The Self-Cultivation of Warring States Warriors

Page 10

The condition is that you don't involve me!

Shinzaburo was immediately caught in an awkward dilemma.

Master Mingzhou is now my only backer, and I absolutely cannot afford to offend him.

But actually leading a tax resistance campaign wouldn't be appropriate either. The Naito family samurai of Yagi Castle, no matter how weak they are, are still a regular army. It's one thing if they can't beat outsiders, but can't they even beat a bunch of ordinary people?

The villagers of Kubo Village don't seem to have the same martial spirit as the Kokui uprising members from Ishiyama and Kaga.

Moreover, even if the "tax resistance" is successful, what will Matsunaga Nagayori think after he comes to power? Will he think that you can use tax resistance to help him get to power today, and you might use the same method to support someone else tomorrow?

If a real conflict arises between the two sides, the higher-ups will likely just give them a slap on the wrist and never let it happen again—a mere "red bean paste private horse race" incident would be the end of it. But if the lower-ups are held responsible, things won't be so simple.

Alas, Abbot, why are you in such a hurry?

017 The Landslide Fallacy Argument

Shinzaburo, who was shivering from the cold just moments before, was now sweating profusely from the shock of Master Mingzhou's words.

Previously, he had been kneeling on the ground, speaking with his head bowed and eyes lowered, not daring to look directly at the abbot's face. Now, caught in a dilemma, unsure of how to respond, he could only straighten up and stare at the old monk.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that after Master Mingzhou finished speaking, he stared out the window with a hesitant look in his eyes, and his hands were clenched into fists on the tatami mat, completely oblivious to Shinzaburo's rude behavior.

No, so you were actually a little insecure after you finished bragging?

Seeing that the other party was not entirely determined either, Shinzaburo immediately calmed down.

Upon further reflection, the Linji school ultimately belongs to the Chan school. Although Chan monks are not without political ambitions, they are accustomed to using culture and art to climb the social ladder and are not keen on inciting believers to cause trouble.

Since the newly appointed abbot of Kōfuku-ji Temple, Master Myōshū, claims that his senior brother, Zen Master Sōtō, was the abbot of Daitoku-ji Temple in Kyoto and the mentor of Miyoshi Chōkei, it must be true; such a person is not easily impersonated.

However, based solely on this relationship, it cannot be concluded that his attitude is equivalent to that of Zen Master Zongtao.

It may not necessarily represent the attitude of all monks of the Daitokuji school of the Rinzai sect.

Perhaps, when his senior brother, Zen Master Zongtao, sent him here, there were no explicit instructions. That's why this old monk was both eager to do something to prove himself and also showed signs of nervousness and anxiety.

Therefore, Matsunaga Nagayori was originally confident that he could control the Naito family without external help. However, Master Meishu insisted on creating the impression that he could not have taken power without the help of Kofukuji Temple.

if it is like this……

Shinzaburo suddenly felt enlightened and gradually relaxed. He quickly came up with an idea, then prostrated himself twice and said loudly, "Master, you are truly too kind! However, this winter has been exceptionally harsh, and the people are indeed struggling to make a living. I'm afraid that even a temporary postponement of tax payments after spring will not be enough. If you, Master, could condescend to step forward and, together with everyone, request the Naito family to grant them the grace of exempting them from all taxes..."

"Cancel it?"

Now it was the old monk's turn to hesitate.

Master Mingzhou immediately frowned, shook his head and said, "Although I have great compassion for the poor people in the villages, paying taxes to the daimyo is a matter of course. To completely exempt them... is too much to ask of them."

Shinzaburo, feigning reluctance, said, "The annual tributes for summer and autumn are still far off, so let's not talk about them for now. At the very least, if we exempt Lord Matsunaga Nagayori from the spring's special allowances and allowances, the people will surely support him wholeheartedly and be willing to die for him."

Master Mingzhou finally understood.

Shinzaburo's implication was that a mere "temporary suspension of tax payment" offered too little benefit to persuade the people to risk rioting. He needed at least a promise of a reduction in taxes to be confident in mobilizing the populace.

Instead of advising the old monk not to cause trouble, he instigated him to make things even bigger.

At this moment, Master Mingzhou hesitated.

Although both involve not paying taxes, there is a fundamental difference between "postponing payment" and "requesting exemption".

The old monk's original idea was simply to incite the people to default on their taxes and levies in order to demonstrate the power of Guangfu Temple. The consequences would not be particularly serious; at most, a few unlucky villagers would die.

However, if we do as Shinzaburo says, it will become supporting the people to not pay any taxes or levies, which will change the nature of the matter and could trigger a full-scale confrontation. Kofukuji Temple will never sit back and reap the benefits.

Master Mingzhou immediately objected: "How can we be so hasty? If this causes chaos and war, wouldn't the suffering of the people be a hundred times greater than hunger and cold?"

Shinzaburo looked aggrieved and said in a low voice, "The common people in the countryside are not as reasonable as the monks in the temple. If hundreds or thousands of people are mobilized, they will inevitably exaggerate in their words, and then the rumors will spread... Perhaps what was originally just a request to postpone the payment will turn into a request for exemption, and then maybe some people will want to take advantage of the chaos to attack Yagi Castle and fish in troubled waters..."

Upon hearing this, Master Mingzhou lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment before slowly nodding and saying, "This makes sense. If the villagers from each village gather together, they will become a mob and be difficult to control. We must be cautious about holding gatherings."

Judging from his tone, he seemed to have given up on the idea of ​​gathering a crowd to resist taxes.

Shinzaburo breathed a sigh of relief.

The "slippery slope fallacy" argument I honed in the online political arena in my past life is indeed quite effective. When a member of the property class occasionally raises a radical viewpoint, you don't need to oppose him; just pretend to agree and push his viewpoint in an even more extreme direction. The property class member will naturally be frightened and become conservative.

As the abbot of Guangfu Temple, Master Mingzhou, with his extensive network of connections, undoubtedly belonged to the "property owners" class.

Therefore, he could only think of gathering people to "temporarily suspend the payment" of money and grain, but he dared not watch the masses go to the point of "demanding exemption".

Shinzaburo had achieved his goal and realized that the old monk before him wasn't as cunning as he seemed. So he suggested, "I think there's a way that would both demonstrate Kofuku-ji's kindness to the people and help Lord Matsunaga Nagayori move into Yagi Castle, without causing too much unrest... but..."

"Is that so?" Master Mingzhou seemed somewhat skeptical, but couldn't help but ask further, so he smiled and said, "Since you have a strategy, why not speak of it? Please speak frankly."

"I'm just worried that this method might be a bit expensive," Shinsaburo said, deliberately sounding hesitant.

“There’s no need to worry about that.” Master Mingzhou couldn’t help but give him a look that said, “Look at your lack of ambition,” before speaking in a reserved and elegant tone, “My lineage of the Rinzai sect’s Daitoku-ji has always had connections with wealthy merchants in Kyoto and Sakai, and we are rarely troubled by money matters. Of course, I don’t want to be associated with money, but as the abbot, if I am unable to handle the mundane affairs of finances, how can I allow the monks in the temple to meditate and attain enlightenment in peace?”

Upon hearing this, Shinzaburo dropped the pretense and blurted out his thoughts: "I believe that you, Master, could declare that due to the extreme cold of this winter, and out of compassion for the suffering of the people, Kofuku-ji Temple will allocate a sum of money to help impoverished believers pay the extra money and allowance they are required to pay to the Naito family after spring..."

“This seems…” Master Mingzhou frowned and said, “This seems inappropriate. A little money is nothing to worry about. But there is no precedent for this, and the other monks in the temple will definitely have objections, thinking that it is a waste of temple funds.”

"I'm so sorry, I didn't explain clearly!" Before the old monk could show his disappointment, Shinzaburo quickly corrected him: "What I meant was to ask the villagers to beg Kofukuji Temple to help them pay for next year's 'token-betsu' and 'duan-tsu'... It's an advance payment, meaning it's a debt that will have to be repaid in the future."

“Loans and loans are common practice in temples, however…” Master Mingzhou still frowned, “This seems to have nothing to do with what I just mentioned.”

“What I mean is that if Kofukuji Temple agrees to advance the money for the believers, then it is up to you to decide where to hand over the money.” Shinzaburo looked up and said calmly, “You don’t need to send the money directly to Yagi Castle, but you can give it to the person you think is most suitable to take charge of the Naito family.”

Master Mingzhou's eyes widened as he listened to this, and he finally laughed heartily: "Brilliant! In this way, the samurai of Yagi Castle will have no way to find fault, and the Matsunaga brothers will have no choice but to accept this favor."

Unbeknownst to him, the old monk began to speak more frankly, even abandoning the high-minded monk demeanor he had always maintained.

Then he immediately asked Shinzaburo, "How much money do you need?"

Shinzaburo feigned fear and shook his head, saying, "In Funai District of Tanba Province, the Naito family governs more than 140 villages, but not all of them are devoted to Kōfuku-ji Temple. I do not know how many of them are worthy of assistance..."

Master Mingzhou pondered for a moment, then made a gesture: "No need for too many, let's limit it to twenty for now."

Shinzaburo quickly calculated the result and replied, "Taking our Kubo Village as an example, we collect 1.8 hundred kan of 'token' (a unit of currency) and 2 kan of 'dan' (another unit of currency) annually, but this is because we are protected by Kofuku-ji Temple. Other ordinary villages would probably need at least 7 or 8 kan. Twenty villages would require more than 150 kan."

As for the fact that Kinbei's father would "drift away" two or three kan every year, causing the villagers of Kubo Village to have to pay six kan, there's no need to mention that.

Shinzaburo was quite curious to see how the old monk would react to hearing "one hundred and fifty strings of cash".

Upon hearing this number, Master Mingzhou regained his composure as an enlightened monk and smiled calmly: "By only paying 150 guan, we can help the people of 20 villages get through the winter. This is truly a great act of merit. Although it is also a considerable price to pay, as the saying goes, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. This is a matter of duty that Buddhism cannot shirk."

Good heavens... It seems that 150 strings of cash might not be much for this monk... Seeing this, Shinsaburo seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire: "If the interest rate could be discounted, the people would be even more grateful..."

Master Mingzhou didn't mind at all: "If it's paid off within a year, there will be no interest. After that, it will be one-tenth of the amount each year."

"I can never repay the master's kindness!" Shinzaburo quickly showered him with more flattery.

018 Can an old monk still have a daughter?

In his past life, Shinzaburo was a seasoned office worker who was very good at so-called "managing upwards"—that is, deceiving his superiors.

I never expected that I would still need this skill after time-traveling.

It seems that Japan's Sengoku period wasn't all about fighting and killing; there was also a lot of human interaction and social interaction involved.

Master Mingzhou was moved by what he said, and the two then discussed the matter in detail for a long time.

The old monk calculated with his fingers, saying that the dozen or so villages near Guangfu Temple had always been obedient to the temple and were "devout Buddhists" no matter what, so they would definitely lend a hand. The rest would be handled by Shinzaburo, who would at least include the eight hundred people who had been brought to the Qingliang Festival that day, and the more the merrier.

Shinzaburo thought this wouldn't be difficult and gladly accepted the task.

Of course, the reason I say "not difficult" is because Kim Bingwei's father has readily available connections. Otherwise, who would know a young person like you coming to their door with a problem?

So they immediately returned to Kubo Village.

My comfortable life as a VIP at Kōfuku-ji Temple had to come to an end.

Before his departure, Master Mingzhou, worried about the danger of him traveling alone, specially arranged for four guards to accompany him—that's why the abbot's kindness is never enough.

Three of them were ordinary monk soldiers, not particularly noticeable.

But the remaining leader was very tall and burly, with a physique not much inferior to Shinzaburo, and even thicker in arms and legs, looking like a formidable fighter.

Moreover, this man carried a rather old-looking katana at his waist and claimed to be "of the surname Ōi, commonly known as Saburo, named Mae Shigeie." He said he was from a branch of the Ogasawara family, the deputy governor of Shinano Province. His territory was taken away by Takeda Shingen, and he followed his master to wander to the Kinai region, where he mooched off the Miyoshi family. Because of his enormous appetite, he felt embarrassed to continue eating and drinking for free, so he came out to work for the Rinzai sect monks.

Good heavens, he comes from a proper martial arts family.

Shinzaburo was startled. He wondered how he could assign a samurai to be his bodyguard, a commoner like himself.

It's not that I feel inferior, but I'm worried that the other person might lose their composure and do something irrational.

So Shinzaburo immediately adopted a humble and respectful posture, bowed deeply, and tried his best to show his respect, saying: "I am just a commoner, yet I have the honor of traveling with Lord Oi. Please do not hesitate to give me your guidance."

The burly samurai named "Ōi Shigeie" waved his hand dismissively and said, "No need for formalities. I only did this because I was paid by the temple. Besides, Master Shōzū is considering you as his future son-in-law, so how can you be considered a commoner?"

"Huh?" Shinsaburo was taken aback. "Master Mingzhou's future son-in-law? What does this have to do with anything?"

"Uh, haven't I mentioned this to you yet?" Ooi Shigeie was also stunned. He quickly rubbed his hands and said with an awkward laugh, "I only heard about it. It's probably just a rumor. Please pretend you didn't hear it."

Can I just pretend I didn't hear that?!

Although arranged marriages by parents are common in this era, the news came as a complete surprise.

Master Mingzhou is not of low status, nor is he a particularly stubborn person who refuses to listen to advice, so he might not be a bad father-in-law.

But he's a monk!

Moreover, it belongs to the Linji school of Chan Buddhism, which adheres to basic rules and regulations, unlike some other sects where monks break the precepts by "eating meat and having wives"!

How could someone have a daughter?

After holding it in for a long time, Shinzaburo finally couldn't help but ask, "Master Mingzhou... does he have a daughter?"

"Oh, stop talking, stop talking..." Ooi Shigeie covered his face with his left hand and waved his right hand repeatedly, "Oh dear, let's not talk about this, let's not talk about this..."

Upon hearing this, Shinzaburo's doubts deepened, but since he had important matters to attend to, he could only reluctantly suppress them.

……

Perhaps regretting his slip of the tongue, Ooi Shigeie kept his head down and rarely spoke the rest of the way. The other three monks were even more taciturn, barely managing to utter a single word together.

To ease the awkwardness, Shinzaburo took out some candied chestnuts he carried with him, gave a few to each of the monk soldiers, and also gave Oi Shigeie a handful.

After eating it, Ooi Shigeie praised it highly and was overjoyed.

But they still refused to return to the previous topic.

It's not as awkward anymore, but it's still a little awkward.

It wasn't until things quieted down that I realized how incredibly cold it was on the way back.

I only stayed in the temple for about ten days, and when I came out, I felt that the cold wind had become much stronger.

The roadside trees were all bare, some even bent and knocked down. Unmelted snow could be seen everywhere along the way, and the streams and lakes were frozen over. The fishermen who needed to make a living by fishing were all using iron awls to break through the ice.

The temperature should indeed drop in the middle and late part of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, but according to my memory, it shouldn't have gotten this cold.

After being exposed to the cold wind for a long time, Shinzaburo's reactions became very slow, and it was only after a long time that the phrase "Little Ice Age" came to mind.

Based on what I've seen and heard today, this winter may really be tough for the poor. Perhaps, as Master Mingzhou said, there will be a lot of people who can't pay their building fees and section fees when spring comes next year.

If the temple can step in to help and advance funds for believers at this time, even if there are other motives, it can be considered that "the idea above is bad, but the execution below is good."

Halfway there, we encountered a snow-covered mountain path and had to walk on the snow.

Unexpectedly, not long after, a wild boar, driven mad by hunger, burst out of the woods beside the mountain road, baring its teeth and squealing as it charged at them.

Shinzaburo was immediately startled, forgetting to brandish his weapons in self-defense. The three unassuming warrior monks trembled with fear, practically ready to turn and run.

Fortunately, the samurai named "Ōi Shigeie" was exceptionally brave. He immediately raised his spear and thrust it forward with great speed and precision, striking the beast squarely in the neck. The force was so great that it penetrated several inches.

Blood splattered everywhere. The wild boar was severely wounded and pinned down, unable to move. It let out a piercing scream and struggled painfully under the gun.

Shinzaburo snapped out of his daze, immediately stepped forward, and used his naginata to finish off the boar's exposed belly.

Then the remaining three inconspicuous monk soldiers rushed forward and ended the beast's life.

Shinzaburo caught his breath and quickly praised Ōi Shigeie for his unparalleled bravery, thanking him for saving his life. Ōi Shigeie, however, said that he had even hunted plump, healthy wild boars in early autumn in Shinano, and this wild boar, which attacked in the dead of winter when it was starving, was clearly old and weak, nothing to worry about. He only lamented the loss of his large spear, which needed repair.

Upon hearing this and taking a closer look, the beast did indeed appear thinner and older than its kind.

But it's a wild boar after all!

Fortunately, Shinzaburo had rope and strips of cloth with him, enough to tie up the dead wild boar and drag it back to the village to enjoy the game.

……

Several hours later, they returned to Kubo Village, where the world was already a vast expanse of white.

Outside the village, there were still some people doing various jobs. When they saw Shinsaburo, they greeted him from afar, chattering about things like, "I heard that the new master from Kofukuji Temple values ​​you highly."

Shinzaburo gave a few perfunctory words, and when he saw that his two lackeys, Kumakichi and Hashisuke, had come over after hearing the commotion, he handed the wild boar over to them and instructed them to organize the villagers to cook the wild boar meat to entertain the guests.