Time waits for no one, so everyone in the White House decided to do a few big things before the snow in November, so as to prepare for next year.

The first big thing is of course the land grab - but since there are so few people now, White Master can only make some preparations in advance, and the official land grab won't start until next year.

The conditions for large-scale development of high-latitude cold areas are cold-resistant crops, sufficient energy (coal or oil), and a large number of materials and people. It has been almost a year since Shiro Hide came to Japan. After practice, he had to admit that the northern Ezo land only

It may be a stepping stone, but the business focus will eventually shift to the Ezo land south of Shirozu.

Although the Matsumae family's Ezo land and Northern Ezo land are only separated by a strait, the climate is very different. According to later generations, Ezo land has a temperate maritime climate, with snow from December to March of the following year.

The northern Ezo region has a cold temperate maritime climate, with winter lasting from November to June in the north and November to April in the southern region where Shirozu is located.

Relatively speaking, the climate in Ezo is better than that in northern Ezo, and it is still feasible to grow food and develop animal husbandry on a large scale.

Zhixiu is currently focusing on two areas, one is large and the other is small.

The small place is Soya opposite Shirozu, which is also known as the Wind City "Wakannai" in later generations. Wakkanai Port does not have an ice-free period. After steam ships were introduced in the future, it can still be navigable under the influence of the northwest monsoon in winter, while the ice at Shirozu Port

The closure period is from the end of November to March. During this period, it is impossible to contact the outside world, which is too disadvantageous. Of course, there is an ice-free port on the west coast of Kita Ezo, but it is more remote than Soya.

The big place that Naohide is eyeing is the current Higashi Ezo Territory, which covers the northeastern part of Ezo Territory. Although it is difficult to navigate in winter due to the ice-free period at the port and the drift ice south of the North Sea, it is rich in resources.

The reason why Naohide came to Hokuto to serve as an official was because he knew that the Ezo Land and the Northern Ezo Land were rich in minerals and could be used as small industrial bases - the Northern Ezo Land was rich in coal, and the Eastern Ezo Land was even more rich in minerals.

There are large open-pit coal mines. As for iron ore, the Toshima Peninsula and the Ishikari Plain, which are tightly controlled by the Matsumae family, produce quite a lot of placer iron ore.

Moreover, there are three large plains in Higashi-Ezo land, which can be used to grow food and develop animal husbandry. Only by being self-sufficient in food can we strengthen our backbone. Oxen will still be necessary for plowing for a period of time, and horses are needed for combat, so they cannot be ignored.

Naohide took out the map and introduced the mineral distribution and terrain of the Northland to everyone in detail. Everyone was not surprised by this and thought it was a secret information created by Naohide from the shogunate.

After knowing the advantages of these places, everyone was salivating. They felt that Matsumae's domestic violence was a waste of natural resources, so they must do it, and the internal opinions were unified.

But the land will not come by itself, so how can we reach into the Matsumae family’s territory?

At present, the Matsumae family only tightly controls the Toshima Peninsula in the south of Ezo and a part of the Ishikari Plain in the west. The rest of the land is run by merchants - there are very few Matsumae family members and samurai in these places.

, at best, there are some taxes, so there are a lot of loopholes that can be exploited.

Forcibly will not work. Before there is sufficient strength, the shogunate will never hand over the Ezo land to the Shirozhu Sanctuary - but if the Shirozhu Sanctuary becomes stronger, the shogunate will definitely not rest assured Naohide.

So I transferred Naoxiu away.

Although this matter is difficult to handle, it must be done even if it is difficult.

The solution that the leaders of the White Lord and Naohide came up with together was to mix sand. Isn’t the Matsumae family now playing a venue-pleasant system? According to this system, we find a businessman to contract out all the space we want to occupy, and sign it for ten

For eight years, isn't this a fact of possession?

If I had known what would happen in three days,

Wealth lasts a thousand years. Naohide remembered that four years later, in 1855, the shogunate would transfer a large area of ​​land to the imperial lord and put it under the control of Hakodate, leaving only the territory currently closely controlled by the Matsumae family, so in theory, he signed four

A one-year or five-year contract is sufficient.

But the trick is that after the shogunate set up the Hakodate Hall and asked all the famous people to help defend the Northland, the contract signed with the Matsumae family will probably be invalidated by then. What should I do then?

Forget it, in order to have a righteous name, it is better to sign the contract for nine years to be on the safe side. But when the Sakurada Gate Incident broke out in 1860 and the shogunate leader Naobutsu Ii died, the reputation of the shogunate plummeted, and the dispute in the Northland could only be settled.

If you rely on strength, the contract will not work.

After deciding on the strategy to grab the land, the next step was to find a few businessmen to come forward and talk to the Matsumae family.

When it comes to digging holes and harming people, Kinokuniya, Kishigeya and Saitaniya are not suitable for going into battle. Originally, the money house that has a deep relationship with the Matsumae family is the most suitable, but the execution office does not have enough control over the money house, and others

I don’t know if Naohide still knows that the money house will be sealed off by the shogunate this year, so it is absolutely impossible to choose the money house.

A living person can still be choked to death by urine. Naohide suggested that he simply invite a few businessmen to come out. Everyone felt that it was unreliable at first, but after thinking about it carefully, it turned out that it was really feasible.

The Matsumae family has always been a businessman, recognizing money but not people. Although the Ryohama Group and the Money House are powerful, they have no money and no friendship. As long as the money is enough, the Matsumae family is not stupid and will not push the money away. Moreover, both families

The fisheries and fur trade that are of concern are really possible without contracting land.

In addition, pushing a few businessmen out is also a way of self-protection.

Today's hunting and development are all under the name of the shrine. One day, the shogunate really transfers Naohide, and all his efforts are made to make wedding dresses for others. But if the industry is put under the name of a businessman, then the shogunate will take it.

What you get is just an empty shell - of course the shogunate can rebel, but isn't there still a way to fight the war? When the time comes, the White Lord will be in turmoil and the rising monarch will not come out, what will happen to the White Lord? Naohide develops the Northland, there will be no credit and suffering

Lao, there is no point in turning against the cost of being too high, but it can be regarded as stabilizing Zhisu's status.

Once the ideas were opened, everyone felt that this was feasible, so there was only one problem left: who would be a businessman?

At this time, merchants can also carry swords, as is the case with Takashima Akiho, the master of iron cannons. Nowadays, there are many big businessmen under the shogunate and the princes who act like this, making money while still being samurai. Therefore, everyone is not special about being a businessman.

To resist, of course the prerequisite is to be a wealthy businessman.

But the problem is that the Miao character must have a family head to carry a sword. If the merchant who is introduced is also a retainer of Naohsiu, even a fool can see that there is something wrong. Moreover, if the Matsumae family knows that this businessman is a retainer of the Hide family, they will be vigilant.

, what should I do if I can’t sign the contract?

Some people also suggested that the Matsumae family should not know about it. How could the Matsumae family know if this person didn't tell him? Naohide smiled bitterly, the Matsumae family were not stupid. The contemporary head of the family, Matsumae Takahiro, was also an outstanding person. None of the businessmen he promoted could safely follow.

The feet are definitely not good.

Mr. Egawa Tanan and Oguri Tadatsun are both ministers, and they are not suitable to wade into this muddy water from all aspects. Among the daimyo with whom Naohide is connected, Saga Nabeshima Saimasa is more deceitful than monkeys, Satsuma Shimazu Saibin and Uwajima I have never met him in Date Sect, and I don't have enough friendship. After thinking about it, Tosa Yamauchi Toyonobu is more suitable. Firstly, Naohide and Yamauchi Toyonobu are reluctant to be considered "friends of common people". They had a friendship before they were prosperous. Secondly, Yamauchi Toyonobu is more suitable. The superior Nobu owed favors to Oguri Tadayun and Mr. Tanan, and the Yamauchi family had no foundation in the shogunate, so it was probably possible to sell face. Naohide did not cheat him, and planned to immediately turn the businessman into a businessman after signing a contract with the Matsumae family. The retainers of the family will clean up the Yamauchi family in advance.

In addition to Ryoma, Naohide

There were also seven subordinates who were born in Tosa, all of whom were his former students at the private school in Kochi. When they heard that their teacher had become a proxy official, these seven came to join him in the spring.

Among them, the one who is closer to Naohide is Kondo Chojiro. He is the son of the steamed bun shop owner in the incident where Yue stole steamed buns and then hit someone, causing the Yamauchi family sergeant to draw his sword. He later also joined Naohide's private school to study. This time he came to the White House. His performance is good and he is already the leader of the group.

Naohide had a life-saving grace for Chojiro and a master-disciple relationship, and he was also the benefactor of Chojiro who was promoted from a townsman to a samurai, so he could entrust him with important tasks.

As the group leader, Chojiro is eligible to attend the evaluation meeting - this was specifically stipulated by Naohide in order to prevent the two group leaders from finding excuses to monopolize power. Moreover, these group leaders have personally participated in the secret trade, so they can be considered as friends. Voting certificate.

Chojiro is very keen. He listened carefully just now. It is obvious that this businessman will have a very high status in the future. Although he can no longer perform the service he held, the strength and reputation he holds are very important. He is an important chess piece of Naohide hidden in the dark, so he took the initiative Offer to take charge of this matter.

Naohide and Chojiro made it clear that firstly, this matter was risky; secondly, he would not monopolize the power in the future, and someone would transfer to the Chamber of Commerce, and Naohide would send controllers to control every move of the Chamber of Commerce, so he was just a face.

Chojiro was relieved about this. He knew that his talents were still insufficient, and he might not be able to bear all the pressure on him. However, as a man who was born in a steamed bun shop, Chojiro thought very clearly. Wealth is gained in danger, and if you want to In the small team of Zhixiu, he stood out. He was from a low background and had to achieve great achievements to rise to the top. Zhixiu didn't know that his handover of rice people to do secret trade and two big hunts shocked his subordinates. Everyone had more confidence in him than Zhixiu himself. Sufficient. These subordinates all have low backgrounds, but their ambitions are not small. They know that with their backgrounds as lower-level samurai, they can only jump through the dragon gates by following Naohide. They all hope that Naohide can go one step further, so that they can be promoted and make a fortune.

Tigers are harmless to people, but tigers are harmful to people's hearts. The Matsumae family really doesn't have much ill intentions towards Naohide, but conflicts of interest will inevitably lead to this result.

Expansion to the south was followed by expansion to the north.

The Lucians have already established a post station in Miaotun this year, and will set up a winter camp on the north bank of the Wulong River estuary next year. After that, they will advance by land and water. The infantry will land on the west bank of the North Ezo Land, and the warships will survey the coast. By then, they will definitely "Visit" the White Lord.

As the saying goes, strike first to gain strength and strike later to suffer disaster. From June to August next year, there will be a battle between the execution office and the Lucians, so we must be prepared this year.

The icing period at the Wulong River Estuary is from early November to late May of the following year. Now it is early October. Everyone agreed to send two ships north to explore near Miaotun.

Direct exploration is not possible, and you have to fight when you meet, and you can only go through the local residents, so the former Ainu Otosuke Taro appears again - the local residents at the Wulong River Estuary speak similar languages ​​to the Ainu, and some tribes

They are the Ainu people.

Otou Suketaro has been active since he was naturalized, but he has not made many achievements - there are many Ainu people who help the money house, and there are also a few people who have learned the Japanese language for the first time. Therefore, he has contacted various tribes several times. Although Otou's performance is outstanding,

It's not that he has to do it.

It was only after Suketaro was naturalized that he discovered that only his family was a commoner at the White Lord Order. Although the order had abolished all manners of etiquette, he felt unreliable and wanted to become a samurai.

Naohide promised to help Taro, and as long as he established a relationship with the coastal tribes this time, he would be promoted to a warrior regardless of whether he could find out the defense geography of the temple. Taro was very excited and said that he would not come back if he could not complete the task.
Chapter completed!