Chapter 21

The next morning, 100 koku of old mixed grains were divided into more than twenty loads, which were carried by over twenty villagers found by Heizō. Tōgō Heijirō and the foot soldiers he brought along carried five iron spears and also brought fishing nets and some small farming tools purchased with the remaining hundreds of copper coins. After everything was ready, the group crossed the small river under Heizō’s watchful eye and finally disappeared at the end of the forest path on the other side of the river.

After a long day's journey, everything went smoothly, and the group finally arrived at the edge of the forest. Just as they were about to reach the territory, the twenty or so villagers responsible for carrying the grain refused to go any further. The reason was simple: to prevent his father from discovering this "aid" event, Kōno Kijirō had people spread the rumor last night that bandits were attacking Komaki Village within his own territory. His idea was simple: if the truth came out, he could use this rumor as an excuse for the "aid." Now, these villagers, hearing that the territory ahead was being attacked by bandits, were unwilling to go any further. If they encountered bandits by accident, their lives could be in danger. In the morning, if it weren't for the high wages offered by Heizō and his strict orders to transport the grain, these villagers would never have agreed to carry the grain. Thus, no matter how much Heijirō assured them of the safety ahead, the twenty or so villagers still put down their loads and ran back as if fleeing.

Watching the villagers run back down the path, Heijirō felt both helpless and amused, thinking to himself that Komaki Village had become a place that struck fear into people's hearts. In the end, he had to arrange for the foot soldiers to guard the grain and then rush back to Komaki Village to find people to transport it.

......

Meanwhile, in the territory, Rō Shōnari was busy receiving the nearby outcasts who had come to seek refuge.

A group of nearly 70 people, carrying various items, walked along the foot of Mount Yawata towards the territory. To prevent bandit attacks, Rō Shōnari sent all the spear-wielding foot soldiers (a total of 10, originally 11, one of whom had gone with Heijirō to buy grain) led by Tsuda Masahide to meet them, while he personally guarded the checkpoint facing Mount Yawata to watch for bandits. Fortunately, no bandits appeared until the last new settler passed through the checkpoint.

When the new settlers learned that the young lord who greeted them at the checkpoint was the very lord who had promised to protect them, they were very excited. They were previously looked down upon as outcasts, and this was the first time they had seen respect from a high-ranking lord. Moreover, this lord promised them farmland, grain, and protection from bandits. What a great lord! Thus, they all began to respect this young lord. If Rō Shōnari had paid attention to his personal attributes at this moment, he would have noticed that his charisma, which had initially decreased due to the arrival of new settlers (new settlers, unfamiliar with the lord, would not fully support him), was rapidly increasing and soon returned to its previous level.

After all the settlers entered the village, they were immediately gathered, and Rō Shōnari briefly explained the basic requirements of the territory. Then, the new settlers were divided into households and evenly distributed between Komaki Village and Ōnishi Village, with their accommodations arranged. After completing this, Rō Shōnari called Ōnishi Kunitoshi and Tsuda Masahide to his residence to discuss the next steps for the territory. At this moment, a foot soldier came in to report that Heijirō had returned and brought a lot of grain. Rō Shōnari immediately had someone notify Heijirō to join the discussion.

A while later, a dusty figure hurried over, and it was Heijirō. As soon as he entered Rō Shōnari's residence, Heijirō performed a vassal's bow and then said excitedly, "My lord, I have not failed your trust. I purchased about 100 koku of old mixed grains, five iron spears, and several fishing nets and small farming tools from the Kōno family."

"That's great, may the heavens bless the Rō family," Ōnishi Kunitoshi exclaimed excitedly. In the past, the few powerful families had tightly controlled the grain, and even with money, it was not always possible to buy grain. If they were willing to sell, the price was often several times higher than the market price. In such situations, without being able to contact merchants from outside, they could only grit their teeth and endure. This time, however, it went so smoothly, and they obtained so much grain, which made everyone very happy.

Rō Shōnari had not expected to be able to purchase so much grain at once. Over 100 koku, if used sparingly, could support the territory for several more months, and the pressure brought by the increase in population was greatly reduced. At this moment, he even had the impulse to send Heijirō to the Tawara family to extort more grain. However, the territory had no money left after buying the grain, so he had to give up the idea.

After calming down a bit, Rō Shōnari said, "Very good, Heijirō, you did a great job this time." He was indeed very satisfied with the results of the grain purchase.

"No, my lord. It was all thanks to your strategy and the help of Heizō," Heijirō then recounted the entire process of purchasing the grain from beginning to end.

"My lord is wise," Ōnishi Kunitoshi and Tsuda Masahide were surprised to learn that the strategy was proposed by the lord himself, and they were deeply impressed by the lord's wisdom.

"Yes, Heijirō, if we have the opportunity, we must thank Heizō properly," Rō Shōnari expressed his gratitude to Heizō while secretly thinking about how to bring this talent to his territory.

"Yes, my lord. The next time we meet, I will thank him again," Heijirō bowed in response, but he secretly thought that this was just the lord's polite words. Given the current state of the territory, they needed help and had nothing to offer in return. However, what Heijirō did not expect was that just a few months later, the lord's words became reality, leading Heijirō to often wonder if the lord had already planned to recruit Heizō at that time.

"Then, let's discuss the next steps," Rō Shōnari redirected the conversation to work arrangements. "First, Kunitoshi, please report on the new settlers."

"Yes, my lord," Ōnishi Kunitoshi straightened up and bowed, "This time, there are 68 new settlers. The area south of the territory up to the dense forest (the forest where Rō Shōnari first arrived after his穿越) is now empty. All the people were inspired by the news of the lord severely injuring the bandit leader but were also worried about bandit retaliation. Upon learning that the lord would provide farmland and grain, they were very willing to become the lord's settlers. Most of the new settlers are hunters, with 21 able-bodied men over 15 years old and 47 women, children, and the elderly. They have 11 homemade bamboo bows and various hunting tools. Their grain is enough to last for this month."

"Good, Heijirō, what about the territory's supplies?" Rō Shōnari continued.

"My lord, considering the new settlers, the current grain supply is as follows: 23 koku of mixed grains have been distributed to the original settlers this month, leaving 124 koku of mixed grains, 17 to of salt (unit conversion: 1 koku = 10 to = 100 shō = 1000 gō = 10000 shaku). The total population is 129, excluding the four of us currently in the meeting, with 32 able-bodied men over 15 years old. In terms of equipment, we have 22 iron spears, 11 homemade bamboo bows, 7 fishing nets, 47 hoes, 11 plows, 3 pounds of scrap iron, and 10 pounds of scrap copper," Heijirō reported.

"Good, Masahide," Rō Shōnari turned to Tsuda Masahide, "In two days, gather all the new able-bodied men in the territory and select 11 with good archery skills to form a bow and arrow unit. Their basic training will be the same as usual. After the basic training, the spear unit will practice thrusting and formation, while the archery unit will practice archery. The training method will be similar to the spear unit, with straw dummies set up for shooting practice from 20 steps away, with at least 100 arrows practiced each day. If there are not enough arrows, have them cut bamboo to make more." The method of making bamboo arrows is relatively simple, and most hunters can do it themselves.

"Yes, my lord," Tsuda Masahide bowed in acceptance. He was deeply attracted by the new training methods of this new lord and would probably follow any order without hesitation.

"Heijirō, allocate 21 spears and 11 bows to Masahide," Rō Shōnari continued, "Also, find some older hunters among the new settlers to help make bamboo arrows to compensate for the loss during the archery unit's training."

"Yes, my lord," Heijirō responded.

"Additionally, allocate 32 to (3.2 koku) of grain this month to those participating in the foot soldier training, with 1 to of mixed grains per person per month. New settlers will receive 1 to of mixed grains this month, and those with insufficient grain at home will receive additional allocations based on their needs. All settlers will receive 30 shaku of salt per month. Ensure that the new settlers settle in quickly. Tell them they have two days to set up their temporary homes, and after the third day, they will need to participate in the territory's construction."

"Organize the settlers to spend half a day each day on territory construction, and the other half as their own time. The main tasks include foraging for wild vegetables and fruits, clearing land, hunting, and fishing."

"Divide all settlers into three groups: the elderly and weak will forage for wild vegetables and fruits near the village, avoiding dangerous areas like the dense forest to the west; the able-bodied will focus on clearing land; the foot soldiers will train in the morning and then divide into two groups, one to return home to tend their fields and the other to hunt and fish, alternating daily."

"Wild vegetables and fruits collected collectively will be distributed to each household, and the same for the game and fish. Any surplus will be dried and stored. Cleared land will be allocated to settlers, and they will immediately be organized to plant crops. It is now April, and planting now will still allow for a harvest. The main crops will be rice, wheat, and radishes. Seeds will be allocated from the grain reserve, ensuring that each household receives a similar amount of high, medium, and low-quality land. Encourage settlers to clear land in their free time, and the cleared land will belong to them."

"Make it clear to all settlers that those who slack off during collective work will have their monthly grain allocation reduced as punishment."

"Heijirō, Kunitoshi, you need to arrange these tasks quickly and explain the requirements to the settlers in detail. Heijirō will be responsible for land clearing, and Kunitoshi for foraging and hunting. What do you think?"

"Yes, my lord," Heijirō and Kunitoshi were momentarily overwhelmed by the lord's orders and were still processing them.

Seeing their furrowed brows, Rō Shōnari sighed inwardly. It was truly helpless. To concentrate all resources and efforts in a short time to build the territory without discouraging the settlers, he had to come up with this semi-public, semi-private method. He would make further adjustments after the bandit threat was eliminated, he thought.

"Additionally, merge Komaki Village and Ōnishi Village into Yawata Village," Rō Shōnari continued as the two men's brows gradually relaxed, indicating they had understood the orders. Managing the two small villages separately was no longer suitable for collective work, and with only about 130 people in the entire territory, separate management would waste resources. Most importantly, he needed to integrate everyone and unify their thoughts, forming a territory mechanism centered around himself as the lord. Although the two villages were previously centered around Heijirō and Kunitoshi, neither had formed their own power base, but to prevent the formation of two different factions in the future, which could affect the unity of the territory, merging the villages was necessary.

That afternoon, the four of them discussed the specific details of the work in the small mud house, with Rō Shōnari explaining the key points in detail. It was difficult for people from ancient times to accept management ideas from several hundred years in the future, but the advantage was that the "loyalty to the lord" concept was still prevalent, so even though the other three had many questions, they would still follow Rō Shōnari's requirements.

As for whether these orders would be resisted by other settlers, Rō Shōnari did not consider it at all. In his view, for the average settler, their lives were previously threatened in various ways when they were outcasts. Now, Rō Shōnari provided them with a safe place to farm, which was already a great blessing. Once they experienced the benefits of these policies, they would not resist and might even become strong supporters.

In fact, implementing these orders had deeper purposes for Rō Shōnari. As a "forced into the position" lord, his most critical weakness was the lack of kinship and hereditary vassals, making him vulnerable to being overthrown by subordinates. Who knew if, after the main threat to the territory was eliminated, he would be subjected to a "crossing the river and dismantling the bridge" scenario? To survive, he had to carefully strengthen his influence over the territory.