Li Xiao looked at the map of Hokuriku Province. I thought it all over the day.

Li Xiao turned his head to look at Honda Masanobu and asked, "In Yujin City, how is the defense of Tianshen Mountain City arranged?" ”

Honda Masanobu replied, "Due to the arrival of winter, the construction of these two castles has stalled, and according to Kinoshita-sama's report, the construction of Honmaru and Ninomaru in Uozu Castle has been completed, and the construction of Outer Pill and Madedu is only halfway completed, and it is expected to be completed by the summer of this year." As for the Heavenly God Mountain Castle, the progress of construction will be a little slower, and it is estimated that it will be delayed by another month. ”

Li Xiao nodded after hearing this, and said: "Xiu Chang has done a good job, it seems that the construction period will be earlier than before, so I can defend against the attack of Echigo, and I am more sure." ”

Honda Masanobu hesitated for a moment and said, "However, the Nanban people provided us with the big cylinder for defending the city, and there are still ten gates in place. He said that we would not pay the balance until we had paid the balance. ”

Li Xiao raised his eyebrows and said, "What's going on?" Didn't Chang'an prepare the money to the Francophone people? ”

This time, Li Xiao ordered fifteen Fran cannons from the Portuguese to be used as city defense cannons.

Unlike Li Xiao's other six-pounder and nine-pounder guns, the Franc cannon was reloaded and fired, and there was a mother cannon sub-cannon, that is, the concept of cannonballs was introduced, which avoided the concept of gunpowder residue and reloading after each shot.

Compared to ordinary artillery, the Furlong cannon has a faster rate of fire and is more suitable for anti-personnel infantry.

PS: As early as the Jiajing period, the Ming Dynasty has imitated this artillery, and a large number of equipment Ming army, in the Wanli War to aid Korea, a kind of machine cannon called Baichu Franco, in the battle of Pyongyang, a big defeat of Konishi Yukinaga.

Therefore, being used by Li Xiao as a cannon for defending the city with extreme luxury made the big barrel general Rui Costa complain for a long time.

However, Li Xiao was convinced that it was worth the money, and in the battle of Usuki Castle, Otomo Sorin's cannon was opened with the Fran cannon erected at the head of the castle and defeated the army of the Shimazu family besieging the city.

Just as Li Xiao was questioning, Dazang Chang'an walked into the castle tower after being reported by the samurai.

As soon as Li Xiao saw Chang'an, he asked: "The southern barbarians of Chang'an claim to have received the balance of the purchase of the Franco cannon so far, what is going on?" ”

As soon as Dazang Chang'an saw Li Xiao's questioning, he called out to hit the sky, and he said: "My lord, it's not that your subordinates refuse to pay, but you really don't have any money. ”

The treasurer Chang'an said: "My lord, in the past few years, in order to expand the standing reserve of the direct subordinates, the surplus of the mine has been almost spent, and Guiyun Jinshan has also dried up this year, and this money has been vacant. What's more, the lord has been fighting again and again, which is already a situation where he can't make ends meet, and last year, he rebuilt the three cities of Songcang, Yujin, and Tianshen Mountain, and spent almost all his savings. ”

Li Xiao snorted and said, "Really? I heard that Chang'an has been doing well recently, and two more concubines were accepted two months ago. ”

Hearing Li Xiao say this, Dazang Chang'an's face suddenly turned red, and he said: "My lord, the concubines of your subordinates are all their own money, and there is no other embezzlement. His Majesty is a plan for the Lord, and the accounts are clear and can be checked at any time, if there is a half-point difference, His Majesty is willing to commit suicide. ”

Li Xiao squinted his eyes and glanced at Dazang Chang'an, this Okubo, who has always been honest and honest, he can't believe what he said.

However, Dazang Chang'an does have unique talents in mining, financial management, internal affairs and people's livelihood, which is Shioya Akizhen, and Masuda Nagamori cannot replace others, not to mention.

So although Dazang Chang'an has some small pigtails, he grabbed it in his hand Li Xiao also decided to turn a blind eye for the time being before he went too far, after all, the biggest desire in the eyes of a retainer is only money, which is relatively easy to control, but the necessary beating is still necessary.

After all, Dazang Chang'an was still a little weak-hearted, and said: "Lord, I really can't take out such money right now." ”

Li Xiaoyan said: "Li Xiao asked Yanwu Qiuzhen if he temporarily borrowed a loan from the Yanwu merchants?" ”

The treasurer said: "This can be thought of, but the salt house merchants have limited financial resources, so I am afraid they can only support part of it." ”

Li Xiao nodded and said, "Then there is no way, I have to ask the Portuguese to borrow first." He used the gold of the next two years as collateral to borrow money from the Portuguese. ”…,

Hearing this, Dazang Chang'an asked in surprise: "My lord, Yan Weicao is the largest income of my Viet Nam and Central Creature at the moment, if it is mortgaged to the Portuguese, in case we can't come up with the money to repay it, I am afraid that the next two years will be in financial trouble." ”

Li Xiao shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter, after we capture Zuodu, everything will not be a problem." ”

Seeing that Li Xiao looked very confident, Dazang Chang'an didn't understand why after capturing Sadu, where he could get money to offset this arrears, but his lips moved at the moment and he didn't speak.

Li Xiaoyan said: "These ten big cylinders must arrive this year, equipping the top of the city, so with the strength of Kinoshita Hidenaga and Takenaka Heavy Governance, plus the fortified city and the big tube, even if Uesugi Kenshin personally led the army to attack Yuezhong, it would be enough to resist for more than three months." ”

After speaking, Li Xiao said to Dazang Chang'an: "About the loan, you should hurry up and communicate with the Southern Barbarians." ”

Dazang Chang'an sighed and retreated from the chalk.

Saying this, Li Xiao looked at Usami Mina and said, "What was the situation in Echigo last year?" ”

Usami Nami said respectfully: "Returning to the lord, since the battle of Kawanakajima, although the losses of the family have been heavier than those of the Uesugi army, it is estimated that the Uesugi army has also lost nearly one percent, not to mention that in Yuezhong, the Uesugi family's general Naoe Yamatomori, Kawada Toyozen Mamoru and the 5,000 generals were all wiped out, and the foundation of the Uesugi family was lost, and the power of the Uesugi family was not as good as before, and its vitality was not restored in a few years. ”

"And now that the family owns most of Echichu, under the elimination of one and the other, it is only necessary to maintain the pressure on Echigo together with the North Shinano Army of Lord Gao, and Uesugi Kenshin does not dare to make any rash moves. Now, the Uesugi family is also taking into account the presence of their own family in Echichu, and is building Katsuyama Castle in a place close to their relatives and children, so that it will serve as a border defense castle, and together with Fudoyama Castle, it will serve as a barrier against our army's attack on Kasugayama Castle. ”

Li Xiao smiled when he heard this: "Very good."

According to two to three years ago, Uesugi Kenshin's forces can be said to have turned their wrists and wiped out Li Xiao at any time.

However, at the moment, he was afraid of Li Xiao's power, and Uesugi Kenshin had to operate Echigo to defend and consolidate. And now, as long as Li Xiao makes a good defense against the front line of Yujin City Tianshen Mountain City, he can temporarily protect himself without worry.

Uesugi Kenshin would never dare to hang alone for a long time, otherwise, whether it was Kitashinano's Takashi Shonobu Legion or Ueno's Naito, Sanada's Legion could take the opportunity to attack Echigo.

Speaking of this, the outside of the paper sliding door reported to Li Xiaoyu: "My lord, the general of the ship is Xiangjing Masatsuna, and the Qianhe Sun Bingwei has arrived, waiting outside for the lord to summon him." ”

Li Xiao nodded and said, "Call them in." “

After Xiang Jing Masana and Chiga Sun Bingwei entered the door, they bowed to Li Xiao.

Li Xiao asked first: "How have the sailors been recently?" This text is provided by Qihang Dagger Qishen

Xiang Jing Zhenggang said: "Back to the lord, your subordinates have always been conscientious, and the navy has been trained very skillfully and is ready to go into battle at any time." ”

Li Xiao smiled and said: "Xiangjing, you don't understand what I mean, I'm asking you whether the hearts of the Wajima Navy have been completely subdued and can be used by us." ”

Xiang Jing Zhenggang hurriedly said: "My lord, my subordinates dare not be very sure of this. In the past year, his subordinates only recruited three ships from the Wajima Navy Department as their direct subordinates. ”

Qianhe Sun Bingwei said: "My lord, for the past year, we have been following your wishes to attract the hearts of the sailors on the island island, but the original owner of the ship, the general of the ship are wary of us and others, and this year, the subordinates have only recruited five ships. ”

Li Xiao nodded when he heard this, and said, "This is quite difficult, but it is still not enough. With these eight ships, you are not enough to get the position of the bow of the ship in our Vietnamese and Chinese naval forces, and you must also win over the other shipowners and generals. But I'll leave that to someone else. ”

When Xiangjing Masatsune and Qianhe Sun Bingwei heard that Li Xiao had decided to intervene in this matter, they all said with joy on their faces.

At the same time, Li Xiaoyan said: "But you must also pay close attention to training, in the near future I will send the Sado expeditionary army, when your navy troops in addition to transporting soldiers and horses for me, you must also ensure the supply of soldiers' food, especially to obtain the right to control the sea in the Sado Strait." ”

"It can be expected that if I attack Sado, the Uesugi family will definitely not sit idly by, and there may be a fierce battle then." …,

Mukai Masana and Chiga Sun Bingwei glanced at each other, but they were silent, they didn't know how strong the Echigo Navy was.

Li Xiao smiled and said: "But you don't have to worry too much, I will borrow troops from the southern barbarians in this battle, and let their naval army be dispatched to help you at that time." ”

Mukai Masatsuna and Chiga Sun Bei are both people who have been walking on the sea for a long time, so they naturally know how the Portuguese ships are strong and powerful, and with their help, they will naturally defeat the enemy's naval army.

After Mukai Masana and Chiga Sun Bingwei retreated with a full stomach, Honda Masanobu said: "My lord, if the southern barbarians want to fight, there must be an expense, where will I get this money from?" ”

Li Xiao smiled: "I have my own way, and all the goals at the moment are based on the premise of giving priority to Sado." ”

Usami said: "My lord, as far as I know, the land of Sado is barren, the stone height is only more than 10,000, and it is an island, and the transportation is inconvenient, although there are few silver mines produced, but the number is not much, it is really not worth the lord to spend so much effort to attack, and besides, it is not necessary to surround Echigo from the sea." ”

Li Xiao smiled, it is true that at this time, Sado Island is still a barren place in the eyes of everyone, and in the past, together with Fei Ying, it was a holy place for the chalky imperial court and the exile of labor prisoners.

The only one was in 1542, when an outcropping silver mine was found to be mined, but it was only a small part of it, and it was considered that the output was not large, which was also the earliest excavation of Hezi Silver Mountain.

It wasn't until the sixth year of Keichō, that is, in 1601 A.D., that Tsuruko Ginzan was discovered by the mountain master of Iwami Ginzan, and it was not long before Sado Kanayama surfaced.

Later, Sado Gold Mine was not only the chalk of the time but also the world's largest gold mine at that time, supplying a large amount of gold and silver to the Tokugawa shogunate's gold and silver Ginza.

But this news was a secret for the time when even the local lord Honma family did not know about it, and only Li Xiao knew about it in the world