Chapter 17

The small mountain village appeared to have only about twenty small mud-and-wood houses. From the outside, all the houses were basically the same as the one he had stayed in last night, with some even already burned down and collapsed. Occasionally, the sound of women crying could be heard. Alas, they were probably the families of the villagers who had perished last night. One could say that the entire village was now in a state of desolation. To avoid the heavy atmosphere, Luo Liang quickly walked out of the village.

“Sir,” “Sir”... As he walked along the small path of the village, he occasionally encountered a few villagers (mostly women), who without exception hurriedly knelt down to pay their respects. Originally, Luo Liang had planned to take a walk outside the village, but seeing this situation, he had no choice but to give up. Of course, Luo Liang had already figured out the basic situation of the small mountain village.

The small mountain village was distributed along a mountain ravine, close to a high mountain called Yotaka. A three-meter-wide stream flowed in front of the village, and there were exits on both sides of the ravine. One side led in the direction from which Luo Liang had come last night (and further in, it would lead to the forests he had passed through), while the other side, following the stream for about a mile, would reach a small lake formed by the stream in a low-lying area. Beyond the lake, another mile or so would lead to another small village.

To be honest, in modern times, these areas would be considered typical hilly regions. The highest peak of Yotaka was only about 200 meters above sea level, and the other hills were generally only 7-8 meters high. In the ancient level of productivity, they were already a difficult barrier to cross. In general, the nearby terrain was mainly composed of a series of small ravines formed by the hills.

“Sir,” When Luo Liang returned to the small mud-and-wood house, he found three people standing in front of it. Two of them were the middle-aged man and the bald giant from last night, and the other was a new face, about thirty years old. Seeing Luo Liang return, the three quickly came forward.

“Sir,” the three bowed in unison to Luo Liang.

“Hmm,” Luo Liang returned the bow. He knew a bit about basic Japanese etiquette.

“What should I call you?” Luo Liang suddenly realized he didn't know how to address these people and quickly asked.

“Tōgō Heiji,” the middle-aged villager bowed first.

“Tsuda Masahide,” the bald giant said in a deep voice, his bowing posture looking a bit unnatural, probably because he was not used to such formal etiquette.

“Ōnishi Kunitoshi,” the new face bowed forward and said.

“Oh! Greetings, sirs. I am Luo Liang,” Luo Liang returned the bow. After confirming that he had arrived in the Sengoku period of Japan and decided to survive well, Luo Liang began to consider how to integrate into this era. First, he needed to choose a name. He could not forget his roots, so he chose the surname "Luo" based on the surnames of this era, to remind himself not to forget his origins. As for the given name, he added "Zheng" before "Liang," ultimately naming himself "Luo Liang."

“Sir Zheng Liang, after last night's bloody battle, only eight men remain in Komura Village,” Tōgō Heiji said somberly.

“Alas! As expected, if I hadn't appeared in time, the village would have been completely massacred,” Luo Liang's heart also sank upon hearing Tōgō Heiji's words. As a modern person, suddenly encountering such a war and its aftermath, he still needed time to adapt.

“Sir, Kunitoshi is the head of a village two miles away. A month ago, their village was also attacked by bandits. Although they were finally driven away with the help of Komura Village, only six men remain,” Tōgō Heiji continued.

“Hmm,” Luo Liang began to wonder why these people were telling him this. Logically, he was just a wandering samurai, and they had only met by chance, so there was no need to tell him such things.

“This is how it is, sir. After a discussion between our two villages, we realized that even if we combine our forces, we cannot resist the bandits. Although the bandits suffered heavy losses last night and won't come back for a while, they will eventually attack us again. So, Sir Zheng Liang, we humbly request that you stay,” Tōgō Heiji, seeing Luo Liang's confusion, quickly explained.

“Eh!” Luo Liang was taken aback, “Stay? To be honest, I haven't even thought about my next destination. My original plan was to find a place with people, understand the situation, and then decide.”

“What year is it now?” Luo Liang decided to first understand the situation. The two bandits he had encountered on the way only knew that they were in Hizen Province's East Matsuura, but they couldn't say the year. They had probably been in the mountains for a long time and had no contact with the outside world, so they didn't know this information.

“Sir, it is the fourth month of the ninth year of the Tenshō era,” Ōnishi Kunitoshi answered, beginning to wonder why a wandering swordsman wouldn't know the current year.

“The ninth year of Tenshō, that's 1540. Oda Nobunaga hasn't even come of age yet. Toyotomi Hideyoshi is probably still unknown. The Imagawa, Takeda, and Hōjō are still fighting each other. The Ōuchi family is still the dominant power in western Japan and northern Kyushu...” Luo Liang fell into deep thought.

“Sir Zheng Liang,” seeing Luo Liang's hesitation, Tōgō Heiji said again, “If you can lead us to resist the bandits, we are willing to recognize you as our lord.”

“Ah?” Tōgō Heiji's words again startled Luo Liang. According to his knowledge, it wasn't that simple for a few samurai and villagers to recognize someone as their lord.

“Can't you move away from here?” Luo Liang decided to understand the situation.

“Alas!” Tōgō Heiji's expression darkened, and the other two also smiled bitterly and shook their heads. “Sir, the better places nearby are occupied by local strongmen. For us, most of whom are outcasts, moving to their territories would mean becoming slaves, and only one in ten would survive. This place, due to the frequent bandit attacks, is the only place where the local strongmen are unwilling to confront the bandits, allowing the villagers to barely survive.”

“Sir, if you are willing to stay as our lord and protect us, please don't worry about the title. I will announce that you will marry my daughter Kikihime and inherit the Tōgō branch family of Satsuma,” Tōgō Heiji threw out another bomb.

“Tōgō branch family? What is your relationship with Tōgō Shigetō?” Honestly, Luo Liang was a bit repulsed by the idea of using women as bargaining chips, but he became interested in Tōgō Heiji's background.

“Alas! Sir, a year ago, Lord Shimazu Takahisa of Satsuma was defeated in battle. In that battle, our main family suffered heavy losses, and the head of the main family, Tōgō Shigetō, who had always harbored ambitions to unify all the Tōgō branch families, took the opportunity to oppress our main family. To protect our clan from being massacred, I had to flee with my wife and daughter, and I also involved Tsuda Masahide, who was a foot soldier leader and a good friend of mine. I feel very guilty about it,” Tōgō Heiji said with a desolate expression.

“Sir Heiji, please don't say that. I have long been dissatisfied with Shimazu Takahisa,” Tsuda Masahide quickly said.

“Hmm! Another endless story of sighs!” After hearing Tōgō Heiji's words, Luo Liang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

“Sirs, I have felt your sincerity, but this matter is a bit sudden, so please give me some time to consider,” without a clear plan, Luo Liang could only stall for time.

“Hmm! We understand, but please consider carefully, Sir Zheng Liang,” Tōgō Heiji also knew it was a bit abrupt and wouldn't have resorted to this if his side wasn't so weak, so he agreed.

Watching the three leave, Luo Liang turned and walked into the small house, lying down on the tatami and falling into deep thought again. On one hand, Luo Liang felt very strange, being forced to become the lord of a piece of land out of nowhere. Could it be because of his high charisma? Luo Liang couldn't help but wonder if that was possible. On the other hand, if someone suddenly gave him a piece of land and a wife, anyone else would probably be overjoyed. But the problem was, one had to have the means to enjoy it. This time, he had really offended the bandits, and they would surely come for revenge. Especially since he was the one who had severely wounded them. Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a headache. Thus, after much thought, he slowly fell asleep.

It was unknown how long he had been asleep.

“Sir, Sir!” Suddenly, a frantic call came from outside the mud-and-wood house. Hmm? It was Matsuko's voice. “The bandits are back? So soon?” Luo Liang first thought of the bandits returning, so he immediately jumped up, grabbed his katana, and rushed out the door.

“Ah?” Before he could see what was happening, he felt a shadow collide with his chest, and then heard a scream. Luo Liang's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly released the person. Oh, it was Matsuko, how awkward.

Matsuko's face was flushed red, and she lowered her head, speaking in a mosquito-like voice, “They have been kneeling outside for almost an hour. I kept saying that the sir was sleeping, but they insisted that they wouldn't get up until the sir came out, so I had to wake the sir up.” Without waiting for Luo Liang's reaction, she lowered her head and ran away as if fleeing.

Luo Liang looked up and saw that the open space in front of the mud-and-wood house was filled with dozens of people, men, women, and even children, basically all the villagers. Luo Liang slowly walked to them.

“Sir, please don't leave!” a woman shouted.

“Sir, I am willing to follow you!” a young man said.

“Sir, please avenge my husband!” a young woman pulled a 7-8-year-old boy and cried...

Luo Liang was speechless for a moment, looking at the faces of the villagers, each filled with helplessness and hope. Yes, in this chaotic era, everyone just wanted to survive. For this humble goal, they were willing to beg on their knees to anyone who could protect them. Facing their hopeful eyes, Luo Liang suddenly felt a surge of blood in his heart, “Alright, villagers, I, Luo Liang, promise to protect you, to keep you safe from the bandits, and to let you live in peace.”

“Ah! Great, no more fear of bandits!” “Really? Great!”... “Phew!” Seeing the villagers' joyful expressions, Luo Liang secretly took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn't regret his impulsive decision later.

“Sir Zheng Liang, ah, no, Your Highness,” Tōgō Heiji appeared behind Luo Liang at the right moment, bowing deeply as a vassal.

“Greetings, Your Highness,” Tsuda Masahide also bowed deeply as a vassal.

“Your Highness, the village of Ōnishi requests to join your domain as a vassal,” Ōnishi Kunitoshi also expressed his willingness to be a vassal.

“Hmm! Alright,” after a brief thought, Luo Liang agreed. The key now was to have more people, and Komura Village alone was not enough to resist the bandits. “Heiji, go and arrange the villagers, then come back to discuss with me,” Luo Liang pointed to the villagers behind him.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Tōgō Heiji bowed and walked towards the villagers.

As Luo Liang walked towards the mud-and-wood house, he wondered, “On the third day of my time travel, I became the lord of two small villages and even got a wife? This is too unbelievable.”

In the mud-and-wood house, the four men sat in order of rank.

“Sirs, I am honored by your and the villagers' support. I will keep my promise and protect this land as the lord of Komura and Ōnishi Villages. But I also ask for your full cooperation,” Luo Liang bowed slightly and said sincerely to the three below him.

“We are willing to serve you with our lives,” the three quickly bowed in response.

“Then, Heiji, tell me about the situation of the domain,” Luo Liang asked Tōgō Heiji first.

“Your Highness, Komura Village currently has 8 men over 15 years old, 11 children between 5 and 14 years old, and 18 women and children, totaling 37 people. We have 3 swords, 17 standard spears, and an estimated annual income of 8 kan. We have 30 koku of various grains and 15 kan 700 mon in money,” Tōgō Heiji reported.

“Hmm!” I nodded and looked at Ōnishi Kunitoshi, “What about Ōnishi Village?”

“Your Highness, Ōnishi Village has 6 men over 15 years old, 5 children between 5 and 14 years old, and 13 women and children, totaling 24 people. The estimated annual income is 5 kan. We have 17 koku of various grains and 1 kan 25 mon in money,” Ōnishi Kunitoshi lowered his head and answered somberly.

After hearing this, Luo Liang closed his eyes and thought. According to the calculation that one person needs 1.8 koku of rice per year, with 61 people, they would need about 110 koku of rice per year. The total annual income of the domain was only 13 kan (currently 16 kan 725 mon), and they had 47 koku of various grains. According to this calculation, the domain would soon face a food shortage. Luo Liang suddenly felt like he had been tricked, probably becoming the poorest lord in Japanese history.

“Your Highness, in fact, only a small part of the land in both villages has been cultivated. If all the easily cultivable land is used, the annual income of the domain is estimated to be around 100 kan,” Tōgō Heiji, seeing Luo Liang's furrowed brow, quickly explained. He was worried that this young lord might be discouraged by the poverty and the threat of bandits and might back out. Although the samurai spirit was still prevalent in this era, there were always those who did not adhere to it.

“Hmm. In the past, due to frequent bandit attacks, the population was relatively small, and the food supply was limited, which prevented further cultivation,” Luo Liang nodded slowly. Although he was frustrated, a man's word was a thousand pieces of gold, and he could not easily go back on his promise.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Tell me about the situation in Hizen Province and the area around our domain,” Luo Liang continued to ask.

“The guardian of Hizen Province is still the Shōni family, with the head being Shōni Masahisa. However, since being defeated by the Ōuchi family's forces led by Tō Tōkō four years ago, the previous head, Shōni Sukehiro, was forced to commit suicide, and the Shōni family gradually lost power, while the Ryūzōji family gradually rose. Currently, there are frequent conflicts between the two families. Our main family is located in the eastern part of Matsuura County, which is under the control of the Bōtō branch family of the Matsuura family, with the head being Bōtō Shige. The northern part of Matsuura County is under the control of the Hira Matsuura family, with the head being Matsuura Mitsuhiro. The western part of Matsuura County is under the control of the Kō Matsuura family, with the head being Matsuura Masahide. Our main family is located in the Ōsawa area of East Matsuura County, with the largest power being the Fuki family. The families bordering our main family to the northeast are the Tawara family, and to the southwest are the Dōno family, both of which have intentions to invade our main family. To the east is the Yotaka mountain range, which is the main threat to our main family, the bandits. To the south is mainly a dense mountainous forest area, with three villages similar to Ōnishi Village distributed there,” Ōnishi Kunitoshi explained.

It seems that the primary tasks are to solve the food problem and the threat of bandits.