A tour of Japan's Warring States Period

Let’s not mention the matter of Ashikaga’s sworn relatives for the time being, nor the matter of tens of thousands of troops outside Sakai Town dividing the spoils day and night.

In front of Xiao Pingtai stood a man with a shaved head, only ring hair, and his whole body wrapped in a robe. I'm around 20 years old, but maybe I've endured hardships, haven't taken care of myself, and don't live as pampered as my European counterparts, so my actual age may be younger.

Needless to say, it was Father William, a Jesuit missionary.

Next to him is a man with beautiful hair, neatly taken care of. The gold-rimmed glasses were hung with thin gold locks and rested on the bridge of her tall nose. The age of around thirty is the stage when a man reaches maturity. If he were born five hundred years later, it would be no lie to rely on his reputation to make a living. The professional-looking businessman has a warm, polite and approachable smile. The most surprising thing is that he can speak ancient Japanese.

This is William's cheaper brother, Hess, the assistant merchant of the East India Company.

"Nice to meet you, Magistrate Minamoto, Judge Fujiwara." It's a pity that the greeting was very good, but the rest of the Japanese was obscure and incomprehensible. I really don't know which second-hand dealer I learned it from.

"Nice to meet you, too." Imagawa Yoshichichi was about to nod his head in salute, but saw Koheita extending his hand to shake hands, so he followed suit.

"I think your brother should know our purpose of coming. Your missionary leader praised us highly for your moral character and ethics." Xiao Pingtai presented a tall hat.

In the end, it was impossible to communicate in Japanese, so a Japanese servant from Kyushu acted as the translator. Fortunately, these two people's Japanese is poor, but they can understand it, and they can't speak it well.

"We came today to buy a Folang gun." Imagawa Yoshichichi was a little impatient.

Seeing that the two people opposite looked a little uncertain, Xiaopingta immediately added something.

"It's the eagle cannon on your merchant ship! The kind of cannon with a rotating bracket and multiple blunderbuss."

After Xiaopingta finished speaking, the two people opposite him understood. Hess understood what he meant, and his business instincts naturally flourished.

"What you need is something expensive and rare at the same time. This is not something that I, a little assistant businessman, can decide." After saying that, an unobservable evil smile flashed across Hess's face.

"Mr. Hess, why are you doing this? Japan has been trading with Dameng on the other side for many years. We have known for a long time that Folang's guns are very popular in Dameng. There are thousands of them. How can they be precious goods?" Mrs. Xiaoping Don't be afraid of their extortionate prices.

Seeing that Xiao Pingtai was a knowledgeable person, William opened his mouth, but was immediately held down by his elder brother.

"The Great Moe Kingdom covers an area of ​​thousands of miles. It is said that the population is 10 million, and there are a hundred cities as huge as Sakai. Of course, such a large and rich empire should have cannons to match it."

Hess's perspective is not novel, but it is useful. How big is Da Meng? How big is Japan? Da Meng has a lot of money, so naturally he has a lot of cannons. That’s why the cannons in Dameng don’t seem to be cherished, but they are actually very expensive, valuable and rare.

Imagawa Yoshichichi became anxious when he heard this. He had read books and knew the power and glory of Dameng. Although Japan is not small, it is only bigger than the cute Nanzhili. There is no way to compare with it, but I'm afraid that Folang's blunderbuss is too expensive and cannot be bought.

"Then you tell me how much a Folang gun costs?" Xiaoheita was about to continue playing Tai Chi, but Imagawa Yoshichichi spoke first.

"Since you are so sincere, the total cost of transporting the company from Macau to Sakai will cost you about 5,000 guan!" Hess thought that he had completely bluffed Hiraita and the others.

"Five thousand kan!" Imagawa Yoshiuchi stood up in shock, and Xiaoping Tai was also shocked by the lion's big mouth.

I really think that the two of them are like three pigs. They can cut you in the middle with a knife and squeeze all the oil and water out of you.

"It seems that Mr. Hess does not have the basic sincerity in doing business." Xiaoheita also stood up, preparing to take Imagawa Yoshichiro and leave.

This Hess, on the other hand, was completely calm and seemed to be walking slowly without seeing you off, letting you go.

Koheta had already taken the first step with Imagawa Yoshiaki, and she didn't say anything to stop him.

However, William suddenly stood up and said, "You two adults, don't be so impatient, we can still talk."

As he said this, he came up to grab Imakawa Yoshiuchi, who turned around three times. This man was also a human spirit, and it was obvious that Imagawa Yoshiuchi wanted him very much, but was also very reluctant to let him go.

"Oh, how to talk about it?" Xiao Pingtai didn't expect that they really didn't care about Xiao Pingtai leaving. His curiosity suddenly aroused, and he took advantage of the situation and sat down again.

"The dioceses in Kyushu have been greatly expanded, but I heard that the glory of the Lord has not been spread in the place where you are. If you can be allowed to go to preach on behalf of the Society of Jesus, and provide the necessary venues and security protection, the church can donate a cannon. To your country. "William's negotiation skills are not as good as his brother's, but he is cunning and simple, which makes people naturally want to trust him and get close to him.

Xiao Pingtai felt bright, well, it turned out that she was waiting here. On the surface, it seems like a small favor can be exchanged for a so-called cannon worth five thousand guan. But in fact, the Jesuits' tentacles can reach Shinano Ebon.

"I'm really sorry. The religion my master believes in is completely different from your church. We can't decide whether he can accept your request to preach." Mrs. Xiaoping was not willing to let go.

"Isn't this your heir? Isn't he qualified to make the decision?" William pointed at Imagawa Yoshichichi in disbelief.

"I'm sorry. Although the young master is the biological son of the lord, he has already been given the decision by the general of Kyoto and his succession has been given to another daimyo." It's easy to fool Imagawa's sworn brother, but it's not easy to fool Kodaira.

"In that case, we can only sell the cannon to you at the price of five thousand guan." Hess mentioned the word "five thousand guan" again without revealing any trace. He obviously knew that no matter which famous person, five thousand guan was the most important thing. A huge sum of money.

"I'm really sorry, this price is too high for us to accept." Xiaopingtai waved his hand to express his attitude.

"In that case, good day, Your Excellencies." Hess didn't let up at all and just saw off the guests.

"Okay, good day, sir." This time Xiao Pingtai was really ready to leave, and the two brothers made it clear that they were destined to be defeated. Either make a lot of money, or successfully preach, in short, do not want to lose at all.

When the two came out, Imagawa Yoshiki was quite upset.

"True, if you grit your teeth, you can always come up with five thousand strings. If that doesn't work, I think His Highness the Duke of Kyoto allows you to preach. If you go back and tell your father, I'm sure he will agree."

"Yuanjiang Palace, let me tell you the truth, the cost of a Buddhist weapon is only three hundred guan!"

"Three hundred guans! They dare to sell 5,000 guan! Why don't these Nanman people go to the streets to rob them!"

"Aren't they robbing you?"