Chapter 253: Hopefully!
Regardless of what the Kitabatake Family thought, Yuan Ye continued to advance step by step.
After clearing out the remaining local lords and samurai between Notsuki Castle and Anno Castle, they finally arrived in the Anno Castle area, which was the bend of the Nongchuan River.
The Nongchuan River is the largest river in Ise Province. It originates in the Mount Ise Range, is very short, but has a considerable volume of water. The current is very rapid, flowing slightly north-west into Ise Bay.
Simply put, the Nongchuan River is a bit peculiar. On the map, it’s almost a horizontal straight line, a type of mountain-source river unique to peninsula topography.
In Shimokyū County, Ise Province, the Nongchuan River is blocked by mountains, forming a small bend and creating a small river bend plain. Anno Castle is situated on a mountain within this river bend, with water on two sides, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.
This is also the essence of Shimokyū County, with convenient water access, fertile land, and numerous fields. Since the Heian period, many manors have been built here.
Yuan Ye led his men up a small hill and gazed at Anno Castle from afar. After a few glances, he couldn’t help but sigh softly, “No wonder Japan has always had a tradition of self-governance and local separatism, refusing to obey the imperial court…”
As an island nation, Japan’s topography is truly bizarre, with over 80% of its total area being mountainous. This has created various places like Anno Castle, with a pit every three steps and a river every five steps, making everywhere easy to defend and difficult to attack. As soon as the imperial court weakens slightly, local magistrates immediately turn into local emperors, and there’s little one can do about it.
Perhaps it is precisely because of this topography that Japan developed a later preference for local autonomy. However, this is not a bad thing for Yuan Ye. While it will cost more human lives to conquer, it will cost less money to defend after it’s taken.
“What did you say?” A Man, following behind him, hadn’t heard him clearly.
She had been ordered to find tobacco seeds. After urgently transporting the unlucky rōnin back to Wanjin for “torture,” she had figured out how tobacco was introduced to Kansai: brought by a Southern barbarian missionary who wandered with local Kyushu merchant ships.
That fool was actually proselytizing in the stronghold of Jōdo Shinshū, Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple, and was almost beaten to death by the monks. It was only because Kyushu merchants paid money that his life was saved, and he has now been driven back to Kyushu.
However, some of the good things he brought have spread on a small scale locally, including tobacco, which became a kind of “medicinal material” said to dispel dampness and cure diseases.
A Man had already sent people to Kansai to retrieve it. If they couldn’t buy it, they would steal it. She estimated it would be back by the end of the year. With nothing else to do, she came to find Yuan Ye and A Qing again. Just as she followed Yuan Ye up the hill, she heard him muttering to himself.
“It’s nothing, I was just admiring this fine castle,” Yuan Ye replied casually.
“It truly is a fine castle!”
A Man stood on tiptoe to get a look at Anno Castle and then at the flat, fertile land within the river bend. While she found it somewhat appealing, she also felt a bit of regret. Yuan Ye refused to let his subordinates be samurai, nor would he grant land. Otherwise, with her having saved Yuan Ye’s life, it would have been easy for her to become the Castle Lord of Anno Castle.
Then, she could have taken the surname “Anno” and been called Anno Man in the future.
Well, she still hadn’t thought of what surname she should have. Currently, for her household registration, she used the surname Yuan Ye gave her, which was Nohara Man.
She felt that Anno Man sounded better than Nohara Man. She pondered for a while if she could trick Anno Castle away from Yuan Ye, but then quickly remembered that the castle hadn’t been taken yet. She hurriedly asked, “This place looks difficult to take. The Kitabatake Family doesn’t seem willing to retreat further. Do you have confidence?”
“Don’t worry, this isn’t a problem.” Yuan Ye had been planning for Ise for a long time and knew that Okōchi Castle and Anno Castle were the core of the Kitabatake Family’s rule. He never intended to attack them head-on from the start. While a direct assault would certainly succeed, the situation on the Ise Peninsula was complex. Defeating the Kitabatake Family wouldn’t be a permanent solution. For the sake of stability, he wanted to conserve his strength as much as possible to deal with unforeseen circumstances.
For example, while locked in a fierce battle with the Kitabatake Family, or immediately after defeating them, the Miyoshi Family might launch a sneak attack, potentially allowing others to reap the benefits. This would be highly undesirable.
The Wanjin Army is indeed a strong force, but it cannot achieve a decisive victory against the armies of the Japanese Medieval Period. While field battles are manageable, street fighting will inevitably result in casualties. He also doesn’t have the ability to blow up every house and rock fortress he sees – that’s impossible even in the 21st century. Street fighting still requires sacrificing lives, let alone the fact that his productivity is not even a fraction of that of the 21st century.
Therefore, if it can be saved, it should be saved. Accumulating capital is not easy and cannot be squandered. Previously, the Kitabatake Family didn’t want to clash their heads against his defenses, so now he also doesn’t want to directly assault Anno Castle.
Strategy, as they say, is to not do what the enemy wants you to do, but to make the enemy do what you want them to do. You must fully mobilize the enemy.
Something like that, I suppose. Yuan Ye isn’t exactly a natural-born general; he’s just learning as he fights.
A Man hadn’t been with the Wanjin Army for a while and wasn’t aware of the specific strategies and tactics. She also tended to spout nonsense and give bad advice in this regard. Yuan Ye was too lazy to explain in detail and just gave a perfunctory answer before carefully observing the terrain in the area, considering whether to place the “command post” here. A Man’s attention, meanwhile, shifted to several plumes of smoke rising from the southern bank of the Nongchuan River.
These were the Wanjin Army attacking the Ise Earth Warriors who refused to leave their homes and insisted on “living in their own place.” She couldn’t help but point at the smoke columns and offer her opinions, insisting she could do a better job leading people there.
At this moment, a Wanjin guard climbed onto the hill and whispered a few words to A Qing.
A Qing quickly came over to relay, “Your Highness, more envoys have arrived. They are envoys from Kameyama Castle and Chigusa Castle. Also, envoys from the Kitabatake Family have arrived again.”
A Man turned her head and said to Yuan Ye with a laugh, “The Kitabatake Family sent people again? What conditions will they offer this time? Last time they wanted to send a princess. This time, they might be willing to give two.
Why don’t you meet them? You can accept the princess first. I think Inu-hime’s hips are small, so she probably can’t give birth to sons. It would be good to have two sons with a Kitabatake princess first. The Kitabatake Family’s status is quite good; they are descendants of a noble family, so it wouldn’t disgrace our family.”
As she spouted nonsense, Yuan Ye glanced at her and ignored her. He turned to A Qing and said, “Make the Kitabatake Family’s people disappear. As for the others… find someone to deal with them!”
He was indeed fighting a war, but his social interactions hadn’t ceased during this period. Whether it was the Ise local lords or the distant Daimyo and minor Daimyo, everyone, human or not, sent someone to talk to him. Some minor Ise local lords had even begun to pledge allegiance to him, wanting to switch their allegiance and become vassal local lords of Wanjin. As long as Yuan Ye agreed, they were willing to assist in the battle and jointly attack the Kitabatake Family.
Most of them were ambitious individuals who saw danger as an opportunity. Without even understanding the situation of Wanjin, they wanted to board the fast ship that was Wanjin.
The Kitabatake Family, on the other hand, was there to negotiate peace. Even though Kitabatake Tomonori was unwilling to retreat and seemed determined to fight Wanjin in the Anno Castle area, they secretly sent envoys every day, expressing their willingness to form a marital alliance with Wanjin and repeatedly stating that there was no need for both sides to fight to the death, as it would only benefit others.
In any case, they could talk first and didn’t need to rush into battle. If Wanjin truly wanted some benefits, it was negotiable.
Yuan Ye ignored all these people. Ise Province would become part of Wanjin, and even the Ise Peninsula would eventually become part of Wanjin. By controlling the Ise Peninsula, he could extend his reach into the Seto Inland Sea, which was the heartland of Japan.
Well, in later generations it’s Tokyo Bay, but in this era, Tokyo Bay was still a den of water bandits. The Seto Inland Sea was the true treasure trove, flowing with gold and silver every day.
Therefore, all the samurai on the Ise Peninsula had to get out. The original ruling class were all his enemies. Even if they could be appeased for a while, conflict was inevitable in the end. Pretense would be of little use.
When it came to fundamental conflicts of interest, diplomacy was almost zero.
The struggle for the most fundamental means of production could not be won through words.
Yuan Ye directly told A Qing to dismiss the envoys. He would perfunctorily deal with those from afar and directly drive away those nearby. Then, he inquired if the troops were in position. Upon confirmation, he gave the order, “Everyone move out and put some pressure on the Kitabatake Family!”
The Wanjin Army’s frontline had now expanded to over seven thousand men, with over three thousand in the field army, over a thousand logistics personnel in Wanjin, and nearly three thousand laborers hired from Ise. This did not include those working as labor in the Deer Ferry Port area or the transport teams on the road. Including them, the numbers approached ten thousand, giving them a numerical advantage over the Kitabatake Family.
Of course, it was only a numerical advantage. Those people couldn’t go to the battlefield, and Yuan Ye didn’t intend to let them die in vain. However, it was good for boosting morale.
At his command, the Wanjin Army divided into three groups and began to advance towards the river bend, starting to contest the ferry crossings on the Nongchuan River, looking for places to cross by raft, and even attempting to build bridges over the river.
Naturally, the Kitabatake Family could not stand by and watch. They also began to counterattack, relying on the Nongchuan River.
By the next day, the area around Anno Castle had become a chaotic battlefield, with constant small-scale engagements. Some small units of the Wanjin Army had even crossed the river and were attempting to dislodge the Kitabatake Family’s strongholds along the river.
“The speed of advance isn’t fast. Are the people in front being lazy?”
A Man had been watching for over a day and felt that the Wanjin Army was a bit strange this time, as if they weren’t going all out and were too concerned about casualties. Some laborers were even building fortifications. She couldn’t help but feel eager to go to the front lines to supervise the battle. She wasn’t too brave to lead a charge herself; she had finally achieved a good life and become someone of status. She was no longer a “life preservation style” person with a cheap life and didn’t want to die now. However, she was still fine with kicking people’s butts and making them charge.
Yuan Ye was even less likely to lead the charge. He couldn’t be the first to go. He sat on the hill, overseeing the overall situation. Hearing her words, he said, “If you don’t understand, don’t spout nonsense. As long as pressure is applied, the progress isn’t important. This was all planned in advance!”
“What do you mean?” A Man was bewildered. Now that a battle had started, it was naturally best to finish it quickly.
“Don’t you notice the shortage of front-line combat personnel?”
“One regiment is missing. Didn’t they return to Deer Ferry Port to rest?” When A Man came over earlier, she had seen them at Deer Ferry Port. She had asked about it then, and they said after the clearing mission, they were temporarily resting and recovering, as well as ensuring the stability of the rear and acting as a reserve force.
However, after instinctively saying it, she instantly realized and exclaimed in surprise, “They went to Okōchi Castle? They went by ship to sneak attack Okōchi Castle, didn’t they?”
Yuan Ye nodded slightly. “The Kitabatake Family wants us to fight until we’re bloody at Anno Castle. They don’t want us to have an easy time, and we certainly can’t let them have their way. Even though we’ve practiced siege warfare eleven times, there’s no need for a frontal assault. We should leverage our advantages.
We have a large navy, while the Kitabatake Family only has a few Kan-sen ships. They can’t possibly block us from deploying troops by sea. So, we certainly can’t let our navy just drift aimlessly at sea. We must do something. It’s a good opportunity to kick their butts.
Right now, the eight hundred men of the First Regiment who have finished their rest, along with six hundred armed sailors from the fleet, a total of fourteen hundred men, should have landed in Suzugamine County.
If Okōchi Castle can be taken, that would be great. If not, it doesn’t matter. As long as we cause trouble there and make Okōchi Castle send an urgent appeal, that’s enough.
At that time, the Kitabatake Family will not be able to stay holed up in Anno Castle and will have to send reinforcements.
The terrain of the river bend is difficult for us to penetrate, but if they want to come out and return to Suzugamine County with ease, they will have to ask if we agree. At that time, they can try out the effectiveness of our field defenses.”
When fighting a war, one must act according to their own plan. He still wanted the Kitabatake Family to come and clash with him, and he was reluctant to sacrifice too many lives in street fighting. Now, it all depended on whether the flanking force could achieve success.
Hopefully!
