Warring States Survival Guide-Chapter 365 - 251: A Lifesaving Cloak! (Part 2)

Therefore, as long as he can supply the Wanjin Army, all the Wanjin people will recognize him as the provider of the finest quality within the industry. Many would rather pay extra to buy his goods, making the workshop both profitable and reputable.

Kitahata Giyou naturally did not know that such a story was behind this small rain cape, but he was intelligent enough to gain insight from small clues. He rummaged through the small personal items of 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 somewhat odd flavor, but they were small in size, easy to carry, and could quickly restore physical strength at critical moments to stave off hunger.

From small things, big things can be understood. The Wanjin Army made great efforts even for the temporary outdoor lodging of their soldiers, going to great lengths to maintain their combat effectiveness. Such a military...

Kitahata Giyou was silent for quite a while, then asked with a glimmer of hope, "Do all Nozawa family’s Ashigaru have... these?"

"The ones present might be more elite, as they are vanguard scouts, but most of the Nozawa family’s Ashigaru are similarly equipped," Hirata Fujimori sighed, not directly expressing discouragement, but clearly explaining the reasons the front line did not want a decisive battle, "My Lord, the Nozawa family is indeed a formidable enemy, the likes of which we have never seen, and with our current forces we might..."

"A formidable enemy the likes of which we have never seen?"

Kitahata Giyou softly repeated the phrase, then fell into silence again.

Hirata Fujimori and the others also had nothing to say. The courtyard was silent for a long while, until Hirata Fujimori tentatively suggested, "My Lord, we need to gather more strength, what do you think..."

Kitahata Giyou slowly shook his head, indicating that there were no more reinforcements.

The "Iki-zu" in various counties of Ise Province were causing serious disturbances, and the Earth Warriors and local powerful families were unwilling to provide military service, fearing that as soon as they left, their homes would be looted and burned by the mobs. Even threats of retribution from Kitahata family would not work. "Betting one’s life on a single stroke" was not merely empty words; these Earth Warriors and local powerful families would rather acknowledge a "new father" in such times than leave their lands.

Moreover, the Earth Warriors and local powerful families controlled large numbers of villages. When they did not take action, Kitahata family’s mobilization capability was reduced by more than half. The fact that they could now gather more than six thousand people was already a result of long-standing authority and influence.

But over six thousand people were still not enough to decisively battle the Wanjin Army.

Hirata Fujimori was slightly disappointed, but he also knew that the situation at the rear was utter chaos, so he asked, "Then, my Lord, can we seek some assistance from elsewhere?"

Kitahata Giyou shook his head again. The Rokkaku family, allies by marriage, were entangled in a conflict with the Asai Family, and although neither side had engaged in a full-scale war again, no one dared to leave Omi, as one misstep could allow the other to take their homeland.

The Oda Family continued their aggressive attack on Minoh and could not divert their attention, and since the Nozawa family was an ally of the Oda Family, it was unlikely for them to attack the Chita Peninsula to force the Wanjin Army to fall back.

The Yamahata family had not been particularly concerned with affairs on the Ise Peninsula; they were more focused on the Seto Inland Sea, where they clashed with the Bessho, Akamatsu, Uragami, and Miyoshi families along the coast. Moreover, the Kitahata family did not have good relations with the Yamahata family, and given the internal strife and plagues affecting them as well, it was almost certain they would not sacrifice themselves for others.

As for the powerful families in Northern Ise, they were also dealing with "Iki-zu" uprisings, similar to the southern Ise situation. They would be secretly hoping for the Kitahata family’s downfall, and even if they wanted to help, they couldn’t mobilize much strength. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

So, the only remaining option was the Miyoshi family. The Miyoshi family had extensive territory and strong power; even though they also suffered disasters, their strength would not be greatly diminished, and they probably had the capability to intervene. However, the Miyoshi family had always coveted the Kitahata family’s lands, drooling over it for a long time. Seeking their aid would make it uncertain who would govern the five counties of Southern Ise afterward.

Kitahata Giyou was in the frontline to preside over the overall situation and to hold the Lower Curve County accountable for being indefensible. But once he was here, seeing the actual situation and encountering the Wanjin people, he realized the predicament was indeed thorny, and even he could not make a direct decision — the five thousand plus troops around Anong City were almost the last mobile forces of the Kitahata family. If a decisive battle were lost and the army was completely wiped out, the Kitahata family would essentially be eighty percent finished.

However, there weren’t many retreats available either, as the Wanjin Army was steadily advancing towards Anong City, and even if their speed was like a sluggish tortoise, they’d reach it by month’s end.

Kitahata Giyou pondered for a long time before asking Hirata Fujimori, "We are so heavily affected by the mobs, how is the situation for the Nozawa family?"

"So far... they don’t seem to be affected much. On the opposite bank of the Nong River, there were a few groups of mobs, but they all surrendered, and the remaining villages hardly resisted, even beginning to assist the Nozawa family in capturing our people."

"Why is this happening?"

"Probably because... the Nozawa family didn’t plunder over there, and even transported grain to distribute it. Those mobs, naturally base-born and without any sense of loyalty or justice, forget the generations of gratitude from the Kitahata family as long as they have something to eat."

Hirata Fujimori, a refined samurai, couldn’t help frowning when talking about these mobs. When they were confronting the Wanjin Army at the Kazumi Port, those mobs looted their transport teams, causing numerous troubles at their back. Once they retreated to the Nongzhen City area, those mobs became obedient and transformed into law-abiding citizens, not stealing or robbing anymore.

It was impossible not to feel angry, and indeed, he looked down on those mobs. The Kitahata family had sustained them for over a hundred years. Theoretically, even if the Kitahata family temporarily retreated, they should have resisted the Wanjin to the end.

Yet, not only did they not resist, they dared to aid the enemy, guiding the Wanjin Army to capture people from the Kitahata family, and even voluntarily following the Wanjin Army to besiege small towns of local powerful families. It was simply a degradation of morality and a loss of humanity!

Of course, he also understood that the commoners faced starvation this year, but loyalty and righteousness should outweigh life and death. It was truly disgraceful that these commoners would forget a century of benevolence for just a meal!

However, the Nozawa family was indeed wealthy, continuously shipping grain to Ise. There was no sign of it ending, and they didn’t even seem to care about supporting tens of thousands through the winter. It was truly baffling where Nozawa Saburo got so much money and such vast quantities of grain.

Kitahata Giyou felt a slight disappointment, and a deep-seated hatred emerged within him, feeling that his own people were indeed worthless. But given the situation, hatred and resentment were useless, and he still had to face the immediate problem: there was no certainty in a decisive battle, and relinquishing Lower Curve County to the Nozawa family felt unacceptable.

Was it simply that the strength was too weak? Is this era destined to be one where big fish eat little fish, and the weak are meant to die?

However, Kitahata Giyou asked himself this question, as he had been diligently managing the Kitahata family these years, actively trying to expand into Northern Ise, aiming to swallow Northern Ise. Yet he had not achieved significant progress and found that the neighboring forces were growing stronger, leading even an unknown family like the Nozawa family, with just one county of land, to exert such pressure that the Kitahata family, a Daimyo in name controlling the whole nation, could not breathe. How could this be justified?

What to do now?

Retreating was not an option anymore, after all, "Betting one’s life on a single stroke"!

Kitahata Giyou slowly made up his mind; living in this era, he had the courage to fight to the end!