Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

Yoshishige certainly knew that the matchlock gun was now priceless. In history, Tanegashima Tokiyo spent two thousand gold to obtain two matchlock guns. Although there was an element of "being taken advantage of" in this, it also reflected the preciousness of the matchlock gun at that time from one aspect.

Upon learning that Yizhong wanted to form a cannon team, Wang Zhi initially thought he was joking: "Your Highness, do you know that my own fleet does not even have many of these bird guns, oh no, cannons? You want to form a team, not to mention whether I can get so many cannons, even if I do, I'm afraid you can't afford it."

"Sir, please tell me, how much is one?" Yi Zhong asked.

Wang Zhi thought for a moment, stretched out his palm and said, "At least five hundred gold."

"Five hundred gold? This thing is worth five hundred gold?!" Before Yoshishige could even open his mouth, the retainers of the Takeda clan around him were already in an uproar.

You know, last year when they negotiated peace with the Asakura family, they only paid 200 gold. This iron cannon costs 500 gold. Let alone wanting to form a iron cannon team, even if they want to get another one, it is really difficult for the Wakasa Takeda family to afford it with their current financial resources.

However, Yoshishige felt that the price Wang Zhi offered was a "friendly price" compared to the French who had demanded a huge price from the Tanegashima Shi Yaolai in history. However, the Wakasa Takeda clan did not have the ability to purchase such weapons in large quantities, so he thought that this matter could be dealt with in another way.

"Sir, I have a suggestion. Would you like to hear it?" Yi Zhong asked politely.

"Your Highness, please speak." Wang Zhi replied.

"I'll pay you 800 gold and buy you another cannon," Yizhong said.

"Eight hundred gold! My lord, you must not do that!" Yamagata Hidemasa hurriedly advised, "I know that our family has made some money from the 'Rakushi Rakuzo' and the opening of shipping routes, but you can't squander it like this. It's really not worth spending eight hundred gold on such a thing. Please think twice!"

Not only Yamagata Hidemasa, but also people like Shirai Mitsutane, who had just praised the power of the cannon, changed their minds when they heard that Yoshishige was going to spend 800 gold to buy the cannon. They all stepped forward to persuade Yoshishige to take a long-term view.

Wang Zhi on the side was not surprised by this. After all, not everyone could come up with such a large sum of gold. Even if they could, whether they were willing to spend it on such an unprecedented firearm was another matter.

"Your Highness, an iron cannon costs five hundred gold coins. What does it mean that you give me eight hundred gold coins?" Wang Zhi asked curiously.

"I hope that when you sell me a cannon, you can also keep the Frenchman named Damoto and teach us the craft of making cannons," Yoshishige replied.

"Your Highness is really good at doing business," Wang Zhi said with a hearty laugh. "You spent three hundred gold to learn the craftsmanship of making a five-hundred-gold cannon. No matter how good our relationship is, I can hardly agree to this deal."

"Isn't this your first visit to Japan?" Yoshishige asked, "How many of these cannons have been sold? Not to mention 500 gold, even 200 gold a piece, I'm afraid no daimyo would be willing to spend money to buy it, right? But I'm different. Not only am I willing to buy it at the original price, but I'll also give you an additional 300 gold as 'tuition'. You should be content."

After hearing this, Wang Zhi thought to himself that what Yoshishige said made some sense. He had visited seven or eight Japanese daimyo, but none of them was willing to spend so much money to buy the cannon. If he missed this deal, he didn't know when he would be able to sell it next time.

"The craftsmanship of this iron cannon is very complicated. It can't be learned in a day or two."

As soon as Wang Zhi said this, Yoshishige understood that Wang Zhi had tacitly agreed to his proposal. He couldn't help but feel secretly happy in his heart, but his face showed a very sincere expression: "As long as this Darmoto is willing to stay and teach the production process, in addition to the 300 gold, I am willing to give him an annual salary of 300 koku!" "300 koku, that is the salary of an Ashigaru general." The retainers of the Takeda clan present were once again shocked by Yoshishige's decision. Offering such a high annual salary to a foreigner who had no military merits, looking throughout Japan, I am afraid that no daimyo would have such courage.

"Since Your Highness is sincere, I have no problem with it. However, I still need to seek the opinion of Damoto himself as to whether he should stay."

After that, Wang Zhi conveyed Yishige's meaning to Damoto through an interpreter. From the rich body language displayed by this Frenchman during the conversation with Wang Zhi, it can be seen that he was first surprised by this request, then fell into deep thought, and finally nodded in agreement with a little excitement.

"Damoto is willing to stay, but he has two conditions." Wang Zhi replied to Yizhong.

"Just say it." Yi Zhong was quite straightforward.

"First, he can teach the craft of making iron cannons, but his energy is limited after all, so he will not teach repeatedly. Therefore, Your Highness must determine who will learn to make forged iron cannons from Damoto."

"That's no problem." Yi Dian nodded. He already had a suitable candidate in mind.

"Secondly, once Your Highness has mastered the craft of forging iron cannons, you must establish contact with the caravan that Damoto is with. He is not referring to temporary, one-off transactions, but a long-term, fixed trade relationship."

In the past, Yoshishige felt that establishing trade relations was a double-edged sword, which could backfire if not handled with care. However, with the implementation of the Le City Le Zuo and North Country Ship trade, the internal "big cycle" has been very effective, and now it is time to expand overseas markets.

"I can promise him this." Yizhong solemnly promised Wang Zhi and Damoto.

"In that case, then it's settled." Wang Zhi conveyed Yizhong's reply to Damoto, who nodded with satisfaction, gave a thumbs up, and said in broken Japanese: "Yoshi!"

After talking about the iron cannon, Wang Zhi and Yi Zhong's topic shifted to trade.

"Since you want to trade with our family, what can you do to exchange with us?" Yoshishige asked. "Although Wakasa is only a small part of the Hokuriku, it is relatively rich in products and has a prosperous port. Even if we are short of some materials, we can get them through merchants from all over the country. There is nothing rare that we cannot get."

"Oh? Really?" Wang Zhi smiled and asked, "Let's not talk about other things. Just talking about the iron cannon, the saltpeter and sulfur used to make gunpowder, and the lead used to make projectiles, your country seems to be relatively poor in these, right?"

"This..." Yi Zhong was speechless for a moment after hearing this.

Wang Zhi continued, "For example, the raw silk and cloth needed for sewing clothes, the sugar used by ordinary people, the medicinal materials in the clinic, the paper for writing, and the leather for making armor. Your Highness usually only knows how to buy the above from local merchants. Little do you know that these things are all produced in China, right?"

Seeing that Yizhong still didn't say anything, Wang Zhi simply spoke frankly: "In the past, Japanese merchants from Hakata or Sakai Port transported these necessities to Japan, added a price to sell them to merchants from all over the country, and then the merchants from all over the country added a price to sell them to the lords and the people. The huge profits generated were also very coveted by us sea merchants.

If Your Highness agrees to trade directly with us, so that Chinese goods can be directly imported into Japan through Obama Port, then wouldn't the profits generated by this be firmly in Your Highness' hands? Moreover, Obama Port will also benefit from this. I believe that within three years, the prosperity of Obama's trade will be on par with Hakata and Sakai Port! "(End of this chapter)