Chapter 220: Unworthy of Comparison to the Lord!
In this era, it was difficult to expand ports through manual labor. To become a major port in a region, capable of accommodating a large number of ships for docking and anchoring, was considered a gift from heaven, a natural haven from storms. Furthermore, the local area needed to have gentle tidal flats, a solid seabed, and no large reefs or hidden rocks nearby, which would facilitate ship traffic and the construction of infrastructure such as piers, jetties, and warehouses.
Such terrain was often one in a hundred. For instance, Ise Bay had only two such locations, while in the Izu Sea Area, only Shimoda Port could be considered a natural good harbor.
Here, the coastline was generally recessed, forming a semi-circular bay. Shimoda Port was located at the apex of this semi-circle. Before the appearance of the Satomi Water Bandits, Wanjin merchant ships had basically entered this semi-circular bay, lining up and waiting to unload their cargo at the piers and jetties.
But now, a commotion had broken out at the piers. A large number of Wanjin merchant ships were no longer observing order. Shouts rose in unison as they began to weigh anchor and turn around. Moreover, many Wanjin people who had come ashore to trade crowded onto small boats, paddling desperately to return to their merchant ships.
Those who couldn’t get onto the small boats in time were shouting and yelling on the piers. Some even brought out boxes of copper coins and were scattering them.
Kasahara Yasuhisa and other Hojo samurai watched from a distance for a few moments before quickly sending someone to inquire about the situation. Soon, a Hojo follower returned and reported, “Lord, the Wanjin merchant ships are preparing to leave the port to participate in the war.”
Kasahara Yasuhisa was slightly surprised. “Who gave the order?”
They had previously sent an envoy to invite Nohara to temporarily take refuge on the Chita, as the Satomi Water Bandits generally did not dare to engage in battle within the bay, as it would make them too vulnerable to attacks from both land and sea. However, they had not seen anyone from the Chita return with an order. The Wanjin merchants who had come ashore to trade were also scattered, forming small groups, with no Nohara family samurai among them.
The follower hesitated for a moment and replied, “It seems no one gave an order; it appears to be spontaneous from those merchants. Some heard that the Satomi Water Bandits had appeared on the open sea and started shouting, then all the Wanjin people began running towards the piers, all shouting that they would fight the Satomi Water Bandits.”
The Hojo samurai exchanged bewildered glances. After a moment, one samurai pointed at a group of Wanjin merchants scattering money on the pier and asked curiously, “What are they… doing? Why are they throwing money everywhere?”
The follower straightened his body and looked from afar before lowering his head and saying, “Those merchants are recruiting dock laborers to help them fight. When I arrived, the price had already reached three guan coins per person… Uh, they will receive three *shi* guan if they go out to participate in the war, and an additional three Eiraku coins for each enemy head taken.”
Three *shi* guan was basically a year’s salary for an ordinary follower, which was very tempting. Moreover, if they were lucky enough and dared to fight desperately, they could earn an extra year for killing one enemy. If they were incredibly lucky and took out everyone on an enemy ship, they could achieve financial freedom and live out their remaining years in peace.
Frankly, the price was outrageous. This follower almost couldn’t resist the urge to try his luck. Not to mention that the Wanjin merchants were willing to provide weapons, and some were even shouting that they would pay a death benefit, meaning money would be given even if they died in battle, double the amount. The Wanjin merchants swore publicly, invoking curses upon themselves and their descendants for eighteen generations if they failed, and in this era, such oaths were highly credible, and no one doubted them.
Kasahara Yasuhisa and the others were even more bewildered.
Merchants spontaneously participating in war seemed somewhat fantastical to them. Now, these merchants were even willing to pay out of their own pockets to hire people to help Nohara fight. They found it even more incomprehensible, feeling as if they had encountered Cthulhu from the deep sea, their minds about to burn out.
Every time the Hojo family went to war, it took a great deal of effort just to conscript rookie ashigaru and gather provisions and money. There were always those who wanted to desert, always those who would rather flee into the mountains than honestly pay taxes and provide supplies, simply not comparable to the villagers of the Nohara family.
Not to mention the merchants; they even tried to evade taxes. If they were willing to go bankrupt to help the Hojo Navy fight the Satomi Water Bandits, Shimoda Port would not have declined to its current state.
“That… the commoners of the Nohara family are truly obedient. How did they achieve that?” After a period of silence, one of the Hojo samurai finally spoke, seemingly wanting to learn the methods of ruling in Wanjin.
No one responded. Everyone was trying to figure out how to achieve such results. But soon, another samurai pointed at the group of Wanjin merchants scattering money and asked, “Should we stop them?”
“Is there any need?”
“They are just some laborers; we can conscript more from nearby villages later…”
“It is worth losing some laborers if it means the Masamune Family loses more men.”
This time, the Hojo samurai chimed in with various opinions. They felt that since Wanjin was willing to fight the Satomi Water Bandits to the death, it wouldn’t matter if they provided seven or eight hundred commoners as support. However, someone soon asked, “Then should we also go out and help?”
The Hojo Navy was no longer capable, not even daring to leave Shimoda Port. However, they were not entirely without fighting strength. The port had five or six Kan-sen ships and over ten Kobaya ships. If they suddenly charged out of the bay, they couldn’t offer much help, but they could at least distract the enemy, thereby reducing some of the pressure on the Wanjin Navy.
But the psychological shadow cast by Masamune Tokitada, the Boso Water Bandits, and the Kazusa Water Bandits over the years was too great. If they were truly asked to charge out of the port to fight, these samurai fell silent again, pretending not to hear, and no one responded.
The Hojo samurai completely became deaf and blind. Shimoda Port’s pier became the domain of the Wanjin people. Soon, a large number of dock laborers joined the ranks of the Wanjin people, boarding Wanjin merchant ships to receive weapons. As for reinforcements arriving like a raging fire, some merchant ships, unable to unload their cargo in time, simply threw their heavy goods overboard to reduce weight and increase speed.
Afterward, as soon as these merchant ships were ready, they gathered into small groups and charged out to the open sea one after another.
This again caused a stir of surprise among the Hojo samurai. They felt that the Wanjin merchant ships were surprisingly well-trained, maintaining good order during their participation in the war, unlike what they had imagined, where they would rush out in a chaotic swarm, possibly colliding with each other and sinking several ships.
Indeed, almost all Wanjin merchants had worked for Nohara and had experience in “state-owned factories.” As an engineer, Nohara placed great importance on discipline during production. These Wanjin merchants were no longer commoners in the ordinary sense; they no longer possessed the casualness and laxity of agricultural workers.
This trait now showed its value. The Wanjin merchants naturally formed groups, naturally defaulted to one person as a manager, maintained formation, obeyed orders, and acted according to the manager’s requirements.
The performance of the Wanjin people further increased Kasahara Yasuhisa and the others’ confidence in Nohara.
Of course, this was not about expecting Nohara to win, but rather about feeling that if these merchant ships were willing to participate in the war, they could inflict greater losses on the Masamune Family and the Satomi Water Bandits. And for every bit of loss the Wanjin people inflicted on the Satomi Water Bandits, they would earn a profit.
Some Hojo samurai even began to criticize Nohara, believing that after discovering the Satomi Water Bandits’ attack, he should not have chosen to meet them on the open sea but should have moved closer to the bay, organized these merchant ships, and then launched an attack in formation. This way, they would at least lose more gracefully. Merchant ships, in their opinion, did not possess significant combat power. Merchant ships themselves had a disadvantage in maneuverability and were vulnerable to fire attacks. Even in boarding combat, ordinary sailors could not defeat water bandits.
However, even so, Nohara could use these merchant ships as shields. The merchant ships’ spontaneous counterattacks could inflict some losses on the water bandits. Going to engage them without bringing them along seemed unwise to the Hojo samurai.
…
The chaos on the pier seemed slow to describe, but it actually took only about ten minutes for the Wanjin merchant ships to begin moving towards the open sea. Otherwise, some merchant ships would not have started throwing heavy cargo overboard; that was to save time.
In naval warfare, ten minutes is not much. The Chita’s maximum speed is only 6 knots, and a normal large Atakebune ship like the Dragon King Maru has a maximum speed of only 8-9 knots. It’s not as if they were heading towards each other, with one fleeing and the other pursuing. In ten minutes, they wouldn’t have left visual range, and they would still be visible from the towering lookout platforms.
Of course, this was also because neither the Chita nor the Dragon King Maru were traveling at full speed. The stamina of the rowers was limited, and they couldn’t accelerate fiercely. It was impossible to maintain maximum speed continuously; otherwise, if they were to engage in battle and needed to maneuver quickly, they would be unable to perform.
At the same time, Masamune Tokitada had no intention of ordering the Dragon King Maru and the Hyakushu Water Bandits to shake off the Chita. He had brought his men to expel Nohara, not to be humiliated, so how could he simply flee?
Using the Dragon King Maru’s higher speed, he led the Wanjin Navy in a curved maneuver, never straying too far from Shimoda Port. When the position was right, he immediately ordered an acceleration and turn, pointing the bows of the Dragon King Maru and the various ships of the Hyakushu Water Bandits towards the Chita, preparing to intercept them.
As long as the Wanjin Navy was intercepted, the Hyakushu Water Bandits, centered around the Dragon King Maru, would form a solid “anvil.” The light Kobaya ships led by the Boso Water Bandits, Kazusa Water Bandits, and Soshu Water Bandits had already cut into the rear windward position of the Wanjin Navy by circling around. They were now using both sails and oars, accelerating furiously towards the rear of the Wanjin Navy, fully demonstrating the Masamune Family’s ability to dominate a sea area.
Years ago, the Masamune Family had used this “rear-entry tactic” to burn down the Hojo Navy. Now, it seemed the Wanjin Navy would be no exception.
Masamune Tokitada stood on the deckhouse of the Dragon King Maru, feeling triumphant for a moment. He smiled at the samurai attendants beside him and said, “I heard that even the Imagawa Family couldn’t defeat the Nohara Family back then. Now, it seems Nohara Saburo is nothing special.”
He had initially been unsure of the Wanjin Navy and Nohara’s strategy, feeling that since they dared to roam the Izu Sea Area to seize territory, they must have some skill, and he had maintained some caution. But he never expected that without even needing complex maneuvering, Nohara had foolishly fallen into the trap so easily, like a silly roe deer, easily captured.
Too weak, truly too weak. The Nohara Family must have just started at sea, perhaps not even knowing how to swim, yet they wanted to engage in maritime trade, only to become fat prey.
The attendants of the Masamune Family shared the same sentiment. One immediately chimed in, “Nohara Saburo is an unknown nobody and is not worthy of comparison to you, my lord!”
Masamune Tokitada nodded slightly, a smile on his face, and looked approvingly at the attendant, feeling that the statement was indeed true. On land, it might be debatable, but at sea, he could fight ten Noharas alone without any problem.
Another attendant, seeing his companion receive praise, took a different approach and chimed in from another angle, “Your Highness, I heard that the Imagawa Navy now allows the Nohara Family to pass through Shimizu Bay and Suruga Bay. Their strength must be inferior to the Nohara Family. Perhaps Your Highness can take us to Suruga Bay later; I hear it’s quite prosperous with many merchant ships.”
“That’s true!” Masamune Tokitada nodded slightly again, feeling that this statement also had some merit. He secretly pondered: the Imagawa Family seemed to be declining day by day. Even their former ally, the Matsudaira Family, was beginning to turn against them. Perhaps annexing the Imagawa Family’s sea territories was not impossible.
He was deep in thought, contemplating future strategies, when he suddenly heard a small exclamation. He quickly looked up and saw that the Chita had closed in, the distance between them only three to four *li*. The formation of the Wanjin Navy had also changed. The medium and small warships that had been escorting the Chita were now scattering to the sides, splitting into two groups and fleeing in opposite directions. Only the Chita maintained its course, charging directly at the Dragon King Maru, seemingly intending to ram and sink it.
What was going on?
Kinoshita Tokitada was an experienced naval officer, having fought dozens of naval battles, large and small. Yet, for a moment, he was bewildered. The smaller Kobaya ships behind were about to catch up to the Wanjin Navy, but the Chita’s escort ships were fleeing. Wasn’t that leaving the Chita to be surrounded and attacked?
Was it fear, causing them to abandon their flagship and their lord? Or perhaps Nohara Saburo was not on that magnificent large ship? But even if he wasn’t, if the largest core ship was captured or sunk, wouldn’t the Nohara Family still be defeated?
Kinoshita Tokitada was in a state of suspicion, unable to figure out the situation, when he suddenly saw large plumes of white smoke erupt from the Chita. More than ten “iron rods”, trailing thick white smoke, tore through the sky and lunged towards the Dragon King Maru.
