Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

"Sincerity" is unlikely to sway a seasoned veteran like Mori Motonari. Sakuma Nobumori and Niwa Nagahide, sitting below Nobunaga, clearly share this sentiment. But what benefits can the Oda clan offer right now?

Sakuma Nobumori said that the Mori clan had just driven the Amago Restoration Army away from Izumo and Hōki provinces, but Amago Katsuhisa, Yamanaka Shikasuke, and other Amago supporters continued to fight and cause trouble.

In particular, the pirate leader Nasa Nihonnosuke (奈佐日本助), who was based in Tajima, Tango and other places, controlled the entire waterway of Oki, Tango, Tajima and Izumo at its peak. Even fishermen who went out to sea to fish had to pay them a fee.

When Yamanaka Shikasuke attacked Gassan-Toda Castle, Nasa Nihonsuke directly dispatched 3,000 troops to reinforce it, greatly strengthening the Amago Re-establishment Army.

Now, Natsume Nihonsuke is launching attacks on Mori clan garrisons along the coasts of Izumo and Hōki, and even taking the initiative to attack some poorly defended castles, which greatly affects the Mori clan's rule over these two countries.

As for your question about why Nesano Nihonsuke loves Amago so much, even though Amago is in such a state, he still fully supports Amago and fights against the Mori clan, who are at the height of their power in the western country.

Because the sea routes between Izumo-no-Mikoto and Korea and Kinai-Wakasa were all controlled by Natsume Nagasuke, and the Mori clan itself possessed a formidable naval force, once the Amago clan was completely defeated, they would naturally dispatch their main Mori clan navy to seize this lucrative sea route for trade.

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents.

However, Miho-seki was theoretically a territory directly under the control of the Muromachi Shogun, and Wakasa was also a region that the Shogun's illustrious influence could traditionally cover.

Although these territories are no longer under the shogun's control, the old framework still exists. If the rubber-stamp shogun were to order the townspeople of Miho-seki to prohibit trade with Natsumi-suke, although trade would most likely continue, this would provide a legitimate reason for the change, giving those who want to take over an excuse.

Therefore, Sakuma Nobumori's idea was to have Nobunaga write a reply to Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who would then personally deliver the letter to Nagasaka Nihonsuke, warning him against plundering the coastlines of Izumo and Hōki provinces.

If he continues to plunder the local area, the shogunate will issue an order to "suppress piracy," prohibiting Miho-seki from trading with all the port towns and villages along the Wakasa coast and with Natsumi-suke.

Wow……

It's no wonder that even now, Nobunaga still favors Sakuma Nobumori. Although Nobumori wasn't as hardworking as Hideyoshi or as brave as Katsuie, his skill in understanding historical precedents and human relationships made him one of the most outstanding retainers of the Oda clan.

If we help Mori subdue his arch-rival, Amago, Mori will definitely be clapping his hands with joy.

While he might not be able to kill him, making that gesture would at least win him favor with the Mori clan. Compared to figures like Shinohara Nagafusa or Urakami Munekage, Amago Katsuhisa was clearly more repulsive to the Mori. The Amago clan was once known as the "Yin-Yang Master," second only to Ōuchi on the Mori clan's kill list.

Now Nobunaga is surrounded by enemies on all sides. He can't afford to provoke a powerful lord like the Mori clan, who commands a million koku of rice. He needs to maintain a close relationship with the Mori.

Alright, Xinsheng, you can handle this.

As I've said before, as long as you're not weak, Nobunaga will dote on you. The longer you stand out, the more Nobunaga will love you. Making a trip to Kyoto in the dead of winter to earn a few months of Nobunaga's favor is definitely worth it.

As Nobunaga was bending over, something suddenly occurred to him. He had previously asked Matsunaga Hisahide to mediate the economic dispute between Iwashimizu Hachiman-gu Shrine and Yasami Nobukuni. Yasami Nobukuni was Sakuma Nobumori's son-in-law, wasn't he? Since Nobumori was going to Kyoto, Nobunaga asked him to inquire about it along the way.

Tsk, Niwa Nagahide and Shichibei exchanged a glance. Nobunaga might indeed not favor Matsunaga Hisahide much anymore. Of course, it's also possible that Sakuma Nobumori's suggestion was good, and Nobunaga's decision to have Nobumori oversee the case was a way of showing favoritism towards Yasami Nobukuni.

There's no fixed amount when it comes to the cost of protecting the property. Besides, after hundreds of years of development, only Yasami Nobukuni knows the exact value of the Kono-sou property originally owned by Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine.

If I tell you it's five thousand shi (a unit of grain), you have to believe it's five thousand shi. If you're so capable, come and inspect the land in Yezhuang; let's see if you can succeed.

If Nobumori were to handle it, it would definitely be resolved with a paltry sum. But a gift still needs to be given; after all, Nobunaga was the de facto ruler of the central government, and the old order had to be maintained. How much? That still depends on personal connections.

"Yami Ukon-daifu is a high-ranking official of the lord's son-in-law." Shichibei didn't recognize Yasami Nobukuni. The group left the castle and went to the Tondani Residence. There was a large pond there, and it was a bit awkward to walk around it in silence for several hundred meters.

"That's right. The senior members who manage the Hatakeyama family's household affairs are the Yusa and Yasami clans." Sakuma Nobumori was indeed from a long-established samurai family, and he was much more familiar with information about such samurai families than ordinary samurai who joined the samurai family later in life.

“Supporting Ami Ukon would also help stabilize the Hatakeyama family.” Niwa Nagahide clearly understood Nobunaga’s meaning.

Hatakeyama Akitaka was Nobunaga's son-in-law and very close to him. There were few feudal lords in the Kinai region like Hatakeyama Akitaka who would come to Nobunaga's aid at a moment's notice. Especially given the downfall of Ikeda Katsumasa and the troubles caused by Matsunaga Hisahide, Hatakeyama Akitaka, who could mobilize half of Kawachi Province and some of Kii Province's troops, became one of Nobunaga's most important allies.

Wada Koremasa and Hosokawa Fujitaka were both retainers of Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Although they also obeyed Nobunaga's orders, their victories and rewards enhanced the prestige and prestige of the Ashikaga clan.

"It's just a minor dispute..." Nobumori, in his comfort zone, was naturally calm and elegant, indicating that he was well aware of the matter even without the two of them saying so.

"Go quickly and come back soon. We can't do without you at the New Year's banquet." Shichibei smiled, which was also a compliment to Nobumori.

“Yes, yes.” Although Niwa Nagahide was Nobunaga’s son-in-law, his status was not as high as Nobumori’s, so he also followed Shichibei’s lead in praising him.

"No problem, no problem." They had just arrived at the entrance of the Duan Valley Residence and said their goodbyes.

Having received Nobunaga's orders, Sakuma Nobumori led a dozen or so followers and rode swiftly to Kyoto. His purpose was to meet with Ashikaga Yoshiaki and have him deliver a letter to Nagasawa Nihonsuke.

After delivering the imperial edict, I still have to go to Kono Castle in Kawachi to see my son-in-law, Yasami Nobukuni. This whole trip, including the time spent on business, will probably take more than half a month.

The Tokai Uprising is currently raging in Nishioka and Uji, Kyoto. Sakuma Nobumori, a true shareholder and hereditary retainer of the Oda clan, is quite concerned about it. After observing the Tokai Uprising's formation with Sugaya Nagayori and Kinoshita Hideyoshi, he can then discuss it with Nobunaga.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki was able to suppress this small-scale uprising. The Hosokawa Fujitaka and Mibuchi Fujihide brothers, with 600 soldiers and Mitsuhide with 300 soldiers, were actively suppressing it.

On one hand, he told these followers that a benevolent decree had been issued and they should all go home. On the other hand, he picked on the troublemakers, giving those who kept causing trouble a beating.

It should only take three to five days to calm things down. Sugaya Nagayori and Hideyoshi don't need to come at all; they can go back now.

Regarding the matter of the imperial edict, Yoshiaki understood Nobunaga's plan to help Mori Terumoto secure the position of Right Monk. He readily drafted the edict and sent it to Nagasaka Nihonsuke.

Suppressing Nobunaga's power is one thing, but maintaining a facade of harmony between the two sides is quite another.

Thus, Sakuma Nobumori's affairs in the capital were completed, and he prepared to travel south to Takino Castle to visit his son-in-law. Sugaya Nagayori, seeing that Nobumori only had a dozen or so riders, bluntly stated that the Tu-i uprising had not been completely quelled and suggested taking two hundred men for safety.

Sakuma Nobumori, appreciating his colleague's kind offer, happily went to his son-in-law's house. Hearing that his father-in-law was coming to support him, Anmi Nobukuni was overjoyed and immediately went out of the city to welcome him in.

The dispute is not complicated. Anmi Nobukuni does not want to provide tribute rice this year, after all, he has gone to Kyoto twice with Hatakeyama Akitaka this year to protect Nobunaga's rear, which has cost him a lot.

Since things have escalated to this point, let's just give them a token amount: two hundred koku. Sakuma Nobumori is here to act as a peacemaker; he wants to help his son-in-law, but he can't disregard the face of Iwashimizu Hachiman-gu Shrine. He also instructed Yasunori Nobukuni not to announce his arrival at Takino Castle for the time being, and to make a public appearance if necessary to facilitate a quick reconciliation.

Upon hearing that only 200 koku of rice was to be given, the daimyo of Ami Nobukuni, who possessed tens of thousands of koku, was certain he could afford it. So, they decided to give that amount. They invited Matsunaga Hisahide, a courtier of the shogunate who was to handle the matter, and a representative from Iwashimizu Hachiman-gu Shrine. Once both sides were seated, the transaction was completed.

The peace talks took place neither at Kono Castle nor at Shigiyama Castle, but at Nishishinya-cho, south of Kofuku-ji Temple in Nara.

All parties agreed, and Matsunaga Hisahide also instructed that they should not bring too many attendants or weapons, but travel light to Nishi-Shinya, and try to settle this matter before the end of the year.

Chapter 218 A Hundred People Trapped in Jiaoye

Along the way, Sakuma Nobumori chatted with Yasami Nobukuni about the situation in the Kinai region. Yasami Nobukuni's family had been in the Kinai region for over a hundred years and had some inside information that the people of Owari didn't know.

Since the Sanyo Triumvirate had once again gained a shore base in Settsu, thus having a city and people to govern, and because they had also become acquainted with the monk Kennyo of Honganji Temple, they were not short of money and food. Moreover, there were people in the Kinai region who were secretly communicating with the Sanyo Triumvirate.

Look at the Settsu Ikeda family, what excellent henchmen they were, yet they were turned against by an internal traitor and the Miyoshi Triumvirate. If Wada Koremasa hadn't held firm at Akutagawa Castle, the Miyoshi Triumvirate's forces could have easily marched straight to Katsuryuji Castle and Kyoto.

The situation was changing so rapidly that it was overwhelming. As Nobunaga's long-time advisor, Sakuma Nobumori needed all this miscellaneous information for his strategic planning. For timely updates, he certainly needed his good son-in-law, Yasami Nobukuni, to provide real-time reports.

Don't be afraid of mixed in fake news. Report any news you have. Sakuma Nobumori has more than one source of information. The more information you have, the better you can analyze and distinguish between truth and falsehood.

The two set off from Takino Castle chatting and laughing. Matsunaga Hisahide had instructed them not to bring too many people, lest they frighten the envoy from Iwashimizu Hachiman-gu Shrine. So, Yasami Nobukuni brought a few dozen attendants, while Sakuma Nobumori left two hundred soldiers at Takino Castle and only brought a dozen or so servants.

As he walked, Nobumori Sakuma suddenly noticed something amiss. In the fields on either side of the road, there were no women or children gathering rice stalks.

Later generations of city dwellers, including many second-generation urbanites who were originally from rural areas, would not notice this point. After the harvest, whether by machine or by hand, there will always be some gleaning grains left behind. The French painter Millet even painted "The Gleaners" in 1857, a representative work of realism.

Although the rice paddies have already been harvested, there may still be some leftover ears of rice in the fields. Normally, farmers would have their children pick up these ears of rice.

In other cases, such as taro fields, some people will continue to tap the clods of earth or dig up the soil that has not been completely dug up after the harvest.

This is all normal production and life in rural areas, something people naturally take for granted. But in the fields before us, there were no farmers picking up any leftover crops.

It's strange; it's definitely not because the local people are lazy.

As for your point about ordinary people participating in the uprising, generally speaking, the elderly and young children in the family wouldn't participate. These people would stay at home to guard the house; they had no fighting ability and couldn't help.

Even if only able-bodied men and women in the family participate in the farming, there should still be elderly people leading the children to search for these lost ears of grain in the field to avoid waste.

These days, every grain of food is precious. Villagers can't even afford a bowl of rice all year round, so they cherish rice to the extreme.

"Are there any villages nearby?" Sakuma Nobumori was probably the samurai in all of Japan who had seen the most large-scale battles in those days. He had actually commanded battles involving hundreds of thousands of people as a junior.

Moreover, Nobumori, who was praised by the people of Owari as "the one who led the retreat of Sakuma," was quite sensitive to military-related issues.

"Yes." An Jianxing beckoned to his left and right, and immediately four or five riders went out to the village to arrest the villagers.

The group stopped walking and decided to rest by the roadside for a while, have some water, and eat some rice balls. After waiting for a short while, the servants brought over several old men and women, all villagers who were not very knowledgeable and spoke incoherently. When asked why there was no one in the village, someone said that the temple was holding a "Great Sacrifice".

It is to celebrate that no major disasters have occurred this year. The harvested rice is steamed and cooked into rice, which is then offered to the gods to enjoy, and to pray for their blessing for favorable weather and a bountiful harvest in the coming year.

Ow...

Anjian Xinguo, who was initially a little nervous, relaxed and said that it was indeed true, and that the villagers had probably all gone to participate in the rites, which was why there were not many people in the village.

"Hmm..." Nobumori Sakuma remained noncommittal.

"I'll send someone to investigate immediately." An Jianxinguo, seeing that his father-in-law did not approve, immediately instructed his servant to ask.

After dismissing the farmers, Sakuma Nobumori instructed Yasami Nobukuni to immediately send someone to Nishi-Shinya under the guise of preparing for a banquet, but to seize the opportunity to gather information about the town. It's always better to be safe than sorry; it never hurts to be on the safe side.

Anjian Xinguo was certain he understood, and nodded repeatedly. A dozen or so attendants immediately set off for the West Shinya, while the two followed behind at a slower pace. Although they had arranged a time with Matsunaga Hisahide and the people from Iwashimizu Hachiman-gu Shrine, being a little late wasn't a catastrophe; surely they wouldn't dare harbor any dissatisfaction?

Sakuma Nobumori can now be considered the most powerful figure in the Oda clan after Oda Nobunaga. If Nobunaga is the Kanrei (chief advisor), then he is the Naikanrei (internal Kanrei). Many of the Oda clan's official affairs are handled by him.

Even when facing Nobunaga, he still had to try to please him. Outside, even if it were Tokugawa Ieyasu or Azai Nagamasa, he would still have to speak politely to Nobumori.

Shortly after, another servant came running, saying that a temple or shrine nearby was indeed holding a festival, and many villagers had gathered. This dispelled most of the doubts in Sakuma Nobumori and Yasami Nobukuni's hearts, and they continued on their way.

As they approached the edge of the field, a group of twenty or thirty people came, claiming to be retainers of the Matsunaga family, who had come specifically to welcome Yasunori Nobukuni. When they saw that Yasunori Nobukuni was accompanied by a dignified and imposing samurai, a slight look of surprise appeared in their eyes.

Upon learning that it was Sakuma Nobumori, a senior retainer of the Oda clan, the samurai visibly panicked. Although he tried to conceal it well, Sakuma Nobumori still noticed.

wrong!

Something's not right!

Years of battlefield combat gave Sakuma Nobumori a very mysterious sixth sense. This kind of thing is hard to explain, and its application depends entirely on one's intuition.

Sakuma Nobumori was currently sensing danger, a strange, inexplicable sense of unease. However, the Yasami samurai who had arrived earlier hadn't reported anything suspicious. Moreover, Matsunaga Hisahide was the Yamato governor whom Nobunaga had restored; he hadn't rebelled during the earlier standoff with Nobunaga in Settsu, so why was he rebelling now?

Upon entering the meeting place, they immediately summoned the dozen or so Anmi samurai for questioning. All of them said that they had looked around the meeting place and found no ambushes or assassins other than the hundred or so foot soldiers on guard.

However, one of the samurai reported that they had been ordered to prepare a banquet ahead of schedule. The Matsunaga family samurai told them that the banquet was already prepared and there was no need for them to trouble themselves. But when they asked what they would like to eat, they were told that the food was still being prepared.

That's the only puzzling thing; otherwise, there's nothing wrong with it.

"Did you send someone to contact Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine?" Sakuma Nobumori suddenly thought of something and immediately turned to ask Yasami Nobukuni.

"Huh? No." Anjian Xinguo was taken aback at first, then answered with a hint of doubt.

He's currently embroiled in a lawsuit with Iwashimizu Hachiman-gu Shrine; how could he possibly contact them? Just ask Matsunaga Hisahide to mediate. He can simply give them 200 koku of rice, and that's it. Why bother contacting them?

"Oh no!" Sakuma Nobumori slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

They all arrived at Nishishinya on time, but where are the messengers from Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine? Where are the priests? Surely their status can't be higher than Sakuma Nobumori's? The regent Oda Nobunaga specifically appointed his retainers to handle the lawsuit, yet the plaintiff didn't even show up?

"What?" Anjian Xinguo still didn't understand.

Having anticipated this, Sakuma Nobumori immediately grabbed his son-in-law's hand and ran away as fast as he could. The Matsunaga samurai guarding the peace talks tried to stop them, but without clear orders, they were quickly overtaken by Sakuma Nobumori and his men.

Fortunately, the main samurai had all taken horses when they arrived, so they mounted their horses and galloped towards Kono Castle. Once they reached the outskirts of the town, they saw three to five hundred people rushing towards them from the other end of the main road, trying to surround the several intersections leading out of the town.

It was only then that Anmi Nobukuni realized there really was an ambush, and he had truly fallen into a trap. Horsemen were also chasing after him from behind in Nishi-Shinya-cho, their menacing demeanor clearly indicating ill intent.

run.

"How many days has Uemon been in Luoyang?" Nobunaga, who was compiling official documents for the shogunate, suddenly asked the dozen or so retainers sitting in a row below him.

“It has been fifteen days.” Niwa Nagahide put down his pen and counted on his fingers.

"Why has it taken so long? Fujikichiro has already returned." Nobunaga glanced thoughtfully at Hideyoshi, who was in the audience.