Chapter 11

It was early spring, the fourth year of Eiroku.

The development of the domain, the appointment and education of vassals, the expansion and training of the standing army, the salvage of the cargo from a sunken ship, and various trades and exchanges of copper coins kept Koki and his companions busy.

To remove the salt from the newly reclaimed fields, they planted barley for desalination, which grew well. They planned to distribute the land to the gathered farmers and start rice cultivation after the first summer harvest.

Regular tea ceremonies were also held at the merchants' houses in Chiryu, and Ikkoku, Fujitaro, and Koichiro seemed to have become accustomed to the tea ceremony.

"Lord Shinchi, I have a matter to discuss with you..."

In the midst of all this, Koki received a consultation from Fujitaro.

"Is it about attending the wedding banquet? I've heard it's with Kyouko."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Fujitaro was to marry Nene, the adopted daughter of Asano Nagamasa and the daughter of Sugiura Sadatoshi. He was asked to attend the celebration.

"Lord Shinchi, thank you very much for today."

"I am Nene. Thank you for the expensive gifts."

Nene expressed her gratitude to Koki and Kyouko. They had deliberated over what to give, eventually deciding on gold coins as a gift, a relatively inexpensive Tenmoku tea bowl and a set of tea utensils, and other household items for the couple.

"Thank you for coming all the way, Lord Takigawa."

"Well, Fujitaro and I are disciples of Lord Kyouko. Don't worry about it."

Ikkoku, who was also learning tea ceremony with Fujitaro, attended the ceremony with his wife.

"Fujitaro, are you asking for help with Yosa?"

"Yes, I think the lord will finally forgive him..."

Yosa, as Ikkoku mentioned, refers to Maeda Toshiie. He rose from a page to the head of the red-clothed guards but fled after killing Jami, a fellow guard, in a dispute the year before the Battle of Okehazama.

Toshiie, forced to live as a ronin, secretly participated in the Battle of Okehazama, taking three heads, and also achieved many military feats in the recent defeat of Oda Nobuchika.

"I think so too, but it's up to the lord to decide."

"Nene and her newborn daughter are with me, so I was wondering if Lord Shinchi could help..."

Fujitaro and Maeda Toshiie seemed to be very close friends. Fujitaro bowed to Koki, hoping to help his struggling friend.

"It's not a problem."

"Really? Thank you so much!"

"Does Yosa have any particular skills?"

"He is a master of the spear, known as 'Spear Yosa' by the lord."

"In that case, how about hiring him temporarily to teach our vassals spear techniques?"

After this conversation, Koki brought Toshiie and his wife Matsu, along with their daughter Koshimizu, to Shinchi.

"We will be in your care for a while. We will never forget this kindness."

Before becoming a ronin, Toshiie was known as a troublemaker and was said to be hot-tempered, but after his hardships, Koki felt he was a conscientious young man.

"I would like you to teach our vassals spear techniques."

"I understand."

Thus, Maeda Toshiie was appointed as a temporary spear instructor for the Shinchi family. His job was to teach spear techniques to the vassals and the security team. He was paid a daily wage and also participated in the training of the security team after his work.

"Next! Shooting practice!"

"Lord Magoji, can I participate?"

Toshiie was pleased that he could join the security team's training after teaching spear techniques. The training, which Kyouko had developed a manual for, was very efficient and educational. However, he hesitated to participate in the matchlock training, thinking it was too expensive for a non-formal vassal to use.

"The lord said you can participate if you wish."

"Matchlocks are expensive, and so are the bullets and gunpowder..."

"Since the lord doesn't mind, please don't hesitate to join."

"That's very kind. I will participate without reservation."

Toshiie was astonished by the Shinchi army's use of large amounts of expensive gunpowder for shooting practice. He never imagined they could fire hundreds of matchlocks in a day.

As a result of such intense training, the skills of the Shinchi family's musketeers improved dramatically, which also surprised Toshiie. He realized his own skills had improved significantly in a short time, as he had few opportunities to actually fire matchlocks, despite Oda Nobunaga's active purchases.

"Well, with this much training, it's only natural."

One reason for the slow improvement in the musketeers' skills was the high cost of gunpowder, which made it difficult to conduct shooting practice. They could practice loading and aiming, but often ended by pulling the trigger without lighting the match.

In contrast, the Shinchi family conducted actual shooting practice every time, with the sound of gunfire constantly echoing. The horses, which are usually afraid of loud noises, gradually became accustomed to it.

Horses are timid creatures, so the Shinchi family's possession of dozens of horses that were not startled by gunfire was impressive to Toshiie.

"Horses that are accustomed to the sound of gunfire are valuable, so we are purchasing more."

The Shinchi family was buying horses in large quantities, using their wealth.

'But aren't they small?'

'This is typical of horses in Japan during this era.'

Koki and Seiki were surprised by the small size of Japanese horses, but they understood the context.

"Is it because of the strong enemy nearby?"

To the west of Shinchi, in the south of Chiryu, Hattori Sakyojin, based in Unoura, was resisting Nobunaga. Although he was currently quiet, fearing a full-scale conflict with Nobunaga, he was concerned about the rapid development of Shinchi and sent spies by boat at night.

Toshiie had witnessed the security team capturing and killing several spies at night.

"I don't know what will happen from now on..."

With the development of Shinchi nearing completion, the Shinchi family aimed to capture Kani Castle to the north. Hattori Sakyojin, who governed that area, was rebuilding Kani Castle, which was almost complete. Koki told Toshiie that they planned to take advantage of this opportunity to capture the castle.

"If there is to be a battle, I should join the lord's forces..."

Toshiie felt a premonition that another battle was imminent.

"Shinchi Army! March out!"

Just before the harvest of the winter wheat, Koki mobilized his forces. The number was five hundred, a small but elite force that had undergone rigorous training in a short time. They advanced to Kani Castle without a word.

"Will there be a war?"

The residents of the villages under Hattori Sakyojin's control were fearful of the war's impact, thinking that this army might ravage their villages.

"Will you buy any surplus rice or wheat at double the market price? We will also buy miso."

"Double the market price?"

"Yes, we have plenty of money."

When Koki showed the villagers large bundles of money, all of which were Eiraku Tsuho coins, they eagerly sold their surplus food.

"We need people to transport our supplies."

"Is it a military service?"

The village chief asked Koki hesitantly, fearing that the village would lose its labor force during the busy harvest season.

"We will pay a daily wage and provide meals. Can you provide a few people?"

"We will send people immediately!"

A few young men from each village appeared with carts to transport the food purchased by the Shinchi army. Although they were reluctant to serve in the military, they were happy to work for pay.

"We plan to capture Kani Castle, drive out Hattori Sakyojin, and make all the land east of the Nikkogawa River part of Oda Shogun's domain. If all goes well, we will announce a reduction in this year's taxes by half."

"Is that true?"

"Yes, I, Shinchi Koki, who will be in charge of this land, guarantee it."

"Lord Shinchi? The wealthy one?"

The Shinchi family had developed a barren wetland into a thriving area and assembled an army with matchlocks in a short time. Even the slow-to-receive information farmers understood which side would benefit them more.

"After capturing this land, we plan to conduct flood control on the Nikkogawa River."

"Will it be a labor service?"

The village chief's face darkened, thinking that a tax reduction would be meaningless if the labor service was heavy.

"No, we will pay a daily wage and provide meals. We hope those who are free will participate. We expect many people to gather during the agricultural off-season. Also, please spread this announcement to as many people as possible."

Koki asked the village chief to spread the word to other villages as well.

"Understood."

From that moment on, almost no one in the Kani area supported Hattori Sakyojin.

"Lord, Kani Castle is still under reconstruction."

Upon arriving at Kani Castle, they found that expansion and reinforcement were underway. It was intended to be a base to pressure the nearby Chiryu, which was under Nobunaga's control. Hattori Sakyojin seemed to be secretly collaborating with Saito Yoshitaka, but the number of troops was small. The Hattori army numbered about two hundred, with the rest being local farmers conscripted for labor service.

"We need to drive out only Hattori Sakyojin's forces."

"Lord, how will we do that?"

"Here's the plan..."

Koki explained the outline of the plan to Magoji. Magoji, following Koki's instructions, moved the five hundred troops to the front, while the supply carts waited in the rear.

"Enemies! It's Oda's army!"

Naturally, the Hattori army in Kani Castle was aware of their presence and rushed to their lord.

"An army? Who are they?"

"From the direction, they must be from the Shinchi family."

"Those guys!"

They suddenly appeared in the wetlands, established a base and domain, and killed dozens of the spies Hattori Sakyojin had sent.

"We will attack!"

"The numbers are too different."

"Are they more or less?"

"Most of them are conscripts, so they won't be much of a fighting force."

One of the vassals expressed his opinion to Hattori Sakyojin.

"Then, we can win by fortifying the castle!"

The castle was almost complete, and a siege would not be easy to break. Hattori Sakyojin made this judgment, but the next moment, a loud noise echoed.

"Matchlocks!"

The sound of five hundred matchlocks firing simultaneously terrified the conscripts, who began to flee in panic. Although the shots were blanks by Koki's order, the farmers, who had never heard such a large number of matchlocks firing at once, were greatly affected.

"Fools! Don't