Chapter 22: Shimazu
“So, where can I buy medicinal materials around here? I need a good variety!” What should have been a simple question turned into a long chat with A Man, the drama queen, and still, Yuan Ye hadn’t found out where to get the medicinal materials. He was starting to get impatient.
“Buying medicinal materials, I’ve never really paid attention to that before. We usually don’t buy them; everyone just gathers some raw herbs and makes do,” A Man said. Having eaten his food, even though she thought he was an idiot, she was still trying her best. She scratched her face, racking her brain for a while before saying, “It’s unlikely to be around here. You’ll probably have to go to Shimazu to buy them.”
Shimazu?
Yuan Ye had an impression of this place. A Man, this wild child, had mentioned it before and even drawn it on the map. However, after careful study and secretly comparing it with the map on his mobile phone, he discovered that this port no longer existed in later generations. Whether it was naturally filled with silt or reclaimed by Japan in later eras, the natural small bay was gone. He had always thought it was just a small place and never paid much attention to it.
He immediately asked, “Is it very prosperous there?”
“Of course, it’s very prosperous!” A Man said without hesitation. “That’s where the Oda Danjō no Chū family got their start. If it weren’t for Shimazu, with just a small castle like Shōbata Castle, how could Oda Nobuhide, the head of a petty mid-level magistrate family, have dominated Owari for so many years!”
“Oh?” Yuan Ye became interested when he heard about the Oda family. He quickly poured her a cup of tea and handed her the tea bowl. “Come, tell me in detail.”
A Man raised her Dou Dou Eyebrows. This was precisely what she liked about Yuan Ye; he respected her “talent” so much, which made her feel very good.
In a good mood, she took the tea bowl, took a sip of tea, smacked her lips, and then slowly said, “Alright, since you want to hear, I’ll tell you. But it’s a long story!”
Oda Nobuhide’s father was Oda Saburo Nobusada, whose castle town was Shōbata Castle in Kaishi District, Owari Province.
According to my grandfather, the strength of the Shōbata Oda family back then wasn’t much. They were only slightly stronger than the current Aragiko Maeda Family, with a strength of about ten thousand koku. They lived entirely at the mercy of the Kiyosu Castle Main Family. But Oda Nobusada, that old fellow, was very capable. My grandfather said he could be considered a generation’s hero.”
She took another sip of tea, changed her tone, and her expression became slightly more serious. “About forty years ago, well, I’m not sure. I wasn’t even born then; I heard it from my grandfather. He often talked nonsense when he was drunk…
About forty years ago, Oda Nobusada, that old fellow, with his unique foresight, took a liking to Shimazu, which was next to Shōbata Castle. He also saw that the Imperial Court was merely a facade, weak and powerless. Taking advantage of the Kiyosu Main Family’s internal strife over inheritance rights, he bribed and enticed the local Shimazu local lords, along with some ronin and river pirates, to start a rebellion in Shimazu, driving away the magistrate appointed by the Imperial Court… Uh, he might have just killed him. Anyway, the result was similar. Then, under the guise of quelling the rebellion, before anyone could react, he suddenly charged in and annexed Shimazu!
Normally, such things were common. The world was becoming increasingly chaotic, and everyone was killing each other. But Oda Nobusada, that old fellow, was surprisingly good at management.
According to my grandfather, he established laws in Shimazu, requiring all resident merchants to trade equally, forbidding the strong from bullying the weak, prohibiting forced sales, and banning fighting within the market town. He also wiped out the local troublemakers, ronin, mountain bandits, and river pirates. He restrained the villagers and fishermen from robbing and killing traveling merchants and cargo ships. To open up the shipping routes to Ōminato and Kuwana, he sent his wife to a temple to become a nun and then went there to marry a new wife with a hefty sum of money. In the end, he governed Shimazu into a premier trade port in Ise Bay, second only to Sakai.”
So, a small port that had disappeared in modern times had such a story. Yuan Ye pressed on, “What happened next?”
“Later, Oda Nobusada, that old fellow, kicked the bucket,” A Man said, showing her linguistic talent. These past few days, having been with Yuan Ye, her accent had become increasingly similar to his, and she had even picked up many new words.
“He died?” Yuan Ye asked in surprise. “How did he die?”
“They say he died of illness, but in reality…” A Man raised her Dou Dou Eyebrows and gave him a knowing look. “Warrior families don’t like to divide their territory and like to have many children, leading to inheritance issues. That old fellow got a new wife and had a new legitimate son, who was reportedly very favored. So, he suddenly died along with his youngest legitimate son.
His eldest legitimate son, Oda Nobuhide, who was sixteen or seventeen at the time, took the throne without even holding his father’s funeral. He even fought with the Main Family in Kiyosu Castle over it.
It seems the Main Family said his succession was illegitimate and wanted to depose him according to his father’s will. He accused the Main Family of interfering with the branch family’s inheritance rights and having malicious intentions, aiming to annex them. In the end, they fought for over a year, and the Main Family, the Kiyosu Oda Family, was defeated. They married a daughter to him, signifying their surrender and peace.”
Yuan Ye nodded slowly, but A Man wasn’t finished. She eagerly added, “This is also why Oda Nobuhide shamelessly, almost selling his ass, attacked Nagoya Castle… No, he might have actually sold his ass. Otherwise, how could Imagawa Ujitoyo have doted on him so much, allowing him to bring a large number of retainers into the castle by feigning illness.
Well, in short, this is why he insisted on attacking Nagoya Castle.”
After speaking, she looked at Yuan Ye expectantly, hoping he would ask her to explain, allowing her to show off again. However, Yuan Ye pondered for a moment and then realized, “Is it for Atsuta Port, south of Nagoya Castle? He wanted to connect Atsuta and Shimazu on land?”
A Man looked at him with surprise. She didn’t expect this prodigal son to react so quickly. Her grandfather had asked her the same question back then, and she hadn’t figured it out. She had never thought that Atsuta and Shimazu, on opposite sides of Ise Bay, could be related.
But there was no need to expose her own shortcomings. She didn’t praise Yuan Ye by saying, “Your brain is actually useful.” Instead, she directly said, “That’s right. Atsuta Port has no natural defenses to the north, and there are no powerful local lords there. Only the dilapidated Atsuta Manor can be considered somewhat significant, and it’s jointly held by the Matsuoka and Chiaki families. Together, they can barely be considered a force! Uh, the Sassa Family and Kato Family can also be considered half a force, but they are all very weak. There isn’t a single capable fighter among them. So, whoever controls Nagoya Castle can control Atsuta Port.
Thanks to his deceased father, Oda Nobuhide already possessed the trade route along the Saikaidō and Seto Inland Sea, and Shimazu. If he also occupied Atsuta Port, he could open up the trade route connecting Atsuta, Mikawa Bay, Suruga, Kanto, Hokuriku, and even Ezo, encompassing a large part of the world. And he actually achieved it. By selling his ass, he truly obtained Nagoya Castle, successfully controlled Atsuta Port, and even defeated the Hayashi Family, who were at the border of Owari and Mikawa and coveted Atsuta Port, wanting to expand westward. Hayashi Hidesada defected to him at that time.”
“So that’s how it is! So, it was through these two ports that Oda Nobuhide’s strength greatly increased, and he suppressed the entire Owari Province?”
“Of course!” A Man waved her small hand. “Do you know how much money he made annually just by collecting ship tolls from Atsuta and Shimazu ports and their two shipping routes? Similar to customs duties.”
“How much?”
Speaking of this, A Man’s face was filled with so much jealousy that it was about to overflow. Her eyes began to turn red. “My grandfather said at least forty thousand kan! Annually! In good years, it could be sixty thousand kan a year!”
Yuan Ye finally understood the mystery of the Oda Danjō no Chū family’s rise. He nodded slowly. “Indeed, it’s not a small amount.”
So, Oda Nobunaga was a rich second-generation, no, a rich third-generation. He hadn’t seen this mentioned in the game Taikō Risshiden 2 before. He had previously thought his ancestors had left him a super mess, and he had to turn things around through his own abilities, which was even harder than starting from scratch. But it turned out… his ancestors were incredibly wealthy, and he was almost at the finish line from birth.
At the very least, his ability to become the “Number One Person of the Warring States” was greatly related to the accumulation by his ancestors.
“It’s a lot!” A Man was very dissatisfied with Yuan Ye’s understated attitude, feeling that as a young master, he didn’t understand the immense power represented by sixty thousand kan. She waved her hands to emphasize to him, “The entire Owari Province has only two hundred and sixty thousand koku. He, just by lying down and collecting money, gained an additional eighty to ninety thousand koku of territory out of thin air. That guy also connected Atsuta and Shimazu with castles on land, constantly setting up checkpoints to collect money, amassing mountains of gold and silver every year, adding tens of thousands of koku of hidden territory!
My grandfather said that on the surface, that guy only had tens of thousands of koku, seemingly not much territory. In reality, his hidden strength could reach one hundred and thirty thousand koku, perhaps even one hundred and sixty to seventy thousand koku, all controlled by him alone. All the local lords in the eight counties of Owari Province combined couldn’t defeat him.”
Moreover, with his considerable wealth, he obtained the official position of Danjō no Chū, brazenly impersonating a court noble. He looked down on everyone daily, scolding this person and that. He would often report someone who disobeyed him to the Imperial Court, falsely accusing them of being rebels, and forcing others to join him in attacking them. Those who refused were also rebels and would be attacked by him. He was utterly shameless!”
Yuan Ye raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Was the position of Danjō no Chū bought? Wasn’t it inherited?”
“Inherited my ass! His ancestors were just the governor of Shōbata, a mere dung ball, like dung beetles!” A Man said with disdain. “Every year, he sent Hirate Masahide to Kyoto to give money to that puppet Emperor. He gave four thousand kan for the Emperor to renovate a house, one thousand kan for renovating a shrine, five hundred kan for offering a Buddha, and daily gifts of swords, horses, and tea sets. He was so generous that even that shameless old Emperor started to feel embarrassed. He sent ministers to thank him from afar, wrote poems praising him as the ‘Wonder of Owari,’ and had imperial female officials personally write him a letter of gratitude. Finally, he was granted the official position of Danjō no Chū.
According to my grandfather, although this Danjō no Chū was only a Junior Sixth Rank, Lower Grade, and didn’t seem like much, the positions in the Danjō, similar to the Censorate, allowed one to freely scold high officials and princes, interfere in any matter, and arbitrarily accuse others. It was a prestigious and noble position, reserved for court officials and the sons of nobles. If he hadn’t given so much money, why would a country bumpkin like him get it?”
Perhaps out of jealousy, or perhaps due to wealth resentment, A Man became more disdainful as she spoke. “Most people don’t know this and think he’s so amazing, believing he has a noble status and innate talent, calling him the Tiger of Owari and considering him a famous general. Bah!
Actually, if I were in his position, I could be as capable as him!
With so much money, he could support a large number of followers and retainers, and buy many suits of armor. Every time he went to war, others would have one or two out of ten armored soldiers and eight or nine out of ten unarmored soldiers, but his armored soldiers were almost half! With over forty percent armored, killing unarmored soldiers is as easy as killing chickens. How could he possibly lose?!”
She became more indignant, as if she wished she could send a flying sword to take Oda Nobuhide’s head. But as she spoke, she suddenly became happy again, gloating, “No, he can’t win now. He lost all the wealth he accumulated over a lifetime in Mino in one go, and now he’s being beaten badly!
Serves him right, a complete waste! But if it were another family that was beaten like him, losing constantly, they would have been ruined long ago. Yet he stubbornly refuses to die and can still hold on, all thanks to his considerable wealth!”
Although she seemed to get along well with Yuan Ye, this fake samurai, chatting and laughing without any taboos, she actually harbored considerable hostility towards the samurai class. Now, she gloated without reservation, laughing heartily at the sky, extremely arrogant.
Her talent in martial arts was not great. When she had just saved A Qing, despite practicing martial arts since childhood, she was kicked down by A Qing, who had only been practicing for three months, and couldn’t get up for a long time, losing with utter humiliation. Therefore, she had always wanted a matchlock gun. However, matchlock guns had only recently been introduced to Japan, few people knew how to make them, and they were extremely expensive. She couldn’t afford one at all. Even if she saved money with her life and sold herself and her sister, she still couldn’t afford it. Yet, a big fool like Oda Nobunaga could earn tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of kan annually just by lying down, and casually spend one hundred and sixty kan to buy one as a toy!
Thinking of similar things, her anger would surge, making her feel that heaven was unfair and life was not worth living, wanting to stab those damned samurai a couple of times.
She was a typical lumpen proletarian, with a natural animosity towards the upper class. Before, when she had nothing to do, she always wanted to provoke Yuan Ye, mock him as an ignorant fool, and try to trick him out of his money. This was likely due to such a mentality—perhaps a rebellious psychology stemming from inferiority, self-pity, and resentment over unfair wealth distribution.
After all, in her eyes, Yuan Ye was also a typical member of the upper class, a noble person. She found him displeasing to look at, but Yuan Ye was very good to her, sharing his clothes and food, and respecting her, a lowly, wild child who could be killed at any time, unlike ordinary samurai. She felt an inexplicable gratitude, so she could only mock him daily to balance these two emotions.
These were all subconscious matters that she herself didn’t realize. After laughing heartily for a while, she waved her hand and returned to the main topic. “Alright, alright, let’s not talk about Oda Nobuhide, that unlucky old fellow. Anyway, he’s almost finished. But Shimazu gathers products from more than half of Japan, and even rare items from Ming Dynasty and the Southern Barbarians can be found there. This is true.
So, no matter what you want to buy in Owari, no matter how rare or strange it is, if it exists in the world and you’re willing to spend money, you can definitely buy it there. Even small medicinal materials are no problem!”
“Hmm, then I’ll have to make a trip to Shimazu… Is it far?” Yuan Ye didn’t care whether Oda Nobuhide was scolded or not, and was indifferent to A Man’s contempt for Japan’s upper class. Hearing this, he continued to consider the main issue.
A Man replied, “If you walk, it’s about four or five days. If you take a boat, you can make a round trip in three days. The two districts, Kaishi and Kaidong, are separated by mountains. You have to go south for a long way before turning back. The road is winding and difficult to travel, and it’s not safe. Now that Oda Nobuhide is weakened, the roads are very chaotic. Every samurai and local lord sets up checkpoints to collect money. If you haven’t dealt with them before, they might not give you face, and you’ll likely have to bleed heavily on the way there, and it’ll be even worse on the way back. But if you don’t go through the samurai’s territory, you’ll likely be troubled by mountain bandits and river pirates. If you’re not someone who travels this road often, you’ll have to bleed heavily.”
“But I still need to buy the medicine. It’s just…” Once a plan is made, it must be executed. Yuan Ye pondered for a moment, considering taking his two followers and hiring A Man and her sister to go together. The taser could still be used a few times, which should be enough to ensure personal safety. Paying some road tolls was unavoidable, but he definitely couldn’t bring his foolish son. He was a bit uneasy about leaving his foolish son at the Yayoi Family for a long time.
A Man saw his dilemma but didn’t volunteer herself.
If Yuan Ye gave her money to buy medicine, she was confident she wouldn’t disappear and never return. She still had some integrity; she, A Man, wasn’t that shameless. But she was afraid that if she had money in Shimazu, she wouldn’t be able to control herself and would go gambling again, trying to win back her losses and even earn enough for a matchlock gun. If she lost everything again, she would have no face to see anyone.
Fortunately, she was quick-witted and experienced in the ways of the world, knowing many miscellaneous things. After a little thought, she came up with a solution and immediately suggested, “You don’t necessarily have to go yourself. As long as you’re willing to spend a little more money, you can find a water-damaged merchant. Those guys go to Shimazu from time to time to get some water-damaged goods, and then they sell them in the countryside after refurbishing them to cheat people out of money. They definitely won’t mind bringing some medicinal materials back for you along the way.”
“Water-damaged merchant?” The professions in Japan’s Warring States period were truly bizarre. Yuan Ye hadn’t expected there to be an industry that resold substandard goods to the countryside.
Uh, perhaps it wasn’t simply reselling substandard goods, but more like passing off inferior goods as superior, closer to fraud.
But that was none of his business. He thought it was a good idea and immediately asked, “Do you know any water-damaged merchants? What are their prices like? How much more expensive will it be?”
“It’ll probably be about twenty to thirty percent more expensive than buying directly from Shimazu. Those guys need to make a living, so they’ll definitely want to profit. But it’ll be cheaper and less troublesome than you going yourself. Those guys have good relationships with river pirates and have long-term dealings with them, paying them regularly. Making a few more trips won’t cost much.”
A Man thought for a moment and then said, “As for familiar water-damaged merchants, I do have a few fellow villagers… Uh, my grandfather had a few fellow villagers who were in this line of work that even dung beetles would despise. If you’re willing to use them, write down what medicinal materials you need, and I’ll help you find them.”
“Then I’ll trouble you.” Yuan Ye felt he could test the waters first, buying a small amount to check the price and quality. If both were satisfactory, he could continue to procure goods this way in the future. After all, compared to now, when he had little self-protection ability, leaving his foolish son and traveling hundreds of miles with a few young followers was much more difficult.
