Chapter 181: Hiyoshi Maru
The man at the head of the horse troop was in his thirties, a samurai about 1.65 meters tall with a strong build. After dismounting with practiced ease, he asked Yuan Ye, “You are Lord Yuan Ye, correct?”
Yuan Ye recognized the man; it was Shibata Katsuie. Yuan Ye had seen him from afar at Oda Nobuhide’s funeral a few years prior but had never interacted with him. Seeing him approach to make his acquaintance, Yuan Ye politely nodded and replied, “That’s me. Lord Shibata, have you just returned from the northern front?”
“Just returned. The Saito family has retreated,” Shibata Katsuie replied. His gaze swept over A Man and A Qing, who were following Yuan Ye. He noticed A Man’s topknot hairstyle, her katana and wakizashi at her waist, and her appearance as a high-ranking samurai, yet her attire was somewhat peculiar. His thick eyebrows furrowed slightly, but he quickly averted his gaze and politely bowed to Yuan Ye again, “Apologies, this is our first meeting. I’ve heard that Lord Yuan Ye is deeply trusted by Lord Kazusa-no-suke and is very active on the battlefield. I hope for your continued guidance in the future.”
Yuan Ye returned the courtesy, “Not at all. I hope for Lord Shibata’s continued guidance as well.”
After exchanging pleasantries for a first meeting, Shibata Katsuie looked around and gestured for his men to spread out and move back a bit. He then said to Yuan Ye, “I had originally intended to invite Lord Yuan Ye for a gathering, but since we’ve met here, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you…”
He paused here, his gaze falling on A Man and A Qing again. Yuan Ye found it a bit strange, but out of politeness, he signaled A Man and A Qing to step back a distance. Only then did Shibata Katsuie look at him and ask, “I’ve heard that Lord Yuan Ye has some misunderstanding with Lord Oya-no-kami Hyōe. Is this true?”
“Lord Oya-no-kami Hyōe? Oh, the Oya family from Chita District!” Yuan Ye hadn’t expected Shibata Katsuie to bring up this person and asked in surprise, “Whether there’s a misunderstanding or not aside, what is Lord Oya-no-kami Hyōe’s connection to Lord Shibata?”
“There’s no particular connection, just a good friend of my father’s from many years ago,” Shibata Katsuie stated frankly, clarifying the matter. “You two seem to have some misunderstanding, but let’s put the past behind us. Lord Yuan Ye, please cease some of your actions!”
Yuan Ye was currently developing the Oya family’s territory, a condition previously agreed upon with the Imagawa family. He hadn’t expected Shibata Katsuie to intervene when the Imagawa family had tacitly agreed. The relationships among the Owari local lords were truly messy. The Oya family already had a marital connection with Hayashi Hidesada, the senior retainer, for two generations, and now it turned out they were also old acquaintances with Shibata Katsuie, the new senior retainer.
But stopping was out of the question. Xin Wanjin needed development, requiring land and raw materials from that land’s produce. He couldn’t have worked so hard outside, risking his life to steal and rob people, only to have them crammed into a small space upon returning, unable to even turn around.
Yuan Ye was silent for a moment, then shook his head and sighed, “Lord Shibata, please have the Oya family speak to me directly! You should not interfere in such matters.”
Shibata Katsuie’s expression darkened, and his tone became displeased, “Lord Yuan Ye, you are currently encroaching on Oya Castle’s land! As samurai, you should adhere to the samurai’s duty and act with propriety!”
“Isn’t the Oya family a vassal of the Imagawa family?” Yuan Ye didn’t avoid his gaze, looking down at him and saying calmly, “The Imagawa family is hostile to the Oda family. Does Lord Shibata not know this? What is the problem with me taking land from your enemies?”
Shibata Katsuie was momentarily speechless. At this moment, A Qing and A Man sensed the tense atmosphere and quickly moved closer. A Qing’s hand even rested on her sword hilt, her gaze cold and vigilant as she looked at Shibata Katsuie.
Yuan Ye waved his hand, signaling that it was fine. Shibata Katsuie was merely acting as a mediator; he wasn’t so insane as to openly attack an ally and brother-in-law of Oda Nobunaga within Oda Nobunaga’s residence.
Indeed, Shibata Katsuie glanced at A Man and A Qing before shifting his gaze away, not taking them seriously at all. He simply said to Yuan Ye again, “That being said, Lord Yuan Ye, it is always good to have friends.”
“Thank you, I don’t need them.” Yuan Ye was unyielding. He didn’t need to make friends with the Owari local lords; getting too close might even be detrimental.
“Apologies.” Shibata Katsuie was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly in acknowledgment, maintaining at least basic respect for Oda’s ally. He then turned and left with his men. He was not the hot-tempered and crude individual portrayed in the game “Taiko Risshiden 2″—in that game’s portrayal, he and Sassa Narimasa were more like nouveau riche and common samurai, whereas in reality, both were well-versed in Chinese Classics and had been taught by famous teachers.
A Man, with her Dou Dou eyebrows furrowed, glanced at Shibata Katsuie’s retreating back and asked Yuan Ye, “What happened?”
Yuan Ye called them to mount their horses and explained what had just happened as they rode. A Man immediately spat on the ground and cursed, “This guy, having just become an Oda family elder again, dares to be so arrogant, even interfering in our Wanjin’s affairs?”
“Perhaps he thinks that since we’ve just acquired several manors in the Upper Four Districts and our territory has expanded, we should be satisfied and don’t need to encroach on the Oya family’s land, which is why he came to say something.” Yuan Ye pondered the reason for the Oya family’s sudden activity and felt this was likely it. However, it was also possible that he was slowly transferring the villagers from the new manors to Xin Wanjin, had ordered the planning of new villages there, and intended to build a small castle there as an administrative center, which had stimulated the Oya family.
A Man didn’t care what the Oya family or Shibata Katsuie thought and simply asked, “Should we send someone to keep an eye on him?”
“Of course!” Yuan Ye was quite willing to spend money on intelligence and was also rather afraid of death. He turned to A Qing and instructed, “Let’s add another squad of guards when we go out from now on!”
He currently had guards with him, but it was inconvenient to bring a large group inside Oda Nobunaga’s residence, so they usually waited at the entrance. Within Oda Nobunaga’s residence, there wasn’t too much to worry about regarding safety. Oda Nobunaga currently had no motive to harm him, and it would be difficult for others to interfere. Otherwise, given how extremely hated Oda Nobunaga was, he would have been poisoned long ago. Oda Nobunaga actually cared more about the safety of his residence than anyone else.
A Man and A Qing nodded in unison. One prepared to arrange for the “Life Preservation Style” to infiltrate the Shibata family, while the other planned to transfer more people from Wanjin to strengthen the security of the separate residence.
…
Yuan Ye’s first meeting with the historical figure Shibata Katsuie was not pleasant, but it was unavoidable. After all, one must live in the world and cannot always control their circumstances. Some matters are non-negotiable, and yielding would be meaningless. It was only because the Imagawa family was restraining him that Yuan Ye dared not make any major moves on the Chita Peninsula. Otherwise, all the local lords around him would have been driven away long ago, and their villagers and land would have been incorporated into Wanjin. He wouldn’t have to spend time stealing and robbing everywhere, to the point of being forced to switch professions to a human trafficker.
However, after acting as a mediator, Shibata Katsuie made no further moves. Everything proceeded as usual. Occasionally, when they met, they would nod politely. Yuan Ye also did not wish to escalate the conflict, and it seemed the matter had ended.
More than ten days quickly passed. Oda Nobunaga’s excitement finally subsided somewhat, and the frequency of his audiences and banquets for local lords decreased. However, it seemed he was preparing for a large tea party to publicly introduce new vassal local lords and allow them to interact. Yuan Ye, as a staunch ally, still needed to attend, and he couldn’t leave for the time being.
But he finally had some rare leisure time. He took the opportunity to visit his young disciple Nene at the Asano family’s residence, securing her position and laying a hundred-year foundation for the Monkey’s downfall. He also took a look at his future bride, A Song. As soon as he returned, he encountered the groom-to-be, Maeda Toshiie. The fellow had come to borrow money. Theoretically, he shouldn’t be short of money, with an annual salary of 150 koku, but he was accustomed to lavish spending and had too many retainers and followers. He hadn’t saved much money in recent years. Suddenly needing to get married and purchase many things, he was in a bind and had to come to borrow.
And he only came to Yuan Ye to borrow because Yuan Ye was currently the most famous nouveau riche in Owari, known by everyone to be wealthy, and besides Oda Nobunaga, the local magnate, the only big spender who owned over a hundred matchlock gunners.
Yuan Ye naturally didn’t mind; they were old friends. He immediately had a bag of silver tacks brought to him and prepared to treat him to a meal. However, Maeda Toshiie was excited about his upcoming wedding and didn’t have time to linger. He refused the meal and left as soon as he got the money. Yuan Ye could only chat with him as he saw him off.
However, as he reached the stable at the separate residence, he heard a commotion. Yuan Ye was surprised and hurried over to take a look. A groom quickly reported, “My lord, it’s nothing. Just a small problem. A Qing’s horse is sick and is currently throwing a tantrum…”
It was indeed a small problem, and Yuan Ye didn’t pay it much mind. He turned to have Maeda Toshiie’s horse brought out so he could leave. However, Maeda Toshiie was a horse lover and went to take a look at A Qing’s horse. It wasn’t the three-flower mare; that horse was too short and at a disadvantage in battle, but A Qing still kept it, letting it play with the little monkey and the second-hand donkey daily, and didn’t bring it to Kiyosu Castle.
Maeda Toshiie took a look and immediately noticed something was wrong. He turned to the groom and asked, “It has an eye infection. Didn’t you call a horse doctor?” Horse doctors were veterinarians specializing in horses. In ancient Japan, this was divided quite finely, with horse doctors and cattle doctors.
One of the horse’s eyes was red and swollen with abnormal discharge. The grooms had indeed noticed this and quickly stated that they had already prepared medicine for the horse, but the medicine wasn’t very effective, and the condition hadn’t improved. That’s why the horse had been extremely irritable for the past two days, either kicking people or wildly shaking its head and kicking the stable bars.
Maeda Toshiie was genuinely meddlesome. Without regard for his upcoming wedding, he asked the groom to bring the medicine for him to examine. He immediately shook his head and said, “This medicine is no good. I’ll find someone to take a look.”
Without asking Yuan Ye’s opinion, he sent his attendant Mura Hachiro on horseback to fetch someone. Before long, he returned with a person, who was the young groom named Hiyoshi that Yuan Ye had met at Oda Nobunaga’s residence stable last time.
Seeing him arrive, Maeda Toshiie quickly called out, “Hiyoshi, come quickly and take a look. This horse seems to have the same illness as my horse last time!” He then turned to Yuan Ye and introduced him, “Hiyoshi Maru is the Oda family’s best horse doctor. The horses he cares for have never had problems. Lord Kazusa-no-suke greatly admires him.”
