During the Edo period, the Tokugawa Shogun's family divided the feudal lords into five ranks: kokuchi daimyō, quasi-kokulord, castle lord, castle lord, and jinya.

When the general evaluates the court, the lords of each feudal domain are arranged according to their family status, official position, service position, and the height of the stone they lead.

It is also equivalent to the order of the seats of each retainer in the evaluation of the daimyo, showing their status in the family and the way they have the right to speak.

Among the daimyo of the various feudal clans, the lord of the Maeda clan was the lord of the Maeda domain, who ranked the highest among the daimyo of the country, and was ranked in the lower part of the waiting hall.

Under the main corridor, in addition to the Tokugawa family's royal family, only the Maeda clan enjoyed this treatment.

The head of the Shimazu family of the Satsuma Domain, who was the only one in the Maeda Domain, could only sit in the next class seat.

The Maeda Domain, also known as the Kaga Domain, was the ancestor of the Maeda Toshiya, who later became the second of the five elders of Toyotomi.

During the Toyotomi Hideyoshi period, the Maeda family received 104,000 koku from Kaga, Echichu, and Noto, and among the daimyos, in addition to the Toyotomi family, it was the fourth million-koku daimyo after Tokugawa Ieyasu, who received 256 koku from the Tokkaido, Uesugi Keikatsu with 1.2 million koku from Aizu, and Mori Terumoto with 1.2 million koku from Aki.

After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Maeda clan sided with the ranks and joined the Eastern Army, and after a series of changes, it still received Kaga, Echichu, and Noto most of the Three Kingdoms, with a total stone height of 1,025,000 stones.

Among the Maeda clans, Kaga 400,000, Noto 225,000 koku, and Echichu 400,000. (Actually, the total stone height of the Three Kingdoms was 1.19 million, but 100,000 in the Toyama Domain and 70,000 in the Daishoji Domain were sealed) and the rest of the major names, the Toyotomi family was destroyed, the Tokugawa family became the people of the world, and the Uesugi family and the Mori family were cut down, so the Maeda domain became the first major domain under the shogunate.

But in fact, there is also Date Masamune's Sendai Domain, but his table height, that is, the figure on the surface, is only 630,000 koku.

However, after the efforts of Date One-Eyed Dragon, large-scale farmland was cultivated, and in the Edo period, the actual income of the inner high, that is, the actual income of the territory, reached one million stones, and the income from the mining business was counted separately.

The Sendai Domain became a million-stone feudal domain, and Date Masamune was also called 'Sendai million-stone' at the time.

However, in the eyes of the shogunate, the Maeda domain is basically the biggest daimyo in the world except for his Tokugawa family.

And the territory that Li Xiao wants to conquer in the future is roughly the territory of the Maeda Domain in the future, although its goal is less Kaga, but Sado and Hida have gold and silver mountains, which can make up for a lot.

Therefore, if Li Xiao completes the occupation of these four countries, he can become a million-stone daimyo like the Maeda Domain, and become a decisive force in the world.

At present, according to the normal trajectory, after Shingen's death, if the Takeda family can take over the world, and Takeda Katsuyori can open the door, the supreme achievement of the shogun will be completed.

At that time, Li Xiao also almost realized the great cause of 'Li Xiao's million stones', that is, it was equivalent to the Maeda domain under the Tokugawa shogunate, and became the Li domain under the Takeda shogunate, and the Sanada family or the four ministers of Kai competed for the position of the first minister.

Of course, for Li Xiao, who wants to pass on the crossing career to Li Xiao and Li Xiaozhi's ambition, the position of the first important minister of the shogunate may not be something he can satisfy.

The million-stone daimyo is not difficult for the person in this era.

This achievement, even after generations of struggle and generations of work, may not be able to accomplish it at the risk of ruin.

This fortune can only be achieved by the green smoke on the ancestral tomb, unless the entire mountain volcano erupts.

It is said that there are many heroes of this Warring States period, and after hundreds of years of struggle by their ancestors, after the great waves and sands, in the Edo period, there are only shogunate Tokugawa families and Maeda families in the world, and of course the Date family is not counted.

And at the moment, the two major opponents that Li Xiao faces in Vietnam, the Uesugi family, and the Hokuriku Honganji Temple are both close to 600,000 stones.

In front of them, Li Xiao's strength is not worth mentioning at all, and Shengxing Temple is willing to let Li Xiao gain a foothold in Yuezhong, but it is actually sold to the face of the Takeda family.

And the Shenbao family in the eyes of Honda Masanobu, the Shiina family, is not Han Xuan and Liu Zhang's generation in history.

In the seventeenth year of Yongzheng, the former head of the Shenbao family, Shenbao Qingzong, shot the wet plain and cut himself, and the Shenbao family perished.

And the son of Shenbao Qingzong, the chief of Shenbao, with the strength of himself and a few retainers, only a few years later, he recovered the land of the four counties of Yuezhong and the two counties of the woman, and revived the old territory of the entire Shenbao family.

Although he was finally defeated at the hands of Uesugi Kenshin, the opinion within the retainers that he was still considered to be a lord of Zhongxing, and only in this point did this in the Sengoku period, only Niko Susu, who recaptured Izumo Province, and several people from Tokugawa Ieyasu Ward of Mikawa Yoritsu.

And the two families of the Jimbo family and the Shiina family are both 100,000 stone-level masters, and when they go into battle, their maximum force mobilization is around two or three thousand people.

The strength of the two of them is one or two grades higher than the current Li Xiao.

Comparing the situation of the two sides, Li Xiao felt that he was more like Han Xuan and Liu Zhang, or even worse.

20,000 stones against 100,000 stones, Honda Masanobu didn't know that Li Xiao was a traverser, and he was still so confident.

And now the Jimbo family and the Shiina family are all ministers who belong to the Uesugi family.

If Li Xiao sent troops to attack these two, Uesugi Kenshin would never sit idly by, in case Li Xiao really recruited Uesugi Kenshin's Echigo crusade army.

Li Xiao couldn't have expected that Takeda Shingen would stage the scene of Yan Rejection City and personally raise troops to save him.

Not to mention that Takeda Shingen would not take this risk and go deep into the enemy territory, with the poor road conditions of Hida and the barren products, he could only support an army of 3,000 at most, from Shinano through Hida to Echichu.

It took half a month to trek through mountains and rivers, and Li Xiao had already been killed by Uesugi Kenshin by that time.

In other words, Li Xiao is now fighting alone in Vietnam, breaking away from the Takeda family's base, and in dealing with any situation, he must rely on himself, and don't expect the help of his own family.

However, Li Xiao's future diplomatic strategy for Honda Masashi and Honganji to fight against the Uesugi family is the best way for Li Xiao to rise to the Uesugi family, and it must be implemented.

Honganji and Li Xiao were not without conflicts of interest in Vietnam.

But as a traverser, Li Xiao knew that in the next three years, Oda Nobunaga would capture Inabayama Castle, enter Mino, and start his great cause of martial arts in the world.

This is enough for Honganji to not focus on Echichu.

Oda Nobunaga's Oda family, the current rising momentum, is as smooth and smooth as when Li Xiao played Taiko 5 and walked the plot of Kinoshita Toyoshiro.

Oda Nobunaga showed his true character as the lord of the world, although the Oda family suffered a relatively large defeat in the previous year, the previous year's battle with the Saito family in Karumi, and the battle in New Ghana.

But just as in history, Oda Nobunaga Yu frustrated Yu Meng's experience, the frustration only aroused his fighting spirit.

Well, in the eyes of more demon king black, I think Oda Nobunaga is always shit luck at critical moments, and if he goes against him, he will die of illness, and the god of fate will take care of him anyway.

At the beginning of the seventh year of Eiroku, Oda Nobunaga moved the headquarters from Kiyoshu Castle to Komakiyama Castle for the purpose of defeating Inuyama Castle Oda Nobukiyo and completing the suppression of the entire territory of Owari Province.

In May, in Changjing, Yama County, when Li Xiao's Takeda family Hida Expeditionary Army fought against the Hida coalition army of his sister Koji Yoyori.

Oda Nobunaga attacked Inuyama Castle, and Oda Nobukiyo, the lord of Inuyama Castle, saw that the general trend had gone, escaped from the city, passed through Mino to Kai, and became a retainer of the Takeda family, and later called himself Inuyama Tetsusai.

In June, Kinoshita Toyoshiro, who gave a horse to Li Xiao, actually used the charm of the surname 100 to incorporate the Kawanami people led by Bee Suga Koroku and Maeno Nagayasu into his banner.

At this point, Kinoshita Toyoshiro began to show his prominence in the Oda family, and when the Oda family stormed Inuyama Castle, he used a strategy to subdue the two cities of the Saito family, Imu and Unuma.

After the war, Oda Nobunaga gave 600 pieces of land near the Kiso River to Kinoshita Toyoshiro as a guide.

Kinoshita Toyoshiro also finally stepped from the low-level samurai of the Oda family to the ranks of middle-level cadres.

At the same time, Toyama Keiren, the lord of Higashimi Nowamura Castle, married Oda Nobunaga's aunt and formed an alliance with the Oda family, which meant that the Oda family completed the siege to the east of Inabayama Castle.

Under the offensive of Oda Nobunaga, Mino Ichikuni gradually came under his control.

As in history, three years later, Oda Nobunaga will capture Mino, and another year later, Oda Nobunaga Kamiroku succeeded, officially entered the Dynasty, mastered the center of the world, and completed the transformation of a local prince to the overlord of the world.

After that, the power of the Oda family, the speed of expansion, was like blowing up a balloon, and before everyone could react, the Takeda family, the Uesugi family, the Mori family, and Honganji were far behind.

The rise of the Oda family was unstoppable, which also forced Li Xiao to be more eager to strengthen his strength.

Eleven years later, the Battle of Nagashino was a watershed in the history of the Warring States Period, which was a battle for the fortune of the Takeda family and the Oda family, and also a battle for hegemony in the world.

Before Li Xiao, the force must be strong to a point, strong enough to change history and become a turning point in it, otherwise if the Takeda family Shino defeats, Li Xiao can only hurry up and bring his own small wooden boat, and then cross the ocean, on the other end of the land, to carry out Li Xiao's ambition.

In the Tokugawa family of the Owari Mikawa Oda family, the Kiyoshu alliance is growing.

So it is foreseeable that in the future, Honganji, including the Takeda family, will face enemies that are several times more terrible than Uesugi Kenshin.

At that time, Hokuriku Honganji faced the pressure of Oda Nobunaga, and begged Li Xiao to give him the back road to guard Echichu, and it was too late to resist Uesugi Kenshin, where would he have the idea of competing with Li Xiao for Echichu.

Because of the existence of Oda Nobunaga, it is unlikely that he will conflict with Honganji Temple in the future, so although Li Xiao does not like to use Buddhism as a decoration, he is ambitious to take over the monks of the world.

But now he has to form an alliance with them as a basis for his own foothold in Vietnam.

But having said that, Li Xiao must also guard against such a monk when necessary, and don't ask him to stab him in the back.

Honda Masanobu talked with Li Xiao and the castle tower of Chengsheng Castle for a long time, and after giving a general description of Li Xiao's future development in Vietnam.

At this time, Honda was convinced, and then threw a topic to Li Xiao.

Honda Masanobu lowered his head and said: "Lord, please forgive your subordinates for being rude, this matter should not be asked by Masanobu, but this matter is a matter that all the retainers are concerned about, if it is not resolved, it will inevitably fluctuate in people's hearts." ”

Li Xiao nodded and said, "Just say it." ”

Honda Masashi said: "My lord, after this battle of the castle, the lord was awarded 20,000 stone Zhixing, and at present, he is really a foreign minister, and his status in the Takeda family is extreme. Now it must be thought that it is time to take another step, and if the lord wants to achieve greater development in Vietaka, the territory he has conquered can be blocked, and he must gain the trust of the Takeda family, so please ask the lord to consider the marriage with his own family as soon as possible. ”

Li Xiao became the elder of the Takeda family in just three years, and in the Takeda family, there was already a bit of criticism in the eyes of the retainers such as Fan Fu Huchang.

When Li Xiao led 20,000 Shi Zhixing, in addition to the whole family, among the retainers, the strength was about the same as Sanada Yutaka and Kohata Xiaoxian, and he was currently temporarily subordinated to the Kiso family who married Shingen's daughter.

The promotion is too fast, and he is not from Kai, which is really eye-catching.

The composition of Takeda Shingen's retainer group is a model of composition of many + countrymen.

The clan of the Takeda family, in addition to the Miao character Takeda, also has the Akiyama family (Akiyama Nobuyumi), the Iitomi family (Iitomi Huchang), the Asari family (Asari Nobu), the Itagaki family (Itagaki Nobukata), the Anayama family (Anayama Nobuyo), the Oyamada family (Oyamada Nobushige), and the Ichijo family (a Shinryu).

These people who served as the elders of the Takeda family, became the lord of the city, and served the generals, although they hung different Miao characters, they were all from the same clan of the Takeda family, and they were the descendants of Silla Saburo Minamoto Yoshimitsu.

In their eyes, Li Xiao, he is an outsider, whether he is from the Ming Kingdom or Shinano, it is the same, he is not from the Takeda family.

Therefore, the meaning of Honda Masanobu is very clear, that is, if Li Xiao wants to be truly reused in the hands of Takeda Shingen, he must obtain a marriage with his own family.

Honda Masanobu continued: "Therefore, if you want to further gain a foothold in your family, expand your influence, and increase your voice, the best way is to marry the daughter of Lord Gokan. ”

Li Xiao waved his hand and directly refused: "I have already married the main family, it will not be easier." ”

Since Li Xiao and Yumi Kohata got married, Yumi Kohata, who is Li Xiao's main room, has been living in Takato-no-cho, and the two have not seen each other for nearly a year and a half.

However, this was also the rule at that time, and the retainers who lived outside the city generally had to stay in the main castle of the daimyo, which was tantamount to being a hostage in disguise.

Honda Masanobu nodded and said, "I know that the lord already has a main room, but I mean your eldest son. I heard that Mikan-sama also added a daughter named Kikuhime last year. I think the lord might as well ask Shin Xuan Gong to ask Ju Ji to marry the eldest son of the lord, so that the lord will become a member of the Takeda family. ”

Listening to Honda Masanshin's words, Li Xiao was slightly stunned, but after thinking about it carefully, it did make some sense.

A year and a half ago, when he was not married to Yumi Kohata, he was at best a general of the Takeda family, receiving a direct salary, and he did not have the knowledge to be enjoyed by his children and grandchildren for generations.

In other words, Li Xiao's situation at that time was that he was a wage earner in the head office of the Takeda Family Group, but his status was a little higher, and his subordinate employees just called you a manager.

If it goes on like this, as soon as the age comes, Li Xiao will retire when he should retire, and it has nothing to do with you whether the Takeda Group is good or bad in the future.

And Takeda Shingen's five daughters are either married to a famous family like the Hojo Uesugi family that is on a par with the Takeda family, or they are married to internal ministers for the purpose of wooing.

In such a situation, Li Xiao at this time is not of enough use value for Takeda Shingen, and it is impossible for Takeda Shingen, who has always made full use of political resources, to marry his daughter to Li Xiao.

However, now Li Xiao has been promoted to an old man, with 20,000 stones in his hands, and his status in Takeda is very different.

From the original identity of a wage earner, now he has finally become a part of the shareholders, so Li Xiao is under the eyes of Chairman Takeda Shinxuan, if he wants to strengthen the control of the company, he will gradually have the necessary value for Li Xiao, no, the value that cannot be won over.

In other words, Li Xiao, who is now a famous family elder, is already qualified to marry Takeda Shinxuan.

Then Honda Masanobu talked about Takeda Shingen's daughters.

At present, Takeda Shingenshu is out of the line, a total of five daughters, the eldest daughter of Mrs. Sanjo, according to the agreement of the Koshojun Alliance, married to the son of the Hojo clan, the future Hojo clan Masa, the fourth generation head of the Hojo family.

The second daughter, Mrs. Sanjo, was married to Nobuyoshi Anayama, a former minister of the Takeda family tree.

The third daughter, the truth Hime, is married to Shinano Kiso Kiso Yoshimasa.

These three were already married before Li Xiao left the Takeda family, and they had nothing to do with him, so the focus was on the last two.

Shingen's fourth daughter, Matsuhime, who is only four years old now, was historically linked to the Takeda Oda Alliance, and planned to marry Oda Nobutada, the son of Oda Nobunaga, but it was unsuccessful.

The fifth daughter, Kikuhime was just born last year, as mentioned above, in history, Takeda Shingen had planned to marry this daughter to Nagashima Itsuji Zong, and then marry the adopted son of Uesugi Kenshin, the next generation of Uesugi family head Uesugi Keikatsu.

So for now, Ju Ji and Li Xiao's eldest son are about the same age.

Li Xiaozheng can ask Takeda Shingen for his eldest son.

If the courtship is successful, Takeda Shingen will gain a general and become a public, and Li Xiao's position in the Takeda family will rise to a higher level, and he will gain Takeda Shingen's deeper trust.

After Honda Masanosin finished speaking, Li Xiao fell into deep thought.

In the castle tower of Chengsheng City, a dim oil lamp was lit, and the flickering candlelight illuminated Li Xiao's face dimly and unclearly.

Honda Masashi saw that he had finished what he was going to say, and sighed with relief, as a courtier, it was enough to be able to speak all the words in his heart to the lord.

Whether or not he can accept advice next is already a matter for the lord himself.

Honda Masato is convinced that Li Xiao will definitely be able to make a correct decision.

After Honda Masanobu finished admonishing him, he took his leave and withdrew from the castle tower.

And Li Xiao was still in deep thought.

Anyway, it's been almost two years since the expedition to Hida, and it's time to go back to Jiafei, anyway, in the next half a year, the North Continent will be covered with ice and snow, and it is impossible for Li Xiao to launch an offensive in Chengsheng City, so it's better to go back to Jiafei than to be idle.

I haven't seen each other for almost two years, and my son is almost a full year old, this mother and son are Li Xiaozai's only relatives, if you say that you have been on the expedition for two years, it is impossible not to miss them.

At the same time, the battle between Takeda Katsuyori and Takeda Yoshinobu has reached a white-hot stage, which is related to Li Xiao's painstaking efforts in Takeda's future political investment in the past few years, so it is necessary for him to help Takeda Katsuyori at this time, give him advice, and let him be born in this battle for succession.

If Takeda Yoshinobu wins, then Li Xiao will not talk about everything, and in the future, he can go home and take care of his children with peace of mind and enjoy the joy of family, although he is now an old family, and there are still a group of retainers under him, Takeda Yoshinobu will not do anything to himself for the time being.

But Li Xiao's future development in the Takeda family has stopped.

Of course, there is another point, that is, as Honda Masanobu suggested, after Li Xiao returns to Kai, he must find a way to strengthen his ties with his own family, and it is best to marry the Takeda family and become a member of the Takeda family, so as to lay the foundation for his future development in the Takeda family.

However, before he returns to Jiafei, he must make many things in Chengsheng City clear.

The second said, the castle tower of the castle, the great wide room.

Li Xiao became the elder of the Takeda family and was assessed as the first city lord.

Li Xiao was sitting on top of the stacked seats, and Yokoya Yukiyoshi was holding a sword and kneeling behind Li Xiao.

And in front of him, there were more than 20 retainers, such as Dao Shengmeng, Dazang Chang'an, Shigang Yiyu, and Xiaohata Xiaoxian, all of whom were recruited and promoted by Li Xiao, so they were loyal to Li Xiao.

At present, the retainers sat on both sides, holding their breath and listening to Li Xiao's instructions in a straight seat.

Li Xiao first said: "Benduo is faithful. ”

Honda Zhengxin sighed, turned his body to the side forty-five degrees, knocked on the ground with both hands, and bowed forward, waiting for Li Xiao's instructions.

Li Xiaozheng said with a smile: "Honda Masanobu, you negotiated with Shengxing Temple this time, and you have made great contributions to your family, so I appointed you as the diplomatic responsibility of my family to Shengxing Temple and Honganji Temple in Kaga Echichu, with an annual salary of one hundred and twenty years." ”

"Oh, thank you, my lord."

Honda Masanobu let out a low cry of silence, then turned around and resumed his original sitting position.

For Honda Masanobu, the increase in fortune is not the most important thing, but the most important thing for him is whether his ambitions can be realized in the lord's father.

From this point of view, Li Xiao has a relatively high fit with Honda Masashi.

Next, Li Xiao promulgated the retainers of the retainers.

This is because of the capture of Chengsheng City, so Li Xiao raised the salaries of these retainers who had followed him for a long time.

In the past, Li Xiao often listened to the lectures of those successful people in the university, and one of them said that the new employees of the company can deduce the prospects of the company by looking at the treatment of the company's old employees.

If you are an old employee who has worked for three or four years and still gets a salary similar to yours, then hurry up and change jobs. (This law does not apply to public institutions, civil servants, you know) This is reasonable, and the same applies to the Warring States.

In this regard, Oda Nobunaga is eclectic and employs people like a pile of salaries, and the latecomers prevail.

Meritocracy is good, but Sakuma and Hayashi Sada-so are all important ministers who have served the Oda family for generations.

Although the ability is not very good, and they have offended Oda Nobunaga a little, but they have no merit, and they also have hard work, and they will give people a revolution in one sentence, which makes those old seniors embarrassed, and it seems that they lack a little human touch.

"The island is victorious, with an annual salary of 300 yuan, and he is a general."

"Oh!" Shima Shengmeng agreed loudly, this day he finally became a general, for him who is eager to show his strength in the troubled times, his mood at this moment is naturally excited.

"Great Tibetan Chang'an, one hundred and eighty years old, Shengang Silver Mountain, Shengang Town, Ashigaru General."

Dazang Chang'an shouted, for him, the happiest thing about working under Li Xiao was the moment he got his salary. Relatively speaking, his ideals are much more realistic, he is just for money and women.

(To be continued)