Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 252 A Life Hangs in the Balance!
Yuanye has always been willing to spend money on the army. In addition, Wanjin is now full of workshops, which are fiercely competing with each other. Even the market share of "state-owned workshops" has been constantly impacted. Therefore, every piece of equipment worn by Wanjin soldiers can be called a high-quality product, otherwise the workshops would not be able to win orders at all.

The katana is a finely forged sword, the armor plates of the dōmaru are all made of refined iron, the arquebus is of reliable quality, the barrel is polished very smoothly, the uniform has fine stitches, is sturdy and durable, and even has a silk lining inside to make it easier to remove arrowheads.

Kitabatake Tomonori examined the equipment for a while and had to admit that the Wanjin army was indeed well-equipped. Moreover, even as a seasoned samurai, he couldn't immediately discern the usefulness of the tools carried by the Wanjin soldiers.

For example, when he found a bundle of cloth, he couldn't understand why the soldiers of Wanjin would carry it, and couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"

“My lord, it’s a raincoat… I think it’s a raincoat!” Hirado Tobei took the bundle of cloth, untied the knots, and showed it to Kitabatake Tomokyo, sighing, “We also tried for a long time before we figured it out.”

"My lord, please look here. This cloth is double-layered; the outer layer is coated with tung oil, and the inner layer is coated with wax, making it completely waterproof. And look here again; this cloth has loops, cords, buttons, and buttonholes at all four corners. As long as it's like this..."

As he spoke, he laid the cloth flat on the ground, folded one corner of the cloth inward, fastened the button of the corner into the buttonhole, and then draped the cloth over his body. Coincidentally, the drawstring holes of the corner of the cloth were on both sides of his neck. He then reached out and pulled the drawstring, tightening the cloth. Instantly, one corner of the cloth became a hat, which he turned over and put on his head.

That wasn't all. There was a slit in the fabric, and after groping around inside, he stretched out his arm, picked up the arquebus from the ground, and held it against his shoulder. It didn't hinder firing at all; in fact, because the raincoat was propped up, it provided some protection and reduced the possibility of the match being extinguished by the wind and rain.

Whether you're wielding a knife or a gun, swinging, slashing, or stabbing won't cause much of a hindrance.

"It's truly... exquisite!"

Kitabatake Tomokyo understood it and examined the details of the raincoat closely. He found that the workmanship was impeccable, with leather covering the buttonholes. Even someone like him was pleased to see the raincoat and wished he had one of his own.

"My lord, it's not just that."

Hirado Tobei gave a wry smile, took off his raincoat, stretched the rope inside the fabric, tied it to a tree in the yard, folded the fabric in half and buttoned it up, then propped it up with a short gun barrel. A small hut that could shelter him from the wind and rain was thus set up, enough for one person to rest in.

As he set up the shelter, he explained, “My lord, this way we can set up temporary shelters. Moreover, these raincoats can be stacked together in multiples. As long as we have enough, we can make a large tent. They can also be laid on the ground to keep out the water and moisture, so we can get a good night’s sleep in the wild. It’s very convenient.”

Kitabatake Tomokyo nodded, finally understanding the purpose of the bundle of cloth. This kind of equipment was very suitable for Ise Province, where it rains for more than 180 days out of 365 days a year. Even though life in the wild was still very difficult, with this, a lot of inconveniences could be avoided, at least allowing the soldiers to get a good night's sleep and conserve a lot of energy.

Hirado Tobei saw that he understood, so he took off the raincoat, unbuttoned it, loosened the rope, flattened it again, and then folded it in half from both sides, then in half again, into a tube. He tightened the rope again, tied the two ends, and turned it into a bundle of cloth, which he could easily carry on his back.

This raincoat wasn't invented by Yuan Ye. He didn't even know that the Wanjin Army had this project before the finished product was produced. It was during the training process that the Wanjin Army discovered that rain greatly affected combat effectiveness, so they made a request to the Wanjin internal affairs system: they needed a better rain gear than straw hats and traditional raincoats.

After receiving the request, the Wanjin internal affairs system began to seek procurement in the market, which aroused the interest of many workshop owners. Finally, the owner of a clothing store had a flash of inspiration and created the first generation of "tablecloth-style raincoats", which won the order and made a small fortune.

After this new equipment appeared, it quickly attracted competitors to imitate it, and they began to secretly create various variations on the basis of the first generation, engaging in despicable competition among their peers.

When the Taiwanese military made a small-scale purchase and found that the product was effective, they prepared to deploy it on a large scale. However, the inventor of the "tablecloth-style raincoat," the clothing store owner, failed to secure any orders and was completely outmaneuvered by his shameless competitors.

The inventor, enraged, got into a fight with his competitors and, in a fit of anger, sued them all for "theft," accusing them of stealing his "secret formula."

The matter dragged on for over a year before finally ending in a mutual compromise: all workshops producing the "tablecloth-style" raincoats would pay the inventor based on the quantity produced, for a period of ten years. This would be followed in future similar cases, ensuring that no one could copy another's "secret recipe" without consequence.

Today, the raincoats of the Taiwanese army have been developed to the seventh generation, with increasingly better quality and more and more functions. Moreover, the Taiwanese people are secretly sharing them, and it is estimated that they will upgrade and innovate again next year in order to obtain the largest number of orders when the Taiwanese army updates and replenishes its equipment.

Many workshop owners spared no expense, not even seeking to make money from military procurement, just to gain a reputation. After all, the procurement of military equipment by the Wanjin army was a key focus for Aman and the Wanjin Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the review was extremely strict. Anyone who dared to falsify documents, accept bribes, or engage in shady dealings had to be prepared to be arrested by the supervisory department and thrown into a mine. Very few people dared to do it.

Therefore, as long as Wanjin can supply goods, all Wanjin people will recognize that he is the best quality in the industry. Many people are willing to pay a higher price to buy his goods, and the workshop can also gain both fame and fortune.

Kitabatake Tomokyo was naturally unaware of the story behind this small raincoat, but he was of sound mind and could deduce the bigger picture from the small details. He then rummaged through the small odds and ends carried by the Wanjin soldiers and even tasted the "biscuits" they carried—made of seaweed powder, flour, oil, and salt. They were very salty and hard, with a rather strange taste, but they were small in size and easy to carry. In an emergency, eating a piece could quickly restore strength and prevent hunger.

From small examples, we can see a larger picture. Even when soldiers in the Wanjin Army camped out in the wild, they came up with all sorts of creative ways to maintain their fighting capacity. What an army like that...

Kitabatake Tomonori remained silent for a long while before asking with a sliver of hope, "Do all the Nohara clan's foot soldiers have... these?"

“This one in front of us might be a bit more elite, after all, they are scouts, but most of the Nohara clan’s foot soldiers are already well-equipped.” Hirado Tobei sighed, not directly saying anything discouraging, but clearly explaining the reason why the front lines didn’t want a decisive battle. “My lord, the Nohara clan is an enemy we’ve never faced before. With our current forces, we might…” “An enemy we’ve never faced before?”

Kitabatake Tomokyo repeated a sentence in a low voice and then fell silent.

Hirado Tobei and the others were speechless. A long silence filled the courtyard before Hirado Tobei finally tentatively spoke up: "My lord, we need to gather more forces. What do you think..."

Kitabatake Tomokyo slowly shook his head, indicating that there were no more backups.

Uprisings were raging in various districts of Ise Province. Local samurai and powerful clans refused to provide military service, fearing that their strongholds would be burned and looted by the mobs the moment they left. Even the Kitabatake clan's threats of retribution were useless. Their "one-shogunate pledge of life" was not just empty words; at this time, the local samurai and powerful clans would rather disown their "father" than leave their land.

The local samurai and local powerful clans control a large number of villages, and they are even one of the main fighting forces themselves. If they do not move, the Kitabatake clan's mobilization capacity will be reduced by more than half. The fact that they can gather more than 6,000 people now is already a testament to the Kitabatake clan's long-standing influence and high prestige.

However, more than 6,000 men were not enough to fight a decisive battle against the Wanjin army, and there was no guarantee of victory.

Hirado Tobei was slightly disappointed, but he knew that his rear was in a mess, so he asked, "Then, my lord, is it possible to seek some assistance from other places?"

Kitabatake Tomokyo shook his head again. The Rokkaku family, Kitabatake's in-laws, were locked in a fierce battle with the Asai family. Although the two sides had not yet broken out into a major war, neither dared to leave Omi Province. Otherwise, they might find that their home base would be taken over by the other family as soon as they left.

The Oda clan was still heavily attacking Mino and couldn't spare any more resources. Moreover, the Nohara clan was an ally of the Oda clan and it was unlikely that they would launch a surprise attack on the Chita Peninsula to force the Wanjin army to return to its aid.

The Hatakeyama family has never been very concerned about the affairs of the Ise Peninsula. They are more concerned about the Seto Inland Sea. They have always had conflicts with several families along the Seto Inland Sea coast, such as Bessho, Akamatsu, Urakami, and Miyoshi. Moreover, the Kitabatake family and the Hatakeyama family do not have a good relationship. Given that they have both suffered from insect plagues and internal uprisings, they are unlikely to sacrifice themselves for others.

As for the powerful clans in Kita-Ise, they were also staging an uprising, much like the situation in Minami-Ise. They probably hoped the Kitabatake family would die soon, and even if they wanted to help, they couldn't mobilize much power.

So, only the Miyoshi family remains. The Miyoshi family has a large territory and strong power, so even if they suffer a disaster, their strength will not be greatly reduced. They are estimated to be able to interfere. However, the Miyoshi family has always coveted the Kitabatake family's territory and has been eyeing it for a long time. If they ask the Kitabatake family for help, it will be hard to say who will be in charge of the five districts of southern Ise in the future.

Kitabatake Tomonori came to the front lines to oversee the overall situation and to question why Shimogiri County couldn't even hold its ground. However, after personally arriving and seeing the actual situation and meeting the people of Wanjin, he realized that the situation was truly thorny, and even he couldn't make a decision directly. These five thousand-plus men around Anon Castle were practically the Kitabatake clan's last mobile force. If they lost the decisive battle and were completely wiped out, the Kitabatake clan would be essentially 80% destroyed.

How did things turn out like this so inexplicably? Before the autumn harvest, the Kitabatake family could mobilize more than 10,000 people, and it was even possible to pull out 20,000 if they really tried!
But there's not much room for retreat if they don't want a decisive battle. The Wanjin army is still slowly advancing towards Anong City, step by step. Even if their speed is as slow as a tortoise's, they should arrive by the end of the month.

Kitabatake Tomonori pondered for a long time before asking Hirado Tobei, "We've been greatly affected by the mob, but what's the situation with the Nohara family?"

"It seems that... they are not affected much. There were a few groups of rioters on the other side of Nogawa, but they all surrendered. The other villages have hardly put up any resistance and have even started to help the Nohara family hunt down our people."

"How is this going?"

"It's probably because... the Nohara family didn't loot there, and they even transported food to distribute. Those rioters are inherently base and have no sense of loyalty or righteousness. As long as they have something to eat, they forget the generations of kindness of the Kitabatake family."

Hirado Tobei was a very refined samurai, but he couldn't help but frown when talking about these rioters. They had previously confronted the Wanjin army in the Shikazu Port area, and these rioters had stolen from their transport convoys, causing them a lot of trouble. However, after they retreated to the Nozu Castle area, those rioters became obedient and docile, immediately becoming law-abiding citizens who stopped stealing and robbing.

It's impossible not to be angry, and he really looks down on those rioters. The Kitabatake family has supported them for over a hundred years, so theoretically, even if the Kitabatake family temporarily retreats, they should still fight the Wanjin people to the death.

As a result, not only did they not resist, but they also dared to aid the enemy, leading the Wanjin Army to capture the Kitabatake family. In some places, villagers even voluntarily followed the Wanjin Army to besiege the small town of the local powerful clan. It was simply a case of moral depravity and the loss of humanity!
Of course, he knew that the common people were starving this year, but loyalty and righteousness should be above life and death. It was truly shameful that the common people forgot the kindness of a hundred years in order to have a bite to eat!
However, the Nohara family is indeed very wealthy, shipping grain to Ise ship after ship, and there is no sign of it ending. They don't seem to care about feeding tens of thousands of people through the winter. It's really hard to know where Nohara Saburo got so much money and where he got so much grain.

Kitabatake Tomonori was slightly disappointed, and a sense of hatred arose deep in his heart. He felt that his people were indeed worthless, but since things had come to this point, hatred and regret were useless. He still had to face the problem at hand: he was not confident of winning the decisive battle, and he was unwilling to give up Shimogura District to the Nohara family.

We're just too weak. Is this an era where big fish eat little fish and the weak are destined to die?

But Kitabatake Tomonori asked himself honestly, he had been working hard to manage the Kitabatake family all these years, actively trying to conquer Kita-Ise and swallow it up. But he hadn't made much progress. Instead, his neighbors were all getting stronger and stronger. Even the Nohara family, which appeared out of nowhere, was so powerful with only one district. They were making it hard for the Kitabatake family, a daimyo who nominally owned a province, to breathe. Where could he possibly reason with them?
What on earth should we do now?
There's no way we can retreat now; after all, the fate of this institution rests on our shoulders!

Kitabatake Tomonori slowly made up his mind. Born in this era, he also had the courage to fight to the death!
(End of this chapter)