Japan's Sengoku Period: The Sanada Clan's Ambition

Chapter 56 The Sanada Clan's Military Service System!
The Sanada family's direct control over Shinano now includes four districts: Ogi-gaki-gun, Minouchi-gun, Takai-gun, and Saku-gun.

These four counties are located in basins along the Chikuma River and the Shinano River, which are excellent locations with flat terrain.

However, the three counties of Mizuchi, Takai, and Saku had only recently been incorporated into the direct control of the Sanada clan, so the only county that the Sanada clan could truly control was Koki County.

The rest of Shinano Province's territory was controlled by the Kokushu and the Sōmura-ji lordship.

The territory of the Kokushu (national lords) is easy to understand; the Sanada family was formerly a Kokushu. However, the territories of Sōmura and Tera are somewhat special.

So-mura were "cooperatives" spontaneously formed by local farmers. These so-mura had a high degree of autonomy and were not under the jurisdiction of the daimyo or the kunai. Whether they could obtain military support from the other side depended entirely on the relationship between the two parties.

Of course, if you are powerful enough to make these villages submit willingly, that's a different story.

Temple lands, on the other hand, are the lands of temples of all sizes scattered throughout Shinano. These lands often have the right to be "neither surrendered nor acquired".

"Not losing" refers to land that does not need to pay annual tribute, i.e., land that is tax-exempt.

"Not to enter" means that the daimyo or local ruler is not allowed to intervene in the region, including in matters of justice, taxation, land inspection, etc. It can be described in one word as "a country within a country".

Although these territories are under the rule of daimyo, they do not require taxes or military service, making them arguably the most troublesome territories for daimyo.

However, as wars frequently broke out in various regions during the Sengoku period, many temples were destroyed in the wars, and the lands under these temples and shrines were then seized by the daimyo. For example, Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, which was burned down by Oda Nobunaga, is an example of this.

“Father, I believe that our family’s current military service should be divided into three standards.” Sanada Nobuyuki held up three fingers.

Sanada Masayuki remained silent, gesturing for Sanada Nobuyuki to continue.

"First, the four counties of Koki, Saku, Takai, and Minouchi will continue to implement the original military service standards of our clan."

“Small prefectures are not a problem, as our retainers are already quite familiar with them. Therefore, our main family should focus on conducting preliminary land surveys in counties such as Saku, Takai, and Minouchi,” Sanada Nobuyuki said slowly.

Compared to conducting a comprehensive land survey in Shinano Province, this is only a preliminary land survey in three counties, so the workload will not be too great, and the Sanada family can still manage it for now.

"After the inspection of the land is completed, military service will be allocated according to the specific conditions of the land."

"Secondly, for the other citizens of Shinano, our clan should not impose mandatory military service quotas. For the time being, the citizens can report their own numbers. Our clan will verify the reports, and if they are generally correct, we will grant permission to implement them."

Sanada Nobuyuki meant that the people of the state should report on their conduct within their territories, and then the Sanada family would send people to verify the reports. As long as the discrepancies weren't too significant, they would leave it alone for the time being.

The deeper meaning is to manage it gradually when you have more free time later.

The advantage of this is that it will not cause dissatisfaction among the people, and at the same time, it can quickly enable the people to form a fighting force.

"Third, the Sōmura system is voluntary. For all Sōmura villages in Shinano, the clan does not force them to provide military service. If they do not wish to bear military service, they can provide annual tribute as before."

"If the annual tribute cannot be provided, then military service shall be provided according to the shortfall."

In short, if you don't want to serve, you get paid; if you don't want to get paid, you can serve. It's entirely voluntary.

This won't affect the operation of Sōmura. You can just focus on farming and pay your taxes honestly. As long as the Sanada family gets paid, that's fine.

After listening to Nobuyuki Sanada explain the three different measures, Masayuki Sanada couldn't think of a better solution for a while.

"That's all we can do for now," Sanada Masayuki nodded helplessly.

After saying that, Sanada Masayuki continued, "Regarding Takai County, all the local lords have moved to Echigo, leaving large tracts of territory unmanaged."

"By putting your words and deeds here, I also hope that you, Genzaburo, can take complete control of Takai County as soon as possible."

"Don't disappoint me." Sanada Masayuki looked at Sanada Nobuyuki with anticipation.

Sanada Nobuyuki quickly replied, "Father, rest assured, you can leave Takai County to me."

"However, I have a request."

Sanada Masayuki nodded. "Go on."

"Could you send me some retainers? I don't have a single one right now." Sanada Nobuyuki spread his hands.

Despite being the young master of the Sanada family, he truly has no one under his command.

It's impossible for Sanada Nobuyuki to govern the territory of an entire prefecture all by himself.

"Hahaha." Sanada Masayuki laughed loudly, "This is simple, you can choose any samurai in your household."

"I only need one person."

"Who?"

"Haruhi and Juro."

The next morning, Nobuyuki Sanada opened his sleepy eyes.

Last night at Kokubunji Temple, Sanada Nobuyuki was surrounded by a group of nobles and retainers offering him toasts. After more than a dozen rounds of drinks, Sanada Nobuyuki became completely drunk and unconscious.

When I woke up again, I was already in the Sanada House.

"Lord Genzaburo, you're awake?"

While Sanada Nobuyuki was still in a daze, a surprised voice rang out beside him. Turning his head slightly, Sanada Nobuyuki saw Koyuki lying on the tatami mat, chin in hand, looking at him.

"Oh, it's Yuki. What time is it now?" Sanada Nobuyuki turned over and looked at Yuki.

Koyuki reached out and grasped Sanada Nobuyuki's right arm, pouting as she said, "It's past 7-9 AM, now it's 9 AM."

"Is it already this late?" Nobuyuki Sanada struggled to sit up. "Drinking really does lead to trouble."

"Of course it will cause trouble!" Koyuki suddenly raised her voice, startling Sanada Nobuyuki. "Hearing that Lord Genzaburo has returned, I came all the way from Iwagaku Castle."

"Last night, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't wake Lord Genzaburo."

Nobuyuki Sanada's face darkened. "Sachi, that's not what I meant."

"But that's exactly what I was talking about!"

"Wait, what are you doing in broad daylight?"

"Xiaoxing, listen to me, I have important business to attend to."

As it turns out, you can't fight city hall.

You can hide from yesterday, but you can't hide from today.

Sanada Nobuyuki pushed open the door, looking refreshed. Behind him, his daughter, Sachi, looked exhausted, a far cry from the energetic girl she had been half an hour earlier.
Holding onto the threshold, Xiaoxing's legs were trembling.

He's really bad at cooking but has a huge addiction.
"Lord Genzaburo, you are truly amazing," Koyuki said breathlessly.

Nobuyuki Sanada proudly raised his head. "Tens of thousands of hours of rich experience—how could a little Karami like you easily contend with that?"
"Get some rest. Also, have Atong pack her things. We're going to Takai County in a couple of days." Sanada Nobuyuki reached out and touched Koyuki's hair.

Xiao Xing raised her head slightly, looking somewhat expectant, and asked, "Am I going too?"

"If you don't want to come with me, you can go back to Yangui City."

"No, of course I want to go." Koyuki grabbed Sanada Nobuyuki's hand and shook it repeatedly.

Nobuyuki Sanada flicked the tip of Sachi's nose twice and said with a smile, "Just kidding. Go pack your things."

"it is good!"

Seeing Xiaoxing's overjoyed expression, Sanada Nobuyuki shook his head helplessly.

After all, she's still just a young girl.

Bah, I'm such a beast!

After leaving the Sanada residence, Nobuyuki Sanada rode his horse out of the gate.

This place is located in the countryside of Sanada Township, and the area along the way is full of paddy fields planted with rice.

The farmers, who were bent over working, looked up when they heard the sound of horses' hooves, and bowed to Sanada Nobuyuki when they saw him.

These are all tenant farmers (sakuren) of Sanada Township, who are responsible for cultivating the land for the Sanada family. Of course, some tenant farmers also own their own land, but the income from their own land is insufficient to cover military service or daily expenses.

Therefore, some people with less land (those who own their own land) would also work as laborers for other laborers or samurai in order to earn extra income.

The harvest season is just around the corner, and the fields are bustling with activity.

Seeing this scene, Sanada Nobuyuki suddenly thought of the war in Kai. Shouldn't it be coming to an end soon?

It didn't take long for Sanada Nobuyuki to arrive at Toishi Castle on horseback.

Most of the citizens who came to participate in the evaluation yesterday have returned to their respective territories, making the city of Dishi unusually quiet today.

When Nobuyuki Sanada entered the assessment room of Toishi Castle, there were already two people waiting there.

　So-chon: A village where farmers govern themselves.

　　Yiming: An older and more experienced person in So-mura. Initially, he served as a representative for village rituals, but later gradually developed into the leader of So-mura, elected by the farmers.

　　A village of So-mura often has multiple Otsume (officials who are fully responsible for the village's taxes, irrigation, and other tasks, as well as for communicating and negotiating with the daimyo and the local populace).

　　Whether or not you can reach an agreement with Yiming will determine whether Somura can be used by you.

　　Sata-jin: Another type of administrator in Sōmura, mostly local officials who have served as deputies for a long time (lackeys of the lord). Unlike Otsume, who are elected, the position of Sata-jin is hereditary.

　　They originated in the manor era, existing as agents of the lord. Later, with the decline of the manor and the rise of Sōmura, the Sata people also began to participate in Sōmura affairs.

　　Ruozhong: Composed of able-bodied young men (excluding women) in So-chon, responsible for So-chon's security, fire prevention, public facilities construction, etc. Similar to the militia.

　　In addition, widows who inherited their husbands' land could also become part of the multitude.

　　The Somune system effectively stabilizes the local area by establishing a relatively equal relationship between the leaders and the villagers and by holding "village assemblies" to discuss and decide on the daily affairs of Somune.

　　The daimyo granted Sōmura a high degree of autonomy and did not interfere in its operations. In return, Sōmura paid its annual tribute to the daimyo on time. The relationship between the two was one of cooperation, not simply that of a lord and his subjects.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)