Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

The two exchanged a glance. Shichibei felt that his precognition might not be reliable, while Takenaka Hanbei had not yet seen whether the Oda clan's rule could last for millions of years.

Due to various unforeseen events, the situation within the Oda clan has undergone considerable changes. The most important figure in the clan now is Azai Nagamasa. Meanwhile, the head of the other branch remains Oda Nobuhiro. Even in times of upheaval within the Oda clan, there is a powerful and prestigious leader to manage important affairs.

At least it wouldn't be a contest between Nobuo, who has no martial arts skills, and Nobutaka, who has little strength, for the guardianship of the Three Masters of Oda. Instead, they wouldn't be forming factions everywhere, even at the cost of betraying Oda's own interests.

Chapter 323 The Old Minister is Neither Fast nor Slow

Tsutsui Junkei kowtowed to the ground and offered up his mother, thus becoming Nobunaga's son-in-law (Mori Yoshinari's daughter) and officially siding with Nobunaga.

Nobunaga then began to adjust the strategies and operational directions within the entire Oda army. Tokaido was led by Tokugawa Ieyasu as the vanguard, with Takigawa Kazumasu as the follow-up; Higashiyamado was still undecided, but almost everyone clearly realized that Oda Nobutada would be the commander-in-chief; Hokurikudo was led by Azai Nagamasa as the commander-in-chief, with Suda Hiromasa and Hashiba Hideyoshi as the successors.

In the San'in direction, including Tanba and Tango, Akechi Mitsuhide was the general, assisted by Hosokawa Fujitaka and others; in the Settsu direction, Yamashiro Governor Naomasa Hanawa was the general, and Takayama Shigetomo was the vice-general. In short, Hanawa Naomasa attacked Ishiyama Osaka Castle, while Takayama Shigetomo attacked Araki Murashige and Ikeda Tomomasa.

You asked about Sakuma Nobumori? Sakuma Nobumori is the commander-in-chief, and Mori Yoshiki is the vice commander. They have been ordered by Nobunaga to take Kii Province as soon as possible and not let Ashikaga Yoshiaki cause any more trouble in the Kinai region.

Along the way, there were also Matsunaga Hisahide, who was wavering between defection and submission, Tsutsui Junkei, who had just surrendered, and Niwa Nagahide and Oda Nobuhiro, who provided support.

This demonstrates the importance Nobunaga attached to this route, as he mobilized four large army groups specifically to deal with Ashikaga Yoshiaki and the indigenous forces of Kii Province.

So, under Oda Nobuhiro's arrangement, while Mori Yoshinari was back in Gifu, he also invited Sakuma Nobumori, who was moving house on a large scale in Owari, and brought along Shichibei, and held a small tea party.

Niwa Nagahide was nowhere to be found. He was at Yoshida-Koriyama Castle in Aki, discussing the pros and cons with Mori Terumoto and his two uncles, telling them not to be deceived by Ashikaga Yoshiaki any longer.

A room, a bowl of tea, and four grown men inside.

The tea room was specially built in the courtyard, less than five square meters in total, and it was quite a "hardship" to squeeze four grown men into it. Nobuhiro, perhaps because he had become one-eyed, moved somewhat slowly in this indoor space, even boiling water became a hesitant process.

“Now, you and I are both the lords of a country and a city.” Sakuma Nobumori held the broken bowl of tea, seemingly looking at the foam on the surface, but actually saying something else.

Sakuma Nobumori was the lord of Kawachi Province with a fief of 250,000 koku, Oda Nobuhiro was the lord of Sawayama Castle in Omi Province with a fief of 120,000 koku, Mori Yoshinari was the lord of Tamonyama Castle in Yamato Province with a fief of 100,000 koku, and even Shichibei was the lord of Tsuruga Castle in Echizen Province with a fief of 50,000 koku.

“We are getting further and further away from Qingxu.” Oda Nobuhiro presented a bamboo flower holder with a pink spider lily inside.

"The prosperity of the Oda family is an honor for us as well." Mori Yoshinari, who was already over fifty, also showed signs of old age.

He was no longer the "Three Left-Handed Assault Warrior" who always rushed to the front lines in sieges and open battles. As the autumn wind began to blow, Mori Yoshinari even spread one leg apart, perhaps due to a joint problem, and could no longer sit bent over for long periods of time.

“Father invited me here, I’m afraid it’s not just for tea,” Shichibei said directly to Oda Nobuhiro.

Before holding the tea party, Oda Nobuhiro had already consulted with Shichibei. Since they were both in charge of the campaign against Kii Province and were all veteran retainers of Nobunaga, it was necessary to communicate.

"Have some tea first." Oda Nobuhiro didn't answer, but Sakuma Nobumori handed the teacup to Shichibei.

Shichibei, who had just eaten a wagashi (Japanese sweet) and found it quite sweet, took a sip. His cheapskate father's cooking skills were mediocre, or perhaps the matcha powder wasn't good; it was a bit bitter, though it was quite fragrant. However, Sakuma Nobumori and Mori Kasuke had both taken a sip before, and they didn't say anything.

Sigh, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. What can you do if you have to drink someone else's saliva?

"It's a bit tough..." Sakuma Nobumori, being a smart man, also commented.

“Look at this teacup, it was also given to me by Sanlang,” Xin Guang continued, speaking in riddles.

"How rustic! It's just like us old folks," Mori Yoshinari remarked casually.

Clearly, the three old men had finally reached an understanding. Shichibei, sitting at the back, watched the three old men speaking in cryptic terms, thinking to himself, "Just say what you want to say."

It's because everyone already sees that Nobunaga intends to pass the throne to Oda Nobutada, so they need to discuss how to proceed. After all, the Oda clan will have two masters from now on: one is Oda Nobunaga, who holds real power, and the other is Oda Nobutada, who has inherited the title of head of the Oda clan.

Those present were all important retainers of the Oda clan. It would be inappropriate to be blindly loyal to Oda Nobunaga, and it would obviously be a bad thing to side with Oda Nobutada in advance.

Then what should be done?

A new emperor brings a new court. If these old guys lose their usefulness, they'll probably be kicked aside without hesitation by Oda Nobutada.

If it were back in our hometown of Owari, there might still be some possibility of resistance. But now everyone is like a potted plant, uprooted and stranded in an unfamiliar place. Once stripped of their possessions, they're nothing.

"If you don't row against the current, you'll fall behind." Shichibei noticed everyone was silent and thought they were a bit "pessimistic."

Looking at the current situation in Japan, the war of annexation has reached its final stage, with various regional unification forces vying for supremacy. Whether they succeed or fail will depend on the next ten or twenty years.

As long as the old men here continue to fight and help Oda and his son conquer all of Japan, they will surely have a place after the country is unified.

The first ruler of the land, Oda Nobunaga, commanded numerous warlords and skillfully managed the relationships between local lords and powerful figures. Could the second ruler, Oda Nobutada, possess such prestige?

At that time, we will still need the assistance of the old Noboru, especially the old Noboru from Owari, or the old Noboru who joined Nobunaga's ranks when Kiyosu began his struggle.

If you keep working hard now, just like Nobunaga sang about life lasting fifty years every day, you might just die a damn thing at forty-nine.

In order to maintain stability, Oda Nobutada, who does not yet have a strong group of retainers, can only rely on all of you here today. You can all rely on your own strength to pledge your loyalty to Oda Nobutada, and then you will not only successfully enter the core of the second generation of rule, but also go further.

"Shin? Shichibei, have you ever thought about how this will become too big to handle?" Oda Nobuhiro, however, did not think so.

“One country and one city is fine, but there’s nothing left to reward, so what should we do?” Sakuma Nobumori asked Shichibei with a smile.

"Hiss..." That's right.

Nobunaga isn't going to die tomorrow. If he does, then Shichibei's words are true. But what if he doesn't? Those of you here are all lords and castle owners, working tirelessly to help Nobunaga conquer the land. How will you reward yourselves for your new achievements?

Sakuma Nobumori is already a lord with 250,000 koku of land. Will he next reward two or three daimyo with 500,000 koku? And what will be the reward the time after that?

We've reached a point where it's impossible to do nothing but perform meritorious service, and even performing meritorious service isn't enough.

If one performs too many merits, there will be no reward. If one doesn't perform any merits, one will become an eyesore and a disliked old man. What should one do?

"We cannot afford not to advance, nor can we advance too hastily," Sakuma Nobumori concluded.

“But…” Shichibei felt something was off when he heard this, but he had no room to refute it.

Because Sakuma Nobumori is right, absolutely right. Could this be the beginning of his history of lying low and giving up, though not entirely giving up?

Then you should lie down too...

Sigh, I can't explain it.

"You still have to make new contributions; it's absolutely unacceptable to have no achievements." Oda Nobuhiro understood this quite well. In Nobunaga's eyes, being a novice was the original sin, and a novice had no way out.

It mainly depends on how well you gauge the situation; if you don't, you'll inevitably mess things up sooner or later. Although Nobunaga valued the samurai from Owari and was relatively lenient with them, there were limits. Now that Nobunaga is in such a high position, he can no longer share a melon with everyone like before, or even dance in public in women's clothing.

"Then this Kishu..." Mori may be brave enough, but in terms of brains, he may be a notch below these two.

"Fight him, fight him for three to five years." Oda Nobuhiro's decision was final.

"We still need Shichibei's support." Sakuma Nobumori nodded and smiled at Shichibei.

"That's easy to do, leave it to me." From now on, all the annual tribute rice from Hanoi will be in the hands of Kawamura-ya, so we can continue our business dealings.

Shichibei now has complete control over the annual rice tribute from Mino, Owari, Omi, and Kawachi provinces. He also controls a portion of the rice tribute from Echizen, Wakasa, Yamato, Yamashiro, Settsu, Izumi, and Ise provinces.

All is ready except for the opportunity.

Shichibei will soon become the wealthiest merchant in all of Japan, controlling the largest quantity of annual tribute rice. At that time, he will be able to lead the establishment and management of the national rice futures market in Sakai or Osaka. Coupled with his control over the rice trading industry and coin minting, Shichibei's position will be further consolidated.

The group emerged from the teahouse, acting as if nothing had happened, and led the samurai they had taken from Owari and Mino to their new territory to establish their own units.

But the matter was not over yet, because Hideyoshi, who was about to leave, also hosted a tea party for Shichibei and had a good chat with him.

Count me in too?

Fortunately, at least Mitsuhide Akechi didn't invite me for tea. But there was one thing Mitsuhide Akechi did that eventually involved Shichibei, and it was a big deal.

Mitsuhide Akechi promoted Naoharu Naba, who was a retainer of Yoshimichi Inaba.

Inaba Yoshimichi appealed directly to Oda Nobunaga, arguing that Akechi Mitsuhide's actions violated the code of the samurai and greatly infringed upon the rights of the Inaba family, and demanded that Nobunaga take action.

Nobunaga had no time to make such a decision. Besides, Akechi Mitsuhide was one of Oda Nobunaga's favorite generals, while Inaba Ittetsu was a Mino vassal who hadn't yet fully become a retainer. In truth, Nobunaga must have already made his decision in his heart, but he simply didn't say it.

But since an appeal has been filed, a ruling must be made; otherwise, how can the public be convinced?

Therefore, Nobunaga ordered Sato Toshiharu, Kawamura Nagayoshi, and Matsui Tomokazu to form a three-person adjudication team to understand the cause and effect of the whole matter and make a judgment.

Mitsuhide actually recruited quite a few people from Mino, even his chief retainer, Saito Toshizo, was recruited from the Inaba family. It's just that Inaba Yoshimichi tolerated it this time, and he didn't vent his anger.

As a result, Mitsuhide came again, and of course, he didn't just recruit people from the Inaba family. For example, Hida Tateto was recruited from the Mino Tsuchida family, and Yasuda Kunitsugu was recruited from the Terasawa family.

What to do? Mitsuhide started as a retainer of the shogunate, and now, as the lord of Sakamoto Castle and in charge of the San'in campaign, he needs a large number of retainers. So, he's recruiting everywhere, and while he's at it, he's also poaching talent from other shogunates.

This time, however, things escalated significantly. Saito Toshizo personally traveled to Gifu to represent Mitsuhide in the lawsuit. Inaba Yoshimichi also personally went to Gifu to appeal, stating that he had suffered a great insult.

The situation was quite obvious, but Saito Toshizo had another explanation: Naoharu followed Inaba Yoshimichi in battle, made great contributions, but did not receive any imperial favor or reward, which is why he left.

Without imperial favor, what public service are we serving?

Inaba Yoshimichi reversed his story, saying that Naoharu hadn't performed any great service, and he had already been rewarded with money and the like. Besides, Naoharu had a certain level of authority within Inaba's territory; if he was given authority but not rewarded further, it was because Naoharu wasn't working hard enough.

How should the case be judged? The three of them huddled together and discussed it. Sato Toshiharu requested that Naoharu Naba himself be summoned so that he could personally recount his war exploits. He wanted to confront Inaba Yoshimichi one by one. If there were war exploits but no new knowledge, then the Emperor's favor was insufficient, and he could leave.

If someone has no military merits but is lured away by others, they are disloyal to their lord and should be sentenced to beheading. Moreover, their head should be hung at a street intersection so that everyone can see it.

Matsui Yukan suggested that at this point, they should first ask Nobunaga's attitude and prioritize Nobunaga's opinion.

Then the two looked at Shichibei, who could only say that he would go and talk to Saito Toshimitsu first. Because Saito Toshimitsu had also been a retainer of Inaba Yoshimichi, he knew the situation better than they did.

So now Shichibei and Saito Ritsuzo are sitting together, and Saito Ritsuzo is actually a little embarrassed. His wife is from the Inaba family, but he has switched sides to Akechi Mitsuhide's side.

However, his own explanation was very straightforward: during the war, he advised Inaba Yoshimichi, but Inaba refused to listen, and the war was lost. He felt that he had entrusted himself to the wrong person, and since a good minister chooses his lord and a good bird chooses its tree, he jumped ship to serve Akechi Mitsuhide.

As for Naoharu, he had indeed made great contributions but did not receive any new favors, which is why Mitsuhide took him away so easily, causing a very unpleasant situation.

Ow...

"Please, Lord Kawamura, make a fair judgment!" Saito Toshi and the other two were all tall and strong, much taller and stronger than Shichibei. When they kowtowed to Shichibei, their bodies were on the ground, which was very intimidating.

"This matter still requires the Lord's wise decision." Shichibei has no right to make a decision; it mainly depends on Nobunaga's wishes.

"Lord Kawamura is a renowned official who is fair and discerning."

"I will certainly report the facts."

It's quite something that he's involved in this kind of thing; Shichibei himself naturally doesn't have any bias. Inaba Yoshimichi and Akechi Mitsuhide are just colleagues. Their relationship is certainly not as good as Sakuma Nobumori's or Hashiba Hideyoshi's. How to characterize and judge this case is not up to Shichibei.

Chapter 324 Each of them had the intention to win them over.

After listening to the testimonies of Shichibei, Sato Toshiharu, and Matsui Tomokazu, Nobunaga, who was riding in laps around the riding arena, remained noncommittal. No one dared to disturb his thoughts, and the horses' hooves continued to kick up small pebbles.

After running two laps, Nobunaga suddenly leaped off his horse and strode up to the three of them. The horse, perhaps unaware that Nobunaga had dismounted, actually ran several more steps forward.

"Order Naoji Naha to be the vanguard of the Tamba attack!"

Nobunaga's verdict was delivered immediately. What does this mean? There is a contradiction in the testimonies of both sides: did Naoharu actually achieve any new merits? If he did, and he did not receive any new favors from the Inaba family, then his departure would be reasonable.

No standing? If no standing is done, the person should be sentenced to seppuku on the spot!

The best way to test them is not through verbal sparring at the gates of Gifu Castle, but through a battlefield test. If they are truly valiant, they should seize a decisive victory, achieving the great merit of being the first to scale the walls. Or they could take the head of a high-ranking enemy general like Naito Joan and make a name for themselves in Tanba.

To see how powerful they really are, go to the battlefield and find out. On the battlefield, there's real combat, no fluff or empty talk.

Previously, Hara Nagayori was the first to rush into the Ichijō-dani Castle Suwakan, witnessed by everyone—this was the Ichijō-dani Castle. After surviving, he was immediately awarded 2,000 kan, and no one dared to question it. Because this was unwavering martial skill; if you disagree, try going to the Ichijō-dani Castle yourself.

Now Nobunaga also wants Naoharu to strive for great merit. If he can achieve great merit, then everything can be justified.