Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

"Naya, your idea is excellent." It must be said that if Imai Munehisa were willing to sell all the warehouse staff to Shichibei, Shichibei would not only be willing to give him money, but also share some of his shares.

"There's a saying in the Ming Dynasty; I wonder if Lord Kawamura has heard of it."

"Please speak."

"Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox." Imai Munehisa gave a rather convincing reason.

To put it more simply, it's better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. Shichibei understood Imai Munehisa's thinking almost instantly. If he followed Shichibei in this two-way job, Imai Munehisa would have absolutely no chance of joining the five- or seven-member presidium. Most likely, one representative from each of the Kinai, Kyushu, western provinces, Kanto, and Tohoku regions would form the presidium. The remaining bigwigs would only be attending members.

This seat in the Kinai region undoubtedly belongs to Shichibei. Imai Munehisa simply cannot compete with it, and is now moving elsewhere.

That's too late.

So if you continue to fight and compete within the two factions, all you'll get are scraps left over from others. You might even be excluded from the circle altogether because of your less-than-friendly relationship with Shichibei.

However, if he starts assisting Shichibei in establishing the Rice Industry Association now, then Imai Munehisa will surely have good fortune in the rice industry.

Entering before others makes a huge difference. In Japan, where the feudal guild system is prevalent, entering first means the winner takes all. Those who enter later, unless they have extremely powerful backgrounds—powerful enough to control the machinery of violence—are simply no match for them.

A prime example is the change of power during the reign of the eighth shogun, Yoshimune, where Kishu merchants replaced the original wealthy merchants of Edo. Another example is the decline of the Konoike zaibatsu (Kōji clan) due to their misalignment with the right side during the Meiji Restoration.

Money can't compete with guns; everything comes from guns.

"It's getting late today, let's wait two or three days and then we can talk in detail, shall we?" Shichibei's ideas about the Rice Industry Association were not yet complete, and if he talked to Imai Munehisa now, he might be led astray.

So let's postpone it for now; a few more days won't make a difference. We'll discuss it further once we have a proper plan in mind.

Jing Zongjiu engaged in a passionate online battle.

"Of course, of course." Imai Munehisa was satisfied that Shichibei was somewhat interested.

They were all big businessmen; he understood all too well this eagerness to seize an opportunity. Since Shichibei was interested, the matter was already half settled. Imai Munehisa was the largest yamen-shu (traditional Japanese merchant) in the entire Sakaimachi, and if Shichibei wanted to launch a large-scale campaign, he absolutely couldn't do without him.

With such confidence, Imai Munehisa could naturally wait two or three more days.

Shichibei, however, after mounting his horse, began reminiscing about the Osaka Rice Futures Exchange, established during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's era and flourishing in the Edo period, as well as the rice storage and sales mechanisms. These are all valuable resources; let's take advantage of our foresight and extract the essence for our own use.

I vaguely remember that after Hideyoshi unified the great merchants of Japan, he used this opportunity to establish large-scale rice storage and warehouses throughout the country during the autumn harvest when the feudal lords were paying their annual tribute of rice. During the autumn harvest, these great merchants would go to Hideyoshi's rice storage warehouses all over the country, count the rice they had stored, and then convert it into gold and silver at amounts such as four hundred or five hundred sen per shi (a unit of dry measure).

Gold and silver were directly deposited into Osaka, where Hideyoshi collected and stored them, creating a vast stockpile of gold and silver coins. Meanwhile, the rice stored there belonged to large merchants who monopolized the sales and distribution of grain in various regions. These merchants used these rice warehouses to accumulate grain on a massive scale.

Store grain during the autumn harvest, distribute grain during the spring famine. Buy rice in years of good harvest, hoard it in years of famine.

You need substantial capital and huge storage capacity to run this game successfully.

It's a game. Once Shichibei completes the two-stage business setup, the substantial capital can be immediately transferred, and the vast storage capacity can be obtained from Imai Munehisa. In three to five years, or at most ten years, the entire system can be initially established in Japan.

Once the world is unified, or at least nominally unified, and everyone submits to a single monarch, then comprehensive construction can be easily undertaken.

Of course, due to Japan's archipelago topography, the logistics of the shipyard owners will still require support from the shipyard owners to carry out this plan. However, the shipyard owner Shichibei has already established himself, and once the people of Japan issue the "Pirate Suppression Edict," and all the pirates in Japan lose their livelihood, our shipyard will be able to develop by leaps and bounds.

Now we're laying the foundation, we'll recruit people later; Shichibei isn't...

We were completely unprepared. It's just that progress has been a bit slow because it's not a priority project.

When Shichibei finally gets back to his old ways and starts personally overseeing this direction, achieving results in this area will be a piece of cake.

Thinking this as he walked, he reached the gate of the house. Just as he dismounted, he heard someone running out. Sure enough, it was Ashikaga Princess. Who told Shichibei to say he'd be back to bathe? Now, Ashikaga Princess was scolding him, saying the water would get cold if he didn't return soon.

Chapter 385 Lady Takaya moves to my house.

After chatting with Imai Munehisa the whole way, it was indeed getting late. Shichibei took off his cloak and handed it to Ashikaga Princess to keep safe. This cloak was made of peacock feathers, and it was a bit too ornate, but Nobunaga's scarlet cloak was much more impressive.

Ashikaga-hime folded her cloak and handed it to a maid, then asked Shichibei if he wanted some cheese to sober up. The Japanese have a long history of eating cheese; it was a staple on the tables of nobles and courtiers during the Heian period, often with honey or sugar added.

Now that Shichibei has finished his sake, eating some cheese will make his stomach feel better. Actually, Shichibei didn't drink more than two ounces, but since Princess Ashikaga prepared it, there was no reason not to eat it.

Inside the Sakai residence, Shichibei had a bath built. Finally free from the iron pot that used to cook him in the Goemon bathhouse, he could take a long bath with Ashikaga Princess. Of course, Shichibei was the main one bathing, while Ashikaga Princess was in charge of scrubbing Shichibei's back and washing his hair.

"There is something that requires your decision." Ashikaga Princess lifted Shichibei's arm and used a towel to wipe Shichibei's armpits.

"Hmm?" Shichibei only needed to sit and close his eyes to enjoy the moment.

"Lord Takaya also wishes to move to Sakai."

"ha?"

Upon hearing this, Shichibei thought he had misheard. Lady Takaya was the wife of Toyama Akitaka, the youngest daughter of Saito Dosan, raised by Lady Nohime, and married as Nobunaga's adopted daughter. After Toyama Akitaka's defeat and death, Lady Takaya returned to her hometown in Gifu with her son and daughter, where she had lived for several years.

Although Toyama Akitaka was originally from the Hatakeyama Oshu family, he became the head of the entire Toyama clan after Nobunaga's march to Kyoto, succeeding to the main branch and becoming the head of the Hatakeyama Kingo family. Based on his position as head of the family, he held considerable influence in Kawachi, Kii, and Hokuriku.

Deng and Yue both had a certain reputation and prestige. Although he is now dead, his son is still alive and well.

Therefore, Nobunaga was willing to support the orphan and widow as a legitimate reason to launch another attack on Kii Province. As long as the child was alive, he was the rightful head of the Toyama Kingo family, and no one had the right to interfere with his comings and goings in Kii Province.

Why did you move to Sakai?

“The Regent had already moved his residence to Azuchi, so she was supposed to move with him. Logically speaking, Kawachi and Kii, um…” Ashikaga Princess felt that Shichibei would understand this.

Just like Hosokawa Akimoto, who also pledged allegiance to Nobunaga (in fact, Nobunaga had already bestowed upon him the name "Nobu" and changed his name to Hosokawa Nobuyoshi, but for the sake of consistency and ease of use), Nobunaga, relying on his position as the head of the Hosokawa clan, promised him the two districts of Tanba as a reward. Whether this reward would be fulfilled was another matter, but Hosokawa Akimoto became the legitimate reason for Oda's army to attack Tanba.

The Hosokawa family held the positions of governor of ten provinces, and theoretically, even Bitchu was guarded by the Hosokawa family. By supporting Hosokawa Akimoto, they directly gained access to one-sixth of Japan's offensive resources.

Based on this promise, Hosokawa Akimoto lived in Kyoto and frequently sent people into Tanba, essentially working for Nobunaga's conquest of Tanba. He attempted to "restore the old territories" and effectively control the two former Tanba districts, which were originally guarded by the Hosokawa family.

What about Hatakeyama Akitaka's son? Although the son is still young, he is, after all, the head of the Hatakeyama Kingo family. His father, Hatakeyama Akitaka, is also the governor of half of Kawachi Province, who holds real territory, and the nominal governor of Kii Province.

Naturally, the desire to reclaim lost territory is, in a sense, innate to the Japanese samurai.

Kawachi has now been entirely granted to Sakuma Nobumori, and Kii has not been conquered either. Prince Takaya, with his eldest son, is thinking of first...

They moved to Sakai, near Kawachi and Kii, and maintained contact with the local wealthy. They planned to wait until the Hatakeyama family's son, Jiroshiro, grew up so they could go directly to the country.

Regardless of whether Nobunaga ultimately granted Hatakeyama Jiroshiro a district in Kawachi or Kishu, he would at least give them something to maintain appearances. Now, while the war was still raging, it was necessary to leave these former nobles with some scraps. Even during the Edo period, the Tokugawa clan still bestowed upon these former nobles the title of "high-ranking family" or a fiefdom of three thousand men.

Stones, or perhaps five thousand stones, serve as mere tassels adorning the crown. Understood.

“Takaya Castle is currently under the control of Miyoshi Ryougi, and it is indeed impossible for it to return.” Shichibei nodded slightly. With the situation laid out before them, they couldn’t pretend to be dead.

Since Miyoshi Yasunaga adopted Nobutaka as his son, he had already established a firm foothold within the Oda clan. The territory of Takaya Castle had also been promised to him entirely, and barring any mishaps, Takaya Castle would not change hands.

Even after his death, the territory of Takaya Castle would be inherited by his son, Miyoshi Yasutoshi. Miyoshi Yasutoshi assisted Miyoshi Nobutaka and Niwa Nagahide in conquering Katsuzui Castle, and with Nobunaga's permission, took control of the northern Ise and Suzuka districts. At this time, he had already been assigned to Nobutada as a military advisor.

The future looks very bright.

Since Miyoshi Yasutoshi joined the group with his own investment and already had a retainer group of hundreds of people, if he does well under Nobutada, he may very well become the leader of a country in the future.

"Therefore, they can only stay temporarily in Sakai Town, and we hope you can find them a place to live." Ashikaga Princess was formerly the wife of Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, and it is estimated that she had some connection with Lady Toyama Akitaka, who was also from Kawachi Province at the time.

After all, Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and Akira Akio were both retainers of Ashikaga Yoshiaki from the beginning, and were considered good friends in the same camp. They even attended tea parties and banquets in Kyoto together on several occasions at Nobunaga's invitation.

"I understand." Shichibei understood.

There are two meanings. First, Shichibei is the magistrate of Sakai-cho, and Hatakeyama Jiroshiro should at least inform Shichibei before coming to Sakai-cho to stay. Second, well, they're poor, they have no money. Regarding the housing issue, they hope Shichibei can find them a room to stay in for a few years. They plan to move out after Hatakeyama Jiroshiro grows up and gains his own territory.

I had to use my connections and cultivate relationships; Sakaimachi is only so big, and it's not easy to get a place here. The outside world is chaotic; who knows what might happen...

They were either shaved by the monks of Honganji Temple or by the Sakuma army surrounding the temple. In a truly deserted place, killing them was no big deal; Sengoku peasants wouldn't fall into the hands of warriors.

Hunting, you're too ashamed to even show your face in public.

Killing a few people is nothing. Even the noble Ashikaga Shogun had over a hundred chests of luggage stolen by peasants from the Kinai Monomura clan. They were widows and orphans; they dared not live outside.

"The several hundred kan that the Regent receives every year..." Ashikaga Princess wanted to say a few more words.

"Hmm?" Shichibei turned around and glanced at her, not to scare her, but simply to shut Ashikaga Hime up.

Who do you think you are? How dare you say such things? Ashikaga Yoshiaki has been imprisoned, and both of his sons have been sent to become monks. Nobunaga is determined to wipe out this branch of the family line and will not allow any more male descendants. Ashikaga Princess, a mere woman, dares to speak ill of Nobunaga behind his back? She's truly courting death.

However, Shichibei hadn't expected Nobunaga to only give Prince Takaya and his mother a few hundred kan a year. Even though dozens of Toyama Akitaka's core retainers had all died in battle, there were still a hundred or two old, weak, and disabled soldiers left. A few hundred kan a year was indeed not enough to feed them, and besides, the Toyama Kingo family also had a lot to show for themselves.

If they can't even put on a show, then their title becomes worthless. And once the title becomes worthless, they immediately lose everything.

Thinking about it, this is indeed Nobunaga's style. He's quick to pay those who are useful, but he's lucky if he can keep his mouth shut about those who aren't.

"Ah!" Ashikaga Princess exclaimed softly, covering her mouth with her hand.

Her attitude towards Nobunaga was entirely predictable. She must have talked about Nobunaga behind his back countless times before, and today she probably just blurted it out on a whim.

"I will have to go to Azuchi or Kyoto to congratulate my lord during the New Year. Please arrange for them to stay here temporarily until they find a place to live." Shichibei did not delve into the matter further and simply gave this instruction.

We still need to hold the preparatory meeting for the rice trade, to unify the opinions of the Nobi faction and the merchants in the Kinai region, and once that's settled, we also need to discuss the rice trade association with Imai Munehisa. There's simply no way we can focus our energy on this.

She could simply delegate the task to her subordinates, or even Ashikaga Princess herself could handle it. Everyone in Sakai knew that Ashikaga Princess was Shichibei's concubine, and people would give Shichibei face if she intervened.

With her arrangements, Mrs. Takaya and her children traveled from Kyoto...

They all arrived in Sakai. They temporarily stayed at Shichibei's residence, along with several dozen samurai and their families from the Toyama family. Fortunately, Shichibei's residence was large enough to accommodate them all.

After Shichibei finished the meeting and the banquet, he returned home and finally saw Lady Takaya and her child again.

Oh dear, it would have been fine if we hadn't met, but now that we have, Shichibei has to admit, she's quite the opposite. This Lady Takaya is indeed a Japanese woman who fits Shichibei's aesthetic standards. While she's no longer the youthful, lively girl she once was, she's now more mature and has gained a certain fullness. Shichibei had thought her upper eyelids were incredibly beautiful back then, but seeing her now, he secretly swallowed hard.

foam.

She and Sister-in-law Ii are different styles. Sister-in-law Ii is pure big, very big, so big that Shichibei wants to be a nursing baby.

If you count the days in Japan, Ii-sama's sister-in-law will probably give birth around the New Year, right? Shichibei instructed Ashikaga-hime to buy some fine, imported Matsue cloth from Ming Dynasty China and send it to Saegusa Morinaka. Their family is expecting a new baby, so it would be convenient to make two sets of undergarments for the pregnant woman and also to make baby clothes for the child.

After greeting Mrs. Takaya and meeting her child, the matter was considered closed. Although, because of her son, Mrs. Takaya...

She'll most likely never remarry, but that doesn't stop us from taking a second look.

Lady Takaya was quite open about it; she had never shied away from chatting with Shichibei before, back when she was a young woman on her way to marriage. Now she cared even less; Shichibei had several women on his arms, so why would he possibly be interested in her?

Not necessarily...

However, at this moment, Shichibei has no woman on his mind. No matter how big or white she is, he has to ensure the successful convening of the preparatory meeting first.

After several days of negotiations, various private exchanges, and the exchange of benefits, the Nobuo faction and the merchants of the Kinai region basically reached an agreement. They would proceed according to Nobunaga's orders.

The edict, or "coin selection edict," was issued in the Kinai and Nobi regions. In short, it was to begin eliminating the inferior coins on the market and to pave the way for the brass coins minted by Shichibei.

Of course, it wouldn't be announced immediately. It would only be made after the New Year, when major merchants from all over the country arrived in Sakaimachi for a meeting. This was to demonstrate Shichibei's status and power within the Oda regime, to preemptively overwhelm the merchants who had come from all over the country.

After all, the wealthy merchants in other regions were able to grow their fortunes mostly because they had powerful backers. The merchants of Hakata first relied on the Ouchi clan, then on the Otomo clan. The merchants of Bozu relied on the Shimazu clan, and the Goto region was practically the territory of the pirate kings. In this world, everyone has a powerful backer; if Shichibei didn't do something, he simply wouldn't be able to control the meeting's agenda.

That's why the decision was made to issue the coin selection decree, and the wealthy merchants of Kinai and Nobuo were consulted before the decree was issued. After the New Year, Shichibei had minted more than 200,000 kan of new brass coins, and he also had no less than 200,000 kan of cash on hand, which was more than enough to put into the market.

Merchants from the Kinai and Noo regions cooperated to avoid hoarding fine money and clear out bad money. Merchants from other regions who wanted to buy goods in Sakai and Kyoto had to pay either gold or silver or fine money; bad money was no longer recognized.

Do they want to use their inferior currency to drive out Shichibei's superior currency? Well, let's see if they have the ability to disrupt the financial order of the capital region.

The internal alliance that Shichibei had built controlled no less than a million kan of cash, enough to withstand any attack from any force within Japan. Unless all of Japan united to launch an attack, or...

External forces.

Shichibei surrendered.