Chapter 123: Eliminate this super traitor!
Niwa Nagahide sent a letter, or rather an order, by messenger. Yuan Ye read it and was not surprised, handing it over to A Man.
A Man took it and was shocked, “Shiba Yoshimune is dead?”
Shiba Yoshimune, the fourteenth head of the Shiba clan, whose tsūna was Jibu Dayū and posthumous name was Gizan, was one of the Three Regental Houses of the Muromachi Shogunate, the Shugo Daimyo of Owari Province, and the nominal supreme ruler of Owari. A few days ago, his residence was attacked by his own vassal, the Kiyosu Oda Family, and he was forced to commit seppuku.
Wanjin had just been established, and A Man, as the “Director of the Eastern Depot,” had only recently taken office. Currently, her influence was limited to the areas around Nagoya Castle and Atsuta Port. Kiyosu Castle was still out of reach, and she had no idea what had happened. After a hasty glance at the letter, she said with a serious expression, “I’ll go investigate immediately.”
Yuan Ye shook his head, “No need to waste your energy. Knowing the general outline is enough.”
The Shiba clan had been a puppet since the previous generation was defeated by the Imagawa clan. They only held nominal political authority in Owari Province, and their governing power had long been divided among the chaotic Oda families. Their strength was equivalent to that of a local powerful family, so it was not surprising that they were killed.
He had no intention of understanding why Oda Nobutomo （ the head of the Kiyosu Oda Family ） had suddenly started a conflict with the Shiba clan. He took the letter back, read the latter half, and sighed helplessly, “I have to go there anyway, so I’ll find out for myself then.”
The Kiyosu Oda Family forced Shiba Yoshimune to commit suicide. Shiba Yoshimune’s three sons, Shiba Yoshigin, Mori Hideyori, and Tsugawa Yoshifuyu, along with the Shiba clan’s family members, likely out of the principle that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” all defected to Oda Nobunaga one after another.
Oda Nobunaga already had a feud with the Kiyosu Oda Family and had always disliked this nominal “main family.” Naturally, he would not let this opportunity pass. He had already raised his banner, claiming to uphold legitimacy and avenge Owari’s Shugo, Shiba Yoshimune, calling upon the lower four districts of Owari to act together and eliminate Oda Nobutomo, the super traitor who dared to kill even a Shugo Daimyo.
Since Oda Nobunaga had begun mobilizing, Yuan Ye naturally could not escape. Niwa Nagahide sent an order for him to hand over all the gunpowder he had, as much as he had, as an advance “annual tribute.” He was not treated as an outsider and was directly ordered to return to Nagoya Castle immediately to prepare for the expedition. It was only because he was currently in a wilderness area and had only been there for a few months, so his territory was likely in disarray, that he was not required to undertake any other military service.
Yuan Ye was not surprised by this. It was the beginning of the Japanese Warring States period, and fighting was a normal phenomenon. Why else would it be called the Warring States period if there was no fighting? A while ago, there was nothing going on, and Oda Nobunaga was busy with women and pursuing true love. He had even found it strange and abnormal. Now, it had indeed escalated into conflict again.
After this battle, Kiyosu Castle would likely belong to Oda Nobunaga. When Oda Nobunaga moved his castle and shifted his focus, he would have less to worry about, which was not a bad thing.
Since Niwa Nagahide, or rather Oda Nobunaga, only requested his presence and the gunpowder, Yuan Ye had no intention of exerting himself to the fullest for the Danjō no Chū family. He packed the several hundred catties of gunpowder he had been slowly producing during this time, called upon the two warrior officials assigned to him by Oda Nobunaga to serve as scapegoats if needed, and only brought A Qing for personal protection, along with a few reliable followers for errands. The rest of his personnel were left behind in Wanjin to continue accumulating strength according to the plan. General matters would be discussed, and if there was a disagreement, A Man would make the final decision. For major issues, they would contact him by letter.
After everything was arranged, he set off amidst shouts of “May our Lord （ Lord ） have a prosperous military campaign!” to Nagoya Castle to report to Niwa Nagahide. However, his treatment this time was not as good as before. He had been away from the “center” of the Danjō no Chū family for too long, and the internal affairs system of Nagoya Castle had been restored and perfected. All the positions were filled, and lucrative positions like “Grain and Forage Magistrate” were no longer attainable for him. He returned to his old post as “Medical Magistrate.”
He didn’t mind and obediently led the rookie ashigaru assigned to him to make preparations, such as making stretchers and boiling bandages. He worked for seven or eight days, gathering most of the necessary items, and then received notice to attend a magistrate meeting.
He took A Qing with him again to Oda Nobunaga’s residence. As soon as they entered the residence and were walking towards the meeting location, they encountered Maeda Toshiie chatting with a few people.
After this period, he seemed to have finally emerged from the tragedy of “fratricidal strife.” His face was less filled with decadence and melancholy, and he was dressed in a formal hunting robe, looking quite presentable and spirited again. However, the arrow wound he had sustained on his face earlier had left a large scar, ultimately disfiguring him.
Yuan Ye casually greeted him, intending to find him after the meeting. Upon seeing him, Maeda Toshiie abandoned his colleagues and hurried over, walking with him towards the venue, and asked with concern, “Lord Saburo, how have you been lately?”
He had heard this question many times recently. Information traveled very slowly in this unfortunate era. He had been content to develop himself in the wilderness of Wanjin, and apart from those like Oda Nobunaga who had sent warrior officials and had channels for information, most samurai had no news of him. It felt as if he had been exiled. Therefore, anyone with whom he had a decent relationship or a past connection, such as Asano Nagamasa and Nene, would ask him this when they met. It sounded as if he had suffered immense hardship and had just been released from prison.
Yuan Ye did not want others to pay too much attention to him, as he had other objectives in Wanjin and would definitely do bad things in the future. If there was too much attention, his bad deeds would be hindered. So, like others, he sighed heavily to Maeda Toshiie, “I’m getting by. The mission wasn’t very smooth. I brought back some stones to boil for saltpeter, but the effect wasn’t as good as expected. I only managed to boil a few hundred catties in several months, and Lord Kazusa-no-suke is very dissatisfied.”
Maeda Toshiie believed him. After all, the Maeda family had seventy to eighty years of experience in land reclamation and knew how difficult it was to build a piece of wasteland from nothing. He couldn’t help but sigh with him, “I don’t understand these things, but if there’s anything I can help with, please don’t hesitate to ask!”
Yuan Ye continued to sigh, “If you have a chance, please put in a good word for me with Lord Kazusa-no-suke and see if I can get more time!”
“No problem!” Maeda Toshiie agreed immediately. Although he appeared straightforward and had poor eloquence, he was inexplicably effective when speaking before Oda Nobunaga. He had interceded for many people before, and they had all succeeded. He was quite skilled at such tasks.
Yuan Ye thanked him, not caring whether it would be effective or not. He then looked at him and asked, “I heard you got promoted and were selected for the Red Horo Unit?”
He had only heard this news after arriving at Nagoya Castle. Oda Nobunaga had a sudden idea and selected outstanding personnel from his personal pages and guard units to form two new units, the “Red Horo Unit” and the “Black Horo Unit.” Maeda Toshiie was assigned to the “Red Horo Unit,” marking his transition from a “little follower” to a mid-level vassal capable of independent action.
If one added his previous substantial salary increase to one hundred and fifty *kan*, it could be considered a promotion and a raise, a double celebration. He was only missing the death of his wife to become the most successful person in the Oda Danjō no Chū family this year.
Maeda Toshiie’s face immediately broke into a smile, but he quickly remembered that Yuan Ye was currently in a dire situation, eating dirt and boiling stones in the wilderness by the coast. His smile, which had just appeared, quickly faded, and he said humbly, “It’s not really a promotion. It’s still the same errands, just more demanding than before. I’m away for many days at a time, urging for personnel allocation everywhere. I just got back.”
“It’s natural to be more hardworking after a promotion. But what’s the difference between the Red Horo Unit and the Black Horo Unit? How did you get assigned to the Red Horo Unit?” Yuan Ye was quite curious about this, suspecting it might be some kind of trump card and wanting to understand it. However, these two units were newly formed, and the acquaintances he had asked before didn’t know much about the inside story.
Maeda Toshiie did not hide anything from him and frankly replied, “The main difference is the color of the horo. After the Lord selected us, he had us draw lots. I drew red, so I was assigned to the Red Horo Unit.” He paused, feeling that this explanation was not quite adequate and a bit too foolish, and immediately added, “There’s no difference in work; we all do the same tasks. We patrol the territory, monitor various places, or act as messengers. During wartime, we are assigned to different formations and units to supervise operations and verify achievements. That’s why we wear horo; the Lord said it looks more imposing and dignified.”
Yuan Ye nodded slightly. Whether carrying a turtle shell was imposing or not was another matter, but it sounded like Oda Nobunaga was once again disrupting tradition. It seemed he intended to break down the power of the military position of “military inspector” or to sideline him, so he organized the “Military Police.”
As for why there were two teams doing the same job and why personnel were assigned by drawing lots, that could only be attributed to Oda Nobunaga’s peculiar taste. He was indeed quite eccentric at times and acted on impulse.
However, it was not a trump card, which was a relief. The name was so intimidating that he thought Oda Nobunaga was preparing to organize a cavalry unit, which had startled him…
Yuan Ye was relieved and continued to inquire from Maeda Toshiie about any other bizarre things Oda Nobunaga had done recently, to understand Oda Nobunaga’s current situation and be prepared for any eventuality. As he was chatting enthusiastically with Maeda Toshiie, A Qing gently tugged at his sleeve from behind. He looked up in surprise and saw Hayashi Hidesada standing on a corridor by the roadside, staring at him with a cold, sinister gaze.
Maeda Toshiie also saw him and, after a slight hesitation, stepped forward to greet him respectfully, without any disrespect. However, this “former Chief Senior Retainer” and “current nominal retainer” of the Danjō no Chū family ignored him, only meeting Yuan Ye’s gaze for a moment before looking away and continuing down the corridor with his retainers without a word.
Yuan Ye watched him leave, raising his eyebrows slightly. It seemed he had been keeping this elder in mind, accumulating strength to slap him first. However, this elder had not forgotten him either, likely still resenting him for killing his nephew.
As long as this guy was alive, he wouldn’t feel at ease!
