Chapter 41: The Burden of Glory

  On the 20th of August in the 18th year of Tenmon, Kiryū Mantsumaru felt as though he had grown up overnight after yesterday's baptism by oath. Although this description is somewhat inaccurate, his soul was that of an adult; it was just that, relative to a detached observer from another era, this was the first time he clearly felt the weight of his family's heavy responsibilities on his shoulders - this was the duty of a warrior family.

  This heavy burden carries not only the prosperity of the family business, but also the glory from ancestors flowing in his blood. His ancestors have given him an unparalleled identity, and what he needs to do is to continue this glory. The decline of the family business is unforgivable, and completely severing it is a sin that cannot be redeemed. He lives not for himself, but for the sake of the family's honor and the continuation of his ancestors' glory.

  In fact, without this heavy burden on his shoulders, he would also have to consider himself more. In the Warring States period of turmoil, only by bravely advancing and fighting hard could he protect the ancestral foundation from falling. He understood better than anyone that the next few decades would be a great era of change, how the old-fashioned aristocratic families like him would be thoroughly eliminated like garbage, their carefully guarded glory as warriors of the Minamoto clan would completely disappear, leaving behind only a ruined family and endless shame.

  "I don't want my descendants to suffer shame, and for me to be nailed to the pillar of shame in history. It must feel terrible!" Kiryū Mantarōmaru smiled silently, sitting in the large room meeting with people from Mikawa Province. This was something he used to dislike doing very much, but due to yesterday's influence, he tried for the first time to become a qualified family head that fit this era's standards. Both ōguchi Nobusada and Yamamoto Kansuke were extremely surprised, although they didn't know the reason, but the family head really had grown up, hadn't he?

  After finishing today's meeting, Kiryu Kazumaro ordered the long-awaited Hida craftsmen to be summoned. Hida can interpret what is called a model of poor mountains and evil waters, hidden in the highlands between the mountains, with an arable land area of less than one-tenth of the forest-covered area, and four seasons a year, except for looking at the forest, it's also a good place that is not inferior to the three major labor reform holy places. In history, Matsudaira Tadateru was once exiled here to look after the forest.

  The poor and barren land of Hida was not able to collect much taxes, so from the Nara period onwards, the imperial court did not send anyone there to urge taxation. Instead, it ordered Hida Province to bear the burden of supplying wood to the imperial court as well as the corresponding craftsmen. As a result, Hida craftsmen became famous in Japan along with the continuous export and sale of Hida wood.

  Since the re-opening of the Muromachi Shogunate by Ashikaga Takauji, the Tokuso family had been keeping some Hida craftsmen. As a result, the Kira family also benefited from this and gave some of their work to several Hida craftsmen. The Kira family's exclusive Hida craftsman was called Shioya Okino, a man in his 40s with grey hair who spoke in a rustic tone. He carefully recorded the requirements put forth by Kira Yoshinaka while holding a small notebook, looking very professional.

  "I understand! Lord Miya is going to build a batch of two-wheeled horse-drawn carriages! I can do it too! My ancestor once went to the Ming country and recorded the characteristics and manufacturing methods of horse-drawn carriages in his notes." Shiroya Chubei patted his chest to indicate that there was no problem, putting Kira Mansaburou at ease, and instructed him to work day and night to make as many as possible, assuring him that he would not be shortchanged on wages before letting him leave.

  Medieval Japan was a very backward period, and the transmission system only prevailed in some places in Kanto. Neither Tokaido nor Kinai or Saikai had similar existence, which is directly related to Japan's lack of horses. Without horses, there were no horse-drawn carriages. Japan's merchant teams and military logistics teams mainly relied on packhorses carrying goods or people carrying goods on their shoulders. Japan also used a unit of taxation based on the amount of cargo carried by one person.

  Merchants can hire ships or even own their own, and traveling by sea can save the huge cost of land transportation. Of course, taxes at sea are also heavier, but they are still much stronger than relying on human porterage teams. The Warring States period still maintained the custom of the Heian period, where nobles rode ox carts, warriors rode horses, and noblewomen sat in palanquins. Apart from these three, only ships could squeeze into fourth place.

  To speed up the journey to Kyoto and reduce unnecessary consumption, Kiriyama Mantsumaru ordered Shioya Chubei to make a batch of two-wheeled horse-drawn carriages. Apart from being busy with this matter, he also planned to exchange these 5,000 ryō of Eiraku coins for Kan'e tsūhō coins, but unexpectedly met with opposition from ōkawa no Kageyu.

  "The master of the inn needs to pay tribute to Yongle with cash, and even if it's converted into copper coins, neither the imperial court nor the shogunate will accept it!"

  "That's reasonable to say, but does Ma Shou know the folk exchange rate of Yongle coins and Tongbao coins in Sanheguo?"

  "I don't know."

  "Alright, I'll tell you! The exchange rate is one ryō of gold for four ryō and five hundred mon of copper coins. If the quality of the copper coins is poor, it might be even higher." Kiryū Manzaburou was far more sensitive to changes in prices than these Mikawa warriors, and his information network was very active. Fukuoka Yasuchika had spent a month reorganizing the material supplies and was already seeing some results. He had also seen quite a bit of intelligence on price fluctuations and commodity transactions among the common people.

  "But doesn't this have anything to do with exchanging Yongle coins?" Taigauchi Nobusada asked with a puzzled expression, as he devoted his intelligence to studying and managing household chores, naturally not paying attention to things that only merchants would notice.

  "The exchange rate in the capital last month was one ryō of Eiraku money for three ryō of Kanei tsūhō. Kira no Sōzaburō looked at him speechlessly, and added: "In the eastern provinces, one ryō of Eiraku money is exchanged for five ryō of Kanei tsūhō."

  "What? Such a big difference in price?" ōkawa Nobusada was about to pop his eyes out, as he had never thought that there would be such a huge profit margin. "In that case, my Kira family can take the ryō coins to Kyoto and exchange them for Eiraku coins, and then..."

  "Don't be delusional! The tolls set by the daimyos of each country, the customs fees at the ports, and various unclear taxes can eat up all your profits. If you're unlucky, you'll even lose money. Only if you have a noble title or are carrying goods with the crest of a powerful family will they dare not to collect taxes." Kiryu Manshōmaru let out another sigh, feeling as though he was being taken for a fool.

  "Huh! It's actually like this! Looks like there really isn't anything in the world that lets people off scot-free! I guess I was just overthinking, hehehe..."

  "Haha, don't give me that look of sudden realization to cover up your embarrassment! It's weird if you do!" Kiriyama Mantsumaru could only retort, putting on a pleased expression to let ōkōchi Nobusada smoothly fool him. That's how Eastern society is - not just the lord but also his vassals need to save face; some things can only be awkwardly glossed over without mention, or else it'll lead to grudges."

  ōkōchi Nobusada thought for a while and suddenly remembered the stored copper coins, so he suggested: "There are still over 18,000 kan of annual tribute at home, with more than 3,000 kan of direct collection of Tongbao money, plus the stored 2,000 kan, which is just enough to exchange for 1,000 kan of Yongle money."

  "Besides, the remaining 4,000 kan still needs to be settled with the merchants, so I'll leave this matter to you, Buta no Ma. Remember to try to push it down to around 5 kan!" Kiryū Manzaburou smoothly pushed the task onto him, since you brought it up, naturally you should take care of it.

  ōkōchi Nobusada was also spirited and answered directly: "Yes! I will do it at once!" Then he bowed respectfully, rose to his feet and withdrew.