For Takada Harano, the most important thing is always to prove his worth to his master.
Even if he is scolded by his master for wasting money and wasting money, his hands will burn with too much money. As long as the master can keep her strong financial resources in mind, it will be a successful promotion.
Nothing could prove her wealth and willfulness more than spending tens of thousands of dollars to create a bunch of useless armor.
Takada Haruno is not afraid of Shiba Yoshigage reprimanding her, but is afraid that the master will ignore her and look down upon her.
It was difficult for Imai Munehisa to understand Takada Haruno's complicated feelings for Shiba Yoshigan, and of course he couldn't understand her crazy behavior of throwing money into the water.
Japan had no shortage of iron in the agricultural era, and Japanese knives were even one of the main bulk goods exported to China in the trade.
Japan is a volcanic island and has some minerals of all kinds. Even the veins are shallower than the surface and are easy to mine. It just lacks the large-scale iron ore of the industrial era.
At this time, iron was very cheap in Japan. About four or five kilograms of pig iron cost one bucket of rice, or three hundred Wen.
However, pig iron requires a large amount of water and coal to be smelted to make steel, and the loss is almost three to one.
In this era, steel smelting was an advanced technology, and Japan did not have the ability to smelt on a large scale.
Only China can provide mature iron products near Japan. Even the Southern Barbarians who pioneered Southeast Asia imported iron materials from Guangdong to make their muskets.
Imai Munehisa was in a dilemma.
"Sir, I did a rough calculation.
In order to build the quantity you need in the past six months, not only do you have to try your best to purchase the steel smuggled from China, but you also need to occupy a large number of craftsmen in the port town.
Maybe the quantity is not enough, so we need to actively contact smugglers and go to other trading towns to attract craftsmen to come and work.
This cost is not low. A set of plate armor requires at least forty or fifty guan, and a vest may cost 70 or 80 guan. "
The price Imai Munehisa said was scary, but he didn't mean to threaten Takada Haruno. He really wanted this price.
The tools used in Ashigaru are about four to five kilograms of pig iron and cost three hundred dollars. If you find someone to make it, it will cost about half a pound.
But for this little expense, many poor and famous people can’t afford it. The ashigaru was rented to the ashigaru and had to be stripped back after death.
The cost of the steel used in plate armor alone is five to ten times that of pig iron.
A full-body armor weighs at least fifteen kilograms, and as much as twenty-five kilograms. The complex craftsmanship requires skilled craftsmen to hammer it out for a long time.
Not to mention that after the Sino-Japanese trade was cut off, the price of smuggled goods was high. Just the amount of money a large number of craftsmen spent on eating, drinking, and hiring in the past six months made Imai Sojiu scratch his head.
A set of plate armor must have at least forty or fifty strings, and a vest, which is larger than human armor, must have at least seventy or eighty strings.
Even if work is started day and night to create a uniform and rough standard, it will still cost 12,000 to 15,000 guan. The summary of other types of expenditures will not be less than 20,000 yuan.
After spending so much money to create a batch of useless armor, Imai Sohisa really wanted to cut open Takada Haruno's head and see if there was any water inside?
But she didn't have the courage to do this, let alone refuse, so she could only smile bitterly and follow her nonsense.
20,000 yuan, for a well-known Wu family name, is enough to cover the entire military expenses of four reserve armies for a year.
Four reserve teams can rule a territory of 30,000 to 50,000 shi and occupy one side. If Ikkaku had been around recently, even Ashikaga General would have heard of this samurai's name.
In Echigo, for 40,000 kan, Yoshihiro Shiba teamed up with Terutora Uesugi and almost killed Uesugi Gyōzō.
But Takada Harano didn't even blink an eye, and directly spent 20,000 guan to create a batch of garbage, letting Shiba Yiyin know that he must curse this prodigal woman to death.
Armor is not something you can just build and put away. Armor is the tank of this era and requires a lot of materials to maintain.
Rust, cracks, links, broken patches, it’s a bottomless pit. If you use it once in battle, you may need to spend another 10,000 yuan to find steel and find a mature craftsman to repair it.
Are you mentally ill to play this? Would a feudal-era tank like full-body plate armor be used in a war in a poor place like Japan?
Moreover, as iron cannon technology becomes more and more mature, armor-breaking gunpowder weapons are the natural enemy of heavy armor. Plate armor is doomed to decline, and the money spent is meaningless.
Takada Yono, a fake martial artist with a civilian background, may not know these things, but even if she knew, she wouldn't care. She is not a traditional martial artist, she only has Shiba Yiyin in her eyes.
As long as Shiba Yiyin has any mood swings towards her, whether it is love or scolding. Even Takada Haruno would swallow it up with hunger and thirst, and reminisce over and over again.
In other words, Imai Muneku thought well, she had water in her head and was sick.
The two were talking when there was a knock on the door outside. Yuigahama Yui opened the door, walked in quickly, and saluted Takada Harano.
Takada Yono frowned slightly. As the Miburou Group was used smoothly, she gradually became dissatisfied with Yuigahama Yui, the leader of the Shinsengumi.
This girl follows the rules and has too many concerns about doing things, which is not very consistent with Takada Haruno's unconstrained thinking.
But she was the leader of the Shinsengumi appointed by the Lord, so Takada Yono reluctantly tolerated her, but she gradually became a mouthpiece for communication with the Lord's family.
Takada Harano was interrupted mid-sentence and said coldly.
"What's up?"
Yuigahama Yui kowtowed on the ground and said.
"There is urgent news from Hokurikudo. There seems to be unrest in Nanao Castle. The closure of Nanao Port may affect shipping after the beginning of spring."
"What!"
Takada Yono and Imai Munehisa were both shocked.
It snows heavily in the winter in the north, so Nanao Port and Naoetsu are not suitable for winter shipping. They are both frozen ports waiting for the beginning of spring.
Everything is ready in Sakai Port. The caravan has received a large amount of subsidies and is gearing up to start a big fight in the spring.
At this time, turmoil in Nanao Port will directly affect the confidence of recent merchants in the Houriku Road trade route.
Takada Yono looked at Imai Munehisa.
"Can you block the news?"
Imai Munehisa shook his head.
"Impossible. We and the merchants on Tokaido are all subsidizing us and seizing the initiative on the trade route.
They must also be keeping an eye on the Hokuriku trade route, and they will use any clues to undermine the confidence of the caravans and make them change their ways.
When something happened at Nanao Port, not only can we not cover it up, we must also speak openly and honestly. "
Takada Yangno nodded. This was a helpless move. He tried to cover up but was taken advantage of by the other party.
The loss of Nanao Port has only shaken the confidence of merchants. The route from Tsuruga Port to Naoetsu is still feasible.
But this is a bad omen, and it will be exploited and amplified by merchants on the Tokaido Road, and the number of caravans taking the Hokuriku Road will decrease.
Takada Yono said with a frown.
"This matter is not something we can resolve. Contact Echigo to see if the Lord knows about this matter and if there are any follow-up instructions."
Takada Yono sighed. She was majestic and full of confidence in front of Imai Munehisa.
In fact, on the stage of the battle between the samurai daimyo, she and the merchants in Sakai Port were both ants. They rely on the strong to survive, and they can only accept the changes in the face of changes.
This was the reality that she was unwilling to face but had to face.
