As the sun rises in the east, the Shiba Shangshan family and others are waiting to meet in the castle town of Kyoto.
Maeda Yoshiro, Akechi Mitsuhide, Nizi Katsuhisa, and all the Shiba retainers came to see him off.
Kamizumi Nobutsuna and his three disciples have been waiting for him for a long time to accompany him to Kanto.
Yoshihiro was on an envoy on behalf of the shogunate, and the concubines of the shogunate were also sent to see him off. The leaders were Mibuchi Haru, Ninagawa Akira, and Wada Nomasa.
Mibuchi Haru is also helpless. Hosokawa Fujitaka has been stimulated by some unknown source. He has been feeling bad for the past few days and refuses to come today.
As the governor of the Mibuchi family of the Hosokawa Mibuchi clan, she had no choice but to come on behalf of her allies to show the unity and harmony of the powerful local factions.
Ninagawa himself is now the representative of the Shogunate faction, and the Ise family's backbone was completely broken due to Ashikaga Yoshiteru's stance in the review.
This time was different from the past. The general's attitude was very tough and he no longer had any scruples about the Hojo family behind the Ise family. None of the concubines were optimistic about her family.
Although Ninagawa himself controlled the government and held great power, he still felt uneasy in his heart.
The general can attack the Ise family this time, but what if it is the Ninagawa family next time?
Once the Ashikaga family began to gather power and tasted the benefits.
Even if the ministers who are Ashikaga retainers are perfect, sooner or later they will find excuses to punish them and deal with them one by one.
Everyone knows the meaning of cold lips and teeth. Although she is on the side of the general, her heart is cold and she has no joy of victory.
Compared to Ninagawa himself, Wada Noimasa's life was even more difficult.
Compared with a year ago, this elegant envoy to the shogunate had frost on his temples and many more wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
As a minister whose territory belongs to the Rokkaku family, the rapid deterioration of the relationship between the two parties made her very uncomfortable.
When Rokkaku Sadayori was the governor of the Rokkaku family, she and Ashikaga Yoshiteru were close relatives, and she was the strongest supporter of the shogunate in recent times.
Wada Weimasa, who had the dual identity of a shogunate and a retainer of Rokkaku, was put in a high position and was a high-spirited member of the shogunate's diplomatic relations.
Unexpectedly, it had only been a year since Rokkaku Sadayori's death, and the relationship between the two parties had returned to its previous state, even worse.
Wada Weizheng is not a human being inside and out, and he has aged much with worry.
At present, the best-performing minister in the shogunate is Haruka Mibuchi. One of his two daughters is in charge of the Izumi Hosokawa family, and the other is the guardian of Kitakogenchi.
The shogun relied heavily on the alliance between the three powerful local factions of Shiba Hosokawa and Mibuchi, and Haruka Mibuchi's status also rose with the tide, and he became proud and proud.
It's just that Hosokawa Motonsune stepped down. This good old man felt guilty and felt sorry for his sister.
I met Hosokawa Fujitaka again and got into trouble. I was also in a bad mood.
The three leading ministers were all in a low mood, and the scene was naturally very cold.
Yiyin looked at the Imperial Palace in the distance and asked Sanbuchi Haru.
"Aunt, does the general have any more orders?"
Sanyuan Qingyuan Shanshan Road.
"Master Gongfang asked me to bring you a message, saying that when you come back, we will start another round."
Yiyin smiled slightly, "You are so arrogant, just do it."
Seeing that Mibuchi Haru looked embarrassed, it was hard to embarrass this close elder again.
Hosokawa Fujitaka didn't come either, because he was afraid that it was related to his cruel rejection and hurt her heart. I hope she comes out of it soon and can still be friends in the future.
It was getting late, and after a few more casual remarks, the group mounted their horses and left the capital.
Yiyin looked back, spurred his horse and drove away.
———
Imperial Palace, Sword Room.
Ashikaga Yoshiki kept swinging his sword, his heart was at peace, and Yoshigage's words were replayed in his mind.
Do you like my two hundred thousand stone territory, this skin, or me as a person?
She snorted coldly, swung the sword heavily, then sheathed the sword and looked at Yukino Takada who was practicing with her.
"Why don't you go and see your master off?"
"The Lord has ordered me to protect the general."
"Tch, I still need your protection."
Ashikaga Yoshiki said it with disdain, but a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and his heart felt warm.
Shiba Yiyin, I will pack up the shogunate and wait for you to come back, and then I will settle accounts with you.
Troublesome man, I want you to marry me willingly.
———
Sakai Port, the headquarters of the Shiba Shinsengumi.
In the meeting hall, Takada Yono sat in the main seat, followed by Yuigahama Yui and Imai Munehisa.
She frowned, looked at the letter in front of her, and said.
"The Lord has an order, ordering us to open up the nearby trade routes to Hokuriku Road and reach Echigo first.
What do you think?"
Yuigahama Yui said.
"Follow His Highness's orders."
She is the leader of the Shinsengumi and the military commander of the Shiba family in Sakai Port.
The Shinsengumi is not many in number, but it is the Shiba family's only military presence in Western Konki, and its status is aloof.
Since the Hihama family received this favorable position, they have become independent from the Iga clan. They are grateful to their lord and work loyally.
But Imai Munehisa on the side was hesitant.
"Negotiations with merchants in Sakai Port are still in progress. The original plan was to occupy nearby areas first, and then gradually expand to Tokaido, Higashiyama Road, and Hokuriku Road.
If the Hokuriku Expressway is opened alone, not only will revenue be lost, but some businesses will also be afraid of taking the opportunity to blackmail us."
What she said was true.
If you want to build trade routes to transport supplies, the strength of the Imai family alone is far from enough. You must contact other merchants and use their footholds and connections.
Trade routes are not linear, but web-shaped like a spider web.
The denser the network, the higher the benefits will be obtained and the more tentacles will be reached.
If you open up the Hokuriku Express Line alone, you will not only lose a lot of commercial benefits.
It will also give the businessmen operating the Hokuriku Expressway the opportunity to raise prices and demand more benefits, which will result in huge losses.
Yang Nai asked without answering her words.
"How are the negotiations with the military dealers going?"
“There are not many merchants involved in armaments such as grain and grass, iron cannons, bows and arrows, knives and guns, bags, war horses, etc.
Most of those who dare to participate in these materials have some means, and there are also businessmen involved in Hakata. It is difficult to coerce them to accept my family's shareholding.
Nowadays, only 30% of the people who can buy shares can participate, but all trading varieties are involved, making it easy to monitor the trading direction and sales targets."
Yangno nodded, expressing satisfaction with Imai Munehisa's efforts.
The fact that she was able to participate in 30% of the arms trade in Sakai Port was stimulated by the samurai status granted by Shiba Yiyin, and she used her full strength.
Although it cost a lot, Imai Munehisa felt it was worth it, and the merchants of Sakai Port were also full of jealousy about the fact that the Imai house became the Imai family.
Although there is only one word difference between the identities of merchants and martial artists, they are worlds apart.
Merchants can earn tens of thousands of dollars, but they are just domestic animals raised by the military society, to be bled and cut when their masters need them.
Even if the Wu family's fortune is ruined and only one person is left with one sword, as long as they can still be rewarded by the public, they will have a chance to rebound.
Nowadays, the world is getting chaotic, and the Shiba family actually granted the status of Samurai Princess to a businessman, which made all the businessmen red-eyed.
No one in the martial arts family wants to have such an opportunity to change their class, but those in the martial arts family look down on the merchants and refuse to give it to them.
In private, there were not many people who asked about the price and were willing to give up half of their net worth to gain status as a samurai, but Takada Yono sternly refuted them all.
Respecting superiors and inferiors is the order of the Wu family.
In order to support himself, Yangno knew how much pressure his master would endure by granting Imai Sohisu the status of a samurai family member, and she was extremely grateful.
But you can’t do things in two ways.
Special cases are special cases. Once they become a routine, it will be a devastating blow to the reputation of the Spall family.
The Sibo family is a noble family, and their family pedigree has its own aura that shines on everyone. It is absolutely impossible to sell one's fortune for a small profit.
Maybe in the future there will be people with humble births who will mingle with businessmen and use their strength to achieve great things.
But offending the deep-rooted dignity of the martial arts family will cost her, the fate of her descendants will be sad, and the family's fortune will not last long.
