In a large house in Ishinomaki Port, Jiuzang and a dozen of his men, who were armed with live ammunition, were watching closely what was going on around them. Opposite them, seven or eight samurai wearing bamboo hats remained motionless, their hands kept pressed.
On the hilt of the knife at his waist, his nervous forehead was sweating slightly, and he didn't dare to breathe.
This is the house of the owner of Murataya. The yard is full of yellow and white chrysanthemums, with a few pink ones showing occasionally.
In the teahouse in this courtyard, Zhao Xin sat in the distinguished guest seat on the east side, Shibata Kakuzo, the head of the Sendai clan, sat at the entrance on the southwest side; and in the host seat on the west side, a man in his thirties sat
A man of many years old, with slender eyebrows and fair complexion. This man was dressed in casual clothes. Under the introduction of Shibata Kakuzo, he respectfully saluted Zhao Xin.
"His Royal Highness King Zhao, this is the ninth generation head of the Tsunoda Ishikawa family, His Excellency Ishikawa Murafumi, a master of writing in this domain."
"Your Majesty Ishikawa Murafumi, this time I am only representing myself to pay homage to His Highness King Zhao."
"I've heard of you for a long time, and it's my honor to meet Mr. Ishikawa today." Zhao Xin also bowed slightly with a smile on his face.
Looking at the guy across from him who resigned after more than ten years because of his indulgence in drinking and having sex, regardless of the financial difficulties in the domain, Zhao Xinxin said that it was good to indulge in drinking and sex, and keep going.
After nearly two years, when the news of Zhao Xin's return reached Aoba City, it caused a sensation within the Date family.
Relying on Heita's previous revelations to Shibata Kakuzo and the news sent back from North Korea, in the eyes of Sendai Domain, Zhao Xin was no longer the tyrannical and rude person he was when he signed the "Ishinomaki Secret Treaty" two years ago.
The Tang Yi leader was the "pre-Ming Zhao King and Empress" who defeated the Qing army twice and the shogunate twice.
Faced with a "descendant of the vassal clan of the Ming Dynasty" who has a large number of troops and is very likely to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty and dominate the world, no matter how crazy the Date family is, they dare not put on airs; after all, the current head of the family, Date Shigemura, is just a subordinate of the fourth generation.
Just Lieutenant General Sakon Guard Kwon.
The old fox Endo Morinobu still failed to eat this year's new rice and passed away in May. Zhao Xin heard Shibata Kakuzo's description as if he had a sudden myocardial infarction. After a private discussion among the Aoba Castle, Ishikawa
Cun Wen decided to take action personally.
Without him, Hokkai Town is now too important to the finances of the Sendai Domain.
Relying on the close cooperation with Beihai merchants, from the second half of the seventh year of Tianming (the forty-ninth year of Qianlong), no warrior or civilian in the Sendai clan starved to death, and no petition broke out.
In addition to the refugees who flocked to Aoba Castle and Ishinomaki Port from all over the country to seek a living, they were taken away by Hokkai Town, and the boss of Katsuyama Denmi and Murataya also smuggled thousands of people to dig coal in Ezo.
A large amount of rice, silk, sugar, cigarettes, matches and even candles landed at Ishinomaki Port and flowed into the markets of Edo, Osaka and even Kyoto along the Tokaido, giving Edo and Kyoto a false sense of security in this famine era.
Unprecedented prosperity. However, due to the tight financial situation in the market, the Beihai merchants currently only received a thick stack of gold bars, silver bars and other paper bills, and not many metal currencies.
Relying on the "Samurai Debt Relief Plan" proposed by the North Sea Company, the lives of the samurai families in Sendai Domain are now much better. Originally, Zhao Xin wanted to use part of the profits of the North Sea Company to help the samurai pay off their debts, but no one could do it these days.
Not stupid; it was the samurai who were in charge of finance in the domain who woke up first, and together they found the boss of Murataya.
A group of people came up and first expressed their gratitude, and then said that since you are going to help us pay off the debt, can you not pay it back yet and count this part of the money as my personal investment in Beihai Company? Don't worry, we only need to pay dividends.
, I will never interfere in the business operation of the company.
"Don't worry, we will keep this matter a secret. I won't tell anyone else!"
Bah! Who are you trying to fool with these words? In these days, warriors from all families are marrying each other, breaking bones and connecting tendons. No one is an ordinary person.
In the years of famine, when the market was depressed and food prices soared, the samurai were suffocated by debts. Every time they received their salary, they would first repay old debts, and then borrow new ones, the higher the debt, the higher the debt. No matter how ambitious you are,
, it cannot be used as food; not to mention that there is a large family behind him that needs to be fed.
Originally, many warriors were unwilling to join because Tang Yi was behind the Beihai Company. But when the news that Tang Yi's leader was a descendant of King Zhu Ming and Zhao faintly spread, the warriors immediately found a way out.
Oops! It turns out that they are the descendants of Emperor Da Ming, and they are all one family! Why didn't you tell me earlier? You see what happened. Well, since it is His Highness King Zhao's business, then I will take a share!
What are you talking about? My boss died in the battle in Matsushima Town? Oh, it was all a misunderstanding! Since I bumped into His Highness King Zhao, I should be punished. Besides, I am the one who inherits the family business now.
So in the spring of this year, most of the Sendai Domain samurai became dividend shareholders of the Hokkai Company; in the end even family elder Fumi Ishikawa bought shares in the name of a relative.
Ishikawa Murafumi's visit to Zhao Xin this time was actually entrusted by various families. In addition to testing Beihai Town's next move towards the island country, he also wanted to explore in-depth cooperation with Beihai Town.
"His Royal Highness King Zhao, I am here to meet you this time to reassure you. The Date family has no ambitions towards the Ezo Territory. Our sending troops to join the expedition team was ordered by the general and we have to obey."
At this time, the water in the soup pot was almost boiling. When Shibata Kakuzo heard the sound, he used a thick cotton cloth to cushion it and poured the hot water into the teapot where the tea leaves had been placed. There was a faint smell.
The aroma of tea that resembled orchids but not orchids rose up. Ishikawa Murafumi sniffed his nose and exclaimed: "It is indeed the world-famous Longjing tea."
The tea was brought by Zhao Xin, who did not want to drink Japanese matcha. The way to drink tea today is "sencha". This way of drinking tea that is different from the traditional tea ceremony was invented by the eminent monk Yin of the Linji Sect in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty.
It was brought to the island country by Master Genzen and has become popular among literati since the early Edo period. This way of drinking tea is free and casual. Unlike the traditional tea ceremony, you are not allowed to speak while making tea or even drinking tea.
Zhao Xin took out a small light blue package from his pocket. Under the surprised gazes of the two people in the room, he tore open the package and pulled out a white wet wipe that exuded a pungent alcohol smell.
Ishikawa Murafumi and Shibata Kakuzo wrinkled their noses, not knowing what the other party meant. Zhao Xin picked up the empty cup in front of him, wiped the inside and outside of the cup with the white wet towel, and then smiled with satisfaction.
Zhao Xin held the tea cup, pretending to admire it, and then looked at the other party and asked: "Your Excellency Ishikawa, I heard that the Prime Minister Kunigong (the nickname of Tokugawa Ieharu) was poisoned to death by the Hitotsubashi faction?"
"Ahem!" Ishikawa Murafumi almost choked on his tea, his face flushed red, thinking that the news had just spread from Edo, and the person in front of him knew it so quickly!
Shibata Kakuzo poured tea for Zhao Xin and then said: "His Highness is really well-informed! There is such a theory, but this kind of thing without evidence cannot be brought to the table."
"What do you think of the newly succeeded child?" Zhao Xin continued to ask, staring at Ishikawa Murafumi.
"This! This is really not something that we vassals can discuss." Ishikawamura Bunshin asked why this man was staring at the general.
The leader of the spy, Shibata Kakuzo, said: "I know a little bit. I heard that in addition to being busy deciding on the candidate for the new boss, the general is now thinking about how to give birth to his biological father, Sakonoe of the Hitotsubashi family.
Lieutenant General Quan, please treat me like a royal palace."
Ishikawa Murafumi continued: "Your Highness, I heard Mr. Shibata mention that the short muskets in Beihai Town can shoot out several projectiles in an instant without ignition, or there may be elbow-lock changes. I hope to buy some."
Zhao Xin seemed not to have heard anything and continued to drink tea with his head lowered. When Ishikawa Murafumi saw it, he quickly winked at Shibata Kakuzo. Shibata Kakuzo put the teapot back on the tray and said slowly: "Your Highness, Ishikawa-sama is also because of the head of the family.
We are in a difficult situation in Edo, so I make this request. I hope Your Highness will grant it."
"Oh? Did Lieutenant General Sakonoe Gon have a bad time in Edo?"
Shibata Kakuzo sighed and said: "It's not just unsatisfactory, it's simply dangerous."
Through Shibata's narration, Zhao Xin finally understood that the 44-year-old Date Shigemura had been assassinated several times in Edo. Who among the feudal clans in the island country hates the Sendai clan the most is the one who committed suicide and apologized to the Toda clan.
family, followed by the Saga Domain who was defeated in Nagasaki.
We were killed, wounded and punished, and your Ida family secretly colluded with Tang Yi and lived a happy life. Is this even justified?
So the Toda family met with the retainers under the Saga Domain to discuss it, and both parties coincided with each other and decided to perform "天の Punishment on behalf of others", which means to destroy you on behalf of the moon!
Don’t forget, Saga is the place where ninjas are born, and assassination is their specialty. Although the ninjas of Hizen are not as famous as the ninjas of Koga and Iga in history, they have not been in vain for hundreds of years. They have been involved in it several times.
After being harassed and assassinated, Date Shigemura became mentally ill and had to be surrounded by a circle of guards outside her bedroom every day before she could sleep.
The problem is that ninjas are not so easy to catch. These people usually look like farmers and live the lives of farmers. They have been hiding for several years or even more than ten years. There is no such thing as a lair.
As for the shogunate, ever since the Tokugawa family killed their eldest son, the old man has been very ill and has no mind to care about other bad things. The old Nakatanuma Yoshiji even lost his son the year before last and was very depressed.
The shogunate didn't care, and the other feudal lords were happy to watch the fun with a cold eye.
It goes without saying that the Sendai Domain has attracted jealousy in just one or two days, and it goes without saying that the Sendai Domain has been showing off when it comes to duty. Since the third year of Tenmei, all the feudal lords have tightened their belts and lived a hard life, but since the Sendai Domain and the Tang Dynasty
After I got online, my life was getting better day by day. Why didn't you call us for such a good thing? Do you think everyone in the Ida family is blind?
After listening to Shibata Kakuzo's explanation, Zhao Xin pondered for a while before nodding and said: "The short guns can be provided. I will give you twenty, with thirty rounds of bullets each. But I have two conditions."
Ishikawa Murafumi's face was filled with joy. Now not only Date Shigemura's, but also his own safety was guaranteed. He quickly said: "Your Highness, please speak."
Only Zhao Xin said slowly: "There is a six-year-old child in Kamihiragi Village, Tsukuba County, Hitachi Province. His father's name is Shobei. You bring his family here."
Ishikawa Murafumi and Shibata Kakuzo looked at each other and thought to themselves, that's it. Although Hitachi belonged to the Mito Domain, it was not easy to capture a farmer.
"The second thing?" Shibata Kakuzo couldn't help but ask.
"Sendai Domain has sent out five hundred elite soldiers and fifty domain men who can write and count. They will leave the domain and pledge allegiance to Beihai Town. Pay attention! I don't want any civilians!"
"This!" Ishikawa Village's hand trembled, and he accidentally dropped the tea cup on the mat. In the past, he was doing business and reselling a few things, which was inhumane. Ishikawa felt that this was a way for the feudal clan to save itself during the famine years. But now the other party actually asked
Sendai Domain joins the party!
Zhao Xin has made up his mind, the Sendai clan will give it this time, if not, then you will be beaten on your knees and give it. There is no free benefit in the world. If you eat from Beihai Town, you have to pay it back twice as much today.
Seeing the two men falling into silence, Zhao Xin sneered: "According to the military service system of the shogunate, 2,155 troops are required for every 10,000 koku. Your Sendai clan is 620,000 koku on the surface, but it is over a million koku secretly. It is only a few hundred
Is this difficult for people?!”
Fumi Ishikawa held his fan tightly and thought to himself, can samurai and civilians be the same? What a big mouth, there are five hundred and fifty samurai! According to the regulations of the shogunate during the Kan'ei period, 13 soldiers must be sent for every five hundred koshi.
; This is not a condition, it is simply trying to dig into the hearts of the Sendai clan!
Zhao Xin continued: "I will form a Qingye Battalion with these five hundred people. If we drive out the Tartars and recover China in the future, your Sendai people will naturally have a share of the credit in the history books."
Shibata Kakuzo said quickly: "His Royal Highness King Zhao, if the shogunate finds out about such a big thing, our Sendai clan will be in big trouble!"
"Hmph~" Zhao Xin smiled disdainfully. "What's the trouble? Will the shogunate send troops? Think about it, can the Mikawa samurai of today compare with those of the past?"
Yes, the world has been at peace for nearly 200 years, and today's Mikawa samurai have long lost the bravery of the past. What everyone cares about every day now is how to fill their stomachs, raise goldfish, grow flowers, and then sell them on the market to make money to support their families.
Who wants to learn the art of war?
But the problem is that the samurai of Sendai Domain also have the same virtues. Many of them even sold their armor!
As far as Shibata Kakuzo knows, many lower-level samurai in the domain are currently very weak and skinny because they have not had enough to eat for a long time. Even if they hold long spears and line up in square formations, they will be exhausted to death. This is the moral standard for fighting. Orders
As soon as it rings, there will be chaos.
After a long while, Ishikawa Murafumi said with difficulty: "This matter, I need to report it to the head of the family before I can decide."
"Report? Haha, Lord Ishikawa, your Sendai clan has a different system from other clans. You don't need to discuss this matter with Lieutenant General Sakonoe Quan. You senior retainers can decide on your own."
It is said that the bureaucracy of the Sendai Domain is slightly different from that of other feudal clans. In other feudal domains, the feudal lord allocates land to the feudal lords for management, and distributes salaries to the feudal lords. The feudal lords pay all taxes collected.
The feudal lords of the Sendai Domain do not have to turn over all the taxes collected. At the same time, the feudal lords can also have certain judicial powers in their territories. There are many retainers such as 30,000 koku and 20,000 koku daimyo-level territory owners, so they can also be mobilized.
to have more troops than the feudal lord.
For example, the Tsunoda Ishikawa family owned 21,000 koku, and the Tamura family owned 30,000 koku.
There are seven levels of upper-level retainers in the Sendai Domain, i.e., 1 family, 1 clan, quasi-family, zuza, tachishang, and daiban; lower-level samurai are called tsushi.
A hundred years ago, after the fourth generation of the feudal lord, Date Tsunamura Moto, took over, he reflected on the reasons for the "Kanbun Rebellion" and removed important ministers and members of the clan from the first level of the feudal administration in an attempt to strengthen the power of the feudal lord. However, this failed
Encountering strong dissatisfaction with important ministers and members of the clan, Tsunamura was forced to retire. Subsequent generations of family heads wanted to solve this problem, but the domain has been in deep financial crisis, and the situation exploded whenever this issue was mentioned.
Ishikawa Murafumi looked at Shibata Kakuzo fiercely, while the other party looked at him with an innocent face, which clearly meant that this was not what I said.
"In this case, I need to go back to Aoba City to discuss with everyone before making a decision." Ishikawa Murafumi said through gritted teeth.
"I'll give you ten days. After I come back from Edo, I want to see someone! Let me remind you, don't look for some ronin to be promoted, just to make up for it. If you really want me to find out, you should move from Aoye Castle.
."
"Moving, what do you mean by this, Your Highness?"
"Guess?" After Zhao Xin finished speaking, he put down the teacup and showed a strange smile.
The Date Riots were one of the three major riots in the Edo period. The third generation of the feudal lord, Date Tsunamune, behaved absurdly, and the chief senior officer, Sakai Tadakiyo, even proposed to the general a plan to divide the Sendai Domain as punishment. The Sendai Domain's various practices and sects
After everyone learned the news, they immediately discussed countermeasures. In the end, Tsunazune retired and his youngest son, Date Tsunamura, succeeded him as the feudal lord. Since Date Tsunamura was only two years old, he was unable to rule personally. This made the feudal government dependent on the adult feudal lord
The collegial system encountered a huge impact. Date Munekatsu (the tenth son of Masamune), the oldest member of the clan (relatives of the feudal lord), took over the feudal government in the name of supporting the young lord. The collegial system was somewhat abandoned due to the great chaos in Tsunazune's period.
, a gray area emerged, and other factions led by Date Aki Mamoru and one sect were unable to check and balance for a while. During this period, there was an incident in which Date Tsunamura was nearly assassinated, and the Sokatsu faction and the Aki faction blamed each other, and even more
The problem worsened. In the 10th year of Kanbun (1670), Aki went to Edo to seek assistance from the shogunate, and complained to the chief laochu Sakai Tadakichi about Sokatsu's evil deeds. The shogunate immediately launched an investigation. The mid-term investigation at that time revealed that the Aki faction
It was beneficial, and asked Sokatsu to go to Edo for an investigation. Seeing this, Sokatsu sent Kai Harada to Edo to kill Aki. Later, Kai was also killed by Sakai's retainers. The shogunate was very angry about this, and the Sendai clan was facing
There was a possibility of being changed, but the shogunate only punished the incident lightly. Sokatsu and his clan were exiled, Kai's son and his entire clan were executed, and the ten-year Date riot finally stopped.