CHAPTER 265: CHAPTER 194 MATSUDAIRA MOTOTAKA RAN AWAY

The miraculous Battle of Okehazama had come to an end.

Apart from the era’s top Guardian Daimyo, Imagawa Yoshimoto, having his head hacked off in the mud by two no-name country bumpkins, the Imagawa family also suffered devastating losses. A large number of core household retainers and Lang Faction perished in frustration, and almost all the heads of the powerful clans from Jumogawa, Enshu, and Sankei who had accompanied Imagawa Yoshimoto’s main camp were annihilated—The Oda Family, with just over two thousand men, launched a surprise attack and took more than three thousand heads, many of which belonged to well-known Advanced Warriors.

Old acquaintances of Harano on the field, Toya Hongtong and Asahina Taisuke—those who had once ambushed him at New Wanjin and got beaten up—also died here; their heads were lopped off as well. The torrential rain created chaos on the battlefield; it was all close combat, and afterwards, no one could say exactly how they died or who had killed them. They died utterly humiliated.

But Harano couldn’t bother with any of these minor details now. On the night of the Okehazama battle, he set sail back to New Wanjin.

He had been planning for this day a long time. New Wanjin had already shifted to a state of war. At his order, the Wanjin Army, boasting two thousand soldiers (including six hundred professional logistics units and two hundred military police), moved at once, taking along over two thousand strong laborers as support soldiers—for a total of more than four thousand men—divided into several groups, heading north and west according to plan.

The northern route was the main force, personally led by Harano. And Oya Castle was the closest to New Wanjin—or rather, some of New Wanjin’s villages actually sat on Oya Family land. The two had been entwined for ages, nearly inseparable. Now was naturally the time to get rid of them first—eliminate hidden threats, ease the burden at home, and incidentally secure the safety of the rear transport routes.

So at dawn the next morning, Oya Castle found itself surrounded by the Wanjin Army.

The Oya Family had long faced Harano, their notorious neighbor, living in constant anxiety, but when the enemy truly arrived, they were still scared enough to wet their pants.

The head of the Oya Family, Oya Ujiie (Gate Captain), gazed out as the sun rose, watching the gourd banners flapping outside the walls and the more than three thousand Wanjin Army preparing for an assault. His face was ashen.

Three thousand isn’t enough to conquer the realm, but to a local clan like the Oya Family, it was simply insurmountable. Not to mention, the Wanjin Army had already fended off both the Imagawa Family and the Matsudaira family’s attacks. Matsudaira’s heavily armored warriors’ siege methods and Imagawa’s earth ramparts for scaling walls both broke their heads trying to take them on. Their combat strength was top tier—even if the numbers matched, the Oya Family would have no chance.

"Lord, what do we...do now?" The Oya Family’s Family Elders and senior retainers looked toward the Wanjin forces outside, also pale-faced.

Oya Ujiie snapped back to his senses. Facing a totally overwhelming enemy, he had no options. He forced himself to sound calm: "Don’t worry. They don’t dare make a move. The Nozawa Family has sworn an alliance with the Imagawa and Matsudaira families; they won’t dare attack. The Imagawa...the Imagawa will come to our aid. Lord Jibu-Taiyu (Imagawa Yoshimoto) is nearby. We just need to hold on...just hold out for three or five days."

"Right, we just need to stand fast for three to five days!"

The more Oya Ujiie spoke, the more confident he became. In a sense, he thought, maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing. Perhaps the Imagawa Family would just get rid of this troublesome neighbor for him. His Family Elders straightened in spirit, too, thinking the Head made sense. The Imagawa Family was on their way to Shangluo. If the Nozawa Family dared make trouble now, they were looking for death, pure and simple!

For a moment, the mood on the ramparts of Oya Castle improved. Most of the retainers regained their fighting spirit. Even if they couldn’t beat the Wanjin Army in the field, holding the castle for a few days shouldn’t be impossible. There was still a fair chance to save the clan. Just then, a few riders emerged from the Wanjin ranks, bearing golden gourd banners, dismounted within bowshot of the castle, and waited there.

In accordance with the rules of engagement of this era, this meant the other side wanted to talk, and negotiators would be guaranteed personal safety.

Oya Ujiie hesitated little. Confidence was one thing, but if he could avoid a fight, he would. The Nozawa Family was indeed formidable. If the castle fell, even if Imagawa Yoshimoto later sent a huge army to burn New Wanjin to the ground, the Oya Family would still be finished.

He told his sons to guard the castle well, then took two retainers with him out the gate to meet with the Nozawa Family.

As he drew near, he recognized Ah Man at a glance. He knew she was a big shot in New Wanjin—a trusted confidant of Harano. Harano sent her to handle many things; even if he couldn’t stand her flashy "pretend samurai" airs, he hurriedly dismounted, bowed, and politely said, "So it’s Lady Ah Man. Might I ask the reason for your visit?"

Ah Man had no time for pleasantries. She was swamped. Raising her arched brows, she got straight to the point: "My Lord orders you, Lord Oya, to vacate Oya Castle. You may take all property with you—we will not interfere. The deadline is half an hour."

Oya Ujiie wasn’t surprised, and he had some backbone: "That’s impossible, Lady Ah Man! Even if we wanted to give it up, Lord Jibu-Taiyu would never allow it!"

He paused, tone growing tougher: "Besides, I know Lord Nozawa has an alliance with the Imagawa and Matsudaira families. Seizing Oya Castle is a betrayal of that oath. Aren’t you afraid of divine retribution? Aren’t you afraid Lord Jibu-Taiyu will punish you?"

"You really are out of the loop!" Ah Man tapped her helmet and drew her sword, disdainful: "Have you even looked at what I’m wearing and carrying?"

Oya Ujiie’s gaze landed on the "Eight Dragon Five-coin Purse" on Ah Man’s head, then at the famed sword "Soza Samonji" in her hand. It all looked far too extravagant—downright overreaching. Even someone of Harano’s stature didn’t rate such regalia. But he didn’t recognize them. The past few years, Ah Man had been strutting about nearby in the gaudiest getups, flaunting all her worldly goods like some show-off. Being flashier wasn’t out of the ordinary for her.

Uh, with his status, he’d only ever glimpsed Imagawa Yoshimoto from afar at a tea gathering in Okazaki Castle in Sankei; he didn’t recognize his sword or helmet at all.

Oya Ujiie didn’t know what he was seeing, which annoyed Ah Man. She cursed directly: "You real country bumpkin, even a dung beetle’s got more sense than you! Open your eyes! This is Imagawa Yoshimoto’s Eight Dragon Helmet and Soza Samonji! That old bastard’s dead—got killed by the Oda Family on Mount Okehazama yesterday afternoon. The Imagawa Family has begun a full retreat, and our alliance with the Imagawa and Matsudaira families is over. You harping on about that is fucking pointless!"

"Imagawa...Lord Jibu-Taiyu is dead?!" The news struck Oya Ujiie like thunder, leaving him dazed in disbelief. He instinctively blurted out, "That’s impossible!"

The Imagawa Family had marched out fifty thousand strong to Shangluo—a peerless Guardian Daimyo. When they set out, even Kyoto was shaken. Who in the world could kill him? And how?

"Believe what you want—I’ve said my piece! The clock starts now. You’ve got half an hour. If even one Oya remains in that castle after that, you’ll all die!"

Ah Man couldn’t care less whether he believed her or not. She tossed the threat out, spun her horse, and left.

Harano sent her to negotiate only because storming the castle would take precious time and inevitably cost lives—not worth it. Plus, the Kin ties among the Owari clans were a tangled mess. If he wiped out all the local families on the Chita Peninsula in one go, he’d face major political risk and lasting consequences. So he thought he’d try talking—if only they’d give up the place willingly, they could haul off everything inside for all he cared.

If they could, let them even cart off the whole fort—the rammed earth "mini citadel" barely merited a second glance. According to the plan, the region’s core city would be rebuilt closer to the coast in the future, with proper docks for moving supplies.

But he was only urging them as a matter of course. He needed more territory for raw materials, more people to train troops and build strength. If these people refused to get out or hand over land and populace, he’d have no choice but to take the castle by force. If the Oya Family all died, that was their own fault.

The Warring States Era was, at its core, a land grab. If you lacked strength, you ought to get lost—morality had nothing to do with it.

Ah Man couldn’t even bother trying any more persuasion and just turned to leave. Oya Ujiie started to believe her now. If Imagawa Yoshimoto wasn’t dead, sitting with tens of thousands of troops nearby, the Nozawa Family would have to be insane to launch a takeover just now. But if the Imagawa Family really had been ruined by the Oda Family and abandoned their plans for Owari and Chita Peninsula—well...

Oya Ujiie looked at the Wanjin Army’s orderly formations, then looked back at Oya Castle’s ramshackle walls. After years of being muscled off their lands by New Wanjin, all he had left was this one castle and some surrounding fields. Inside, maybe a hundred household retainers and Lang Faction, plus a few hundred Ashigaru—no way they could hold if fighting broke out.

Should he make a desperate stand and hope for a miracle victory—or surrender and save the clan?

Oya Ujiie’s mind whirled. Though he hadn’t quite figured it out, he reached out and called after Ah Man: "Wait—Lady Ah Man, if Lord Jibu-Taiyu is indeed...then our Oya Family is willing to offer hostages, to henceforth serve Lord Nozawa. What say you?"

The meaning was clear: they wanted to become a client clan of the Nozawa Family, pay annual tribute, supply military service and labor, and follow him to war.

They couldn’t win. To save their lands by throwing in with Nozawa wasn’t shameful—after all, they’d served the Hoshina, Oda, Matsudaira, and Imagawa families before. Calling Harano "Daddy" wouldn’t faze them—at this point, they were used to it anyway.

Ah Man was already in the saddle, looking down on him with utter indifference: "Wanjin doesn’t need proud clans. Useless wastes like you are good for nothing. You have half an hour. Either leave the land and people and bugger off, or die—simple as that!"

With that, she wheeled her horse around and galloped back to the ranks, completely unconcerned.

Harano had developed an even bigger iron cannon, rumored capable of blasting fortresses, and had trained a "special operations squad" for demolition. Ah Man hadn’t seen them in action yet and kind of wanted to try them out on the Oya Family—after all, they were weak, and for a first-ever live combat test, the weakest enemy was a perfect choice.

She rode through the lines to a small hill behind the army. Harano himself was sitting on a camp stool, reading fresh intel delivered by the Life-saving Group. He paid her no mind when she returned and didn’t even bother asking about the Oya Family.

If the Oya Family didn’t surrender within half an hour, they’d storm the castle, aiming to finish within three hours. Then, as planned, they’d push north and capture Takeda Castle, fight all the way to the Dagao River line, and once their supply lines were safe, build a defense line along the river, then expand westward, keeping the Oda Family locked out of the Chita Peninsula. If possible, they’d even try probing from the peninsula’s northeast corner and seize some land and people in Sankei.

But according to the latest reports, grabbing land and people in Sankei Province might not be so easy—might not get any at all...

Seeing Harano’s sullen expression, Ah Man took a look at the report and was startled: "Matsudaira Mototaka fled? Ran off in the middle of the night?"

Harano nodded slightly, not pleased. He’d been hoping to raid Matsudaira Mototaka at Marune Stronghold, but the man was quicker than expected. On hearing of Imagawa Yoshimoto’s death, he bolted at once and was probably already in Sankei by now.

After Okehazama, not only would the Oda Family rise, but the Matsudaira Family would as well. Matsudaira Mototaka ran too fast—no way to catch him. Looks like the rise of the Tokugawa Family can’t be stopped.

What a damned shame!