A samurai who doesn't want to be a daimyo is not a good onmyoji

Chapter 96 Koichiro

After a speechless night, Asai Nagamasa did not rush to see Nobunaga the next day, but still wandered around Qingzhou City.

Understanding the local customs and gaining knowledge are only secondary. What he wants more is to learn the business planning here. Oda Nobunaga can run the entertainment market in Owari, but Asai Nagamasa cannot implement it in Kitaomi. Same policy?
And it can be expected that due to the decades of war in Kitaomia, the power of the merchants there is much smaller, so it will definitely be easier.

While wandering around, Asai Nagamasa quickly noticed a few samurai following him. In fact, the other party did not do much to hide it. The family crests on their bodies already showed their identities. They were all local samurai from Owari. , it is perfectly normal to keep an eye on foreign samurai or ronin like Asai Nagamasa in the name of patrol.

Asai Nagamasa originally thought that after yesterday's temptation, the other party would probably come to him directly, but for some unknown reason, the other party did not take any action, it seemed that he was just regarded as an ordinary ronin.

Asai Nagamasa is also happy with this. After all, this is the opponent's territory. It is better to do less than to do more.

After roughly getting all the information about Raku City, Asai Nagamasa took Axiu to Nakamura Township in Aichi County in the afternoon and found Tokichiro's younger brother Koichiro.

The two men who came on horseback were working in the fields. The ordinary boy, who looked about the same age as Asai Nagamasa, was extremely surprised. After Asai Nagamasa stated that he wanted to recruit him to the Asai family, he was even more shocked.

But after a brief thought, this young man who was much better looking than his brother unexpectedly declined Asai Nagamasa's invitation.

"I'm very sorry. This samurai-sama, I'm just a farmer. Although I learned some arithmetic and other things in the village since I was a child, I think it's not worth mentioning in front of you. I don't have the skills to become a samurai at all."

"Haha, is that so? But an ordinary farmer's son would not have this attitude when facing a warrior holding a sword."

Asai Nagamasa still kept smiling, but his right hand unabashedly grasped the handle of the knife.

"You probably don't know what will happen if you reject a samurai, even if I am a samurai from Kitaomi, not Owari."

Public aristocrats (those who have served the emperor for generations in Kyoto, or descendants of the emperor), daimyo, samurai, monks, and then the merchant workers and peasants who are in the same class in theory, but in fact have a lot of difference in real status due to the wealth gap.

Now that the public aristocracy is in extreme decline, the warriors who control the power have risen and become the de facto rulers. Even if an ordinary warrior in the countryside hacks to death a peasant he dislikes, at most he will lose some money. That’s all.

Koichiro suddenly trembled, and he quickly threw himself to the ground: "I'm very sorry, samurai-sama, I didn't mean to look down on you."

Koichiro hurriedly began to apologize to Asai Nagamasa.

Seeing this scene, Axiu next to her was confused. She clearly heard Tokichiro's request at that time, and Asai Nagamasa also agreed, but what was going on with the scene in front of her?
Although Axiu could not speak, Asai Nagamasa had already understood her meaning. The reason why he did this was of course to test the other party a little.

Although Fujikichiro admires his younger brother quite a lot, and the historical records in the parallel world also show that Koichiro is a very good staff member, but he has never met him after all, has he not?
Now it seems that although he was born in poverty, even in this situation that he deliberately created, even if Koichiro apologized, he still remained rational and spoke in an orderly manner. He did not look like a person who grew up in the countryside at all. The son of a farmer, Tokichiro's praise of his younger brother was really not a boast.

He sighed secretly in his heart. After receiving the questioning look from Axiu, Asai Nagamasa immediately stepped forward to support Koichiro and looked very surprised.

"Wait, Xiaoichiro, what are you doing? I'm just joking with you. If your brother finds out, he'll probably blame me for scaring you."

Koichiro, who was surprised by Asai Nagamasa's actions, was immediately attracted by this word: "My brother?"

The other party didn't say anything about his brother just now. He just wanted to recruit him to serve as an official. When he was completely confused, even if he really wanted to get ahead, he certainly wouldn't agree so easily.

But now it seems that things are not as simple as I thought?
Asai Nagamasa nodded: "Yes, I forgot to mention just now, Tokichiro is my friend, and it was he who asked me to recruit you into the Asai family. He hopes that you can have a great future."

"I also promised him that if you are willing to serve me and prove your ability, I can make the decision and let you become an Ashgaru head first, with a hundred koku of knowledge and practice, and then you can gradually improve later."

"If you reject me now, I'm afraid I won't be able to face Tokichiro next time."

Although it was still hard to imagine what kind of conditions his brother had to use to get such an opportunity for him, after hearing the reward promised by Asai Nagamasa, Koichiro was immediately tempted.

In the current Nippon, the salary given by daimyo to his samurai can be roughly divided into three types, namely knowledge and practice, support of rice and gold.

Zhixing refers to the control rights of the samurai team's land. If the territory is directly entrusted to a senior samurai, then most of the senior samurai will have the right to expropriate food from that land, enslave or punish local farmers, etc.

If Zhixing is assigned to middle- and lower-level samurai as a salary, they usually do not manage specific affairs within the territory, but only have the right to collect food.

For example, the 100 koku Tomoyo Asai Nagamasa just promised will be land that produces [-] koku. According to the current annual payment rate of six public and four citizens, once Koichiro agrees, in addition to [-]% will be given to help him farm the land. As a farmer, he can still receive at least about sixty dan of grain every year.

Calculated based on the calculation of 150 kilograms of brown rice per stone (brown rice with yellow skin removed, and white rice with ground brown rice), this is [-] kilograms of rice, which is definitely a pretty good reward.

If he chooses not to rent it to other farmers, but to cultivate it all by himself, that is [-] kilograms of grain, which is quite a fortune. You must know that under some of the stingiest daimyo, many of the lowest-level people The samurai received a salary of three to five stones year-round, which was not new at all.

After all, even if calculated based on three stones, there are more than 400 kilograms of grain, and two kilograms of rice a day. Although it is a bit difficult to feed the whole family, it will not completely starve to death.

Of course, those days would definitely be very, very poor.

Although Koichiro is a farmer and grows rice in the world, like all the farmers in Nippon, they basically cannot eat the rice they grow. Most of the ronin and lower-level samurai can only eat rice when they meet. Rice can only be eaten during festivals or when there is a war.

Japan is mountainous, and there are few fertile fields suitable for growing food. Coupled with the large population, it takes less than 2000 million koku to feed nearly [-] million people. On average, each person only has about two koku. Most of them are used by daimyo, temples, Occupied by shrines and many local tycoons, farmers can only rent land for farming.

Under the high annual supply rate of six to four people or even seven to three people, farmers as laborers can only obtain [-]% to [-]% of the actual output from the fields to feed three or five families. A family of more than ten people.

Under such circumstances, farmers, and even a considerable number of lower-level warriors, were completely reluctant to eat relatively high-value rice. They would replace all rice with wheat, millet, buckwheat, sweet potatoes, beans and other cereals. , together with the wild vegetables found in the mountain woods as rations.

In addition, the weeds and barnyards that grow next to the rice are also one of the staple foods of Nibon farmers. Although it produces very little food, it is at least stronger than pure weeds.

As for those rogues who lost their families and their land, they looked a little majestic, but in fact they did not necessarily live a better life than the farmers. At least the farmers still had land, but they had nothing and could only use their lives and hands. sword to win grain.

If you were drafted into battle, the lords and daimyo from various places would usually provide you with rice balls as military rations, and you would also receive small rewards after the war.

According to Asai Nagamasa's knowledge, this situation has not improved. It has been going on for a long time, and if nothing unexpected happens, it will continue until the Second World War, when the level of science and technology gradually developed, and the change was achieved.

The second is support rice. This is because the food obtained from Zhixing can only be obtained in autumn, but usually warriors also need to eat, so the lord will distribute it three times a year, 2% in spring (February) and 25% in summer (9 25% will be distributed every month), and the remaining 50% will be distributed in winter.

Finally, there is the payment, which, as the name suggests, is the payment of salary in cash.

Generally speaking, the lowest-ranking samurai can receive about three taels of gold a year. Since the exchange rates of gold and copper coins vary from place to place and in different periods, generally speaking, three taels of gold is worth about five ounces of gold.

Since the price of rice in Nippon is seriously affected by various complex conditions such as region, season, whether the harvest is good that year, whether the local area is in a state of war, etc., the price of rice in various places varies greatly. In extreme cases, the price may even differ by more than ten times.

When the price of rice was high, these three taels of gold might not even buy half a stone of rice. It could only be said to be better than nothing.

In addition, if you hold some special official positions under the lord, such as fire prevention and theft prevention, you will also receive additional salary, but it is not universal.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why Koichiro, who had not wanted to serve as a minister before, now looked at Asai Nagamasa with eager eyes.But he was still a little hesitant. His brother Tokichiro was just a small traveling businessman. How on earth did he make such a noble samurai as a friend and get such a promise from him?
Although the warrior in front of him is young, he is not an ordinary warrior at first glance. And based on his understanding of his brother, if he really encountered such treatment, he would probably be the first to go. How could it be his turn?
Just when he hesitated for a moment, a very old-looking woman in her fifties and a thin and short girl about ten years old walked in from the door.

The old woman was also carrying a bamboo basket in her hand, which contained a shallow layer, barely covering the bottom of the basket.

Asai Nagamasa looked over and found a small handful of wild vegetables and a few green apricots. It looked like she had gone out to look for food.

It's a pity that farmers in this era are extremely short of food, so competition among them for all edible things in the wild is fierce, so her harvest is not much, and this amount of food is probably not even enough to fill her own stomach. .

After seeing the heavily armed Asai Nagamasa and A Xiu, the old woman was immediately shocked and didn't know what was going on, because as ordinary farmers, except when collecting annual contributions every autumn, they may not be able to do anything throughout the year. I was able to see samurai several times.

Although the samurai have their own troubles, as long as they have knowledge and practice, they can eat rice, and they are essentially people in two different worlds from the farmers.

At this time, Nagamasa Asai took the initiative to say hello: "Could this be the mother of Tokichiro and Koichiro? I'm Nagamasa Asai, a friend of Tokichiro."

He had just made a little trick on a whim, which scared Koichiro, but it almost backfired.

Then it was time to find another way to remedy the situation and win the other party's favor a little bit. He didn't want the other party to be reluctant to be his subordinate just because of the reward he promised.

But his kindness was not reciprocated, because although the old woman seemed a little happy to hear that he was Tokichiro's friend, she still seemed to be a little afraid to speak out of long-term fear of the samurai class. A few words were mumbled out.

In the end, Koichiro quickly climbed up from the ground, and together with the little girl, he helped the old woman into the house to rest.

Then Asai Nagamasa heard whispers in the house and the old woman's cry of surprise.

He couldn't help but smile immediately. With his sharp ears and eyesight, he had already heard the whispers in the room, and he knew that the matter was almost settled.

Because the old woman is a mother who has deep expectations for her children, she hopes that Koichiro and Tenji will have a good future, and Koichiro is also a filial son, and they both know what to do is the best choice at present.

But soon Asai Nagamasa's expression became a little subtle, because he vaguely heard the old woman saying that if they could become samurai, Tokichiro's father and Koichiro's father would be very happy.

They don't have the same father. Did their mother remarry?

After a while, Koichiro came out awkwardly, seeming a little embarrassed.

Asai Nagamasa didn't take it seriously. Instead, he smiled and handed something over: "Koichiro, I'm sorry I was rude just now. This is Tokichiro's letter. You can read it first and then make a decision."

Koichiro took the letter and quickly confirmed that although it was not his brother's handwriting, the tone of it was definitely his.

After quickly reading the hundred or so words, Koichiro's expression showed that he was in disbelief, but after taking a deep breath, without saying any more nonsense, he prostrated himself on the ground.

"Koichiro is willing to follow Lord Asai, and Koichiro is willing to take his mother to Kotani City to serve for Lord!"

Mother?

Asai Nagamasa was a little dazed when he heard this. He knew that Tokichiro told his younger brother to seek refuge with him, but he didn't expect that Koichiro decided to take his old mother directly to Kodani Castle. Was this his decision to completely follow him?

I have to say that he made a very correct decision. As long as he is willing to serve loyally, he will never treat him badly!
"Okay, Koichiro, in that case, you should pack your luggage as soon as possible. Once you have packed it, you can take this token and go to Miyabe Castle to find Tsurujun Miyabe and ask him to arrange a place for you until I return. I’ll assign you tasks later.”

After handing over his token, Asai Nagamasa took out a dozen or so pieces of silver, which he used to subsidize the other party's family expenses. After all, whether it is moving to a new home or other aspects, money is needed.

It's not that he is stingy, in fact, he can give more, many warriors in Xiaogu City, and Xiao Liu have given him a lot of valuables such as gold and pearls, all of which are more valuable than silver.

But that may not be entirely a good thing for Koichiro who has no means of self-defense. In the war era, there were many robbers and bandits, and they were very rampant.

Nippon's thieves usually don't just steal. Once they find witnesses, they will even kill each other. He doesn't want Koichiro to bear unnecessary threats because of money.

I don’t know what exactly Tokichiro said in the letter. In short, Koichiro declined a little and accepted it, saying that he would deal with the relevant matters as soon as possible. In addition to packing his luggage, the most important thing is probably to inform his sister. .

Asai Nagamasa took advantage of the situation and chatted with the other party, trying to get to know the other party better.

This time, Koichiro didn't hide too much and told the whole story readily.

As Asai Nagamasa heard before, Tokichiro and Koichiro are half-brothers.

Tokichiro's father Kinoshita Yaemon was once an ashigaru under the father of Oda Nobunaga, the current head of the Oda family. He was injured on the battlefield and died of illness shortly after returning home, so his mother took Tokichiro and Tokichiro's sister A Together with his friend, he remarried Takeami, a farmer from the same village. At that time, Tokichiro was only seven years old.

Later, their mother gave birth to a younger brother, Koichiro, and a younger sister, Asahi.

Because in Nippon, the lower class, farmers, are not allowed to have surnames, so Tokichiro cannot even inherit his father's surname, Kinoshita. And because when Tokichiro grew up, he often had conflicts with his ignorant, ignorant, but rough-tempered adoptive father. That's why Tokichiro finally took the initiative to run away. If he wanted to get ahead, he should at least take back his biological father's surname.

Tokichiro, who had neither outstanding military power nor any start-up capital, did not go very smoothly at the beginning. It could even be said to be difficult. After many twists and turns, he found a job with a samurai named Matsushita from the Far River Kingdom. Although he was working hard, he was ostracized by his colleagues for being too diligent and was eventually fired. He had no choice but to start his journey again.

But about half a year ago, when Koichiro's biological father Takeami passed away due to illness, Tokichiro came back once and mysteriously said that he finally found an opportunity to stand out this time.

Asai Nagamasa was convinced that what Tokichiro was talking about at the beginning should be his newly acquired guardian spirit.

After chatting for a while, Koichiro suddenly realized that they were just standing in the yard chatting like this. It was really disrespectful to the samurai. He quickly and sincerely invited Asai Nagamasa into the house to sit for a while.

Asai Nagamasa smiled and waved his hand in rejection: "Koichiro, your brother Tokichiro and I are friends. Even if you become my subordinate, you can treat me as a friend.

Asai Nagamasa knows very well that loyalty can never be guaranteed only by profit. If he wants to achieve something, he needs to rely on his own ability and charm to gather a group of talented people.

It was his first time to try Miyabe Tsugujun, his former martial arts teacher and many retainers of the Asai family were the second time, and it was the third time for Tokichiro and Koichiro in front of him.

"Furthermore, Tokichiro longs to get ahead. Don't you, Koichiro, have the same desire deep in your heart?"

When Koichiro heard this, his heart suddenly beat violently. How could it not be possible?

If he really didn't have any, why would he go to work for a merchant without asking for compensation, just to learn arithmetic, writing and other knowledge from there?
Facing the smiling Asai Nagamasa, Koichiro quickly saluted and thanked him while his heart was surging. Although he did not really think that he, a son of a farmer, could become his friend, this was a very good start.

Maybe, my brother really found a great opportunity for himself this time.
After settling Koichiro's matter, Asai Nagamasa and Axiu returned to Qingzhou City again.He originally thought of temporarily hiring some ronin to escort Koichiro, but Koichiro declined because he had another way, which was to follow the caravan to Kitaomi.

He had been working for a merchant in the village for a long time, and he still had some ways to go.

　Sure enough, I was too happy too early. The dozens of subscriptions on the day it was put on the shelves are almost in single digits now. For Pujie, the number of updates does not make any difference.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)