Wasuka Koroku's words suddenly made the atmosphere in the room tense. The four of them all looked solemn, looking at Yu Qiuping with wary and frightened eyes.

"Don't worry." Yu Qiuping sighed, "We are also old friends, and we have cooperated for so many years. Even if you don't agree, I'll keep the status quo. Buying and selling is not emotional. Yu Qiuping said as he took out the ribs in his arms and put them on the table, indicating that he had no bad intentions. His sincere actions calmed the four people who were originally a little nervous, and everyone sighed and looked at Yu Qiuping, waiting for his words.

"I'll talk about my plan first, and I'll talk about the ugly first." Yu Qiuping paused and continued to speak: "Do you remember the Lend-Lease Agreement we signed on the north bank of the Kiso River before? From you, I leased the right to use and manage the territory near the Kiso River. ”

"Yes, of course I do." Yuan Laifang nodded again and again, "So His Highness doesn't want to annex us, but intends to lease all of our territory?" ”

"Yes, I will sign a similar agreement with you for ten years. The ownership of the territory is still yours, there is no doubt about that, don't worry. It's just the right to use and manage, and I want to take it over to the Yuqiu family. Including the right to tax, the right to adjudicate, the right to administer, the right to train and command the army that has been recruited from the territory, all received from Yu Qiuping's hands. Yu Qiuping nodded, "If you are not satisfied with this system after ten years, you can terminate the contract and restore everything to its original state, and it is up to you to sign it voluntarily." ”

Although Yu Qiuping made such a promise, the faces of the four wealthy family governors were still cloudy. Everyone has experienced ups and downs for many years, and everyone understands that in troubled times, the most unreliable thing is commitment and covenant. Those big names and magnates, which one is not like playing and breaking promises and covenants. If they really handed over this land to Yu Qiuping for ten years, how easy would it be for them to come back? If Yu Qiuping doesn't give it, what can they do? The military power is in the hands of Yu Qiuping, and they are just fat sheep to be slaughtered. This kind of thing is not as simple as seeking skin with a tiger, but lending a piece of fat to a tiger for ten years? Will the tiger spit out at that time?

The only thing that comforted them a little was Yu Qiuping's good reputation for doing what he said and making promises. In the nearly ten years since his rise to prominence, His Highness has suffered countless losses in order to maintain his promise, but he has never broken his promise. If it wasn't Akihei but Oda Nobunaga who promised in front of them, they probably wouldn't even hesitate, but simply refused.

"I know what you're thinking." Yu Qiuping smiled bitterly, "You guys are worried that I will break the contract. After all, it's a matter of territory and military power, and even if I have a reputation for being a good promise, you wouldn't be willing to give up your territory - no one would dare to do that for any normal person! This is treating the whole family as if it were child's play. ”

"What do you say, Your Highness? Where can we not trust Your Highness? Although Yuan Lai Fang was polite, the expression on his face proved that Yu Qiuping was not bad.

"Whether you can trust it or not and whether you want to do it are two different things." Yu Qiuping shook his head and said, "Even if I firmly believe that I will not breach the contract, you also believe in my character, but you have to convince the courtiers at home, right?" I will not let you give up your territory for nothing and give you nothing. ”

"That's right. Although I will bring all your territories under the jurisdiction of the Yuqiu family, the tax officials and judicial judges will be assigned by me. Your existing army, according to my idea, will also be broken up and reorganized into Changpanbei, and handed over to the Yuqiu family for unified training. Yuqiu paused and said in a low voice: "But the administrative power of your territory, that is, the right to govern, I am still ready to leave it to you." Because His Highness Oda will not let me annex your territory, so formally, I still have to let the people of the four of you manage your territory and make a show. I will incorporate the governance of your current territory into the governance system of our Yuqiu family, and try to keep all the warriors of your four families who govern the territory to ensure that the foundation is solid. Although the samurai of the four of you have lost the direct income of the territory, I will also send them to the whole family, and the income is only a lot more than the previous guarantee. ”

"In this case, thank you, Your Highness." Mitsu Kato nodded his head again and again in thanks.

"I'm not done yet, where is this compensation?" Yu Qiuping laughed twice, coughed lightly, and threw out his long-brewing plan, "The compensation I really give you is called the House of Lords."

"On... Parliament? Wasuka Koroku was stunned when he heard this, and reluctantly repeated the somewhat strange pronunciation on the side. It seems that this is a new word, a word that has definitely not appeared in Japanese.

"It's just for the four of you." Yu Qiuping chuckled, "Although your warriors also have fiefs, there are not many fiefs, and there are not many soldiers, so it is estimated that I will give them enough compensation for Yulu." If they wanted to join the territory, they would join the army, and if they wanted to stay in the territory, I appointed them as administrators to govern the territory, and the position was settled. ”

"But the four of you are different." Yu Qiuping changed his words, raised his head and stared at the four people beside him, "The four of you are all great lords of the territory of several thousand stones, with very high incomes and great power, even if I give you a generous salary, it is far from compensating for the loss of power in your territory." Generally, the leaders of the wealthy clans who submit to the lord's family will be entrusted with the position of commanding the old lord's old department. But your territory has been taken over by me to the Yuqiu family, so your position is very problematic. Because I can't help you arrange a position with enough power in Yuqiu's family! One is that my old subordinates may not be convinced, and the other is that there is no position that is particularly suitable for you. Therefore, I have established this House of Lords, which guarantees your status and gives you sufficient power. ”

"Your Highness, can you elaborate on that?" Nonomura Yukinari whispered puzzledly, "I'm a rough man below, I don't understand what the House of Lords does?" ”

"Of course you don't understand, because it's from Europa." Yu Qiuping nodded as a matter of course and said, "The House of Lords is somewhat similar to Japan's Joint Council of Ministers. And you are all members of the House of Lords. Of course, you can also choose someone else from your family to be a member of the council, because the seats in this house are for your family and not for a certain person. ”

"As for what this House of Lords does, let me explain it to you, it is still a little different from the Joint Council of Ministers." Yu Qiu paused and said in a low voice: "In short, when our Yu Qiu family makes a decision on a major matter, it must be approved by the House of Lords. If the House of Lords does not approve it, the decision is null and void. As for whether the House of Lords approves or not, it will be decided by the four of you, and the minority will obey the majority, and if the vote is tied, it will be invalid. What about the so-called major matters, such as the Yuqiu family's desire to formulate new laws, or to levy additional taxes, or to send troops, to build large-scale projects, these are all major matters! ”

As soon as Yu Qiuping's words came out, Nonomura Yuki had already exclaimed. Koroku Wasuka, Hara Yoribo, and Kato Mitsuto, all of them were stunned - this power is subtle and a little too great. The decision made by the main family can be directly vetoed by the House of Lords? This is even more domineering than the Joint Conference of Heavy Ministers! The Saito family's collegial system of important ministers does not have such great power!

Those who are not close to common sense should be cautious.

It was a thought that crossed the minds of the four of them together.

With such a powerful authority, how could Yu Qiuping let it go? Could this just be a lure to trick them into handing over their territory?

"Of course, that's where his power ends." Yu Qiuping saw the nervous expressions of the four people, and laughed, "It's not as exaggerated as you think, it's different from the Joint Conference of Heavy Ministers." You only have the power to approve and approve policies, but you don't have the power to formulate policies and discuss major policies on your own. ”

Yu Qiuping's words made everyone's hanging hearts relax for a while. However, even such an upper house has a very large power.

"But Your Highness... Ming people don't say dark words, and they will say it bluntly below, don't blame Your Highness. Wasuka Xiaoliu hesitated for a moment, but still said stubbornly. After getting Yu Qiuping's nod of permission, he said in a deep voice: "Even so, the power in our hands is still not guaranteed." We have no soldiers and no generals, His Royal Highness wants to revoke this House of Lords is just a matter of one sentence, how dare we veto the decision of the Yuqiu family? ”

Wasuka Koroku's words made Yu Qiuping happy in his heart - this was actually his purpose. In the history of his previous life, the noble houses of various countries were basically reduced to decorations in the end. However, in the early days of its establishment, it still had certain effects - such as a demonstration role.

"I will swear publicly to the whole territory that the House of Lords will not be deprived of its powers, and I will make a written statement. Make a note with my reputation as a promise. Yu Qiuping said in a low voice, and then laughed again, "I know that you may still feel unsafe, because these virtual things are not as good as a real army in any way. Although it is a bit strange to say these words from my point of view, I will help you make the truth clear. ”

Yuqiu got up slowly, looked out the window with his eyes, and said as if muttering to himself: "The Oda family is determined to be in the world, and the future is unlimited, and the Yuqiu family will not stop at the lord of these 70,000 stones, and it will definitely grow stronger and stronger as the Oda family grows bigger." At that time, I will definitely encounter a lot of situations like today, and there will be a lot of small wealthy clans' territories that need to be taken back by the Yuqiu family, because I can't tolerate inefficiency. ”

"So, you, the first batch of members of the House of Lords, are actually the example that I have erected. I want to guarantee your status and power to prove that I have indeed made a promise, so that the future little tycoons can rest assured. When they see that you are in a prominent position and your power is guaranteed, they will trust me and lease the territory to the Yuqiu family with confidence. I will not take advantage of my credibility for the sake of greedy for your territory of tens of thousands of stones, and take the territory of tens of thousands of stones that I will lease in the future, or even hundreds of thousands of stones. I still know which is more important! So rest assured, I won't treat you badly! ”

"Of course, you also have the right to refuse to join the House of Lords and refuse to lease the territory." Yu Qiu lowered his head slowly, staring at the four people with fighting faces, "I will follow the Japanese practice and let you continue to keep the old collar and the old department." But this also means that you are excluded from the Yuqiu family's system. I will not take care of your territory when I promote water power construction or welfare construction or economic development in my territory. Every time I go out on an expedition, I will definitely not take with you those troops with low combat effectiveness, but only lead the unified training of Chang Iwabei. Therefore, you will not be able to share all the military exploits, the Yuqiu family will become bigger and stronger, and you will always only have this barren territory of thousands of stones on the banks of the Kiso River. At that time, I hope you don't envy those who have become incomparably powerful members of the upper house of the Yuqiu family and have great power. ”

After saying these words, Yu Qiuping slowly sat down on the table and looked at the four people in front of him with intriguing eyes.

"Come on, make a choice without regrets."