The fourth use of troops against Shikoku was different from the previous three in that it was mainly to exterminate the local stubborn forces, rather than fighting the army head-on, so there was no need to personally take command of the expedition.

During this period, in addition to daily government affairs, the main attention of the top management of the Pingshou family was on the issue of whether to expand the army.

With the further expansion of the sphere of influence, the foreseeable income will also increase, so Yamauchi Kazutoyo, Kasai Naganobu and other banner generals proposed to expand the size of the banner standing army to about 10,000, and at the same time equip more "piece armor vehicles" and "hundred-crack cannons" and even "national collapse". Then Ataka Nobuyasu, Awawa Shinbei and others also cautiously requested, hoping that the naval army troops could also get some support.

This, of course, requires a large one-time investment.

Whether it is the recruitment of personnel, or the purchase of equipment, or the construction of military houses, it is a spending of tens of thousands, not to mention the construction of ports and ships, which is a bottomless pit of swallowing gold.

The Hirate family, who owned the Wazumi trading port and controlled half of the Seto Inland Sea, was relatively wealthy and wealthy, but there was a limit to the economic conditions.

The royal merchants of "Tamagoshiya", "Springfield" and "Sankaya", although they are extremely close to the Hirate family, still have a bit of independence, and they believe that they have paid enough money in recent years, and they are more inclined to invest the resources available at hand into the expansion of new stores in various places.

A group of civilian officials, including Ina Tadaji, Nagashu Masaie, and Masuda Nagamori, also believed that the expansion of the army was not in a hurry, and the merchants' request was reasonable.

In the words of Shuichi Harutaya, "In the recent past, there have been many traditional commercial houses in neighboring countries that have gone bankrupt due to war, cold and food price fluctuations, and it is the perfect time to go all out and occupy the market." ”

Due to the limited control of the shogunate and the disintegration of the Oda regime, most of the region was not actually brought into order, but was in a state of turmoil. To a certain extent, trade is free to compete.

As a result, the imperial merchants of the Heite family were not satisfied with only operating within the control of the Heite family, and also wanted to take a piece of the pie in the chaotic areas where there were no powerful daimyo in the surrounding area.

Of course, this is not a bad thing, but a manifestation of aggressiveness and dedication.

The spread of commercial hegemony is also very beneficial to the power and status of the tie show.

For example, Tamagoshiya and Sankaya monopolized more than half of the trade volume of Tosa Province and controlled the clothing, food, housing, and transportation of the people of Tosa, so the relatives of Changzong and my department could only obediently obey orders and be willing to be vassals.

Not to mention, through various branches, the routine of using "military ration rolls" as a credit currency instead of gold, silver and precious metals was promoted. Mastering the ability to issue banknotes equals an endless stream of seigniorage revenues.

Shu Zhengjia, a young and cutting-edge civil official, was not very experienced after all, and said something like "the power of gold and silver is a hundred times stronger than the sword" in semi-public.

As a result, the generals and chiefs of the banner army were very annoyed. Someone secretly let out the wind and said, "One day, when the Changshu Hall walks at night, let's discuss it privately whether gold and silver or swords are more powerful." ”

Since the end of last year, after successfully stopping Takeda's westward advance and returning, many generals have begun to become more and more arrogant - "Even the famous Kai Chibei has not been bargained for in our hands, so we can be called a first-class strong army in the world, right?" This idea inevitably arises.

can only be said from the optimistic side, this mood is better than being pessimistic and inferior after losing the battle.

On the issue of army expansion, the attitude of the military and the attitude pursued by the military is completely different, and the initial signs of the "martial fighting faction" and the "civil rule faction" have initially appeared, but fortunately, under the deliberate suppression and guidance, no contradictions have intensified.

After some discussion and listening to the opinions of all parties, Hirade agreed with the views of the pursuers, promising not to ask for additional contributions from the royal merchants this year, allowing them to invest their profits in the expansion of the new store.

However, at the same time, Hirata Honhide borrowed a total of 75,000 yuan from four people in Kai Town, including Tsuda Muneki, Red House Soyo, Date Tsuneyu, and Takazo Lutoku, with almost no interest and no repayment period.

The only condition is that while the loan is still pending, these merchants will be granted a series of operating privileges that are almost equal to or second only to the Imperial Merchants within the Hirate family's sphere of influence.

The biggest profit was apparently Tennojiya of Tsuda Munekichi, and as the leader, he not only obtained most of the exemptions, but also had the right to sell and transfer some of the interests, including the right to issue the armament rolls. Secondly, in the Rouge House of Red House Zongyang, he contributed the most, accounting for 35,000 yuan alone, and also obtained quite a lot of privileges, but he was not allowed to transfer them to others. Date Tsuneyu's oil house focused on licensing timber trade throughout the territory, while the Yakunoya in Taka Lund, a high school student, focused its efforts on the Sanuki region.

The successful signing of this loan means that the merchants of the town of Tie Honhide and Kaicho have begun to embark on a new stage of mutual benefit, and it is also a reminder to the imperial merchants.

Except for the ration rolls, auctions, and new firearms-related affairs, which are still monopolized by the three imperial merchants, all other privileges will no longer be exclusive in the future.

On the other hand, the generals' demands were also supported by a small part, and most of them were rejected.

The banner army has not expanded as much as originally imagined, but five new reserve units have been set up, and the overall number of troops has risen to 6,500, or about 9,000 if you count the private soldiers of generals at all levels.

The 40 pieces of armor and the 100-split cannon each put into production, as well as the two national collapses, were far lower than expected, and they were still kept separately and were only temporarily allocated to a small number of elite troops during the operation.

At the level of the general, the head, and the team leader, the tie has carried out appropriate personnel handling, and strives to disrupt the mountain as much as possible without too much impact on the organization. In addition, some relatively trustworthy sons and daughters of the Yamato and Hanoi territories were promoted to be added to the flag book and served as middle and lower-level officers, or arranged to be close to the Xi people.

What is somewhat surprising is that the inconspicuous navy has been vigorously supported, but it is not a simple expansion, but all the semi-professional "pirates" have been broken up and reorganized, the young and strong have become full-time soldiers, and the old and weak have collected their weapons and gone home to fish. Ships in good condition are handed over after giving certain compensation, reinforced and transformed into military ships, and those that are not good are sent back as fishing boats, or dismantled on the spot and moved to the material warehouse of the military port.

Of the 75,000 guan, seventy percent was spent here. In the end, a force consisting of eight Nanban gunboats, 20 Ataka ships, 60 Seki ships, 2,300 sailors, and 350 shore personnel was formed, and it was divided into three detachments and a commission, and the ship's general was Antaku Nobuyasu, Ikutsu Sadatsune, and Yukawa Naoharu, and the commissioner was temporarily maintained by Hirate Jiyin and Awawa Shinbei.

The three detachments, in Izumi, Awaji, and Awa, built specialized military ports on the basis of the old ports as garrison bases. The naval army office is located near Kishiwada Castle, and is in charge of personnel, logistics, equipment, and other general affairs, and its functions and powers are roughly equivalent to those of the non-permanent "military commission".

Those who are interested can see that the reorganization of the naval army is not only to facilitate future battles, but also to regulate the maritime order of the Seto Inland Sea generation, which is actually equivalent to the effect of the "pirate ban".

Of course, you can only manage a corner of your own house, and the western part of the Seto Inland Sea is still dominated by the Maori family Murakami Navy, and the Murakami Navy's army is still a typical half-water army and half-pirates, maintaining the "fine style" of leaving traces of geese and plucking feathers after the wind.

In view of the fact that it is not yet suitable to turn the other cheek with the Maori family, I can only sit back and watch for the time being.

……

During this time, Kawada's actions in Shikoku were still very smooth. After three consecutive months of continuous suppression and encirclement, eight of the 14 wealthy people who were listed as "leaders of the chaotic party" have been ambushed. The whole army achieved the record of "beheading 430 and capturing 700 enemies", and it is estimated that about 20,000 civilians were actually affected.

Obviously, the local uneasiness is also getting stronger and stronger, and although it is strongly suppressed by the draw, it is still spreading and fermenting secretly.

On the seventh day of the fifth month, a major conflict finally broke out.

When the 30 soldiers of the Heishou Army were buying supplies in the village of Ona, Mima County, Awa Province, because the price was not negotiated, it was considered to be "forced to buy at a cheap price", which caused public anger, and was attacked by a large number of mobs in several nearby villages.

Coincidentally, the unfortunate leader of the team who died was the cousin of Bai Xiang Jiajia. When Bai Xiang Jiajia learned of this, he was furious, and took a thousand murderous soldiers with him, burned and looted around the target, and set fire to almost six villages.

Who knows, among these six villages, there is a village where all the people have converted to the faith of the Ichizan sect and revered Ishiyama Honganji Temple. There is another village that is receiving sermons from Koyasan Neraiji Temple, and there is a strong tendency to convert to Shingon Buddhism.

This basket is a little bigger.

Afterwards, Kawada Nagakin, as the acting general of the Pingshou Army, collected various clues and evidence, and wrote a handling report to Baixiang Jiajia, which was summarized to the effect that "although there are evil deeds, there are extenuating circumstances, small punishments and big commandments, and meritorious service for crimes."

To put it more clearly......

Penalty three glasses of wine, not as an example.

With such care, the local people are obviously not satisfied.

If the people are not satisfied, forget it, anyway, they are not capable of doing things.

However, the Honsho sect and the Shingon sect were also very dissatisfied.

Within a few days, the envoys of Ishiyama Honganji Temple and Koyayama Neraiji Temple came to Hirate Honshu and asked for an explanation and justice.

Tieshou Fan Xiu first used excuses such as "busy military affairs" and "the dog girl is sick" to block it for a few days, but seeing that the other party was high-sounding and arguing, he really couldn't stop it, so he had to meet him.