Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Last time in Ise, Oda Sanshichi-maru, also known as Nobutaka, was adopted. No one thought it was inappropriate, since Nobutaka was born two hours earlier than Nobukatsu. Later legends say that because his mother's status was lower than Lady Ikoma's, he ended up as the so-called third son.

In reality, there was no clear distinction between the second and third sons in the Oda clan at that time, because the most important thing was to establish the status of the eldest son. The sons after him were all retainers of the eldest son, and there was no particular difference in their status.

Therefore, it can be understood that Nobutaka, who was born earlier, was arranged first, and this time Nobuo, who was born later, should be arranged.

"The fifth son..." Shichibei didn't say anything, but his mouth shape was still revealed to Takigawa Kazumasu.

"Oh my!" After reading the lips, Takigawa Kazumasu suddenly realized something, as if a flash of lightning struck his mind.

173. Another attack on the army and food

Takigawa Kazumasu, who had been quite excited and exuded an aura of determination to make a big splash, suddenly became listless. He was no fool; in fact, his understanding of the order and morality of Japan's Sengoku period surpassed that of Shichibei.

When Shichibei uttered the word "five men," Takigawa Kazumasu suddenly understood.

Why skip the middle sons and arrange for the later ones to be adopted first? It's simply because the middle sons have other plans, which is why they were skipped.

Takigawa Kazumasu even had his own ideas about why he left behind two sons. One would inherit the main branch of the Kitabatake clan, and the other would inherit the important branch of the Kitabatake clan, the Ōkōchi Kitabatake clan. The Ōkōchi clan was the head of the so-called Kitabatake Three Houses, just like the later Tokugawa Three Houses.

If the direct line of the Kitahata clan is cut off, the Okawachi clan, the Tanamaru clan, and the Sakauchi clan will be the successors according to the Kitahata clan's family lineage.

Why would one think this way? Historically, the Kitabatake clan resisted the Oda army's attack by concentrating all their efforts on defending Ōkōchi Castle. Ōkōchi Castle was a mountain castle built on a hilly terrain, with the Sakanai River to the east, the Yazu River to the north, and deep valleys and strong walls piercing the ground to the west and south, making it a truly impregnable castle.

Ironically, he blocked the Oda army's path through Ichishi District into southern Ise. Without breaking through the heavily fortified Ōkawachi Castle, entering the Kiriyama Palace, which had been abandoned by Kitada Tomonori, would be tantamount to courting death.

Given the strategic importance of the region, it was natural for Oda Nobunaga to want to control it. Therefore, it was reasonable for him to arrange for one son to be adopted into the Ōkōchi clan to control Ōkōchi Castle, and for another son to be placed in the Hōjō clan to control Taki District.

I'm tired...

Kazumasu Takikawa, who had just been gesturing wildly, suddenly felt tired. His straight back slowly hunched over, and all traces of his previous high spirits were gone.

The Kitabatake clan only has such a small territory. Kizuki Tomomasa, having surrendered first, has already been promised a stable life. Kuki Yoshitaka has been promised to revive the Shima Kuki clan, ensuring the stability of Shima province. If he were to send his two sons to the Kitabatake and Ōkōchi clans now, even if he fought with all his might and conquered the Kitabatake clan, what would Takigawa Kazumasu gain?

Loyalty and dedication to public service are for the sake of gaining imperial favor. Without new imperial favor, what is the point of serving the public?

He'll be damned!

Seeing Takigawa Kazumasu's sudden change, Shichibei, who had been deep in thought, immediately realized that he had revealed too much. Perhaps without his reminder, Takigawa Kazumasu wouldn't have thought of this. Now that he had, a knot formed in his heart.

"Zakon, things are still undecided, things are still undecided." Shichibei quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying that the two sons he had reserved might be one from Kitabatake and the other from Asakura.

Then Minami-Ise could still allocate some land as a reward to loyal and brave samurai. Regardless of the exact amount of this reward, at least he would still have some.

“Sigh…” Takigawa Kazumasu sighed and waved his hands repeatedly.

He could see clearly that this matter had absolutely nothing to do with Shichibei; it was all Nobunaga making the decisions. Shichibei had only thought of it by chance, without even mentioning it, only muttering "the fifth son." The rest was all his own speculation.

Should we blame Shichibei for something like this? Impossible. If Takigawa Kazumasu were such a fool, such an ignorant person, Nobunaga would have kicked him away long ago.

"My lord, with the general in your grasp, you possess Luoyang. You look down upon all the heroes as if they were on a high roof. If you cannot obtain it today, you can obtain it tomorrow." Shichibei could only try to persuade him further.

"I understand, I understand." Takigawa Kazumasu had simply raised his expectations too high, thinking that he could be granted a county in Kita-Ise.

I came full of excitement, only to be suddenly hit hard. It hurts a little, but I can adjust myself a bit.

"Don't look so sad, come and have a drink."

Without further ado, Shichibei quickly got up and called the servants outside to bring wine and dishes, inviting Takigawa Kazumasu to eat and rest first.

The work still had to be done. Takigawa Kazumasu, as usual, went to the castle to receive his mission and then went to Iwamura Castle to visit Toyama Kagetoshi. He hinted at the issue of adopting a son to Toyama Kagetoshi and used the advantage of Kagetoshishi's wife (Otsuya no Kata) being from the Oda clan to expedite the matter.

Shichibei also had to go up the castle. This year's autumn harvest included not only the annual tribute rice from Nobi and Kuchi, but also the annual tribute rice from Hokusei and Chusei. Nobunaga had used it well last year, so he dumped it all on Shichibei this year.

A few days ago, he made empty promises to Shichibei, talking about becoming the Grand Proxy of the Nation. It probably wasn't just empty talk. If Shichibei continues to be a good fit, he might actually hand over the position of Grand Proxy to him.

But this job is too risky, so it's best not to compete for it.

Let's first settle the accounts with Nobunaga regarding the Nobi-se and three kingdoms. Sakaimachi still has a lot of unfinished business. Who suggested to Zhu Yuanzhang, "Build high walls, store abundant food, and wait until you claim the throne"? Lay a solid foundation before discussing other matters. There's no need for a hasty expansion now; a contemporary leader might have made the same choice.

But Shichibei was prescient, knowing that Nobunaga would gradually establish an advantage in the ensuing decade-long chaos. We still have time, so there's no rush.

By the way, why wasn't the annual tribute rice from Minami-Omi accepted? It's because Minami-Omi boasts very prosperous rural markets and extremely convenient port towns along the Lake Biwa coast.

Therefore, the level of monetary payment for annual tribute in southern Omi was far superior to that in Owari and Mino. Farmers had their own channels and methods to convert rice into cash, thus eliminating middlemen and reducing their exposure to exploitation.

Nobunaga could obtain cash directly from his territory in southern Omi, eliminating the need for Shichibei to act as an intermediary. He only needed to dispatch Murai Sadakatsu and Meiin Yoshimasa to collect the cash at the appropriate time.

However, no castle has been built in southern Omi to serve as the government office. Murai Sadakatsu and his colleagues either go to the castle town where Kannonji Castle was originally located or to Otsu Town to work.

Who knows what Nobunaga's plans are?

Upon hearing that Shichibei had come to inquire about the annual tribute rice arrangement, Nobunaga immediately stated that Shichibei was already on friendly terms with the provinces of Nobi and Uchiha, and that from now on, there was no need for him to apply for or inquire about such matters every year; he could simply proceed directly. When the letter of appointment was initially sent to Shichibei, it was stated that permission would be waived.

In addition, there was another requirement: while purchasing the annual tribute rice from the northern and central regions, the price of the annual tribute rice from the southern region should also be increased. No matter the cost, it should all be charged to Nobunaga. He was determined to buy all the southern region's annual tribute rice, which was originally sold in large groups in front of the Ise Grand Shrine, and bring it to Anotsu.

"Does the lord intend to attack with supplies?" Shichibei had used this tactic before and made a fortune from it.

"It also depends on whether Kitabatake Middle Counselor takes the bait." Nobunaga didn't pretend; as soon as the order was given, Shichibei naturally understood.

However, we've already done it once in the North, so it's hard to say whether Kitabatake Tomokyo and Kitabatake Tomokawa will try it again. No wonder Nobunaga said he'd pay any price, what's with 600 sen per koku? Just give him a higher price, 3 or 4 kan per koku.

Aside from the portion handed over to the lords and daimyo, a considerable portion of the annual tribute rice actually ends up in the hands of wealthy landowners. Kitabatake Tomokyo might not fall for it, but these wealthy landowners certainly will, and they'll sell off all the rice they have.

In order to maintain their daily expenses, the Kitabatake family would sell large quantities of tribute rice regardless of whether they had any plans to attack with military supplies, in order to obtain money to sustain the family's military and political operations in the following year.

As we mentioned before, the main factor determining how long a daimyo can fight in the second year is how much rice is left over from the previous year.

What Nobunaga was referring to was mainly the purchase of rice from wealthy farmers within the Kitabatake clan's territory, as well as the portion of rice that the Kitabatake clan had left behind.

If a war breaks out in the future, and the Kitabatake family's granaries are empty, and there is no rice in the surrounding rural areas, then even if they want to muster military strength and hold the city to the death, they will quickly collapse.

If you can't even get a bowl of rice, who will risk their life to fight for you?

"Then I will first establish a military post at Anonatsu." Shichibei nodded in agreement.

The rice purchased from Minami-Ise was stored in Annozu. There was no need to ship it to Sakaimachi for sale. When Nobunaga raised his army to attack Minami-Ise, it would have required at least 50,000 to 80,000 men, and the daily consumption of grain would have been over a thousand koku. A month of fighting would have required tens of thousands of koku of grain, and if you factor in horse feed, salt, miso, and other supplies, the figure would be astronomical.

"Pre-stock another 10,000 pieces of timber as thick as an arm, no, 20,000 pieces." Nobunaga seems to value Ōkōchi Castle highly, already anticipating the need to build fortifications outside the castle.

"Understood, it will be ready in two days at most." It's a small matter.

Tsushima, under the jurisdiction of Shichibei, was a key transshipment port for the Kiso River timber trade. Timber shipped downstream from the Kiso River converged in Tsushima. Not to mention 20,000 logs as thick as an arm, even 50,000 logs could be quickly procured as long as the money was available.

The forestry industry was no longer profitable in 2024. However, it is now a very profitable industry with many practitioners.

Why was it said that there were not many giant trees in Japan when rebuilding the Great Buddha Hall? Because the vast mountains and forests near human settlements have actually begun to be transformed into semi-artificial and semi-natural forests.

The original virgin forests have long been logged, and most of the existing forests are artificially planted. Apart from the simplest method of planting and then harvesting them for sale as building materials, the most important use is for charcoal production.

It wasn't just about burning charcoal for heating; charcoal was also used extensively in Japanese iron smelting. During the Edo period, major iron mine owners and merchants often owned forests and charcoal fields measuring tens of thousands of acres, and some even owned hundreds of thousands of acres.

As long as there is no technological revolution in human fuel, Japan's forestry prosperity will continue.

"I trust you to handle things!" Nobunaga only needs to talk anyway, so let Shichibei do more of the work since he's capable.

With one matter settled, Nobunaga beckoned outside, and the kneeling attendant led Niwa Nagahide inside. Naturally, there was another matter to attend to, and Shichibei excused himself and left. He vaguely heard some talk of unusual activity in Settsu in the corridor, but Shichibei couldn't possibly stop and eavesdrop.

Now that he had received Nobunaga's order, Shichibei had to begin making arrangements. Since the main store of Kawamura-ya had moved to Gifu, there was no need to go to Tsushima anymore; he could directly send messengers to the Tsushima and Anotsu branches.

The Tsushima branch prepared 20,000 logs and transferred cash to the Anotsu branch. The Anotsu branch rented the Naya warehouse in advance and began storing horse feed and miso.

All of this is preparation for Nobunaga's battle. Although the sickle hasn't even been sharpened yet, it doesn't stop Shichibei from making preparations in advance. Didn't you see that Nobunaga had already prepared his son even before he could defeat Kitabatake Tomonori?

Letters were sent out one after another, and many people working tirelessly for Kawamura-ya worked like arrows, connecting the increasingly large Kawamura-ya business network.

After issuing the official documents, Shichibei finally had time to sit down and have a cup of tea. As he drank, he recalled the report Niwa Nagahide and Nobunaga had given him that morning, guessing that the Miyoshi Triumvirate were planning something mischief in Settsu again. Settsu Koshimizu Castle and Akutagawa Castle were originally the Miyoshi family's strongholds on Honshu Island, with many people secretly supporting them.

There were still people who voluntarily joined the National Revolutionary Army in 49, so naturally there are still people who think the Three Good Men have a chance to counterattack the state.

However, Niwa Nagahide, Shichibei discovered that he had added another variable to Nobunaga's timeline. This was because Nobunaga outsourced many of his domestic affairs, as well as military logistics and communications, to Shichibei using only a mere 5,000 kan (excluding the cost of a junior general's makeup).

Therefore, Niwa Nagahide, who had historically served Nobunaga diligently and devoted much of his energy to being Nobunaga's henchman, was now completely freed up and became an important force for combat and strategy under Nobunaga.

After all, Shichibei was very helpful in providing logistics for Nobunaga and never made any mistakes. As Nobunaga's son-in-law and, to some extent, a member of the Oda clan, Niwa Nagahide would definitely be put to great use.

Perhaps this great use will be applied in the direction of Settsu?

Settsu is currently managed by the so-called "Three Guardians of Settsu," who respond to Nobunaga's military campaigns. Wada Koremasa, Ikeda Katsumasa, and Itami Chikaoki seem to be doing alright for now, at least they follow Nobunaga's orders. Only the area around Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple remains a relatively independent force.

Perhaps they have already begun preparations for an expedition to Awa and Awa?

That's good news! It's the most important military direction for Shichibei. With a sudden thought, Shichibei immediately decided to ask Niwa Nagahide. If he had begun secretly preparing for an expedition to the Shikoku region, Shichibei would definitely lend a hand.

Historically, when Oda Nobutaka attacked Shikoku, he utilized 100 ships from the Kuki navy and another 200 ships rented from Sakai. A force of tens of thousands crossing the sea would only require this many ships.

If he wanted to transport 30,000 people across the sea now, Shichibei could rely on his relationship with Tsuda Munehito and the big boss to help him hire a ship from Sakaimachi.

As for the navy, isn't Kuki Yoshitaka about to become Nobunaga's naval commander? Add to that the Saji navy from the Chita Peninsula, and that's more than enough.

174. Everyone here is smart.

Furthermore, the Oda clan lacked strong supporters in Shikoku, essentially serving as a support force after a landing. The difficulty of a landing operation is self-evident. However, with a supporting force, ships could sail directly to the island, allowing for assembly and reorganization, making the subsequent land battle much less challenging.

Historically, the Oda clan gained a foothold in Shikoku after receiving the allegiance of Miyoshi Yasunaga and Sogawa Masayasu, which led to their large-scale invasion of Shikoku. At the time, they promised Miyoshi Yasunaga the entire province of Awa and Sogawa Masayasu half of Sanuki Province.

It wasn't that Nobunaga was generous; rather, it was because Miyoshi Yasunaga's son had been killed by Chōsokabe Motochika, and Nobutaka was supposed to be succeeded to the Miyoshi Yasunaga family. He would then use the Miyoshi clan's prestige to effectively rule the entire Shikoku island.

From this perspective, Nobunaga's plan for western Japan was already fully implemented at that time. Nobutaka acquired Shikoku, Hideyoshi acquired northern Kyushu, Mitsuhide acquired southern Kyushu, and the San'in and San'yo regions were used to house daimyo who had moved out of the Kinai region. The five provinces of Kinai, plus Omi, Nobi, and other provinces, were occupied first by Nobunaga and then by Nobutada.

It's understandable that you'd risk your life and carry guns for Nobunaga, and the rewards he gave you weren't meager, but he would gradually send you to remote towns.

Why does it feel a bit like the Zhou Dynasty emperor?

I laughed. Nobunaga was just imitating King Wen of Zhou, who made the phoenix sing on Mount Qi and spread his power throughout the land.

Send two people to Sakai to keep watch. If Niwa Nagahide changes his strategy to the Shikoku side, such as Settsu and Izumi, then he will definitely need to rely on Sakai's shipping capacity to cross the sea, and he will not be able to escape Shichibei's notice.

Shichibei put down his brush, his reverie interrupted by news from outside that the Endo family of Hachiman in the county had sent someone to visit.

Didn't I promise Yamauchi Kazutoyo that I would act as matchmaker for him? After Shichibei retreated to Gifu, he wrote a letter to Endo Yoshitaka at Gujo Hachiman Castle, expressing his wish to act as matchmaker for Yamauchi Kazutoyo and Endo Chiyo.

Neither abrupt nor presumptuous; this is how political marriages are these days. Shichibei is a close ally of both Nobi and Obi provinces, a key retainer of the Oda clan. For a small local powerful family like the Endo family, if they could use this opportunity to climb the social ladder by marrying Shichibei, they should be secretly delighted.

Moreover, Shichibei even had Takenaka Hanbei personally deliver the letter. At least sending a samurai from Mino to his door was already quite thoughtful.

The visitors were Jin'emon Sugawa and Roku'emon Yatori, both samurai of the Endo family. Takenaka Hanbei, who led them in, nodded slightly when he saw Shichibei.

It became.

Actually, there's nothing difficult about it. Although Kawamura Shichibei's influence in the Oda clan isn't that great, he is still a member of the core samurai group of Owari and shares the same interests with the other important retainers.

Furthermore, Shichibei has three younger sisters. Earlier, Oda Nobuhiro saw them helping out at the banquet and patted Shichibei on the shoulder with great joy.

The daughters of our old Oda, old Owari, and old Shimo-shichi districts will be very precious in the future. The implication was clear: they hoped to adopt one in the future for a political marriage.