Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 934 A feigned attack on one front while secretly advancing another: Yongle's verbal battle (Bonus chapter for monthly votes: 3K chapters)

Fang Yan nodded very calmly when he heard his question:

"Of course, I was one of the people who participated in the verification of the Imperial Medical Prescriptions last time, so I have a lot of authority to speak on these ancient books."

"In 1403, the first year of the Yongle reign, Zhu Di ordered Xie Jin and others to begin compiling the book, initially named 'Wenxian Dacheng'. In 1404, the second year of the Yongle reign, a first draft was completed, but Zhu Di felt that the content was not complete enough, so he ordered Yao Guangxiao and others to join in and re-compile the book. In 1407, the fifth year of the Yongle reign, the entire book was completed, and Zhu Di personally wrote the preface and named it 'Yongle Dadian'."

"This book covers various fields including classics, history, philosophy, literature, astronomy, geography, yin and yang, medicine, divination, Buddhist and Taoist scriptures, drama, crafts, and agriculture. It collects various classics and materials from the pre-Qin period to the early Ming Dynasty. The entire book compiles seven or eight thousand kinds of ancient and modern books, totaling 22877 volumes, with a 60-volume index, and is divided into 11095 books, containing approximately 3.7 million words."

He paused after speaking and looked at Keisetsu Otsuka.

Otsuka Keisetsu remained expressionless, but his assistant spoke up:

"This is all very normal knowledge, it's not surprising that you know it."

Fang Yan nodded, then continued:

“The Yongle Encyclopedia in your Japanese collection is scattered across multiple institutions, and the contents of the volumes held by different institutions are different.”

"Based on the information we currently have, in addition to the Imperial Household Agency's Library and Mausoleum Department, the National Diet Library of Japan, Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library, Toyo Bunko, Tenri Library... and Kyoto University, which is the site of this visit, also have collections. Furthermore, Japanese archaeologist Kenzo Tomioka and Teijiro Yamamoto, who served as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in the Cabinet, also had collections. Among them, the materials on traditional Chinese medicine should be concentrated in the Imperial Household Agency's Library and Mausoleum Department, Kyoto University, and Kenzo Tomioka."

These words immediately caused a stir among the Japanese.

I never expected that Fang Yan knew so much.

This was actually revealed by them in later generations; dialect just means having a better memory.

However, speaking in their dialect now makes them feel somewhat fearful.

In other words, it is very likely that they already knew before they arrived that the other side wanted to exchange the Yongle Encyclopedia for the secret formula.

Furthermore, they investigated the distribution of the entire Yongle Encyclopedia in Japan.

He even knew very well about the collections in each person's home.

This control over non-public private collections directly proves that this side has deeply infiltrated the Japanese cultural relic plundering network.

The Japanese side originally thought they were unaware of domestic affairs, but they did not expect that the Japanese side knew even "how many books are on each person's bookshelf." This suggests that the Japanese side may have more undisclosed clues about cultural relics.

The dialect was almost an explicit statement: "We know how much you've hidden."

This forced them to consider a situation: the subsequent full recovery of the stolen goods. If you want to be sincere, wouldn't returning what you stole also be considered sincerity?

Don't tell me you don't know. If you don't know, then I can tell you where the things are.

When the Japanese side had a clear understanding of their hand, the "scarcity value" of the Yongle Encyclopedia was instantly and significantly diminished.

Furthermore, the dialect specifically mentions Tomioka Kenzo (who participated in the looting of cultural relics during the invasion of China) and Yamamoto Teijiro (a member of the wartime cabinet), which essentially links the issue of cultural relics with historical crimes.

Their fears are not simply due to the fact that dialects "know more," but rather the discovery that the black box of information has been broken, and the previously thought-hidden network of plunder has been fully exposed; moreover, their academic personas have collapsed, and cultural theft has been dragged from the "historical gray area" to the moral judgment seat; in addition, their strategy has been put on the defensive, their bargaining chips have quickly become ineffective, and what is even more troublesome is that it may trigger a larger-scale accountability.

In an instant, they thought of many things.

No matter how tough you are verbally, if your logic is weak, the scales of negotiation will tip in one direction.

Doing bad things is fine, but if someone gets the evidence, it's really embarrassing.

In an instant, sweat beaded on Otsuka Keisetsu's forehead as he frantically racked his brains for a solution. It felt like he was being haunted by a ghost; nothing he did went smoothly.

Each time, the opponent launches an attack from an unexpected angle.

Before coming, I made many plans and contingency plans on the plane, but now I find that the other party doesn't follow the usual routine at all.

Otsuka Keisetsu turned his gaze to Wang Yuchuan, feeling that it must have been this guy who did it.

He knew Japan so well that he was able to come up with such a cunning plan.

There's no rush here; it seems like they're giving Otsuka Keisetsu a chance to think things through.

Only Fang Yan and Lao Ji were focused on the identification.

Fang Yan flipped through the book quickly, while Lao Ji helped filter the pages. The magnifying glass placed to the side indicated that he wasn't looking at the book's material, but rather at the table of contents.

Some people on the Japanese side noticed this, but Fang Yan's words just now silenced them all. Otsuka Keisetsu didn't speak, and the others could only watch helplessly.

Moreover, Fang Yan's actions were actually normal. He read very quickly, glancing at the entire content before turning to the next page, as if he were searching for something.

No one was alarmed.

Just then, Keisetsu Otsuka finally spoke.

He adjusted his glasses and began to speak, feigning composure:
"Dr. Fang's extensive knowledge of Japanese collections demonstrates the deep cultural ties between China and Japan! Just as Master Jianzhen traveled east to spread Buddhism, the fact that your country's classic texts have been preserved in Japan is a testament to the continuation of the flame of civilization."

He abruptly changed the subject and said in a cold voice:
"However, regarding your mention of Tomioka Kenzo's private collection, well... forgive my bluntness, but how did you obtain information that even the Japanese academic community has never made public? Has your intelligence network extended into the scholars' studies?" He then looked at Professor Wang Yuchuan, the "culprit," and said:
"Mr. Wang, the methods of infiltration are not honorable!"

In fact, Wang Yuchuan and the others here were also a bit confused. They didn't know where Fang Yan got the information from. The most likely source was those overseas Chinese businessmen from Japan.

After all, these people also deal with high-ranking Japanese officials, and it's possible that they heard some information and then told Fang Yan about it.

Fang Yan seems to get along well with all the patients, and it's understandable that they would provide him with information.

Of course, the most crucial point is that Keisetsu Otsuka remained silent.

Moreover, it wasn't just him who was silent; the people around him were also silent, and some were even quite shocked, clearly indicating that the dialect was correct.

This is very interesting.

At this moment, Otsuka Keisetsu turned the tables and bit back. Upon hearing this, Wang Yuchuan immediately retorted with a smile:

"If infiltration is not aboveboard, then glorifying plunder as cultural protection is aboveboard? Does Mr. Otsuka know how many books Tomioka Kenzo took from Beiping in 1943 under the guise of 'cultural exploration'? Should I read aloud the list of books stolen from the Palace Museum back then?"

He is very confident.

"..." Otsuka Keisetsu clenched his fist.

Then he had to reveal another trump card, which was to immediately pull out a document and say:
"Mr. Tomioka's personal actions are none of my business, and I have no right to comment on his actions. However, our side is willing to exchange shared access to the Kyoto University Molecular Pharmacology Laboratory, along with the Yongle Encyclopedia, for the secret formula in Dr. Fang's possession. This is the true sincerity that benefits the advancement of medicine!"

Wang Yuchuan didn't speak, but looked at Yue Meizhong and Jiao Shude beside him. It was their turn to step in.

Yue Meizhong was the first to understand. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a book. He held the book up so that everyone could see that it was a photocopy of the Kangping edition of the Treatise on Febrile Diseases.

This is a typeset edition of the "Kangping Edition of Treatise on Febrile Diseases" obtained in 1946 when traditional Chinese medicine scholars Ye Juquan and Otsuka Keisetsu exchanged their works.

Mr. Ye was overjoyed and reprinted and promoted it domestically.

Yue Meizhong turned to Article 16 in the book: "Your prescription has altered Zhang Zhongjing's original text to a formula-symptom correspondence, even emasculating the essence of syndrome differentiation..."

He then slammed the book on the table and continued, "Does this kind of Chinese medicine practitioner, taught by a distorted version of the Treatise on Febrile Diseases, even deserve to talk about sharing pharmacology laboratories?"

This statement shocked the Japanese side.

It's one thing for a little kid to come up and slap us in the face, but now why is an old man bringing this up too?

Why do we have to keep harping on this?
We've already been private in Marseille, what more do you want?
At this moment, Jiao Shude also said:
"Last year, I cured three cases of yours that were deemed hopeless due to the combination of symptoms and formulas using Guizhi Dahuang Tang!"

"One of the patients had Yangming bowel obstruction, and according to your theory, you should have given up on them long ago, but their fever subsided in three days!"

Yue Meizhong picked up the conversation and said to Otsuka Keisetsu:

“Mr. Otsuka, you probably didn’t study Zhang Zhongjing correctly, did you? Even if the dialect gives you a secret recipe, if you take it back and modify it to make it your own, you’ll probably kill a lot of people.”

There's a saying: "If your bottom is crooked, everything you do will be wrong."

"I think you should give up on the secret recipe and just study the proper teachings of Zhang Zhongjing."

Upon hearing Yue Meizhong's words, Otsuka Keisetsu immediately became furious.

Why say something wrong, that his lifelong study of Zhang Zhongjing's theories is problematic?

Otsuka Keisetsu slammed his fist on the table and stood up:

"Mr. Yue, are you aware that the Kangping edition is the earliest extant manuscript of the Treatise on Febrile Diseases? When Tanba Masatada personally collated it in 1060 AD, the original manuscript of the Treatise on Febrile Diseases in your country had already been lost!"

"The concept of 'formula and syndrome correspondence' originates from Sun Simiao's 'formula and syndrome in the same clause' method in the Tang Dynasty. We are merely re-stringing together the scattered pearls of Zhang Zhongjing. It is you Song people who arbitrarily altered the text, forcibly changing 'floating and slow pulse' to 'floating and tight pulse' as a contraindication of Guizhi Tang. This is truly taking things out of context!"

Then Yue Meizhong and Jiao Shude began arguing with Otsuka Keisetsu.

Others nearby also occasionally chimed in with questions.

People from Kyoto University in Japan couldn't resist joining in.

They began to clash.

Okay, okay, I've been tricked!
Fang Yan listened attentively, his hands moving constantly while his eyes quickly scanned the content.

When the two old men were about to explode with anger.

He turned to the last page, and a system notification sounded in his mind.

PS: After finishing this chapter, I currently owe everyone 127000 words.

That's all for today, please come early tomorrow!
Lao Feng is working hard to write tomorrow's!

(End of this chapter)