Chapter 62: Let’s Go See the Excitement Tomorrow!
Shortly after Okuruku Kiyobee led the followers and ashigaru of Takeuchi Manor to depart, Yuan Ye also packed his belongings and, with his entire family, Maeshima Shichiro, and thirty ashigaru, raised the blue jade gourd flag and set off in an ox cart. However, the ox cart moved very slowly, a little slower than walking, so they could only slowly make their way towards Nagoya Castle.
On the road, he also saw many small groups gathering towards Nagoya Castle, usually twenty or thirty or forty or fifty people. Looking at their back flags, they were basically all adorned with the quince five-piece crest, likely all personnel directly under Oda Nobunaga. It seemed the Matsudaira Family’s recent raid had truly angered him, causing him to directly deploy his reserves and prepare to go out and fight the Matsudaira Family fiercely.
Yuan Ye rode his horse, watching another small squad of Oda Nobunaga’s followers overtake their slow-moving ox cart. He beckoned A Man over, wanting to inquire about the war—he had never fought in a war in the Modern Era, though he had watched some historical dramas. However, those looked very fake, with all sorts of artistic adaptations, and were very superficial. He estimated that a real battle would surely be different.
A Man was standing on the ox cart, observing their surroundings and taking the opportunity to slack off by not walking. Hearing his question, she was puzzled and scratched her face, saying, “There’s not much to say about war. You just shoot a few volleys with bows and arrows, then charge forward and hack and stab each other. Whoever can’t hold on first is finished.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. What else could there be?”
Yuan Ye fell silent. Could it be that the descriptions of ancient Japanese warfare online were not a stereotype, and it was truly like two groups of villagers brawling?
He thought for a moment, feeling that such a chaotic fight was too hasty. Unwillingly, he asked, “Is that all? There should be some tactics, right?”
For example, he knew about “Tsuriyabu” (ambush tactics), which was a signature tactic of the Shimazu Family of Saikaidō. It was made into a skill in the game “Taiko no Tatsujin 2,” and it was quite useful. If the Oda Danjō no Chū family had survived until now, they should have some tricks up their sleeves, right?
“Oh, you mean that!” A Man finally understood what he was asking and said directly, “Arranging troops and formations is the job of the military magistrate. I’ve never been a military magistrate, so how could I possibly know?”
Yuan Ye didn’t understand again and pondered, “Military magistrate… does that refer to a strategist?”
“Something like that!” A Man was already used to it and explained in detail to him, this person lacking common sense, “Generally, in a major war, the Commander-in-Chief doesn’t manage the details, only decides whether to fight or not, and whether to defend or retreat if losing. Those who actually do the work are the Vice General, Military Magistrate, Guard Unit, and Military Record Keeper below him.
Among them, the Military Magistrate is the one responsible for arranging troops and formations, the strategist you mentioned;
The Guard Unit are the Commander-in-Chief’s direct confidants. During battle, they will block the rear, killing those who flee or retreat without orders. Sometimes they are also sent to deliver urgent military orders, or to replace samurai fighting ineffectively on the front lines;
The Military Record Keeper is responsible for recording merits and demerits during the battle, arresting and detaining those who violate military discipline and orders. After the battle, they are also responsible for verifying heads, writing commendation and punishment letters, and so on;
The Vice General manages people like the transport commander, the headquarters guard commander, and other miscellaneous personnel. They are generally the Commander-in-Chief’s closest and most trusted individuals.”
Yuan Ye nodded slowly. So, ancient Japanese warfare truly had “strategists.” He had originally thought that “Taiko no Tatsujin 2” was just making things up, copying “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” forcefully, but he didn’t expect it to be historical fact.
He pondered for a while and then asked, “Then who is responsible for leading the troops on the front lines?”
A Man immediately replied, “It’s the Samurai General. For example, the Spear General, Bow General, and Ashigaru General. These people are considered High-Ranking Samurai and will directly command troops on the front lines. After all, the battlefield might not be in one place during a fight, and they can’t always receive flag orders from the Military Magistrate. At that time, they are the ones in charge of a certain unit and have the authority for on-the-spot decisions.”
Yuan Ye nodded slowly again, indicating that he understood.
So, the game “Taiko no Tatsujin 2” was indeed making things up. Samurai General and Ashigaru General were not family rank systems at all, but military posts. In “Taiko no Tatsujin 2,” the promotion path is “Senior Retainer – Subordinate General – Samurai General – Ashigaru General – Ashigaru Leader.” According to A Man’s explanation, the two are completely unrelated. A Senior Retainer could become a Samurai General, and a Samurai General was not necessarily a Senior Retainer; they might just be a veteran vassal. And the Ashigaru General was even more absurd; they were already a Samurai General, just leading ashigaru foot soldiers.
Thinking of this, he asked again, “What about the Ashigaru Leader? Is there an Ashigaru Leader?” He remembered that at the beginning of “Taiko no Tatsujin 2,” the Monkey was an Ashigaru Leader.
“Yes, below the Ashigaru General are the Ashigaru Leaders, usually some low-ranking samurai.” A Man knew these things clearly; they were all within the scope of her past intelligence gathering. “Similarly, there are Spear Ashigaru Leaders, Bow Ashigaru Leaders, and so on. They all lead their followers and participate directly in the battle, mixed within the ranks. Their casualties are generally quite heavy, but it’s also easy to gain merit. As long as they are the first to break the formation or cut down enough heads.”
Yuan Ye continued to nod. He had now understood the military system in warfare during the Japanese Medieval Period, which was quite helpful. At least in the future, if someone called out, “Lord Yuan Ye, the Military Magistrate is looking for you,” he wouldn’t be clueless and not know what a Military Magistrate was. However, he thought for a moment and then asked, “As a Medical Magistrate, who should I report to?”
A Man thought for a moment, not very certain, and said, “It should be the Vice General. You are considered one of the miscellaneous personnel, so the Vice General should be in charge of you.”
The miscellaneous Yuan Ye finally nodded. He had found his direct superior. He would inquire about who it was specifically later. Then, he changed the subject and began to ask about military discipline and unwritten rules in ancient barracks, so as not to be inexplicably arrested by the Military Record Keeper and subjected to battlefield discipline.
…
Takeuchi Manor was only about an hour’s walk from Nagoya Castle. As Yuan Ye and A Man were discussing whether the default military discipline of “mutual destruction in brawls—fighting in the barracks, regardless of the reason, whoever starts it will be punished” was reasonable, they arrived at Nagoya Castle, even though the ox cart was moving slowly.
This time, Yuan Ye was allowed to enter the castle. After verifying his identity and being announced, he entered Nagoya Castle for the first time. Just as he was considering how to report to the Vice General, Maeda Toshiie galloped over on horseback. He dismounted from a distance and said happily, “That’s great! Lord Nohara Saburo, I’m relieved you’re here!”
Yuan Ye narrowed his eyes slightly, suspecting that it might not just be about Jubei, but perhaps this kid had betrayed him again, gossiping to Oda Nobunaga, which led to him being brought here as the “Field Hospital Director.” However, it was useless to pursue it now. He simply asked, “Why has Lord Maeda Sunshirō come?”
“Lord Kazusa-no-suke heard you were coming and was about to send someone to arrange for you, so I quickly received the order and came!”
“So that’s how it is. But who is Lord Kazusa-no-suke…” Yuan Ye recalled that Oda Nobunaga had changed his common name to Kazusa-no-kami. So, Kazusa-no-suke was probably his Vice General, but he didn’t know which family member of the Oda Danjō no Chū family it was.
Maeda Toshiie’s expression was slightly awkward. He hesitated for a moment and whispered, “It’s Lord Oda Saburo.”
Yuan Ye was stunned for a moment, thinking his memory shouldn’t be faulty. He hesitated and said, “Didn’t you say it was Kazusa-no-kami?”
Maeda Toshiie’s expression became even more awkward, his rough face even slightly red. He whispered, “His Highness changed it again last night. It’s now Kazusa-no-suke, but it hasn’t been announced yet.”
Yuan Ye was silent for a while, looking at Maeda Toshiie with a hint of sympathy—having such a boss who changed his common name every three to five days, you’re not having an easy time either!
Yuan Ye felt a little sympathetic and didn’t want to make him too embarrassed, so he immediately changed the subject and asked with concern, “What’s the current situation of the war?”
Maeda Toshiie didn’t want to talk about the troublesome matters of Kazusa-no-kami and Kazusa-no-suke anymore and immediately replied, “Everything is fine. Oda… Kazusa, uh, His Highness plans to advance to Dongjin Ye tomorrow morning to repel those despicable villains of the Matsudaira Family.”
“Attacking tomorrow morning?” Yuan Ye was slightly surprised. Even in the Modern Era, there weren’t many units that could depart within 24 hours of receiving an order to launch an attack. Was ancient mobilization so efficient?
He quickly asked, “Isn’t the time a bit tight? Can the local lords from various regions make it in time?”
Maeda Toshiie was unconcerned and casually said, “We won’t be conscripting local lords this time. Lord Hayashi and Lord Hirate, both Senior Retainers, disagreed, saying we need to guard against Suemori… uh, not guard against, but… they also felt…”
His eloquence was indeed lacking. As he spoke, he got stuck, unable to directly say that the old guard of retainers feared their home being raided and were unwilling to release their main forces. They also felt that relying on the two forts of Dongjin and Dongmu, the front line should be able to hold, and the Matsudaira Family wouldn’t be able to break through. Oda Nobunaga’s offensive was unnecessary, and they simply didn’t want to send any personnel.
He couldn’t reveal too much about the internal disputes among these retainers, nor could he comment too much on the signs of division within the Danjō no Chū family. He could only vaguely explain before continuing, “So, His Highness plans to attack with just us, directly defeating the Matsudaira Family at Dongjin Ye, to prevent them from raiding Chita District to the south. It doesn’t matter even if the Matsudaira Family has already moved south; we can directly block them on the Chita Peninsula, cut off their retreat, and slowly wear them down!”
Yuan Ye nodded gently, feeling that the strategy seemed fine. So, he again asked with concern, “Is the troop strength sufficient?”
If it were a few hundred men fighting a few thousand, he would politely decline and consider the BCDEFGHIJK contingency plans more carefully.
“Sufficient!” Maeda Toshiie was very confident. “The Matsudaira Family has about a thousand men this time, and His Highness also has over a thousand. Moreover, among these men, there are nearly six hundred followers. His Highness has been training them for over a year and has spent a lot of money on them. Defeating the Matsudaira Family should be a piece of cake!”
Alright then!
Yuan Ye was relieved. He had seen the over two hundred followers from Takeuchi Manor; they were young and strong, with complete armor and weapons. They were indeed elite troops. He assumed the followers from other manors would be similar. Therefore, even though the troop strength appeared to be one-to-one, Oda Nobunaga actually had a significant advantage, and defeating the enemy should be easy.
Since they wouldn’t lose, his desire to gain prestige and accumulate some capital became active. He immediately asked, “Who is the Vice General for this expedition? Should I go and see him first?”
“Uh, there are no military posts assigned this time; His Highness will command personally.” Maeda Toshiie said as a matter of course. “It’s just that His Highness is currently praying, so he can’t see you personally, which is why he sent me to arrange for you.”
Yuan Ye nodded, understanding. After all, there were only about a thousand men, and they were fighting within their own territory. It was indeed not necessary to make things too complicated. Moreover, Oda Nobunaga was a famous general in later generations, so his command ability should be present. At least he wouldn’t be routed by a group of nobodies. It should be fine for him to command personally.
As for praying, they were going to war tomorrow. The night before a battle in ancient Japan, the Commander-in-Chief seemed to need to pray for divine assistance, engaging in some feudal superstition or seeking psychological comfort, which was also reasonable.
He was completely relieved and followed Maeda Toshiie with his men to be settled. He planned to tear some cloth tonight and boil it to make bandages. He didn’t need to make too many. Given the nature of ancient feudal armies, if the enemy suffered ten to twenty percent casualties, they would likely collapse. So, Oda’s over a thousand men would have at most a few dozen wounded, and he would just haphazardly bandage them!
However, looking at it this way, perhaps he could go and watch the excitement tomorrow and gain some experience?
It seemed he should go. Anyway, there was no danger. It would be a waste not to go!
Yes, it seems so. Tomorrow, he would go watch the excitement!
