"Can you talk about it?" Hatakeyama Yoshishu sat up straight and asked solemnly. However, he quickly apologized to me: "It may be a bit presumptuous to ask such a question, after all, I am only temporarily replacing His Royal Highness Niwa...... However, I do want to be as good as I can for my brother-in-law. His Royal Highness Xuanjing must be able to understand this feeling! ”

This seems to be a test of Hatakeyama Yoshishu, to test my own trust in him, and through me to test Nobunaga's attitude, to see if he himself can enter the core of the Oda family's internal affairs.

Under normal circumstances, I certainly wouldn't have rashly revealed that, as he himself said, after all, he was only temporarily replacing Niwa Nagahide. However, I have already heard the news that Nobunaga is going to transfer Shibata Katsuie and Takigawa Ichiyi to the Kaga Province after the pacification of Echizen, blocking the Ichijang clan of Kaga Province; Then, Nobunaga was going to build a new castle in Minami-Omi, where he became a direct leader, and the general secretary of the castle had already booked Niwa Nagahide. In other words, Hatakeyama Yoshishu's temporary appointment is very likely to be turned into a regular immediately, so it should be okay to tell him in advance, which can not only further win over his relationship, but also make it more convenient to obtain his cooperation.

"In front of His Royal Highness Yizhou, there is no end to what you say!" I smiled very sincerely, "That's right, before going to Ming, the main bus gave me a secret mission, requiring me to obtain the coinage technology of Daming...... Now that this mission has been accomplished, it doesn't matter if we don't have Yongle Money in return, we can do our best to mint high-grade copper coins ourselves. ”

"Really? That's a great way to congratulate! Hatakeyama Yoshishu couldn't help but show surprise, "Brother Yi and His Royal Highness Xuanjing are indeed people with extraordinary courage!" ”

It was normal for him to be so surprised. It is said that the first time the copper coins were minted in the early eighth century, when the imitation Tang Dynasty was opened and the same Kaiju, the main purpose was to raise funds for moving the capital, and then in more than two hundred years, the remaining eleven kinds of money were successively minted, collectively known as the "Twelve Coins of the Imperial Dynasty", but due to the low coinage technology, the quality of these coins was extremely low, coupled with the harsh money law, it was withdrawn from circulation at the end of the tenth century, and rice and cloth were used as currency. It was not until the opening of the port of Fukuhara in the Heiqing Dynasty and the start of trade with the Song Dynasty that copper coins re-established themselves as the currency of the Shogunate, and decades later, the Kamakura shogunate issued a formal decree to regulate it.

However, for more than 600 years since the 12 coins of the Imperial Dynasty were stopped, except for the privately minted coins in various places, neither the imperial court nor the two generations of shogunates have reopened the minting of official coins. This is naturally the result of considering and weighing their own abilities. Because official money is different from private coinage, it takes a lot of political and economic resources to mint it, popularize its use, and maintain the credibility of the coin, and the circulation of official money is directly related to the domestic economy and people's livelihood, and to the authority and reputation of the ruling regime. Ordinary people really don't have such courage.

The main reason why Nobunaga and I dared to do this was because we had the backing of the money writer's house. After more than 10 years of operation, up to now, the "Eiraku money is used only for taxes" decree formulated by Nobunaga and dispatched by the money writing house has been fully implemented in the territory, and has achieved good results, not only to pay taxes, but also to become the only copper coin used in ordinary transactions. It can be said that Yongle money has actually become the official money in the Oda Collar, and it radiates to the surrounding areas, and people from other places, after entering the Oda Collar, will follow the customs of the locals and exchange the money for Yongle money and then use it. This can be seen from the accumulation of money in the money house, which is almost difficult to redeem.

In view of this fact alone, we must also re-mint official money, otherwise we will face a shortage of official money in the territory, and we will also waste the copper ingots that are melted from a large amount of iron...... Naturally, Hatakeyama Yoshishu didn't know about the situation of the money house. So, in addition to being surprised by Nobunaga and my decision, I was also a little worried.

"It's just, is there enough certainty about such a major matter?" He asked me.

"It won't be a big problem." I explained to him with confidence, "In fact, the use of Yongle money has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the ability of the money writer house to regulate and control has also been fully verified. As long as we can mint copper coins of the same grade as Yongle coins, and then issue them in the collar as we used to promote Yongle coins, we will definitely be able to accept them by the people...... Or, we just mint Yongle money, just as if it was shipped from the Ming Kingdom! ”

“…… I understand," Hatakeyama Yoshishu owes himself, "His Royal Highness Xuanjing is so honest, thank you very much!" ”

"His Royal Highness Yi Zhou is polite," I returned the salute, "Since His Royal Highness Yi Zhou has been appointed to be in charge of the survey and trade with me, there is naturally no need to hide these inside stories. Later, I will have to trouble His Royal Highness Yizhou to help. ”

"Then, please ask His Highness Xuanjing to do my best." He said earnestly.

"It's about the Ming court's request for tribute copper," I raised the official document he had just read, "We can't ignore the Ming court's request, and a large amount of copper is also needed to mint copper coins." Although there are a lot of copper ingots stored in the money house now, I am afraid that it will not be able to meet the needs of these two aspects, so the lord will definitely order the collection of copper materials...... This task is inconvenient for the money writer to participate in, and I think it should be carried out together with the collection of goods for the survey trade. ”

"Hmm," Hatakeyama Yoshishu pondered for a while and nodded in agreement, "His Highness Xuanjing's consideration is indeed very likely...... So, what do you mean by helping? ”

"Actually, I just want to do a business," I smiled, "because this matter is being presided over by His Highness Yi Zhou!" Therefore, I would like to see Tsuya take charge of the specific fundraising. ”

"That's no problem! Tsuya is willing to take responsibility, so I'm naturally very relieved," Hatakeyama Yoshishu readily agreed, "In this way, the burden on my body has also been lightened...... This is the kindness of His Royal Highness Xuanjing! ”

……，…… Soon, in addition to the salt house and the blue house, a copper house was set up under the Tsuya to be responsible for the purchase of copper materials.

This new subdivision is currently unremarkable. However, I know very well how influential it will be with the minting of official money.

It is said that there are three major copper mountains, namely Besko Copper Mountain, Akasawa Copper Mountain, and Ogosawa Copper Mountain. Besko Copper Mine was discovered in 1690, and the Sumitomo family obtained the hereditary mining qualification of "Eidai Sushishi" from the Tokugawa shogunate, and then mined until the Showa period, supporting a large Sumitomo zaibatsu. Akasawa Copper Mountain was bought by Kuhara Bonosuke (Tanaka Cabinet Minister of Communications) in the Meiji period, renamed Korai Copper Mountain, and established Kuhara Zaibatsu (the foundation of Sayri Manufacturing), which was later taken over by Kuhara's brother-in-law, Meiji elder Inoue Shin's nephew Ayukawa Yoshisuke (Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Konoe Cabinet), and renamed Akamoto Sangyo for short, thus laying the foundation for the two major enterprises of Sayori and Tsusan. Although the Otosawa Copper Mountain ranked third, it was the first to be mined, and the "Watong" in the name "Wado Kaiju" refers to the Otosawa Copper Mountain, which was mined intermittently until the Meiji period, and this copper mountain was taken over by Yataro Iwasaki of Tosa, and Iwasaki's company, called Mitsubishi Trading Company, was formerly known as Tosa Sakamoto Ryoma's sea aid team.

It can be seen from this that the wealth contained in the copper mountain is really amazing.

Among the three major copper mountains, Besshi Copper Mountain is the largest, and after the mine was closed, it became one of the world's cultural heritage sites in Japan. This copper mountain is located just south of Kawanoe Castle, which I am expanding, and then extends all the way to the neighboring Shini Gun.

Historically, this copper mountain has been mined for 282 years, with a total copper production of more than 700,000 tons. If we do not take into account the fluctuations in production, the average annual copper output is about 2,500 tons, and if all of them are minted into pure copper coins, the value is about 670,000 kan, which can be exchanged for about 100 tons of silver, or about 100 tons of gold, according to the current three-goods exchange ratio set by the Oda family.

With such a large treasury, if the columnists of the Warring States Period in China evaluate it, they will probably come up with such a sentence: "This overlord's capital is also!" (This is a strong capital that is enough to be the king!) It can be said that I sought the two counties of Uma and Shini to vigorously expand the castle of Kawanoe for the sake of this copper mountain. Now, the establishment of the copper house and the exclusive right to operate the copper materials used in the coinage are the beginning of my transformation of the copper mountain into wealth.

Of course, there are several prerequisites that need to be used to successfully complete this transformation.

First of all, I have to hold on to this privilege. It's not a big problem, and now that Hatakeyama Yoshishu has agreed to put me in charge, as long as Tsuya can successfully complete the task, even if Niwa Nagahide or even others are replaced, he should be happy to continue to maintain the status quo.

Secondly, this matter must be approved by Nobunaga, and at the same time must not arouse his greed, at least the scale of the mine must be partially hidden from Nobunaga. Therefore, I specially set up this copper house, and I am ready to hand it over to the right person to run it on my behalf, and put aside my relationship with the copper house by commercial means. The profits of the copper house were also divided into two parts, one part was the profit calculated on the books, about 20% of the total profit, and then the tax amount of this profit was paid to the lord of me, the lord of the gold (the tax apportioned by the lord to the industrial and commercial households in the domain), and to Nobunaga (the tax on the "national favor" of the political axe "on the initiative" of the merchant who obtained the franchise of the Eno River and Sea); The remaining eighty percent of the profits go directly to my warehouse.

Third, the amount of official money minted must be very large, and the bigger the better. The bigger it is, the more copper I need, and the more profitable I am. Therefore, I have decided to use my authority to fully promote the minting and circulation of government money, so as to provide policy support. And being able to issue official money smoothly is also a very beneficial thing for the Oda family, and Nobunaga is definitely happy to see me so diligent.

After thinking about it in this way, I found that the second of the three prerequisites was the most important, and the key was to find a suitable businessman to run the copper house on my behalf.

If only ability and loyalty are considered, the Mitsui family is naturally the most suitable. However, now that the Mitsui family is in charge of the Tsuya and already has a golden seat, plus the copper house, the responsibility is too heavy. If it really develops like this, it may not be a good thing for me or the Mitsui family.

Imagine what it would be like if Mitsui and Sumitomo merged among the three major chaebols of Mitsui, Sumitomo, and Mitsubishi in later generations. I'm afraid that even the political axe of the time will tremble and forcibly break it up!

Therefore, the copper house cannot be controlled by them.

After thinking about it carefully, I chose the coppersmith Riemon of the Mireshu money house. He was originally Li Fangliang's associate, engaged in blister copper refining. It was a promising profession, for the blister copper of the book often contained small amounts of gold and silver, and his job was to separate it through the Portuguese refining method of "Nanban Blowing", and he successfully learned this method. Later, he came to the money writing house because of Li Fangliang's recommendation. At that time, Nobunaga issued an order that "taxes should be used only for Yongle money", and the Triple Writing House gathered a large amount of iron money, which made me quite distressed for a while, and then Li Fangliang transferred him to me to take charge of the business of melting iron money and refining blister copper.

Calculating the time, he has been serving in the money house for five or six years, and he has always been conscientious, both in character and technology, he is very trustworthy. I am very relieved to hand over the affairs of the copper house to him, and it can also be regarded as a reward for his hard work in the past few years!

I ordered Tsuya to summon Riemon to Kyoto, and then met him at the Oya Wing Hall in Shijo Gion Street.

It was the first time I had met him in person. Due to his long work at the furnace, his appearance was extremely vicissitudes, his face, arms, and neck had completely turned bronzed, his hands were full of calluses, and his bones were very thick.

"The villain is the right emon, and I have seen the head of the house!" His voice trembled a little, clearly in a very emotional mood.

It was undoubtedly a great honor for a craftsman like him, who was completely subordinate to the samurai and whose status was close to that of a slave, to be received by the master of the family alone.

"Riemon, do you have a Miao character?" I asked.

"Miao Zi...... Homecoming, the villain's ancestors have been craftsmen for generations, how can there be Miao characters? Riemon quickly replied.

"From now on, then, you will ......" I thought about it, and gave him the oldest and most famous surname...... Let's take 'Su I' as the Miao character! ”

"Miao Zi!" Riemon looked up in surprise and looked at me in disbelief. He obviously didn't understand the origin of this Miao character, which was originally a surname, but he still knew very well the meaning of the Miao character.

"Why are you still stunned? From now on, you'll be a samurai-sama! Why don't you hurry up and thank you? Li Fangliang on the side said with a smile.

"Yes!" Only then did he realize that I had indeed promoted him to be a samurai, so he hurriedly bowed to the ground.

"This is a reward for your hard work over the years. Let's do it well in the future! I said a few words, and then left the side hall. As for the rest, it is naturally arranged by the people of Tsuya.

(To be continued)