What Does a Super Weak Minor Lord in the Sengoku Era Aim For? - Chapter 7

Pov: The village chief of Hōyō, Rokuzaemon

Meanwhile, at the Yamanaka estate—after our lord had gone to offer New Year’s greetings to Matsunaga—

At Lord Shimizu Jūzō’s urgent request, I arrived with Jōsaku and the carpenter Eizō. Sanzaemon from Nanjō Village, Sakuzaemon from Narukawa Village, and Gisaemon from Sonoda Village had already gathered here.
It had been a long time since all the local village chiefs had come together like this.

Oh, the lord has entered. Lord Sanjūrō looks well, and Shōzaemon from Kitamura Village is with him.

“You all have come. First, let me offer my New Year’s greetings. Happy New Year to you all. I look forward to working with you again this year.”

“Happy New Year!”

“The general is currently accompanying Lord Yagyū to pay respects to Lord Matsunaga. Shinsuke is with him as well. The reason I have called you all here today is due to the general’s direction. What I am about to tell you may sound unbelievable, but I ask that you listen carefully.”

An unbelievable story? Everyone looked puzzled.
Could it have something to do with the request to bring a carpenter? 

Perhaps it was about construction on the estate… but if that were the case, why bring it up in this meeting?

“Last summer, we were nearly wiped out after falling into a trap set by the invading forces. We were saved by Lord Yamanaka’s judgement and unparalleled martial prowess, and as a result, we swore loyalty to him. Now, as we enter the new year, the general has decided our future course.

He has declared that we will expand our territory so that we will never again have to fear a mere dozen bandits. As our land grows, our current force of thirty-some soldiers will soon surpass a hundred, then a thousand.”

“Wha— wha-wha-wha-what…!”

The words escaped my lips before I could stop them.
Did he just say a thousand soldiers? That’s impossible…

The others were just as shaken. No, they weren’t just shaken—they were dumbfounded.
And it was of no surprise. Even Lord Yagyū, with his reserve forces included, barely commanded a force of just over a hundred.

“Heh… You all have that look on your faces like you want to call me a hopeless braggart, and I won’t blame you for that. Truthfully, Shinsuke and I felt the same at first when we heard it. But listen—our general is serious. He believes this can be done, and that it is only natural that it should be done. After much thought, Shinsuke and I have chosen to put our full faith in him. It will not be easy for any of you, but I ask you for your full support.”

Hmm… my mind couldn’t keep up. I had no idea how to process this.

“Jōsaku, explain this to me. What am I supposed to do?”

“Village chief, our household is about to grow. From now on, we simply need to follow the lord’s instructions.”

Hmm… That was true enough. But the lord had yet to speak of anything concrete.

“Very well. Here’s what I need you all to do. First, the soldiers will be chosen from second and third sons—those who will not inherit their family trades. They will serve as full-time standing troops, stationed in the castle year-round. Of course, their own wishes will be the deciding factor. However, through merit, they may rise to command ten or twenty men as squad leaders. Some might even attain samurai status and lead a hundred troops as ashigaru captains.”

“Ohh…”

I see. A standing army would allow for swift responses to any situation. Daikuro, one of our village’s ashigaru, was a second son, and Shōhachi was the son of a lumberjack.
I would need to ask them personally, but there shouldn’t be any issues with them joining the standing forces.

“Next, with more soldiers and more battles ahead, we will need a great quantity of weapons and armor. Our current means are not enough to purchase them. Therefore, we will produce what we can ourselves. We will level the ground here and construct simple buildings. I ask you to provide manpower and materials for this.”

“Right, so that’s what this comes down to. But just how large of a scale are we talking about?”

“There will be workshops for making weapons and armor, lodgings for live-in workers, a kitchen to provide meals, and barracks for the soldiers. The merchant Megi Kusaemon from Hirashimizu Village will be in charge of organizing these arrangements. However, I need each village to send someone skilled in accounting to assist him. Right now, we cannot afford to pay for materials upfront, but we will record everything in the ledger and ensure payment later. I ask for your trust on this. And this must be done quickly. I need the materials brought here as soon as tomorrow.”

“By tomorrow…? That’s going to be tough…”

“Eizo, you’re from Hōyō Village. Since you’re local, would you oversee the construction?”

“Heh, if you think I’m suited for it, I’ll do it.”

“Good. Everyone, make sure to call on the carpenters. And Rokuzaemon, I need someone to manage the kitchen. It would be best if it were someone local.”

“Hmm… Yes, I suppose we could ask Ogin to handle it.”

“Ogin, huh? She’s the perfect choice. She can keep the men in line. To be honest, even I can’t stand up to her.”

“Hahaha!”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Yes, Ogin from our village was a sturdy, strong-willed woman. Ever since she lost her husband, Sōgorō, who had been an ashigaru, she had taken it upon herself to look after the local men.
In other words, she entertained them at night. I had heard that many young men had their first experience with her, and not a single one dared to defy her. Ogin was both respected and feared—a true matriarch of Hōyō Village.

…Wait a minute. Could it be… even our lord is the same…?

“The allocation of materials and labor will be left to the practical heads of each village. Eizo, you and the others should go inspect the site now and discuss the construction plans with Megi.”

Jōsaku, Eizo, and the others shuffled outside, leaving only the six village chiefs in the room.

“And I actually have a crucial request for you village chiefs, given your wide connections. That request is to persuade the villages outside our territory. According to our lord’s assessment, Matsunaga will soon invade Nanto, swiftly crushing both the remnants of the Tsutsui clan and Kōfuku-ji.

When that happens, what do you think will become of the villages in this eastern region and Okuyama, which are half-allied with Kōfuku-ji and half with the Tsutsui? You don’t need me to spell it out. The only way for these villages to survive is to side with us, the Yamanaka. However, Lord Matsunaga is infamous for his cruelty. You must convince them that directly submitting to him would be a terrifying prospect.”

…That makes sense, I see now. I myself don’t have the courage to go and bow before Matsunaga directly.
But I’ve heard that our lord, who was quick to persuade the Yagyū to join him, has earned Matsunaga’s deep trust. So we also have an important role to play.

“As for how we will divide this task—Shōzaemon-dono and Sansazaemon-dono, I need you to persuade the neighboring village of Sugawa. After that, work on bringing Sarakawa and Kasagi under our influence. My father will handle persuading the villages in Okuyama. Rokuzaemon-dono and Gizaemon-dono, you will be responsible for persuading Kamo-go. Sakuzaemon-dono, I want you to take care of Nakagawa Village and Kizu-go.”

My village, Hōyō, has ties to Kamo-go because we have mountain workers, Buddhist sculptors, and woodworkers. Gizaemon’s Sonoda Village also supplies pottery and earthenware to the temples in Kamo-go. So we should approach them from that angle…

However, Sarakawa, Kasagi, and Kizu-go—that is a vast area to cover.

One thousand soldiers… I see that now.

“I’ll say this again—start immediately. The villages must choose: they either side with our lord Yamanaka, or they resist and raise their own forces. Any village that opposes Yamanaka will be crushed without hesitation. The time for complacency, thinking that being a mountain village keeps us safe, is over.”

…This has turned into something serious. So much for the New Year’s celebrations…