Chapter 151 - 99: A Piece of Land Completely Belonging to Him!

More than ten days after Harano arrived at Nagano Castle, the city’s operations were basically back to normal under the cooperation of a group of new Magistrates. This made it clear that no one in this world is truly irreplaceable—even a high-ranking Head of the Family can leave without impacting the bigger picture. In fact, the departure of Lin Xiuzhen and most of the old guard Household Retainers, in a sense, gave young people their opportunity; Oda Nobunaga’s young Personal Attendants began entering the core of power, and gradually gained control of Nagano Castle. In these turbulent times, Oda Nobunaga instead truly became the City Lord of Nagano Castle. From now on, no one could restrain him. He finally wielded absolute power. After the after-effects of Lin Xiuzhen’s rebellion had mostly faded, Oda Nobunaga, now in full command, immediately chose to go on the offensive—to crush the challenge of his younger brother at the first opportunity. This was his only real choice; the Oda Danjo Chonosuke family did not lack external enemies. If the suppression dragged on, the Imagawa family, Matsudaira family, and Saito family wouldn’t just sit by and watch—they would surely interfere, making things only more complicated. Therefore, a swift and decisive battle was the only option. Once all preparations for war were complete, Oda Nobunaga, without hesitation, set out from Nagano Castle at the head of seven hundred Lang Faction and two thousand miscellaneous Ashigaru, advancing to the front lines to launch a proactive attack. His uncle Oda Nobuaki, City Lord of Shoushan City, also responded enthusiastically, personally leading three hundred Lang Faction and six hundred Ashigaru to join his force halfway. At Mosen Castle, Oda Shinsei did not refuse his elder brother’s "invitation" to decide the victor. The next day, with Katsuyori Shibata as Grand General, he rallied many local nobles and, with over fifteen hundred Lang Faction and nearly four thousand Ashigaru, prepared to meet the attack with a numerical advantage. Lin Xiuzhen also took action, leading over three hundred Lang Faction and five to six hundred Ashigaru in a flanking march to the battlefield, actively responding to Oda Shinsei. This was the decisive battle for the future of the Lower Four Provinces of Owari. As "General of Military Food and Supplies," Harano was in charge of the "Oda Dray Magistrate," meaning he managed various disorderly transport teams as the "Logistics Director," and also marched with the army—though he didn’t need to fight on the front lines, just stay in the rear camp to coordinate and manage. As for the outcome of this battle, Harano wasn’t particularly worried—not due to his oft-unreliable "historical knowledge," but because he’d previously noticed Niwa Nagahide constantly urging him to procure large quantities of native saltpeter. It seemed Oda Nobunaga’s previously purchased three hundred iron cannons had arrived, and training was complete—ready for battle. These were likely about to become a secret weapon. He just focused on his work—not bothering with small skirmishes, harassment, single combats, or shouting matches in the early stage—until the decisive battle that would determine the fate of the Lower Four Provinces began. Only then did he pay closer attention, quietly listening in camp to the massive roar erupting from the distant battlefield. Roughly two and a half hours later, he received news of victory. Oda Nobunaga had his secretly trained Iron Cannon Team suddenly bombard Katsuyori Shibata’s main force, seizing the initiative. Additionally, a portion of the newly "separated from farming" full-time soldiers—the Three-Room Spear Ashigaru squads—struck again, breaking through Katsuyori Shibata’s main camp amid enemy confusion, completely sealing victory. After that, Oda Shinsei’s army collapsed, and Oda Nobunaga’s forces pursued relentlessly. In the end, Oda Shinsei’s personal Lang Faction was almost annihilated, Katsuyori Shibata fled all the way back to Mosen Castle, and the nobles who’d backed Oda Shinsei—the so-called "Owari’s long-suffering Oda Idiots"—suffered heavy losses and would need years to recover. Lin Xiuzhen, who had actively supported Oda Shinsei, didn’t fare any better; as soon as battle broke out, Oda Nobuaki clung to him relentlessly. After Katsuyori Shibata’s defeat and retreat, Lin was unable to hold out alone and was easily routed by the redirected Oda Nobunaga. In the end, his own younger brother Lin Shengzhen and many Household Retainers were killed on the spot, and Lin Xiuzhen fled back to his lands in even more disgrace than last time. The throne of Lord of the Lower Four Prefectures of Owari was decided in just one day. The universally reviled "Oda Idiot" Nobunaga, thanks to the first large-scale deployment of firearms in Japanese history—or at least in the history of Central Japan—secured a decisive victory. It was likely no one would laugh at him again for his previous eccentric iron-cannon antics. In a certain sense, he had proven himself. And had proven that, in this world, you don’t need to care how others see you, you only need to do what you think is right—one day, fate will reward you. With this, the infighting within the Oda Danjo Chonosuke family was basically over; only the finishing touches remained. The fighting was done, but as the "Medical Magistrate," Harano became busier than ever, continually retrieving the wounded. He was hard at work when Maeda Toshie suddenly galloped over, a huge piece of flesh torn beneath his right eye, eyes red with rage. Without a word, he grabbed Harano and dragged him onto his horse as if kidnapping him like a demon. Harano didn’t get angry. He told Maeshima Shichiro to keep gathering the wounded and grabbed his medicine box. Together with Akiyo, he mounted up and followed Maeda Toshie far out to a patch of woods, where he found Maeda Family’s second son Maeda Toshimasa, and fifth son Sawaki Ryoji. Sawaki Ryoji’s armor was in disarray, and he looked battered. He was sitting on the ground in a daze, cradling Maeda Toshimasa. Only when Harano arrived did he snap out of it and sprang up emotionally: "Lord Nozawa, please save my second brother, I beg you! Please, I’m begging you!" Harano ignored him and rushed over to examine Maeda Toshimasa’s wounds. After only a quick look and feeling his neck, he sighed: "Lord Fujihachiro, I’m sorry..." Sawaki Ryoji was stunned at first, then, after checking again, found that Maeda Toshimasa’s last faint breath was gone. Finally realizing it, he broke down, clutching his brother’s corpse and wailing aloud. Harano could do nothing—he couldn’t bring back the dead. He turned to the dazed Maeda Toshie and sighed: "Please restrain your grief. I... sigh, let me tend to the wound on your face first; you’re also badly hurt." Maeda Toshie stood there blankly, touched the arrow wound on his face—first shaking his head, then nodding, then shaking it again. At last, he seemed to regain a bit of sense, forcing a smile uglier than crying: "It’s fine, Lord Nozawa, I’m fine. Um... sorry—no, thank you. I’ll... I’ll come find you later." Harano shook his head, glanced at Sawaki Ryoji’s bloody wound on his right arm, opened his mouth but said nothing, then turned and left the woods, giving the three brothers space to themselves. Akiyo was waiting outside with the horses. Harano said to her, "Let’s go back." Akiyo glanced curiously into the woods, hearing the cries, not understanding what had happened. Harano shook his head and repeated, "Let’s go back first." Akiyo stopped looking, helped him onto the horse, mounted up herself, and they began riding back. She watched him carefully for fear his old wound might act up and he’d fall off, asking softly, "What happened?" In fact, Harano was recovering well, much better than expected. He gestured for Akiyo not to worry about him breaking his neck, then sighed quietly: "There was a tragedy. The Hosokawa Family split their allegiances—brothers killed each other." As "General of Military Food and Supplies" he’d recently spent his time managing a disorderly lot, coming into contact with many lower Magistrates and gathering rumors, so he’d been aware that in the latest strife within Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s family, quite a few local nobles were hedging their bets on both sides. Even if they disliked the "Oda Idiot" Nobunaga or thought he was crazy, they’d still split their family members—sending some to Oda Nobunaga and some to Oda Shinsei, usually supporting Shinsei more, but Nobunaga’s side always had two, just in case. The Hosokawa Family did exactly that: eldest son Maeda Rikyu stayed home, feigning illness at Hosokawa Castle; Second son Maeda Toshimasa had previously served as a Clerk in the Oda Danjo Chonosuke household, belonging to the civil Magistrate system, and followed Lin Xiuzhen, the former Head of the Family; Third son Maeda Yasusada was skilled in martial arts and was sent to Oda Shinsei, to serve as his page; Fourth son Maeda Toshie and fifth son Sawaki Ryoji were already pages to Oda Nobunaga, and naturally followed him to war. This way, no matter who won, whoever became the next ruler of the Lower Four Prefectures of Owari, the Hosokawa Family would always have someone on top and the family fortune would be secure. So when Maeda Toshie, face bloodied and eyes red, came to him without even patching himself up, Harano guessed what had happened. Sure enough, Maeda Toshimasa, the second eldest, had died of his wounds, most likely involving Sawaki Ryoji—perhaps even killed by his own younger brother in the chaos. As for why they were hiding in a small copse away from the camp... Maeda Toshimasa had been following Lin Xiuzhen, a rebel traitor who now ranked among Oda Nobunaga’s top hated enemies. Maeda Toshie and Sawaki Ryoji absolutely could not bring those wounded from Lin Xiuzhen’s side back to camp; that would only plant the seeds for future disaster. All they could do was use connections to drag Harano out here, and even now, with Toshimasa dead, they didn’t dare bring his body back—in fact, they needed to hide it quickly to keep the "military inspectors" from severing his head and presenting it to Oda Nobunaga. It can only be described as a tragedy—possibly the most common kind in Owari today. Who knows how many families lost brothers, uncles and nephews, fathers and sons, or kin killing each other like this. After Harano’s explanation, Akiyo finally understood. She stood there dumbly for quite a while—perhaps thinking of Ah Man. After a long pause, she looked at him confusedly and asked, "When will there be no more war?" Harano sighed, was silent for a while, then said: "I don’t know. Maybe we’ll be fighting for the rest of our lives." Akiyo lowered her gaze in disappointment and did not ask again, just rode silently. Harano, seeing her so upset, reached out with his large hand to grasp her small one and comforted her: "Don’t think too much. Some things can’t be avoided. But there won’t be any more fighting for a while—at least this war is over, so we’ll have peace for a bit. As for the future... let’s leave it for later. Living well today is what matters most." Akiyo nodded lightly, a little less dejected, though still unable to cheer up. Harano did not try to comfort her further. He rode slowly back, pondering his plans for the future. The war was over. He’d suffered a loss before. Now, he needed a piece of land where he could freely build up his own strength—to prevent history from repeating itself, to avenge Ah Man, to fulfill her last wish, and to track down every last chicken in the Lin family. In this era, that would be a tall order—and even harder to do without losing his freedom. But he was beginning to have some ideas; he just needed an opportunity, and a bit more time, to plan more carefully. But in any case, he had to get his hands on a piece of land that belonged entirely to him. He would get it—no matter what!