Chapter 118: Chapter 72: A True Confidant! _3

He’d already vaguely had this idea before; otherwise, why else would he specially recruit such a group of young Lang Faction and run them through drills all the time? Now, with Harano’s reminder, the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. The more he thought about it, the more he felt Harano was his confidant—able to think along the same lines as him, it really had the flavor of finding a kindred spirit.

He agreed outright: "You’re right! We really should separate the farmers and soldiers—and then further separate soldiers from farmers!"

Of course, this would require a huge amount of money and resources. Forming a standing army wasn’t easy; feeding thousands, even several thousand people who did nothing but train and fight was even harder. Otherwise, the local magnates wouldn’t just snatch up peasants and send them to war. So, with just the little money he had on hand, it would definitely not be enough.

But to him, this wasn’t really a problem. The Dan Zhengzhong family had been skilled at making money since the ancestors’ time, and after being inspired by Harano, some once-vague ideas about money-making strategies became clear; there was no need for Harano to lay out the logic for him.

As he looked at Harano, his gaze softened—even found him more and more handsome. He couldn’t help but want to revisit old topics, but the conversation jumped, "Okurakiyebi was wounded. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Harano answered offhandedly. In the "Battle of Haijin," Okurakiyebi charged ahead on horseback, right in the front, but in the chaos his horse was stabbed and went down; he busted his head and broke an arm in the fall. Harano himself splinted up the broken limb. He’d wanted to segue into discussing "Guild Halls and Free Markets," as well as how supporting big Masters was good for business development and so on, but Oda Nobunaga changed the topic, so he felt a bit regretful.

"Then go be the Manor Chief for me!" Last time, Oda Nobunaga had just lost a battle, and was too embarrassed to have Harano swear allegiance on the spot—just inviting him for a drink had been awkward as hell. But now it was different. He’d just scored a major victory and felt he really had "the air of an enlightened lord." Once again, he wanted to bring Harano into his fold.

And, because Harano had been so tough last time—didn’t give him face at all—Nobunaga was even willing to make a small concession. He figured Harano’s refusal to take a regular Household Retainer post was probably due to refined character, not a fan of fame, office, or socializing. So, why not start him off as a Manor Chief? Plus, it was a good excuse to dismiss Okurakiyebi, that old-fashioned, argumentative retainer who always opposed him. Before, he couldn’t—there was no one to replace him. Most of his young Household Retainers were green, inexperienced; he wouldn’t trust them to oversee Takeshige Manor, commanding two or three hundred Lang Faction and managing significant output.

But with Harano here, it was perfect. Let him be Manor Chief for a while, and then bring him up to his side—sharing the same bed, plotting grand schemes together.

But Harano still didn’t want to go. He wasn’t exactly hurting for money himself—so why take over some lousy manor for a cut of the fat? He said directly, "I don’t want to kowtow to anybody, so... thanks, but no thanks!"

After saying it, he felt it came out a bit too bluntly. After all, he’d have to do business here in the future; being too stiff wasn’t wise. He added, "I still beg your Highness’s pardon."

This time, Oda Nobunaga didn’t look pissed. Maybe he was used to Harano never giving him face, or maybe he’d really started to see Harano as a "cultivated gentleman": uninterested in fame, untempted by profit, and even less by women... Well, probably not tempted by women. Considering the ridiculous antics of the maids around him, and Harano still put up with it—he was almost certainly not a lecher.

No interest in fame, profit, or women—then he truly was a gentleman. Nobunaga couldn’t bring himself to get angry with people like that. Besides, he now saw Harano a bit like a kindred spirit, and people always forgive a soulmate a little more. He was no exception.

He grunted "Hmm" but said nothing more, stood up and got ready to leave. Still, he was a generous, bold sort—not wanting to take advantage—so as he left, he took off the gold-and-silver inlaid wakizashi at his waist, getting ready to toss it to Harano.

But as he had it out, he worried Harano, stubborn as ever, might refuse it again and embarrass him. After a brief hesitation, he tossed it to Ah Man instead and left right away.

He had to go back and think hard about how to make enough money to achieve "separation of farmers and soldiers," and then another "separation of soldiers from farmers"—so he could get all those useless trashy Owari clans under control, and turn Owari into a place where whatever he said, went.

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