The Self-Cultivation of Warring States Warriors

Page 72

In terms of family background, he was second only to the Ashikaga Shogun and the three Kanrei of Hosokawa, Hatakeyama, and Shiba, on par with Ōuchi, Akamatsu, and Yamana, and even a notch above Imagawa, Uesugi, and Toki.

Of course, that's not possible now.

Now the Kyogoku family has lost all its territory and has been driven out of its castle by the lowly Asai family, wandering and begging among relatives and friends in various countries.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Hosokawa Ujitsuna dared to act so boldly, instigating Shinzaburo to impersonate a descendant of the Kyogoku family.

After all, the fewer people the other party has and the more their family business has declined, the less likely they are to have the time to go through the details of their family tree.

Even if a genuine descendant of the Kyogoku family came knocking, a few dozen or fifty kan of silver would immediately shut him up. If you were generous enough to give him a hundred or two hundred kan, he might just reluctantly acknowledge you as a relative on the spot!

Shinzaburo received a letter from Hosokawa Ujitsuna and felt that the reasoning process was very rough, far-fetched, and not sensible at all.

But then I thought about it again, and the stories of Ise Soun attaching himself to the Hojo and Matsudaira Ieyasu changing his surname to Tokugawa were all made up.

How could our ancestors be such inconvenient things?

Let's just accept one for now, and if we feel it's not good enough later, we can organize scholars and monks to revise it again!

Therefore, Shinzaburo frankly accepted Hosokawa Ujitsuna's kindness.

But this does not mean that he needs to change his surname to "Kyogoku" or "Sasaki".

It is the right path for a samurai's descendants to break away from their family, establish their own business, and adopt a completely new family name. This is far more honorable than continuing to use their ancestor's name.

The only thing that needed to be adjusted was the family tree and ancestral tablets in the family temple. Originally, the Kubo family didn't have many ancestors to worship, but by associating themselves with the Kyogoku family, they suddenly had more than twenty ancestors to worship.

Shinzaburo is not familiar with the proper etiquette and doesn't even know which generation to start worshipping. He also doesn't understand the formal way to write a family genealogy and may need to consult someone else.

Besides, aren't A-Li's sister and Shingoro's brother's marriages under discussion?

Now that it has been "discovered" that the Kubo family is actually the Kyogoku family of the Uda Genji Sasaki school, many documents need to be slightly modified. Those that haven't been sent out need to be revised quickly, and those that have already been sent out should be recalled and resent as much as possible.

Ancestors are not recognized for oneself, but for others. No matter how far-fetched the connection may be, one must maintain a confident attitude, claim descent from a prestigious family, seize every opportunity, and strive to promote it to the outside world.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of time to admit it?

135. The wealthy farmer who misused the surname "Miao".

The family was bewildered by the sudden appearance of a prominent ancestor, but after Shinzaburo's repeated emphasis, they finally understood the seriousness of the matter.

Only Old Man Kinbei, clutching Hosokawa Ujitsuna's letter, frowned and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "The age and generation don't match up. There's clearly a problem. Even if it's a prestigious family, you can't just randomly claim ancestor names, can you?"

Such mischievous and willful behavior was met with resistance from the public.

Not only did Shinzaburo deliver a stern lecture, but even Azuki, Aguri, and Shingoro bowed deeply, saying respectfully yet solemnly, "Father, please don't cause any trouble at this time!"

Jin Bingwei's father became the target of everyone's criticism. Looking aggrieved, he ran to his room, closed the door, and sulked.

Then Shinzaburo instructed his two newly recruited personal maids to comfort him carefully.

Then everyone worked together to quickly adjust the wording and sentence structure of the relevant documents.

……

After some divination, calculations, and discussions, it was finally decided that the weddings of Ari-chan and Shingoro-chan would be held in February and March of next year, respectively.

With everything settled down, I can finally free up some time to properly examine my new territory.

Utsu Castle's main keep was destroyed by fire and could no longer be used as a formal residence, but it could still be used for temporary living and working until the new castle was completed. Shinzaburo temporarily settled in the Ninomaru, and Azumi moved in with a group of servants and maids.

Then I was finally able to enjoy normal home life while planning my business.

Based on rough estimates from maps of this era, after returning some barren, disputed areas in the north to the neighboring Kawakatsu family, the Kubo family's territory today is approximately 200 square kilometers.

Excluding the surrounding mountains and rivers that form a natural barrier, it can be roughly divided into three parts—

First, there was the earliest acquisition: a narrow strip of land south of the Ōi River, near Hosono Castle. This area was not very suitable for habitation; arable land was limited, and the population was small, with only about a dozen tiny villages scattered along the Hosono River. Moreover, a large number of able-bodied men had been lost in the war the previous year. The annual tribute of 500 koku, plus appropriate corvée labor, was a reasonable burden for them. They couldn't really rely on fighting.

The eastern region, near the vast mountainous area of ​​Mount Mikuni, is even more sparsely populated, with virtually no flat land to form villages. It's said to be inhabited only by a few hunters. The Kurama Road, running north from Kyoto, leads to that area. Most people walk for two hours to Kurama-ji Temple to burn incense and then return. Only those who deliberately seek to temper their minds and bodies continue deeper into the mountains. The probability of them not coming out is quite high.

Collecting taxes from wilderness hunters and repairmen is obviously not going to be possible, but fortunately there is a small market nearby that is held once a month for trading daily necessities and furs, so that some taxes can be collected.

However, this does not mean that this region has no value. The "mountain laborers" mentioned earlier, who did not pay taxes but instead used timber to offset their taxes, mostly lived along the small salt river near the mountains and forests, and could provide a lot of timber every year.

However, the real essence lies in the area north of the Oi River and east of Mount Kuroo. It is estimated to be only thirty square kilometers in area, but it is a rare flat valley surrounded by mountains, and it is dotted with three rivers, the Yuge River, the Kumada River, and the Inoue River, which are about ten meters wide, as well as many smaller tributaries.

Within the territory of Tanba, areas with flat terrain and abundant water resources, suitable for rice cultivation, are extremely precious.

Not to mention the unique sweetfish resources. Even without salted fish channels, they could still sell a considerable amount to the surrounding area. With Imai Munehisa's connections, sales are expected to increase significantly in the future.

How much revenue do these plots of land generate combined?

According to a document that has not yet been burned, in the 22nd year of the Tenbun era, the Utsu family received 2,900 koku of grain, 350 kan of mongoku in mongoku and dangoku, 240 kan of timber business income, 130 kan of toll fees for caravans at three checkpoints, 60 kan of service fees for several regular markets, and 50 kan of fish service fees.

The number of military personnel is not recorded, and it may not have been formally stipulated.

This shows that the business revenue is already quite mature. The only thing that can be significantly improved is to let Imai Munehisa start a salted fish business.

However, the taxes levied on ordinary people were significantly lower than normal.

There was no powerful religious force like Kofuku-ji Temple in Funai District within the territory. All the temples and shrines combined employed only two or three hundred people, and the total amount of temple and shrine lands was less than seven hundred han. Only one of them held the privilege of "no taxation, no income," while the others had to pay taxes as usual.

Since it wasn't the monks causing trouble, the problem with the collection of taxes and grain must be the local gentry.

Having already witnessed the locals' abundant martial prowess during the attack on Yueshan City, Shinsaburo naturally intends to find a way to resolve the problem as well.

But before they could even make a move, they were given a rude awakening.

At the end of August, Shinzaburo announced to his retainers that he planned to conduct the first land survey within the year, compile land and military service records, and then uniformly grant fiefs. He then ordered Inatomi, Oi, and others to maintain patrols and security, while Jōsō, Takemura, and Harumi went to each village to collect the annual tribute as previously done.

As a result, only a dozen or so poor little villages along the Hosono River honestly paid their annual tribute, while the leaders of the remaining forty-odd villages complained that they were affected by the war in the middle of the year and were unable to pay the full amount.

Most people are asking for a reduction of around 20%, which is considered normal for bargaining. After all, there was indeed fighting in the past few months.

However, it is a bit excessive that fifteen villages claim they can only pay half of the annual tribute.

After all, the amount of money and grain in the previous period was already significantly low.

Although he hadn't conducted any investigation, Shinzaburo could deduce from experience that the one with the lightest burden would actually be the one screaming the loudest.

These fifteen villages that demand exorbitant prices are very likely the biggest troublemakers.

Remembering that one of his subordinates, Inatomi Shigenobu, was from Kuwata County and lived nearby, he immediately summoned him to inquire.

Inatomi Shigenobu understood immediately and explained: "These fifteen villages are all located in the Yuge River area, which is the so-called 'forbidden land' of Yamaguni-sou. I have heard that the Utsu family felt uneasy after encroaching on the 'forbidden land' and deliberately tried to win over the wealthy farmers in the fifteen villages, treating them with great leniency. As a result, the wealthy farmers there have become increasingly arrogant, intermarrying with each other and calling themselves the 'Yamakuni-shu,' often putting on airs like samurai. This has led the people of Kumada River to call themselves the 'Kumada-shu,' and the people of Inoue River to call themselves the 'Inoue-shu,' constantly competing with each other."

Upon hearing this, Shinzaburo frowned: "They don't all sound like easy opponents. Only the villages around the Hosono River are relatively honest."

Inatomi Shigenobu said with a wry smile, "Actually, I also called myself 'Hosono Clan' a few years ago, but after a disastrous defeat in the 'Water Hearing' tournament, many people were killed, so I had no choice but to give up the name."

Shinzaburo exclaimed in surprise: "The Utsu family can't even control the 'water noise' of the common people?"

Inatomi Shigenobu shook his head and said, "The Utsu family has always mainly tried to win over and buy off wealthy farmers who have their own weapons, and rarely used force to suppress them."

Shinzaburo thought for a moment and then asked, "Do these 'Yamakuni-shu,' 'Kumata-shu,' 'Inoue-shu,' and the like have a clear leader?"

Inatomi Shigenobu recalled for a moment, then said with some hesitation, "I am not entirely sure either. It seems that the 'Kumada Clan' and 'Inoue Clan' are still led by a number of wealthy farmers who take turns serving as scribes, changing every year. But the 'Yamakuni Clan' seems to have been led by the Torii family recently."

"A torii house?" Shinzaburo exclaimed in surprise, "Even wealthy farmers can have the character 'shao' (苗字) now?"

Inatomi Shigenobu nodded: "The real Torii family was the former Yamaguni-sho Shigeshi, which was destroyed by the Utsu family long ago. After that, a powerful farmer took the name Torii without permission, and the Utsu family tacitly approved of it. I heard that they also secretly built a fortress in a remote mountain and stored a large amount of weapons and supplies. I don't know if it's true or not."

Upon hearing this, Shinzaburo fell into thought.

I always thought the Naito family, the guardians of Tanba, were incompetent and couldn't compare to the Miyoshi family. Now, it seems the Utsu family of Kuwata District is even worse! Aside from the weakest group who are relatively well-behaved, the other three factions have formed their own groups, creating an unofficial order. The most arrogant among them even shows signs of independence.

No wonder that when the defending generals resolutely refused to surrender during the siege of Yueshan City, the peasant soldiers immediately rebelled.

They've already formed their own organizational structure!

It's impossible to deal with all the unruly people at once, but the "Mountain Kingdom Clan," which has already spiraled out of control, must be eliminated.

The problem is that once there are signs of strengthening centralization, the three groups of people will inevitably unite immediately.

They surely understand the principle that "when the rabbit dies, the fox grieves," and "when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold."

We need to come up with a clever entry point.

136. The high-ranking officials and their subordinates resorted to poison against poison.

Just when I was having a headache about how to deal with the issue of "local worthies", Master Mingzhou came to visit.

Shinzaburo finally saw his "uncle" after a long time.

Strangely enough, when the family was preparing for the wedding of Ari-chan and Shingoro-chan, they urgently needed someone to provide etiquette guidance, but they couldn't find Master Mingzhou.

When someone was sent to Guangfu Temple to inquire, they were only told that the person was busy outside.

Seeing it today, I finally know the truth.

It turns out that the Daitoku-ji branch of the Rinzai sect has recently undergone significant personnel changes.

Specifically, as the relationship with the Miyoshi family deepened and its influence in Sakai Town grew stronger, the head monk, Zen Master Soto, decided to significantly expand the Nanso-an Temple near Sakai Town, elevating it to the level of a separate main temple, and then personally went there to serve as its abbot.

The plan was to build a giant monastery spanning eight towns east to west and thirty towns north to south.

A chō (町) is approximately 109 meters long. This translates to an area of ​​280 hectares.

The plan is to construct a main gate, mountain gate, main hall, bell tower, Dharma hall, dining hall, academy, abbot's residence, seven-story pagoda, scripture pavilion, guesthouse, medicine garden, lodging and other facilities. It also plans to build ten treasure rooms, ten warehouses, ninety-two turns of corridors, one hundred and eight pagodas, as well as the subordinate Kasuga Shrine, Sumiyoshi Shrine, Tenmangu Shrine and Hachimangu Shrine.

The most important of these is the Miyoshi family temple, which consists of twelve large shrines and houses a pure gold, eight-inch-tall statue of a samurai on horseback shooting an arrow.

The gathering place of the Sakai-cho Association will be moved here in the future, and will be indirectly influenced by the Miyoshi family and the Rinzai monks.

It is said that Miyoshi Nagayoshi, in order to express his gratitude, would send 20,000 koku of land in Ōtori County to Nanso-ji Temple. That would mean an annual yield of 20,000 to 30,000 koku.

Compared to the Buddha, Shinsaburo suddenly felt that his efficiency in conquering cities and territories was too low.

No wonder when Shinzaburo went to Sakaicho to offer incense at Nansō-an Temple, he saw a notice that the temple was closed for renovations.

With such a large project underway, how can we possibly have time to entertain guests?

From then on, Zen Master Zongtao would go to the newly built Nanso-ji Temple in Sakai-cho to take charge, and someone would need to take over the reins of Daitoku-ji Temple in Kyoto.

The monks made quite a fuss about this, with various monasteries and factions running around trying to coordinate.

Master Mingzhou's qualifications and lineage are not enough to compete for the position of abbot, but he is still one of the eminent monks who has a voice, and he cannot escape this busy work.

Now, after a long and complicated power struggle and exchange of interests, the candidate has finally been decided, and he has been able to extricate himself.

The affairs of this sect are none of the business of outsiders; they are merely anecdotes from the higher-ups.

However, another piece of news that Master Mingzhou heard during his recent activities in Kyoto shocked Shinzaburo.

That is……

A middle-aged court noble named Takeuchi Kiji, currently holding the rank of Junior Fourth Rank and serving as the Grand Steward of the Imperial Kitchen, was overjoyed to hear that the traitor who had seized the "forbidden ingredients" had been defeated. He volunteered to be transferred to Kuwata District in Tanba Province as a deputy governor, personally managing the Yamaguni Estate. He also took the opportunity to commend the meritorious soldiers.

It's estimated that the trip will take place in about a month. This is considered very efficient for the imperial court.

This is seriously too unique.

What kind of respectable nobleman would stay in the capital and instead go to the countryside to serve as a deputy official instead of staying in the capital?

Within the boundaries of the "Forbidden Landmark" mountain village, there were fifteen villages, as well as many woodcutters and fishermen. Although the people were known for their fierce and unruly nature, and local tyrants formed cliques and misused surnames, the area still provided a substantial income.

According to the usual practice at that time, after Shinzaburo took over this place, he only needed to provide the imperial court with about two hundred kan of tribute every year, which would be considered to be extremely loyal.

Currently, this is how the "forbidden materials" of various countries operate. The imperial court has no ability to audit the accounts, so it's impossible for everyone to honestly hand over the full amount; it all relies on their own initiative. Unless someone is as stingy as the Utsu family before, there shouldn't be any problems.

But if a high-ranking official is watching over you at all times, it's a different story.

Even if they don't actually go deep into the front line to do actual work, just standing there can cause a lot of trouble.

Most nobles, even if they were to step down, were only doing so to make a quick buck and wouldn't stay long. It was usually one or two years, three to five years at most. Even in the extreme case of the Tosa Ichijo clan, they spent half their time handing over their territory to vassals while serving in Kyoto.

But that's still bad enough.

It's quite a coincidence that he ended up with both an unruly local gentry and an unconventional government official.

Hmm... the unruly local gentry... and the maverick government officials...

Eh?

Is it possible to fight poison with poison?

In a flash, Shinzaburo suddenly had a brilliant idea and said with a smile, "That Daizen Takeuchi probably lived in the Kamigyo Ward of Kyoto before, and doesn't know how chaotic things are in the various countries now, right? It would be bad if he were frightened by some troublesome people."

Master Mingzhou understood immediately, then frowned and thought for a moment before hesitatingly saying, "Whenever a conflict arises between a lower-ranking official and a commoner, the court will certainly recall the person immediately to save face. But let's avoid a murder. If an official of the fourth rank dies under mysterious circumstances, the aftermath will always be troublesome."

"Understood! Understood!" Shinzaburo indicated that he understood: "As long as they don't die from the ordeal, it's not a big problem."

“You can’t say that… although you’re not wrong.” Master Mingzhou shook his head and said, “A low-ranking official from the family of a minor official is only allowed to be promoted to the palace because he is hardworking. He barely pretends to be a high-ranking official. The Five Regents and Seven Pure Ones will not easily regard him as one of their own.”

Shinzaburo was now confused: "What does it mean to pretend to be a high-ranking official?"

Master Mingzhou paused for a moment, then explained: "In the imperial court, ministers are called 'Gong' (公), while those who hold the rank of third or fourth rank as councilors are called 'Qing' (卿). This is what is meant by 'Gongqing' (公卿)."