Warring States Survival Guide
Chapter 109 - 68: Has Aman, that old beast, already died?

Chapter 109: Chapter 68: Has Aman, that old beast, already died?

Oda Nobunaga made a pretty serious mistake—he let Ah Man into Nagano Castle. And Ah Man, living up to her reputation as the sole heir of the Life-extending Flowing Yang Technique, became thick as thieves with the castle’s odd-job workers and maids in just seven or eight days. She could fish out any kind of information with a bit of small talk, and could even piece together "military secrets."

Harano played a crucial role in all of this. Oda Nobunaga gave him a "Exchange" note worth a hundred kan, which he had Ah Man sell in town. Suddenly flush with cash, he immediately allocated Ah Man a twenty-kan "activity fund," which supercharged her networking abilities. Her drinking buddies kept multiplying by the day.

Of course, the twenty kan didn’t go directly to her. Since she ate, drank, gambled, and hung out with everyone, Harano would’ve had to lose half his wits to entrust the money to her. Instead, he gave the funds to A Qing, telling Ah Man to report to her with explanations whenever she needed money. She had to sign for every expenditure, keep detailed accounts, everything reported for reimbursement—no mixing public and private, no chance for embezzlement. A Qing was dead set in her ways; she wouldn’t help Ah Man cheat for extra funds, and she knew Ah Man too well to be easily fooled. The perfect watchdog.

Ah Man was, of course, thoroughly unhappy about this. She thought Harano didn’t trust her at all and was heartbroken about it. She protested to Harano for days, even tried a hunger strike to prove she would never embezzle, let alone blow the money gambling. But she couldn’t make it half a meal before giving in. So much for that grand stand.

Anyway, in just seven or eight days at Nagano Castle, Ah Man had already gathered a squad of party friends—men, women, young, old, you name it. She even had a gambling crew and the latest scoops; any time she went out for a stroll, she’d come back and report Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s latest news to Harano.

In Qingzhou, Oda Nobuyoshi (who went by Hikogoro) suddenly attacked under the banner of Owari’s governor Shiba Yoshinori (also known as Lord Buei). He seized Matsuba and Shinkata Castles, and started building fortifications at Matsuba Pass and Sanben Wood. Looks like he was aiming to snag a cut of the trade route profits from Shimazu to Atsuta, hoping to enjoy some fat meat the "Tiger of Owari" never got to taste in the old days.

Of course, Oda Nobunaga couldn’t let that slide. Once those two spots were fortified, they’d cut his Danjo Chonosuke house off east and west in a snap—a real threat to the heart of his power, way worse than any Matsudaira family raid. So Nobunaga wasted no time ordering all his local bosses to mobilize and launch a swift and powerful counterattack.

But...every single local boss whined and moaned, all saying it was planting season and mobilizing troops now was just impossible. Push too hard, and not only would the commoners scatter, but most of the Lang Faction would bolt too. They really couldn’t go to war.

Of course, they didn’t totally close the door, kept stressing it’s not that they wouldn’t fight, just that now’s not the time. Better to wait a few months, finish up spring planting, then talk.

In other words, drag their feet and keep watching how things turn out. After all, Oda Nobunaga just lost big—he hardly looked reliable right now. No one wanted to go throw their lives away for him.

Word has it that after hearing this, Nobunaga’s face turned blacker than a dung beetle’s butt. He blasted each local boss with the filthiest village slang, smashed a candelabra onto his desk—basically fuming with rage.

"Wait, is this news legit? This ’word has it’ stuff kind of sounds like you—did you just make this up?" Harano suddenly felt something was off. Dung beetle? That sounded way too familiar.

"It’s legit, totally legit! I heard it from Ah Chun—her mom’s a maid in Big Dummy’s house, and she heard him cussing and smashing things when she brought in the booze and snacks. I even gave Ah Chun a few boiled eggs for that info—no way it’s wrong!" Ah Man insisted her funds weren’t wasted, even without A Qing watching. She knew how to make good use of her intel budget. Then she added, "I may have added a bit of artistic flair to make it sound funnier."

"Fine, whatever!" said Harano, letting it go so long as the news was accurate. He mused, "So, looks like there won’t be a fight for now?"

Ah Man shook her head. "Not necessarily. The local bosses aren’t cooperating, but Nobunaga’s head is harder than a brick. He’s still planning an offensive with just Nagano Castle’s forces. Only both his Family Elders are against it. Right now, they’re deadlocked—no telling who’ll win the argument."

"Oh? Hirata Masahide and Lin Xiuzhen don’t want to fight either? Then what about Matsuba and Shinkata Castles?"

"They want to settle it by negotiation—they’re trying to send over a princess, just like when Oda Nobuhide married the daughter from Qingzhou Oda’s family. The two houses would join by marriage again, restore the peace, and hopefully swap back Shinkata Castle. But Nobunaga won’t go for it—he flatly refuses to send his sister over, still wants to settle things with force."

"What about Matsuba Castle and Matsuba Pass?"

"Forget it, they’re as good as gone. With Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s house in this shape, who knows if they’ll even get Shinkata Castle back with a princess. Put Matsuba Castle out of your mind."

Harano nodded slightly, at a loss for words. But he figured he’d better go practice his riding—knowing Nobunaga’s melodramatic streak, there was no way he’d settle for peace by marrying off his sister. Even if he had to charge off with just his own Lang Faction, even after a huge defeat, he’d still insist on bashing heads with the Qingzhou Oda family.

......

Sure enough, a new round of war couldn’t be avoided. Ah Man wandered out and soon came back with fresh news: somehow, Oda Nobunaga managed to talk Hirata Masahide around, won a 2-to-1 vote over Lin Xiuzhen, and decided—fight it is! Even if the bosses wouldn’t help, even if Danjo Chonosuke’s clan couldn’t fully mobilize, Nagano Castle’s strength alone would have to do!