Chapter 220 - 154: Owari’s No.1 Beauty

Words : 1616 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

The bay channel still hadn’t been fully cleared, so bringing the customs ship in carried certain risks. Niwa and Maeda had to go way out of their way before finally reaching shore in a small boat. The moment Nozawa saw it was these two guys acting as emissaries, he let out a huge sigh of relief in his heart—good, seems Oda Nobunaga isn’t planning to fight, otherwise there’d be no reason to send these two over. His mood immediately brightened, just like when they used to deal with each other before; from a distance, he greeted them warmly: "Welcome, Lord Niwa, Lord Maeda." Looking down at the mud caking their feet, he apologized, "Sorry, the pier’s not back in operation yet." Niwa Nagahide looked at him, his feelings complicated. Whether in terms of military achievements or actual strength, this "wandering samurai from the west" Nozawa had already become a notable figure. In Owari, no one dared underestimate him anymore—don’t be fooled by the Oda Danjo Chonosuke household retainers and local clans still eyeing his things behind his back, disparaging and belittling him; but if they actually met face to face, they wouldn’t dare utter a single squeak. In this world, fighting prowess is the only real truth—if a man the Imagawa family can’t beat to death, then there’s no local warlord left who’d dare mess with him. Niwa Nagahide straightened his posture, not caring about the black mud covering his own feet, and gave a formal salute: "Lord Saburou, pardon our abrupt visit." "I’m only too happy to welcome you, why would I take offense?" Nozawa remained all warmth, stepping forward to support him, greeting Maeda Toshie as well—whose face also showed emotion. Then he chuckled, "Let’s go back and talk. Things have only just settled down here—everything’s a bit rough. Sorry for the poor hospitality, hope you won’t mind." "Not at all! Not at all!" Niwa Nagahide could no longer treat Nozawa as some outside-hire magistrate from before; he adopted a proper diplomatic manner, exceedingly courteous. Nozawa smiled and didn’t say more, personally leading the two and their retainers back—after all, couldn’t let guests slosh around with muddy feet forever, had to at least find a place for them to clean up first. The group turned, angled off toward New Wanjin. Climbing a bluff by the sea, New Wanjin immediately appeared before them: to the west, a small bay port and encampment; to the east, a pale green sheeps’ wall with four or five breaches, and a small fortress of the same color. With Imagawa and Matsudaira gone, and Nozawa never counting the Chita clans as people, all labor had gone to livelihoods—resettling people, restoring production, so defensive works were temporarily untended. Niwa Nagahide and Maeda Toshie, though young, were battle-hardened samurai. Just glancing at the breaches in the wall, and the scattered rocks and arrows yet to be cleared, they could reconstruct the brutality of the fighting—a clear sign the Imagawa family had launched an all-out assault, putting in plenty of troops, yet failing to take the place. They must have suffered casualties too heavy to bear, and only then withdrew. Maeda Toshie watched for a while, unable to stop himself from exclaiming, "Lord Saburou, remarkable!" No one understands the Imagawa family’s strength better than the Oda Danjo Chonosuke house samurai, after all, both sides had fought for over forty years—they knew exactly how heavy a hand the enemy packed. Nozawa, his objective achieved and now hoping for a period of peace to recover, immediately played it humble and low-key: "It wasn’t as bad as it looked, the Imagawa and Matsudaira were careless—didn’t attack at first, so I just barely managed to hold out." But Niwa Nagahide keenly sensed something amiss. Pointing at the stone fortress and sheep wall, he asked, "Did Lord Saburou... build this castle after arriving here?" The previous intelligence from Shin Sakemaru had come in a rush, a bit rough, so the details of the battle between Nozawa and Imagawa hadn’t been nailed down—much less mention of this small but sturdy fortress. Nozawa didn’t hide it, smiling and nodding, "That’s right, used a new kind of building material. Lord Niwa, take a closer look when you have time. If you ever need it, I can supply it in bulk." If he could sell it to the Imagawa, he could sure as hell sell it to the Oda Danjo Chonosuke family too. Heck, if both placed orders, he could build bunkers and rocky fortresses for both at the same time! That was his short-term plan—do business with both sides. Niwa Nagahide knew something about castle-building—he had four stars in it in Taiko 2. Glancing at the rock fortresses on the hills and by the rivers, then at the castle and the sheep wall linking them together, he still found it hard to believe. Less than two months, under enemy attack no less, and he’d built all this? That was even more amazing than beating back the Imagawa. Clearly Nozawa Saburou’s heart wasn’t with the Oda Danjo Chonosuke household anymore—otherwise he wouldn’t have hidden so much stuff before... Niwa Nagahide’s mind spun fast; he sighed inwardly, but kept a poker face, smiling and nodding, "Thank you then, Lord Saburou, I’ll go take a look later." Business could be discussed later; Nozawa wasn’t in a hurry either. He took the group to the bay camp where conditions were better, had everyone washed and changed, and then set up a wine feast before all sat down. Still, he didn’t get to business right away, but kept it light, mainly asking all about Qingzhou City—taking Qingzhou was Oda Nobunaga’s second great achievement, signifying he’d formally taken over political and administrative control of Owari’s lower four provinces, second only to taking the headship of the Oda House itself. Incidentally, he was very interested in the inside story behind Oda Nobunaga’s takeover of Qingzhou City. Only, maybe because Oda Nobuaki’s violation of the sacred vow was so infamous—utterly beyond the pale, a challenge to everyone’s sense of decency—plus, Nozawa was now an outsider, so even Maeda Toshie, normally a bit loose-tongued, avoided the topic, refusing to elaborate. Nozawa didn’t mind. Once things settled with New Wanjin he could send Ah Man to carefully dig for details; he’d find out the truth sooner or later. Meanwhile, Niwa Nagahide and Maeda Toshie were very interested in the "Battle of New Wanjin" and quizzed him closely about it. Nozawa answered as much as he could, repeatedly emphasizing the strength of the Imagawa and Matsudaira families, downplaying the enemy numbers, and painting his own side as always getting beaten up—more or less the truth, not exactly lying. After catching up on old times and going through several rounds of wine (or tea), it was finally time for business. Yet he still used a casual, familiar tone: "So, you two, got something for me? Or does Lord of Upper General have something he needs done?" He pretty much guessed it was about gunpowder; maybe they wanted a long-term supply of iron cannon. Easy enough—he didn’t mind selling to anyone, as long as Oda Nobunaga didn’t get mad enough to send an army after him. But unexpectedly, Niwa Nagahide and Maeda Toshie exchanged a glance, and then Maeda Toshie also switched to a friendly tone: "Of course we’ve got business; but Saburou, you’re not that young anymore, and you’ve got property now. Ever thought about marriage?" Nozawa was stunned: "Marriage?" Niwa Nagahide immediately followed, "Exactly—has Lord Saburou considered it?" "You mean..." It was Niwa Nagahide’s first time acting as a go-between, with no experience. Normally, an elder heavy-weight retainer would handle this, but Oda Nobunaga couldn’t care less about the old guard, so Niwa just had to bite the bullet. Awkwardly, he said, "I think Lord Saburou ought to consider it. Having an heir is a family’s major affair... uh, our former lord’s family left a daughter, called Princess Dog—fine appearance, gentle temperament..." "Enough of that, with our relationship to Saburou, we don’t need that routine." Maeda Toshie cut him off as he started rambling, grinned at Nozawa, and said, "The lord... our lord wants to marry off Princess Dog to you, unite the two families, make us kin. What do you think, Saburou?" Nozawa froze for a moment—he hadn’t expected Oda Nobunaga to pull such a stunt. Not coming for revenge, but trying to become his brother-in-law? Strictly speaking, he was actually two or three years older than Oda Nobunaga, wasn’t this a bit backwards? And Princess Dog... This Princess Dog he actually knew about. When he’d first landed in this era, he’d made sure to ask Ah Man about Oda Nobunaga’s family—the whole "Pig and Dog Sisters" had made a deep impression. At the time, he’d even silently mocked Oda Nobuhide for those ridiculous names. And now, not three years later, Oda Nobunaga was trying to marry the "Dog Sister" to him? Guess life really is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. This came at him way too suddenly, totally outside his expectations. He was left pondering, unsure, and didn’t dare respond right away. Niwa Nagahide and Maeda Toshie were a little nervous too—this was their first major diplomatic mission and neither wanted to screw up. Niwa Nagahide, thinking Maeda Toshie had a better relationship with Nozawa, gave him a look signaling him to press harder. Maeda Toshie hesitated, then edged over on his knees and leaned in to whisper, "Saburou, I heard Princess Dog is really pretty—the number one beauty in Owari. You’ll be getting a bargain if you marry her." All men are lecherous—he assumed this would be a crucial selling point.

Chapter 220 - 154: Owari’s No.1 Beauty

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