Japan's Sengoku Period: The Sanada Clan's Ambition

Chapter 122 National Laws: The Sanada Laws

Ueda City.

Inside the assessment room.

On the table in front of Sanada Masayuki, the fruits of several months' work by Sanada Nobuyuki, Hoshina Masatoshi, Kawahara Tsunaie, Yazawa Yoritsuna, and others were quietly displayed; the first step the Sanada family took to become a Sengoku daimyo—the Sanada Laws of the Province.

The national law is divided into three volumes: "Governance of the Territory", "Military Service Regulations", and "Military Law".

The first volume contains the relevant rules for governing neighboring states.

The main content is as follows:

1. All land within the territory of the Sanada family belongs to the Sanada family. No one may confiscate the farmers' land for any reason without the permission of the Sanada family.

1. All disputes within the territory must be reported to the Sanada family for adjudication; private resolution is strictly prohibited. If improper handling of disputes leads to armed conflict or even an uprising, both parties involved will be subject to equal punishment, regardless of the cause.

1. Within the territory controlled by the Sanada family, no temple may conduct religious debates or gather people in the name of religion. If there is a genuine need to hold a large-scale festival, prior approval must be obtained from the Sanada family before it can be carried out.

1. No retainer of the Sanada family may form a marriage alliance, enter into an agreement, or participate in an uprising without permission. They may not correspond with any foreign power without authorization; if they receive correspondence from another country, they must report it to the Sanada family.

1. For all fields under the jurisdiction of the Sanada family, the annual tribute for both paddy fields and dry fields shall be paid directly in grain crops. Other outputs within the territory shall be converted into copper coins as appropriate, and it is permissible not to pay in coins directly.

1. In the event of a year of crop failure, the Sanada family may reduce or exempt the annual tribute as appropriate. Retainers and subjects within the territory must comply with this order and are not allowed to privately collect the reduced portion.

1. All newly reclaimed land within the territory belongs to the person who reclaimed it, but must be truthfully reported and the full annual tribute paid. If any concealment is found, the land will be confiscated.

I. All citizens within the territory who commit crimes such as murder, arson, robbery, and rape shall be severely punished. If the victims are women or children, the punishment shall be doubled.

1. All mineral resources, rivers, lakes, etc., within the territory of the Sanada family shall be considered the property of the Sanada family.

I. Caravan System: Customs duties are no longer collected at checkpoints along the route, but caravans must stop to inspect their goods before being allowed to pass. Those holding a "permission" from the Sanada family are exempt from searches; storage fees are charged for stopping at post stations; and usage fees are charged for using caravans.

1. Residence of Retainers: All retainers and vassals under the Sanada family must move to Ueda Castle (the residence of the head of the family) and may not return to their domains without permission. If they need to return to their domains, they must leave their families behind.

1. The Sanada family may continue to add clauses, and all persons within the Sanada family territory must abide by the above-mentioned provisions. The head of the family is no exception.

The Sanada Laws consist of 12 articles, covering almost every aspect of governing a territory. Even Sanada Masayuki couldn't find any fault with them at the time, finding them truly remarkable.

"It's hard to believe that you, Genzaburo, compiled all this information by yourself. It's truly unbelievable." Sanada Masayuki was just an ordinary member of the Kokujū (Nationalist Party), and although he had some knowledge, it wasn't much.

The farthest place he had ever been in his life was Tōtōmi Province, which he visited once with Takeda Shingen. He had never seen such clearly defined laws and regulations before.

“Even Shingen’s ‘Kōshū Hōdō Seiden’ seems far inferior to the laws and regulations established by Genzaburo,” Sanada Masayuki remarked sincerely.

Even though Sanada Masayuki's praise sounded very appealing, Sanada Nobuyuki did not believe it was his own ability, but rather that it was merely parroting others' words.

Much of the content was adapted from the laws and regulations of the Takeda clan and other daimyo, and then combined with the actual situation in Shinano Province.

The workload is indeed huge, but it's not accurate to say that Nobuyuki Sanada is particularly outstanding.

After all, it was his first time getting married.

"If Father thinks there are no problems, then let's begin?"

Sanada Masayuki gently stroked the document in his hand, feeling the weight of the words on it, and finally nodded resolutely, "Execute!"

"Have someone make copies immediately. Every retainer, vassal, village head, village head, and temple should have a copy," Sanada Masayuki said confidently.

"what!"

Whether it was the influence of the national laws formulated by Nobuyuki Sanada or not, Masayuki Sanada felt full of fighting spirit at this moment.

The last time I felt this way was when I was chasing Tokugawa Ieyasu with Takeda Shingen at Mikatagahara.

Then, Sanada Masayuki pointed directly to the "Military Service Regulations" on the side and said, "Gensaburo, the contents of your military service regulations are quite detailed, classifying spearmen, arquebusiers, archers, and cavalrymen separately according to their weapon types."

"We've secured military service assignments for our retainers, but how can we ensure they can gather the required number?"

The previous military service regulations of the Sanada family only stipulated the number of foot soldiers to be mobilized by the retainers, and the requirements for weapons and equipment would vary depending on the situation, but they did not stipulate that a certain retainer should mobilize all of his single type of troops.

In the military service regulations formulated by Sanada Nobuyuki, foot soldiers were directly classified according to their weapons, and retainers were required to be mobilized according to a single type of soldier.

For example, Shigemasa Oyamada only receives the specific deployment arrangements before the troops are deployed.

According to the 1200 koku of the village of Muramatsu under the command of Oyamada Shigeki, the Sanada family's previous military service regulations may have stipulated that Oyamada Shigeki would deploy 60 spearmen, 10 mounted men, and 5 arquebusiers.

This content may change again for the next battle. However, the new military service regulations will directly lock down the types of troops. From now on, Oyamada Shigemasa will only be in charge of cavalry, so he will only need to mobilize 60 mounted soldiers.

Furthermore, if Oyamada Shigemasa were to lead the cavalry as a general, the Sanada clan would also include other low-ranking cavalrymen as his allies and form a unit with them.

The advantage of this is that once the troop type is locked, there is no need to temporarily deploy troops for future battles, and retainers can directly lead their men to participate in the war.

Furthermore, being responsible for a single type of troop combat for a long time makes it easier for retainers to become familiar with formations and command soldiers.

However, the downside is that what if Oyamada Shigemasa can't gather enough warhorses or foot soldiers who can ride horses?
The same logic applies if firearms were used instead. Where would the other retainers of the Sanada clan obtain so many firearms as required by military regulations? In particular, some retainers with low moral character would simply be unable to fulfill such military obligations.

“I have already considered the concerns my father mentioned. It is naturally impossible to fully implement such a military service agreement in the short term.”

"However, for the long term, our family needs to make preparations early."

"Shinano has no shortage of warhorses, and we can also buy them from Koshu. As for firearms, I have already made contact with merchants in Sakai Port, so buying firearms is no longer a problem."

"If we give our retainers six months to a year to prepare, we can implement this next year."

"Incidentally, large-scale purchases can also attract merchants to Shinano to do business, boosting the development of various castle towns within the territory, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone," Sanada Nobuyuki explained confidently.

Of course, there is one more crucial point that Sanada Nobuyuki didn't mention: it was an opportunity to find out the knowledge and conduct of his retainers and the people of the state.

By calculating the time and amount of weapons and equipment purchased by the people and their retainers, one can roughly estimate the actual amount of grain in the enemy's territory. This is more accurate than having the people and their retainers report it themselves.

As for the comprehensive land survey, there's no rush now; Hideyoshi Hashiba will take action in two years anyway.

After listening to Nobuyuki Sanada's explanation, Masayuki Sanada fell into deep thought.

It sounds like there are many benefits, but once the order is given, the retainers will inevitably become dissatisfied, because it will generate a lot of financial expenditure.

Suppose that a retainer only needs to prepare five arquebuses, and then some spears and bows and arrows, to complete the military service of the Sanada family.

Now that the Sanada family has locked him into military service with 10 arquebusiers, his original stockpile of spears and bows is useless, and he will have to buy five more arquebusiers.

If this continues, the financial burden will become quite large.

“Therefore, the first priority regarding military service is to investigate the status of weapons and equipment within the territory.” Sanada Masayuki quickly came up with a solution: “Have the retainers take stock of the weapons and equipment they have, and exchange them with each other to reduce additional expenses.”

"Minimize the negative emotions of your retainers as much as possible."

After saying that, Sanada Masayuki immediately added, "We also need to send people to assess the damage and record the wear and tear on the weapons and equipment. We can't let a brand-new arquebus end up with several broken spears."

It's so easy to talk to smart people; Sanada Masayuki instantly came up with a solution for Sanada Nobuyuki.

“Father is absolutely right,” Sanada Nobuyuki quickly echoed.

"But this means I'll be busy again!" Sanada Masayuki felt exhausted. How could he have so many things to deal with every day after becoming a daimyo?

I would have preferred to be an ordinary citizen; the feeling of having everyone revolve around me with a single command is just too great!
Only today has Sanada Masayuki truly experienced the joy that Shingen-sensei felt.

"Let's take it one step at a time. First, implement the laws and regulations within the territory. After the retainers move to Ueda Castle, then announce the military service regulations."

"As for the final military law provisions, they are largely the same as those of our family before, so just follow them."

The so-called military law is actually just military discipline rules.

For example, regulations stipulated that after the start of the battle, no one should rush to be the vanguard, one should advance at the sound of the drum and retreat at the sound of the gong, one should not fight for heads, and one should not leave the deployed position without orders, etc.

However, warfare during Japan's Sengoku period was often conducted in a very informal, unorganized manner, and even the simplest military discipline was frequently disregarded.

For example, the act of seizing the vanguard is a common occurrence in various battles.

Some daimyo's military laws even included absurd provisions such as prohibiting the firing at friendly forces.
Upon hearing this, Ida the One-Eyed Dragon of Austria reported that he had received a severe nerf patch.
“There’s something else,” Sanada Masayuki suddenly looked up. “Not long ago, your mother wrote from Osaka Castle, saying that things have been a bit unsettled within the Oda clan recently.”

"It seems that the relationship between Hashiba Chikuzen-no-kami and that person from the Oda clan is beginning to deteriorate."

"Is Mother now able to complete such tasks so well?" Sanada Nobuyuki seemed not to understand Sanada Masayuki's implied meaning, and instead praised Yamate-dono.

That somewhat vain and insecure Yamate-dono, who used to dislike being a hostage the most, can now do his part for the Sanada family.

Could the soil and water of Osaka Castle really nourish people?
　Bonus chapter! Requesting monthly tickets and additional subscriptions, thank you everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)