Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Perhaps out of some appreciation, Nobunaga did not assign Ōki Kaneyoshi to be a retainer of Takigawa Kazumasu, but instead kept him as his own loyal retainer, allowing Ōki Kaneyoshi to send his sons and nephews to Gifu to serve in the government.

Furthermore, Shichibei also played a role in the campaign, and Nobunaga promised him a bright future. Northern Ise has already been granted to Takigawa Kazumasu and Kobe Nobutaka; there's no new territory for you yet. But once you kill Asakura Yoshikage, you'll definitely be granted Tsuruga Town.

It wasn't a contemporary official position; it was the entire town of Tsuruga that was granted to Shichibei.

Okay, Shichibei loves this pancake. Although it's unclear when it will be delivered, it certainly touched Shichibei's heart and filled him with anticipation.

Why don't you grant me Sakai someday too?

Since you never care about anything, all you want is money and cannons, why not just grant it to me, Shichibei? Then Shichibei will have a more legitimate reason to manage these Sakai towns. Right now, Shichibei is instructing the merchants as a vassal. From now on, he'll be teaching them in a dual capacity as both vassal and lord.

As soon as Shichibei bent over, Nobunaga guessed what Shichibei was thinking. He even laughed and said, "What's the rush? You'll be granted everything eventually."

scare!

Does Nobunaga have mind-reading abilities?

Shichibei quickly lowered his head, saying he dared not, that he was only serving his lord. Nobunaga said nothing more; he was in a good mood after winning the battle. Although he hadn't completely crushed Nagashima, his overwhelming naval superiority in Ise Bay effectively gave him control over Nagashima's Ganshoji Temple.

They can strangle him whenever they want.

Now that everything is back under his control, what is there for him to worry about? He has plenty of time and inclination to make empty promises to Shichibei.

The scene shifts slightly to the Nijō Palace in Kyoto, which is under siege by Iwanari Tomomichi. After Nobunaga left the Kinai region, he entrusted this situation to Hanawa Naomasa. Later, Ashikaga Yoshiaki rebelled, and Nobunaga ordered Hanawa Naomasa to attack the Nijō Palace, while Niwa Nagahide attacked Makishima Castle.

However, the location of the Nijō Palace is indeed crucial, and Hanawa Naomasa is a smart man. He didn't go himself, but instead sent Iwanari Tomomichi. Anyway, Iwanari Tomomichi's reputation in Kyoto is already rotten to the core, so he shouldn't pretend to be a pure and innocent girl now.

The time has come to serve Lord Nobunaga.

Iwanari Tomomichi knew that his main role in joining Nobunaga's cause was to do dirty work. And this task of attacking Kyoto had fallen squarely on his shoulders.

The guard of Nijō Palace was Yamaoka Kagetomo, the guardian of Yamashiro. The position of Yamashiro guardian was not usually granted to anyone, but it was just a common post. For example, after Ōuchi Yoshioki successfully marched on Kyoto, he was appointed Yamashiro guardian because he was not appointed as a Kanrei (military commander), in recognition of his achievements.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki's decision to grant Yamaoka Kagetomo the position of guardian of Yamashiro is primarily a means to challenge Ise Sadaoki, the steward of the shogunate. By the way, upon hearing of Ashikaga Yoshiaki's defection, Ise Sadaoki, along with all his close associates from the shogunate, fled. They have now sided with Akechi Mitsuhide and are turning against Yoshiaki.

The Imperial Court was frantic upon learning that Hanawa Naomasa had already deployed his troops in Shimogyo Ward, and that Iwanari Tomomichi and his 3,000 cavalry had entered Kamigyo, preparing to attack the Nijō Palace. The terrifying memory of the Ōnin War, which had turned Kyoto into a wasteland, was still fresh in their minds. How could they allow this to happen?

Envoys dispatched from the Forbidden City traveled back and forth, hoping that both sides could withdraw their troops or negotiate peace. It must be said that Ashikaga Yoshiaki's move was effective; he did indeed exploit the Imperial Court's fear of the destruction of Kyoto, making both the Imperial Court and the Oda army hesitant to act rashly.

Unfortunately, Oda Nobunaga is not here, so there is no one who can order a halt to the attack. Please go to the Nagashima camp and find Nobunaga; once you have the order, the attack will cease.

The samurai messenger, Asukai Masaharu, also asked if it was possible to suspend the war during this period of requesting orders. Of course not, Iwanari Tomomichi was hoping to gain favor with Nobunaga by doing this dirty work.

Enraged, Asukai Masato nearly lost his temper and blurted out some curses. However, being a samurai messenger, he rushed to Nobunaga to request orders.

After receiving reinforcements from Hanawa Naomasa, Iwanari Tomomichi launched an attack on Nijō Palace without hesitation. Yamaoka Kagetomo, with approximately 1,500 cavalry from the Koga, Iga, and Houkou groups, held the palace in a fierce defense, demonstrating considerable strength and proving to be a formidable force.

Although the Oda army claimed they were not afraid to destroy Kyoto and were determined to burn it down, they were actually quite restrained in the actual fighting. They did not actually set fires along the streets and prepare to burn down the Nijō Palace.

However, Iwanari Tomomichi was eager for success, and the Nijō Palace had been hastily built, so its defenses were relatively weak. After two days of fierce attacks by his 8,000-strong army, it began to crumble. At this time, Asukai Masayoshi had not yet reached Tsushima, let alone found Nobunaga.

Seeing that the Oda army was charging in recklessly, Yamaoka Kagetomo chickened out and became afraid. He was afraid that if the Oda army really broke in, he would have to sacrifice himself for the shogunate.

So they sent people out to negotiate, hoping to hand over the Nijō Palace, while their men withdrew and went to Makishima Castle to join Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

Naomasa Hanawa clearly understood Nobunaga's thinking: as long as he could completely control Kyoto and remove Ashikaga Yoshiaki's thorn in his side, that would be enough. Therefore, he had no objection to Yamaoka Kagetomo's request and immediately announced his acceptance.

Furthermore, he ordered the Ashikaga army to get out of there immediately, saying that leaving today might still count, but leaving tomorrow wouldn't. Thus, the Nijō Palace changed hands, and the farce came to an end.

Chapter 265 Nobunaga and his former close friends

After returning to Gifu in victory, Shichibei sent someone to inquire about the identity of Kana Yoshinobu, or rather, Kana Yoshinobu's subordinate.

Coincidentally, this fellow had received a sword, a horse, and five gold coins from Nobunaga as a reward for defeating Saemon from the other side of the river, and was currently at the foot of Gifu Castle.

After making some inquiries, it turned out that he was indeed a highly accomplished disciple of Hozoin Inei. He had been studying under him before, but recently, because his father, Keiji, had resigned due to old age, he returned to Mino to serve Oda Nobunaga.

Jia Lu only had a meager 350 shi (a unit of grain), truly a village chief.

It was unlikely that samurai with such meager stipends would be assigned to specific roles. Therefore, they were incorporated into Nobunaga's direct command and moved with the main force.

It seems that it really was "Takeshi Saizo," the man who mocked Toyotomi Hidetsugu for borrowing an umbrella in the rain and a horse when he fled. He was a master of spearmanship and an extremely brave general in battle.

If we hadn't encountered them earlier, now that Shichibei has Watanabe Kanbei and Todo Takatora, we're not really lacking in vanguards. We're not a force that fights often, so bringing in such skilled spearmen would be a waste. Todo Takatora is also a capable administrator, and Watanabe Kanbei was directly involved in the pacification of Iyo Imaji Castle.

If we invite the two of them over, they can start other businesses even if there's no war, so their talents won't be wasted. It would be a real waste if there's no war.

Now that Nobunaga has witnessed his martial prowess, there's no need for us to recommend him further. Historically, it seems that Kōji Saizō never encountered a truly great lord, spending his time during Nobunaga's era moving from place to place, serving as a lowly soldier and guest general. After Nobunaga's death, he served Hideyoshi and was assigned to Hidetsugu. After a falling out with Hidetsugu, he then served Fukushima Masanori.

The Fukushima family eventually changed hands and went out of business. It's impossible for the Kaori family to survive alone, so it's estimated that they won't have a good outcome either.

It's a real shame about him. We should try to help him out if we have the chance. Our father-in-law, Oda Nobuhiro, already has a fierce general, Haigo Ieyoshi, under his command. Otherwise, we could let him join Nobuhiro's ranks; perhaps he could make a name for himself there.

Just then, the waiter outside said that someone had come to the shop with a receipt issued by Nobunaga in the city to collect a horse. Hahaha, that scoundrel Nobunaga, he didn't have a horse himself, so he just issued a receipt and sent someone to Kawamura-ya to collect it, huh?

"Bring me the note?" Just then, Ke'er walked in. He had obviously seen Shichibei a few times before, recognized him on the spot, immediately bowed, and took out Nobunaga's note.

It will definitely be honored, and the debt will be attributed to Nobunaga. Shichibei isn't some big shot; when doing business, we're just business partners, and we need to serve our customers well.

Nobunaga led Keizo to the stable. Nobunaga's note said "fine steed," but what exactly constitutes a fine steed? It was up to Keizo to choose for himself; Shichibei was only responsible for putting the bill under Nobunaga's name.

With a village headman's salary around 300 koku, buying an ordinary riding horse wouldn't be a problem, but buying a well-trained warhorse would be extremely difficult. Now that he had Nobunaga's offer, Kazuya dashed into the stables and carefully observed the horses inside.

This year, due to the Takeda clan's failure to sell warhorses, Kawamuraya's warhorse reserves have dwindled significantly. However, thanks to Oda Nobuhiro's capture of Wakasa-Ohama Port last year, the Oshu horses traded northwards were still successfully delivered to ports around Lake Biwa, such as Otsu and Imahama, for sale. Shichibei bought up all of these warhorses; aside from those already sold, the rest are here.

After much deliberation, Korzetsugu finally chose a moon-haired horse. Shichibei asked him if he was sure, since once he'd chosen it, he couldn't change his mind. Korzetsugu simply asked to borrow a saddle so he could ride it outside the city.

Good lad, you can't be so poor that you don't even have a saddle, can you?

It's hard to say for sure; a fully equipped and exquisitely decorated saddle could cost more than a horse itself. There are records of Japanese emperors sending envoys to the Ming Dynasty to present saddles as tribute. If it was a state gift, it certainly wouldn't have been cheap.

Fine, let him borrow it. He's a village chief after all; he can run away, but he can't hide. Besides, I heard Nobunaga even rewarded him with five gold coins, more than enough to buy a saddle.

I wandered around for quite a while...

He finally ran back, clearly quite pleased with the saddle, and immediately paid Shichibei to help him find a better one. He'd been staying at the castle for the past few days. Judging from the address, he was probably staying at the home of some samurai he knew; someone of his status wouldn't have a residence at Gifu Castle.

Well, in the end, we didn't actually sit down and have a proper chat. He seemed like a rather simple and honest warrior, without much guile or scheming. Anyone else, given the opportunity to interact with a senior retainer of the Oda clan like Shichibei, would have seized it.

He, on the other hand, went straight in and picked out a horse, then left after choosing his rider. He showed absolutely no intention of befriending Shichibei, or to put it bluntly, of currying favor with him.

Wonderful! What a wonderful person!

Mid- to lower-ranking samurai like Kana Saizo only needed to focus on killing people. Oda Nobunaga, residing high in the Toradaya residence of Gifu Castle, had many more things to consider.

The news of Asukai Masayoshi's decision to surrender and Nijō Gosho's decision to open the castle reached Nobunaga almost simultaneously. Upon learning that Nijō Gosho had ultimately chosen to surrender, Asukai Masayoshi breathed a sigh of relief and then clung to Nobunaga, following him back to Gifu from northern Ise.

He followed Nobunaga like a leech, hoping to understand Nobunaga's opinion on the matter of dealing with Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Although Nobunaga himself was quite devoted to the Imperial Court, and in recent years had long regarded the Imperial Court as the source of his legitimacy, he had been proclaiming it everywhere.

However, it cannot be denied that Nobunaga had only been in Kyoto for a few years. To Kyoto, he was still considered an outsider. On the other hand, the Ashikaga shogun, who had been rooted in Kyoto for over a century, had already become integrated into the entire Kyoto court and a part of the old order.

The imperial court was naturally very concerned about the conflict between Nobunaga and Ashikaga Yoshiaki, after all, Yoshiaki was the legitimate shogun, holding the rightful authority over all samurai families. The conflict between Nobunaga and Yoshiaki was, in effect, a challenge to the old order.

To put it more bluntly, is Nobunaga planning to reinstate Yoshihide Shiri? If so, he should inform the Imperial Court in advance to avoid catching the court off guard if things happen suddenly.

Of course, if Nobunaga has any other requests, we can mention them as well. While there are many political riddle-makers throughout history and across cultures, and even in everyday life, the current situation is different; it has reached the point where the powerful are attacking the shogun, so some things need to be made clearer.

Being able to spout riddles and complex sentences every day is only possible in the peaceful years depicted in "Yes, Minister," where civil servants can casually chat with elected officials. If war has already broken out, and 60,000 people are dying every day on the front lines at the Marne and Verdun, and you're still spouting riddles, you'll definitely be kicked to the curb and put in charge of herring quotas.

Since things had come to this point, Nobunaga stopped pretending to be profound and immediately summoned Shichibei.

Shichibei had previously reported to Nobunaga that he had already sent someone to make contact with the former Regent Konoe Sakihisa. Nobunaga hadn't said anything at the time, but had simply ordered Shichibei to secretly send him 500 kan as living expenses.

Now that Nobunaga has essentially allied himself with Konoe Sakihisa, he has at least received a meal as a token of gratitude. So, to ensure that the Imperial Court stands firmly on his side when necessary and doesn't waver in supporting Ashikaga Yoshiaki, shouldn't the position of Kanpaku be reassigned?

Who should be moved? Of course, it should be Konoe Maekawa.

Although not long ago, Konoe Sakihisa was a member of the anti-Nobunaga camp due to the alliance between Nobunaga and Yoshiaki, times have changed. Nobunaga and Yoshiaki have broken ties. Konoe Sakihisa can now talk to Oda Nobunaga and still love him.

This wasn't something Nobunaga could simply decide with a few words. Historically, after Kanpaku Hidetsugu was ordered to commit seppuku by Hideyoshi, the position of Kanpaku remained vacant for a long time. Ishida Mitsunari even used this Kanpaku position to lure Kobayakawa Hideaki into marriage.

At the time, everyone believed that the position of Kanpaku (regent) would be filled by Toyotomi Hideyori after he came of age. However, Tokugawa Ieyasu disagreed and recommended Kujō Kanetaka for the position. This was seen at the time as a significant step in breaking the Toyotomi clan's established order of governance.

This was also seen as a key move that transformed the Tokugawa shogunate from a government on par with the Toyotomi clan's samurai and regent regimes into a supreme government that surpassed both the Toyotomi clan and the imperial court.

The position of Kanpaku also carried the title of "Elder of the Fujiwara Clan," the head of the Fujiwara noble family, which was equally important at the time. Under no circumstances should such a position fall into the hands of the anti-Nobunaga faction.

So Nobunaga directly asked Asukai Masato to replace him!

As for where he is, ask Kawamura Shichibei.

Nobunaga sat with his eyes closed in the seat of honor, whether resting or truly deep in thought, it was unclear. Shichibei could only recount what he knew about Konoe Sakihisa's dealings with his brother-in-law, Akai Naomasa, the lord of Kuroi Castle.

Upon hearing this, Asukai Masaharu pointed out that Konoe Sakihisa was publicly punished and exiled by the Imperial Court. Now, Nobunaga, in his capacity as regent of the shogunate, needs to submit a memorial to the Imperial Court requesting clemency for Konoe Sakihisa before the Imperial Court can order his release.

Shichibei then turned to look at Nobunaga, who nodded without opening his eyes. He would certainly agree to this; anyone could write the document, and Nobunaga could simply sign it afterwards.

Let's get this done together.

Because they knew the destination, and the Kinai region was relatively peaceful except for the battlefield at Makishima Castle, the Kawamura-ya postal service delivered the message very quickly. Furthermore, the Tanba lords were not currently opposed to Nobunaga and were still cooperating, so there were no obstacles along the way.

Konoe Sakihisa's reply came quite quickly. First, the former Kanpaku expressed his gratitude to Oda Nobunaga. Second, he reiterated his position that he had always opposed Yoshiaki but not Nobunaga. Finally, he resigned from his post, stating that he was too old to continue serving as Kanpaku.

He personally believed that Nobunaga's foundation in the court was not yet solid. Now that the position of Kanpaku was to be changed, it would be best not to "buy" him, an old man (who was actually only in his forties), but to buy off someone younger who could form a longer-lasting alliance with Nobunaga.

For example, Kujo Kentaka!

Why? Because Kujo Kentaka is Nijo Haruyoshi's biological son. This alone will prevent the current Regent Nijo Haruyoshi from completely standing against Nobunaga.

Furthermore, Kujo Kanetaka's mother was a queen, so the imperial court would likely be pleased. Additionally, Kujo Kanetaka's younger brother was adopted into the Takatsukasa family and became Takatsukasa Nobufusa.

Winning him over is equivalent to winning over three parties.

The key point is that the Kujo family hasn't had a regent (Kanpaku) for over forty years, and they're practically begging for it. If Nobunaga were to support Kujo Kanetaka as Kanpaku, the gratitude he would receive would be far greater than if he had recommended any other regent family.

Oh dear, he hasn't even sided with Nobunaga yet, and he's already offering him advice. And let me tell you, after the letter was delivered to Nobunaga, he was very pleased, feeling that this Konoe Sakihisa truly respected him and wasn't the kind of foolish, arrogant courtier who looked down on everyone.

These days, some nobles do indeed pretend to be "high" and even believe it themselves. When they talk to Nobunaga, they even have a hint of looking down on country folk.

Nobunaga, secretly admiring Konoe Sakihisa, wrote back, explaining that he had no connections with Kujo Kentaka and asked Konoe Sakihisa to act as a go-between. He also suggested that if Konoe Sakihisa no longer wished to serve as Kanpaku, Nobunaga could recommend him for the position of "quasi-Third Prince."

The "quasi-three empresses," also known as the "quasi-three empresses," refers to the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress. Being granted the title of "quasi-three empress" was equivalent to enjoying the same treatment as these three empresses. Historically, Taira no Kiyomori enjoyed this treatment and even engaged in trade with the Song Dynasty as a quasi-three empress.

This rank was generally reserved for senior officials with high moral character and merit, or for very high-ranking monks. It was somewhat similar to the "Three Dukes" in the neighboring continent—a prestigious title with no real power.

Shichibei thus became their errand boy, delivering messages back and forth. The two became increasingly engrossed in their conversation and eventually began communicating through writing.

In the end, Shichibei simply stopped delivering messages himself and let the messenger handle the relay. Nobunaga found it rather strange that he didn't invite Konoe Sakihisa to live in Gifu Castle. After all, Konoe Sakihisa had wandered around quite a bit, staying in places like Echizen Ichijodani, Echigo Fuchu, Ueno Umayashi, Shimoso Koga, and Settsu Osaka.

After all, given his status, wherever he went, even those daimyo who weren't particularly close to him would usually try to entertain him. Even Tokugawa Ieyasu had entertained him, because it was Konoe Sakihisa who had helped Ieyasu secure the official position of Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, Governor of Mikawa.

Furthermore, Hideyoshi was able to become Kanpaku (regent) because he became the adopted son of Konoe Sakihisa. This man was truly adept at social maneuvering, navigating between the three retainers and ultimately gaining their friendship.

By the way, perhaps because he was easy to talk to, even Tsugaru Tamenobu, who was far away in Oshu, sought his friendship and became his sworn brother. Overjoyed, Tsugaru Tamenobu even invited him to visit Oshu, but Konoe Sakihisa was too old at the time, so the trip didn't happen. But once he became his sworn brother, Tsugaru Tamenobu's status, which came from a rebellious background, immediately rose, surpassing that of his former master, Nanbu.

Chapter 266 Three armies rise up to march on Luoyang

Stepping onto the land of Mino once again, Saito Tatsuhiko felt as if he had returned to another world. As the former master of Mino, Tatsuhiko had always longed to reclaim Mino and climb Mount Inaba again.