Chapter 108 - 67: Like Being Stuck in a Quagmire!

Chapter 108: Chapter 67: Like Being Stuck in a Quagmire!The next morning, as soon as Harano got up, good news arrived: the Matsudaira family had already abandoned their raid, burning their camp and retreating along the Spring River. Not long after, Oda Nobunaga also issued the order to return to Nagano Castle. At last, the Battle of East Tsubono was over. In name, they had repelled the Matsudaira family and even shot the enemy general, so the results weren’t bad on paper. But in reality, it was an utter defeat—a bunch of people returned home with their tails between their legs, and Oda Nobunaga was likely to face criticism from the old-guard household retainers. Of course, this had little to do with Harano; how Oda Nobunaga took his scolding was none of his business. The only thing was, he couldn’t return to Takeshige Manor to continue his soy sauce empire right away—he’d been paid as a doctor, so he had to stick around until the wounded were more or less recovered. Luckily, Oda Nobunaga cared a lot about these Lang Faction retainers and did everything he could to provide the best conditions for their recovery. Not only did he set aside a small area with strict sanitation measures for the wounded, he also sent over a dozen maids to help cook and do laundry for them, and he even assigned Harano his own small courtyard. Whether it was a temporary loan or a gift, who knew. Only, Oda Nobunaga himself didn’t show up again, and neither did attendants like Maeda Toshie. It was as if they’d vanished into thin air. Harano didn’t care about any of that and just played his role as "Medical Magistrate." Two days went by like this—then suddenly, an unfamiliar samurai visited, delivering a horse. And not just any horse, but a fine one—shoulder height close to 1.4 meters, thick legs, very sturdy build. By the standards of 147, it was still a pony, but in Japan, it definitely counted as top class. "It’s a stallion! And a pretty big one; no wonder it’s built so strong!" Ah Man bent down, peered under the horse’s belly, and blurted that out right away. You little rascal, you really are... seaʀᴄh thё NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Harano hurriedly grabbed her by the collar and yanked her upright, afraid she’d get them into some horse harassment scandal. But after patting the horse’s fat rump, he reckoned it was worth at least forty kan. He was quite pleased—no wonder Japanese samurai loved to fight wars: you could get rich quick. He hadn’t even worked that hard and was already up a hundred and forty kan—almost as much as he’d make from a whole month of struggling to sell soy sauce. Ah Man was pleased too. Knowing Harano’s temperament, now that he had this big horse, the piebald little mare would definitely go to her and Ah Qing in the future. She happily patted the horse’s rump and curiously asked, "Who was that guy who just came? Why give you such a good horse for free?" "He’s a retainer of Hirata Masahide, said it’s a thank-you gift!" Harano waved and gestured for Ah Qing to lead the horse to the stable, then briefly explained the situation to Ah Man. Well, there wasn’t much to explain anyway. As the Family Elder of the Oda Danjo Chonosuke family and the teacher of the new family head, Hirata Masahide didn’t have much to say to a "wandering samurai." He just sent a retainer with a thank-you gift, for his contributions during the "Battle of East Tsubono." That was it. Hirata Masahide probably knew what had happened in the "Battle of East Tsubono," and also heard that Oda Nobunaga awkwardly failed to throw a banquet, so Harano hadn’t gotten any reward. He rushed to make up for it, so as not to chill a merit-holder’s heart. Ah Man suddenly saw the light and sighed, "So it’s cleaning up after that big dunce—old guys really know how to do things, much better than that greenhorn!" She gave Harano a meaningful look. "See? Having an elder at home is like having a treasure. That big dunce really ought to listen more to his elders instead of being so stubborn. That way, things would go a lot more smoothly!" Harano got the hint. There wasn’t anyone else around, so he didn’t bother pretending. He shot her a sidelong glance and snapped, "Quit the passive-aggressive crap. Do we even have any elders at home?" "I’m pretty old!" "Old, my ass. I’m at least seven or eight years older than you!" "So what if you are?" Ah Man shot right back, then her expression grew a little wistful. "Just look at you. You’ve never really suffered growing up. I’ve suffered way more... If you really count it out, I ought to be the one seven or eight years older than you." At this, Harano paused, a bit melancholy himself. "I did have my share of hardships as a kid, you just don’t know about them." "What kind of hardships? Tell me," Ah Man was curious. "Better not. Let’s drop it," Harano wasn’t eager to compare childhood tragedies. He figured he’d probably lose—his was just frequent domestic violence, which is rough by modern standards but barely worth mentioning in ancient times. Ah Man, on the other hand, had lost her whole family. Now that’s tragedy written in flesh and blood. There was no way he could compete. He quickly changed the subject, and asked her seriously, "So how are things outside now?" "Not good. The Dan Zhengzhong family is worse off than before." Ah Man sounded a bit gleeful. "They say they repelled the Matsudaira family, but everyone knows what really happened. That big dunce Nobunaga embarrassed himself again, and now people outside are making all sorts of jokes about him. Local gentry probably look down on him even more now." "I see..." Harano pondered for a moment. That made sense. In fact, he was starting to suspect he’d time-travelled into some weird parallel world, and his faith in Oda Nobunaga had taken a hit—historically, Oda Nobunaga unified Owari Province, but right now he was getting trounced, and Owari didn’t look remotely close to unification. Very strange. It didn’t fit history. Hard not to suspect something was off. After thinking a bit, he asked, "What about Oda Nobunaga? What’s he up to now?" "No idea. Haven’t heard a word about him these last couple days—he’s probably hiding at home playing dead!" Ah Man finished, then asked, "Want me to sneak into his house and see what he’s up to?" "No need. Not worth the trouble if it stirs up problems." Harano really was just asking casually. No big deal if she didn’t know. After a second, he told Ah Man, "If you’re bored these days, look for soybean cakes. See if you can find a merchant who’ll sell them regularly, and also keep an eye out for good-quality sulfur and soda ash." Let Oda Nobunaga worry about himself—Harano couldn’t help even if he wanted to. It was better to focus on his own business and line up suppliers for the future. "No problem, leave it to me! If I can’t find any in Nagano City, I’ll head over to Atsuta!" Ah Man pounded her chest in agreement. She fully backed Harano’s soy sauce dreams, joked a bit more with him, and then strolled out to get to work. Harano turned back inside too, ready to brainstorm more ways to make money so he could roll them all out once he got home again. ...... During the day, Harano managed his makeshift hospital while keeping an eye on his business prospects. At night, he kept up running his "night school," teaching Ah Man, Ah Qing, Yayoi, and others how to read. In this mix of half-work, half-slacking, five or six days passed quickly. The wounded in his care were mostly on the mend—after all, they were mostly light cases, so they probably would’ve lived even without any care. Harano figured his mission was pretty much done and was getting ready to tell Oda Nobunaga he’d be heading home soon. But before he could even leave, the sound of Dharma Conch horns rang through—the notes short and sharp, the kind used to urgently summon the top retainers for council. He immediately had a bad feeling—seemed he wouldn’t be leaving here anytime soon. Sure enough, soon Ah Man came dashing in, face and hair dripping with sweat, yelling from afar, "Bad news, bad news, someone’s attacking again!" Harano rushed to ask, "Who’s attacking? Is the Matsudaira family coming back?" "Not Matsudaira—it’s the Hoshina family... no, actually, it’s the Qingzhou Oda Family!" Ah Man wiped her sweaty face, felt their trip home was canceled again, and said with a sigh, "The Qingzhou Oda Family suddenly sent troops, taking Matsuba and Shinkata Castles in a single day. One castle lord was captured, the other disappeared, and things are a mess at Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s place." "Come inside and explain!" Harano quickly pulled her in, found the map, and asked, "Where are Matsuba and Shinkata? Isn’t the Qingzhou Oda Family the main branch? Why attack all of a sudden?" Ah Man glanced at the map, pointed northwest of Hosokawa Castle, and said, "About here. Two small castles, but Matsuba Castle controls Matsuba Pass, and Shinkata Castle controls Sanben Wood—two key spots." She paused and added, "As for why the Qingzhou Oda Family acted so suddenly, not clear yet. Maybe they saw the big dunce just inherited as Family Head, then lost a battle and the people are restless, so they’re taking advantage. They also didn’t use the Qingzhou Oda Family name this time, but the Hoshina family’s Owari Province governor’s flag. So technically, it’s not the main house ambushing the branch." Harano studied the map and found Matsuba and Shinkata indeed critical. If they moved south, they could split Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s territory in two and cut the land route between Shimazu and Atsuta, halving his economic power at a stroke. Looks like this battle can’t be avoided either... What a chaotic time—he didn’t even have time to make money in peace. It was damn exhausting! He heaved a deep sigh. Ah Man, dying of thirst after rushing for news, grabbed his teacup and gulped down the leftover tea, then wiped her mouth and asked, "So what do we do now?" She wanted to go home and make soy sauce too—now war again. "I don’t know. For now, better be ready to leave Owari at a moment’s notice, and see what Oda Danjo Chonosuke does next." Harano sighed again. He’d only fallen on hard times for just over a hundred days, and Owari Province was already at war—on an ever-larger scale. He really had no good solutions. Given a year, he could handle it. But three months in, he’d barely adapted to his new surroundings, let alone built any foundation—it was, honestly, a bit hopeless. It was only at times like this that, as someone born enjoying peace and stability in the modern age, he finally realized just how precious peace really was! Once war begins, all your freedom is gone, as if you’re stuck in a swamp!