Inoue Masakichi felt a little panicked!
As the acting official of Tianxiang under the jurisdiction of the Umedo family, bandits appeared within his jurisdiction. Not only did they rob the passing business travelers, but they also robbed Umedo Takami.
The two Tianjing Masakichi didn't want to eat or drink, and they were afraid that Umedo Takami would have him stabbed in anger.
"My lord, Kono Jubei wants to see you!"
At this moment, a man kneeled outside the door.
As soon as he heard the name of Kono Jubei, Inoue Masakichi couldn't help but tremble.
Kono Jubei was Umedo Takamitsu's close friend. It is said that he was quite favored by Umedo Takamitsu. There were even rumors that Kono Jubei even slept with him.
More importantly, when Kono Jubei came to govern Tianxiang at this time, he must have come because of the leather robbery.
In other words, Umedo Takami had an order to issue!
Before Inoue Masakichi could get up and prepare to greet him, Kono Jubei had already walked in from the outside arrogantly.
After seeing Inoue Masakichi sitting on the ground, Kono Jubei gave Inoue Masakichi a scornful look, and then said: "Such a big thing happened in the territory, and Musashi Shoden can still sit here. It's so elegant!"
"Jubei, don't get me wrong, I've sent a detective to find out the whereabouts of these bandits!"
"Really?" Kono Jubei smiled contemptuously, "What was the result?"
"Um..." Masakichi Inoue looked suspicious, "This... for a moment..."
"Then it means we didn't find it?" Before Inoue Masakichi could finish speaking, Kono Jubei interrupted Inoue Masakichi.
The look of fear on Inoue Masakichi's face became even stronger. In his opinion, Kono Jubei was here to interrogate Umedo Takami's troops!
"According to the order of the Lord, I have come here to deal with the bandits in the territory. By the way, I also have an order from the Lord!"
Inoue Masakichi quickly sat upright and said: "Please give me your instructions!"
"My lord asks you to retrieve this batch of leather within three days, or purchase enough from your own pocket to make up for the shortage of this batch of leather, otherwise you will commit suicide!"
Although Kono Jubei's words were very serious, to Inoue Masakichi's ears they sounded as sweet as fairy music.
There is still room for maneuver!
Don't panic!
Hold on!
I can make a comeback!
"Please rest assured, my lord, I will do my best to resolve this matter, and I will never delay my lord's important affairs!"
Inoue Masakichi naturally knew that this batch of leather was used to make utensils for the Rokkaku family. It was a trivial matter if something was lost. The most important thing was that this batch of utensils must be delivered to the Rokkaku family on time. Otherwise, not only Inoue Masakichi will be pulled out to take the blame, but even Umedo Takami will be affected.
After conveying the order, Kono Jubei rejected Inoue Masakichi's banquet and returned to Umedo Castle.
Inoue Masakichi also quickly called several retainers to discuss countermeasures.
"Lord, these bandits are very mysterious, as if they suddenly appeared in the territory."
"I have captured some bandits in my territory yesterday, but these bandits are only a few or five people. They only dare to rob lone travelers and do not have the strength to rob caravans!"
"There are two samurai and a dozen ashigaru in the team escorting the leather. They can wipe out all these troops without leaving any trace. The number of these bandits must be hundreds at least!"
"Not to mention our governance of Tianxiang, there are not many bandits like this in the entire Umedo family territory, even in Kitai Ise!"
After one retainer finished speaking, another retainer continued: "Could it be that pirates have landed?"
However, as soon as the retainer finished speaking, he felt the contempt from his companions around him.
Ise and Shima are adjacent to each other. It is located on the left bank of Ise Bay. There are indeed many pirates in the entire sea area. Among them, the famous pirates include the famous Kuki clan in history.
However, the territory of the Umedo clan is located northwest of Kitaise, deep inland.
It is possible for coastal areas to be attacked by pirates, but if pirates appear within the territory of the Umedo clan, that can only be a fantasy!
"I don't want to know the identities of these bandits. I just want to know where this batch of leather is now, or how to get this batch of leather together within three days!"
"My lord has ordered us to resolve this matter within three days, otherwise we will all have to commit seppuku by then!" Inoue Masakichi said angrily.
Hearing Inoue Masakichi's words, one of the retainers rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "My lord, leather is needed for making armor, and it's useless for bandits to bring it!"
"What bandits love is nothing more than money and food! Leather cannot be eaten or used, and bandits don't know how to make armor. It's useless in their hands!"
"So I believe that these bandits will definitely sell these leathers to repay the money or other useful things!"
Inoue Masakichi thought carefully and nodded, "Go on!"
The retainer quickly continued: "Since I want to sell it, I naturally have to go to the nearby exchange!"
"As far as I know, the only nearby exchanges are Umedo Castle Castle Town and Jida Silver Mine. If the bandits want to be close, they can only choose to sell the leather in these two places!"
"We can send people to guard these two places. Once someone comes to sell leather, we can arrest them first!"
Unlike circulating commodities such as grain and cloth, leather has a large transaction volume and frequent circulation.
Leather is a unique product that can only be used in armor making, and is rarely seen in general.
Those who sell leather at this juncture are probably robbing the Umeto family!
Hearing the retainer's words, Inoue Masaki's eyes lit up, "It is indeed feasible!"
But after saying that, Inoue Masakichi said worriedly, "But what if these bandits don't sell them here?"
"Then we can only find a way to buy it elsewhere. Anyway, give it a try first. Fulfilling the Lord's order is the most important thing!" the retainer continued to reply.
Inoue Masakichi nodded, "Then I will do as you say and deploy manpower in these two places immediately!"
"ha!"
...
Zhitian Yinshan is located in the southwest corner of Zhitian Township.
Although it is located in Jitian Township, the Jitian Silver Mine is not owned by the Umeto family, but by the Sengusa family.
The Sengusa clan shares the same ancestry with the Ise Province Shikitahata clan and is part of the Kuga clan. There are also the twenty-four towns of Kitaise, which are the first of the forty-eight families in Kitaise. The current head of the house is Chigusa Hitachi Suke Tadharu. Historically, this man once led an army to resist the invasion of Rokkaku Yoshihide, the head of the Omi Rokkaku family.
Of course, it is also a salted fish.
In the Harida Ginzan Exchange, Kyogoku Takamasa, Kuchiki Takasuna, Endo Kyouyo and others were wandering around.
As an important source of income for the Senzo clan, Jida Ginzan has a high status in the Senzo clan and has developed well. This can be seen from the exchange outside Jitian Ginzan.
Although it is said to be an exchange, it is actually on par with a castle town.
There are many merchants coming and going, and all kinds of goods are available.
Originally, Kyogoku Takamasa planned to sell the stolen goods at the Jitian Silver Mine, but after arriving here, Kyogoku Takamasa suddenly changed his mind.
He suddenly had a bold idea in his mind!
"Lord, someone has been following us!"
Just when Kyogoku Takamasa was thinking a lot, Endo Kyouyo beside him suddenly tightened his grip on the saber at his waist and said with a vigilant expression.
Kyogoku Takamasa turned his head slightly and saw that someone was indeed following him furtively.
"It seems that the Umeto family is not too stupid to take action so quickly!"
"In this case, we can just use the plan!"
