Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

But he was confident because he was Nobunaga's foot soldier commander, and he received a salary, rewards, and support. As long as he didn't die in battle, he would have a stable source of income that he could easily repay.

“Okay!” Shichibei immediately agreed.

In the past, Shichibei would have definitely told him to go and raise the money before coming back. But now that Yamauchi Kazutoyo had the final say, how could Shichibei refuse? He had no choice but to agree.

To be fair, Yamauchi Kazutoyo was still young and lacked shrewdness; his joy was written all over his face. He immediately made Goto Kichibei pay, and even asked Shichibei about the price of horse feed and riding shoes.

Here you go, here you go, here are thirty bunches of alfalfa, okay? As for the riding shoes, go home and have your family gather some straw to weave them themselves. If you can't weave straw sandals, what are you doing in the Japanese Warring States period?

"My lord requests that you go to the castle tomorrow." Yamauchi Kazutoyo finally relayed Oda Nobunaga's imperial decree.

"Should we go to pay our respects to the Imperial Household Department Head, or the elders of the household?" Shichibei needed to clarify the matter.

"Of course, we should go up the city wall to pay our respects to our lord."

"understood."

What's meant to happen will happen. Shichibei regrets dealing with the Takeda samurai now, but it's too late. He can only deal with things as they come. Earlier, Horita Uma came to inquire and asked Shichibei to write a detailed explanation. Two days after this explanation was delivered to the castle, Nobunaga sent someone to summon Shichibei. Who knows what it will be about?

"Farewell." However, judging from Yamauchi Kazutoyo's expression, it seemed that the order was not conveyed to him in a stern manner.

Although Nobunaga granted Yamauchi Kazutoyo a stipend and fiefdom, he could not personally go to the village to manage the land. He still had to live at Komakiyama Castle and manage and command the fifteen foot soldiers assigned to him by Nobunaga.

He'd been hanging around the castle for half a year; even a good-for-nothing like him should have a few friends and colleagues to chat with by now. If any rumors were to spread about Komakiyama, like someone offending Nobunaga, his subordinates would definitely start spreading them.

If he didn't receive the message, it's either because he's stupid and doing poorly, or there really wasn't any rumor circulating about him. Therefore, he didn't have any particular feelings towards Shichibei, treating him just as an ordinary acquaintance.

Clearly, Kazutoyo Yamauchi, who will become the protagonist of a Taiga drama in the future, is at least not an idiot.

"It should be alright, it should be alright," Shichibei reassured himself.

Since we're meeting Oda Nobunaga tomorrow, there's no other way but to get to Komakiyama Castle tonight. We'll mount the horses, load the carts, and take the thirty bundles of hay we promised Yamauchi Kazutoyo to Komakiyama.

The accommodations are simple; you can stay at a pub or sambar, or even at the Yamauchi Kazutoyo family's place. You can even stay at the Sugaya Nagayori family's place.

Let's wait for Nobunaga's summons.

He got up early, tidied himself up, and went to wait at the castle gate. Komakiyama Castle, with its stone walls and gate towers, was a new castle built by Nobunaga to intimidate the Inuyama Oda clan. The castle's scale and imposing presence were considerable, and it was clear that some of Oda Nobukiyo's retainers were intimidated by its grandeur. Naturally, Shichibei managed to secure a seat at the gate tower.

In the movie "Sekigahara", there is a scene where Ishida Mitsunari is tied up and kneeling at the door. Some people laugh at him, some people spit at him, and there is also a scene where he curses.

That gate was a very standard stilt gate, with a doorway large enough for people to enter and for shooting arrows and guns outwards, greatly enhancing its defensive capabilities and making it unaffected by the weather.

The key point is that there's plenty of space under the gate, with dedicated weapon racks. But it's not wartime now, so there's no need to be so serious. Everyone just sits on the weapon racks chatting and joking around.

Some people noticed that Shichibei looked unfamiliar and asked him where he came from. Upon learning that he was from the Tsushima clan, they asked Shichibei what he was doing at the castle.

After this year's summer harvest, Oda Nobunaga seemed to have no intention of launching a military campaign against Nakano. He needed to send Princess Toyama and 5,000 kan to Shingen before he could confidently send troops.

Therefore, it is highly likely that troops will be dispatched after the autumn harvest. Since no troops will be dispatched, there is no need to collect a large number of horses, so Shichibei, who is in charge of transporting horses, will be of little use.

Sigh, how would I know what I'm here for? I'm here on orders too.

Some people around will ask, is it because of the street service station incident in the winter that he's going to be promoted? Obviously, there are well-informed people at the city gate who know quite a bit.

A promotion? Well, I'll take your good wishes. But Shichibei isn't a samurai who serves Nobunaga exclusively; he has his own job. Like Ito, the head of the Tsushima clan, his main job is as a merchant in the Oda clan; he doesn't need to come to Komakiyama to perform official duties. His real job is procuring saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal for Nobunaga in Tsushima.

Of course, managing the daily business operations of the entire Tsushima, holding meetings with the people of Tsushima, and presiding over the daily work of the town hall are also within his responsibilities.

As they were talking, they heard the sound of a guard outside raising his spear, and everyone immediately stood up and bowed. It turned out that it was the elder Sakuma Nobumori entering the castle. The Sakuma family had long since placed their bets on Nobunaga. Nobumori's elder brother, Morishige, had held Marune Fortress to the death, buying Nobunaga at least two or three hours to launch a surprise attack at Okehazama.

Those were truly the blood tax paid for the Oda army, making them Nobunaga's original shareholders.

Dismounting outside the gate, Sakuma Nobumori paid little attention to the samurai waiting in line. Normally, he would have strode in. But today was different; he stopped and greeted Shichibei when he saw him.

He naturally knew about Shichibei being summoned by Nobunaga, and it seemed to be related to candles. After all, it was reasonable for a merchant to make candles. Plus, Shichibei was a hereditary retainer who was quite astute, which was why he finally stopped.

Needless to say, Shichibei immediately bowed and greeted Sakuma Nobumori. Nobumori nodded and entered the city without saying anything.

Hey!

As soon as Nobumori left, everyone immediately looked at Shichibei with newfound respect. "So you're one of Sakuma Nobumori's men. You should have said so earlier! Nobumori was Nobunaga's trusted retainer, a key figure in the 'retreat from Sakuma.'"

Hayashi Hideyoshi had indeed rebelled against Nobunaga, and Shibata Katsuie was still on the sidelines. The most capable of his retainers at this time was Sakuma Nobumori.

Before the compliments could even finish, someone called out Shichibei's name, announcing that Shichibei was to enter the castle. Nobunaga had already finished breakfast and was beginning his official duties. The first name called was Shichibei's; he'd better hurry.

He quickly checked his clothes to see if they were appropriate, then took off his sword, handed it to the foot soldier guarding the gate, and followed the newcomer, running up the city wall in small, quick steps.

Inside the castle, Oda Nobunaga sat upright, making no mention of lying on a woman's lap or a black man's lap while conducting official business. He glanced at Shichibei as he entered, though he didn't really recognize him, having only met him twice in total.

After Shichibei knelt down and finished bowing, Oda Nobunaga leisurely asked Shichibei why he taught the Takeda clan's samurai to make candles, but not the samurai of Owari.

Aside from a page behind Nobunaga, Sakuma Nobumori and Niwa Nagahide were also seated in the room. Nobumori was a chief retainer, and Niwa Nagahide was the person in charge of the incident at the time, so their presence was expected.

How should he reply? Shichibei had been thinking about this last night; Nobunaga would definitely ask about it. But Nobunaga was a man "wise enough to refuse advice," and it was difficult to persuade him easily.

Ugh, so annoying.

"Actually, I have already tried planting safflowers on Tsushima Island." After thinking about it all night, Shichibei felt that it was better to show off his achievements than to cover up his mistakes.

I don't hide the fact that I've been teaching techniques to the Takeda clan's samurai; on the contrary, it shows that I'm contributing to the development of Owari. This shifts the focus of the whole incident, preventing me from being led by the nose by the Takeda clan's affairs.

If Shichibei could gain even a little initiative, the matter would be resolved. Nobunaga was always someone who valued people's abilities, and as long as Shichibei proved useful, Nobunaga would forgive and forget.

"Safflower?" Nobunaga, who had already taken the instruction manual from the page and was ready to listen to Shichibei's sophistry, asked in confusion.

“Yes, safflower, like madder and indigo, is a dye crop.” Shichibei quickly explained, knowing that once he had convinced him and opened up the conversation, he wouldn’t be afraid that Nobunaga wouldn’t take the bait.

"Where did you plant it?" Niwa Nagahide thought he was familiar with the politics of Owari territory and had no recollection of this.

"It's located at the mouth of the Kiso River and the Tsushima River."

“How could sandbars possibly be used for farming…” Niwa Nagahide and Nobunaga exchanged glances. In their minds, sandbars at river mouths were always shifting and unsuitable for cultivation.

“Sandbar!” Sakuma Nobumori, sitting on the other side, suddenly exclaimed softly, because the sandbar at the river mouth was the land he had allocated to Shichibei as a land grant.

His thinking was very simple: no one wanted the sandbars, and they would be flooded every year. In addition, Murai Sadakatsu said that he had personally seen them and confirmed that they were indeed unwanted sandbars, so he approved the grant to Shichibei.

But now...

"Could planting alfalfa stabilize the sandbar?" This was the only reason that Nobumori Sakuma could think of.

"Because I have lived on Tsushima for many years and observed the situation of the sandbars over the past ten years, I have found that some sandbars are actually quite fixed." Shichibei couldn't very well say that he used a Luoyang shovel to explore them bit by bit.

"So you exchanged the sandbar for the condition of waiving the horse price!" Sakuma Nobumori didn't understand why he wanted such a worthless piece of land as the sandbar at the time, but now he understands.

Then Nobumori told Nobunaga about the matter of exchanging horse prices for sandbars. At first, Nobunaga didn't think much of it, but when he heard that Shichibei had actually replaced all the sandbars with the arsenal he knew, he tapped the floor several times with his folding fan.

"Hmph, Shichibei, you've got some tricks up your sleeve. No wonder you can supply this castle with horse feed. Tell me, how much money do you make from horse feed each year?"

"I dare not deceive my lord. There are two seasons a year, and each season costs ninety kan." Shichibei only mentioned selling the goods outside, not keeping any for himself.

"What a shrewd businessman! He traded seven kan for a horse and got a sandbar worth one hundred and eighty kan a year." Now Shichibei was on Nobunaga's mind.

That's roughly equivalent to secretly and quietly extorting 180 kan from Oda Nobunaga last year.

My money, my money, you take 180, I'll only save 7.

"After a year of planting alfalfa, I am now beginning to try planting barnyard grass and safflower." Very good, the matter of the Takeda candle is indeed over.

Even if we were to investigate Shichibei's trickery into acquiring the land, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, Shichibei was part of the old Owari, old Oda, and old Shimo-shiki district circles. We could just consider it as Shichibei developing new land, and at worst, we could just re-enlist his military service next year.

This year's military service is over.

"Growing alfalfa can yield 180 kan a year, and how much more can we make from barnyard grass and safflower?" Nobunaga was indeed interested in money, very interested.

"If it's millet, it might be three hundred kan. Even Honghuachen, who is also a novice, doesn't know yet." Shichibei didn't give a full answer.

"Great, great, truly great!" Nobunaga opened his folding fan piece by piece, praising Shichibei three times in succession.

"I was just thinking that it would be a waste to leave the sandbar vacant..." To correct everyone's memory, it wasn't me, Kawamura Shichibei, who took a fancy to the sandbar and came to usurp it.

I saw the sandbar lying there empty, unused, which was a pity. I was thinking of planting something on it to make it useful. The difference between these two things is huge.

The former, to put it bluntly, is deceiving the emperor; the latter, to put it kindly, is being diligent, frugal, and virtuous.

"Hmph, Goroza, you always say you don't have any good helpers. I think this Shichibei is a good helper." Nobunaga ignored Shichibei and turned to look at Niwa Nagahide.

“Yes, Shichibei is quite capable.” Niwa Nagahide nodded in agreement, realizing that Nobunaga did not intend to punish Shichibei.

"In that case, Shichibei, before the summer harvest, you will be in charge of inspecting the land in the four counties!"

34. This land inspection is not that land inspection.

No, how do you put it?

Is land surveying something even a human being would do? How did Sassa Narimasa die? He died while surveying land in Higo Province. Why was Ishida Mitsuo so hated? Because he was in charge of the Taiko land survey. Although this is only one reason, it is definitely the main one.

Besides, what merit or ability do I possess? What is my status? What knowledge or deeds do I have? Am I worthy? I am not worthy.

You could send Sakuma Nobumori to oversee the land survey; he has a lot of influence, so it's somewhat possible. Or you could send Niwa Nagahide; he's your son-in-law, and besides, he knows the area well and has many connections.

What am I to you?

Shichibei, lacking strong facial composure, immediately widened his eyes, wanting to plead with Nobunaga to be spared the task. Nobunaga snorted, tapped his folding fan on the ground, got up and left, giving Shichibei no chance to explain or defend himself.

As soon as Nobunaga left, Shichibei immediately turned to Niwa Nagahide and Sakuma Nobumori, but even they were powerless to help. Nobunaga's thinking was sometimes so unpredictable that they might not be able to keep up.

However, the two also said that Shichibei should take on the task for now, and they would find an opportunity to mention it to Nobunaga. Such a heavy responsibility was truly difficult for Shichibei, a samurai with only sixty kan of rank.

The population of the four districts of Owari Province is at least 100,000 to 200,000, and the territory is at least 100,000 kan. It is impossible for Shichibei alone, plus seven or eight other families, to conduct a land survey of more than 100,000 kan.

It's impossible; the workload is too great.

Just say you want me dead, why are you doing this? Shichibei's legs went weak. Nobunaga neither gave him money nor people, and instead demanded to inspect the four districts of Owari. He was really driving Shichibei to his doom.

Once outside the city, Shichibei collapsed to the ground with a thud. Fortunately, he didn't burst into tears, which could be considered a semblance of adult self-control.

Even if you cry, you must hurry home, write your will, and settle all your family affairs before you can cry. After crying, whether you commit seppuku or jump into a river, both are painful, but it's better than being beheaded.

Shichibei, his heart bleeding and tears streaming down his face, was patting himself on the back and heading out when he bumped into Kinoshita Koichiro, who was coming out of the city with a scroll of documents tucked under his arm.

"Hey, isn't this Koichiro Kinoshita...?" They were practically acquaintances, both working under Oda Nobunaga, so Kinoshita Koichiro naturally greeted him.

He would definitely greet him from his side, because he and Inase Kotake were from the same river. When he saw Kotake's brother-in-law, he almost blurted out.

"Aww, it's Koichiro!" Kinoshita Koichiro was a retainer of Fujikichiro, and logically, he was a subordinate of a subordinate, so Shichibei could simply call him by his name.

"Why are you climbing the castle today?" They were all minor figures, but in fact, they were even somewhat related. Koichiro walked up to Shichibei and they went down the castle together.

"I have some official business to attend to, so I was summoned to the castle." Shichibei was afraid that if he said it out loud, it would scare Kinoshita Koichiro to death.

"Me too, it's almost noon, how about..." Koichiro asked Shichibei if he had any plans for lunch.

Koichiro was quite adept at social maneuvering, a description that primarily reflects his social skills in a positive sense. Otherwise, why would he be known as the mediator within the Toyotomi regime? He had considerable influence and maintained good relationships with various parties.