Chapter 9

This time, it's almost all Yujiro's thoughts. There's hardly any action.

May 20, 1552

■Sagami Province, Ashigara-shimo District, Hoan Kyu-no Residence, Mita Yujiro

"Hmm. It seems the progress in Katsunuma is still slow."

"Yes, Father has been trying to reason with them, but it seems they are not easily convinced."

Kinchiro bowed his head apologetically, but I don't intend to blame him.

"No, it's not your fault, Kinchiro, or Kyo no Suke's. The elders of the house have become too set in their ways, always relying on precedent."

"That's true, but Father's letter also says that despite his efforts, it's not enough."

"Kinchiro, please tell Kyo no Suke not to push himself too hard."

"Yes, I will send a message to Father right away."

With that, Kinchiro left.

Sigh. I'm doing this research to keep my family alive, even if it means relying on the power of the Hojo. But when it comes to this, it's hard to see the point of all the new developments. They just continue with their old policies, content with the status quo.

After all, the Hojo's power has reached as far as Kozuke, so they think Mita Valley is a safe rear area. It's true that the only real threat is the Takeda, and the Koshu Kaido via Hinohara Valley is on the other side of the mountains, so it is safe in that sense.

The current Ome Kaido (National Route 411) was, at that time, blocked by a large rock wall at Shiromaru in Okutama, making it impossible to cross the mountains, so it was too difficult to use as an invasion route. If the Takeda were to come, they would have to use the Komagatake Pass, which they used in 1569, or the Ansho Pass to the north, or at most the Daibosatsu Pass to reach Higashi Village, Koana Village, Saya Pass, and Shizukana Ridge, and then head to Hinohara Castle via the old Koshu Kaido.

Because of this, the military preparations have become lax, and the focus has shifted to luxury. I'm not the head of the family or the heir, so even if I suggest something, it won't work with just Kyo no Suke. There are also other relatives, and I've heard that I'm being seen as a nuisance lately. Especially the elders like Yago Echigo and Shigatsuyama Castle are saying that I'm wasting money.

Hmm, this is a problem. We did cause trouble for the Uesugi family when Nagao Kagekatsu took over, but the key is whether the impoverished Uesugi Norimasa will give up on making his son the shugo and let Kagekatsu take over. Currently, Lord Uesugi Norimasa is being cornered by Lord Ujiyasu and the old men at Shiraishi Castle in Kozuke, so he will likely flee to the Ueda manor in Echigo soon.

This is because the Ueda clan, while in Echigo, does not belong to the Echigo guardian family but is under the control of the Kanto Kanrei, so it's natural for him to go there first. After that, he went to Nagao Kagekatsu, according to the truth. Kagekatsu invaded Kanto in August 1560, and this year is 1552, so there are eight years left. Historically, next year he is supposed to advance to Zenkoji Plain, but it's unclear how far he will go.

In general, the result of leaving the IF of Ryuakumaru's survival is uncertain. At least Shimotsuma Jirozaemon, who was supposed to have gone mad and died after decapitating Ryuakumaru, is safe, and the eight members of the Megata clan, who betrayed and sold Ryuakumaru, were crucified, which is understandable as traitors. The townspeople and samurai also say it was a just act.

Hmm, in Kagekatsu's case, even if he doesn't become the Kanto Kanrei, he might invade Kanto out of a sense of justice. When that happens, the original plan was to strengthen my family's forces and capture Odawara Castle in one go to ensure the family's safety, but with this situation, the plans for increasing the country's power and military strength are not being implemented. This is such a difficult game; it's already a deadlock.

In this case, I need to change the original plan and fully immerse myself on the Hojo side to stop the Echigo forces from invading Kanto around Kozuke and prevent my family from defecting to the Uesugi. I have to be resolute. To protect the people of Mita Valley, there's no other way. If that happens, Mita Valley and my family will be safe.

Once that's decided, I need to strengthen the line of Lord Ujiyasu, Grandfather Hoan, and Lord Ujiteru, and implement the plans for new weapons, new systems, agricultural reforms, mining reforms, and the development of new industries to increase the country's power. Since it won't be done in my family, there's no other choice. Besides, even if I say I hate the Hojo, this is a different world, and there are many good people in the Hojo family, so my resolve is weakening. If that's the case, I might as well commit myself to the Hojo.

In that case, I need to start the development of the mines in the domain as soon as possible. At the very least, I need to develop the Toshizumi Gold Mine to secure a stable source of funds and purchase large amounts of iron, copper, lead, and other metal resources from merchants in Sakai, Edo, and Shinagawa.

Still, how do I tell them the locations of the gold mines, copper mines, and the mines for glass and porcelain materials? If I just say "here," they'll be suspicious. Maybe I should say that the gods or Earlyun appeared in my dreams and told me, or that I taught them dowsing while playing with Fujikikumaru and they found them by chance. Hmm, that's a problem.

By the way, in a few years, Kanto will be hit by poor harvests and droughts, and many people will die of starvation due to the Uesugi's invasion and plundering. To deal with this, I need to purchase and stockpile food. Usually, Enoshima is used for temporary food storage, so if I strengthen it and turn it into a warehouse complex, it should be relatively safe to store food. If that doesn't work, I can create a large storage area in Odawara. There's quite a bit of empty space in the castle, so it should be possible.

And then there's agricultural reform. I need to develop new farming tools like the Bichu spade, and implement methods like duck farming, carp farming, using wood vinegar as a pesticide, and nitrogen farming with clover.

The problem is how to convey this. I've been collecting various books since I was at home and writing down all kinds of knowledge in blank books, so I can say I got the knowledge from Ming books. If I say I got the knowledge from modern Japanese simplified Chinese characters, which have over 150,000 characters, I can probably get away with it. So, I'll have to work hard to create fake books. It feels like I'm a certain J○npu's Minmei○sha.

For farming methods, I can use Dr. Clark and Kong Le. For military matters, I can use Clausewitz and Kong Quan. For science, I can use Einstein and Li Shi. Hmm, this is getting fun. I might get hooked. When I have free time, I might even create a fake Chinese hero and develop martial arts.

Oh, I almost forgot, military matters. I'll continue with the plan for firearms, but we also need cannons. They might be difficult to make, but we can make wooden cannons. They can fire a few rounds and should be useful for show. Since we can't make cast cannons without the necessary minerals, we'll just advance the plans.

However, thinking about it, wouldn't it be good to make wooden mortars based on the Japanese Army's Type 98 mortar? They should be relatively easy to make and not too technically difficult. To modern people, they might seem like toys, but if explosive shells are launched from above using the same method as fireworks, they can cause significant damage. This is it! I need to start designing them right away.

Furthermore, if we develop them further, we can create something based on the Japanese Army's Type 98 mortar, which would be a significant force. They would be useful as a stopgap until the technology for casting field guns develops. Since the Type 4 20 cm shell uses too much gunpowder, the Type 98 mortar imitation is also necessary.

We also need hand grenades made from bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder, iron fragments, and lead balls, as well as bamboo bundles for bulletproofing. We need to expedite the early practical use of early firearms. Attaching bayonets to the ends of firearms would prevent cavalry from overrunning the gunners and allow experienced gunners to survive.

We also need to teach the Edo-era method of making iron wire and develop barbed wire. We need to teach the Viet Cong's booby traps. There's a lot to write and teach, but I have to do it to survive. I'll do my best, even if it means working to the point of death. My goal is to die a peaceful death on a tatami mat.

Ah! Right, I should ask merchants to import as many foods and plants from the Nanban and Ming as possible. If things go well, we might get tomatoes, onions, corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and oleander.

Right, we also need to increase the number of medicines. Distilling shochu to about 60% alcohol to use as a disinfectant, making marijuana as a painkiller, and extracting iodine from seaweed to mix with alcohol to make fake iodine tincture. I need to experiment, though.

In war, we also need food. We can make bread using the enzymes in sweet rice wine, and developing hardtack would be good. We also need sugar. While sugarcane can't be grown here, we can use the native variety of bamboo sugar, which is the raw material for wasanbon sugar, and try to cultivate it in places like Heda. We need to start this as soon as possible.

We also need to mint coins. We need to create copper, silver, and gold coins that are only valid in the Hojo domain to stop the transition from the koku-based economy to the stone-based economy and prevent farmers from suffering under the stone-based system. The Hojo method of reducing taxes during poor harvests is a great system, and I want to maintain it. While I can only tell Grandfather Hoan as an outsider, doing something is better than doing nothing.

We also need to modernize the navy. Currently, the pirates of the Satake family are making small-scale raids on the Miura Peninsula at night, committing plunder, abduction, and violence, so modernizing and organizing the navy is absolutely necessary. I want to build small, maneuverable ships with keels.

And then, we need to develop prefabricated field fortifications. We can surprise the enemy like Toyotomi Hideyoshi's overnight castle. That way, Hideyoshi will be seen as a copycat.

Okay, I'll write down all the key points, organize them, and have Grandfather Hoan, Fujikikumaru, Kondo Dewa no Kami, and Oshio from the Daidoji clan review them. It's going to be busy.

My battle starts now!