The Self-Cultivation of Warring States Warriors

Kubo Shinzaburo, along with Matsunaga Magoroku, first went to Yagi Castle to report to Akazawa Kaga no Kami, a senior retainer of the Naito family who was stationed there. Then they joined up with the other reserve troops in Funai District, forming a force of 2,300 men, and headed west to the front lines to join the battle.

After that, the other officials no longer needed to report to Matsunaga Nagayori; this "Akasawa Kaga no Kami" could do it for them.

But since Matsunaga Sonroku was a relative of the leader, he insisted on showing his face, and no one was foolish enough to stop him.

Thanks to him, Kubo Shinzaburo also got to see the faces of some "guest generals". They were "Takeuchi Shimosō no Kami" and "Warein Mikawa no Kami" from Settsu Province, and "Yitei Saemon no Jō" and "Yamaguchi Rokurō" from Yamashiro Province, among others.

They surrounded Matsunaga Nagayori, chatting and laughing with Matsunaga Magoroku with ease, clearly all trusted confidants and assistants of the Matsunaga family.

During this time, some people said that although the Tanba people were brave and fierce, their equipment was too poor and they were probably not as reliable as the troops from Settsu and Yamashiro.

Matsunaga Sunroku disagreed and came to Kubo Village to give examples, insisting that some villages in Tanba were also well-equipped with military forces.

Then, several guest generals and Matsunaga Nagayori went to take a look. They saw five armored spearmen, five lightly armed spearmen, and six archers, and they all expressed their appreciation.

At this moment, Matsunaga Nagayori stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "The person who received the letter from Lord Hosokawa Kyōjō the other day, Kubo Shinzaburo, comes from this village. He has already dealt with 'Tanba Oni' Hatano Munetaka and challenged him to a duel. In our opinion, if Shinzaburo can slay 'Tanba Oni,' he will be worthy of being called 'Tanba Zhong Kui'!"

So Kubo Shinzaburo was specially summoned and had several guests praise him.

It's a bit like when you were in the city in your previous life, and you would perform your talents for relatives to watch during the Lunar New Year.

All I could do was give an awkward yet polite smile.

Someone else said, "I think this Shinsaburo is capable of commanding the reserve force on his own. Why don't we let Lord Sun come to the main camp and see how to command troops? He might find it useful in the future!"

Then Matsunaga Nagayori nodded and said, "That makes sense! Then let this kid serve as the 'envoy leader' in this battle, to help us pass on military orders, and also to see how the elders lead their subordinates."

With just one sentence, Shinzaburo Kubo was instantly upgraded.

Since Matsunaga Magoroku had other duties, he became the commander of the 220-man Noguchi-gō reserve force.

As is customary, the "Little Lotus" group, which consists of seventy or eighty people, will be handed over to "Little Lotus Executive" for management, so there is no need to worry about it.

But the remaining 140 peasant soldiers were equivalent to a company in the 21st century.

Shinzaburo Kubo had almost no experience and was directly appointed as company commander on the spot.

I couldn't help but feel very uneasy.

However, Matsunaga Nagayori said personally: "All samurai men start from nothing, as long as they follow orders and advance and retreat in an orderly manner. Besides, your reserve force will not bear too heavy a task in this battle, so there is no need to worry."

What can we do when the leader says that?

I just had to bite the bullet.

I recall hearing a story in my past life about Chosokabe Motochika of Tosa. When he first went into battle, he didn't know how to use a spear and had to ask his retainer for help... This was a proper samurai family, and he could be so abstract. So what do I have to complain about?

However, when the military orders were distributed, Kubo Shinzaburo realized that Matsunaga Nagayasu was not really unreliable after all.

He ordered "Yitei Saemon-no-jo" to lead a thousand soldiers from Yamashiro Province to threaten Honme Castle on the eastern border of the Hatano family, while "Takeuchi Shimosō-no-kami" led two thousand five hundred Settsu soldiers to make a detour and block the enemy's support route in advance.

As for the 2,300 men from Tanba Funai County, they were under the command of Akazawa Kaga no Kami, a senior retainer of the Naito family, and served as the "rear guard" to support the besieging forces.

Some local "ambitious youths" may be dissatisfied with this formation strategy that relies entirely on visiting troops as the main force, but Shinzaburo Kubo is not among them.

He thought it was fantastic to be able to sneak around fishing in the back.

Although as a samurai, I will definitely have to participate in some fierce battles in the future, I should at least get familiar with the battlefield first.

You're so young, what's the rush?

……

Logically, if this side sets up its formation to attack, the enemy should also have some kind of reaction.

However, according to the intelligence sent back by the "monomimi bantou" (a type of intelligence officer), the Hatano clan's troops were stationed in several fortified castles and showed no intention of making a move easily. Most of their main force was at their headquarters, Hachikami Castle.

Perhaps considering the disparity in numbers, they do not intend to engage in field combat.

After all, the Hatano family, including their affiliated forces, numbered at most three or four thousand, while Matsunaga Nagayori mobilized nearly six thousand people this time.

It wasn't until all three forces had arrived and surrounded Benmei Castle for three or four days that the main force of the Hatano family finally left Hachigami Castle and slowly headed to the front line.

However, after they approached the 2,500 Settsu troops led by "Takeuchi Shimosō no Kami", they did not launch an attack, but instead confronted each other across a difficult-to-pass valley.

It seems that the Hatano family is not in a hurry to lift the siege of Honme Castle, but only wants to contain the attackers and give the defending army confidence.

They didn't seem worried that the city would be lost easily.

Of course, there are reasons for this.

This city of Benmei was built on an extremely narrow mountain peak, 350 paces long from east to west, but only 50 paces wide from north to south. It was surrounded by cliffs, with only a narrow path that allowed two people to walk side by side, leading up the mountain step by step.

There are probably only three or four hundred people stationed in the city, but it's obvious that it will be very difficult to fight.

The Hatano clan over there wasn't in a hurry, and Matsunaga Nagayori over here also seemed very patient, neither rushing to capture the castle nor planning to bypass the difficult-to-pass stream to the west to attack reinforcements.

Until mid-May, he still had 1,000 mountain soldiers besiege Honmei Castle, while 2,500 Settsu soldiers continued to confront the enemy.

The remaining 2,300 Naito family soldiers were ordered to seize the grain within Hatano territory!

In the entire Tanba region, the ratio of paddy fields to dry fields is roughly 50/50. The same situation exists in Taki District of the Hatano family, so large quantities of barley and rye are grown there.

Ideally, these crops should be harvested in June. However, if they are harvested in mid-May, they can still be eaten, but there will be a loss in yield and taste.

However, this time the grain was being harvested on enemy territory, so the yield was obviously not important.

As for the taste... well, there are poor peasants everywhere who don't care about the taste and only care about filling their stomachs.

Now, the troops of Benmei Castle are trapped and unable to leave. The main force of the Hatano family is also unwilling to launch a rash attack on the west side of the valley. A small part of the eastern territory of Taki County is completely undefended.

The villagers in the nearby villages, fearing attacks from soldiers and bandits, had long since fled.

No one cares about the crops in the fields.

The leader was right when he said "there won't be any heavy tasks".

To encourage the farmers and soldiers to harvest the grain, Matsunaga Nagayori specifically emphasized that all the grain they seized could be deducted from their next year's tribute on a one-to-one basis after being handed over.

In other words, it belongs to the villagers themselves.

The 140 men temporarily under the command of Shinzaburo Kubo were originally farmers drawn from thirteen villages in Noguchi Township, and they were not averse to working in the fields. They were also very excited to hear that the collected grain could be used to offset the annual tribute, and they collected a total of seventy or eighty shi of barley and rye in just a few days.

The total amount collected by the entire army was approximately nine hundred shi (a unit of dry measure).

Almost all the barley and rye fields that could be found had been harvested. What remained were rice paddies, but only seedlings, which were of little use.

Of course, one could also destroy and trample the rice paddies, but doing so would be a bit excessive, and even one's own farmers would find it unacceptable, and it might also draw criticism from the monks.

The main force of the Hatano clan, probably aware that their food supplies had been stolen, became anxious and launched a night attack. A hasty battle ensued, resulting in a stalemate where both sides lost over a hundred men, and the situation returned to a stalemate.

The defenders of Honmei Castle seemed more anxious, perhaps because their fields were being plundered. The defenders launched several breakout attempts, but were stopped by the Yamashiro troops led by "Yotei Saemon-no-jo" (a military officer), suffering considerable casualties.

Matsunaga Nagayori instructed "Koho-gong" to transport all the looted grain back to Yagi Castle before leisurely announcing the withdrawal of his troops.

During the retreat, the Settsu troops, the Yamashiro troops, and the Funai County troops took turns providing cover to prevent enemy surprise attacks.

It was during this period that Shinzaburo Kubo first encountered the Hatano clan's army, and he was only a few hundred meters away, able to see only their flags.

During this period, both sides mainly conducted some probing shots that were outside the effective range, which felt like "firing three shots into the air is worth the commander's pay."

However, close combat wasn't entirely absent. Shinzaburo's temporary reserve force twice encountered the enemy at close range alongside friendly forces. He was somewhat nervous at the time, worried about the line collapsing. Even though he'd recently spent his free time practicing martial arts with Ooi Shigeie or practicing archery on his own, he wasn't sure if he'd made much progress and lacked confidence.

However, to my surprise, my team performed better than most peasant soldiers. They were in high spirits and executed orders quickly. Although they did not achieve any significant victories in the brief engagements, they were not afraid of fighting.

When the matter was discussed later, Matsunaga Magoroku, who had been removed from the position of "Envoy Head", was not surprised at all: "You have inherited your father's reputation for many years, your recent words and deeds are worthy of respect, and you have also provided your subordinates with 'Go-dai Go-soothing' (a type of military service). You yourself have received a certificate of merit and have a military reputation, and you also have brave followers... All of these things make you far superior to an ordinary reserve commander."

Upon hearing this, Shinzaburo suddenly realized that his team was already considered quite formidable in the eyes of outsiders.

Some samurai I knew after the war said in chance encounters that it was a real pity that we only looted food and didn't have the chance to fight "Tanba Oni" Hatano Munetaka.

Shinzaburo, of course, didn't care.

Although with increased battlefield experience, he gradually shed his blind fear and was mentally prepared to fight when necessary, there was no reason to recklessly seek out someone to risk his life. No combat orders had been issued yet, so why should he rush in?

As for the challenge to "Tanba Oni" Hatano Munetaka, it was just a misunderstanding.

……

At the end of the month, after listening to Master Meishu's explanation at Kofukuji Temple, Kubo Shinzaburo learned that this operation was known in various countries as Operation "Karida Ryouki".

The phrase "守田狼藉" originally referred to the forced harvesting of land in areas where ownership was disputed, but it later evolved to mean seizing grain on enemy territory.

Matsunaga Nagayori mobilized nearly 6,000 men and fought for more than a month. He spent 1,200 koku of rice on military rations alone, but achieved little. He managed to retrieve 900 koku of miscellaneous grains, which was deducted from his annual tribute. Considering other financial expenditures, it seemed like a huge loss.

However, it should be considered that the Hatano family was also forced to conscript 3,000 men, which also cost a lot of food and supplies. They were also robbed and suffered considerable losses.

Moreover, Matsunaga Nagayori was backed by the Miyoshi family, which controlled the territories of Settsu, Yamashiro, Izumi, Awa, Awa, and Sanuki provinces. They also controlled most of the commercial strongholds in Izumi-da Beach (Osaka Bay) except for Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple. They were very wealthy and could afford to lose money.

The Hatano family, a poor wretch from a remote mountain village, how could you possibly afford to lose money like that?

052 Miss Adou had a sudden inspiration

After a month and a half of fighting, although no results were achieved, the civilians who participated in the military service not only enjoyed the rice rations, but each person also received four or five bushels of barley and rye.

This is quite a fortune for ordinary farmers.

Everyone is happy.

Correspondingly, the Hatano family is probably not so happy.

June has arrived, and the busy farming season is upon us again. They are unlikely to undertake any major operations before the rice harvest is completed in September.

So the situation returned to one of constantly launching small-scale attacks.

Fortunately, by this time, Matsunaga Magoro's "Noguchi Castle" had been largely completed, blocking the western border of Noguchi Township.

Matsunaga Magoro and his entourage moved directly into the city. The policy of each village sending two sentries continued. Kubo Shinzaburo would also bring Oi Shigeie and the monk Josuke to garrison the area when he had nothing else to do.

This city, situated on high ground, commands a strategic pass. For skilled archers, shooting down invaders from within the city is as easy as playing whack-a-mole.

The enemy attempted to attack several times, but were easily repelled each time, so they had to abandon their plan.

However, there are five roads connecting the Hatano family territory and the Naito family territory.

Noguchi Township has built a brand-new fortress, strong enough to defend against invasion, while the other four townships can only rely on their magistrates to find a solution.

However, things are not quite the same as before. Previously, the Hatano family had set up outposts at the border, while the Naito family lacked the corresponding defenses and could only passively take hits.

When the attack was launched in April, Matsunaga Nagayori brought a large number of troops from Settsu and Yamashiro. Although he failed to capture the enemy's important eastern town of Honmei Castle, he easily wiped out the Hatano family's small strongholds that could only accommodate dozens of people.

The situation is currently leaky on both sides, with both sides constantly sending people to harass and commit murder and arson on the border. There have even been reports of twenty or thirty samurai engaging in fierce combat.

Only Noguchi Township, protected by the fortress, escaped the disaster.

This fostered a strange sense of regional identity among some residents of Noguchi Township. Some villagers even told Shinzaburo Kubo, "Sir, Noguchi Township is truly amazing!"

Meanwhile, Matsunaga Nagayori of Yagi Castle believes that since the small fortress has already served its purpose, further funding will be withheld for the time being. If further expansion or reinforcement is desired, the individual should find their own way to raise the funds.

Shinzaburo Kubo felt sorry for the border residents who were killed, and he believed that this level of harassment would not have much practical effect and was just a way to vent his anger.

……

In June, all areas of Funai County paid their summer grain taxes according to the latest standards.

This was also the first tax collection after Matsunaga Nagayori implemented his "reforms".

Because the annual budget for each building and section was completed before the "reform" was implemented.

After deducting the barley and rye seized during last month's "harvesting operation," Noguchi Township still has some summer grain to deliver.

Kubo Shinzaburo accompanied Matsunaga Sonroku to Yagi Castle to deliver annual tribute. Upon their return, he heard that Master Meishu was going to personally inspect Gokurakuji Temple, which was nominally under the banner of Kofukuji Temple.

This was no small matter, so he quickly asked for leave and went to greet the old monk.

And so once again, we saw Master Mingzhou traveling in a sedan chair, surrounded by twenty monks, four or five riders, and more than ten young novices.

The difference is...

This time, there were actually two sedan chairs. Several young nuns were also accompanying them.

Besides Master Mingzhou, there was another distinguished guest in a sedan chair, a tall, thin, mysterious man dressed in a black robe and wearing a hood.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the old monk's "niece," Miss Adou.

Shinzaburo Kubo didn't know how to treat him properly, so he could only bow with a serious expression.

When Miss Adou saw Shinzaburo, her cheeks immediately turned red, and she raised her sleeve to cover her face as she spoke.

But after greeting him and turning around to lead the way, Shinzaburo felt a gaze fixed on his back.

Upon meeting Master Mingzhou, Shinzaburo feigned concern and said, "The scholar monk was attacked just a few months ago. If the abbot comes here, what if he encounters the villains of the Hatano family..."

Upon hearing this, the old monk said angrily, "Compared to the Hatano family, I hate that boy's foolishness even more! A learned monk from Daitoku-ji Temple, if he had just stated his identity immediately, could have at least stayed out of it and would never have been attacked. But I can't say this to outsiders."

What he said makes a lot of sense.

Shinzaburo then fell silent.