As early as the 17th century, the ocean belonged to the Netherlands, when it was still called the Netherlands.
This palm-sized small European country is known as the "Sea Coachman". Its number of merchant ships exceeds that of other countries combined. The Dutch East India Company's trade volume once accounted for 50% of the world's total trade volume. At that time, there were 2
Thousands of sea-going ships, 15,000 of which belong to the Netherlands.
However, starting from the late 17th century, the Netherlands rapidly declined, ending its short golden age.
The weather in Amsterdam in May is so pleasant that Zhou Hexuan even needs to wear a coat to keep out the cold.
Affected by the global economic crisis, this European super port now seems a bit depressed, with very few merchant ships coming and going.
"Woo~"
Amidst the long ship whistle, Zhou Hexuan and his entourage walked down the gangway, and saw a Chinese banner on the pier in the distance.
Zhou Hexuan walked over quickly and said to several Chinese people who were picking up the boat for him: "Everyone has been waiting for a long time!"
At this time, the Nanjing National Government did not send diplomatic envoys to small European countries. Only Gu Weijun, Yan Huiqing and others were actively working to win the support of the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and other countries, and next year dispatched Jin Wensi as the Belgian and Dutch envoy.
, Hu Shize serves as Swiss Minister.
Therefore, Gu Weijun and Yan Huiqing should hate Zhou Hexuan. They worked hard to win international support from Belgium in Geneva, but Zhou Hexuan found trouble with the Belgian company in Tianjin. In the eyes of the two of them, this was an act regardless of the overall situation.
Zhou Hexuan doesn't think so. You have to be strong yourself to make the iron. The support of small European countries is of no use. What's more, if you exchange diplomatic support with the interests of your own people, it doesn't matter if you don't want this kind of support. What's the difference between begging for mercy?
Currently, the people who are supporting Zhou Hexuan are civilians living in Europe and do not have any official representatives.
A middle-aged woman with a slightly stout body clasped her fists and said boldly: "Mr. Zhou, I am Lu Bicheng, welcome to Amsterdam!"
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Mr. Lan Qing, I have long admired you!"
"Flying General is the most famous poet in the world of poetry. He is born with wisdom and enlightens civilization. Jiang Wei is the only one who is admired by others, and Lu Bicheng is praised everywhere."
This is a poem written by Miao Shanru, the secret secretary of the imperial court, praising Lu Bicheng. As the most talented woman in the late Qing Dynasty, Lu Bicheng was indeed praised by everyone at that time, and she and Qiu Jin were called "two heroes of women".
As for the friendship between Lu Bicheng and Qiu Jin that was circulated in later generations, most of them are fabricated.
Qiu Jin did visit Lu Bicheng out of admiration, but the words "we fell in love with each other at first sight and became sworn friends" were all lies. The differences between the two were too serious. One was an anti-Qing revolutionary, the other a reforming constitutionalist, and the other subverted tradition and wore a
How can one have a happy conversation about men's clothing if one upholds tradition and likes women's clothing?
Qiu Jin invited Lu Bicheng to study in Japan and join the revolution together. Lu Bicheng was not willing to do it. She was praised to the heavens in Beijing and Tianjin, so why did she need to work hard with Qiu Jin, a "mediocre person"?
The only meeting between the two heroines can be described as ending on bad terms.
Only on the issue of liberating women did Qiu Jin and Lu Bicheng share a common language. Lu Bicheng later wrote an article for the "China Women's Newspaper" founded by Qiu Jin.
But no matter what, Lu Bicheng also wrote an important chapter in the history of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. As a woman, she served as Yuan Shikai's confidential secretary in the presidential palace, and later served as the presidential palace to participate in politics, which put countless men at that time to shame.
Zhou Hexuan asked: "Why is Mr. Lan Qing in the Netherlands?"
Lu Bicheng explained: "I met Gu Shaochuan (Gu Weijun) in Geneva a few days ago. He heard that you were coming to the Netherlands, so he asked me to help receive you. After all, there is no Chinese consulate in the Netherlands."
"That's really annoying." Zhou Hexuan said.
Lu Bicheng introduced several companions, all of whom were celebrities and students living in Europe, and they all went to a nearby hotel together.
After Zhou Hexuan put their luggage away, everyone went to a nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner. There was no wine or meat on the entire table, only ingredients, and the cups were filled with water.
Lu Bicheng smiled and said: "If you want to prevent human bloodshed, you should start from the dining table. Protecting animals and advocating peace are both the development trends of civilization. Mr. Zhou won't mind being a vegetarian, right?"
"It's up to the guest." Zhou Hexuan declined to comment, although he did not agree with "animal protectionism" from the bottom of his heart.
It is necessary to protect animals, such as protecting wild and endangered species, but if we also protect chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep, it would be too overwhelming.
As for the association of protecting animals and calling for peace, Zhou Hexuan can only sneer at it!
Lu Bicheng raised his glass and said: "I use water instead of wine to welcome Mr. Zhou to come to Europe again and work for my cause of peace in China."
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Thank you for your hospitality!"
Everyone raised their glasses and talked about the situation in the Far East and Europe while eating. Occasionally, some people discussed Buddhism and art.
Lu Bicheng suddenly asked: "Is Mr. Zhou religious?"
Zhou Hexuan replied: "I believe in science, but I do not reject normal religion, and I dare not deny the existence of gods. Maybe there are gods in the dark, but this god cannot protect the world. Only we can save ourselves."
Lu Bicheng smiled and said: "I have read the French version of Mr. Zhou's "The Goddess", which involves many myths and legends. When the heroine was in a coma in the wilderness, she saw the Buddha on the horizon in a trance. I think this is a kind of spiritual enlightenment, and it is also
A manifestation of Buddha nature. All living beings have Buddha nature and are born with a yearning for kindness and light. War and killing are both behaviors that destroy human nature and destroy Buddha nature."
This woman has gone crazy believing in Buddhism...
Zhou Hexuan could only follow her words and say: "In my opinion, Buddha is the embodiment of a personality with great wisdom, great compassion and great power. To put it more simply, Buddha represents a personality that has reached a perfect state of reason, emotion and ability.
From a philosophical point of view, this is the ultimate pursuit of mankind. From a religious point of view, the biggest difference between Buddhism and other religions is that Buddha is not omnipotent and cannot grant us liberation. Buddha can only teach us and lead us to rely on ourselves
We must work hard to achieve liberation. The Buddha cannot make us go to heaven or send us to hell. Whether it is the heavenly Western Paradise or the terrifying eighteen levels of hell, they are all achieved by our own actions."
Lu Bicheng's eyes lit up and he nodded: "Mr. Zhou has a very insightful understanding of Buddhism. Do you have any plans to believe in Buddhism?"
"There is a Buddha in the heart, and everything is a Buddha," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile. "For hundreds of years, the Chinese have talked about the unity of the three religions. Confucianism has gentlemen, Taoism has saints, and Confucianism has Buddha. I think the descriptions of these three have the same goal.
It is through one's own efforts to achieve the perfection of reason, emotion and ability. A gentleman is a Buddha, a Buddha is a saint, and a saint is also a gentleman. As long as a person reaches that state, he can become a Buddha on his own and his body can become a saint. Whether he believes in Buddha or not, it doesn't matter.
Next.”
Lu Bicheng thought hard for a long time, then suddenly put his hands together and bowed: "Mr. Zhou, Bicheng has learned a lesson!"
Zhou Hexuan asked again: "Which Buddhist school does Mr. Lan Qing practice?"
Lu Bicheng said: "Pure Land Sect."
Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "Why should we expect to be reborn in the pure land of the West? As long as everyone works hard and strives, China can also become a pure land on earth." Zhou Hexuan pointed to the sky rather pretentiously, and then pointed to his heart, "The pure land is not in bliss.
The world is in our hearts. If there is a pure land in the heart, then Avici Hell is also a pure land. If there is a hell in the heart, then the Western Bliss is also a hell."
Lu Bicheng smiled and said: "Mr. Zhou is talking about Zen Buddhism, which is somewhat different from Pure Land Buddhism."
"Is there a difference between Buddha and Buddha?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
Lu Bicheng was suddenly surprised. Not only her, but even those eminent monks couldn't answer this question.
Zhou Hexuan asked again: "Since there is no difference between Buddhas and Buddhas, what is the difference between Zen Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism?"
Lu Bicheng began to have confused thoughts. She only started to convert to Buddhism two years ago. The theory and practice of Buddhism are still relatively simple. How can she figure out such a profound problem?
After being silent for a long time, Lu Bicheng clasped his hands and said, "Mr. Zhou, I'm not practicing well enough to answer your question. It's ridiculous."
Zhou Hexuan said: "Both people and Buddhas should have great compassion. Now that the country is in crisis, why doesn't Mr. Lan Qing return to the country to advocate peace? This is also practice. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva made a great wish and said: Hell is not empty.
I vow not to become a Buddha. Seeing that the land of China is about to become a hell on earth, how can practitioners only think about their own bliss in the afterlife? Now Master Hongyi is also practicing, but his practice does not avoid the world, but actively appeals for China.
He often said: When reciting Buddha’s name, never forget to love the country; when saving the country, never forget to recite Buddha’s name. What does Mr. Lan Qing think?”
Lu Bicheng's thoughts became more and more confused, and finally stood up and said: "I will go back to China tomorrow and ask Master Hongyi for advice on Buddhism!"
Zhou Hexuan smiled and stopped talking. This deception had destroyed a lot of his brain cells.
What Zhou Hexuan didn't expect was that his brain cells would continue to suffer, and three more masters suddenly came to visit him the next day: Freud, Romain Rolland and Einstein.