I'm Going to Make My Stand on the Kiso River!

"Iemon, how did it go?"

The moment they stepped out of Maeno Tokiyuki's residence, Hachisuka Masakatsu and Horio Yoshiharu hurriedly crowded around them.

Sobue Kan'emon and Kichibē had returned to the village first. Yamauchi Kazutoyo still had five tan of paddy fields there. The rice seeds had already been scattered, and the fields still had to be planted. At the very least, they needed to secure the family's food.

"Uncle agreed to help us, and he promised to provide permits for three boats."

Hachisuka Masakatsu's face lit up. "How large are they?"

"Small fast boats with a cargo capacity of thirty koku. They are smaller than the small fast boats used for coastal shipping in Ise Bay, but they are more than sufficient for the Kiso River," Yamauchi Kazutoyo explained.

During Japan's Warring States period, naval forces were chiefly tasked with safeguarding waterborne trade routes, and mostly used small fast boats and sekibune. Since they lacked the technology for oceanic navigation, they could only operate near the coast.

On an inland river like the Kiso River, even small fast boats and sekibune were unnecessary. Ordinary little skiffs were enough.

"A thirty-koku boat counts as a large vessel on the Kiso River. Iemon really is willing to spend," Hachisuka Masakatsu said, delighted once more.

In Japan's Warring States period, one koku was equivalent to 150 kilograms. A thirty-koku boat could carry 4.5 tons fully loaded—enough to hold quite a lot of cargo.

"When will they be ready?"

"Uncle said ten days at the earliest," Yamauchi Kazutoyo answered.

Hachisuka Masakatsu clenched his fist. "No time to lose. I'll leave for Kaito District at once to recruit men."

"A thirty-koku boat requires twelve oars, six on each side. Three boats means thirty-six men." When it came to boats, Hachisuka Masakatsu was in his comfort zone. He knew the matter inside and out.

"Not enough." Yamauchi Kazutoyo shook his head. "I think we need sixty men, and they must be armed."

"Ah?" Hachisuka Masakatsu cried out. "Iemon, what exactly are you planning?"

Hachisuka Masakatsu had originally thought Yamauchi Kazutoyo merely wanted to acquire a few boats and scrape out a living hauling freight along the Kiso River. But from the sound of it, it was not that simple.

Extra manpower, weapons and equipment—this was how one formed a navy!

"Koroku, let me ask you. If three boats transported cargo on the Kiso River, how much could they earn in a day?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo countered.

Hachisuka Masakatsu drew a deep breath. "Based on past experience, hiring a thirty-koku boat along the Kiso River costs eight hundred mon per day."

"The daily wage for each oarsman is twenty mon. Twelve oarsmen would be..."

"Two hundred and forty mon!" Yamauchi Kazutoyo immediately gave the answer.

Hachisuka Masakatsu was startled. He had not expected Yamauchi Kazutoyo to be skilled at arithmetic as well.

"Not counting the passage fees paid to the daimyo, a single boat can turn a profit of around four hundred mon a day."

"How are the passage fees charged?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo continued. He had no memories concerning this matter.

Hachisuka Masakatsu answered, "Boats must pay port fees upon entering a harbor, one hundred and twenty mon per vessel."

"After paying the passage fee, a boat carrying a travel permit issued by the daimyo may pass freely for two days."

"Boats also require maintenance, another expense that cannot be avoided."

"To put it simply, a thirty-koku boat can earn around three hundred mon a day."

Yamauchi Kazutoyo made a rough calculation. "So if we have three boats, we can bring in nearly thirty kan a month?"

"If only it were that easy." Hachisuka Masakatsu shook his head with a soft laugh. "First, merchants will not have cargo orders for us every day. Second, the Kiso River often floods. When that happens, the current becomes too swift for boats to dock."

"Besides, when war breaks out, the daimyo will requisition boats. It may be only a few days, or as long as half a month—even several months. During that time, the daimyo only covers a small portion of the costs."

"By my estimate, it would already be the absolute limit if our three boats earned three to five kan a month."

There was something else Hachisuka Masakatsu did not say. If their luck turned bad and a boat capsized in the river, not only would they lose everything, they would have to compensate the merchants for their cargo. That would be disastrous.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo suddenly smiled. "Koroku, you really are experienced. Bringing you to Matsukura Castle was indeed a wise choice."

"But since you understand these matters so thoroughly, you should know that if we merely run boats, we can do little more than barely make ends meet."

"Did we go to all this trouble just for that?"

Hachisuka Masakatsu had no answer, because before coming to Matsukura Castle, his plan had simply been to feed his family. He truly had not possessed much ambition.

But Yamauchi Kazutoyo clearly did not intend to play small. If they spent a whole year braving wind and rain on the Kiso River, baking under the sun, only to earn a few dozen kan, they might as well not do it at all.

Besides, the basic transport market on the Kiso River had long been saturated. Yamauchi Kazutoyo and the others were newcomers; even with Matsukura Castle at their backs, they could not possibly see orders pouring in overnight.

"Iemon, what are you planning to do?" After struggling inwardly, Hachisuka Koroku suddenly asked.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo clapped his hands and pointed toward the distant Kiso River. "While we were just talking, seven boats have already passed through here."

"What passed by were not boats—they were money! My money!"

"Suppose we could collect passage fees from every boat traveling back and forth on the Kiso River. Even if we only charged each boat a few dozen mon..."

As Yamauchi Kazutoyo's words entered Hachisuka Masakatsu's ears, Hachisuka Masakatsu was completely dumbfounded.

He could understand every single word, yet when put together, how did they become so horrifying?

Come on, do you really dare to think like that?

What kind of place was this?

This was the Kiso River, the borderland between Owari and Mino. To the north lay Saito Yoshitatsu; to the south, Oda Nobunaga. Downstream, near the river mouth, stood Nagashima Gansho-ji, while upstream stood Oda Nobukiyo of Inuyama Castle.

Pulling something like this in the heartland of these four great powers was like an old man eating arsenic—courting death, pure and simple!

"Iemon, I know there are many pirate bands in the Seto Inland Sea and Ise Bay, but they all have their own strongholds. Once they head out to sea, they come and go without a trace. Even if the daimyo wish to wipe them out, it is truly difficult."

"But we only have three small boats, and we would be on an inland river like the Kiso River. If the upstream and downstream routes were blocked and we were surrounded, there would be no way to escape." Hachisuka Masakatsu felt that Yamauchi Kazutoyo was getting carried away by wild fancy.

"Besides, if collecting tolls were really so easy, the Kiso River would already be crawling with bandits." Hachisuka Masakatsu added one more point.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo naturally understood the difficulties involved. But this was not a whim; he had long since formed a practical plan in his mind.

"Koroku, I'll ask you only this: no one has collected tolls on the Kiso River before. Is it because they cannot, or because they dare not?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo asked at once.

Hachisuka Masakatsu replied, "Of course they can. The Maeno, Tsubouchi, Matsubara, Kajita, Hibino, and other local clans collect them too, but they are all powerful local clans with daimyo backing them."

"What do we have?"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo untied the sword at his waist and held it out before Hachisuka Masakatsu. "We have this!"

A flicker of disappointment crossed Hachisuka Masakatsu's eyes. He gently pushed Yamauchi Kazutoyo's hand away. "Iemon, hot blood alone is not enough."

"And doing this would harm the interests of the local clans and daimyo along the route. They will not stand by and watch."

"Once we offend a daimyo, there will no longer be a place for either of us in Owari or Mino."

Yamauchi Kazutoyo suddenly stepped forward. His deep eyes stared straight into Hachisuka Masakatsu's. "Koroku, when did I ever say we would collect tolls in Owari?"

"If not in Owari, then where?"

"What lies upstream of the Kiso River?"

"North beyond Inuyama Castle is the tributary Hida River, which leads to Hida. To the east lies Ena District of Mino, and from there one can enter Shinano."

Yamauchi Kazutoyo nodded heavily. "Exactly!"

"So we will collect tolls at the junction of the Hida River and the Kiso River!"

"But that is Saito clan territory..." Hachisuka Masakatsu looked troubled.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo raised an eyebrow. "But where we are now is Owari. Can Saito clan men come running to Matsukura Castle?"

Hachisuka Masakatsu thought Yamauchi Kazutoyo intended to rely on the Maeno family, so he replied, "If the Saito clan insists on taking us, Maeno Shikibu-no-jō alone likely cannot protect us."

Yamauchi Kazutoyo did not answer immediately. Instead, he beckoned to Horio Yoshiharu in the distance.

Once Horio Yoshiharu approached, Yamauchi Kazutoyo suddenly asked, "Mosuke, are there any Jodo Shinshu temples nearby?"

"Why are you asking that, Iemon?"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo's expression turned solemn. "I've decided. I must immediately become a believer in Jodo Shinshu!"