Yasuda Katsushi did not hurry back, but spent a few more days visiting the surrounding villages and farms, only to find the situation far from optimistic—plagues of insects were a common occurrence. In fact, the first small village he visited, with its relatively fertile land, had already suffered less damage than most.
The more he saw, the heavier his worries grew. After all, Ise Province was already in a difficult state!
In Ise Province's thirteen counties, mountains rose everywhere—not only were there small Daimyo each controlling their own territory, like the Nagano Family, Kobe Family, Guan family, and Chisou Family, there were also plenty of petty clans with tangled vassal ties, some with multiple "adoptive lords"; among them, the truly obedient ones were few indeed.
