Kumagawa Township is located in the mountains in the southern part of Wakasa Province. Except for a steep mountain road connecting Wakasa and Omi, it can be said that it is surrounded by mountains on all sides.
Such a remote and remote area, coupled with its unique geographical location, has become a "three no matter" zone.
There is a mixture of good and bad people here, including traveling businessmen from all over the place, geishas who come here to make a living, and traveling girls (women who are even more humble than geishas). In short, there are all kinds of people from all walks of life here.
Strictly speaking, Kumagawa Township is the territory of the Wakasa Takeda family retainer Matsugiya, but the territory of Kumagawa Township is beyond the reach of the Matsugiya family.
The Matsugawa family left things alone, resulting in Kumagawa Township becoming a "land without an owner". Until a branch of the Ueno Numata family moved here to settle, Kumagawa Township had a vague situation of being "led by the Numata family".
However, as an outsider, although the Numata clan (referring to the Wakasa Numata clan) formed actual rule over Kumagawa Township, it was not recognized by the Matsumiya family, the nominal lord of Kumagawa Township, let alone Takeda, the boss of the Matsugawa family. Home.
Xiongchuan Township is not big, with only a hundred households of local farmers and a total population of no more than 500 people.
In the past, places like this were simply not in the eyes of the Matsugong family, which was why Xiongchuan Township became a "Three No Matters" area. But in the past two years, the Matsugong family suddenly began to pay attention to their territory.
When the head of the Matsugiya family, Matsugong Xuanbanyun, sent people to Xiongchuan Township, they suddenly discovered that Xiongchuan Township had been occupied by other people.
This can't be tolerated.
Although I don't like Xiongchuan Township, this is my territory after all. Even if I don't want it, it won't be anyone else's turn!
The Songgong family was just a small wealthy family with no more than a few townships under its control. It was based in Shanbu Mountain, not far to the northwest of Xiongchuan Township, and was called Shanbu Mountain City. After learning that Kumagawa Township was occupied by the Numata family, the furious Matsugiya Genbanyun immediately recruited three hundred peasant soldiers and marched towards Kumagawa Township.
However, the Numata family is not just for food. They have gathered a group of farmers who are not afraid of death and rogue bandits who live here to form a "rabble" in the eyes of outsiders. However, this ragtag group of people defeated several attacks by Xuan Banyun of Song Palace.
Unwilling to fail like this, Matsugiya Xuanbanyun was so stubborn that he began to think of solutions from other places.
Soon, the Matsugiya family responded and blocked the roads connecting Kumagawa Township to other parts of Wakasa Country, so that merchants from Wakasa and other places could not travel here. Although there are many people who are not afraid of death, such as Sun Liulang before, they secretly pass through here, but the "lively" Xiongchuan Township in the past is indeed in a state of decline.
More importantly, in order to resist the Matsugiya family, the Numata family gathered a large number of peasant soldiers and ronin. The consumption of horse chews by more than two hundred people every day was huge, and the Numata family simply could not afford it.
Before they ran out of ammunition and food, the Numata family had no choice but to attract the attention of passing merchants. Within a few days, three or four caravans passing through were robbed. Although this move is undoubtedly a way to kill the goose that lays the egg, the Numata family can't care so much now.
"Jiro, some villagers just came to report that there were two warrior-looking men wandering around the villages today to inquire about information about our Xiongchuan Township. Could they be spies sent by the Matsugong family?" A remote residence in Xiongchuan Township Inside the museum, a muscular man in his thirties spoke out.
Sitting next to the man is a handsome man wearing a light red hunting coat, holding a cypress fan and swinging it from time to time.
"Brother, if you are from the Matsugong family, you will definitely not enter Xiongchuan Township so arrogantly. From what I see, these two warriors are new to this place." The handsome man said with a smile.
The muscular man nodded, with a helpless expression on his face, "The Matsugiya family has put too much pressure on us, and I'm already at a loss for words."
"Recently, not only Wakasa, but also the war broke out in Omi Takashima County next door. I'm afraid no merchants will pass by here again in a short time. I think our top priority is to think about how the food we grabbed yesterday has been used up. What should we do next?" The handsome man continued.
"This batch of food is enough for three hundred shi. If we live frugally, it will be enough for us for three months. When the mountains are blocked by heavy snow in winter, the Matsugong family will be unable to do anything to us."
"Brother, in order to fight against the Matsugong family this time, we also mobilized nearby villagers and collected food from the villagers. At present, many villagers have no food left over for the winter. In addition, there are no caravans coming here, and the villagers have no food left. If we lose our livelihood, I’m afraid our situation will be even more difficult by then.”
Hearing this, the muscular man touched his head and didn't know what to do for a while.
"Brother, didn't the Matsumiya family send someone to persuade them to surrender not long ago? Why don't we pretend to surrender to the Matsumiya family, but as a condition, the Matsumiya family must officially grant the territory of Kumagawa Township to our Numata family."
"In this way, although we have become retainers of the Matsugiya family, at least we can keep this territory that we have acquired with great difficulty. The Xiongchuan Township that generations of ancestors have worked hard to obtain cannot be destroyed in the hands of our brothers. Ah." The handsome man said with a struggling expression.
The strong man sighed, and just when he raised his head and was about to say something, an old man with a cloth wrapped around his head walked to the courtyard in front of the museum and knelt down, "Tamu Village Otname (Note 1) Kitaro has seen the second An adult."
"What's the matter?"
"Just now, two men who claimed to be Kyogoku family samurai found the villain and asked the villain to report on their behalf that they wanted to meet the two adults." Kitaro said with his head buried.
"A samurai from the Kyogoku family?" The strong man and the handsome man looked at each other, and they both saw doubts in each other's eyes.
"We have never had any contact with the Kyogoku family, so why did a samurai from the Kyogoku family suddenly visit today?" The muscular man looked confused.
The handsome man touched his chin and said, "No matter what the reason is, it's better to meet him and listen to what the other person has to say."
Note 1, Yi name: Yi name is similar to the village head or village elder. It is usually held by an older and experienced person in the village (Note 2), or by the priest of the temple in the village.
Note 2: Socun: a village collective where farmers are autonomous. Although it is nominally under the daimyo, it has a high degree of autonomy. The outstanding figures in some Sogo villages have close ties with daimyo or wealthy people. Some powerful people in Sogo villages have established a master-slave relationship with guardians or people, gradually forming a kind of local (local) samurai. , called "ground waiter".
Su Village has a high degree of autonomy and has its own "village rules" and other systems. When major events occur, they are decided by all villagers through discussion. At the same time, the people such as Yi Ming of So village would collect various taxes such as agricultural tax on behalf of the lord, so that the daimyo could protect the authority of Yi Ming. Of course, Name B also has to bear the responsibility caused by poor collection.
At the same time, there are also "public properties" in Socun. For example, some farmland is classified as "Shrine Field", and the income generated is used for the daily needs of the shrine (book friends who have watched the drama Taiga, the female castle owner Naotora, may be interested) These are some impressions.)
Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to Socun.
If the degree of autonomy in Su villages is too high, "Tu Yikui", that is, peasant uprisings, will often break out. The most common reason for Tu Yikui outbreaks is that farmers in these villages want to blackmail the lords into issuing "moral decrees" (tax reductions or exemptions).
Okay, that’s all. If I say too much, it’s time for the big guys to accuse me of being stupid. Book friends who are interested in these knowledge points can join the book friend group to consult Ji Liang.
Finally, I wish you all a happy Chinese Valentine's Day, Kira loves you! No more talking, I went to eat hotpot with my wife.
