Chapter 180 - 122: Eliminate This Super Rebel!

Niwa Nagahide sent over a letter—or rather, an order. Harano wasn’t surprised after reading it, and just handed it straight to Ah Man. Ah Man took a look and was shocked: "Shiba Yoshinori actually died?" Shiba Yoshinori, the fourteenth Patriarch of the Hoshina family, also known as the Jibu-no-Daibu, Buddhist name Yishan, descended from one of the three Kanrei of the Muromachi Shogunate, daimyo protector of Owari Province, the nominal supreme ruler of Owari. A few days ago, his residence was stormed by the Oda Family at Qingzhou, his own household retainers, and he was forced to commit seppuku. Wanjin had only just been established, and Ah Man, this freshly appointed "East Factory Director," hadn’t been in the job long. For now, he only had any influence around Nagano Castle and Atsuta Port—Qingzhou City was still far beyond his reach. He had no idea what had happened there, so after a quick glance at the letter, he immediately said seriously, "I’ll go check this out right away." Harano shook his head: "No need to waste the effort; just knowing the gist is good enough." Since the previous generation got its butt kicked by the Imagawa family, the Hoshina family had long been nothing more than a puppet, holding only nominal political rule in Owari Province. Real power had already been sliced up by the various chaotic Oda branches. Their strength was no more than a typical local gentry’s. No surprise someone offed them. He wasn’t in the mood to investigate why Oda Nobuyoshi (Patriarch of the Oda Family at Qingzhou) had suddenly picked a fight with the Hoshina family. He picked up the letter again, glanced at the second half, and sighed helplessly, "Anyway, I have to go there soon, I’ll just see for myself and ask about it." The Oda Family in Qingzhou forced Shiba Yoshinori to his death. Shiba Yoshinori’s three sons—Shiba Yigin, Mori Hidenari, and Tsugawa Yoshifuyu—along with other Hoshina clan members, basically following the ’enemy of my enemy is my friend’ principle, all ran off to Oda Nobunaga’s place one after another. Oda Nobunaga already had a grudge against the Qingzhou Oda Family and always despised this so-called "main branch." Of course, he wouldn’t let this great opportunity slide. He’s already raised his banners, calling to defend the orthodox line and avenge Owari’s rightful lord Shiba Yoshinori, rallying all of the Lower Four Provinces of Owari to unite and take down Oda Nobuyoshi—the super traitor who dared even to kill the Daimyo Protector at will. Since even Oda Nobunaga is mobilizing, there’s no way for Harano to avoid it. Niwa Nagahide sent him this command to hand over every bit of gunpowder he had—however much, just turn it all in, treating it as an early "annual tribute." It wasn’t like he was considered an outsider either; he was directly ordered to return to Nagano Castle at once, make preparations, and join the army. At least, considering he’s been stuck on a patch of barren land for just a few months with his whole territory probably in chaos, they didn’t demand any other military service from him for now. Harano wasn’t surprised either—this is the start of Japan’s Warring States, right? Fighting a war is normal; why else call it the "Warring States Era"? Nothing had been happening for a while—Oda Nobunaga even ran off chasing romance like a lovesick puppy. He himself had found it weird. Now, of course, things are kicking off again. Most likely, after this battle, Qingzhou City will end up in Oda Nobunaga’s hands. When Nobunaga moves his residence and shifts focus, Harano will have one less thing to worry about—not a bad thing, in the grand scheme. Niwa Nagahide, or rather Oda Nobunaga, only wanted him and his gunpowder. He certainly had no plan to go all out risking his neck for the Dan Zhengzhong house. He packed up a few hundred catties of gunpowder his slow workshop managed to churn out these last months, called over the two Yoriki Warriors assigned to him by Oda Nobunaga—ready to use them as cannon fodder if necessary—then just brought A-Qing as his personal bodyguard and a few trusted Lang Faction guys as errand boys. Everyone else stayed at Wanjin to keep building up strength by the plan—routine matters are handled collectively; if there’s an argument, Ah Man decides, and for anything major, they’ll write to him. Once everything was in order, he set off amid a barrage of "may the Lord’s martial luck prosper," making his way to Nagano Castle to report to Niwa Nagahide. But this time, the treatment wasn’t nearly as good as last time. Since he’d been away from Dan Zhengzhong’s "central" for too long and Nagano Castle’s administration had fully recovered, all the cushy jobs were long taken—there’s no way a fat post like "General of Military Food and Supplies" would fall into his lap again. He just returned to his old post as "Medical Magistrate." Not that he cared. He just led his allotted ragtag Ashigaru to prep—carrying stretchers, boiling bandages, that kind of thing. He was busy for seven or eight straight days, finally gathering almost everything needed, then got notified to attend a Magistrate meeting. He grabbed A-Qing and hurried to Oda Nobunaga’s residence. As he was strolling toward the meeting venue, he ran smack into Maeda Toshie, who was goofing off and chatting with a few guys. Over all this time, Maeda Toshie seemed finally to have crawled out from the tragic pit of "brother-killing." He looked much less gloomy and resentful, dressed sharply in formal hunting robes, and had regained his spirit. Of course, the arrow wound on his face left a big scar—couldn’t quite dodge disfigurement, after all. Harano casually greeted him, planning to catch up after the meeting. But Maeda Toshie, seeing who it was, ditched his colleagues to join him on the way to the meeting, asking with concern, "Lord Saburo, how’ve you been lately?" Harano had heard this spiel many times lately. In this unlucky era, news traveled slow. He’d been laying low in barren Wanjin, quietly growing stronger. Unless you were someone like Oda Nobunaga, who assigned him Yoriki Warriors and had a reason to keep tabs, most Samurai didn’t hear a peep about him. People thought he was in exile, so anyone with even half-decent ties—like Asano Nagasuke, Ningning, etc.—always asked after him like he’d suffered terribly and just got out of prison. Harano also didn’t want anyone paying too much attention—he had ulterior motives for being in Wanjin, and he’d have to do bad stuff in the future. Too much attention meant he couldn’t get away with mischief. So, just like with the others, he sighed deeply to Maeda Toshie: "Could be worse. The mission didn’t go all that well—managed to get some rocks back for boiling saltpeter, but the results weren’t as good as hoped. Only managed a few hundred catties in several months. The Lord of Upper General is not happy." Maeda Toshie bought it. After all, the Maeda Family had seventy or eighty years of frontier experience and knew how hard it was to build on barren land from scratch. He couldn’t help sighing along: "I don’t really get these things, but if there’s anything I can help with, just say the word!" Harano kept sighing: "If you get a chance, please say something nice about me to the Lord of Upper General—maybe I can get some extra time!" "That’s no problem!" Maeda Toshie agreed instantly. He seemed like a straightforward guy with lousy social skills, but for some reason, whatever he said to Oda Nobunaga always worked. He’d vouched for quite a few people before—and those always panned out. So he was weirdly skilled at this. Harano thanked him, not too bothered about whether it would help, and immediately changed the subject: "I heard you got a promotion—got selected into the Akamoi Corps?" This was news he’d only heard after arriving at Nagano Castle. Oda Nobunaga had a brainwave: picked out the cream of the crop from his attendant pages and the stable-runners, and set up two new units: the Akamoi Corps (Red Mother’s Robe) and the Kuromoi Corps (Black Mother’s Robe). Maeda Toshie got assigned to the Akamoi, officially stepping out of his ’minion’ role to become a mid-tier household retainer who could handle things on his own. With his annual stipend suddenly bumped up to 150 kan, you could call it both a promotion and a raise—a double win! If he was unlucky enough to have his wife die, he’d be the most successful dude in the whole Dan Zhengzhong house this year. Maeda Toshie’s face lit up at once, but then he suddenly remembered Harano’s "miserable" situation—eating dirt and boiling rocks on a deserted coastline. His smile flickered and disappeared; he humbly said, "Doesn’t really count as a promotion. Still running errands all over, just more work than before. Every trip takes days—urging and moving people around. I just got back myself." "That’s always how it goes, more tiring with a promotion. But what’s the difference between the Akamoi and the Kuromoi? How’d you end up in the Akamoi?" Harano was really curious—was this some kind of secret weapon? He wanted to know the details, but since the units were new, the people he’d asked before didn’t really have a clue. Maeda Toshie didn’t hide anything and answered cheerfully: "The only real difference is the color of the mother’s robe. His Lordship picked us out and had us draw lots—I got red, so I joined the Akamoi Corps." He paused, realizing that explanation sounded too dumb, and quickly added, "There’s no work difference; we all do the same stuff—making rounds, inspecting, serving as messengers. In war, we get assigned to different columns and squads to supervise and verify battle achievements. That’s why we wear the mother’s robe—His Lordship said it looks impressive, very dignified." Harano nodded lightly. Whether carrying a turtle shell looked cool or not, one thing was sure: Oda Nobunaga was at it again, breaking with tradition—maybe trying to split up the powers of the "Gun-me Magistrate" or sideline that department entirely, in other words, forming a kind of military police. As for why he’d make two teams for the same job and use lottery to assign people—that was just Oda Nobunaga’s weird sense of humor. He really was a nutcase now and then, coming up with things on a whim. As long as it wasn’t a secret weapon, he was fine! With a name that intimidating, he’d worried Oda Nobunaga was organizing cavalry, and that gave him a fright... Feeling relieved, Harano started pumping Maeda Toshie for more gossip about Oda Nobunaga’s latest antics and to get a handle on Nobunaga’s current moods—just in case. In the middle of gabbing, A-Qing lightly tugged his sleeve, and he looked up, surprised—just in time to see Lin Xiuzhen, on a covered walkway, stop and glare at him with an icy gaze. Maeda Toshie saw it too. He hesitated, then stepped up and greeted her respectfully without any rudeness. But this former "Head of the Family"—now just the "Empty Title Family Elder"—ignored him, only held Harano’s gaze for a moment, then looked away and continued down the corridor in silence with her household retainers. Harano watched him leave, raising an eyebrow. Looks like he’d been biding his time, waiting to land a hit on this family elder. But judging by Lin Xiuzhen’s look, the feeling was mutual—seems she still hated him for killing her nephew. If this guy doesn’t die, I’ll never be at ease!