Chapter 106 30. Worldly Wisdom and Human Relations for Requests

Xiao Pingtai was impatient to watch them practice loading the iron cannon every day, and he was not afraid that they would be lazy. After leaving the iron cannon to them, he told them that he would come back to check after a month, and everyone must complete a loading and shooting within 60 times (that is, one minute) counted by Xiao Pingtai. If you can't meet the standard, then I'm sorry, I won't provide you with food. Don't be a shitty iron cannon foot soldier in the future, go back and get a plain gun, don't come to training and assemble, wait for the war to be cannon fodder and die.

The lethality of not having food is too great. I have eaten full meals for several days at Xiao Pingtai's place. It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. In the past, I could bear to be hungry one meal and full the next, but now I eat wheat rice and bean rice every day, how can I bear to be hungry.

To put it bluntly, Xiao Pingtai is a naked threat. You can do whatever you want, I have food and I will provide you with enough food. Just this one point, even if he holds everyone's lifeline, these foot soldiers each have a big family to support, and they can't do things like "if you don't stay here, you can go somewhere else." Unless they are stupid, no one will be willing to give up the high salary and high welfare benefits of Xiao Pingtai.

He explained the facts and reasoned with these people, and then threatened them with food, using sticks and carrots, which was quite effective. Then Xiao Pingtai kept Chen San to teach them for another three or five days. After they understood the process, they waited to see their results.

Xiao Pingtai resumed his original job as a teppo official and went to inspect the teppo equipment manufacturing industry. He also arranged to recruit several literate people of the same mind, and prepared to let these people recruit supporting rope craftsmen, carpenters, and coppersmiths. This made Xiao Pingtai secretly receive a lot of small gifts, and many middle and low-level samurai families gave their second and youngest sons to Xiao Pingtou to look after them.

Nowadays, samurai have no good way out. They can't really go wandering, where can they find poetry and distant places. Having enough food is the most important thing. With an annual salary of 15 or 20 kan, Tongxin is guaranteed to have a stable income regardless of drought or flood, and does not have to fight on the battlefield. If he does well, he may be promoted in the future. The eldest son or the only son who can inherit the family business and reputation will naturally not be interested in these small jobs, but for other sons who do not have a family business to inherit, it is a pretty good job.

On the first night after the recruitment was announced, several wives of military families came to get close to him. Kobayata himself did not have a wife, so naturally no one could start from Kobayata's backyard. But Uncle Tsunayoshi was different. He was a big man with three wives. These three wives all had several girlfriends, right? Naturally, they could not be driven away when they came. The principle of not hitting a smiling person is the same everywhere. A closer look at these ladies who came showed that one of them was the wife of a hatamoto of Uncle Tsunayoshi. This one can't be driven away, because Uncle Tsunayoshi will have to carry out work in the future.

Besides, who doesn't have a few relatives? If you are doing well, you have to help your relatives. Uncle Tsunayoshi had no choice. Although his subordinate did not come to ask in person, his wife came and did not give anything. He came to ask about the size of Koyata's feet, and then dragged a fifteen-year-old boy and a pair of deerskin boots to Koyata, and was introduced by Uncle Tsunayoshi to Koyata.

The gift was not too expensive, but in the Warring States Period when many daimyo usually wore straw sandals, a pair of leather boots was already a great thing. Koyata could not refuse the kindness, so he had to accept it first. Who said that these boots were made according to his own feet, and if he returned them, others would not be able to wear them.

Koyata accepted the gift and had to pretend to ask about the boy's background. As a result, he found out that he was the younger brother of the woman's family. Her family was also the captain of the foot soldiers of the hatamoto. The eldest son could inherit the position, and the second son would become an foot soldier, and he would still rely on her, the sister, to help him.

Koyata casually asked a few sentences of the Analects of Confucius, and the boy got three or four out of ten right. It seems that he has read books and can read. But he was definitely not a genius, but a like-minded person didn't need great talent, so Koyata kept the boy.

Fortunately, Koyata didn't have many relatives, and almost no one could come and get close to him. Only the head of the hatamoto, Konishihara Saemon, came in person to ask a few questions about the recruitment, and Koyata understood what he meant. Sure enough, his family brought a boy and said he was Konishihara's distant nephew. Koyata confirmed that he could read and accepted him. The man's parents didn't come with him, but sent a lacquer box filled with fruits and painted with gold patterns.

Koyata was not a corrupt official, and he didn't accept any money or silk sent, but only kept those that were of some value but not too expensive. The main thing was to examine whether the people sent by each family could really read, and it would be perfect if they could do some arithmetic. It was like an interview, and eight samurai and local lords' sons were recruited. The oldest was already eighteen or nineteen, and the youngest was only fourteen, and there was even one who had shaved his head and was ready to be sent to become a novice monk. Hearing that the master was recruiting like-minded people, they hurried over here. The parents had good intentions.

As for the others who were slow to ask for favors or whose gifts were unreliable, Xiao Pingtai could only politely decline and return the gifts.

Most people in this era were of good character, and no one held grudges. After all, no one dared to compete for the people arranged by the boss. The rest of them all gave gifts. It was indeed based on the degree of reading and writing Chinese characters and Hiragana. Xiao Pingtai was fair in his work. There was no fairness and openness, because of the limitations of the times.

Xiao Pingtai arranged for them to count and liquidate the production inventory, and at the same time go to Ejiri to contact the fixed purchase of pig iron, hardwood and other materials needed.

Things were still a bit tedious, but Xiao Pingtai was better to these people, after all, they were all from well-known families. The instructions were very detailed, and the specific purchases and operations were clearly explained.

Think about the 14-year-old Tongxin. He is still a child now, but in this era, his parents shaved his head early and became an adult. Then he went out to earn money to make a living, and he might even have to save money to buy a house and marry a wife.

Xiao Pingtai looked at him, who was more than 1.3 meters tall, holding a notebook, following him, and taking a pen to record the amount of pig iron, wrought iron, thorns, and straw ropes. From time to time, he shouted in a baby voice that had not yet experienced the voice change period, "Danzheng, please speak slowly."

I can only sigh: "No matter what era, it is not easy to make a living!"

Xiao Pingtai saw these craftsmen making iron cannons, so he asked if anyone could make a two-shot hand-held barrel or a short-barreled cannon on horseback. I thought about getting myself a short-barreled musket for self-defense. If I shoot a shot every 10 meters or 8 meters, the sword saint and swordsman will also be finished. With my own Nanmando, the safety factor on the battlefield will definitely be improved.

But the craftsmen looked at Xiao Pingtai blankly.

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