Chapter 87 10. The Magnificent Kunitomo Village

After bidding farewell to Nobunaga, he knew that the situation in Mino was quite chaotic. Although Saito Yoshitatsu killed his father Saito Dosan (Toshimasa) at Nagara River, he was not able to unify the entire Saito family and Mino Province in a short period of time (by the way, one of the two warlords took advantage of this chaos to expand their power in Mino and got a territory of tens of thousands of stones, which was very lucrative). In order to shift the contradiction, he even supported Oda Nobuyasu to attack Owari, and the whole Mino was in chaos.

So Kobayata did not take the route from Komakiyama to Nagai and then enter Kitaomi, but directly took a long detour, passed through Ogaki Castle, left Mino and entered Omi.

Omi is now considered to be two strong countries. The overlord of Kitaomi, Asai Ryomasa, has passed away. Asai Hisamasa is at a disadvantage in the battle with the Rokkaku clan of Minami-Omi, and has already begun to bow his head and admit defeat. Soon, his son Asai Kenmasa (Nagamasa is the later name) will marry the daughter of the Rokkaku clan's important retainer, Hirai clan.

However, the continuous war between Asai and Rokkaku did not affect the overall prosperity of Omi. The busy water transport of Lake Biwa and the abundant rice production along the coast all showed the wealth of Omi. Hokuei ships returning from Echigo, Mutsu and even Ezo stopped at Echizen Tsuruga and Wakasa Obama in an endless stream. Countless goods traveled along the waterways of Omi to the prosperous trade and handicraft centers of Kyoto and Sakai, creating a lively scene throughout Omi.

The towns and villages along the way were also densely populated, and peddlers and merchants shaking small drums and carrying loads were one after another on the streets. Large caravans with pack horses could be seen from time to time, and heavy vehicles were loaded with blue hemp from Echigo to Kyoto. Other rare dried scallops and seafood in the inland areas of Shinano, and high-quality wood grown in the snowy land of Mutsu could also be seen from time to time. The deep ruts on the streets showed the busy transportation, and the neighing of cattle and horses and the groaning of drivers and porters were intertwined.

Kobayata had never seen such a prosperous street in the East. Even the Suruga Fuchu Castle, which is known as the "Little Kyoto", did not see such a prosperous scene around it. Omi is indeed the capital of the king, a place where all directions converge.

After going around in circles, I found Kunitomo Village. I originally thought that Kunitomo Village was just a small village or a small town. As a result, when Kobayata arrived at the place, he saw a large number of workshops, forging houses, various business seats, and reunion houses. This is not a village, it is simply a large-scale town. There are at least several thousand people, and even tens of thousands of people are normal.

There is no moat outside, only a low wall, and then a few wooden buildings for observation. As a settlement of free artisans with connections to the shogun and the kanrei, ordinary scum dare not come to provoke. Even if they come, they are not afraid. The village is full of wealthy artisans. They can pull up hundreds or thousands of iron cannons in a hurry, and the scum will be shot into a sieve before they can get in.

As for the powerful and famous people coming, the public governor's face is not useful. With only the few people in Kunitomo Village, they will definitely not be able to stop them. It is better to open the door and welcome them in, pay money and food to save their lives.

Therefore, Kunitomo's semi-neutral status is barely recognized by all forces in Kinai, and he is doing well with his skills in making iron cannons.

When you go in and take a look, you will see rope weaving craftsmen, carpenters, blacksmiths, coppersmiths, and engravers. There are all kinds of shops selling copper, iron, sulfur, charcoal, saltpeter, bamboo, wood, paper, grain and cloth.

Xiao Pingtai thought that iron cannons are indeed an important weapon that changed the world's military development. It has only been more than ten or twenty years since the introduction of iron cannons, and Kunitomo alone has such a large scale.

Passing through the bustling streets and facing the busy crowd, Xiao Pingtai and Aji walked through the large handicraft workshops of the Middle Ages, feeling the innovative atmosphere of the old times.

Of course, in addition to wandering around and watching the excitement, the biggest purpose of Kobayata's visit was to visit Kunitomo Tomobei, the famous craftsman who first made iron cannons in Kunitomo. In 1544, he imitated the Japanese version of the Portuguese matchlock gun, the Kunitomo barrel.

The original product he imitated was one of the two Portuguese matchlock guns that Tanegashima Tokiyo bought for 2,000 taels of gold after the Portuguese merchant ship drifted to Tanegashima. One became the prototype of the Satsuma barrel, and the other was presented to the former shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu by the Shimazu clan. Later, the shogun and the kanrei Hosokawa Harumoto attached great importance to this new weapon and immediately ordered Kunitomo Tomobei to imitate it. In just over a decade, it has developed into such a huge industry.

Kobayata asked around and found out where Kunitomo Tomobei was. He found a large-scale forging house, which was full of busy blacksmiths, and the sound of hammering and hammering was endless. Waves of heat came in his face, making the already hot weather even hotter. Seeing the blacksmiths sweating profusely, Xiao Pingtai was at a loss for a moment.

Xiao Pingtai was still in a daze, not knowing who was Kunito Yoshibei. Aji was reckless. He looked at Xiao Pingtai with a confused face, and without thinking, he suddenly opened his voice and shouted to everyone in the smelting room with a high and sharp voice unique to boys: "Who is Yoshibei? My master is looking for you."

Even in the noisy smelting room, this shout scared everyone, and all the blacksmiths' hands shook obviously. Xiao Pingtai, who was standing next to Aji, was directly shocked.

Xiao Pingtai discovered Aji's greatest advantage so far, his voice was high and loud. Don't underestimate it, this skill is one of the most important combat skills of middle-level officers in ancient times. In addition to flags and drums on the battlefield, if the voices of middle and low-level officers are loud enough for their subordinates to hear, it is a beautiful thing that cannot be more beautiful, and it has a thousand benefits for fighting.

Let's put this aside for now, because someone came out to look for Kobayata with obvious dissatisfaction.

When this person walked in, Kobayata saw that something was wrong. This person was only in his thirties. If it was Kunitomobei, then he would have made a cannon when he was more than ten years old.

Kobayata was embarrassed and took Aji to apologize to him quickly. He didn't think it was wrong for a samurai to bow to a craftsman. The blacksmith was surprised that a samurai would bow to apologize.

"Excuse me, which family is this samurai from?" "The family of Shinano Yamanouchi samurai Kobayata Tsuna. Is he the famous craftsman Kunitomobei?"

"Yes and no, my father is also Kunitomobei." That's right, Kobayata thought so too. For all famous craftsmen, their names are passed down from father to son, and they have the same name from generation to generation. Just like Muramasa, several generations have been called Fujiwara Muramasa, which means the same thing.

Kobayata respected these craftsmen very much, so he followed Kunitomobei to the warehouse. "You're here to buy a cannon, too?" Xiao Pingtai nodded.

And so he walked through the huge forge.