Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

Since Yamamoto Shigeyuki was supervising the construction of the Takeda clan's new main castle in Maizuru Bay, the responsibility of land inspection fell on his colleague Kagawa Morihisa.

Since the land survey was piloted in Wakasa Toshiki County in November last year, excluding the time lost due to the rebellion of the Itsumi clan, in nearly half a year, Kagawa Morihisa lived up to expectations and completed the land surveys of the entire Wakasa, most of Tango, and the entire Tsuruga County.

During this period, he led the land inspection officials to personally go into villages, fields, and forests, compare the account books, and conduct detailed investigations based on the area and grade of the fields (paddy fields, dry fields, and houses). The investigation results were recorded in a book, and then the final and most accurate stone height was obtained based on the shisheng (the amount of rice produced in a certain area) multiplied by the measured area.

As of the end of June, according to the latest statistical data, the koku of Wakasa Province was revised to 88,000 koku, an increase of 3,000 koku from before; the koku of Tango Province was revised to 123,000 koku, an increase of 13,000 koku from before; and the koku of Tsuruga County was revised to 25,000 koku, an increase of 5,000 koku from before.

In summary, except for Higashitajima, which had not yet undergone land survey, the total koku of the other three areas in the Takeda domain increased from 215,000 koku to 236,000 koku, an increase of nearly 10%.

In addition, Kagawa Morihisa was also ordered to implement the "one area, one farm" and annual tribute system reforms, clarifying the complicated and confusing local taxes and reducing the heavy taxes borne by the people.

The annual tribute borne by the farmers was also unified from "four officials and six civilians" in Wakasa and "five officials and five civilians" in Tango and Tsuruga to "one official and two civilians", greatly alleviating the heavy burden on the farmers' shoulders.

In midsummer, Morihisa Kagawa was walking on a ridge in the northwest corner of Tango Kumano County, one of the few villages in Tango that had not yet completed land surveys.

Morihisa Kagawa compared the account books and maps in his hands, directed the officials to measure carefully to avoid errors, and wiped the sweat beads from his forehead. Under the scorching sun, this once fair-skinned young man is now tanned and looks like a completely different person.

Just then, two middle-aged men who looked like farmers, carrying a large wooden barrel, came staggeringly to Kagawa Morihisa from a distance.

"Thank you for your hard work, Lord Kagawa. I am a farmer from Mihara Village. The weather is hot and you have worked hard. We have fetched a bucket of water to quench your thirst." The two middle-aged men said with a smile on their faces.

"Thank you." Morihisa Kagawa looked up at the sky, thought for a moment, and felt that everyone had been busy for the whole morning and should indeed take a break. So he raised his hand and called the land inspector officials in the distance to come over to take a rest and drink some water to quench their thirst.

Kagawa Morihisa scooped up some water from a bamboo tube and drank it all in one gulp. He felt refreshed and energetic: "This water is cold and sweet. It shouldn't be river water, right?"

A middle-aged man smiled and said, "This is the spring water I picked up from the mountain. It's cool and perfect for you to cool down."

"What's your name?" Kagawa Morihisa then scooped another bucket of water, then he remembered that he didn't know their names yet.

"My name is Yasuke, and his name is Kosuke. He is my elder brother." The middle-aged man answered respectfully.

"You two came here not just to deliver a bucket of water, right? Tell me, what else is there?" No one would be too nice for nothing. Kagawa Morihisa felt that the two villagers must have something to ask for.

"Lord Kagawa, it's not a big deal," Yasuke scratched his head sheepishly and said with a smile, "We brothers just want to ask, when will the land survey of Mihara Village be completed?"

Xiangchuan Shengjiu heard this and smiled and said, "Why, are you two so anxious?"

"How can we not be anxious?" Yukisuke interrupted impatiently. "I heard that the two neighboring villages completed the land survey at the beginning of the month. From now on, they will pay taxes and annual tributes according to the new land survey accounts. In a year, they can save a lot of food."

"If the landowner in your village hadn't refused to cooperate, we would have completed it long ago." At this time, a land inspection official who came over to drink water said to Xingzhu. "He didn't cooperate, but we farmers did. You should also know that if we hadn't surrounded his house with hoes and sickles last month, I don't know how long the land inspection would have been delayed." Thinking of the scene at that time, Xingzhu was still a little angry, "We have been oppressed by him for so many years, and finally we have a chance to vent our anger."

"Indeed, with your support, the land inspection can proceed smoothly." Kagawa Morihisa nodded, approving of Yasuke and Kosuke's actions, "Don't worry, Wue-den has already issued an order that any village that completes the land inspection within this year will pay an annual tribute according to the ratio of 'one public and two private'."

"That's great! We must go back and tell our fellow villagers!" The two brothers Kosuke were very excited after hearing this and insisted on fetching another bucket of water for Kagawa Morihisa and the others.

"Sir, land inspection is really a great thing for these farmers." Looking at the two people's happy backs as they walked away, a land inspection official couldn't help but sigh.

Kagawa Morihisa nodded and responded with satisfaction: "Yes, this is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. In this chaotic world, only the lord has the courage to implement it."

As he was talking, Kagawa Morihisa noticed that on a street not far away, a group of more than a dozen horsemen were slowly marching under the scorching sun. Looking closely, he saw that the warriors had flags with the "four-cut diamond" pattern on their backs, but he did not recognize the middle-aged warrior leading the group.

"Let's go and find out where the samurai come from." Mihara Village is located at the junction of Tango and Tajima. The sudden appearance of such a small group of unfamiliar people here made Kagawa Morihisa feel a little suspicious.

"Ha!" A land inspection official trotted to the front of the team, had a brief conversation with the middle-aged samurai, and then quickly returned to report to Kagawa Morihisa.

"Your Excellency, they are not samurai from the main family, but from the Takeda family in Aki," the local prosecutor replied.

"From the Takeda clan in Amaki?" Kagawa Morihisa was puzzled. "Why would a samurai from Amaki come all the way to Tango?"

"He said he was going to Wakasa to visit his lord and happened to be passing through here," the local prosecutor replied.

"It's really strange. As the rotating patriarch of the main family, I didn't even know about this." Kagawa Morihisa couldn't help but wonder.

"Your Excellency has been busy inspecting the land and has not returned to Wakasa for a long time. It must not be a big deal, so the lord did not send anyone to inform you." The land inspector advised.

"I hope so," Kagawa Morihisa frowned, "I heard that things in Aki are not peaceful recently. I'm afraid it's not a good thing to come to Wakasa at this time."

Turning his eyes to the horse team of more than a dozen people, the middle-aged samurai marching in the front of the team was the patriarch of the Aki Takeda clan, Goro Mitsuki Kagawa.

The reason why Kagawa Morihisa was unaware of the visit to the Wakasa Takeda clan was not because it was "no big deal" as the land inspector said, but because the matter was too serious and so far only Yoshishige and Takeda Motomitsu knew about it.

"Sir, the Wakasa Takeda family is really different from what it used to be. Its territory stretches from Tajima in the west to Echizen in the east. It's such a vast territory that I can't even imagine it." A samurai said to Kagawa Mitsuki.

Kagawa Mitsui nodded and said, "Who would have thought that Takeedon had such a means to make the Wakasa Takeda clan develop from a small country in Wakasa to a powerful force spanning four countries in less than two years. Compared with him, our Amaki Takeda clan is really ashamed of itself." (End of this chapter)