Three Years of Longevity, Three Conditions, Seafaring Ships, Craftsmen, and Establishing a Fief

Only after the two men had exchanged pleasantries and probed each other back and forth several times did they lay bare their true intentions; once a stone was placed, there would be no taking it back. And when that thought finally rose in their minds, they looked at each other and smiled, both showing a touch of greed.

Old samurai Takeda Nobuhiro's treasured blade had not grown dull with age; a fierce ambition still burned in his eyes. He pondered for a moment, then slowly raised one finger and said with a smile, "Morino Kiyoshi, my first condition is the premise for working for you. I want a good ship—preferably a Tang ship from Ming—to sail to and from the seas of the far north. The northern winds and waves are fierce, so the ship must be larger, sturdier, and able to transport the great horses of the Wild Jurchen!"

"A good ship? To carry horses?"

Hearing this, the great merchant Morino Kiyoshi was taken aback. He thought for a moment, then asked in return, "Lord Nobuhiro, how did you get the Jurchen great horse you have now?"

"Ha! My current horse is called Deer-Hair Horse. It was tribute from an Ezo tribe on Karafuto Island, sent to me from the north to show their submission! Of course, I also gave them some ironware in return."

As Takeda Nobuhiro spoke of this, a measure of pride showed on his face. He smiled and shook his head, then added, "There is regular Sanda trade at the fort, exchanging for products of the far north through the Ezo tribes of the Karafuto Peninsula and the Kuril Islands. But that kind of trade is very slow. What you can get is also very uncertain. Morino Kiyoshi, your matter cannot wait that long. And