SKM – Chapter 26

Translator: Manshiro    Editor: Arocks141    Proofreader: Arocks141    TLC: Arocks141 (…?! Is this really okay?!)

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Arc 2 – Tenth Year of Eiroku Era, Tenka Fubu

Late January, 1567

The three days of New Year had passed, and without any further notable happenings, there was only the cultivation of winter vegetables and rapeseed, to make oil from its seeds, left to be done.

Meanwhile, the cultivation of onions was finally starting to get on track, and they were able to harvest some as food.

But, as before, both seedlings and arable land were in short supply, so they were in no shape to start mass producing food.

Shizuko went through all the things she was cultivating.

Under the category of vegetables, she had corn, leek, pumpkins, eggplants, tomatoes, radish, green onions, lettuce, taro, Japanese mustard spinach, carrots, and turnips.

Rice, soybeans, Shiitake, honey, and sugar cane were for military use. Sweet potatoes would serve as emergency rations. In addition to all these crops, she had the meat and eggs from her poultry farm. Furthermore rapeseed for oil, as well as onions to relieve fatigue.

And while the scale was small, her sericulture produced some silk, as well as mulberry tea and fruits from the used mulberry trees.

Considering the small scale of only 100 villagers, this diversity of produce was completely out of the norm for this era.

“Huh, now that I think about it, we’re already growing quite a lot of stuff.”

After taking stock of all the things being produced in her village, Shizuko nodded with a thoughtful expression on her face.

If you compared the entire village to a single, co-owned farm, finding one which produces this many items in one location would be difficult even in the modern era. But Shizuko was simply happy to see that her efforts had borne fruit.

“This is only quite a lot…? To me, this can only be called abnormal.”

The boy muttered while fishing the baked potato from the ash of the Irori.”

“You think it is, Chamaru-kun? Personally, I would like to increase the amount we produce by a little more. Especially the silk related stuff.”

Although the boy was called Chamaru, this was obviously only a false name, his real name being Kimyoumaru.

On the orders of his father, Nobunaga, he hid his status to get closer to Shizuko, leading to him forming a relationship where he exchanged quips with her.

Aya had played a role in this as well, but she too was unaware that the boy was actually Kimyoumaru, Nobunaga’s son.

Shizuko herself had only been told the lie that he was the son of Nobunaga’s brother and thus related by blood to him.

As a direct relative of Nobunaga, she couldn’t be rude to him, so Shizuko was troubled with how to interact with him at first.

But after a few days, she had accepted Kimyoumaru to the degree where she invited him into her house without the slightest bit of caution.

“But, well, the amount is really something else. This much… must really please the lord a lot. But let’s put that topic aside.”

Cutting that strand of conversation, he started with a more serious look on his face.

“Say, Hypothetically… If you wanted to conquer the entire country, how would you do it?”

“Where did that come from all of a sudden? I think things like that are not suited for children (like you).”

“There is no true man who doesn’t dream to hold the entire country in his hands. I may not have come of age yet, but once I will be able to stand on the battlefield, I will cut my enemies left and right until there are no more, and then the country will be mine. Up until recently, that was my belief.”

Pausing at this, Kimyoumaru straightened his posture and looked directly into Shizuko’s eyes.

“But every time you tell me about Sun Tzu’s Art of War, Shizuko, I have come to think. Whether simply continuing to fight will truly end with the country in my hands. To resolve this conundrum, I want to hear how you would go about conquering everything.”

“Hmm… (Is it alright if I just give him something from a walkthrough of a Sengoku era themed strategy game…?).”

Shizuko thought with her arms folded.

As she wasn’t really that knowledgeable about the strategies written down in the historic books, and hadn’t thought about conquering the country even once, Shizuko couldn’t immediately answer.

But faced with Kimyoumaru’s passionate gaze, she wondered if there was some advice she could give him.

And while she was a little worried about it, Shizuko remembered the contents of the historic simulation game she had played in the past.

“… This will be ignoring casualties and other problems so it’s quite crude, but I would take control of Kinai… in short the area around the capital Kyo. At the same time, I would spoil the surrounding villages rotten. Something like that?”

“Why are you phrasing it as a question? But interesting, first of all take Kyou… and, for what reason?”

“First, I would start by restoring the authority of the emperor in Kyo. If I remember correctly, the 13th emperor enthroned several decades ago had become disillusioned by the powerlessness of the position of emperor and muttered that he “wants to quit”. Even now, the authority of the emperor should still be worthless. I would start by reviving that authority to show everyone in the country that “The emperor’s magnificence has yet to decline.””

In contrast to the modern era, the samurai society of the Sengoku and Edo eras highly valued and even deified lineage.

To the extent that a legitimate pedigree alone was enough for strong warriors to flock to one’s side.

It was also for this reason, that the Tokugawa, a clan from the depths of Mikawa’s mountains, claimed that their ancestors were descended from the Seiwa emperor, meaning they themselves were descendants of Genji, as only those of Genji’s bloodline could become Shogun.

Even Toyotomi Hideyoshi who unified Japan was made out to be a descendant of the Heike. Because of claims like these, the family trees of most famous warlords were completely messed up.

But in the end, the emperor was at the center of every legitimate bloodline.

“After that, I would have the emperor declare me as Shogun with his renewed authority. At which point most other lords won’t even think about going against me anymore. Because I can justify my rule with the authority and status given to me by the emperor. If they turn against me, they raise their sword against the emperor, which will see them surrounded by enemies on all sides. In the worst case, even their trusted retainers might betray them as a result.”

“But is there really that much worth in the emperor? It’s rude to put it this way… but isn’t his position already on the same level as the crumbled Muromachi Shogunate?”

“The Muromachi Shogunate has been around for a measly 200 years. In contrast to that, the imperial family has survived for a small eternity of more than a thousand years. If you don’t look just at Hinomoto, but also at Namban, you will see that a royal family with a long history is absolutely necessary, Chamaru-kun.”

After being surprised by her words at first, Kimyoumaru than scratched the back of his head with a grumpy look on his face.

“…at what point did you notice.”

“Somewhere around the middle, I guess. After all, up until now you only ever had idle talk with me that lacked any seriousness.”

“Tch, looks like I got too heated up and failed. I had planned to tell this to my father as my own idea, but I’ll give up on that. Hahahaha.”

Shizuko had seen through his scheme, but Kimyoumaru didn’t seem to be too bothered by it and cheerfully laughed.

“But really, the topic has been very interesting. A plan to conquer the country. It’s not bad to mull about things like that. The Seven Military Classics are great, but isn’t talking about dreams like this good too, once in a while?”

“(I’m not really interested… but let’s just think of it as a game and use it as a change of pace) Aya-chan, could you bring me the ‘map’.”

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Shortly afterwards, the ‘map’ was carried into the room by Aya.

And while she had called it a “map”, it only showed the rough shape of Japan, lacking any precise location for rivers and mountains.

Even then, it was more accurate than those held precious by the lords of other countries.

“I explained to you about the rough shape of Japan before, right? This is where we are right now, and this here is Kyo… and that is Mino which the lord is currently sieging.”

In place of markers, Shizuko placed suitably cut pieces of wood on the map.

She would have liked to have a bigger sheet of paper, but was satisfied that she had at the very least got this one.

“Earlier you said this, Shizuko: you would swiftly take control of Kyo and then spoil the surrounding villages rotten. I can understand taking control of the area around Kyo. With just Kyo and Sakai, one will be much closer to having the entire country in one’s hands. But I fail to understand what you mean by spoiling the villages rotten.”

“… How much do you know about battles and war in general, Chamaru-kun?”

Although she asked him this, Shizuko herself was not an expert on Sengoku era warfare either.

But, even though she might lack the experience of having been on the battlefield, Shizuko had the knowledge gained from reading about it.

“Isn’t the battlefield the place to earn achievements? Even I know that much.”

“Ah, okay. I understand that you don’t understand anything.”

The armies fielded during this time contained only around 10%-20% warriors, while the remaining 80%-90% was made up of Ashigaru or peasants (ordinary soldiers).

Furthermore, the entirety of the army would not actually do battle. There were carriers, civil engineers, servants, and other specialized workers accompanying the army.

And to top it off, merchants who wanted to make dealings with the soldiers also traveled with them.

In short, even if the history books spoke of an army of 50.000, the amount of soldiers actually fighting would only be 50% of that.

As such, losing 1000 men would already mean big damage to such an army.

“Achievements are only something warriors aim for. The Ashigaru and other soldiers usually have different priorities.”

“…and those are?”

“To earn enough to make a living off it. Just that.”

Cutting off the enemy commander’s head or conquering a castle to amass achievements was something only warriors were thinking about.

Then what was it that the remaining soldiers wanted? Simply securing their livelihood.

As a result, the ordinary soldiers burned, plundered, ransacked, and more to turn a profit on the spoils.

There were merchants who had made this their main business as well, opening markets to sell these spoils after the battles, going as far as human trafficking at times.

On the battlefield, you had poor ruffians, thieves, and bandits mixed in, who looted whenever they could.

This behavior was tolerated by the Daimyos of the Sengoku era, and at times they even made plundering a toppled castle the reward for their soldiers.

In fact, some Daimyos even recommended plundering, as it would enrich their own territory.

That was just how normal post-war atrocities were in this era. They were not viewed as an evil deed.

“……”

Kimyoumaru, who had seemed to hold some idealized view of war, looked shocked.

Seeing this, Shizuko hurriedly continued her explanation.

“W-well, for it to get that bad is rare. A-anyway, turning this kind of thinking around and taking advantage of it is my plan to spoil the surrounding villages rotten.

“Turning it around….?”

“Yep. The reason for the ordinary soldiers to step on the battlefield is that they feel it is necessary for them to survive. Now what if you removed that necessity…?”

After thinking about it for a moment, Kimyoumaru opened his eyes wide in realization and muttered.

“They won’t want to go to war?”

“Exactly. Depending on the size of their village they might get forcibly pressed into service, but a family that doesn’t have to be worried whether they’ll have something to eat tomorrow would be loathe to send their workforce to a battlefield where they could die, right?”

“I see. It makes sense from the perspective of an ordinary soldier….hmm? Could this be the “winning without fighting” from Sun Tzu’s Art of War!?”

As if the penny had dropped at last, Kimyoumaru clapped his hands.

“Give the peasants enough to eat, and make them dislike joining an army. Like that, their lord would have trouble getting them to take up arms. And according to what you said, Shizuko, they make up the majority of the army, so this would mean a big decrease in the army’s fighting power. And no matter how strong the warrior is, facing ten thousand soldiers by themselves is reckless.”

“Furthermore, if you then cut off the food supplies to the rural villages, they will be greatly troubled. And if the reason for that was the lord of that region, whom would their anger be directed against then?”

“It would stop functioning as a country. If we then negotiated with them to surrender, we could obtain the other country without losing a single soldier.”

“(Well, it doesn’t go that smoothly in real life though) And as for regions far away from the capital like here… The further you go away, the lower the niveaux of agriculture sinks, leaving the people in a constant state of famine. That’s why they all want to go to war to somehow secure food. Or to just reduce the amount of mouths to feed.”

Shizuko placed small stones on the Shikoku, Kyushu and Tohoku regions.

“Additionally, reaching these areas from here means a long travel time. This also means a large investment needs to be made before one can even start a war. Rather than that, creating markets and distributing wares to them will take away their reason to fight, and will be the cheaper alternative in the end. And, after you have taken control of that land, you can exercise economic control via these markets.”

“Hoho. As expected of you, Shizuko. Your point of view is completely different from mine or father’s. But it is annoyingly persuasive. Well, the main problem would be the short temper of my father, as I am not sure he would be understanding of such long winded schemes…”

These words made Shizuko stare at him with suspicion in her eyes. But then she remembered that the boy was a blood relative of Nobunaga.

He would probably proudly present the content of their conversation to his father or caretaker as if he had thought of it himself.

(Well, he’s just a child, so I don’t think anyone will pay it too much attention)

Shizuko thought that his surroundings would just ignore it as the blabberings of a child.

That’s why she had decided to tell Chamaru about the “What would I have done at that moment” and “historical what-ifs” she used to think up.

And the parts about Sun Tzu’s Art of War and the other Seven Military Classics were not her own interpretation, but a simplified version of an interpretation she had read in a book.

As Shizuko had thought that this conversation would more or less stay between her and Chamaru, she told him everything without hesitation.

Without knowing that this presumption was greatly mistaken.

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Nobunaga was reading the parts of “Sun Tzu’s Art of War” that Kimyoumaru had gotten out of Shizuko.

The original “Art of War” had almost 100 volumes and was difficult to understand. The emperor of Wei, Cao Cao, reorganized and edited it into 13 volumes, adding annotations and interpretations. This edited version is what is today known as “Sun Tzu’s Art of War”.

And a version with added examples was the “Sun Tzu’s Art of War” in Shizuko’s head.

(This is more than just surprising. To think that such an excellent book on strategy existed in Mei…)

The true nature of war as described in “Sun Tzu’s Art of War” was enough of a shock to Nobunaga, to profoundly change his thoughts about war.

(Shizuko said this to Kimyoumaru. That one should not take a “strategy book” at face value. That it would be pearls before swine if one couldn’t compile their contents and put them to practice.)

Even “Sun Tzu’s Art of War” would be meaningless if you just read it.

That was the warning Kimyoumaru had reported to him. I see, Nobunaga thought after reading the strategy book.

Nobunaga browsed through the reports. There, it stood written.

“War is an important matter for a country. Avoid unwinnable battles and handle the situation carefully. And in war, aim to win without fighting, as turning an enemy into a friend is the best move.”

Summarizing it, “War involves life and death of its citizens, so think of it as a most important matter. Avoid fighting wars you know you will lose. If you do need to wage war, try to win without fighting battles wherever possible. Think of turning an enemy into an ally as the best option.”

Other than that, “logistics are the lifeblood of an army”, “spies are the most important people during war”, and “think about information as the most valuable asset” were written down in the reports.

(These are truly splendid. But, above everything else, the most terrifying is the report about spies.)

Either one would be worthy to keep as family treasures of the Oda clan, but the report about the case of a spy.

The topic of the case was Takeda Shingen. According to it, Shingen valued information gathering highly, and had secret organizations called “Mitsumono” or “Suppa”.

Its members were, among others, monks and merchants which collected information in many countries.

He also took in orphans or bought girls from human traffickers, taught them the skills necessary for spy work, and had them deployed to the entire country as “Walking Mikos” to gather intelligence.

They collected information on many topics such as the general situation of the country, the movements of his vassals, their military strength, the abilities and preferences of castle lords as well as the layouts of their castles.

Shingen analyzed the gathered data and formulated battleplans based on that would create favorable engagements inside his country, leading to his undefeated army.

When Nobunaga realized that this was the mechanism that had earned Takeda Shingen the alias of “Long-legged Monk”, he was shocked to the core.

But the report on the Takeda didn’t stop there.

Another piece of paper contained the strategies and tactics of the Takeda clan contained in the “Koyou Gunkan” strategy book.

The contents of this report were something Kimyoumaru had written down when he had invited Shizuko to his mansion.

And during a meal, she drank as much sake as Kimyoumaru had poured for her.

Shortly after, the alcohol had entered her system and in high spirits, she suddenly began talking about the Takeda.

The content of her stories were Takeda’s information gathering and the “Koyou Gunkan”.

It goes without saying that Nobunaga had issued a “drinking ban” on Shizuko the next day.

Nobunaga combined the information the drunken Shizuko had spilt with the intelligence he himself had collected.

And he came to understand that while there were some uncertainties, Shizuko’s story was infinitely close to the truth.

(… How that girl can know things even the direct retainers of Takeda are unaware of is a mystery. But if this information really is the truth… no, let’s not dwell on it now.)

But even with this newfound knowledge, Nobunaga didn’t want to take any action against Takeda.

He judged that it would be best to continue to be as careful as possible, and to send Uesugi and Takeda gifts to maintain a close relationship with them.

(Regardless of the report’s truth, I should not focus on things other than those which I can only do now. Confirming this report and putting it to use can be done later.)

Looking at the final sheet of paper, Nobunaga slightly smiled.

On it stood the following information.

“Takeda Tokueiken Shingen. Suffers from an incurable illness and has at most only six to seven years left.”