CHAPTER 266: CHAPTER 195: EACH RUNS FASTER THAN THE OTHER

Half an hour later, the Oya Family opened their gates and surrendered.

The death of Imagawa Yoshimoto was a huge blow to them. Plus, after getting tormented by New Wanjin for several years, they were exhausted, completely lacking any will to fight. Even if a couple of diehards wanted to "risk their lives" for a desperate struggle, nobody responded. In the end, the Oya Family hastily gathered their valuables and gold and silver, opened the city gates, and staked everything on Harano keeping his promise to spare their lives.

Harano had no intention of breaking his word. He wrote travel passes for the Oya Family’s few dozen people and sent them packing. Then he left some of his own men to take over the castle, while he himself led the Wanjin Army to keep heading north.

The next target was Takeda Castle; Harano knew this place too. The first time he’d come to the Chita Peninsula to kidnap labor was here. Now, returning to an old spot, the scenery was the same—but the familiar faces were gone. Takeda Hyoeimon, that old man, died of illness a couple of years ago. Word was that before he died, he kept coughing up blood—very likely from being robbed too many times by Harano, suffering heavy population losses, and his eldest son got killed too. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and eventually, he just worked himself to death.

With a twinge—just a tiny bit—of guilt, Harano sent Ah Man again to persuade a surrender.

The Takeda Family had gotten beaten up by Harano more than once, taking huge losses, and had never really recovered their strength. Now, up against a Wanjin Army nearly ten times bigger than the previous force, even if Imagawa Yoshimoto were still alive, they wouldn’t have the guts to resist. In the end, they made the same choice as the Oya Family.

Both these families were like overripe fruit; Harano had battered them so many times already. If it wasn’t for the threat of the Imagawa Family, he’d have swallowed them whole two years earlier. Their surrender now was, in a way, a relief for them—they’d finally get rid of the demon neighbor Harano, rather than always living on edge. But the Ebina Family was braver than both, showing real "life-risking" spirit, refusing to surrender, and started locking down the castle to fight to the end.

Credit where due—they were brave as hell. Even knowing the strength of the Wanjin Army, they put up a heroic show. But a low rammed-earth wall, a few wooden gatehouses, arrow towers, and moats, together with a hundred-odd Samurai Lang Faction with bows and arrows—hardly a real threat. With the Wanjin Army’s iron cannons blasting the place apart, it didn’t take long before a big chunk of wall collapsed, and then everything fell apart, defenders bottled up and slaughtered by the Wanjin Army.

In the end, the Ebina Family held out for more than two hours, making things just a bit harder for Harano and slowing him down. But the price was the death of most of their male kin in battle.

For those who dared resist, Harano wasn’t so forgiving—he immediately confiscated and ransacked the Ebina Family, sending the surviving clan into hard labor, as an example for anyone else who might think about resisting.

Yeah, fewer people die this way anyway. Behave, and he won’t wipe you out—at least you get to keep your moveable wealth and your life. Don’t behave, and you won’t have to listen to anyone ever again.

The Chita Peninsula would belong to him from now on. He didn’t need Samurai on his turf.

Harano had crouched in Wanjin and New Wanjin for years, focused on building up, throwing all surplus into his army. His only imagined enemy had always been Oda Nobunaga. The local big shots of the Chita Peninsula, even all lumped together, could only cause him minor troubles. Now, with a hundred-plus people scattered in small "mountain forts" and villages, they weren’t even worth mentioning—he swept through like nobody was home, and after just most of a day, reached the Dagao River.

The Dagao River is a tributary of Bai Chuan, entering the sea near Dagao City. Dagao City was originally in Imagawa hands, defended jointly by Tiden Nagamoto and Matsudaira Mototaka from the northern Marune Stronghold. But on the night of the Battle of Okehazama, Matsudaira Mototaka was the first to abandon the defense and flee. Tiden Nagamoto didn’t hesitate either and fled with his men this morning. So, by the time Harano rushed in, Dagao City was almost deserted, with only some local gentry hanging around inside.

Harano didn’t hesitate—he kicked them all out and told them to get lost north, to join up with Oda Nobunaga. He then sent in some support soldiers and able-bodied men to occupy the city and started shoring up the defenses and resupplying with ammo and food. This place had been under siege by the Oda Family for a while, so its defenses were already decent, no need for major repairs. If the Imagawa Family hadn’t abandoned the city, Harano’s three thousand men would never have taken it in a frontal assault.

Dagao City could be called the gateway to the Chita Peninsula. Further north along the coast is Nagami Castle and the Port of Atsuta. Now that Harano had control, it was like slamming the door halfway closed on the peninsula. Then he led the Wanjin Army east along the Dagao River, sweeping through and securing all the riverside outposts and Rock Fortresses.

This didn’t take much effort. These lands were all under Imagawa control before—Imagawa Yoshimoto’s march to Shangluo was along this exact route. Now that Imagawa Yoshimoto was dead, most of his men here had already run off. Even the ones who hadn’t yet fled would, at the sight of the Wanjin Army, lose the will to fight—they had zero desire to get trapped inside Owari, and fled at once.

Taking advantage of the chaos after the Battle of Okehazama, Harano quickly secured the southern outposts and Rock Fortresses along Dagao River, ordered the western Wanjin Army to keep tossing Chita gentry out of the territory, and just waited for Oda Nobunaga’s reaction.

......

"The Imagawa Family, huh..."

After finishing up defensive set-up along the Dagao River, Harano returned to Dagao City to take charge. Looking over the Life-saving Group’s intel, he was exasperated.

No wonder Imagawa Yoshimoto gets dragged through the mud by historians—his family’s performance after his death was downright pathetic... Actually, pathetic is too generous. They’re worse than mud. They’re pure dog shit.

Matsudaira Mototaka ran first, Asahina Taicho second, Tiden Nagamoto third, and after that, it triggered a chain reaction. Even the commander of Takagai Castle couldn’t take it, so he bolted too. It was like a domino effect—everyone was stampeding back to Jumogawa, with no clue what they were even running from.

From the latest intel, even the Imagawa garrison at Okazaki Castle in Sankei Province had fucking run off—without Oda Nobunaga even showing up! It was just insane. Matsudaira Mototaka lucked out, grabbing back independence in an instant, no longer a vassal to anyone.

Guess it’s the fault of Japan’s Warring States "dual system" of rule. Once a top boss dies, all the second-tier heads start scheming—either switching allegiance to some new lord, or looking to just preserve themselves. Any will to fight vanishes in a flash, and no matter how powerful, the force crumbles into a loose heap.

Imagawa Yoshimoto really was pitiable—dying like a loser in the mud, with not a single subordinate interested in avenging him, all running away like it’s Olympic trials.

"It’s not just that, the Imagawa navy ran too." Ah Man was busy sorting through all kinds of intel from the Life-saving Group, but still found time to comment.

Imagawa Yoshimoto’s death was like tossing a boulder into a pond. The ripples were spreading fast, and every moment brought new, weird shit happening. For the Life-saving Group, this was the first real test since they’d been formed. The intel coming in was a total mess—from Imagawa movements to some random clan mustering troops—so mixed up that even she had to personally sort it out.

Harano looked through the reports, which had been cross-checked from various sources—so they were confirmed. The Imagawa navy really did run, and ran in a damn hurry. Not enough boats for everyone, so they’d left tons of food and weapons, even ashigaru and other randoms, behind. Now, in Kanie Castle, chaos reigned. Surrounding them, Oda’s allied clans were getting brave, going from cowering to charging in, coming at the invaders from three sides, all eager to rack up some military merit.

After reading this, Harano wanted nothing more than to fly to Haisei County and slap Katuyama Nobuhide silly. That idiot was in the perfect spot to take advantage of Oda’s vulnerability, sitting on five thousand men and a decent navy, and did absolutely nothing but run. Harano felt like spitting in his face—dude, you weren’t even in danger, why the hell are you running? Oda’s main force is all busy in Aichi County, you could’ve torched Shimazu and grabbed Qingzhou City while you were at it!

But no, you had to run—now all the damn pressure is on me!

This clown is even dumber than the last bunch!

Harano had actually pinned a lot of hope on Katuyama Nobuhide, hoping he’d stir up a massive mess on both coasts with his five thousand men, forcing Oda Nobunaga to turn his whole army around so Harano could turn his defenses into a turtle’s shell. But in the end...

Disappointed, all he could say was, "This guy’s a real piece of shit!"

"I guess the Takeda family is eyeing up Imagawa territory, so he’s hurrying back to Jumogawa to get involved in the inheritance mess." Ah Man didn’t seem surprised—she knew that Warrior Clans operated like this. The patriarch had to have as many kids as possible to grow the clan and marry off daughters for alliances. As soon as the patriarch kicks it, the kids go to war over the succession—it never fails.

Take the Oda Family for example—all Nobunaga’s brothers lined up to rebel, all thanks to inheritance squabbles.

"The Takeda family, huh?"

Katuyama Nobuhide’s "navy raiding force" was too far from the main theater and was really aimed at Oda Nobunaga anyway. Harano hadn’t paid him much attention, but now he flipped through the guy’s personal file—turns out he’s Takeda Shingen’s sixth son, fostered out to the Kasayama family as an adopted son under the "Three Kingdoms Alliance." Just like Sawaki Tenguhachi’s case.

So this guy’s basically Takeda interests in Imagawa territory. No wonder he bolted home the instant Imagawa Yoshimoto died—too lazy to even light a fire on his way out.

Harano shook his head and tossed Katuyama Nobuhide out of his mind. He had no dealings with Takeda Shingen right now, and with Katuyama gone, that information was useless.

He asked Ah Man, "What’s Oda Nobunaga up to?"

"Right here!" Ah Man pulled a stack of docs off the cluttered table. "Oda’s men just took Takagai Castle without a fight, just like us. Then Oda himself is leading the siege of Nagami Castle—Okabe Motonobu abandoned all outposts and is holding up inside, resisting."

Harano finally breathed a sigh of relief—at least there was someone who didn’t run. If the entire Imagawa clan had bolted, he would have been totally screwed. But after reading the reports, his initial excitement cooled a bit.

Oda Nobunaga had gambled everything, miraculously killed Imagawa Yoshimoto in a sea of troops, and was an instant legend. He rode that wave, and his prestige shot sky high. The Owari gentry who’d previously been so precious about their troops and refused to help him fight Imagawa suddenly started flocking to his banner without a word—offering grain, offering troops, all the rebellious sons overnight became loyal grandsons.

In less than two days, Oda had already gathered more than ten thousand soldiers. It looked like he’d made up his mind to pull out Nagami Castle, the one nail left that could threaten Atsuta Port. Now he was launching ferocious attacks, blowing through the Owari gentry’s family fortunes just to get men up the walls.

Who knows if Okabe Motonobu can hold out. If he folds soon, that’ll mean the Wanjin Army will be facing Oda Nobunaga’s full force before long.

Harano had no choice now. He could only silently pray for Okabe Motonobu to grow a spine. Even if he can’t hold, at least stall for time so Harano can finish prepping the defenses.