On August 21st, Omi Province was covered in cloudy skies.
But unless there's a heavy downpour, in Nagahama, there are always many people working to build a new town.
As originally planned, construction of Nagahama Castle was progressing in a stepped-fortified style, with completion scheduled for the end of September next month.
Consequently, the castle town is now developing rapidly.
Incidentally, it had already been decided that the castle town of Nagahama Castle would be constructed in a unique form.
First, a city area of approximately 6,000 hectares would be secured, with the Nagahama Imperial Palace, backed by Lake Biwa, as the central hub. A circular boulevard would then be constructed along its boundary, and mulberry trees would be planted along it.
And within that circular row of trees, a grid-like street layout, modeled after Kyoto, will be created.
The driving force behind the urban planning of this castle town was Masamoto, who was in charge of financial administration.
He is determined to make Nagahama a new capital city, focusing on urban beauty while simultaneously seeking ways to easily integrate the residents of Nagahama into the administrative network.
His proposal was to designate the area inside the circular tree-lined street as a "castle town" and create 17 city blocks with the streets as boundaries.
Indeed, Nagahama was divided and governed by 17 administrative districts.
Each city block had a magistrate's office responsible for that area. Under the city magistrate, who was the head of the magistrate's office, there were five assistants and ten officers responsible for maintaining public order in each block.寄騎Yoriki同心Doshin
Furthermore, the Nagahama Chief Magistrate is responsible for overseeing the 17 town magistrates and managing the urban administration of Nagahama.
However, while the town's structure is taking shape, the actual governing system remains underdeveloped, and positions such as the chief magistrate of Nagahama have yet to be appointed.
Furthermore, although Nagahama is divided into 17 districts, in reality, only two districts are currently subject to effective governance.
First, there's the first district, which is a samurai district centered around the Nagahama Imperial Palace.
Next is the second district, a commercial area centered around Nagahama Castle and the sericulture factory located nearby.
Since not many people live there yet, it will probably be some time before I have to oversee all 17 districts.
Incidentally, the fact that the first district of Nagahama Castle Town was designated as a samurai district centered around the Nagahama Imperial Palace clearly demonstrated the changing position of the Asai family, who ruled the area.
In other words, the town's center is not the "castle" but the "imperial palace" where the Great Hall of Worship—the Biwa Grand Shrine—is located, and it is the base of operations for the Asai family, who were not "warriors" but "priests."
In that sense, it could be said that Nagahama Castle, which is currently under construction, has been reduced to a secondary position to the Nagahama Imperial Palace.
Incidentally, the tall forest area south of Nagahama Castle was designated as a special zone.
That's where the gigantic, dragon-like monster with a white body and black outlines lives—a cow.
In this special zone, the collection of fallen branches and leaves for winter fuel was permitted, but the direct collection of branches and leaves from trees, or the felling of the trees themselves, was prohibited.
Needless to say, this is for the protection of the cows' livelihoods, and it is hoped that the special zone will become a model case for humans and monsters to coexist.
The cows continue to live in the area where they have always lived, while the humans live outside of it.
It remains to be seen how well this classification will work—but in any case, a human being who possesses neither jadeite nor a horse has no chance of picking a fight with a cow.
Therefore, as things stand, there seems to be no problem unless the cows themselves attack the human settlement of Nagahama Castle town.
(There really are too many things I need to do...)
It was late afternoon, around the hour of the sheep (14:00).
I reached the room next to the main hall, pulled out my cushion, and then collapsed face down.塗籠Nurigome
From early in the morning, he presided over advisory council meetings to discuss plans for the Nagahama castle town with his senior retainers, and then, after much effort, he had to submit those plans to the council of state affairs to secure the agreement of all his vassals—a truly arduous task.
Furthermore, while the physical structure of the castle town may be established, the softer aspects, such as the governing structure, laws, and other various institutions, are still being debated in advisory councils and cannot be finalized.
And as such discussions take place, it's inevitable that factions will form, with some supporting and others opposing Proposal A, and others supporting and others opposing Proposal B.
This is the troublesome aspect of politics, and how to manage and cope with partisan conflicts becomes a crucial issue.
It's a case of "you can't have your cake and eat it too."
Moreover, I have the final say in policy decisions.
Therefore, it is necessary to avoid showing too much favoritism towards one particular faction.
(This is truly mentally draining...)
—It's actually quite difficult.
Incidentally, Louis XIV, who was at the height of absolute monarchy in France, apparently enjoyed pitting the two major factions in his court—the Colbert faction and the Le Tellier faction—against each other.
But I don't have the magnanimity of those great historical figures, so I'm really at my limit.
That's precisely why—
(How wonderful it is that Haruhime and that old man... and Ryouchika are free from factional struggles and engage in policy debates based on their merits and demerits.)
—That's what I think.
If my wife were to start forming cliques, I think I'd seriously get a stomach ulcer.
However, since Princess Osamu herself seemed to be intentionally withdrawing from the power struggle, it didn't seem likely that I would collapse from a stomach ulcer.
"Ah... why did it have to be like this..."
The area where heated debates are taking place is particularly in the field of law, and each of the senior officials has their own strong opinion on this matter—the atmosphere is truly tense.
It's fortunate that that old guy, Ryochika, is good at summarizing and guiding the discussion; without him, I don't think I could have managed to bring them together effectively.
"That's all I am, after all..."
The plastered rooms are separated by thick earthen walls.
Therefore, I groaned, as if to say that no words would leak out to anyone else.
The world praises me as a falconry hero, or for taming a mythical dragon—but in the end, I'm nothing more than an amateur with a vast amount of superficial knowledge.大祝Ohori
As the Water God has already pointed out, even on the battlefield, he doesn't possess specialized knowledge of tactics, and his success largely depends on the inherent combat prowess of "Asai Nagamasa."
(But somehow, I managed to get this far...)
Having successfully defended against successive wars of aggression, and having gained fame by slaying hawks and pacifying dragons, large-scale wars of aggression against the Asai family by other clans will likely subside.
However, we couldn't let our guard down at all.
There is a high possibility that Ikkoso will instigate a large-scale uprising, and above all, the Asakura family, which controls both Echizen and Wakasa provinces, is still very much in power.
(It would be wise to proceed with domestic development while taking into account the influence of the Biwa sect.)
Fortunately, the water god had created it for fun—a vast river stretching 8 kilometers from Lake Biwa to Mount Nanao—before us.
While it can certainly be utilized for infrastructure purposes such as water transport, this river holds even greater significance.
By developing fields and irrigating them with water, significant productivity can be expected.
However, this would require intensive land reclamation over a period of two to three years—and that, too, would incur significant costs.
(But we don't need to turn everything into rice paddies. We also need to increase the amount of food available for horses like Taishakutsukige...)
Increase the human population, and increase the horse population.
I heard when I first arrived in this world that horses are very difficult to breed, but I still have to patiently take care of them.
(Perhaps even horses that have returned to the wild might come back to human settlements if there's plenty of food available.)
That's just wishful thinking, though...
However, if we were to create a large field of white clover, Taishakutsukimo would surely be very pleased.
Furthermore, creating a field of white clover would also allow for beekeeping as a secondary benefit, killing two birds with one stone.
(...That is, if the bees in this world are actually "bees.")
If it turns out to be a monster like a hawk, something completely unexpected from its original image, that would be a real problem, so I'll look into that later.
Things aren't always smooth sailing, but we are certainly moving forward, albeit at a snail's pace.
Furthermore, it hasn't even been a year since I came to this world.
We should focus on domestic affairs in a steady and reliable manner.
Besides, the local governments can continue to administer their territories as before—there's no need for me to intervene.
As the Water God said, things don't necessarily stop moving forward unless I take action.
The Sengoku period, in particular, was an era in which each community possessed an extremely high degree of autonomy.
Things were moving forward according to the internal norms of each individual, even without my intervention.
Rather, if I were to extend my hand, unless a significant benefit is demonstrated, I can expect resistance to my intervention.
Failure to understand this fact could only lead to increased public discontent.
People living in local communities hate nothing more than having their established customs altered by those in power.
Rather, what I need to do is establish a new order in places that have previously been power vacuums, such as Nagahama and Hibari Village in the Takamine faction.
That is the essence and standard practice of managing a territory.
Only after a central institutional, administrative, and bureaucratic foundation has been established can it reach out to local areas.
◆
From outside, I could hear the loud laughter of Shuko and the chirping of silkworms.
Bontenmaru, who had been recuperating for nearly a month, had his first rehabilitation day today.
Although her rehabilitation mainly consists of taking walks around the interior of the Nagahama Imperial Palace, it is Shuko who is happier about today than anyone else.
She's always been a caring person. When someone she knows gets sick or injured, she can't help but worry about them.
In fact, Naosuke was often found sneaking out of her bedroom and sleeping while leaning against Bontenmaru's fluffy fur—and Haruhime would seriously say, "I'm glad this isn't winter."
Incidentally, as soon as today's rehabilitation is finished, I've instructed Takatora to ask Bontenmaru about the Jorōgumo.
It wouldn't be surprising if Bontenmaru knew about the Jorōgumo, and if he didn't know—then there would be nothing that could be done, and one could accept that.
"But seriously, it's so humid..."
Outside, the sky is overcast, yet the air is humid and muggy.
What incredible condition, considering everyone else is resting.
I felt a pleasant sensation as the contact surface between the bedding and my body became , and I rolled over in my sleep.湿気Rough seas
But then I get the same feeling again and roll over, rolling over again—restlessly moving around on the bed.
"This is why summer is..."
As he muttered this, his resentment and bitterness towards the summer heat grew stronger—
"Your name"
—From somewhere, the voice of Princess Osamu could be heard.
"Osamu...?"
When I slightly raised my head, I could see that she seemed to think she was hidden—Princess Osamu's face was peeking out from the right side of the door.
I smiled fondly at the childlike behavior my wife, who is older than me, was showing, and I beckoned her over.
"Come here, Osamu."
"There is no cure."
She replied, tucking her head in with a quick jerk.
"So, who is that beautiful woman over there?"
"She is the wife."
"What!?"
From the left side of the door, I heard my wife's bizarre voice.
She herself probably intended to pop up after Haruhime and say something like, "Ichi isn't here," but...
However, it seems that the original plan was easily thwarted by Haruhime.
"Princess Haruhime! That's not what we agreed on!"
"There is no cure."
"There he is!!"
It's like a children's quarrel.
I couldn't help but laugh, and I called out their names, urging them to come into the room.
"Um... I'm sorry, Lord Nagamasa. Unfortunately, it seems Princess Osamu won't be here today."
"I'm here, I'm here!"
As soon as they entered the room, both of my wives hugged me, one on each side.
Just moments ago, during the deliberation, Haruhime had a dignified, intelligent expression on her face, but now she has an innocent, beaming smile on her face and is pressing her body against my left arm.
Ichihime, with an air that suggested she might say, "I'm so happy to be able to touch something I cherish," wore a gentle, graceful smile and rubbed her cheek against my right arm.
However, they are by no means self-centered women.
Sensing that I was tired and feeling down because of the humidity, Ichihime patted her knee and offered me a lap pillow...
Haruhime took a fan from her chest pocket and sent a cool breeze to me, who was feeling miserable from the stifling heat.
It was truly a magnificent display of teamwork, and in front of those two, I found myself acting like a spoiled child.
"You look tired, Lord Nagamasa."
As Ichihime playfully stroked mine , she said:
"You've been working so hard lately... It seems like it's been a long time since you've taken a break..."
"Well, I suppose so... But I don't have any particular plans this afternoon. It's been a while since I've had a day off... even if it's only half a day."
"Why not just give us tomorrow off as well...?"
Ichihime asked Haruhime to agree.
"Don't you think so too, Princess Haruhime? Lord Nagamasa has been working too hard lately. If he doesn't rest sometimes, he won't be able to do his job properly."
"Your wife is absolutely right."
With the hand still fanning herself with the fan, Princess Osamu slowly crept closer.
"There are no consultations or meetings tomorrow, and Lord Nagamasa has no plans for tomorrow... ah, well, he doesn't."
"No, there must be—ngh."
When I tried to argue back while sitting on Ichihime's lap, my wife's hand slapped my mouth shut.
"Princess Haruhime, how is it?"
"Yes, we have it, but it's not necessary. In short, Lord Nagamasa is going to explore the area between Lake Biwa and Mount Nanao tomorrow, but I think that could be postponed until the day after tomorrow."蛟川Mizuchigawa
Haruhime said that and peered into my face, which was being covered by Ichihime's gag.
...with a look on his face that showed he was genuinely worried about me.
"My lord, I am worried. I am afraid that you may overexert yourself and harm your precious health..."
"..."
"If my memory serves me correctly, you've been working non-stop for 28 days straight without a break, haven't you? You really need to take a proper rest soon—or it could lead to irreparable consequences."
Indeed, there is some truth to what Haruhime is saying.
For the past month, ever since this farce with Jiao began, I've been working on government affairs with almost no rest.
(If I ruin my health, it'll all be for nothing...)
When I nodded and said "I understand," Ichihime and Haruhime's faces lit up.
Then, Ichihime's supple hands lifted my head with a voice saying, "Excuse me," and lowered it onto Osamuhime's lap.
Confused by the abrupt end of Ichihime's lap pillow, Osamuhime gently leaned forward.
Feeling the soft sensation of her breasts through her kimono against my face, I involuntarily twitched in my groin—
"My wife"
"Yes, Princess Osamu."
My wife and I were exchanging signals with each other, as if we had coordinated something beforehand.
"Today, until night... let's give Lord Nagamasa plenty of rest and relaxation."
"Yes... just like they do for us every night, let's make sure you feel as good as you can."
Perhaps the choice I made was a bad one.
As the four eyes, their swaying, ominous colors, sapped my will to resist—a certain sense of anticipation caused my weary, exhausted groin to become engorged.