The problem of the use of arquebuses is the problem of the arquebus, which is used to ignite the muskets.

Since you want to localize your arquebus, you need to make gunpowder, bullets, and arquebuses in addition to being able to make your own muskets.

Gunpowder and bullets aside, the seemingly simplest arquebus has become the first problem. Because the weather is humid and there is no need to get wet in the rain, there is a problem that the fire rope made from local linen cloth cannot be lit.

Andreel and others have tried many ways to solve this problem, but there is still no progress. Today, when I came to report the good news to Zhengliang, I also raised this issue by the way.

In the eyes of Andel and others, this young lord is not only a great general, but also an inventor, and there are many problems that they can't solve, maybe he can provide solutions.

And Andel did guess this time, and Zhengliang did know the solution. He also wondered why these arquebuses made from local materials could not be lit in wet weather.

This is because the local material used to make the fire rope is mainly made of bamboo fiber, which contains a small amount of oil, so it will not ignite in wet weather, even if it has not been wet by rain.

So what's the solution?

The solution is kapok. If the material made of kapok is used to make the fire rope, then this problem can be solved. Thinking of kapok, Masayo immediately thought of the history of kapok in the Warring States period and its other uses.

Cotton was introduced to Japan in the Kamakura period, and it was not until the Warring States period that it was cultivated on a large scale, and until then it was sold as a high-priced commodity to China and Korea. For the Japanese population in general. Hemp is a common raw material for their clothes. But in the winter. Hemp clothing is not enough to keep warm. At the beginning of the Warring States period, after the Onin War, the trade of kapok was suspended at the request of China, which had been the main export target of kapok, to pay tribute. As a result, North Korea became Japan's main importer of cotton, so much so that the North Korean government had to control exports in the face of a large amount of cotton exports.

In the mid-to-late Warring States period, people began to focus on the military use of cotton. Clothes made of cotton are light, strong and warm. It is the material of the military uniform of the splendor. Moreover, its robust properties are also applied to the sails of large sailing ships. Ships with wooden sails are much higher in speed than ordinary ships, so they are widely used by pirates everywhere. In the military system formulated by Maori Terumoto, there is a record of "wooden cotton sails for fast ships".

Therefore, Zhengliang thought of using kapok to make soldiers' clothes and even people's clothes, and even more to replace the wooden cotton sails for the Luo family's naval ships, and the most important thing was to use kapok to make fire ropes.

However, at present, in the territory of the Luo family and even in Kyushu, kapok is not common. On the contrary, it is widely cultivated in Owari and Mikawa. Masaro even wondered if it was because of these kapoks that Nobunaga and Ieyasu got the first chance in the war. Of course. It's just speculation.

Now that Masashi is aware of the importance of cotton, of course he will not let go of this opportunity. After all. Opportunity always favors those who are prepared. Now Zhengliang has to seize the opportunity and run faster than others.

Thinking of this, Masato first asked Ander and the others to wait on the spot, and then he immediately signed a few orders.

The first order was addressed to Kamiya Sauze. Masayo asked him to immediately organize people to buy a large amount of cotton and cotton seeds from various places, especially from the Owari and Mikawa areas. And this will become the normal material purchased by the Roche family. Now is the period after the suspension of Sino-Japanese trade, and the local people should have hoarded a large amount of cotton, which is just the right time to buy cheaply.

The second order is addressed to the Cabinet of the Interior and the Cabinet of Intelligence. The main thing is to get them to buy kapok seeds or even kapok trees in large quantities. These kapok seeds, as well as kapok trees, were used to be planted on some of the wasteland in the territory. Although there will be no income in the short term, after a few years, when everyone realizes the importance of cotton, the Luo family has already planted a large forest in the territory that can produce cotton, and has achieved self-sufficiency in kapok. That's the benefit of being one step ahead.

The last order was still given to the Cabinet of Internal Affairs, that is, to let them organize the opening of cotton weaving workshops, and as for the technical skills, they could contact Wang Hai, Zuo Moyang and other Ming merchants to buy them. With these cotton-based fabrics, it is possible to weave military uniforms and canvases. As for the issue of the arquebus, of course, it is the highest priority.

After asking the heralds accompanying the army to send orders to the Internal Affairs Pavilion and the Intelligence Cabinet, Masahiro told the three of Ander the solution to the solution. When they learned that the reason why the fire rope could not be lit was because of the raw materials of the fire rope, the three of them were immediately dumbfounded. Only after the last was he convinced that he followed Masayo's team back to Kishigaku Castle.

As soon as he returned to Kishiyue City, before he had time to catch up with his wife, Masahiro received an urgent letter from Sheng Long.

Ichijo Moritaka was a diplomatic minister who was stationed in Kaiko and Kyoto to collect and transmit information and manage relations with the Kyoto Imperial Shogunate. Usually, a Shenglong transmits the news back to the territory by sea. Today, there happened to be a letter from Karatsu that landed in Karatsu, and then it was about to be sent to Masahiro urgently, and it happened that Masato had returned to Kishigaku Castle at this time.

Some time ago, after taking full control of a part of Chikugo, Masarashi asked Ichijo Moritaka to find a way to get the Imperial Court and the shogunate to recognize the Luo family's security over the Chikugo area (i.e., to recognize the ownership of the occupied area). Is there something wrong with this?

Thinking of this, Masato immediately opened the letter and read it.

Sure enough, it was indeed something that went wrong. It turned out that the Otomo family was a hindrance. This is also inevitable, after all, the Otomo family will categorically not let the imperial court admit that the Luo family has blocked Chikugo. After all, the Otomo family has the title of the real guardian of Chikugo, and Otomo Yoshikan will definitely not let Chikugo be snatched from him, otherwise he will definitely be scolded to death by his ancestors crawling out of the ground. Whether it was a loss of Chikugo, either in fact or in name, he would not allow it.

This Chikugo defeat was also the biggest blow and humiliation suffered by Otomo Yoshikan since he pursued a policy of active foreign expansion, and it was even more humiliating than the conflict with the Ouchi family. Therefore, the Otomo family, knowing that the Luo family, decided to stop it after the imperial court tried to get the security of some areas of Chikugo, and they also took the opportunity to make new demands to the imperial court.

That is to let the imperial court transfer the Higo guardian to the hands of the Otomo family. In history, it was also in this year that after the Otomo family drove Kikuchi Yoshitake out of Fat, they once again took the Higo Guardian into their hands.

It's just that Zhengliang will let him get his wish?

(Thanks to book friends for the monthly pass and reward of "everyone who wants to take the name they want" and reward; Thanks to the book friend "Green Mia" for the reward. (To be continued......)