Chapter 17: Oda Family’s Big Fool
A Man was an excellent “original ninja,” or rather, her grandfather was definitely an outstanding representative of the Kōka Group, the kind of information broker who had become wise with age, knowing the situations of the countries along the Tōkaidō like the back of his hand, an absolutely excellent professional, but their judgment…
Oda Nobuhide had beaten all his neighbors into submission, and in turn, had been beaten by his neighbors. According to A Man, the Oda Danjō no Chū family’s rule in Owari was already precarious, with heavy losses among their family members and retainers. Local lords and earth warriors were beginning to harbor their own ambitions, and his enemies were already preparing victory parties.
What none of these people expected was that Oda Nobuhide had a very formidable son…
Yuan Ye shook his head, “That’s not necessarily true.”
A Man scoffed at his “judgment” as well, disdainfully saying, “Don’t talk nonsense, you outsider still don’t understand the Tōkaidō!
The Oda Danjō no Chū family is completely beyond saving. How many times has something like this happened before? A small local powerful family suddenly rises and then suddenly falls, it’s all too normal, you’ve just seen too little—a mid-level magistrate family of a shugodai, a lord of a castle, has been lucky enough to suppress Owari for over twenty years, now their luck has run out, can they still defy heaven? If you don’t understand, don’t spout nonsense and make a fool of yourself!”
As she spoke, she suddenly became excited, sat up straight, her round eyes shining as she stared at him and said, “If you don’t believe me, then let’s make a bet! My grandfather said Oda Nobuhide’s time is almost up. Once he dies, the Oda Danjō no Chū family will surely collapse. This is something anyone with eyes can see. If you refuse to admit it, do you dare to bet with me?
Once Oda Nobuhide dies, the Oda Danjō no Chū family will surely perish!
If I lose, I’ll lose my head to you. If you lose, you only have to give me ten kan… no, eight kan, no, five kan of money!”
She was afraid Yuan Ye wouldn’t agree to bet with her, so she kept lowering the price.
“Not interested, I don’t like gambling,” Yuan Ye wasn’t a kindergarten child, not that naive, to gamble with heads.
“You’re scared, aren’t you?” A Man’s Dou Dou eyebrows twitched, and she directly used provocation, wanting to get his five kan of money for free. She said disdainfully, “You’re such a coward, five kan of money isn’t much to you. Even if you lose, you’ll still have ten kan of money. Don’t you even have this much courage?”
“I don’t like it, I don’t like it.”
A Man failed to get her way and was very disappointed. She tilted her head and muttered, “You really have no manly spirit at all, it’s a shame you grew so big. You probably won’t achieve much in this life.”
Yuan Ye glanced at her. Even if he didn’t like this kind of playful bet, he decided to teach her a lesson and agreed, “If you don’t want your head, you can give it to me!”
After all, a dog’s head delivered to his door was not to be refused. If he won, he would have something to do for fun.
A Man didn’t expect the situation to turn around, and the cooked duck flew back. She was immediately overjoyed and said, “Then it’s settled! As soon as the Oda Danjō no Chū family is finished, I’ll come find you to collect the money!”
“What if they aren’t finished?”
“Don’t worry, my gambling integrity is absolutely first-class, no one has ever questioned it. Our Kōka Group is also trustworthy, our good reputation has lasted for almost a hundred years! If Oda Nobuhide dies, and the Oda Danjō no Chū family can still retain most of their territory within five years—no, three years, no, two years—they’ll be lucky to retreat to Shōbata Castle. At worst, they’ll lose their ancestral inheritance. At that time, no matter how far away, I’ll bring my head to you!”
“What if you don’t come?”
“If I don’t come, then let me, no, let me and my grandfather, no, let our whole family be struck by lightning in the rain, drown in the river, be buried alive by landslides in the mountains, and choke to death without water when eating!” A Man was desperate for five kan of money. Her Dou Dou eyebrows stood up in an “eight” shape, and she said excitedly, “I’ll make any poisonous oath you want, I won’t lose anyway, the Oda Danjō no Chū family will definitely be finished!”
“That’s not necessarily true. Oda Nobuhide still has an heir. The Oda Danjō no Chū family may not face the worst-case scenario.” Yuan Ye still couldn’t agree with her words. After all, even people who weren’t familiar with Japanese history had surely heard of the great name of Oda Nobunaga, the “Sixth Heavenly Demon King,” and he had absolute confidence in his ability to revive the family business.
A Man was stunned for a moment, stared blankly at Yuan Ye for a while, then fell back laughing, “Hahaha, you’re killing me! You outsider really know nothing. You actually expect Oda Nobunaga, that ‘Oda Family’s Big Fool’.”
This was truly the best joke of the year in Eiroku. If she hadn’t been injured, she would have been rolling on the ground with laughter.
Yuan Ye wasn’t angry. Instead, he was curious why Oda Nobunaga had such a nickname. In the Japanese Warring States period, where there were everywhere “reincarnations of gods, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas,” and “Tiger,” “Demon,” “Fierce,” “Number One,” and other cool nicknames, “Big Fool” was quite unique, with a touch of freshness.
He couldn’t help but ask A Man, “Why do you call him the Oda Family’s Big Fool?”
A Man forcibly suppressed her laughter, sat up, wiped away the tears from her eyes, snatched the brush from his hand, and drew a “Quince Crest” on the paper.
This was a type of auspicious pattern introduced to Japan during the Tang Dynasty. Because it was often used on the hat bands of shrine bamboo curtains, it was originally called the “Bamboo Curtain Hat Band Crest.” However, because the pattern resembled the cross-section of a quince, and also resembled a bird’s nest built on flat ground or a river surface, and nests on trees or mountains were called “nests,” the ancient pronunciation of “nest” was similar to “quince,” so this pattern was also popularly called the Quince Crest.
After she finished drawing, she said, “This is the Quince Crest, very common in Echizen. Many families related to shrines in Echizen use the Quince Crest, such as Quince Snow Wheel, Quince Corner Cut, Quince Two Bars, Quince Two Sides, Quince Four Sides, Ring Quince, Vine Quince, Wisteria Quince, Silk Wheel Peeking Quince, Sword Quince, Sword Quince Four Sides… In short, many families in Echizen use the Quince Crest as their family crest.
The Oda family moved from Echizen to Owari, so during religious ceremonies, they often used the Quince Four Sides Crest and the Quince Two Sides Crest. Oda Nobuhide also used it, but he more often used the Taira Clan’s Swallowtail Butterfly Crest—he wanted to sever ties with his former lord, the main Oda family of Kiyosu. In any case, he no longer recognized this lord-vassal relationship and considered himself a descendant of the Taira Clan, which was understandable, as his second wife was the daughter of the Tsuchida family, and the Tsuchida family were descendants of the Taira Clan, which everyone acknowledged.”
Yuan Ye looked at this “Quince Crest” and found it looked like a four-petaled flower. In any case, he didn’t see how it resembled a quince cross-section and asked inexplicably, “What does this have to do with the Oda’s Big Fool?”
“Don’t rush!” A Man reached out and drew a five-petaled quince on the paper, “This is the new family crest of the Oda Danjō no Chū family that your ‘Big Fool’ you have high hopes for created, or rather, his own family crest—the Quince Five-Piece Crest.
That Big Fool wanted to be different from others. Other clan members had four-petaled quinces, but he insisted on using a five-petaled quince. Then this fool also liked to ride his horse through the Nagoya Castle Town with this family crest, causing a lot of trouble. People in Nagoya Castle Town would see this family crest and immediately hide to avoid being knocked over by him.
So, children would often shout, ‘The Quince Five-Piece is coming! The Oda Family’s Quince Five-Piece is coming! Run!’ Over time, people naturally started calling him the Oda Family’s Big Fool.”
Yuan Ye listened, completely confused, unable to grasp this ancient, stale joke.
A Man was laughing heartily. Seeing that he didn’t understand, she said unhappily, “You’re really not fun at all, you don’t even understand this? Say ‘The Oda Family’s Quince Five-Piece is coming, the Oda Family’s Quince Five-Piece is coming’ quickly, with an urgent and heavy tone.”
“The Oda Family’s ‘Ya Ya Gou Ah’ is coming… The Oda Family’s ‘Ya Ah Gou Ah’ is coming… The Oda Family’s ‘Baka’ is coming?” Yuan Ye said it a few times before he realized, and said speechlessly, “Just because he changed his family crest, he became a Big Fool?”
He had originally thought that “Owari’s Big Fool” had some hidden meaning, such as great wisdom disguised as foolishness, or a celestial anomaly. But it turned out to be a pun-based stale joke…
Japanese people’s sense of humor is truly strange. They can laugh at this. In later generations, playing pun games online in China without a dog emoji for protection would get you beaten to death!
A Man waved her hand and laughed heartily, “Of course, it’s not entirely because of this small matter. The main reason is that he was already a big fool. You haven’t seen him. Once you see him, I guarantee you’ll also think he’s a big fool, a complete idiot.
This guy, he often takes a few pages and riding guards and runs around Owari. I met him two years ago when my grandfather and I passed by Tsushima Shrine. Guess what he was doing?
He was dancing and singing, playing Ushiwakamaru, and treating everyone present to drinks! Ha, you should have seen it. That fool was really something. He looked quite pretty in women’s clothing, but he was too tall, not delicate enough. Otherwise, selling his ass would have been very profitable.”
Ushiwakamaru was the childhood name of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a tragic figure at the end of the Heian period in Japan. Many Japanese folk tales were based on him. Noh drama and even later historical dramas featured plots or adaptations of him cross-dressing and fighting the warrior monk Musashibō Benkei. What A Man was referring to here was this episode.
Minamoto no Yoshitsune is still very famous in modern Japan. Yuan Ye naturally knew him. He imagined the scene of “Oda Nobunaga playing the beautiful cross-dressing Ushiwakamaru, wearing women’s clothes, showing his legs, and acting coquettishly while gathering people for revelry.” For a moment, he also felt his scalp tingle—he had never seen such a scene even in the 21st century, it was too wild!
However…
“Liking Noh drama and singing is a personal hobby, there’s nothing wrong with that, right?” As a modern person, Yuan Ye could understand personal preferences or unique fetishes. He knew a university professor who enjoyed making clothes for figurines and dolls, and his craftsmanship was quite impressive. No one around him found it inappropriate.
“It’s not just that!” A Man excitedly continued to reveal explosive information, “He also hangs out with river pirates and mountain bandits all day, often going to Kawanami Group and Hachisuka Party. Some people have even seen him swimming naked in the Nagara River, his backside was very white.”
Is he too close to idle social elements?
A lord and mountain bandits?
Fortunately, it wasn’t a princess and mountain bandits…
Yuan Ye couldn’t help but inwardly complain. He then heard A Man say, “And like you, he’s also… cough, he’s also a prodigal son. He spent a high price of 160 kan to buy a matchlock gun and carries it around all day, firing it whenever he pleases. Moreover, he has recruited a large number of pages, who do nothing all day but cause trouble everywhere, and they often hit each other with bamboo poles. It’s all a joke.”
“Buying weapons and increasing the number of retainers, there’s nothing wrong with that, right?” Yuan Ye didn’t understand again.
A Man scoffed, “Increasing the number of pages is fine, and causing trouble is also fine. He has money and leisure to play with. But that matchlock gun of his has caused no small amount of trouble. It killed a horse belonging to a retainer, but he had money to compensate. However, during a test firing, it also killed a retainer his father had assigned to him. The entire Nagoya Castle was in an uproar at the time, and many retainers were clamoring to arrest him.”
So violent?
He idly kills retainers for fun in his daily life?
Yuan Ye didn’t expect such a thing to happen. The Sixth Heavenly Demon King Oda Nobunaga in the game was brutal enough, but he didn’t expect the real person to be even more brutal—burning Mount Hiei was one thing, after all, they were enemies, and there were many internal factors, so it was done. But killing his own people without a proper reason was unacceptable.
“Is there anything else?” Yuan Ye’s heart became vigilant, and he began to mark Oda Nobunaga as a dangerous person, preparing to be extra cautious in the future.
“He’s done so many bad things, I couldn’t finish talking about them in three days and three nights!” A Man truly looked down on Oda Nobunaga, her disdain audible to the deaf. “Just a few years ago, out of boredom, he insisted on changing three straw bags to one stone to five straw bags to one stone, like a lunatic.”
“Oh?” Yuan Ye was stunned for a moment, reached out to refill A Man’s tea, and said thoughtfully, “Did you hear the reason?”
“What reason could there be? He’s just bored and likes to mess with people! What’s the difference between three straw bags for one stone of rice and five straw bags for one stone of rice? It’s still one stone no matter how you pack it. Besides making farmers rub more straw ropes, what else is there?” A Man said after drinking her tea, smacking her lips, still looking disdainful.
“There is a difference,” Yuan Ye said a fair word, but didn’t explain the trick between capacity and weight.
If you pack water, the difference is negligible. But when packing granular items like rice, the larger the container, the greater the pressure from the upper layer to the lower layer. The lower layer becomes more compact and solid. Compared to small containers of the same volume, the weight can increase by about 4%. You can even increase the weight by 8%-15% by pressing down on the straw bags.
8% is not a small amount. Even without pressing, at 4%, it means local powerful families can extract more grain from farmers for taxes. For larger powerful families like the Aragiko Maeda Family, they can extract one to two hundred koku of grain annually, which can support more family retainers or be exchanged for more armor and weapons, significantly increasing their strength.
In terms of supporting retainers, it refers to the support rice given by the lord to retainers, similar to salary, used to support retainers and their families who don’t have land. It’s usually distributed by straw bag. The actual rice that retainers and their families can eat will also decrease.
Therefore, except for the farmers who can reduce their burden and keep a few more mouthfuls of rice to exchange for money, local powerful families, earth warriors with direct territory, and retainers without direct territory will not be happy—if there are sensible people, they will probably realize their interests are being harmed. When it comes to vital interests, most people are usually sensible.
No wonder the retainers and local powerful families are so displeased with him. It’s likely that these people have also called him “Big Fool” many times…
A Man was not involved in her own interests. She neither farmed nor received support rice, so she didn’t think about it carefully and asked strangely, “Is there a difference? What difference is there!” Then she became indifferent, “Anyway, he didn’t succeed. His chief senior retainer, Hayashi Hidesada, reported him to his father, Oda Nobuhide. I heard Oda Nobuhide wrote a letter scolding him, telling him to do more proper things and less nonsense, to listen to his teacher Hirate Masahide more, and to learn skills properly so as not to become useless.
As a result, he became even crazier. That day, he got drunk, stripped naked, rode his horse through the market town, and acted crazy, nonsensically saying that the horse dealers were too smelly and he had to drive them out of the market town to a remote corner, attracting a lot of onlookers. Hirate Masahide sent his eldest son and a dozen followers and retainers to forcibly tie him back.
Of course, it’s not like that now. After this incident, he gradually recruited over thirty pages and kept over a hundred riding guards. Unless Hirate Masahide openly fought with him, he could no longer discipline him. Moreover, I recently heard that Hirate Masahide’s eldest son was severely beaten in the market town, and everyone says he instigated the pages to do it.”
Finally, she concluded, “In short, very few people like this Big Fool. Even the retainers assigned by his father to support him dislike him. If it weren’t for his teacher Hirate Masahide’s seniority, good reputation, and loyalty, who desperately supported him, and the fact that he is Saito Dosan’s son-in-law, rashly moving against him might trigger a great battle between Mino and Owari. His position as heir would have been lost long ago. Oda Nobuhide has more than just him as a son; he has over a dozen!
He has one illegitimate eldest son, named Oda Nobuhiro, and one illegitimate second son, named Oda Hidetoshi. Their mothers were both maids of Oda Nobuhide’s first wife. His current wife, the daughter of the Tsuchida family, has given him four legitimate sons. In addition, there are six or seven or eight or nine other illegitimate sons and secret children. The Oda Danjō no Chū family does not lack people to be the head of the family.”
“So that’s how it is!” Yuan Ye sighed, gaining a general understanding of Oda Nobunaga’s situation.
Simply put, Oda Nobunaga was a man of strange behavior, with confused class standing, and did not appear to be a ruler, completely unlike an “heir apparent.”
It’s no wonder that no one from top to bottom thought highly of him, and everyone believed that once his father died, the Oda Danjō no Chū family would surely be finished. Even he, a transmigator, if he didn’t know a little history, hearing these rumors, would probably also think that Oda Nobunaga was truly beyond redemption, a pure prodigal son.
Honestly, Japanese history is truly strange. Who would believe that such a fellow almost unified Japan and became the most famous and popular historical figure in later generations?
