Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

After stating his two points, Oda Nobunaga himself spoke up, saying there was another matter he needed to attend to immediately. Those around him immediately strained to listen, thinking that if one of Ashikaga Yoshiteru's younger brothers had sent a letter to Nobunaga requesting his assistance in marching on Kyoto, then they would help him to the very end.

We must now send someone to Kyoto to establish connections with the imperial court for this candidate and see if there is any way to secure him the position of Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Left Horse Head.

Some people choose to remain unchanged in the face of all changes, but Nobunaga and his retainers did not. They chose to adapt to changing circumstances while making all necessary preparations to ensure success.

If a shogun could be installed, the attack on Mino would have a legitimate reason to proceed, and the local gentry and powerful families of Mino could be lured away under the pretext of opening the road to Kyoto. Don't underestimate the power of a shogun; until a few years ago, Mino was still sending artisans to Kyoto for labor service and even assisting the shogunate in temporarily collecting "tokubetsu" (a tax) in Mino.

As for whether there's a 50/50 or 60/40 split, we don't know. We'll have to ask Isshiki Yoshiryu, who's already dead.

The atmosphere of authority from the old shogunate in Mino is still very strong.

Saito Dosan's rule was based on the Saito clan, the deputy governor of Mino Province. Isshiki Yoshitatsu further became a formal member of the Ashikaga clan, not only obtaining the position of Kyōjō Daifu, which was only possible for powerful governor daimyo, but also participating in the administration of the shogunate to a certain extent with the rank of one of the three governors and four positions.

Now that Saito Tatsuoki has risen to power, he has distanced himself from the old authority of the shogunate, which is undoubtedly a sign of a lack of political wisdom. Perhaps this fellow is very brave, but in terms of playing the game of political balancing, he is far inferior to his father and grandfather.

A group of people discussed this haphazardly in the open space at the city gate for at least half an hour. Their consensus was that the Oda family could not stand idly by in this matter; they had to personally try it out, whether it was a puddle of water or a pot of boiling oil.

With the plan finalized, envoys were dispatched in droves to all directions, and spies flew in droves as well.

Only then did Nobunaga realize that Shichibei was still kneeling beside him. After thinking for a moment, Nobunaga said that the message had been delivered very promptly. If the message needed to be delivered into the castle in the future, he could simply report it to Sassa Narimasa or Maeda Toshiie, without having to wait at the castle gate.

Nobunaga then searched himself thoroughly and found nothing to give Shichibei as a reward. Just then, he saw a page following behind him holding his bow, so he grabbed the bow and gave it to Shichibei.

What a waste, Shichibei can't shoot an arrow.

After expressing his gratitude, Nobunaga did not allow Shichibei to leave immediately. Instead, he ordered Shichibei to send someone to Sakai. Sakai was currently under the control of the Miyoshi Triumvirate, and there might be other developments there. He instructed Nobunaga to send someone back regularly to relay information. If any important news was discovered, Nobunaga would reward him handsomely.

Understood, comprehended, and obeyed.

It was almost dark when the matter was finally settled. Shichibei followed his family and slowly led his horse back. Ahead of them were the Oda clan's main retainers, senior retainers, and senior officers, who blocked the road, so they couldn't ride fast.

Sakuma Nobumori lagged behind and instructed Shichibei that if he found out any information, he should be sure to inform him so that Shichibei would not be caught off guard.

Moreover, he was told that he could have someone to assist Shichibei in Nobunaga's service.

Back in the makeshift hut, Shichibei lay on his makeshift bed made of straw and thought, "After this incident, Nobunaga probably won't launch an attack on Mino this year. Who knows, Saito Tatsuoki might also receive a letter from the heir to a shogun, requesting assistance in marching on Kyoto. If Nobunaga attacks Mino now, it will only give others grounds for criticism."

Upon closer examination, Nobunaga attacked Mount Hiei with fire because Mount Hiei had sheltered the defeated troops of the Asakura and Asai clans. He massacred Nagashima because the Nagashima remnants refused to surrender and even attacked and killed a large number of Oda clan members, including Nobunaga's brother, Nobuhiro.

Nobunaga always seemed to have a legitimate and reasonable reason for doing "evil deeds." "You killed my brother, so I'll make you pay with your lives—it's only right and proper."

Blood revenge is a universal principle.

After lying down for a while, his stomach started growling. After all that commotion in the afternoon, he was definitely hungry. Shichibei sat up abruptly and found that his friend was still sitting in front of him.

Oops... I forgot to claim my travel expenses.

That's outrageous! A boss who doesn't reimburse expenses is a beast.

Cursing himself inwardly for being a heartless capitalist, Shichibei quickly opened his small purse and asked Ieguri how much money he had spent. He also brought back news that Nobunaga had rewarded Shichibei with a bow and a sword, worth at least two or three kan. Half of that was to be given to Ieguri.

"By the way, did you ask about the price of the red flower cake?" The general's death was a matter for Oda Nobunaga and his samurai. Shichibei sent people to Sakai to find out the price of the red flower cake.

"I asked around, and Mr. Tsuda, the big boss of Tennoji-ya, has a letter for you." Jialai stuffed the small gold coin he was holding into his collar and then took out a letter from his sleeve.

Sigh, as Shichibei unfolded the letter, that guy happily took out the small gold coin and rubbed it repeatedly in his hand. He was quite a simple and honest person; his emotions were all written on his face.

"What else did Mr. Tsuda say?" Shichibei opened the envelope; there was no sealing wax.

"He said it was all in the letter, and he was very happy when he handed it to me." Seeing that Shichibei had finished asking all the questions, Naya Laifu stuffed the gold coins into his collar and got up to leave.

"Okay." Shichibei unfolded the letter and took a look.

At this time, Tsuda Muneyuki actually relied on the Miyoshi family, or rather, the Miyoshi Triumvirate who held real power in the Miyoshi family, and was especially close to Miyoshi Masayasu.

However, being a merchant, Tsuda Munekichi quickly sided with Nobunaga after Nobunaga marched on Kyoto, and was granted the former territory of Sakai Minami-sho by Nobunaga. His family also owned a fortune of 3,000 koku, and during the reign of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, they were also one of Hideyoshi's tea masters.

The letter was simple, consisting of two parts. The first part congratulated Shichibei on becoming a member of the Tsushima Guild. He had already learned of this from the shipwrights and hoped for more contact and exchange in the future. He also wished Shichibei's horse-riding business in Owari continued success.

The next part concerns the red flower cakes; he has already received the two red flower cake samples. Japan itself also produces red flower cakes, mainly in two areas: the Chonan region of Soso Province and the border area between Iga and Ise Provinces.

The production areas of Soshu during the Edo period were wiped out due to the large-scale diversion of the Tone River. Iga's situation was more straightforward: Oda Nobuo killed and killed, and it was all over.

With the mass production of safflower in Yamagata and Yonezawa at that time, these two old production areas completely declined.

Tsuda Muneyuki was quite surprised that safflower could now be produced in Tsushima, Owari Province. He had tried samples of the safflower cakes and found no problems. If Shichibei could provide a stable supply, he was willing to sign a special contract with him.

It involves signing a contract to achieve a monopoly. He will buy all the safflower cakes produced in Shichibei's territory, regardless of the quantity. Of course, the price is negotiable, as long as it's cheaper than importing from Ming China.

So what was the price? One cake was worth five taels of silver.

Because the unit price is relatively high, it is no longer possible to use copper coins for transactions; instead, five silver coins are equivalent to five hundred copper coins.

Shichibei had no idea whether the price was high or low. In Obi, it would be expensive, quite expensive indeed. But in Japan, it was an absolutely reasonable price.

In the ninth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, a single red chrysanthemum cake could be sold for 1.5 qian of silver in the capital. By the twenty-ninth year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, it had become worth 4 qian of silver. The reason for this is currently unknown.

Given the general premium in Sino-Japanese trade and Japan's huge demand for Chinese dyes, the price of safflower in Japan should at least be two to three times that of its price in China.

Taking the average price during the Wanli era as three qian of silver per cake, the landed price in Japan should be at least six qian of silver per cake. Tsuda Muneyuki's quoted price of five qian of silver is roughly equivalent to five qian of silver, which is practically impossible to buy red flower cakes in Japan.

It's a pity that Shichibei doesn't understand at all.

Two mu of land yielded seventy cakes, and that was only because it was the first year of planting. Once the land is properly developed and matured, one mu might yield forty cakes, which is roughly equivalent to twenty strings of cash.

My goodness, how can I even farm like this? If I converted all 1,000 mu of land into safflower fields, wouldn't my annual income be 20,000 guan, all in cash?

Uesugi Kenshin's annual income might not even be more than mine!

Fortunately, Shichibei wasn't some greenhorn who had just started out, and he wasn't fooled by the price. Putting aside the fact that it was impossible to increase production on such a large scale in a short period of time, Shichibei understood the importance of comparing prices from different vendors.

After inquiring about Tennoji-ya, I'll send someone to Ominato to ask about prices. Actually, I should also go to Kyoto, but there's war going on there right now. It's probably not a good time to go. We can wait until the recent turmoil subsides before going to Kyoto to investigate.

39. Five hundred mu were annexed by Kato.

The red flower cakes are a big deal, worth a special trip back to Tsushima for Shichibei. The business around Komakiyama Castle can be handled by his hometown; it's all business with limited resources anyway, so Shichibei leaving for a while won't make a difference.

I had just returned to Tsushima when I heard the news that Shigenaga Ohashi, who had been ill since last year, had passed away. Everyone in Tsushima rushed over to pay their respects.

Yes, yes, Shichibei's fiancée is the daughter of a retainer of the Ohashi clan. Besides, since they both work under Nobunaga, they must observe normal social etiquette.

Then I have to put the matter of Honghuadi aside for the time being and go to pay my respects today.

These days, if a samurai dies of illness, there aren't many fancy ceremonies. A monk is invited to chant some sutras, and then, whether the body is placed in an urn or a coffin, it's done. They're taken to their own temple, a hole is dug, and they're buried.

If someone died in battle, they were usually cremated. Nobody's stupid these days; everyone knows that with so many deaths on the battlefield, especially in warmer weather, diseases easily spread. So, they're burned and that's it. If a head becomes spoils of war and is in the enemy's possession, they either have to pay to get it back or create a cenotaph.

Okabe Motonobu had specifically come to Nobunaga demanding Imagawa Yoshimoto's head, but the body had been mixed in with the fallen Imagawa soldiers and burned to ashes long ago. However, even a head would have sufficed; in principle, Nobunaga could have easily extorted a thousand or two thousand kan from the Imagawa family. But out of gratitude for Okabe Motonobu's loyalty, he refused payment and instead preserved the head in lime before handing it over to Okabe.

On our side, those who die in battle normally have their bodies intact and are generally cremated. The main reason for this is the fear of plague.

Of course, those who die at home can also be cremated, depending on the family's choice. There is no such thing as a 100% predetermined funeral; sometimes, the ashes are even divided in half, with one half going to follow the deceased and the other half remaining at the family's temple.

With the passing of Ōhashi Shigenaga, Nobunaga, as his brother-in-law, was obliged to express his gratitude. No matter what happened in Kyoto, it was necessary to pay a visit after one's brother-in-law's death.

Instead of sprinkling incense ash at the memorial tablet of Shigenaga Ohashi, Nobunaga offered incense earnestly this time.

Shichibei, being unfamiliar with Nobunaga, couldn't fathom the state of mind behind sprinkling incense ash on Nobuhide's memorial tablet.

After offering incense and glancing at his sister and two nephews, Nobunaga prepared to return to Komakiyama. As luck would have it, he saw Shichibei, who had also rushed over to offer condolences, and asked him where Shichibei's home was.

inspection.

Following the usual practice of Japan's Sengoku period, Shichibei's five younger sisters came out together to serve Nobunaga. They massaged Nobunaga's shoulders and legs, served him tea and water, while Shichibei sat below and reported on his work.

"Yes, don't worry, Nobunaga has absolutely no interest in the five younger sisters of the Shichibei family. None of them have fair skin, and besides, they come from the Denma-ya family and are used to doing manual labor."

Serving horses is easier than serving people.

Nobunaga was also learning about the work of the horse-riding service for the first time. He learned that Shichibei was slowly setting up horse-riding service shops in Owari, so he directly asked Shichibei what the Kato family, who were in charge of horse-riding in Atsuta, were planning to do.

As expected, it was this matter. In fact, Shichibei had been thinking about this for some time now. The best solution, of course, would be a peaceful annexation of the Kato family. However, after inquiring about the marital status of Kato Nobutaka's son, he discovered that the man already had a wife, making this path quite difficult.

Otherwise, if Kato Nobutaka were to retire and relinquish his position as head of the family, and then Shichibei, as the head of the Owari clan, were to urge Nobunaga to order the Kato family to become his retainers, the Kato family could be absorbed in one generation.

But now that he has a wife, even if he's assigned as a retainer, he'll only outwardly submit and inwardly resent it. There's no way he can be converted into a member of the Kawamura clan or a retainer of the Kawamura family.

As for violent means, forced mergers, whether large or small, are ultimately a matter of noise and failure.

If no one dies, it's fine; but if someone does die, Shichibei will have to pay with his life.

Moreover, the Kato family were hereditary retainers of the Oda clan, members of the Atsuta clan, and had served as Nobuhide's merchant advisor, belonging to the old Oda group. Forced annexation would inevitably cause harm to some members of their own kind.

"Are you married?" Oda Nobunaga asked when he saw Shichibei pondering and looking around.

"Yes, she is the daughter of Mamoru, a retainer of the Ohashi clan." This wasn't the first time someone had asked Shichibei.

"Then how about this, I'll have Kanjiro adopt this girl." Nobunaga suddenly offered a somewhat inexplicable solution.

What does this mean? Ōhashi Shigenaga's son, Oda Nobui, had already become one of Nobunaga's retainers and was permitted to use the Oda family name, making him a member of the Oda clan. If Shichibei had married a daughter of this Oda clan, he would have gained a higher political standing, becoming a prominent hereditary retainer.

After that, they could legally and legitimately assume a certain position. At that time, Nobunaga would then appoint the Kato family as Shichibei's retainer, which would be a normal personnel transfer.

However, the old problem remained unresolved; they still couldn't integrate the Kato family.

It's simple. Nobunaga's method was violent, yet direct. Kato Nobutaka didn't only have one son, or even if he did, so what?

The eldest sons were promoted to serve as Umakai-shu (a type of military officer) under Nobunaga, since the Umakai-shu were essentially Nobunaga's reserve officer training program. How many people desperately wanted to join but couldn't?

Of course, you have to be successful on your own to succeed in training courses. Or if you die in battle, it's all for nothing. You need both ability and luck.

The Kato family thus split into the Kato Eastern Family and the Kato Western Family. The Eastern Family served Nobunaga and became samurai. The Western Family continued to work as horse grooms, maintaining their status as merchants.

This Nishiki family member was assigned to Shichibei, becoming Shichibei's retainer. Kato Nobutaka had a second son, who married Shichibei's sister.

If there is no second son, then find a family under Shichibei to inherit the Kato Nishi family. That would be even simpler, as they could directly become Shichibei's retainers.

Of course, it wasn't all free; Shichibei had to pay to buy the shop, horses, and staff. Otherwise, Nobunaga wouldn't have been able to take the lead in splitting up the Kato family.

In any case, this wasn't the first time the Kato family had split up. The future renowned Kato Yoshiaki and Kato Mitsuyasu were actually branches of the Kato Nobutaka clan. Even the Akechi Toyama clan, the Kawazu clan, and the Itami clan were all from this lineage.

They all revered Fujiwara no Toshihito as their ancestor, and the Fujiwara Hokuke family was a renowned and noble clan. However, for some reason, the historical Kato Kiyomasa did not align himself with this branch of the family, choosing another family when fabricating his lineage.

"My lord, Kato Yasaburo has already served in the castle..." The method is good, but there is a problem.

Kato Nobutaka's eldest son, Kato Tosuke, inherited the family business, while his second son, Kato Yasaburo, was already a page under Nobunaga. Shichibei had investigated this, and Kato Yasaburo was already married.

Kato Yasaburo is quite famous because in every Taiga drama and novel involving Oda Nobunaga, he was one of the five retainers who rushed out with Nobunaga on the night of the Okehazama raid. However, Kato Yasaburo died in the Battle of Mikatagahara, so his life's highlight was at Okehazama.

One of the five major supporting characters!

"Huh?" Nobunaga hadn't expected that the Kato family had already split into two factions.

"We'll have to find another way." Shichibei probably knows a bit about Nobunaga's temperament. If you tell him the truth, as long as you don't touch on Nobunaga's interests, he'll listen.

"Hmm..." Nobunaga rarely offered advice to his retainers, but he proposed a solution without any investigation. Obviously, the solution wouldn't work, which left Nobunaga speechless.