Regarding the Hattori Party, I immediately sent someone to report it to Nobunaga with my considerations. This is a critical matter. If I don't report it in time, and Nobunaga himself finds out, then I won't have any good fruit to eat. The Hattori Party gave me 20% of its profits, and it may not have been without some malice towards me.

Maybe it's because I opened several shops in Tsushima that they think I'm a mercenary man who has lost his samurai integrity? However, sometimes, we are just as honest as water, so righteous and awe-inspiring, so greedy for money, and treat money as dung......

Nobunaga didn't disappoint me and simply agreed. He replied: "I heard that you are building a navy, which is a costly and laborious matter, and the Hattori Party's 20% donation will be used as support for you." To be able to help the family build a navy, I think it will be an honor to come to Hattori Yusada! ”

However, at the same time, I got the news that George Weizhen, the son of the George Water Army, finally threw himself into his family.

The Saji family was a small daimyo who had 30,000 koku in the southern part of the Chita Peninsula, and during the Onin Rebellion, Mino Guardian Daisaki Sato Myochun was powerful and successively controlled the countries of Owari, Ise, Omi, and Hida, and the retainer Saji Munesada was sealed in Onokei Castle on the Chita Peninsula and gained a firm foothold. The George Navy controls the sea transportation in Ise Bay, and its combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated. At the time of the Battle of Barrel Sama, if the Saji family had been on our side, perhaps the Hattori Party would not have tried to attack from the sea.

George is the son of Saji Sosada. On New Year's Day, he officially traveled to Cheongju to meet Nobunaga, leaving his sister-in-law, Sajihachiro, who was not yet eight years old, as a hostage. Nobunaga was very fond of this child, and he had reached a verbal marriage contract with the George family. At the time of Hachiro Motofu, Nobunaga himself would preside over the Motofu ceremony and give the right name, and then marry Nobunaga's sister Inu (later Onoden).

In this way, my operation to build a water army seems redundant.

If you think about it, Nobunaga supported me in the first place, but he didn't use me to put pressure on the George family!

While I was still in Cheongshu, I went to the main castle tower to ask for an audience with Nobunaga to find out his official attitude.

"My lord, now that the George family has invested in the family, is it possible to start an action against the Hattori Party? If the Saji family joins the army, it must not be difficult to win! I said tentatively.

"The George family has another important task," Nobunaga replied casually, "a Hattori party, and one benefit is enough to deal with you." Yiyi has made progress over there, and you have to work harder! ”

"But His Majesty's Navy has just started, and it will take a long time to defeat the Hattori Party Navy alone......"

"There's no rush over there, the most important thing in this family is the Mino strategy. You've had many relationships with Kawawa in the past, so you might as well take the opportunity to build a naval army and connect with them through the Kiso River. "After half a year, especially with the addition of the Saji Water Army, Nobunaga's bad feelings towards the Hattori Party seem to have disappeared a lot. I think at the beginning, he repeatedly asked us to take down Hattori's head as soon as possible.

"Yes. His Majesty retired...... I wish my family good luck! "Figuring out Nobunaga's attitude, I left Cheongju.

As soon as I returned to Shangchuan Castle, the Kongxuan of Hosenji Temple came to visit and send New Year's blessings.

"The master is an acquaintance, so let's just say anything directly." I'll get straight to the point.

"The poor monk will not be polite to the city lord...... Last time, thanks to the kindness of the city lord, the Hattori family was grateful. Therefore, the leader of Youzhen specially sent a New Year's gift of 500 yuan, and hoped to meet the lord of the city...... "Kong Xuan said.

According to intelligence, the Hattori Party's water transportation income last year was about 8,000 guan, and due to the blockade, this figure was reduced by three or four percent compared with the previous year, and 500 guan was already his water transportation income for more than half a month, not to mention that he had to feed his subordinates and work everywhere. And for me, a small lord of a territory of three thousand five hundred stones, five hundred guan is also a big number. Of course, my main income is not from the territory......

What do you want to do when Hattori Party comes to see me at such a cost? I suddenly thought of what Nobunaga had told me about the progress made in Takigawa Kazuyi's strategy, and I had a rough idea in my mind.

"So, where to meet? After all, the leader of Tomosada is the enemy of His Royal Highness, and if it is in Kamikawa Castle or Tsushima Town, it will be difficult to stand down. I frowned slightly.

Hearing that I only mentioned "His Highness Yizheng", Kong Xuan's expression was obviously cheerful: "How dare you embarrass the city lord." If the castle lord agrees, the meeting place may as well be set at Owari Onsen. ”

Owari Onsen is a high-quality hot spring with a good healing effect, located near the Crab River, and in later generations, it was a famous scenic spot in the central part of the city, and was ranked as one of the top 100 famous springs in the city.

At this time, the reputation of hot springs was only spread locally, and the nearby Crab River Castle was long abandoned. If you want to meet with Hattori Tomosada, this is indeed a suitable location.

However, not far east from Crab River Castle is Nakagawa Castle in Takigawa Ikyi. His relationship with me is more delicate now, and he himself is the head of his own family, and if he preemptively uses it to make a fuss about the meeting, I will have to make a special trip to Cheongju City.

Seriously, when I built Shangchuan City, I just started from the name of the place, and at the same time I just wanted to please Xiao Xia, and I definitely didn't mean to raise a bar with him. He thought I wanted to crush him, because the name of his residence was Nakagawa Castle, which is the Nakagawa Ward of modern Nagoya City...... What a wrong! His territory is nearly 20,000 stones! Can I hold him down?

All right! I'll admit that my current annual income is a bit more than his......

With this in mind, I did not promise this location. Although Hattori Tomosada shouldn't have other plans at the moment, meeting at this location did get a little in the way of me.

"So be it! Uchiko didn't say that she was going to worship the Buddha on Long Island, so I would go with her. Then he met with the leader of Youzhen on Long Island, which also saved him a lot of travel. After thinking for a while, I said with a big grin.

"This ...... The lord of the castle went to the headquarters of the Hattori Party in person, isn't he worried that the leader of Yuzhen will be unfavorable to you? Kong Xuan said in astonishment.

"It's okay, I'm just accompanying the insiders to worship the Buddha! I heard that the leader of Youzhen is extremely devout to Amitabha Buddha, so he won't be embarrassed! I replied very honestly.

At present, the Hattori family is unstable, and he has asked me again, and I am completely sure that I will not be embarrassed in any way. With such a show of sincerity, then my plan will be more secure.

"The city lord is loyal, and the poor monk is respectful!" Kong Xuan seemed to be really moved, "I, Faquan Temple, am willing to guarantee that the city lord will not be left behind!" ”

"Well, please." I secretly despised him. It is impossible for him to be unclear about the situation and wishes of the Hattori family, and such a guarantee is completely empty.

After that, I set off with Nana, Iwamatsu Nobutari, Yamauchi Kazutoyo, and the Yamauchi Yoshizumi brothers. Caicai is currently only four months pregnant, and there is no problem with travel for the time being, she is the cover of this trip; Iwamatsu Jingding is a general of the navy, has always been in the water control and construction of the village has a lot of experience, the original stone mountain and Long Island are wet land, take this opportunity, he can just explore, but also can have a general understanding of the Hattori water army of the general village; Yoshisuke Yamauchi has always been Nana's follower; And Kazutoyo Yamauchi, I have other plans.

There are two large temples on Long Island, one is the Wishing Temple, the other is the Faquan Temple, and the two temples each have several branches, and the Wishing Temple is the general leader. There are five castles on the island: Nagashima, Nagashima, Nakae, Shinohashi, and Torii, among which Nagashima Castle is particularly strong, and was built by Fujiwara Michiko in the 3rd year of the Hirogen Dynasty (1245), and rebuilt by the Ito family, one of the 48 families of Northern Ise in the 14th year of civilization (1482), and the current lord of the castle is Ito Shigeharu.

In the original history, this person abandoned the Ichijo sect before the Battle of Nagashima and moved closer to Nobunaga, but as a result, the entire clan was chased and released by the temple of the temple, and the castle became the headquarters of the Nagashima Ichijo sect, which caused great trouble to Nobunaga.

After the worship of the Buddha, Nana and Yoshisuke stayed at Hosenji Temple, and I took Iwamatsu Jingding and Yamauchi Kazutoyo into the main village of the Hattori Party and met with Hattori Tomosada.

The leader of the Hattori Party is less than 1.6 meters tall, but he is very burly. Due to his long career in the water, his face is dark and old, and he looks very similar to Wasuka Masakatsu in temperament, but he is a little less straightforward and more cunning. After all, Xiaoliu interacts with small and medium-sized lords in various places, and the sideline business outside of water transportation is the big tycoon family who farms; And he deals with various merchants, and his side business is to be a sea thief who robs.

"Thank you for the call to come to the appointment...... It's really an honor to meet the leader of Youzhen this time! "My opening remarks were very gracious.

"Don't dare...... The city lord himself came, and my friend must feel honored. As soon as he clapped his hands, sake and a sumptuous fish feast were served, and then two beautiful girls came forward to serve him, kneading the shoulders of him and me.

"Thank you to the Leader for your hospitality...... But Uchiko is waiting at Hosenji Temple, so if there is anything, the leader might as well say it directly. "I was a little uncomfortable to be pressed against my back by the plump boobs of a strange girl behind me.

"Since the city lord is so frank, my friend will say it directly...... I hope that the castle lord will revoke the ban and allow the Hattori Party to enter and leave Tsushima freely. If there is anything that needs to be taken care of, the lord of the castle can propose it all, and my Hattori Party will provide the funds," he continued, staring at my face, "...... Or human manpower. ”

Provide manpower? Really, if I really borrow his manpower to clear some "obstacles", then Nobunaga knows, can I still stay at the Oda family? Although there are some forces in Tsushima that I don't deal with, and even his Hattori Party knows about it, I prefer to solve it through coordination.

"If you don't need manpower...... I seem to have heard that the interior of the leader of Yuzhen is not so stable! I said thoughtfully.

"It's all a minor problem," he twitched the corners of his eyes twice, and then frankly admitted, "as long as the water transport dilemma is solved, everything will be fine." ”

"There's one thing I'd like to ask you about...... The leader of Youzhen travels back and forth to the Kiso River, he should know that the river is merging, right? What does the leader of Yusada think of them? I asked suddenly.

"Kawa and the crowd? There has been contact before, and the leader of Beesuka is a figure worth befriending. But the year before last, he suddenly became a wealthy clan that controlled the territory of tens of thousands of stones, and gradually broke away from this industry. I heard it was ......" He suddenly looked up at me, "Kira?!" The castle lord is the samurai leader who defeated Kato Kotai?! ”

"Since they are all acquaintances, then it is easy to say," I was satisfied with his stunned attitude, at least in terms of vanity, and formally presented my own well-thought-out plan, "There is a proposal below...... The leader of Tomosada should know that he is also building a water transport fleet in Xia, but it is inconvenient to enter Mino, and it is inconvenient for the leader of Tomodada to enter Tsushima, so it is better to pull in the Kawa and the people and cooperate with the three parties! ”

"How to cooperate?" Hattori asked cautiously.

"The three parties unite and control the entire Kiso River!" I waved my hand, "Use the banner of my Kira family in Tsushima, use the banner of the leader of Tomosada when you leave Tsushima, and use the banner of the Kawa Namizu to go deep into Mino, so that the relationship between the three parties can be fully utilized, and the head of Tomosada can also use the power of us and Wasuka to suppress the interior!" ”

"That's really ...... The city lord is really incredible! ”

I smiled and didn't speak. In modern times, it is not uncommon for companies to reorganize their operations and make full use of their respective regional and technological advantages. But from the perspective of the Warring States, this is a great idea...... Well, Nobunaga, who has always loved ingenuity, should be able to accept it, not to mention that I have a back-up move.

Seeing Tomosada Hattori pondering, I poured two bowls of sake and placed them in front of each other.

After a while, he nodded cautiously: "It seems to make sense, and the profit is huge...... If our Hattori Party and Kawashiwa are connected to the two countries, as long as the tax is paid, the Saito Lords will not be left in trouble...... But what about the Kawa side? ”

"It's up to you." I raised the wine bowl in front of me, "I came to see the leader in person, my sincerity has definitely been fulfilled, and the two people I brought are the people in charge of the ship and business on our side...... How about wishing the cooperation a smooth one? ”

"Dare to disobey!" Hattori Tomosada raised the bowl and drank it all.

……，……

Although I sent a letter, three days later, a summons came from Cheongju, and the messenger was Yoshiyuki Sawaku.

"Oops, Fujihachi, it's been a long time!" I received him warmly.

"Don't talk about that yet," Ryoyuki Sawaki frowned, "did you do something excessive?" His Royal Highness Takikawa seems to have secretly said something to the lord......"

"Since I sent you, what can I do?" I took the letter and threw it aside, "Let's get some rest!" I'll take care of you at night! ”

The next day, the two of us set off for Cheongju, and I went alone to meet Nobunaga.

"Tell me what's going on!" Nobunaga threw me the letter of explanation I had sent, "You actually went to cooperate with Tomosada Hattori?" Even Yiyi's tweaks have been disturbed by you! What is the task I gave you, have you forgotten? ”

"My lord, you gave me two tasks, the more important is to contact Mino, and the less important is to eliminate the Hattori party." I replied respectfully.

"Yes, you remember! Contact Mino, I saw it, otherwise I would have punished you a long time ago! But what's the deal with bringing the Hattori Party in for cooperation? Nobunaga frowned.

"This is also something that can't be helped, the Hattori Party has a deep relationship in the border between the two countries, and if you use them, the communication with Mino will be smoother, and the profits of water transportation will be greatly improved!" I explained.

"Just know the profit! How was the last rebellion of the Hattori family counted? Where is my face? Nobunaga snorted coldly.

"My lord, my subordinates still have a follow-up move...... After the three families are united, the strength and reputation of the subordinates and the Wasuka family together will surpass the Hattori family, and it will be easy to win over and disintegrate from within...... At that time, if the lord can afford him, he might as well give him a name and let him work hard; If you still mind, I will work with His Highness Wasuka to put the Lord at ease! I gritted my teeth and explained to Nobunaga.

Hattori Yusada is a cunning man, which is normal in troubled times, and I don't have much bad feelings for him. However, since Nobunaga hates him, I, as a subordinate, must hate him and have to deal with him, which is also normal in troubled times.

"Hmm......" Nobunaga nodded. I know that Nobunaga approved of my proposal. This feeling of indulgence and dominating the fate of his opponent, he enjoyed it the most. Later, Matsunaga Shu rebelled twice, and he was able to forgive him, just enjoying that feeling, because Matsunaga Hide's strength was far from enough to threaten him. Unlike Asai and Asakura, who forced him to almost give up on, and he almost lost his surname.

Able to accept such a plan that was ahead of his time, Nobunaga was indeed an eclectic and innovative figure.

"Did you just say that the profits will be huge?" Suddenly, he looked at me expectantly.

Looks like it's going to bleed...... I sighed in my heart, but I could only answer honestly: "Yes! Mino has always been wealthy, but due to its location inland on Higashiyama-do, the commercial potential has not been fully explored, so there is a lot to be done......"

"Then, let's add one percent to the tax aspect!" Nobunaga nodded in satisfaction.