The flight ti from Tokyo to Shanghai is not particularly long, typically around three hours, and so flights can even reach Shanghai in just two and a half hours, barely enough ti to watch a movie.
Such a brief journey of less than three hours gave Jounouchi Hiromi a surreal feeling that before she could even react, she was already in another country.
"Is this Shanghai? It's my first ti here! The view from the sky just now, it seed to be no less impressive than Tokyo, with so many skyscrapers!" Standing in the airport terminal, Jounouchi Hiromi marveled at the scenery outside and asked Chen Yu.
Since the two of them were simply transferring through Shanghai, they did not leave the airport; they just observed the scenery from inside the terminal.
As for Jounouchi Hiromi's exclamation, it was not at all surprising; many foreigners visiting China for the first ti are struck by the high degree of modernization they encounter, and their first impressions are often those of amazent.
"Shanghai is the financial center of China right now, and with the opening of the free trade zone, Shanghai's international status will continue to rise, and the city will develop further. As an international tropolis, being on par with Tokyo is not strange at all," said Chen Yu. As a Chinese, although he had lived abroad for many years, he was still quite proud of his motherland's prosperity.
"Really? China seems very different from what I had imagined! I thought China would have a more ancient feel, but it's quite modern too!" Jounouchi Hiromi, after hearing Chen Yu's words, seed to understand better and grew increasingly interested in his holand, "So Mr. Chen Yu, what about your hotown?"
To Jounouchi Hiromi's comnt, Chen Yu just smiled and then explained, "It's true that China does have very ancient cities like Xi'an and Beijing, which still retain an old-world charm.
As for my hotown, it is a very ordinary city I guess, sowhat similar to the difference between Yamagata and Tokyo. Compared to Shanghai, it's just a very ordinary small city, but it still has so historical heritage, after all, it's an ancient city with a history of more than two thousand years."
"Over two thousand years?" Jounouchi Hiromi looked at Chen Yu in surprise, clearly astonished by the long history of the city he ntioned. After all, even Nara, the oldest capital in Japan, does not have a history of more than two thousand years.
Although the Japanese constructed their own history based on mythological stories like the Kojiki, tracing back to Emperor Jinmu in 660 BCE, in fact, Japan only moved from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic era, the so-called Yayoi period, around 300 BCE.
The true ergence of Japan into a period with a verifiable history of states and city-states, the Asuka period, is dated to around the 600s CE, corresponding to the Flourishing Tang period in China. As for the Kofun period between the Yayoi and Asuka periods, Japan was still in the era of clans and tribes.
This is precisely why Japan sent so many envoys to the Tang Dynasty; at that ti, Japan had just erged from its primitive state and was transitioning to a nation-state, with notable events like the reforms of Prince Shotoku and the Taika Reform occurring during this period.
The oldest capital in Japan, Nara, was also built during this ti.
"Well, to be precise, the history goes back much further than two thousand years because the earliest history can be dated to the mythological era two thousand years before the Common Era, but those are just myths. In reality, we only have historical records dating back to two or three thousand years at most," said Chen Yu with an air of nonchalance. For China, a history of over two thousand years is just enough to squeeze into the list of historical ancient cities, after all, there are a plethora of cities with three to four thousand years of history.
Chen Yu's indifferent attitude naturally frustrated Jounouchi Hiromi a bit, but when it ca to finding words to express her feelings, she found herself at a loss. To China, a city with over two thousand years of history was indeed no extraordinary matter, for even Jounouchi Hiromi was aware that China has nurous such ancient cities.
As they were discussing these history-related topics, Chen Yu's phone suddenly rang.
Although he had returned to China from Japan, Chen Yu's phone had international roaming activated for convenience, allowing him to make calls in China as well as in Japan.
"Hello, you've reached Chen Yu," he said as he was in China, naturally answering in Chinese.
However, the voice on the phone responded in Japanese, "My lord, have you arrived in China? I have so matters that I need to consult with you about."
"I'm already in Shanghai. Speak, what's the matter?" Chen Yu recognized Tsuchimikado Yoshiharu's voice, frowned slightly, and switched to Japanese, signaling Tsuchimikado Yoshiharu to get straight to the point.
"My lord, it's like this: recently, the Mingyue Society gathered a group of Kenjutsu schools in the Kanto Region through Kojo-san's influence, adding quite many people to our organization." Although he did not favor the implications of this developnt, Tsuchimikado Yoshiharu nevertheless first ntioned the advantage this brought to the Mingyue Society, "However, these Kenjutsu schools originally fell under the Kanto Kendo Alliance, and because they have switched allegiance to our Mingyue Society, we are now experiencing friction with the Kanto Kendo Alliance. My lord, do you think we should keep the peace or retaliate?"
"The Kanto Kendo Alliance? What sort of organization is it, and how did you get involved with them?" Upon hearing the news, Chen Yu instinctively felt displeased.
The Mingyue Society was his subordinate, and he had gathered followers to work for him, not to cause trouble for him.
"The Kanto Kendo Alliance was ford by various Kenjutsu schools in the Kanto Region after the war. It comprises schools located in the Kanto Region, led by large schools like Hokushin Itto-ryu and Shinto Munen-ryu, and controls the Kenjutsu schools in the entire region. Without the Kanto Kendo Alliance's certification, it's not possible to open a dojo and instruct students in the Kanto Region," Tsuchimikado Yoshiharu could obviously detect Chen Yu's dissatisfaction and quickly explained the significance of the Kanto Kendo Alliance over the phone.
After finishing that explanation, he hastily added, "Originally Kojo-san's Muso Itto-ryu was also a mber of the Kanto Kendo Alliance, but after she joined the Mingyue Society, many Kenjutsu schools that had good relations with her family, due to lineage connections, also shifted their allegiance to our Mingyue Society.
After joining the Mingyue Society, these schools, which were nearly at the brink of collapse, received support from us and their situations markedly improved, and the number of disciples in their dojos increased. But this clearly infringed on the interests of the original Kanto Kendo Alliance, which is why the friction occurred."
"I'm not in Tokyo; handle it as you see fit, just don't embarrass ," Chen Yu, having grasped the situation after hearing Tsuchimikado Yoshiharu out, instructed, "Rember one principle, don't go looking for trouble, but also, there's no need to be afraid of it."
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