Swallow Return

Although in his previous life, when watching hypnosis-themed hentai anime, Liu Yun was quite envious and jealous of those villainous male protagonists...

But deep down he still possessed a sense of justice and conscience, and he deeply understood that such behavior was extremely evil. He was just secretly envious and jealous, and had no intention of putting it into practice.

Even after obtaining the "bewitching power," Liu Yun was very cautious and never abused it, nor did he use it to bully innocent girls.

However, what if it was unintentional, something that unknowingly affected Miss Igawa...

What should we do then?

It's a very troublesome problem; I have to take responsibility for the romantic entanglements I've incurred.

As for how to take responsibility... well... we can talk about that later. In short, we must be firm in our attitude and not shirk or waver.

Liu Yun spent a long time lost in thought in the room, and then Miss Jinghe appeared in front of him again.

At this moment, her face was still slightly flushed, and she seemed a little awkward and shy. Compared to her usual heroic demeanor, she was more like an ordinary girl of this era.

For some reason, Miss Igawa was overly respectful, even a little awe-inspiring, and said cautiously and softly, "Lord Sasaki, all my team members agree to accept your employment, especially Rinko, Hoshi, and Komurasaki, who are very happy. So I have decided to accept their suggestion."

Liu Yun asked with some doubt, "So, Miss Jinghe, you yourself are not very willing?"

Miss Igawa's gaze immediately darted around, and she looked extremely embarrassed. She coughed forcefully before regaining her composure, then stood tall and said in an unwavering tone, "Lord Sasaki, you are not only willing to pay for my services, but you also allow me to revive the Tendai sect's mountain gate nearby. I am extremely grateful, how could I possibly refuse?"

Liu Yun then asked, "This shouldn't cause any conflict between you and other members of the 'Buddhist Revival Party,' right?"

Miss Jinghe's momentum faltered slightly, and she shook her head sadly: "The so-called Revival Party is nothing but a rabble. They are not subordinate to each other."

Liu Yun finally felt relieved.

He immediately summoned everyone in his household and informed them that an elite mercenary force would be there to protect their home, and they would no longer have to worry about monster attacks.

Iori accepted this calmly, her expression as if she had expected it and was not surprised at all.

Saeko stood guard beside her, seemingly sharing a common enemy, lost in thought.

The retainers reacted in various ways, generally showing some surprise and subtle resistance, but dared not refute Liu Yun because of his prestige.

Hayami Kiyobei ​​asked, "May I ask, my lord, what did these... um... these elite mercenary ladies do before?"

Liu Yun revealed, "I used to be a subordinate of Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, but things are different now. We are friends now, not enemies."

Hayami Seibei then said no more.

Then, Eguchi Sukezaemon hesitated for a moment and questioned, "Since they are helpers recruited by our lord, they must be trustworthy. But are these girls truly elite warriors?"

Liu Yun shook his head and said, "Don't worry about that! With six or seven of them working together, even I would be exhausted."

Seeing this, Eguchi Sukezaemon had no further objections.

Liu Yun then asked Miss Jinghe to introduce the group members in detail.

Based on seniority and strength, first is the oldest woman with a short bun, with a gentle and kind face, who can summon lightning, Shiranui; then comes the female swordsman with a single ponytail, who seems a bit icy, and has mastered the secret technique of teleportation, Rinko.

I do remember these two people.

The tomboyish Sui Xi and Xiao Zi, who had been saved by Liu Yun, had met once before.

Shiranui's daughter and Asagi's sister are also members, but they do seem to have practiced, so they're not just friends and family.

There was also a woman skilled in healing and a girl who used fire-style techniques.

There are nine people in total, including Captain Igawa.

They were all eye-catching women, each with their own unique charm, some plump and some slender. Standing together, one would wonder whether the criteria for selecting members for the Demon Ninja organization back then were based on strength or appearance.

Their attitude was also a bit strange; it seemed that everyone had some admiration for Liu Yun.

But this is obviously not very reasonable. Liu Yun thinks it might be a delusion caused by his own overconfidence.

Probably...

Liu Yun remembered all the names and concluded with a smile, "Then the safety of Sasaki Village will be in your hands from now on. I hope you won't find the monthly commission of thirty kan too little."

Miss Igawa quickly denied it: "Thirty kan is enough for us to live like we did when we returned to Mount Hiei. Not to mention that you have also provided basic food and lodging... I just think the amount is too high and I'm worried that it will cause you trouble."

Generally speaking, the demon ninjas are a group of women who have long lived in high society and don't quite understand the cost of daily necessities.

Otherwise, Miss Igawa wouldn't have said she was "worried about causing trouble," but would have been surprised by Ryuun's generosity.

Hayami Seibei, Eguchi Sukezaemon, the old monk Okikawa, and the young monk Suifu were all stunned when they heard this number.

Based on a 50% annual tribute and a price of 400 wen per shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, the monthly commission of 30 guan (another unit of dry measure) is equivalent to 1,800 shi of zhixing (a unit of dry measure). This size of land is enough to support twenty lower-ranking samurai, or hundreds of peasant soldiers.

Moreover, this is still an ideal situation. In reality, due to various natural disasters and man-made calamities, income from the land is unstable.

The Sasaki family territory controlled by Ryuun only amounted to a little over two thousand koku.

He is able to pay this salary now purely because of the rewards and gifts he has received over the past few months, which total several hundred taels of gold and silver, equivalent to four or five hundred strings of cash.

However, this is only enough to last for a year.

The retainers exchanged glances, and Junior Brother Suifeng asked, "The person Senior Brother recruited must be reliable. However, thirty strings of cash per month, that's three hundred and sixty strings per year... Won't that be a huge burden on the territory?"

Liu Yun remained calm and optimistic: "Don't worry, we'll find a solution soon."

It's time to deliver on Nobunaga's promise of a 10,000-koku territory.

Chapter 125 Siege of Xiaogu City

"After the burning of Mount Hiei, I've personally experienced another major event." As a history enthusiast, Liu Yun felt a little excited.

The castle flying the Asai family flag has become a completely isolated stronghold, surrounded by tens of thousands of troops, and its destruction is probably imminent.

The Takeda clan of Kai had completely returned to the capital, inflicting heavy losses on Tokugawa Ieyasu, but ultimately failing to completely defeat him.

Rumors were already rampant that the withdrawal was due to the death of Takeda Shingen. The Takeda clan denied this, insisting that he was "seriously ill and recuperating," but the public believed it without question. It's perhaps human nature to believe and spread rumors.

After several months of delay, the Asakura clan of Echizen finally sent reinforcements, but they had clearly missed the best opportunity and were routed in a single battle by the Oda army, which was at the peak of its morale. Seeing this, more than half of the retainers turned against them, and Asakura Yoshikage himself was killed by his cousin.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the Oda clan actually took over Echizen. Rebels who defected were only after devouring the corpses of their former lords; how could they possibly have much loyalty?

In addition, in the southwest, the Miyoshi Triumvirate, the Rokkaku Remnants, Matsunaga Hisahide and others either fled in defeat or were forced to submit; the Ikko-shu disciples in Ishiyama and Nagashima only knew how to defend their territory and refused to go out to fight.

The Oda encirclement was now crumbling. Oda Nobunaga was finally able to free up his forces to mobilize 50,000 troops to besiege the last remaining stronghold, Azai Nagamasa, at Odani Castle.

……

Odani Castle, built atop the peaks of Mount Ibe, is a typical "mountain castle" that prioritized defense over economic benefits.

Between Mount Ibe and Lake Biwa lies a vast plain of about sixty square kilometers, with fertile land and convenient transportation, where the Oda clan's army was stationed.

Liu Yun also brought his own small team to join the battle.

With the demon ninja protecting the house, I can now leave with peace of mind.

At first, the villagers didn't believe that those beautiful and well-built young women could be that powerful; they all thought it was just the lord playing some kind of frivolous game. It wasn't until one day, when they killed two ferocious dog demons as strong as water buffaloes, that they all began to look at them with new respect.

In just over a year, Sasaki Village received many preferential policies from Kinoshita Tokichiro regarding tribute and military service, which allowed it to quickly recover and attract many refugees, thus ensuring a sufficient manpower base.

So this time, Ryuun brought more than twenty wealthy peasants who were capable of providing their own armor and weapons, and more than twenty poor soldiers with rudimentary equipment. The former had some fighting ability, while the latter were mainly responsible for logistical support. There was also the only mounted samurai, Eguchi Sukezaemon.

The five little spirits that Toragozen entrusted to him before his death—whom Miss Igawa and Shigeharu Takenaka said should be called mountain spirits—also followed.

The five little mountain spirits, lacking in intelligence, regarded Ryuun as their clan leader and obeyed him unconditionally. Apart from that, they were only somewhat familiar with Saeko and couldn't take orders from anyone else. Ryuun ordered his men to specially make suitable armor and weapons, and had Saeko and the five little mountain spirits serve as his personal guards.

Today marks the first time that Liu Yun has truly acted like a minor lord in feudal times, responding to the call of his superior and leading his soldiers into battle.

According to common sense in this world, daimyo would make requirements regarding the number and type of soldiers their vassals would provide. Each time a vassal arrived at the designated assembly point, they would be counted by the military commissioner. After verifying that the quantity and quality were correct, a "certificate of arrival" would be issued.

The "delivery certificate" functions similarly to a receipt; it is an important document indicating that the party concerned has indeed fulfilled their obligations.

However, Oda Nobunaga always valued efficiency over law and order. He felt that counting the number of soldiers of all his retainers one by one was too troublesome, so he simply skipped the step.

In Nobunaga's view, results are the most crucial thing.

As long as you are good at fighting, it doesn't matter if you send fewer men into battle; you won't be accused of "drawing a salary without working." On the contrary, a retainer who is ineffective in battle will still be scolded as useless, even if he always brings enough men.

Therefore, when Ryuun came here today, he only briefly met Sasa Narimasa and Takei Yuan, who were under Nobunaga's command, as a form of reporting for duty. He was then assigned to a garrison, given two bags of provisions, and that was it.

As for being harassed by petty officials, that's even more impossible.

Quite a few colleagues took the opportunity to try and get close to Liu Yun during their free time.

Most of them were local gentry of low status from the vicinity of Omi, probably wanting to establish a connection with the "rising star" in order to gain a foothold in the Oda clan. There were also some who had no vested interests and were simply there for the fun of it or to make friends.

However, Liu Yun didn't have time to pay attention to these people.

He was soon summoned to the central command post by a messenger.

Given the immense power of the Oda clan, only high-ranking samurai with territories of at least 30,000 to 50,000 koku would be qualified to participate in the military council. The fact that Ryuun was summoned can only be described as an exceptional promotion.

This made his colleagues even more eager to befriend him.

Many people simply stopped and stood at the entrance of Liuyun's camp, waiting.

……

Passing through countless military camps and stepping into layers of curtains, at the deepest core of the main camp, Oda Nobunaga sat in the very center, flanked by seven or eight senior retainers on each side.

The young men who brought Liu Yunlai gave a brief introduction. From left to right, they were Sakuma Nobumori, Shibata Katsuie, Niwa Nagahide, Takikawa Kazumasu, Saito Nagaru, Kinoshita Tokichiro, Hanawa Naomasa, and Ikeda Tsuneoki; from right to right, they were Akechi Mitsuhide, Isono Kazumasa, Muto Shunsuke, Ando Morishige, Inaba Yoshimichi, Gamo Kensuke, and Yamaoka Kagetaka.

These two rows of high-ranking officials, some exuding a very obvious "aura of strength," their extraordinary abilities immediately apparent. Others, however, showed no remarkable qualities, appearing no different from ordinary lower-ranking samurai. It's unclear how they were seated.

Fifteen or sixteen names, presented all at once, were difficult to match with their appearances one by one. Liu Yun only vaguely remembered the most famous ones from history.

Following Liu Yun in was a refined-looking young man.

Oda Nobunaga, always impatient, spoke up: "Odani Castle is within our grasp, but there is one thing that is still difficult to decide. Let the result of your duel be the final decision!"

These words came out of nowhere, and Liu Yun couldn't understand what they meant at all.

The refined-looking young man next to him also looked completely bewildered.

Fortunately, the Oda family's guards were used to this kind of situation and immediately stepped forward to explain.

It turned out that when assigning siege formations, there was a special task that both Akechi Mitsuhide and Kinoshita Tokichiro wanted to take on, which created a bit of competition between them.

It's not about vying for the vanguard position where it's easiest to make a contribution.

What they were vying for was the mission to go around to the back of the mountain and help a certain important person leave the city.

That important person was Oda Nobunaga's younger sister, named Oichi.

Back then, the Oda clan allied with the Asai clan, and Oichi married Asai Nagamasa. Now that the alliance has broken down, the Asai clan is on the verge of destruction. However, Nobunaga still values ​​his younger sister very much and has already strategically placed spies in the castle, hoping to send a capable and clever team to sneak around to the back gate and rescue his sister from the inside.

While there was no chance to achieve great feats like capturing enemy generals and seizing flags by carrying out this mission, it offered an opportunity to build a closer relationship with the lord. Both Akechi Mitsuhide and Kinoshita Tokichiro, being intelligent individuals, eagerly volunteered.

Nobunaga said, "You two are both good fighters and clever, and we can't decide who to send right away. Why don't we each send one person to have a martial arts contest, and whoever wins will get the opportunity?"