Chapter 91

In the council hall of the Yotaka Highlands, the Luo family was holding an evaluation meeting.

"Yubei, come by this afternoon as well. There are some wooden tools that need to be crafted," Zhengliang said, preparing to have Yubei make more wooden furniture and tools commonly used in house construction. The wooden chair in Zhengliang's wooden house looked a bit simple, but overall it was quite good. Zhengliang was very satisfied with the chair Yubei had made according to the design he provided. These crafted items were a kind of nostalgia for his past life.

"Yes, Your Highness," Yubei bowed and accepted the order.

"Your Highness, the original copper miners are no longer able to continue mining due to health issues. Should we send them back to farm and recruit a new batch of miners?" Xingzhu asked at this moment. In the absence of Zhengliang and Dōngxiāng Píngcì, Xingzhu was temporarily in charge of the daily affairs and farming in the valley.

"Alright, recruit more new miners and finish the copper mining as soon as possible," Zhengliang said. He didn't want others to know that there was a copper mine in his territory, so it was best to finish the mining quickly. "All the smelted copper should be temporarily stored in the warehouse."

"Yes, Your Highness," Xingzhu knelt and bowed.

"How is the Luo Academy doing?" Zhengliang looked at Dōngxiāng Kiku, who was diligently taking notes. Before leaving the mountain, Zhengliang had temporarily entrusted the task of educating the territory to Dōngxiāng Kiku, known as a "language genius."

Suddenly hearing Zhengliang's question and participating in an evaluation meeting that was usually only attended by men, Dōngxiāng Kiku was clearly a bit nervous. She spoke softly to Zhengliang, "I have already established a new Luo Academy in Yotaka Village as per Your Highness's requirements. Currently, the older children who have been learning for some time are leading the new children in their studies."

"Hmm, select some students aged 13 to 15 to form several small teams and disperse them into the newly occupied territories to organize eligible children for study," Zhengliang said slowly. "Hmm, each team member will receive 3 dou of mixed grains as a monthly reward, and let Píngcì assist you." After the new territory stabilized, Zhengliang planned to accelerate the cultural education of the Luo family.

"Yes, I understand," Dōngxiāng Kiku bowed gracefully.

"Chūshirō and Heizō, continue to strengthen the defenses of Yuzunotail Castle. You must be aware of even the slightest changes there. That's all for today's evaluation," Zhengliang said.

With Zhengliang's order, everyone bowed and left.

"Yinuo, stay behind," Zhengliang suddenly said as Yinuo was about to bow and leave.

"Your Highness," Yinuo came to Zhengliang and bowed.

"How is Yiruo doing?" Zhengliang asked. He was still concerned about the captured ninja.

"He has recovered a lot, thank you for Your Highness's care," Yinuo bowed deeply.

"Who are you...?" Zhengliang looked at Yinuo with confusion.

"Your Highness, that is my younger brother," Yinuo said, seeing Zhengliang's confusion. "Due to our family's poverty, we could not support both of us. When he was very young, he was taken by a ninja to learn the art. He rarely returned home. This time, while on a mission, he accidentally learned that the territory where our family lived had been occupied by Your Highness, so he went to Komaki Castle to find out about the whereabouts of our family."

"Indeed," Zhengliang said, lowering his head. "He was captured because he couldn't bear to harm the neighbors of his old hometown, right?"

"Because my brother was disguised, the townspeople did not recognize him and mistakenly thought he was a spy."

"Is he willing to serve our family?" Zhengliang asked the most important question in his heart.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. I have already persuaded him, but due to the requirements of his organization, he cannot join Your Highness's territory. However, to show gratitude for Your Highness's promotion of me, he will secretly come to train a ninja army for the Luo family and provide an important piece of information he overheard on this mission," Yinuo bowed deeply.

Hearing Yinuo's response, Zhengliang felt a bit disappointed but then understood. At this time, the ninja organizations were very strict about discipline, and the other party probably had their own unspoken reasons. Moreover, the other party had promised to secretly come to train a ninja army for the Luo family, which was a significant concession. The idea of recruiting him had to be put on hold. Zhengliang finally asked, "What is the information?"

Yinuo moved closer to Zhengliang and whispered, "Your Highness, my brother was hired by the Matsura clan of Hirado to investigate the conflict between the Huzi and Sashi families. My brother overheard in the Huzi family that they are openly attacking the Sashi family by land, but in reality, they are preparing to use a naval force to secretly attack the Sashi family's port."

"Wow," Zhengliang was greatly surprised. The information provided by Yiruo contained two important pieces of intelligence. First, the Huzi family was using a land attack to use the forces of various families as cannon fodder to draw the Sashi family's main forces to defend against the Huzi-led coalition. In reality, they were secretly using a naval force to attack the Sashi family's port. Knowing that the naval forces of both families were equally strong, if the Sashi family diverted some of their naval forces to counter the land attack by the Huzi-led coalition, they would be vulnerable to a heavy blow. This would make the Huzi family's naval forces second only to the Bō family, changing the naval power in the Karatsu Bay. Controlling the sea route would mean a steady stream of wealth. The Huzi family's plans were well thought out.

Second, the conflict between the two families had attracted the attention of the Matsura clan of Hirado. At this time, the Matsura clan was not yet unified, with the Bō family of East Matsura being the most powerful, while the Matsura clan and the Hirado branch were much weaker. Could the Matsura clan, which had long coveted the sea route of the Genkai Sea, be preparing to act as the third party?

Zhengliang thought about it repeatedly and finally said, "Very well, Yiruo has provided important information. The matter of recruitment is hereby dropped, but please have him keep his promise." Zhengliang was very eager to establish a ninja army.

"Yes, Your Highness, I am deeply grateful," Yinuo finally relaxed upon hearing Zhengliang's final decision. He was worried that it might anger the head of the family.

"By the way, regarding Xingzhu, I hope you don't hold it against him," Zhengliang continued. "He is also working for the prosperity of the Luo family. To reward Yiruo's contribution to our family, he will receive a salary of 20 stones, which you will temporarily collect on his behalf." Zhengliang knew that due to his personality, Xingzhu had become the least popular among the vassals. Adhering to the principle of not wasting a single grain of mixed grains or a piece of iron, Xingzhu strictly controlled the distribution of supplies, causing dissatisfaction among vassals like Dōngxiāng Píngcì. These vassals had already expressed their dissatisfaction with Xingzhu's stinginess to Zhengliang several times, either subtly or directly. Additionally, Xingzhu was somewhat devious, so apart from the vassals of the Yotaka Highlands, the other vassals did not like Xingzhu.

Zhengliang, though aware of this, had not taken a stance. He mainly considered the balance of the vassal group. Since he could not prevent them from forming factions, he had to adopt a balancing approach. Dōngxiāng Píngcì represented the original and newly joined vassals, while Xingzhu represented the vassals of the Yotaka Highlands.

Hearing Zhengliang personally plead for Xingzhu and indirectly provide sufficient compensation for himself and his brother, although he was still furious about the torture Yiruo had endured, he could only temporarily suppress his anger.

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(PS: Dear readers, don't leave in a hurry after reading. Even if you don't have a vote, add it to your bookshelf. I beg you, my goal is to write over 1.5 million words, even if it means a spectacular failure. Enjoy writing, enjoy solitude. Book group 218847013 is now open, welcome to join.)

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