Chapter 72

### Astrological Year 9, May 13th, Afternoon.

Nearly two days and two nights had passed since the major battle the day before yesterday. Masahiro once again summoned his scattered retainers to the Tōhei Castle for a special temporary council.

Wearing a brand new kimono, Masahiro slowly walked to his seat. As his prestige grew, his demeanor and actions increasingly exuded the authority of a clan leader.

Seeing their lord arrive, the retainers bowed and greeted him, "My Lord!"

Masahiro nodded slightly and scanned the room. As the designated scribe for the meeting, Tōgō Kiku was supposed to take the minutes, but due to safety concerns, Masahiro had the women temporarily stay at the residence of Yama Takayama. This time, the minutes would be taken by Tōgō Heiji, who was responsible for writing official documents for the domain.

Looking around, the first row was occupied by the "old retainers" of the clan: Tōgō Heiji, Ōnishi Kuniyoshi, and Tsuda Masahide. As the clan's senior retainers, these three had been with Masahiro from the very beginning, sharing both hardships and successes.

In the second row were Kōsuke, Tadajirō, and Ichinoto. These three had recently joined the clan but had already proven their loyalty and made significant contributions during the recent conquest of the domain.

In the third row were the newly initiated samurai, Rō Shizaburō and Rō Kizō, who were relatives of the Rō clan. This was their first time attending such a council as retainers, and they were visibly excited.

Newly appointed page Shin'gorō knelt behind Masahiro. This young man was also attending such a council for the first time and appeared a bit nervous. As young men, they were primarily there to gain experience.

"Everyone, thanks to our collective efforts, we have pacified the territories of the Hara, Tōhei, and Kogi clans within three days. To express our gratitude, I now announce the following: Tōgō Heiji's stipend is increased to 60 koku; Ōnishi Kuniyoshi's to 55 koku; Tsuda Masahide's to 55 koku; Kōsuke's to 50 koku; and Tadajirō's to 45 koku. Additionally, 40 of our ashigaru will be promoted to intermediate samurai with a stipend of 20 koku, and all samurai and ashigaru will receive a one-time reward of 2 koku of grain," Masahiro paused and then continued, looking at Ichinoto, "Ichinoto, the clan appoints you as the head of the ashigaru and the reconnaissance leader, under the command of Ōnishi Kuniyoshi, with a stipend of 25 koku."

The retainers all bowed in gratitude, especially Ichinoto, who was surprised to find himself suddenly elevated from a lowly ashigaru to a samurai and given an important position.

Seeing the reactions of his retainers, Masahiro felt a great sense of joy. As the Rō clan grew, these retainers would further rally around him. With this thought, Masahiro raised his hand slightly and then pressed it down, and the retainers immediately quieted down. "Next, let Tōgō Heiji report on the recent gains."

Tōgō Heiji bowed and then took out a ledger he had prepared, beginning his report. "Currently, in our domain, Yama Takayama Village has 870 inhabitants. Due to the ongoing siege at Yumewo Castle, many farmers from the surrounding areas have fled to our domain, and the number of inhabitants is expected to increase. In the newly occupied territories of the three clans, due to the rush, we have not yet completed the full census, but based on the captured ledgers, there are approximately 1,300 inhabitants. The total revenue of the domain is around 800 kan, which, according to the current grain exchange rate, is roughly equivalent to 1,600 koku."

"Hmm, this is a good harvest," Masahiro nodded slowly. The koku had increased from about 250 to 1,600, effectively quadrupling the size of the Rō clan's domain. While Masahiro remained calm, the retainers were visibly excited, kneeling to congratulate him. Masahiro waved them to quiet down and then gestured for Tōgō Heiji to continue.

"Regarding grain, from the last campaign against the bandits, we obtained 6,525 koku of grain. Later, we purchased 50 koku from the Tōno clan and exchanged 400 koku of grain for copper ore from the Tawara clan, totaling 6,975 koku. After the recent domain construction and the temporary rewards, and deducting the stipends and reserving 2,000 koku for military expenses, the original domain granary has about 2,200 koku of grain available. This time, we collected about 3,200 koku of grain and 50 koku of rice from the newly occupied territories. Therefore, the domain currently has 5,400 koku of grain and 50 koku of rice available," Tōgō Heiji continued. In fact, Tōgō Heiji felt that if the lord's domain construction methods were followed, the expenses for copper ore, various workshops, and paid labor would consume a significant portion of the 5,400 koku of grain. Therefore, Tōgō Heiji planned to find a time to advise the lord.

"Each retainer will receive one koku of rice as a reward," Masahiro instructed. Rice was as precious as shark fins in this era, and using one koku of rice to buy the loyalty of the retainers was a worthwhile investment. Hearing the lord's reward, the retainers expressed their gratitude once again.

"Regarding weapons, the domain originally had 65 swords, 217 spears, 5 crude armors, and 6 homemade bamboo bows. This time, from the newly occupied territories, we confiscated 28 swords, 153 spears, 17 crude armors, 13 heavy vine bows, 18 wooden bows, and 27 homemade bamboo bows," Tōgō Heiji paused and then continued with a long list of numbers, "Currently, the domain has 103 swords, 370 spears, 22 crude armors, 13 heavy vine bows, 18 wooden bows, and 33 homemade bamboo bows that have not been distributed. The domain has already distributed 50 swords, 126 spears, 50 crude armors, 2 heavy vine bows, 5 wooden bows, and 5 homemade bamboo bows."

"Masahide, arrange for the 11 ashigaru who were using homemade bows to be equipped with better bows. The old bows will be used to form a bow-armed ashigaru unit," Masahiro said, pausing to think for a moment, and then continued, "Form a 50-man ashigaru unit, with 40 spear-armed and 10 bow-armed ashigaru. The distribution of bows will be based on the results of a competition, with the best performers getting first choice." Masahiro had always been concerned about the domain's long-range attack capabilities, but with the limited long-range weapons, it was difficult to implement. Now that the conditions were in place, he planned to gradually improve the situation.

Masahide immediately bowed to accept the order.

"Regarding currency, the domain originally had 1,580 kan 510 mon of copper coins, 154 ryō of gold, and 970 momme of silver. This time, from the newly occupied territories, we confiscated 376 kan 135 mon of copper coins, 38 ryō of gold, and 37 momme of silver. Currently, the domain has 1,956 kan 645 mon of copper coins, 193 ryō of gold, and 1,007 momme of silver, which, according to the current exchange rate, is approximately 2,808 kan of copper coins. Other materials include hundreds of sheets of paper, 30 bolts of cloth, 5 oxen, 3 ponies, over 5,000 pounds of copper, and over 600 pounds of iron," Tōgō Heiji continued, "My Lord, these are the results of the recent confiscations in the domain."

"Arrange for the oxen to be centrally managed and used for farming as needed. The ponies will be assigned to the lord's residence for information relay," Masahiro instructed. With the domain's expansion, relying solely on human messengers would be inefficient, but with horses, the process would be much faster.

"Additionally, all materials will be transported to the lord's residence in Yama Takayama. Tōgō Kiku will manage the currency, and Kōsuke will continue to manage the other materials," Masahiro continued.

The retainers all accepted their orders.

(PS: The new book has entered its fifth week, already A-signed, with over 200,000 words updated, and no plans to stop. At least 1.5 million words. It has been running for two weeks, entered the Sanjiang Potential List in the third week, received a category new book recommendation last week, and is on the strong recommendation list for the history category this week. Next week, it will be on the new book selection list for the history category. Dear readers, after finishing, don't leave in a hurry. Even if you don't have votes, add it to your bookshelf. I humbly request your support. My goal is to write at least 1.5 million words, even if it means a spectacular failure. Enjoy writing, enjoy solitude.)

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