Chapter 66: This Investment is Very Worthwhile
The spring weather in the Guanzhong region of Japan is quite pleasant, with little wind and refreshing air.
Yuan Ye took a few deep breaths of fresh air, dispelling the strong bloody smell from his nostrils. He then looked at Maeda Toshiie, who was in low spirits, and comforted him, “Victory and defeat are common in warfare; there’s no need to dwell on it.”
“Sigh!” Maeda Toshiie sighed, clearly finding it difficult to shake off the psychological blow. However, he quickly rallied, saying gratefully, “Thank you so much this time. If you hadn’t taken down Torii Tadahira, we wouldn’t have been able to escape so smoothly. At that moment, I was already preparing… preparing…”
At that moment, he had been prepared to charge back in, to fight to the death to entangle Torii Tadahira and create an opportunity for Oda Nobunaga to escape, a move that would likely have cost him his life. Considering this, Yuan Ye had, in a way, saved his life, and he felt he had to express his gratitude.
“It’s nothing. You would have done the same if it were you,” Yuan Ye replied politely, not taking credit. He then asked with interest, “Torii Tadahira? Who is he?”
“He’s a rising star among the Matsudaira family’s famous generals, exceptional in archery and highly skilled in martial arts. He’s known as the ‘Red Demon Archer of Mikawa’.” Maeda Toshiie was very familiar with him, as the Matsudaira family made several incursions each year, and Torii Tadahira often led the troops. “His father is the Matsudaira family’s Chief Magistrate, also a formidable figure, rumored to be quite strategic and deeply learned in Chinese Classics.”
Yuan Ye nodded slightly. The Red Demon Archer of Mikawa? What strange nicknames people came up with!
He had no recollection of this person. He probably wasn’t in Taikou Risshiden 2, likely a short-lived figure in history. His death at Yuan Ye’s hands wouldn’t have a significant impact, not causing any butterfly effect.
He didn’t give the man much thought and instead asked Maeda Toshiie, “Were the casualties heavy this time? Have all the men been gathered?”
He had over a hundred lightly wounded soldiers on his side. As for those who died, were captured, or got lost, he wasn’t too sure.
Maeda Toshiie sighed, “Including your men, we’ve only gathered over three hundred. We might find a few dozen more tomorrow if we search again!”
One of Oda Nobunaga’s strengths was his over six hundred direct followers. After this battle, more than a third of them were gone, a significant blow to his strength.
Yuan Ye sighed with him and then asked, “What about you? Your personal attendants…”
“Over a dozen died, and five are missing, likely also…” Maeda Toshiie sighed again. These were colleagues he had spent his days with. They had charged with Oda Nobunaga and fought to cover his retreat, and nearly twenty of them were gone.
It had to be said that being a vassal in times of war was a high-risk profession!
Yuan Ye truly sighed this time. In times of war, people died easily, like trampled ants, their lives holding no value. Just this afternoon, two to three hundred lives were lost. He felt uneasy, wondering if he would be unlucky in the future. Novels often depicted deaths in the tens or hundreds of thousands without any emotional impact, but in reality, even seeing two or three corpses would be enough to make an ordinary person’s legs go weak. Feeling uneasy was already a good sign.
After sighing, he asked, “Since the casualties were so heavy, why hasn’t Lord Kazusa… uh, Lord Kazusa-no-suke returned to Nagoya Castle yet?”
“I don’t know, and no one dares to ask,” Maeda Toshiie shook his head. “Perhaps he wants to keep the Matsudaira family in check for a while longer, so they don’t attack Dongjin Fort again without any reservations.”
Yuan Ye nodded, finding that explanation plausible, but only Oda Nobunaga knew the actual reason.
…
As they chatted, they soon arrived at Oda Nobunaga’s tent. This time, no announcement was needed; the page guarding the entrance let him in directly and nodded at him with a friendly smile, likely in gratitude for his earlier “timely intervention.”
Looking at it this way, this investment was quite worthwhile, having saved all of Oda Nobunaga’s personal attendants at once. If these people had any sense of shame, they would have to treat him with a bit more courtesy from now on, making his affairs much easier.
He hadn’t considered this before; it was an unexpected bonus. Excellent!
He entered the tent with a pleased heart. While the outside was heavily guarded, there were few people inside. However, the tent’s interior was luxuriously decorated. The floor was covered with thick Namban carpets, and two gilded standing candelabra stood in the corners, filled with gleaming lacquer seed wax candles. Hand-painted screens, carved wooden sword racks, and vermilion lacquered low tables were also present, making it feel much like living at home.
Oda Nobunaga himself sat at the very back of the large tent. His hair was slightly damp, as if he had just bathed. He was now leaning by the low table, pouring himself a drink. Upon seeing Yuan Ye arrive, he gestured to the side with his chin, “Sit!”
He then instructed Ikeda Tsuneoki beside him, “Pour him some wine!”
Yuan Ye sat down but quickly waved his hand, “Thank you, but no need. I don’t drink.”
“Hmm?” Oda Nobunaga’s thick eyebrows immediately shot up, his expression showing displeasure, even a hint of gloom. He seemed to suspect Yuan Ye was looking down on him, a “defeated general.” Ikeda Tsuneoki had already brought the wine and, with his back to Oda Nobunaga, pleaded with Yuan Ye with his eyes. Oda Nobunaga was in a bad mood, and he didn’t want to make him angrier.
Yuan Ye paid no mind to that. He had been severely harmed by alcohol before, nearly ruining his life, and had vowed never to touch it again. It was a matter of principle. In any case, he would never drink, so he simply smiled gently at Ikeda Tsuneoki and insisted, “Really, no need. I don’t drink, and I never have.”
Ikeda Tsuneoki was at a loss. Oda Nobunaga’s face was also darkening considerably. Few people had dared to defy him since childhood, and coupled with his current bad mood, he raised his wine cup as if to smash it and curse. However, he suddenly remembered that Yuan Ye wasn’t a minor retainer to be casually scolded. If he smashed the wine cup at him, Yuan Ye would likely turn and leave, possibly even moving elsewhere.
As for severely punishing him, or even chopping him up…
To chop up the greatest contributor and savior of the day for such a trivial matter would be inhuman. He wasn’t that insane. In fact, even if he wanted to chop Yuan Ye, he couldn’t. Even for the sake of his reputation, his minor retainers would have to hold him back firmly so that Yuan Ye could leave quickly.
He held back for a moment, then placed the wine cup down heavily and angrily said to Ikeda Tsuneoki, “What are you standing around for? He said he doesn’t drink, can’t you hear? Go get him some tea!”
Ikeda Tsuneoki was stunned for a moment, then quickly brought a cup of hot tea. Yuan Ye accepted it politely with both hands and smiled at him, indicating he was sorry for causing him to be scolded.
Ikeda Tsuneoki seemed to have a good temperament and returned the smile, saying it was nothing. He then returned to Oda Nobunaga’s side and knelt, discreetly taking Oda Nobunaga’s wine cup and hiding it in his embrace.
This small action seemed to ignite a spark of passion in Yuan Ye’s eyes. It seemed that ancient Japan had its share of “broken sleeves and split peaches” stories. Minor retainers were always by their lord’s side, sometimes even sleeping together, making it hard to say if there weren’t any unconventional feelings involved.
However, that was none of his business. He didn’t have to sleep with Oda Nobunaga. Lost in thought, he took a sip of tea and then asked Oda Nobunaga seriously, “Lord Kazusa-no-suke, did you summon me for something?”
Oda Nobunaga had invited him for a drink as a form of gratitude—in this era, inviting someone for a drink was truly a gesture of thanks. He had even waited until Yuan Ye had finished treating the wounded before inviting him. To his surprise, this peculiar fellow refused to drink, showing none of the demeanor of a warrior. Oda Nobunaga was at a loss for words. After a moment of silence, he reached for his wine cup but couldn’t find it. He glanced at Ikeda Tsuneoki without saying anything, then pulled an envelope from his embrace and tossed it over, saying irritably, “This is the promised reward!”
The envelope flew over like a dart, narrowly missing Yuan Ye’s head, appearing to be filled with resentment. Yuan Ye quickly caught it and opened it, pouring out a piece of thick paper. Upon closer inspection, it was covered in colorful patterns and seals. In the center were eight black ink characters: “One hundred kan of legal tender, redeemable upon presentation.”
This was novel. So, Japan had paper money in this era? He hadn’t heard of it before and wondered if it was a copy of the “Jiaozi” from China’s Northern Song Dynasty.
He carefully examined the “paper money” and asked, not understanding, “What is this?”
Oda Nobunaga replied impatiently, “It’s your reward. We agreed beforehand. You treated eighty-four people, three mon per person, so you should have twenty-nine kan. But forget the rest; keep it!”
Eighty-four people should be twenty-five kan and two mon… No, if calculated by market kan, it’s indeed around twenty-nine kan. I didn’t expect you, a third-generation rich man, to be so good at math!
Yuan Ye thought for a moment before realizing. However, he wasn’t asking about the treatment fee. He pointed at the thick paper again, “Your Highness, you misunderstand. I’m asking what this paper is.”
Oda Nobunaga looked at him with confusion for a moment but still answered patiently, “It’s ‘Kawase.’ You can exchange it for an equivalent value of money or rice at any temple in Owari Province, or you can directly exchange it for goods produced by the temple. It’s very convenient.”
Yuan Ye understood. So, it was another invention by the Japanese monks. They were even involved in the financial industry, creating paper money or cashiers’ checks? This was good news. He wondered if the regulations in this area were strict. If not, perhaps he could print some paper money and issue it as salaries…
As Yuan Ye pondered this, he tucked the “Kawase” into his embrace. Oda Nobunaga was willing to give more money, so he saw no reason to refuse. He politely said, “Your Highness, rest assured, I will do my best to ensure the recovery of the wounded.”
He paused and then asked, “Does Your Highness have anything else?”
Oda Nobunaga looked at him with a dark expression for a moment, seemingly holding back a great deal of anger, and said, “No!”
“Then I will take my leave,” Yuan Ye said, not wanting to chat further. Even after a defeat, he had a group of people eager to comfort him; he didn’t need to interfere. He politely excused himself and got up to leave. However, as he reached the tent entrance, Oda Nobunaga’s voice came from behind him, sounding hesitant and not very loud, “Um, about today’s events… Thank you… Well, you worked hard!”
Oda Nobunaga didn’t dwell too much on Yuan Ye helping him escape today; after all, a large group of people often vied to save him, and he was used to it. However, Yuan Ye had inexplicably shot down Torii Tadahira, a famous general of the Matsudaira family. This had resulted in losses for him, but it also made the defeat not seem entirely complete, providing a fig leaf that would make his return much easier.
For this reason, he had specifically invited Yuan Ye to a banquet, wanting to share a few drinks with him, the greatest contributor of the day, and then, like the famous generals of old, reward him handsomely, even if he hadn’t succeeded in retrieving the enemy general’s head. To his surprise, Yuan Ye refused to drink and didn’t rush to claim credit, leaving Oda Nobunaga unsure of what to do. He could only offer a perfunctory thanks. If Yuan Ye were his vassal, it would have been easy; a letter of commendation would suffice. But he wasn’t!
While Oda Nobunaga was struggling with this, Yuan Ye paid it no mind. He politely excused himself again and left. As long as Oda Nobunaga remembered his favor, it would be worth the risk he had taken. He was already contemplating what to exchange it for in the future—tax exemption rights? Or perhaps keep it for self-preservation? Or save it up and exchange it for the right to reclaim and build on a piece of wasteland?
He thought for a while without any clear ideas and decided to save this favor for a crucial moment in the future. He then went to inspect the wounded soldiers. Oda Nobunaga had paid for these people, so he would do his best to heal them all. After they recovered, he could return to Takeuchi Manor to continue developing.
Yes, that was the plan. There should be no problems!
