Chapter 87

At the end of May, the sun shone brightly over the eastern part of the Matsura Peninsula. In this early summer season, lush trees and vibrant mountain flowers were everywhere, and the air was filled with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers.

Counting the days, it had been a month since the beginning of May when he descended the mountain at night, launched surprise attacks on the forces of the Kogaki, Fujiwara, and Tawara families, and then defeated the Sō and Wada families in a series of battles. It was time to return home and, while doing so, inspect the territory of the Rō family.

Masahiro quickly issued the orders. He recalled Ōnishi Kuniyoshi to Chūno Castle to lead the second ashigaru unit of 50 standing ashigaru, responsible for defending the southeastern front of the territory. Kido Shigetada remained in Chūno Castle to handle diplomatic communications with the Hū family. Tōgō Heijirō was stationed at Furai Fort to continue implementing the laws of the territory and conducting a census. Iinari was sent ahead to Nodaka Village, as it was said that there were new developments from the direction of Yunosawa Castle.

After making all the arrangements, Masahiro officially set out on the morning of May 28th. Unlike the inspection of the territory in mid-May, when he only brought two ashigaru with light equipment, this time the entourage was much more grand. This was mainly due to Masahiro's deliberate decision after listening to the advice of his vassals, aiming to further highlight the achievements and authority of the lord.

Under the morning sun, the Rō family's troops marched majestically on the fields. Ten low-ranking samurai walked in two rows at the front, with the lead samurai carrying the Rō family's main banner. A black eagle on a white flag fluttered in the wind, as if about to take flight. Due to the limited supply of captured cloth and the lack of purchasing sources, the Rō family had only six main banners so far, one for each of the four ashigaru units and the cape-wearing samurai, and one carried by Masahiro himself.

In the center of the formation were 40 cape-wearing samurai, their steps in unison, wearing white capes with black eagles. After two months of rigorous training and repeated battles, these 40 intermediate samurai exuded a strong aura of killing intent. At the back of the formation were the last 10 low-ranking samurai, one of whom also carried a Rō family main banner. In the center of the cape-wearing samurai rode Masahiro on a small pony. Today, Masahiro wore a simple but polished armor, with a sword named Yoshigō Ichimonji at his waist, and a small pony with shiny fur. If he could have a helmet, it would be even more impressive, Masahiro thought to himself as he rode along, lost in his own admiration.

Following closely behind Masahiro were his two attendants, one named Shin'gorō and the other a newly recruited 10-year-old named Kiyomaru. Kiyomaru was the son of an ashigaru who died in the battle against the Kogaki and Fujiwara families, and was recruited as an attendant at Masahiro's request. This act, widely publicized by Iinari, became a significant topic of conversation among the people, and a strong piece of evidence for Masahiro's reputation as a benevolent lord. The people's admiration grew, and the morale of the Rō family's troops was greatly boosted.

Following the pre-planned route, Masahiro led the troops from Chūno Fort, passing through Furai Fort, Tōhira Fort, Kuraki Fort, Tawara Fort, and Nodaka Village, finally returning to the lord's residence on Mount Nodaka. Along the way, the temporary lords of each fort organized all the people to welcome the troops. The expressions of the people varied; some were cold (likely because they had family members who died in the conflict with the Rō family), some were curious, but most were envious and admiring. Thanks to the deliberate promotion by the Rō family's vassals, the news of Masahiro being a messenger of the gods and his heroic deeds on the battlefield spread widely. The people vied to catch a glimpse of this lord who seemed to have a mysterious aura, and those who followed the Shinto faith even knelt and bowed in worship.

For the people with cold expressions, Masahiro had no immediate solution to soothe them. After all, in a conflict, each side fights for their own lord, and those who died had chosen the wrong side to be loyal to. As the laws of the territory were implemented, these people would eventually feel the warmth of the territory and become supporters of Masahiro. To be honest, many of the laws Masahiro implemented in the territory were quite different from those of the surrounding powerful families, and could be described as unconventional, to the point that some new residents secretly called their lord a fool.

After a brief meeting with Tōgō Heijirō at Furai Fort, Masahiro's troops quickly left and arrived at Tōhira Fort. Hira Satarō quickly passed through the welcoming crowd and came to Masahiro's side. As a new vassal with both literary and martial talents and great potential, Masahiro intended to let Hira Satarō stay here to gain experience, to quickly understand the laws of the Rō family and integrate into the vassal group. In fact, Hira Satarō did not disappoint Masahiro; in just half a month, he had organized the settlement of new residents in the Rō family's territory in an orderly manner.

"How are they doing?" Masahiro asked from his horse, seeing Hira Satarō approach. Clearly, Masahiro was asking about the two sisters of the Tō family who had settled here, as he did not see their figures in the crowd.

"After receiving the news of her son's death by the Sō family, Reiko seemed to have thoughts of suicide, even with two attendants taking care of her, she refused to eat," Hira Satarō said. He was unsure of the relationship between the two sisters and Masahiro but suspected they might become his main ladies, so he did not dare to call them by their full names. "The situation improved after Sakura arrived."

"Indeed, as I expected," Masahiro muttered to himself. He felt apologetic about the death of Reiko's son, and hearing about their current situation made him even more uneasy.

"Take care of them secretly, do not let anyone harass them, but do not be too obvious. Allocate some land for them to settle down," Masahiro said finally. "Yes, it will be difficult for a few girls to farm, so provide them with a certain amount of food aid each month."

"Yes, my lord," Hira Satarō bowed and accepted the order. After finishing the instructions, Masahiro led the troops to