Chapter 58

On the eighth day of the ninth month of the Tenshō era, at the foot of Mount Yata.

In front of a lush green field, Masahiro was carefully examining the growth of the rice plants. It had been two weeks since the mountain bandits were eliminated, and the territory had seen significant development.

On April 27th, with the announcement and implementation of the "Rō-shi Regulations," all the residents returned to their fields. Since there were only about 300 residents, it took only two days to complete the registration of their fields. To compile the records, nearly one-third of the paper seized from the bandits' hideout was used. To ensure a sufficient supply of paper, Masahiro had to postpone his plan to introduce paper for school lessons.

On the same day, enough grain to feed all the residents for five months was distributed, totaling over 600 koku. From then on, the territory would no longer distribute grain collectively; the residents would have to support themselves. The residents had no complaints; instead, they were overjoyed to receive the grain and immediately began tending to their fields. The lord had said that they were now third-level residents of the territory, and the autumn tax would be six parts to the lord and four parts to the farmers. What a foolish lord! Those who could not manage their fields alone (mainly young women without homes and some single households lacking labor) began working on the lord's direct fields under the leadership of the women in Masahiro's backyard. Their future would depend on the income from these fields.

The shortage of farming tools in the territory was also greatly alleviated. This was mainly due to Jūshirō's day and night forging. As a result, Masahiro promoted him to the position of Rō-shi foot soldier commander with a salary of 35 koku. According to the designs provided by Masahiro, Jūshirō successfully crafted a rudimentary saw and a new type of hoe, which worked very well. However, due to the limited number, they were temporarily used only for the labor service to cultivate new fields. The foot soldiers sent by Tōgō Heijirō to the Tanyama family's territory had returned, bringing back over 100 hoes, more than 20 fishing nets, 50 koku of miscellaneous grains, and dozens of old fishing nets, which Masahiro planned to use for papermaking. According to the territory's regulations, the residents were very active in renting farming tools (due to the shortage of tools, this was a temporary measure to ensure that most residents could use them). The women in the backyard were busy, and in just two weeks, the residents had borrowed 40 koku of grain for the tools, and all the tools in the territory had been rented out.

The recruitment of refugees by Ōnishi Kuniharu and Kōsuke went smoothly. In two weeks, over 400 refugees joined the territory through normal recruitment or "kidnapping." Most of the refugees in the vicinity had been recruited, and the recruitment area was expanding to more distant places. Tōgō Heijirō seemed to have found his calling, despite being busy registering new residents and assigning them housing and fields. Currently, the territory had over 300 original residents, over 400 newly recruited refugees, and about 50 family members of the former bandits, totaling over 780 residents. If judged by the number of residents, the Rō-shi family was already a small but wealthy lord.

Most of the newly recruited residents were initially hesitant, and some who were "kidnapped" even tried to escape. However, after learning about the territory's regulations, their attitudes changed dramatically. They began to worry if the lord was deceiving them, but as some began to benefit, these doubts were resolved. To improve their status, the new residents sent their eligible relatives to the lord's "school," causing a shortage of "teachers." Masahiro had to promote some students who had only studied for about a month but performed well to become "teachers." He was too busy to do otherwise and had to let these young students learn and teach simultaneously.

The recruitment of foot soldiers was also very enthusiastic. Masahiro originally planned to recruit 150 foot soldiers, but under Tōgō Heijirō's resentful gaze, he reluctantly adhered to the agreement and decided to recruit only 100. However, so many residents applied that Masahiro organized a "test" to eliminate some, with Tsuda Masahide as the examiner. Since becoming the examiner, Tsuda Masahide, the bald man, walked with his head held high, chest out, and a swagger, looking like a proud tortoise. In the end, Masahiro recruited 100 foot soldiers from the new residents, and Tsuda Masahide was responsible for their training. Masahiro was also pleased to find a few carpenters and masons among the new residents, who were immediately assigned to Shinji and Yūbei.

Most of the new residents brought very little grain, so to solve their food problem, Masahiro immediately issued a labor service order to cultivate new fields. The order was met with enthusiasm from both new and old residents. The new residents mainly participated to support their families, while the old residents also aimed to offset the rental fees for farming tools. For those in need, the territory provided relief according to the regulations to help them through this period. After implementing these measures, the territory gradually stabilized, and with Masahiro's deliberate propaganda, he became the "benevolent divine envoy" in the eyes of all the residents.

The experimental fields were also thriving. Various crops were growing well, and the area planted with sweet potatoes had doubled. Masahiro's next plan was to plant most of the lord's direct fields with these sweet potatoes, while the promotion of planting among other residents would be delayed. After all, anyone would be cautious about their food supply and might not immediately accept these unfamiliar crops. The territory's first chair was already in Masahiro's bedroom, and Shinji had already produced bricks and was now researching cement. Everything was developing positively.

"Your Highness, the residents have gathered. Heijirō requests that you come over as soon as possible," a young boy with short hair like Masahiro's knelt and said. This boy was a new page recruited by Masahiro. With the original two pages preparing for their coming-of-age ceremony, the position of the page responsible for running errands was vacant. On Tōgō Heijirō's recommendation, Masahiro recruited the son of the old hunter Shinzō, Shin'gorō, as the new page.

"Um," Masahiro replied, coming back to his senses.

Masahiro hurried to his small wooden house in Yata-machi, where his newly recruited maid, Chō, was waiting. Chō was the daughter of the former bandit leader, secretly adopted by Kōsuke. A few days ago, Kōsuke brought her to the territory to settle. When the former bandit leader's subordinates learned that the old leader's youngest daughter was still alive, they were overjoyed. Soon, under Kōsuke's coordination, several samurai, led by Jūshirō, knelt before Masahiro and requested that he take Chō as a concubine. The poor little girl was "sold" without knowing what was happening. To avoid causing suspicion among other retainers, Masahiro did not immediately agree but, like with Tsuru, took Chō as a maid.

Under Chō's assistance, Masahiro put on a makeshift armor, looking imposing. The reason for dressing so formally was that today was the day Masahiro would promote the 40 foot soldiers from the original territory to Rō-shi family samurai, as well as the coming-of-age ceremony for his two original pages.

With a slightly awkward gait (the armor was heavy), Masahiro slowly ascended the platform. Below the platform, the 40 foot soldiers, dressed in the lord's awarded armor, stood in four neat rows. Next to them were 60 newly recruited foot soldiers (the rest were on guard or other duties). Behind them were over 600 residents. The residents, who had suddenly become agitated upon seeing Masahiro, gradually quieted down as he stood on the platform.

A strong spring breeze blew, and the flag with the eagle emblem at the edge of the platform fluttered. Masahiro scanned the crowd and shouted, "Everyone, a few weeks ago, the bandits who had long plagued us were destroyed. In the battle to eliminate the bandits, our foot soldiers fought bravely. As promised by this lord, today, these brave foot soldiers will become Rō-shi family samurai."

"Hum," all the residents and foot soldiers were agitated, especially those who suddenly learned they would become samurai today. Some were stunned, still in shock, while others immediately knelt and sincerely thanked the lord. Many more celebrated joyfully. In fact, Masahiro had not told anyone, including the 40 foot soldiers, about this decision. Seeing the crowd's reaction, Masahiro was very satisfied with the deliberate effect.

Masahiro raised his hands slightly and then pressed them down, signaling for quiet. Tsuda Masahide below the platform also shouted, "Quiet," and everyone gradually calmed down. Masahiro continued, "Everyone, as long as you follow the territory's regulations, this lord will keep his promises. Now, let us witness the ennoblement of the Rō-shi family samurai."

Tsuda Masahide immediately followed Masahiro's instructions and shouted to the 40 original foot soldiers, "Attention, turn right, march."

The 40 foot soldiers immediately followed the orders and slowly moved to the right side of the platform. Under Tōgō Heijirō's guidance, the foot soldiers walked up the platform one by one, knelt before Masahiro. Masahiro took a katana and a white cloak with a black eagle from the page behind him. This was a special cloak designed for Rō-shi family samurai (which reduced the captured cloth by half). These samurai, wearing the Rō-shi family emblem, would later be respectfully called the "cloak warriors" and become the main force that struck fear into the hearts of the Rō-shi family's enemies. The newly promoted samurai respectfully received Masahiro's gifts, then knelt and bowed in gratitude. Masahiro drew his sword and placed the blade on the shoulder of the samurai at his feet, saying, "I, Rō-shi Masahiro, formally recognize you as a Rō-shi family samurai." Some people, who had been instructed, immediately spread the word that this was the divine envoy's blessing, and the surrounding residents knelt, hoping to receive the lord's blessing.

As each samurai received the lord's ennoblement and returned to the platform, they put on their cloaks. The new foot soldiers envied them, admiring the impressive cloaks and secretly vowing to one day wear such a cloak themselves. The lord's regulations stated that diligent training and outstanding performance in competitions or battles could lead to becoming a samurai, and even if they died in battle, the lord promised to take care of their families. What was there to worry about?

The surrounding residents discussed the matter, noting that becoming a samurai would elevate them to fourth-level residents, with a 50-50 tax rate. Many were already considering whether to marry their daughters to these samurai or encourage their sons to join the foot soldiers to become samurai.

Feeling the intense gazes of the crowd, all the newly promoted samurai stood tall, secretly vowing to serve the Rō-shi family with all their might.

After more than an hour, the ennoblement ceremony ended, and the coming-of-age ceremony for the two pages followed. In this era, the age for a samurai's coming-of-age ceremony was generally between 12 and 16, depending on the family's needs. The song "Gokuraku" by Oda Nobunaga, which commemorates the death of the 12-year-old Hōjō Shōshun in his first battle, is an example.

Sahachirō and Kizō, dressed in simple ceremonial attire, quickly ascended the platform and knelt before Masahiro. According to Tōgō Heijirō, on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony, a respected person must perform the ceremony and recognize them as "kazoe." Both their fathers and older brothers had passed away, and considering the plan to cultivate them as Rō-shi family kinsmen, Masahiro volunteered to perform the ceremony.

After a brief prayer, Masahiro placed the ceremonial hats on their heads and said solemnly, "From today, you two will become Rō-shi family samurai. You must serve faithfully. I also grant you the family name. From today, your full names are Rō-shi Sahachirō and Rō-shi Kizō."

"Thank you, Your Highness," the two were overjoyed to receive the family name, a great honor. They bowed deeply, and their families embraced and wept, rejoicing for them.

Looking at the two with their new hairstyles, Masahiro felt a mix of joy and amusement, recalling the amusing incident the day before the ceremony. According to Tōgō Heijirō, the hair must be shaved before the coming-of-age ceremony, leaving only the hair on the back of the head and the sides, known as "moon-head." Masahiro found this hairstyle unattractive, and the two pages agreed, secretly pleading with Masahiro not to shave their heads and to cut their hair like his. Masahiro, indifferent, readily agreed, much to Tōgō Heijirō's repeated persuasion.

After the ennoblement and coming-of-age ceremonies, Masahiro led the retainers back to the lord's residence for a meeting, as Kōsuke had just returned from a trade mission with the Tawara family with important news.

(PS: The first volume has concluded, and a new chapter will unfold. In the new chapters, schemes, plots, and strategies will abound; love, family, and cold-heartedness will intertwine; and intense battles will rage. Stay tuned. Dear readers, even if you don't have votes, please add the book to your shelf. I humbly request your support. My goal is to write over 1.5 million words, even if it means a spectacular failure. I enjoy writing and embracing solitude.)

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