Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Strong white slaves who row row can reportedly sell for over sixty livres, though the price may vary depending on market conditions.

Since oarsmen can be recruited, if Kuki Yoshitaka could gather a thousand genuine river pirates, it would indeed be a force worth recruiting for Nobunaga at this time. After all, being a river pirate is a technically demanding military unit, requiring far more skill than ordinary foot soldiers.

Well, let's go to the shipyard. The Tsushima shipyard doesn't have any dry dock facilities, just wooden frames on the open ground for shipbuilding. Anyway, they don't build any solid and huge warships, the largest they can build is a large tsukiya.

I originally thought that Kuki Yoshitaka would think the boat was too small, but he was very satisfied and said that the large boat was more than enough.

156. Managing mundane affairs means having many...

Anyway, Shichibei doesn't know anything about shipbuilding, so let's ask Itō Sojūrō. The young man's family has gone bankrupt, and this is all they can do now.

After confirming with Shichibei that Oda Nobunaga had approved the shipbuilding funds and provided additional money and provisions to support the Kuki pirates, Kuki Yoshitaka no longer needed to keep following Shichibei around and being cautious.

However, Kuki Yoshitaka was still curious. He was curious about Shichibei's impressive connections. How could he have suddenly acquired Itoya? Even though the Ito family had lost personnel and funds, they were still a major leader of the Tsushima-kaishu, a well-known merchant house in Ise Bay. Even if they were just barely surviving, they should still be able to continue operating.

Speaking of this, Takigawa Kazumasu didn't have much of a reaction. He only mentioned that the previous Ito Sojuro suffered such a great calamity that he was unable to manage affairs and was therefore ordered to retire.

tsk...

These words had a different flavor to Kuki Yoshitaka, who had just joined Nobunaga. After all, Takigawa Kazumasu was not old yet, and as a samurai general in charge of a region, he did not have the sense of crisis that Nobunaga would kick him aside if he got too old to work.

Kuki Yoshitaka had just arrived, and his food, drink, and even the water he used for walking all depended on Nobunaga's supplies. If he was useful to Nobunaga now, then everything was fine. But what if he became useless? Perhaps he would be ordered into seclusion like his predecessor, Ito Sojuro.

Upon realizing this, Kuki Yoshitaka couldn't help but swallow hard. He quickly went to coordinate with Ito Sojuro, explaining what type of ship he needed, how many shields and planks he required, how many shipwrights he needed, and that the stern rudder also needed to be modified to deal with the possible whirlpools in the Naruto Channel.

In later times, the view of the swirling eddies created by the surging sea from the Naruto Bridge in Japan became a tourist attraction. After watching, visitors could even experience picking onions from Awaji Island. But nowadays, this very whirlpool has claimed the lives of countless boatmen.

Meanwhile, the annual tribute rice transported to Sakai was all settled. Sakai indicated that payment could be made in cash or with goods that Shichibei needed. These included items such as Sakai arquebuses, lead ingots, and foot soldiers' gaiters. Sakai was one of the largest weapons production centers in Japan at the time, and these items would have one price in Sakai, but a different price for Shichibei.

Of course, if Shichibei then transfers it to Nobunaga, he'll have to add another three or five mon. He needs to make sure Nobunaga earns the handling fee and such.

Look how terrifying maritime transport can be! The Miyoshi gang kills without hesitation. They lose both people and ships, earning only a few hard-earned coins—it's no easier than a samurai licking blood from his sword.

Let's just settle the money directly; it's safest to have it in our pockets. We'll deal with the military equipment later, and then we'll process the accounts. Anyway, Shichibei's job of handling the annual tribute rice is pretty much secured; everyone in the towns knows that Shichibei has been appointed as the head of the government. The big boss of Sakae Town, Tsuda, tipped off Shichibei because he saw that Shichibei's current position as head of the government made further cooperation possible.

I still have to go and reconcile the accounts with Murai Sadakatsu.

Taking over the Ito-ya business also requires reporting to Nobunaga. Whether Nobunaga doesn't ask is his business; our reporting is our business. Absorbing the Ito family, the head of Tsushima merchants established during Nobuhide's era, is a major undertaking.

Like Denmark in later years, with a total population of only about five million, what did parliament discuss? For example, banning animal performances to protect small animals. But animals can't just be euthanized, so they had to review the public funds used to purchase animals and arrange for the animals to retire in zoos.

It turned out that the elephant they wanted to buy had a camel as a companion, and that the elephant would become depressed and refuse to eat if the camel wasn't with it. Therefore, they had to buy it together with the camel.

Let me tell you, this trivial matter was discussed in the Danish Parliament for more than 30 minutes. When the Danish Prime Minister made his statement at the end, he himself laughed at it.

When it comes to national affairs, you have to consider the size of the country.

However, kneeling in the hall and listening to the reports from others, Shichibei felt that his matter was insignificant. The previous report stated that Ashikaga Yoshihide had been settled at Rissei-ji Temple in Mino Province, and that Nobunaga had promised Yoshihide a fief of 50,000 koku as a retirement allowance upon his surrender. Therefore, Shimada Hidemitsu had come to inquire which fief of 50,000 koku should be allocated to settle Ashikaga Yoshihide.

Nobunaga had to be cautious about the former shogun's affairs. However, he was not too keen on giving such a shogun a fief of 50,000 koku. Just then, he saw Shichibei sitting at the end of the table and immediately asked Shichibei to send 10,000 kan to Ashikaga Yoshihide.

A territory of 50,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) in exchange for an annual income of 10,000 guan (another unit of dry measure) guaranteed regardless of drought or flood is quite good. Furthermore, having a territory entitles one to military service obligations. Receiving only a lump sum of money would be much easier.

For example, Ashikaga Yoshiaki in history led 500 men as Hideyoshi's horse guards when Hideyoshi went to war in Korea.

If Nobunaga were to go to war later, Ashikaga Yoshihide could appoint a nobleman to lead a few hundred foot soldiers as a defensive force for Nobunaga's main camp. After all, he wasn't expecting these men to have much fighting ability; something in the ordinary would suffice.

"Alright, it's Nobunaga's money anyway, let him spend it however he wants." Shichibei first nodded to Nobunaga, then nodded to Shimada Hidemitsu. How to make the payment would need to be discussed later.

One matter was settled, but another arose. Akechi Mitsuhide of the Kyoto court sent someone to Gifu to inform Nobunaga. Subsequently, samurai officials of the court announced that Manrikoji Sukefusa, along with court nobles and high-ranking monks Kikutei Haruki, Yamashina Tokitsugu, Niita Shigeyasu, and Shogoin Dosuke (younger brother of Konoe Sakihisa), would be visiting Nobunaga in Gifu.

Matsunaga Hisahide, who had previously been appointed as the governor of Yamato, will personally travel to Gifu to congratulate Nobunaga on the New Year in gratitude for Nobunaga's dispatch of a large army to pacify Yamato.

Nobunaga now acts very confidently as the new ruler of the realm, and at least the people of the Kinai region feel that the country will continue to develop according to the order established in this round. Therefore, it is only natural that the Imperial Court is close to Nobunaga and Hisahide tries to curry favor with him.

Upon hearing that it was about this matter, Nobunaga simply nodded slightly. If he could properly receive even the former shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, then other minor figures would be no problem; they could all be received according to procedure.

At worst, Nobunaga could just treat them to a meal, watch a Noh play, and give them some money, and that would be enough to get rid of them.

It is estimated that the Imperial Court and the Shogunate will also send Nobunaga the paulownia crest and the Ashikaga 2-yaki horse emblems, one signifying the Imperial Court's intention to punish the disloyal, and the other signifying the Ashikaga shogunate's intention to punish the rebels. This can be seen as Nobunaga's explicit message to the Imperial Court and the Shogunate: he intends to assume the central authority on behalf of the old order and requires the old order's recognition.

While it is true that the emperor is the one with the strongest army and the most powerful horses, it is always better to accept the abdication openly and honestly than to kill the entire family of the previous emperor and inherit the throne with the name of a traitor.

Putting everything else aside, at least the forces in various regions that didn't want to resist would be able to kneel down much faster. The emperor has already surrendered and conceded, so it's perfectly reasonable for a county magistrate like you to kneel as well.

Nobunaga then instructed Matsui Tomokazu and Sugaya Nagayori to greet these people and arrange a meeting time. Finally, it was Shichibei's turn to report on the annexation of Itō-ya and the arrangements for building ships for Kuki Yoshitaka.

As expected, Nobunaga only asked if there were any problems with the annexation of Katoya. Shichibei replied no, so Nobunaga waved his hand and moved on. Such trivial matters shouldn't be reported unless there's a real problem.

Nobunaga was very concerned about shipbuilding.

Kuki Yoshitaka was building ships and hiring people on Tsushima Island when Shichibei and Takikawa Kazumasu reported to him on the expenses for the ships needed by the Kuki pirates, as well as other related matters.

Nobunaga knew nothing about naval warfare or ships, but that didn't stop him from being curious and wanting to learn more. He should have taken advantage of the amicable relationship with the Mori clan and asked them for someone skilled in naval affairs to gather more information.

In the first Battle of Kizugawaguchi, the Mori navy used flaming arrows to inflict a crushing defeat on the Oda navy. This technique is now considered a closely guarded secret; if it had been revealed by the Mori clan beforehand, the Oda navy wouldn't have been so easily defeated.

Having thought of this, Shichibei directly submitted a memorial suggesting that someone should be sent through Mori's connections to bring a samurai from the Murakami Navy who was skilled in naval warfare to Gifu for further investigation.

You, Nobunaga, have already sent 20,000 troops to support Mori. If Mori doesn't even grant this small request, then they are truly disrespecting the new rulers of the land.

Upon hearing this, Nobunaga clapped his hands in agreement and immediately ordered Nakagawa Shigemasa, who was sitting to his left, to go on a mission to the Mori. This Nakagawa Shigemasa was the same Oda Suruga-no-kami who had greeted Shichibei outside the Totani Residence earlier. He had already been ordered by Nobunaga to succeed Nakagawa Jirozaemon Ichiji to the family and had just changed his name to Nakagawa Shigemasa.

Nakagawa Shigemasa immediately agreed; he had risen through the ranks of the Umawari. After this diplomatic mission concluded, he would likely be given a more significant responsibility.

The presentation of the memorial was now complete, and everyone stood up.

The rules have really changed. A few years ago, when everyone stood up, they would gather in small groups to chat about trivial matters, or things like government and military affairs. But now it's different. Nobunaga hadn't left, and no one dared to get up. After Nobunaga left the hall, when everyone stood up again, they didn't dare to huddle together and gossip.

Sakuma Nobumori, who had just returned to Gifu from the retreat in Yamato, didn't wave to Shichibei until he reached the end of the corridor. After the Yamato campaign ended, he had already reported the various developments of the war to Nobunaga. This time, he came to inquire about the reconstruction of the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple.

Previously, Nobunaga had boasted that he would relentlessly pursue, capture, and punish the criminals who burned down the Great Buddha Temple. This included a group of people, including the Miyoshi Triumvirate and Matsunaga Hisahide and his son.

However, now that Matsunaga Hisahide and Matsunaga Hisamichi have been pardoned by Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Nobunaga has taken the opportunity to remove the Matsunaga family from the list. Therefore, the original document issued as a quasi-administrator now seems somewhat ridiculous.

In addition to continuing to chase after the Three Good Men, let's quickly turn the page and consider rebuilding the Great Buddha Hall.

Once the Great Buddha Hall is repaired, everything can be put on hold. Todai-ji Temple, seeing that Nobunaga has become the successor to the old order, isn't going to investigate who burned it down; they'll just focus on rebuilding the Great Buddha Hall first.

The story reached Oda Nobunaga through Sakuma Nobumori. Nobunaga was both rich and poor. He was rich because he controlled the heart of Japan, a densely populated region with abundant annual tribute. He was poor because his expenses were enormous; maintaining his large army was enough to keep him alive for a long time.

Moreover, most of Nobunaga's own troops were regular soldiers, which consumed even more resources; only with his income could he survive. Any other daimyo would have been impoverished long ago.

Nobunaga's 20,000 men and Shingen's 20,000 men are now fundamentally different.

The simplest point is that Nobunaga's main force could go into battle all year round. At the sound of a whistle, the troops would be arrayed and tens of thousands of soldiers would set off in a flash. Shingen, on the other hand, had to wait until the wheat and rice in the fields were fully grown and harvested before he had enough manpower to go out and fight against his enemies.

Ultimately, it all comes down to money.

The problem is that rebuilding the Great Buddha Hall would cost at least tens of thousands of strings of cash. If we don't care about the budget, 100,000 strings of cash would be nothing.

Even someone as wealthy as Nobunaga would never be willing to spend such a huge sum of money on a religious building project that would have no meaning for the new regime during the Warring States period.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi would build the Great Buddha Hall of Hōkō-ji Temple in the future because he would already be the ruler of the land. For the ruler of the land to build magnificent structures is an important means of demonstrating power to all the feudal lords. Rulers building wonders is a universal practice, both ancient and modern. Without their construction of wonders, where would all these World Heritage Sites come from?

"Where did my lord get so much money..." Shichibei had received 130,000 koku of rice from Nobunaga's tribute over the years, but sold it for less than 70,000 kan.

Although this was the amount of rice distributed as a stipend, and it was only the annual tribute rice from the two provinces of Nobi and Obi, the regular army still needed to be paid salaries later. Ashikaga Yoshihide alone took 10,000 kan. An ashigaru (foot soldier) would receive 10 or 8 kan, an ashigaru captain would receive 30 or 50 kan, and an ashigaru general would easily receive several hundred kan.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly large sum of 70,000 kan; it can be easily spent. Under these circumstances, where would Nobunaga find 100,000 kan to rebuild Todai-ji Temple?

"Of course I know that, there is actually another way." Sakuma Nobumori must have seen the situation of the Great Buddha Hall from the spot.

"How so?" Shichibei asked, a little curious.

"My lord, you have a lot of money left here, right?"

"A little."

"There must be at least ten thousand, right?"

"Of course."

“That makes things much easier.” Sakuma Nobumori casually pointed to an ordinary hall and told Shichibei to look.

His idea was simple: a regular pavilion, seven or eight meters high including the roof ridge, could be built for a small fee. But it wouldn't be able to accommodate a fifteen-meter-tall Buddha statue, so he built a regular pavilion, seven or eight meters high, and then added a skylight. He then used a simple wooden frame to build a roof over the skylight to cover the Buddha statue.

Live together.

It will cost at most a few thousand strings of cash. Anyway, just ask if the Buddha statue is not exposed in the wild.

"Would Todai-ji agree?" Shichibei thought to himself, "So Sakuma Nobumori doesn't really have any Buddhist faith either."

"He won't agree? What can he do? Go to Kyoto and file a lawsuit?" As a senior retainer of the Shogunate's Kanrei family, one of the most powerful figures in Japan, Sakuma Nobumori had little reverence for religion left.

157. Our store has moved to Gifu.

Back at the shop, they settled the bill for the rice sold by Sakuma Nobumori, and the two even had a brief discussion. After all, the Great Buddha Hall was a temple designated by the imperial court, and although they planned to use a wooden frame as a makeshift solution, at least the front had to be unobstructed.

Furthermore, the fire caused cracks at the junction of the Buddha's head and body, resulting in the head falling off. This will require the assistance of renowned craftsmen for repair. Much of the Buddha's halo was also damaged by the fire, all of which will cost money.

That's why Sakuma Nobumori asked if there was a 10,000 kan (a unit of currency), since it's a huge project, and even if it's simplified, it would still cost two kan.

Nobunaga seemed a little hesitant, but he wouldn't hesitate for long. Compared to the enormous repair and construction costs exceeding 100,000 kan, spending a few thousand or ten thousand kan to get by was clearly more cost-effective.

Once he truly unifies Japan, he can then invest in rebuilding it. At that time, he can recast the gilded statue; the Buddha was fifteen meters tall, right? Let's rebuild it to twenty meters. Seeing a Buddha over twenty meters tall, who would remember this perfunctory little matter now?

However, it is a waste that Sakuma Nobumori, a senior retainer of the Oda clan, has been busy with such matters for days.

Before the two could finish their discussion, Shimada Hidemitsu came over to collect the 10,000 kan of retirement funds that Ashikaga Yoshiei had been given. Seeing Sakuma Nobumori present, he said he would come again tomorrow. There was no need for that; they had only been discussing the repair of the Buddhist temple, nothing secret.

The 10,000 kan in cash isn't currently on hand at the Gifu branch. Send someone to the main branch on Shinozushima immediately; it should be delivered by tomorrow evening. Shichibei should have Shimada Hidemitsu come to collect it tomorrow evening, or the day after tomorrow morning. Anyway, Ashikaga Yoshie won't starve even if he collects his money a couple of days later.

However, this brings up a problem that has been bothering Shichibei for some time: Shouldn't the main store of Kawamura-ya be moved? Perhaps to Gifu Castle?

This was something I had thought about before. The initial plan was to move to Azuchi Castle after Nobunaga moved there, and then move there in one step. Historically, Nobunaga had already planned to renovate Osaka as his main castle for governing the country when he placed Tsuda Nobusumi in Senkan-yagura in Osaka. Moving there after that would be convenient for both his personal and public purposes.

However, the Oda clan and Kawamuraya were growing rapidly, leading to a problem. The main storehouse maintained the entire family's ledgers and most of its liquid funds. However, the transition to Gifu, the political power center, required a significant amount of money.

To use a more easily understood analogy, is the company headquarters located in Beijing or Shanghai?

In Beijing, being close to the core of power makes it easier to obtain policies and information. In Shanghai, being close to the sales market makes it easier to seize business opportunities and facilitate shipping.

In Gifu, Shichibei was able to control the annual rice tribute business directly under Oda Nobunaga's control, thus ensuring Nobunaga's trust and favor. However, Gifu was not a port, a logistics and trade center, nor a center for handicraft production. In this day and age, convenient shipping was the most important condition for doing business.

If only we could fast forward to Hideyoshi's Tsukijima in Osaka, we could just go all in on Osaka.

Nobunaga still resides in Gifu. Although Gifu is located on a major route from the Kinki region into eastern Japan, it does not benefit from water transport. The section from Kiso River to Sunomata can only be traversed by small boats carrying one or two thousand kilograms. Beyond Inuyama, only rafts and wooden rafts can be used.

In any case, it cannot compare to a ship that can carry tens of tons, and as for a large ship that can carry one or two hundred tons, there is no need to even mention it.

Going to Azuchi, at least you can travel from Lake Biwa along the Yodo River directly to Osaka and Sakai. In Gifu, it's a completely different experience.

Should we move our main store to Gifu? If we do, we'll have to move over a hundred family members and employees as well. Many of them are already married with families, and just preparing the premises alone would require getting approval from Murai Sadakatsu. Over a hundred households, even if they all live in longhouses, would still require more than a dozen rows.