Chapter 233: An Artificial Genius Strategist
Medieval warfare was slow-paced. After Yuan Ye had caused trouble in the Ise Peninsula for quite some time, the expected Saito Family main force had not yet arrived, and it was still Igi Seihei and Osawa Masahide causing disturbances on the border.
These two had been strengthened somewhat, but not significantly. They still lacked the ability to force back the Wanjin Army in one fell swoop. Instead, as the Wanjin Army became more familiar with the surrounding area, even their small units attempting to cross the river for harassment were becoming difficult.
It was somewhat strange that the Saito Family had not fully mobilized.
Perhaps Saito Tatsuoki was also a foolish individual?
Or perhaps, after the Saito Family had suffered several defeats in open battles against Oda Nobunaga, with the “Mino Six” reduced to the “Mino Three,” they had become fearful and dared not enter Owari territory to engage Oda Nobunaga in combat?
Yuan Ye couldn’t figure it out. He suspected that Oda Nobukiyo’s usefulness had vanished, and he had been abandoned by the Saito Family. However, this had little to do with him. It was better to have less pressure, as he didn’t want to reveal too much of his army’s strength, lest the Oda Family and Matsudaira Family become more wary of him. Currently, in the Odaka River area, both Oda Nobunaga and Matsudaira Motoyasu had stationed some troops. Even though both were busy fighting enemies, they rarely withdrew anyone from there.
In fact, it was the same for Wanjin. Under normal circumstances, over half of the Wanjin Army would be stationed at Odaka Castle and along the Odaka River, remaining stationary. Wanjin had not invested heavily in that area, preparing for the possibility of a major war that could turn it into ruins.
In this era, even allies had to keep each other in check. Yuan Ye, while plotting against the Ise Peninsula, dared not commit his entire force, and thus was unable to act. This was also greatly related to his two allies.
Therefore, it was better to conceal his strength whenever possible, as there were no vested interests in this area with Wanjin anyway.
Yuan Ye continued to guard Matsukura Castle and play a minor role. He spent his days reading books, playing chess, and holding hands with A Qing, living a leisurely life.
On Oda Nobunaga’s side, however, he was working very hard. Without much interference, his offensive was fierce as a tiger. He swept through all the manors and rock fortresses around Inuyama Castle, and within two months, he had reached the foot of Inuyama Castle, capturing its last branch castle, Kojiyama Castle, located in Kujiyama. The castle lord, Kojima Saemon, surrendered with his entire family and came under Oda Nobunaga’s command.
With this, Inuyama Castle became completely isolated. However, Inuyama Castle was also a large castle, and Oda Nobukiyo’s faction had held it for a long time. A direct assault would undoubtedly result in significant losses.
Oda Nobunaga was quite protective of his troops. Primarily, Oda Nobunaga was also promoting the professionalization of his army, with a large number of full-time combat followers. The compensation for disabled soldiers was also very high, and he did not want to spend that extra money. Thus, he ordered the construction of rock fortresses around Inuyama Castle to starve Oda Nobukiyo into submission within Inuyama Castle.
However, the encirclement was not tight. Besides cutting off supply lines, it did not prohibit the garrison of Inuyama Castle from leaving on their own. If Oda Nobukiyo was willing to leave, Oda Nobunaga had no intention of forcing him to death. After all, the two kinsmen did not have deep-seated hatred; they had even been allies before. Their discord stemmed solely from a dispute over spoils.
The two sides began to wear each other down. Oda Nobunaga would launch probing attacks on the castle every few days, or send out the “Oda Matchlock Corps” to fire sporadic shots, depleting the defensive strength of Inuyama Castle.
Inuyama Castle grew increasingly desperate. In the previous two years, there had been a famine along the Tōkaidō coast. Although Inuyama Castle was not as severely affected as the Chita Peninsula, there was a widespread crop failure. Their grain reserves were not substantial. By the beginning of the following year, some of the garrison began to desert the castle at night, fleeing into the wilderness.
At this point, Saito Tatsuoki not only had not led the entirety of Mino to their rescue, but had instead quickly fled Inabayama Castle and gone into hiding in the Ukai, Sukemukai, and Ibi areas to protect himself.
This was completely unexpected. Yuan Ye was slightly surprised upon hearing this news. No wonder Oda Nobukiyo had endured two months of beatings and had been besieged in the city for another two months without receiving much reinforcement. It turned out his greatest hope was also struggling to protect himself.
Oda Nobunaga truly had incredible luck. Before even engaging his great enemy, the enemy had stabbed himself three times, as a gesture of humility.
This luck was unparalleled!
If only the Kitabatake Family, Hatakeyama Clan, Miyoshi Family, and Rokkaku Family had also engaged in internal strife, killing each other until they were a bloody mess, then he could easily cross the sea and reap the benefits, taking these several provinces without losing a single soldier. Unfortunately, it was not to be. These families, let alone internal strife, were quite peaceful with each other and did not appear to be on the verge of war.
Yuan Ye envied Oda Nobunaga for a moment. He then asked A Qing, “The ‘Temporary Director of Ceremonial of the Eastern Depot, Reserve Empress of Xigong, Personal Ninja Guard and Friend of the Mount’,” “What exactly happened at Inabayama Castle? Was it… Takenaka Hanbei who took the castle?”
Takenaka Hanbei Shigeharu was quite famous in later literary works, anime, and historical dramas. When one thought of a genius strategist in the Japanese Warring States period, he would be the first to come to mind, hailed as the “Warring States Zhuge Liang,” a figure comparable in intelligence to the Marquis of Wu. His two most well-known deeds were “defeating Oda Nobunaga with Ten Sides Ambush” and “lightly taking Inabayama Castle with Sixteen Riders.”
Yuan Ye was certainly aware of this person and these events, and had been interested for a time. However, he didn’t know when these events occurred, nor did he believe that Oda Nobunaga would die so early, or that Inabayama Castle would be occupied by Takenaka Hanbei for long. Therefore, he was too lazy to expend time and energy worrying about it and had no desire to contact them beforehand, content to watch the spectacle unfold.
As a result, he didn’t get to witness “defeating Oda Nobunaga with Ten Sides Ambush,” but “lightly taking Inabayama Castle with Sixteen Riders” happened first. This was rather strange.
A Qing took out her small notebook, flipped through the compiled intelligence, and frowned, thinking for a moment. She softly negated Yuan Ye’s idea: “It is related to Takenaka Hanbei, but it was not him who took the castle; it was his father-in-law, Ando Morinari.”
“Ando Morinari? One of the Mino Three, the Saito Family’s Senior Retainer, Ando Morinari?”
“Yes. Takenaka Hanbei was the lord of Bodai Castle. His younger brother resided in Inabayama Castle as a hostage. Takenaka Hanbei entered the castle under the guise of visiting his sick brother. That night, he led his retainers to set fire and attack the gates. Subsequently, Ando Morinari led over two thousand men into the castle and began attacking the defending forces, causing immense chaos.”
Due to the unclear situation at night, Saito Tatsuoki, under the escort of Senior Retainers and Vassals such as Hineno Hironari and Takekoshi Hisamitsu, voluntarily withdrew from Inabayama Castle and moved towards the Ukai, Sukemukai, and Ibi areas.
A Qing concisely explained the situation. Unlike A Man, she did not comment extensively. However, after thinking for a moment, she flipped through the intelligence summary again and added: “This happened the night before last. Currently, Mino is in an uproar, with everyone denouncing Ando Morinari, calling him shameless, disloyal, and a betrayer of his oath. There is not much mention of Takenaka Hanbei.”
After speaking, she began flipping through her small notebook again, searching for Takenaka Hanbei’s personal information.
“I see,” Yuan Ye nodded slightly, roughly understanding what had happened.
It was a standard operation. The reason Takenaka Hanbei became famous was likely due to the glory of his descendants.
His descendants apparently continued to thrive until the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, serving as hatamoto for the Tokugawa Shogunate. Therefore, in the Edo period, as was customary, his descendants likely began writing historical accounts, glorifying their ancestor. Ando Morinari was omitted, as was the main force of over two thousand men who took the castle. Only Takenaka Hanbei, who acted as an inside informant and opened the city gates, became the protagonist, miraculously capturing Inabayama Castle, the foremost city of Mino, with just over a dozen retainers.
In other words, Takenaka Hanbei, with a dozen samurai followers, had frightened away hundreds of retainers and samurai from families like the Saito, Hineno, and Takekoshi, and thousands of their family retainers and followers.
This couldn’t be explained even by darkness. With just over a dozen people, it wouldn’t be that easy to drive out thousands of pigs, let alone a group of samurai who had trained in martial arts since childhood and fought many battles. How could their courage be so little, and how could they not even ascertain the enemy’s numbers?
Comparing Takenaka Hanbei to the Marquis of Wu was too much of an insult to the Marquis.
Then, “defeating Oda Nobunaga with Ten Sides Ambush”…
It was most likely fabricated, perhaps a plot from a storybook. Yuan Ye had always paid close attention to the battles between Oda Nobunaga and Mino. It was undeniable that Oda Nobunaga had suffered some minor setbacks in areas like the Kiso River and Nagara River due to the complex terrain. There had been absurd incidents like getting lost, being flooded, or crossing the wrong river, and some Oda relatives and retainers had died. However, regarding a major defeat, being ambushed from ten sides, and fleeing back to Owari like a dog, Yuan Ye had never heard of it.
In past battles, it was the Saito Family that lost more and whose strength was more depleted. The Mino warlords were no longer as enthusiastic as before, eagerly responding to calls to fight Oda Nobunaga. They were now somewhat apprehensive.
As for the legend that “Oda Nobunaga promised half of Mino in exchange for Inabayama Castle from Takenaka Hanbei,” although it hadn’t happened yet, it sounded somewhat absurd.
Inabayama Castle was not taken by Takenaka Hanbei; its ownership should belong to his father-in-law, Ando Morinari. If Oda Nobunaga wanted to negotiate, he should have negotiated with Ando Morinari, a powerful Mino warlord, not Takenaka Hanbei, who was merely following orders.
If Oda Nobunaga had promised Ando Morinari half of Mino, that would have been somewhat reasonable. After all, Oda Nobunaga sometimes spoke without restraint; he had previously promised half of Owari to his uncle, Oda Nobumitsu. Promising half of Mino to Ando Morinari would not be much, at most it would mean that Ando Morinari would also meet an unfortunate end in the future.
Perhaps this incident was also a case of misattribution. Takenaka Hanbei’s descendants, writing storybooks to glorify their ancestor, transferred all of Ando Morinari’s deeds to Takenaka Hanbei.
Yuan Ye shook his head, no longer concerned with this “artificial genius strategist,” nor with the fate of Inabayama Castle.
If viewed from the perspective of official historical records, the reason Ando Morinari took Inabayama Castle was likely a common act of “gekokujō” (lower overcoming the higher). He wanted to become the lord of Mino, but there were too many opponents, and he could not defeat the powerful Mino families such as Saito Tatsuoki, Hineno Family, and Takekoshi Family. Thus, he was forced to compromise and make peace, retreating to his territory and returning Inabayama Castle.
However, this was opportune. With Mino in internal conflict, the Ando Family and the Saito, Hineno, and Takekoshi families were fighting. In the short term, there was no possibility of them uniting to rescue Inuyama Castle. Thus, the Wanjin Army would not face any pressure. In fact, if he wished, he could now consider crossing the river and counter-attacking, trapping Igi Seihei and Osawa Masahide within the city, forcing them to behave and stop thinking about rescuing Inuyama Castle.
Inuyama Castle was beyond saving. Without external reinforcements, it was not a city that could be held. The internal strife in Mino should become the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Oda Nobukiyo could actually start considering how to surrender with dignity.
Helping Oda Nobunaga fight this war turned out to be easier than expected. The entire Mino force charging forward aggressively, as anticipated, did not materialize. Yuan Ye had benefited from this. According to expectations, Saito Tatsuoki was supposed to bring over ten thousand troops for the battle. Oda Nobunaga, lacking absolute certainty of victory, had brought him and Matsudaira Motoyasu to help. Now that Saito Tatsuoki clearly couldn’t come, the grain, wood, and artisans that Oda Nobunaga had previously provided were essentially given for free.
Being able to gain an advantage, Yuan Ye was in a great mood. Seeing A Qing still searching for Takenaka Hanbei’s personal information but unable to find it, he took her hand and sat down, smiling, “No need to look anymore. There’s no need to pay too much attention to that person; he’s just a very ordinary local lord.”
A Qing stopped her actions, sighed softly.
She was naturally aloof and a bit clumsy. Being the “Temporary Director of Ceremonial of the Eastern Depot,” managing intelligence work both inside and outside Wanjin, was quite difficult for her. She was not accustomed to it, and certainly didn’t have A Man’s incredible memory, able to answer any question Yuan Ye asked instantly and talk endlessly.
In any case, she felt she was not suited for intelligence work. Even though she was also from the “Original Ninja” lineage, she simply couldn’t do this job well. Selecting intelligence, discerning truth from falsehood, and summarizing and analyzing were all things she did poorly. She also couldn’t bring herself to harshly punish subordinates for work errors or delays. These past few months felt like years, more exhausting than fighting on the battlefield.
If possible, she wished to continue being a simple human shield, as long as Yuan Ye wasn’t suddenly stabbed. That kind of work was easy and enjoyable.
She squeezed Yuan Ye’s hand back and poured him some tea, lowering her eyelids and softly saying, “I wonder how Sister A Man is doing…”
She missed A Man and wished for her to return quickly to continue as Director of Ceremonial, so that the three of them could return to their normal lives.
“A Man…” Yuan Ye took a sip of the tea, also missing A Man a little.
When she was around before, he always felt she was a bit of a scoundrel, coming and going like the wind, causing chaos wherever she went. She was always racking her brains to ask for money, or bragging. She had saved Yuan Ye’s life nearly a hundred and eighty times, making it seem as if Yuan Ye used to bully people and oppress the common folk daily, with a large group lining up to assassinate him, wanting to kill him to be happy.
But now that she was on a mission in Ezo, and he didn’t have her constantly chattering around, making him uncomfortable here and there, Yuan Ye also felt a bit lonely.
After all, at his current status and position, the only one who dared to be informal with him and reach into his pocket to take money directly was this wild child, A Man.
A Qing wouldn’t do. A Qing was quiet by nature, and wouldn’t say much even if pushed. Being with her was peaceful but not lively. Inu-hime wouldn’t either. Inu-hime was gentle by nature, and due to her childhood education, she was orderly and respectful towards him. Their interactions could be described as respectful, but by no means lively; she wasn’t lively at all.
If one were to speak of friends, those he could trust, who were mobile and could speak, Yuan Ye only had A Man.
He didn’t know if she was doing well. Spring was approaching in Owari, and the weather was gradually warming up. However, Ezo was at a higher latitude, and it was currently the coldest time of the year. He wondered if that wild child had frozen to death.
She… probably hadn’t, right?
