Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 236 Claiming Merit

A few days later, Yuanye received an official letter from Aman, sent back by an urgent early morning boat.

In the official letter, Aman made outrageous demands, directly asking Xinwanjin for twenty sets of contemporary full-body armor and one hundred sets of armor used by the Wanjin army, as well as thousands of long swords, thousands of spearheads, five hundred powerful bows, and more than two hundred short-handled iron cannons.

In addition, she also requested matching military uniforms, boots, and raincoats, as well as gunpowder and food. She stated that once the supplies arrived, she would arrange for some Ainu people to go to Xinwanjin Port to sign the "Bay Shrimp Friendly Trade Agreement," ensuring that Xinwanjin would not lose money.

The amount requested is a bit excessive. If you really calculate it, it would cost 20,000 to 30,000 strings of cash. It's hard to say how long it will take to recoup the costs, and there's even a high chance that more investment will be made later, making it very likely that the money will be wasted.

Endo, Maejima, and others who were temporarily in charge of miscellaneous affairs at Shinwanjin Port were unsure of the situation, and since it concerned the secret operation of the little spy Aman, they did not dare to approve it directly. Instead, they sent it to Matsukura Castle and let Haruno make the decision himself, even though Haruno had given instructions before the expedition that the supplies Aman needed should be provided as soon as possible.

Yuan Ye didn't hesitate and signed and stamped the document, demanding that Xinwanjin Port allocate the full amount, and that Aman should be given priority even if it meant squeezing it out first. If that wasn't possible, he would take it from the Wanjin Army first, and also added some other supplies.

For example, regarding medicine, he vaguely remembered that during the process of the "Wa people" developing Ezo Island, they had "poisoned people," which meant throwing some commoners who had contracted cholera, fever, or acute parasitic diseases into the Ainu territory, causing the Ainu tribes to suffer from the spread of diseases, a sharp decline in population, and a significant reduction in their resistance.

The Ainu people had relatively backward technology and almost no medical system. Yuanye remembered this and took the opportunity to help them fill in the gaps in their medical system.

This money should still be spent, even if it's just to drive the "Wajin" (Japanese people) out of Ezo Island and separate Ezo Island from Japan. It would be worth any amount of money.

Moreover, although the exact number of Ainu people on Ezo Island has never been determined (even the Ainu themselves are unsure of their own population), preliminary estimates suggest that their numbers exceed 200,000. This emerging market of 200,000 people alone would be extremely beneficial to the development of industry and commerce in Wanjin.

Moreover, Ezo Island is extremely rich in natural mineral resources, including coal, iron, silver, copper, gold, and sulfur. It would be uneconomical and inconvenient for the Wanjin people to go and mine on their own, and it would also easily cause conflict. However, they could cooperate with the Ainu people to mine these resources in the future, which would be quite profitable.

After Haruno approved the "operation funds," he also wrote a letter to Aman, first affirming her efforts and achievements, and then advising her to take it easy. In the next year or two, Wanjin's development focus will be on expanding its territory again and attacking the Ise Peninsula. It is impossible for it to cross half of Japan to go to Ezo Island and fight a large-scale war with the daimyo of the Tohoku region.

Therefore, the military support that Wanjin can provide is quite limited. For a long time, Aman will still have to rely on himself. Since war is dangerous, if there is any danger, he should quickly escape back. Survival is the first priority. He will think of other ways to deal with the Ezo Island issue later.

This is considered a private message written as a friend. Only Aman gets this treatment. If someone else were to carry out the mission, Yuanye would probably require them to die on the spot so that the mission could be completed first.

Otherwise, even if they escape back, they will still be subject to military law and will not fare well.

After becoming a lord, his heart hardened, and it's hard to say whether this counts as growth.

Just after dealing with matters a thousand miles away, people from Matsukura Castle came to visit Harano. It was a small army of about four hundred people, with all sorts of equipment. They looked like thieves in disguise, and there was a high suspicion that they were trying to set up the castle.

Fortunately, the commander was an acquaintance, none other than "Monkey II" Yakuro. This guy spent all his time hanging around Oda Nobunaga and had previously greeted Harano aboard with Maeda Toshiie, so Harano naturally recognized him.

However, during wartime, Wanjin was a team that paid special attention to military rules, discipline and mission procedures. Even though they were familiar with the area, Yuanye did not bypass his superiors to order them to enter the city to rest. Instead, his subordinates designated a wasteland for them to set up camp on their own, a location that was extremely vulnerable to attack by the Wanjin army.

The disorganized group was somewhat indignant, feeling that Haruno was looking down on them. They made a fuss for a while, but only managed to quiet down after being persuaded by Mikuro, and went to set up camp to rest on their own.

Mainly, according to the established procedures of the Wanjin Army over the years, guest troops are not allowed to pose a threat. It's not that there is any discrimination against this small group. In accordance with the same procedures for treating guest troops, the prescribed supplies were provided. The Wanjin Army's soldiers' supplies were excellent for this era, unlike ordinary daimyo who would just give them rice and that would be it. So after seeing the rice, noodles, and pickles sent by the Wanjin Army, those foot soldiers who looked like thieves were not so resentful.

As the commander-in-chief, Mikuro was naturally allowed to enter the city. He didn't bring many retainers or party members with him, only two short, stocky samurai in their forties. These two samurai had dark skin and looked weathered, so they looked older than they actually were, but they were only thirty-six or thirty-seven years old.

These two men, one named Maeno Nagayasu and the other Hachisuka Masakatsu, were sworn brothers and both locals from the vicinity of Matsukura Castle.

Or rather, they are locals from the area where the Kiso River and Nagara River meet. One of them is from Matsukura-go, where Matsukura Castle is located, and the other is from Hachisuka-go, which is next to Matsukura-go. Both of them are local kokujin (local people).

These two men were the leaders of the famous river pirate group "Kawanai-shu" in Owari. Before Oda Nobunaga became the head of his clan, he often hung out with them, learning firearms from them, swimming and exercising with them. Many of the ninjas in Oda Nobunaga's ninja force were even from the "Kawanai-shu".

Now that Oda Nobunaga's territory has expanded and his control over the Kawanami region has grown stronger, the "Kawaami clan" has completely sided with the Oda family. Hachisuka Masakatsu, Maeno Nagayasu, and others have officially become Oda Nobunaga's close retainers. They were considered retainers before, but they were adopted retainers, the kind of retainers who were local lords who submitted to the daimyo. They were not considered Oda Nobunaga's direct forces, or even the Oda family's forces. After all, these border lords had always been loyal to both the Oda and Saito families.

They had a long-standing friendship with Oda Nobunaga, who was quite protective of his own and sentimental. Knowing that they couldn't stand the discipline of the army, he didn't incorporate them into the regular foot soldiers, but instead set them up as a separate army and sent Yakuro, a commoner samurai, to manage them.

Alternatively, one could say that Oda Nobunaga assigned samurai such as Hachisuka Masakatsu and Maeno Nagayasu to Yakuro as his personal guards. Hachisuka Masakatsu and the others could then address Yakuro as their lord. At most, Yakuro was a penniless nobody who couldn't afford to support so many people at the moment, and it was Oda Nobunaga who was paying them their annual stipends.

Looking at the three people, Yuan Ye couldn't help but smile. He admired Oda Nobunaga's stubbornness. Oda Nobunaga didn't want the powerful clans of Owari to become too dominant. He had long wanted to cultivate a group of samurai from other regions and grassroots samurai to maintain balance. He hadn't given up for so many years, and now he was beginning to see results.

At the same time, Haruno was also quite satisfied with Yakuro's current state—he secretly killed the "real monkey" and forcibly became Nene's cheap master, forcing Nene not to marry at the age of eleven or twelve. As a result, Yakuro did not follow the monkey's old path, did not marry the adopted daughter of the Asano family, and did not receive the secret support of the old and powerful Asano family in Owari. As a result, he lost a group of powerful retainers such as Asano Nagamasa, and his financial resources were relatively insufficient. He was wearing a set of armor that looked like it was second-hand, which was very undignified.

Well, historically, Kinoshita Tokichiro's initial capital was Nene's dowry; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to even afford a proper set of armor, let alone recruit retainers and build his own power base.

This was said by Ningning herself. After she became the "major councilor," she argued with Monkey in the Owari dialect and said something like, "I'll make Monkey return my dowry."

According to the maid who witnessed the incident, the monkey was furious but helpless, feeling terribly guilty, and almost suffocated on the spot. Compared to Kinoshita Tokichiro, Yakuro was underdeveloped, at least in one leg, and didn't inherit the relatively prestigious Kinoshita family name from Kyoto—Oda Nobunaga arranged for him to marry a young widow from a poor family, and he inherited the Nakamura family name. Now, Yakuro's full name is Nakamura Yakuro.

Of course, even though Mikuro was lame in one leg, Haruno didn't underestimate him too much. After all, he was a candidate strongly supported by Oda Nobunaga, and Mikuro's other leg was still quite excellent.

For example, among the men Oda Nobunaga assigned to him were Maeno Nagayasu, a skilled warrior adept at firearms and naval warfare, known for his daring and ferocious fighting style; and Hachisuka Masakatsu, a man of both wisdom and courage, who had defeated Tokugawa Ieyasu in the defense of a castle. During the conquest of the Mori clan, he purchased grain from the area surrounding Tottori Castle at high prices, causing the castle's garrison to suffer from food shortages, achieving the famous feat of "killing Tottori in thirst," making him a renowned general with a well-known battle record.

Later, he even went into battle while ill, and within three months he pacified Shikoku Island, forcefully subduing Chosokabe Motochika.

Of course, this is not his achievement alone, but his performance in the four countries, using both force and persuasion, as well as various methods of dividing and enticing, is undeniably outstanding.

This guy is even good at domestic affairs. During his tenure as the lord of Tatsuno Castle in Harima Province, he managed to increase the castle's rice yield from 3200 koku to 53000 koku, an increase of 1800%, which is equivalent to turning Arako Castle into Nagono Castle.

This is an achievement that three generations of Maeda Toshiharu's family had failed to accomplish, which only shows that his governance skills were quite remarkable.

Compared to Takenaka Hanbei, the "genius strategist" whose reputation was exaggerated by later writers, Hachisuka Masakatsu was actually the true strategist of the "Oda-affiliated grassroots samurai group" represented by the monkey. In fact, historically, Takenaka Hanbei and the monkey had no affiliation and were not even considered to be in the same group. Hachisuka Masakatsu deserves the most credit for the monkey's early rise.

Therefore, with Oda Nobunaga's strong support and the assistance of these grassroots samurai who came from river pirate backgrounds, Nakamura Yakuro might not have been unable to achieve anything even without Nene and the Asano family's support.

Even without Nene and the Asano family, he could still reach the same heights as the Monkey King in history.

Haruno did not underestimate the "lame monkeys." He hosted a banquet for them and even chatted with Maeno Nagayasu and Hachisuka Masakatsu in a friendly manner for a while, thus becoming acquainted with them.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, the three men were satisfied with their food and drink, and only then did Yuanye inquire about their mission.

Mikuro didn't hide anything. Oda Nobunaga had originally told him to seek help from the Wanjin Army if he needed anything, which was why he had taken a detour to visit Matsukura Castle. He immediately said respectfully, "I was just about to inform Your Highness that the Lord has ordered us to come and persuade the local lords in the Kiso River area to defect. I'm afraid this will cause Your Highness a lot of trouble. Please take good care of us."

"Oh? To turn Iki and Osawa against their side?" Haruno didn't expect Oda Nobunaga to be in such a hurry, wanting more than he had. He asked with great excitement, "How's the situation at Inuyama Castle? When does Lord Jurozaemon (Oda Nobukiyo) plan to surrender?"

The Saito family is in internal strife. Saito Tatsuoki has lost his stronghold and cannot come to the rescue of Inuyama Castle. Harano estimated that Oda Nobukiyo should surrender, but Oda Nobukiyo is more stubborn than he thought. Even though he knows there are no reinforcements, he is still holding on and has not made a move so far.

A flash of contempt crossed Mikuro's face as he shook his head and said, "Lord Jurozaemon has already rejected the proposal to surrender. My lord has decided to launch a general offensive at the beginning of next month and take the city down directly."

In the end, we still have to fight a tough battle...

Oda Nobukiyoshi has quite the backbone, refusing to bow down to his cousin, Oda Nobunaga. Besides, there are only a few days left until the beginning of next month. Once Inuyama Castle falls, Oda Nobunaga can march north without hesitation, heading straight for the Kiso River area. Taking down the Igi and Osawa clans will be no problem at all. Therefore…

Is this a way to let Mikuro, this grassroots samurai, rack up merits?
Oda Nobunaga really took good care of this guy, afraid that he would rise too slowly, or perhaps he wanted to take the opportunity to give him a territory of Chigyo so that he could cultivate his power and support his subordinates.

Yuanye thought for a moment and roughly guessed what Oda Nobunaga wanted to do, so he didn't object.

He couldn't stop this. Even if he secretly killed Yakuro again, Oda Nobunaga could just find someone else to support. Unless he killed Oda Nobunaga directly, but Oda Nobunaga was not so easy to kill. The Oda family had been in Owari for almost two hundred years, with deep roots and countless branches and collateral branches. Killing Oda Nobunaga would only benefit others.

Looking back now, there was no need to secretly kill the monkey; he would have ended up in the same mess even if he were alive.

After a moment of distraction, Haruno asked with concern, "Now that Inuyama Castle is safe, it's time to make our move on the Kiso River area. Is Lord Yakuro confident?"

Yakuro glanced at Hachisuka Masakatsu, straightened his back, and said confidently, "Of course, Your Highness. Lord Hikoemon (Hachisuka Masakatsu's common name, originally Koroku, which he changed after becoming a samurai) used to... uh, he often operated in the Kiso River area and had exchanges with the local lords... um, I think with Lord Hikoemon's help, I can persuade them."

Yuan Ye nodded slowly. "The 'Kawabino' gang of river pirates are just like the sea pirates. They do business while robbing. I guess the powerful families around Imuyama Castle were their customers before. They have a long-standing relationship with them."

At least there's room for negotiation, and there's some basis for trust; there's no need for a middleman.

He immediately smiled and said, "It's good that you're confident. Is there anything I can do for you? You've come all this way, surely there's something you need my assistance with?"

Mikuro hadn't expected Harano to be so easy to talk to. He had been carrying letters from Maeda Toshiie and Niwa Nagahide, intending to use their connections to get Harano to lend a hand, but it turned out he didn't need them at all.

He immediately bowed and thanked them, saying, "Your Highness is truly wise. I do indeed need Your Highness's help! If Your Highness doesn't mind, could you cooperate with us in crossing the river once?"

Should we put pressure on Igiyama Castle and Uminuma Castle?

Yuan Ye had no objections and immediately smiled and said, "Sure, I haven't been active in a long time either. I'll go with you guys then."

The tide is unstoppable. If you can't suppress it, just hand it over for now and we'll deal with it later!
(End of this chapter)