Once he chose to abandon Tsukimiura, how would his subjects view him as their ruler? What would the nobles of other countries say about him behind his back?
The thought of the mocking smiles they might wear made his blood surge. His hatred of Dongfang Mao deepened.
But hatred alone could not give him real power, and he certainly could not curse Dongfang Mao to death from a thousand miles away.
Reality lay before him. He had to make a decision.
"Send an envoy to make contact with Dongfang Mao and find out where he stands."
The Daimyo stopped and issued his order in a grave voice.
"If he's willing to be on friendly terms with me, then I can give him Tsukimiura. But if he insists on making an enemy of me..."
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
"Send someone to the Land of Fire for help at once. Even if they're too badly weakened to send shinobi, surely they can spare some ordinary troops?"
"Yes!"
Seeing that the Daimyo had finally relented, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
They immediately set about arranging for an envoy to travel to Tsukimiura.
However, seven days passed, and the envoy did not return.
As everyone waited anxiously, a sudden report plunged the entire hall into stunned silence.
"D-Daimyo! Something terrible has happened! According to the latest intelligence, Grand Governor Dongfang Mao led the New Martial Army on a three-hundred-mile march straight through the east. He has already taken Songfeng, Yingchuan, Sakurari, Inari, and other cities. His army is now at the gates of Kasumi Town!"
At that moment, the Daimyo stared at the panicked messenger. His face went deathly pale, and his body trembled.
"Y-You've got to be joking! D-Dongfang Mao has already reached Kasumi Town? How could he have moved so fast?"
"D-Daimyo, I swear it's true!"
Cold sweat beaded on the messenger's forehead, and his voice shook.
"According to the urgent report, Dongfang Mao brought no food or supplies on this campaign. His entire army traveled light and advanced at an incredible speed, unstoppable!"
The Daimyo slammed his hand on the table and sprang to his feet.
"Impossible! How can an army march without bringing food and supplies—"
He broke off mid-sentence. Suddenly, he understood, and his face turned even paler.
The granaries in the captured cities were surely supplying the New Martial Army now!
The thought that his own people were being forced to feed the enemy—that their resources would soon become weapons aimed at him—made the world spin. He staggered and clutched the table, barely managing to stay upright.
The ministers in the hall fell into even greater disarray. Several senior officials hurried forward.
"Daimyo, you must stop Dongfang Mao at once! Kasumi Town is already close to Tsurumi Pass. If he takes control of the pass, the consequences will be unthinkable!"
The officials in the hall all blanched at this.
Everyone knew Tsurumi Pass was a vital choke point in the Land of Rice Fields. If it fell, the enemy army could march straight into the country. At that point, even the Daimyo Mansion would be in danger!
The once-noisy hall fell silent. Even the sound of breathing was clear.
The nobles, who were usually busy scheming against one another, now wore the same look of terror.
"R-Right... We have to stop him. We can't let him take Tsurumi Pass..."
With one hand braced on the table to steady his trembling body, the Daimyo lifted his head and shouted,
"Quick! Send for the Konoha Ninja from the Land of Fire!"
Kasumi Town was an important transportation hub linking the east and south. Merchants and travelers passed through in endless streams, and its streets were bustling.
Now, black smoke curled into the sky. Elite soldiers of the New Martial Army and tens of thousands of troops from the New Auxiliary Army flooded into the city like a tide, driving the terrified residents into the streets.
Anyone who dared to resist was cut down in a flash of steel.
This major stronghold in the eastern Land of Rice Fields had been plunged into an unprecedented military disaster.
Faced with tens of thousands of New Auxiliary Army soldiers and several thousand well-equipped New Martial Army troops, the city had fallen without putting up any meaningful resistance.
In a single day, all its former beauty and prosperity were wiped away.
Dozens of corpses in fine clothes lay sprawled on the steps before the Magistrate Office.
They had once been the most powerful nobles in the town.
Now, their headless bodies and the blood covering the ground formed a ghastly scene.
In the square before the Magistrate Office, more than a hundred four-wheeled carts stood in neat rows, loaded with grain, salt, iron, cloth, weapons, and other supplies seized from Kasumi Town.
After the lesson at Tsukimiura, Dongfang Mao had come to understand that no matter what he did after taking a city, chaos would reign within it, and people would condemn him at every turn.
Although effective governance could eventually restore order, it took too long. Dongfang Mao had no time to slowly set things right.
Since that was the case, he might as well take things further and plunge the city into even greater chaos.
So he began allowing his troops to loot the city, especially the estates of the powerful.
However, to prevent things from getting out of hand, Dongfang Mao appointed military supervisors and issued strict orders: the soldiers could keep only five percent of what they seized. The rest had to be turned over to the army. Anyone who disobeyed would be executed on the spot.
This not only brought out the New Martial Army's ruthlessness and raised morale, ensuring its fighting strength in the battles to come, but also served as a powerful warning to the residents, making their fear outweigh their hatred.
Of course, when it came to the other group in the city—the merchants—Dongfang Mao continued the conciliatory policy he had used in Tsukimiura.
He left the city's key merchants entirely untouched.
Especially those from the Land of Fire.
Dongfang Mao could grit his teeth and accept making an enemy of the Land of Fire.
But he truly could not afford to touch these merchants.
After all, his territory was so barren it could nearly make smoke rise from the ground. Only trade with the Land of Fire's merchant caravans kept even the most basic goods circulating.
If he cut off that economic lifeline, he would be left with nothing but regret.
Once the city had been thrown into chaos, Dongfang Mao stepped forward again. In the square, he arranged a fair distribution of the necessities the residents needed to live.
Kasumi Town's wealth was no exaggeration. Dongfang Mao set aside thirty percent of the seized goods.
Once it had been divided evenly, the poor were left with living conditions twice as good as before.
Meanwhile, the formerly wealthy had been reduced to poverty.
The poor had benefited from Dongfang Mao's generosity, so they no longer spoke ill of him.
As for the rich, when they saw the formerly destitute commoners eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves with what had once been their money, they turned their resentment toward the Grand Governor's Mansion against those same poor residents.
This set the two groups against one another. Once the officials dispatched from Tsukimiura arrived, they would begin restoring order and tending to the people's needs.
Having endured war and rediscovered the value of peace, the residents would naturally offer little resistance to the Grand Governor's Mansion.
As for the diehards, there was nothing more to say. They could go down and give their lives for the Land of Rice Fields.
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