CHAPTER 317: CHAPTER 227: ASAI FAMILY, NEW ALLY

Harano, after enjoying the various proposals from the Wanjin councilors, still couldn’t relax. As the first-generation head of Wanjin, just back from an expedition, there were still plenty of folks wanting to meet him alone.

Endo Chiyoda, Maeshima Shichiro, and a few others reported the state of Wanjin’s internal affairs to him. Aside from the flourishing industry and commerce, agriculture had developed quite well too. After this autumn’s harvest, Wanjin had basically shaken off the impacts of wind, flood, and drought disasters from the previous two years. Food was now basically self-sufficient, with reserves slowly restored above the safety line.

Okabe Iyayama, that "Chief Engineer" hired from outside, showed up as well, copying Endo and Maeshima’s routine—found Harano alone for a debrief. He explained that in the more than three months Harano was away, he’d kept himself busy too. Thanks to abundant manpower and resources, Wanjin Shipyard had dug five new docks. By year’s end, they could be launching six or seven ships at once—so long as the shipwright training kept up. With that many skilled workers, Wanjin’s shipbuilding capacity was about to take a big leap forward.

By the way, he also took the chance to discuss his impressions of using the "Chita," and reported that the second "Great Anzai Copper Ship" from Wanjin Shipyard was almost done—a new ace for the Wanjin Navy.

Finally, using the excuse that Wanjin Shipyard was a top priority project at the moment, he asked Harano for a batch of adult "elementary school students" (Wanjin state-owned workshop’s adult literacy class graduates). He felt that Wanjin people with basic education picked up woodworking faster, were more obedient, and were much better than the farmers they could hire from outside.

After Okabe Iyayama left, satisfaction written all over his face, Harano still didn’t get to go home and rest. Instead, he headed over to the military camp to check out the state of the Wanjin Army and gave the new recruits an impromptu training inspection.

By the time Harano finished all this, Akiyo had wrapped up meetings with Ah Man’s men—two sets of people: one group responsible for internal surveillance in Wanjin, all members a closely guarded secret, so Akiyo had to organize hidden meetings in secret; the other was the "Life-saving Group," tasked with collecting external intelligence. In emergencies, they’d already sent urgent news to Harano by fast ship. For routine matters, Akiyo brought the info over in person.

Of course, there was new information too.

Akiyo quietly waited for Harano to "ka-ka" stamp his way through all the regular paperwork and then pulled out a small notebook, speaking softly: "Your Highness, four days ago, Oda Nobunaga sent someone to invite you and Princess Dog to Komaki-yama Castle."

Harano’s "sales expedition," from initial prep to successful completion, had taken more than half a year, and during this time Oda Nobunaga had kept himself busy too. On one hand, he was fighting localized skirmishes with Saito Ryuko in the Kawamata Region; on the other, he was preparing to deal with the Inuyama Castle Lord, Oda Nobuaki—that two-faced traitor. Now, he’d already finished building his deployment base at Komaki-yama Castle, and relocated his main castle there.

By the way, Oda Nobunaga had also fulfilled his old dream, moving his "true love" into Komaki-yama Castle. Now, the "lady of the house" at Komaki-yama was Ikoma Yoshino, so he no longer had to sneak out for trysts every ten days or so, running dozens of miles each time.

This arrangement even had the blessing of his wife Nongji, though the exchange was that Oda Nobunaga handed Ikoma Yoshino’s second son—that is, the future Oda Nobuhiro—over to Nongji to raise, making him her official heir and Oda Nobunaga’s acknowledged successor. Nongji herself hadn’t borne any children and was delighted with this new son, choosing a character from her old name to name the boy "Kimyomaru."

As for Oda Nobunaga’s eldest illegitimate son, the child of Harada Naomasa’s sister, because of the potentially troublesome "eldest" status, Oda Nobunaga sent him to the Murai family to be raised by another retainer, Murai Sadakatsu, all to prevent him from vying for the family inheritance down the line.

Harano wasn’t much concerned with Oda Nobunaga’s domestic matters—this was all miscellaneous gossip dug up by the "Life-saving Group." What mattered was, Oda Nobunaga was looking for him again...

As he sorted documents, Harano offhandedly asked Akiyo, "So the Oda Family’s ready to attack Inuyama Castle, and wants us to help out?"

Akiyo, eyelids lowered, flipped through the little notebook and read out exactly: "That should be it. According to local informants’ reports, Oda Nobunaga is hoping we’ll help defend the Kawamata area, so he can strike Inuyama Castle with no worries. Also, he probably wants you to meet Asai Nagamasa... Though this point isn’t confirmed, it’s deduced from the fact that Matsudaira Mototaka will also be headed to Komaki-yama Castle soon."

"Asai Nagamasa, huh?" Harano was pretty familiar with him—husband of "Japan’s Warring States Number One Beauty," Princess Ichi; Chacha’s old man; and if memory served, his head later became a sake cup for Oda Nobunaga?

Couldn’t remember for sure; might’ve been courtesy of the Asakura Family’s handiwork though...

But it’d only been a bit more than two years since the Battle of Okehazama, almost three. Princess Ichi was only six or seven now; was Oda Nobunaga already planning to form an alliance with Asai Nagamasa and marry Princess Ichi off?

He vaguely remembered it wasn’t so soon—maybe first a betrothal and allied marriage, and only after three or four years the actual wedding?

Harano pondered it for a while—he was interested in Asai Nagamasa, after all the man was a historical celebrity, but the Asai Family was far away and Wanjin’s development focus lay nowhere near the northwest. Honestly, Harano hadn’t paid him much mind before.

If only Ah Man were here—he could just ask her straight out, and she’d babble about it for fifteen minutes non-stop. But Ah Man had been sent by Harano to Yakushima Island to deal with the Ainu, so he’d have to handle this himself—winter was coming; Hokkaido nowadays snows deep enough to reach your knees, and back in this era it was likely even colder. If that brat froze to death, let’s see if she’d dare come back to play third wheel.

Harano, thinking of Ah Man, asked Akiyo to gather all the intelligence files on Omi and the Asai Family so he could study his "new ally" in detail.

Indeed, he, Oda Nobunaga, and Matsudaira Mototaka were now this little trio sworn to mutual support. Oda Nobunaga was probably trying to expand the group and add Asai Nagamasa, so naturally Asai would also be a Wanjin ally.

The files came quickly. Harano took them and flipped through carefully.

Omi is a major region on the eastern side of Kyoto, wrapped around Japan’s largest lake, Lake Biwa.

Before the Muromachi Shogunate was established, Southern Omi was ruled by the main Sasaki family—the Rokkaku family—while Northern Omi was managed by the Kyogoku family, a branch of the Sasaki lineage.

At the start of the Muromachi Shogunate, the Kyogoku family produced a big figure—Sasaki Michiyuki—who wielded enormous influence. The Kyogoku family seized the opportunity to expand, at its peak holding sway over Chiyu, Oki, Feiduo, Settsu, and Omi—five provinces, even surpassing the influence of their Rokkaku relatives, becoming one of the "Four Grand Officials" under the Shogunate.

But after the "Onin War," the Kyogoku family rapidly declined—within a few decades, they’d lost almost all their territories, left only with Northern Omi. Then, internal strife over inheritance broke out; Kyogoku Takahiro and Kyogoku Takayoshi turned on each other. The Asai Family, then local magistrates of Asai County in Northern Omi, seized the chance to rise, kicked their overlords to the curb, and took over the region.

Subsequently, after Asai Ryomoto and Asai Hisamasa’s reigns, the headship passed to Asai Nagamasa—the third-generation Family Head.

Right now, though, Asai Nagamasa wasn’t having a great time. Back in Asai Ryomoto’s day, the Asai Family was pretty dominant, but a tiger father produced a dog son, and Asai Hisamasa proved weak and useless. The Rokkaku family beat them several times, almost reducing them to the sorry state the Matsudaira family had not long ago been in—nominally an "ally," but in reality just a disposable vassal.

To make it worse, the Rokkaku family wanted not only submission, but to fully reclaim Northern Omi—they always saw the region as Kyogoku property, and with the Kyogoku family "out of the picture," felt it only rightfully return to their main line, no way would a tiny magistrate clan like the Asai Family be allowed to keep it forever.

So, the Rokkaku family seized the chance, forced Asai Hisamasa into a Wumaozi adoption with Asai Nagamasa, even foisted a wife on Nagamasa—all in order to control the Asai Family and to plant Rokkaku samurai in Northern Omi, gradually eating away the Asai power base.

This level of interference finally ticked off both the local samurai and the Asai Household Retainers. It was about land after all, and in the "bet-your-life" world of the Samurai, whoever touched their stipends and fiefs would have to fight them to the death.

So, the Northern Omi nobles and Asai retainers banded together, directly deposed the weak head Asai Hisamasa, locked him away on Takehara Island in Lake Biwa, and installed Asai Nagamasa as the new Family Head.

That same year, the Battle of Okehazama hadn’t even happened yet, and Asai Nagamasa was only fifteen.

Soon after, about the time of Okehazama, the "Battle of the Wild Fields" erupted in Northern Omi. Asai Nagamasa led over 10,000 men against an angry force of 27,000-plus Rokkaku troops, landed a decisive blow, and finally cleaned up half the mess his father left, shaking off the Rokkaku vassal status.

But the Rokkaku were old money, entrenched in Omi for centuries. One defeat barely budged their roots, and the Asai Family remained under huge pressure—at risk of being wiped out at any moment.

After reading the Asai Family profile, Harano immediately understood why Oda Nobunaga and Asai Nagamasa would link up—the Rokkaku family were allies of the Saito family, so "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Naturally, Nobunaga would rope in the Asai Family to mess with the Saito family. Plus, the Asai had been entangled with the Rokkaku for ages, and the Saito family often joined in to clobber them, so Asai Nagamasa would love nothing more than to see the Saito wiped out, and was fine joining forces with Nobunaga.

"Get ready, we’ll make a trip to Komaki-yama Castle."

After mulling it over for a bit, Harano closed the files—time to go meet this "new ally," do a little historical fieldwork, and see what kind of guy Princess Ichi’s husband really was.

It was a bit of a shame to leave again so soon after returning—couldn’t even get a few days’ rest. But maybe that’s just life in a war-torn era: there’s never really any downtime.