Chapter 163 - 58: The Day the Crown Was Worn
"Today, our wise and courageous leader, Kawashima Tsumugi, has nearly unified the Black Prince Desert, commanding a territory spanning over 3,000 li and leading more than 5,000 battle-hardened warriors. Though we may not yet rival the Five Great Nations, we are not far behind! I believe it is time for us to establish a nation and crown Kawashima Tsumugi as our daimyo. What do you all think?"
Mr. Kuang, with his high-pitched, raspy voice, shouted passionately to the 4,000-strong desert bandits gathered before him.
"Yes!" "Yes!" "Yes!"
The crowd of bandits raised their weapons and roared in agreement, their collective voices reverberating powerfully.
The sight filled Kawashima Tsumugi with uncontrollable joy. His heart raced as he thought, This is it! The army is loyal, the people are united—this is destiny!
Of course, Mr. Kuang's speech was not without exaggeration. The claim of a 3,000-li territory was technically accurate, though most of it consisted of barren desert and wasteland. If one were to combine all the oases under the bandits' control, the total area might barely exceed 100 square li. It was just enough to qualify as a "small nation" on the shinobi continent.
As for the 5,000 warriors, that number likely included the yet-to-be-conquered forces of the northern "Golden Whirlwind" faction. However, with the Third Commander, Jing Guanzhao, leading the charge, it was only a matter of time before they were subdued. Once that was accomplished, the total number of fighters could indeed reach 5,000. With such military strength, Kawashima Tsumugi could almost rival the daimyo of the Five Great Nations—certainly more so than the current daimyo of the Land of Wind.
However, there was one glaring issue that Mr. Kuang conveniently omitted: Kawashima Tsumugi's domain consisted solely of these 4,000 bandits. Not a single civilian lived under his rule. Even the smallest nations, like the Land of Rain, boasted a population of at least 60,000. In contrast, Kawashima Tsumugi's new nation was essentially a "military state" where everyone was a soldier. Well, not entirely—there were about a hundred "hostesses" either hired from the Land of Rain or captured from rival bandit factions. But even they couldn't be considered "law-abiding citizens."
Still, none of this mattered. Mr. Kuang had proposed it, Kawashima Tsumugi wanted it, and the brothers all found the idea exciting. With no objections, the plan moved forward. After all, what harm was there in celebrating among themselves?
History has never lacked for ambitious individuals proclaiming themselves kings or emperors. Even as recently as the early 1980s, there were tales of a farmer in Sichuan named Zhang Qing'an who gathered a few dozen followers to declare himself emperor in the mountains. Now that was audacious—he even took six concubines and attempted to "militarily" seize a county seat!
Compared to that, Kawashima Tsumugi, with his 4,000-strong bandit army, seemed downright modest. Establishing a small nation and declaring himself daimyo hardly seemed excessive.