My personal opinion on Gensokyo

A hundred years ago, the Arabs, a branch of the Semitic people, guided by the teachings of the Prophet, united all the desert tribes and began the era of great expansion of the Arabs.

After nearly a hundred years of war, the Umayyad Dynasty of the Arab Empire in 695 AD spanned the three continents of Asia, Africa and Latin America, becoming one of the most powerful world empires of that era. After conquering the declining Sassanid Dynasty of the Persians to the east, the desert cavalry still chose to march eastward. In the next few decades, they moved eastward little by little, approaching the western territory of the Tang Empire.

However, within the vast territory of the Umayyad Empire, there were two hidden but significant risks.

First, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty, Muawiyah, and his successor Yazid, led the Umayyad family in a struggle with the family of Ali, the prophet's son-in-law, for the leadership of the Arab religious community. They killed their political opponents in dishonorable ways one after another. The consequences were so serious that the Arab religious community was divided. This religious community dissatisfied with the Umayyad family continued to expand its influence in the vast territory of the Umayyad dynasty and gradually merged with the anti-Umayyad forces. Although they were suppressed many times by the Umayyad family and failed to gain any influence, the Umayyad family continued to lose blood in the process of suppressing opponents again and again.

Secondly, another force opposing Umayyad rule, another branch of the Prophet's family, gradually merged with the religious factions opposing the Umayyad dynasty. Through religious connections, they established an alliance with the Persian military aristocracy, which still retained some power after the fall of the Sassanid Empire. Although the combination of these three forces did not seem to threaten the power of the Umayyad dynasty at the moment, the extent of the subsequent chain reaction caused by this combination was a matter of great concern to the imperial rulers.

Of course, both the Umayyad Dynasty and its opponents were ultimately internal problems of the Arab Empire. Strictly speaking, they were not a fatal threat to the Arab Empire. However, what the Arab cavalry who continued to march eastward did not know was that hundreds of years later, this eastern expedition route they conquered would bring wave after wave of conquerors to the west from the east.

These powerful Eastern nomadic peoples will bring great suffering to their homeland and the entire Arab nation in the next thousand years.

The world in the year 695 AD is a wonderful world of constant conflict.

Balkan Peninsula.

With the help of Greek fire and navy, the Roman Empire repelled the Arab attacks on Constantinople three times. The Roman citizens who successfully defended the capital of the Roman Empire excitedly praised Constantinople as the "Queen of Cities". They believed that the walls of Constantinople would never be breached by foreign enemies, Constantinople would never fall, and the eternal empire of Rome would exist forever and remain strong forever.

However, what people did not know was that it would be another 660 years before the invincible "Queen of Ten Thousand Cities" whom they praised would face the threat of the powerful Ottomans.

It was still 758 years until the fall of Constantinople, the “Queen of Cities.”

Western Europe.

The Franks, a branch of the Germanic people, occupied the Gaul Plain after the Romans retreated hundreds of years ago. Based on this, they began to conquer Western Europe year after year. During this era, the expansion of the Franks also collided with the Arab Empire's expedition to Europe.

Decades later, the Franks, who successfully defeated the Arab Empire's expeditionary force, would initiate a new round of expansion, and seventy-six years later, during the reign of Charlemagne, it would reach its peak of power and become another new Roman Empire.

One hundred and thirty-five years later, the Frankish Empire, which had expanded to its peak and turned most of Europe into its territory, would be broken apart. The three Frankish kingdoms that were split apart would be replaced by new rulers more than two hundred years later, and the kingdoms would cease to exist.

The ringing of the bells at Jetavana Monastery speaks of the impermanence of the world; the blossoms of the twin sal trees lose their color, and the flourishing ones wither like the vicissitudes of life.

Arrogance, debauchery and extravagance will not last long, just like a dream on a spring night; tyranny and tyranny will eventually be destroyed, like dust in the wind.

PS1: This is a scheduled release. I wrote it yesterday. It introduces what happened at the end of the seventh century AD. It is also related to the main storyline of Gensokyo. Of course, the connection is not big, so you can read it or not.

PS2: The ringing of the bells of Gion-jinga tells the story of the impermanence of life. — From The Tale of the Heike, which tells the story of the rise, prosperity, decline, and fall of the once-powerful Heike regime at the end of the Heian period, and teaches the truth that all that prospers must decline.

Volume 1: Heian Past and Present Stories: Chapter 5: Her Past

In 695 AD, it was the first year of Tiance Wansui in the Tang Dynasty (Wu Zhou) of China and the ninth year of Emperor Jitō of Japan (Asuka-Nara period).

The Asuka-Nara period was also a complex historical era for ancient Japan.

Seventy years ago, during the reign of Prince Shotoku, influenced by his childhood and informed by his experience in governing, he dispatched envoys to the Sui Dynasty, a Central Plains dynasty on the mainland. The envoys sought to learn about the civilization, official systems, and institutions of the Central Plains, a region he longed for. Most importantly, they sought to learn about Buddhism. Buddhism, originating in the South Asian subcontinent, spread through the Central Plains dynasty to the land of the rising sun in the far east for the first time.

The Yamato regime of the Asuka period lasted for 74 years after the reign of Prince Shotoku. The new nobles who emerged during the reign of Prince Shotoku relied on the favoritism of the imperial family and continued to fight with the nobles of the old clans for 74 years, and gradually seized power from the old clans.

Similarly, the old nobles, unwilling to lose their power and wealth, used their advantage in local control in the old era to continuously eliminate the growing influence of the new nobles, making it impossible for the emerging nobles to completely control the government for a long time.

Amidst the harsh political tug-of-war between the two sides, the spark of the Taika Reform, the second extremely important reform of the Yamato regime, was slowly burning on the body of the old clan system in this country.

In another area, in terms of religious beliefs, the ancient Shintoism, which was based on the old clan beliefs, was horrified to find that its own old ancient beliefs were completely defeated in the face of the introduction of Indo-Central Plains Buddhism, which had advantages in all aspects.

The country's ancient Shinto faith has reached the point where it must consider how to deal with Buddhism.

Is it fusion or coexistence?

still is……

Japan. Koonara, Fujiwara Kyo.

It was January, and a cold wind blew through the streets of Fujiwara-kyo. On such a cold and cloudy day, neither the nobles nor the servants who served them, nor the common people who made a living in Fujiwara-kyo had much desire to go out.

Named after the 155-meter-wide Suzaku Avenue in Chang'an City of the Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains, Fujiwara-kyo Suzaku Avenue, approximately 19 meters wide, was the most important of Fujiwara-kyo's twelve roads. It served as the center of Fujiwara-kyo, dividing the 6.72-kilometer-long city into two capitals, east and west, and four wards. This design replicated the Tang Chang'an City's 25 main streets, crisscrossing east and west, and north and south, with Suzaku Avenue as the center, dividing the 87.27-square-kilometer city into two eastern and western districts and 108 wards.

In the past, the Tang envoys who went to Chang'an City to meet the Tang saints were deeply shocked by Chang'an City, the largest city in the world. In the subsequent construction of Japan's capitals, they imitated and copied the design of Chang'an City.

This imitation copied the design of the Tang Chang'an City, including the current Fujiwara-kyo, as well as Heijo-kyo, Nagaoka-kyo, and Kyoto Heian-kyo that will appear in later history.

On the Suzaku Road in Fujiwara-kyo, apart from the hurried carriages of a few nobles, there were only a few lower-ranking servants and poor townspeople who were forced to make a living by coming out to make a living, wearing thatched clothes woven from dried straw to avoid the cold.

At the same time, Fujiwara no Kyoto was on Mount Kaguya.

A young man with black messy hair sat cross-legged on a protruding rock on the cliff. He built a fire with the firewood he picked up and set up a grill. Three buns were skewered by the young man and grilled on the fire. At the same time, pork tenderloin, beef, ham and other meats were also grilled on the grill. There was also a steel pot hanging above another fire, in which was cooked a fragrant pork rib soup.

A modern picnic style that is completely inconsistent with the ancient Japanese painting style of this era.

The surface of the baked buns, baked by the heat of the flame, turned golden yellow, and the unique aroma of cereals surrounded the rock.

"...Doctor, you're just enjoying life too much. The ancient capital is just down the mountain. Why don't you go there to find food? Why waste my causal power to materialize modern food...?"

Miss Kugimiya Amiya was very cold. The causal ritual of interference with cause and effect had a very wide range of uses, including something like the materialization of fantasy. This was why, in ancient Japan at this time, there were modern cooking utensils and ingredients for the young merchant to enjoy.

Using the fantasy materialization function of the Causal Ritual requires consuming the causal power within the Causal Ritual. Although there is still a certain amount of causal power in the Causal Ritual itself, and the consumption of materializing some ingredients and cooking utensils is also a drop in the bucket, Miss Amiya Kugimiya feels that her "Doctor" is really not good at budgeting.

"It's mainly because in ancient Japan, the types of grains and the level of grinding were still far behind those of modern society. Even if it's cooked food from this era, I have to be able to eat it."

Shang Yang was helpless. Modern society is extremely "pampered" to humans. How could modern people adapt to the food, clothing, housing and transportation of ancient society so quickly? If you say that you are in Chang'an City now, it would be fine. Shang Yang would have no problem accepting the cooking methods of the Central Plains in the Tang Dynasty. The relevant methods of processing grains also exist.

But this is a fake 'Chang'an City' down the mountain. Where can I find the real Chang'an City food?

Before Shang Yang learned how to survive in the wild in this era, he would probably have to rely on the mysterious rituals of cause and effect to materialize the necessities of food, clothing, housing and transportation for a long time.

...Of course, it's possible that I'll continue to do this in the future.

Therefore, although the causal power consumed by the fantasy of materializing food, clothing, housing and transportation is extremely scarce, the young man and the main goddess also have to consider the issue of increasing revenue.

"File No. 1——■■ (On Agent Duty)"

"Growth gift package mission: 1. Survival.

No matter what the future holds, survival is the top priority.

Mission requirements: Survive for more than ten years.

Mission Reward: Unlock some functions of the Causal Mystery and reward a certain degree of Causal Power.

2. Talent.

Different monster races have different talents and abilities. Discover your talents and abilities.

Task requirements: Understand your innate ability and use it.

Mission Reward: Unlock some functions of the Causal Mystery and reward a certain degree of Causal Power.

3. Ascend.

Strong power will be more conducive to survival and completing tasks.

Mission requirements: Become a powerful being of the demon race - a big demon.

Mission Reward: Unlock the full functionality of the Causal Mysteries, and gain a certain degree of Causal Power."

"This growth pack is a bit of a rip-off... None of it is easy to get."

Opening the AR interface of the Causal Mystery again, the young man browsed through the three growth gift package tasks again and felt a headache.

According to the Lady of the Lord God, in addition to the current stock of Causal Power within the Causal Mysteries, a relatively large amount of Causal Power is sealed away in another module within the Mysteries that the Lady of the Lord God cannot access. Judging by the mission description, the Causal Power in this other module was clearly designed by the higher being who created the Causal Mysteries to accelerate Shang Yang's growth. However, it now appears that each of the growth missions is extremely difficult. The first survival mission requires a full decade of hiding in ancient Japan, and Shang Yang feels he is definitely not up to it.

If one is determined to survive for ten years, Shang Yang believes that one must find a way to return to the Tang Dynasty, and then find a way to solve the household registration problem in the Tang Dynasty, find a job and work there for ten years, and maybe he can make a good living.

Then this book would become an imaginary history, about being reborn in the Tang Dynasty, or being a Japanese in the Tang Dynasty.

Not to mention the third task, it is probably impossible to accomplish it within a hundred years.

The second task, which seems to be the most feasible, currently has no clue.

[At present, it seems feasible for the Master to simply attempt to eliminate the abnormal mechanical deterministic historical structure under the existing conditions. Changing a small part of ancient Japanese history is not difficult for the current Master. What must be cautious is the abnormal causal structure with a very high threshold, or a coherent abnormal history. These are not something the current Master can handle.]

Earlier, Ms. Mashu Kugimiya suggested this.

"Miss Lord God, when I was investigating the capital city at the foot of the mountain, you said you discovered an unusual causal structure deep within the palace."

Shang Yang took a bite of the toasted bun, looked at Fujiwara Kyo at the foot of the mountain, and asked the main goddess.

[Yes, it is a very small abnormal causal structure, to the extent that it determines the life of an ordinary person, or a few ordinary people. It alone cannot cause causal disturbances of extraordinary power, but it is necessary to pay attention to whether it is related to abnormal causal structures at other times.]

"Okay, let's go check it out tonight."

Late at night, in the center of Fujiwara-kyo, Fujiwara Palace.

The morning was cold and windy, and snow began to fall after noon. The heavy snow in January fell quickly, and in just the afternoon, the capital was covered in snow.

Fujiwara no Miyabi, a small palace to the north of the inner palace (the imperial residence).

Most of the palace buildings of Fujiwara no Miyabi are pillar-shaped buildings made of cypress. The Japanese envoys to Tang Dynasty during the Asuka period had not yet learned the architectural techniques of the Central Plains, so there may have been certain problems with the design and construction of the small palace. Amid the howling of the cold north wind, the structure of the small palace itself also made a creaking sound from the friction of wood, which sounded very unpleasant.

Inside and outside the palace walls.

Shang Yang and Miss Shushin, carefully avoiding the clan warriors guarding the palace, have already sneaked into a considerable depth of Fujiwara Palace.

With a speed unmatched by ordinary people, the black shadow leaped onto the inner wall in just a few steps and climbed over it. The black-haired young man in black clothes and a black cape stopped and looked around. Naturally, he frowned when he saw the young man in the small palace in the north of the inner palace.

"Miss Lord God, the current location is that the person attached to the abnormal law of causality is only fifteen meters away from me."

"The only thing that meets the requirements is this small house, but..."

Staring at the small palace that looked very out of place in the howling cold wind, Shang Yang was very suspicious.

"Who has a problem living here..."

While asking the Lady Goddess, Shang Yang stepped forward, intending to go in and see if there was anyone there.

"Woo...Woo..."

Suddenly, a faint, soft sobbing sound came from the palace in front of Shang Yang.

"...That's a bit scary. Rumor has it that our Forbidden City is haunted. Does the Japanese palace have this tradition too?"

...The young man, startled by the sudden shock, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and complained.

Late at night, with the wind howling, a cry suddenly rang out from a seemingly deserted, dilapidated house. Even though Shang Yang was a demon now, he was still frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.

[Captain, there are people inside.]

Miss Lord God is concise and to the point.

"As long as it's a human being," Shang Yang calmed down. "If it's really a ghost king or something like that, I probably can't defeat him."

[Go in quickly without attracting the guards' attention.]

bang.

Shang Yang pushed open the door that was hung with a wooden bolt with a slight force, making sure not to make any loud noise.

The small palace was just one room. When Shang Yang pushed the door open, he immediately saw a small hill of thick quilt on the tatami opposite the door moving slightly.

"It could be a child, Miss Lord God."

Shang Yang frowned slightly.

[may be.]

Miss Lord God was not sure either.

Shang Yang stood sideways beside the bed, raised his left hand, slowly reached over, and grabbed a corner of the quilt.

A sharp pull.

Inside the small hill of rolled-up quilt is a pillow and another quilt.

Suddenly, just as Shang Yang pulled back the quilt, something standing up like a screen next to the tatami was pushed towards Shang Yang from behind and fell towards him!

As the "screen" was pushed towards Shang Yang, the short white figure behind it suddenly rushed towards the door!

[Be careful!]

The Lady Lord God gave a startled warning.

The young man, who had already become a demon, reacted faster than the Lady God's reminder. He raised his left hand to the side and swept the cloak-like covering to the side. The young man pounced down and stretched out his right hand like lightning, grabbing the left ankle of the "child" who wanted to escape.

It feels very soft to the touch.

The white figure was grabbed by the young man's ankle and suddenly lost his balance, and was pulled to the ground by the young man.

The action worked, and the young man rolled over again, pressing the white figure under him. He subconsciously stretched out his left hand to cover the figure's mouth to prevent the child from shouting and attracting people.

However, the young man's left hand unexpectedly grasped another pair of soft hands where his mouth and nose should have been.

The young man was stunned and looked up. With his eyesight now far exceeding that of ordinary people, he finally saw the current situation clearly.

The short white figure restrained by the young man was a petite girl wearing only a single white dress.

Her long black hair, pure and silky, was scattered messily on the ground. Her thin body, which was suppressed by the young man, seemed to be trembling slightly due to fear and cold.