The Strategy of War in the Belly: Soldiering and the Quiet Offensive in the Warring States (16th Century)

The Strategy of War in the Belly: Soldiering and the Quiet Offensive in the Warring States (16th Century)

In the Warring States period, victory or defeat in battle was not decided by iron and blood alone. Rather than wielding a sword, one must first fill one's stomach. Shingen, Kenshin, and others planted chestnut trees in their castles and devised ways to make the fruit of the trees a provision for a siege. Chestnuts, which bear fruit in a few years, are resistant to hunger and drought, and provide food for silence in the midst of war. The fruit trees were a silent line of defense.

Oda Nobunaga went further. He bought up rice in the land of war, driving up the price and hitting the morale and kitchens of the enemy. If rice was not available in the market, the people would be dissatisfied and the soldiers would lose their strength. It was an economic blade that could destroy the enemy without a battle.

Instead of waiting for them to siege, they would starve. This is the siege of the army. Surround the castle, cut off the supply, and time will chip away at the enemy. Hunger will make the soldiers betray you, and the castle will collapse from within. This was not a battle to test the pride of the samurai, but a silent massacre involving the people and the soldiers.

The wise generals of the warring states looked to the fields, the marketplace, and their stomachs. Fruitful trees, swaying rice, dwindling supplies - warfare was also a silent siege of advancing hunger.