Chapter 43: The Tanegashima Matchlock Gun’s Arrival
Oda Nobunaga is here?
Yuan Ye was slightly surprised, but his body was pulled askew, and Jubei’s broken leg was also pulled askew. Jubei immediately wailed again, saying he was in so much pain he couldn’t live, and it would be better to just kill him to spare him from such suffering.
Yuan Ye came to his senses and quickly pushed A Man away, continuing to focus on his work, and casually said, “Tell them to wait. I’ll be there as soon as I’m done here.”
“Don’t worry about his leg for now!” A Man was still anxious. She no longer cared about Jubei’s life or death, as Jubei wasn’t worth much. She just wanted to quickly discuss countermeasures with Yuan Ye. It would be best if he agreed to become a vassal. Although Oda Nobunaga was crazy, he was very rich, so becoming his vassal wouldn’t be too much of a loss. She was just afraid Yuan Ye wouldn’t agree, and then they would have to figure out how to escape for their lives!
At the very least, they had to refuse tactfully and speak artfully, so as not to anger that lunatic.
Well, she had no confidence in Yuan Ye’s “softness.” If they didn’t discuss it properly and give him some instructions, she felt it was quite possible she would be collecting his corpse later.
Yuan Ye, having nothing else to do, had also considered various scenarios of meeting Oda Nobunaga. At this moment, he could still remain calm, his gaze still focused, and he said indifferently, “Don’t be so flustered. Things aren’t as serious as you think, and nothing major will happen.”
“You fellow…” A Man was helpless. Seeing that he was useless and acting like nothing was wrong, she cursed him in her mind and ran back, preparing to do some preparatory work. If Oda Nobunaga really intended to kill him later, she could at least create some chaos to give him a chance to escape.
If it weren’t for the fact that Yuan Ye had always treated her well, she would have already dragged A Qing to hide and observe, and then shamelessly come out to freeload once things were safe. How could she be so worried about him?
If Yuan Ye didn’t stew two chickens for her later, it would be a disservice to her hard work!
…
It took Yuan Ye another quarter of an hour to finish treating Jubei’s injuries and apply a splint. He wasn’t afraid of Oda Nobunaga getting impatient, as he was now a “benevolent divine doctor” and couldn’t easily ruin his persona. It wasn’t heard of for a doctor to abandon a patient mid-surgery to curry favor with the powerful. Such an act would likely give Oda Nobunaga an even worse first impression.
As he was wiping his hands and pondering how to deal with Oda Nobunaga and what he needed to pay attention to, someone next to him suddenly asked, “Will he live?”
Following the voice, the person next to him tried to press Jubei’s wound to test the effectiveness of the bandaging. Yuan Ye instinctively grabbed the person’s wrist, then looked up and saw Oda Nobunaga in a “Beggar’s Sect disciple” style.
He was quite different from what he had imagined. In 99% of later Japanese artistic works, Oda Nobunaga appeared as a “peerless hero,” usually depicted as tall and strong, with thick eyebrows and hawk-like eyes, looking around with a fierce gaze. However, the one before Yuan Ye’s eyes bore no resemblance to that. His build was only considered tall by Japanese standards, his eyes were rather gloomy, and his expression was slightly cynical, as if he were ready to mock someone at any moment and pick a fight.
If he had to make a comparison, Yuan Ye felt he was more like a later-day delinquent gang leader. If he had a cigarette in his mouth and dyed his hair yellow, he would be even more so.
He sized up Oda Nobunaga for a moment, then released his wrist and said indifferently, “If he can rest well and avoid further injury, he should survive.”
“Is that so?” Oda Nobunaga didn’t dwell on his rudeness and continued to examine Jubei, who was almost wrapped up like a mummy.
He had seen Jubei’s injuries on his way here and felt that with Jubei’s injuries, his chances were about seventy-thirty. If he started to develop a fever and didn’t make it through, there was a seventy percent chance he would die directly. He had seen many similar situations growing up, but Yuan Ye’s answer now was quite confident, so he asked with some doubt, “What medicine did you use? Is it very special?”
Yuan Ye hadn’t actually used any special medicine. He was reluctant to use antibiotics on Jubei. He mainly used the methods of “The Lamp-Lighting Goddess” Nightingale, which involved thoroughly cleaning the wound of dirt and debris, bandaging the wound with boiled and sterilized gauze and changing it frequently, eliminating rats and fleas in the clinic, maintaining indoor cleanliness and ventilation, and changing the patient’s sheets and pillowcases daily.
In simple terms, it was about good hygiene.
Nightingale, using this simple method, reportedly reduced the mortality rate of British soldiers in the camp from over 42% to 2.2%, creating a miracle in an era without antibiotics. Yuan Ye was now planning to replicate it exactly, treating Jubei as a severely injured patient. He thought the possibility of his extensive wounds becoming inflamed and him not surviving was not high, which was why he felt he could live.
However, it was difficult for him to explain this to Oda Nobunaga, who was likely ignorant of medical skills. So, he casually said, “An ancestral external wound medicine.”
Oda Nobunaga indeed didn’t understand, but looking at Jubei, who was carefully bandaged with clean and neat gauze, the appearance was much better than the bloody mess. He felt that Jubei’s chances of survival had indeed increased significantly, at least to fifty-fifty. He couldn’t help but nod slightly. It was hard to say now, but he would continue to pay attention to this matter and see if Jubei could truly survive in the future.
“It’s dirty and messy here, and the injured person needs rest. Please sit inside, my Lord!” Yuan Ye saw that he seemed to have no more questions and invited him in.
Oda Nobunaga nodded noncommittally and turned to leave. Yuan Ye followed behind, greeting Maeda Toshiie and Ikeda Tsuneoki at the entrance. Ikeda Tsuneoki returned the greeting politely, while Maeda Toshiie winked at him and grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
The four of them went into the room and sat on the earthen seats as host and guests. Yayoi nervously served tea, and A Qing followed in and sat coolly in a corner of the earthen seat, pretending to be a maidservant in case of any unforeseen circumstances. A Man, meanwhile, pretended to be boiling water in the earthen floor room, her chest bulging, hiding something unknown.
Oda Nobunaga, who said he was sitting, was actually leaning casually on the mat. Ikeda Tsuneoki sat beside him, picked up the tea, tested its temperature, and took a sip. He found it was loose tea from the Great Ming, tasted acceptable, and could be drunk, then placed it back beside him.
Maeda Toshiie formally introduced them, saying to Yuan Ye, “This is my Lord, Oda Saburo; this is Lord Ikeda Tsuneoki, who, like me, is a close vassal of the Lord.”
Yuan Ye nodded politely, his gaze sweeping over Ikeda Tsuneoki.
He remembered this person; he was quite famous in later generations. His mother was Oda Nobunaga’s wet nurse, and he was Nobunaga’s foster brother. His father died early, and he had been by Oda Nobunaga’s side since childhood. He should be Oda Nobunaga’s most trusted confidant.
Then his gaze fell on the matchlock gun Maeda Toshiie had placed by his hand. It was only then that he realized why Oda Nobunaga was dressed so bizarrely, like a Beggar’s Sect disciple. The cloth bags hanging on Oda Nobunaga were likely filled with lead balls, gunpowder, and priming powder, which were part of the equipment for matchlock gunners.
Oda Nobunaga noticed Yuan Ye’s gaze, casually picked up the matchlock gun, and threw it at him. He wasn’t stingy. He had already looked through Yuan Ye’s belongings and didn’t mind Yuan Ye playing with his treasure now. He also propped his head on his hand and asked indifferently, “I heard you came from the Western Countries. Have you used a matchlock gun before?”
Yuan Ye reached out and steadily caught the matchlock gun. He looked at it in his hand and found it quite novel. This was the first time he had personally touched a matchlock gun, and he did play with it. It was a very crude matchlock gun, not a good imitation. It had a flat wooden stock, an iron pan for priming powder, a copper serpentine for holding the matchcord, bolts for fixing the base plate, a mountain-shaped sight, no rain cover, and a small, round trigger without a guard. The total length was over ninety centimeters, and the caliber was about four monme （ each monme is about 3.759 grams ）. The overall gun was thick and short, not light in weight. In later generations, it would probably be classified as a Satsuma gun.
While playing with it, he casually replied, “I’ve used one, sort of!”
Before, Meng Ziqi’s father had secretly taken him and Meng Ziqi into the militia training at the factory. He had indeed fired a few shots, but they weren’t matchlock guns.
Oda Nobunaga straightened his body slightly, his interest piqued. “Oh, then how is my matchlock gun?”
“This one? It’s just average!” Yuan Ye didn’t directly call it trash, as that would be too impolite.
Oda Nobunaga was stunned. He sat up a little straighter, lowered his thick eyebrows, and asked with slight displeasure, “This matchlock gun… is very average?”
This was a high-priced item he had bought for 160 kan!
A Man, eavesdropping in the earthen floor room, also became anxious, secretly resenting Yuan Ye for not even knowing how to flatter. Her hand couldn’t help but reach into her chest, and she began to signal to A Qing. If things went wrong, they would create a smoke screen and drag him away. But Yuan Ye was unconcerned and said directly, “It’s indeed an average imitation, but it’s not the craftsman’s fault.”
Maeda Toshiie glanced at Oda Nobunaga and saw his face darkening. Knowing his temperament well, he quickly tried to ease the situation and asked curiously from the side, “Why is it not the craftsman’s fault?”
Yuan Ye glanced at him, nodded slightly in thanks, and said indifferently, “That’s a long story. In the twelfth year of Tenbun, some barbarians （ a term used by Japanese people for Westerners ） arrived at Tanegashima, eighteen ri south of Kyushu Island, while fleeing a storm. Among them were two Portuguese who, with the help of the Great Ming interpreter Wang Zhi, demonstrated matchlock guns to the local lords of Tanegashima. The Tanegashima clan regarded them as rare treasures and bought two at a high price of two thousand kan, and even sent their vassal Shinokawa Koshirō to learn how to make bullets, gunpowder, and matchcord.”
Yuan Ye paused here, took a sip of tea, and his gaze swept over Oda Nobunaga’s face. Seeing that he seemed quite interested, he slowly continued, “The following year, the thirteenth year of Tenbun, those Portuguese came again on a long voyage, wanting to sell matchlock guns again. However, the Tanegashima clan was short of funds and could no longer afford them. They still wanted a few more, so they sent their vassal Kinbei to learn the technology of making matchlock guns. From then on, Tanegashima had the ability to manufacture matchlock guns and began to pay tribute to the Shimazu clan.
When the news spread, Tachibana-ya Uzaemon, a merchant from Izumi province, went to Tanegashima to seek instruction. He spent two years learning to make matchlock guns. Upon returning to the Kinki region, the people of Kinki were amazed to see the matchlock guns and asked him what they were. He said, ‘It’s an iron cannon,’ and thus the matchlock gun was renamed ‘teppo.’
So, if we calculate it, it has only been about five or six years since the teppo spread to the Kinki region. Compared to the original product, the imitation is very average. It’s not the craftsman’s fault, as they also need time to perfect it. Currently, they can only achieve this level.”
The reason Yuan Ye knew this so clearly was thanks to the anime movie 《5 Centimeters Per Second》. That movie was set in Tanegashima. While watching the movie, he happened to look up information about Tanegashima and found the story of 《The Arrival of the Tanegashima Teppo》 online, as well as the quite famous “honey trap” in later generations. Kinbei was ordered to learn the manufacturing of matchlock guns, but the Portuguese were unwilling to teach him. After all, one gun could be sold for a thousand kan, which was faster than robbing money. They weren’t fools, so how could they provide the manufacturing process?
Kinbei was helpless and, seeing that he might face punishment, even ritual suicide, came up with a cunning plan: he had his daughter seduce the Portuguese. As expected, the Portuguese fell for it, completely captivated by Kinbei’s beautiful daughter. Furthermore, the Tanegashima clan was adamant about not buying guns at the price of one thousand kan each, as they simply couldn’t afford that much money. In the end, the Portuguese had no choice but to teach the matchlock gun manufacturing technology in exchange for Kinbei’s beautiful daughter, barely making the trip worthwhile.
However, Kinbei’s daughter was also cunning. She used the excuse of being sick and homesick to trick the Portuguese into visiting Tanegashima again the following year. Then, on the night she visited her family, she suddenly “died,” and was “buried” the very next day. In the end, only the Portuguese left, cursing and spreading the story of being tricked by the Japanese with a “honey trap.”
The descendants of the Tanegashima clan also felt this matter was somewhat shameful and kept it quiet. When the 《The Arrival of the Tanegashima Teppo》 stone monument was erected, this matter was not mentioned. It only stated that the Portuguese taught them willingly and were very benevolent. They also inscribed the name of Wang Zhi, a Great Ming pirate and ship owner, on it, as a way of thanking him for his significant contribution to Japan acquiring matchlock guns and sharing the burden of criticism.
Yuan Ye didn’t care whether the Tanegashima clan felt ashamed or not; he recounted all these events. Oda Nobunaga’s body sat straighter and straighter as he listened, completely absorbed. After all, information spread very slowly in this era. He liked matchlock guns very much but didn’t know much about their origins. Now that Yuan Ye was explaining it so clearly and interestingly, he was completely captivated.
