"Takeshi, these are your people. Show them how you want the Takeshi Cl.u.s.ter shot making, and begin production. I want you to oversee the production of the cannons as well."
"Y-yes! As you wish!" He responded nervously, still not feeling too up to the task. The gathering of smiths viewed his skinny physique with ridicule. He could barely hold the hammer up in his hand. Most of them wondered why he was there at all.
But as he began to handle the raw iron, and process it, his nervousness faded. This was something he knew more about than anyone else. He wielded his tools with authority and precision, and the smiths found themselves watching on, awe struck.
Gengyo smiled quietly, before exiting the workshop, satisfied that things would proceed as they should in there. He had other matters to attend to.
"All sorted in there?" Jikouji asked him as he exited. He had been waiting patiently outside.
"Aye. Looks like he'll be able to handle it. Where's the captain that we were meant to meet with?"
"Already at the wall, waiting for us it seems."
"And Morojo?"
"Right here." The shipwright rounded the corner with perfect timing. His skills were not only limited to making sh.i.p.s, and Gengyo had plenty of plans for him and his lads.
"Excellent. Let's not leave the captain waiting, then."
They were on their way to the top of the walls to inspect the true state of the defences from up close. Their meeting with the captain of the guards had been arranged begrudgingly by the governor, as a result of Gengyo's relentless pushing to set everything in motion.
The citizens were adapting to their presence rather rapidly, and they were not as aggressive as they had first been. It seemed – at least a few of them – were hoping for the Red Feather's victory.
Even the climb up to the top of the walls was more dangerous than it needed to be, with the only thing supporting their feet being a rickety old ladder, that looked as though it might fall apart at any second. Whether that was purposefully put there - in the hope that it might collapse on them – was unknown.
The captain was not exactly welcoming as he watched their ascent, but still showed the proper respect so that he would not risk angering them. "This way… your lordship."
He began to lead them along the top of the stone wall, pointing to various points of interest. The damage to the wooden arrow cage was extensive.
"Mm…" Gengyo paused a moment to test the integrity of one of the more solid pieces of wood, leaving the captain to walk ahead, talking to himself for a few moments before he realized that no one was following him.
He tapped one of the wooden support beams lightly, to see whether it was capable of withstanding a more vigorous assault. He was barely able to put any force on it at all, before it crumbled in his hand. He looked up towards Morojo with a raised eyebrow.
"Rotten. The whole thing is probably going to need replacing." The shipwright stated, running the crumbled wood through his hands. "It takes years to get like this… That's some neglect there."
"We don't have the resources to waste on such an unimportant part of the defence." The captain stated bluntly, not enjoying their criticism.
"Unimportant? This wood is the only thing standing between you, and the enemy's arrows. The way it's looking now, an arrow would slice through this like a soft cut of meat." Jikouji protested, shaking his head.
"Be that as it may, we don't have the time nor the money."
Gengyo sighed, scratching the back of his head. The defences were even worse than he imagined. The cement was crumbling, and even the stones beneath his feet were threatening to come loose. They were minor problems, but they had been left for so long, that they'd become this great mountain of work.
"Aye… This is all going to need to go. I'm not risking the lives of my men by asking them to put faith in such a shoddy defensive wall. The whole thing needs tearing down, and rebuilding again from the ground up." He ill.u.s.trated his point with a light kick, sending a panel of rotten wall crumbling to the ground below.
"Tsch. Do you know how much work that's going to be? My boys won't be helping. There's not enough of us to do something like this." The captain growled.
Jikouji twisted his mouth, disliking the tone the man taking. It didn't make sense to be so against something that would undeniably help him in the long run. Out of irritation, he felt his hand fall toward his sword.
Noticing the movement, Gengyo put his hand on his shoulder, and shook his head. "Do what you must, captain. We will find our own way of doing things. That will be all – your help has been noted and appreciated. We will now begin our own evaluations of your defences."
The captain stared at him long and hard, struggling to control his anger. The captain of the city guard was being told to leave the walls of his own city by a man who had only been there a day. It did not sit well with him, but what other choice did he have? Seeing sense, he began to walk away, his anger apparent even from the very way he moved.
They watched him go, with two of them feeling rather disheartened. Had the people been more co-operative, then their task would be a lot easier.
"There's a good amount of work to be done." Gengyo stated the obvious lightly, wearing his usual smile, as he kicked out at another panel, removing a small blade of grass from the field of work ahead. "But it's not impossible. We can transform this in a couple of weeks. We've got the time. Do not lose heart, my friends."
"Do you really think so? Even the gate is f.u.c.k.i.e.d. The amount of wood we're going to need is insane." Morojo complained.
"There's Okazaki forest half a day away." Gengyo reminded him.
"Aye, but even that is too far. The horses won't be able to pull enough wood quickly enough for us to get anywhere near the changes done that we wish."
Gengyo's smile only widened at the mention of that, and he crossed the wall once more, to look back into the town. "Come, look at this." He pointed downwards, and motioned for the two men to follow his gaze.
"…Those?"
"Aye. Those. We've got the coin, haven't we? Let us make use of it."
Almost half the town was dedicated to a single thing. It was the reason that the town managed to carry on, despite the oppressive state in which it was ruled. A thousand cattle were penned up in various places below, as the farmers continued to flog their precious livestock for coin, or gave them up for butchering.
"With those, we'll definitely have the wood we need." The shipwright stated, stroking his beard with something akin to approval. "The problem is the labour. We don't have enough men to cut it all down, and get it in shape."
"Then we will hire the citizens. They are as much in need of coin as the rest of them. Some of them might even find the task enjoyable."
"Heh… We could do, couldn't we?"
"Aye. With that, it'll be enough, won't it?"
"I think it might be, boss. I think it might be."
"There is one thing I want to add, though. Replacing the archer cage is not enough. We need the wood to be thicker, so that it can stop musket balls, as well as arrows. It is likely that we will have to deal with a matchlocks."
"Haha, that's the easy part. When you've been a shipwright for as long as me, you pick up a few tricks along the way." Morojo chuckled, seeing such a task to be meagre.
"Is that right? Then, can I entrust this with you, and your lads? Make sure to leave space on top of the gate for the cannons that Takeshi is working on."
"Aye. You can count on me lad. We'll have it looking better than it ever has been. We'll turn this shit hole into something worthy of our graves."
"Well, I'd prefer not to die here, but something of that standard does sound good to me." Jikouji put in.
"We're getting somewhere then." Gengyo nodded with approval, seeing that everything was beginning to take shape, as he made his way back to where he remembered the ladder to be.
"Hm? Why aren't you heading down yet lad? Oh… THAT F.U.C.K.I.N.G BASTARD!" Morojo roared, seeing that there was no ladder in place.
"Heh… Seems we've got ourselves a little joker to deal with." Gengyo grinned. "One moment fellas. I'll fetch you a ladder." And then, he jumped.