New Shun 1730

After the banquet, Dazai Shuntai, slightly drunk, returned to his residence.

His fellow senior brother Yamagata Shunan had been waiting for a long time. Originally, with Yamagata Shunan's reputation in the Confucian community, he could have attended the banquet this time.

But his official identity was the principal of the Choshu Domain Meirinkan. He was captured in the battle of Hagi Castle and was released a few days ago. Matsudaira Terusada was worried that Yamagata Shunan would say something resentful at the banquet, so he did not allow him to attend.

In fact, Yamagata Shunan had no resentment. He finally waited for Dazai Shuntai to come back. He took a glance and saw that Dazai Shuntai was happy. He couldn't help but wonder: "Did anything happen during the banquet? Brother Chuntai looked happy. I think he must have had some profound ideas during the banquet?"

"What profound ideas can I have? I just talked with Liu Yu of Tang about the things after the opening of the port. It is much easier to communicate with him. He can understand the knowledge of managing the country and benefiting the people with just a little bit. I also benefited a lot from his words. That is to say, he talked about the business after the opening of the port."

"During the banquet, Liu Yu talked a lot about the theory of 'respecting Zhou and expelling barbarians'. After a few days, it may spread throughout Japan."

After that, he told Yamagata Shunan about the issue of rice prices during the banquet, and Yamagata Shunan nodded frequently.

After Ogyū Sorai died, the ancient school split. One school was immersed in ancient rhetoric and exegesis; the other school was immersed in governing the country and benefiting the people, believing that rhetoric was a minor path and the great meaning of Confucianism was to govern the country and benefit the people.

Yamagata Shunan was very good at Chinese poetry and had a strong foundation in Chinese studies, but he also believed that poetry was a minor path.

As the principal and head of the Meirinkan, which cultivated talents such as Yoshida Shoin, Katsura Kogoro, and Takasugi Shinsaku a hundred years later, he was under the banner of "Zhu Xi's School". In fact, all the heads of the school were disciples of the ancient school Ogyū Sorai, and this Zhu Xi's School was just a cover-up.

Meirinkan taught everything, including agriculture, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, military tactics, etc. Yamagata Shunan was one of the few people who could understand the economic remarks of Dazai Shundai at that time.

Ogyū Sorai and Yan Yuan, the leader of the Northern Confucianism on the Dashun side, were in the same era and had similar ideas. They both advocated true Confucianism under the banner of opposing Song Neo-Confucianism.

The Northern Confucian school called for separate education, including the Wenshi Hall, where students learn etiquette, music, calligraphy, mathematics, astronomy, and geography; the Wubei Hall, where students learn the art of war of Huangdi, Taigong, Sun, and Wu Wuzi, as well as attack and defense, camp formation, land and water warfare, archery, martial arts, and other subjects; the Jingshi Hall: where students learn the Thirteen Classics, historical records of all dynasties, imperial edicts, memorials, poems, and other subjects; the Yineng Hall: where students learn water science, fire science, engineering, image and number, agriculture, gardening, and so on.

The situation in Japan is similar, and most people agree with Dazai Shundai's statement that "people without Confucian talent should learn some basic Confucian morality and focus on practical learning."

However, Dazai Shundai was too arrogant and too lazy to be an official. The person who really presided over and promoted it was Yamagata Shunan, who presided over the Choshu Domain's Meirinkan.

After listening to Dazai Shuntai's discussion at the banquet, Yamagata Shunan sighed and said, "It was also here, and the official affairs were also in Jieyin Temple. Because of the Korean communication envoy, there was a debate among our Confucian scholars. The fellow brothers, Amemori Yoshisu and Arai Kimi, never spoke to each other again until Kimi died, and they severed their friendship."

"I don't know what kind of debate will be caused by today's words, and it will also push my ancient school to the forefront."

Thirty years ago, it was here, it was here that Yamagata Shunan, who was still young and had only a little fame at the time, met Dazai Shuntai for the first time.

The Dazai Shuntai at that time was not the Dazai Shuntai who thought that writing poetry was a trivial matter and should focus on managing the country and benefiting the people, but a Dazai Shuntai who was proficient in Chinese poetry and immersed in poetry.

That year, the Korean communication envoy came with a strong smell of gunpowder, because Arai Hakuseki asked to change the Japanese monarch to the king of Japan, which the Korean side could not accept at all. Because they knew clearly in their hearts that the shogunate changed the king and the emperor to the great monarch, and the prince of Korea was lower in terms of etiquette.

Although they did not tell Dashun, it does not mean that they did not know it in their hearts.

Since Tsushima, the people of Tsushima Domain have used swords and weapons to scare the Korean communication envoys.

At that time, Arai Hakuseki believed that Japan was inferior to Korea in terms of culture, and Korea always used culture to humiliate Japan. So he encouraged Chinese scholars from all over the world to participate in the reception activities to show that "Japan is not a barbarian country, but also has culture."

Yamagata Shunan became famous in one battle and tied with the Koreans in the couplet poems. For this reason, Zhao Taiyi, the chief envoy of the Korean communication envoy, who drafted the enthronement edict for the current Korean king and caused the association of candle shadow and axe sound, also specially met with Yamagata Shunan.

Since both of them had personally participated in this incident, and the incident also happened in Jieyin Temple, and the banquet also ate pufferfish, they naturally remembered the violent storm caused by that incident.

Led by the Lin family, the Zhu Xi school attacked Arai Hakuseki, believing that he was usurping power and that the shogunate was the shogunate and could not be called the king.

Confucian scholars from all over Japan participated in this discussion, including Dazai Shundai and Yamagata Shunan, who were still young and emerging at the time.

This kind of thing should not be discussed in the first place. It is related to the relationship between name, monarch and minister, etc. With the background of the large-scale spread of Confucianism, the best way to deal with this kind of thing is "no argument".

It was this discussion that made Japanese Confucian scholars begin to think about the issues of "monarch and minister" and "name". Arai Hakuseki's best friend, Amemori Yoshisu, who was forced to commit suicide in despair by the Dashun some time ago on Tsushima Island, broke off his friendship with Arai Hakuseki for this reason and never said a word to Arai Hakuseki again until his death.

Thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye. It is also the same Jieyin Temple in Xiaguan, with the participation of many Confucian scholars. Matters such as contract exchange and port opening will inevitably trigger a fierce debate again. And this controversy will not be as simple as last time. When the new general comes to power, he will reuse the old name, stop discussing it, and gradually the public opinion will subside.

And this time it is no longer a battle between the king and the king, but a battle over the status after paying tribute, a battle over Confucianism’s righteousness of respecting the Zhou Dynasty and rejecting the barbarians, a battle over whether Japan should sincerely integrate into the tribute system, and whether the opening of ports is beneficial to Japan. Dispute over disadvantages.

Zhou Nan of Shanxian County is already old. What happened thirty years ago is like before his eyes in this familiar place. That dispute raised many questions, and I'm afraid it will be even more serious this time. Where should Japan's Confucian scholars go?

From Zhou? Loyal to the country? Follow righteousness?

"Brother Chuntai, what do you think of the theory of 'respecting Zhou and rejecting foreigners'?"

Dazai Chuntai picked up a cup of tea and was silent for a while. He picked up and put down the tea in his hand. After hesitating for a long time, he said: "Brother, you also know that I am against Liu Zihou's "On Feudalism". Wei Zhiyuan's "Six Dynasties" written by Cao Cao "On the Five Ranks of Princes" written by Lu Ji of the Jin Dynasty, both talked about the advantages of feudalism and the disadvantages of prefectures and counties."

"I say, it's so beautiful! The feudal system! I was born in this world and saw its beauty with my own eyes. It's a true three-generation system."

"If the Tang Dynasty is the emperor, and there are princes such as Korea, Annan, and Japan, this is a big feudalism. Within Japan, there are many countries, which is a small feudalism."

"It is just right for a large feudal society to embed a small feudal society. The greatest danger to the world is the invasion of the barbarians. My brother was in Hagi City and saw with his own eyes the power of the Tang army's formations and the power of firearms. Liu Yu said that the Nanman ships were ten times and a hundred times more powerful. I think this statement is true. If not, why did the Tang Dynasty build so many warships? If it were just for Japan, it would be enough to reduce the number of warships, and there would even be no need for warships. How could Japan win with a land battle alone? , those who are plotting must be Southern Barbarians.”

"Brother, since I have seen it with my own eyes, I can also see how strong the Southern Barbarian army is. I see the Tang people's conquest, which is a good thing. If not, Japan will be in catastrophe."

Zhou Nan of Shanxian County knew that Dazai Chuntai had unique ideas. He had said some shocking words before, but now he directly said, "The Tang Dynasty's conquest is a good thing." It was really shocking.

"Brother Chuntai, be careful what you say. Even if the shogunate does not blame me, I am afraid that some samurai will think that my brother is insulting the country and stab him to death."

Dazai Shuntai laughed and said: "What do I fear? I'm just telling the truth. In the past, Arai Kimi said that the technology of the Nanman was far superior to that of Japan, and the people were even richer. However, how could the knowledge of the Nanman be spread in Japan? "

"On the other hand, it was the Tang people who conquered this time. What are the difficulties in spreading the knowledge of the Tang people in Japan?"

"Japan has a lot of gold and silver. It's a crime to possess a jade. If your skills are inferior to others, you will be beaten sooner or later. Being beaten by the Tang people is far better than being beaten by the Nanbarbarians."

"After being beaten by the Tang Dynasty, the Celestial Dynasty has always been a big country. Since the Tang Dynasty, I have learned more. If I lose, I just learn."

"Secondly, the people of the Tang Dynasty were not barbarians. If they were really beaten by the barbarians, there would be talk of resisting the barbarians in Japan. There are many ignorant people, and if they say anything about resisting the barbarians, even if they are not careful, even the knowledge of the barbarians will not be used. Is this a good thing? "

"Thirdly, the Tang Dynasty also banned teaching. Practical books that can be circulated in the Tang Dynasty will definitely be censored and enter Japan. On the contrary, if you directly learn southern barbarian knowledge, it is inevitable that the Chechidan teaching terms will be banned."

"Fourthly, it is natural to learn from the Tang Dynasty. If you learn from the barbarians, you will only fear that public opinion will boil and the theory of rejecting the barbarians will be overwhelming, which will not be conducive to the spread of practical learning."

"So I think this is a good thing. Big feudalism is a small feudalism, and this is the world. Some people will subjugate their country, and some will subjugate the world. Pay tribute to the Celestial Empire, but don't take the imperial title and call yourself king, and the world will not be destroyed. If you don't pay tribute to the Celestial Dynasty, the Southern Barbarians will be in the future. Invasion will destroy the world."

"Japan has been closed to the country for too long, and the outside world is changing day by day. Fortunately, the Tang Dynasty established practical learning first, and Japan has no obstacles to learning. If practical learning did not flourish in the Tang Dynasty, I am afraid that practical learning will only really rise after the invasion of the Southern Barbarians."

"I have always been opposed to Yamaga Soyuki's theory of Japanese cultural spontaneity. Therefore, I feel that if the Celestial Empire is strong, Japan will not be weak. Even if the world is connected by sailing ships as Liu Yu said, people traveling to and from the southern barbarian countries of Europe and Europe will not be weak. Isn’t it as easy as traveling to and from China?”

"Not only do I think it is a good thing, but I also think that the system of sending envoys to the Tang Dynasty should be restarted. However, it should be different."

Yamagata Shunan thought about these arguments as he recalled what he saw and heard during the days when he was detained in Hagi City.

Not only the battlefield of the Qiucheng battle, but also the period of detention in the future. During that time, the Dashun Army renovated the defense system of Hagi Castle in a desperate attempt to prevent the shogunate from going crazy. Although everything was demolished and bombed after the peace talks were finalized, Shan County Zhounan has seen many methods that are difficult to understand, whether it is surveying, construction, site selection, or naval officers' longitude and latitude measurements, all of which followed Ogiyo. It was an eye-opener for the disciples who had learned the art of war from Cu Lai.