When I returned to the Honmaru castle tower, I left all the attendants on the first floor and went up the stairs on the second floor with my adopted son, Nowakamaru.

As it turned out, my move was really correct, because almost all the maids on the second floor were newcomers, and they had never seen me, and a few of them, although they were all people who followed Janet from Otomo's house at the wedding, probably didn't have much of an impression of me. Luckily, they all know Nowakamaru and know that it was the adopted son entrusted by the head of the family to Janet, so they can prove my identity.

"I'm really sorry for Your Highness!" The two maids who had initially tried to stop me from going upstairs apologized in a heartfelt manner.

"Forget it, I don't blame you," I waved my hand, "what about Madame?" ”

"Back to Your Highness, Madame is resting." The maid replied.

"Now?" I looked at my pocket watch strangely, at the beginning of the Shen hour, it was almost half past three in the afternoon, and I was still resting, saying that the lunch break had also passed, and ......, "Don't you know that Madame is coming back today, isn't it notified in advance by the patrol clippers of the navy?" ”

"This ...... The little maid doesn't know......" said the maid dodgingly.

I understood that Janet must have done it on purpose, and maybe said something angry like "I don't care if he comes back", but the maid didn't dare to report it. However, I can't afford to embarrass a maid.

"You go down first." I commanded.

"Yes." The maid breathed a sigh of relief and led the way out of the main hall.

"Nowakamaru," I said, looking around the hall for furnishings, "did your mother add all these murals, screens, lamps, harpsichord, and so on?" Where do you pay for it? ”

"It was purchased from the Nanban Merchant House in Sakai Town through a missionary from the Nanban Sect...... Well, the cost is the annual tribute of Mihara County last year, and my mother asked for half of it from my uncle. Nowakamaru replied.

Well, the annual tribute of 20,000 guan territory is about 6,000 guan Yongle money, half of which is 3,000 guan, and her appetite is not small. I heard that Ichijo Kaneji lived a luxurious life in Tosa and feasted excessively, and it is estimated that it was not his sole reason, and Janet, who was in charge of the main room at the time, must not have anything to do with it...... No wonder Otomo Zonglin can't wait to marry her off again, such a daughter is a standard money-loser!

However, Janet's surname is likely to have been broken by Otomo Sorin.

Otomo Zonglin has three good in his life, one is lustful, he once sent people to Kyoto to look for beautiful women, and also plundered the wives of retainers and lords as concubines (such as the wife of 10,000 stone relatives); the second is good wine, and in his later years, he wasted political affairs and caused a rebellion, most of which was related to this hobby; Sanhao goods, from the merchants of Hakata bought a large number of paintings and calligraphy, tea ware and Nanban products, the world-famous "tea ware three shoulder punch" Narashiba shoulder punch, Hatsuka shoulder punch and Nitta shoulder punch, all of which were with him, but because of the excessive spending, so as to affect the finances of the territory, his son Otomo Yoshitomi inherited the family governor, and he had been scratched for this.

"It's really ......" I don't know what to say.

"However, my father is really knowledgeable!" Nowakamaru's tone was full of admiration, "For example, this big box, if it weren't for my mother's explanation, I would never have thought that I could actually play it!" ”

"Why, your mother can play the harpsichord?" I was a little surprised, isn't this piano just a decoration?

"Yes, it can play a very nice sound." Nowakamaru replied.

Well, after all, she is not a complete loser, but she still has a skill. In this era, women who can play the piano are estimated to be rarer than cats and bears.

"Actually, my mother is very difficult," Nowakamaru looked at my face, "Except for the occasional lady and the noto-sensei, there are almost no people to talk to and associate with." A lot of the time, it's a lonely person playing the piano, or playing cards and origami. ”

"Play...... Is it a tarot card? I thought hard about it and asked Nowakamaru.

“…… Be. Nowakamaru showed a look of readiness to throw himself to the ground at any time.

"I think you and your mother will get along!" He went on to add.

"I understand what you mean." I smiled, this is quite a filial child. At first, he was entrusted to Janet, mainly because Janet used to be the main room of the Tosa Kuniji family, and she was the housemother of the Tosa Bamboo family, but she didn't expect the two to get along so well, and it was a rare fate.

As I continued to look in the hall, I suddenly noticed that on the screen in the middle of the room, there was a model of a Western-style sailing ship, which looked very realistic. I walked over and took the model in my hand, and found that it was very delicate and dexterous, almost exactly in line with the popular boat type of the day, and almost exactly the same as some of the Western-style sailboats in Sakai Town.

"It's interesting," I asked Nowakamaru with a smile, "Did you buy this from the Nanban Merchant House?" ”

"This was made by Teacher Nobu herself, and I gave it to my mother last year as a gift for her birth," Nowakamaru replied, and then, as if worried about my dissatisfaction, quickly explained, "Teacher Nobu...... Kindness...... It's the monk among the Southern Barbarians!"

"Well, handmade?!" I was taken aback, and quickly looked at the model sailboat again, and sure enough, I saw some doorways. Some of the parts of the hull, polished to a very fine and smooth finish, were obviously specially made, and a lot of thought was taken, and the hull was engraved with the Roman inscription "Princess Janet".

This missionary teacher really has some ability! To be able to make such a delicate model, the understanding of the ship's structure has reached a very high level.

I suddenly had an idea, so I asked Nowakamaru, "Do you know where that missionary is?" I have something very important to ask him for. ”

Hearing me say that I was asking for advice, Nowakamaru nodded again and again: "I live in the castle town...... He said that he wanted to build a church, so his mother asked his uncle for the annual tribute in China. However, because of my uncle's opposition, the church was never built. ”

"Really?" I laughed, maybe I was going to pick up the treasure this time.

The missionary is Portuguese, in her forties, and is Janet's baptismal pastor (and the baptismal priest who has been appointed two years later). Hearing that the lord had summoned him, he soon came to the castle tower, which was the main castle tower.

"Ann, Your Excellency! Servant of God, João? Cabral has been called to pay you a high respect! He was dressed in a black priest's uniform with a cross on his chest and spoke in a non-standard language.

"I accept your respect," I nodded, motioning for him to sit down, "I heard you're Janet's baptismal priest?" ”

Exactly, "Joao?" Cabral replied, "I came to this place with Lady Janet. ”

"Then it's been a year," I nodded again, "you're used to living here, aren't you?" ”

"Very used to it!" Joao? Cabral looked very satisfied, "The city here is the most comfortable place I live in Sakaimoto, except for Sakai Town, which is more accustomed to than in Princess Janet's country. Your castle is also very majestic...... The only flaw was that I didn't have a church yet, so I kept asking for the permission of the lady to build a church so that the glory of God could shine on the land...... You know ......"

"Wait! I didn't call you today to talk about missionary matters," I couldn't help but interrupt him when I saw that he seemed to be gushing, and then took the model of the sailboat, "I heard that you made it yourself?" Is it? ”

"So it's for this model...... "Joao? Cabral looked a little disappointed, but nodded anyway, "As you say, it is exactly what I did for the esteemed and beautiful Lady Janet. ”

"I'm wondering, how could you make such a model?" I flipped the model slowly, "Not only does this require a fairly high level of carpentry, but you also have to know a lot about the structure of the boat, right?" ”

"Your Excellency, you are right." Joao? Cabral nodded, "To tell you the truth, I used to be the third mate on a merchant ship, responsible for maintaining and repairing ships. Later, the merchant ship was wrecked at sea near Samoto, and almost all of them died, except for me, who drifted to Hakata in Kyushu and was rescued by a priest at the church...... So, since then, in gratitude for God's favor, I have dedicated my life to the cause of the church and to spreading the gospel of God. ”

"So, if I give you enough men and materials now, will you be able to build such a great ship for a long voyage?"

"It should be said that it is not a big problem," he said with confidence, but then shook his head, "but I am now a priest, and I can no longer do these worldly things......

"If you can help me build a big ship like this, I will support your cause." I threw out my conditions.

"Really?" Joao? Cabral stood up suddenly, "Can you guarantee that?" ”

"You've probably heard of my reputation, right?" I asked rhetorically.

"Yes. Rumored, you are a very trustworthy person, "Joao? Cabral reacted, "Then there won't be any problems...... For the sake of God's cause, I am willing to help you build a big ship! ”

……，…… According to my original arrangement, I was supposed to go to Yangyikan in person and pick up Konatsu, Senjuhime, and Keirokuro. However, because of the construction of Western-style merchant ships, I couldn't get out for a while, so I entrusted this matter to Xiujing.

And then there's Janet, who has laid out her second floor and my fourth floor beyond recognition, probably to get my attention, or even to show me the colors, so that I, a countryman, can see the world. But when she found out that I was not surprised by this, and had a very speculative conversation with his missionary, she seemed to be at once out of line, and had to interrupt our conversation frequently, and tried to retrieve the model of the sailboat that I had taken for herself.

What a troublesome woman! Isn't it true that devout Catholics with female surnames are very docile?

In the end, I couldn't stand being annoyed by her, so I had to throw her a sentence: "Okay, the sailboat model, right?" When I have built a big ship, I will give you a large one, also named Princess Janet...... What do you think of this? ”

So Janet stopped talking.

A galleon of more than 2,000 stones, worth at least 5,000 yuan, as a gift, is already a very large amount. When her father got the position of Kyushu Detective, he only spent 3,000 yuan to give it to General Yoshihui.

If you want to subdue a woman like her, who is proud of her status and wealth, you have to show a higher strength.

Seriously, if it weren't for Nobunaga, I wouldn't have married such a woman; If it weren't for his father, I wouldn't have bothered to perfunctory her.

Well, now for the sake of her being able to play the piano, for the sake of her bringing Joao? For Cabral's sake...... When you work hard, time always flies. In the blink of an eye, it's already and Joao? It's the fourth day of Cabrral's discussions, and I've roughly decided on a shipbuilding plan. The planned new ship was named the "Fengshen class" and was a Western-style three-masted ocean-going galleon. The rated carrying capacity of the sailing ship is 3,000 koku, which is about 450 tons according to the metric system, which is already much larger than the scale of the largest merchant ship (2,000 koku) in this book.

"Thank you so much. After the next construction, you are welcome to continue to guide! "I smiled at Joao? Cabral said.

"Gladly!" He bowed slightly. A few days of in-depth discussions, exhilarating engineering, also reactivated his seafarer's heart.

Despite this, he did not forget his pastoral career: "Then, Your Excellency, is it time to fulfill our previous agreement? ”

"No problem," I replied cheerfully, "and in a little while I will introduce you to my lord...... I think with your enthusiasm and talent, you will be able to impress him! ”

Joao? Cabrral's eyes widened, "But didn't you agree to convert to Catholicism and help me build a church?" ”

"I did promise to support your cause, but I can't do it directly due to my position," I nodded, "and introducing you to my lord will definitely help your cause...... As I assure you. ”

Really, just kidding, let me support Catholicism? As a lord who controls hundreds of thousands of stone territories, this is completely uncomfortable with himself. Even Otomo Sorin, who was extremely fanatical about Catholicism, had to become a monk and worship Buddhism for the sake of balance in the realm; The unscrupulous Oda Nobunaga also knew this balance and had always believed in the Hokke sect...... I am dispensable for my faith, so why should I cause trouble like this and toss my retainers and the people in my territory? The Shingon sect that is now practiced is the most widely practiced sect in the entire Shikoku Province and even in Nankai Province, so it would be good to maintain the status quo.

"Your Excellency, you are a cunning fox," Joao? Cabral sighed, "I'm out of faith...... How can I convince a man like you, who is accustomed to this Catholic environment, to convert with his wife? ”

"Trust me, that's a very special person. It's unlikely that you will be converted, but it is still possible to support you in establishing a church and allowing you to preach freely," I smiled, "and he will soon be able to dominate the whole book, as you would call 'conqueror' or 'emperor'!" ”

(To be continued)