Chapter 12

"Mitsu, the conquest of Kaiso Castle is a great cause. I will give you the surrounding area of Kaiso."

"Thank you, what a great honor."

One week after the conquest of Kaiso Castle, Nobunaga, who had come from Tsushima to the south, informed Kōki of the increase in his territory. Including the land gained from the battle against Oda Nobukiyoshi last year, the Shinji family's territory now extended to Kaiso, Toda, and Harada.

Currently, Hori Hironari is working hard to understand the situation of the newly acquired territory with the help of a dozen assistants. Even if the lord grants land, it is the duty of the recipient to identify the landowners and collect taxes from them.

If this is not done, no matter how much land is granted, it will not generate income. This is an era where rulers struggle to collect taxes, unlike modern society.

The domestic officials assisting Hironari are educating and deploying those who have joined the guard with suitable abilities, through his connections. Among them is the figure of Yamauchi Masahiro.

Masahiro, who decided to focus on the administrative side, believing he was more suited to it, has also started to assist in financial matters under Seiki.

"Next, is it Shiejima?"

"Yes."

"Work hard."

After saying this, Nobunaga handed Kōki a sword and gold as a reward and returned to Kiyosu. He plans to invade Mino by deliberately targeting the rice planting season, a move made possible by his wealth, typical of Nobunaga.

Additionally, Ichiyoshi and Kinpachi were also scheduled to join this battle.

"Michan, when is the planned conquest of Shiejima?"

Todayko, who has become accustomed to this world, asks Kōki, the lord, about the timing of the military campaign, as a proper wife of a lord would. Kōki also wants Todayko's advice, so he consults her immediately.

"After the land development is completed to some extent, so it won't be until after this year's harvest."

The development of the newly acquired territory, the expansion of the vassal group, the conscription of soldiers, and the flood control of the Nikkō River and the Shin River, which are prone to flooding, are all planned. The Shinji family does not intend to move for a while.

"Todayko, you're pregnant, so don't overdo it."

"I know, Michan, you worry too much."

They have a child, and it's almost their second anniversary. Kōki tells her not to overdo it, but Todayko is training the guards a little, thinking she can handle it. Kōki was also wondering what to do if she started talking about going to the battlefield.

"Everyone was so happy that the heir of the Shinji family was born!"

Seiki, who appeared to take a break, speaks up. Seiki, who manages both the front and back accounts of the Shinji family, often declares, "I won't go to the battlefield!" and stays in the office. Otherwise, he often works with Kiyomaro to select items produced in the Kanagawa shipyard.

Kiyomaro, who commands dozens of robots, is responsible for the maintenance and management of Kanagawa, which is seated deep in the seabed off the coast of Ise Bay, the transportation of produced items at night, and assisting Seiki.

"I want to move our base to Shiejima after we take it."

Shiejima, located in Yatomi, was an island, but in the future known to Kōki and his group, it was reclaimed and developed into new fields and industrial zones before being submerged by a nuclear attack. Since a larger port can be built here than in Shinji, they plan to move their base after conquering it.

"Did you distribute the seedlings to the peasants?"

"Yeah, this year might be a good harvest."

The seedlings Kōki distributed to the peasants were future feed rice. The characteristic is that they can be harvested in large quantities with little effort. The taste is not great, but it is much better than the rice of this era.

Wheat is also a variety that requires little effort to cultivate. The taste is similar to rice, and it is not great by Kōki's standards. They usually change the taste by cooking, but on special occasions, they eat rice and wheat grown in the Kanagawa shipyard.

"Michan, decide on a name for the child."

"We need to think of a name that fits this era, right?"

"Michan, I don't want a flashy name!"

"Of course, I'll give it a normal name."

Kōki thought he should not imitate Nobunaga, who gives his children strange names like Kimitomaru or Chasenmaru, which he finds questionable.

"We need to prepare by autumn..."

The season turned to autumn, and the development of the Shinji territory and the strengthening of the military progressed. The harvest was bountiful, and the faces of the peasants were filled with smiles.

"The lord of Shinji is better than the lord of Hattori."

"Yeah, the taxes are lower, and he gave us good seedlings for rice."

"He also gave us good seedlings for wheat."

"I hope Hattori never comes back."

"It seems the Shinji family will send troops, so they might be destroyed."

In this era, peasants do not blindly follow samurai. If a better lord appears, it is common to abandon the previous lord without hesitation.

"Most of the believers of the Ikko sect are gone."

"The new monks are not from the Ikko sect, right?"

The feared counterattack of the Ikko sect, which Kōki and his group were worried about, has not happened so far. People in Kaiso did not join the Ikko sect's agitation because life was not so hard under the Shinji family.

There were a few, but they were eliminated by the guard, and ordinary monks from other sects were invited to Kaiso. They listened to the peasants' concerns, helped with funerals and memorial services, and taught them to read at night, gradually gaining their trust.

Most of the peasants converted to other sects, and the influence of the Ikko sect was being eliminated. The Hattori family had bought the peasants' resentment by flaunting the power of the Ikko sect, and when the Shinji family, who could oppose them, appeared, they converted without much resistance.

Occasionally, a monk preaching at the crossroads appears, but no one listens anymore.

The monks invited to Kaiso plan to start living in the temples currently under construction. They are not armed and only have enough land to grow vegetables for themselves, and the Shinji family provides them with a stipend. The temples can conduct missionary activities safely and with ample funds, and there is no reason to oppose the Shinji family, so both sides benefit.

"The new monks will come again."

"They plan to build a new temple on Shiejima."

"Will Hattori go to Nagashima?"

"Probably, but we won't see them again, so it doesn't matter."

After the harvest, Kōki moved his army on a large scale. Although it was about a thousand men, the Hattori Sakyo Shinnosuke, who was defending Shiejima, had not gathered more than five hundred men. The reason was the defeat at Kaiso Castle.

The 150 men who were killed were mostly from the Hattori family, their vassals, and their families, as well as the local samurai and their families from Shiejima. With so many commanders killed, they could not conscript soldiers from the villages during the agricultural off-season.

The villages themselves had seen through Hattori Sakyo Shinnosuke's weakness. The peasants of this era were not so naive or foolish as to follow a lord who was likely to lose and be killed.

"Hattori Sakyo Shinnosuke, who has thoroughly opposed the lord, will probably flee to Nagashima to regroup..."

As reinforcements, Takigawa Ichiyoshi led about five hundred men to support.

"Shiejima is an island. There was a plan to use ships for a naval battle, but..."

The Shinji family was also developing its navy. The guard was loaded onto ships and landed at the target location. Several ships similar to the prototype of an amphibious assault ship were equipped, and Yoshiharu and his group were also mobilized for training to move the ships.

"Matsusuke, we can learn a lot by being with the Shinji family."

"True, we, who used to only use spears, can now be trained in anything."

Matsusuke and Ichiyoshi talk on a ship owned by the Shinji family.

"I feel the same. However, it's not easy to move a ship, so it's good that we have the help of the Kuki clan."

Kiyomaro, a temporary employee of the Shinji family, who joined the conversation, says while watching the Kuki clan operate the ship. The Kuki clan, who held land in Shima, lost their land to the Ise family, who received support from the northern Mino family.

They approached Nobunaga to regain their land, and Kōki, who needed people who could move ships, received personnel from them.

"Kiyomaro, you're right. Especially that ship..."

In addition to the mass-produced ships, a galleon ship was floating as the main base for the Shinji army's movement.

"Where did the lord get that ship?"

"Apparently, it was taken from a Western pirate..."

When they were salvaging the cargo of a sunken ship in Southeast Asia, they found a ship that had run aground and was abandoned. After emergency repairs, they brought it back to Shinji. They have also secured caravel, zebec, and atakebune ships by salvaging and repairing sunken or stranded ships with Kanagawa's facilities.

However, many of the ships are just sitting in the anchorage because they lack the personnel to operate them.

Kōki has entrusted the largest galleon ship to the Kuki clan, who are familiar with ships, to operate it. Training the navy takes time, so this is also a future challenge for the Shinji family.

"With this, Hattori is finished."

"Indeed."

Kiyomaro and Matsusuke talk while looking up at the huge galleon ship.

"Ah, this is a difficult ship to handle in these inland seas."

Kuki Yoshitaka, who is directing the operation of the huge galleon ship, speaks to Kōki while maintaining his professional pride, but he thinks the Western ship is a bit different.

"Having the ship is one thing, but not having the people to operate it is a problem."

"That's a big problem. However, the intimidation factor of this ship is incredible."

Hattori Sakyo Shinnosuke, who judged that staying on the island was hopeless, put his ships out