Chronicles of The Hardships of Komachi in The Sengoku Era

When Nobunaga Oda was laying a Mino siege net to wage defense battles with Ryuxing Saito and Mino.

Shizuko's village, which could not even feel the letter of the war, was mowing lightning at the village level.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the richest and fruitful rice is in line with the narrow.

But rice pruning is one of the harsh labors in comedy cultivation.

The conventional method was to prune the rice with a sickle and tie it up and bind it where it had been collected to some extent.

This method required bending over and inevitably straining the lower back.

So Shizuko decided to have a push and mow type manpower mower.

I can only do the pruning, so I can do the binding at the same time, but I don't have to give in and do the work.

Then, by combining several people and taking charge of the pruning and binding respectively, we succeeded in reducing the workload.

However, the amount to be harvested was unparalleled, and the machine was so busy that the eyes were still turning.

But the peasants had no expression of pain.

"No, a huge abundance of work. Less than planned, but the rice was harvested well."

Seeing the villagers doing the rice harvest, Shizuko nods contentedly.

It felt slightly less than the planned amount, but it could still be described as a broken yield at the time.

I just want to take a breather after the pruning, but there's still work to do after the harvest.

We need to dry the love first.

The drying operation of hanging and drying bundled rice on a pole has a lot to do with the rice flavour.

Depending on the weather, roughly one to two weeks are approximate.

When the drying is over, the rice is grained, and the shell is skinned (dipped), and finally the rice is refined.

However, when the crust is removed, it cannot be stored for a long period of time.

Therefore, once all the rice was packed to the mound without peeling.

Since it is a warring age with no refrigerators or anything, it is only natural that long-term preservation should be considered first.

Skinning and precision rice, but precision rice takes a long time, but can be done with precision rice water wheels.

In six hours, it is a one-stop (about 15 km) work efficiency, but besides being able to perform most of the work automatically, the rice grain does not have heat like mechanical precision rice, so it can preserve the original flavor and flavor of rice.

Except for peeling. More to the point, it's the sorting of brown rice and rice after you peel it off.

By preparing multiple swing plates (sieves) with slanted mirrors and vibrating them in the horizontal direction, a swing type was used to sort them based on differences in specific gravity and coefficient of friction between brown rice and mirrors, but finally confirmation was required at the hands of a person.

Unlike the traditional 10,000 stone formula, it does not require skilled arms and can be done relatively easily, but such a thing is irrelevant if the quantity is high.

Everyone gets sick of the rice in front of them like mountains.

(I knew there was no reason for it to be fully automatic... hey)

It is not desirable to work with precision rice from harvesting, drying and grain removal using machines such as modern ones.

We're introducing machines to increase work efficiency, but all of this is manpower.

There is still a limit.

(I wonder if these are the limits. High hopes aren't good, huh?)

I can't want any more efficiency right now.

Shizuko, who understood so, turned to the fields in order to participate in the harvesting operations himself.

After five minutes, the work will be interrupted by the visit of a certain person.

"Let's start with labor. That's all I've ever harvested."

"Thank you"

Shizuko bows her head deeply against Kasei Mori, who is smiling briskly.

It was Kasei Mori and his escorts who came to Shizuko's village.

She was surprised by the sudden visit, but thought that Nobunaga had mentioned impotence again.

"Well, there's nothing else I've had my feet on today. Lord Shizuko needs a favor."

"Yes, what is it?

And the idea was right.

"We are attacking Mino. But any longer battles will be tough for our army."

"(In this day and age, even with 10,000 troops, you're just defeated by a thousand deaths)...... yes. Uh, what does that have to do with me...?

Shizuko asks Kesei Mori in a rough way.

In fact, there is little involvement for Shizuko about the state of the war.

Nobunaga ordered only about agriculture.

Nothing else has been said about it, and Shizuko is not willing to give it away again.

If I cross the line, I don't have to tell you what's waiting for me.

"There's nothing else to talk about, after the Mino attack."

"What happened after the Mino attack...?

That's what they say. Shizuko recalls history.

The battle of Inabayama Castle, said to have been attacked by Nobunaga Oda, against Ryuxing Saito's Inabayama Castle.

Nobunaga Oda is said to have ruled Mino because of his fall there.

On the day of the castle's fall, August 15, the decade of Yonglu (1567), when the people of Mino surrendered, is common.

At that time, Ryuxing Saito took a boat down the Nagara River and escaped to Nagashima in Ise.

Since then, it has been said that he, then twenty years old, has never returned to Mino as a great name again.

And after Mino's offensive, Nobunaga Oda repeated a small battle, after which Uemura and the general held the reins.

It is September of the eleventh year (1568) of Yonglu, that is, two years from now.

"Mino is a country belonging to the West. As a museum guest, I want to keep it in my hands. After that, the Hall intends to strengthen the country's foundations."

(Well, Mino and Ogiri go together into a million stones. As a museum guest, you'll definitely want to get it)

"At last, I ask Shizuko to take charge of one end of his internal affairs."

"(I thought it was about improving self-sufficiency)......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Shizuko doubted my ear. Modern times didn't have to know, and in warring times, women had little human rights.

Naturally, it could not be related to politics or anything else, and the important positions were occupied by men.

As of that time, that is inevitable and common sense.

"Um... it's me, a woman, isn't it? I've never heard a woman get involved in politics!?

"Regardless, I doubted my ear when I first heard it, too. But the innkeeper already made up his mind."

"No, um... why?

Even though I knew the innovative Nobunaga Oda, it seemed like too much behavior out of common sense for anything.

In the first place, women were treated to the point where there were no names left in history books, even in the formal rooms of famous daimyo.

Municipal chiefs will sometimes do things that women do because of circumstances, but I hardly hear talk about becoming an exchanger that shapes a country's policies.

"The Hall appreciates the achievements of Shizuko."

"Really? I don't think it's as big a deal as I get compliments from you...?

"Hehe, don't be modest. Lord Shizuko brilliantly regenerated a village that was on the verge of death and this year secured what could be termed abundance of food support. It's not something you can do in a single line."

"That's because the villagers worked hard for me..."

"There will be that too, but without the power of Lord Shizuko, it would not have come true"

My back itched as a static child when I was praised by letting go.

"Hmm... this is my idea though. Perhaps the museum has the idea that before they take you to another country."

"Yes… it's an extra honor"

No matter how much Shizuko achieves, it's only about one village.

Naturally, Shizuko is attracted to another condition and the chances of leaving Nobunaga are not zero.

Nobunaga thought of it that way and decided to put a collar on it so that Shizuko wouldn't escape from hand.

She thought that was probably the place.

"With that said, Lord Shizuko, may I ask you one thing? I've been wondering, what's that bamboo-like thing on the corner of the field?

"Bamboo...? Oh, are you talking about cane?"

"Cane?"

Kasei Mori leans her neck strangely to a word she is unfamiliar with hearing.

"Oh, uh... right. May I just have a moment? Just for the record..."

Shizuko, who didn't want to be known around at the moment about what the sugar cane is, approaches Kasei Mori with her voice down.

Kasei Mori, who was only slightly wary, removed some of his shoulder strength when he understood that Shizuko had no suspicious movements.

"(I will report to the Hall and the Forest... those are sugar ingredients)"

"(With sugar!?

Kasei Mori shouted unexpectedly, but at the inch, he lowered his pushing voice.

But his eyes were wide open, and it was only natural that he was stunned.

"(Well, that's more evidence than a theory. I have some sugar cane I cut off this morning to check on the situation. Please bite this stem)"

That said, the stem of one of the two bottles is given to Kasei Mori.

And when he said poisonous, Shizuko bit the cane stem.

Still unable to hide his surprised expression, Kasei Mori grabbed the edge of the stem when he quietly took the cane stem in his hand.

…… Certainly sweet...... is this the source of the sugar......!?

"(Yes. Well, at first glance, it just looks like a haunting of Suki, so you don't think that's the crop in the field, do you?)"

"(um... you sure do. I thought it was bamboo until they told me too)"

"(Um, I was wondering if I could follow you. You know, I'm talking about what I can do with the ingredients I've been asking for since last year)"

"Hmm...? Oh, I wonder about that."

Since last year, Shizuko has asked to collect materials from Kasei Mori on a regular basis.

It was Kasei Mori, who had made arrangements but had no idea what the collected materials would be used for.

So I asked a few times, but the answer was always "now I can't answer it because I don't want the intermediate to know".

"(You know what? I'm really anxious to be able to do it, so I'm not saying I can do it clearly right now)"

Kasei Mori, who finally figured out the answer, was unworthy of age and excited.

But the excitement soon turns into another emotion.

"(If you succeed... that will be gunpowder)"

"Have we finished talking?

Kasei Mori, who returned to Nobunaga from Shizuko's village, went first to meet Nobunaga for the report.

Nobunaga had such a hunch, too, I'll put him through as a matter of priority to get a report.

And at the opening, I asked Kesei Mori if he had spoken.

"Ha! I was a little surprised, but Lord Shizuko took it on with pleasure"

"Right. Well, it's unprecedented to use a woman for internal affairs."

"Yes... but now that I know Lord Shizuko, I understand why the museum treats her well."

"Ho?

Nobunaga, who laughed joyfully, prompts him to continue with his jaw.

Kesei Mori, who saw it, carried before Nobunaga what he had made those nearby look at.

"Is this...?

That was a few vegetables served on a plate.

Dicon and turnip, two vegetables are semi-circular and nicely cut.

"It's called 'bran pickled' made by Lord Shizuko. She said that overdose was forbidden because of the high salt content, so we made it a few."

"The woman who makes the mystery the same."

To say all that, Nobunaga takes the chopsticks and puts the dice in his mouth.

"Tastes good. Nice tooth."

"I got it too, but the food she makes is rare and delicious"

"I was honestly surprised at what I ate first, too."

"So I understood. The knowledge Lord Shizuko possesses is horrible. It's a great threat if someone steals that knowledge from another country."

"Um. So, how much rice did that woman harvest?

"It could be around a little bit, but it's probably about 200 mounds."

"You're slightly over the designated twenty-five mound. That's all the harvest in a village of just about a hundred people. If I empower him to increase his production further, it will be easier for me to calculate my battles."

Needless to say, rice production during the Warring States period was of serious significance.

They say stone tall in units, meaning the amount of rice a person eats for a year.

In the mid-Edo period, it is assumed to be one hundred and fifty kilometres converted to present.

Since the warring countries were mostly self-declared, the exact figures are unknown and will not be known in the future.

But Ishitaka meant something important, neither the Edo period nor the Warring States era changed.

"But I won't bother to put you in charge of internal affairs. But wouldn't it be better if it stayed the way it is?"

"That woman is missing somewhere. Enemies can't be fooled and turned back. Besides, the more people he holds, the more sweet people he can't move from the spot."

"Is that...?

Nobunaga said to Kasei Mori's question after putting the chopsticks down, taking a deep breath once.

"Shizuko has a lot of talent that I need. Then you could have disobeyed my orders and served another man. But he didn't. That means he abandoned the villagers and couldn't escape."

"Sure, that's right"

"I can't slaughter and abandon people who rely on me. Sweet as a child, it gives him some authority. That way, his knowledge will be mine, and at the same time, we can stop him from betraying us. But don't try to squeeze his knowledge away as soon as possible. Shizuko could feel it and run away."

"When you've finished teaching all your knowledge, you'll think it's over."

"Exactly. If he still has to work, I'm in trouble."

That was the end of the conversation with Kasei Mori.

Nobunaga exhaled small as he lowered him.

"Rich Country Stronger......"

Nobunaga groans at the words Shizuko has spoken in the past.

(That woman, she's showing more of a headline than I imagined. Home affairs now, but in time you need to take in your knowledge of the military as well)

Incorporate Nanban knowledge into the army.

It was Nobunaga who couldn't wait for the day to come.