Chapter 1413: Morino Kiyoshi’s Connections, the “Trade Route” Connecting to North Korea!

"Buddha bless you! Uncle, your fleet is heading north to Ezo. Which daimyo's territories will it stop for supplies along the way? Right now, there is chaos everywhere and the fleet is full of goods, so you must be very careful!..."

"Well, the world is becoming more and more chaotic, and the land trade routes are always blocked. The coastal trade routes are okay... These merchant ships go from the Kamogawa River in the capital to the coast of Lake Biwa, and then go out to sea from the port of the Takeda clan in Wakasa. Your father and I are both from Wakasa, and we have a place in the merchant group in Omi. The coast of Lake Biwa has always been rich, and it also produces rice, wine, tea, cattle, lacquerware, paper... It is a good place to trade general merchandise!"

Mori No Kiyoshi smiled and talked about the prosperous scenery in the Omi area, which was also an eye-opener for his "nephew" in Ezo. Then, he dipped his hand in tea and drew on the table, outlining the two thousand miles of coast from Wakasa to Ezo, which was exactly the route for the fleet to go north.

"From Wakasa along the coast to the northeast, the Asakura clan occupies Echizen, and the Ikko clan occupies Kaga and Echichu. I don't have many connections to these two places, so it's not easy to stop. But the Hatakeyama family, which occupies Noto, is one of the three major kanrei of the shogunate, and has always had close exchanges with Kyoto! ... Just replenish supplies once on the Noto Peninsula, and trade some fish, salt, and rice that are abundant locally."

"From the Hatakeyama family further east, the Uesugi clan is the Kanrei of Kanto, a prominent family with a flourishing Buddhist dharma. As long as you use the name of the Myoin Temple, you can replenish supplies in the Uesugi clan's territory and trade in Echigo. Echigo produces rice, horses, good swords and bows..."

"But now the Uesugi clan is divided and in civil war, and the Echigo and Yamanouchi families are fighting each other. I have a lot of weapons and armor on my ship, so for safety reasons, I will stop at Sado Island. The Homma clan in Sado is not very powerful and is very friendly to merchant ships. And the specialty of Sado Island, well, is silver! I heard that there was gold sand in the past, but it seems that it has been mined out, and only a little can be traded each time we stop..."

In this era, the big gold mine in Sado has not been discovered in name. As for whether the Homma clan has mined privately, no one knows. The open mining on the island is the Tsuruko Silver Mine, which is only separated from the Sado Gold Mine by a river.

The Homma clan has a limited population and has not mastered the ash blowing method. The output of the silver mine is very subtle, not too much or too little, just stuck at the psychological bottom line of the surrounding big forces who are jealous and want to send troops to annex it. However, after the Uesugi clan reunifies, they will certainly exert influence on this precious metal island so close at hand and seize its benefits!

And if the Sado Gold Mine is discovered, such amazing benefits will be exposed to the Uesugi clan...then the fate of the Honma clan, tut tut, will definitely not be a good one! …

"From Echigo to the northeast, there are only small clans in Uzen, and there is not much to note. The Ando (Ando) clan in Uzen is the main family of your Kakizaki clan. You can stop again and purchase some of the abundant rice and horses!..."

Speaking of this, Morino Kiyoshi raised the corner of his mouth and smiled at Kakizaki Mitsuhiro.

"When the magistrate of the Ando clan heard that the fleet was going north to Ezo, he came to ask me about the news of Ezo. He especially asked whether the Kakizaki clan had obtained any precious "fur and medicinal materials" from the Ezo people, which could attract such a large merchant fleet?... Guess what I answered?"

"Ah! Uncle, about the gold... Please keep it secret from the master of the Ando clan!..."

"Haha! Guangguang, don't worry! I showed the Ando clan your IOU and owed a debt of 2,000 koku... I told the magistrate of the Ando clan that Ezo was invaded by the Yamatar and the territory was looted. I took advantage of the friendship of my old friend Nobuhiro and the Wakasa clan, so I borrowed a large amount of money to help the Kakizaki clan overcome the difficulties..."

"Then, I asked Andong again, since the Kakizaki clan was a vassal of Andong, could they, as the master, pay off the Kakizaki clan's debts? Even if they paid three or five hundred koku, it would be fine to pay off a little bit? ... After all, the losses caused by the invasion of the Yamada also mean that the master did not protect them well and did not fulfill their duty of protection... guess what the result will be? "

"Ah? Give the IOU of our Kakizaki clan to the master? The master probably won't pay it back, right? ..."

"That's right! When the Andong clan's magistrate saw the amount of the debt, his face changed and he left politely. Then, Andong closed the door of the mansion and stopped communicating with the fleet even once, saying that the debt owed by the Kakizaki clan had nothing to do with Andong...Haha!"

Mori No Kiyoshi laughed loudly, and after laughing for a long time, he shook his head and sighed.

"As the main family, the Andong family cannot take on the responsibility of protecting the vassal, not even showing a superficial attitude... I saw the news of the Shantars coming from Matsumae for several months, and they had no intention of sending troops to help the Shantars plunder... I know from this that the Andong family will inevitably decline without heroes!..."

"."

Hearing Morino Kiyoshi's comments on the main family, Kakizaki Mitsuhiro was silent for a moment and nodded in agreement. If the Andong family had not declined, the Kakizaki family would not have dared to think about independence... He thought about it and asked again.

"Uncle, after you left the Ando clan and headed north, the remaining one was the Nanbu clan in Mutsu. Well, the fleet should have passed by two Nanbu clan affiliates, the Oura clan and the Kitabatake clan. What are the situations of these two clans?..."

"The Nanbu clan! They are allies of your Kakizaki clan, and their attitude is very enthusiastic, even too enthusiastic. In contrast to your main clan, the Ando clan, the Nanbu clan's retainer, the Oura clan, who was enfeoffed in Tsugaru, has been asking for details of the 'Yamatar invasion' in Ezo... It seems that the Oura clan or the Nanbu clan's main family behind them has the intention of sending troops to 'help'!"

Mori No Kiyoshi frowned slightly. The ambitious Nanbu clan was obviously more aggressive than the divided Andong clan, and they were eager to intervene in Ezo and expand their power.

Fortunately, although the Andong clan declined and split, its strength of nearly 100,000 stones still existed. The Nanbu clan had many retainers, and they were not united, so they did not dare to send troops easily. Just like the Namioka Kitabatake clan who built Namioka Castle...

"Mitsuhiro, the last place we stopped at was Kitabatake clan's Namioka Castle. Hearing that a fleet from Kyoto was coming, the castle lord Namioka Akiyoshi came out in person to drink tea with me and talk about Kyoto's scenery... Namioka Kitabatake clan is worthy of being a descendant of a famous family of Kyoto public officials. Whether it is poetry, morality, Buddhism, or tea ceremony, they are all proficient. It is really admirable! And Namioka Castle was built in imitation of the architecture of the capital. The design is quite ingenious and worthy of the name of Namioka Palace!..."

After praising Namioka clan, Kiyoshi looked around. Mitsuhiro Kakizaki waved his hand and asked the guards to withdraw. Kiyoshi Morino lowered his voice and said seriously.

"Namioka Akiyoshi and I had a great chat... At the end of the party, he suddenly mentioned 'King Goujian of Yue' and commented on it..."

"King Goujian of Yue? Who is that? Is he a hero from Echizen or Echigo?..."

"... It's an allusion from the Spring and Autumn Period... The King of Yue, who was captured after his country was destroyed, lived under someone else's roof and was humiliated and despised by the King of Wu, but he slept on straw and tasted gall, and had the heart to restore his country..."

Mori No Kiyoshi's mouth twitched, and he explained patiently.

"The Namioka Kitabatake clan was once a loyal vassal of the Southern Court. It seems that they are talking about the old things of their ancestors and are nostalgic for the Southern Court... But now, although the Namioka Kitabatake clan is a vassal of the Nanbu clan, they are from a famous family and have a noble status. Their style is incompatible with the Nanbu clan's retainers!..."

"I think what Namioka Akiyoshi hinted in his words is that he wants to secretly form an alliance with the Kakizaki clan... No, he wants to form an alliance with the Ando clan, the main family of the Kakizaki clan, and then become independent from the control of the Nanbu clan!..."

"Ah?! The Namioka clan also wants independence?..."

Kakizaki Mitsuhiro widened his eyes, quite surprised. You know, the Namioka clan is right opposite the Kakizaki clan, and the two sides are separated by the Tsugaru Strait. If the two sides form an alliance and join forces...

"Mitsuhiro, although I understand Nagaoka Akiyoshi's hint, I have no response. If he sends an envoy, the best choice for the Kakizaki clan is to stay out of it!..."

Mori No Kiyoshi shook his head and reached out to hold Kakizaki Mitsuhiro's wrist. Kakizaki Mitsuhiro looked puzzled and asked in a deep voice.

"Uncle, does the Nagaoka clan have no sincerity to form an alliance? Their family is so noble, and you just praised them..."

"Buddha bless you! I admire the prominent family of the Nagaoka clan, and I also respect their inherited family learning... But they are from the public family! Although they are well-educated, they can't hold the swords and guns in their hands, and can't resist the evil neighbors around them!..."

"Times have changed! The order of the shogunate has collapsed! In this barren and cold northern land, in this era of fierce fighting, if the Nagaoka clan seeks independence, their future fate..."

Mori No Kiyoshi pursed his lips and shook his head meaningfully. Then, he looked deeply at Mitsuhiro Kakizaki and said in a deep voice.

"The era of great strife has arrived! The Ando clan is declining, and the people of the Nanbu clan are in chaos... Mitsuhiro, you need to strengthen your strength as soon as possible, and you must not be soft-hearted!... It's time to take action against the Matsumae guardian Ando Sadaki! In the name of the Yamatar invasion, using the hands of the Yamatars..."

"The Buddha is a witness! Mitsuhiro, only by strengthening your strength as soon as possible, unifying the twelve pavilions of the Japanese land, unifying the upper country, the lower country and Matsumae... will you be qualified to look across the strait, wait for the situation to change, and sit at the table and drink tea with the daimyo. ! …”

“Only when the Kakizaki clan becomes stronger, this northern trade route will have the possibility of expanding further and receiving this overwhelming wealth! You know, from Ezo Kakizaki to Mutsu Namioka, from Ugo Ando to Echigo Uesugi, from Noto Hatakeyama to Wakasa Takeda…Further along this trade route, the head of the Amago clan in Izumo was once acquainted with me…The Shoni clan in Hizen had many retainers who had exchanges with my clan…Finally, across the strait from Hizen, that’s the Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces of Korea! …”