CHAPTER 246: CHAPTER 178: THE GOOD WIFE IS GONE

The night fell low, and silvery moonlight draped gently over Iwakura Castle like a thin veil, tinged with an air... of decay and ruin. Mainly, the Castle Town beneath Iwakura Castle had been utterly destroyed, now encircled layer upon layer—just looking at it, one could almost feel the despair within the walls.

Harano stood in the shadow of the encampment, gazing at the castle, feeling a lightness—almost like liberation was within reach.

The war between the Upper and Lower Four Provinces of Owari was so tedious it made one sick. After Oda Nobunaga’s new brother-in-law, Oda Nobuaki, entangled Saito Yoshitada, the usurping new head of the Iwakura Oda branch, Oda Nobuhide, proved no match for Oda Nobunaga. After more than half a year of struggle, filled with bribery, betrayal, and forced choices, Nobunaga finally tore open the outer defenses of Iwakura Castle, and the two sides met in open battle to decide the outcome.

Oda Nobunaga played his trump card—the six hundred Oda iron gunners, and fifteen hundred full-time elite ashigaru produced by his "separation of soldiers and farmers" policy. Oda Nobuhide, for his part, mobilized every resource of the Iwakura Oda, sending all his household retainers and the lang faction to fight to the bitter end, bringing with them masses of ashigaru and conscripts.

The two sides clashed fiercely at Funo, a dozen li west of Iwakura Castle. In the end, Oda Nobuhide abandoned more than a thousand of his lang faction and the corpses of several dozen household retainers, fleeing back to the castle and was forced to initiate a drawn-out siege defense.

After this battle, the Iwakura Oda branch was essentially finished, their strength spent, a candle in the wind. Yet Oda Nobunaga did not launch a direct assault—he simply surrounded the castle and took most of his forces to face off with the advancing Saito Yoshitada, cutting off the last of Oda Nobuhide’s hopes of revival.

Harano, commanding the Wanjin Army, had participated in the fighting from start to finish—though without making much of a splash. Their performance was average: three hundred long spear fighters and over a hundred iron gunners spent the whole campaign playing only a supporting role. But it wasn’t without its rewards—during the series of battles to clear out outlying castles and manors, he’d quietly captured quite a few people. And as soon as war broke out, the "population trade" of Owari began thriving again, with prices on household servants and laborers taking a nosedive, letting him buy more at bargain prices.

Besides that, during the sweep of Iwakura Castle’s outer strongholds, the Wanjin Army had the good fortune to wound and capture a historical celebrity—the future confidant general of the Monkey, Yamana Ichitomu, along with his stepmother and younger siblings.

Yes, Yamana Ichitomu, with his father already fallen in battle and disillusioned with the Iwakura Oda’s future, tried to escape with his family. But unlike in history, luck wasn’t on his side—he slammed right into the Wanjin Army’s iron wall, and they all became prisoners of war.

These people were tricky for Harano to handle, as Yamana’s mother was the aunt of New Wanjin’s General Governor, Endo Chiyoda; Yamana Ichitomu was both Endo Chiyoda’s cousin and, in history, her husband. So Harano notified Endo Chiyoda, asking her to deal with the matter personally, while he stepped out for some air and scenery—it was the least respect he could show a reliable assistant.

......

Harano gazed at Iwakura Castle under the moonlight, lost in thought, pondering if the Battle of Okehazama was near and what he should do when the time came. Just then, a cloak settled over his shoulders—he turned and saw it was Ah Qing, nodded his thanks, and asked, "Have they finished talking?"

Ah Qing shook her head gently. She had no interest in those matters—she’d only come over because Harano was standing there lost in thought, worried he’d catch a chill, so she brought him something to wear.

Harano wasn’t surprised—Ah Qing never cared to meddle. He squeezed her small hand, giving her some of his warmth as well. This campaign had been a long slog: only one big battle, but countless minor skirmishes of hundreds or even only dozens; by the time they encircled Iwakura Castle, the year had already turned, and the weather was cold.

It was only because both he and Oda Nobunaga had completed "separation of soldiers and farmers" and had large numbers of full-time warriors that the war hadn’t dragged out another year or two. If not, with autumn harvest and spring planting, if you didn’t let the ashigaru go home, they’d sneak off anyway, and the lang faction would lose all discipline, their morale evaporating.

Ah Qing gently squeezed his hand back, standing by as his bodyguard, while Harano basked in the warmth of her small palm and kept watching the view.

Hmm, better look while I can. In the previous council of war, he’d heard Oda Nobunaga hint he thought Iwakura Castle need not exist—allowing it to persist might breed yet another uncontrollable powerful clan. So, once he took the castle, his plan was to demolish it—since Iwakura Castle held little economic value anyway. The real economic core was at Zhengde Temple not far away; Iwakura was more like a specialized military fortress.

Harano watched a while longer, and, feeling the night breeze grow brisk, began pondering whether to find a place with Ah Qing to warm up and have a steamed bun. Just then, Ah Man emerged from the darkness and started to report, "Endo let Yamana Ichitomu go."

"Let him go, huh..." Harano wasn’t too surprised. He’d told Endo Chiyoda she could handle matters however she liked. Still, he couldn’t help but ask, "She’s not planning to go with the Yamana family?"

Ah Man blinked, puzzled. "Why would she go with the Yamana family?"

"No reason, just felt like that was her only remaining family." Harano brushed it off, knowing he’d asked a stupid question—Endo Chiyoda was no longer the orphan who’d fled Omi to seek relatives as in history. She was thriving in New Wanjin, her career flourishing, had no lingering emotional ties with Yamana Ichitomu. Unless she’d been kicked in the head, there was no reason for them to reconnect.

History really has changed. Yamana Ichitomu’s "virtuous wife" is gone.

Even though he’d anticipated it, Harano still found his heart unsettled. After all... this might count as the first time he’d witnessed history change with his own eyes—which meant maybe, in the future, even more could be done.

Ah Man couldn’t understand what was on his mind; she still thought he was a bit crazy, but didn’t care. She said directly, "She has no intention of that, but she did give Yamana Ichitomu some money. If that sack’s all silver coin, I’d guess it’s worth two or three hundred kan—enough for the Yamana family to live on comfortably for quite a while."

Endo Chiyoda was a little rich herself, so that amount wasn’t much to her. Harano didn’t mind and asked, "Did Yamana Ichitomu mention where he planned to go?"

"Heard he’s heading for Minoh. Guess he’ll try to make a living there. Anyway, there’s no place for the Yamana family in Owari anymore."

Harano nodded, and after a moment said to Ah Qing, "Return their weapons and armor, and send a squad of Inner Guard to escort them to the Kisogawa River, if they need it."

Might as well do a good deed to the end. Out of respect for Endo Chiyoda, his trusty chief administrator, Harano didn’t mind helping—so the family could safely leave Owari.

Ah Qing nodded lightly and turned to make arrangements.

Harano turned as well, heading off to see Endo Chiyoda and offer her some comfort.

The girl really was quite sensible. She knew he didn’t want any samurai group forming in New Wanjin, so she never even brought up letting the Yamana family move there. Apparently, she’d read between the lines on the way over—if Harano wanted them in New Wanjin, he could’ve just sent word asking her opinion and shipped them straight over; no need to summon her to the front lines.

So, just for her smarts and her ability to understand his worries, Harano would have a proper chat with her, so she didn’t end up with any lingering doubts.

But looking at it from a historical perspective, Yamana Ichitomu really was a man of considerable talent, both civil and military—a leader in his own right. Pity that, as a scion of a powerful local family, New Wanjin simply couldn’t use him—unless he was willing to give up his samurai status and its privileges, but clearly, that wasn’t likely.

If I want talent, I’ll have to train it up myself, slowly!

......

Yamana Ichitomu’s escape was just a symbol of the Iwakura Oda’s defeat—one small wave in their vanishing from history.

After sending Endo Chiyoda away, Harano stayed on the outskirts of Iwakura Castle as Oda Nobunaga required—guarding against some local lord getting a rush of blood and trying to rescue the defenders, or the defenders, in desperation, making a dash south. With Nobunaga’s main force now near the Kisogawa River, Harano’s Wanjin Army was acting as Qingzhou City’s shield. If Oda Nobuhide dared emerge, Harano would have to stand and fight.

But Oda Nobuhide didn’t have it in him. Four more months under siege, and at last one night there was an uprising in Iwakura Castle. By morning, the gates were thrown open in surrender; Oda Nobuhide committed seppuku at home.

Thus, Owari’s eight provinces were unified, and Oda Nobunaga became the proper Guardian of Owari.

No longer just a Guardian substitute—at this moment, Oda Nobunaga had also gone from "shugo daimyo" to true "Sengoku daimyo."

If this were a novel, you’d say the story had turned a new page—the protagonist was about to leave the newbie village behind.