Mino's Worries (Bonus Update—Please Keep Reading)

Mino Province had originally been territory of the Toki clan. Saito Dosan had overthrown his lord and driven out the shugo of Mino, Toki Yorinori, and Mino had changed hands ever since.

After being exiled by Saito Dosan, Toki Yorinori fled to the Rokkaku clan in Omi. For this reason, relations between the two sides were extremely tense.

Therefore, Saito Dosan married his eldest son, Saito Yoshitatsu, to a daughter of the Asai clan of Northern Omi. Asai Hisamasa adopted his younger sister as his daughter, then gave her to Saito Yoshitatsu as his principal wife.

In other words, Saito Yoshitatsu was Asai Katamasa's—Nagamasa's—brother-in-law, while Saito Tatsuoki had to call Asai Katamasa uncle.

At the time, thanks to the Saito clan's alliances with the Asai clan and the Oda clan, they could conduct trade by water through the territories of those two clans.

But as the Saito clan's diplomatic situation with the surrounding daimyo changed, life in Mino grew difficult.

After Saito Dosan's death, Saito Yoshitatsu fell out with Oda Nobunaga, and Mino essentially lost the Kiso River, its economic lifeline.

Then Saito Yoshitatsu's nominal father-in-law, Asai Hisamasa, submitted to the Rokkaku clan. Saito Yoshitatsu could no longer pass through Omi, and Mino's two economic lifelines were cut off at once.

Reconciliation with the Oda clan was not particularly realistic, so Saito Yoshitatsu ultimately chose to improve relations with the Rokkaku clan.

Saito Yoshitatsu's method was simple: he sought mediation from the shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru.

On one hand, Saito Yoshitatsu adopted his younger sister as his daughter and married her to the son of Ise Sadataka, the shogunate's Mandokoro steward, thereby establishing a marital tie with a close retainer of the shogun.

Ise Sadataka belonged to the "pro-Miyoshi faction" within the shogunate, and Saito Yoshitatsu thus also connected himself with the Miyoshi clan, overlords of Kinki.

After mediation from multiple sides, Saito Yoshitatsu not only got his wish and made peace with the Rokkaku clan, but also secured for himself the status of an "honored companion" of the Muromachi shogunate, along with the Isshiki clan surname.

At this point, Saito Yoshitatsu was brimming with pride and satisfaction.

Not only had he raised the standing of the Saito clan by leaps and bounds, he had also completed his control over Mino by establishing a "council of chief retainers." Most importantly, he had opened up foreign trade routes.

Yet before Saito Yoshitatsu could celebrate for more than a few days, the situation underwent another dramatic upheaval.

First, Oda Nobunaga captured Iwakura Castle and unified Owari. Immediately afterward, Asai Katamasa of Northern Omi declared his break from the Rokkaku clan and independence.

What pained Saito Yoshitatsu most was that, in order to make peace with the Rokkaku clan, he had divorced his wife only recently...

Now, not only was the Kiso River impassable, but the trade route through Omi had been severed as well.

Saito Yoshitatsu was worried, and the other local warrior bands of Mino were even more worried.

Mino Province, Motosu District, Kitagata Castle.

Andō Morinari set down the vermilion-seal letter in his hand, his expression exceptionally grim.

Seeing that his elder brother was in a poor mood, Andō Gōshi asked, "Brother, what did our lord say in his letter?"

"Our lord wants us to change our surname!"

"Change it to what?"

"Iga!" Andō Morinari shook his head and sighed.

Changing surnames was not much of an issue in itself. Saito Yoshitatsu had even changed his own surname to Isshiki.

And Andō Morinari was not the only one being made to change his name. Saito Yoshitatsu had simultaneously ordered several other chief retainers to change theirs as well.

Kuwabara Naomoto had become Ujii Naomoto, Hineno Hiroyuki had become Nobinaga Hiroyuki, and Takegoshi Naomitsu had become Nariyoshi Naomitsu. These were all surnames used by chief retainers of the Isshiki clan.

At the same time, Saito Yoshitatsu had also obtained matching court ranks for them. Strictly speaking, this was a good thing, since their family standing had risen along with it.

But none of that was what Andō Morinari wanted most right now. All he wanted was to sell off the things in the castle that were practically growing mold, then restore prosperity to the increasingly withered castle town.

If they could not collect taxes, what was this whole household supposed to eat?

"Brother, put the matter of changing surnames aside for now."

"The envoys we sent out have already returned. The Hattori clan is demanding an outrageous price—the rates they set for the merchants are far too high."

"Ganshoji Temple in Nagashima will not budge either. Not only would selling our goods now require thirty percent more in taxes than before, but we have no way to purchase the saltpeter we urgently need. The merchants have many complaints."

After hearing Andō Gōshi out, Andō Morinari's head began to ache as well.

"What good is telling me? You need to go find our lord!"

"Doesn't a single piece of good news come in all day?" Andō Morinari slapped the table and said indignantly.

"There is one thing," Andō Gōshi suddenly said.

"What is it?"

Andō Gōshi said with a smile, "A letter has just arrived from Owari. It was written by Iemon, Otsu's younger brother."

"We had thought that after Iwakura Castle fell, all the Yamauchi clan's family members had died alongside Father-in-law. Who would have thought the entire Yamauchi family was still alive? Otsu cried after reading the letter."

Andō Morinari paused. He had wondered what good news it could be, though this was indeed worth celebrating.

"Is that so? Then congratulations to Shichiro." Andō Morinari forced out a smile.

Andō Gōshi continued, "Brother, Iemon also said in his letter that he will bring several ships over after some time, and he hopes they can pass through our clan's territory."

Hmm?

Andō Morinari immediately sat upright. "The Iwakura Oda clan is gone. How does Iemon have that kind of capability?"

"How would I know? That is simply what the letter says." Andō Gōshi spread his hands.

Andō Morinari pressed on, "How many ships does he have?"

"The letter says three."

"Three?" Andō Morinari instantly lost interest. What could three ships do?

But on second thought, something was better than nothing.

"Fine. I will leave this matter to you."

Andō Morinari waved a hand. "I still need to make a trip to Inabayama Castle. I will return in three months."

"You will be gone that long?"

"We will be sending troops into Omi soon. I need to attend the council."

"Also, our lord is rebuilding a family temple at Inabayama Castle, and I am the construction magistrate."

Their family's financial situation was already running a deficit, yet they still had to provide men and money to help Saito Yoshitatsu wage war and undertake construction. Andō Morinari was thoroughly displeased.

Oh, right—Saito Yoshitatsu would soon be marrying again, and he would have to prepare another congratulatory gift.

"Ah, what a headache!"

"What is there to worry about?"

"So a few more people came than expected. Take them all!"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo had waited at Tsushima Harbor for two days before Hachisuka Masakatsu finally returned. Yamauchi Kazutoyo had originally thought Hachisuka Masakatsu's trip home to find men had not gone smoothly. Instead, it had gone too smoothly.

Not only had Hachisuka Masakatsu recruited enough oarsmen, but every one of his younger brothers had said they wanted to come join them as well.

In addition, Horio Yoshiharu had contacted quite a few relatives from his hometown, so they now had somewhat more men than planned.

"But we only have three ships. Do we really need this many people?" Hachisuka Masakatsu asked uneasily.

All these people needed to be paid. Even at just twenty mon per person per day, the daily expense was no small burden for Yamauchi Kazutoyo.

"There may be only three now, but that does not mean there will always be only three."

"Don't worry. Before long, Kuroku, you will be complaining that we do not have enough hands!" Yamauchi Kazutoyo gave Hachisuka Masakatsu a reassuring look.

"Are these men reliable?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo continued.

The business he was about to undertake was one that meant tying his head to his belt. Having many men did not matter, but they absolutely had to be trustworthy.

Hachisuka Masakatsu dared to vouch for that. "Most are from the same village, and many once served my father. There will definitely be no problem."

Though Hachisuka Masakatsu spoke with absolute conviction, Yamauchi Kazutoyo still said, to be safe, "Bring them to Matsukura Castle first. Do not tell them what we are doing yet. I will cover their food and lodging during that time."

"Once the ships are finished, sound them out. Those willing to do it can stay."

"Give travel money to those unwilling, and let them go home on their own."

Food, lodging, and travel money too?

Hachisuka Masakatsu was startled. If being a water pirate came with such treatment these days, only a fool would go become an ashigaru.

"Then Iemon had better return soon, or I am afraid you will not have the money to pay the bills."