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Page 20
……
Once you're at the gambling table, you naturally forget about time.
The dice game was extremely simple, and hundreds of rounds were played in no time.
Several gamblers who arrived a little late joined in at the last minute.
There were nearly twenty people crammed into the small Kek Lok Si Temple, a messy place filled with the smell of sweat.
Although Otona Hachiro from Shimizu Village was aggressive, his luck was really bad. He lost more than a hundred strings of cash in total, and his face turned increasingly ashen. He could only vent his anger by gnawing on pickled radishes.
No one knows how much he ate, but suddenly he touched his stomach, pointed at the farmer, and cursed, "What kind of food did that monk give me? Why is my stomach hurting?"
Monk Jingcheng remained smiling, showing no displeasure whatsoever. He simply rolled up his sleeves, opened his robe to reveal his fleshy, chubby body, and said with a dry laugh, "Eating pickled radishes all the time can certainly make one feel unwell. How about I cook some millet porridge for you, benefactor?"
Seeing this, Hachiro didn't dare to act rashly. He snorted and shouted, "I need to use the toilet!" He then got up, strode forward, pushed open the temple door, and walked out.
The others didn't care, they laughed at him for taking out his frustration on pickled radishes after losing money, and continued to play.
No one even bothered to close the door.
Because it's not only hot with so many men crammed together, but it also smells pretty bad.
Unexpectedly, a few moments later, several soldiers wearing straw hats, small tunics, and carrying short cross-shaped pistols rushed in like hungry tigers, shouting in unison, "Lie down! Don't move!"
Everyone was startled. No one had a weapon in their hands, including the monk Jingcheng. Faced with the gleaming spearhead, they dared not resist and had no choice but to obey and lie down.
Then a young man dressed as a samurai slowly walked in, looking around as he said, "I never imagined that someone would use a temple as a cover to run a casino under my jurisdiction! How audacious!"
This man was dark-skinned and robust, with a youthful face; he was clearly the newly appointed magistrate of Kono Village, Matsunaga Magoroku.
Then, Kubo Shinzaburo forcefully pushed the timid Shimizu Mura Otsuna Hachiro in.
Then Matsunaga Sonroku turned around, put his arm around Hachiroza's shoulder, and said loudly, "Thanks to Hachiroza's sudden repentance and willingness to expose me! Otherwise, I would have been kept in the dark forever! Don't worry, I will definitely not treat you badly in the future!"
037. A wise person knows when to yield.
Matsunaga Magoro originally brought only five or six attendants with him when he took office, while Kubo Shinzaburo only had one follower, Oi Shigeie, whom he hired for twenty-five kan.
After the other two Naito family members who were assigned to the gambling den absconded with the money, there were only so many people left, which was really not enough to raid the gambling den.
But Matsunaga Sonroku was, after all, Matsunaga Nagayori's cousin, and with a single word, he borrowed thirty extra soldiers, capturing the eighteen gamblers and the monk Jōjō who had set up a private casino at Gokurakuji Temple.
One of them was Otsuna Hachiro from Shimizu Village, who came here to redeem himself by working as an inside man.
Therefore, the final prisoners were the seventeen participants and one organizer.
Then Matsunaga Magoroku faced a serious problem—there was nowhere to imprison him.
As the magistrate of thirteen nearby villages, he did not have an office or any other kind of "magistrate's office," nor had he been able to build a "branch castle" as planned. Instead, he often stayed in the guest room of Shinzaburo Kubo's house.
So without hesitation, they made a decisive decision to confiscate the gambling den "Jile Temple" and temporarily use it as a place of imprisonment and interrogation.
The original owner of the property, the monk Jingcheng, was pinned to the ground and his mouth was gagged. He made two "woo-woo" sounds, which was taken as his agreement.
So Matsunaga Sonroku simply set up a courtroom in the monks' quarters, first binding all the prisoners and making them squat in the courtyard to be exposed to the cold wind. After registering their names and addresses, he interrogated them one by one according to the stroke order of their names.
For the time being, the worldview of "the concubine of an important person was kidnapped when she returned from her parents' home a few months ago" is still maintained, so the investigation always starts with "whether she has seen jewelry of unknown origin".
however……
Isn't it quite common for people to use jewelry to pay off debts when they don't have enough money at the gambling table?
In this privately run gambling den, no one would be so tactless as to ask where the other party's money came from.
After questioning a dozen or so criminals caught in the act, all that was obtained was a bunch of tiny and complicated clues, many of which contradicted each other, leaving no clue as to how to proceed.
Fortunately, Matsunaga Magoroku's true purpose was not this. He pretended to carefully write down those messy clues on a piece of paper, bound them together solemnly, and then set them aside.
He immediately launched into a second round of interrogation, feigning fury as he berated the gamblers: "You are all powerful figures from the surrounding villages! When you inspected the villages before, you all said that the burden of money and grain was already heavy, so how come you still have money left to gamble?"
Several people cried out that they were innocent, claiming that this was their first time gambling and they had been caught, and that they were not repeat offenders.
Matsunaga Sonroku didn't bother to argue with this and directly brought out Shimizumura Otsuna Hachiro, who was "repenting for his crimes."
Hachiro himself was a major customer who frequented the Gokurakuji Temple every time. After he came out to identify them, it was quickly clear that the dozen or so "wealthy locals" present had been participating in the gambling for at least two years.
Coincidentally, the monk Jingcheng, who was the organizer, had secretly kept a thick ledger, roughly writing down the specific business figures for each period over the years.
This further proves that you gamblers do indeed have spare money.
Following this line of thought, further questioning led the two most timid individuals to confess, unable to withstand the pressure, that they had secretly cultivated hidden fields in the mountain gullies and had some fishing and forestry harvests, which they had never revealed to their superiors.
Most others still refuse to admit defeat.
However, Matsunaga Sunroku had already made preparations, winning over several poor farmers who had always been dissatisfied with the "local gentry and wealthy households," with Kozaemon from Takeda Village as the leader.
These impoverished farmers boldly came forward to testify, revealing that in addition to cultivating hidden fields in mountain gullies and secretly operating fishing and forestry operations, some people had also registered the village's land under the names of samurai from the Naito family as "tax-exempt land" related to military service. Others colluded with large, well-connected merchants to falsify accounts, claiming that the village's real estate was mortgaged due to debts and could no longer pay taxes normally, which was actually a lie.
Some local gentry would even send their wives and daughters to Yagi Castle for the enjoyment of Naito family retainers, in exchange for turning a blind eye from all sides.
Finally, under immense pressure, the vast majority of people resigned and signed the document "agreeing to revise the amount of money and grain," and after paying their dues, they received forgiveness of "no further accusations."
However, all the gambling funds that everyone brought today, totaling more than twenty strings of cash, were confiscated.
In front of everyone, Matsunaga Magoroku bestowed all the money upon Shimizumura Otona Hachiroza, who was redeeming himself through meritorious service. He said, "Take this and buy yourself a better set of weapons. If there is any war in the future, you will fight alongside me as a member of the 'Yuzushi Clan.' If you achieve any merit, I will guarantee you the status of a samurai!"
In the end, only two people stubbornly refused to give in: Maruyama Otsuna and his younger brother, both of whom were very headstrong.
Then Matsunaga Sunroku opened the map and saw that Maruyama Village was remote and sparsely populated, but not far from Shimizu Village. He then ordered that the two troublemakers be handed over to Otona Hachiroza of Shimizu Village and granted Hachiroza the authority to manage Maruyama Village.
At this point, Hachiro Sakai began to understand and quietly asked Kubo Shinzaburo, "Is it true that the concubine of a prominent figure in the Miyoshi family was kidnapped on her way back from her parents' home?"
Shinzaburo Kubo shook his head and sighed, "Anyway, I only heard it from Lord Sun. And does it matter whether it's true or false now?"
Hachiro gritted his teeth and hesitated for a while, then slapped himself hard and said, "It has to be real! I'll chop anyone who says it's fake!"
In addition, throughout the process, Shinzaburo Kubo mainly used his father Kinbei's connections and reputation, as well as the background of Kofukuji Temple, to play the good cop and tell everyone about the ideas of "a moment of patience brings peace," "the people don't fight with the officials," "a wise man doesn't suffer a loss in front of him," and most importantly, "a wise man knows when to yield."
Then, while Matsunaga Magoro was intently watching the seventeen gamblers, Kubo Shinzaburo became more interested in the monk Jōjō, who was organizing the gambling game.
The most puzzling thing is that after searching the man from head to toe and turning his residence upside down, they didn't find much money.
How can a casino not make money?
Therefore, Shinzaburo Kubo took the monk aside and asked him, "What is your true identity, you fake monk?"
The fat, big-eared monk Jingcheng quickly said, "This humble monk is a true monk, and I have a monk's certificate issued by Kofuku-ji Temple in Nara as proof..."
Kubo Shinzaburo sneered, "The temple's name, Gokuraku, is clearly a lineage of Pure Land and Shingon Buddhism; its Dharma name, Jōchō, is in the style of Tendai and Nichiren; yet its monk's certificate was issued by the Hosō sect's Kōfuku-ji Temple in Nara? How laughable!"
Upon hearing this, the monk Jingcheng was stunned for a long time, then cried out in anguish and cursed, "That Kyoto swindler! He even claimed to be from the legitimate Hojo family, a descendant of a prestigious clan, familiar with temples and shrines, and that his forged documents were absolutely genuine! How could he make such a mistake!"
Kubo Shinzaburo had his soldiers search the man's pocket and retrieve the fake monk's certificate. After examining it closely, he shook his head and said, "This monk's certificate is exquisitely made, even better than the ones I saw at Kōfuku-ji Temple. It doesn't seem like something a conman would produce. Did they deliberately cheat you because of your rude remarks?"
Monk Jingcheng was skeptical. After thinking it over carefully for a while, he muttered to himself, "Could it be because I bargained for four hours and managed to reduce the price from five hundred coins to two hundred?"
Shinzaburo Kubo put on a serious face again and shouted, "Who exactly are you?"
The monk Jingcheng sighed deeply, his face contorted with grief, and said, “I was originally a ‘disciple’ (a lay disciple) of the Daizan-ji Temple in Bitchu. Because I had learned arithmetic since childhood, I was in charge of the gambling den in the temple town. Later, the abbot started lending money at exorbitant interest rates and even kidnapped girls from the common people to pay off his debts. I couldn’t stand by and watch, so I secretly released the girl, but we were caught, and we had to flee together…”
Upon hearing this, Shinzaburo Kubo interjected, "Where did that girl go?"
The monk Jingcheng smiled wryly and said, "That young lady carefully examined my appearance and said that she would repay such a great kindness in the next life. She then went to live with relatives."
Shinzaburo Kubo suppressed a laugh and said, "Please continue."
The monk Jingcheng said, “I begged my way here and was taken in by Master Yingben of Jile Temple. At least I had a place to shelter from the wind and rain. But Master Yingben suddenly fell ill and passed away. After that, the people in the vicinity stopped giving alms. I had no choice but to return to my old ways. Fearing that my identity would be questioned, I tried to go to the capital with a merchant caravan and bought a fake ordination certificate for protection.”
Shinzaburo Kubo then asked, "I heard that the widows in the neighborhood are all your spies? What's going on?"
After hesitating for a long time, the monk Jingcheng reluctantly said, "The money I obtained from gambling, apart from my own food and drink and the repair of Jile Temple, has all been used to help widows."
Shinzaburo Kubo asked curiously, "How much money do you give each time?"
Monk Jingcheng said in a low voice, "It's usually one hundred coins per time, but sometimes when I'm in a good mood, I might give two or three hundred coins..."
Kubo Shinzaburo couldn't help but marvel: "Go to the tavern in front of Kofukuji Temple and hire a courtesan for only fifty or sixty sen. You fake monk are quite interesting. No wonder you haven't accumulated any wealth after running a gambling den for so many years!"
Monk Jingcheng sighed, "The widows in poor mountain villages who have lost their husbands are having a really hard time. We should help them however we can..."
Kubo Shinzaburo looked the fat fake monk up and down and thought to himself that it was good to know technology. In the 16th century, many people were starving, but this fake monk was making a living by relying on his arithmetic and gambling skills.
Well...can he be considered a talented person?
After pondering for a moment, Kubo Shinzaburo said to the monk Jingcheng, "There is an old saying in Tang China: 'Those who understand the times are heroes.' If you are willing to understand the times, not to mention anything else, it won't be difficult for me to get you a genuine monk's certificate."
038 Jile Temple, a position of knowledge and action
In late February, taking advantage of the crackdown on gambling dens, Matsunaga Sonroku, as the acting magistrate of thirteen nearby villages, successfully advanced the work of re-evaluating the amount of money and grain.
Out of respect for Shinzaburo Kubo, Kubo Village did not change a single word.
As for Shimizu Village, due to Otomiya Hachiro's "meritorious service" in redeeming his crimes, no additional taxes were levied.
The three poorest villages, led by Zhutian Village, received preferential treatment with reduced amounts of money and grain due to their heavy burden and the assistance provided during this operation.
The specific amounts are as follows: each year, the amount of money for the building and the amount of the section will be reduced by 500 cash, and the amount of summer grain will be 2.5 shi and autumn grain will be 5 shi.
The reduction wasn't huge, but in those days, reducing taxes was already quite an achievement. This amount, when distributed among households, meant each family would pay thirty coins and two bushels of grain less per year, which was certainly beneficial.
Then, the other eight villages, to varying degrees, all saw their budgets for money and grain increase after the calculations.
The final total increase in revenue was 21 strings and 200 cash, and 116 shi of grain.
This was precisely the kind of situation that left everyone in those eight villages somewhat unhappy, but not to the point of escalating into a rebellion.
Moreover, the main beneficiaries of the increased income are the wealthy and influential people in the village who have been taken advantage of because of gambling, while the burden on ordinary people has not changed much.
In total, Yagi Castle will be able to receive an additional 18 kan and 200 mon coins, as well as 93 shi and 5 dou of grain from these thirteen villages every year.
And it didn't cause any strong reaction.
The only village that was not entirely obedient was Maruyama Village, which was next to Shimizu Village. However, after being authorized, Otina Hachiroza of Shimizu Village, along with his trusted confidants, carried out some operations that were not disclosed to outsiders, and barely managed to resolve the problem.
Therefore, this guy was also considered to have made a contribution, and was qualified to use the name "Shimizu Hachirozae", was included in the "Doshinshu" under Matsunaga Magoroku, and was given the right to intercept a portion of the money and grain of Shimizu Village as his salary.
The situation is probably similar to that of Shinzaburo Kubo.
Of course, when it comes to rewarding merits, in 99% of cases, the leader should be the first to offer.
Matsunaga Sonroku is not only a leader, but also the cousin of "Lord Nagayori". His contributions will definitely be settled first.
The two territories of the Mountain City Kingdom that had been symbolically confiscated because two "comrades-in-arms" had absconded with funds have been restored. In addition, one tael of gold was publicly awarded as a reward.
Then, since Kubo Shinzaburo was the leader's deputy and had connections at Kofukuji Temple, he naturally wouldn't become a workhorse who did all the work.
He was granted the title of "Chief Administrator of the Gok Lok Si Temple," meaning that all real estate under the name of the Gok Lok Si Temple was under his control. In addition, he received ten small silver coins weighing four mace and three fen each.
Currently, Kek Lok Si Temple owns nothing but a small, worthless courtyard. Its previous gambling operations are clearly no longer feasible.
However, in the future, this can be used as a pretext to cultivate land around the Jetavana Monastery, and the newly cultivated land will not be subject to any additional taxes or fees.
This is the meaning of "knowing and doing one's job".
Meanwhile, the life and death of the fake monk with the Buddhist name "Jingcheng" would be in Kubo Shinzaburo's hands from then on, unless he fled again.
In other words, besides the "pig-slaying hero" Ooi Shigeie, he now has another follower at his disposal.
Matsunaga Nagayori didn't make any explicit requirements regarding the number of military service duties for his retainers, but it was implicitly understood that the more one knew and did, the greater the responsibility. It would be best if the monk Jōjō accompanied Kubo Shinzaburo when he went into battle.
……
All of the above-mentioned commendations were announced at the "evaluation meeting" in Yagi City at the end of February.
Master Myoshu of Kōfuku-ji Temple also attended the meeting. Although he had been ordered by Zen Master Zongtao to stop causing trouble, he still tried his best to make his presence felt and exert his political influence.
After the meeting, in a private meeting, the old monk praised Kubo Shinzaburo for assisting Matsunaga Magoro in dismantling the illegal gambling den, and said: "If gamblers gather to gamble in front of Kofuku-ji Temple, although it is also a morally corrupt act, some of the funds will flow into the temple and be used to make offerings to the gods and Buddhas, so the merits and demerits can be offset. But gambling in private is an unforgivable sin."
Shinzaburo Kubo thought to himself, "You're practically begging to say 'indulgence' out loud." But on the surface, he could only nod solemnly in agreement. Taking advantage of the old monk's good mood, he made his request: "Abbot! I have now obtained the so-called 'Gokurakuji Temple's Head of Administration,' but there is only one monk in Gokurakuji Temple, and his monastic certificate is fake. Could you please help me think of a solution?"
Master Mingzhou replied without hesitation, “What’s so difficult about that? I’ll just write a letter to register Gokurakuji under the name of Kōfukuji, making it a ‘secondary temple,’ and then have Daitokuji in Kyoto issue a new monk’s certificate.”
Upon hearing this, Shinzaburo Kubo paused for a moment, then explained, "But Gokurakuji, judging from its name, should be a Jodo or Shingon sect temple. The fact that it's under the jurisdiction of Kofukuji of the Rinzai sect is probably..."
Master Mingzhou shook his head and laughed: "Guangfu Temple has two Shinto shrines under its banner, let alone Buddhist temples of different sects. In this day and age, the most important thing is to protect people. Who cares whether you belong to the same sect?"
Kubo Shinzaburo then realized what was going on and said, "Mr. Matsunaga Magoroku said earlier that the temple name, Buddhist name, and monk's certificate didn't match up, and there must be a problem. It seems that..."
Master Mingzhou explained, “This Mr. Sun is young! By the time he came of age and became aware of things, the Matsunaga family was already a powerful clan. He usually only saw upper-class temples and shrines that respected some manners. How could he know the situation in the countryside? Besides, even the so-called upper class are not all as respectful and self-disciplined as our Rinzai sect. The Tendai and Nichiren sects of the past, and the Jodo Shinshu sect of today, are all extremely decadent…”
Well, here comes sectarian discrimination again.
I don't recall ever hearing the old monk look down on the traditional Shintoism of Japan, nor did he ever criticize the newly introduced Chechitanism. He just liked to criticize other branches of Buddhism. This is probably what they mean by "heretics are more hateful than heretics".
At this point, Master Mingzhou complained for a while, then suddenly looked over with a smile and said, "Shinzaburo, now that you've been appointed as the head of Gokurakuji Temple, have you investigated the area around the temple? Can you cultivate the land?"
Shinzaburo Kubo shook his head regretfully and said, "I have looked carefully, but I still haven't found enough water sources, and the soil doesn't seem very fertile. So we can only cultivate some purely dry land. If the soil and water were abundant, it would have been targeted long ago, and it wouldn't have been abandoned until now."