A Time Traveller's Guide To Feudal Japan

Chapter 261 - Ridiculous Idea

In the dark of the night, upon the very field that they had battled, a circle of tents had been constructed and many fires raged, lighting up the sky. They splurged the last of their rations on a grand feast. Bodies intermingled by design. Takeda men shared fires with the very soldiers they had warred with, and they raised glasses in each other’s names.

The only party that did not quite fit in were the Oda. They had won no one’s respect with their late arrival. They huddled around fires of their own, slowly sipping on drink, distrustful eyes flickering around. How did this happen? The men they had ridden to reinforce were toasting to the enemy. It was unprecedented. It was down to their leader to ensure they did not return back to Owari empty-handed.

Nobunaga sat amongst Gengyo’s circle, with Hirata at his side, sharing their drink, struggling to find the right words to speak amongst the celebratory laugher.

Morohira had Rokkaku in a casual headlock, doing his very best to keep his drink from spilling as the man struggled and struggled. He talked to Togashi, pretending there was nothing untoward going on at all, thoroughly enjoying himself. The bearded man had sustained an unhealthy amount of alcohol amidst the celebrations and so despite his usual seriousness, he was able to entertain him without growing too frustrated.

Working a little more carefully with an ear to the delicate matters, Jikouji made sure to strike up conversation with their new Generals and make them as welcome as possible. He asked them all sorts of questions, opening up to them, evoking a smile now and then, but it was ultimately an awkward affair as one might expect. They simply were not ready, still shook from the events of the day. With age brought understanding, and he took no offence.

With his arm dr.a.p.ed over Akiko’s shoulders, Gengyo admired his surroundings, sipping from his cup. He was the pebble that had caused these ripples across the pond. The arrival of but a single man had manifested all of this. It was interesting. The way things were going, it would seem SAPPHIRE understood him better than he understood himself.

With that knowledge of the future, he knew the full worth of the man sat opposite him, young Nobunaga, but he did not rush to sing his praises or slip into an alliance. In this world, in this time, he was nothing more than the Lord of Oda, and he treated him accordingly.

"I must thank you for heading my call. Had things turned sour, it is reassuring to know that you would have been there to help." He smiled thinly, knowing that such a thing most certainly wouldn’t have happened, but he knew that before writing the letter.

"Ah... yes, we would have endeavoured to help." Nobunaga responded, awkwardly scratching his head, quite looking forward to returning home.

"Matsudaira and I have quite a few things to attend to, now that we have successfully defended our territory. How many provinces do I rule now? One? Or six? I suppose it depends. Imagawa’s son still draws breath, and I expect he will be moving to challenge me at any second. Uesugi will not be far behind." He had a distant look in his eye as he listed all that he had to defend, before looking back at Nobunaga. "But then, none of those things are your problem, are they? Unless you decide to move against me. That would be rather troublesome."

Nobunaga wet his lips before replying. This was a matter that required delicate handling. For him to have such a man as his enemy, that would prove troublesome, but to commit to something that would prove unbeneficial merely because of fear would leave him resentful.

"My people are still recovering from unrest. I would not put them through war for a while." He pronounced, maintaining a straight face.

Gengyo snorted hearing such a barefaced lie. If this was the man he thought him to be, then he certainly would allow nothing to get in the way of him seizing the opportunity. This battle they’d fought today, and the ones they??d fought in the past, they had removed bricks from the previous stable structure of the surrounding provinces, and through the chaos, it was the prudent and not the powerful that would rise.

The youth’s eyes narrowed at his snort, thinking himself to be mocked. Anger rose within his chest. Just because he was outnumbered did no give this man the right to disrespect him. Even Matsudaira had an alarmed look on his face. Gengyo was able to be delicate in political matters as he had proved with Shingen, so why would he suddenly regress and shun a possible resource?

"Forgive me, these subtleties irritate me. Let us throw everything out in the open at the risk of offending each other, I feel it will be easier that way. You, Nobunaga, are an ambitious man. You are eyeing the lands around you greedily longing for the day that you will be able to set foot in them as a man of power. I’ve heard of you, you see. People don’t seem to take you seriously, do they? But your competence is without question. No, that is not why I laughed. I laughed because of the ridiculous idea that just popped into my head. I thought to myself ’if young Nobunaga were to assist me in reclaiming the gifted Takeda lands, then how would he mind Shinano as a reward?’"

His circle went quiet, hearing his proposition, and he took the opportunity to take another sip from his cup. "Ridiculous, right? Shinano is a rather big province. With the number of men you have, you’d struggle to keep hold of it. Ah, it is much too silly. Forget I ever said anything."

"No!" Nobunaga barked, a little too excited. "I mean... There is such a thing as foolish wisdom. It is an idea worth exploring."