Chapter 230: Ashen Face
Matsudaira Motoyasu was still the same, appearing dutiful and dull-witted. He first met Oda Nobunaga privately, then respectfully paid a visit to Yuan Ye. He seemed to implicitly accept his position as third in the alliance, not even considering that the Matsudaira family’s paper strength was seven to eight times that of Wanjin.
He didn’t even mention Yuan Ye’s cross-sea trade that provided a large amount of military supplies to the Imagawa family. At first glance, he seemed slow to react, or perhaps accustomed to subservience, lacking the courage to anger an ally to their face.
Knowing what Matsudaira Motoyasu would achieve in the future, his behavior was somewhat unnerving. At least, seeing him so low-key and patient made Yuan Ye feel a prickle of unease.
“To act humbly and work in secret” – that probably described this kind of person, didn’t it?
Matsudaira Motoyasu was not only patient but also skilled in social interactions and conversation. He spoke little but always hit the mark. Growing up in Sunpu, he could effortlessly quote classics and speak eloquently, demonstrating considerable cultivation in Chinese Classics. His words were insightful and made those around him feel at ease, which was why he was highly regarded and treated kindly by Imagawa Yoshimoto and Taihara Yukisai even as a hostage in his youth.
Even after spending half a day in private contact with him, and despite his stinginess and the largely ceremonial nature of this visit with little substantive content, Yuan Ye couldn’t help but develop a favorable impression of him. At most, the Matsudaira family had increased their trade demands, seeking to procure more military equipment from Wanjin to continue attacking the Imagawa family.
After Matsudaira Motoyasu left, Yuan Ye watched their retreating figures for a long time, pondering. He felt he had missed an opportunity – this was a great threat, a serpent and tortoise in one body, causing concern. However, he could no longer make a move against the Matsudaira family now.
If it had been immediately after the Battle of Okehazama, when Matsudaira Motoyasu had not yet firmly established himself in Okazaki Castle, Wanjin would have had the chance to break out from the Chita Peninsula and crush Matsudaira Motoyasu in one fell swoop.
But that was no longer possible. Matsudaira Motoyasu had already unified Mikawa. His true strength was not much inferior to Oda Nobunaga’s at present. At most, his foundation was insufficient; he simply wasn’t as wealthy as Oda Nobunaga, who had three generations of accumulation, shared the Seto Inland Sea shipping routes, robbed monks, and developed industry and commerce through the Rakuza system.
While Oda Nobunaga was busy dealing with the traitorous Inuyama Castle in Owari and the Mino Saito family, and Wanjin was occupied with disaster relief and clearing the Chita Peninsula, Matsudaira Motoyasu had led the Mikawa Samurai to capture Kaminogo Castle, the last “stronghold” left by the Imagawa family in Mikawa. The Imagawa family’s relative, Udono Nagateru, died on the spot, and his two sons, Ujitsuna and Ujitsugu, along with their families, were captured.
Unbeknownst to many, the Matsudaira family now possessed a province, making them a legitimate Daimyo in the world. At this time, Oda Nobunaga only possessed the province of Owari, and Yuan Ye had already seized one-eighth of it.
In terms of territory, Matsudaira Motoyasu actually had more now, yet he was still willing to play the third fiddle, adopting a submissive demeanor.
He should have disregarded everything and charged into Mikawa to drive him out of Okazaki Castle back then…
However, on the other hand, if he had gone to Mikawa without regard for the famine, Wanjin would have been severely weakened. At the very least, it wouldn’t have been as united and harmonious as it was now. Oda Nobunaga wouldn’t have stood by idly north of the Odaka River, and Wanjin could have been attacked from both sides by Oda and Matsudaira.
Yuan Ye sighed inwardly, feeling that after nearly ten years of effort, he had achieved nothing. Despite searching day and night around the Mount Ise Range, he still couldn’t find a passage back to the Modern Era. History hadn’t changed much either; Tokugawa Ieyasu had still developed, the Monkey had died, and a “Monkey Number Two,” Yaguro, had emerged, no different from before except for a new name.
Transmigration was truly difficult; there was always a feeling of an unstoppable, overwhelming tide.
But in life, one must forge ahead. It’s better to act than not to act, even if one acts wrongly!
Yuan Ye stood in the wilderness for a long time. In the past, A Man would have started complaining impatiently, but A Man wasn’t here now. A Qing was usually quiet and didn’t like to talk. If he wanted to stand there and feel the cold wind, A Qing had no objections and simply waited behind him.
After a period of regret, Yuan Ye managed to compose himself and turned to A Qing, asking, “Any news? What did he say when he went to see Oda Nobunaga?”
“There is news,” A Qing, who was now in charge of the Life Preservation Style, stated. The Oda family was a key target for surveillance by the Life Preservation Style, and they had bribed many informants. After a while, they had a general understanding of their meeting. “It was a very ordinary meeting. Most of the time was spent discussing Mikawa and Tōtōmi. The only unusual thing was that they planned a marriage alliance.”
“An alliance between the Oda and Matsudaira families? Who?”
“Takechiyo and Gotoku Hime. The engagement will likely be settled soon.”
“Takechiyo” was a generational Tsūna of the Matsudaira heir, just like “Sanlang” for Oda Nobunaga’s branch. Therefore, this was a marriage between Matsudaira Motoyasu’s Eldest Legitimate Son and Oda Nobunaga’s nominal illegitimate second daughter. Although Gotoku was nominally an illegitimate daughter, Oda Nobunaga actually treated her as his eldest legitimate daughter, with a status higher than Oichi.
Yuan Ye vaguely remembered this event. Gotoku seemed to have married into the Tokugawa family （ Matsudaira family ）, but he hadn’t expected the engagement to be settled so early. He hadn’t found anything wrong with it before, but now that he was in this era, he realized there was a problem. “The Tiger of Owari,” Oda Nobuhide, had lived a life of debauchery and had many children. Oda Nobunaga had used them conveniently over the years, marrying them off here and there to maintain relationships. Why would he give away his eldest daughter, born of “true love,” for a marriage alliance?
Based on Oda Nobunaga’s usual behavior, shouldn’t he have used an illegitimate sister? Even if the illegitimate sister was still young, she would have been more suitable than Gotoku Hime.
Furthermore, the Oda family, as a large clan, was not short of daughters. Oda Nobunaga was also adept at seizing relatives, such as Oichi, who was his cousin and whom he adopted as his daughter. The daughter of his illegitimate elder brother was also taken in as his adopted daughter, along with a good son-in-law, Niwa Nagahide.
In any case, Oda Nobunaga could easily find candidates for marriage alliances. His willingness to marry Gotoku Hime into the Matsudaira family suggested he genuinely liked Matsudaira Motoyasu, or at least had a very favorable impression of him.
Perhaps Oda Nobunaga considered Matsudaira Motoyasu a rare honest man?
Yuan Ye stood there pondering for a while, recalling Oda Nobunaga’s joking remark about “strengthening ties” and “you have no chance.” It suddenly dawned on him. Oda Nobunaga was human too. He probably genuinely doted on Gotoku Hime. While placing a mole in an ally’s family through a marriage alliance was one aspect, he likely also hoped his daughter would have a better life and higher status in the future, with her children having inheritance rights. This was why he sought among his allies, and only reliable allies with strong family traditions and character, not just any local powerful family.
His first choice was him, but since he had no sons, the Matsudaira family was chosen. In fact, besides him, the Matsudaira family was the most suitable.
With “true love” involved, Oda Nobunaga was becoming more human, completely different from the “Sixth Heavenly Demon King” in history books.
Yuan Ye understood and shook his head slightly, feeling that this marriage alliance seemed more like a normal feudal marriage with little calculation involved. However, he quickly remembered something and turned to A Qing, asking, “Weren’t Matsudaira Motoyasu’s son, daughter, and wife being held hostage by the Imagawa family? Have they been rescued?”
A Qing was stunned. She took out a small notebook from her pocket, flipped through it quickly, and shook her head gently, indicating that she hadn’t received any recent news from the Matsudaira family and would need to investigate further.
“Then investigate it, and do it quickly.”
Yuan Ye casually instructed, feeling that it must have happened recently. Otherwise, A Man would have mentioned it casually long ago. Moreover…
Oda Nobunaga had also been keeping a close eye on the Matsudaira family. As soon as Matsudaira Motoyasu brought his wife and children back, Oda Nobunaga found out immediately, seeming to value the Matsudaira family even more than he did.
In this era, everyone indeed kept a close watch on each other, even allies.
…
The Life Preservation Style had cost Yuan Ye a lot of funds, and A Man had frequently come to ask for money before. Of course, it was worth it. Information about Matsudaira Motoyasu’s family had actually been received, but it wasn’t an urgent matter. A Qing had just taken over A Man’s many responsibilities and was a bit overwhelmed, so it hadn’t been compiled yet.
With the intelligence, things became easier. Yuan Ye learned the whole story that evening.
When Matsudaira Motoyasu was a hostage in Sunpu, he was highly appreciated by Imagawa Yoshimoto and Taihara Yukisai. He married a daughter of the Sekiguchi family, relatives of the Imagawa family.
This could be considered a descendant of a noble lineage. The direct ancestor of the Sekiguchi family, Imagawa Ryoshun, had served as the Shugo of Kyushu during the early Muromachi Shogunate and had quelled the Kyushu conflict. His descendants had served as “Tōtōmi no Kami” for generations, nominally being the Shugo Daimyo of Tōtōmi Province, and possessed the right of succession for Suruga Province, and even the right of succession for “Sei-i Taishogun” – if the dozens of branches and thousands of male members of the Ashikaga and Imagawa families were to die out, it would be the Sekiguchi family’s turn, but theoretically, there was still a chance.
Frankly speaking, Matsudaira Motoyasu marrying a daughter of the Sekiguchi family was a social climb in terms of Family Status.
However, after the Battle of Okehazama, upon seeing the empty Okazaki Castle, Matsudaira Motoyasu couldn’t resist the temptation to revive his family. He abandoned his wife, children, father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brothers-in-law, occupied Okazaki Castle, and refused to return to Sunpu. This was a rebellion without formally declaring it.
The Imagawa family had long exploited Mikawa, treating the Mikawa Samurai as expendable. They always made the Mikawa Samurai charge first in unfortunate tasks like sieges. The Local Powerful Families and Earth Warriors of Western Mikawa had long been disaffected with the Imagawa family. Seeing Matsudaira Motoyasu return, they immediately began to lean towards him.
The new Head of the Family, Imagawa Ujizane, was also brainless. In a fit of rage, he privately ordered the execution of all the hostages from the Western Mikawa powerful families. Matsudaira Motoyasu’s father-in-law and mother-in-law, Sekiguchi Chikanaga and his wife, were also severely held responsible. This involved the Imagawa family’s succession dispute to some extent; Sekiguchi Chikanaga had supported the wrong person. However, nominally, Sekiguchi Chikanaga committed seppuku because of Matsudaira Motoyasu’s rebellion.
Subsequently, Lady Sekiguchi also committed suicide with her husband to protest Imagawa Ujizane’s ruthless pursuit.
Sekiguchi Chikanaga had a good reputation in the Imagawa family, and the Sekiguchi family was one of the important pillars of the Imagawa family. Even the Imagawa Yoshimoto line’s possession of the Shugo rights of Suruga Province, tracing back, was due to the Sekiguchi family’s concessions, and not just once. Imagawa Ujizane’s reckless action caused an uproar at the time, becoming a typical example of ingratitude. A large number of relatives, powerful families, and vassals began to offer advice or privately grumble.
Thanks to the wave of public opinion, Takechiyo and his mother and two sisters, who should have been executed, managed to survive and continue to be hostages. Just recently, Matsudaira Motoyasu, through an intermediary in Tōtōmi, privately expressed his loyalty to Imagawa Ujizane again, stating his willingness to return to Sunpu and requesting that his eldest son, Takechiyo, be released to Okazaki Castle to guard the family business, along with his mother and sister, Kamehime.
At the same time, in return, Matsudaira Motoyasu was willing to release the two sons of Udono Nagateru, captured at Kaminogo Castle, to prevent the Udono family from becoming extinct.
Imagawa Ujizane was overjoyed. He had made too many reckless decisions since becoming the Head of the Imagawa family, and the backlash from the consequences of Imagawa Yoshimoto’s land survey was occurring. His position was somewhat unstable, and many people held grudges. If he could reclaim Mikawa and rescue the heir of the Udono family, it would undoubtedly be a great achievement and greatly alleviate his pressure. Therefore, he agreed without hesitation.
Subsequently, their subordinates exchanged hostages at the border of Tōtōmi and Mikawa. However, it was unclear how Matsudaira Motoyasu manipulated things. The order issued by Imagawa Ujizane was altered; a word’s order was reversed. The one who returned to Sunpu was not Matsudaira Motoyasu, but Matsudaira Yasumoto – Matsudaira Motoyasu’s maternal half-brother, the son of his mother’s remarriage. Matsudaira Motoyasu took him in as a family member, changed his name, and successfully exchanged all his family members.
With the strength of the Life Preservation Style in Mikawa and Suruga, they could not ascertain how Matsudaira Motoyasu had altered the decree issued by Imagawa Ujizane, nor did they know the specifics of the hostage exchange. But as if it were a joke, Matsudaira Motoyasu succeeded. Four days ago, the family of four had reunited in Okazaki Castle.
Yuan Ye finished reading the intelligence and was speechless. Had the Imagawa family completely decayed? There must have been anti-Imagawa Ujizane forces cooperating from within, perhaps even friends and relatives of the Sekiguchi family helping. Otherwise, how could they have rescued them so easily?
However, this also indicated that Imagawa Ujizane’s control over the Imagawa family’s subordinates had deteriorated to a certain extent. It all seemed like a makeshift operation.
Years ago, the Imagawa family was the foremost Daimyo of the era, possessing the strength to suppress the world. Now, they showed signs of national ruin.
Matsudaira Motoyasu was now completely free of worries. Given Imagawa Ujizane’s foolish actions, the Matsudaira family’s annexation of Tōtōmi Province was unstoppable, merely a matter of time.
Indeed, the overwhelming tide was difficult to resist. These individuals were not idle; they were desperately expanding their influence. Having too strong an ally was not necessarily a good thing.
Yuan Ye saw Oda Nobunaga plotting to take Mino and Matsudaira Motoyasu plotting to take Tōtōmi, and he too felt a sense of urgency. He felt that not advancing meant retreating, and he wouldn’t know how he died.
He also needed to accelerate his plans to conquer the Ise Peninsula. However, he only controlled one county, and engaging in battle with several Daimyo by charging into the Ise Peninsula would be very difficult. Moreover, it was across the sea, making reinforcement difficult. After committing his full force, he worried that his two allies might raid his home base.
Yuan Ye was suddenly troubled. His economic situation had just improved, and expanding the military at this time would have a significant impact. The enemies were also difficult to deal with. Before he could come up with a perfect solution, his new ally, Azai Nagamasa, arrived. However, Azai Nagamasa himself did not come. He was halfway on his journey, having entered Owari territory, when he changed his mind and sent a vassal to propose new demands. Only if Oda Nobunaga agreed would he continue to the alliance meeting.
At that moment, Oda Nobunaga felt as if he had been slapped in the face, his expression turning ashen.
