Chapter 31

After nearly half an hour of clearing, the wild boar that had fallen into the pit was pulled out. The injured boars that were still alive were each given several more shots (except for the largest one), ensuring they were truly dead.

Zhengliang slowly walked up to the large wild boar that was pierced with blood-soaked wounds but still had its eyes wide open, and calmly looked into its bloodshot eyes.

"Even though you are a wild boar, your bravery deserves my respect. Unfortunately, in this territory, only one of us can survive. I will take good care of your offspring," Zhengliang said in Mandarin as he slowly drew the large blade from his waist.

"Go in peace."

A flash of cold light passed over the large boar's trachea, and a thin red line appeared on its neck. As if understanding Zhengliang's words through his eyes, the boar finally closed its eyes. Of course, Zhengliang did not deceive the large boar. He planned to domesticate the few young boars they had just captured and let these first domesticated boars in the territory die naturally and be buried, to honor their contribution to breeding the next generation of domestic pigs.

The people behind him were amazed to see the lord speak strange words to the boar, and the boar, which had refused to close its eyes, finally closed them and died. They immediately cheered, "Long live the lord!"

Zhengliang turned around, waved his hand to quiet the crowd, and then shouted loudly, "Brave warriors, you have proven your bravery through your actions, and I am proud of you. Therefore, everyone who participated in today's operation will receive one dou of mixed grains and 20 pounds of pork when we return to the village."

"Ah! Long live the lord!" The crowd immediately cheered upon hearing the reward.

After the battle, Zhengliang quickly instructed everyone to fill the pit and start a fire to cook on the spot (as they were all hungry after a fierce battle and it was already noon). He then sent two old hunters back to the town to inform Ogasawara Kunitoshi to send people to take away the boars, as most of the people were already exhausted and would not have the strength to carry the boars' bodies.

After arranging everything, Zhengliang turned to Arita Masahide, who was following him, and asked, "Masahide, tell me about the cleanup situation."

"Yes, my lord," Arita Masahide quickly composed himself, still amazed by the lord's earlier miraculous performance. "My lord, this time we hunted 12 adult boars and one adult sow escaped. Among the hunted adult boars, the heaviest is estimated to weigh over 300 pounds, and the lightest is over 150 pounds. We captured 6 young boars alive, 2 escaped, and 2 were accidentally killed during the hunt."

"How about the injuries to the people?" Zhengliang continued to ask.

"My lord, 12 ashigaru were lightly injured by the spears, and no one was injured among the archers. Three old hunters were lightly injured. Five iron spear shafts were broken, and one fishing net was damaged," Arita Masahide said with a broad smile. It was no wonder he was so happy; to hunt so many boars without any deaths was a great victory.

Zhengliang also felt that this boar hunt had been very fruitful. First, the territory would be free from the threat of wild boars for a considerable period, which would facilitate the cultivation of fields in this direction. Second, the pork would help alleviate the food shortage in the territory. Finally, the most significant gain was that the ashigaru had received excellent training through this operation. Warriors who had not experienced real combat were prone to fleeing in battle, and in many people's eyes, wild boars were far more terrifying than bandits. If they could defeat wild boars, could bandits still be scary? After returning, he would mix these ashigaru into the original training groups, and they would play a leading role in future battles.

"My lord, what should we do about the few boars that escaped? Should we send people to search for them along their tracks?" Arita Masahide suggested.

"No, Masahide, that's not necessary. The few boars that escaped will likely move to a more distant area and join a larger herd. It would be very difficult to find a few boars in such dense woods," Zhengliang said. "Before a new herd arrives, the territory will be temporarily free from the threat of wild boars."

"Then, my lord, what about lunch?" Arita Masahide asked hesitantly, glancing at the several boar carcasses nearby.

Seeing the bald man's hesitant expression, Zhengliang found it amusing and smiled at him. "Masahide, cut some fresh boar meat, clean it, and let's grill it for lunch."

"Yes, my lord, I'll arrange it right away," Arita Masahide said excitedly and hurried off to make the arrangements.

Soon, the temporary camp was filled with the aroma of meat. Smelling the faint scent of pork, Zhengliang couldn't help but feel deeply moved. He never imagined that eating pork would be such a luxury, even a matter of life and death, after coming here. In his previous life, it was something easily available.

After a delicious lunch, Zhengliang found Xin San and had him lead the way to the boars' den. Worried that the escaped sow might return to the den, he brought 11 archer ashigaru. The lightly injured spear ashigaru and old hunters were left to guard the temporary camp, waiting for people from the territory to arrive.

After nearly half an hour of cutting through thorns and brambles, they finally reached the boars' den. The area was quiet, and the small cave where the boars lived was barely large enough to shelter a few boars from the wind and rain. After searching the den, they found nothing. The escaped sow had clearly abandoned the den. After searching the surrounding area, they finally found what they were looking for near a patch of low shrubs. Yes, it was pig manure. This pile of manure, estimated to weigh at least a thousand pounds, would ensure the fertilizer for the experimental fields.

"My lord, my lord," he heard someone shouting from a distance. Zhengliang smiled, knowing it was Ogasawara Kunitoshi. Only he would shout from so far away.

"My lord, I heard you were injured?" Ogasawara Kunitoshi rushed over, concerned. The fate of the vassals was closely tied to the lord, so it was no wonder he was so anxious.

"Ah!" Zhengliang was taken aback by Ogasawara Kunitoshi's words. Then he noticed his appearance. To avoid being detected by the boars, he had smeared himself with mud at the beginning. During the struggle, his clothes on his thighs, back, and hands had been torn by grass and shrubs, and his skin was scratched to varying degrees. Mentioned by Ogasawara Kunitoshi, he suddenly felt a slight pain in these areas.

"Yes, I was lightly injured, but it's nothing serious," Zhengliang replied honestly. "Kunitoshi, see this?" He then changed the subject. "Have the men transport these things to my fields, and give each person 10 pounds of pork after the task is completed."

"Yes, my lord," Ogasawara Kunitoshi had become accustomed to Zhengliang's strange orders. "But, my lord, shouldn't we return to the territory to treat your wounds? The temporary camp has been tidied up, and they are waiting for you to return."

"Alright, let's return to the territory first," Zhengliang agreed, feeling that his current appearance indeed needed to be tidied up.

Back at the camp, the ashigaru had already organized everything. The six young boars were placed in fishing nets, two per net, and carried by two ashigaru each. The adult boars were tied up and carried by two to four ashigaru, with the largest one requiring six people.

All the ashigaru still training in the territory had come. Seeing this, Zhengliang was secretly worried. They needed to set off immediately to prevent any incidents due to the lack of military presence in the territory. Thus, a group of several dozen people, led by Zhengliang and with Ogasawara Kunitoshi at the rear, set off along a small path that Ogasawara Kunitoshi had cleared on his way.

As they walked, Zhengliang scanned the surrounding terrain, determined to quickly develop this area into part of the territory's fields.

After more than an hour of walking, they finally approached the edge of the forest, with the territory in sight.

Before they even left the forest, they heard a commotion. It seemed the people in the territory had heard about the lord's successful hunt and had gathered outside the forest to welcome the heroes.

Zhengliang was the first to emerge from the forest, and the first thing he saw was the resentful face of Akiyama Heiji. How could he not be resentful? His son-in-law was injured, and his family's future depended on him. Behind Akiyama Heiji were Akiyama Kiku, Matsu Mie, and other women, and a little girl stretching her neck to look. Finally, there were the elderly and weak residents of the territory, while the patrol team was on guard at the edge of the town.

"Big brother, big brother!" The little girl with big eyes was the first to spot Zhengliang and called out loudly.

"Ah! It's the lord. Look, behind him are the ashigaru who went hunting this morning." The crowd erupted in cheers.

"Ah!" Zhengliang was startled by the people's enthusiasm and then realized his current appearance might not be suitable for public view. But it was too late, so he had to face it. "Ha ha ha," he smiled, trying to appear relaxed. Fortunately, the mud on his body hid his disheveled state.

"Look, the lord is so dark!" "Ah! The lord is so brave!" several young women shouted.

Zhengliang was drenched in sweat. Did this era also have fans?

Arita Masahide laughed and muttered, "So I am also so admired!" Zhengliang stumbled, realizing this guy also had narcissistic tendencies. The ashigaru following Zhengliang and Arita Masahide walked proudly, finally having a moment to shine.

When the six live young boars, still struggling in the nets, were carried out behind Zhengliang, the crowd became even more excited. "Look, what is that? Mother, what is that?" This was clearly the little girl's voice. When the 12 adult boars, especially the 300-pound one, were carried out, the crowd's excitement reached its peak. Some people even knelt to pay homage to Zhengliang, attributing everything to their great divine lord. After this event, more households would likely enshrine the lord's statue.

Standing among the crowd, looking at the smiling farmers, Zhengliang felt a sense of pride and satisfaction. To add to the joy, he immediately announced that the boars would be cleaned in the training ground, and each household would receive 10 pounds of pork. This announcement led to more people kneeling in gratitude. After the announcement, Zhengliang instructed Akiyama Heiji to place the young boars in the pigpen, which needed to be reinforced. After the battle with the boars, Zhengliang felt the current pigpen was too flimsy. The daily care of the young boars would be managed by Matsu Mie and six widows she found, who would each receive an additional 10 pounds of pork as a reward. Ogasawara Kunitoshi would be responsible for cleaning the adult boars and organizing the distribution of pork to the people. The remaining pork would be dried and stored for winter, and the boars' organs would be given to the injured ashigaru and old hunters.

After arranging everything, Zhengliang hurried to his small house to take a bath and change clothes. However, he did not know that a sudden event was waiting for him there.