Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

The 15,000 kan (a unit of currency) required by Qingxu, equivalent to the residence of a 60,000 shi (a unit of grain measure) lord, was more than enough to build a new house for Takayama Shigetomo. A quick repair and some painting would suffice. After all, the paint used these days was all natural, so there was no need for prolonged ventilation to remove formaldehyde. They could move in whenever they wanted; any missing servants or miscellaneous tasks would be handled by Princess Fuyuhime as part of her dowry.

To be honest, Takayama Tomoteru really couldn't understand what incredible luck his son had had to be chosen by Nobunaga after just one trip. If he had been taken in as a page or served as a servant in the Makai Mui-shu, that would have been fine. They could have had a drink at home to celebrate.

To actually marry a woman to him is like a windfall from heaven, an incredible stroke of good fortune.

Takayama Tomoteru kowtowed to Nobunaga, his forehead turning red. Wada Koremasa's younger brother, Wada Koremasa's brother, also came to Gifu, firstly to thank Nobunaga for the 3,500 kan of castle construction funds, and secondly to find out the reason for Nobunaga's sudden and great promotion of Takayama Shigetomo.

Wada Koremasa also had a son, Wada Korenaga. He wasn't ugly at all; Nobunaga had seen him before outside Kono Castle. He was a teenager who could shoot arrows and wield a spear.

It's just that we didn't click; this kind of thing is influenced by personal feelings.

It's alright, at least the wedding of Takayama Shigetomo and Princess Fuyuhime didn't fall on Shichibei's shoulders. Nobunaga should take advantage of the temporary peace and get the wedding done as soon as possible, so he can have another respectable son-in-law.

The scale of the wedding was unlike that of Princess Oichi or Princess Tokuhime. Because it took place right outside Gifu Castle, it was much grander, and even ordinary townspeople received a reward of two liters of rice from Nobunaga.

Whether it's to win over the people or boost morale, perhaps holding a grand wedding can indeed dispel some of the gloom that originally existed in Gifu Castle.

Because of this, Akechi Mitsuhide made a rare trip to Gifu Castle. Nobunaga mentioned Tsutsui Junkei to him, and Akechi Mitsuhide took it to heart, saying that he would definitely keep an eye on it in the future.

What the two people actually said is another matter.

Hideyoshi, who was stationed at Yokoyama Castle, has also returned. Nobunaga had previously said he would adopt Ujimaru into his son, marrying Nene's daughter so she would become Hideyoshi's heir. Hideyoshi returned to discuss this with Nobunaga because a hostage from a powerful family he had acquired in Kohoku was pregnant.

Sigh, it seems Hideyoshi was indeed quite anxious about not having a son, and he really was a lecherous man. Taking advantage of the time he was collecting hostages for Nobunaga, he made the hostages his concubines.

So he returned and reported this matter to Nobunaga. If it was a boy, then there would be no need to seek an heir. If it was a girl, then it would be basically certain that Oda Nobunaga would be chosen as heir.

There was another matter, which Shichibei asked Hideyoshi to handle, and Hideyoshi finally accomplished it. It wasn't a big deal; it was purely Shichibei's personal "hobby."

Ogawa Yutada.

Ogawa Yutada, one of the three who defected from Sekigahara, formally submitted to the Oda clan after handing over seven hostages to Hideyoshi, becoming a member of the Oda clan's faction.

When Hideyoshi returned, he told Shichibei about this matter. He also secretly made contact with Ogawa Suetada. He discovered that Ogawa was just an ordinary local noble family, with no outstanding strengths or remarkable family background.

Why would Shichibei specifically seek out such a small, powerful clan? I don't understand.

It's understandable if you don't understand. Did Shichibei only seek out Ogawa Yutada because of his abilities? Of course not.

It's purely the perverse taste of a time traveler who wants to see blood splattered on his feet, enjoys watching fights, bickering, and arguments, and finds even more enjoyment in seeing wild punches and hair-pulling.

Let's consider the trio of defectors. Shichibei had already identified Kuchiki Motonaga as one of the Takashima Seven Factions, and he was doing well in Kohoku. He was considered part of the shogunate's retainers and hadn't completely sided with Nobunaga, so he couldn't be considered a ally and sent to Shichibei.

That leaves Ogawa Yutada and Akaza Naoyasu, the two Shichibei who have been searching. Akaza Naoyasu hasn't received any news yet, but Ogawa Yutada has, and he's arrived at Gifu Castle.

As soon as Nobunaga opened his mouth, Nobunaga waved his hand and assigned Ogawa Suketada to Shichibei. When Ogawa Suketada met Nobunaga, he did not display any admirable talent, so Nobunaga naturally did not pay him much attention.

Logically, Shichibei should have continued to be given resources last year, but the continuous fighting delayed this. Furthermore, most of the resources were given to Oda Nobuhiro, who reorganized a large army. Now that Shichibei has asked again this year, Nobunaga has absolutely no reason to refuse.

Thus, Ogawa Tadatsuna finally became a disciple of Shichibei, and together with the other Kawamura retainers, he paid his respects and got to know his future colleagues.

With Nobunaga's daughter getting married these past few days, every respectable samurai in Oda's territory has rushed to offer their congratulations. Aoji Shigetsuna, Takenaka Shigeharu, and others are among them—what a coincidence, saving the trouble of introducing them later.

By the way, Shichibei, with the mindset of "better safe than sorry," wondered if they knew each other now, since they would be so aligned in their defection at Sekigahara in the future.

"Zaheiji, in Jiangbei or nearby, is there a family of Japanese with the surname Akaza?"

"Akaza?" Ogawa Yutada thought Shichibei was going to ask him about important military and national affairs, or about the geography and customs of Jiangbei. He never expected that Shichibei would ask him about someone from an unknown small country.

“Yes, that’s how it’s written.” Shichibei dipped his finger in water and wrote the words on the floor.

“Hiss…” Ogawa Yutada was certain that it was definitely not from Jiangbei.

In previous years, their family had also gone to Odani Castle to offer New Year's greetings. As the leader of the powerful clans of Jiangbei, the Odani Asai family had gathered almost all the powerful figures who had opposed the Kyogoku family. If they hadn't seen them during the New Year's greetings, then there was truly no such person in Jiangbei.

"Not even Takashima County?" Shichibei finally managed to get his hands on a local strongman in Jiangbei, right?

The situation in Takashima County is rather unique in Kobe Prefecture. The Takashima Seven Parties there actually have closer ties with the Yamashiro and Kyoto factions. Although they are located in northern Omi, they don't really get along with the people in northern Omi.

“Takashima County? No, not here either.” Ogawa Yutada continued to shake his head.

The Ogawa family, claiming descent from the Sasaki school of the Uda Genji, once controlled the Ogawa estate in Kanzaki district, Omi Province, making them a powerful local force. The intelligence is highly likely to be accurate.

"Hmm..." It's a pity, Shichibei can only continue the search later.

"However..." After thinking hard for a while, Ogawa Yutada seemed to have a clue.

"what?"

“It seems there’s an Akaza family in Echizen. I need to find a copy of the Ichijōroku to take a look,” Ogawa Yūtada gave a somewhat unsatisfactory reply.

"Echizen?" Shichibei seemed to be deep in thought.

If Akaza Naoyasu was a retainer of the Asakura family in history, he would most likely have later served under Shibata Katsuie, then Niwa Nagahide, and finally, after the Niwa family fell, he was absorbed into the Toyotomi family. That seems quite reasonable.

As for this "Ichijōroku", it can be understood as the Asakura family version of the "Odawara Shūshō-ryū-gunyakucho". It records the families, rank, and military service of 123 Asakura samurai (I couldn't find a photocopy or electronic copy on any second-hand websites, and I don't have one either).

Go find it!

These military service records were not classified documents. Military service in Daming was an open mobilization. The number of people to be sent from each village and hamlet was a topic of conversation among the farmers in each village. There were even records of villages being exempted from military service due to floods, and downstream villages immediately appealing for exemption as well.

However, the versions circulating among the people may not be detailed, and there are many different versions. They are often revised and supplemented every five or ten years.

Anyway, Shichibei has plenty of time, let's search. This guy survived the Battle of Sekigahara, so he has plenty of time. The only problem is that his family might have already perished in the Battle of Anegawa or some other battlefield because of Shichibei's transmigrated wings. That would be a pity, losing another traitor.

After the wedding, the heavy snow in Echizen melted.

However, instead of attacking Nobunaga, Asakura Yoshikage publicly sent envoys to Kyoto to meet with Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Because Nobunaga and Asakura Yoshikage had made peace under imperial decree, Yoshikage could openly come to Kyoto and even file a lawsuit against Nobunaga.

Yoshikage's arrival in Kyoto was of great importance to the Asakura family, as they hoped that Ashikaga Yoshiaki would act as an intermediary to arrange a marriage between Kyo-nyo, the son of the Honganji monk Kenryo, and the daughter of the Asakura family.

To completely quell the Jodo Shinshu sect's influence and end decades of fierce warfare with the Asakura clan. The two sides formed a marriage alliance to jointly confront the threat posed by Oda Nobunaga.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki was overjoyed. He not only publicly conveyed this message to Nobunaga, but also asked for Nobunaga's opinion.

Nobunaga wanted to object, but his objections were futile. Asakura Yoshikage was merely finding a powerful intermediary to guarantee the marriage. In reality, Kennyo and Asakura Yoshikage had already agreed on the marriage; it was just a matter of going through the motions.

Okay, okay, you can get married now.

In the end, Nobunaga could only acquiesce, while Ashikaga Yoshiaki was overjoyed and immediately agreed to the proposal, sending a minister of the shogunate to formally establish the marriage agreement between the two families.

Chapter 230 Internal Strife Leads to Takeda's Massacre of the Entire Family

The heavy snow in Echizen had all melted away, and Asakura Yoshikage hadn't moved an inch. It seemed he was determined to secure the marriage between Asakura woman and Honganji Kyoryo, eliminating any remaining worries, before launching another large-scale military campaign.

That's good, let Nobunaga lick his wounds a little longer.

Shichibei even hoped that if they were lucky, everyone would make it to June, and he would have the chance to see his child born. Why June? Because wheat was harvested in May. Those who planted wheat, millet, and even barnyard grass would have finished harvesting by June.

Having food but not going out to fight would, in these days, likely earn one the reputation of a traitor who sits idly by, a mere skeleton in a tomb.

Inase Yoshinari, who had been sent to Kai and Shinano to purchase horses, has returned, bringing back several hundred more horses from the Takeda clan. The Takeda clan has been a long-term partner, and they did not create any obstacles in the horse trade.

"There's something I'm not entirely sure about, but I still want to tell you." Inase Yoshinari took out the horse betting ledger, preparing to reconcile the accounts with Shichibei.

"What?" Takeda Shingen should still be doing his best to drive out the Hojo clan's invasion of Suruga, and he won't turn against Nobunaga immediately.

“It’s as if I see a retainer of the Kiyosu Saito family…” Inase Yoshinari wasn’t entirely sure, his tone filled with doubt.

“Saito?” Shichibei’s hand, which was flipping through the accounts, immediately stopped.

“I’m not sure, but it seems like I’ve seen him before, perhaps near the castle,” Inase Yoshinari quickly added.

"Hmm..." This is indeed intelligence information.

After being driven from Kiyosu Castle by Nobunaga, Ryūō's only option was the Ganshō-ji Temple on Nagashima Island. Nagashima accepted him and sent troops to assist him, luring him deep into northern Ise and catching Oda Nobunaga completely off guard. The Oda clan suffered heavy losses, including the deaths of two of their samurai generals.

Under normal circumstances, Ryūgen should have taken refuge at Ganshō-ji Temple on Nagashima Island, continuing his plans to counterattack Mino and retake Gifu Castle. Why would he send someone to the Takeda clan? It should be noted that Takeda Shingen is now related to Nobunaga's children by marriage.

and many more!

Shichibei suddenly remembered that many years ago, when Tatsuoki had just surrendered to the Oda clan, there seemed to have been some clues about a secret connection between the two. However, not long after, Tatsuoki was transferred to Kiyosu Castle in Owari Province, and Shichibei did not continue to investigate, and the clues were lost.

Now? Now Saito Tatsuoki has gotten involved with Takeda Shingen again?

Even attempts at alliances didn't work; Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin hadn't reached an agreement, and both sides were hoping Oda Nobunaga would use the prestige and influence of the Muromachi Shogunate to facilitate a peace treaty. With such a formidable opponent as Uesugi Kenshin behind him, Shingen would never act rashly.

Historically, Takeda Shingen left 8,000 men with Kousaka Masanobu to defend Kaizu Castle, precisely to prevent Uesugi Kenshin from betraying him, which is why he led 25,000 men to attack Tokugawa Ieyasu.

"That's right!" Shichibei immediately stood up and shouted Sanbei outside. Noda Sanbei, who was inside the shop, rushed in and asked what was wrong.

What's going on? Ryūshō might be trying to win over naval forces for Takeda Shingen!

What Shingen lacked now? He had both infantry and cavalry capable of enduring hardship and engaging in close combat. Relying on his harmonious relationship with the Oda clan and friendly trade relations with Shichibei, he had also obtained a considerable supply of arquebuses in Sakai. Saltpeter and gunpowder were readily available; while transporting several thousand arquebuses was impossible, five or eight hundred were easily achievable.

The only thing lacking was naval power. Nobunaga first won over the Shima Kuki navy, and then the Awaji Ataka navy. For Kuki Yoshitaka, he was willing to sacrifice the entire Shima province. For Ataka Nobuyasu, it wasn't just the Awaji province that was secured, but also the Izumi Sakai Minami-so province.

Because of the Sakai Minami-sho incident, he had some disagreements with Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

Now that Shingen has surely realized he can't kill Hojo Ujiyasu, the only remaining option is Oda Tokugawa. To ensure a successful campaign, he must deploy a naval force.

In addition to the existing naval forces in Suruga, Takeda Shingen actively recruited admirals from outside the region. For example, Kohama Kagetaka, who had previously fought against Kuki Yoshitaka, brought his Atakebune to join Takeda and became a captain in the rank of Samurai Admiral.

Takeda Shingen was a man of great stature, and he knew very well that his small, insignificant navy was no match for Nobunaga's Saji navy on the Chita Peninsula and the Kuki navy in Shima.

Naval talents in the Kanto region either went to join the Satomi Boso Navy or the Hojo Miura Navy. The only place that could potentially replenish naval forces was Nagashima Ganshoji, located in Ise Bay.

If Genshoji Temple had the capability to defend the large sandbar at the mouth of the sea, then it would certainly have a considerable number of ships and boatmen. Whether it was "borrowing," "wooing," or even "demanding," Shingen would definitely build up a navy.

He and the monk Kenryo of Honganji Temple were close brothers-in-law, so the Nagashima Ganshoji Temple had to give him some face.

What Ryuko truly desires is to return to Mino and recapture Gifu Castle. The Miyoshi Triumvirate are far from Gifu Castle, while the Asakura Clan is nearby, but compared to the Takeda Clan, the Takeda Clan is clearly stronger and has easier access to troops.

It's no wonder that Ryūshō sent people to Kai to make contact with the Takeda clan.

Shichibei jumped up and went up the castle to find Nobunaga. The above content is all my speculation, which is completely unfounded.

Do you believe me or not?

Yes, I had no basis for it, I was just skeptical, I just made things up out of thin air. But after listening, the elder still pondered and considered the possibilities.

The key point is that Shichibei has direct suspects: the fleet and shipwrights from the Yamada Sanbojin territory who transported the Nagashima Ikko-ikki. They are extremely suspicious.

Currently, because Nobunaga failed to break through the Nagashima Ganshoji Temple, Yamada Miho's group has been temporarily ignored. But since Shichibei brought it up, even if there are countless difficulties, we must overcome them, capture him, and get a clear answer.

The main problem was that Nobunaga was already struggling to cope with just two formidable enemies: the Miyoshi Triumvirate and the Asakura clan. If the Takeda clan were to turn against him immediately, he would truly be surrounded by enemies on all sides, his situation extremely precarious.

We must send someone; we absolutely must send someone.

After hearing Shichibei's speculation, Nobunaga stopped him from leaving. He first had Shichibei, a close ally, write a letter to the congregation in Ise-anokatsu and Ise-Ōminato, inquiring about the exact number and situation of ships in their towns.

Shingen not only lacked naval shipbuilders, but also warships. Don't laugh, Japan's shipbuilding technology is a somewhat monopolistic industry; even now, they still use hulls to reinforce the hulls instead of keels.

During the early Edo period, the Shimazu family possessed red-stamped trading certificates, yet they didn't build their own ships. Instead, they sailed directly to Ryukyu, then from Ryukyu to Fujian, where they purchased large teak ships built by local shipyards. From there, they would trade with Siam and Luzon, and even so, they still made a profit.

The reason is simple: not only are Japanese shipbuilding prices not cheaper than those on the mainland, but their technology is also far behind.

It is said that when the Tang Dynasty sent envoys to various countries to impart technology, the navigation technology passed on to Japan was the least valuable. Even Goryeo and Balhae received technologies related to ship steering and other aspects, but Japan did not.