Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 109: Live a Good Life in the Territory of the "Great Kind Man"

The mother's clothing is a unique and iconic military equipment on the ancient battlefields of Japan.

It is usually round or oval in shape, with a diameter of about one meter. The main part is a frame made of elastic material, covered with a layer of tough and thin coarse silk on the outside, tied to the armor with ropes, and the whole looks like a cover.

Or it can be said that it is a colorful turtle shell that can be freely attached and detached from the back of the armor.

This kind of equipment was very popular before the early and middle Muromachi period. At that time, battles between Japanese samurai were mostly fought on horseback and shot at each other. The mother-cloth could effectively resist damage from arrows. At the same time, when a large group of mother-clothed samurai charged into the battle on horseback, due to the bright colors of the mother-cloths and the increase in size brought by the fluttering in the wind, their momentum would also cause great psychological deterrence to the enemy.

Of course, Japan has now entered the Warring States Period, and samurai are no longer the main force on the battlefield. Moreover, with the development of armor technology, the lethality of arrows is also declining. The mother's clothing has gradually become a decorative equipment, more used to show identity, and it is not often seen on a serious battlefield.

And Yuanye is now holding such a traditional mother's dress.

This mother's clothing originally belonged to his comrade Nakajo Heijiro, and was Nakajo Heijiro's "ancestral equipment". He was curious when he saw it, so he borrowed it for a closer look, and unexpectedly found that the material of the frame inside the mother's clothing was very suspicious, a kind of aged ivory color, more than one meter long bone elastic material, which was very rare. So he borrowed the mother's clothing and gave it to "know-it-all" Aman to have a look - he suspected that it was whale baleen, that is, the "teeth" of filter-feeding whales such as fin whales and baleen whales, but he was not sure. Nakajo Heijiro, the owner of the mother's clothing, could not explain how the mother's clothing fell into the hands of his ancestors, probably it was a trophy.

Ah Man had not expected that Yuan Ye would come to harass her so early in the morning for such a strange thing, but she was already used to his daily tantrums. She carefully looked at the frame of the mother's clothes, recalled it, and said indifferently: "It should be. The sea people call this thing whale right, and some call it right whale. Different dialects are different, and the names are messy. But I heard that this white... whale baleen can only be found on the right side of the mouth of large whales. These terms are similar."

After she finished speaking, she smacked her lips and memorized the new word "whale baleen". Just like before, she classified it all as part of the Saikaido dialect.

After she finished learning the new words, she asked curiously, "You're looking for this kind of material? This thing is hard to find, it's quite rare."

Yuanye didn't want the whale's baleen, he wanted the people, and immediately asked, "So, there are people hunting whales now?"

Ah Man was getting more and more puzzled, and said directly: "Of course, it has existed for a long time! But generally speaking, few people would do that. Only when there is a great famine and some villages can no longer survive, will they go out to sea together to try to find a whale and kill it, and bring back some skin and meat... Whale oil is very valuable, and whale skin is also valuable. Even in a famine, it can be exchanged for life-saving food, but not many people succeed."

Yuanye nodded slowly, feeling that this was a pleasant surprise, and immediately made a request to her: "That's good. Now I need someone who has hunted whales, preferably someone who has commanded whale hunts. Can you find one?"

"Why are you looking for someone like this?"

Yuanye took out a hand-drawn map from his arms, pointed to the ocean south of Ise Bay and said, "I'm going there, and I need a captain who is very familiar with the sea and can train sailors."

He didn't know how to sail, and no one around him knew how to sail, so he had to ask for help. He was planning to hire a merchant ship captain with a large sum of money, but when he accidentally discovered whale baleen, he naturally wanted a better candidate. After all, there were many accidents in the ocean, and he was going to an area that humans had never reached. So it was natural that a captain who dared to lead a group of ordinary people, with simple weapons and ships, to go deep into the sea and fight whales in the wind and waves would be more reassuring.

Therefore, even if it took a little more time, he wanted a "strong man" on the sea, or in other words, an old captain with strong willpower and adventurous spirit.

Ah Man carefully looked at the hand-drawn map, then at the blank area pointed out by Yuan Ye. He had no awareness of immediately obeying orders without asking why, and he did not understand at all. He looked puzzled and asked, "What are you doing? Why are you going there? What's there?"

"There should be many small islands there, but I don't know their exact locations." Yuan Ye had nothing to hide from her, so he said directly, "I need to dig a shipload of stones from there. It's very important, so a reliable captain is essential."

"Is there saltpeter there? No, is it the stone that can make saltpeter?" Ah Man also knew Yuan Ye's current main task, and knew that he had many strange methods. He guessed what he was going to do after a little thought, but he still couldn't understand it. "How do you know there is that kind of stone there? Have you been there?"

“I’ve seen it in a book.”

"Which book? Let me see it too!"

"I didn't bring the book." Yuan Ye was impressed by her character of getting to the bottom of things, so he could only say firmly, "It's a family secret that I can't show you, so don't think about it! Think about whether you or your grandfather know this kind of person. If you do, find him here quickly, I need him urgently!"

A family secret...

Ah Man could understand after hearing this, and he was very traditional and moral, so he didn't ask any more questions. He just frowned and said thoughtfully: "If that's the case, we can only look for it on the island." "On the island?"

Ah Man pulled over the hand-drawn map and pointed at the equally blank Ise Bay and said, "These are the islands here. I heard there are about... 20 to 30 islands, or maybe less, a dozen or so. Anyway, there are quite a few islands with some poor people living on them. If there are really ruthless people who dare to fight whales, most of them should be on the islands - they can't grow much food on the islands, and they can't survive by eating only fish. If there is a famine, they have nowhere to run to and can only fight whales."

Yuanye's gaze also shifted to the Ise Bay, and then he realized that he had neglected it before. The vast ocean of the Ise Bay is not really a blank area. For example, Kuki Yoshitaka, who will be a vassal of Oda Nobunaga in the future, and the Shima navy under his command, can actually be counted as within the scope of the Ise Bay. It's just that his base is on the Shima Peninsula and Shima Bay, far away from the Oda family's sphere of influence, and now he is dealing more with the Matsudaira family and the Imagawa family.

He immediately asked with concern: "What is the situation on those islands now? Whose territory do they belong to?"

"Only islands close to the coast, such as Okinoshima, have local samurai living on them. But as long as you are a little further from the coast, there are no so-called lords." Strictly speaking, Aman should be considered mountain people, but she also has a certain understanding of sea people. "Those islands are very poor. Many of them only have a few families. For example, the larger ones like Higashima and Kamichishima usually have only a small village of 300 to 500 people. Everyone is starving, and the samurai don't bother to pay attention to them."

"So Village?" It sounded like a primitive autonomous village to Yuanye, where a group of people spontaneously banded together to survive in a harsh environment.

"Yes, it can be considered a kind of village!" Aman agreed with him. "It's similar to Iga and Koga. They are places that you samurai are too lazy to rob. However, the main way for people there to make a living is to become pirates. This is different from us... uh, from my grandfather's place."

When she said this, she actually seemed to be looking down on those islanders, as if she felt that being a "ninja" was a little more advanced than being a pirate, and that pirates were at the bottom of the contempt chain along with robbers and hooligans.

Yuan Ye glanced at her, not knowing what she was so proud of, and did not comment on it. He just nodded and said, "Then I'll take the trouble for you to go over and look for someone who is capable and has a family, and preferably someone with a reliable character."

After a pause, he added, "It's a good opportunity for you to move around. Lying down like this all day is not good for your health."

"Okay, okay, got it!" Ah Man had no objection. This was exactly what she was good at, so she didn't mind making a trip. But she immediately held out her hand and said, "Then give them money. Those sea people are not easy to deal with. They are all stubborn and strong. Don't expect them to help without great benefits, and don't expect them to trust you as a warrior. Many of them fled to the island just to avoid you. So you have to give them some food, salt, cloth and ironware first, and then promise them a large sum of money, so that you can call the people you want over."

After she finished speaking, she thought about it again and felt that Yuanye was a "miracle doctor", which was also a big advantage. She immediately added: "Also, you can make some medicine, the kind of bitter pills that can expel worms after taking them. I will take them to the island, and they should be of some use."

Well, she felt that she could pretend to be a "miracle doctor". In this way, even if the negotiations failed or something unexpected happened, at least the islanders would not kill her. It could be considered a life-saving prop.

This is understandable. No one will risk their lives for no benefit these days. Yuan Ye didn't care and said directly: "Make a list of how much money and supplies you need, and I will approve it for you. It doesn't matter if you spend more money. There is no need to save money on such an important matter. Besides, you can find more targets in one trip. Almost no one has been there, so you may not succeed in one go."

After that, he paused for a moment and then instructed, "Also, you're going there anyway, so talk to the local leaders... Even in So Village, there should be some leaders. Communicate with them more and see if they are willing to live here."

This was his sudden idea. His current labor source was scattered "purchases", which was a bit inefficient and unstable. He suddenly found that there might be thousands of people in the sea, and he was a little tempted. He felt that life on the sea was very hard, with hunger and fullness, and no place to see a doctor when sick. It was too pitiful. It would be better to come to his territory as a "good man" to live a good life.

He was kind-hearted.

His idea was very nice, but Ah Man was embarrassed and said hesitantly: "That's unlikely. Those who wanted to go back to the land to pay the annual tribute would have returned long ago. How could it be your turn to take advantage of it?"

"Let's try it first!" Yuan Ye was really jealous of so many people, and he had to hit a few stalks to see if there were any dates, so he ordered, "No matter what, let's deal with those people first! Aren't they short of salt, food, cloth and iron? If not, we can supply them with these scarce materials at a low price, and let them come to us to buy first!"

As long as we establish dealings with them and slowly form a dependent relationship, we can then slowly make our plans. By then, these people will be good to be industrial workers or selected water army.

"Okay!" Aman had no objection. It was just a matter of saying a few more words, so it wouldn't make much difference.

The matter was settled, and she had strong execution ability. She brought a large bag of silver coins that day and called up five senior members of the Nohara family - reliable men who survived the fierce battle in Takeuchi-sho. Then she went to Atsuta to purchase supplies and hire a boat to go out to sea to complete the task assigned by Nohara.

(End of this chapter)