The Self-Cultivation of Warring States Warriors

Page 90

Only the production of this stuff can feed the largest possible population with the smallest possible amount of land.

For rice farmers, spring plowing is a crucial event. If problems arise in the plowing, sowing, or irrigation processes, there is a risk of starvation the following year.

Therefore, daimyo generally do not launch wars during this period. Otherwise, it would both affect their income and incite public resentment, resulting in more harm than good.

The specific timing varies from place to place; in some places it is from February to March, and in others it is from March to April.

Of course, it's not impossible if the benefits are large enough. As long as enough money and grain are paid, people are willing to let their fields lie fallow for a year and are happy to join the army.

It's clearly not time for that yet.

After the small skirmish at the beginning of the year, the Asakura clan will not send troops a second time for a while, giving Shinzaburo some time to make preparations.

As for what needs to be prepared—

The top priority is definitely requesting reinforcements.

The remote areas of Tanba-Kuwata District and Wakasa Province could not possibly muster an army capable of directly confronting the Asakura clan. They had to rely on the Miyoshi clan as their backing to even be qualified to fight in open battle.

Will reinforcements arrive?

It depends on the situation in the Kinki region.

Last year, Miyoshi Yoshioki made a name for himself in Wakasa Province, boasting extensively. He certainly wanted to preserve his gains. However, emotional inclinations cannot replace rational judgment. Wakasa was indeed far removed from the core interests of the Miyoshi family, and its importance could not be compared with that of Yamashiro, Izumi, Kawachi, and other provinces.

Shinzaburo had only heard that the situation in the Kinai region was not as stable as he had imagined, but he didn't know the specifics and was too lazy to worry about it, since he couldn't change anything.

The only option is to ask Master Mingzhou to go and whisper in the ear of the important people.

Besides, don't you have Kono Takatoki, a scion of a prestigious family recruited from Kyoto, under your command? This time, I'll send him out as well, to contact old friends, to gather information from the upper echelons and spread the word about Wakasa, to see if it can be of any use.

Takatoki Nagono's circle of friends included many eccentric individuals. One was named Yoshinobu Katsura, who claimed to be an illegitimate son of the Ashikaga family and hoped to be recognized. Another was named Yoshikiyo Manmatsu, who claimed to be the guardian of the Isshiki family in Tango and wanted to return home in wealth and honor.

Whether it's true or not, they all have connections and talent. Others might think they're unrealistic, but Shinzaburo doesn't care. Why not use empty promises to keep these so-called "scions of prominent families" around and get them to work for him?

If some public opinion can be generated in Kyoto to draw the attention of court nobles and high-ranking monks to Wakasa's situation, the chances of the Miyoshi clan sending troops will increase.

Of course, we can't rely solely on reinforcements.

If Shinzaburo could only rely on the Miyoshi family's strength, even if he managed to hold off the Asakura army, he wouldn't gain much prestige.

The formation of the self-defense force is also something that cannot be ignored.

The Kubo clan's forces are not a major problem. Apart from constantly saving money to buy arquebuses and continuously converting wealthy farmers in their territory into foot soldiers, they do not need any additional adjustments. At most, they just need to strengthen their forces.

Kawakatsu Tsuguji's soldiers were competent, and it's not convenient to interfere directly at the moment, so we'll skip that.

Except for those still following Takeda Yoshitomo as rebels, the remaining retainers of Wakasa Takeda could be mobilized under the guise of military commissioners. In the short term, the only way to improve the fighting capacity of this ragtag group was through personnel and organizational adjustments.

The four families that recently joined them—Ichikawa, Hatada, Nagai, and Hisamura—together number over a hundred armored soldiers, and they can also recruit three to five hundred peasant soldiers within their territories. They all have a deep-seated grudge against the Asakura family for desecrating their ancestral graves, so their morale is guaranteed. They were organized into a main reserve force and placed under the command of Ichikawa Sadashiro.

The previous group of "abandoning darkness for light" such as Hongo, Aoi, and Ooshio, when added together, were about the same size, but their performance on the battlefield was always very poor. Only Hongo Kunitada was decent, so he was chosen as the general and regarded as a second-line force.

Itsuki Masatsune has a large territory and a considerable number of troops of his own, making him capable of leading an army independently. His abilities are quite good in Wakasa, but he is too self-serving and needs to be properly guarded against.

The recently recruited Nagasawa Yamato is probably the most trustworthy. His crew of sailors has grown to over six hundred, most of them are used to bloodshed, and they are equipped with some arquebuses and powerful bows. Their only weakness is that they are not heavily armored, so it is important to avoid getting bogged down in close combat.

Furthermore, a peasant-soldier force of six or seven hundred men could be mobilized from the Takeda clan's direct territories near Koseyama Castle, including many wealthy households who could afford to pay their dues. The collection of annual tribute from this territory was entrusted to Itsumi Masatsune, but the military and domestic affairs officials did not necessarily need to be the same person. Shinzaburo appointed the refugee leader Oyamada Nobumura and Takeda Nobutoyo's personal guard Murai Takamori as commanders and deputy commanders, and also dispatched some of his own samurai as group leaders, ordering them to take advantage of the spring planting truce to get to know the local villagers as much as possible.

After categorizing and counting, there are a total of five reserve teams, with approximately 2,900 people available.

The reserve units have been divided up, but it's unlikely they'll be used for routine training. The plan is to familiarize soldiers of all ranks with the rules of advance, retreat, and movement, as well as the relevant military discipline.

As a time traveler, Shinzaburo understood that if military organization could be reflected in its appearance, it would greatly help to build cohesion. However, given the productivity and political system of this era, it was unrealistic to try to change the standard of equipment; only flags were relatively easy to adjust.

So they specially made five large flags of different colors, each bearing the inscription "Wakasa Ichiban" to "Wakasa Goban", and also made dozens of small flags, each bearing the inscription "Wakasa X-ban X-gumi", with the same color as the squad's large flags.

To cheer up Itsumi Masatsune, Shinzaburo gave him the honorary title of "Wakasa-shu Flag Bearer" and designated his unit as "First Division." However, he did not grant him the authority to command other reserve units.

As for whether these things are only used temporarily or will be used continuously thereafter, there is no need to delve into that for now.

Adding the 700 men directly under the Kubo family and the 600 men under Kawakatsu Tsuguji, the total is over 4,000.

If we were to mobilize to the maximum extent possible, we might be able to squeeze out another one or two thousand, but it might not be of much use. It would be better to maximize the fighting power of these four thousand men, and with the support of potential Miyoshi clan reinforcements, try to make the Asakura clan pay the price.

In addition, gathering intelligence is also very important.

Since recruiting Ishikawa Mayuki, a Mikawa samurai skilled in escaping, in Kyoto, Shinzaburo felt enlightened and had been looking for ronin with the talent of petty thievery. He had made a few successes and sent them to Echizen in batches to infiltrate.

However, reconnaissance of the front-line terrain would have to rely on one's own eyes.

Wakasa's terrain is quite extreme. The coastal area is a narrow plain formed by the inflow of rivers, while the inland areas are almost entirely rugged and sparsely populated mountain roads. There is no space to carry out flanking maneuvers.

Even so, there are still details worth exploring.

The same narrow plain can be seven or eight kilometers wide in some places and only one or two kilometers wide in others, and the slope and height of the nearby mountains also vary.

There are also numerous rivers, large and small, flowing down from the mountains and into the ocean. The data on the width, depth, and flow speed of each river, the number of bridges and ferries, and the difficulty of crossing them is quite extensive.

Originally, Echizen and Asakura attacked under the banner of supporting Takeda Yoshitomo, and they had no shortage of collaborators. However, now that there are conflicts and misunderstandings among them, communication may not be smooth, and they may encounter problems adapting to different environments.

Shinzaburo had been collecting this information slowly last year, but at that time he mainly asked locals and didn't go down to observe it himself very often.

The main reason was that his height and build were too conspicuous, and there were still a large number of rebels in Wakasa, so traveling light would be very risky.

Now, in order to face the formidable enemy Echizen-Asakura, we have no choice but to take necessary risks, trying to balance safety and efficiency as much as possible.

Finally, Shinzaburo also prepared some underhanded methods.

This inspiration came to me on the spur of the idea after learning that the Asakura clan's Tsuruga branch had plundered temples and shrines, provoking widespread anger, and combined with some memories from my previous life.

Since he didn't have enough suitable people under his command, Shinzaburo even wrote a letter to Miyoshi Yoshioki for help, requesting that some skilled people from the Shikoku region be transferred to assist him.

169. Bows and arrows are inferior to firearms.

"Lord Qiaobingwei is back? The new plow works very well. Thank you for lending me 160 wen. I might be able to harvest three to five more bushels this year. I will definitely pay you back with interest in the fall!"

"Greetings, Mr. Hashibei! The azuki bean seeds you recommended are excellent. Planted in autumn and harvested in spring, they were all bought up by a confectionery merchant from Kyoto last month!"

Looking at the villagers kneeling and bowing in gratitude on both sides of the field, Kubo Hashibei felt extremely pleased, even more so than winning a battle and receiving a reward for beheading someone.

This is the life of a samurai!

Kubohashi Bei consciously imitated someone's mannerisms, adopting a nonchalant expression, trying to appear approachable yet dignified, and nodded reservedly, saying, "Yes, it would be best if everyone could live and work in peace."

Five years ago, he was no different from the villagers in front of him, struggling to survive in the fields. At most, he had a good relationship with a villager, so he could share a little less of the money and grain.

Thanks to the help of a good relative, I am now a proper warrior with a salary of seventy shi (a unit of dry measure). Every year, I do not have to work and I receive an income of twenty-four and a half shi of black rice and two strings of eight hundred coins. In times of war, I can recruit three "juniors" to serve me.

Recalling the hardships and glories of fighting across various places, the amazing sights and sounds of accompanying the lord on his mission to the western countries, the ecstasy of conquering Kuwata County and being granted the title of governor, and the magnificent sights seen in Kyoto and Sakai Town...

I can't help but recall a word that Lord Xuanfan once used—

It's like a dream!

The only pity is that the Kubo family adopted the policy of "retainers living together", which meant that samurai had to stay in the castle on standby and could not go to their fiefdoms to show off their power at will.

But there's nothing to complain about.

The closer you are to your lord, the faster you can progress!

From a young age, Kubo Hashibei was neither fond of drinking, gambling, nor extravagant; his greatest hobby was being a lord. Therefore, whenever he had a day off, he would typically patrol his assigned territory, checking on the well-being of the households within his domain. He had done this many times before: lending farmers money to buy plows, recommending superior crop seeds, helping repair waterwheels, and introducing them to veterinarians.

Otherwise, how could they have received such enthusiastic support?

Kubohashi Heibei's seventy koku of land consisted of approximately forty-four paddy fields and twenty-five dry fields, cultivated by a total of eleven small farmers.

He found a spacious hillside to sit down, with an unobstructed view of the bustling scene in the fields. He occasionally offered a few words of guidance, feeling extremely content.

After an unknown amount of time, suddenly shouts came from afar.

"Brother! Come to the village sometime, why don't you come over for a couple of drinks with me?"

Looking up, he saw that the person who came was his brother-in-law, named Inoue Daihachiro.

Although he has this name and usually carries a sword and wears Wu clothing, he is not a proper samurai. He is an Otsuna from a village near the Inoue River, and has now been designated as an ashigaru (foot soldier) and enjoys half-tax treatment.

Inoue Daihachiro also had two younger brothers, named Kojuro and Matarokuro. It's unclear what the pattern was in their naming.

Kubohashi Heibei was a conscientious man. After obtaining the land of Kuwata District in Tanba Province, he actively responded to the call to form marriage alliances with the locals and married his sister-in-law to this man.

Naturally, he became someone else's sworn brother.

It wasn't appropriate to be too pretentious in front of his brother-in-law. Kubo Hashibei sat up straight, smiled, and said, "I was just about to go visit—Daihachiro, what's the matter that you've come looking for me in such a hurry?"

“I can’t hide it from my sworn brother.” Inoue Daihachiro scratched the back of his head and chuckled. “I heard that Lord Genban fought in Wakasa and collected quite a few weapons. I wonder which lord is in charge of distributing these ‘Mikaku Guzu’?”

Kubohashibei raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "Why are you asking this? You used to focus on managing your farmland and weren't very interested in fighting."

"Hey! Ever since two of my friends were promoted to samurai and moved into Great Bow Castle after making some merits, I've actually started to regret it a bit," Inoue Daihachiro said with a smirk. "I heard there might be a big battle coming up, so I'm thinking of lending more armor to my family and trying to make a good impression on them as well."

"Hmm... It's good that you have this ambition." Kubohashibei nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and said in a low voice, "In the past few months, we have obtained a total of more than ninety sets of usable equipment, and Lord Harumi is in charge of distributing them."

"Ah? Then forget about it." Inoue Daihachiro immediately hung his head in dejection. "Who doesn't know that Lord Harumi is always unyielding and only follows the rules?"

“Actually… there are other ways to get promoted.” Kubohashi Bei hesitated for a moment, then offered a sincere suggestion: “Take out your family’s savings and buy a ten-caliber medium-barreled arquebus, or three six-caliber small arquebuses, and practice as much as you can. Once you’re proficient, I’ll put in a good word for you with Lord Genban and get you directly admitted as an arquebusier, how about that?”

“That sounds good.” Inoue Daihachiro nodded with pleasure, then frowned and asked, “But you can’t learn how to use a musket without a teacher, can you? Who should I learn from?”

"You don't even know this?" Kubo Hashibei glared at him with disdain. "The Kubo family has two overseas samurai, one a Nanban who studies various arts, and the other a Tang person who is neither male nor female. They are both experts and not difficult to talk to. When they have time, they will patiently teach you if you give them a hundred or two hundred wen as a gift."

"Then... let's stick with the Tang people," Inoue Daihachiro pondered. "What if those Nanban people who practice various religions take a liking to us..."

"What are you thinking!" Kubohashi Heibei rolled his eyes. "She likes delicate, pretty boys, not rough guys like you!"

"Hehe..." Inoue Daihachiro rubbed his hands together and asked, "I heard that it's best to buy arquebuses in Sakai-cho. But there's a branch shop of a Sakai-cho merchant near Ōkum Castle, so I guess you can buy them there too?"

“That’s right!” Kubohashibei nodded. “It’s Lord Imai’s shop. If you want to buy a gun, you have to place an order first. It will arrive within ten days. If you go there and mention my name, you’ll get a discount.”

"Thank you so much, you truly are my sworn brother, I'm so honored!" Inoue Daihachiro chuckled twice, then asked, "I heard that Lord Genban is going to build a school in Ōgū Castle to take in a group of children who will accompany the young master in his studies and martial arts training. Is there any hope that our family can be included?"

"That's hard to say! Lord Genban is under the protection of the Immovable King, his martial fortune is at its peak, and his family business is expanding extremely rapidly. If you don't catch up in time, it will be too late later!" Kubohashi Heibei's expression gradually became serious as he carefully instructed, "For example, because there are few soldiers who know how to use firearms now, Lord Genban said that anyone skilled in it can be recruited as a firearm warrior. In the future, when there are more people who know how, it won't be so easy, and they may only be able to become firearm foot soldiers."

"I see! That's a brilliant insight!" Inoue Daihachiro suddenly realized, nodding repeatedly. "If it weren't for my sworn brother's explanation, how would I have come up with that idea?"

"Hey! What brilliant idea do I have? I just heard it from Lord Genban when I was on duty." Kubo Hashibei smiled, then solemnly reminded him, "Actually, quite a few members of the Kubo family have already purchased their own arquebuses this year, so you should remember what I said and it would be best to start doing it tomorrow."

"Understood! Understood!" Inoue Daihachiro quickly expressed his attitude, "I will definitely do as my sworn brother instructs."

"There's one more small matter," Kubohashibei added. "It's been said that those with land of 17 koku or more who are not listed as foot soldiers will be subject to an annual inspection in Nitta. This is serious. If any friends or relatives don't take it seriously, just remind them."

"I'll tell you when I have time, but whether you listen or not is up to you." Inoue Daihachiro smiled, then pointed to the west and said with a hint of envy, "Do you know Kumada Kanemon over there? He found a skilled archer to be his adopted son-in-law, acquired heavy armor and a powerful bow, and was quite the big shot in Wakasa last year. Now he's been assigned a longhouse in Ōgum Castle, and he should be living not far from you, right?"

"Hmm, it seems there is such a person." Kubo Hashibei replied perfunctorily, not taking it seriously, but emphasized again: "These days, it's better to study firearms than to ponder the art of archery and horsemanship. You know Kumataro who came from Kubo Village with me, right? He has a relative by marriage who has been studying hard for more than a year and can now skillfully handle fire arrows. That's a person with a bright future. In the lord's eyes, he is much more important than an archer."

"Is that so?" Inoue Daihachiro looked doubtful, but seeing his sworn brother's serious expression, he nodded and said, "I understand. Then I will definitely familiarize myself with the guns."

“At first, I saw that you were good at managing farmland and knew a little arithmetic, so I originally planned to help you get a position like a money and grain commissioner,” Kubo Hashibei said with a smile. “But being a gunner for now won’t delay our later arrangements.”

"Sigh..." Inoue Daihachiro shook his head and sighed upon hearing this, "Master Jōjō is the one who truly understands arithmetic. With him around, would we even need me?"

"There's nothing we can do about it," Kubohashi said, shaking his head. "After all, he comes from a gambling background; how could he not be shrewd?"

"What?" Inoue Daihachiro was quite surprised: "Master Jingcheng is such a kind-faced person, with no faults except for his fondness for helping widows. He's practically a saintly monk. He actually used to be involved in the underworld?"

"Hehe... Don't you dare tell anyone about this." Kubohashi Beibei's eyebrows danced with excitement: "Let me tell you, back in the day, in Noguchi Village, Funai District, there was a Gokurakuji Temple..."

Good days in Dagong Street, 170

"He's Lord Hashibei's brother-in-law! Then you'll get a discount." The baby-faced Uozumi Hikoshiro chuckled, "Ten-mesh tubes are fifty kan, six-mesh tubes are twenty kan, which one are you planning to buy?"

"Hmm... let's have three six-eye tubes instead." After hesitating for a long time, Inoue Daihachiro finally made a decision: "One for each of my two younger brothers and me should be more powerful than a single ten-eye tube."

“You’re absolutely right to think that way, sir! When it comes to firearms, quantity is more important than size!” Uozumi Hikoshiro quickly took out paper and pen to write it down, while still talking non-stop: “If you order today, it will probably arrive in about five days. I guarantee it’s a top-quality product from Sakai! Three six-eye guns, a total of sixty kan… I’ll give you a discount, fifty-five kan! Eleven kan as a deposit, thank you for your kind offer!”

Inoue Daihachiro nodded, slowly took the money pouch, carefully placed it on the counter, counted it three or four times to make sure it was correct, and then reluctantly pushed it over.

"Thank you so much for patronizing our store!" Uozumi Hikoshiro glanced at the receipt, quickly counted the money, took out a receipt, bowed deeply, and respectfully handed it over with both hands.

"Thank you for your hard work." Inoue Daihachiro took the receipt, looked it over, and smiled, "Three six-eyed tubes for fifty-five kan, much lower than the market price. It seems my sworn brother has quite a bit of influence."

"Of course!" Uozumi Hikoshiro's face was full of smiles. "You should know that Kubo Village has promoted more than twenty samurai in total, most of whom are only allowed to use Noguchi as their family name. Only two people are qualified to use Kubo. With such a relative by marriage, what more do you need to say about your future? Don't forget to take care of my shop after you've made it big!"

"Hehe... I appreciate your kind words." Inoue Daihachiro said a few more words of nonsense, then took his leave.

This branch doesn't do regular retail business; it's usually quiet with few customers.

More than an hour later, another tall and burly samurai came to the door, saying that he didn't like small-caliber guns and wanted to learn about ten-eye guns.

Uozumi Hikoshiro immediately beamed with delight, expressing his appreciation: "Sir, your thinking is truly wise! Firearms vary greatly in power depending on their size! Quantity cannot overcome quality!"

……

As Imai Munehisa's partner, Uozumi Hikoshiro has made a lot of money and can be considered a wealthy merchant in Sakai Town. He originally didn't need to personally go to the front hall to greet guests.

He came today because he noticed a sudden and significant increase in the number of commercial transactions on Dagong Street over the past period.

The specific reasons are not difficult to analyze.