Chapter 30: The Patriarch's Determination
"A small test of loyalty has revealed the fox's tail, and human emotions are as cold as ice. How sad and lamentable! Kijirō Manzaburou let out a cold laugh, looking down on them with disdain. Of course, he was being overly critical, but it was true that even the most loyal families had their own private interests. However, these families who had weathered hundreds of years of storms were far more loyal than those ordinary vassals and countrymen without any sense of shame. Even if they did make a fuss, they would never be disrespectful to him as the head of the household, and in the end, his proposal would still be accepted."
However, Kiryū Mantsumaru didn't intend to understand them. Seeing that the timing was about right, he directly threw out an answer: "The Bodhi Temple of our family will not be relocated for the time being. We are only formally changing the name of our house to Kyoto Kiryū-shi. You gentlemen don't have to worry too much. Everything within the Nishijō domain will follow the usual rules and regulations, and will be handled jointly by Ichimonji Nagamichi, Yamagata Awaji no kami, ōkōchi Katsutaka, Koikawa Danjō Shōchū, Takahashi Dewa no kami, Ogasawara Settsu no kami, Ogasawara Aki no kami, and Ebara Tango no kami.
As expected, as soon as he made the proposal, all the vassals unanimously supported it. The vassals who were just in a mess earlier were now sitting together harmoniously, as if nothing had happened. The system of deliberation by senior officials is indeed a treasure passed down from the Kamakura shogunate! The retainers immediately felt satisfied.
Kiriyama Manzanmaru smiled at them, but the coldness in his eyes couldn't be wiped away. In a Kyoto accent, he said in a childish tone that quickly fell into the ears of all the high-ranking officials present: "The head family has been studying Chinese from a young age and once learned that there is a common saying in Ming country called 'people leave and tea cools', but today it seems that people have not left yet, but the tea has already cooled. It seems that whether it's Ming country or my Japan, an island nation, human nature is all the same!"
This remark was a bit too much, causing the hereditary vassals to return with shame on their faces. Many people began to ask themselves: "Isn't it a bit shameless for the senior retainers to conspire and seize the Yoshida family's estate so openly? Moreover, the head of the household is only going to Kyoto to serve, if one day he comes back to Mikawa Province, how will these hereditary vassals deal with him? If they fight for power, the reputation of the Yoshida family will be ruined, and the halo surrounding these hereditary vassals will fade away. Without a halo, these hereditary vassals are just ordinary samurai families; will the people of Mikawa Province still fear them?"
The answer is self-evident. Most of Kira's vassals were ordinary in ability, and the reason they became famous samurai families in Mikawa Province, holding a large amount of land, was that they had served the Kira family for generations, and secondly, they relied on the halo effect of the Kira family to make people and local samurai fearful. Without their fame, they were nothing but plucked phoenixes not as good as chickens.
Kiriyama Manzaburou swept his gaze over everyone in the room with a cold, detached expression and let out a low hum as he said: "Once our main house is gone, the Kiriyama family will inevitably turn to the Imagawa family. All of you just need to remember one thing - I am not serving under Imagawa Ujizane yet! If anyone has the intention of taking the Kiriyama family's achievements to the Imagawa family to gain merit and rewards, please go ahead and do so boldly! I will be watching from Kyoto to see if any of you are worthy of being a vassal of the Kiriyama family!"
"I dare not!" Whether it was the heir or the powerful vassals, they all bowed down in unison. This phrase could be repeated endlessly, and it was enough to make those who had always been wavering and fearful of being on thin ice wonder whether they were selling out their lord's house or being loyal to it. Yoshida Mitsumaru was going to watch the fire from across the riverbank in Kyoto, and whoever betrayed him would have to settle accounts later. Moreover, who could guarantee that the Imagawa family would definitely protect them? The people present had not forgotten about the relationship between the Imagawa and Kira families.
"...This time, our house must go up to Rakuchu, not only that, but the Kira family will also move with us. Our maternal relatives are the noble Ichijo family of the imperial court, and they have considerable influence in Kyoto. It shouldn't be difficult for us to secure a foothold in the Kinai region." As he spoke, the vassals of the Kira house were left speechless.
This made everyone witness the sharpness of this young master, the Kira family was a famous door for generations, and it was passed down with archery and etiquette. No one thought that the master of the Kira family would be a foolish child, but this master of the Kira family was a bit too strong, at least ōishi Yoshio thought so, he didn't expect that his young apprentice who always held books and looked worried would have an unknown side.
"Now that you've all understood, go back and prepare yourselves!" Kiryū Mantsumaru tapped the handle of his fan on the desk, hinting to his retainers that they could leave.
The always silent Yamagata Dōsetsu Tadatomo suddenly jumped out and knelt in the middle, as the first brave general of the family and also the loudest voice, as soon as he appeared, someone felt that it was not good, but it was too late to stop him: "Master! I request to follow Master to Luoyang! Continue to make contributions to the great cause of the Kiryū family!"
"Master of the mansion! I, too, wish to follow Master to Luoyang!" This started a commotion. Even the high-ranking vassals sitting in the back were stirred up. A group of hot-blooded warriors didn't care about how many mu of land they had at home, how many concubines or sons they had, or how many people followed them. They shouted loudly to express their loyalty.
This result was far beyond Kira Yoshinaka's expectations, and he didn't want to take away so many generations of family heirlooms, it would be too troublesome. So, patiently persuaded: "Everyone follows me to leave their hometown, what about the family business? Giving up is not an option, but qualified successors are not easy to find. What if you can't keep this family business and have no foothold in Kyoto, wouldn't that be a waste of effort?"
The family members all thought that the head of the house was really understanding and reasonable, this sentence just hit their sore spot. A qualified martial heir is not so easy to cultivate, it takes careful cultivation for a dozen years or more to mature, during which time they must not get sick, have no disasters, and have no bad habits. If any of these things happen, it would be disastrous.
What's worse is that many samurai families often faced the problem of having too many children competing for inheritance, or the danger of not having any children and thus losing their lineage. In this era, being a warrior was also a high-risk profession - one never knew when they would be taken away by a conflict over territory, or by a peasant uprising. These harsh realities made these passionate retainers feel disheartened all at once.
The low-ranking samurai, also known as the underground people, are even worse off. They spend their days facing the yellow earth and their backs to the sky, tilling the land, and in times of war, they shoulder guns and go into battle to kill the enemy. These bitter days are not too many, and it is rare for them to get married before the age of thirty. However, they also face another problem: can they live safely past the age of thirty and find a wife?
The average lifespan of a samurai in the Muromachi period was less than 40 years old, and many people were still struggling to live beyond their thirties. Those who did not make it past that age could not get married. However, due to scarce medical resources, not everyone could live beyond thirty. Living long enough for one's children to come of age was a privilege reserved for the wealthy and noble. Living to be 100 years old was considered a myth.
Many people do not live to that age, and the guardianship of their children becomes a problem. Whether it is relatives or family ministers, no one cares about plotting to get the family property, and whether they will be killed by evil relatives and usurp the family business is uncertain. If they really follow Kira Yoshinaka to Kyoto, in the end, they will end up with a miserable and unsuccessful career, and when they return to Mikawa Province, there will be no place for them to settle down, and their family property will definitely be inherited and divided by their relatives.
Seeing a group of retainers with worried expressions, Yoshida Mitsumaru smiled: "So I understand the intentions of all of you! However, the family business of Yoshida still needs the support of all of you as pillars. After all, this land of Mikawa has been lived for hundreds of years from generation to generation!"
For the Hōjō clan, the succession of family business and hometown are the greatest ties. All the vassals were moved by Kira Yoshinaka's words, who could put down their own 3-acre land? Although there are legendary warriors who abandoned their family business, they are definitely not among these vassals. Therefore, the vassals retreated very sensibly.
