Lin Qing and Oda Ieyasu talked through the night.
The four directions of reform could each branch out into countless paths. By the time they were translated into actual work, there were already hundreds of densely packed projects.
"...There are still many details to work out afterward, but that's roughly everything."
Looking at the manuscripts spread across the table, Oda Ieyasu felt as though he could see a magnificent new era unfolding. The world would be changed by these thin sheets of paper.
"It should... become better, right?"
"Of course."
Lin Qing spoke with certainty as he looked toward the dawn rising beyond the window.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
All Lin Qing could do was offer guidance on the broader direction. He truly was not skilled at implementation or managing government affairs, so he could only trouble Oda Ieyasu again and again.
"This is my job, after all."
Oda Ieyasu gathered up the documents on the table.
The sound of a wooden sword slicing through the air came from the courtyard.
Following the sound, Lin Qing and Oda Ieyasu saw Little Hideyoshi practicing swordsmanship alone, every movement precise and methodical.
"Our generation has had it rough, one way or another," Oda Ieyasu said.
Family, wives, close friends... for all sorts of reasons, pushed along by politics and interests, they had passed away in ways that always left a knot in one's heart whenever one thought back on them.
Watching Little Hideyoshi sweat through his training, Oda Ieyasu smiled.
"Let the next generation live happily."
Lin Qing nodded.
After leaving the Feudal Lord's Mansion, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki glanced back.
"Is this... the end of the journey?"
"Yeah."
Lin Qing said, "It's over."
Isshiki felt a little reluctant.
It was not that he truly missed the days of traveling with Lin