Marin didn't know the current situation in Hokkaido, so he called Liver Fu Suiko and asked:

"Mizuko, what's going on with Ezo Island now?"

"Ezo Island?" Liver Fu Shuizi was stunned and said:

"Ezo Island is now the territory of the Ezo people, and probably only a few small feudal clans such as the Matsumae clan in the north will cross the river to trade with the Ezo people."

"How many Ezo people are there on the island?" Marin continued to ask.

"This ...... It seems to be tens of thousands of people...... "I don't know much about the liver and water."

"Tens of thousands? So much? Marin was startled, but quickly relieved.

Why? Because the conditions in Hokkaido are much better than those in Sakhalin, don't look at the two islands close together, but the climate is completely different. Winter temperatures in Sakhalin can drop to minus a few tens of degrees. In Hokkaido, the winter is only about -10 degrees Celsius, which is very different from Sakhalin.

Mainly, Hokkaido is heavily affected by the Japanese Warm Current. Sakhalin, on the other hand, was greatly affected by the cold snap in the north. To the east of Hokkaido, the Kuril Stream and the Japanese Stream are at the intersection of the Hokkaido Fishing Ground, one of the world's four largest fishing grounds.

Unfortunately, Sakhalin is located in the area affected by the Kuril Cold Current, and Hokkaido is at the northernmost point of the influence of the Japanese Warm Current. So, despite being separated by only one strait, Hokkaido's climate is much warmer than Sakhalin's. The whole of Sakhalin, probably only the southernmost area, is suitable for agriculture because it is a little bit of the tail of the Japanese warm current. As for the north, it's the land of bitter cold.

And the Ezo people, who happen to occupy the southern tip of Sakhalin Island, which is suitable for agriculture, as well as the whole of Hokkaido, make Marin a little hot-eyed......

"Otherwise, let's send troops to occupy Ezo Island......" Marin said suddenly.

Liver Fu Shuizi was startled and said:

"Husband, what are you doing to occupy Ezo Island? There's nothing good there, and a lot of Ezo barbarians......"

Marin smiled and said:

"You don't understand this, although Nobunaga is your child, but your father is just a small castle lord of Kushira Castle in Osumi Province, and his status as a guardian of the daimyo is very different. Even, even the Liver Fu clan has never been guarded, but it is just 'Xia Keshang' and controls the Osumi Peninsula. And if Nobunaga wants to become a shogun in the future, a title of guardian daimyo is still needed. ”

After a pause, Marin added:

"You should know that the title of the shogun is 'Shogun Seiyi', and this 'I' refers to Ezo. And defeating Ezo is a very good feat in Japan. You say, if we send troops to take Ezo Island in the name of Nobunaga and then bribe the shogunate, will we justifiably get the identity of a guardian daimyo? ”

Liver Fu Shuizi nodded again and again:

"It took thousands of years for Japan to completely expel the Ezo people from Honshu Island a few decades ago. As for Ezo Island, Japan is currently unable to catch it. If you can take Ezo Island in the name of Nobunaga, report it to the emperor, and bribe the shogunate, you will indeed be able to get a position of guardian of the daimyo in the name of justice. Moreover, it has a high reputation among the people. However, what is the use of hitting Ezo Island, which is full of wild people and relatively cold? ”

Liver Fumizuko is similar to the average Japanese people in this era, and they think that Hokkaido is some kind of bitter cold place.

Marin shook his head and said:

"You don't understand, Hokkaido...... Oh no, Ezo Island is a large island, more than twice the size of Tofan Island. There are many plains on the island, and the arable land can be more than 10,000 square kilometers......"

In later generations, Japan's arable land was only 49,000 square kilometers, accounting for less than one-seventh of the total 370,000 square kilometers. Hokkaido, on the other hand, is only 83,000 square kilometers, and its arable land accounts for a quarter of Japan, or more than 12,000 square kilometers, equivalent to more than 18 million mu, which is more than half of Hokkaido's plains.

Of course, that is the data of later generations, the data of an era with a high degree of mechanization. In this era, due to topography and technology, it is difficult to reclaim farmland in many places, especially those far from water sources. Moreover, there is not enough labor.

However, Marin didn't plan to develop Hokkaido right away. First sent troops to land on the western coast of Hokkaido, and first took control of the Ishikari Plain, where Sapporo, the largest city in Hokkaido was located.

Located on the edge of Ishikari Bay in the west of Hokkaido, Ishikari Plain is a coastal plain and the largest plain in Hokkaido. With an area of about 4,000 square kilometers, it is a little smaller than the Tainan Plain on the island of Taiwan, but in later Japan, it was already the second largest plain after the Kanto Plain.

It was the northernmost metropolitan area in later Japan, with a population of over 5 million and an important food producing area.

In addition, to the east of the Ishikari Plain, where the eastern part of the plain, where the city of Shishihari is located, bordering the mountains, there is also the Ishikari Coal Mine, one of the largest coal mines in later Japan.

In short, it may be a little difficult to control the whole of Hokkaido at once, but it is not difficult to send troops to control the Ishikari Plain, which is near the sea.

Moreover, the Ainu are not very strong in combat, at least they can't beat the savage Jurchens. Marin can hire some savage Jurchens, equipped with sophisticated weapons and armor, and launch an attack on them, and it should not be difficult to take the Ishikari Plain by the sea.

Even if there are not enough savage Jurchen mercenaries, Marin can still hire the old rivals of the Ainu, the Kuyi people, as well as the beggar charm, and even, the northern mountain savages.

In short, those fierce barbarians in the Outer Northeast, it should not be a problem to defeat the Ainu.

At that time, Nobunaga will be able to claim the status of guardian daimyo from the Japanese emperor with the 4,000 square kilometers of Ishikari Plain he occupies. Of course, spending money and bribes are indispensable.

However, this is not a problem, Nobunaga wants a legitimate name. Once you have the legal title of guardian daimyo, you are eligible to participate in the Sengoku Village Chief Battle.

After all, this kind of thing is very important. The following grams are cool, but the identity is embarrassing and not recognized.

And with the legal identity of the guardian daimyo, participating in the battle for hegemony is justified. Moreover, one day in the future, there will be confidence and reasons to compete for the position of the shogun-isn't the shogun the "general of the shogun"? Lao Tzu conquered Ezo and occupied Ezo Island, which can be regarded as a success of the "Conquest of Ezo", and it is reasonable to be a "Conquest General......

In short, this can be regarded as a foreshadowing for Nobunaga's future career as a shogun. Moreover, the development of the Ishikari Plain is also beneficial for the control of the outer Tohoku.

Marin intended to establish a port in Ishikari Bay on the west coast of Hokkaido as a transit port to facilitate the connection with Nuergan Castle.

Moreover, the grain produced in the Ishikari Plain after that could be imported into Nuergancheng as a source of military food for Suha's army. After all, it is not very far from Nu'er Gancheng, which is very suitable as a food supply base for Nu'er Gancheng.

In addition, the 4,000 square kilometers of plains that are completely used for farming may not be usable. Without him, the peasants may not have enough manpower......

4,000 square kilometers is 6 million mu, and even if a family plants 100 mu of land, 6 million mu needs 60,000 households, that is, 230,000 peasants. How could Marin get so many people to go over in the early stage?

Therefore, a piece of land was simply set aside to raise horses and provide the Sauron soldiers of Suha with the Mongolian horse forest breed. Moreover, it can also be used as a training ground for Jurchen mercenaries, training cavalry adapted to jungles and mountains. Then, it will be beneficial to conquer the whole of Japan in the future.

You must know that although the Sauron horse, which originated from the Mongolian horse, is not tall, it is also taller than the pony in Japan, and is more suitable for cavalry. Once the Savage Jurchen's mountain jungle cavalry is well trained, it will definitely become a nightmare for other infantry-based daimyo......