Swallow Return

Igawa Asahi paused for a moment, then asked, "In your opinion... even without the support of parents, teachers, or lord, can a bride still enter her husband's family with dignity?"

What nonsense is this?

Liu Yun felt she didn't understand at all, but too lazy to think about it, she simply nodded: "Probably."

“Is that so…” Igawa Asagi said softly, then her calm and confident smile returned: “Very well, please let our anti-demon ninja help you settle these pitiful women and children!”

Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Advanced Nature of the Era

Liu Yun neatly and efficiently handed over the task of communicating with women and children to Jinghe Asaji, that silly girl.

The silly girl was particularly enthusiastic about this matter, even more so than Liu Yun, the main character.

Because she felt it was a matter of life and death for hundreds of people, and a just act.

Liu Yun then asked her to conduct a preliminary survey and statistics to see what the five hundred women themselves thought before making any further plans.

Igawa Asagi readily agreed.

Both parties agreed to continue discussing the issue the following morning.

Meanwhile, Ryuun sent his retainers to Yokoyama Castle to request the conscription roster, hoping to find a list of single lower-ranking samurai and veterans.

He himself did only one serious thing all day: he added his saliva to a rice ball, claiming it was a secret medicine for healing, and made the injured girl with the single ponytail, Rinko, eat it.

It's obviously inconvenient to tell the truth in this situation.

Next, Liu Yun decided to take a break and stroll around the castle town.

I've been to Yokoyama City on business quite a few times, but I've never had time to explore the surrounding area. Isn't that a bit much?

I told my entourage beforehand that if anything happened, they could come to the taverns on the street to find me, and then I went shopping.

……

Before we knew it, it had been two or three months since Liu Yun had left the monastic life to become a warrior.

It was already winter, and even Lake Biwa was starting to have some floating ice, so you can imagine how cold it was. But as long as it wasn't raining or snowing, the castle town at the foot of Yokoyama Castle was never short of visitors.

After all, most business owners are not wealthy merchants or tycoons, but ordinary people.

If people don't go out to work, they will lose their income.

Standing outside in the cold is no big deal. But if you don't earn enough money, you'll starve.

For castle towns in inland areas, early winter is often the busiest time for business.

Nearby farmers and lower-ranking samurai would pack up their autumn harvest and other crops, organized by village, and try to transport them to towns to sell. With a little extra money, they would purchase necessary clothing, tools, household items, or other daily necessities. In this process, small merchants and artisans earned money, which in turn fueled further consumption, creating a chain reaction…

The same applies to the territories under Liu Yun's name.

The difference lies in the fact that Hayami Seibei, a retainer, was very capable. He had arranged for a merchant to sign a unified procurement order in advance, ensuring a relatively favorable price and saving a lot of trouble.

However, not every village has this condition.

Most farmers could only try their luck by bringing their goods to the castle town. They were overjoyed if they sold them for a good price, but if the market was sluggish, they had no choice but to suffer the consequences.

Along the way, Liu Yun didn't see many upscale retail stores, nor did she see many well-dressed people.

The "middle class" may not want to stroll around on this day when farmers come to the city, lest they appear undignified.

The streets were filled with poor people dressed in tattered cotton-padded clothes, pushing carts and driving donkeys to transport goods, gathered in small groups. Most of the young people had expectant expressions, while the elderly were often anxious.

Many vendors were haggling with them, their chattering sounds reminding Liu Yun of the vegetable market in her previous life—it was full of life.

Some lucky villagers sold their goods early at satisfactory prices and happily began shopping. Of course, they would look for the cheapest grocery stores.

A small number of troops patrolled the area to maintain order.

A blue-clad samurai, who appeared to be a town magistrate, stood in the center of the castle town, repeatedly shouting: "Free market! Free market! Free trade, no monopoly! Free trade, no monopoly! Five cents of service fee! Five cents of service fee! Buyer and seller each pay five cents of service fee! Lord Kinoshita specifically ordered that this month, no matter what goods are traded in the castle town, only five cents of service fee will be charged! But if anyone tries to evade even this small amount of service fee, they will be fined at least ten times the amount if caught!"

Around the town magistrate, there were several clerks and scribes doing accounting and recording, and there was a large box for collecting money. Of course, there were also guards protecting the money.

Liu Yun observed for a moment and immediately understood that the "five-point tax" mentioned by the town magistrate meant that in any transaction, both the buyer and seller had to pay five percent of the total transaction amount as a tax.

In modern technical terms, it would be a 10% turnover tax.

This ratio seems quite high, especially considering that the profit margin in grain trading is already quite low...

Liu Yun was a little worried that it might place a heavy burden on the people.

However, after observing for a while, it seemed that everyone was queuing up to honestly pay taxes to the town magistrate.

Moreover, there was generally no resistance or aversion, as if the number was not worth mentioning.

With doubts in mind, Liu Yun strolled around for a while longer, until he reached the edge of the castle town. He was almost in the wilderness, a place where people were scarce, when he finally heard a faint sound of complaint.

A young farmer was calculating intently: "We sold 28.6 shi of grain for 16.6 guan and 600 wen, and paid 830 wen in taxes. Then the merchant who bought the rice also has to pay that much... If we don't transport it to the town below the city and sell it secretly outside, can we save this money?"

Then the old man next to him laughed and said, "What nonsense are you talking about! If you don't bring them here to sell, firstly, you won't know what the price is, and you'll be at the mercy of merchants who will cheat you. Secondly, you'll inevitably encounter people who will swap good money for bad money. It's only under the watchful eye of the city lord that merchants dare not act recklessly!"

The young farmer pouted, a little displeased: "Sure enough, the city lord is the best. He takes so much money in the blink of an eye, and we don't even need to work the land. Otherwise, why would everyone want to be a samurai..."

The old man shook his head and retorted, "You're too young, kid. This year is already pretty good. After paying the public service tax, you still have more than fifteen strings of cash left! Last year, it was about the same amount of grain. There was no such thing as public service tax, but only the three shops designated by the monks had the exclusive right to sell it, and they stuck to the price of four hundred cash per shi. You do the math."

The young farmer counted on his fingers, then exclaimed in astonishment, "Doesn't that mean it can only sell for less than twelve strings of cash? What does this 'monopoly right' mean? Doesn't the monks pocket all the difference? Aren't monks richer than warriors?"

The old man snorted, "Back in the day, weren't monks richer than samurai in this area? Anyone who dared to do business without consulting the monks would be served by monk soldiers! This year, the lord of Owari Province came. People say they've done a lot of bad things, but I didn't see it with my own eyes. I only saw the monks being dealt with, and the rice selling for a good price. We've earned three or four more kan this year than last year, and each of our households will get more than two hundred sen more. That's a truly great thing!"

The young farmer asked in confusion, "Then...the person in charge here before...right, Asai! I heard that this place used to be under the jurisdiction of Lord Asai Bizen, didn't he? What's he doing here? Why isn't he dealing with the monks?"

The old man smiled and said meaningfully, "That's because the Asai family has long been bribed by the monks!"

The young farmer was still puzzled: "Why couldn't the monks bribe the people of Owari?"

The old man paused for a moment, then said, "It's not just about bribery; the Asai family isn't powerful enough to openly confront the monk."

The young farmer pressed for answers: "Then why are the people of Owari so powerful that they dare to break ties with monks? Why can't our samurai lords of Omi do the same?"

The old man, apparently unable to answer, became angry and scolded, "Alright, alright, kid, why do you talk so much nonsense? Will you ever get a wife if you're always thinking about this?"

The young man shrank back, seemingly still unconvinced, but dared not retort.

Then, the farmers, humming some folk song in an unknown tune, pushed their empty carts away, carrying heavy amounts of money.

……

Upon witnessing this scene in the shadows, Liu Yun couldn't help but chuckle.

He had previously entered the Oda clan by chance and became a subordinate of Kinoshita Tokichiro. At the time, he didn't think much of it and just hoped to ride the coattails of the Oda clan and earn some fame and fortune.

However, it seems that the Oda clan still possessed certain advantages compared to other feudal forces.

This brings a subtle sense of pleasure.

At least I'm not aiding and abetting evil for the sake of wealth and glory!

I wouldn't dare call myself a partner of justice, but at least I'm not an accomplice of evil.

After wandering around for a while, Liu Yun was generally satisfied with what he had seen and heard.

It seems that the Oda clan's reform of the commercial order was very effective. The upper class was able to collect taxes without any delay, while the lower class benefited. The "middlemen" who used to curry favor with temples and shrines to bully and monopolize the market were dealt a blow.

This should not be detrimental to the overall improvement of social productivity.

Feeling a bit tired from shopping, Liu Yun went to the decent restaurant where she had a banquet the night before.

It was around 11 a.m., and there were very few customers. Business was slow, so there was no need to go into a private room. We just sat down by the window along the street, ordered some food and drinks, and slowly enjoyed them.

While they were eating and drinking, a stranger suddenly approached them.

Liu Yun turned his head and heard a timid girl's voice:

"Sir, do you need someone to serve you? I can do anything, and the price isn't high..."

Before me was a pretty young girl, about fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing an old, faded, patched but clean coarse cloth shirt. Her face was slightly yellow, and she was very thin, as if she had been malnourished for many years.

The little girl seemed to be trying her best to put on a gentle and alluring business smile, but she was obviously very inexperienced, her limbs trembling and her voice stammering.

I don't know how much courage it took to dare to actively "attract customers".

Liu Yun felt something was strange.

It's not uncommon for there to be prostitutes in castle towns who engage in shady businesses.

But the naive and timid little girl in front of me didn't seem like a professional at all; instead, she seemed like a victim forced by the gang to come out and solicit customers for the first time.

Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that she is deliberately feigning innocence.

But how could a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl have that kind of acting skills?

Liu Yun suddenly felt a mixture of curiosity and pity.

Chapter Sixty: Seeing Injustice

Just then, a waiter from the tavern came over with a wooden tray of food. Upon seeing the young girl, he immediately frowned and sternly reprimanded her, "This is a high-class establishment. Please do not come in casually; it will cause trouble for our distinguished guests!"

The little girl trembled slightly from the scolding, her eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she hunched her shoulders and walked out.

"Wait a minute!" Liu Yun waved his hand and said, "Let this girl stay; I need to talk to her."

The waiter was taken aback for a moment, then immediately changed to a fawning expression, bowing and saying, "If you require this service, sir, although we don't offer it, you can contact the most upscale courtesan nearby right away! There's no need to bother with this..."

Liu Yun frowned, took out a Yongle coin as a tip and threw it out, interrupting, "This is none of your business, you can leave now."

The waiter was overjoyed to receive a tip—and not just any cheap, illegally minted coins, but Yongle coins worth four times their face value. Without another word, he respectfully handed over the food tray, bowed, and said, "Sir, your food and drink are served. Please enjoy!"

He then hurriedly left.

The fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl was overjoyed at the sight and quickly rushed forward, bowing repeatedly and saying, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! I can do anything to make you happy!"

Liu Yun shook his head expressionlessly and pointed to the seat opposite him.

The young girl paused, puzzled, then carefully and slowly sat down, timidly asking, "What are your orders, sir?"

Liu Yun slowly drank a cup of wine, sighed, and asked, "Tell me about your situation! Did something happen at home, or were you forced into this?"

Upon hearing this, the young girl looked flustered and forced a smile: "Sir, you're joking, it's not like that..."

Liu Yun calmly interrupted the other party's clumsy lie: "Telling the truth won't do you any harm."

The girl across from him looked up in surprise.

Then, the moment her eyes met Liu Yun's, she immediately lost her composure and could no longer lie.

This is because Liu Yun has already integrated the bewitching red jade into his body, and his every word and action, even without deliberate effort, naturally carries a mysterious supernatural power.

When faced with an ordinary person whose mind is not firm enough, just one look is enough to make them submit and obey orders.