Chapter 39: The Financial Predicament

  Dong dong dong!

  The small bronze bell hanging in the corner of the Ni-no-maru rang out, signaling the end of this friendly and intimate contest. The Mikawa samurai looked at each other's dusty figures, one by one, like defeated roosters, no longer with their earlier proud demeanor, under the urging of the Kirishitan samurai, they were chased to the water channel in San-no-maru to wash off the shameful marks on their bodies.

  "The master's idea is excellent! I suppose the warriors of Eastern Mikawa must be reevaluating their positions now!" Yamamoto Kan no Suke suddenly appeared beside him like a ghost, almost startling Kira Yoshinaka into throwing his cup in his face. "Master, please don't scare people like that! You walk without making a sound!"

  "But I've been standing here for a long time, Ah! Akane can prove it." Yamamoto Kanetsugu also spread his hands and almost made Kira Kosaku faint, turned to look at Akane, who surprisingly smiled and nodded at him. "What does the nod mean, is there or isn't there?"

  Yamamoto Kan no Suke walked over to his side, sat down cross-legged, and Akane hurriedly took out a clean tea cup, filled it with hot water, and handed it over. This guy rudely took the tea cup and slowly drank a few mouthfuls, twirling his mustache twice, revealing a satisfied expression, and said leisurely: "This is really good tea! By the way, has the master of the mansion made all the preparations?"

  "What's ready?"

  "The expenses for going up to the capital are enormous! The Western Army, Miki's group, and the close attendants, adding up to over 1,600 people in total! This is an unprecedented trip to the capital on such a large scale, with no previous example to follow. And the expenses for going up to the capital, as well as the consumption of food and grass, are by no means small amounts. I'm sure the lord of the mansion has thought about this problem!" Yamamoto Kanbei naturally looked at Kira Yoshinaka, who also stared back at his teacher without showing any weakness.

  "Ugh, my eyes hurt so much! I'm going to cry! You stupid wolf!" Kiryu Manshōmaru was once again shamefully defeated by Yamamoto Kanetsugu, and he thought dejectedly: "Two eyes can't beat one eye! Am I doomed to never defeat that dim-witted Yamamoto?"

  "In any case, I'll leave this matter to the master of the mansion!" Yamamoto Kan no Suketake sipped his clear tea and instructed Akane to teach him how to brew tea when she had time, before walking out of the small Tenjin guard with a flourish.

  "This old man doesn't respect me at all! Bastard! Bastard!" Kiryu Mitsunomaru grabbed the mochi and vented his frustration, his good mood ruined by Yamamoto Kanbei, and to make matters worse, he couldn't do anything about it.

  "But Lord Yamamoto is a good person!" Akane seemed delighted to refill his teacup, gazing at Yamamoto Kanetsugu with reverence as he entered the second circle, her hands clasped together in prayer: "It's thanks to Lord Yamamoto that our family business has been thriving! The townspeople of Jokamachi adore this kind old man! I do too!"

  "Alright! Maybe you're right!" Kiryu Mantsurumaru hugged Mashiro and hid to one side, drawing circles with his finger as he muttered tearfully: "It's clearly my achievement! Me! Why is everyone saying 'look at the dead chicken'! This isn't scientific!"

  After the trial match, another interesting thing happened. The samurai named Oda Tadakatsu felt that being defeated by Watanabe Koun was a shameful thing, so he stopped him and claimed to come again for a one-on-one match. Watanabe Koun also agreed in front of everyone, and as a result, Oda Tadakatsu suffered another brilliant defeat, at least lasting five rounds this time.

  The defeated Oda Nobuyuki not only refused to surrender, but instead got up again and issued a new challenge. Watanabe Kongō was forced to defeat him time and time again. The repeatedly defeated Oda Nobuyuki seemed to have it in for him, refusing to give up as he challenged again and again, only to be knocked down again and again. Finally, even Watanabe Kongō got fed up and directly cut Oda Nobuyuki's spear in two, ending the pointless struggle.

  After this incident, Oda Nobuyuki acquired the nickname "Bōgyūmu" (literally "stubborn bull"), which described him as being like a stubborn and unyielding bull. However, it seems that Oda did not take offense to this nickname, probably thinking that being called "bull" was a kind of praise.

  Watanabe Kōgan's name "Gun Hanzaemon" was becoming more and more renowned, to the point where some people even referred to him in private as "The First Gun of Mikawa Province", and compared to the rustic warriors of Mikawa, the Watanabe family, who had studied the art of firearms at the temples of Kōfuku-ji and Enryaku-ji in Kyoto, were far superior.

  The Mikawa samurai also admired the Kirishima family's martial arts, and every member of the Maruhashi group was well-versed in horseback riding, with more than half being skilled in shooting while on horseback. This is because the Kirishima family had its own traditional shooting-on-horseback technique, and their vassal family, the Ogasawara clan, also had a traditional archery-and-horseback-riding technique passed down through generations. As a result, the basic quality of the samurai was far superior to that of the Mikawa samurai.

  The unexpectedly strong fighting power of the Saigoku troops raised the evaluation of the Kira family among the Mikawa samurai, and especially Yamamoto Kanbee, who trained this reserve force, was called a famous general in Mikawa, allowing the originally unremarkable Upper Kira family to completely suppress the Lower Kira family's influence.

  Kiriyama Mantsumaru is worried again, although the autumn harvest's annual tribute is not small, but he cannot take away that 18,880 mon, to maintain the operation of Nishijo Domain, normal food consumption, the military expenses about to leave Anshō Castle and the rewards after the war all have to come from here, at most he can only withdraw 3,000 mon.

  What's the use of three thousand guan of copper coins? At most, it can only buy more than 3,000 shi of grain, but for the food and clothing expenses of over 1,600 people, training fees, equipment depreciation costs, salary payments, tributes to be paid to the imperial court, and other expenses, a large amount of money is needed. Three thousand guan of Yongle coins might be enough, but copper coins are not sufficient.

  "Open the inner storehouse!" Kira Kanematsu sighed, not moving the inner storehouse was definitely out of the question, but he was reluctant to move it. This was a storehouse that had been built since the time of the first ancestor of the Kira family, Shin'ōden no Kira Nagahide, and had only been used twice, during the rebellion of Akō and the war with the Taira clan, and most recently during the ōnin War and the conflict with the Lower Kira family, over 80 years ago.

  "It seems I, Kiryū Mantsumaru, will have to become an unworthy descendant after all!" In the tenshukaku, he muttered a few words of apology and called for Yamagaki Zentarō and Isshiki Shirō. Isshiki Shirō was the legitimate child of Isshiki Yoshinao and had been directly sent by his father to serve as one of Kiryū Mantsumaru's attendants due to this matter, which had caused Yamagaki Zentarō to sulk for several days, but being a member of the same clan made it unavoidable.

  Ishido Shirō and Yamagata Zenjirō knelt down in front of him, blocking his way, and begged: "Master! Are you really going to open the inner storehouse? But the main house hasn't opened it for many years!"

  "Alright! All of you, get up! The trip to Kyoto requires money and provisions. Without it, what will you eat? Are warriors still warriors if they don't eat?!" Kiryū Mantsumaru reluctantly called out to the nearby crowd to help them get up, repeatedly assuring them: "This time, we'll only take out expenses for Kyoto, absolutely not a single coin will be wasted. Do you understand?"

  "Yes! I understand!" The two of them exchanged a glance and could only follow him with gloomy faces towards the inner warehouse.

  PS: Today, the community line was renovated and the power was cut off until 4 pm, so I came late, sorry!