Chapter 173: Beaten Again
Izumi Heiji felt he had discovered Yuan Ye’s plan, some kind of “conspiracy,” and vaguely sensed a deep malice towards the imperial court, the shogunate, and even the samurai class. However, he couldn’t be sure, suspecting it might be a coincidence, as he couldn’t fathom why Yuan Ye would do such a thing.
Furthermore, he was someone who wanted to establish an autonomous village and harbored some anti-court and anti-shogunate sentiments. Coupled with the fact that “nationalism” had not yet emerged in this era and the concept of “nation” was not well-defined, he said nothing. Without further investigating the truth, he quietly settled in Xin Wanjin.
Yuan Ye hadn’t expected the old man to be so sensitive and imaginative. Unaware of this, he hosted a welcoming banquet for Izumi Heiji, A Qian, and A Yu with his newlywed wife, Inu-hime, fulfilling his duties as a host.
Then, he arranged for Izumi Heiji and the other two to continue recovering from their injuries, while his own energy shifted back to his work.
There were no issues settling the new immigrants from Mino. Xin Wanjin was already a brand-new city composed of immigrants, and everyone was accustomed to new arrivals, holding a welcoming and inclusive attitude. The internal affairs system of Xin Wanjin gained the labor of over a thousand strong individuals, finally establishing the first village primarily focused on agriculture.
Everyone was delighted by this, except for the Oya Family, as the village was built on their territory, which was a bitter pill to swallow. However, facing the menacing Wanjin Army, they had no intention of throwing eggs at a stone and could only endure in silence, hoping Yuan Ye would die soon.
Life was temporarily peaceful and uneventful. Yuan Ye steadily accumulated power, continuing to secretly discipline the people of Wanjin and implement his “evil plan,” until a messenger from the Oda Danjō no Chū family arrived by sea again, delivering Oda Nobunaga’s new request. News had arrived that Saito Yoshitatsu was making a move and was gathering troops to march south, hoping the Wanjin Army could rendezvous at Kiyosu Castle to assist the Danjō no Chū family in resisting the Saito Family’s invasion.
According to the alliance, Oda Nobunaga only needed to defend himself, unless attacked by the Imagawa Matsudaira forces; Yuan Ye was obligated to help. He had no choice, as he still couldn’t do without the trade routes of the Danjō no Chū family. He once again gathered his forces, ordered A Man to guard the home, and amidst Inu-hime’s fervent wishes for “victory in war,” led his army out once more to march towards Kiyosu Castle.
Upon arriving at the location, he attended a military council and, after reconnecting with Maeda Toshiie, finally understood the situation.
In his “succession letter,” Saito Dosan gifted the province of Mino to Oda Nobunaga as Nohime’s dowry, and Oda Nobunaga immediately announced it to the world. This act completely enraged Saito Yoshitatsu, who not only publicly denied that Saito Dosan was his biological father, directly claiming descent from the Isshiki clan （, rumored to be descended from a daughter of the Isshiki clan ）, but also immediately organized an army of over ten thousand to attack Oda Nobunaga, the “false claimant to lordship.”
Of course, this was the nominal reason; in reality, he merely wanted more land. Saito Yoshitatsu most likely intended to reclaim their foothold south of the Kiso River to begin preparations for invading Owari. Before the Oda Danjō no Chū family and the Saito Family formed an alliance through marriage, they had repeatedly fought for control of the areas around the Kiso River and Nagara River. Even Mokomata Castle was built by the Saito Family; this was merely a repeat of past events after the alliance broke.
After hearing the details from Maeda Toshiie, Yuan Ye was speechless. He regretted not having thrown that “succession letter” into the latrine himself. Instead, after giving it to Oda Nobunaga, he couldn’t bear to wait and revealed it immediately, causing him to waste so much time. Fighting this kind of war offered him no benefit. Fighting within Owari meant he couldn’t “forcibly immigrate” the Oda Family’s populace, making it a pure drain on resources.
He sighed silently there, then strangely asked Maeda Toshiie, “Saito Yoshitatsu rushed over so quickly; has he sorted out the internal affairs of Mino?”
He had initially thought Saito Yoshitatsu would at least take a year or two to consolidate his rule, and he never expected him to attack so soon.
“He probably has,” Maeda Toshiie, as a member of the Oda Danjō no Chū family, was more concerned about Mino than Yuan Ye and immediately replied, “I heard Saito Yoshitatsu incorporated many local lords into the Saito Family, appointing the Ando, Hino, and Takekoshi families, among six major local lords, as senior retainers. For important matters, these six senior retainers lead their vassals and local lords to jointly discuss countermeasures. If they vote against something, even Saito Yoshitatsu, as the head of the family, cannot act unilaterally. Therefore, Mino is said to be united, and people are calling Saito Yoshitatsu an unparalleled hero.”
“Oh, a council of vassals?” Yuan Ye mused after listening, surprised that Saito Yoshitatsu was willing to delegate power and implement such a system. It was quite unexpected. Both the older generation of overlords like Oda Nobuhide and Saito Dosan, and the new generation of daimyo like Oda Nobunaga and Imagawa Yoshimoto, were constantly bothered by local lords and always thinking of consolidating power into their own hands. Now, Saito Yoshitatsu was taking a unique approach.
He just wondered if this would sow the seeds of future trouble…
Maeda Toshiie considered the term “council of vassals” and couldn’t help but nod, “Yes, that’s a fitting description; it is indeed a council of vassals.”
Yuan Ye looked up at him and then smiled, asking, “What’s the view in Owari? Does anyone else think he’s an unparalleled lord?”
“Of course, there are! It’s those people!” Maeda Toshiie was familiar enough with him that he didn’t hold back in private conversations and laughed heartily, “Yesterday, someone mentioned this matter in front of His Highness, and His Highness scolded him severely, telling him to go live in Mino if he didn’t like Owari.”
Yuan Ye couldn’t help but laugh as well. He figured if he were an Owari local lord, he would likely also yearn for a “council of vassals.” With his strength, he might even have an important vote and could perhaps “sell” votes in the Oda Danjō no Chū family’s internal meetings.
They chatted for a while and finally waited for Oda Nobunaga. Facing Saito Yoshitatsu’s challenge, Oda Nobunaga was not afraid; his eyes even gleamed with excitement. Slamming the table, he first cursed Saito Yoshitatsu as a parricide worse than a pig or dog, a true beast of humanity. Then, he boosted the morale of his allied vassals and local lords and, despite the enemy’s superior numbers, ordered them to yield no ground and to attack proactively, resolutely blocking Saito Yoshitatsu north of the Kiso River.
The Oda Danjō no Chū family did not implement a “council of vassals.” Those who dared to oppose Oda Nobunaga in recent years had already been subdued by him; what he said went. Tasks were quickly assigned, and they were ordered to depart immediately, establish a defensive line directly to the north. Only Yuan Ye, under the title of “ally,” had some semblance of rights, and Oda Nobunaga spoke to him with a bit more politeness. However, the work still had to be done.
After completing the military council at Kiyosu Castle, squadrons of samurai, followers, and ashigaru began leaving Kiyosu Castle to head north. They reached the Kiso River first and began waiting for Saito Yoshitatsu to clash. The Oda Danjō no Chū family was fighting on interior lines, and there were local lords within Mino who supported the Danjō no Chū family. Saito Yoshitatsu hadn’t even dispatched his troops before news arrived, allowing them to prepare thoroughly.
The combined Oda and Wanjin forces, exceeding six thousand men, waited by the Kiso River for several days before discovering that Saito Yoshitatsu was slowly leading an army of ten thousand. They took a long detour, slowly crossed the Nagara River, and entered the “Kawanami region” between the Nagara River and the Kiso River. They then began to slowly set up camp, showing no sign of urgency, giving the peculiar impression that they were on a spring outing.
Everyone found this very strange. Oda Nobunaga continuously dispatched scouts to the flanks, suspecting some kind of feint. He feared the enemy might suddenly cross the river at a shallow point, but after searching everywhere, they found nothing. The Saito army was genuinely building a camp.
After the Saito army finally finished building their camp, they still showed no signs of attacking. It seemed they were there to compete with the Oda Danjō no Chū family to see who had more military rations, as if waiting for the opposing side to run out of supplies and retreat on their own.
Yuan Ye, forced by the situation, could only stare across the river at the enemy. Suddenly, urgent news arrived from the rear: Oda Nobunaga’s illegitimate elder brother, Oda Nobuhiro, had suddenly rebelled and instigated a riot within Kiyosu Castle.
Upon receiving this news, Yuan Ye felt nothing, not the slightest surprise, and was even relieved. Oda Nobunaga’s brothers rebelling was not the first time; it was normal.
Perhaps he was finally starting to adapt to this era and would no longer be easily astonished.
