Chapter 7 - 5 I was originally here

Chapter 7 - 5 I was originally hereThe field didn't mind giving himself a temporary name, he also had an English name called Kerry given by his junior high school English teacher. Moreover, Yayoi, a little girl, wouldn't be the one to take control of the conversation—he was more concerned about his surroundings, as he hadn't heard of Hosokawa Castle. It might have vanished in modern times, so he needed to ask about other places. He didn't wait for Yayoi to exclaim "Oh, it's Lord Nozawa," and immediately asked again with concern: "What other towns are there near Hosokawa Castle?" "Nearby..." Yayoi's thoughts indeed got back on track, and after some thinking, she said, "Going southeast along the Odai River, there's Shibal Castle." Yayoi followed up: "Who's the City Lord of Shibal?" "It's Lord Yu Shilang. When he travels, he sometimes will pass by here and rest in the village," Yayoi replied first, then realizing Nozawa was unfamiliar with the area, she quickly added, "It's Lord Maeda Yoshiro Shonari." Maeda Shonari? Another Maeda? Why are there so many Maedas? Which one belongs to the Maeda family of Maeda Toshie? But that doesn't matter; Maeda Toshie is very likely still using urine and mud right now! Nozawa really couldn't recall when Maeda Toshie was born, or where he was born. His limited knowledge of Japan's Warring States history mostly came from this DOS-era mobile game called Taiko 2, with a small amount from textbooks and bits of historical dramas he watched, and also from the recent museum and archive visits. Simply put, he knew some of the broader outlines, but when it came to details, he was clueless. He asked again, "Any other places?" "Ah, Shibal Castle going east is supposed to be East Rising City; heading south to the place facing the sea, they say it's Okinoshima," Yayoi hesitated as she said this. She hadn't actually been to these places; it's what she'd heard from her parents, as her usual activity zone was around Hibi Village, and she generally didn't even go to the other side of Odai River. Nowhere Nozawa had heard of in modern times, but this wasn't surprising. Many of the so-called castles during Japan's Middle Ages were actually just enclosed with wooden fences, and it's normal they didn't make it to modern times. After having asked for so long, he was still unclear about his geographical location, so he subconsciously said half a sentence: "Nagoya from here..." The reason he said half a sentence was because he remembered there wasn't a city named Nagoya yet, which seemed to be built by Tokugawa Ieyasu after Japan's Warring States era concluded. He changed his question to: "What about nearby large towns? Any big Castle Towns or Towns?" Yayoi thought for a while, carefully saying: "I've heard that Nagano and Gudu Castle have large Towns, northeast of Hosokawa Castle, and walking there takes half a day. Further north and west, there seems to be Qingzhou City and Shoban Castle, which also have Towns, but I've heard they're very far, not sure how long it takes to walk there." Nagano Castle? This seems to be the ancient name of Nagoya, where Tokugawa Ieyasu either expanded or demolished Nagano Castle and built Nagoya Castle on the original site, establishing it as the Tokugawa family's ruling center in Owari Province and Central Japan. Nozawa pondered, rubbing his chin, confirmed Nagoya Castle's approximate location, supplemented by the terrain he saw on the way, he finally had a sense of his geographical position. He seemed to be at the southern end of the Nongwei Plain now, with Ise Bay to the south, the future Nagoya City Center to the northeast, a branch of the Ise Mountains to the west, and far north was the future Qingzhou City. Hence, lost amidst fog and forests, unable to determine direction, he made a circuitous route, emerging at the spur of the Ise Mountains, no wonder the journey into the mountains was brief yet exiting them nearly exhausted him—within Owari Province, Ise Mountains' looked like the letter "人." He crisscrossed the mountain, leaving the central area through the lower "一捺," finally encountering people, straying quite far off course, having traveled a significant unnecessary distance. Understanding his geographical position eased Nozawa's mental pressure a bit. Humans are afraid of not knowing where they are; unfamiliarity inherently carries a sense of fear, but knowing where he is relieves much of that psychological burden. At the very least, he'd know which direction to run in case of danger. Sёarch* The novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He continued inquiring for details: "Who is the City Lord of Nagano Castle?" Yayoi tried hard to recall, said with some nervousness: "Sorry, Lord Nozawa, I'm not sure." Matters around Hibi Village she could comment on, but farther than that was beyond her. However, Nozawa was already quite satisfied; with this information as a basis, it would help him to question adults without revealing too many traces of unfamiliarity, thus significantly increasing his safety. Nozawa promptly reassured: "No problem, I'll ask others later, you continue your meal!" "Yes, Lord Nozawa." Yayoi picked up her rice bowl anew, trying her best to eat elegantly, soon displaying a look of happiness on her little face. Nozawa also picked up his bowl and resumed drinking his rice soup, after she'd had a while to eat, he then casually asked again: "They don't fight battles much here, do they?" Owari Province, as the base of Sixth Celestial Demon King Oda Nobunaga's uprising and the starting point of Monkey Toyotomi Hideyoshi's rise, did not seem to have significant turmoil in his impression. As the main battlefield, the most famous is the Battle of Okehazama, and he hasn't heard of others, nor is it mentioned in Taiko 2; it feels relatively peaceful. Yayoi was about to put down her bowl to answer, but after being stopped by Nozawa, she softly replied while holding her bowl, "That's not the case, Lord Nozawa, there is frequent warfare here." Ever since she could remember, every year people from the village were conscripted as Ashigaru, sometimes three or four times a year. Many people never returned, either dying on the battlefield or being taken elsewhere to farm — here, Ashigaru refers to the traditional foot soldiers, meaning "those with light feet," whose typical role was transporting grain, supplies, and carrying out construction works like fortifications, classified as the unarmored militia, lacking Armor (Japanese Armor). Of course, if the war situation became urgent, arming them with bamboo spears to thrust at enemies was also an option, though the casualties would be severe, potentially impacting the harvest of the following year. "Is there often warfare?" Nozawa, not receiving the expected answer, felt slightly disappointed, "Who are your enemies?" Yayoi couldn't quite articulate an answer to this, saying blankly, "I'm sorry, Lord Nozawa, I'm not sure, there are many enemies, I've heard sometimes they have to travel far, crossing many rivers to fight, and on one occasion, more than half of the people who went out didn't return." It's difficult to find a place of peace amid chaos! Nozawa sighed inwardly and gave her a smile: "No need to apologize; you already know a lot." A ten-year-old peasant girl knowing so much was beyond his expectation, and he could indeed praise her as quite intelligent; he hadn't anticipated gathering so much information. Yayoi gave a shy smile, self-consciously saying, "My mother used to work as a servant at Hosokawa Castle, and my father served there for a long time; they told me these things." "I see, that's still impressive." Nozawa smiled again in praise, considering it as gaining some favor, continued to leisurely chat while drinking rice soup, and asked about the nearby geography to prevent accidentally falling into a pit while escaping if trouble arose. When he set down the bowl and chopsticks, Yayoi also promptly stopped eating, swiftly cleaned up the table and carried it away, then carefully asked, "Lord, will you rest now?" It was not yet eight in the evening, but considering the lack of nightlife in a medieval farming family. Nozawa didn't really want to sleep, but he still smiled and said, "Yes, I will rest now." Yayoi immediately ran to fetch a basin of hot water and presented an 80% new, delicately soft cotton cloth, assisting him to remove his mountain climbing clothes, helping him wash his face and hands. But when preparing to take the basin away, she was stopped by Nozawa, who asked her to leave the water basin aside to take out tomorrow. She found it a bit odd, but it wasn't a big deal, so she took the bowl and utensils and was about to leave. Nozawa looked around to find where the "Nagu" was. He recalled a reconstruction he saw in a museum showing that this kind of house should have a "Nagu" space for storing daily or valuable items, which, in later periods, evolved into something like the closet where Doraemon slept. But he didn't find it around the earthen floor, so he directly asked, "Wait a moment, Yayoi, where are the blankets and bedding stored?" "What did you say, Lord Nozawa?" Yayoi looked utterly confused. She had understood most things Nozawa said previously, but this sentence had several terms she didn't recognize. Nozawa gestured with his hands: "It's the bedding placed underneath and covering you for warmth while sleeping." Yayoi grew more bewildered, looked at Nozawa's climbing clothes nearby, and hesitantly said, "Do you want me to bring another piece of clothing?" Nozawa was also somewhat confused, "You...when sleeping at night, what do you cover yourselves with?" Yayoi looked down at her clothes, hesitating as she said, "Just...clothes." Nozawa understood, in this damn Japan Middle Ages, they hadn't even invented pillows and blankets, or maybe for the nobles and advanced warriors, there were some primitive beddings like fur coats, fur blankets, or garment robes, but lower-ranked warriors and common people typically slept on straw mats, relying on their removed clothing for warmth. What an uncomfortable era... Nozawa didn't explain much further, casually saying, "Is that so? It's different from our side, perhaps a difference in customs! Well then, thank you for your hard work tonight, you should also rest early!" Yayoi didn't think much of it, as Nozawa's height, skin color, teeth, hair texture, and attire clearly showed he was pampered; possibly living a lavish lifestyle. Therefore, possessing things she had never heard of wasn't strange, nothing worthy of surprise. After tidying up, she departed once more, considering reminding Nozawa to extinguish the lamp later. Since they weren't sure of Nozawa's background, they didn't dare use bean oil for fear of the unpleasant smoke provoking his ire, opting instead for the more costly perilla oil, used only when hosting someone from the main family; saving where possible. However, she hesitated and ultimately said nothing, stepping back silently. She smoothed out the straw curtain to ensure no draughts, then hurriedly carried the leftovers to the side house to find her mother. Her mother was still waiting for the information she gathered!