Chapter 188: Monkey Number Two
Yuan Ye’s speculation was not without basis.
He hadn’t thought about it carefully before, but this incident suddenly made him realize that A Song and Nene were both effectively orphaned girls. A Song’s father died and her mother remarried, and she had fallen out with Aragiko Castle, leaving her truly alone. The Kinoshita family, on the other hand, had all their male heirs die, leaving only Nene and her sister. They were only slightly better off than A Song, with Asano Nagamasa to rely on.
In this era, such orphaned girls would absolutely not be good marriage prospects. Yet, Oda Nobunaga still chose such wives for Maeda Toshiie and Monkey, two trusted retainers, clearly intending to isolate them from the Owari local lords. Otherwise, as their status and power grew, they would have been extremely desirable marriage partners for the Owari local lords. The intention to isolate them was obvious to Yuan Ye, but others would likely have seen it as Oda Nobunaga “acting foolishly,” seeing A Song’s temper and marrying her off to Maeda Toshiie.
Historical events can also prove this. Monkey later took over the “Kawana Group” and “Mino Group,” greatly suppressing the expansion of the Owari local lords’ power, preventing any single family from dominating under Oda Nobunaga. Maeda Toshiie even became one of the “Fuchu Three,” consistently acting with the Owari local lords’ group, even calling Shibata Katsuie “Fatherly Figure,” indicating an extremely close relationship.
Even after Oda Nobunaga’s death, Maeda Toshiie’s actions during the Battle of Shizugatake were strange; he put in minimal effort and then quickly sided with Monkey, becoming one of Monkey’s “Five Elders.” This might also be related to this matter. Historically, Monkey was likely aware of this and used Maeda Toshiie as a hidden pawn after Oda Nobunaga’s death.
Of course, these are all Yuan Ye’s speculations, and it’s hard to say if they are correct. It’s just that this matter truly has nothing to do with him; he only needs to wait and watch the show.
He told A Man what he could, and A Man was still somewhat unconvinced but felt it had some merit and wasn’t pure fantasy. Stroking her chin, she mused, “So, Shu Ami was intentionally killed by Oda Nobunaga?”
“Perhaps he was too close to the local lords and Oda Nobunaga saw him as a spy, and he was simply used to good effect,” Yuan Ye casually added. He had found it a bit strange at first that Maeda Toshiie had killed Shu Ami so decisively.
Maeda Toshiie wasn’t exactly a hothead; directly drawing his sword and killing someone didn’t quite fit his personality. He had served in the Oda Danjō no Chū family for so long, getting along well with everyone, never even getting into a fight. It was very strange for him to suddenly start cutting people.
A Man thought about it and believed Yuan Ye’s analysis a little more, nodding, “Alright, since he won’t die, I’ll have someone keep an eye on him later.”
Yuan Ye didn’t object; he was also curious about this matter.
…
The next day, Shibata Katsuie, persuaded by someone, indeed went to plead with Oda Nobunaga. What they discussed, or what kind of act Oda Nobunaga put on, is unknown. In the end, Shibata Katsuie emerged with a solemn expression but a hint of joy in his eyes. Maeda Toshiie’s punishment of seppuku to atone was rescinded and replaced with banishment.
From this moment on, Maeda Toshiie was a ronin.
Those who were close to him breathed a sigh of relief, yet also felt regret and pity for him. Maeda Toshiie also seemed to have suffered a heavy blow, appearing utterly dejected. After instructing Sawaki Yoshizane to thank everyone on his behalf, he left Kiyosu Castle alone.
A Man had been keeping tabs on his movements and soon reported to Yuan Ye, “Maeda Toshiie has gone to Atsuta Port and is temporarily staying with the Matsuoka family. I heard Shibata Katsuie helped him.”
The Matsuoka family was a Shinto Priest family of Atsuta Shrine and also a well-known Owari local lord family.
Yuan Ye nodded slightly and asked, “And A Song?”
“Currently, it seems he has entrusted A Song to Shibata Katsuie’s care,” A Man reported, then added with a shiver, “So it’s true, Maeda Toshiie has really connected with Shibata Katsuie. He will become Shibata Katsuie’s vassal and pass information to Oda Nobunaga?”
Yuan Ye thought for a moment and shook his head, “Probably not. Collecting information isn’t something he’d be used for; that would be too wasteful. In the future, he’ll likely stay honestly by Shibata Katsuie’s side, using the strength of the Owari local lords to develop and do something crucial at a certain key moment. If it were me, I’d probably arrange it like that.”
A Man’s Dou Dou Eyebrows drooped slightly, and she sighed, “That’s acceptable, but poor A Song…”
She bravely pursued the person she loved, only for her husband to be “banished” shortly after they married. Her annual salary was gone, and most of her followers and family retainers were forced to leave. The “Maeda Family” was destroyed by ninety-nine percent. She must be feeling terrible right now.
“It might not be a bad thing for A Song,” Yuan Ye felt that Maeda Toshiie being released would be more beneficial for future development. Moreover, A Song was so young; it was better for her to be less involved with Maeda Toshiie.
A Man thought about it but couldn’t quite grasp Yuan Ye’s meaning. However, her sympathy only went so far, and she quickly forgot about A Song, saying to Yuan Ye, “Oh, right. That thing you asked me to pay attention to, it seems we’ve found something.”
Yuan Ye’s spirits lifted, and he immediately asked, “Who is it?”
He had used despicable means to kill Monkey before, but he suspected a “Monkey Number Two” might appear, so he ordered A Man to pay extra attention to new faces around Oda Nobunaga, to see if Oda Nobunaga would still promote grassroots samurai.
A Man took out a piece of “tissue paper” from her pocket, unfolded it, and smoothed it out before handing it to him. She also introduced him, “According to reports from our informants and cross-verification, this fellow has gained Oda Nobunaga’s favor in the past two months. Oda Nobunaga has summoned him several times, including two private conversations. However, he hasn’t praised him publicly.”
Yuan Ye nodded as he smoothed out the “tissue paper” again, trying to decipher the handwriting. A Man’s terrible handwriting naturally had a level of secrecy; even he, who taught A Man to read and write, had difficulty recognizing it and had to guess.
As he struggled to decipher it, he softly read aloud, “Yaguro, twenty-two years old, son of a merchant from the castle town of Nagoya Castle. Currently serves as head of internal strategy. Proficient in arithmetic, with a basic understanding of horsemanship, swordsmanship, and tea ceremony. He is astute, decisive in his actions, and loyal in his service…”
Yaguro was also a follower of the Oda Family, and one who performed well, holding a minor position. His background was even more grassroots than Monkey’s; Monkey, after all, came from an “artistic family,” while this one was simply the son of an ordinary merchant.
However, this was the same for Oda Nobunaga. If this Yaguro could rise to prominence, his only reliance would be Oda Nobunaga, and he would consciously or unconsciously clash with the Owari local lords.
A Man’s subordinates had also included a portrait with this information. Yuan Ye flipped it over and knew without asking further that this person also harbored ambitions of becoming a samurai. He wore a chonmage hairstyle. At this time, the chonmage was not yet the standard Japanese hairstyle; it was not aesthetically pleasing, even ugly. Its only advantage was that it made it easier to wear a helmet.
Well, helmet craftsmanship in this era was poor. If you had hair and wore a helmet while bumping around all day, when you took the helmet off, the smell of burnt hair from friction would make even yourself want to vomit, let alone others.
Therefore, this hairstyle was generally only worn by samurai going into battle. Others who wore this hairstyle, unless they were naturally bald, were imitating samurai and attempting to align themselves with the samurai class.
For Yaguro, a civilian “accountant,” to wear this hairstyle, it was highly likely that he also wished to achieve great deeds and become a member of the samurai class.
This was normal. Nowadays, any follower with a bit of ambition hoped to become a samurai, but very few succeeded.
Yuan Ye finished reading the information, memorizing Yaguro’s facial features so he wouldn’t fail to recognize him next time they met. He then looked up and instructed A Man, “Keep a close eye on this person. Try to ascertain his every move as much as possible.”
“This…” A Man scratched her head, looking a bit embarrassed. “That might not be possible for now. This fellow has disappeared, and I’m already having people look for him!”
Yuan Ye was surprised, “Disappeared?”
“Yes, it’s precisely because he disappeared that this was reported to me so quickly,” A Man felt this was a significant oversight, but some things were just unexpected, and there was nothing she could do. “There are several other people like him around Oda Nobunaga, and within Oda Nobunaga’s residence, our people can’t keep an eye on him at all times. He hasn’t appeared since yesterday, and we don’t know where he is now.”
“Did Oda Nobunaga assign him a mission?” Yuan Ye recalled that before Monkey was poisoned, Oda Nobunaga seemed to have intended to give Monkey a secret mission. So, perhaps the mission was being restarted? Was this Yaguro Monkey’s successor, “Monkey Number Two”?
“Probably?” A Man couldn’t be sure either, only able to guess.
Yuan Ye’s concern about this matter increased again. He immediately ordered, “Then find him as soon as possible. The ‘Life Preservation Style’ has record-breaking expenses every quarter; we must show results!”
“You can rest assured about that!” A Man patted her chest and agreed. “Your money won’t be spent in vain. As long as he’s still in Owari, he absolutely won’t escape our eyes!”
Yuan Ye was temporarily relieved but felt that history was not so easily changed. Not long after the first Monkey died, a second Monkey had already taken his place. He just didn’t know how capable the second Monkey was compared to the first…
They were probably about the same. In this world, most people’s abilities are actually quite similar; the only differences are in opportunity and platform.
He did not dare to be careless about this matter. After returning to Xin Wanjin, he maintained a daily inquiry frequency, eager to understand what the second Monkey was doing and what impact it would have on history.
A Man also repeatedly urged the “Life Preservation Style” to search everywhere, otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to shamelessly ask for more funds later. But soon, she received bad news and could only report to Yuan Ye with a dejected expression, “We found him, but he’s outside our intelligence control zone. The last time he was seen was at Atsuta Port, and he seemed to be heading east.”
Yuan Ye was stunned, “East? To the Matsudaira family and the Imagawa family?”
“Cannot confirm, but it’s highly likely!”
Yuan Ye nodded slowly, roughly understanding what the second Monkey’s mission was, and it made sense.
The Imagawa family had wanted to march on the capital for a long time, and Imagawa Yoshimoto was consolidating his territory frantically to eliminate any worries at home before launching a western campaign. Oda Nobunaga was not a fool and would not be unprepared. This was sending the second Monkey to harass the Imagawa family!
The intelligence war for the Battle of Okehazama had already begun…
