Chapter 5 - 4: Untouched Plains

Words : 1001 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 5 - 4: Untouched PlainsJapan Middle Ages experienced three samurai regimes: the Kamakura Shogunate (1185-1333), the Muromachi Shogunate (1336-1573), and the Edo Shogunate (1603-1867). Each transition of power was accompanied by enormous turmoil across Japan, with corpses strewn across the land, blood flowing like rivers, and countless deaths. Historically, these periods are known as "chaotic times." Now, Harano feels as if he has traveled to these chaotic times, furrowing his brow as he desperately tries to recall his limited knowledge of Japanese history. During the late Kamakura Shogunate, tensions heightened between the ruling Houjou family, the Japanese Emperor, and the local Samurai Groups. The samurai groups rose up at the emperor's call to serve the king, waged great wars, and after countless deaths, toppled the rule of the Kamakura Shogunate. Subsequently, in 1336, the leader of the samurai group, Ashikaga Takauji, established a new shogunate in Kyoto Muromachi and took office as the General of Expedition, starting conflicts with scholars and samurai centered upon Emperor Godaigo, forming a situation of confrontation between the northern Kyoto Court and the southern Yoshino Court known as the "Northern and Southern Court period." Searᴄh the NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Until 1392, the third shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshihisa, ended the confrontation between the Northern and Southern Courts, and Japan barely realized nominal unity. Yet amidst the prolonged confrontation and struggle between the Northern and Southern Courts, low-intensity wars persisted, constantly eroding the Japanese Emperor's authority, and the shogun residing in Muromachi (the leader of the samurai families) naturally became the de facto ruler over all of Japan, sending relatives and loyal retainers to serve as "Guardians" of various domains, exercising local administrative and military power and gradually sidelining the Japanese Emperor. As time went by, in 1467, surrounding issues of succession in the Ashikaga family shogun's house, the core powers of the Ashikaga Family, "Three Counsellors and Four Offices," once again clashed violently in the Kyoto area, an episode historically known as the "Onin War"—in 1467, 161,000 soldiers of the Hosokawa side and 116,000 soldiers of the Yamana side (including a large number of inclinations, numbers from "Onin Chronicle," considered exaggerated) engaged in a life-and-death battle in Kyoto, causing widespread turmoil across Japan. The result of this great turmoil was mutual destruction, with both sides falling simultaneously. The shogunal Ashikaga Family and its core forces, including the three counsellors Hosokawa family, Hatakeyama family, Hoshina family, and the four offices Yamana family, Ichisaka family, Akimatsu family, and Kyogoku family, rapidly declined within ten years, and the original ruling system of the Muromachi Shogunate neared collapse, with the real power of "Guardians" in local areas successively usurped by "Guardian substitutes" or local powerful families. From this time onward, Japan was practically covered with various sizes of divisive forces, ignoring orders from the central government, and amid internal strife within these forces to compete for territory, population, and power, bloody massacres ensued. This is roughly the beginning of Japan's Warring States Era. "Sir, are you...are you alright? Did I say something wrong?" Yayoi saw Harano suddenly lose focus while asking questions, neither eating nor speaking, tightly furrowing his brow with a serious expression, causing slight nervousness, prompting her to reflect profoundly, yet finding nothing wrong in what she'd said, she timidly asked in a soft voice. Harano came back to his senses, giving her a gentle smile, casually saying, "Nothing, just remembered some things from the past." "Yes," Yayoi obediently lowered her head, softly responding without daring to inquire further. "Hurry and continue eating!" Harano scooped more of the untouched brown rice into her bowl; he was unaccustomed to brown rice, and its quality was inherently poor, making it hard and requiring more effort to chew. Indeed, Japan at this time generally grew fast-maturing rice, planting during Meiyu Season, harvesting before the typhoon season, otherwise risking wasting most of the year in vain. This was not an era pursuing taste. Yayoi felt a bit fearful, suspecting Harano of having some malicious intent, but given this man's noble status and being her father's savior, her mother had repeatedly reminded her to serve carefully, ensuring not to anger the noble one, she couldn't possibly abandon her bowl and flee, only murmuring thanks, resigning herself to fate. She was clearly overthinking it, Harano wasn't vile enough to entertain ill thoughts towards a ten-year-old and clearly malnourished little girl. If someone like that existed, he would definitely support having them executed using Close Defense Cannon for ten minutes—160 shells per shot, he was willing to contribute 100 shells, even 200, billed to the Shanghainese, they had money. Harano was merely expressing goodwill subconsciously under unstable mental conditions, wanting to extract more information, after scooping the brown rice he asked, "I came from the west and am unfamiliar locally; whose territory is Hibi Village?" Yayoi had brought rice to her mouth, hearing his inquiry quickly put down the bowl and chopsticks and replied, "Reporting to Sir, it is Hosokawa Family." "Hosokawa Family?" "Yes, Sir," Yayoi respectfully replied, "Maeda Sir holds jurisdiction over Hosokawa Castle 2162 Kwan 700 Wen, the surrounding seven villages all belong to the governance of Hosokawa Family." Harano recalled that during Japan's Warring States Period, land was calculated more by "Kwan high system," rather than "Stone high system," which was not popular, unlike the game, this meant Hosokawa Family annually collected tax values equivalent to 2162 Kwan 700 Wen of agricultural products? Of course, 2162 Kwan 700 Wen should be a rough estimate, and highly likely calculated a long time ago, not accurate, actual income should be higher; if the patriarch was unscrupulous, through various extortions, more could be squeezed from the farmers' mouths. If converted into "Stone high system," the 2162 Kwan Wen, judging by the data from the game "Taiko 2," could roughly yield 2500 to 3000 stone?

Chapter 5 - 4: Untouched Plains

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