The Self-Cultivation of Warring States Warriors

Page 3

So you mean that cattle and horses are more valuable than people?

Having received clear instructions from "Lord Otana," Kumakichi and Hashisuke decided to take their leave.

At that moment, Old Man Jinbing glanced over and gestured to his sons. Shinzaburo understood after a moment's thought and quickly stood up, saying, "It's so hot today, you two uncles must be working hard. Come inside, have some water and something to eat, and rest before continuing your work!"

Kumakichi and Hashisuke exchanged a glance, but did not refuse. They carefully followed him into the house, sat down respectfully, and said with smiles on their faces, "Shinzaburo is so mature for his age. He will definitely be able to take over Otomi-sama's job in the future."

Jin Bingwei's father chuckled a few times, patted his son's shoulder, and said, "This kid has a long way to go! He needs more experience."

Shinzaburo himself was always too lazy to do anything, so he adopted the posture of an elder brother and instructed his younger brother to brew some cheap tea and his younger sister to bring out some real mulberries grown in the village to entertain the guests. Kumakichi and Hashisuke accepted the offerings respectfully and cautiously as always.

Everyone sat together and chatted about trivial family matters.

It can be said that both the host and guests had a pleasant time.

However, Shinzaburo was still thinking about what had just happened. After a while, he couldn't help but ask, "That kid from the neighboring Takeda Village, knowing it was forbidden, still dared to go up the mountain. What was his reason?"

The sallow-faced and thin Xiong Ji replied with a sneer, "I heard that guy's mother is sick and he has no money to see a doctor, so he's hoping to steal some herbs from the mountain to cure her illness and catch a pheasant to help him recover. But the mountain now belongs to us, how can we allow him to act recklessly?"

The dark-faced, short-statured Hashisuke shook his head and sighed, "That kid is quite pitiful, but rules are rules. How can we, Kubo Village, let outsiders bully us?"

Upon hearing this, Shinzaburo remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Actually, the reason our Kubo Village hasn't fallen to the same miserable state as Takeda Village is all thanks to the protection of the high monks at Kofuku-ji Temple. And these high monks taught us to be kind to others and to have compassion in our hearts. Today, the person from Takeda Village who went up the mountain to gather herbs did indeed break the agreement, but ultimately there was a reason for it. If we let that herb-stealing brat pull the stone mortar, and he ends up getting sick, wouldn't that seem too heartless and betray the high monks' teachings?"

With this grand gesture, Xiongji and Qiaozhu looked at each other in bewilderment, not daring to speak, waiting for their father, Jinbingwei, to give the order.

On the contrary, Shingoro, that cute little boy, squatted in the corner and complained, "The high monks always talk about compassion, but when the monk soldiers are collecting debts and rent, they're the most ruthless..."

Upon hearing this, Jin Bingwei's father's expression changed. He leaped up and slapped Jin Bingwei several times across the face, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting, brat? High monks have their own methods for handling things. How dare you criticize them?"

Little Shingoro, bewildered, held his swollen face, turned away, and burst into tears.

Seeing this, Jin Bingwei's father became even angrier and kicked the child's buttocks twice more.

So the nine-year-old Shingoro didn't even dare to cry anymore.

Twelve-year-old A-Li, a little girl, quickly stepped forward and whispered words of comfort to him.

Then Jin Bingwei's father finally caught his breath, slowly sat back down, and said with a stern face, "Even a high monk will not be merciful; he will deal with evildoers with heavy blows."

“Father is right. However—” Shinzaburo glanced at his younger brother who had been beaten, sighed inwardly, and said slowly, “However, when to be merciful and when to be ruthless is up to the high monk himself to decide.”

“What you’re saying… is… well…” Old Man Jin Bingwei pondered for a moment, then asked doubtfully, “You mean, we shouldn’t make a decision on our own, but instead go to the monks at Guangfu Temple to ask how to deal with that kid from Takeda Village?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.” Shinzaburo nodded and added, “Since the contract was signed back then stipulating that the villagers of Takeda could not go up the mountain until they paid off their debts, and the monks of Kofukuji Temple were there to witness it, it’s only natural to ask them to handle the problem now that it’s in trouble.”

"But would Kōfukuji Temple be willing to deal with such a trivial matter?" Old Man Kinbei frowned and stroked his beard, still not quite understanding, but he seemed to have grasped something and did not immediately reject the suggestion.

“They’d be more than happy to get involved.” Shinzaburo recalled his past life of presenting PowerPoint presentations to investors, adopting a confident demeanor as he spoke eloquently: “Think about it, why does Kofukuji Temple protect our Kubo Village? Is it really just for candied chestnuts? Their intervention to stop the Naito family, the guardian deity, from raising taxes is simply to demonstrate their power. So now that there’s an opportunity to intervene in a dispute between villages, isn’t this a perfect chance to further demonstrate their power?”

Moreover, there is a considerable probability that he will treat the case leniently to win over the people's hearts—this last part was not said by Shinzaburo.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Bingwei's father seemed to be deep in thought, and lowered his head to ponder for a long time.

Both the pale-faced and thin Kumakichi and the dark-faced and short Hashisuke looked blank, as if they hadn't understood at all.

Shingoro, the little boy who was still groaning in pain in the corner, seemed to understand something, and a look of sudden realization crossed his face. Ari, the little girl, however, was only focused on comforting her mischievous little brother.

Shinzaburo didn't say anything more.

We've done everything we could.

All that's left is to pray that the young man who risked his life to climb the mountain to get treatment for his mother will have good luck.

More importantly, he also wanted to take this opportunity to test whether the unspoken rules of local politics were as he had expected.

004 In the name of Kōfuku-ji Temple

Kinbei's father was quite receptive to advice and listened to Shingoro's words.

So they first locked up the young man from the neighboring Zhutian Village who had secretly gone up the mountain to collect herbs, and sent a letter to Guangfu Temple to inquire about how to handle the situation; at the same time, they sent someone to get a prescription of medicine to Zhutian Village to treat the perpetrator's mother, and said to them: Although the rules cannot be abandoned, the friendship between neighbors must still be upheld.

What happened next was exactly what Shingoro had expected.

As expected, Kofukuji Temple was very keen to meddle in the trivial matters of the villagers, and soon sent a team to Kubo Village.

The leader was a burly monk riding a white horse and wearing a blue robe, followed by seven or eight robust followers.

The monk was called "Master Zongshan," and it seemed he held some status at Guangfu Temple.

This greatly encouraged Shinzaburo, who felt that his predictions about the political rules of the era were correct.

Unfortunately, the monk appeared kind and approachable on the surface, but in reality he was not at all friendly. He would only discuss serious matters in private with his acquaintance, Old Man Jinbingwei, and when facing other villagers, he would only offer polite words like "Amitabha."

Of course, for ordinary people, being able to meet a high monk and exchange a few words is already considered an honor and a great privilege. They would not even have the thought of asking any questions.

Only Shinzaburo was rather depressed.

Despite the fact that Old Man Jin Bingwei had specifically said, "This is the son who will inherit the family business in the future," the senior monk didn't pay much attention to him, only chuckling and casually praising, "He's quite tall! Very good!"

It's over.

I had originally hoped to gain Master Zongshan's favor and seek some opportunities for "class advancement," but it seems that was just wishful thinking.

Even the seven or eight attendants around the old monk were not people of any status; they were merely using the old monk's power to intimidate others. Yet, they all acted arrogantly and rarely paid attention to outsiders.

Shinzaburo had no choice but to temporarily abandon his idea of ​​clinging to a powerful figure.

The great monk Zongshan, perhaps disliking the accommodations, didn't stay in the village long. He asked some questions to Old Man Jinbingwei, then made two rounds of visits to Kubo Village and Takeda Village. After that, he went to the scene of the incident—the small "Nishifune Mountain" between the two villages—and ordered his attendants to bring him pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and wrote a petition.

The content is——

First, to reiterate, before the debts between the two villages are settled, Nishisen Mountain belongs to Kubo Village, and the people of Takeda Village are not allowed to go up the mountain to collect herbs, hunt, or cut down trees without permission.

Secondly, this time it was a villager from Takeda Village named Kozaemon who breached the contract first, and his arrest and imprisonment were entirely his own fault. However, considering the minor nature of his offense, he was treated leniently, ordered to pay Kubo Village only 500 mon in compensation, and no other punishment was imposed.

Third, the five hundred coins were paid by the monk Zongshan. Afterwards, the person involved, Kozaemon, worked for the temple for several days to repay the debt.

The above three articles were signed in the name of Guangfu Temple. Anyone who refuses to comply will incur the "displeasure of Buddha." Of course, if it really comes to that, there's no need for Buddha to intervene; the temple's monks can handle the matter themselves.

Overall, the solution proposed by Master Zongshan was relatively lenient and satisfactory to all parties.

Making the perpetrator work at the temple to pay off the debt seems similar to what Old Man Jinbingwei had thought before, but the workload is completely different. Doing odd jobs at the temple is definitely much easier than helping Kubomura grind wheat with a stone mortar and pestle; at least it won't cause him any health problems.

Then, Kubo Village received 500 mon as compensation, enough to hold a small festival or repair the well, which was a happy thing.

Of course, in Shinzaburo's opinion, the happiest people were definitely the monks of Kofukuji Temple.

Because 16th-century Japan was a feudal world lacking written law, society operated more on conventions and customs, and there was no clear division of power between different classes.

Now that Guangfu Temple has set a precedent for interfering in the internal affairs of the villagers, it can simply repeat this practice over and over again. As time goes on and the repetitions increase, it will become a customary practice, which will be enough to claim that this is a rule "since ancient times".

This is exactly what Shinzaburo wanted to see.

After all, Kinbei's father had been sending candied chestnuts to Kofuku-ji Temple for years and had a good relationship with the monks. His previous talk about getting the Naito family to help him obtain samurai status was probably only possible because of Kofuku-ji Temple's influence.

……

In the afternoon, the senior monk, whose Dharma name was "Zongshan," finished his business and was about to leave, seemingly not wanting to stay in the village any longer.

Before leaving, he instructed Old Man Kinbei, saying, "In the past few years, the Naito family, the deputy governor of Tanba, has issued conscription orders several times, and my temple has pleaded on behalf of your village, reducing many conscriptions. But the situation is different this year. If the Naito family issues another conscription order, your Kubo village will have to serve obediently. It is not convenient for my temple to speak."

Upon hearing this, Jin Bingwei's father was quite surprised and immediately bowed to inquire about the reason.

The abbot Zongshan was quite patient and explained in a low voice, "In the past, the Naito family had only minor squabbles with other powerful families in Tanba Province. This time, however, it is Lord Miyoshi Chikuzen of Kinai who has gathered forces to overthrow Hosokawa Kanrei. The Naito family is merely following in the footsteps of the Miyoshi family. This matter is of great importance, and it is not appropriate for our temple to get involved."

After saying this, without waiting to see if the other party understood, he waved his sleeve, mounted his horse, and rode away with his entourage.

Jin Bingwei's father stared in disbelief, frozen in place, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Shinzaburo, standing to the side, was a history enthusiast from a previous life and had figured it out.

The so-called "Miyoshi Chikuzen" should be Miyoshi Nagayoshi, and "Hosokawa Kanrei" is naturally Hosokawa Harumoto.

Judging by the timeline, it seems that Miyoshi Nagayoshi's defeat of Hosokawa Harumoto and his monopoly of power in the Kinki region did indeed occur within the last two years. Further defeats of Hatakeyama and Rokkaku, the exile of the Ashikaga Shogun, and the establishment of his "Vice-King of Japan" empire were probably not far off.

As for whether the Naito family, the guardians of Tanba, sided with Miyoshi, I didn't pay much attention to that in my past life. From what I've seen so far, it seems they did.

Thinking about it this way, Guangfu Temple—and even the Rinzai sect to which it belongs—does seem to have a tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong.

Faced with the weakened Naito family, they dared to strike hard and seize control of the grassroots voice.

The powerful Miyoshi family was involved, but they said it was "inconvenient to get involved."

That's so realistic.

Upon hearing this, Shinzaburo became even more eager to talk to the great monk of the Zongshan Temple and demonstrate his ability to predict the "general trend of the world".

Unfortunately, they simply ignored you and didn't give you a chance to speak.

……

As the monk Zongshan had predicted, a few days later several samurai arrived at Yagi Castle from the Naito family and issued a "Military Service Order," requiring Kubo Village to provide at least "two fully equipped men, ten guns, and eight nagas" to report to Yagi Castle within one day.

That means we need two men in armor, ten men with spears, and eight men carrying loads.

It was stipulated that all equipment must be provided by the villagers themselves, and they must bring seven days' worth of rations. If the war had not ended within seven days, the Naito family would provide food supplies. If the war lasted more than thirty days, the participating villages would be exempt from paying the annual tribute and the village tax for the following year. If the war lasted more than ninety days, the annual tribute for the following summer would be further exempted.

At first glance, it seems like a very grand undertaking.

If this battle turns into a protracted stalemate that lasts for more than ninety days, all the village's annual taxes for the following year, including the village's annual tax, the summer tax, and the summer tax, will be waived, leaving only the autumn tax. Your Naito family's income will be reduced by more than half, and your whole family will starve.

Perhaps the Miyoshi family promised enough benefits?

In short, the transactions conducted by the upper echelons had little to do with ordinary people. The villagers of Kubo were only concerned with the possibility of being exempted from taxes.

Of course, Kim Bing-wei's father wasn't too happy about this. If the tax was really exempted, where would he get the opportunity to embezzle funds?

However, despite their dissatisfaction, they dared not show it, as they still had to do the work of "Name B".

First, we need to send these samurai who came to issue the "military service order" back to Yagi Castle.

Those gentlemen should have just issued a notice and been done with it, but when they got to the village, they wandered around looking for faults, insisting that they had seen some "suspicious new faces" and that they needed to investigate them carefully.

Old Man Jinbingwei skillfully prepared a feast, cooking rice with the white rice he usually couldn't bear to eat, and had people quickly catch river fish and pheasants to properly entertain the "distinguished guests" from Yagi Castle.

After serving those people their fill, I prepared several red envelopes, giving the leading warrior fifty coins and the others thirty coins each, and finally sent these plagues away.

As for the matter of "investigating unfamiliar faces," it was left unresolved.

Next, it will be time to formally handle military service arrangements.

Kubo Village has a total of over forty households and one hundred and fifty people, but only about thirty able-bodied men are fit to fight. After a simple screening and drawing lots process with little room for maneuver, ten men with rifles at home were quickly selected, known as the "Ten Gunners," and eight poor men who couldn't even afford rifles were selected as the "Eight Little Lotus Men."

What about "two people with complete possessions"?

There was no room for choice; in the entire Kubo village, only the village chief's family had two rough, old suits of armor. Therefore, these two spots naturally had to be given to Kinbei's father and Shinzaburo.

Shinzaburo said thankfully, "Fortunately, this 'Military Service Order' only requires two people. If it required three, wouldn't our Kubo Village be unable to gather enough?"

Jin Bingwei's father didn't seem to care: "It's no big deal if we can't gather enough. It'll just cost us a few hundred coins to bribe them. It's not hard to get away with it."

Shinzaburo was quite surprised to hear this.

Shouldn't military service be the primary political matter for powerful families during the Warring States period?

You can even fool people with this? How exactly does the Naito family, the guardians of Tanba, manage to survive...?

005 Even the King of Hell's minions are hard to deal with.

Shinsaburo was quite uneasy when he was suddenly told he had to go to war.

In my past life, I lived in a peaceful era and never saw a battlefield, but I still knew the saying "swords have no eyes." What if I were to take two serious blows? Even if I was lucky enough not to die on the spot, I would most likely end up dying from an illness afterward. What should I do?

Fortunately, Kinbei's father advised them, "The Naito family has at least one or two hundred samurai, so it's not like we farmers are the ones leading the charge. We'll only go up to collect the loot if we win the battle. If things turn bad, we can just run away. As long as we can walk, nothing serious will happen."

Shinzaburo was still uneasy and pressed further, "What if the enemy samurai are chasing us on horseback? How can two legs outrun four?"

Old Man Jinbingwei laughed and said, "If those samurai on horseback were to chase after someone, it would be a renowned master of the Naito family. Why would they care about us? What are our heads worth?"

Shinzaburo gradually calmed down.

On the one hand, she genuinely felt that what Kim Bingwei's father said made sense; on the other hand, she knew she couldn't escape the assigned military service, and there was no use in rushing.

He immediately packed his belongings and valuables.

The next morning, after washing up and eating, he packed his rations and weapons, instructed his younger brother Shingoro and younger sister Ari to look after the house, and together with other villagers who had also joined the military service, he assembled a team of twenty men and set off for Yagi Castle, the residence of the Naito family.

The "Eight Little Lotus Men" were responsible for transportation and did not go to the battlefield, so they all wore linen clothes that were easy to work in, carried tools such as carrying poles and bamboo baskets, and had short knives tucked into their waistbands for self-defense.

The "ten armed soldiers" each carried a long spear. The shafts were made of different materials, but they all had an iron tip. Although there were no requirements for protective gear, since they were going to the battlefield, these peasant soldiers who could not afford armor still wore straw hats, raincoats, or other heavy clothing for self-defense.

The two people we met before, "Kumakichi" and "Hashisuke", are among them.

Kinbei and his son Shinzaburo were undoubtedly the best equipped. In addition to the essential long spear, each of them had an old set of iron-woven saddlecloths, and they also had a naginata and a short spear as spares. They also had leather caps and foot-mounted saddlecloths, among other equipment.

Of course, there's no need to be fully armed when traveling. We have the "Eight Little Lotus Men" with us, so let's make the most of them and have them help carry our armor.