are the first person to taste it."
Lu Sen couldn't help but curl his lips when he heard this. He seemed to have heard this name somewhere before.
After Su Shi brought several dishes to the table, Lu Sen looked at them for a while, raised his head and asked, "Are they all pork?"
"Yes, try it, I think it tastes good."
Under Su Shi's expectant gaze, Lu Sen picked up a piece of pork ribs and put it in his mouth. After eating it, he nodded: "Not bad, not bad, it tastes good."
"There are several kinds of these two." Su Shi's expression at this time was even a little flattering: "Try them both."
Lu Sen was a little surprised. Su Shi was not the kind of person who liked to flatter his superiors. But he didn't care too much. He continued to taste the remaining pork dishes and said, "They all tasted good. It can be seen that you put a lot of effort into cooking."
"Are they all delicious?" Su Shi asked expectantly, eyes wide open.
Lu Sen nodded.
It’s really good, with enough spices to make it tasty. Although the meat is a little tough, the taste is really good. It’s just not suitable for the elderly.
"That's great."
Su Shi shouted and slammed the table, then took out writing brush and ink from the side and immediately began to write with great vigor.
"Quatrains on Eating Pork Porridge with Banxian in Early Winter".
Lu Sen was a little surprised at first, but after seeing the beginning of the sentence, he found that Su Shi had put the paper away, folded it and put it into his clothes.
He couldn't help but feel curious: "What are you planning to do?"
"Master Lu said the pork was delicious after eating it. This must be recorded." Su Shi simply smiled and said, "As long as this poem is published, the price of pork will definitely increase in the future."
Lu Sen thought for a while and understood: "Oh, you want to give the farmers a way out?"
"As expected of Master Lu, you really see things clearly." Su Shi looked very impressed.
Pork was extremely cheap at that time. I’m not saying it was cheap enough that ordinary people could afford it, but it was cheap enough that it was completely worthless.
Not to mention the rich, anyone with a little money would not bother to eat this stuff.
Many times, the pork raised by farmers or the wild boars hunted cannot be sold at all, so they just rot in their hands, and have to be thrown away if they cannot be eaten.
As for making it into bacon?
For poor families, salt is an expensive commodity. They only have a few grains of it at ordinary times, so it is not cost-effective to use it to pickle pork.
As for other processing methods such as air-drying and smoking, they are not something that ordinary farmers can master.
The reason why pork is cheap is that the nobles in the entire Central Plains region do not like to eat pork. As the upper class follows the lower class, naturally the whole society does not like to eat pork.
Su Shi's purpose was simple, to use Lu Sen's fame to force a price increase for pork.
In this way, in addition to raising chickens, ducks and sheep, farmers may have another way to make money. Pigs are very easy to raise, and they can grow meat by simply picking some wild grass in the fields.
Being used like this... Lu Sen didn't feel angry at all, because he thought pork was delicious.
Although lamb and beef are more delicious.
Lu Sen picked up another piece of pork ribs and put it in his mouth. While eating, he asked, "You invited me here not just for the pork. What else is there? After eating, I have to go to Dingzhou to take charge."
"I really envy you, a fairy, flying around, south of the Yangtze River and north of the desert like a courtyard." Su Shi sighed and said, "Some time ago, two groups of foreign envoys came to Hangzhou, one group was from Korea, and the other group claimed to be from Ganluo."
"What does this have to do with me?" Lu Sen was a little surprised.
"How can it have nothing to do with you!" Su Shi said in a strange tone: "Master Lu, Lu Longtu, Minister Lu... Don't forget, you are still the Minister of Rites."
Lu Sen remembered that he had real power and was in charge of all monks, nuns and Taoists in the world.
His position was also promoted from Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites to Shilang of the Ministry of Rites. Logically speaking, he was indeed qualified to manage these foreign envoys.
But he didn't take these titles and positions seriously, and forgot about them over time.
Su Shi's fat face was full of disbelief: "No way, you actually forgot your official position?"
Lu Sen laughed dryly twice, then said: "Then you should also know that I don't care about this."
"I know you don't care." Su Shi admired Lu Sen's indifference to fame and fortune: "It's just that I find it strange that these two groups of people don't seem right."
"What do you mean?"
"They all said they were carrying letters of credence and were official envoys." Su Shi thought for a moment and said, "But from the looks of them, their skin is rough and their temperament is rough. They look more like sailors than envoys."
Lu Sen raised his eyebrows slightly. He vaguely remembered that before he traveled through time, he had heard that many foreign envoys who came to the Central Plains to pay tribute in ancient times were actually fake.
Some even involve our own people helping outsiders to impersonate.
It was just to defraud the court of a high amount of "return gift".
