CHAPTER 271: CHAPTER 198: ODA FAMILY’S NEW ALLY

On the northwest Pacific, about thirty typhoon systems form every year. Of these, around eight affect southern Kyushu and Shikoku Island, and about three attack Kansai, Guanzhong, Kantou, and the North Land regions.

Especially the autumn typhoons in August and September—when summer shifts to autumn and the sun moves from north to south—the sea temperatures are warmer, storing up more energy, so the resulting destruction is much greater.

The kind of typhoon that can reach the Owari region is generally this type of autumn typhoon.

And maybe it’s because the Little Ice Age is approaching—a catastrophic event that greatly affected Ming Dynasty society is said to have had ominous signs traceable to the early Jiajing period, and became obvious from the thirteenth year of Wanli (1585) onwards.

At this time, it seemed as if heaven and earth was warming up for a disaster. In the nearly two years after the Battle of Okehazama, temperatures in Japan’s Owari region fluctuated wildly—summers were extremely hot, winters bitterly cold, and autumn typhoons grew exceptionally fierce. Howling winds and torrential rain crossed Ise Bay and battered the Owari region, causing widespread wind and flood disasters.

Of all disasters, the one the year before last was the most severe. Over two-thirds of villages on the Chita Peninsula were affected. Houses collapsed, rivers back-flowed, countless fields were destroyed, and casualties were heavy.

And after the autumn and winter of the year before last, there was a small-scale drought last spring, leading to delayed spring plowing. It was as if heaven had a particular dislike for Harano the transmigrator and punched him with a full combo.

At least Harano finally understood how the Ming Dynasty toppled—these days, natural disasters really are fatal.

So after seizing the Chita Peninsula, Harano barely had time for anything else; most of his energy was spent on disaster relief and restoring production.

The Wanjin Army not only didn’t expand further, but was even forced to contract its ranks. Several hundred veterans and low-ranking officers had to be demobilized and transitioned into the administrative system to strengthen management and boost disaster relief manpower in all the villages.

Military expenditures were drastically cut as well, to reserve more financial resources for the Chita Peninsula to weather the famine and recover production. Even the Wanjin Army was forced to divert large numbers of troops to disaster areas for relief, delaying a great many other matters.

Being a lord wasn’t easy at all. But thanks to his proactive disaster relief efforts, Harano’s prestige among the commoners of the Chita Peninsula soared to dizzying heights. Over the past two years, the people have accepted their new lord with remarkable enthusiasm, with everyone thinking he’s a once-in-a-millennium do-gooder. Even the mountain refugees were willing to serve him—in fact, there were barely any refugees left; after so many disasters, they simply couldn’t survive in the mountains and all came back down.

All in all, in the nearly two years after the Battle of Okehazama, Harano didn’t have it easy—he managed to rally the people’s hearts, but had barely any other gains to show for it.

......

"According to daily observations and various inquiries, temperatures and rainfall at the start of the year are basically normal. Many local elders believe the autumn typhoons won’t be too strong this year, but nothing’s certain. Disaster preparedness remains a top priority. Also, food reserves must continue to be stockpiled; we need to seize the opportunity offered by spring to organize more foraging for wild vegetables and ramp up fishing and shrimping efforts. Propaganda should keep emphasizing the importance of conserving grain, seek alternative foodstuffs wherever possible—if you can eat one grain less, do so, fill up supplies first..."

Endo Chiyoda was holding a meeting with the domestic affairs officials; Harano was present as a listener. Hearing this, even someone who’d read the relevant reports off and on before couldn’t help but let out a faint sigh of relief—looks like the unusual weather had passed. After all, it was only a preview for the coming Little Ice Age disaster and the scale hadn’t been too big. If it had really been nine years without rain or the whole peninsula underwater, he’d have been looking for a beam to hang himself from.

Luckily, he could extract saltpeter and trade it at a high price for grain from unscathed places like Kantou or the North Land. Otherwise, getting through this hurdle would have been far from easy.

He brooded to himself, not interrupting Endo Chiyoda’s directives—these were all routine matters, and even if he took charge himself, Endo Chiyoda would probably do no worse. As the meeting drew to a close, he excused himself and returned to his study, about to steal a leisurely moment—when Ah Man came hurrying in.

Harano sighed inwardly, feeling that these days he couldn’t catch even half a day’s rest. But of course, business comes first, so he immediately asked, "What’s got you running so fast? Something happened again?"

Ah Man got straight to the point: "Two things. First—Oda Nobuaki, lord of Inuyama Castle, has rebelled and already made a pact with Saito Ryuko as allies."

"Here we go again..." Harano rubbed his brow, sighing quietly to himself.

In the early summer two years ago, the Battle of Okehazama happened; that autumn, wind and flood disasters struck. Owari, Sanhe, Totomi, and Jumogawa’s coastal regions were all affected, more or less, and everyone was forced to behave themselves on the spot.

But last year, Minoh’s "schemer" Saito Yoshitada died of leprosy while helping their ally, the Rokkaku family, deal with the Asai Family, passing the patriarchal seat on to his fourteen-year-old son, Saito Ryuko.

His death instantly got Oda Nobunaga excited. Disaster in Owari be damned, he immediately led his personal troops across the Kisogawa River to "pay his respects." The two sides fought fiercely at the Western Minonose Border. Saito family’s "Six Elders" Nagai Eian and Hibino Sei-ya fought to the death and fell in battle, barely stopping Oda Nobunaga from pressing his attack.

After that battle, another of the Saito family’s "Six Elders," Takenoshi Naomitsu, died of illness, leaving only Inaba Kazutetsu, Ando Shouji, and Ujiie Naomoto to hold up Minoh and the Saito family—thus renamed the "Three of Minoh."

Following that, the Oda Family and Saito family didn’t engage in further battles—mainly because Owari was stricken by famine and disaster at this point. Even if Oda Nobunaga wanted to go all in for an attack, he simply couldn’t—the Owari clans weren’t just unwilling, they were truly unable, lacking even the grain to muster Lang Faction and Ashigaru together.

But Oda Nobunaga didn’t give up ambitions for Minoh, continually sending small raiding parties that drove the Saito family mad. So now, seeing Inuyama’s lord Oda Nobuaki suddenly rebel, it’s almost certain the Saito family are up to their old tricks, stirring up strife within the Oda Family to relieve pressure on Minoh.

Harano didn’t care much about Oda Nobuaki’s rebellion—this guy wasn’t famous in history, at least he hadn’t really heard of him, so the impact shouldn’t be huge.

Besides, Inuyama Castle sits at the far northern tip of Owari, bordering Minoh, while he himself is at the southernmost tip, facing the Pacific Ocean—a long way off. Not much chance of that affecting him.

Putting Oda Nobuaki aside, he said to Ah Man: "Keep tracking that situation. What’s the second thing?"

"Matsudaira Mototaka sent people to Qingzhou City to try and form an alliance with Oda Nobunaga. Right now, it looks like Oda Nobunaga is going to agree," Ah Man reported.

Matsudaira Mototaka—that is, the future Tokugawa Ieyasu.

This fellow was, in fact, Harano’s bona fide neighbor now—though Nagami Castle and the East Sea Street were under Oda Nobunaga’s control, and the land Wanjin held only brushed the northeastern corner bordering Sanhe, still, they were bona fide neighbors; he could barge into West Sanhe at any time, and Matsudaira Mototaka could march into the Chita Peninsula as easily.

Harano had wanted to sneak a stick to Matsudaira Mototaka before—not out of a desire to change history, but simply to make it easier to expand his own territory westward into Sanhe. But it hadn’t worked out; after the Battle of Okehazama, Matsudaira Mototaka was the first to run, and he’d never even caught a glimpse of the man.

And when Matsudaira Mototaka fled back to West Sanhe, he immediately seized the deserted Okazaki Castle. Plus, the Imagawa family had always used the Matsudaira family as cannon fodder, sending them against every hard nut to crack—let alone making allies, they didn’t even treat them like people.

This made the Matsudaira family bear a long-standing grudge against the Imagawa. So as soon as Matsudaira Mototaka raised the "banner of independence" at Okazaki Castle, all the Matsudaira branches, in-laws, and old subordinates in West Sanhe rose in response. Within two months, all of West Sanhe was in Matsudaira Mototaka’s hands.

At that time, the Imagawa family were busy squabbling over the new family head, so no one paid attention to him. Harano, on his end, was busy integrating new territory and dealing with severe natural disasters, plus keeping a wary eye on Oda Nobunaga’s antics, so he likewise had no strength to intervene. As a result, Matsudaira Mototaka managed to plant his feet firmly with ease.

Truly worthy of being the old tortoise who’d eventually win the world—his luck is just way too damn good.

If Matsudaira Mototaka allies with Oda Nobunaga now...

Harano fell silent for a moment, then sighed. It looked like he’d lost any chance to expand into West Sanhe. Two years of natural disasters had made him miss the best window.

There really was no way to expand into West Sanhe anymore. Ever since he forcibly seized the Chita Peninsula, his relationship with Oda Nobunaga had cooled. It was only thanks to years of typhoons and floods battering Owari that no great war broke out, plus Saito Yoshitada’s death shifted Oda Nobunaga’s focus. Otherwise, Oda Nobunaga definitely would’ve found a way to "teach him a lesson."

But even though Oda Nobunaga didn’t come straight over to beat him up, he still found ways to make trouble for him—jacking up the "customs ship tariff" on all goods exported from Chita via Atsuta port, basically canceling all the previous preferential treatment for Wanjin and costing them a fortune.

What’s more, even while suffering disaster and plotting against Minoh, Oda Nobunaga was refurbishing rock fortresses in Nagami Castle and on the north bank of the Dagao River—clearly on high alert against him, wanting to shut him up tight on the Chita Peninsula and never let him out.

With Oda Nobunaga this wary now, any attempt to grab land in West Sanhe would most likely mean Oda Nobunaga and Matsudaira Mototaka teaming up to beat him down.

His army hadn’t grown much stronger over the past two years, so if a fight broke out, he’d probably get his ass kicked.

Harano began pacing around his desk again. He really didn’t know that much about Japanese history, and it had never occurred to him that right after Okehazama, natural disasters would strike. When disaster did hit, he couldn’t simply ignore the people’s lives. Going off to war while short on both clothes and food? His dream of expanding into West Sanhe had completely gone bust.

But not developing at all was absolutely impossible. If land routes didn’t work, maybe it was time to try the sea.

He now controlled a peninsula, had a booming population, rich resources, and increasingly competent followers. Give him a year or two to recover, and he’d have ample resources to build a fleet and look for new territory across the sea.

Ah Man finished her report and waited for his instructions, but instead Harano started circling like a caged animal again. She couldn’t help but ask, "Now what’s eating you? Even if the Matsudaira family and Oda Nobunaga form an alliance, it’s not a big deal! As long as we hold the Dagao River, they can’t barge in easily."

Right now, she was second only to Harano on the Chita Peninsula and living a life she hadn’t even dared dream of before. She was extremely satisfied—felt like she could spend her whole life this way and it’d be all right. She reckoned the Nozawa family’s foundation was stable enough to last three generations at least; all they needed was to hold firm, nothing more.

The only thing was, Harano still wouldn’t produce an heir, leaving the Nozawa family thin on descendants—which worried her. She thought he ought to stop all this aimless brooding and hurry back to the bedroom to make babies, instead of wasting his energy with these idle concerns.

Harano glanced at her—for this, he simply couldn’t explain. What he wanted wasn’t personal glory or enjoyment, couldn’t just hide away and live out his days in comfort. Only by expanding further, seeking bigger territory and greater strength, could he fulfill his plans.

After all, building a kingdom is never easy. One mere district like the Chita Peninsula could never suffice.

"That’s nothing you need to worry about. Go get on with your work!"

He shooed Ah Man away, and kept pondering where else he might find an opening. Less than half a month later, Oda Nobunaga’s envoy arrived, inviting him to Qingzhou City to meet Oda Family’s new ally Matsudaira Mototaka.