The main force of Shimoetsu raised the northern people, and several main forces were defeated by the Kira family in a battle, and the leaders of the original anti-Nagao family, Honjo Shiranaga and Kurokawa Kiyomi, surrendered one after another, and the original leader was taken over by the Kira family, and Nakajo Fujishi, Kaji Harutsuna, Yasuda Nagahide and others were hardcore leaders of the Nagao faction, plus the small country Yorihisa, Kanezu Yoshiko's old take the second time, and the same dismantled fragments did not return to the unity of the past.

The two major samurai groups that used to be able to wrestle with the Nagao family have disintegrated one after another, coupled with the continuous increase in the strength and status of the two-headed rule of Nagao and Kira, the absolute gap between the two sides has become very obvious, and no one has tried to provoke this unshakable ruling authority at this juncture.

Since last spring, which lasted for nearly half a year, the Kira army has gone into battle more than 20 times, and has successively exterminated many national lords who have resisted stubbornly.

The confiscation of the temples and princes' domains who were unwilling to accept the removal of the privileges of the guardians, as well as those who had taken refuge in the lords of the countrymen and could not bear the abolition of the privileges of the exclusion of taxes, greatly deterred the unscrupulous people in the Echigo territory, so that the construction of many public facilities began smoothly, and the irrigation ditches near the two rivers were also excavated at the same time.

"The situation in Echigo is not bad, the temples and shrines of Gochi Kokubunji, Yahiko Shrine, Juta Shrine, Kasuga Taisha and so on are not strong, and the minister's manor is far less than Echizen, and most of the income is still intercepted by the Echigo countrymen, as long as a letter promises to these public families to compensate them every year, and it is also convenient for the accounts to approach Esakamoto." Single-mindedness and dual-use were gradually explored by Kira Yoshishi. While listening to the explanations of the adherents. It's also a necessity to think about it.

“…… About 50% of the task of excavating the new Horikawa River has been completed. According to the total amount of the project can be preliminarily completed before the end of the year, the progress of land improvement is slow, mainly due to the serious shortage of manpower, at present only the main body of the three major polders have been completed, and the other polders are still in the preliminary construction process, and there is still a long way to go before they are fully completed. ”

The canal became known as the Shin-Hori River in their mouths, which roughly means the Shin-Hori River in Sakai Town, and the newly dug branch of the river leads from the Shinano River to the Agano River. The average width of the river is 32 meters, and the deepest depth is about 10 meters, and together with several tributaries scattered to several dry water outlets, it is enough to ensure the flood discharge needs of the two rivers.

“…… The source of the dry water is the intertidal zone where the sediment is piled up by the seawater, and the initial plan is to use the river water to wash the dry lago, gradually clean up the salt content of the sediment, and in the future, we will build a dam in front of the dry to set aside a few water gates as an outlet to the sea, and then build a dam to fix the river, and then build a dam to fix the river, and then turn the dry lagoon into a polder. ”

Kira Yoshitoki held a large stack of materials and pondered for a long time. Holding his chin and asking carefully: "How long will it take for this plan to be realized, and how will the specific steps be arranged?" How much money do I need to invest? ”

Matsui Yuxian coughed, took a sip of hot tea to moisten his throat, handed a color to Hosokawa Fujitaka who was rubbing his temples to signal him to rest, and continued to explain: "The construction of the new Horikawa River is very fast, it can be basically completed in two years, and it will take five to eight years for the river to wash away the next embankment, and the overall construction period will take more than ten years, and the initial investment has been included in the original budget, so there is no need to increase the budget for the time being." ”

Each member of the Kira family holds a notebook and picks up a quill to record something, and each person has one or two inkwells beside him, which stores the ground oil smoke ink, and it is said that every qualified person has to record more than 10,000 words of various material reports every day, and mastering the shorthand skills has become an indispensable link.

The adherents of the Nagao family have always been in the stage of strengthening their learning, and the entire Echigo adherents are older and weaker, such as Minoru Honjo, Nakajo Fujishi, and Nagao Fujikei are all old men over fifty years old, and Nagao Keishinobu, Nagao Masaki, and Saito Asanobu are all in the prime of life in their thirties, and their ability to accept new things is obviously much worse than that of the Kira family.

Minoru Honjo also had to frown and keep turning the pages of the information, the fast pace of the new council meeting, the large content input of the new type of data delivery, the new way of working and other new things, constantly impacting the simple and stubborn head of the Echigo samurai.

If he was just a lord, there was no need to listen to these complicated and obscure professional explanations, he could refuse all new things he didn't understand, but he was not just an ordinary lord, he was also the head of the genealogy of the Nagao family, and the Nagao family pursued the chief of the people, even the most difficult bones to swallow.

A few young people sitting behind him listened carefully and made shorthand, this technology has also quickly spread to the Nagao family in two years, the young people's ability to accept is far more than their middle-aged and elderly, these years of cultivating the new generation of heavy responsibility has also been put forward to the agenda, Echigo can not only rely on them in their fifties to work hard, the future career is sooner or later to be passed on to young people to take responsibility.

Kira Yoshishi threw down the information and instructed: "All siege progress must be accelerated under the premise of quality and quantity, and what can be completed in one month must be achieved in twenty-five days, and what can be completed in five years must be achieved in four years, ten years is too long, we are only seizing the day!" ”

"Yes!" The attendants bowed and saluted in unison, "I will do my best to do it." ”

"There's one more thing I want to report to the Pavilion Master!" Hosokawa Fujitaka rested for a while, then cheered up and said, "The plan to withdraw and merge the new village has begun, and the current plan is to gradually withdraw and merge the villages in Echigo into larger villages within three years, and the specific operation method is according to the vision of the owner......"

"Well, the annexation of the new village is a must." Kira Yoshishi nodded, glanced at the followers of the Nagao family, and said slowly: "In the future, those tulou mountain barricades in the country of Echigo will also be gradually demolished, and there are not many people stationed in a broken cottage area, and it was enough to arrive two or three hundred years ago, but now in the era of iron cannon gunpowder galleons, this old-style tulou mountain is already behind the times!" What's the use of keeping a fortress that can be broken in a single fight? Demolition is inevitable. ”

"Withdraw and merge the new village and demolish the city? What does that mean? Minori Honjo glanced at a few people beside him, and saw surprise and wonder in the eyes of Nagao Masaki, Nagao Keishinobu, and Saito Asanobu. Nagao Fujikei, Nakajo Fujishi, Naoe Mitsuna. Not to mention the surprise that flowed. Usami Dingman, Chisaka Keikin, Hirako Fangmasa, and Ishikawa Shigeji, who are among the members of the government, are also frowning and silent.

Naoe hesitated for a moment and decided to be the first to stand up: "This is not appropriate, right?" As a lord of the country, he has many powers, such as litigation and judgment, collection of taxes, and division of military service burdens, but it is natural for each lord to build a castle within his domain, right? ”

"Mamoru Yamato is right! There is nothing wrong with the lord having the right to defend the land and establish the city! But the family has just said that the role of the tulou mountain is small, occupy the land and waste resources, and there are more than a dozen landlords on the land of a hundred towns, each of which builds a tulou as a living city, and then builds some messy small towns for their own doors and retainers, and finally tears the good land to pieces. The whole of Echigo is full of small towns and small towns, how does this help me to develop Echigo? ”

Naoe muttered to himself, "This is a problem......

"But you can't arbitrarily tear down the lords' castles, right?" Pingzi Fang Zheng couldn't wait to stand up, and it could be seen that several of his allies were looking forward to his performance.

"Not arbitrary, but planned, methodical demolitions, the family will give equal compensation to the lord who demolished the castle, such as the construction of a new dwelling with good defense, which can be built in the new village after the annexation, which is enough to ensure that the right to military service, defense, and land disposal is not violated."

"So how should the new village be withdrawn?" Nagao Fujikei tugged at his goatee, and his old face was tangled, as if some thoughts were colliding fiercely in his head.

The Inachu family saw all of this in their eyes. Xin said that these people really didn't shed tears when they didn't see the coffin, and said in a flat tone: "The initial plan is to make a small village with a population of less than 500 people. It was gradually abolished and merged into several nearby villages, ensuring that the population base of each village was not less than 3,000 people, and then divided into small villages with 3,000 people, medium villages with 5,000 people, and large villages with 8,000 people according to the population level. ”

"A village of 8,000 people? It can't be, right? ”

"Why not? The total population of Echigo has approached 500,000! Nakamura, large villages, and even townships are just around the corner! Usami Dingman's eyes lit up, and he was sure: "It's just that in this way, the farmer's time to go back and forth to the field will become longer, and his home is too far away from the land, what if there are wild beasts and man-made trouble?" There is also nowhere to pile up farm tools, livestock, and grain, and the larger the village, the more land is in charge, and the distance is too far to farm, so what should be done? ”

"Huh...... What you have thought of, of course, my family has also thought of, and the way to deal with it is the division of labor in agriculture! ”

"What is the division of labor in agriculture?"

Ben Duoshi closed the information in his hand and said with a smile: "To put it simply, it is from the division of labor and cooperation in each link such as soil ploughing, seed selection, sowing, fertilization, weeding, insect control, harvesting, grain drying, storage, etc. ”

"Cultivating the land for someone else? This must not be! Usami didn't want to think about it, so he jumped out and continued to deny.

Ishikawa retorted, "Why not? We work for others, and others work for us! ”

Ignoring the gaze handed by Hirako Fangmasa, Usami Dingman sneered: "But how do you ensure that others work for you with their hearts?" What if the seedlings don't grow well without fertilizer and they forget to apply fertilizer? What if there are too many weeds and they don't weed in time? What if there are too many pests and they can't kill them? ”

Hirako Fangmasa and Chisaka Jing are sweating profusely, and Usami Dingman's great activity is not so popular, and the original plan is that Chisaka Keijin will perform and then praise Kira Yoshitoki's strategy, in order to attract attention at the same time, and at the same time, he can stand in the camp of the Kira family in a grand manner.

And now Usami Dingman suddenly came out, and the original plan to stir up was reimbursed, and everyone was staring at him performing alone at the evaluation meeting, what if he offended Kira Yoshishi by acting too much? The two read the same meaning from each other's eyes, and couldn't help but secretly scold this madman for not being successful enough to fail, and the two made up their minds to part ways with Usami after that.

Mitsui Tiger replied unhurriedly: "So it needs to be supervised, each division of labor has its own group number, and it will be inspected after completing the division of labor on time and as needed." According to the completion of each group. Effect is scored. If a group is less efficient and affects the grain production, it will be deducted from your share of the grain when the grain production is settled after the autumn harvest. ”

"It seems to be seamless, but in fact, it is like a bamboo basket that only draws water, and in the end it is empty." Usami sneered to herself, a pair of old but bright eyes glared at her without discouragement, and continued to ask, "It's not fair to do this, right?" What if there are special circumstances such as floods, droughts, locust plagues, wind disasters, etc.? ”

"Mamoru Suruga also said that there are special circumstances, and of course special circumstances require special treatment." Hondoshi is now nineteen years old. The shaggy beard on his mouth grew a lot, and he was not afraid at all in the face of the famous military master of Echigo.

"Is this called the newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, or should it be called the back waves of the Yangtze River to push the front waves?" Kira Yoshitoki's silent smile made Usami understand a mocking smile.

"Are you ridiculing the old man for not being able to measure himself and grandstanding? Hum! Now the sixty-eight-year-old man has a different temperament, and in the face of the strange eyes in the room, he chooses to continue to fight the bull: "The withdrawal of the new village has caused more large areas, and the contradiction of long distance has not yet been clarified!" ”

When the ministers hesitated for a moment and turned their eyes to Kira Yoshi, it was impossible for them to go down to argue with their retainers as the governor of the family. As a last resort, Hosokawa Fujitaka stood up: "Otherwise, a temporary temporary residence will be set up every 100 steps." When the farm is busy, they can rest in the settlement, and when the farm is not working, they can go back to the village to rest. ”

"Isn't that still the village it used to be? What is the significance of the annexation of the new village? Usami Dingman felt that he had guessed seventy-seven-eighty-eight, and he was sure that this time, the all-powerful Kira family would definitely fall behind.

Ben was quite anxious at the time, and as soon as his eyes rolled, he thought of an idea, and he swept over the old but straight back of Usami Dingman, and said with a smile: "Of course, the withdrawal and merger of the new village has its significance!" You must know that temporary settlements are not villages, and the roles of the two are completely different! The former does not have the problem of living for generations, and is more like the shacks built by the villagers when they were burdened with general service, which is more sturdy and warm than the simple shacks!

Farmers only need to use flatbed trucks to bring their bedding to live, and after 20 days or a month of work, they can take their things back to the village to live, and they will work for a month all year round, and the time and manpower saved can be put into more work, so that the same manpower can cultivate more land. ”

Usami Ding's face turned pale, his clenched fists trembled uncontrollably, and his forehead was unconsciously covered with a little bead of sweat, and the followers of the Nagao family turned from surprise to contemplation and then to approval, and at this time, Usami Dingman, who still refused to admit defeat, continued to argue: "How to deal with the huge amount of time spent on weeding and insect control?" How to store grain, livestock, and farm tools? ”

"Is this complicated? Even I can see it in the letter. Saito Asanobu, who has been wandering around the world, also interjected at this time: "As long as you give a reward, are you still afraid that it will be difficult to weed and pest control?" Who doesn't know that Wuweidian is rich now? ”

Saito Asanobu's exaggerated expression made people laugh, and in the face of such an invulnerable guy, Kira Yoshitoki could only shake his head helplessly.

Although Langgang Fangfang is not familiar with agricultural things, he is proficient in the role of rewards and punishments, so he put away the folding fan and said with a slight smile: "Weeding hires children to do, every time you harvest a stone of weeds, you will be rewarded with twenty Wen Yongle money, and this money will be taken out from the total income of the surplus of each village as a part of the budget, and the children will be trained from an early age to have a pair of hard-working hands, and they can also get a little reward money is also called labor income!" Of course, this needs to be supervised by the old land attendants throughout the whole process, and the weeds outside the field can not be counted, these old land attendants in this village are small lords, and they will be extra careful to keep an eye on it from their own income! ”

"Hahaha...... That's for sure! Everyone laughed, imagining that it would be very sad to ask these land attendants to take out money from their pockets to reward the wild children in the countryside.

Ben was giving a thumbs up to the Langgang house, took over his topic and added: "As for the insect control, it is also very simple, dry hata chickens, paddy fields to raise ducks, when encountering pests, drive chickens and ducks to the field to hunt, tie a fence to raise two soil dogs to watch the poultry is good, the chickens and ducks that grow up eating insects are bright one by one, and the eggs and duck eggs laid are also larger, and the feathers can be made into down jackets in autumn and winter, and the bones of chickens and ducks can be stored as fertilizer." ”

"Is farming tool storage still a problem? Of course, the harvested grain has to be transported back to the threshing floor in the village by horse-drawn flatbed truck to dry and store, so a simple question still needs to be asked? ”

Usami's face was blue and white. Staggered a few steps back and almost fell. Even so, the closest to him, Kamijo Yoribo, Yamamoto Temple Dingcho and others did not mean to reach out to help. Chisaka Jingqin and Pingzi Fangzheng simply turned their faces away and didn't look at him.

"Have I already betrayed my relatives?" Usami's hands trembled with anger, and he finally couldn't hold back the anger in his chest, and bowed with a stiff expression and said: "Wuweidian has extraordinary intelligence, I am far from enough!" If you feel unwell, please retire first! ”

Kira Yoshitoki's expression remained unchanged, and he vaguely reassured him: "Is Mamoru Suruga unwell?" Then please go back and take care of yourself! ”

"I'll be in the next meeting! Retire! Usami got up and walked out of the assessment room, passing by his former allies halfway, and the sneer on the corner of his mouth made several people shiver all over his body.

"A group of rat-eyed people destroyed the last foundation of the Echigo Uesugi family little by little. After abandoning Nagao Masaki, Okusa Ashide, and me, let's see who you guys are going to abandon next! Usami left the assessment room without looking back.

After the appraisal meeting, Kira Yoshitoki's affairs were not yet over, except for a large number of materials that needed to be familiarized with one by one, and he consulted the officials in the castle at any time, and usually did not leave the castle tower until evening.

After a while, a small surname hurriedly walked in and whispered a few words to Iwatsurumuru, who nodded and sent the little surname away, before walking over and whispering, "Lord of the Pavilion, Sakai Town has received a new message." It is a piece of information from the Southern Barbarian merchants. ”

"Nanban merchants? Tell me what it is. Kira Yoshitoki put down the information and turned his attention to him.

"In the autumn of last year, the Nanban merchants who crossed the ocean from the Nanban brought a distant sight. The Nanban fleet ambushed a red-haired Nanban fleet, and it is said that the chamber of commerce where the fleet is located is called the Argotic Chamber of Commerce......"

"What? The Argotic Chamber of Commerce was ambushed? Shocked and angry, Kira Yoshishi hurriedly asked, "What's going on?" ”

Iwatsurumu was startled and stammered, "Yes...... It's like this......"

In the early summer of last year, Spain deployed a new fleet in the western Indian Ocean, which was another attempt by the growing Spanish kingdom to extend its claws into Portuguese-controlled territory.

So last fall, an Indian Ocean fleet led by Rear Admiral Juan Gonzalez successfully ambushed the unsuspecting Argotic Chamber of Commerce in the waters near the Cape of Good Hope, and successfully sank five merchant ships and captured eight merchant ships, accounting for a small half of the entire fleet, and the Argotic Chamber of Commerce suffered a heavy loss.

Fortunately, they reacted quickly, abandoning the wounded ships to block the attack of the Spanish fleet, so that the greedy Spaniards finally gave up the pursuit of the enemy, and were able to lead the main force to escape by luck and flee all the way back to Amsterdam.

"The loss is not too great, their flagship has not been captured, and Frank and Ronald father and son, as well as Hans and Rupert should also be safe and sound, but in this way, the family's overseas trade may end here." Kira didn't think much about it before he guessed the terrible consequences.

Spain is the suzerainty of the Netherlands, and the current king, Philip II, the eldest son of Karl V, was the great emperor of the Holy Roman Empire last September, and once again lost to the alliance of German princes that he despised and finally had to sign the Peace of Augsburg in humiliation.

After this major blow, Karl V decided to give up his throne, giving up the emperor's throne and the Austrian and German possessions to his younger brother Ferdinand I, and Spain and the Netherlands and other large territories to his sister-in-law Philip II, who abdicated the throne.

The new ambitious young king had a natural hatred for the Protestantism that had defeated his father, and above all he was a devout Catholic, and had a natural affection for his father's Bloody Edict, so you can imagine what terrible things he would do to the Netherlands.

It only takes a little analysis to conclude that this trade route, which is a stable trade every two years and brings huge income, is likely to be interrupted, and it is absolutely impossible not to be sad, but in the face of this force majeure, this is also something he has no way to control.

Kira rubbed his temples in annoyance: "I can only hope for Claudia!" Hopefully, Bloody Mary will survive under the protection of Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth! (To be continued......)