In the face of Torres's kindness in giving away pocket watches, Li Xiao naturally had to repay the favor.

Chinese people don't often talk about coming and not being rude.

If Li Xiao gave them back the items, in fact, Hida and Shinano are so barren, there is nothing that Torres can look at.

Katana, sake, and the like, Torres can also be bought elsewhere in the city.

Li Xiao thought for a while and ordered a few words from Dazang Chang'an.

Then Dazang Chang'an took out a plate from under the castle tower attic, which contained dozens of pieces of ash-blown silver refined from the Kamioka Silver Mountain.

In these years, there is no gift more practical than giving money, and Li Xiao immediately handed over the blow to Torres.

Torres was immediately moved, silver is a big good thing.

Li Xiao opened his mouth and said: "I know that Your Excellency is in the Ming Kingdom, so you are in urgent need of silver taels, this is a small courtesy, in the words of the Ming people, it is not a respect." ”

Of course, foreigners never engage in politeness.

Torres took the plate in Li Xiao's hand, and was moved in his heart, at that time, the Portuguese took the route of Nagasaki-Macau, and pulled a large amount of silver bought at a low price to the Ming Kingdom in exchange for the items they wanted.

And the value of the silver given by Li Xiao is far better than the pocket watch he just now.

Torres exclaimed, "Your Excellency, Servant of God, Torres, I salute you with the highest respect, and you will always be the best and most reliable friend I have ever known in this kingdom. ”

When Li Xiao heard Torres say this, he thought to himself, OK, this foreigner was successfully bought by himself.

But then Torres was very unkind, he took advantage of his relationship with Li Xiao, who had just climbed into a friend, and began to want to lobby Li Xiao to let him join Catholicism.

Of course, Li Xiao politely declined this, and the excuse was the same as when he resigned from Honganji, he had believed in other sects when he was in the Ming Kingdom, Torres heard Li Xiao say so sure, and immediately expressed infinite regret.

However, Li Xiao, at the same time, he also showed respect and respect for Catholicism.

He threw a decoy at Torres, saying that if the lord Takeda Shingen did not object, he could allow Torres to preach in his own territory and cooperate.

In the end, Li Xiao also said that he was willing to take him to meet Takeda Shingen to see if he could convince Takeda Shingen to let Catholicism spread within the territory of the entire Takeda family.

When Tosley heard Li Xiao say this, he couldn't help but feel sincerely grateful, compared to Matsuura Takanshin, who was only greedy for the convenience of trade with Portugal, and allowed the territory to believe in religion.

Li Xiao didn't say a word about the trade with Portugal, and the other party was willing to introduce his lord for him.

In this way, whether Torres can convince Takeda Shingen or not, he has already inherited the favor of Boss Li Xiao.

Li Xiao just shook his head for Torres's gratitude, he also wanted to trade with the Portuguese, but the problem was that there was no port in the territory, and even the Takeda family did not have access to the sea now, so there was no way to talk about trade with overseas at the moment.

But for Li Xiao, the real intention of his trouble to befriend Torres is not here.

After that, Li Xiao asked Father Torres in a very casual tone: "Father Torres, in the Ming Dynasty, I liked to eat potatoes and wheat (corn) the most, but unfortunately I can't eat them in this book now, I wonder if Father Torres can help me send a little seed to my territory to plant, so that I can eat potatoes and wheat every day." ”

Then Li Xiao laboriously gestured to Torres for potatoes and wheat.

He didn't know much about Potato Torres, but he knew what Li Xiao said, but then he also expressed his doubts, and asked rhetorically: "Honorable lord, may I ask if there is such food as this kind of food in Daming?" ”

Li Xiao thought for a while, it was indeed unknown whether corn was introduced to China at this time, but Li Xiao immediately opened the topic.

Instead, Li Xiao described to Torres the corn soup he had eaten in KFC and McDonald's before, how to put eggs, ham, wheat, milk, and how to put it in the pot.

After hearing this, Torres said with great interest: "Lord Li Xiao, if Your Excellency can really make such a corn soup, I am very interested in tasting it, but I don't know when you Ming people also began to drink milk and ham." ”

Li Xiao laughed dryly, made an excuse at random, and fooled the past.

Torres is quite kind, and Li Xiao is a knowledgeable person in his eyes, so naturally he doesn't have the idea of digging to the end.

In addition, he owed Li Xiao a gift of silver and a recommendation to Takeda Shinxuan, the favor of these two bosses, so he agreed.

promised to send a batch of wheat to Li Xiao to plant before next year.

When Li Xiao heard this, the ecstasy in his heart was also indescribable.

Corn, this is the world's most productive food in Li Xiao's time.

Corn was first cultivated by the Indians, then discovered by Spain and Portugal in the Americas, brought back to China for planting, and then introduced to China from Malacca, and by the end of the Ming Dynasty, China had more than a dozen provinces to grow corn.

Corn is not only hardy, but it is especially suitable for cultivation in mountainous areas such as Hida, where the land is barren, arid and rainless.

In the late Ming and Qing dynasties, it was the large cultivation of sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes that supported the population expansion of the entire China at that time.

For Li Xiao, corn is not exactly a mysterious weapon that can open up the Hida Mountains and the stone height in the territory.

For Hida, there is no shortage of vast land, but most of these lands are not suitable for growing wheat and rice.

Therefore, at the beginning, Chang'an of the Great Treasury suggested that Li Xiao should be in the territory of Hida and encourage farmers to reclaim wasteland in order to increase the height of the stone, but Li Xiao refused, and the reason is precisely this.

Li Xiao was worried about wasting money and manpower, but it was in vain.

But the advent of corn can change that.

If nothing else, the corn was successfully planted in Hida and confirmed that it could adapt to the Hida mountains, Li Xiao would be able to widely promote corn planting in Hida and Vietnam.

As long as it takes one to two years, the stone height in the collar can at least be developed by more than 2 to 30,000 because of this.

At that time, Li Xiaoling's inner height was 20,000 stones, but in fact, the inner height was 40,000 or 50,000 stones.

Here, Li Xiaoxue learned how Date Masamune turned 630,000 stone high into a million stone in Sendai.

So this Torres is really a big lucky star for Li Xiao.

If it weren't for the difference between men and men, Li Xiao would have rushed forward and ...... madly Hug Torres for a moment.

Immediately, Li Xiao pressed the ecstasy in his heart, for him, the benefits of befriending the Portuguese are not only this, but also have greater uses in the future.

As long as the Viethorn has an outlet to the sea, the Nanban trade can be put on the agenda.

For Nanban trade, Li Xiao's fist product is still Shengang Yinshan.

You must know that at that time, the Ming Dynasty on the other side of the bank was like Zhongtian, and it stood in the east with great momentum.

In modern times, there are various theories such as the GDP of the Ming Kingdom accounting for one-third and one-half of the world's GDP.

The currency in circulation in the Ming Dynasty was silver, and the Ming Kingdom itself did not have silver mines, so it was quite short of silver. In particular, Zhang Juzheng later reformed a whip law to realize the integration of enslavement, and implemented the silver standard, and the income of the state and county fields was calculated in silver.

At that time, Portugal, Spain, and the Ming Dynasty were still short of silver.

As for how much silver was sent to the Ming Dynasty until the death of the Ming Dynasty, there are various theories between 50 million taels and 200 million taels.

Once Li Xiao opened up the mouth to the sea, the gray-blown silver flowing from the Shengang Silver Mountain could be sold to the Ming Kingdom through the Portuguese, Macao-Nagasaki route in a steady stream.

In this way, compared with Li Xiao's sale of the blown silver to the local people who were not short of silver, and the sale of silver to the Ming Dynasty through the channel of the Portuguese, Li Xiao earned a higher profit value.

And Shengang Silver Mountain can also play a further role.

Therefore, Li Xiao's current little investment in Torres is definitely worth it, and the two are also ready to establish a long-term friendly relationship.

As for whether Takeda Shingen will allow Catholicism to spread in the territory, Li Xiao can say very responsibly that he does not even have a 1% possible surname.

Of course, it's good to let even these southern barbarians run away in vain, these propaganda teachers are characters who don't hit the south wall and don't look back.

However, Li Xiao still supports freedom of belief, and Oda Nobunaga is not also in favor of the way that the people believe in Catholicism to check and balance the Ichikozong.

Moreover, as long as he obtains an outlet to the sea in the future, Li Xiao plans to buy the legendary Francophone cannon and red-coated cannon from these Portuguese to establish his own artillery.

It was a great day of meeting with Mr. Torres and his entourage.

A few days later, Li Xiao had arranged all the affairs of Chengsheng City clearly.

Li Xiao left Chengshengcheng with the missionary teacher Torres and these Portuguese and went to the Hesaki Pavilion together.

And on the way from Chengsheng Castle to Kamiokanda Castle, there was a matter of Rui Costa asking Li Xiao to come out and become a Nanban samurai of the Takeda family.

Li Xiao didn't agree directly, but turned his head to look at Father Torres, who had been silent, and asked, "Father Torres?"

Of course, Torres understood what Li Xiao meant, and he spoke up: "Dear Lord Li Xiao, Rui Costa is a seafarer I hired from Macau, and he is completely free, so he can make decisions about his own behavior without the permission of his subordinates. ”

Rui Costa nodded and said, "Honorable Lord Li Xiao, Your Excellency, as a native of the Ming Kingdom, your personal wisdom and bravery can become a ...... in other countries A big ...... Lord, such an achievement is really unimaginable, so I want to follow your example and achieve such a cause. ”

When Li Xiao heard that Rui Costa was going to go out of the Takeda family, he had a ridiculous feeling in his heart, but when he thought about the Miura needle who came out of the Tokugawa shogunate, he was immediately a little relieved.

Miura pressed the needle in 1600 to come to the island, the first Englishman to land on the island, and also the first foreign samurai in another time and space where Li Xiao was, with 250 stone Kochixing.

Later, the American writer James wrote a book "Shogun", in which the protagonist is a reference to the deeds between Miura and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Tokugawa no Miura press needle, Takeda no Rui Costa.

Thinking of this, Li Xiao couldn't help but have a wicked smile on his face.

However, Rui Costa's goal is actually the same as himself, but it is not easy to get out in the troubled times of the Warring States.

This Rui Costa probably saw his own achievements, so he thought that being in Nanban was equivalent to opening a golden finger, so what Li Xiao could do, he could also do.

That's why Rui Costa had the idea of emulating Li Xiao.

As Li Xiao rode his horse, he looked at Rui Costa, a southern barbarian who was about Chinese New Year's Eve years old and had a dark complexion, which was obviously caused by the wind and wind of the sea for many years.

He had heard Torres briefly introduce him before, and knew what he was going through.

Rui Costa also knew that Li Xiao was looking at him, and immediately straightened his chest, showing a bit of arrogance.

Li Xiao opened his mouth and asked: "Lu Yi, you want to go out of your own family, there is no problem, I welcome you, but what will you do?" ”

"I am a good seaman, having previously served as the second officer of the Pharaoh, and I am confident that I can take on the duties of a captain at any time, commanding a ship that I can observe ....... ”

Li Xiao made a gesture to stop, so as not to continue the other party's rambling.

Li Xiaoyan said: "Second mate Lu Yi, I know your ability to sail, but I don't have a navy, where is the ship for you to drive?" ”

Hearing Li Xiao say this, Rui Costa stretched out his hand to spare his head, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and said: "Your Excellency, honorable lord, I can take on the responsibility of a gunner, and personally ignite the cannon at any time, aim and shoot, I can do all of this." ”

"Gunner?" Li Xiao put a big question mark.

Rui Costa nodded, recounting how many times he had fired a cannon on the Pharaoh.

Although the Pharaoh was a merchant ship, piracy was rife during the Age of Discovery, and the Pharaoh was equipped with several three-pounder guns as a deterrent.

Rui Costa is a rambling man, and when he gets the chance, he talks endlessly.

Rui Costa boasted of his 'glorious achievements' in front of Li Xiao: "When I was fighting against pirates in the West Indies, I personally used the bow cannon and fired the cannon myself, and there was a bang on the ground, and the sound was very loud, and I saw that the pirate ship seven or eight nautical miles away was hit by my cannon, and the main mast broke with a pop, and then caused a big explosion, and the whole ship was lit on the sea like a torch. ”

"Seven or eight nautical miles?" Li Xiao couldn't help but tear down the Rui Costa's diorama when he heard it.

How do you know that Rui Costa is very thick, his face is not red, and he said without a heartbeat: "Yes, it's probably five or six nautical miles, and I don't know it so well, it's enough anyway." Lord Lord, you Ming people may not have seen it, and you don't know that the range of the cannon is so far away, that it can be hit from one end of the sky to the other on the sea. ”

Li Xiao shook his head and said, "Rui, five or six nautical miles, let alone a three-pounder gun, even a six-pounder gun, or even an eighteen-pounder gun can't reach this distance, let alone an effective range." ”

Rui Costa laughed, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that this thing was obviously using such a laugh to hide his weakness.

Rui Costa said: "Your Excellency, your knowledge is really profound, you are so clever that you actually know that our Pharaoh is equipped with an eighteen-pounder cannon, yes, I am mistaken, I used an eighteen-pounder cannon, not a three-pounder cannon. ”

Li Xiao was immediately angry, and said: "Mr. Rui, I hope you can be honest, according to what you said, the displacement of your Pharaoh is only a little more than a hundred tons at most, and a ship of this weight, if an eighteen-pounder cannon shoots at one shot, its recoil is enough to make the whole ship scatter." ”

In the face of Li Xiao's questioning, Rui Costa laughed dryly twice, and finally couldn't brag anymore, so he told the truth.

It turned out that the Pharaoh was only equipped with two or three three-pounder guns, as well as a few one-pounder guns, all of which were mounted above deck, and the below deck was used to load cargo, and it was impossible to put naval guns.

This amount of force could not fight the pirates, so the Pharaoh only dared to take some safe routes.

As for Rui Costa's cannon, it is true, and on a whim of a voyage he planned to shoot whales.

But after a shot, he was stopped by the ship's first mate, and the two had a big argument afterwards.

Li Xiao and Rui Costa chatted, Honda Masanobu and Shioka Kazuha both shook their heads disdainfully, if you want to become a warrior in the Takeda family, you must abide by the five Confucian virtues of 'benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and faith'.

This Rui Costa is running a train with a mouthful, and it is far from being connected with letters.

Immediately, one of the retainers spoke: "My lord, with all due respect, such a man is not worthy of being a samurai, and if he becomes a samurai of my Takeda family, I will feel ashamed to be with him." ”

This retainer is right, this Rui Costa speaks more loudly than Usopp in One Piece, and Usopp is even more.

Rui Costa was also full of embarrassment, he knew that his appearance this time was very difficult, and he suddenly looked decadent, and said: "Honorable lord, I am sincere, I like the women of this country, oh no, I like everything in this country, so I have the intention of becoming a man here." ”

"But you don't have a ship here for me to drive, except as a seaman, I used to cast the bell for the church in my hometown, and I can't think of any other talents for the time being......"

"What bell?" Li Xiao was interested, he remembered that the European cannon was first made by a group of bell makers.

"Yes, it doesn't matter if it's a bronze bell or an iron bell. Your Excellency, you don't have a need for a bell, and although I would love to be a bellsmith, I don't allow myself to be a bellsmith, and I refuse that. ”

Li Xiao said with a smile: "Rui, you don't have to refuse so quickly, what if I hire you with a high salary?" Well, in other words, this money can be enough for you to sleep with many times women, or different women, and all beautiful women. ”

As soon as Li Xiao finished speaking, Rui Costa jumped off the horse, covered his chest with his hands, and said, "Respect the lord, please give me the order, no matter what I am asked to do, I am willing." ”

(To be continued)