Chapter 194: One Whale Dies, All Things Are Born
In the early summer, it was Japan’s plum rain season, and the rain started falling as soon as it was said to.
The torrential rain came like a thousand horses galloping, striking the rocks with dense and heavy “poof poof” sounds, leaving only the overwhelming sound of rain between heaven and earth, making people uneasy.
Yuan Ye looked up at the dense rain threads, and his eyelids hurt from being hit. He then looked down at the Dengaku-tsubo in the distance, where Imagawa Yoshimoto’s main camp was also caught off guard by the heavy rain. Many followers and ashigaru who were eating and resting shouted, threw down their rice bowls, and began to scatter in search of shelter.
This is heaven’s will to destroy the Imagawa family!
Yuan Ye, an atheist, looked at the Shogunate tents in the valley of Mount Okehazama, which were “wide open.” For a moment, he couldn’t help but say that Oda Nobunaga was truly a “child of destiny.” He had taken a winding and circuitous route from Atsuta, crossing two defensive lines to reach Mount Bu Road, and was not discovered by the Imagawa family. After reaching the attack position, it suddenly rained heavily, causing the Imagawa army’s main camp to collapse without a fight, leaving Imagawa Yoshimoto himself almost naked in an open space. At this time, there were only a few hundred people around Imagawa Yoshimoto. Relative to his status, this was almost the weakest moment of his life, not much different from being naked.
Shibata Katsuie and other senior retainers and local lord leaders were also shocked to see this scene, not expecting Oda Nobunaga’s crazy move to actually succeed. Disregarding the fall of Kanie Castle, allowing Shimazu and even Kiyosu Castle to be exposed to the enemy’s might, not sending reinforcements to Marune and Washizu forts, allowing senior retainers and family members like Sakuma Morishige, Oda Nobuhira, and the Iio father and son to die, and forcing the Sassa family, Chiaki family, Iwasaku Castle, and Ryusenji Castle to launch desperate attacks, using their lives to entangle the large enemy forces at Narumi Castle…
These hysterical and crazy actions, like a stubborn insistence as if their brains were burnt out, actually brought Imagawa Yoshimoto, a relative of the Great General of the Pacification of the East, a prospective “Ruler of the World,” to appear naked before everyone.
“Lord, give the order to attack quickly!”
Shibata Katsuie stared for a while, then suddenly reacted. He changed his mind from actively persuading Oda Nobunaga to return to demanding an immediate decisive blow to achieve this astonishing feat.
Oda Nobunaga’s spirit was also at its peak, his eyes bloodshot, but he had not lost his reason. Upon hearing the sound, he immediately drew his long sword, pointed forward, and said in a deep voice, “That’s right, attack! To win a small victory against a large force, we can only rely on heaven’s will! If we are fortunate enough to win, not only will our family be honored, but we will also leave a great name in this world. Let all of you strive for this!”
“Oh! Hey!”
At this time, the samurai behind Oda Nobunaga finally had high morale and responded excitedly. Then the followers also began to respond. Then, braving the heavy rain, holding swords and spears suitable for close combat, they leaped over the mountain ridge of Mount Bu Road and headed towards Dengaku-tsubo.
A Man also became excited, her Dou Dou eyebrows bouncing incessantly. She drew her gleaming katana from her waist and was about to go down the mountain with Oda Nobunaga’s group to cut people.
Yuan Ye quickly reached out and stopped her, asking strangely, “What are you going to do?”
A Man instinctively struggled but couldn’t break free from his hand. She turned her head and said anxiously, “To kill Imagawa Yoshimoto! This guy is doomed. As long as I get his head, it will be an astonishing feat!”
This war merit was practically picked up for free. Imagawa Yoshimoto’s main camp had only over four thousand people, and they were now scattered in the valley avoiding the rain. With an organized force attacking a disorganized one, with intention attacking without intention, with preparedness attacking without preparedness, she had fought many battles. Even if she thought with her butt, she knew she would win. Why not take advantage of such a good opportunity? She would definitely go to share the credit.
As long as she could take Imagawa Yoshimoto’s head, let alone a lord of a castle or a province, at least a large piece of land would be secured. Oda Nobunaga couldn’t refuse.
Yuan Ye didn’t care about such things. These things were not worth him selling his good reputation. He directly reminded her, “Save it. We have a sworn alliance with the Imagawa family. It’s not time to act yet.”
A Man was stunned. She remembered that before the Imagawa family was driven out of the Chita Peninsula, Yuan Ye not only couldn’t personally kill Imagawa Yoshimoto, but even assisting in attacking the Imagawa family would be a violation of the oath. The consequences of violating the oath would be borne by the Yuan Ye family, and the family would be abandoned by gods and Buddhas, and their descendants would suffer.
This was truly a pity…
A Man really wanted to seize this great merit. After all, whoever killed Imagawa Yoshimoto would surely be known throughout the world and become famous. Even if there were no benefits, she wouldn’t mind stabbing Imagawa Yoshimoto twice just for the fame. But everything must prioritize the family. Her killing Imagawa Yoshimoto was no different from Yuan Ye killing him. Externally, they were one.
Her hot-bloodedness cooled down. She drooped her Dou Dou eyebrows, sighed leisurely, and sheathed her sword. However, she was still very eager to look in the direction of Imagawa Yoshimoto’s Shogunate tent. After thinking for a moment, she said to Yuan Ye, “I won’t make a move, I’ll just follow along to watch, that should be fine, right?”
This was a relative of the Great General of the Pacification of the East, a prospective “Ruler of the World,” a powerful Shugo Daimyo who ruled three provinces. Such excitement was rare. She wanted to watch up close. After all, the rain was a bit heavy, and her vision was blurred. Standing on Mount Bu Road, she couldn’t see the details clearly.
It was fine to just watch the excitement. Yuan Ye didn’t mind. He let go of her hand, and A Man, as soon as she was free, immediately darted into the rain, enthusiastically chasing after Oda’s army.
Yuan Ye didn’t move. He was just idly “archaeologizing.” As long as he knew how Oda Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto, that would be enough. The details of the battlefield were not important.
Imagawa Yoshimoto was not stupid. In the early Warring States period of Japan, he possessed three provinces and could gather tens of thousands of troops and launch expeditions. The Imagawa family was not weak. If any other daimyo at the time had faced him head-on, no one could guarantee they could withstand Imagawa Yoshimoto’s full-force attack. Yet, Imagawa Yoshimoto died like this.
He died of arrogance, completely not expecting Oda Nobunaga to dare to take the initiative to attack, to dare to plot against him, without any defense.
And Oda Nobunaga didn’t win by luck. He had been prepared for a long time, had planned for a long time, coupled with his stubbornness, his insistence, his desperation, and a little bit of luck, which created the “miraculous Battle of Okehazama.”
Or rather, even without that bit of luck, it wouldn’t matter. The main reason Oda Nobunaga crossed the two defensive lines of the Imagawa family without being discovered was that Imagawa Yoshimoto had executed the local native Yamaguchi Noritsugu and his son, and had also cleared out most of the relatives of the local powerful family, the Yamaguchi family, causing the Imagawa family to be like 100% outsiders when they came here. They could only hide in the castle, their senses were blind, and they had no additional sources of information.
As long as Oda Nobunaga could suddenly appear on Mount Bu Road and trap Imagawa Yoshimoto in the valley, this rain would be irrelevant. Under a surprise attack, Imagawa Yoshimoto would still have only a dead end. At most, the Oda family would have to pay a higher price and lose a few hundred more men.
In any case, Imagawa Yoshimoto was doomed, and the outcome would not change.
No wonder Oda Nobunaga was so famous in later generations, recognized as “Japan’s Number One Person of the Warring States.” This guy truly had a “heroic spirit” – daring to do what others dared not, and succeeding. This was “heroic spirit,” wasn’t it? Oda Nobunaga had this kind of temperament, possessing a unique personal charm.
Of course, people often judge heroes by their success. Winning is the most important thing. If he had lost, he would have been branded with “idiotic spirit,” and the hat of “Big Fool” would likely have been worn for a lifetime. Even after death, he would have been ridiculed as “a mantis trying to stop a chariot” or “an ant trying to shake a tree,” a standard big fool.
Yuan Ye stood on the summit of Mount Bu Road, getting rained on, lamenting that those who could leave a great name in history were indeed not ordinary people. Oda Nobunaga truly had more personal charm than him, an ordinary person. At this time, Oda’s army had already used the rain to conceal their figures and sounds, and easily approached Imagawa Yoshimoto’s Shogunate tent.
At this time, a small number of Imagawa family retainers and followers who were still on duty finally discovered Oda’s army, but there was no time to gather more men. The small number of Imagawa samurai and followers were instantly overwhelmed and killed by the large group of Oda samurai. Imagawa Yoshimoto’s Shogunate tent did not last for three minutes before it was breached.
Even though Imagawa Yoshimoto was obese and had difficulty walking, he couldn’t care about that anymore at this moment. Under the protection of two to three hundred personal guards, he began to flee the tent and escape into Mount Okehazama.
The Oda army naturally pursued relentlessly, biting at their heels. Imagawa Yoshimoto’s personal guards were constantly cut down and stabbed, their numbers rapidly decreasing. Imagawa Yoshimoto’s personal guards were eating and resting when they were ambushed, with almost no time to react. Many did not even have complete armor and weapons. They were disorganized, and everyone had their own ideas. Even if they wanted to resist, they were powerless.
The situation of the Imagawa family’s followers and ashigaru scattered on Dengaku-tsubo was similar. They were confusedly attacked by the enemy into the valley, and a pincer attack occurred. Now, in the heavy rain, there were shouts of killing and screams all around, along with the swaying of various banners and the loud sound of conch shells. It felt as if Oda’s army had descended from heaven, with at least tens of thousands of men. They were doomed and began to flee for their lives, with almost no organized resistance.
As expected, under these circumstances, the Imagawa family had no possibility of a comeback.
At this time, the rain was getting heavier and heavier. Coupled with Imagawa Yoshimoto’s desperate escape into Mount Okehazama, Yuan Ye couldn’t even see a blurry image. After waiting for another seven or eight minutes, he heard a faint cheer through the sound of the rain – if the rain hadn’t been so heavy, it would have been thunderous.
Imagawa Yoshimoto should be dead, his head should have been taken…
Although Yuan Ye couldn’t see, he was now a “veteran commander” who had fought many battles. He could guess with about 80-90% accuracy just by listening to the faint sounds. A short while later, a line of water broke through the rain curtain. A Man’s two short legs ran like afterimages, sprinting back, splashing mud and water higher than her head. After running up the mountain, she was so excited that she trembled all over.
Well, it was also possible that the rainwater was too cold, and she was running in the icy rain, shivering from the cold.
But it didn’t matter. After A Man climbed the mountain, she sat down on the ground with a plop, panting, and reported to Yuan Ye, “Imagawa Yoshimoto is dead, and he died miserably! He was caught up by two nameless individuals from the Oda family. The three of them rolled around in the mud, and the two from the Oda family pressed him down in the mud and sawed off his head…”
She paused, then excitedly added, “It was truly tragic. Imagawa Yoshimoto also went mad. When he was being held down, they sawed his neck with a knife. He was so mad that he bit the person holding him, biting off his finger. He also kept kicking the other person with his feet. He died without any dignity, not like an important person at all.”
After A Man finished speaking, she shivered twice, not knowing if it was because her adrenaline had finally subsided or because she was colder sitting on the ground. However, the excitement on her little face did not diminish. She felt like she had opened her eyes today – a descendant of the prestigious Ashikaga clan, an important person who could destroy a clan with a word, was killed like a pig, pressed down and killed with a knife sawing his neck, making a “squeaking” sound. Blood splattered in the heavy rain. The three of them were desperately screaming and howling, their forms extremely frenzied, and their voices extremely terrifying.
She had truly opened her eyes. She had been on the battlefield more than ten times and had seen thousands of dead people. This was the first time she had seen someone killed so terrifyingly. If she told this story later, she could talk about it for a lifetime.
Yuan Ye imagined it and shivered, feeling that Imagawa Yoshimoto had died very aggrieved and terrifyingly… Of course, it might have been because the rainwater was indeed too cold. After he shivered, his gaze quickly fell on the things in A Man’s hands.
A Man never came back empty-handed. She brought back a scabbardless long sword and a very gorgeous helmet.
A Man noticed his gaze and quickly explained, “I didn’t make a move. After all, you are the only male in our family now. It wouldn’t be good for you to have no descendants. I picked this up… The three of them were rolling in the mud, screaming madly, and blood was spraying everywhere. I picked up the things while I was idle.”
Yuan Ye took the sword and helmet. Without looking closely, he realized that the sword was definitely a famous sword, exquisitely crafted. The helmet was even more gorgeous, with five helmet plates forming a five-pointed shape, adorned with eight golden dragons. The golden dragons were not made of paper and gold lacquer, but were genuinely made of gold. They were as thin as paper yet lifelike, trembling as if ready to fly. They were also made by a master craftsman.
A Man took the sword back and lovingly wiped it with her sleeve, saying happily, “This should be ‘Soza Samonji,’ formerly ‘Miyoshi Samonji.’ It’s a genuine famous sword! Getting this sword makes this trip worthwhile.”
“Oh, Soza Samonji?” Yuan Ye thought the helmet was good, an excellent piece of craftsmanship. Upon hearing this, his gaze turned back to the sword. He didn’t recognize this sword, but he had heard of it, and he had heard of it in the Modern Era.
This was a national treasure displayed in museums in Japan in later generations. Theoretically, it should have fallen into the hands of Oda Nobunaga, then into the hands of the Monkey, then into the hands of Toyotomi Hideyori, then into the hands of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and then in the Taisho era, it was handed over to the state by Tokugawa’s descendants, entering the museum to become a top national treasure. However, A Man had now stolen it. While they were slaughtering pigs over there, A Man was stealing spoils of war nearby. He wondered what those two samurai who took Imagawa Yoshimoto’s head were thinking.
But it didn’t matter. The sword, helmet, and thoughts didn’t matter.
Yuan Ye turned and looked back at the Okehazama battlefield. The Oda family had already begun to pursue the fleeing enemy, taking advantage of their high morale to clear out the Imagawa family’s samurai and followers to maximize casualties.
He glanced at it and withdrew his gaze, saying to A Qing and A Man, “Alright, the matter is over. Let’s go!”
Imagawa Yoshimoto was dead, and the Imagawa family was finished. And when one whale dies, all things are born. With the fall of the behemoth that was the Imagawa family, it was time for him to prosper.
