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

Chapter 65 Making Money, nothing but making money, and more making money!

Weapons and equipment were the foundation of a warrior's and daimyo's livelihood during the Warring States period.

The Sanada family was previously just a local lord and did not have much in the way of weapons.

When the Suda and Takanashi clans evacuated Shinano, they naturally wouldn't leave these things to the Sanada family. Therefore, the most pressing problem Sanada Nobuyuki is facing now is that he doesn't even have a spare tachi or spare armor.

Admittedly, the peasants within the territory would certainly possess a certain number of weapons and armor. However, it's easy to imagine that these would be a motley collection of equipment.

Generally, when mobilizing foot soldiers, the number of samurai with designated territory to be dispatched is specified, along with detailed specifications for their weapons and equipment.

For example, according to the Sanada family's regulations, a person who received 100 koku of rice needed one mounted guard, two spear-wielding foot soldiers, and one flag bearer (a foot soldier who carried the flag).

Sanada Nobuyuki's current fief in Takai County is at least 10,000 koku. Based on the standard of 10 koku per ashigaru (foot soldier), Sanada Nobuyuki would need to mobilize at least 1000 ashigaru. In reality, he would certainly not only mobilize spearmen ashigaru, but also require arquebusiers, cavalrymen, flag bearers, archers, and so on.

Taking the most basic example of armed foot soldiers, it's impossible for each of these 1000 foot soldiers to bring their own standard equipment; they would have to borrow from Sanada Nobuyuki.

Yes, this is what is called "Yudai Juzu," which simply means taking out a loan to get a job.

Foot soldiers would pay a certain rent to obtain weapons and equipment from the samurai lord, and return them after the battle.

Therefore, Sanada Nobuyuki now needs to purchase a batch of weapons and equipment, otherwise he can't send his foot soldiers to the battlefield with sickles and hoes, can he?

Moreover, it's impossible that they were really just 1000 ordinary armed foot soldiers; they couldn't even be considered a rabble.

To ensure that the foot soldiers under one's command have a certain level of combat capability, bows and arrows, firearms, and even warhorses are essential.

"How about we borrow some from our lord?" Kasuga no Yotada suggested borrowing from Sanada Masayuki.

Nobuyuki Sanada shook his head and said, "Father won't have any extra to give us, so we'll have to find a way ourselves."

Are there any places in Shinano where we can purchase weapons and equipment?

For ordinary farmers, they usually find craftsmen to make it themselves.

However, Sanada Nobuyuki's demand was so high that he could only buy from merchants in large castle towns.

“Fukashi Castle,” Hirabayashi Masatane replied with certainty. “I previously purchased a batch of weapons in Fukashi Castle, but they were all ordinary spears and katanas. If I wanted to buy arquebuses, I’m afraid I would have to go to the Kanto or Kinai regions.”

"how's the price?"

"An ordinary sword costs one string of cash, while a better one can cost two strings of cash."

"If fully equipped, the ordinary foot soldiers wear a kimono of two or three strings of cash, while the better ones wear a kimono of four strings of cash per kimono."

"Bows aren't expensive; a bow won't cost more than two strings of cash. But arrows are expensive; in Shenzhi City, an arrow can cost 100 coins."

Upon hearing Hirabayashi Masahide's introduction, Sanada Nobuyuki's heart sank.

So even a set of ordinary foot soldier equipment costs four or five strings of cash? Where the hell am I supposed to find that much money?

Even if the rice yield of the governor of Takai County was converted to more than 10,000 koku, at the current rice price in Shinano, it would only amount to two or three thousand kan in cash. Moreover, after the farmers were mobilized for military service, their annual tribute would be reduced, so Sanada Nobuyuki would not actually receive that much money.

Oh no, I can't possibly fail to complete my military service next time the Sanada clan mobilizes its forces, can I?
Hirabayashi Masatsune quickly said, "My lord, there is no need to worry. His Highness is naturally aware of the situation in Takai County. There will definitely be corresponding reductions when the next military service order is issued."

Hearing this, Nobuyuki Sanada felt a little better.

The construction of the castle town must be accelerated. Nobuyuki Sanada had already made up his mind that he had to start making money immediately!
Making money, nothing but making money, and more money!

In the mountains of northern Shinano, Shichiro, carrying a hoe, walked breathlessly along the winding mountain path toward the village.

I recently heard that the lord has changed, and a notice has been posted at the entrance of Somura, where Xiaoqilang lives.

Koshichiro had never heard of the Sanada family; the furthest he had ever been was to Kaizu Castle once, when he accompanied a samurai from the Suda family.

However, none of this mattered to Xiao Shichiro. No matter who became the lord, the annual tribute still had to be paid. He just hoped that the samurai lord who came this time would not increase the tax again.

When Xiao Qilang reached the village entrance, he found that a large crowd had already gathered there.

In the crowd, someone spotted Xiao Qilang and immediately waved, saying, "Why are you only coming back now? We have something to announce."

"What's wrong?" Xiao Qilang wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"The newly arrived city lord has delivered the new annual tribute quota."

Now Xiao Qilang perked up. This was a major event concerning this year's harvest, so he quickly squeezed to the front.

Xiao Qilang owned two paddy fields and six dry lands. Besides farming his own land, he also farmed for several "virtuous people" in the village, earning some extra income each year. These "virtuous people" were wealthy and powerful individuals. His family consisted of six people, including his wife, an injured and lame father, two sons, and a daughter.

With his two sons nearing marriageable age, Xiao Qilang hadn't accumulated much wealth, and this worry had turned his hair white.

After he found a good spot to stand, a man pointed to a wooden sign behind him and said loudly, "Everyone, I have some good news to tell you."

"This year's annual tribute is only 500 wen per acre of paddy field and only 180 wen per acre of dry land."

"what?"

500 coins??

"Did I hear correctly?"

"Is it really 500??"

"Could it be another tax increase somewhere else?"

Xiao Qilang's eyes widened, and he stretched out his calloused hands to gesture. After calculating the annual tribute he had to pay, Xiao Qilang excitedly jumped up from the ground.

"The new city lord has set a much lower annual tribute than before, and he has allowed us to deliver it in grain."

Hey!
This is going to be even more exciting.

As soon as Yi Ming finished speaking, the crowd below erupted in an uproar. The villagers whispered amongst themselves, hardly believing their ears.

In previous years, in order to pay the annual tribute, they had to first exchange all the harvest from their fields for copper coins. The key problem was that the copper coins they sent were rejected under the pretext of being "bad money".

Heaven has mercy on them; how could they know what bad money is and what "good money" is? Don't they all look the same?
That's great! If we can just hand over the grain, it will really save us a lot of trouble.

"So how would it be done if we were to hand over grain?" In the crowd, Xiao Qilang mustered his courage and asked the question that everyone was most concerned about.

After Xiao Qilang finished speaking, everyone present fell silent.

Yi Ming's cloudy eyes now gleamed with a sharp light. "The grain will be directly converted into money based on the price of rice, so everyone won't need to exchange it for cash anymore."

"The grain in the village is collected in a unified manner and handed over to the magistrate of the Sanada family."

"Our village's annual tribute this year is 980 shi. Each household should go back and calculate how much they should pay and then deliver it themselves."

"Don't delay it." Yiming laughed as he finished speaking. There were quite a few hidden fields in the village, and this year was going to be another good harvest!
Xiao Qilang's brain worked at lightning speed, and he immediately calculated his surplus for the year.

After paying his annual tribute in the second half of the year, he still had nearly seven shi of rice left. With his family living frugally, they could save several guan of money in a year.

Oh no, now I'm going to have to worry about which village's woman to marry.

"in addition."

"If a household has weapons and equipment and is willing to serve as a foot soldier for the samurai lord, the annual tribute and other miscellaneous taxes will be waived."

When Yiming finished speaking his last sentence, Xiaoqilang felt that he couldn't keep up with the calculations on both hands.

After a long while, when Xiao Qilang came to the final result, he was stunned.

Could this new samurai lord be the Buddha incarnate?

We're on the road to a moderately prosperous society!

Xiao Qilang was so happy he almost fainted.

But Xiao Qilang quickly realized that if he wanted a reduction in the annual tribute, he would have to send one of his sons to serve as a foot soldier. What if he lost his life on the battlefield?
No, I need to hurry and find the village blacksmith to forge a good spear; it could save my life.

　Foot soldiers fought by striking with long spears, rather than stabbing or thrusting.

　　It's a contest of whose spear is stronger.

　　Therefore, a good spear can save your life to some extent on the battlefield.

　　Of course, if financially feasible, one could choose to purchase bows and arrows or firearms, thus staying away from the front lines of the battlefield.

　　However, the maintenance costs of bows and arrows are very high, which is not something that ordinary farmers can afford. Moreover, arrows are expensive, and there are also gloves and quivers that come with them, making the whole set of equipment quite pricey.

　　As for arquebuses, ordinary farmers had no way to buy them. They could only rent them from daimyo at high prices.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)