Chapter 203: Chief Engineer Secured
The Oda, Matsudaira, and Nohara families’ alliance was officially established. Yuan Ye had finished dealing with the hunt—the Matsudaira family took first place. Matsudaira Motoyasu appeared honest and upright, but in a subtle display of strength, he made everyone in the Oda family hesitant to underestimate him.
Indeed, the overall military level of the Japanese Warring States period was relatively backward. Due to prolonged isolation on the islands, military technology and organizational capabilities were not very strong. However, in terms of individual samurai combat skills and tactics, they were quite formidable. For instance, the “Ming Shilu” records mention Japanese pirates as “plundering like the wind, leaping several zhang,” and “catching arrows with their bare hands, causing the armies to look at each other in dismay, and then all collapsing.”
Many of these Japanese pirates were ronin who had fled after defeat. These samurai, from childhood, did nothing but diligently practice martial arts and learn how to kill people. From the age of adolescence when they came of age and went to battle, they lived in constant combat. In close-quarters combat with cold weapons, they were absolutely not to be underestimated. Japanese pirates often used ronin as the vanguard to break enemy formations, causing great losses to the military and civilian population in the Jiangnan region of the Great Ming.
Among them, the Mikawa samurai were a well-known group of samurai during the Japanese Warring States period. Their individual martial arts were extremely exquisite, and they were extremely daring and willing to fight, unlike the easily routed peasant levies.
However, Yuan Ye didn’t pay much attention to these matters. The decline of cold weapons was an unavoidable historical trend; personal martial arts alone were no longer sufficient in this era.
After dealing with the hunt, he went directly to the territory of the Maeda family in Shimo-no-Isshiki to visit his foolish son, Meng Ziqi.
After the Battle of Okehazama, his relationship with Oda Nobunaga became strained. He dared not keep his foolish son in Hibitsu Village, so he secretly colluded with Maeda Toshiharu and moved Meng Ziqi to the seaside south of Odaka Castle, not far from Okinoshima. This allowed him to visit easily and also enabled Meng Ziqi to escape to sea at any time.
The main reason was that Meng Ziqi could not be too far from the Mount Ise Range, or his body would gradually weaken. Therefore, even at the risk of some danger, he could not move him back to Xin Wanjin, otherwise, he would still die.
Oda Nobunaga should also know about this. However, Oda Nobunaga possessed a certain heroic spirit, more so than Yuan Ye. He was not a base person and did not intend to harm a “vegetative state” patient. Alternatively, he might have felt that kidnapping a “vegetative state” patient would only serve to enrage Yuan Ye completely, driving him to burn down Atsuta Port without reservation, and thus he chose to ignore it.
Of course, it might also be related to the alliance not being completely broken. Oda Nobunaga had not touched the various manors in Kasugai District and Niwa District that Yuan Ye had obtained during the unification war of Owari. The grain and cash crops produced were also allowed to be transported to Xin Wanjin.
Now that the relationship between the Oda and Nohara families had been restored, Yuan Ye naturally had to make a trip to transfer Meng Ziqi back to Hibitsu Village and, at the same time, arrange for people to resume exploration of the original transmigration site.
After these matters were rearranged, he then headed to Old Wanjin to prepare to board a ship home. At the pier in Old Wanjin, a large group of people were already waiting for him.
The leader was a man in his forties, slightly over 1.5 meters tall, with a sturdy build, wearing a gray coarse cloth kozode and ōhakama. He appeared to have a large head—his head was already round and large, and he had a shaved head, making his head look even bigger.
His hands were also large, much like the “large hands like cattail fans” described in wuxia novels. They were covered in calluses, very rough, and the backs of his hands had many small scars. At first glance, they resembled those of someone who had practiced external martial arts like “Iron Sand Palm.”
This person was none other than the future “Chief Engineer” of the Oda family, the renowned architect of Owari and Atsuta Shrine, Okabe Igen.
At the same time, he was one of the compensations for Yuan Ye abandoning his entry into Mikawa. Oda Nobunaga and Matsudaira Motoyasu had promised to support Yuan Ye in developing and building a navy. Okabe Igen and the entire Okabe family were part of the support from Oda Nobunaga. The craftsmen provided by Matsudaira Motoyasu would travel directly by land to Odaka Castle and then head south to Xin Wanjin.
As soon as A Man saw Okabe Igen, she burst into laughter. Without a word, she slapped him hard on the back three times. Her Dou Dou eyebrows danced as she laughed heartily, “Okabe, what can I say about you! You wouldn’t come when I offered you money before, but now you’ve come without being offered any. You truly are a big fool!”
She did it on purpose. She had been repeatedly rebuffed and met with cold shoulders by Okabe Igen for the past year, so naturally, she wanted to get revenge and annoy him now.
Okabe Igen’s face looked as if he had eaten excrement. Yuan Ye had a terrible reputation in Owari. While his greed for money and lust were one thing, he was now extremely bloodthirsty, having forcibly seized the lands of over ten local lords, large and small. Three or four of these families resisted, and their entire families were wiped out by Yuan Ye. He was hesitant to serve such a “tyrant” unless Yuan Ye offered him something he couldn’t refuse—a samurai status, a fief of no less than 500 koku attached to that status, and also to cater to his religious beliefs by becoming a follower of Atsuta Shrine.
Becoming a follower of Atsuta Shrine was mainly for his personal safety. His status in the secular world was not high, only slightly better than a follower. However, his status in the religious world was acceptable. If Yuan Ye were to become a follower of Atsuta Shrine, no matter how cruel his nature, he would not kill him.
As a result, Yuan Ye was very stingy and refused to agree, only sending the Dou Dou eyebrow concubine before him to pester him incessantly, trying every means to trick him into going to Xin Wanjin. Therefore, he was too lazy to show him any good expression and kept avoiding him. If it weren’t for Yuan Ye’s fearsome reputation, and his slight fear that Yuan Ye might send someone to secretly cut him down at night, he would have long ago told A Man, that little scoundrel, to get lost.
Now, it turned out that Oda Nobunaga had directly issued a “black seal letter” to the Shinto Priest family of Atsuta Shrine, the Matsuoka family. The head of the Matsuoka family, Matsuoka Sukenaga, had packed him, his wife and children, and his apprentices and laborers, and sent them over to work for Yuan Ye for free for a few years. They had to do a good job, or the entire Matsuoka family would be implicated. He had no room to refuse.
If he had known this earlier, he might as well have agreed to Yuan Ye’s terms. Even if he hadn’t obtained land and samurai status, he could have received one thousand kan of money annually. He, his son, apprentices, and laborers could have divided it, and each would have received a high salary.
As a result, now he could only earn a living, and it was uncertain if he would even be able to eat his fill.
Just thinking about this made him feel very uncomfortable. Being slapped by A Man and being ridiculed only made it worse. However, since he couldn’t resist, he could only maintain a sullen expression.
He suspected that this was just an appetizer. This Dou Dou eyebrow concubine of Nohara Saburo, having suffered so much contempt and insult before, would surely seek tenfold revenge later.
His future was worrying. Moreover, that Nohara Saburo was also very lustful, and his eldest wife, younger wives, and youngest daughter were all somewhat attractive…
It was over, it was all over! He had diligently served the Matsuoka family and the Oda family, only to end up in such a predicament!
Yuan Ye greatly respected technical talent and did not expect Okabe Igen to be already imagining being abused like pigs and dogs. After dismounting, he saw A Man using him as a drum and quickly stopped A Man’s rude behavior. He quickly said to him courteously, “Lord Okabe, we are truly grateful that you could come to help us. Once we arrive in Xin Wanjin, consider it your home. If you need anything, just say the word. As long as I can do it, I will do my utmost to satisfy you.”
This was the first time Okabe Igen had seen Yuan Ye with his own eyes.
Yuan Ye had not interacted much with the Matsuoka family before. Later, when his relationship with Oda Nobunaga soured, it was inconvenient to go to Atsuta Port. His contact with Okabe Igen was only through personal letters and sending the Dou Dou eyebrow concubine back and forth. His understanding of Yuan Ye mainly came from street rumors. Few local lords in Owari liked Yuan Ye; they privately looked down on him and slandered him, and the rumors became more and more exaggerated. In a few more years, Yuan Ye would probably be eating three children for every meal.
Okabe Igen secretly sized up Yuan Ye. Perhaps due to preconceived notions, he felt that Yuan Ye looked quite sinister and cunning. He hesitated, thinking that when one is under another’s roof, one must bow. He immediately knelt on the ground and performed a grand bow, saying with suppressed emotion, “I dare not accept such a title from Your Highness. You may call me Yukinosuke, Lord. It is my… it is my honor to be able to serve Your Highness.”
A Man’s Dou Dou eyebrows twitched beside him, and she let out a strange chuckle. She had originally planned to find an opportunity to kick him a few times to vent her anger, but seeing him so dejected now, she could let it go. Yuan Ye quickly helped Okabe Igen up and continued to be very polite, “There’s no need for that, Lord Okabe. It is the honor of our Wanjin that someone like you is willing to lend us a hand.”
“I dare not, I dare not, truly I dare not…” Okabe Igen’s posture was very low now, fearing that he might anger Yuan Ye and his entire family would be annihilated.
“Then… Lord Okabe, if you are all ready, shall we board the ship now? Once we arrive in Xin Wanjin, we will discuss other matters after you are settled.”
Yuan Ye felt that Okabe Igen seemed a bit uncommunicative, appearing very shy. However, he didn’t pay much attention to it. He was a tech enthusiast, and it was normal for him to be unaccustomed to interacting with strangers. They would get along once they became familiar with each other. He considered himself half a tech enthusiast. He disliked idle chatter, except with A Qing… and perhaps Inu-hime and A Man.
Indeed, he preferred to get straight to the point and hated beating around the bush. Perhaps all engineering students were like this?
Okabe Igen was still uneasy. Seeing Yuan Ye looking around at his family, possibly looking at his eldest wife, younger wives, and youngest daughter, his heart tightened. He quickly moved his body, trying his best to block Yuan Ye’s line of sight. He was only 1.5 meters tall and couldn’t actually block it. He reached out first and said, “Your Highness, please go ahead.”
“Then let’s go together!” Yuan Ye was still acting like a benevolent ruler, continuing to treat the virtuous with respect. If Okabe Igen weren’t so ugly, he would have been willing to share a bed with him tonight.
With this person here, he was relieved. He believed that the “Nohara Fleet” would soon be dominating the seas!
