I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Its extraordinary status is self-evident.

It may not be the most profitable industry, but it is definitely the most stable, prestigious, and powerful!

By relying solely on the business of "selling grain," Gourd House amassed a considerable fortune.

With Kinoshita Rin's command, the entire gourd house started up like a precision machine that had been suddenly activated, operating quickly and in an orderly manner!

……

……

Osaka——

The headquarters of Huluya is located in southern Osaka, near the harbor.

The air was filled with the salty smell of the sea.

The calls of seabirds could be heard intermittently.

The unremarkable architectural style and simple, unadorned decoration perfectly match the understated style of Gourd House.

Black roof tiles, diamond-patterned walls... at first glance, it looks like just an ordinary landlord's courtyard.

Today, at this very moment, Kinoshita Rin convened a high-level meeting.

In the tea room at the deepest part of the mansion, the core members of the Gourd House gathered together.

Kinoshita Rin, seated regally in the main seat, was still wearing her black dress with gold trim, exuding elegance and nobility.

Kinoshita Mai, dressed in red, sat to her side and slightly behind.

As for Qingdeng, he sat side by side with her.

Just by looking at the seating arrangement, you can see how much Kinoshita Rin values ​​her granddaughter and grandson-in-law.

Kiryu, Shichirobei Asai, Katsuroro Shimada, Yoshikiyo Mogami... The core executives of the Gourd House sat below them in order of their rank and status.

"This old woman doesn't intend to waste time talking too much."

Kinoshita Rin went straight to the point.

A deep, resonant voice dominated the entire tea room, clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.

"'In order to completely eradicate the Fa-ju faction, we will provide Qin Jinfan with unlimited support'—this is not a vague joke, but a strategy that is about to be implemented!"

"I'll be very busy from now on, so I'll have to trouble you all."

"First, we must open the granaries and provide Qin Jin with sufficient provisions to ensure the stability of his state!"

……

Osaka, a warehouse district near the port—

"Open all the granaries! Quickly! Be fast! Don't dawdle!"

A large transport caravan, composed of able-bodied men and packhorses, headed straight for the chessboard-like warehouse complex.

The heavy iron chains and sturdy door locks were removed.

With a series of crisp "click-clack" sounds, heavy doors were slowly pushed open, revealing the scene inside the warehouse—mountains of rice.

The so-called "rice pudding" is a unique Japanese container for transporting and storing rice; it is essentially a wooden barrel covered with a layer of rice straw.

Japan's maritime monsoon climate presents challenges for rice storage, as rice is easily susceptible to dampness and mold. Covering the container with straw enhances the airtightness, while the straw's good water absorption ensures the rice inside remains dry, extending its storage time.

Therefore, the convenient and easy-to-use rice tamari has become the most mainstream rice storage container in Japan.

"Don't just stand there! Quickly load all this grain onto the cart!"

The able-bodied men rushed forward in a great swarm, launching an attack on the towering "Rice Mountain" before them.

These rice cakes were loaded onto the carriage one by one.

Once the carriages were full, they set off immediately, heading north directly to Qinjin Prefecture.

……

"Qin Jin Fan urgently needs massive amounts of funds to advance various projects. Therefore, after opening the rice granaries, we must open the gold treasury!"

Headquarters of Hulu House, Accounting Department

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...

Splash, splash, splash, splash, splash...

The sounds of abacus tapping and ledger flipping created an overwhelming sound barrier, adding a tense and urgent atmosphere to the accounting room.

Looking around, every accountant on site was engrossed in their work, meticulously and diligently working at their desks.

"I've already compiled the statistics!"

"You've made a mistake here! Recalculate it!"

"The balance in Vault B is 89,342 taels of gold! There's no mistake, I've checked it many times!"

"Good! Empty Vault B completely! Leave not a single copper coin!"

The immense pressure of the task left these accountants with no time to even catch their breath.

Many people have injured their fingers and tendons from prolonged use of the abacus, and can only apply plasters and continue to work with difficulty.

Meanwhile, countless people were going in and out of the various vaults.

They hurried back and forth, carrying heavy lacquer boxes in their arms.

While transporting these lacquer boxes, someone was walking too fast and tripped on the hem of his hakama, causing the wooden box in his arms to fly a great distance in a perfect parabola.

With a whoosh, the contents of the lacquer box spilled out.

In an instant, the golden luster illuminated the surrounding environment, and the air was filled with the smell of metal.

It's a large-scale gold-plated coin!

The object poured out of the box was a large, gleaming piece of gold!

[Note: Big gold: 1 small gold = 1 tael of gold. 1 piece of gold = 10 taels of gold. 】

Roughly speaking, there are at least 100 of them!

"Hey! Watch out!"

"I'm so sorry!"

"You all better watch out! Don't you dare get any ideas you shouldn't have! If I find out you've stolen the money, you'll be filled with unparalleled regret! You'll truly understand what it means to 'regret your actions'!"

……

"Whether it's reclaiming land or building fortresses, a large amount of animal power is needed. Therefore, in addition to money and grain, we must provide as much animal power as possible!"

A horse farm in Kochi—

The neighing of horses rose and fell.

"Hua hua hua hua hua hua hua!"

"Be good! Listen to me!"

"Do-do-do-do-do... Alright, it's calmed down. When a horse gets agitated, you can't be brute forceful; that will only backfire. You should tighten the reins while repeatedly humming 'do-do-do,' and it will quickly return to normal."

"Yes! I understand!"

Japan does not have native donkeys, so naturally there are no mules, which are hybrids of horses and donkeys.

Therefore, besides cattle, the most common animal power in ancient Japan was the native ponies.

Although Japanese native horses are all small, no matter how small they are, they are still horses, possessing strength and speed that humans cannot match.

Looking around, countless horses were being led out of the stables and galloping across the open fields... What a magnificent sight!

……

"Aki intends to establish a firearms unit, which is a very correct idea! In today's world, swords and the like are outdated! Kasei, you are responsible for contacting Mr. Smith in the United States and telling him that I intend to deepen our relations with him. Now, hand over the stock in the armory to Qin Jin!"

Another warehouse has been opened.

Compared to grain depots, armories undoubtedly have a much higher level of security.

"Be careful! This is gunpowder!"

"Ugh...it's so heavy! Hey! Get a few more people! We can't move something this heavy!"

"What is this? Why is it so heavy? Could it be a cannon?"

Shh! Don't ask any more questions!

The able-bodied men carefully carried the large wooden crates out of the warehouse.

Suddenly, someone lost their footing and fell flat on their face.

The momentary loss of balance caught the others off guard, and the large wooden crates they were carrying fell to the ground, the wooden lids flew off, and the contents tumbled out.

The first thing that catches the eye is the dry straw.

But if you look closely, you can find gleaming, brand-new rifles among these haystacks!

These guns are all advanced rifles that are currently shining in the American Civil War - the Springfield M1861 rifle!

This gun is a muzzle-loading rifled percussion gun.

Its distinctive feature is the use of Minié bullets and percussion caps for firing.

Previously, the mainstream rifles in European countries were all smoothbore guns, which had very poor shooting accuracy, with bullets flying wildly even at a distance of tens of meters.

The M1861 rifle, after adopting the Minié cartridge, could be rifled, resulting in higher accuracy after firing, and especially a significantly increased range.

The diameter of the Minié bullet's conical tip is slightly smaller than the bore diameter, making loading easier for muzzle-loading guns.

When using this type of bullet, you need to bite open the paper packet of the Minié bullet and fill it with gunpowder and the bullet itself.

Loading a muzzle-loading gun is relatively troublesome, but it is much faster than loading an old-fashioned muzzle-loading gun.

In addition, the M1861 rifle uses a percussion cap for firing, which is an upgrade from the flintlock rifle.

The failure rate of flintlock muskets is relatively high; even the best guns have a failure rate of one in ten.

For the M1861 rifle, the sight range is 500 meters, and the relative accuracy range is directly increased to 200 meters, with a firing rate of 3 rounds per minute.

The old smoothbore guns had a maximum range of about 200 meters, but soldiers rarely managed to accurately hit any target more than 80 meters away.