Chapter 1411: Transshipment Trade, Opening up the Trade Route with the Country
"Buddha! Another ship has arrived at the port!..."
"Quick! Unload the cargo!..."
"Did the master buy rice from the rice shop again? Hey! There are cows and horses on the ship? Are these... swords, guns and armor?..."
"Suke Saburo, don't look blindly! Go! Bring the new people down and take them to the shack behind!..."
"Yes! Team leader Kono!..."
Most of April has passed, and the spring light is back on the earth. The sea breeze is very warm, and the snow has melted away. Five large rice shop merchant ships are docked at the port outside Katsuyama Hall, and dozens of samurai and farmers are busy again.
"This time, the merchant ships seem to be bigger than the previous ones! Even as big as the ocean-covering ship a few years ago, and there are five of them!..."
Team leader Kono Kenichi squinted his eyes and looked at the large merchant ships rarely seen in Ezo at the port. They are almost the highest level of shipbuilding technology in Japan, and are the latest "benzai ships". The single-masted, vertical-sailed, flat-bottomed ship is obviously influenced by the Tang ship, especially the sand ship.
At present, every "Benzai" merchant ship in the port has a cargo capacity of 400 dan! Calculated at 120 kilograms per dan, it is about 50 tons of load. At the end of the 15th century, it can be said to be a real "big ship" of the country!
"Pointed bow, square stern. A very tall and large mast, with a large square vertical sail. Very flat bottom, two rows of oars on both sides of the ship, oars and sails are used together... The big merchants in Kyoto are so rich that they can use such large ships to transport goods!..."
"Well, these merchant ships are full of goods, arriving at this time, and only unloading a part of the goods... Are they going to go north with the main family next month?... Hiss! There are several monks on each ship, and they look very capable? Is the scale of the Yamada trade this time so large?!..."
Seeing the Tendai sect monks holding naginatas and carrying Japanese bows, the group leader Kawano Kenichi looked stern and frowned slightly.
The samurai of the Kakizaki family basically participated in the northward expedition last year and the subsequent Yamada trade. As for the use of farmers, craftsmen, livestock and goods to trade gold with the Yamada, everyone knew it tacitly and kept it a secret. For example, this time, the main family distributed rice and reduced taxes to every household, which was a generous reward that no previous family head had ever had. The samurai were all smiling, and they all knew where this "windfall" came from!
But the main family did not monopolize such a golden way of wealth, but also brought in big merchants from Kyoto? If the merchants in Kyoto eat more, wouldn't they, the Kakizaki family, eat less? In the end, will this allow more powerful daimyo to enter the market and kick the main family away? ...
Such concerns at the samurai level lingered in the heart of the head of the Kono group, but for the head of the family, Kakizaki Mitsuhiro, they did not exist!
After all, the output of Ezo is limited, and it must go through the channels of Morino Kiyoshi to obtain a large amount of goods for trading in the north. And the gold traded from the Yamatars must also go through Morino Kiyoshi to be converted into real "rice"!
At present, Morino Kiyoshi has become the "family elder" of the Kakizaki family and his "uncle", and is a thorough member of his own family. The two sides had already agreed on the specific responsibilities and divisions: Kiyoshi Morino was responsible for transporting goods, purchasing goods from various countries and transporting them to Katsuyama Pavilion by large ships. As the local leader, the Katsuzaki clan dispatched samurai militia to ensure the safety of trade and was responsible for contact with the Yamata tribe...
As for the final division, it was nominally 50-50. But the additional condition was that Kiyoshi Morino would use the materials needed by the Katsuzaki clan to exchange 40% of the gold in the hands of the Katsuzaki clan at a fair price...
In other words, Kiyoshi Morino took 90% of all the gold, and while providing Yamata trade goods, he also had to replenish the materials needed by the Katsuzaki clan's territory! This agreement seemed to be a big loss for Kiyoshi Morino and a big profit, which moved Katsuzaki Mitsuhiro. But as long as the gold is in hand, the actual amazing profits are only known to this Kyoto tycoon!
"Mitsuo, I brought you 50 sets of samurai domaru in this batch of merchant ships, all made by craftsmen in Nara and Kyoto, with good protection and stronger! I will charge you 6 kan for each set according to the price I received... In addition, there are 20 sets of heavy rattan bows, 2 kan per set. 40 sets of wooden bows, 1 kan per set. 80 katanas, 2 kan per set. 200 spears, 6 kan per set... In total, it is about 450 kan, still at the price of 90 kan per pound of gold..."
"Not bad! The quality of these armors and weapons is really good! As expected, they are made in Nara and Kyoto. Before trading with the fierce Shanta people, it is better to be fully armed for peace of mind!... Uncle, here are five gold tokens, for you!..."
"Haha! Mitsuhiro, no hurry, no hurry."
Seeing the straightforward Mitsuhiro Kakizaki, Morino Kiyoshi nodded and smiled. He did not rush to get the gold, but continued to pay the bill.
"Guang Guang, the 1,200 koku of rice shipped in three batches, we calculated before, is 720 kan, 8 jin of gold. The wine and tea needed for the territory, the last batch shipped, is about 90 kan, 1 jin of gold..."
"Twelve oxen, 15 kan each, all strong oxen from Omi, a total of 180 kan, 2 jin of gold. Twelve Mutsu war horses, 30 kan each, a total of 360 kan, 4 jin of gold. Twelve strong breeding mares, the price is half of the war horses, 2 jin of gold..."
Hearing the price of these horses, Mitsuhiro Kakizaki felt a little distressed, but he didn't show it on his face. The Kakizaki clan was located in Ezo, and originally had no shortage of war horses, and could even export them. It was just that they had a war with the Shanta tribe for no reason last year, and lost more than a dozen war horses. Later, they sold a large number of mares, so they had to replenish one or two. Anyway, it was only six gold tokens. Even if they didn't use them themselves, they could get three times, no, four times more by selling them to the Shanta people! …
"Twenty-two gold tokens..."
Mitsuhiro Kakizaki pursed his lips and calculated the total debt. The twenty-four gold tokens obtained in the first Shanta trade turned into a large number of various goods in a blink of an eye, satisfying the people, samurai and retainers, and only the last two were left...
"Well, Xiangjiro! Bring up that set of famous tea sets!..."
"Yes, head of the house!"
Matsushita Xiangjiro lowered his head and carefully brought an exquisite wooden box and placed it on the table. Then, he gently opened the lid, and a set of green-yellow glazed, carved, comb-patterned celadon tea sets, with a faint stream of light, came into everyone's eyes, like a treasure born in the forest!
"Hiss! Uncle, what is this? This is it!..."
"Oh! Guangguang, didn't you ask me before if there are any outstanding tea sets? This set of 'Pearl Celadon' is a tea set used by Murata Shuko, a famous tea ceremony person in Sakai Port. It is a treasure from the Fujian area of Tang Kingdom!..."
Mori No Kiyoshi smiled, looking at Kakizaki Mitsuhiro, whose eyes were straight, and introduced it in detail.
"The Buddha has witnessed! Murata Shuko is a true tea master, and his reputation in Kyoto is second only to the late Master Ikkyu and Master Noami! ... The 'wabi-cha' he created emphasizes the integration of music and singing, the unity of tea and Zen, and the understanding of the beauty of wabi-sabi..."
"Ah! A true tea master? ... Uncle, what is the beauty of wabi-sabi?"
"Oh! The so-called 'wabi-sabi' is to understand 'the fleeting time and the impermanence of all things' in 'the elegance of simplicity and simplicity'. This is a truly profound Buddhist principle that cannot be expressed in words, but can only be understood by the heart! And using this set of teaware to taste tea may bring you closer to the true meaning of the Buddha, and it will undoubtedly add to the heritage of your family..."
"Ah... getting closer to the true meaning of the Buddha and adding to the heritage of your family?..."
At this moment, Kakizaki Mitsuhiro's eyes lit up, looking at the "wabi-sabi beauty" of the Zhuguang teaware, and he couldn't take his eyes off it. He hesitated for a while, but couldn't resist the desire in his heart, and asked softly.
"Uncle, this set of pearl celadon treasure... How much offerings do you need to take it home?..."
"Well... this set of tea sets was given to me by Master Zhuguang... It's not easy to measure it with ordinary things..."
Morino Kiyoshi looked reluctant, and stroked the tea sets for a long time before sighing in a low voice.
"Mitsuhiro, you are now the head of the family, the head of the Kakizaki family, and you really need a set of tea sets to show the family's heritage in front of the retainers and guests..."
"Buddha bless you! I will give this set of tea sets to you! As for the offerings, I will give it back to the master, copper coins and silver are too vulgar... Just two gold talismans!..."
"Ah! Two gold talismans?"
Kakizaki Yoshihiro widened his eyes, looked at the last two gold talismans in his hand, and then looked at the "pearl tea set" with a clear light. All 22 gold talismans were spent, all for the great cause of the main family, spent on the cutting edge. Then, shouldn't he be able to enjoy the remaining two pieces? Moreover, this is indeed a tea set that is necessary for the samurai family to socialize, and a treasure that adds glory to the family. After a long while, Yoshihiro Kakizaki finally gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Okay! Just as my uncle said, two gold talismans!..."