Chapter 46

During the Japanese Warring States period, most farmers could not afford to build wooden houses. Take the small mud and wood house that Masahiro now lived in, for example; it was built by first setting up several wooden pillars to outline the house, then using these pillars as a foundation to build the earth base, gradually constructing the mud walls, and finally covering the roof with branches and thatch.

Now, Masahiro had discovered a corridor supported by wooden pillars, with a small pond in the middle, which looked exactly like a southern Chinese garden. Masahiro walked along the right side of the corridor, where the bodies of the bandits that had been lying on the ground had already been removed by the ashigaru, but bloodstains were still visible. At the end of the corridor, there were three entrances: left, middle, and right. The middle entrance was the largest, which should be the council hall. From the left, faint cries of women and children could be heard, indicating that the ashigaru were gathering the people from the inner quarters to the gate of the stronghold. The right side was relatively quiet, seemingly uninhabited.

Masahiro entered the central council hall, which was relatively spacious. However, he was surprised to find that the floor was made of wooden planks, which, even if they were old, still showed that these bandits were quite wealthy.

Just as Masahiro was marveling at the bandits' wealth, he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw his young retainer, Saburo. Saburo quickly came to Masahiro, knelt down, and performed a vassal's bow. Then, with a red face, he excitedly said, "My lord, we found several caves on the right side of the yard, and they are filled with grain."

"Let's go and see," Masahiro immediately said.

Masahiro then went to the right side of the yard with Saburo. In front of a cave dug into the mountain, three ashigaru were standing guard. They quickly bowed when they saw Masahiro. Masahiro nodded and entered the cave. The cave was not large, about 20 cubic meters, but nearly half of the space was occupied by a pile of mixed grains covered with straw. Masahiro approached the pile, pulled back the straw, and grabbed a handful of grains, examining them closely. The grains seemed to be a mix of several types, and Masahiro recognized at least brown rice and soybeans, with brown rice making up the majority, about 90%. Masahiro roughly estimated that this pile of grains was at least 500 koku. He was excited to find that all five caves contained varying amounts of grains, with an initial estimate of at least 2000 koku in total.

With this batch of grain, Masahiro was extremely excited, as the food problem in his domain was finally resolved. However, he also found it strange that, since they had discovered the grain, the treasure should not be far behind, but there had been no reports of finding any treasure so far. Thinking about this, Masahiro instructed Saburo, "Go and find Kousuke."

"Yes, my lord," Saburo replied and left.

Soon, Kousuke arrived in front of Masahiro, "My lord," Kousuke knelt and bowed. Seeing Kousuke's slightly red eyes, Masahiro swallowed the words he had prepared to order a thorough search of the stronghold's treasure and instead asked, "How is it? Have your wife and daughter been rescued?"

Seeing the man who had clearly been crying, Masahiro was touched. According to his understanding of this era, women were often used as political tools, but at this moment, Masahiro realized that true love still existed in this era. Kousuke, who was usually timid and fearful, had resolutely joined him and assisted in the attack on the stronghold for the sake of his wife and daughter.

"Yes, my lord, we found them in the dungeon. They were just a bit frightened, but they are fine now. They are currently being settled in the inner courtyard. Thank you for your rescue, my lord. I will swear to follow you to the death," Kousuke said, bowing gratefully.

"That's good. Settle them first," Masahiro paused and continued, "Then immediately organize a team to search the entire stronghold, especially the homes of the Oishi and Itakura families. Don't miss even a single grain of rice," Masahiro pointed to the several caves in the yard, his eyes filled with enthusiasm.

"My lord, the current manpower is busy clearing the remaining threats in the stronghold and gathering the rest of the people at the front gate. There are not enough people left," Kousuke replied cautiously.

"Hmm, Tōgō Heiji will lead the patrol team here soon. Have him hand over the patrol team to you," Masahiro thought for a moment and said. "But you must ensure that not even a single grain of rice or a single copper coin is missed," Masahiro emphasized, staring at Kousuke.

"Yes, my lord, I am familiar with the stronghold and will definitely find the treasure," Kousuke replied loudly, feeling the lord's earnest expectations. This was the perfect time to show his loyalty.

"Very well. Before Tōgō Heiji arrives, take me to the secret warehouse first," Masahiro said, as he had been thinking about this treasure trove all along, which contained thousands of copper coins. Although they could not be used immediately, who would complain about having too much wealth?

"My lord, the warehouse is on the back mountain. The entrance to the back mountain is only through a small forest, and the rest of the area is filled with traps, preventing anyone from approaching," Kousuke explained.

"Alright, let's go," Masahiro left one ashigaru to guard the cave and wait for Tōgō Heiji, and then set off for the back mountain with the other two ashigaru and two young retainers, led by Kousuke.

They passed several small houses and arrived at a small forest. "My lord, after passing through the forest, we will reach the back mountain. When the old leader was in charge, the entrance to the forest was guarded by his clan's samurai. After Itakura Daisuke became the leader, the guard was reduced, and if not for the fear of being disturbed during his leisure time in the back mountain, there would be no guards at all," Kousuke explained as he accompanied Masahiro into the forest.

They walked along the forest path for about fifteen minutes and soon heard the sound of water hitting the surface. They quickly stepped out of the forest, and a small pond of about 15 square meters appeared before them. On the other side of the pond was the rock wall of the highest peak of Mount Yama, with a waterfall formed by the mountain spring water cascading down the rock wall into the pond. It was indeed a good place for leisure.

"My lord, please follow me this way," Kousuke gently woke Masahiro, who was entranced by the scenery, and led him back into the forest along the edge of the pond. At a tree covered with vines, Kousuke stopped. "My lord, behind this tree is a crack leading directly to the secret warehouse. Please follow me," he said, then led the way behind the tree, bent down, and gently pulled up several vines, sidestepping into the vine thicket.

Leaving two ashigaru to guard outside, Masahiro and the two young retainers followed Kousuke into the vine thicket. Inside the thicket, the vines were relatively sparse, and behind them was a rock crack about one meter wide. Passing through the vine-covered crack, Masahiro soon found himself in a naturally formed well-like small valley, about 50 square meters in size. Kousuke was standing in front of a rock wall.

"My lord, there are nine caves here. Five of them store copper coins, one stores weapons, and the rest store miscellaneous items," Kousuke pointed to the several caves in the rock wall and said. Masahiro quickly walked to the entrance of one of the caves, opened the door, and went inside. The cave was not large, clearly naturally formed and later modified with tools. In the center of the cave were seven or eight small wooden boxes of different styles. Opening one, he found it filled with copper coins, with several gold and silver ingots mixed in.

Masahiro picked up a piece of gold. Due to the long storage time, it was covered in dust, and the color was somewhat dull, indicating a low purity. Putting down the gold, Masahiro examined the copper coins in the wooden boxes. The coins were of various types, some with only one hole, and their colors varied in depth.

"Hmm?" Masahiro picked up one of the copper coins, his face full of surprise. The text on the coin was in Chinese, and he recognized it as the Yongle Tongbao, which was valuable in the future and could fetch a good price.

"Kousuke, how much money is there here?" Masahiro asked, while examining the coins.

"My lord, these are the savings accumulated over 40 years by the old leader and his father. According to the old leader's description, these caves contain over 1000 koku of copper coins, and there is no clear record of the gold and silver ingots," Kousuke replied.

"Wouldn't they use this money to buy food and other necessities? Why continue to be bandits?" Masahiro wondered. Forty years of savings, and they hadn't used much? Were they fools? Or were they just miserly?

"My lord, the stronghold is in a remote location, making it difficult to find merchants. If they took the money to a distant domain with merchants, they would be easily attacked on the way. Moreover, the local landlords and merchants are hostile to the old leader and would not trade with us, as much of the money was stolen from them. Furthermore, if the surrounding landlords and bandits learned of the wealth accumulated in the stronghold, they would likely join forces to attack it," Kousuke explained.

"Even if the landlords are unwilling to trade, wouldn't ordinary farmers be willing?" Masahiro continued.

"My lord," Kousuke said with a bitter smile, "Farmers are already lucky to avoid starvation. They have no surplus grain. This is a harsh land where food is the most sought after, and money is not very useful. Not only farmers, but even many landlords feel the same way."

"Hmm, in that case, we will face the problem of having money but nowhere to use it," Masahiro sighed.

"My lord, if we control the sea outlet, this problem can be solved," Kousuke suggested.

"Hmm, that's a good idea. We can discuss this issue later. Let's go and see the other warehouses," Masahiro nodded and said.

(PS: New book release. Clicks, collections, and recommendations are greatly appreciated. Please don't leave without clicking, collecting, and recommending. Your support is greatly appreciated. Enjoy writing, enjoy solitude.)

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