Chapter 94

At dawn, staying up late to write, this is the first update of today, please recommend and collect!

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"Ouch," "Ouch"... In the temporary training ground of Tanno Castle, 20 low-ranking samurai of the Rō family lay scattered on the ground, all with bruised faces and groaning in pain.

"What? Weren't you all complaining about not being convinced yesterday? Now, all of you together are in this state? Here's what I'll do: I'll deduct 1 dou of mixed grains from each person's monthly salary, and starting tomorrow, the morning run will be doubled. If you're still like this after a month, then you'll go down and farm a piece of land," Masahiro, holding a wooden sword, shouted at the samurai.

It had been three days since the Rō family occupied Tanno Castle. The nearby Tanno family was busy licking their wounds and quickly recovering, the Akasaka family was busy dealing with the unpredictable pirates, and the Rishika family was embroiled in internal strife. The Rō family, which was originally preparing for a chaotic battle, got a rare chance to rest and regroup. With nothing to do, Masahiro decided to inspect the training of the troops, only to find that these 20 newly joined low-ranking samurai were disdainful of the battle formation training. Although they still trained as required, they clearly did not take it seriously.

Masahiro immediately ordered the Cloak Troops to engage in a confrontation with these low-ranking samurai. The result was that the 20 Cloak Troops, who formed a long spear formation, beat these individual samurai to a pulp. Even after their defeat, these low-ranking samurai still refused to accept it, demanding a one-on-one fight. Masahiro was both amused and angry, and immediately ordered these samurai to rest for a day, and the next day, the lord would personally fight them. Masahiro, who had experienced several major battles and continuously trained his martial skills, was not to be underestimated. Moreover, it was difficult to gain practical combat experience by training alone, so now was a good opportunity to use these guys as sparring partners.

The next day, at the start of the confrontation, these low-ranking samurai, fearing Masahiro's status, were hesitant to attack. After being scolded several times by Masahiro, they immediately burst with bloodlust and charged at him like wolves. Although their spirit was commendable, their strength decided everything, and soon the 20 samurai were beaten to a pulp. Individually, these low-ranking samurai were even more skilled than the Cloak Troops, but since they had just joined the Rō family, their loyalty was not yet guaranteed, and they had always been somewhat disrespectful. Masahiro took this opportunity to discipline them, making them quickly settle down and serve him. Therefore, Masahiro deliberately used heavy hands, and although they were only using wooden swords, the blows left their skin bruised and swollen. Thus, these low-ranking samurai were destined for a tragic fate, and even the surrounding Cloak Troops watching the fight were sweating profusely.

After subduing these low-ranking samurai, Masahiro quickly returned to the council hall, where Heizō Tarō, who had just exchanged resources with the Tanno family, was already waiting.

"How did it go this time?" Masahiro asked before even reaching his seat.

"Your Highness, this time we exchanged 15 swords, 20 spears, and hundreds of pounds of iron," Heizō Tarō reported. "Additionally, although the head of the Tanno family did not explicitly respond to our goodwill, they reduced the guard forces at the border with our territory, which can be considered a response to our goodwill."

The Rō family's troops were now concentrated around Tanno Castle, and there were no guards stationed at the border. The Tanno family was happy to make a friendly gesture. As for the exchanged resources, according to the current market price in Higashimatsuura, a regular sword cost hundreds of coins, and a fine sword cost more than 5 kan. Exchanging these resources for 300 koku of mixed grains was quite a good deal, especially since the other party was in a food crisis and would not have exchanged these resources for any amount of food. The iron, in particular, was a popular resource. Japan lacked iron, and most of it was a byproduct of other mining, with limited quantities. Iron was essential for making various weapons and tools, and Masahiro planned to store these iron resources as war reserves to meet any unexpected needs.

"Good. Arrange for the exchanged resources to be transported back to the lord's residence on Takadake Mountain along with the confiscated resources. Also, have Kōsuke, who is staying behind, organize a team to open a road from Takadake Village to here," Masahiro thought for a moment and continued, "Have Tadashirō be responsible for the transportation. After he leaves, the Fourth Standing Ashigaru Unit will be officially led by you."

In recent days, Tadashirō had repeatedly requested that the command of the Fourth Standing Ashigaru Unit be transferred to someone more capable. Having grown weary of war, he preferred to return to the rear and be responsible for the production of weapons and other iron tools to revitalize the family business. Considering his wishes, Masahiro took this opportunity to adjust the roles of Heizō Tarō and Tadashirō.

"This... Your Highness, this may not be appropriate," Heizō Tarō immediately bowed in fear. The Rō family currently had four standing ashigaru units, all led by Masahiro's core vassals. Suddenly taking on such a heavy responsibility, Heizō Tarō was both excited and terrified, worried that it might cause dissatisfaction among other vassals. The example of Kōsuke was still fresh in his mind.

"Hehehe, this is also Tadashirō's wish. How about this, I will grant you a name. Let's call you Masahiro, taking one character from my name and using 'hiro' to represent loyalty to the Rō family. What do you think?" Masahiro said with a smile. After completing this task, it could be said that Heizō Tarō had passed Masahiro's loyalty test. Combined with his comprehensive abilities, Masahiro decided to give this vassal more room to grow. Of course, there was another reason: Masahiro really disliked the name "Tarō."

"Your Highness, I will swear to serve the Rō family with my life," Heizō Tarō was deeply moved by the lord's high regard, "From today, I will officially change my name to Heizō Masahiro and dedicate my life to the prosperity of the Rō family."

"Good, good," Masahiro nodded, very satisfied with Heizō Masahiro's performance, "In the future, the security of the western part of the territory will be entrusted to you."

"I will not let Your Highness down," Heizō Masahiro knelt and shouted, "If I fail, I will present my head to Your Highness."

Looking at Heizō Masahiro, who had just been renamed, Masahiro suddenly wondered if he had a habit of renaming people. In fact, just yesterday, based on the request of the military supervisor Rō Shizō, Masahiro had granted the name "Rō Masahide" to Rō Shizō, so from yesterday, Rō Shizō had officially changed his name to Rō Masahide.

Rō Shizō's request for a name was entirely influenced by Rō Kōsuke. As the two who became Masahiro's attendants at the same time, they had been secretly competing, trying to see who could become a capable vassal of the Rō family. Since becoming the military supervisors of the First and Fourth Standing Ashigaru Units, Rō Shizō had been very enthusiastic, meticulously executing Masahiro's requirements. In the process, his administrative talents gradually emerged, and during Masahiro's absence, he effectively assisted Tadashirō and Kōsuke, earning their praise. To reward his recent good performance, Masahiro readily agreed to his request for a name, first taking the character "masa" from his own name and then adding the character "hide" to express his hope for his administrative talents, thus forming the name "Masahide," hoping that his administrative talents would become even more outstanding.

Including today's Heizō Masahiro, Masahiro had already granted names to three people.

Thus, nearly a week passed, and the Rō family had completely controlled the newly occupied territory, while the surrounding powerful families were temporarily holding back. The injured powerful families (such as the Tanno family) were hiding and licking their wounds, ready to counterattack at any time to avenge their injuries; the powerful families that had gained benefits (such as the Jōkura family) were preparing their troops and waiting for the enemy to make a move; and the powerful families that were not affected were quietly observing, looking for the best opportunity to get a share. On the surface, the surrounding powerful families seemed calm, but beneath the surface, the winds of change were brewing.

But all of this, Masahiro had no time to worry about. On the morning of June 10th, Masahiro officially received a fast report from Kizuka Shigetada, who was stationed in Nakao Castle, stating that the Hukko family would launch an attack on the Sashi family on June 12th.

Upon receiving the message, Masahiro immediately gathered 40 Cloak Troops and 20 low-ranking samurai and set off hastily for Nakao Castle. The 50 ashigaru of the Fourth Standing Ashigaru Unit were led by Heizō Masahiro and Rō Masahide, responsible for guarding Tanno Castle.

For a time, the entire Higashimatsuura was in turmoil, and various forces were stirring.

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(PS: There's another update today! Dear readers, don't leave after reading, please recommend. The recommendations yesterday were not very encouraging. Just a click of your mouse can give the author great motivation. In less than a month and a half, 300,000 words have been released, which is quite impressive compared to many books. I request your recommendations for encouragement. The book club 218847013 is now open, only discussing the plot, no ads, welcome to join.)

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