Usually, I write about other worlds and modern fantasy, but this is my first attempt at a "historical novel." There may be some inconsistencies, but I would be grateful if you could kindly overlook them.
"How is it? How is Yoshimatsu doing...?"
A voice was heard in the darkness. While thinking that the way of speaking was too old-fashioned, I slightly lifted my eyelids. A cold object was pressed against my forehead. It took a few moments to realize it was a hand.
"The fever has gone down, and the pulse is starting to stabilize. I think we've passed the critical point."
"Is that so, is that so?"
A bearded man peered over. Who are you? I almost spoke out loud, but I could only groan. According to my memory, I was supposed to be in self-isolation due to a new virus infection... My body must be exhausted. I couldn't even move my hands. I closed my eyes again, and my consciousness faded.
I was dreaming. It was the life of a certain man. This man had a rebellious spirit from a young age and could never accept others' words without question. He decided to acquire a trade and start his own company. To do this, he joined a construction company. Despite being treated harshly by a strict foreman, the man steadily acquired the necessary skills and, after ten years of practical experience, obtained the qualifications to become a full-time technician and started his own business. This was during the time when the book "Island Transformation Theory" was a bestseller. There was a lot of construction work available. The man was not only skilled in his trade but also in management. He eventually became one of the leading home builders in the area.
After passing the company to his son and retiring as president, he spent his free time voraciously reading novels and eventually started writing his own. He was particularly fond of historical novels and eventually focused on the history of his hometown, "Mutsu." Figures like Nanbu Harumasa, who had a vast territory that was said to be as large as "the full moon," provided excellent material for his stories. He would dream about how he would live if he were born in that era and wrote novels that were a mix of light novels and serious historical fiction.
As he approached eighty, he resigned from his position as president and spent his days exploring his hometown. During this time, he contracted a global pandemic.
(And when I came to, I had been reincarnated in the Sengoku period. Hahaha...)
Counting two years old, which means he was one year old, Yoshimatsu wobbled around the mansion. This mansion would later be destroyed. It was the "Tanabegatake" located in the Daikanyama Park along the Tanabegawa River in Mutu City. I guessed it was probably this place after hearing the name "Tanabegawa."
(My brother's childhood name is Kusamatsu. He has been adopted out. Probably to Hachinohe Masahide. Since Hachinohe Katsuyoshi, the 17th head of the Hachinohe clan, died in 1547, and Masahide became the 18th head, that means I am...)
As I was thinking, footsteps echoed. My father had returned. But there were multiple footsteps. My mother, "Haru," and the wet nurses greeted him.
"I just got back. It was a great victory!"
An old man with a white beard entered, followed by my father. Pulled by my mother, Yoshimatsu put his hands on the floor.
"Lord, Lord Father-in-law, congratulations."
"Congratulations, congratulations."
I greeted them, stammering. The two of them stopped abruptly. My mother was also looking at me intently.
"Wow! He spoke! Yoshimatsu spoke!"
"Moreover, his first words were 'congratulations'! What a wonderful thing! Let's celebrate. We'll drink a lot tonight!"
In 1547, the 17th head of the Hachinohe clan, Katsuyoshi, who had no heir, adopted the eldest son of the Shintani family, a branch of the Nanbu clan, as his successor. Immediately after, Katsuyoshi died, and Masahide became the 18th head of the Hachinohe clan at the age of five. Of course, there was a hidden agenda behind this.
The Nanbu clan, a branch of the Seiwa Genji, has a lineage that dates back to the Kamakura period. The fourth head of the clan, Nanbu Moroyuki, followed the Southern Court noble Kitabatake Akinaga and established the "Nanbu clan" in Mutsu. The Hachinohe clan began from there. The Mutsu Nanbu clan also emerged as a branch, but as the Southern Court declined, the power of the Nanbu clan in Mutsu relatively weakened, and the Mutsu Nanbu clan rose to prominence.
According to historical consensus, the 23rd head of the Mutsu Nanbu clan, Nanbu Yasushige, pacified the Tsugaru region and entrusted its governance to his brother, Ishikawa Takahide. He then placed his brothers in the Go household (present-day western Hachinohe) and the Kashiwazaki Castle (present-day Kakinoki, Akita Prefecture) to aim for the complete pacification of Tsugaru and Mutsu. There are alternative theories about Ishikawa Takahide, but it is not an exaggeration to say that Yasushige achieved the "daimyo-ization" of the Mutsu Nanbu clan.
The 24th head of the Mutsu Nanbu clan, Nanbu Harumasa, inherited his father's will and planned to remove the thorn in his side in Mutsu. This was the "takeover of the Hachinohe Nanbu clan." Although the Hachinohe Nanbu clan had declined, they were still the main branch of the Nanbu clan that had continued from Nanbu Moroyuki, and their power was not to be underestimated.
Harumasa then focused on a branch of the Hachinohe Nanbu clan. After the Oyster Castle Rebellion, the Shintani family, which had 3,000 koku centered around Tanabegatake, was targeted for manipulation. In 1547, at the "Nanbu clan's castle," Nanbu Harumasa, Shintani Masahide, and Shintani Masahide's father, Shintani Masahide, eliminated the heirless Katsuyoshi and made Masahide's eldest son, Shintani Masahide, the "Hachinohe Masahide."
(There are few historical records about this, and it was mostly speculation based on the situation at the time, but from what I've heard, it seems to be the case...)
"Kusamatsu (Masahide's childhood name) will become the head of the Hachinohe clan at the castle. I will also enter the castle as a guardian."
My father, Masahide, boasted about our plot. Although I found it despicable, I accepted it as a matter of course for this era.
"Survive or be devoured..."
The words I muttered under my breath were not missed by my grandfather, Masahide.
"Hmm. At the age of two, you can say such things. Who taught you that?"
"It just came out naturally."
That was the only answer Yoshimatsu could give. I could have said it was a dream, but I was afraid of being thought mad. Masahide nodded twice and smiled.
"That's right. That's exactly right! The Shintani family devoured the Hachinohe family. The northern Oyster Castle, the southern Shibata, and the Ando. Lord Ema (Nanbu Harumasa) will devour more. From today, Yoshimatsu, you are the heir of the Shintani family. Grow up well and support your father and brother."
After confirming that I nodded in agreement, my father, Masahide, turned to his wife.
"Yoshimatsu will be under the guardianship of his grandfather. You should also stay in Tanabegatake. You can meet Kusamatsu next spring."
My mother nodded, her expression slightly darkening. My brother, Masahide, was five years old and still very much attached to his mother. In that regard, I was fine. I had already weaned off milk and, mentally, I was older than my grandfather.
"Father, I'm fine. Can Mother stay with me and enter the castle?"
"…You don't need your mother?"
"No, but I am the heir of the Shintani family. I can see Mother anytime. But my brother..."
"Hmm, I'll think about it. Still, Yoshimatsu is wise. You don't seem like a child."
"…I feel like I met someone while I was sick. Since then, wisdom and words have come to me naturally."
I made an excuse. The people of this era were superstitious. They would accept even the most inexplicable things with a simple explanation. As expected, the middle-aged man and the old man in front of me nodded.
"That might be the work of Sanzo (the founder of the Nanbu clan). The six branches of the family are coming together again. He might be telling you to be a force for unity."
With that, my father took a sip from his cup.
In the year 1547, the Tanabegatake mansion in the Shintani domain, located at the northernmost tip of Honshu, was welcoming a short summer. Yoshimatsu had become the heir of the Shintani family, but he had no attendants. Since his brother, Shintani Masahide, had become Hachinohe Masahide, his father and the main vassals had moved to the castle (present-day Hachinohe City). The straight-line distance from Tanabegatake to the castle was nearly 100 kilometers, and in this era, with poorly developed roads, it took five days to travel.
(From Oshika to Nobeoka by boat along Mutsu Bay, and then southward while seeing Lake Ogawara on the left, it takes about four days... If the boat sinks in Mutsu Bay, I'm sure to die. Summer is good, but in winter, Tanabegatake is completely isolated. Indeed, this place has been peaceful since the Oyster Castle Rebellion.)
The Shintani family had 3,000 koku in Tanabegatake, but the boundaries of their domain were vague. To the northwest, there was the abandoned Tendai sect temple, Kofukuji, but that also meant their influence was limited. It was just a vast expanse of mountains, forests, and fields.
Kofukuji, unlike Mount Hiei, was not corrupt at all. Rather, it had declined as a Tendai sect temple, and a Soto sect temple in Tanabegatake had taken over its role. In any case, living in the mountains at the northernmost tip of Honshu, where trees barely grew, required extraordinary resolve. Unlike the corrupt monks of Mount Hiei and the Hongan-ji, the environment in Mutsu was harsh, with snow piling up to the rooftops in winter, so harsh that even bandits didn't appear.
(But that's why, if development is successful, it could bring tremendous benefits. First, I need to secure food, clothing, and shelter. Food is the top priority.)
"What are you thinking about, Yoshimatsu?"
As I was looking out at Mutsu Bay from the Tanabegatake mansion, my grandfather, Shintani Masahide, called out to me. Masahide was the son of Hachinohe Masahide, who had distinguished himself in the Oyster Castle Rebellion. Hachinohe Masahide was originally the son of Shintani Kiyomasa and became the 13th head of the Hachinohe clan. In other words, this was not the first time the Shintani family had succeeded the Hachinohe family. The Nanbu clan had been deeply rooted in Mutsu since the Kamakura period.
"Grandfather, I want to make Tanabegatake prosperous. For that, I need people who can work for me. I'm only two years old and can't do heavy labor. Can you assign someone to me? Preferably someone who can read and write..."
"If so, Yoshimatsu would be good. He's not good with spears or swords, but he's a smart guy. What do you plan to do?"
"First, rice. Rice cultivation is done in Tanabegatake, but the harvest is poor. It's cold even in summer. We need to find a suitable method for this land. But it's already summer. Let's prepare for this year's harvest. I want to meet the blacksmith and the carpenter."
People in this era are conservative. They resist new ideas and stick to old methods. But if they see the results, they will quickly change. That's why firearms spread so rapidly.
(First, three years. I'll dramatically develop Tanabegatake in three years. After that...)
Despite his appearance as a child, his eyes, gazing at the sea, were filled with a fierce ambition.
**Postscript (A Request)**
- Your bookmarks, ratings, and reviews would greatly boost my motivation.
- The first volume of this work, "Until the Crescent Moon Becomes Full, It's My Land!" has been published by Earth Star Novels. Please consider picking it up!
- Additionally, my modern fantasy series, "Dungeon Busters," is also being serialized and published. I would be grateful if you could read it as well.