A samurai who doesn't want to be a daimyo is not a good onmyoji

Chapter 222 Gifts and Lies
In the days that followed, as the Second Battle of the Nagara River and the result of the Asai Army's victory over the Yoshitsune Army spread widely, the information that Saito Yoshitsune had killed monsters was also spread further and further.

Then the Asai family and the Oda family also issued statements one after another, claiming that Saito Yoshiryu had been controlled by monsters. If ignored, Mino would eventually become a nest of monsters.

This is something they absolutely cannot tolerate, so they will assist Dao San's son to regain the land belonging to their Saito family and defeat all the monster armies controlled by Yilong.

Since Asai's family has Saito Toshioharu, the last son of Douzan, and Douzan's final instructions, and Nagamasa Asai himself is also Yoshitsune's brother-in-law, they have enough reason to march into Mino to defeat the monsters that control Yisryu and fight for justice. Ryu and Dosan seek revenge.

As for Axiu, Yilong's compatriot sister, after asking Axiu for her opinion, Asai Nagamasa ultimately did not make it public.

Because Axiu doesn't like to be too famous, and she can almost be said to have no desires. Whether it is gold, silver, land, or the so-called identity of Meinong's heir, she doesn't care at all.

As a close comrade and friend, Asai Nagamasa naturally chose to follow A Xiu's wishes. Even though he knew that if the news was announced, the Asai family would have more advantages in the next thing, but he still Didn't do that.

This made Numata Yumitsu and others who knew the inside story sigh, but they did not give any advice, because this was His Highness's decision, and they would only choose to comply.

In comparison, the Oda family is not inferior. In addition to Saito Toshiyao, the sixth son of Dou San, they also have the "Mino State Certificate" written by Dou San himself. Oda Nobunaga claimed that Dou San has transferred Mei Nong Yiguo gave him this son-in-law.

However, in private, Oda Nobunaga wrote many times to communicate with Asai Nagamasa, claiming that if the two families became in-laws, for the sake of peace between the two families, each would take half of Mino Country.

As the strength of Asai Nagamasa and the entire Asai family continues to expand, he no longer has the arrogance he had when they met at Qingsu Castle.

Asai Nagamasa naturally agreed wholeheartedly, not for Aichi's beauty, but for the strength of Nobunaga and Owari.

According to the explanation given by the ghost girl Momiji, Saito Yoshiryu was not the first bad result of Guoxin layman, nor was he the only one.

The Sakura Dryad, Hashihime, and Flame Tiger in the Thirteen Sakura Village were all created by him, and he also arranged them in Suruga.

Although the methods are different, and even the ghost girl Momiji does not know the full extent of his plan, it is certain that Guoxin Jushi is using Imagawa Yoshimoto to collect blood and souls for him, and he is obviously preparing to play a big game.

In this case, the power of Oda Nobunaga and Owari is necessary. Even if Imagawa Yoshimoto and Yoshiryu can create monsters, there is more than one person with a guardian spirit in Qingzhou City!
It's just that he had some doubts. Before Dōsan died, he said that he only gave Nobunaga half a Meinong, but now Nobunaga said that he gave him a whole Meinong. This was a bit unfair.

Was that the last lie of "Mino Viper", or was Nobunaga lying?
But he quickly put this little question aside, because no matter who lied, it didn't matter anymore. Now he and the Oda family had a sufficient excuse to march into Mino.

As for how much gains the two sides can gain in the end, it still depends on each other's strength. After all, even after the defeat of Nagara River, Saito Yoshiryu and the many samurai nobles of Mino still have a considerable degree of power!

As the news continued to spread, all the surrounding forces were shocked.

As monsters appear more and more frequently in various parts of Nibon, many merchants and travelers have been attacked. Some small villages have begun to be frequently plundered by monsters. There are even cases where entire villages in remote mountain villages have been massacred.

This has made many wise people see that the whole of Nibon seems to be facing a great turmoil, but this is the first time that a famous person has turned into a monster and it has been made public like this!
If it was just Oda Nobunaga who issued a statement, they might be able to ignore it. After all, Oda Nobunaga was known as the "Owari fool" before, and no one would be surprised by anything he said.

It wasn't until he had recently unified the Oda family that he slowly began to make other people change their minds. However, it was not possible to freeze three feet in a day, and other forces still had a lot of doubts about him.

But when Onmyoji Asai Nagamasa also announced this at the same time, then they had to really take it seriously!

The Saito family controls almost the entire Mino, but Ishigao owns nearly 50 koku. However, in the face of monsters, Saito Yoshiryu is not much better than those farmers who were massacred. He turned into a monster!
In contrast, during this period, the lord of Narumi Castle, Yamaguchi Kyouyoshi, and his son, Yamaguchi Kyouyoshi, were ordered to commit seppuku by Imagawa Yoshimoto because they were suspected of being liaisons with the Oda family. Their retainers, who had been following Dosan before, even participated in It was very unusual for Inoko, who had fought the last battle of the Nagara River, to serve as an official in the Asai family.

As the news continued to spread, other families gradually began to intervene. Various rumors spread in Mino. After the defeat in the Battle of Nagara River, they encountered this situation again. The Saito family was panicked for a while. Many retainers have their own thoughts.

Even though the Asai family has extended its hand into Mino and effectively occupied Sagiyama Castle and a large area of ​​land nearby, Saito Yoshiryu was unable to start a new war for a while.

And it can be expected that there will probably be no major wars this year, because if it continues, it will be almost winter.

Naturally, Asai Nagamasa would not mobilize troops under such circumstances. There was no need to fight at all. A heavy snowfall might reduce the number of troops by several percent. The same was true for Saito Yoshiryu.

Although Yilong can create and control monsters, dozens or hundreds of monsters cannot change the overall situation.

On the one hand, Asai Nagamasa continued to send Kato Danzo and the newly defected Iga ninja to detect the movements of Yilong. On the other hand, he further improved the defense of Sagiyama Castle and transported a large amount of supplies, preparing to use it as a bridgehead before gradually advancing. Merion.

As for the soldiers stationed in Lushan City, there were actually only 2000 people. This small city could not accommodate too many people. The remaining soldiers and prisoners returned to Kitaomi together.

The injured soldiers need to recuperate, and the captured prisoners are also of great use. The sewer system on Tokichiro's side has basically been completed, but the canal from Lake Biwa to Kotani Castle still requires a lot of manpower and material resources to complete.

Of course, with Asai Nagamasa's current strength, he can handle this matter on his own, but there is no need for it, because the process of laboring for these captives is also a process of transformation.

It is no exaggeration to say that when they are working, whether it is food, shelter, or other aspects, it is definitely much better than when they are ashigaru in the Saito family.

After the transformation is completed, they will enthusiastically sign up to join the army without any coercion!

During this period, the Asakura family, Kofukuji Temple, Tennojiya, Zaga Castle, Izumo Shrine, etc. who were friends with him also sent envoys to congratulate them, or directly sent a large number of gifts. Zaga Castle even simply sent Another hundred Zahezhong who were good at iron cannons were sent to help in the battle.

Even Terutora Uesugi sent an envoy, claiming that her Uesugi family strongly agreed with Asai Nagamasa's approach and supported Saito Toshiharu's succession to Mino.

Saito Yoshiryu killed his own father and drove monsters, which is really unacceptable. If her Uesugi family was not currently at war with the Takeda family, she would definitely send troops to attack the Saito family together.

If someone else said this, he could basically assume that the other party was just being polite. After all, except for Asai, Oda and the Imagawa family, other forces were either out of reach or weak, and unlikely to get involved in the troubled waters here in Mino. .

But if it was Terutora Uesugi who was speaking, it would be completely different.

She led the Uesugi family to fight against the famous Hojo family and Takeda family in Kanto. It was not for her own benefit, but simply because a bunch of small forces who were bullied at the beginning asked her for help and asked her to deliver justice. !

If she really has any pursuits and goals, maybe they are morality and justice!
Unfortunately, in the chaotic Warring States Period, this kind of thing was too precious.

But the love cannot be ignored. Asai Nagamasa naturally expressed his gratitude for Saito Roshi and invited him to come to Kotani Castle as a guest when he had time. He was very fond of the mysterious guardian spirit of the other party and herself. of interest.

Excluding Teru Uesugi's goodwill, among all the gifts, apart from Zahezhong, the most valuable ones are those from the Agote Chamber of Commerce, because these are some real war equipment.

Perhaps at the beginning, the Agote Chamber of Commerce was just inspired by the special experience fabricated by Asai Nagamasa, his ability to use fire magic, and the fact that he was the young master of the Asai family, so they took a fancy to his many potentials and made a considerable investment. .

However, as the strength of the Asai family increased, the Agote Chamber of Commerce also showed more and more enthusiasm. Until this time, they even spent considerable effort to transport several types of heavy firepower weapons through Lake Biwa.

Asai Nagamasa also attached great importance to it. Although the road was rugged and far away, some of it stayed outside Otani Castle. This time, Endo Naomitsu personally escorted it and transported it to Sagiyama Castle.

When he arrived, Shima Sakon, Numata Yumitsu, Miyabe Tsujun and others also came to watch. It was because they had always heard of their names, but they had never really seen their faces, let alone their faces. Know the power.

But since His Highness said that they are siege weapons more powerful than iron cannons, they must be extraordinary, right?

Even the Suzuki Akane siblings came over to join in the fun. By chance, their Suzuki family's Zahe Castle also had some large-scale gunpowder weapons. Now they also want to see what the Southern Barbarians' support for the Asai family will be. To what extent!

Then they saw a behemoth that was more than three meters long, had a three-inch caliber, and was even equipped with four wheels underneath.

Everyone couldn't help but gasp. Even if they never saw it fire, just looking at its size, they knew that its power must be extremely extraordinary!

In particular, Akane Suzuki and her brother were even more surprised, because even in their Zaga Castle, there was only one cannon and several giant iron cannons - big tubes.

Those big barrels were imitated by Nippon blacksmiths for decades, because the Nanman people were completely unwilling to sell their real cannons to anyone. They stole those cannons when a Nanman ship unfortunately sank. Leaving.

But now they don't know why they made an exception. The powerful weapons in front of them are clearly the real cannons originally placed on the Nanman ships!
Then there are several cannons with the same three-inch caliber, but there are no wheels underneath, only a base, and the length is only about 1.2 meters three.

If it were normal times, others would be extremely surprised to see them appear, but after comparison, they are not so shocked.

"Haha, long time no see, Lord Asai, these are gifts from President Lilu and our Agote Chamber of Commerce."

Following this chuckle, two men who were obviously of foreign origin also walked out.

One of the black-haired ones was the mixed-race "Black-haired Fernand" from the Kingdom of Inda that Asai Nagamasa had seen before.

The other person was a thin young man. He carried an iron cannon on his back, a pistol on his waist, and a large backpack slung across his body. He didn't know what was packed in it, and the whole person looked a bit bloated.

At this moment, he was looking around, seeming to be very curious about everything here.

Compared with the black-haired Fernand next to him, he obviously had much less experience. Even if he noticed Asai Nagamasa's gaze, he just smiled very shyly and did not speak.Asai Nagamasa smiled slightly: "Please thank President Lilu for my generosity. I will definitely repay her kindness to the Agote Chamber of Commerce."

These foreigners came to Nippon just to make money and promote their beliefs, which was far less important in comparison. It happened that Asai Nagamasa didn't value money.

Although the current military expenditures of the Asai family are very huge, and the gains from the victory of the two wars and the savings of the Asai family over the past few decades may not be enough for him to squander it for a few years, but with the continuous improvement of his strength, he has found ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. That is to use the power of Huanglong to explore the earth's veins.

Whether it is copper or iron ore, it can save the Asai family a lot of money. When they make weapons, shields and armor in the future, they can save a lot of money.

If a silver or gold mine is discovered, it will be even more perfect.

So far, he has found three small iron mines and one medium-sized copper mine in the Omi area controlled by the Asai family, and has asked the Fujikiro brothers to be responsible for the exploration and later mining. Once successful, he will earn thirty-five percent per year. Qian Guan is a very easy thing. Once they become proficient, their income will only be higher.

In fact, his ability is of course more than that. He has actually found more than ten mineral veins. However, even if those zinc, lithium, manganese, mercury and other minerals are mined, Nippon's current technology tree will not be able to do so at all. Can't find a way to use them.

The only place where it might be useful is probably the coal mine, but Nippon is still far from the technology required to purify coal.

Although raw coal can be used for heating, the pollution to the environment is too serious. Once it spreads widely, I am afraid that within a few years, acid rain will be everywhere in Nippon. Asai Nagamasa is the entire Nippon. of sinners.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Asai Nagamasa is currently only exploring four types of minerals, namely gold, silver, copper, and iron.

"Hahaha, it should be, it should be. Master Asai, this time President Lilu has given you a total of two cannons and five mortars."

Although his face was a little gloomy, the black-haired Fernand smiled very heartily.

"We originally brought them from the old world and have been placing them on our warships. However, we heard that large-scale monsters and rat-men appeared in Mino Country, so President Lilu unloaded them overnight."

"As for this, this is my companion Charlie John Loschev. He is very good at operating cannons. President Lilu sent him here to help you train some professional artillerymen."

The shy young man quickly said: "Master Asai, just call me Charlie."

Although he seems shy, he is not stupid. He seems to be quite smart. I don't know if Lilu specially reminded him before.

"I see, President Lilu is really worried."

After a few polite words, Nagamasa Asai also showed a very interested look and asked the other party to personally introduce the two war instruments to him.

Upon hearing this, Charlie, who was originally very shy, suddenly became energetic: "Sir Asai, this big one is called a cannon, with a maximum range of more than 400 meters. It is the most powerful weapon on our ship, although it is not good at attacking small and flexible weapons. enemies, but if the target is a warship or a fortress, their power will never let you down."

"This kind of small type is called a mortar. They are smoothbore artillery with a large firing angle and high arc trajectory. Although the maximum range is shorter than that of a cannon, only about 300 meters, it is still not something that humans can withstand. It is the most suitable Bomb large-scale enemy forces, or those who are hiding on hillsides or behind camps."

Most of the retainers couldn't understand things like shooting angles and arcs, but they understood the last sentence very clearly. From now on, our family will take the initiative in offensive battles!
"And one more thing, the mortar can not only fire gunpowder projectiles, but also stone projectiles." Charlie then added.

Now many people are even happier, especially the smarter Shima Sakon and the military Numata Yumitsu.

They were originally worried about the source of ammunition. Although our family now maintains friendly relations with these southern barbarians, if there are any setbacks in the future, or simply the road is long and tortuous and the ammunition cannot be delivered, then won't these cannons be in vain?
But it would be great if stone bullets could be used instead. Nippon lacks everything but stones!

Everyone was happy to see them, and the black-haired Fernand was also very happy: "Sir Asai, President Lilu has been asking the craftsmen to study the manufacturing process of the large tube. Things are going very smoothly at present."

"According to our original plan, we will be able to produce large barrels in small batches in about half a year. By then we will be able to further support your battle."

Hearing this, even Asai Nagamasa seemed very happy.

The big barrel is actually the product of the giant matchlock gun. Of course, its power is not as powerful as a real cannon, but it is still far more powerful than a bow and arrow, and the most important thing is that it is easy to carry.

A cannon weighs three to five thousand kilograms, and even if it has wheels, it can't go anywhere. A mortar weighs one to two thousand kilograms, and it still has no wheels.

But the big guns are different. From the beginning, they were designed to be like iron cannons. When someone holds them and pulls the trigger to fire, they basically only weigh a few dozen kilograms.

Of course, it was soon discovered that according to the current average physical fitness of the Nippon people, it is basically impossible for ordinary ashigaru to actually hold it and shoot by themselves, and withstand their recoil, so they put them in a dedicated If it is used on a gun mount, that is another matter.

In short, if the Agote Chamber of Commerce can really produce large quantities of large barrels, that is indeed very good news.

Of course, ordinary Ashigaru cannot use them alone, but this may not be a problem for many members of the Demon Slayer Team, and with the continuous recovery of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, there will definitely be more and more samurai who can use them alone.

After saying a few words about the hard work again, Asai Nagamasa asked the two people from the Agote Chamber of Commerce to rest. He himself was going to take a look at these cannons again, and would discuss it with Miyabe Tsurujun later. Who should be trained?

Before they even walked half a circle around the cannon, Nagamasa Asai saw Akane Suzuki approaching, as if she wanted to say something to him.

"Your Highness, I also have a mortar and three large barrels that I got by chance in Zahe City. I have also learned some, and I have entered the threshold."

"If possible, can you also let me learn the artillery skills of the Southern Barbarians and then teach them to others?"

Asai Nagamasa couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard this. Although many forces in Kinki knew that there were cannons in Zaga City, what kind of cannons they were and how many there were were always kept secret.

I didn't expect that the other party would reveal this kind of information to me now. This is really...
Thinking of the other party's request, he nodded: "Okay, then you can also study together."

"In addition, judging from the current situation, Yilong will probably not launch another attack in the coming days. I will take the time to solve your problems."

In addition to waiting until spring to mobilize the army, Saito Yoshiryu will also take the opportunity to continue collecting spiritual stones to create more monsters, so he still has a lot of free time.

Of course, this is only for Suzuki Akane on the surface. Before Saito Yoshiryu actually collects the spirit stones, he will definitely take action in advance!
Although she had roughly figured out the other party's character recently, Suzuki Akane was still very happy after getting the approval. You must know that she asked her father to allow her to learn iron cannon, but it took a lot of effort.

"Yes, thank you very much, Your Highness!"

Asai Nagamasa nodded, and then suddenly reached out to a certain mechanism and inspected it carefully.

After a few breaths, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly because he found a mark there that had been deliberately smoothed out.

He immediately turned to the other cannons and conducted the same inspection. After a dozen breaths, he finally confirmed what he was thinking. He couldn't help but sneered and wiped his hands.

Suzuki Akane, who was still a little confused next to her, suddenly felt as if there was a cold breath sweeping through her, but she knew that it was just an illusion, there was no cold breath at all, it was just because His Highness Nagamasa was angry!

Although she already knew that His Highness' power far exceeded her imagination, Suzuki Akane still felt extremely shocked at this moment, because she knew that if His Highness wanted to attack her, she might not even have time to raise the consciousness to resist. He got up and was killed directly!

But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a little bit of excitement in her heart. Such a man
But less than half a breath later, the cold breath had disappeared without a trace, and Asai Nagamasa even smiled at her slightly apologetically.

He did lose his temper slightly because he noticed the deception. Although this deception did not bring any bad consequences to him. On the contrary, the help of the Agot Chamber of Commerce actually helped him a lot, but he really hated being cheated. cheat.

All the cannons of the Agote Chamber of Commerce have the same pattern in the same position. Although it has been smoothed out now, he has redrawn the original appearance in his mind. The pattern is clearly auspicious clouds and dragons.

Not the giant lizard with fleshy wings in the Western style, but the dragon from the East, just like the Yellow Dragon and the dragons from the Cathay Empire across the sea.

If these cannons were indeed brought from the distant old world as the Argot Chamber of Commerce said, then why do they have such oriental patterns on their bodies?
Is it possible that the Cathay Empire still has arsenals there?And then it happened to be sold to them?
However, according to the information he had, the Cathay Empire only occasionally sent some ships to Marienburg, the largest and most developed trading port in the old world.

They have never sent any envoys to Lilu Agote's hometown, let alone any arsenal.

Therefore, the most likely possibility is that everyone at the Agote Chamber of Commerce was carefully packaging a lie from beginning to end.

They may have the blood of the old world, they may be really good at water warfare, and the Agote Chamber of Commerce may even have existed in the southern country, but they lied about one thing.

Their goods are definitely not shipped from the old world, but almost certainly from the Cathay Empire across the sea. They are just using their identity as southern barbarians to make their rare goods habitable.

But in fact, they don't need to do this at all, because the goods from the Cathay Empire are no worse than the goods from the Nanman people, and may even be more popular.

And this further confirmed Asai Nagamasa's guess that they had found a safe route from Cathay to Nibon decades ago, which could bypass the kamikaze surrounding Nibon.

However, there should be considerable limitations, because according to the information he has collected so far, it is clear that the Agot Chamber of Commerce's products are in short supply, but they often only have new supplies every few years. At other times, they seem to simply wait. There is nothing to do in the border town.

But even so, I might have to pay more attention in the future. Since there is such a route, they will definitely not be the only ones who can come in!
(End of this chapter)