I think that at this moment, many people are not only green-faced, but I am afraid that even their intestines have already repented, and it can be said that Tachibana Mataburo is their representative.

Sakai Town was able to make a lot of money thanks to the trade with the Nanban, whether it was the import of iron cannons and novelty luxury goods, or the export of gold and Japanese handicrafts! Although my new store is not directly involved in the operation, it controls all transactions through tax agents, in other words, how this "big pie" will be distributed in the future depends on my words!

Leave here and open another "stove"? Anyone who thinks so is a fool! Not to mention whether I can still raise the amount of goods that foreigners need when I leave Sakai Town, my "bonded area" alone is enough to defeat all competitors in terms of price. Small-scale smuggling cannot be avoided, but if it is repeated on a few occasions, it will face the danger of being singled out of commercial relations and being excluded from most areas of trade. With the war in the four directions of Japan, and the local princes not knowing tomorrow today, which Nanban dares to risk losing a stable trading partner? Besides, there will also be a large area of long-term European residence here, and what other princes? They don't have that kind of courage either!

Since both local and Nanman merchants can't do without the feng shui treasure of Sakai Town, then they have to follow my instructions! At this moment, everyone knows that the new shop is not just a simple matter of "circle money", which is an indirect means for me to intervene in the distribution of transactions. The amount of investment represents loyalty to me, His Highness the Tsuyoshi Prefecture, and to the entire Oda regime, in exchange for a larger share of future transactions. Whoever originally traded with them would eventually fall into my hands, and the size of any merchant would be up to me.

Of course, if you want to swallow the whole pie alone, you can only die in the end, and I can't stand the covetousness of others all day long. I don't want to hold all the money in my own hands, but to control a monopoly oligopoly committee that controls the commercial circulation of the whole country, a "syndicate" that divides all markets internally.

Later, many people tried to bring up the issue of investing in new stores, but I pretended to be out of the question. Mitsui Takafuku did not attend, but Mitsugakuya should have joined in an appropriate capacity, and in order to be more broadly represented, it was necessary to set aside the necessary shares for Kakukura Ryo and Hasegawa Munehito in Kyoto.

And so the tea party came to an end, and I stood at the door of the house and saw off each guest politely, only to give Ernst a look to stay.

"How can you be so bold and really trust me so much?" I pulled him to a secluded place and asked straight to the point.

"You didn't fully reveal the inside story to me beforehand, so it can be seen that you don't fully trust me, so how can you ask me to fully trust you?" Ernst's spectacle lenses flashed twice in succession, revealing a sly smile. "But...... You know, I'm a veritable adventurer. In the face of great benefits, my courage will also be shocking! ”

"Where's the interest? Speak it up and listen to it! I asked pretending to be stupid.

"Do you know how power is divided at the top in the Netherlands today?" He asked rhetorically, unhurriedly.

"How do I know that I haven't been to you again!" I spread my hands out and decided to put it all in the end.

"It's unkind!" He muttered something to himself, but went on to explain: "At present all the powers in the Netherlands are divided into four parts, namely, the Governor-General, the Federal Parliament, the East India Company, and the Bank. They control all the affairs of the citizenry, from elections to convictions, from the brass plate in the pocket to the bread on the plate, and the latter two influence the decisions of the governor and the council through their invisible hands. ”

"So what?"

"So I just felt wrong when you mentioned business privileges, and it didn't dawn on me until I uncovered the whole thing!" He smacked his lips with emotion. "In a sense, your new shop has both the function of the East India Company and the bank, and if this strategy is carried out in its entirety, then in less than 10 years your comprehensive strength will be multiplied by your lord! There's just one thing I don't know: how did you hear about the modern independent commercial bank as a form that only exists in the Netherlands and has only been around for a few years? ”

I smiled and patted him on the shoulder, but when I turned around, I saw Gomes standing in the distance, raising the small cane in his hand to his forehead and greeting me.

*************************************************

Masuda Nagamori and Nagazuki Masaya arrived the next day, and because the handover went quite smoothly, they were able to get out smoothly.

After years of development, Tango has become the most prosperous in San'in, and the small Miyazu has become a medium-sized port, but this should be the end of it, and the objective environment is there after all. Ikuno Ginzan had already been handed over, and after much deliberation, I finally made up my mind to put the outgoing Spoyotomo in the position of the guardian of Tango. It should be said that his talent is competent enough, but I am not very accurate in terms of character, so let's observe it for a while!

"See the lord!" Masuda Nagamori and Nagashu Masake knelt down and saluted together.

"It's been a hard journey, but I don't have much time for you to rest!" I met them in the little warm pavilion by the pond. I didn't like the original layout here, but now it has just been redecorated and used as a study and a small waiting room.

"Go to the soup for the stars and fight the fire, and never give up!" The two of them spoke excitedly together. Because the performance of the work in Santsugakuya in the past could not be made public, they can only work for me in name as a new retainer now, and now each person only has 500 stone territory, which is indeed a little wronged! However, I also made it clear to them that I would give them important work in the future, and I would compensate them when they were rewarded again!

"Did Lord Murai give you clear instructions when he handled the handover?"

"Nope! He only mentioned that the lord was going to set up a new type of shop to indirectly manage Sakaimachi and Ishiyama. ”

"That's about it......" I think it's the same, Murai Sadakatsu himself doesn't know the inside story, so naturally he has nothing to tell them, so he reached out and took out a dozen pieces of paper from the low cabinet next to him and put them in front of them. This is the general outline I wrote last night, mainly the store management form, process, and distribution principles for important material transactions. Let's take a look! ”

"The lord's wisdom is unparalleled in the world, I will follow him to the death!" After reading my plan, they were even more excited, and they admired my genius "invention" so much.

"The reason why I put you in charge of execution is because I think you can best understand my intentions!" I complimented them a little bit so that it would be easier to communicate with them later. "I think of it this way: Masa is the chief fiscal and tax commissioner of Sakai Town and Ishiyama, and his main task is to manage the affairs of the two places as the official plenipotentiary. Unlike the towns of the past, Sakai Town used to have a local organization called the Ten People, and you are no stranger to it. So you still have to respect this autonomy of theirs, and don't interfere too much in general affairs. To build these two cities into a paradise for merchants, the first thing you have to do is formalize and institutionalize everything externally! ”

"Yes! It's just ......" Although the Nagashu family agreed, it was not without concerns. "In order to implement this intention of the lord, it is necessary to establish a new yamen system, and most of the subordinate retainers of the family are out of the army! I'm afraid ......"

"I've already allocated 10 of the people I trained in the early years, and I'll give you another 100 flags of 50 stone a year, and you can recruit people with business talent on your own!" I've also thought about it, because it's a new one.

"Yes!" This time, Changshu Zhengjia put some peace of mind, and other difficulties had to be solved in practice.

"Tell me more about your mission...... "I turned to another person." Your job is to represent me at the top of the new store, and your status can be said to be both an official and a businessman. The new store has two management levels, a committee of investors from all of you, and a manager hired by each business area. What you have to do is to make decisions on major policies, supervise the work of the shopkeepers, and let go of specific business matters. In addition, as my official representative in the business world, your status as a member of the Ten in Sakai Town should be restored as soon as possible. It's important to know that some things don't fit right in my face! ”

"The lord wants to ...... Let me take control of the 'Crowd of Ten'? Masuda Nagamori looked at my face and asked tentatively. His original strength was that he was good at evaluation and calculation, and he had more than 10 years of business experience, so he was quite sensitive in this regard.

"Yes, but it can also be said that it is not!" I tried to explain my intentions. "I don't like the feeling that the lord imposes his will on others, which can easily cause the other party's disgust or even backlash. I want you to blend in with them and make choices that will bring them greater good, but not for their sake, but to appear better than them in every way. Once they realize that the way to maximize their own interests is to support you unconditionally, then you can be considered to be truly in control of them, and then you will be considered to have real power! "I can't help but think of Napoleon, who was supported by the bourgeoisie, and it can be seen that these people don't care so much about democracy or dictatorship as long as they can get benefits.

"Subordinate...... Some get it! Masuda Nagamori nodded speciously. After all, the thinking mode of the feudal aristocracy is still dominant in this era, and they cannot be expected to understand it all at once.

"Remember! While making money is important, it's even more critical to control as many business relationships and distribution channels as possible. For this purpose, it is okay not to make money for the time being...... "I can only elaborate on the minimum program first."

"Report to the Lord!" At this time, Sakurai Sakichi ran in from outside in a panic. "Lord Qi, urgent military report: Miyoshi Changyi led 8,000 troops to land in Settsu, and the other Hatano Hideji and Hidesho brothers escaped from the hermitage, and now they are gathering the old department to prepare for the move!"

Hearing this news, the faces of Nagashu Masaya and Masuda Nagamori also changed.

"What's the panic, a few crooked toads will scare you like this!" I shouted a rebuke to Sakurai, and then reached out and took the two military reports.