CH 84

March early in the year 1571.

Shizuko knew that animals gathered to seek warmth due to the warm air flowing. Keiji, who learned about it, first settled in the room, followed by Nagayoshi, then Saizo, Kimyomaru (Oda Nobutada), and the old man, and in no time, the men gathered in the room. Now, Keiji was translating something, Saizo and the old man were playing shogi, Kimyomaru (Oda Nobutada) was taking a nap, and Nagayoshi was stretching and doing muscle training outside, each doing as they pleased.

“It can’t be helped since it’s cold.”

Kimyomaru (Oda Nobutada), lying face down, reacted to Shizuko’s words. With a serious expression, Kimyomaru (Oda Nobutada) answered, but because a Turkish Angora was sitting on his back, he looked quite awkward.

“By the way, what is this ‘vinii’ thing? It has a mysterious structure that doesn’t let rain or wind in, but doesn’t block sunlight.”

“I said ‘vinyl house’ out of habit, but it’s not actually made of vinyl. Wait a moment.”

Saying that, Shizuko returned to the greenhouse. After a while, she came out of the greenhouse and placed a square amber-colored lump in front of Kimyomaru (Oda Nobutada).

“This is the material.”

“What is this? You’re showing me something strange that doesn’t resemble anything, are you teasing me?”

“No, it’s not like that. When you heat this and stretch it thin, it becomes a thin, transparent film like the ones outside.”

Vinyl is a general term for chemical substances with vinyl groups, but what Shizuko took out was a material called “ame-subu.” It is a type of factice that can be produced by adding sulfur chloride to rapeseed oil. Unlike polyvinyl chloride, which is commonly used in vinyl houses, it has properties similar to rubber but is inexpensive and can be mass-produced. Although it has the disadvantage of not having the same tensile strength per weight as vinyl, it had excellent performance as a covering for the house when made into a sheet.

The reason why a glass greenhouse was not used was because it was not possible to build a glass house that could withstand typhoons and earthquakes, and the time and cost to produce a single glass plate were not negligible. The main component of glass is silicon, which is a mineral and is much heavier than it appears. Therefore, wooden or bamboo pillars cannot support the weight. Moreover, there were many risks in replacing it when it was damaged, so it was considered as a candidate but not adopted.

While groundbreaking technological advancements were easily taking place in history, Nagayoshi was playing with the kittens with a cat teaser. The kittens were fascinated by Nagayoshi’s cat teaser. It had been over two months, so the kittens were probably preparing for independence. There were no kittens with their mother, Hana, as they were either playing with their siblings or engrossed in Nagayoshi’s cat teaser.

“It’s nice to have someone to play with.”

While saying that, Shizuko was stroking the back of a kitten that had grown tired of playing, and Nagayoshi, who had been playing with the kittens, reacted.

“Oh, I’m just honing my battlefield instincts from the cats’ reactions. D-Don’t misunderstand! A man should not be swayed by cats–”

“Yes, yes, that’s right. Big brother Katsuzo (Mori Nagayoshi) always plays with us from morning till night when he has free time.”

“Listen here!”

Shizuko brushed off Nagayoshi’s words, which he said with a red face in protest. He tried to say something more, but when he heard the kittens meowing, he quickly waved the cat teaser in front of them.

“It’s nice to play with them, but Turkish Angoras need to be kept alone, so I’ll have to neuter all four of them and find them new homes soon…”

As soon as he understood the meaning of the words, Nagayoshi’s face burned as if it were the end of the world. Shizuko thought they had discussed it when the kittens were about a month old, but judging from his attitude, she realized he hadn’t heard. However, Nobunaga had already decided on the recipients for adoption, so it was too late for Nagayoshi no matter what he said. When she recalled how Nagayoshi had doted on them, she felt a little sorry for him, but there was nothing she could do about it. She gave up and returned to the room to organize documents.

There were various documents, but at this time, there were many related to the neutering surgery for the Turkish Angoras. There are several reasons to perform neutering surgery on cats, not limited to Turkish Angoras, but the main reason is to prevent unnecessary breeding. It is not well known, but cats can give birth three times a year and can produce 4 to 6 kittens per birth, showing a high breeding capacity. If they wanted to, they could produce at least 12 kittens per year. Furthermore, cats reach sexual maturity at around six months old, so if they live for four years, they can produce 50 kittens per pair. Of course, in harsh natural environments, most kittens die due to various reasons such as illness or injury.

The breeding capacity and timing of sexual maturity vary depending on the breed, but all breeds have high breeding capacity. No one in present-day Japan has the financial means to keep up with the increasing number of cats. If they exceed the limit of care, the best-case scenario is abandonment, and in the worst-case scenario, they become food. There are pros and cons to abandoning them immediately after birth and taking away their reproductive ability, but Shizuko considered preventing the crossbreeding of Japanese cats and unknowingly breeding them, so she decided to neuter them.

However, there was no technique to perform the neutering. They also didn’t have medical tools such as anesthesia. Fortunately or unfortunately, in the Sengoku period, there was a custom of eating cats, and there were quite a few people who had dissected them multiple times. Although they didn’t have a scientific understanding of the cat’s structure, there was no problem with the neutering surgery.

The problem, however, was anesthesia. In the Sengoku period, the only available anesthesia was diethyl ether, but even to purify this diethyl ether, it was necessary to mix ethanol with sulfuric acid and heat it. Ethanol was easily obtained, but the problem was the chemical, sulfuric acid. I won’t go into details, but sulfuric acid can be purified using heated sulfur and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). With sulfuric acid, nitric acid and hydrochloric acid can be purified, but industrial production is currently impossible, and only small amounts can be produced.

In any case, a small amount of diethyl ether became producible. However, this purification technique could also be used to create dynamite, and all these chemicals were designated as toxic substances in modern terms, so strict management was required. Therefore, there were only two people in Oda territory who could perform cat neutering surgery.

“Their performance is good, but those two get along terribly.”

Both of them had already performed neutering surgery on hundreds of cats. Of course, there were also cases where the surgery failed and the cats died. Even in modern times, there is a possibility of failure in neutering surgery, so considering the worse environment of the Sengoku period, maintaining a success rate of nearly 80% was considered a good skill.

“Which one do you think we should entrust?”

Shizuko asked while stroking Hana, who was curled up next to her. Naturally, there was no response. Shizuko sighed as she read the result reports of the recent spaying surgeries performed by the two.

“Their skills are not bad… but they’re both cat lovers.”

The reason Shizuko was troubled was that both of them were extreme cat lovers. They were both avid cat owners and had trouble getting along with their wives and mothers. Perhaps due to their mutual animosity, whenever the two met, they would argue and be kicked out of their homes, repeatedly asking the neighbors to mediate. As a result, they were known in the neighborhood not as “skilled cat doctors” but as “cat fools.” Although the neighbors respected them as people knowledgeable about cats, the image of them shivering under the cold sky while begging for mediation was stronger, and they didn’t seem particularly impressive.

“In the worst case, we’ll have to issue a black seal. Phew… the sun is warm today, maybe I’ll take a nap.”

The sunlight streaming into the room was warm for winter, and Shizuko felt a slight drowsiness. Combined with the warmth of the cotton blanket, Shizuko, who had set sail, quickly tidied up the surroundings and lay down on the floor, closing her eyes.

(Ah… spring bedding is irresistible, but… winter naps… aren’t bad either.)

Surrendering to the gentle drowsiness that came, Shizuko let go of her consciousness.

In early January, Nobunaga ordered Hideyoshi, who was in Yokoyama Castle, to cut off all traffic between Kyoto and Hokuriku, and placed Niwa (Niwa Nagahide) in Wasayama Castle to secure traffic between Gifu and southern Omi Province. They were all busy from the beginning of the new year. The various warlords were also actively engaged in various tasks, but only the Shizuko Army remained peaceful.

In late February, when hops arrived from Europe, Shizuko immediately began cultivation. Preparing the land in advance by mixing quicklime into a sunny soil with good drainage, she planted the hops and set up support poles for the vines. Finally, by spraying wood vinegar with a manual pressure pump, the work was completed. Hardy hops can withstand Japanese winters, so outdoor cultivation can be done without difficulty. The only thing left is to harvest the hops four years later, and then the most important ingredient for beer will be obtained. It would be great to have beer yeast as well, but without hops, having yeast would be useless.

Shizuko’s army lived freely, going hunting with Wittman and hunting hawks in Shirogane. However, storms come suddenly, and turmoil descended upon Shizuko’s peaceful life.

“…Um, could you please repeat that?”

Shizuko couldn’t believe her ears and asked Matsu, who was in front of her, in confusion. Matsu, on the other hand, maintained a smiling face without a hint of displeasure and answered Shizuko’s question.

“It is Oda-sama’s order to make my daughter your lady-in-waiting, so please give up.”

Despite the content of her words, Matsu had a very cheerful expression. Shizuko’s head started to ache at the outrageous seal that made Matsu’s second daughter, Shou (Shou) Princess, her lady-in-waiting. However, the seal didn’t end there. There was further content that made Shizuko’s head ache.

“Um, Chacha-sama is also a lady-in-waiting? Giving her Toudou Yoshitsugu who served the Asai family? And when attacking the Nagashima Ikko-ikki, giving her a force of 6,000 to work as a separate unit? It’s all coming at once and giving me a headache.”

“Hohoho, Lord Oda has such high expectations for Shizuko. Therefore, if this foolish girl acts disrespectful, she will be duly punished.”

“Um, well… even if I am given a lady-in-waiting, then… what should I do?”

“You can do as you please, Shizuko. Most likely, the reason why Lady Cha-cha was made a lady-in-waiting is because Lady Nohime had some thoughts about it. As a mere commoner, I cannot fathom Lady Nohime’s intentions.”

Upon hearing Matsu’s words, Shizuko speculates on Nobunaga and Nohime’s thoughts. Shou, who is Maeda Toshiie and Matsu’s daughter, is the legal wife of Nakagawa Mitsushige. It is unclear when they got married, but it is certain that they were married by at least 1582, as Shou was born in 1563 and is now of marriageable age. Shizuko couldn’t understand the sudden reason for her being hired as a lady-in-waiting.

(“The Toudou Yoshitsugu who served the Asai family is Toudou Takatora (Yokichi Toudou), right? Like Saizou, he changed his lord multiple times, but for some reason, he is called a traitor.”)

Takatora (Yokichi Toudou) is often referred to as a traitor or lackey who changed lords multiple times, and negative depictions of him are common in novels, and so on. However, Kani Saizo, who also changed lords multiple times, was popular even during the Edo period when Confucian teachings had permeated the samurai class.

The reason for this difference is said to be partly due to the actions taken by the Tsu clan led by the Toudou family during the battles between the shogunate forces and the imperial forces in the late Edo period. Initially, the Tsu clan, along with the Hikone clan, welcomed the imperial forces, but as soon as they learned that the shogunate side was at a disadvantage, they defected to the imperial forces and attacked the shogunate side. However, they refused to attack Nikko Toshogu Shrine, an imperial forces’ target, on the grounds that “the clan’s founder bestowed great favor upon us.” It is said that this act of defection sealed Takatora (Yokichi Toudou)’s bad reputation.

“Well, well, it can’t be helped. Let’s start with introductions. Um, my name is Shizuko, you can call me whatever you like.”

When Shizuko spoke, Shou, who had been silent until now, widened her eyes. Then, without hesitation, she got up and immediately bowed down, placing both hands on the floor and lowering her head.

“Nice to meet you, Shizuko-sama! My name is Shou. I am extremely honored to have the privilege of serving you!”

“Ah, um. You can raise your head, you know?”

“Yes! Excuse me!”

Shou’s every move was energetic. Shizuko thought to herself that this is what they mean by a tomboyish girl, while directing her gaze towards Matsu.

“Hohoho, ever since this child heard about Shizuko’s achievements, she has admired you. So when I heard about the idea of giving Shizuko a lady-in-waiting, I thought it would be interesting… and just perfect.”

“Did you not find it interesting just now?”

“What’s for lunch today? I’ve been looking forward to it!”

Matsu, who was pretending not to understand Shizuko’s point, responded with an obvious attitude. Understanding that she wouldn’t get a response even if she pointed it out again, Shizuko sighed heavily and slumped her shoulders.

“Let’s hear about Lady Cha-cha and Toudou’s story first.”

“You are a conscientious person, Shizuko.”

“I’m sorry to say this, but I believe in gathering the necessary people myself. There have been countless cases where people forced upon us cause internal discord and become a hindrance. So it’s important to confirm everyone’s thoughts, otherwise we’ll have problems later on.”

Shizuko had no intention of raising more military power than necessary, as she already had enough capable retainers. So even if young warriors were sent to her, she would struggle with how to handle them.

“Let’s start with Lady Cha-cha’s opinion since she’s the quickest to talk. Can you also call Lady Oichi for me?”

“Yes, understood—”

“I have received your command! I will inform her immediately!”

Before Aya could call Oichi, Cha-cha, the lady-in-waiting, and the wet nurse for Cha-cha and Ohatsu, Shou suddenly stood up and rushed out of the room, ignoring everyone’s reactions. As Shizuko and Aya were taken aback, Matsu, with her mouth covered by her hand, said with a gleeful expression.

“That girl is straightforward.”

After a while, Shou returned with Oichi, Cha-cha, Oichi’s lady-in-waiting, Cha-cha’s wet nurse, and Ohatsu’s wet nurse. Even though the room was spacious enough to accommodate everyone, having more than ten people gathered in one place still felt cramped.

“This is our second meeting, but let’s start with introductions. My name is Shizuko, you can call me whatever you like.”

“I am Oichi, this is Cha-cha, and that young one over there is Ohatsu.”

Considering that there were people waiting behind them, Shizuko wasted no time and immediately brought up the main topic.

“I apologize for bringing this up so soon, Lady Oichi. Do you have any thoughts on this matter?”

“It must be my brother’s decision. In that case, I have no objections. Besides, I was originally planning to live in Azuchi Castle.”

“(Oh, I see. I wonder if she doesn’t mind being separated from her husband.) I understand that this is a kind of defensive facility. Therefore, it will not be easy to meet with the Asai family in the future. Can I assume that you understand this?”

“It doesn’t matter. Besides, I came here to liven up my absent-minded husband.”

Oichi then explained the current situation of Asai Nagamasa to Shizuko. He is starting over as a foot soldier. Of course, Shizuko’s involvement with his forces is kept secret.

Initially, they were planning to have Oichi and the others live in Azuchi Castle, but they changed the plan along the way and decided to have them live with Shizuko instead. However, if they were to live with Shizuko without any reason, there would be dissatisfaction. To avoid that, Nobunaga made Cha-cha a lady-in-waiting for Shizuko, and in the future, they would make Ohatsu a lady-in-waiting as well. This was the story they came up with to justify everyone’s move. The reason for everyone moving together is that Cha-cha is still only one year old, and Ohatsu is just a few months old, so it was planned for Ohatsu and Cha-cha’s education to be done together with Ohatsu and Cha-cha’s wet nurses.

“Lord Oda always makes things complicated. Well, if that’s the case, it’s not a problem.”

“I know I’ll be causing you trouble, but I’m counting on you.”

“Yes, I understand. I look forward to working with you.”

Until their residence is ready, the villa that Nobunaga is currently using will serve as a temporary residence. In other words, Oichi and her daughters will become Shizuko’s neighbors. Normally, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but there are various things that need to be taught to those who live in this area.

“I will inform you later, but this area is somewhat different… There are various things you need to learn.”

“I’ve heard that there are many rare animals around here. Oh, yes, I heard there are Nanban dogs and Nanban cats. I’m a little interested, I want to see them soon.”

“(Ah, yes… as expected, she’s just like Lord Oda’s sister. She has an overwhelming presence.) Please wait a moment. There is one more person I need to talk to—”

While Shizuko was trying to explain to Oichi, who was shining with excitement like a child, suddenly rough footsteps reached Shizuko’s ears. Everyone understood that the footsteps were gradually getting closer to them, and they turned their faces towards the entrance. In an instant, the door was forcefully opened as if it was being destroyed.

“Hey, Shizuko! Who the hell is this idiot?”

The one who forcefully opened the entrance was Nagayoshi. He confronted Shizuko while showing her the person he was carrying. Understanding that something was about to happen, everyone focused their attention towards the entrance. In that moment, the door was opened wide.

“Hey, Katsuzo (Mori Nagayoshi). Leave the person you’re carrying there and come over here.”

Nagayoshi, who was taken aback by Shizuko’s voice, which was slightly lower than usual, obediently put down the person he was carrying and sat in front of Shizuko.

“First, let’s hear why you resorted to violence against a stranger.”

“Uh… well, you see, when I was feeding Tama and Hana, that idiot suddenly started bothering me.”

“I see. Well, it’s understandable that you would be beaten up in return. But you see, it’s a problem to resort to vigilante justice against a guest.”

While saying that, Shizuko took out an hourglass. She showed it to Nagayoshi, explaining that the sand would run out in about five minutes, and told him.

“As a punishment, you have to run back and forth to the signboard in the orchard before the sand runs out, three times.”

“What?! The orchard up the hill, right?”

The orchard was designed with a sloping terrain to allow the trees to receive more sunlight. It was not a steep slope, but it was not an easy one either. Normally, it would be a bit tiring, but if one were to run, it would significantly drain their stamina due to the uphill and downhill. Nagayoshi, as he is now, could return within five minutes for one lap. But for three laps, it would be a mental and physical challenge.

“Yes, that’s right. Is there a problem? Our training—”

“‘If a child can’t do it, let’s thoroughly train them until they can.’ ‘When a child can do it, praise them and then continue to raise their skill level through training.’ ‘Even if a child can do it from the beginning, keep raising their skill level and continue training.’… That’s what you said, right?”

Nagayoshi, who had changed to polite speech, but Shizuko couldn’t forgive him just because of that, continued speaking.

“I can’t just let it slide when you resort to violence against a guest. So, do your best to run eight laps before the hourglass runs out.”

(It increased!)

“Alright, 3, 2, 1… Start!”

“Hey, wait… Ahh!!”

Nagayoshi, who was about to say something, realized that Shizuko wasn’t listening and hurriedly rushed out. As everyone, except Shizuko, watched in surprise as Nagayoshi ran out, she calmly called Aya and said:

“Please take care of his treatment.”

After completing eight laps in an impressive 9 minutes and 55 seconds, Nagayoshi’s knees were shaking.

After finishing their lunch, Matsu left and returned home, leaving only Shou and Takatora (Yokichi Toudou) at Shizuko’s house. Oichi and the others went back to Nobunaga’s villa with Chacha and Ohatsu.

“Let’s introduce ourselves properly. My name is Shizuko, you can call me whatever you want, I don’t mind.”

“…My name is Toudou Yokichi, but you can call me Toudou.”

“There are some things you might be thinking about, but let’s start with the necessary information. My income is not in the form of land, but in gold. During peacetime, I pay a basic salary every month, and during battles, you will receive gold based on your performance. By the way, I don’t have any land as income.”

Nobunaga’s view on land is different from other daimyo. All the land controlled by the Oda clan belongs to the Oda clan, and the land given to vassals is temporarily managed by the Oda clan’s representatives. In modern terms, the vassals are like “branch managers,” and the land and the products produced there belong to the Oda clan. The produced goods are gathered once at the Oda clan, and from there, luxury goods are distributed to the vassals. Naturally, the branch managers frequently changed their assignments. It is said that this difference in views on land is one of the reasons why Akechi Mitsuhide staged the Honnouji Incident.

“Next, taking anything produced here without permission is prohibited since everything belongs to the Lord. Also, Aya-chan is in charge of managing the inventory in the warehouse, so if you want something, please check the warehouse inventory first.”

“Yes.”

“Lastly, I’ll introduce it later, but there are many rough animals here, so it’s better not to pick a fight with them.”

“Yes.”

“There are other details, but I think this is enough for now. So, Yokichi-kun, do you have any thoughts so far? If you don’t like something, speak up now. It won’t change how you’re treated here, but I can introduce you to your next position.”

After hearing Shizuko’s words, Takatora (Yokichi Toudou) thought for a moment and then faced Shizuko directly to speak his mind.

“Then, I will honestly express my thoughts now. Before coming here, honestly, I underestimated a unit led by a woman, thinking it was nothing special. I also looked down on the warriors in that unit as sycophantic and effeminate. That’s why I picked a fight with Katsuzo (Mori Nagayoshi). The result was a complete defeat, I couldn’t even lay a finger on him.”

“…”

“That incident made me realize. I am just a frog in a well, there are countless people stronger than me in the world. This defeat was a good medicine for me, who had become conceited after being praised by Lord Asai.”

After saying that, Takatora (Yokichi Toudou) deeply bowed his head and continued speaking.

“Although I am still inexperienced, I humbly ask for your guidance and discipline from now on.”

“Yeah, I’ve received your determination. I’ll count on you from now on.”

“Yes, please take care of me.”

With those words, Takatora (Yokichi Toudou) bowed deeply once again.

Takatora (Yokichi Toudou) joined Shizuko’s army, and Shou, Matsu’s second daughter, and Chacha, Oichi’s eldest daughter, were given as maids. However, Chacha becoming a maid was just an excuse for Oichi to live with Shizuko. Since Shizuko herself didn’t really want a maid, it didn’t matter if Chacha didn’t do maid duties.

Takatora (Yokichi Toudou) received basic training from Nagayoshi, spear and etiquette training from Saizou, and was trained by Keiji as their two assistants. Realizing his own immaturity, he endured the strict training from the three of them. Shizuko, who knew that he would later become a master of castle construction on par with Hideyoshi Hashiba and Kiyomasa Kato, taught Takatora (Yokichi Toudou) the necessary knowledge for castle construction and had him learn from the civil engineering workers. Although Takatora (Yokichi Toudou) had the status of a page, thanks to what Nobunaga had given Shizuko, he was actually treated as a foot soldier. Nevertheless, he received special training, which was better treatment than others.

Shou was a lively girl, but at the same time, she was also competitive. After losing to Saizou, who excelled in the use of the naginata, she trained to defeat him. Sometimes, she would forget her maid duties and challenge Saizou to a match, but she still hadn’t won a single time and was defeated every time.

In March, the items that Shizuko had requested started to arrive one after another. Unlike samurai who are only consumers, Shizuko, who is also a producer, can make a profit if the products she produces sell. Crafts such as pottery are not seasonal, but crops are concentrated from autumn to winter. There are also seafood such as oysters and seaweed harvested from spring to summer, but the most profitable crops are those harvested in autumn.

Shizuko directly buys crops from farmers, sends them to processing companies for processing, and has them transported to designated locations by transportation companies. Through a separate route, waste and manure are collected by the transportation companies and sent to composting factories to turn them into fertilizer. The finished compost is sold to farmers at a low price. Shizuko oversees all of this and earns a huge profit.

Of course, the farmers receive money without having to go to the castle town, the processing and transportation companies receive regular income, and those who use the processed products don’t have to deal with waste or manure. It’s not just Shizuko who benefits from this, but everyone involved in the process.

With the profits obtained from various activities, Shizuko places orders with the technology district. While it is important to earn income, it is also important not to forget to distribute the excess income. Technology and culture are not things that can be acquired overnight. In order to advance technology and blossom culture, people need to compete and learn from each other. However, whether in the Sengoku period or in modern times, money is needed to move people. Only with money can plans be made and executed.

In that regard, Shizuko’s position is very advantageous. Originally a producer, she now holds the positions of both a producer and a manager. She earns profits from various items, including not only crops but also processed foods, textiles such as thread and fabric, aquaculture products such as oysters and seaweed, and sake and industrial products from the technology and sake brewing districts. She is no longer in a position to receive a salary from Nobunaga, but rather, she can gather money on her own. Normally, in such a situation, there would be envy from others. However, if Shizuko expands her business and revitalizes the economy with a variety of products, the Oda clan’s economic situation will also improve. If Nobunaga’s wealth increases, the amount of money he can spend on his vassals’ luxuries will also increase. The vassals who understand this flow of money are watching over Shizuko to protect her from envy and unnecessary trouble.

It’s not just Nobunaga and the Oda clan’s vassals who benefit from this. Shizuko distributes a generous portion of her profits to Keiji, Saizou, and Nagayoshi, as well as to the soldiers under her command. She also organizes various events such as sumo tournaments, Owari and Mino haiku contests, sudoku tournaments, area maze tournaments, and go and shogi tournaments, and provides prize money to the top performers. As more people have money, the demand increases, and money spreads to various people. It’s a strange phenomenon that when money reaches people, conflicts are less likely to occur. This is because people have “room” to spare.

There is a reason for spreading money to various places. Once people experience a comfortable environment, they dislike being returned to their previous lives. People only tolerate inconvenience when they don’t know that a more comfortable life is possible. By obtaining a comfortable living environment with money, they become completely immersed in that lifestyle and can’t escape it. In this state, it becomes difficult for temple and shrine forces to manipulate people. Even if they are told to abandon their current lives and rebel against Nobunaga, they hesitate because they don’t want to give up their comfortable lives. It is more convenient to manipulate people who have no hope for tomorrow. They are deceived by the words of smelly priests and are used as they please. To protect the people from the manipulations of other forces, it is important to guarantee a certain standard of living and make them believe that there is no benefit in listening to other forces.

However, due to the large amount of money involved, the accounting documents that reached Shizuko were enormous. Aya, who had finally become proficient with the abacus, struggled with these documents every day. As a result, recently Shou had been taking care of Shizuko.

“Shou-chan, what’s the schedule for today?”

“There are no visitors scheduled for today. All the received documents have been thoroughly reviewed.”

Shizuko crossed her arms and pondered after hearing Shou’s report. Even though she was on horseback, Shizuko could control the horse to a certain extent with just her legs, so she didn’t need to hold the reins.

(Hmm, I divided the roles between Aya-chan as the office and accounting manager, and Shou-chan as the personal and schedule manager, but does it still feel awkward somewhere?)

Although Chacha and Ohatsu were still infants and couldn’t work, Shou had received a basic education, so she was suitable as a maid. However, it was inefficient to assign them the same tasks, so they were given different roles. Although they sometimes worked together, in the future, Aya would be in charge of office, accounting, and warehouse duties, while Shou would be in charge of Shizuko’s personal affairs and schedule management. Aya would be more behind-the-scenes, but that’s because Shizuko trusted her more. Even though Shou was Matsu’s daughter, Shizuko hesitated to assign her to a behind-the-scenes role since they didn’t have much interaction.

There was nothing specific planned, but Shizuko wandered outside aimlessly. It seemed like she was playing, but she was actually going out to deal with the spies that had been bothering her recently.

Since the Oda family’s defeat at the Battle of Shiga, there have been several traitors, and it seems that someone among them has sold Shizuko’s information, resulting in an increase in the number of spies. Despite the efforts of hundreds of guards, Keiji, Saizo, Nagayoshi, the Wittman family, Akagane, Kurogane, and Shirogane, it is still difficult to completely eliminate the spies.

By the way, the mountain managed by Shizuko is home to many black bears. Black bears do not have fixed territories to exclude other individuals. Therefore, the ranges of individuals often overlap. And because they do not have fixed territories, they have a tendency to expand their ranges in search of abundant food when it becomes scarce. If there are no humans living there, no other animals competing for food besides black bears, and no large carnivores, then it is natural for the mountain to become the domain of black bears. Due to this relationship, it is difficult for spies to infiltrate the mountain, but during winter, most individuals enter a hibernation state, making it easier for spies to sneak in.

Currently, the more we hunt, the more they increase. So Shizuko decided to take action herself and intentionally spread false information mixed with some truths. To make people trust her, all she needs to do is show them the truth. Even if she fills in the crucial parts with lies, as long as there is some truth included, people will consider all the information they receive as true.

“It’s pointless to investigate me. But if I’m disturbed, it will interfere with my work… It’s troublesome.”

The surrounding countries are already in a desperate situation. The only opportunity to defeat Nobunaga is the First Oda Encirclement, and even that is only possible before Nobunaga returns to Kyoto. After that, it will only be a drawn-out match. I thought Nobunaga would be interested in taking over the Tsuruga Port controlled by Asakura Yoshiaki, but he switched to land transportation focused on roads centered around Lake Biwa, so there is no longer a reason to hurry and destroy Asakura.

(I will eventually destroy Asakura, but they have a lower priority compared to Sakamoto, right?)

Nobunaga, who has shifted his focus to land transportation, now desires Sakamoto, a major commercial city near Kyoto and one of the most powerful cities in the Kinai region. Sakamoto is a town near Enryakuji Temple, which holds power on par with the Emperor and Shogun. It is a gathering place for products delivered from Enryakuji Temple’s estates throughout the country and supplies transported to Kyoto. Sakamoto is lined with financial institutions’ storehouses and horse rental services for transportation companies. It has a large number of households, exceeding 3,000 in areas like Shimosakamoto and Karasaki, exerting significant influence over Kyoto’s economy. Until Hideyoshi built Osaka Castle and the political and economic center shifted from Kyoto to Osaka, Sakamoto was an important stronghold for controlling Omi Province.

“My lord!”

As I was thinking about the future, I noticed Genro running towards me.