Chapter 1414: The Five-Colored Taimi Prayer Flags Are Like Seeing the Buddha Himself Coming!

From the northern Yamato, to Ezo Mutsu, Ugo Echigo, to Noto Wakasa, Izumo Hizen, and to the two southern routes of Korea! Such a surging "golden trade route" is a magnificent picture that Mitsuhiro Kakizaki has never imagined! And the value it brings is not just gold! …

"Buddha! A trade route driven by gold, as long as it can be opened, it can bring potential... The fur of Ezo and the war horses of Mutsu can be sold directly to Hizen, and even smuggled to the private traders of Korea... And Korean "craftsmen", Korean ceramics, Hizen tea, Izumo swords, can also be transported to the north!..."

"On the basis of maintaining the interests of the trade route, the clans along the way also have channels for communication and dialogue, and can even form alliances!... And as a big businessman who pioneered this trade route, as each The bond that the clans establish, I, Morino Kiyoshi, can break away from the identities of 'Kyoto's imperial merchant', 'Omi merchant group member', 'Myoin Temple monk', and become a legendary merchant of the generation! ..."

"Buddha! If I can have such influence, even the nobles in Kyoto will have to think twice before they want to attack me! ... Maybe, I can become a figure like Tao Zhugong, sailing on Lake Biwa, with wealth and reputation, and live a peaceful life! ..."

At this moment, the desire to jump out of the cage burned hotly in Morino Kiyoshi's chest. He was familiar with the history of the Tang Dynasty and had seen too many real examples. He had never seen a big merchant of the shogunate in Kyoto who could live a peaceful life with a rich family property. The final outcome was often either death after the family property was confiscated, or handing over the family property and becoming a monk in a temple...

Morino Kiyoshi didn't have too many hopes at first, but just thought that the cunning rabbit had three burrows, and he would be satisfied if he could hand over the rice house and retire in his old age. But now, with the shogunate in decline and government orders not being issued outside the capital, he suddenly discovered another possibility! Another possibility to change his status, hold his head high, and walk out of the cage of Kyoto!

The premise for this possibility to be realized is to open up the envisioned northern trade route and connect the various forces along the way! In order to open up this trade route, in addition to his connections and network as a middleman, what is more important is the "golden power" from the source, which is the "gold" from the Shanta "Golden Clan" that can knock on all the clan halls!

"Buddha's golden light, let me wake up!... The key to the problem now is to grasp the key problem... Um... Is this so-called 'Golden Clan' really as Guangguang said, with an astonishing scale, at least hundreds or thousands of kilograms of gold?... If there is no sufficiently large profit, even if I use up all my connections, it is impossible to maintain the northern trade route..."

"In addition, are these 'restored' Shanta Yuan bandits really willing to pay 5 kilograms of gold to buy a 'invited' Korean master craftsman? Can this price be increased a little bit? For example, double it... After all, if the Western Daimyo wants to send out samurai, there will definitely be casualties. Although they have never cared about human lives and will plunder Korea on a daily basis without commissions. But when it comes to negotiations, they will definitely use this as an excuse to share a lot of benefits. In addition, the transportation costs along the way must be discussed!..."

"And those extra gains from the plunder, such as ordinary Korean craftsmen, how much will the Shanta people want?... Like breaking through ‘Mokpo’ in Jeolla Province and destroying the Mokpo Shipyard…hiss! Mokpo is a tough nut to crack now! It was broken once more than ten years ago, and the Western Kingdom brought in several great shipbuilders, including the golden shipbuilder who built the ocean-viewing ship, and sold them to Kyoto and Sakai Port…The Kingdom of Korea obviously strengthened its defense, and the daimyo of Kyushu never succeeded again. Well, let me think…In addition to ‘Mokpo’, there is also ‘Yeosu’, and the Yeosu Shipyard is closer! I just don’t know how well it is defended…”

“Of course, the Korean shipyards are well guarded. Very strict. The easiest thing to get is the civilian workshop. For example, the official white porcelain workshop in Donglai (i.e. Busan) of Gyeongsang Province... If you rob the official white porcelain workshop of the Joseon government, while capturing a few master craftsmen, there will definitely be dozens of ordinary craftsmen and apprentices... What is the price of these people? How much? We have to negotiate in advance... If it doesn't work, give them a cheaper price and give them to the daimyo along the way..."

Intense thoughts surged in Morino Kiyoshi's mind, step by step approaching the bottom line of his Buddhist control. In the final analysis, there is only one key question: Is the gold of the Shanta "Golden Clan" enough?

As a businessman, you always have to determine the capital of the trading partner before you can decide how much effort to put in and how much "goods" to stockpile. You can't just leave them in your hands. As for the channel of "purchasing goods", then Amitabha, seeing or not seeing is compassion...

"Stop, stop! All the sea of ​​​​karmic obstacles are born from delusion! Stop the delusion and look at the capital of the Shanta people first!..."

Mori No Kiyoshi took a few deep breaths, and then calmed the distracting thoughts in his mind. This time he went north, he prepared five ships of goods, each of which was a large ship of 400 stones! Among them, there was a ship full of rice, a ship of cattle, a ship of horses, a ship of refugee craftsmen, and a ship of weapons, armor, wine, salt and tea.

If the Shanta tribe can eat up all this large amount of goods and take out dozens or hundreds of kilograms of gold... Then the next "big business" of North Korea will have a basis for negotiation! And now before the transaction, no matter how much fantasy thinking, it is useless.

Thinking of this, Morino Kiyoshi changed the topic and fell back to the Kakizaki family itself and the management of Ezo.

"Mitsuohiro, the sixty-year-old hero of the Ise family, was able to hold the Izu Peninsula last year because he promulgated a "virtuous policy" and reduced taxes to "four publics and six civilians", which made the people loyal to the family! ... And the Kakizaki family now does not rely on that land tax. As long as you implement the "four publics and six civilians" policy, no matter where the people come from, they will fight to the death for the Kakizaki family!"

"The four publics and six civilians policy makes the people loyal to the family fight to the death? ... Well, if the land tax is reduced, the deficit... Let me calculate it."

Kakizaki Mitsuohiro pondered for a long time and estimated the deficit of 800 koku a year, which is about 6 gold talismans. His eyes flickered for a while before he nodded in response.

"Buddha is my witness! If the trade with the Yamata tribe can be as fruitful as last time... I will officially issue a decree to implement the Four Lords and Six Citizens!..."

"Okay! Guang Guang, as long as everything goes well and the transaction is completed... the decree of the Four Lords and Six Citizens is issued, the people of Ezo will definitely turn to you! At that time, it will be a good opportunity to decisively take action against the Matsumae Guardian Ando Sadaki!..."

"That's right! Uncle is right! When my father was alive, he controlled the lower country guardian through marriage. And the Kakizaki family itself is the upper country guardian. The last nail left in Ezo is the Matsumae Guardian left by the Ando family... The main family has already planted several hidden pieces in Matsumae... And the name of the Yamata is more useful than the previous plan, and it can be explained to the main family of the Ando family!..."

Kakizaki Guang Guang's eyes were fierce, revealing the ferocity of the northern country warriors. He gripped the hilt of the knife at his waist and said with a smile.

"Uncle, I'll stay at Katsuyama Hall. You go with the elder Kudo and run a trade route in the north for our family!... All subsequent plans are counting on this transaction!..."

"Okay! This is my wish, and I will do my best to do it!..."

"Haha! May the Buddha bless us!..."

Mori No Kiyoshi knelt on the seat and bowed. The two looked at each other and laughed.

The spring of April passed in laughter. And the spring of May came in the sun. Ezo is sunny all year round, with no obvious dry season or rainy season. Only in July and August will there be slightly stable rainfall. Therefore, the intensity of cultivation here is very high, and canals must be opened for frequent irrigation. At the moment, farmers who are engaged in spring plowing are already busy, sowing seeds of rice and millet...

"Plant the seedlings, make the rice fields fertile...Pray for a good harvest, pray to the gods...Good winds blow, the sky is high...The earth's grace will nourish the rice!..."

"I planted the seedlings, and the rice fields are fertile...This year, the grains are abundant, I wish the gods...The wind is gentle, the sky is blue...The earth is blessed, and the rice is grown!"

The farmers who were working were busy in the fields along the river, singing rhythmic farm songs. Then, a farmer suddenly stopped, knelt in the field, and his head was facing the road. Then, everyone knelt down and faced the road.

"Trample! Trample!"

More than 200 Japanese warriors, carrying the flag of the Kakizaki clan and leading more than ten war horses, marched north along the road. Their flag was a bright "four-diamond pattern", representing the origin of the Takeda clan's Qinghe Genji, which is almost the same as the "cut diamond pattern" of the "Kai Takeda clan".

"Hua! Hua!"

Five large ships of 400 koku sailed along the winding coast of Ezo, almost in line with the samurai team, to the desolate north of Ezo. However, there were no samurai family crests on these large ships, but only the five-color prayer flags of the Tendai Esoteric Buddhism, with the traditional Chinese characters of the Five Buddhas written on them, but they had a unique status of being unimpeded in Japan!

"Namo the fearful Tathagata! Namo the vast body Tathagata! Namo the nectar king Tathagata! Namo the wonderful body Tathagata! Namo the Victory Tathagata!..."

The five-color prayer flags of Taimiti, blue, white, green, red and yellow, stop greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt, as if seeing the Buddha coming in person!