Nobunaga's Chef - Vol. 14 Ch. 120 - Takeda moves!

[MangaDex]

 

[dahhv2]

How can a mere chef build a castle? This isn't Sengoku Komachi, where MC has actual artisans.

 

[Grimmycoffee]

I guess they want to emphasize the importance of the in-depth field fortification (networks of ditches/trenches and palisades), which I've also heard is one of the main factors on Oda-Tokugawa's victory during the battle of Nagashino.

Not sure how the bandit-farmers gonna play their role though.

 

[Chireall]

Hold up, this isn't Sunomata. Is Nobunaga hiding something? Then again, he always does.

 

[ImabotStw]

I guess they want to emphasize the importance of the in-depth field fortification (networks of ditches/trenches and palisades), which I've also heard is one of the main factors on Oda-Tokugawa's victory during the battle of Nagashino.

Not sure how the bandit-farmers gonna play their role though.

I'm recalling an anecdote from one of the CaoCao campaigns in Three Kingdoms novels where they built a castle or defensive wall overnight during winter by just pilling up a lot of soil and gravel and soaking all of it in water so all of it froze overnight.

In reality more like it was what you described. Cao Cao army just made a network of fortifications that denied the Ma clan light cavalry advantage for hit and run or encirclement and hitting the flanks.

 

[KajurN]

There were many points in the manga where it seemed like Nobunaga was making stupid decision after stupid decision just to get bailed out by Jesus (Ken) and his other retainers but that's been happening more and more lately. Him being cryptic for no apparent reason like with what happened with that Badger gift means any misunderstanding of that sort that doesn't get solved could turn into a disaster. I don't know if that's intentional or not by the author. Maybe if he wrote Nobunaga as being better at diplomacy then there would be no room for Ken to showoff?

Also there's a weird dichotomy where the more he relies on Ken the more he's willing to risk Ken's life for little gain like a cheap disposable pawn. It's like risk management is a foreign concept to Nobunaga?

 

[Grimmycoffee]

There were many points in the manga where it seemed like Nobunaga was making stupid decision after stupid decision just to get bailed out by Jesus (Ken) and his other retainers but that's been happening more and more lately. Him being cryptic for no apparent reason like with what happened with that Badger gift means any misunderstanding of that sort that doesn't get solved could turn into a disaster. I don't know if that's intentional or not by the author. Maybe if he wrote Nobunaga as being better at diplomacy then there would be no room for Ken to showoff?

Also there's a weird dichotomy where the more he relies on Ken the more he's willing to risk Ken's life for little gain like a cheap disposable pawn. It's like risk management is a foreign concept to Nobunaga?

It's been a while since I've reread this manga, but this event is probably intentional. In short, the podcast about Battle of Nagashino I've listened to talked about the need of secrecy to achieve victory.

----

Longer version:

Chapter 118, page 14-15 show that since Katsuyori is capable, they need to bait him out.

I'm not sure how accurate the podcast I've watched is (it did give some sources, so it's probably has some right), but it mentioned that the relationship between the Oda and Tokugawa is pretty bad during this time.

The Tokugawa has proven themselves a faithful ally for the Oda that help them nonstop, but as mentioned in ch. 117, the Oda didn't do the same during the Takeda's attack. The podcast mentioned that it gotten so bad that the Tokugawa goes "Either help us or I'll switch side and conquer your home province for myself."

There are some more details, but the manga might show it so it could be spoiler so I won't mention it.

The podcast I'm referring to is this: https://samuraipodcast.com/ep39-the-narrative-and-analysis-of-the-battle-of-nagashino

 

[Mr_Detective]

There were many points in the manga where it seemed like Nobunaga was making stupid decision after stupid decision just to get bailed out by Jesus (Ken) and his other retainers but that's been happening more and more lately. Him being cryptic for no apparent reason like with what happened with that Badger gift means any misunderstanding of that sort that doesn't get solved could turn into a disaster. I don't know if that's intentional or not by the author. Maybe if he wrote Nobunaga as being better at diplomacy then there would be no room for Ken to showoff?

Also there's a weird dichotomy where the more he relies on Ken the more he's willing to risk Ken's life for little gain like a cheap disposable pawn. It's like risk management is a foreign concept to Nobunaga?

It's not for no apparent reason.
https://mangadex.org/chapter/ca002a15-70e5-4547-a89e-fed6b0249b9a/15
As explained in this chapter, Nobunaga cannot explicitly say everything he wants because there are plenty of spies around him. So before Ken, he most likely relied on Yoshinari Mori to either communicate his message in private to his allies, or calm them down and keep them in line. After he's gone, Ken is the only one who truly understands everything Nobunaga is planning. If Ken weren't here, Nobunaga most likely would have to tell Tokugawa his plan in private and make him shut up. But that, too, would still create misunderstandings and doubts among their retainers.

As to why he risks Ken's life so much, he probably senses Ken's plot armor. Well, after so many times Ken escaped the grim reaper's scythe, I guess Nobunaga thinks Ken has 9 lives and is the only one who can cheat death to come back to him no matter what. That means he has complete trust in Ken to complete his mission.

 

[KajurN]

It's not for no apparent reason.
https://mangadex.org/chapter/ca002a15-70e5-4547-a89e-fed6b0249b9a/15
As explained in this chapter, Nobunaga cannot explicitly say everything he wants because there are plenty of spies around him. So before Ken, he most likely relied on Yoshinari Mori to either communicate his message in private to his allies, or calm them down and keep them in line.

Even so he's risking too much with ambiguous actions. Like with the Badger gift, was it worth the risk of losing one of his biggest allies just to throw off enemy spies?

 

[AEnigmatrices]

Hmm... another notable location around Nagashino would be Tobigasu. So perhaps the twist here is that there was initially no fort there?

A big reason why the Takeda charged the Oda in the first place is Tobigasu falling to the Oda-Tokugawa forces, which then translated to the failure of the siege on Nagashino Castle – their escape route was cut off.

 

[Mr_Detective]

Even so he's risking too much with ambiguous actions. Like with the Badger gift, was it worth the risk of losing one of his biggest allies just to throw off enemy spies?

The alternative is them getting slaughtered by the enemy because their plan was leaked. I assume he has a way to make his allies understand, either Ken or Yoshinari, or he talks to them 1 on 1. He can regain allies, or "buy" new ones. It seems he was prepared for betrayal from anybody, especially after Nagamasa betrayed him.

Hmm... another notable location around Nagashino would be Tobigasu. So perhaps the twist here is that there was initially no fort there?

A big reason why the Takeda charged the Oda in the first place is Tobigasu falling to the Oda-Tokugawa forces, which then translated to the failure of the siege on Nagashino Castle – their escape route was cut off.

Tobigasu looks beautiful.

 

[Someguy]

How can a mere chef build a castle? This isn't Sengoku Komachi, where MC has actual artisans.

He's not building a castle. He's merely the recruiter as mentioned in the chapter. Okabe, the craftsmen and whoever Ken manages to find, are the ones doing all the building.