Chapter 23: A New Decision!

  On the way back to the castle, Kira Yoshinaka made a special trip to the town below the castle and saw that the notice of the general mobilization had been posted. Many townspeople had already gathered at the town magistrate's office in the town below the castle to handle the general mobilization, but Kira Yoshinaka did not go inside and instead walked around for two laps before heading to the regular foot soldiers who were stationed in the town below the castle.

  Because I saw Kirishima Manzaburou's appearance when returning to the city in the morning, he brought several dozen riders and entered Tenma-cho with a majestic gait, where he encountered a group of samurai on duty blocking his way: "We pay our respects to Lord Kirishima!"

  "Gentlemen, rise!" Kira Yoshinaka sat on his horse and tapped the saddle with a folding fan to signal them to get up. He then signaled for these samurai to lead the way, and he entered the town surrounded by a group of close attendants. After taking a rough glance at the shabby and humble houses in the town, Kira Yoshinaka couldn't help but take a deep breath and shouted: "Zenkoji!"

  "I am at your service!"

  Kirishima Manzaburou scowled and rebuked, "Why would a warrior of the Kirishima family live in a place like this?"

  "This... I don't know." Yamagata Zentarō bowed his head in apology.

  "The Kirishitan samurai, living in the town below the castle, what a sight! Kira Manshirōmaru thought for a moment and came up with a plan. 'The vacant houses in the samurai district will be allocated to you warriors. I recall that Sanmaru has several unused barracks, let's deploy a unit of regular ashigaru to guard them! From now on, every five days, we'll rotate shifts, and the other regular troops will stay in the town below the castle to maintain order.'"

  "Yes! I'll go and do it right away!" Yamagata Zentarō immediately turned over, mounted his horse, and galloped off in a cloud of dust. Although Yamagata Zentarō looked rather foolish, he was actually more clever and resourceful than those wooden-headed warriors, and far more useful than that bunch of chattering, hereditary vassals.

  "Tell me your names and clans," Kiryū Manzōmaru said, turning to face the group of samurai.

  "Yes!" With a shout, they all ran over and lined up. A lean, dark samurai shouted out: "I'll go first! I'm Tagonosuke Tagawa from Tonogo Village, Etajima County!"

  "Moriwaka Hayato in Shimofuri County's Washitake Village!"

  ……

  "Watanabe Kō in Tawara, ōguchi Village, Shimotsuke Province."

  "Katō Kyōmei of Kakejuku in Nagayo Village, Shimota County."

  "In Ina Tadaiye of Kojima-jō in Shimofudagun."

  "Uchifujiwara no Masaari in Shimotsuke Province's Naitō-jō."

  Kira Yoshinaka carefully memorized the names of all the people, he could accurately recall every samurai who had reported their name, relying on his excellent memory to easily gain the enthusiastic response of the samurai. For this group of rural bumpkins, there was no greater honor than having a foot soldier's name remembered by the lord.

  After a while, Yamagata Bantaro went and came back, quietly telling him that the arrangements were in order. Kira Yoshinaka immediately loudly announced that the samurai could move into the castle to live, and in a burst of cheers, he warned: "You have all come out to serve the Kira family, so you should follow the rules of this house, be loyal and brave, and work together for the sake of the Kira family as well as for your own achievements! Even if you die in a foreign land, it will not be in vain for the reputation of the Mikawa samurai."

  "Hah!" The warriors all bowed their heads in unison.

  "From today on, all samurai will move to the Sanmaru Samurai Residence and live there. The four gates within Sanmaru will be guarded by you gentlemen in rotation."

  "Yes!" This time it was a cheering and flattering surrender, "We are willing to be loyal to the master of the mansion!"

  Being able to enter the castle and live there is equivalent to formally becoming a vassal of the Kiryū family, not only will the salary treatment be greatly improved, but also the future status of one's family can be guaranteed, and one's own descendants can serve as hereditary officials of the Kiryū family, which is really a world of difference compared to being in charge of patrolling and maintaining order in the town below the castle.

  "Gentlemen, you should all work hard on martial affairs. Following our house, there will inevitably be battles to fight in the future. If, due to neglect of martial affairs, something happens that damages the honor of the Kira family, do not blame me for being heartless!"

  After giving the carrots, of course, he had to show off his big stick. Looking at their reverent expressions, Kiryū Mantsumaru left the town below the castle very satisfied and only found out when he returned to the castle that the Shitaji were still holding a meeting in the evaluation room. A small surname guard was waiting outside the main circle for a long time. It turned out that this group of Shitaji were worried about the final ultimatum from ōkawa-ke's great general, Taigen Sesshō. Just now they had an expression as if everything depended on them, but now they thought of him, the head of the house.

  "What a bunch of annoying guys!" Kiryu Mitsunomaru curled his lips and turned to Kosen, instructing him: "Let them wait for a while. The master will go out for a stroll and take a bath before changing clothes."

  "But..."

  "Do as I told you!" With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the young servant and slowly walked back to the Tenshukaku, taking a glance around him. He noticed that Akane seemed not to be in the Honmaru and let out a sigh of relief: "Good thing Akane is not here, running into her would certainly be another troublesome matter!"

  The grass was combed and washed, and the formal attire was changed. When he arrived at the evaluation room, more than half of the time had passed. The successive generations of the Kiriyama family stared at the entrance with wide eyes, and when they saw Kiriyama Mantsumaru walking towards them, Ogasawara Yasumoto immediately complained: "Master! This is a life-or-death evaluation meeting for my Kiriyama family, how can you be late?"

  "Osamu! Watch your words!" ōkōchi Nobusada's face darkened.

  "If I'm not mistaken, the evaluation meeting should be on the sixth of next month. I wonder what kind of evaluation meeting Kikyōden is going to hold today. I, Kiryū Mantsumaru, am willing to listen with an open mind."

  On the other side, Ogasawara Yasumoto's face suddenly turned very ugly. Being scolded by a young master in front of so many hereditary vassals was simply humiliating, but he didn't dare to lose his temper on the spot. The surrounding vassals wouldn't have anyone stand up for him, and if anything went wrong, it would be his own fault for underestimating this young master.

  "Sorry! I was too rash!" Kogure Angen apologized awkwardly, hanging his head in embarrassment.

  "Let's talk about the letter that Tayuan Xuezhai delivered!" Yamamoto Kan no Suke appropriately stopped this awkward scene and rounded up the slightly stiff atmosphere.

  Kira Yoshinaka picked up the folding fan and lightly tapped the table to signal the vassals to be quiet. After a while, he glanced at the retainers kneeling on both sides, who had all fallen silent, before speaking in a low voice: "This is a meeting that will decide the fate of our house, so I ask you all to keep it strictly confidential and not breathe a word outside these chambers! If anyone does, they will be considered an enemy of the Kira family and an enemy of all of you present here! So please take an oath to that effect!"

  The vassals of the Sugata family couldn't grasp the meaning of their lord, and Kawahigashi Hidetada was the first to jump out and swear: "I, Kawahigashi Hidetada, vow to the great Bodhisattva Hachiman that I will not leak a single word about what is discussed in today's evaluation. Those who violate this will be punished by the nine heavens and the Buddha!"

  The remaining specters looked at each other in dismay, and could only obediently take the oath. Kiryū Banshōmaru smiled silently, gently opening the folding fan in his hand, and said in a low voice: "The oath has been taken, and our house can also announce its decision from now on."

  "Master of the inn! Absolutely not!" Okawara no Masahide was now frantic, repeatedly giving him a stern look, as if to say: "We swore that it wouldn't come to this, you have to follow the rules, without our consent, making decisions on your own is unthinkable!"

  "The Kiryū family's decision is...!" Kiryū Banshōmaru smiled back at ōkōchi Nobusada, and while the crowd was still in a daze, he spat out two words: "Go to Luo!"