Chapter 19

As the order to gather was announced, all the males over 15 in the territory were assembled in a training ground in front of Komura Village, which had been pre-selected by Roshiz Masahara. This training ground was located in front of Komura Village, facing the only entrance from Mount Yotaka to Komura Village, and was only a five-minute run from Oishi Village, making it a suitable location for training over a hundred people.

At this moment, everyone was standing in a chaotic pile. Upon seeing the lord arrive, they quickly stopped talking.

Roshiz Masahara scanned the crowd. Only six people were present (Togo Heiji was organizing the distribution of this month's food, Oishi Kunitoshi had taken five people to persuade nearby outcasts to join the territory, and Shida Masahiro was by his side), and they were all originally from Komura Village (all had been injured to varying degrees in last night's battle, but upon hearing that the lord would train them to fight bandits, they had all gathered).

"Gentlemen, I saw your bravery last night, and I am proud of your performance," Roshiz Masahara said solemnly to the disorganized group of ashigaru, "but, this is not enough."

The ashigaru were pleased by the lord's praise, but they were taken aback by his subsequent words.

"Yes, to defeat the bandits, this is not enough. Right now, you are just ants in the eyes of the bandits, and you will only be killed on the battlefield," Roshiz Masahara said bluntly.

The ashigaru were a bit不服 (unconvinced), but thinking of the lord standing before them, who had killed seven or eight bandits, they quickly lost their spirit.

"Starting today... I, along with your ashigaru commander Shida Masahiro, will train you," Roshiz Masahara said, carefully analyzing their psychological changes.

"Unconvinced? Look at how you are standing. If anyone is unconvinced, step forward. If anyone can withstand one of my attacks, I will retract my words," Roshiz Masahara glared, and the aura of a swordsman immediately radiated from him.

Several ashigaru immediately took a step back in fear.

"The first lesson I will teach you today is to obey orders, to serve the orders of your lord, and to regard the lord's orders as the highest command. From now on, if anyone disobeys my orders, I will take their head with this sword," Roshiz Masahara said, drawing his katana and thrusting it into the ground with a "ching" sound.

"One person is a gift to the enemy, but two people can kill more than twice the number of enemies. Follow me, and I will teach you how to fight bravely and take the enemy's head," Roshiz Masahara continued.

"When this training is over and you pass my test, you will become samurai of the Roshiz family, noble samurai lords," Roshiz Masahara said, having established his authority, and then asked the ashigaru loudly, "So, tell me, do you have the confidence to pass the test?"

"Yes, my lord," the ashigaru were all very excited upon hearing Roshiz Masahara's words. Yesterday, they were still outcasts, but now, by passing the lord's test, they could become samurai. Noble samurai lords, for this title, they would even risk their lives.

"Very good, I will make you true samurai," Roshiz Masahara was pleased with the ashigaru's response.

Thus, with the six excited ashigaru, Roshiz Masahara officially began his career as an instructor. His training plan was mainly divided into three parts: first, learning basic discipline, such as standing in formation and marching, and distinguishing left from right; second, physical training; third, initial practice with the spear formation. Given the limited time, the bandits would soon come to seek revenge, so the main goal was to quickly form a basic combat capability.

For the first three days, due to some ashigaru's wounds not yet scabbing over, the training was mainly focused on formation drills. Due to their limited cultural level, the ashigaru often forgot left from right at the beginning. Finally, Roshiz Masahara had them hold a stone in their right hand to remember left and right, and it gradually improved. It took nearly two days to teach the ashigaru to distinguish left from right and to march correctly. In contrast, Shida Masahiro quickly mastered this new training method and grasped many of the key points quickly.

After the full-day training for the first three days, the wounds of the injured ashigaru were basically healed, so from the fourth day, a new training regimen was implemented.

Every morning at six, the ashigaru had to get up, carry their spears, and bring rice balls to the training ground. They then had to do a four-mile armed cross-country run (from the training ground to the front of Oishi Village, a distance of two miles, round trip, totaling four miles, 2000 meters).

Even Roshiz Masahara himself had to participate, running with the ashigaru. Seeing the lord join their ranks and train with them, the ashigaru's morale was very high.

The run took about half an hour. Upon arriving at the training ground, they would rest briefly, eat their rice balls, and then begin formal drills. Since it was early morning and the territory was in a remote area, the nearest two powerful families were a half-day's journey away, and they would have to cross dense forests, Roshiz Masahara was not afraid that his training methods would be seen by anyone with ill intentions.

After about half an hour of formation training, the spear training began. Roshiz Masahara had people make several straw dummies and required the ashigaru to thrust at least 300 times a day under Shida Masahiro's leadership.

After the spear training, the spear formation training began. This mainly involved square and circular formations. Due to the limited number of people, the square formation was currently divided into two rows, staggered, for facing the enemy head-on; the circular formation was mainly used for defense when surrounded.

When all the training was completed, the morning was basically over, and the ashigaru could be dismissed to return to their fields to work. After all, the current food supply could not support a separation of soldiers and farmers. If the ashigaru were forced to train all day, they might run away. Now, he was only a weakly established lord, and if he provoked the people, his life would be in danger.

On the fourth afternoon after the training officially began, Roshiz Masahara received a message from Oishi Kunitoshi, indicating that he had successfully persuaded three villages and nearby outcasts to join the territory. However, due to the need to move, it would take two more days to arrive, and he requested that someone be sent to assist, as they might encounter bandit attacks during the move.

Thus, Roshiz Masahara had to temporarily pause his direct training and have Shida Masahiro supervise, while he dealt with this matter.

Why wasn't Togo Heiji responsible for this task? The reason dates back to the third day of the ashigaru training. On the third day of the ashigaru training, considering that as the ashigaru's injuries improved, the training intensity would gradually increase, and the physical exertion during training would be significant, Roshiz Masahara issued an order to increase the monthly ration of mixed grains for each participating ashigaru by one to. Upon receiving this order, Togo Heiji angrily ran to Roshiz Masahara, saying he could no longer handle the administrative duties and threatened to quit.

To be honest, it was understandable why Togo Heiji was so angry. The entire territory only had 47 koku of rice, and 11 koku had already been allocated this month. The lord also planned to incorporate the outcasts from the nearby three villages, who, even if they brought their own food, would conservatively require an additional 10 koku. Now, the lord wanted to increase the ashigaru's food rations. With 20 to 30 ashigaru, each receiving an additional to of mixed grains, that would add 2 to 3 koku per month, making the total expenditure for this month at least 23 koku. What about the next few months? Thus, Togo Heiji, transformed into an "angry youth," vented his frustrations to Roshiz Masahara.

Roshiz Masahara could not immediately think of a solution, so he decided to target the two nearby powerful families. Since they wanted him to protect them from the bandits, he would demand payment.

Thus, Roshiz Masahara said to Togo Heiji, "Heiji, select an ashigaru who looks seriously injured, take two bandit heads to the Tanno and Tahara families, and make sure to look miserable." Roshiz Masahara did not ask Togo Heiji to harm himself, as he had also been injured that night, and his arm was still bandaged with rags.

Togo Heiji was taken aback and the next complaint he had prepared was stuck in his throat. He couldn't help but wonder what the lord was planning.

"When you reach these two families, tell them that the bandits are frequently attacking the villages, and the villages are almost unable to hold on. Make two requests: one, ask them to send troops to repel or even eliminate the bandits; two, ask for food and weapons support, and we are willing to pay a certain fee. If they do not provide support, we will have to move to another place to survive. Also, make sure they do not know that we have already formed a territory," Roshiz Masahara continued.

"My lord, requesting food and weapons support is understandable, but sending troops, I fear they might take the opportunity to annex our territory," Togo Heiji said, puzzled.

Roshiz Masahara knew that the head of the Togo branch in Satsuma Province had not fully recognized him as the lord, so he asked, "Heiji, do you think they will send troops?"

Togo Heiji was taken aback again, frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then his eyes suddenly lit up. He bowed to Roshiz Masahara and said, "My lord, I understand. I will set out tomorrow and guarantee to complete the task."

The next morning, Togo Heiji selected an ashigaru who looked seriously injured and set out, with his first destination being the Tanno family in the southwest, where he had acquaintances.

Thus, with a lack of troops and food, Roshiz Masahara had to personally take charge. The training was taken over by Shida Masahiro. After two days of training, the ashigaru had basically mastered formation marching and stopping, but the spear formation would take time to show results. The remaining task was to supervise the training. Of course, Shida Masahiro did not have the same authority as Roshiz Masahara, and there was a risk that some ashigaru might slack off after Roshiz Masahara left. Therefore, Roshiz Masahara left his sword on a high platform in the training ground and, before leaving, clearly instructed Shida Masahiro in front of the ashigaru that if anyone slacked off during training, he should use the sword to cut off their head as a warning.

Thus, Roshiz Masahara returned to his residence empty-handed (the samurai sword he had seized from the bandits had already been rewarded to Oishi Kunitoshi). He first arranged for someone to notify Oishi Kunitoshi to gather all the people who had joined in one village before moving to the territory, and then immediately organized the remaining people from Komura Village and Oishi Village to build enough temporary huts next to the town, with the wood being cut and transported by the trained ashigaru.

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