Chapter 159: Bride Price Is Required Even in the Ancient Era!
“Ten bolts of silk, ten bolts of brocade, one hundred bolts of printed cotton, one hundred bolts of fine linen; ten barrels of sake, ten barrels of fruit wine; a set of Mikazuki’s modern armor, one piece of silver-embroidered blue gauze haori, one piece of colorfully embroidered horo, two pieces of printed shoulder armor, two short-barreled gilded matchlock guns, a gold-inlaid peach-patterned quiver and thirty long-feathered arrows…”
Endo Chiyo, Maeshima Shichiro, and A Man were all kneeling properly. After Endo Chiyo had read the list, which was over a foot long, for three to four minutes, she respectfully asked Yuan Ye, “Lord, what do you think? Are there any additions or subtractions needed?”
Yuan Ye was speechless for a moment. He hadn’t expected that even after falling into ancient times, he would still have to pay a “bride price” for a marriage. It truly gave him a strange feeling of returning to the modern era. Fortunately, people in ancient times were more practical. At this time, the “bride price” mainly consisted of food, drink, clothing, fabric, stationery, daily necessities, and weapons and armor. They didn’t directly ask for money, which was better than modern times.
His thoughts wandered for a moment before he quickly reined them in and asked with concern, “Does it comply with the rites and the Oda family’s requirements?”
Endo Chiyo and Maeshima Shichiro said in unison, “Lord, we have carefully considered it and also discussed it with the Oda family.”
“Then let it be. There’s no need for any further additions or subtractions,” Yuan Ye said, completely ignorant in this matter and agreeing directly. He then asked with concern, “You’ve worked hard on this. Did you encounter any trouble when discussing with the Oda family?”
Endo Chiyo and Maeshima Shichiro exchanged a glance. Maeshima Shichiro, who was responsible for negotiating the wedding matters with the Oda family, hesitated before replying, “We didn’t encounter any trouble. The Oda family’s sincerity in this marriage is very strong, but… some of the Oda family’s vassals spoke in a rather sarcastic tone, and they were dragging their feet in discussions. Other than that, there was nothing.”
“Were they all older vassals?”
“That’s right, Lord.”
Yuan Ye nodded slightly. It seemed that the old guard of vassals had some objections to the alliance, or perhaps those close to Hayashi Hidesada were venting their resentment under the guise of something else. But these people were insignificant. Oda Nobunaga also found them displeasing. These old vassals were either sidelined or about to be, and they had no place on the future historical stage.
He said directly, “Next time you discuss matters, don’t be polite with them. We from Wanjin are no longer in a position of dependence. If they want to be sarcastic or drag their feet, just tell them directly. If that doesn’t work, go directly to Lord Niwa and have him resolve the issue. We need the Oda family now, and the Oda family needs us. There’s no need to feel inferior.”
Maeshima Shichiro had a gentle disposition and was not good at arguing. Upon hearing this, he hesitated for a moment before lowering his head and saying, “Yes, Lord, I understand.”
Yuan Ye also knew that his personality was very honest and he couldn’t be forceful. He also felt that Endo Chiyo was not suitable for arguing, so he turned to A Man and said, “You can go and take a look when you have time.”
A Man had a strong personality and was a natural chatterbox, making her well-suited for arguing and scolding. A Man didn’t mind and casually nodded. The family was busy with construction, and she couldn’t help much. During this time, she had been expanding her intelligence network outside. Occasionally helping Maeshima Shichiro argue wouldn’t affect anything.
The matter of the “bride price” was thus decided. Yuan Ye then discussed the subsequent “betrothal gifts” and “setting the date” with Endo Chiyo and Maeshima Shichiro. After that, the two of them took their leave and continued to be busy. After months of effort, the wedding process was finally nearing completion.
There was no other way. Marriage, whether in modern times or ancient times, was a troublesome affair. Preparing for months was considered short. After all, the Oda Danjō no Chū family, though not well-known now and generally regarded as country bumpkins from Owari, was still a “quasi-Warring States Daimyo” controlling half the province. They had to maintain appearances. A princess couldn’t just be transported in an ox cart; proper etiquette had to be observed.
Or should we blame Confucian etiquette? Japan at this time highly revered Confucian scholarship. The wedding process was a modified version of the “Six Rites,” involving endless discussions, inquiries, a chaotic array of preparations, and the need to invite many people to help. It also required ceremonies to seek the consent of the family’s guardian deity, which was extremely tedious.
However, it was finally nearing completion, and that was good enough!
After Endo Chiyo and Maeshima Shichiro left, A Man picked up the “bride price” list and read it again. Her stinginess flared up, and her dislike for the Princess Inu-hime, whom she had never met, rapidly increased. She grumbled unhappily, “She’s just a little girl, yet she’s asking for so many things for a marriage…”
All these items added up, likely costing six to seven hundred koku. That could buy one to two hundred Yayoi, and that didn’t even include the house specially built for the wedding. She felt it was a huge loss. Yuan Ye was indifferent and said casually, “It’s fine. The money that needs to be spent should be spent. With the trade routes, we’ll earn it back sooner or later. Besides, the Oda family will also provide a dowry; it’s not like they’re giving things for free.”
Marriages in this era did indeed come with dowries, not just a couple of quilts to make do. However, the dowry list would only be provided after the “setting the date,” meaning after the wedding date was decided, and the dowry would only be truly delivered on the wedding day.
Yuan Ye had always been a big spender and didn’t care about the small amount of money for the bride price, nor the dowry, as long as it achieved his goals. His mention was just to appease A Man. He then asked her, “Why did you come over? Is there anything special?”
A Man had nothing to do with the wedding preparations. She had just happened to meet Endo and Maeshima. However, she did have news to report. Upon hearing Yuan Ye’s question, she threw the “bride price” list aside and exclaimed to him, “Oda Nobumitsu died last night!”
Yuan Ye was stunned. This news was too sudden. Oda Nobumitsu, Oda Nobunaga’s own third uncle, the former lord of Moriyama Castle and current lord of Nagoya Castle, how did he die? He had only caused the downfall of the Kiyosu Oda family about half a year ago, hadn’t he?
He quickly asked, “What happened? How did he die?”
“It is said that he was assassinated by Oda Nobumitsu’s senior retainer, Sakai Daizen, who had fled to the Imagawa family. Sakai Daizen arranged for someone to kill him,” A Man had just received the news and returned, so she wasn’t entirely sure. “I heard that the assassin sneaked into his bedchamber, shouted ‘May the oath-breaker be struck down by heaven,’ and stabbed him in the chest with a single blow. He died on the spot. Furthermore, the assassin was later identified as Sakai Sunpachiro, a famous swordsmanship master from the former Kiyosu Oda family.”
“Where is he?”
“It is said that he escaped and there is no news of him now.”
Yuan Ye fell silent for a moment. Oda Nobumitsu, as Oda Nobunaga’s own third uncle, was Oda Nobunaga’s most powerful supporter and a significant figure among the Owari Oda clan. Yet, he was assassinated on his own territory, and the assassin escaped?
Was his death too absurd? Did it even make any logical sense?
Yuan Ye pondered for a while and then asked A Man, “Nagoya Castle… how is it now?”
“Oda Nobumitsu’s son is still young and hasn’t even come of age. There’s no one in charge now, so of course, it’s in chaos,” A Man said directly. “I don’t know the specific details. When Oda Nobunaga moved to Kiyosu Castle, he took most of our former informants stationed in Nagoya Castle with him. New people were only recently assigned, so the information we can access is limited.”
“Then continue to monitor it and try to find out exactly what happened.” Yuan Ye wasn’t in a hurry. After all, things were different now. In the past, any disturbance in Owari could affect his personal safety, and he wouldn’t feel at ease without knowing the truth immediately. But now, he had stepped out of the Oda Danjō no Chū family’s sphere of influence. No matter how turbulent the Oda family became internally, it wouldn’t have much impact on him. In fact, knowing that Oda Nobumitsu was dead was enough.
Now, trying to uncover the truth was purely driven by curiosity, as this matter was indeed quite strange.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve left people there, and news should be coming back soon.” A Man was a professional spy, so Yuan Ye didn’t need to worry about these matters. She then brought up another issue. “There’s also something else. Our subordinates gathered information from merchants at Atsuta Port, saying that the Imagawa family’s strategist, Taihara Yukisai, is gravely ill and unable to manage affairs. There’s some unrest within the Imagawa family, but we have no personnel in the Suruga and Tōtōmi regions, so this information cannot be verified for now.”
Yuan Ye nodded slowly, feeling that this news was likely true. In his memory, Taihara Yukisai, the stabilizing force of the Imagawa family, died around this time.
He couldn’t recall the exact date, but it was probably around the end of this year or the beginning of next year. Then, Imagawa Yoshimoto officially took control, or rather, without anyone to restrain him, he acted decisively after taking power. His approach was similar to Oda Nobunaga’s. He strongly disliked having many local lords with their own agendas acting independently. He also wanted to implement a “unitary system” and began to forcibly abolish the “Shugo-irinyo” rights of local lords and temple families within his territory, conducting large-scale land surveys, and recalculating annual tribute and military service. This caused considerable unrest and even led to several battles.
After he had subdued the local lords within his territory, he left his eldest legitimate son to guard the family business and led his army to march on the capital. However, he met his tragic end just as he reached western Owari.
Strictly speaking, Imagawa Yoshimoto was not stupid. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to subdue the local lords and temple families within his territory and successfully conduct land surveys. His affectations of leaning towards the court nobles, such as his love for waka poetry and Chinese classics, dyeing his teeth black, and plucking his eyebrows, were merely political gestures to seek support for his march on the capital. However, this world judges heroes by their success or failure. Since he lost to Oda Nobunaga despite having a superior position, he was naturally considered a fool who had lost his samurai valor.
Yuan Ye pondered for a while and felt that this news was quite useful. At least it confirmed that he had ample time to develop. In the short term, the Imagawa family would be more concerned with internal disputes and infighting, and would not be able to pay attention to him.
The next time they met would likely be when the Imagawa family marched west towards the capital and clashed head-on with the Oda Danjō no Chū family.
He instructed A Man not to bother investigating this news further, as the Imagawa family’s internal conflicts were irrelevant to them. For the next few days, he would continue to busy himself with his own affairs, waiting for his first marriage, and also keeping an eye on matters concerning Oda Nobumitsu, waiting for news from that end.
