Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 272 Grinding the Sendai Domain

In a large mansion in Ishinomaki Port, Jiu Zang and a dozen men with live ammunition were closely watching the surrounding movement.Opposite them, seven or eight warriors wearing bamboo leather hats were motionless. Their hands were always pressed on the handles of their waists, their tense foreheads were slightly sweating, and they dared not breathe.

This is the house of the boss of Murata House. The yard is full of yellow and white chrysanthemums, occasionally showing a few pink ones.

In the tea room in this courtyard, Zhao Xin sat on the honored guest seat on the east side, Mebuke Shibata Kakzo of the Sendai Domain sat at the entrance on the southwest side; A year old guy with slender eyebrows and a fair complexion.This person was dressed in casual clothes, and under the introduction of Shibata Juezang, he saluted Zhao Xin respectfully.

"His Royal Highness Zhao Wang, this is the elder of a writing family in this domain, the ninth generation head of the Kakuda Ishikawa family, His Excellency Ishikawa Village Wen."

"I am here in Xia Shichuan Village, this time I am only representing myself, and I am paying my respects to His Royal Highness King Zhao."

"I have heard about the great name for a long time, and it is my honor to meet Mr. Ishikawa today." Zhao Xin also bowed slightly, with a smile on his face.

Looking at the opposite guy who resigned because he was addicted to sex and pleasure more than ten years later, regardless of the financial difficulties in the domain, Zhao Xinxin said that it is good to indulge in sex and wine, continue
After nearly two years, when the news of Zhao Xin's return reached Qingye City, it caused a commotion inside Date's house.

Relying on what Heita revealed to Shibata Kakuzo before, coupled with the news from North Korea, Zhao Xin at this time is no longer the tyrannical and rude person he was when he signed the "Ishinomaki Secret Treaty" two years ago in the eyes of the Sendai Fan The leader of Tang Yi, who defeated the Qing army twice and the shogunate twice, is the "Queen of Zhao Wang of the former Ming Dynasty".

In the face of a powerful army in his hands, who is very likely to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and rule the world, the Date family will not dare to put on airs no matter how crazy they are; It's just the lieutenant general of the left guard right.

The old fox Endo Shouxin still failed to eat this year's new rice and passed away in May.Zhao Xin listened to Shibata Kakzo's description as a sudden myocardial infarction.And after a private discussion among the disciples in Qingye City, Ishikawa Cunfumi decided to go out in person.

Without him, Beihai Town is now too important to the finances of the Sendai Clan.

Relying on the close cooperation with the Beihai firm, since the second half of the seventh year of Tianming (the 49th year of Qianlong), no samurai or civilians in the Sendai domain were starved to death, and no petitions erupted.

Those refugees who flocked to Aoba City and Ishinomaki Port from all over the world to survive were not only taken away by Beihai Town, but also Denzo Katsuyama and the boss of Murada House secretly transported thousands of people to mine coal in Ezo.

A large amount of rice, silk, sugar, cigarettes, matches, and even candles landed from Ishinomaki Port, and flowed into the markets of Edo, Osaka, and even Kyoto along the Tokaido, making Edo and Kyoto appear in this famine year. Unprecedented prosperity.However, due to the shortage of funds in the market, what the Beihai firm currently gets is only a thick stack of paper bills such as gold and silver, and not many metal coins.

Relying on the "Samurai Debt Relief Plan" proposed by the Beihai Company, the life of the samurai in the Sendai Domain is much easier now.Originally, Zhao Xin wanted to use part of the profits of the Beihai firm to help the warriors pay off their debts, but no one is stupid these days; the first few warriors in charge of finance in the feudal clan woke up first, and together they found Murata House. boss.

A group of people came up with a word of gratitude at first, and then said that since you plan to contribute money to help us pay off the debt, can you not pay it first, and count this part of the money as the shares I personally invested in Beihai Company?Rest assured, as long as we pay dividends, we will never intervene in the operation of the firm.

"Don't worry, we will keep this matter a secret. I won't tell ordinary people!"

Pooh!Who will take this word!In these years, warriors from various families are all married to each other, breaking bones and connecting tendons, no one is an ordinary person.

During the famine years, the market was sluggish, food prices were high, and the samurai were suffocated by the debts; each time the salary was paid, the old debts were first repaid, and then new debts were borrowed, which became higher and higher.No matter how ambitious you are, you can't eat it; what's more, there is a big family behind you who needs to support you.

Originally, many samurai were reluctant to join because Tang Yi was behind the Beihai firm.But when the news that Tang Yi's chieftain was the descendant of Zhu Ming Zhao Wang faintly spread, the warriors immediately found themselves a step down.

oops!It turns out that they are descendants of Da Mingzi, they are all a family!Why didn't you say it earlier?You see what happened.Well, since it's His Royal Highness Zhao's business, I'll take a share!

What are you talking about?My boss died in the battle in Matsushima Town?Oops, that was all a misunderstanding!Since he offended His Royal Highness King Zhao, Xiao Shi should be punished.Besides, I'm the heir to the family business now.
So in the spring of this year, most of the Sendai samurai became the dividend shareholders of the Beihai firm; in the end, even the old Ishikawa Murumi paid for the shares in the name of relatives.

Ishikawa Cunwen'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 discuss in-depth cooperation with Beihai Town.

"His Royal Highness Zhao Wang, I came to meet you this time to reassure you. The Date family has no ambitions for Ezo. We sent troops to participate in the crusade because it was ordered by the general, and we had to obey."

At this time, the water in the soup pot was about to boil. When Shibata Juezou heard the sound was about the same, he used a piece of thick cotton cloth to cushion it, and poured hot water into the Jixu (teapot) where the tea leaves had been placed.A faint fragrance of tea like Lanfeilan rose up, Ishikawa Cunwen sniffed his nose and exclaimed: "It is indeed the world-famous Longjing tea."

The tea was brought by Zhao Xin. He didn't want to drink Japanese-style matcha.The way of drinking tea today is "sencha", which is different from the traditional way of drinking tea. It was brought to the island country by Zen Master Yinyuan, an eminent monk of the Linji sect in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. It has been popular among literati since the early Edo period. Come.This way of drinking tea is free and casual, unlike the traditional tea ceremony, where people 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 eyes of the two people in the room, he tore open the package and took out a white wet wipe that exuded a pungent alcohol smell.

Fumi Ishikawa and Kakuzo Shibata wrinkled their noses, not knowing what each other meant.Zhao Xin picked up the empty cup in front of him and wiped the teacup inside and out with the white wet towel, then he smiled with satisfaction.

Zhao Xin held the teacup, pretending to be appreciative, and then looked at the other person and asked, "Your Excellency Ishikawa, I heard that Grand Minister Kuni-kun (name of Ieji Tokugawa) was poisoned to death by Hitotsubashi?"

"Ahem!" Ishikawa Cunwen almost choked on the tea, his face was flushed, and he thought that the news had just spread from Edo, and the person in front of him knew it so quickly!

Chai Tian Jue Zang poured tea for Zhao Xin, and then said: "Your Highness's news is really well-informed! There is such a saying in the market, but such a thing without evidence cannot be put on the table."

"What do you think of the newly succeeded child?" Zhao Xin continued to ask, staring at Ishikawa Cunwen.

"This! This is really not something we vassals can talk about." Wenxin Ishikawa said, why is this guy so obsessed with the general?

The head of the spy, Shibata Juezou, said: "I do know a little bit. I heard that in addition to being busy deciding on candidates for the new senior high school recently, Mr. General is currently thinking about how to give to his biological father, the left guard of the Hitohashi family. Lieutenant General Quan, get the treatment of a big imperial palace."

Ishikawa Cunwen continued: "Your Highness, I heard His Excellency Shibata mentioned that the short muskets in Beihai Town can shoot several bullets in an instant without ignition, or there may be elbow changes. I hope to buy some."

Zhao Xin continued to drink tea with his head bowed as if he didn't hear it.Ishikawa Cunwen saw it, and quickly winked at Shibata Kakuzo, Shibata Kakuzo put the teapot back on the tray, and said slowly: "Your Highness, Master Ishikawa also made this request because the owner of the family is in a difficult situation in Edo. Your Highness agrees."

"Oh? Did Lieutenant General Zuo Konoe go well in Edo?"

Shibata Juezang sighed and said, "It's not just that it's not going well, 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.If you want to say who among the feudal clans of the island country hates the Sendai clan the most, the Meng family of the Toda clan who committed suicide and apologized is the first, followed by the Saga clan who was defeated in Nagasaki.

We were killed and injured everywhere and punished, and your Yida family secretly colluded with Tang Yi, and lived a happy life, is there any reason for this!

So the Toda family approached the retainers under the Saga clan to discuss it, and the two sides agreed by coincidence, and decided to come up with a "Tian の Zhu Fu の Acting", which means to destroy you on behalf of the moon!

Don't forget, Saga is a place where ninjas are produced, and assassination is what they do.Although Hizen's ninjas are not as famous as the Koga and Iga ninjas in history, they have not been in vain for hundreds of years.After several times of harassment and assassination, Date Shigemura was almost insane. Every day, he had to surround the bedroom with a circle of guards to sleep.

The problem is that ninjas are not so easy to catch. These people usually look like peasants and live the life of peasants. They lurk for several years or even ten years at a time.

As for the shogunate, ever since the Tokugawa family killed the eldest son, the old man has been suffering from illness, and has no intention of caring about other bad things at all; the old Nakata Numai died of his son the year before last, and he was disheartened.The shogunate didn't care about it, and the other big names of the feudal lords just watched the fun with a cold eye.

It's not a day or two to say that the Sendai Clan attracts people's jealousy, and it goes without saying that Shen Qin confessed to being stinky and showing off.Since Tianming three years ago, the big names of all feudal clans have been tightening their belts to live a hard life, but since the Xiantai clan got online with Tang Yi, their small life is getting better and better every day.Why doesn't such a good thing call us?Is everyone in your Ida family blind?

After listening to Shibata Juezang's explanation, Zhao Xin pondered for a while before nodding his head and said: "Short guns can be provided. I will give you twenty of them, and each bullet has thirty rounds. But I have two conditions."

Ishikawa Cunwen looked happy, not only Date Shigemura, but also his own safety was guaranteed.He hurriedly said: "Your Highness, please tell me."

Only Zhao Xin said slowly: "There is a six-year-old child in Shangpingliu Village, Tsukuba County, Changlu Country. His father is Zhuang Bingwei. You bring his family here."

Fumura Ishikawa and Kakuzo Shibata looked at each other, thinking that this is it?Although Hitachi belonged to the Mito Domain, it was not easy to capture a farmer.

"The second thing?" Shibata Kakuzo couldn't help asking.

"Five hundred elite soldiers from the Sendai domain, fifty feudal men who can write and count, leave the domain to serve Beihai Town. Be careful! I don't want any husbands!"

"This!" Ishikawa Cunwen's hands trembled, and the teacup dropped on the mat.In the past, when doing business, reselling something filthy and inhuman, Ishikawa felt that this was the self-help of the famine during the famine.But now the other party actually asks the Sendai clan to join the gang!

Zhao Xin has already made up his mind that the Sendai Fan has to give it this time, if he doesn't give it, he will beat you on his knees.There is no such thing as taking something for nothing in this world. If you eat something from Beihai Town, you will have to pay back twice as much today.

Seeing the two fell silent, Zhao Xin sneered and said: "According to the military service system of the shogunate, 2155 soldiers are required for every ten thousand shi. Your Sendai clan is 62 shi high on the surface, but millions of shi in the dark, and only a few hundred people are enough. Stumped?!"

Ishikawa Cunwen held his fan tightly, thinking to himself, can samurai and civilian husbands be the same?You open your mouth, 550 warriors!According to the regulations of the shogunate during the Kanei period, 13 soldiers were dispatched for every [-] shi;

Zhao Xin continued: "I will form a Green Leaf Camp with these 500 people. If the Tartars are expelled and China is restored in the future, the history books will naturally have your contribution from the people of Sendai."

Shibata Juezang hurriedly said: "Your Highness King Zhao, if the shogunate finds out about such a big matter, our Sendai clan will be in big trouble!"

"Hmph~" Zhao Xin smiled disdainfully. "What's the trouble? Is the shogunate sending troops? Think about it, you two, can today's Mihe warriors be compared to those of the past?"

That's right, the world has been peaceful for nearly two hundred years, and the current Sanhe warriors have long since lost their bravery.What everyone cares about every day is how to fill their stomachs, raise goldfish to grow flowers, and then sell them in 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 the Sendai domain also have the same virtue. Many people even sold their armor!

As far as Shibata Kakuzo knew, many low-level warriors in the feudal clan were weak, sallow and emaciated due to long-term lack of food.As far as this virtue is concerned, if there is a war, the order will be messed up.

After a while, Ishikawa Cunwen said with difficulty: "This matter, I need to report this matter to the Patriarch before I can decide."

"Report? Hehe, Your Excellency Ishikawa, the system of your Sendai domain is different from that of other domains. You don't need to discuss this matter with Lieutenant General Zuo Jinwei. You senior retainers can decide on your own."

It is said that the bureaucratic system of Sendai Fan is slightly different from that of other Fan.Most of the other vassals were entrusted by the lords of the vassals for the management of the vassals, and paid salaries to the vassals, and the vassals turned over all the taxes they collected.

However, the vassals of the Sendai Domain do not have to hand over all the taxes they collect, and at the same time, the vassals can also have certain judicial powers in their territories.Among the retainers, there are many daimyo-level domain owners of 3 shi and 2 shi, so they can also mobilize more troops than the feudal lord.

For example, the Kakuda Ishikawa family owns [-] shi, and the Tamura family has as much as [-] shi.

There are seven levels of high-level retainers in the Sendai domain, one family, one family, one family, quasi-family, Zuo, Taidao, and Dafan; the lower-level samurai are called group warriors.

100 years ago, after the fourth-generation feudal lord Date Tsunamura took over, he reflected on the reasons for the "Kanbun Rebellion" and removed important ministers and a family from the first level of the feudal regime in an attempt to strengthen the power of the feudal lord. He received strong dissatisfaction from important ministers and a group of disciples, which led to Gangmura being forced to retire.After that, the successive patriarchs all wanted to solve this problem, but the family has been in deep financial crisis, and they would be bombarded when this matter was mentioned.

Ishikawa Cunwen looked at Shibata Kakuzo viciously, while the other party looked at him innocently, which clearly meant that I did not say this.

"In this case, I need to go back to Qingye City to discuss with each family before making a decision." Ishikawa Murakami said through gritted teeth.

"I'll give you ten days. When I come back from Edo, I want to meet someone! Just to remind you, don't look for some ronin to promote and make up for it. If I really want to find out, you all move from Aoba City." .”

"Moving, what do you mean by your Highness?"

"Guess?" Zhao Xin put down his teacup after finishing speaking, showing a weird smile.

　The Date riot, one of the three major riots of the Edo period.The third-generation feudal lord Date Tsunamune's behavior was absurd, and the chief elder Naka Sakai Tadakiyo even proposed to the general a plan to divide the Sendai feudal domain as punishment.After hearing the news, the various officials and members of the Sendai domain immediately discussed countermeasures, and finally Tsunamune retired, and his youngest son Date Tsunamura succeeded him as the feudal lord.Since Date Tsuna was only two years old and could not take charge of the government at all, this had a great impact on the collegiate system of feudal lords that relied mainly on adult feudal lords. ) monopolizes the vassal government in the name of assisting the young lord. Since the collegiate system was abandoned due to the chaos in the Tsunamune period, a gray area has appeared.During this period, Date Tsuna was nearly assassinated, and the Zongsheng faction and the Anyi faction blamed each other, which aggravated the problem.In the tenth year of Kanbun (1670), Aki went to Edo to seek the assistance of the shogunate, and accused Zongsheng of Zongsheng's evil deeds to the chief old Nakakai Tadakiyo, and the shogunate immediately launched an investigation. Katsura went to Edo for an investigation. Seeing this, Zong Sheng sent Harada Kai to Edo to behead Aki, and then Kai was also beheaded by Sakai’s retainers. The shogunate was very angry about this, and the Sendai Domain was facing the possibility of being changed. But the shogunate only lightly punished the matter. Zongsheng and his family were all exiled, and Kai's son and the whole family were all executed. The ten-year Date riot finally stopped.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)