The name of the great swordsman begins in Okehazama.

Once the plan is set, its execution must be swift and decisive.

Three days later, two hundred regular soldiers, led by Marume Nagayoshi, began the work of cultivating the terraced fields.

Changqing also changed into simple clothes and personally participated in farming.

Three days later, when the terraced field began to appear, Changqing gathered all the old farmers and some foot soldiers in the territory and demonstrated a new method of composting on the newly leveled open space beside the field.

He laid a layer of straw at the bottom of the pit, then animal manure, wood ash, and decaying leaves, and finally covered it with a layer of soil.

"The key is layering and stirring," Changqing explained. "Open and stir it every seven days to accelerate fermentation. At the same time, humidity must be controlled."

The farmers nodded as if they understood, but when they saw Changqing demonstrating, they all carefully noted down the steps.

A month later, the first batch of fertilizer was produced. It was dark brown, soft in texture, and had almost no odor.

Changqing asked the old farmers to take some to experiment with. They applied the fertilizer to the newly reclaimed terraced fields with some skepticism and sowed rice seeds from Meinong.

Another month passed, and the rice seedlings in the experimental field grew exceptionally strong, nearly 30% taller than those cultivated with traditional fertilizers.

The news caused a sensation throughout Iwamura.

The villagers, who were initially skeptical about terraced fields, actively joined the reclamation efforts. Even farmers from nearby villages came to learn this new method of composting.

Changqing welcomed all comers and had Takenaka Shigeharu transfer several literate farmers from Nishimino to set up a simple "agricultural technology training class" in Iwamura Castle.

Masanobu Honda was responsible for recording various composting formulas and precautions, compiling them into a booklet.

Looking at the bustling scene of land reclamation, Marume Nagae sighed to Nagayoshi beside him, "My lord, although we only have ten acres of terraced fields now, it has attracted many mountain people, and now we have the capacity to reclaim new fields."

At the end of February in the ninth year of Yonglu (1565), spring plowing ended.

The bad news is that only fifty acres of land have been developed, but the good news is that all fifty acres have been taken by displaced people, and things are moving in a positive direction.

Matsudaira Ieyasu had already conquered the entire Mikawa Province and invaded half of Tōtōmi Province.

Takeda Shingen originally intended to seize the former territory of Imagawa for himself, but every year after winter, it was the time when Uesugi Kenshin would cause trouble, so he had to leave nearly 10,000 troops to guard Shinano.

Unable to withstand the combined attacks of Imagawa and Hojo, he chose to form an alliance with Matsudaira.

The two agreed that Matsudaira would take Totomi, and Takeda would take Suruga.

Asakura still did not send troops to Kyoto, Matsunaga Hisahide returned to the position of head of the family and began to fight against Tsutsui Junkei, a local resident of Yamato Province.

Despite Matsunaga Hisahide's sudden death, Matsunaga Hisahide and the Miyoshi family did not completely break off their relationship.

When Changqing had no battles to fight, he would go to the Taoist temple to release his pent-up energy whenever he had free time.

Inside the dojo, the sound of bamboo swords cutting through the air could be heard from afar, and there were already twenty people practicing there.

Changqing had changed out of his usual attire, wearing only a black trousers and a linen shirt, and holding a wooden spear that was seven feet two inches long.

"One at a time, let's see how well Lord Marume has taught you!"

"Unintentionally, step forward," Chang Hui called out the name.

The boy, who was called Wuyi, was about sixteen years old. He took a deep breath, held a wooden spear, stepped into the arena, and bowed deeply to Changqing.

"Next! Thrust fifty times, without altering the movements."

Changqing threw out a wooden spear, which was nearly twice as long as Wuyi's.

Unintentionally, I gritted my teeth and began to thrust. I was able to maintain the posture for the first thirty thrusts, but afterwards, large beads of sweat began to slide down my forehead.

"Stop. The spearhead is the dragon's head; if the head cannot rise, how can the dragon soar?"

He caught the wooden spear unintentionally, took a deep breath, and slightly lowered his stance. The next instant, the spear shot out like a dragon!

"The way of spearmanship lies not in strength but in intention, not in speed but in accuracy." Changqing sheathed his spear, his breathing steady.

Unconsciously ashamed, she lowered her head: "Your Excellency is right..."

"Don't be discouraged. Next!"

One by one, the disciples stepped forward to be tested, and Nagayoshi provided guidance tailored to each person's strengths. With the help of Marume and Keiji, his spear skills were only considered above average, still not enough to surpass those of top-tier spear masters.

The sun was high in the sky, and only a few of the youngest disciples remained in the dojo.

At this moment, a small, thin figure caught Changqing's attention.

The child was about eleven or twelve years old, half a head shorter than his peers, but his posture while holding the gun was unusually steady.

When it was his turn, he bowed and said in a childish but clear voice, "Heiichiro, please enlighten me, my lord."

Changqing was slightly surprised, as he remembered that there weren't many children of that age at the dojo.

"Let's begin."

Heiichiro nodded and then began practicing thrusting.

To everyone's surprise, the small child completed fifty thrusts in one go, and although his face turned red, the trajectory of the spear tip remained stable.

Changqing looked at the child more closely and found that she was actually quite pretty.

He picked up the wooden spear: "Come on, ten rounds."

In the first exchange, Changqing tentatively thrust out a spear, but Heiichiro remained calm and parried it at a clever angle, then flicked the spear tip upwards as if he were about to counterattack!

In the second exchange, Nagayoshi added two-tenths of his strength, and Heiichiro dodged to the side while simultaneously sweeping his spear shaft horizontally, aiming straight for Nagayoshi's lower body.

This kid is really something, he's good at both defense and offense. Changqing smiled and nodded.

After the third, fourth, and ten rounds, Heiichiro was naturally defeated.

Changqing carefully examined the child in front of him, who was panting but had bright eyes.

"How long have you been practicing with a gun?"

"My lord, I have been studying here since the dojo reopened, for about three months," Heiichiro replied respectfully.

"Three months?" Changqing was genuinely surprised. "Was there anyone training you before?"

"My father would occasionally give me some pointers, but I mostly figured it out on my own."

Who is your father?

"Kairuemon, a foot soldier under Lord Marume Nagayoshi."

A thought flashed through Changqing's mind. Ke'er... Uemon? He suddenly remembered a fierce general known as "Takekusa Saizo" from the late Warring States period in his past life.

Ke'er is hiding!

That fierce man who single-handedly took down dozens of men in the Battle of Sekigahara!

So this is how young he is now.

He carefully examined the child before him, trying to find the shadow of a future mighty general in that tender face: "Heiichiro, do you have any brothers?"

"An only son in the family. Who knows what will happen to him in the future..."

"Pfft!" Changqing couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Children really do speak the truth.

"Well done! Well done, Kanabe Heiichiro!"

He holstered his gun and stood there, his eyes full of admiration: "Now, let me ask you, would you like to change your name?"

It is an honor for a retainer to be given a name by his lord. Heiichiro was stunned for a moment, then knelt down: "Please give me a name, my lord."

"Taicang," he said slowly.

"Kazu... Saizo," Heiichiro murmured repeatedly, then kowtowed and said, "Thank you for bestowing this name upon me, my lord!"

Changqing reached out and helped him up: "From this day forward, you are the first among my servants. Go back and inform your father, and I will have Chongzhi arrange the relevant matters later."

"You little brat!" A suppressed gasp rippled through the crowd.

The page was not only a servant, but also a trainee for future samurai. They were often selected from the sons of retainers and served as both hostages and potential candidates for training.

Becoming a lord's page signifies entering the samurai class.

Cai Zang clearly understood what this meant, and an excited look appeared on his young face.

"Cai Zang will certainly live up to our lord's high expectations!"

"Good! Very good!"

Changqing looked at him and was surprised to find that the historical general was quite cute as a child, and even looked like a girl, which made him feel both attracted and unmoved.

Although I don't have this hobby myself, it's still quite pleasing to the eye to have it around.

In this era, liking male beauty is a trend. Without a male servant by your side, it will be difficult to associate with high-ranking officials and nobles in the future.

I've heard that Mori Ranmaru is a handsome man, but I don't know if he was ever born. Anyway, I've never seen him near Nobunaga...

Marume Nagayoshi was slightly surprised: "My lord, the matter of the pageboys certainly needs to be considered. But Tsuzō is only eleven years old, isn't that too early? Besides, his father is merely a foot soldier..."

"A hero's origins are irrelevant."

Marume Nagae pondered for a moment and said, "There aren't many young people in the city right now..."

"Taizō is the first among them, and from now on, the junior servants will follow him as their leader. Chōe, spread the word that the junior servants are all selected from the dojo, and you should also take in a few. If the parents from Shinano and Hida bring them here, just detain them and make them our subjects."