i always liked the idea that samura and the farmers would openly support the exiles forces. and maybe even build some infra strukture (shipwharf) to aid them with new ships
btw. there is a jumphole from lyonnais to rishiri so the council could offer to help the exiles for a mostly secure (hokkaido is still a bottleneck ^^) way to connect champagne with roussllion (maybe a new trade route).