It was amusing to see just how quickly the power shifted. He who had wealth and knew how to wield it was able to control much of a city's happenings. They had arrived with an army, and subjugated the settlement, seizing control, but they had not won the hearts of the people. The villagers still walked around past them, unwilling to be associated with their kind.
And then two sets of interests crossed. Their treasury was something that could be freely wielded, and the price they offered for even such basic work was far above what would normally be given.
Gengyo did not even need to get involved himself. He merely watched from afar, as Morojo spoke to the crowd of people.
"We're readying yer shithole of a city for war, and we need workers. For your help, you'll be receiving fifty silver a day, and you'll be helping to free yourselves from the ungrateful rule of Imagawa. Pretty sound deal, eh? Who's in?"
Before he'd even finished his sentence, numerous hands were cast into the air. Even merchants rushed over from their stalls in order to receive the opportunity to enrol in such employment. Fifty silver was more money than they could make in two days.
"I'LL WORK FOR YOU, KIND SIR!" A middle-aged woman threw her hand the highest, leaping up in order to be seen, eager for Morojo to notice her.
Looking at them from his vantage point, they really were a neglected people. Their lack of funds had even affected their appearance. The majority of them had dirt covering their clothes and faces, and very few of them were able to fill out their clothes – evidence of their malnourishment.
It was a bad state indeed that the rather unintelligent taxing system had put them in. Because it was of a similar size to Okazaki, it was expected to pay the same amount of taxes. The prosperity of the town – and the amount of resources it had – was not taken into account.
"Calm down…" Morojo murmured, a little overwhelmed by their rather extreme reactions. "I'll hire the lot of you!"
There were at least a thousand people in the square, and – amusingly enough – some of them were guardsmen. Much to the ire of their watching captain, they had thrown themselves at the opportunity. What they earned day to day just couldn't match the amount that was being offered now.
Morojo turned around to look toward where he knew Gengyo to be standing, and the two shared a look. In that look was contained equal amounts of surprise, and hope. His commander nodded back to him, a smile hanging from his lips. It was working out as he expected it would be. Things were shaping up.
"Come, they seem to be doing well enough here." With his arm around Akiko's waist, the two of them moved off elsewhere, toward a comparatively warmer part of the settlement. With all the forges that were currently in action, it was a wonder that a serious fire had not broken out amongst all the wooden buildings.
The smiths were proceeding well enough. As they walked by, they were able to see the beginnings of what would be the first cannon barrel. Takeshi had an incredibly focused look on his face, as he observed it from various angles. They saw him shake his head, and begin to speak to the other smiths, offering a new set of instructions.
"He seems to be handling the responsibility rather well." Akiko commented, surprised that the anxious man was now able to speak to them so freely.
"He's a passionate man. His passion for the work is what allows him to overcome walls that would normally limit him, like when he worked up the courage to show me his design. On that note, I'm interested to see his invention in action. It should prove interesting."
"Mhm. I am as well. Is there somewhere else we're heading, or are we stopping in to speak with him?"
"I was going to ask him how he was getting on, but seeing them all so focused, I think we had better to proceed onto other things. Come, let us go."
Gengyo had encouraged his soldiers to walk freely through the city to make the army's presence felt, and so as they walked, there were numerous men who bowed towards them, and offered their respects both to the commander, and to his wife.
The majority of the villagers hurried to get out of their way. Some harboured animosity towards him, and had it been another man, he would not have been able to walk so freely. Yet both he and Akiko were highly capable of defending themselves, and as they walked together, they had such a presence and exuded such confidence that no one was foolish enough to attempt to do them harm.
They proceeded on towards a part of town where the residences were more bestial than human. In the confines of their holdings, cattle munched lazily on hay, letting out the occasional cry.
There were groups of men gathered, engaging in bartering, as they sought to sell off their animals.
"Tadakata, what are we doing here?" Akiko asked, not enjoying how cramped the road was becoming, as men lead their newly purchased cattle up and own, forcing them to step out of the way.
"We're going to buy them." He responded lightly, looking around, wondering how long it might take to do business with each man individually. "Morojo will be on his way here in a few moments, and he'll be looking to head out of the city to begin logging. He's going to want some beasts to bring with him."
"Buy them?" Akiko asked with a frown. "Do you mean all of them?"
"Haha, maybe not quite all, but as many as we are able." He noticed a man leaning against a fence, and called out to him. "You sir! Are these fine animals yours?"
He was not the cleanest of men, and he looked Gengyo up and down, somewhat aggressively, as he cleared his throat and spat off to the side. "Might be that I am. What's it to you? Looking to try to take it from me, are ya? Well I don't care how many of you there are. You ain't takin' nothin' without going through me first."
"You seem to have jumped to the wrong conclusion. I'm looking to buy them from you, my man. How much for one of these fine beasts?"
"Tsch. Five gold. But I suppose that's too high for his lordship, eh?" The man named a higher price than he would normally have been able to sell the beast for, thinking that he was going to be pressured into an unfair trade anyway, but contrary to his surprise, Gengyo pulled his coin pouch out quite readily, and placed a sum into his hands.
"Then I'll take all ten of them. I assume this will be enough?"
The man stared from the gold coins in his hand back up to Gengyo in disbelief. Even with them sitting there, he was still unwilling to believe that the were real, and so he took one, and bit into it, to test the metal. "By the gods… you weren't joking? F.u.c.k, here. Take them, take all of them! I've got more to sell, if you're looking to buy?"
The man's attitude took a turn for the better, as he flung open his gate quite rapidly, almost being caught by it on its back swing. He hurriedly motioned to the left and right, ill.u.s.trating that he had far more cattle that he was willing to sell. The trouble with farming of his sort, was that it was difficult to find a fair buyer, and in selling to Gengyo – even if he were to sell his entire herd – he would be making a profit. He could buy back the same amount from another seller, and still have a handsome amount sitting waiting for him.
Akiko and Gengyo smiled at each other with a knowing look. Business, and affairs of war were just that much easier when you had gold on your side. They had made a fortune during their piracy career, and more still when they sacked the mansion in Toyokawa, and then even more through various businesses in Okazaki – though they had expended a good deal there as well.
Even if their defence of Honkaido were to cost them their entire purse, then it would be worth it. They needed not to hold back. As things stood, the life of one man was worth far more than gold, and they had to do everything they could in order to keep the size of their army what it was, else they would struggle to replace the fallen men in future, and render themselves incapable of taking the province.
"If you're selling, then I'll be buying them too."
"Excellent! Excellent! Do you need any help getting them to where you need them? I can call my sons over, if you want? Kuroko! Over here lad!"