Chapter 138: It basically counts as dying in vain!
Nakajo Heijiro and Marubashi Gomon stood by the ship’s railing, staring in astonishment at the long stretch of pitch-black tidal flats and the wilderness beyond. They were stunned.
After being invited onto the ship and sailing out to sea, they were informed that the castle construction site had been changed. Yuan Ye’s family was moving to the Chita Peninsula and would no longer remain in Wanjin. They found it hard to believe and suspected A Qing had miscommunicated. However, they had already arrived, and there was a makeshift jetty here for temporary unloading. It seemed Yuan Ye had planned this for a long time, dispatching a small team to infiltrate and prepare for a rapid landing. This was definitely not a sudden whim; they had no choice but to believe it.
However, this was practically rebellion, wasn’t it?
Moving territory and building a castle elsewhere without a Daimyo’s decree, attempting to break free from control, was definitely considered rebellion. At least, from their understanding, Oda Nobunaga would never approve of such a thing, and would certainly not agree to Yuan Ye moving the “saltpeter factory” out of the Oda Danjō no Chū family’s sphere of influence.
But to call it outright rebellion didn’t seem quite right. Yuan Ye was not a vassal of the Danjō no Chū family; he had a high degree of freedom. If he truly left, it would be difficult to accuse him of betrayal. It was just that Wanjin had finally been built up, and he was abandoning it?
They were confused, their minds a jumble, unable to figure out what Yuan Ye was trying to do, why he would abandon a good life to come here and stir up trouble. However, they knew Yuan Ye was definitely not doing anything good, otherwise, he wouldn’t be so wary of them, sending them here immediately. It was clear he was worried they would go to Nagoya Castle to report back and cause him unexpected trouble.
They watched the landing point for a while, then exchanged glances, their faces etched with bitterness. After all, Yuan Ye wasn’t wrong to be wary. They did have a mission to report on Wanjin’s situation at any time. Yuan Ye’s intention to build a castle in Wanjin was something they had reported to Nagoya Castle first. Now that Yuan Ye had transported them here, they had no way to report, at least not for the time being. Before they boarded the ship, they had heard that Wanjin was under full military control, and anyone without authorization who dared to step outside the designated area would be shot on sight. They figured that when the next fleet arrived, they would see their direct subordinates.
Reporting back was impossible. Now, they even had to worry about their own lives. If there was another small misunderstanding, and Yuan Ye turned on them, it wouldn’t be strange for him to kill them and throw them into the sea.
Their faces were bitter, and not far from them, Endo Chiyo, Maeshima Shichiro, and the foremen from the internal affairs department were not much better off, all looking bewildered.
They had only learned about the castle construction on the Chita Peninsula a little earlier than Nakajo Heijiro and Marubashi Gomon. They also didn’t understand why Yuan Ye was doing this, why he wouldn’t just stay as a local powerful family under the Danjō no Chū family. After all, a few thousand catties of saltpeter a year was only ten thousand kan of money, which wasn’t much to him; he wasn’t unable to afford it.
As for the saltpeter production being too profitable and attracting envy, didn’t he already have five to six hundred followers? That was enough to protect Wanjin; ordinary people definitely wouldn’t be able to take it.
But now that things had come to this, they could do nothing. They had been sent by Yuan Ye to… this unfortunate place that didn’t even have a name. They had no choice but to do their jobs.
Endo Chiyo was the first to react. She picked up the meeting minutes and flipped through them, then turned and sighed, “Everyone, after the army lands, we’ll disembark and start working! Let’s proceed according to the plan. Within two days, we need to build three more jetties and establish a camp. Then, we’ll gather personnel and have everyone build what they’re assigned to!”
“Uh, yes, Miss Chiyo.” Maeshima Shichiro and the other officials from the internal affairs department reacted, responding listlessly. It wasn’t that they lacked confidence; castle construction preparations had been underway for months, supplies were ample, various blueprints were available, and the process had been discussed repeatedly. Everyone knew what to do, it was just… the location change was too sudden, and they were a bit unaccustomed to it.
Endo Chiyo didn’t forget the two young warrior officials, Nakajo Heijiro and Marubashi Gomon. She turned to them and said, “Lord Nakajo, Lord Marubashi, we’re short-handed during this period, so please help us out!”
After the meeting on the ship, she had carefully inquired about Yuan Ye’s intentions. Even if the new territory was successfully acquired, Yuan Ye had no intention of falling out with the Danjō no Chū family. Therefore, these two could still be used, and their moods could even be eased appropriately, so they wouldn’t overthink things and impulsively try to make their way back through over a hundred li of enemy territory and the Shirakawa Entrance defense line.
If they died on the way, this debt would likely be pinned on the Yuan Ye family. So, it was better to give them something to do!
Nakajo Heijiro and Marubashi Gomon weren’t as resolute. They didn’t intend to risk their lives to complete the mission. After all, Yuan Ye building a castle in enemy territory caused no harm to the Danjō no Chū family, so there was no need for an extreme reaction for now. Everything could wait for the future!
After exchanging glances, they nodded in unison and went to Endo Chiyo’s side, following her arrangements to do some work. They had shed their supervisory roles and were truly acting as warrior officials.
…………
The internal affairs officials were bewildered and somewhat at a loss, which was normal. Yuan Ye didn’t care; he only needed them to execute the plan, not to think too much. Whether they were bewildered or not was irrelevant.
He personally led the team ashore first. After confirming that the temporary landing point had not been discovered, he immediately ordered A Qing to personally lead a group to establish forward outposts. Any civilians who strayed into the area were to be captured, and any followers of local lords who came to patrol were to be eliminated directly.
In short, they were to delay discovery for as long as possible. Even if large-scale construction began later, as long as the local lords weren’t blind, they would eventually discover it. But any moment of concealment was beneficial.
The situation in Wanjin was the same; strict control had already begun. They aimed to ensure that no one noticed the abnormality in Wanjin before all personnel and supplies were transported over, and that it would not be interfered with by Nagoya Castle. This time, he was going to use all his resources. Success or failure, everyone in Wanjin who could breathe, regardless of gender, age, or whether their limbs were intact, had to come to speed up castle construction. Even the workshops had temporarily ceased operations.
They were no longer making money. Without their own territory, being confined by others, earning more money was meaningless. It was possible that one day they would become a fat prize, swallowed whole by someone else.
He didn’t want to be a supplement anymore. His resolve was firm. He personally led the army to maintain vigilance, encouraged them with kind words, and strictly ordered everyone to work together. In less than two days, they expanded the unloading area, initially improved the small port, and built storage areas. They also constructed some simple defensive fortifications near the port, successfully completing the first phase of the landing mission.
Then, the fleet began to transport personnel and supplies here continuously. Large quantities of volcanic ash cement, concrete, molds, wood, bamboo, and grain were transferred.
He led his army to expand outwards simultaneously, establishing defensive lines outside the planned construction site. Due to thorough preparation and detailed planning, there were no problems with construction. Various construction teams had already begun building simple roads and excavating foundations. However, it was difficult to completely isolate the local people’s prying eyes. He had only been away from the small bay area for a day when local lords discovered them. A Qing had tried her best, but the area was too large, and it was impossible to guard against everything. When the enemy looked out from high ground, they saw activity suddenly appearing here and immediately fled. She had no recourse.
The first to discover the Wanjin Army was Yuan Ye’s old friend, the Oya Family, whose population had been reduced by over 50% by Yuan Ye last year. The area Yuan Ye chose was south of the Oya Family’s territory. To the north were his three old enemies: the Oya Family, the Takeda Family, and the Ebina Family. To the south were the new neighbors, the Taisha Family and the Hōkan Family, whose strength was similar to the three old enemies. The Chita Peninsula, apart from the roots, had seen little warfare in recent years, and the strength of these native local lords was generally weak.
The Oya Family, upon discovering Yuan Ye’s return, was immediately terrified. Last year, even with three of them attacking, they couldn’t defeat him. Now, looking from afar, Yuan Ye had brought more people, and there was no intention of engaging in battle with them. They immediately began to gather their villagers and temporarily moved them into Oya Castle, hoping Yuan Ye would look around, find no profit to be made, and voluntarily go to rob others.
In any case, they surrendered. As long as he didn’t rob them, they were fine.
However, after hiding in the castle for two days, they began to feel that something was wrong. In the past, Yuan Ye usually robbed and left on the same day. Only a very few, due to insufficient transport capacity, would camp by the sea overnight. But this time, Yuan Ye had brought so many people and hadn’t left, squatting in the wilderness. This was highly unusual.
They were not fools, and they were more familiar with the surrounding terrain than Yuan Ye. Through various means, they soon uncovered the truth: over a thousand people behind Yuan Ye were frantically digging, and a large amount of supplies and personnel were still being transported by sea. This shameless fellow seemed to intend to build a castle here and not leave.
The head of the Oya Family was beside himself. Yuan Ye was truly an epic-level bad neighbor. If he managed to establish a foothold here, it wouldn’t just be about taking some population; in the future, the land itself would likely belong to Yuan, leaving them no room to live.
He immediately sent people to inform their in-laws and allies, the Takeda Family, the Ebina Family, the Taisha Family, and the Hōkan Family. However, the last time the three families tried to kill Yuan Ye to resolve the issue once and for all, they failed miserably and suffered heavy losses. They had not recovered yet. Now, even with the Taisha Family and the Hōkan Family added, they could only muster about the same number of troops as last time. They dared not provoke Yuan Ye. If they lost another field battle and had several hundred more men killed, they wouldn’t even have the resources to defend their castles. Whether Yuan Ye stayed here long-term or not was irrelevant; they were already finished.
But this kind of bad neighbor had to be dealt with. They immediately had their family heads personally go to the Shirakawa Entrance line to meet with important figures from the Imagawa Family, Yamaguchi Family, and Matsudaira Family, and inform them of this dire news:
It’s over, it’s all over! Oda the Big Fool dispatched his most powerful local lord, the Yuan Ye Family, along with elite troops like the Oda Matchlock Corps, to launch a surprise attack on Chita District by sea. They likely intend to sandwich the Shirakawa Entrance defense line, eliminate the Yamaguchi Family, repel the Imagawa Family and the Matsudaira Family, and re-establish their rule over Chita District with evil intentions. We implore your Lords to quickly dispatch troops to eliminate them, or at least drive them back into the sea!
They themselves dared not fight Yuan Ye, so they directly called for their “fathers.” Yuan Ye was not surprised by this. He simply erected a lighthouse and continuously transported personnel and supplies day and night. He also urged Endo Chiyo and the others to complete the work within the planned timeframe by any means necessary, even if it meant accelerating progress at the cost of their health, so that they would have a basic defensive position before the enemy arrived.
This was the second worst-case scenario. They were discovered by the enemy very early on, failing to achieve the best possible outcome. If they could have secretly built for ten days or so, it would have been better. But he usually planned for the worst, so he could accept this situation. It was acceptable; at least it wasn’t the absolute worst case, where they were discovered immediately after landing, and the enemy was both intelligent and fearless, calling for reinforcements while desperately harassing them regardless of casualties, preventing them from even building in peace.
If it’s not the worst-case scenario, then it’s smooth sailing!
He could accept the reality, but soon A Man brought him another “second worst” piece of news: Oda Nobunaga had taken Kiyosu Castle. Oda Nobutomo, the head of the Oda Main Family in Kiyosu, seeing that the situation was beyond recovery and he could not turn the tide, had committed seppuku in his residence. Most of his family members and vassals had fled. Only a few forces remained in the vicinity of Kiyosu Castle, struggling in their final resistance. It would not take long for Oda Nobunaga to pacify them.
Yuan Ye was speechless upon hearing this news. Oda Nobutomo was the head of the Oda Main Family in the Lower Four Districts of Owari. How could he be so spineless? After managing Kiyosu Castle for so many years, he died so easily? Couldn’t he have held out for a few months?
He didn’t buy him any time at all; his death was basically in vain!
