Chapter 160: The Warring States Era Truly Begins
Modern autumn watermelon takes about two months to ripen. Ancient autumn watermelon is similar. Yuan Ye is taking advantage of his free time to wait for news. It ripened naturally, but its appearance…
Yuan Ye had been thinking about it for over two months. After picking a few, he patted them and fell into thought. He always felt that ancient watermelons were more like large honeydew melons with darker skin, or rounder bitter gourds. In any case, they didn’t look like the large watermelons he remembered—they were too small, each weighing only five or six jin.
A Man happened to come over. She was also very curious about the fruit that Yuan Ye took so seriously, even arranging for people to protect it through the typhoon season. She flicked her Dou Dou eyebrows and, imitating him, gently patted the watermelon, asking curiously, “It’s finally ripe? Is this kind of melon tasty?”
Yuan Ye was also unsure now. This watermelon didn’t look like the modern ones. He hesitated, “Theoretically, it should taste good, sweet and thirst-quenching.”
“Sweet? Then let’s try it?” Sweet is good. A Man immediately became interested, holding the melon and asking, “How do you eat this kind of melon? Is it like a pumpkin?”
This was the first time planting it, and not many melons had grown. Yuan Ye had originally planned to eat them all by himself, but with A Man here now, it didn’t matter. He immediately said, “No need to cook it, just cut it open and eat it raw.”
A Man immediately drew the short sword from her waist. With a flash of the blade, she cut the watermelon in half. She took the larger half for herself, leaving the smaller half for Yuan Ye, and then bit into it. After one bite, she spat it out, repeatedly saying “Pah, pah, pah.” She asked strangely, “What kind of rotten melon is this? Where is it sweet? It’s clearly bitter!”
Yuan Ye looked at the half of the watermelon in his hand, also a bit bewildered. After cutting open the ancient watermelon, there was no red flesh at all. The flesh inside was white with a hint of light green, only a faint yellow in the center. Moreover, there were a huge number of seeds, making one’s trypophobia act up at first glance.
A Man spat twice more to get rid of all the seeds, then looked at Yuan Ye with a face full of suspicion, and said unhappily, “What’s going on? You can’t lie just because you’re the Lord, can you? Have you really eaten this kind of melon before?”
“Of course I have!” Yuan Ye had eaten watermelon since he was a child, he was extremely familiar with it. His uncle’s factory used to distribute watermelons every summer. He and Meng Ziqi could eat three a day during the summer holidays. It was the first fruit of his life. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have felt so fond of watermelon seeds. But why did the ones he grew turn out wrong?
He forcefully broke open the small half of the watermelon again and carefully took a bite of the white, greenish-yellow flesh. He savored the taste, finding that it was indeed very juicy and thirst-quenching, fulfilling the basic function of a watermelon. But the taste… it really had no sweetness at all. Instead, it tasted a bit like the faint bitterness of zucchini. And there were indeed too many seeds, making it difficult to bite into, and even harder to swallow.
Seeing that he had also eaten, A Man’s suspicion finally subsided. She no longer thought Yuan Ye was deliberately tricking her. She picked up the short sword again and chopped the watermelon. She picked up a piece, removed the seeds, and put it in her mouth to taste. It still tasted the same: bland as water, slightly bitter, and not tasty at all. She couldn’t help but wonder, “Did you plant it wrong? Should I find an old man who knows how to farm to plant it again?”
“What do you mean, planting watermelon right or wrong! It’s already grown, so the planting method must be fine!” Yuan Ye took another bite of the flesh, gently spitting out the seeds. He thought it must be a problem with the variety—perhaps ancient watermelons were just like this, just a packet of water with no real taste.
But when he read web novels before, most transmigrators who returned to ancient times would also plant watermelons. How did they grow red-fleshed, large watermelons? Did they bring watermelon seeds with them when they transmigrated?
Web novels are completely unreliable. Those guys really ate bamboo and pooped mats, they were just making things up!
Yuan Ye had originally placed great hopes on watermelons, believing them to be an excellent cash crop that wasn’t picky about soil, could grow in sandy soil or on mountains, was durable, had a high yield, was delicious and thirst-quenching, and could supplement various vitamins. He had planned to promote it extensively in his territory. However, ancient watermelons were completely different from modern ones; it was no exaggeration to say they were two different types of fruit.
A Man had already thrown away all the watermelons. She would eagerly eat anything delicious, and no one could stop her, but she would discard anything not tasty faster than anyone else. She was also disappointed at not tasting any “sweetness,” but looking at the pile of watermelon seeds, she still asked, “This thing isn’t tasty at all. Are you still going to plant it?”
He had to eat the “bitter fruit” he had grown himself. Yuan Ye didn’t waste it and ate the entire small half of the watermelon, thus obtaining complete experimental data. After a moment of contemplation, he sighed, “Let’s plant some near the port. As for large-scale promotion… we’ll see!”
Ancient watermelons were not tasty and lacked the ability to synthesize carotenoids, so they had no sweetness. They were very good at synthesizing cucurbitacins, resulting in a terrible taste. This was likely due to the lack of repeated selection over many generations. Therefore, large-scale promotion was unnecessary for now. However, it still had value—it contained a large amount of freshwater and could be used as a reserve water source for long voyages. So, it was enough to plant a small amount for the navy’s use; it was not necessary for civilians to eat for the time being.
He had long wanted to solve the problem of drinking water for seafaring. The freshwater on ships was terrible. It was manageable for short voyages, but if they sailed further, say for two or three days, the freshwater on board would inevitably go bad and even breed maggots, making it undrinkable and highly likely to cause illness. Bringing some watermelons would surely help—it was said that when the ancient Romans traded around the Mediterranean, they sailed while eating watermelons. He would also be venturing into the Seto Inland Sea in the future, so he needed to consider clean water sources early on.
After all, his next focus for army construction would be slightly tilted towards the navy, and he himself would likely be on ships for extended periods. So, even for his own sake to avoid disgust, he had to plant some watermelons.
Of course, by planting ancient watermelons for a long time, he could also select seeds. Perhaps in his lifetime, he could eat modern watermelons even in ancient times. Moreover, roasted watermelon seeds were also very nutritious. This could be promoted later as snacks, which could somewhat invigorate the economy and improve the physical health of his subjects.
In any case, he had gone through all this trouble, so he couldn’t let it go to waste. He had to extract some value from the watermelons, and this was the only way.
A Man was completely indifferent to this. She didn’t even ask for a reason. Whatever was planted, built, or produced in the territory was decided by Yuan Ye. Even if she thought she was smarter than him, she admitted that she was far inferior in this regard. Yuan Ye, with his own efforts, had come up with so many strange and novel things to make money. It wasn’t just her; even people like Endo Chiyo and Maeshima Shichiro were very shocked. However, in this era, “integrity and character” were valued. They never praised or complimented Yuan Ye in front of him, lest they be seen as “fawning on their lord,” which would lead to being looked down upon by their colleagues or by Yuan Ye himself. But in their hearts, they were deeply impressed. Otherwise, when Yuan Ye brought his entire family to Xin Wanjin to fight and seize territory, they wouldn’t have been so cooperative, not even raising a single objection.
This was trust born from Yuan Ye’s repeated “miracles” and a great optimism for his future. They believed that he would eventually forge a path for himself, and they could rise with him, willing to take some risks for it.
Therefore, A Man said nothing. Otherwise, given her personality, if Yuan Ye still wanted to plant such an unpalatable melon, she would have grumbled a few words of “unpleasant but loyal advice.” Then, if Yuan Ye didn’t listen and insisted on his own way, she would have gone to complain to A Qing that Yuan Ye lacked the “demeanor of a wise ruler.” Now, all of that could be skipped.
At least in terms of production and construction, she had no intention of offering “unpleasant but loyal advice” now. As for other matters—if Yuan Ye didn’t produce a son after a year, she would definitely offer “unpleasant but loyal advice” again.
She didn’t mention this unfortunate ancient watermelon again. In any case, she would never eat it again. If she had that much free time, she’d rather gnaw on a fried chicken leg. She directly took a letter from her bosom and handed it to Yuan Ye, “Here, there’s news about Oda Nobumitsu.”
This was the real reason she came to see Yuan Ye. Yuan Ye immediately took the letter and read it carefully. After a moment, he sighed, “Nagoya Castle has returned to Oda Nobunaga’s hands…”
Oda Nobumitsu had worked in vain. He had finally become the Castle Lord of Nagoya Castle, but he died less than half a year later. His eldest son had not yet come of age and was unable to take on such a great responsibility. Moreover, he seemed to have been frightened and voluntarily returned Nagoya Castle to Oda Nobunaga, keeping only a few manors outside the city. Now, there were all sorts of rumors about Nagoya Castle, with many saying that Oda Nobumitsu was assassinated by Oda Nobunaga’s men. Oda Nobumitsu’s eldest son, Oda Nobunari, was like a dog father and a dog son, and he probably believed it too.
A Man was indifferent and said casually, “Oda Nobumitsu betrayed the divine oath alliance, so he deserved a bad end. Now he has fulfilled his oath.”
Yuan Ye didn’t believe in such feudal superstitions. His adherence to oaths was a moral requirement, but he didn’t correct A Man’s thoughts. He nodded slightly and asked, “Is there any news from Kiyosu Castle? Are there any indications that this matter is related to Oda Nobunaga?”
Honestly, just looking at the final outcome, Nagoya Castle returned to Oda Nobunaga. Most of Oda Nobumitsu’s vassals and followers also surrendered to Oda Nobunaga along with the castle. Oda Nobunaga had gained a great advantage, and his strength had increased significantly. It really gave the impression that he was the one who did it, secretly killing Oda Nobumitsu and framing the remnants of the Kiyosu Oda Family.
A Man shook her head. “There is some uncertain news from Kiyosu Castle. I heard that Oda Nobunaga was furious and has personally sent Shinshu Maru to hunt down Sakai Sunpachiro, demanding his head. The news should arrive soon. Also, Oda Nobunaga seems to want to marry a sister to Oda Nobunari to show his support for and remembrance of Nobumitsu’s lineage.”
“Marrying off another sister?” Yuan Ye was slightly taken aback. However, he was only surprised by Oda Nobunaga’s recent obsession with marrying off his sisters, not by the issue of incestuous marriage. Marriages between cousins were normal in ancient and medieval Japan, and even common. Marriages between siblings were not uncommon. At that time, it was believed that this could maintain the “purity of the family bloodline” and make it easier to produce talented individuals.
A Man took out a small notebook from her bosom and flipped through it. She replied, “It looks like she is going to be married, but it’s not yet certain who it will be.”
“Alright!” Yuan Ye didn’t care too much about who would be married. Such alliances were more political; it didn’t matter who it was. He then asked, “Is there any other news?”
A Man flipped through her notebook again and suddenly remembered something. She immediately said, “Oh right, didn’t you want to find someone named Oichi before? You found her before you even started looking. Oda Nobumitsu’s only legitimate daughter and most beloved youngest daughter is named Oichi. I heard Oda Nobunaga has already ordered her to be brought to Kiyosu Castle to be raised by him personally. From now on, she will be Princess Oichi.”
She paused, then recalled, and asked uncertainly, “You mentioned wanting to find someone named Oda Oichi before, didn’t you? Is it this Oda Oichi, or is it a case of mistaken identity?”
Yuan Ye didn’t expect “Japan’s most beautiful woman of the Warring States period,” Oda Oichi, to suddenly appear. It was very unexpected. He had never thought before that she was Oda Nobunaga’s cousin and that there was such a large age difference, that she was raised by Oda Nobunaga like a foster daughter. But he remained expressionless and quickly covered up his previous carelessness, “Of course not this one. And I wasn’t looking for this person. Perhaps when I first arrived in Owari, I confused Nobumitsu with Nobuhide and thought Oichi was Nobuhide’s daughter.”
A Man nodded casually. The era she lived in was not advanced enough for her to consider ideas like “transmigration” or “precognition.” She thought it was probably like that, so this person was irrelevant.
She casually crossed out Oda Oichi’s name from her notebook, indicating that there was no need to pay too much attention to this person in the future and no need to waste intelligence resources on her. Yuan Ye, after denying it, was lost in thought for a moment.
Princess Oichi has appeared. History is starting to align. Then the Warring States period is probably truly beginning.
