Yoshigan Shiba recovered his thoughts and said to Ina Chuji gently.
"Li Jiaji praised you so much in the letter that I couldn't believe it.
Since you are the attendant she sent to serve me, I will test you."
The ruling structure of the Wu family is a feudal system. The retainers of retainers are not the retainers of the master, and there is a layer of subordinate relationship in between.
The lord sent retainers to assist his samurai family, which was called Yuli, such as Takenaka Shigeharu sent by Oda Nobunaga to Hashiba Hideyoshi.
Retainers dispatched ministers to serve as princesses and were called accompanying ministers, such as Ina Chuji, who was sent by Maeda Toshiie to serve Yoshigan.
Ina Chuji waited with bated breath to see the prestigious Shiba Ken Nobukong. Looking at his appearance that was more handsome than the legend, she was so nervous that her hands and feet became cold.
But Toshiie Maeda had already set up the ladder for her to climb up, and she didn't want to let it slip at the critical moment.
So, answer carefully.
"Please give me instructions from the Imperial Palace."
Yiyin waved his hands and smiled.
"Relax, I don't know how to eat people.
Toshikahime said that you are proficient in water conservancy, what do you think of the farming of the Echigo Plain?"
Since ancient times, farming and water conservancy have not been separated into different households. If water conservancy experts don’t know how to farm, wouldn’t it be a joke if the seedlings are drowned?
When Ina Chuji saw Yoshigan and asked her about her old profession, she became energetic and said.
"It's terrible to go back to the Imperial Palace."
Yiyin saw that her ordinary appearance suddenly seemed to shine with light. Is this confidence in her own ability?
"Oh? What's wrong?"
Ina Chuji said solemnly.
“When I was in Mikawa, I heard that the Echigo Plain was vast and fertile, and it was said to be the second largest plain in the Eastern Kingdom after the Kanto Plain.
Although I only had a cursory glance when passing by this time, a lot of land power has indeed been wasted."
Yiyin sat up straight and asked with a serious look.
"how to say?"
Ina Chuji said.
"The Echigo Plain is blocked from the Kanto Plain by mountains. In winter, the sea breeze is too strong to enter the interior, so we have to wander around the Echigo Plain. This causes heavy snowfall and a bitter cold like the Ou land in the north.
Along the way I saw only fields covered with heavy snow, but few ditches for drainage.
May I ask the imperial office if the snow melts in spring and the ground becomes muddy, making it difficult to walk?"
Yiyin nodded.
"The auspicious snow will bring a good harvest, so this disadvantage can be tolerated, right?"
Ina Chuji shook his head and said.
"The imperial office only knows one, but doesn't know the other.
The heavy snow has not yet melted to keep the fields warm. The snow water can warm and nourish the soil and can also kill pests. If turned into water conservancy, it can be of great use, but it requires human guidance.
Echigo is close to the sea, and the spring cold is as severe as the winter. If the snow water in the fields is not guided, the result will be frozen in the ground, hindering spring plowing.
Frozen soil is difficult to plow, which not only wears out farm tools, but also delays farming, resulting in half the effort with half the effort.”
Yoshigami nodded, he knew this. Although the land in the Echigo Plain is fertile, farming is not easy, which has led to the formation of a unique and tough folk custom.
Generally, places with fertile land are suitable for survival, and the people's temperament is relatively gentle. For example, Owari Mino and the Ashigaru of the Samurai family are not considered strong soldiers among the Sixty-six Kingdoms.
But the strange thing about Echigo Country is here.
On the one hand, the land is fertile and the products are rich, enough to build a strong military. On the other hand, farming is not easy, and the people compete for land and water, and are extremely tough. Echigo's military bravery is also famous in Kanto.
Yiyin asked with interest.
"If we improve water conservancy, can we change Echigo's spring farming, which is troubled by snow?"
Ina Chuji shook his head and said.
“How can human power compete with heaven and earth?
What I can do is use ditches to divert water and store water, improve the frozen soil caused by the spring cold, and reduce the difficulty of farming."
Yiyin nodded in approval.
This medieval era is not the industrial era that can transform the environment like Yiyin's previous life. Farming using human and animal power is very hard.
If water conservancy construction can improve the difficulty of spring plowing, it will be a great improvement.
At this time, Yoshigan became a little interested in Ina Chuji, who was sent by Maeda Toshiie.
This ordinary-looking and confident woman talked freely, and Yiyin decided to give her a chance to express herself.
Yiyin applauded.
"Your eloquence is good, but I don't know if you can do what you say.
Echigo has a special tax law. Of the tax burden of six public and four citizens, two cents of grain will be returned to the local area as the cost of building local transportation and water conservancy.
I intend to send you to the Second Public Tax Refund Review and Planning for the Echigo Plain Water Conservancy Construction in Shimotsu.
Are you willing to try it?"
Ina Chuji's ability allowed Yoshigan to see an opportunity to quietly intervene in Echigo's taxation without being feared by others.
Judging from her self-report, there is great potential for water conservancy in the Echigo Plain, which can further improve the quality of farming.
Nakashita Etsu, where the Echigo Plain is located, is exactly the area that Yoshigan can influence.
The Joetsu Takata Plain is the basic base of the new Uesugi family, and the interests of the Uesugi retainers there are complicated. Yoshihiro is inconvenient and unwilling to get involved.
But the second public tax rebate was taken advantage of for the first time, and he felt very unhappy.
Although he has called for the formation of a tax rebate review body and left the pot to the Echigo samurai himself, he can still find ways to add obstacles to Naoe Keizuna and make the distribution more intense.
The upper, middle, lower and upper echelons formed a review body, and it would never be possible to fairly return the tax burden received, and the new Uesugi retainers would definitely take the lion's share.
It is said that the public tax is reused for local construction, but most rough warriors will directly divide the money and food for home use. Samurai Ji is a good fighter, but how many people know how to do construction?
Yiyin inserted Ina Tadashi into the public tax rebate committee to plan water conservancy construction for the Echigo Plain in Nakashita Etsu, so that the quality of farming can be improved in the coming year.
Regardless of whether the output will increase, the difficulty of farming will be reduced, which is enough to make the Zhongxiayue warrior family eager to try it.
Originally, the problem was settled by dividing the money among the upper, middle and lower levels. The Uesugi retainers relied on the confidence of the master's family to eat more and get more, so everyone tolerated it and let it go.
But if Zhongxiayue Water Conservancy has a clear plan and money and food are really needed to build it, will the Zhongxiayue Wu family still tolerate it? When it comes to their own interests, the Wu family has always been ruthless.
In particular, China and Vietnam also have the Uesugi Hikari family headed by Saito Asanobu, and the Ryō Nagao family headed by Uesugi Kagenobu. They are also beneficiaries of water conservancy construction.
Yoshihiro put a catfish into the tax rebate committee to stir things up. Don't let the Uesugi retainers get the big picture easily. There will be a lot of trouble.
This time there was an issue with the Second Public Tax Return, and Yiyin was forced to pay to settle the matter, and he was holding a bad breath in his heart.
I didn't understand it at the time. I thought Naoe Kagetsuna was sensible and knew how to handle things. Looking back and thinking about it carefully, I felt something was wrong.
This bastard forced him to give in step by step. In the end, Yiyin had to hold his nose and pay for the peace, and he had to think of her kindness.
What a damn old fox!
The issue of tax rebates for the two public servants has passed, and Yiyin has come to his senses now, but it will not help.
The ability shown by Ina Chuji made Yoshiyin decide to send her to the tax return evaluation committee to try out.
On the one hand, let’s look at Ina Chuji’s quality and see if she is really capable. On the other hand, it would be easy to let out a bad breath and cause some trouble for the Uesugi retainers.
