Chapter 144: Fuso Version Lost Both the Wife and the Army!

Under the bright sunshine of Kyushu, several samurai from the Saga family were staggering drunkenly on the road between several villages, staggering all the way towards a destination they didn't even know where it was.

Looking at the poor farmers working hard in the fields, the samurai didn't know what they remembered, teased each other for a few words, burst into bursts of wild laughter, and then continued to move forward.

The farmers who were busy planting rice in the fields saw that the group of drunkards had gone further away, so they dared to raise their heads, took a long breath, wiped the sweat from their heads and faces under their bamboo hats, looked at the group of staggering backs, and spit into the muddy water of the paddy field with contempt.

"A bunch of wild bastards, Malu! God knows whether the money for drinking was sent back by their daughter from Keelung!"

Since the Saga family began to engage in marriage introduction and labor export, the lives of the samurai in the Saga domain seemed to be much better than before.

In the past, people were afraid to eat roast chicken and drink sake, but now they are also starting to make a fuss.

Let the izakaya business in the domain flourish!

The reason for this is that the feudal lord's salary can be paid on time and in full, and the daughters who are wives and concubines in Keelung can send back some Keelung Tongbao and cloth to help their families.

But those samurai masters who only have Taro, Jiro, and Tairo at home are envious of their colleagues who have daughters at home.

"Alas! It's a pity that the masters in Keelung only want the daughters of samurai masters. No matter how beautiful our daughters are, they can't squeeze into the big sailing ship to Keelung!"

A farmer bent down and inserted the seedlings in his hand into the muddy water with resentment.

In the era dominated by agriculture, Japan was an absolutely poor country.

Even in the 20th century, when Japan was known as a power in East Asia, it could not completely take care of its own food and needed to import a large amount from abroad.

The reason why Japan is so poor is the terrain.

If Fujian is three mountains and six rivers and one part of land, then Japan is six mountains and three rivers and one part of land, with many mountains and hills and a small plain area.

Few plains mean less arable land and less food production, which is why Japanese daimyo like to use stone height to show their military strength.

More food means more foot soldiers can be fed, and more people will naturally become the overlord, which is why Honshu Island is the most likely to produce overlords.

Kyushu is the poorest island in Japan.

As a typical geographical environment with many mountains and little land, paddy fields are all in the mountains, distributed in the east and west, with low utilization efficiency, and Japanese farmers at that time did not have the habit of building terraces on the hills.

Under the scorching summer sun of the Pacific Ocean near the equator, the farmers of the Saga family really worked hard in the paddy fields.

However, according to the distribution standard of four public and six private, 40% of the farmers' harvest from farming should be handed over to the samurai masters, and three of the remaining six layers should pay the rent.

Apart from these two expenses, the remaining three layers are my income.

In this era without cold-resistant rice seeds and double-season rice, a year's harvest really can't support a family, and farmers can only struggle to survive. It really proves that there is no idle land in the world, but farmers still starve to death.

Fortunately, not long ago, the general of Kobe suddenly issued a benevolent order to the daimyo and relatives of his territory, allowing farmers to use various specialties to offset 40% of the harvest submitted to the public. Such an order has been unprecedentedly promoted in Saga Domain. Farmers seem to have breathed a sigh of relief, and there are a few more grains of rice in the coarse grain rice.

Although it can't be compared with the samurai masters who can open a pork head from Keelung every ten days, invite a few friends to drink Keelung fruit wine, and get drunk.

However, such a life is enough to make farmers feel satisfied.

"Da Lang! Stop being lazy! Hurry up and plant the rice! You can't offend the samurai!"

Da Lang, who had just despised the drunk samurai, had to bend down and continue to plant rice when he heard his father's scolding behind him. The moment he bent down, he clearly saw the ripples of his sweat splashing on the water.

Such a life that can be seen at a glance is not what he wants to live. Although he despises it, Da Lang also wants to eat big pieces of meat and drink big bowls of wine like those samurai.

A strange seed sprouted in his heart.

"Excuse me, is this Xiachuan Village?"

Suddenly, a person's question came from the road beside the paddy field. Judging from the accent, it should be someone from other towns in Saga family, not like the voices of people from the three villages in their town.

"Yes, this is Xiachuan Village."

Talang took the opportunity to answer other people's questions and raised his head again to win himself a chance to straighten his back and rest for a while.

"Excuse me, where is the home of Jiro at the entrance of the village?"

"There are several Jiro at the entrance of Shimokawa Village. Which one are you talking about? Little Jiro or Big Jiro?"

Big Jiro looked at the visitor with great interest. What was different from others was that he had a flag on his back, which looked a bit like the samurai going to war.

There were a few words painted on the flag, which was blown by the wind and was not very clear. He was carrying a big package on his back, which looked quite heavy.

"It should be the Jiro next to the well at the entrance of the village. He has only one mother at home."

"Oh! You are talking about Shinai!"

"It's Iguchi Jiro. He is my good friend. What do you want to see him for?"

Half a year ago, Jiro Iguchi and Dairo Inada secretly said that life was not easy in Shimokawa Village and he could no longer support his wife. He planned to find a job in the town. Soon he disappeared from the village, and his wife was still alive because of this. I cried several times and now my eyes can’t work.

Now someone is looking for him, I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse.

"Yes! I am Okamoto from Santong Post Office! Please take care of me!"

While Okamoto bowed to greet Dalang, he pointed out the words "Three Links Post Office" printed on the clothes behind him to Dalang, asking him to verify his identity.

"Post office? What do you want from Jiro?"

"It's like this. Jiro from the Iguchi family in Xiachuan Village is now working in Keelung. He sent his wages back through our post office and asked to be handed over to his mother in person."

"Oh, that's it, then I'll take you there!"

Although he didn't know what the post office did, he definitely wasn't a bad person if he came to deliver money. Dalang was even a little bit happy because he borrowed a sum of money from Jiro Iguchi when he went out to make a living.

In front of Jiro's low thatched house, people in the village sat around the fence of Jiro's house, chattering.

"This man is here to give away money. How is it possible that he would not keep it for himself now that he has money, and come all the way to give away money?"

"Who cares about him, just give me the money. Jiro Iguchi borrowed a lot from me, so I should pay him back now."

"What, he also asked you to borrow money?"

"Huh? You borrowed it too!"

Dalang learned the news from a young man in the same village, but before running away, Iguchi Jiro told him that he was the only one who lent money.

Only when the villagers gathered together did they find out that Jiro Iguchi had borrowed a sum of money from everyone and asked them to take care of their old mother.

This trick of the White Wolf with empty gloves is truly amazing!

road!

"Our Santong Post Office is an organization affiliated to Qinhan merchants in Keelung. It is responsible for letter and express delivery services. The Santong Post Office in Jiuzhou was just opened half a month ago and is responsible for business from Keelung to Jiuzhou! I have also just returned from training in Keelung. , this is my first day at work, please take care of me!”

Okamoto scratched his head and bowed deeply to the whole village!

He also felt very sweet in his heart. This job was something his family had to find with great difficulty. It allowed him to go to Keelung and see the world.

Okamoto still remembers that on the first day he went to the post office to report, he met Mr. Saga Chaoichi personally visiting the post office.

"Your post office has brought a lot of benefits to the people and warriors of Kyushu, and it has also soothed the hearts of many mothers. Therefore, I told all places before that that your post office stores and your merchants and messengers should be treated equally. Be strictly protected!

No one, including me, is allowed to infringe upon the property of the courier or the post office!

Once someone dares to attack the post office or courier, they are the enemies of my Saga family! I swear to punish him to death and will never tolerate him! "

With Saga Chaoichi's words, the Saga clan naturally took the lead and followed, and those ronin more or less knew that these people wearing green cloth were the objects of attention of the Saga family and did not dare to intrude.

Jiro's mother heard that her long-lost son suddenly had news and that she also sent someone to deliver something. She was so happy that she didn't know what to say. However, Dalang had some ideas. He looked at Okamoto and asked He said, "Okamoto-kun, you said Jiro has something, so what are they? Where are the things?"

"Jiro Jun from Xiachuan Village works in Keelung. He bought some cloth with his income and entrusted our post office to send it to his mother. In addition to the cloth, there is also some food and money."

As Okamoto spoke, he put down the package behind him and began to rummage through it.

"With the letter, I give you ten guan of Keelung Tongbao money as my salary, as well as a piece of cotton cloth and three porcelain heads made of meat."

Okamoto handed two pieces of cloth to Jiro's mother and asked her to check whether there were any defects in the cloth.

How could Jiro's mother have ever seen such fine cotton?

Weigh it with your hands. Is it possible that a piece of cloth weighs ten kilograms?

I opened my eyes and took a closer look. This cotton cloth made of fine cotton threads was countless times better than what the women of the local master's family wore.

Then she hugged her tightly, fearing that others would snatch her away.

Okamoto took out the Shiguan Jilong Tongbao and three meat porcelain heads mentioned in Jiro's letter from the big package on his back, which suddenly made the whole village exclaim again.

They are so poor, haha, how have they ever seen so much money? Everyone is drooling when they see it!

One Keelung Tongbao weighs one coin, which is five grams, and one thousand Keelung Tongbao weighs five kilograms!

Putting ten pieces of money in front of people is no less than a small mountain of money suddenly appearing in front of them.

Seeing the money in front of her, Jiro's mother almost fainted with happiness. She grabbed her son's friend Dalang, "Dalang, please! Please pinch me!"

"It's true! Jiro brought it back to you!"

The huge commotion in the village naturally couldn't escape the ears of the local master, who also hurried over to inquire about the news.

Dead country one!

That old boy Jiro Iguchi seems to have a future!

Naturally, the landowner knew more than these poor peasants. When he went up to the town to have a drink with his master, he heard that there was a big commotion up there.

It seemed that the master's master's master had changed. He couldn't figure out how many masters it was. Anyway, it was the master of Keelung, and he said that life would be better in the future.

At first he didn't believe it, but now it seems that it is really possible!

Dalang's father quietly walked to the local master and asked in a low voice whether he should invite the post office master to have lunch, so that Jiro's mother could know more about her son's situation outside.

"Well, let's do it!"

So, the local master generously took out a bag of rice and ordered people to steam the rice. Shimokawa Village would invite the post office master to dinner today!

The pure white rice without radishes, pickles, etc. was placed on the table, which moved Okamoto of Santong Post Office so much that he stood up and bowed to Jiro's mother and the local master to express his gratitude.

The local master generously ordered his daughter to take a pot of Keelung sake from the cabinet at home, and he wanted to get drunk with Okamoto.

After drinking a few glasses of wine in a copper coin-sized wine glass, the local master, as the person who used the receipt seal for the post office, took advantage of the wine to ask Okamoto about Iguchi Jiro's situation in Keelung.

"He's a smart kid, speaks Chinese well, and now works as a foreman in a coal mine in Keelung. He's so impressive and bossy."

"He's really successful!" The local lord couldn't help but feel a little jealous. If he wasn't so old now, he would have gone out to make a living.

After having a good meal and a good drink, Okamoto said goodbye to the local lord and turned to the Iguchi family.

"Jiro asked me to tell you! You must keep the copper coins from Keelung Tongbao! If you take them to the town to exchange for silver from the townspeople, remember that one kan can be exchanged for one tael and eight qian of silver. Don't exchange it for less than this amount. Don't let those black-hearted townspeople cheat you!"

"What about this fine cloth?" Jiro's mother asked as she took out the fine cloth.

"Fine cloth?! This is a good thing that makes the townspeople's eyes bleed! On the way here, two or three groups of peddlers chased me and asked about it. If it weren't for my identity, I'm afraid it would have been eaten up long ago. If I sell it, it's about one tael of silver per piece. Don't sell it for less."

"And the Keelung meat porcelain head! The samurai bought it from Keelung, and ten of them sold for one tael of silver. Converted to the price here, about ten of them are a year's harvest! Gold is precious, eat it sparingly."

In the twilight, Dalang sent Okamoto out of the village. Along the way, he kept asking what route he needed to take to work in Keelung. Okamoto was also knowledgeable and told Dalang Inada about the Qin and Han merchants setting up shops and recruiting workers in Kyushu.

"They are hiring people now. The conditions are three meals a day, rice is enough, an egg every three days, and fish and pork are eaten once a week. As for wages, one kan of money is paid every two months, and there are clothes and shoes every quarter."

"Anyway, there are so many benefits. If you plan to go, go to the main city of Saga. Our post office has a store there, and you can sign up for the test there."

Such a salary and benefits, and Jiro's living example in front of him, can't help but make Inada Taro excited. If he goes to Keelung to work for a few years, can he marry the daughter of the local lord as his wife?

However, the local lord is also thinking of a similar idea at this time.

He wants to sell his daughter.

Oh, no, he wants to find a son-in-law from Keelung.

"Master Judge, I would like to ask you to help me find a husband for my daughter in Keelung."

In a pub outside the main city of Saga, the local lord spoke humbly to the judge who was 600 koku in the city.

The judge took a look at the cotton cloth placed on the table by the local leader. He bought it from Jiro's mother by deception, and spent two small gold coins!

"The bride's affairs in Keelung are all handled by that despicable guy Saga Yuichi. I can't do anything about it." The judge accepted the gift from the local leader with a smile, "But don't be discouraged. I have a job here. If you do it well, maybe you can get promoted and make money. If you get promoted, why give me a daughter?"

"Judge, look." The local leader took out a small gold coin with a flattering face and put it into the judge's sleeve.

"Okay, since you are so active, I will send someone to send you the appointment letter when I go back."

"Thank you, sir!" The local leader knelt down to thank him, and then asked carefully, "What is the job?"

"Recruitment!"

The two words gently uttered by the judge made the local leader dumbfounded and his hair stood on end.

Recalling that several officials with a salary of 300 koku who had recruited soldiers were beaten to death by angry people, the local leader trembled all over, stood up slightly, and asked with fear, "My Lord, you are not joking with me."

"Be prepared early, the territory is going to go to war." Leaving this sentence, the judge left the izakaya without looking back.

The local leader slumped on the wooden board, as if he had lost his soul, and kept muttering, "Baka, Baka"

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