Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 30: Are donkeys attracted to each other?
A messenger from the Maeda family of Arakko came to visit, and apart from freeing Hara from his "jail", he simply exchanged a few polite words and left, leaving Hara with only a letter, a set of fairly exquisite lacquerware tableware, a fine ceramic tea bowl in a wooden box, and a piece of finely woven linen cloth.

"Who wrote the letter? What's in the letter?" Ah Man was a person who loved to join in the fun. Seeing the messenger come and go, he couldn't help but come in. While casually asking for news, he carefully looked at Ah Qing to see if Yuan Ye had done anything wrong when she was not around.

She really lost her sister, and she felt a little regretful. She started to be suspicious again, fearing that Yuanye, a beast in human form, would suddenly show his true colors. He grinned lewdly, drooled, and hugged Aqing in his arms, and started to do whatever he wanted. However, due to the bet, Aqing could only close her eyes, tilt her head, and endure the humiliation, allowing him to abuse her.

Although this is unlikely, Yuanye usually looks pretty good, but it is difficult to draw the bones of a dragon or a tiger, and you can't judge a person's heart by his face. Samurai are all perverts, and it is not surprising that they do disgusting things.

"It's a letter from a man named Okumura Sukeemon Iefuku, thanking us for saving Osomatsu and sending us some thank-you gifts." Yuanye didn't notice Aman's scrutinizing gaze. After reading the letter, he tapped the table with his fingers and said thoughtfully, "He also hopes that I can visit Arashi Castle and help his lord Maeda Toshiharu see a doctor. He's ready for me anytime."

This was a bit beyond his expectations. He thought it was a letter from Maeda Toshiie to him, or a letter from Maeda Toshiharu, the lord of Arako Castle, but he didn't expect that an unfamiliar Okumura Iefuku would show up.

"Okumura Sukeemon, I know him. He is the patriarch of the Arako-Maeda family. The Okumura family has served the Maeda family for generations, so he is considered a very important figure in the Maeda family." Aman first provided some basic information, then flipped through the thank-you gift, estimated the price, and said dissatisfiedly, "It can only be sold for more than one kan. The lacquerware is produced in Arako Kannon Temple, and the tea bowl is a common item in Seto ware with some minor flaws. The cloth is probably woven by them. The total cost is at most 700 to 800 wen! These samurai are still so stingy. They only pay so little for medical treatment. Do you want to go?"

These things were said to be a thank you gift for saving Song, but in fact they were more like the cost of his medical consultation. The old-school Japanese samurai of this era followed Confucian etiquette and usually spoke in a roundabout way, and were somewhat ashamed to talk about money directly, which was somewhat similar to the old sour Confucian scholars in China. She was very clear about this.

"Let's go tomorrow. Anyway, I have nothing to do now and I have free time." Yuanye made a decision quickly. After all, he was staying in someone else's territory and the other party was polite. Besides, he was not asked to work for nothing. He couldn't be shameless and cause trouble for no reason.

Even a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. Moreover, he is not a strong dragon. He is just a foreigner who has fallen on hard times here. He should have been careful.

Ah Man thought it was okay. Although the money was a little less, it was better than treating poor villagers. He immediately said, "Then go ahead. I'll help you look after the house."

She had no intention of going with him. She acted so unscrupulously here in Yuanye because Yuanye was a nice guy who was willing to tolerate her. But if she went to Huangzi City, let alone having a big meal, there was a 99% chance that she wouldn't even be able to sit at the table. She would have to kneel behind Yuanye and stare blankly. Afterwards, at most she could get a bowl of super unpalatable bean and wild vegetable rice. With her sly and lazy personality, it was impossible for her to endure that kind of suffering.

Yuanye nodded. He didn't care about it. What's more, if Maeda Toshiharu's illness was more serious and required a lot of time, and he wouldn't be able to come back for a day or two, he would feel more at ease with Aman taking care of his silly son. If something unexpected happened, with her cleverness, she could at least drag her silly son away. As long as the person was not dead, everything else would be fine.

He now trusts Aman and Aqing more. They were willing to admit their loss even when they bet their heads. They are good people and worthy of trust!

Having settled the matter, he called the Taojing brothers in and told them to feed the second-hand donkey more bean feed, clean the second-hand car, prepare some dry food, and set off early tomorrow morning so as not to delay the trip.

…………

Nothing happened that night, and time quickly came to the next morning.

Yuanye finished her daily tasks in advance and after a simple breakfast, she packed her clothes, bow and arrows, and medicine box and prepared to set off. But when she went out, she saw Ah Qing hanging a bean bag on the second-hand donkey and whispering something to it. She was combing its hair with her hands, and her expression was very patient and gentle. The second-hand donkey also rubbed its head and face against her gently, without any stubborn temper, and looked like it was very familiar with her.

Yuanye was surprised for a moment. That was his second-hand donkey, so why was he so kind to Aqing, a stranger?
Could it be that donkeys attract donkeys? Because Qing herself is a bit like a donkey, so donkeys like her especially?
But this is not the point. The point is that Aqing's copper hoop stick was leaning against the donkey cart, and her little monkey was squatting on the donkey's back, searching for lice, and it seemed that she wanted to follow too.

He turned to Ah Man who came to see him off and asked curiously, "She's going too?"

"Didn't you say to let her be a bodyguard?" Aman yawned, with frowning eyebrows, sleepy eyes and a nonchalant look on his face.

She didn't want to suffer the punishment, but she didn't object if Aqing wanted to suffer the punishment. She wouldn't die anyway, so it didn't matter much. Besides, the world was in chaos now. In theory, there should be no danger in going from Hibizun to Arashi Castle, but in reality it was hard to say. She could feel more at ease with Aqing following her - if Yuanye was beaten to death by someone, she would have no place to eat, which would be a big loss.

Yuanye and Aqing didn't get along, and he felt that it was a bit unnecessary, but safety was the top priority. After thinking about it, he realized that he couldn't just let himself go, so he didn't say anything and agreed.

So, Tao Liulang led the way with the donkey, Jing Qilang carried a bamboo spear, Yuanye sat on the donkey cart, and A Qing guarded with a stick. They set off like this, as if they were going to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

It was really like going to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures. The road was damn difficult to walk on. I don't know what the Araki Maeda family is doing. They didn't even know how to repair the roads in their territory. Not only was the dirt road sometimes wide and sometimes narrow, it was also bumpy. It was even more difficult to walk on than the road to Gunye Castle. It was so bumpy that Yuanye's butt hurt.

In ancient times, traveling was a hard job. No wonder ancient people didn’t like to leave home, unlike modern people who want to travel like crazy all day long and even curse on the Internet when they don’t have a vacation.

The road was bumpy, and it was difficult to sit steadily on a donkey cart in the wild. It went up and down and tossed back and forth, making him so depressed that he had no interest in seeing the pristine scenery. While he was complaining, the little macaque on Aqing's shoulder suddenly stood up and let out a sharp scream at a small hill not far away, with its eyes wide open and its sharp canine teeth showing.

Yuanye shuddered and became alert in an instant. He reached out for the bow and began to load the arrow. He looked towards the hilltop in search of the sound and saw a forest of mixed trees on the hilltop. It was early spring and there was just a little green on the hilltop, but most of the trees were still gray.

He looked around sharply for two rounds, but didn't find anything special that needed attention. He tilted his head and asked Ah Qing, "What's wrong?" "There's someone there." Ah Qing also began to be alert. The copper hoop in her hand had turned into a static naginata. She looked at the forest with cold eyes and waved her hand. The little monkey immediately jumped off her shoulder, rushed out and quickly climbed to the top of a tree to watch. However, this time it didn't scream. It stayed on the tree top for a while, then ran back to climb onto her shoulder and gestured.

"It was two men with bows, and they have gone far away." Ah Qing tilted his head to take a look, explained softly to Yuanye, then twisted the blade of the naginata, inserted it back into the copper hoop and tightened it. It seemed that he thought the danger had been eliminated and there would be no fighting.

Yuanye looked at the little monkey. He didn't expect it to have such a wonderful use. He immediately admired it and quickly took out a rice ball and handed it to it, preparing to improve the quality of its food when he returned. Then he looked at the forest again and asked Aqing, "Is it a thief?"

Ah Qing did not reply. She had not caught the two men, so how could she know if they were thieves? But she remembered that her relationship with Yuanye was no longer the same. She hesitated for a moment and then lowered her eyelids. She said in a cold voice, "It's possible that they were, and it's possible that they were not."

Yuanye also reacted and thought that they might not be thieves. They might be two villagers who were part-time hunters. They wanted to catch some game in the mountains to exchange for money. When they saw him, the fake warrior, from afar, they hid themselves to avoid being used as a target by him to practice archery.

Of course, it cannot be said that there is no danger. Even if the other party is a hunter, he may not mind robbing them. He is secretly observing whether they are easy targets and considering whether to launch a sneak attack. However, when he realizes that he has been discovered and there is no possibility of a sneak attack, he quickly flees.

In troubled times, public security is in chaos, there is no law or order, all kinds of people exist, and anything that happens is normal.

In this era, it is very difficult to distinguish between good people and bad people, and it is hard to even walk in peace!
The danger was over. Although they didn't know if it was really a danger, it was over anyway. They set off again and continued to head towards Huangzi City.

Yuanye was stimulated and became energetic again, but nothing happened on the remaining half of the road. Everything was normal and they entered the territory of Huangzi City smoothly.

Taking the opportunity to climb a mound, Yuanye looked out at the city which has disappeared in modern times from afar.

Huangzi City has a moat, the depth of which is unknown, but it is not wide, only about two rooms wide.

From a distance, the city wall seemed to be built mainly of rough logs, which gave it a primitive and rough feel. However, only three corners of the city wall had low arrow towers, and the remaining one was half-built. The guardhouse above the city gate also seemed to be just a frame, which was very simple.

It was early spring now, the weather was getting warmer and more humid, and the city walls seemed to be covered with green moss, with patches of moss here and there, and the wood brown color had some green spots, which looked extremely ugly.

As for the area, there are about 35 rooms from east to west and about 25 rooms from north to south, forming a rectangle, about 3,500 square meters, which is only half the size of a football field - this still includes the moat, and the actual usable area will be even smaller. Although Huangzi City is called a city, it looks more like a wooden fortress.

From this perspective, there is a huge difference between Arako Castle and Kuno Castle. Kuno Castle was probably built by a powerful daimyo, and it was the residence of his beloved youngest son, so he spared no expense. However, Arako Castle was built by a local wealthy family with limited strength. The gap between the two sides is huge just in terms of scale. And overall, Arako Castle looks shabby, like an unfinished wooden project, like a beggar in the city, without any dignity at all.

Of course, it may have really been a bad ending, and who knows what it will be like in the future.

According to the "Owari Okyoki", Maeda Castle was abandoned for some reason in 1532 AD (it may be that an earthquake caused the Odai River to change its course, the specific reason is unknown), and the Maeda family was divided because of this. It was less than ten years since the branch of Maeda Toshiharu moved to Araki to build the castle. In addition, Oda Nobuhide had been constantly waging wars against foreign countries in recent years, and the Maeda family had been forced to respond. They were repeatedly conscripted into military service and were unable to accumulate strength. Their strength was severely damaged, and the construction was dragged out and in tatters. It was normal that it was even considered completed like this.

From this perspective, Oda Nobuhide would go and fight with his neighbors for no reason, which seemed to be intended to consume the powerful Owari clans. I just wonder if these local clans can think of this...

You can probably guess it. Aman once said that now the local powerful families in the eight counties of Owari seem to be hoping that Oda Nobuhide will die soon, and the internal conflicts in Oda Danjotada's family are not small.

Yuanye looked at Huangzi City and pondered for a moment, then shifted his gaze to the surroundings.

A small town like Arakko Castle certainly doesn't have a city, so outside the city is naturally Arakko Village. Judging from the number of houses, it is three or four times larger than Hibitsu Village. The fields are the same as Hibitsu Village, with no systematic irrigation system. The paddy fields can only be arranged on both sides of the Odai River to facilitate water nearby, and the dry fields are similar. They are neat at first, but gradually become messy as they extend towards the hills.

Unlike Hibitsu Village, there is a "big mansion" on the low hills northwest of Arashi Village. It is high above the ground, with a large mountain gate with wood and stone carvings, and thick walls, like a small fortress. There is also a multi-treasure pagoda inside, with flying eaves and a spire reaching straight into the sky. It looks quite exquisite and gorgeous. Overall, except for the lack of a moat and arrow towers and watchtowers, it is even more decent than Arashi City.

This should be the Arashi Kannon Temple. Yuanye knew it without asking anyone because he remembered the tower. The tower survived to later generations. The architect seemed to be the same person as the architect of Azuchi Castle, but he forgot the name. However, he had seen the tower in many posters and on TV, and it looked roughly the same.

Of course, the Araki Kannon Temple has also survived to later generations. It is located in the western suburbs of Nagoya City. However, it seems to have been rebuilt and has become the Bettoji Temple of Tenmanjingu Shrine. Without the outer mountain gate and high walls, it no longer looks like a small fortress, but it still preserves more than 1,200 Enku Buddha statues, and it can be regarded as a less famous small attraction in Nagoya.

Yuanye stood on the mound, watching and pondering. When he had seen enough, he turned around and walked down the mound.

We are finally here. Let’s go and meet the local tyrant, the lord of Arashi Castle, Maeda Toshiharu. I wonder what kind of person he is!
(End of this chapter)