Chapter 57: Other poor ghosts are not allowed to come near
The funeral of Oda Nobuhide, the “Tiger of Owari,” lasted for eight days, during which numerous ceremonies were held, and people from outside Owari continuously came to pay their respects. For instance, Oda Nobunaga’s father-in-law, Saito Dosan, the Shugo of Mino, sent official envoys to offer condolences.
However, these “state affairs” of diplomacy had nothing to do with Yuan Ye. After staying at the foot of Kakuenzan Mountain for two days, he was among the first group to be released because he posed no significant threat at the moment, being a minor figure.
He hurried home and immediately penned a letter, along with a small barrel of soy sauce, ordering the Momoi Brothers to quickly deliver it to Aragiko Kannon Temple to formally seek cooperation. Although this might seem like a slap in the face, being exploited by Japanese monks who showed no respect for intellectual property, the situation was dire, with storms brewing and impending disaster, so he couldn’t afford to worry about that anymore. He had to ensure he had enough money on hand.
At the very least, he couldn’t have most of his assets be soy sauce from his backyard; that wouldn’t be something he could easily take with him if he had to flee.
After Old Monk Haixin meticulously tasted the industrial soy sauce with its excessive chemical residues, he was astonished. He felt it had an overwhelming advantage in color, aroma, and taste compared to the traditional brewed soy sauce on the market, deeming it a prime candidate for resale. He immediately dispatched a group of monks to load all his several koku of soy sauce into barrels and take it away, signing a long-term “exclusive distribution agreement” with him.
Once Yuan Ye recouped his initial investment, he immediately reinvested it into a new batch of brewing and further optimized the process. Seven days later, another batch of chemically hydrolyzed soy sauce was produced, and he exchanged it for cash from Aragiko Kannon Temple.
With the cash in hand, he began to expand production. Eight days later, another batch of new soy sauce was produced. He sold it to Aragiko Kannon Temple again, recovering another wave of funds.
A Man, who had just returned, was stunned. Looking at the cart of Eiraku coins sent by Aragiko Kannon Temple, she felt a sense of unreality.
Although she had known for a long time that the soy sauce brewed by Yuan Ye with his “immortal secret recipe” was very profitable, Yuan Ye, with just a few household pets and a handful of people, had managed to earn over two hundred kan of money in just half a month. This was equivalent to the annual salary of six or seven local warriors, truly an unbelievable and surreal amount.
Yuan Ye stood aside, looking exhausted with dark circles under his eyes, completely indifferent to the cart of money. Making money with technology was that simple; transmigrants never had to worry about money; earning money was always a byproduct, nothing to be proud of.
He was more concerned about the recent situation. After sending off the monks from Aragiko Kannon Temple who had come to collect the soy sauce, he asked A Man, “What’s the situation outside now?”
He had been busy directing production and desperately trying to make money during this period, making it difficult to focus. The task of going out daily to gather information, observe the situation, and provide early warnings had been entrusted to A Man, which was her specialty, and he felt quite at ease about it.
A Man snapped back to attention when he asked, but her gaze remained fixed on the pile of money, still slightly dazed. “Uh, there’s still no major movement. No signs of large-scale mobilization have been detected.”
“Specifically?”
Yuan Ye led her into the house and found a place to sit. A Man then seemed to regain her composure, focusing her attention on the matter at hand. “The Big Fool returned to Nagoya Castle yesterday. He is now the official Head of the Family for the Danjō no Chū family. Rumor has it that with the mediation of that old man Hirate Masahide, and with the support of Saito Dosan of Mino, his uncle, and his cousins, he has received the verbal allegiance of the Oda branch families and local powerful families in the Lower Four Districts of Owari. However, whether the branch families and local powerful families will truly obey him, and to what extent, is still uncertain and remains to be seen.”
Yuan Ye nodded slightly. It had been half a month, and Oda Nobunaga had only just managed to nominally succeed as Head of the Family? He wondered what kind of power struggles had occurred at Kakuozan and Suemori Castle.
He pondered for a moment and then mused, “What about the direct forces of ‘Tiger of Owari’ Oda Nobuhide…”
“Most of it fell into Oda Nobuyuki’s hands.” Apart from gluttony, lust, gambling, and slander—she was pure in her “free enjoyment”, lacked the tools for actual prostitution, and was too talkative, enjoying vulgar jokes—A Man was quite capable. She could indeed gather all sorts of information with professionalism and diligence, reporting to him carefully. “It is said that under the insistence of that old woman Tsuchida, or perhaps as some form of exchange, Oda Nobuyuki inherited Suemori Castle, and most of Oda Nobuhide’s accumulated wealth should have fallen into their hands.
Furthermore, Oda Nobuhide’s personal attendant vassals, such as Shibata Katsuie, have not moved and remain in Suemori Castle and the eastern part of Owari. Their intentions are currently unclear, as traditionally, they should have immediately rushed to serve the Big Fool, the new Head of the Family.”
Yuan Ye lowered his head in thought for a moment, feeling that the situation didn’t sound good. Wasn’t this equivalent to a division of the family?
After processing this information, he looked up and asked, “What about other factions? Have there been any movements from other factions?”
“I don’t know about that!” A Man’s professionalism only extended so far. She complained directly, “I’m just one person. I’m already running my legs off keeping an eye on Suemori Castle. How would I know what other factions are doing!”
That made sense. Although A Man was a “primitive ninja” who had undergone strict training, she couldn’t split herself into multiple bodies. Owari’s Lower Four Districts were vast, so it was normal that she couldn’t keep track of everything. However, Yuan Ye still asked, “Are there any special circumstances at Nagoya Castle?”
“I haven’t really been watching Nagoya Castle closely. You told me to keep a closer eye on Oda Nobuyuki,” A Man said, shirking responsibility first. Then she added, “They are probably preparing for war. In any case, everyone in the Lower Four Districts of Owari is very tense right now. The Big Fool’s ability to support his vassals is evident, so it’s impossible that they wouldn’t be making the worst-case preparations.”
“What about Oda Nobunaga? Has he made any moves?”
“Him? He’s made moves, but he’s acting crazy, nothing worth paying attention to.” As A Man spoke, she pulled out a scroll of “monogrammed decree” from her pocket and handed it to Yuan Ye, but it had been crumpled in her pocket like a used tissue. “This is the first decree he issued after returning yesterday, but it was issued privately, signed with his personal monogram. His attendant pages are currently spreading it from east to west. I happened to peel one off on my way back.”
Yuan Ye took it and carefully opened it, raising an eyebrow. Oda Nobunaga seemed to be planning road construction, and on a considerable scale. He had even strictly stipulated the road requirements:
The main roads should be at least 3 ken 2 shaku wide （ approximately 6.5 meters ）, requiring rammed earth, to be straight, and have drainage ditches on both sides;
Branch roads should be at least 2 ken 2 shaku wide, requiring rammed earth and to be straight;
Country roads should be at least 1 ken wide and as straight as possible.
According to the decree, all branch families and local powerful families of the Danjō no Chū lineage could now begin preparing manpower, materials, and submitting plans for supplementary routes. Construction would commence immediately after the plum rain season ended. Anyone who dared to disobey the order or act perfunctorily would face the most severe punishment.
At the very end was Oda Nobunaga’s personal monogram, composed of several Man’yōgana characters forming an eye-like pattern, quite distinctive.
After reading it, Yuan Ye returned the “monogrammed decree” to A Man, feeling… it was hard to say.
Road construction was definitely the right thing to do. Every modern Chinese person had heard the famous saying, “To get rich, build roads first.” Oda Nobunaga’s discovery that the roads in Owari Province were terrible was actually quite perceptive, making him superior to most people of this era. He had likely suffered a lot from traveling around before, and the desire to build roads wasn’t a recent one. Yuan Ye had also been greatly inconvenienced by the various potholes, inconsistent widths, and winding dirt roads of Owari Province, and strongly supported building proper roads, at least making them wider and straighter.
Moreover, smooth and convenient roads would greatly stimulate local economic development and be extremely beneficial to everyone in the long run. However, demanding that branch families and local powerful families build roads at this particular moment, even if it was correct, was… hard to say.
But Oda Nobunaga wasn’t a complete fool. At this time, he still had the leisure to do these things. Did he not care at all about the “crisis of the Danjō no Chū family’s collapse”?
Was he too arrogant?
Yuan Ye sat there, calmly contemplating and analyzing the situation. A Man took the “monogrammed decree,” rolled it up, and tucked it back into her pocket, preparing to use it to wipe her backside later.
She had long discovered that Yuan Ye, this prodigal fellow, secretly tore paper to wipe his backside. He even disliked the coarseness of the coarse paper and had started tearing Mino paper. So, she secretly tried it herself and found that it was indeed much better than leaves and bamboo strips, making her backside very comfortable. Now, she had followed suit and routinely tore paper to use when squatting. However, she was more economical than Yuan Ye and didn’t care if the paper for wiping had writing on it. This “monogrammed decree” would be enough for her for three to five days.
She tucked the toilet paper away and was eager to leave, asking Yuan Ye, “Is there anything else?”
“No,” Yuan Ye waved his hand, preparing to rest. He added casually, “I’m going to sleep for a while. Don’t call me for meals later.”
He had been utterly exhausted from making this money during this period. After all, Yayoi and A Qing were young girls, and the Momoi Brothers were just adolescents. They couldn’t keep up towards the end, and he had to complete the latter half of the work almost entirely by himself. It was impossible not to be tired.
The only comforting thing was that he had indeed obtained the money. Now he could sleep soundly and deal with anything after he woke up.
“Got it!”
A Man casually replied and closed the door, letting him sleep his deep sleep. She then excitedly rushed to the temporary warehouse, looking at the large pile of golden Eiraku coins, her eyes glazing over. She had never seen so much money piled up in her life. The first glance captivated her; it was as if the money gathered together possessed a magical allure.
If she hadn’t still been required to report the situation to Yuan Ye, she wouldn’t have wanted to leave at all and would have followed the money here.
She stood watching for a while, then sat cross-legged, hugging her chest, and continued to watch. The more she looked, the more she liked it, and she couldn’t help but exclaim joyfully, “I knew he wouldn’t be willing to be a vassal and earn an annual salary! It turns out he planned to be a wealthy merchant! Being a wealthy merchant isn’t bad either; it’s better than being someone’s grandson! This kid is smart enough, almost as smart as me!”
A Qing, who was diligently counting and boxing the money as ordered, cast a cold glance at her but said nothing. Previously, when Yuan Ye refused to serve, A Man had secretly cursed him behind his back for being an idiot, but had never praised him for being smart. Now, she had changed her tune, which was quite shameless.
However, this was A Man’s usual behavior, and A Qing was long accustomed to it. She didn’t like to talk much; otherwise, anyone else would have retorted to her.
The room fell silent for a moment. A Man stopped her vulgar talk and continued to admire the money with a look of intoxication. Even though it wasn’t her money, just seeing so much money piled up beside her and being able to touch it gave her an extraordinary sense of satisfaction. But after a period of satisfaction, she began to worry. In her eyes, Yuan Ye had always been a soft-hearted person. If he were to lose money again to subsidize the poor, like he did in Hibitsu Village…
The world was chaotic now, with poor people everywhere. No matter how much he could earn, it would be a bottomless pit. If he wasn’t careful, he’d likely end up begging!
She pondered for a while and felt that Yuan Ye treated her well, so she had to think for him and help him manage the money. She couldn’t help but start considering the possibility of a career change.
If Yuan Ye were to become a wealthy merchant, she might be able to be a Head Shopkeeper （ Head Shopkeeper ）, and A Qing could perhaps be a Merchant’s Steward （ Merchant’s Steward, corresponding to a lord’s vassal ）. As for Yayoi, she could try being the Head of the inner court （ Head of the inner court, managing the maidservants ） first. Although the Momoi Brothers were a bit foolish and lacked insight, only capable of pulling and turning, they had deep seniority and could probably start as senior employees. When there were more people in the future, they could be promoted to Junior Shopkeepers.
In any case, she had to find a way to manage Yuan Ye’s money. As long as she could benefit from Yuan Ye’s presence, that was enough. No other poor people were allowed to get close; they should stay as far away as possible!
