Uchiha Takashi also suddenly noticed a blind spot: why did the Guard Force's ordinary samurai members have to be ordinary civilians?
Once Uchiha Takashi changed his perspective, things immediately looked different. In the past, viewing things from a civilian's perspective, he had always assumed those ten ordinary members would all be ordinary civilians.
But once all the Uchiha civilians moved here, the Uchiha would form the majority in this village. By then, all ten members would probably be Uchiha civilians, so would the problems mentioned earlier still exist?
Uchiha Takashi said, "Fū Uchiha, you raised a good point, but... we can recruit only Uchiha civilians. As for those ordinary civilians... they don't have to join the Guard Force."
Fū Uchiha's eyes immediately lit up at those words. "As expected of the third elder! You solved a difficult problem so effortlessly!"
Uchiha Takashi merely shook his head. "This is just a very ordinary way of thinking through a problem."
Having lived in an egalitarian society, he would subconsciously put himself on the same level as civilians.
In fact, as long as he remembered that he was actually in a world where privilege existed and could not be shaken, none of these worries existed.
Doing things this way in ancient times fit the era perfectly anyway. As for whether problems would arise in the future...
He would be dead by then, so why worry so much? He would trust the wisdom of future generations.
After saying so much, Uchiha Takashi felt a little sleepy. Tomorrow's business could wait until tomorrow. That would do for today.
"Third elder! Third elder!" Urgent knocking rang out, jolting Uchiha Takashi awake in bed. "What?"
Yukimichi Uchiha strode inside and said gravely, "Third elder, something happened at the clan grounds."
Uchiha Takashi was immediately wide awake. "What happened?"
Yukimichi Uchiha's face was filled with grief. "This morning, the Sarutobi Clan launched a surprise attack on the front line. At the same time, the Senju Clan raided the clan grounds. Although we ultimately kept the Senju from succeeding,
"Many of our clansmen died in this raid..."
Uchiha Takashi immediately rolled out of bed, shaking his head and murmuring, "No, we can't keep being this passive. We don't hold the initiative on the battlefield. Our casualties will only keep growing..."
Yukimichi Uchiha looked at Uchiha Takashi worriedly. "Third elder, what should we do now?"
Uchiha Takashi studied the situation on the map, his gaze shifting repeatedly between the Senju, Uzumaki, and Sarutobi, until it finally settled on the Hyuga Clan.
At present, the Senju, Uzumaki, and Sarutobi clans had formed a pincer formation, holding the Uchiha Clan firmly between them.
They were also attacking the front line continuously, trying to tighten the encirclement and trap the Uchiha completely.
If the Uchiha made even a slight mistake, or failed to hold the front line, they would become a completely isolated island. Their destruction would only be a matter of time.
And the key to breaking this deadlock lay with the Hyuga Clan, located beside the Uchiha Clan!
The Uchiha Clan lay to the west of the stream's upper reaches. Directly ahead, to the east of the upper reaches, was the Senju Clan. The Uzumaki were to the southeast, and the Sarutobi to the north.
The Uchiha Clan's front line was to the northeast, firmly anchored there like a wall. But if that wall broke and fell, the Sarutobi and Uzumaki could swiftly reposition and trap the Uchiha completely.
The Hyuga Clan's grounds were only a few hundred li southwest of the Uchiha Clan. If the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan could form an alliance,
Then the Senju Clan's plan to trap the Uchiha Clan completely would be nothing but nonsense.
This was also the Senju Clan's only weakness. They had not persuaded the Hyuga, only the Sarutobi.
But given the Uchiha Clan's appalling diplomatic abilities, there was absolutely no way they could ally with the Hyuga Clan.
That was why the Senju Clan could carry out their plan so boldly and confidently, without even bothering to conceal it.
That would indeed have been the case with the Uchiha of the past. They might not even have recognized the Senju Clan's plan, much less found a weakness in it.
But... the Uchiha Clan now had Uchiha Takashi.
Uchiha Takashi immediately told Yukimichi Uchiha, "Yukimichi, go tell the first elder to send a diplomatic letter to the Hyuga Clan and let me go talk to them."
Yukimichi Uchiha said, "Huh? Third elder, what are you trying to do?"
Uchiha Takashi said, "You wouldn't understand even if I explained. Just tell the first elder. If he hesitates, tell him I have my own plans."
Yukimichi Uchiha was left dazed by those words, with no idea what Uchiha Takashi actually meant, but that did not stop him from delivering the message.
Still confused, he immediately sprinted off into the distance.
After he left, Fū Uchiha came in. "Third elder, all the clansmen who arrived yesterday have started reclaiming land. The remaining twenty-five sets of farming tools have all been lent out too.
"We expect to restore the cultivated area to 300 tan (30 hectares) in three days. We just can't assess the quality of the newly reclaimed fields yet."
Uchiha Takashi merely acknowledged this indifferently. "Understood. How are preparations for the Guard Force coming along?"
Fū Uchiha said, "We've found a relatively large house to serve as the Guard Force building for now. Construction has already begun on the actual Guard Force building, and it should be finished in half a month.
"All the clansmen who arrived first have joined the Guard Force, and the special insignia have been sewn onto their clan robes.
"We just haven't recruited any ordinary civilians into the Guard Force yet."
Uchiha Takashi sat down in a chair. "There's no need to recruit ordinary civilians for now. We can expand the Guard Force when we're short of people.
"If we have enough people, we don't need to recruit ordinary civilians into the Guard Force as samurai at all.
"How is our effort to accept refugees fleeing here from elsewhere coming along?"
Fū Uchiha said, "We've already sent two clansmen to other places. There's been no word from them yet."
Fū Uchiha's answer was entirely within Uchiha Takashi's expectations. Although the Uchiha Clan was located in a remote part of the Land of Fire,
It was still some distance from the border. Refugees generally would not venture this far inland.
Only an especially large war breaking out at the border might cause refugees to pour in on a large scale.
Uchiha Takashi said calmly, "Don't try going to the border yet. Go to the impoverished villages nearby. Just tell them what things are like here, then bring back anyone willing to come.
"Our population is still far too small, and we have far too much uncultivated land. We'll take as many people as we can get. Remember, people are the most important strategic resource.
"Without people to carry out production, no matter how much territory or farmland we have, we won't be able to turn it into strength of our own."
Fū Uchiha lowered his head and said in realization, "I understand!"