Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 179 The Good Wife is Gone

As night fell, the silvery moonlight sprinkled softly on Iwakura Castle like a veil, revealing a smell of... decay and destruction. The main reason was that the castle town of Iwakura Castle had been completely destroyed, and now it was surrounded by layers of siege. Just looking at it, it seemed that one could feel the despair of the defenders in the city.

Yuanye stood in the shadow of the camp and looked at the city, feeling a sense of relief as if he was about to be liberated.

The war between the upper four counties and the lower four counties of Owari was so boring that it made people vomit. After Oda Nobunaga's new brother-in-law Oda Nobumasa entangled with Saito Yoshitatsu, Oda Nobuaki, the new head of the Iwakura Oda family who rebelled against the throne, was no match for Oda Nobunaga. After more than half a year of repeated battles, a large amount of bribery, betrayal and helplessness, Oda Nobunaga successfully tore open a hole in the outer branch castle of Iwakura Castle, and then the two sides decided the outcome in a field battle.

Oda Nobunaga took out his trump card - 600 Oda arquebusiers and 1,500 elite foot soldiers who were fully employed and raised by the "separation of soldiers from farmers" policy. Oda Nobuaki also tried his best and mobilized all the forces of the Iwakura Oda family. His retainers and gangs all came out and fought to the death with a large number of miscellaneous soldiers and foot soldiers.

A fierce battle broke out between the two sides at Ukino, more than ten miles west of Iwakura Castle. In the end, Oda Nobuhira fled back to the castle, leaving behind more than a thousand of his followers and the corpses of dozens of retainers, and was forced to start a siege battle.

After this battle, the Iwakura Oda clan was basically finished. Their capital was basically gone and they were like a candle in the wind. However, Oda Nobunaga did not force an attack on the city. He simply surrounded the city and led a large group of troops to confront Saito Yoshitatsu who came to support them, in order to cut off Oda Nobuhiro's last hope of revival.

Yuanye led the Wanjin Army to participate in the entire battle, but he did not stand out and his performance was mediocre. He led more than 300 spearmen and more than 100 arquebusiers to play a supporting role throughout the battle. However, he did not gain nothing - in the battles to capture a series of branch castles and manors, he secretly kidnapped a lot of people. Moreover, once the war started, Owari's "human trafficking business" became active again, the prices of servants plummeted, and he bought some at a low price.

In addition, when clearing the outposts outside Iwakura Castle, the Wanjin army accidentally injured and captured alive a historical celebrity - Monkey's future trusted general Yamauchi Kazutoyo, as well as his stepmother and siblings.

Well, Yamauchi Kazutoyo, whose father had been killed in battle, had no hope for the future of the Iwakura Oda clan and attempted to escape with his family. However, he was not as lucky as people in history and ran into the iron wall of the Wanjin army and all of them were captured.

It was difficult for Yuanye to deal with these people. After all, Yamauchi Kazutoyo's mother was the aunt of Endo Chiyo, the "General Bugyo" of Shinwanzu, and Yamauchi Kazutoyo was Endo Chiyo's cousin and husband in history. So he notified Endo Chiyo and asked her to come over and solve the problem herself, while he came out to get some fresh air and see the scenery - this was the minimum respect for his right-hand assistant.

…………

Yuanye was lost in thought as he stared at Iwakura Castle in the moonlight, thinking that the Battle of Okehazama was not far away. He was just thinking about what he would do when the time came, when a cloak was thrown over his shoulders. He turned around and saw that it was Qing. He nodded slightly in thanks and asked, "Have they finished their conversation?"

Ah Qing shook her head gently. She didn't care about those things. She just saw him standing there staring into the distance in a daze, and was afraid that he would catch a cold, so she came over to give him some clothes.

Yuanye was not surprised. Ah Qing was a nosy person, so he gently held her little hand and helped warm her up. This battle was a long one. There was only one major battle, but countless small battles involving hundreds or even dozens of people. It took until the New Year to be over before they besieged Iwakura Castle, and the weather was cold now.

In other words, he and Oda Nobunaga have now completed the "separation of soldiers and farmers" and have a large number of unemployed soldiers. Otherwise, the war might have to be dragged on for another year or two - if you don't let the miscellaneous soldiers and foot soldiers go back for the autumn harvest and spring plowing, they will sneak away on their own, and the Lang gang will also be in turmoil and have no morale.

A Qing also gently shook his hand back and stood beside him as a guard, while Yuanye felt the warmth from her little hand and continued to enjoy the scenery.

Well, one less sight to see. During the previous military meeting, he heard Oda Nobunaga say that there was no need for Iwakura Castle to exist, as it would easily give rise to a powerful and uncontrollable clan. So Oda Nobunaga planned to demolish this big city after he captured it. Anyway, Iwakura Castle did not play a big role in the economy - the economic core of this area was Shotoku-ji Temple not far from Iwakura Castle. Iwakura Castle was more like a fortress specializing in military affairs.

Yuanye watched there for a while, and just when he felt the night wind was getting stronger, he began to think about finding a place with Qing to warm up and bake some steamed buns. At this time, Aman came out from the shadows and began to report to him: "Endo has released Yamauchi Kazutoyo."

"Let her go..." Yuan Ye was not too surprised. He had told Endo Chiyo before that he could do whatever he wanted with her. He had no objection, but he still couldn't help asking, "Doesn't she intend to go with the Yamauchi family?"

Ah Man was stunned for a moment and asked curiously, "Why did she go with her Yamanouchi family?"

"Nothing, I just feel that they are her only remaining relatives." Yuanye said perfunctorily, and he also knew that he asked a stupid question - Endo Chiyo is no longer the orphan who escaped from Omi to seek refuge with her relatives in history. Now she is doing very well in Shinwanjin and has a successful career. She no longer has an emotional foundation with Yamauchi Kazutoyo. Unless she has been kicked in the head by a donkey, it is impossible for her to have any connection with Yamauchi Kazutoyo anymore.

History has really changed. Yamauchi Kazutoyo's "good wife" is gone. Even though he had expected this, Yuanye was still emotionally turbulent for a while. After all... this was the first time he had seen history change with his own eyes, so maybe he could do more in the future.

Ah Man couldn't understand what he was thinking and still felt that he had a problem with his brain, but she didn't care and said directly: "She didn't mean that, but she gave her Shannei Yifeng a sum of money. If that bag was made of silver, I estimate it would be worth at least two or three hundred kan, which is enough for the Shannei family to eat and use for a long time."

Endo Chiyo is also a wealthy woman, so this little money is nothing. Yuanye doesn't care and continues to ask: "Did Yamauchi Kazutoyo mention where he plans to go?"

"I heard they're going to Mino. Maybe they'll make a living there in the future! Anyway, there's no place for the Yamauchi family in Owari."

Yuanye nodded slightly, thought for a moment, then turned to Aqing and instructed, "Return their weapons and armor to them, and send a team of internal guards to escort them to Kiso River if they need it."

A good person should do his best to the end. For the sake of Endo Chiyo, the capable internal affairs assistant, Harano didn't mind lending a hand so that they could leave Owari safely.

Ah Qing nodded slightly and turned around to make arrangements.

Yuanye also turned around to find Endo Chiyo, ready to comfort her.

This girl was quite sensible. She knew clearly that he didn't want any samurai group to appear in Shinwanjin, and he never mentioned bringing the Yamauchi family to live in Wanjin. She probably thought about his hint on the way here - if Yuanye welcomed the Yamauchi family, he could just send her a letter to ask for her opinion, and then send them directly to Shinwanjin without calling her to the front line.

So, just because she was so smart and could understand his concerns, he had to have a good chat with her so that she wouldn't have any worries.

But then again, from a historical perspective, Yamauchi Kazutoyo was still quite talented. He was both civil and martial, and was a person who could stand on his own. It was a pity that Shinwanjin could not use such a person who came from a local powerful family - unless the other party was willing to give up his samurai status and the corresponding privileges, but this was obviously impossible.

Talent still needs to be cultivated slowly by yourself!

…………

Yamanouchi Ietoyo's escape was just a microcosm of the defeat of the Iwakura Oda clan, a small ripple that was lost in the long river of history.

After sending Endo Chiyo away again, Harano still stayed at the outskirts of Iwakura Castle as requested by Oda Nobunaga, both to prevent some powerful family from suddenly having a brain accident and coming to rescue him, and to guard against him rushing out and fleeing south - Oda Nobunaga's main force was in the Kiso River area at this time, and Harano's Manzu Army was basically the barrier of Kiyosu Castle at this time. If Oda Nobunaga really dared to come out again, Harano would have to confront him head-on.

But Oda Nobukana didn't have the courage. After being besieged for another four months, a riot broke out in Iwakura Castle at night. When daybreak came, Iwakura Castle opened the gates and surrendered. Oda Nobukana committed suicide in his home.

At this point, the eight counties of Owari were unified, and Oda Nobunaga became the official guardian of Owari.

He was no longer a guardian daimyo. At this moment, Oda Nobunaga also transformed from a "guard daimyo" to a "Warring States daimyo".

If we put it in a novel, it means that the story has opened a new chapter and the protagonist is about to leave the Novice Village.

(End of this chapter)