Volume 2: Thick and Heavy Winds and Clouds Chapter 39: The City Master's Great Undertaking
Generally speaking, there are two types of stipends (calculated on an annual basis) that a samurai receives from his lord.
The first is the fief, which is generally enjoyed by mid-to-high level warriors. The so-called fief refers to directly granting you a territory and then collecting taxes on your own in that territory. For example, when Ishida Mitsunari recruited Shima Kiyooki, he was given a fief of 15,000 stones.
However, the 15,000 stones were not actually received as salary. At that time, taxation was generally two public and one private or three public and two private. Taking three public and two private as an example, out of the 15,000 stones, farmers would take away 6,000 stones, while Shimazu Tadakane received 9,000 stones. (Poor Japanese people, at the same time, the agricultural tax in the Ming Dynasty was one-tenth, and it was eventually overthrown by peasant uprisings, of course, there were other objective reasons that are not discussed here)
Of course, the 9,000 koku is only referring to grain income. Island Shigetake can also occasionally collect other taxes in his territory, such as tolls and commercial taxes. The more prosperous the area, the more extra income there is, even exceeding the local stone high. Of course, if the territory were to be exchanged for a place like Kai Shinano, an agricultural region, it's best not to think too much about this aspect of income.
The second is the distribution method of Guanqian + Fuchimai, which is a common wage payment method for mid-to-low-level warriors. Fuchimai refers to directly giving warriors rice in its original form.
At that time, one stone of rice was 150 kg. The daily ration of rice per person was five sheng, which is equivalent to 1.75 stones per year. Li Xiao's current salary as a foot soldier under Takeda Shingen is 100 kan per year plus three people's rations of rice.
At that time, with a string of coins to buy two stones of rice, it was almost over 200 stones. According to modern calculations, assuming a modern person's annual salary is 30,000 RMB (monthly salary 2,500), and the price of rice is 2.5 yuan per kilogram, this means that a modern person's annual salary can buy 12,000 kilograms of rice, which is equivalent to 6,000 kilograms.
Translated to English:
Converting it to the Japanese Sengoku period's salary, it would be around 40 koku per year. However, this conversion is not standard because the standards for converting rice have been different throughout history. Nevertheless, it can objectively reflect a bit of the problem. Li Xiao's current salary of 200 koku is roughly equivalent to the income level of white-collar workers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
At present, Li Xiao has taken Island Sheng's strong work under his command, and the treatment he gave him is 50 kan per year, plus one person's worth of support rice. This treatment was at a relatively high level at that time, and the annual salary of ordinary foot soldiers was generally between 30 kan to 50 kan (for example, when Monkey served as the head of the Ashigaru corps in the Oda family, Oda Nobunaga also gave him an annual salary of 50 kan).
Shima Katsuo is relatively satisfied with this treatment, after all, the salary for this carefree bachelor is enough to have spare money every day to go to bars, drink and pick up girls. Didn't Ishida Mitsunari give Shima Katsuo 40% of his stipend? Li Xiao gave half of his own salary share, didn't he?
Li Xiao was very unhappy, after Island Victory's arrival his salary was cut in half, and all expenses became strained.
That chestnut-colored horse, which had been given to him by Takeda Shingen, was always fed at his own expense. It may have been because of its larger head compared to other warhorses, but the chestnut-colored horse was particularly voracious and would eat away a large sum of money every month. This did not include the cost of hiring servants specifically to take care of the warhorse.
After deducting the cost of raising horses, Li Xiao often goes to izakayas to get drunk, which makes him spend even more money.
Ranked below the Zuqie, the lowest regular Zuqie treatment is even lower, roughly around 20-30 Shi. They not only have a large family to support, but also have to pay for their own weapons and armor during battles.
After rescuing Island Victory and Sugano Sadatoshi, Li Xiao decided to take Sugano Sadatoshi to a local farmhouse for treatment, while he and Island Victory returned to Gao Yuan City.
At this time, the recruitment work had been completed, and Gaoyuan City had formed a military force of 700 people. Yamamoto Kan no Suke, who was in charge of military rations, gave the same treatment to the recruited farmers and ronin, with each person receiving three sheng of rice per day.
As for how to train, Takeda Shōryū and Yamamoto Kan no Suke asked Li Xiao's opinion together. Unexpectedly, Li Xiao showed ignorance about leading troops and was very confused.
In fact, about the training of soldiers and commanding troops, as a modern person who is also an amateur military enthusiast, Li Xiao has his own views. Moreover, having participated in military training in high school and college, he roughly knows how it works. At worst, after reading countless YY military novels, he would at least have some basic understanding.
But Li Xiao didn't want the Wada family to know that he had this skill, mainly because he didn't want this method to spread out so early.
Apart from that, Li Xiao showed himself to be a brave and wise general in front of Takeda Shingen, Takeda Nobushige, and Yamamoto Kansuke, often having clever ideas. If they were to find out that Li Xiao also had the ability to lead and train troops, it would be too revealing.
Alright, no matter how brave and strong a person is, they can only defeat ten people at most, or be exceptional to defeat a hundred. Li Xiao came up with some clever ideas, played some tricks, and in the eyes of Takeda Shingen, the master of thick and dark studies and conspiracy studies, he could also be restrained. However, if Li Xiao really trained an army that could win with weakness, and one could hold off ten, then the Takeda family's original attention to Li Xiao would have to change to deep vigilance.
At least if Li Xiao is to be granted a fief by Takeda Shingen in the future, he will have to consider carefully whether to accept it and become a castle lord. After all, as a castle lord, one has autonomy, control over financial and military power, and such great authority that if the time comes, the castle lord may rebel or change allegiance, which is not uncommon.
If Li Xiao is too capable, it would be disastrous if he were to rebel. It's better to keep him by our side as a loyal minister and under our control.
When Li Xiao was still an ordinary warrior, everything was given by the Takeda family, including his identity as a warrior and his salary. Similarly, the Takeda family could also take back everything with just one word.
So Li Xiao must now tread carefully with every step, watching other people's faces and being cautious in his actions, and he cannot reveal his true abilities, it's best if everyone thinks he is just a martial general with only muscles.
If Li Xiaowen becomes the city master, he will have a fief of tens of thousands of stones. This way, he can cultivate land and raise troops at home, and if he trains a strong army that shocks the Warring States, he can get rid of the situation where he has to look at people's faces and consider everything.
To sum up the history of China's internal struggles over several thousand years, there is only one sentence: political power comes from the barrel of a gun. This was said by Li Xiao's high school history teacher and has been firmly remembered by him ever since.
With an army in hand and a strong waist, even if Takeda Yoshinobu succeeds himself, he is not afraid at all.
In fact, if Takeda Katsuyori's hopes for the position were pinned on Takeda Yoshinobu's rebellion four years later, and things fell through, he would lose his chance at the position.
Such an idea is purely fatalistic, relying on luck to make a living. In fact, after Li Xiao crossed over, it has been proven that history can indeed be changed, for example, those who were supposed to die in the Battle of Sekigahara, such as Takeda Shingen and Yamamoto Kansuke, didn't they change their fate because of Li Xiao's efforts?
If the development of the future does not follow history, and the rebellion of Takeda Yoshinobu did not occur, then waiting for Li Xiao can only be under Takeda Katsuyori's command, muddle along for a lifetime, mix and eat to death, at most in the future Kawahara Island war history book give you a record.
So Li Xiao must now take the initiative to change, and one aspect of this is to strengthen Takeda Katsuyori's power. In fact, with Yamamoto Kansuke and Sanada Yukimura by his side, the foundation of Takeda Katsuyori's vassals has been slowly taking shape. There are no free lunches in this world, and it is impossible for Takeda Katsuyori to obtain the position of head of the Takeda family without effort. He also needs time to prove himself to Takeda Shingen.
Similarly, Li Xiao himself must also strive to be strong, and recruiting Island Victory was just the first step. But Li Xiao's ultimate goal is still to become the lord of the city, with money, food, and soldiers, having chips in hand, speaking with confidence, otherwise everything is just a fleeting dream.
When the time comes, even if Takeda Yoshinobu rises to power and decides to disadvantage Li Xiao, Li Xiao will still have the courage to change his face and attach himself to another powerful force, even daring to raise a flag and start a rebellion, competing with Takeda Yoshinobu in a showdown.
At present, the fiefdom within the Takeda family's territory is already saturated. It is almost impossible to obtain a fief and a high stipend within the existing borders of the Takeda family, and even if there were any available, it would not be one's turn. There are many hereditary vassals and other people waiting in line.
So if Li Xiao wants to gain the position of city master, he must rely on the Takeda family's external territorial expansion. At present, the only hope is the upcoming attack on Kōzuke Province.
If it were true as Takeda Nobushige said, Takeda Shingen intentionally let Li Xiao return to his side as a direct vassal, which would be the most ideal situation, because direct vassals have more opportunities to achieve meritorious deeds and are easily noticed by their lord and promoted.
Li Xiao again in the conquest of Kōzuke Province, established a brilliant military merit, and had the opportunity to let Takeda Shingen, for the purpose of solidifying the territory of Kōzuke Province, grant a piece of land, and appoint Li Xiao, who was brave and good at fighting, as the castle lord, stationed there, consolidating the rule of the Takeda family, while defending against the Uesugi family in the north and monitoring the Hōjō family in the south.
Thus Li Xiao's plan for the city lord can be achieved.
Of course, Li Xiao must also be prepared in advance. If Takeda Shingen did not plan to summon Li Xiao back, then Li Xiao had to work hard by Takeda Katsuyori's side, on the one hand helping Takeda Katsuyori accumulate military achievements and increase his value in Takeda Shingen's eyes, and on the other hand, being a vassal is not without opportunities to be directly appointed as the lord of an outer castle by the master.
