Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Watanabe Kanbei charged forward. Upon seeing the general trapped in the crowd, his forehead flushed with excitement. Guarded by several servants, he brandished his spear and went to intercept and kill Matsuura Yasutau.

The shouts of "Kawamura clan's foot soldier general Watanabe Kanbei has come to challenge me!" immediately rang out from within the citadel. Everyone had to be the first to shout it out to prove that they were the first to encounter Matsuura Yasutau.

During the Siege of Osaka, once inside the castle tower, shouts could not be heard. Therefore, the first samurai to breach the tower ordered their families to carry gold-leaf screens from inside the tower as proof of their entry. After all, heads were the measure of merit, and for a head, there were countless petty and trivial matters to be dealt with; they had to be careful.

Several Matsuura retainers immediately drew their swords and spears to meet the attack, but unfortunately, they encountered a war fanatic like Watanabe Kanbei and were easily defeated. At this point, Matsuura Yasutau knew he couldn't escape, so he also drew his sword to fight.

He was killed in less than five exchanges when Watanabe Kanbei slashed his neck with a spear, causing him to bleed to death.

With the general dead, the entire castle collapsed. Soldiers and officers surrendered en masse, while others, along with the family of Matsuura Yasutau, fled by boat as a precaution. Following Shichibei's instructions, they were to avoid destroying the castle tower, intending to attack later.

Upon arriving, Saegusa Morinaka immediately dispatched men to seize the castle tower, and while they were at it, to pack up everything they could and hand the entire building over to Shichibei intact.

430. Either soldier or farmer, free choice.

Some followed Numama Echigo out of the castle to surrender, some fled by boat with the families of the Matsuura brothers, some were captured in the battle, and finally more than a thousand people were willing to pay money to avoid death. The more than four thousand men of Kishiwada Castle scattered overnight, without even having a chance to inflict any significant casualties on Kawamura's army.

After daybreak, Sanada Masaki supervised the troops as they entered the castle, and Shichibei was also able to enter the castle keep of Kishiwada Castle.

It's quite spacious.

Forget it, capturing the city is enough; these trivial details don't need to be worried about. I inquired about the situation at the gold warehouse and the rice granary. The gold warehouse was basically empty, but the rice granary was in decent condition, with several thousand bushels of rice.

They're not some incorruptible army; digging too deep is pointless. Throughout history, countless famous generals have promised their soldiers that after capturing a castle, they could take whatever they wanted from the public and private treasuries. If the soldiers can only take from the treasury and not harm the civilians, then they are a well-disciplined army. Shichibei isn't short of money; the fact that the castle tower wasn't burned down is a huge saving.

Where are the heads of the Matsuura brothers?

A man covered in black mud, or rather, blood, emerged from the crowd, carrying Matsuura Yasutau's head as an offering. When the head was cut...

He coughed up blood, and then the city caught fire again, sending plumes of smoke and ash billowing up. Sweat, blood, smoke, and ash mixed together, making him look as if he had crawled out of some crater.

"Kanbei, you are hereby granted an additional 500 koku of official rank and 50 men to assist you." After confirming the head, Numama Echigo Nyudo, who was beside Shichibei, immediately announced the reward.

"Hehe!" Watanabe Kanbei quickly came over, knelt down, and kowtowed happily.

"Have you seen the Terada family?" The Matsuura brothers only have one; where's the other one?

"It seems to have been taken by Numa Hyuga." When Kanbei was fighting Matsuura Yasutau, he did see Numa Yoshikiyo's family holding up a head.

"Where is Numama Hinata?" Everyone, including Numama Yoshikiyo's father, asked hurriedly.

"Burn to smithereens by firearms, probably lying in a ditch outside the citadel." Watanabe Kanbei had put all his skills into killing, and he spoke without any restraint.

With a "whoosh," Numama Echigo Nyūdō ran towards the gate of the citadel.

Not long after, they found their son among dozens of headless corpses in the ditch. Next to their son, they found Terada.

The head of the Sheng family.

There's nothing that can be done about death; life and death are preordained, and wealth and honor are determined by fate. If you don't achieve wealth and honor, blaming anyone won't help. However, the merit of beheading Terada Isamu's son still deserves a reward, which will be inherited by Numama Yoshikiyo's eldest son—five hundred koku.

Having seen so much, Shichibei had no obligation to comfort the families. He should hurry and clear the castle grounds; besides, Kishiwada's construction was too sloppy and needed rebuilding. A castle whose stone walls could be blown down by stray arrows and projectiles—there's nothing more to say about it.

Following the elimination of the rebellion led by the Matsuura brothers, a land survey was to be conducted. This involved registering all lords' properties at Kishiwada Castle within seven days, which would then be tied to military service or the payment of arrows.

As the price for the rebellion, Izumi Province will impose a comprehensive collection of taxes, including danzen and tomonbetsu. The amount may not be much, perhaps thirty to forty thousand kan, but it is an important process for asserting authority and establishing Shichibei as the new lord.

The money was just enough to rebuild Kishiwada Castle and renovate Kishiwada Port on a large scale. Any leftovers? If there were any leftovers, they would be used to renovate the post station streets and build stables and huts.

Each person will receive fifty koku of "ownerless" land collected from within Izumi Province.

They placed Namae Sadaharu and Sanada Masaki in positions of power. Regardless of the size of the favor bestowed, they were given it first, thus establishing a master-servant agreement. Any remaining land would be divided after conquering Awaji Island. Despite the vastness of Izumi Province, Shichibei himself acquired almost no land.

Recruiting over eight hundred samurai at once is quite a large-scale operation. After all, signing eight hundred pledges of allegiance could be fatal for Shichibei.

Everyone was quite happy. The salary at Ryokawa Village House was good, and the reward for cutting off someone's head was fair. But going from a mere employee to a small shareholder holding company stock was a completely different situation.

No wonder so many wanderers risked their lives to seize a piece of Zhixing, after all, hereditary succession offered a promising future. When people are out in the world, loyalty, filial piety, and integrity are certainly important, but they also need to secure tangible benefits.

As for the local strongmen of Izumi, Shichibei gave them two choices after the land survey was completed. Either they were to completely regress to village chiefs, only responsible for basic governance functions, including collecting taxes and recording population, or they could have their land used as "zhigong" (a system of official authority), with the number of zhigong providing the number of soldiers.

Of course, they were provided with a standing army. Most of the time they had to live under the walls of Kishiwada Castle. As soon as Shichibei's whistle blew, they had to assemble immediately to fight for Shichibei.

Those who didn't want to serve in the army could simply pay a substitute service fee. It was similar to the British monarch collecting a shield tax on the other side of the ocean; granting you land came with military obligations.

After you stop serving in the military, take out the money so that Shichibei can hire regular foot soldiers to fight.

Nobunaga had actually been pushing this policy forward for many years, but only on a small scale. After Nobunaga went to Kyoto, he discovered that Noboru alone could mobilize more than 50,000 peasant soldiers, whose fighting strength was average and who were very logistical burdensome, so much so that he needed to keep a special servant, Shichibei, to organize logistics.

So he began implementing a policy of exempting farmers and soldiers from military service and instead charging them a substitute service fee. However, when Nobunaga's encirclement appeared, he was forced to mobilize farmers and soldiers to cope with the situation, resulting in significant policy fluctuations.

Only now, with the situation largely stabilized, has he resumed the policy of having his retainers live together and gradually restored the standing army.

But progress was slow, because just as he finally managed to gather some support, his sons came of age and wanted to divide the inheritance. They were all equally dear to him; his eldest son, Nobutada, received a million koku of rice from Noo. While his other sons couldn't inherit the throne, they still needed some so they could conquer the land themselves. As a result, Nobunaga's own standing army only numbered 15,000—not because he couldn't afford to support them, but because he simply didn't have enough.

There are so many samurai and foot soldiers to fill the ranks.

With so many promising sons behind him, unless one of them, like Ujimaru, directly inherits the Hashiba clan, he will have to continue to divide his forces to build retainers for his sons. Nobunaga's personal army won't be that large.

Shichibei's policy, when promulgated by Izumi, did not cause any major uproar. To be honest, in Japan, for a long time, war was irrelevant to those who actually farmed and engaged in agriculture.

During the Genpei War, the general practice was to recruit the Gokenin (traditional retainers), who would then recruit their own Rōsō (traditional retainers), who had servants and household slaves. Unless the war was large enough, ordinary farmers were rarely forcibly recruited.

During the Onin Rebellion, both sides, in order to replenish their troops and expand their power, engaged in large-scale raids, stuffing all sorts of people into their ranks, including prison guards, miscellaneous soldiers, evil monks, and bandits—anyone who could carry a gun.

An army like this, once it reaches Kyoto, will not fight at all; it will only rob and plunder, and will not do anything else.

If you think about it carefully, the large-scale forced conscription of farmers to the battlefield is probably a phenomenon of the last hundred years or so. It did happen before, but it wasn't very common. Even when farmers were conscripted, it was mostly for things like taking care of horses and serving their daily needs.

Now that Shichibei has decided not to conscript peasants into the army, it actually aligns with the expectations of local village chiefs and landowners. The two sides have signed a written agreement outlining their obligations and rights, and this has not caused any widespread unrest.

Most people choose to stay home and farm, while fewer are willing to venture out and seek wealth. In the movie "Your Highness, Please Pay Interest," Chiba Yudai plays Tomura Daikan, whose land is worth thousands of koku. His ancestors did not choose to become samurai, but instead stayed home as village chiefs.

Of course, by the Edo period, the status of samurai and farmers was vastly different, and their family wanted to obtain samurai status. In the end, this large landowner was happy to be granted the title of "ten koku chūgyō" (a high-ranking official position) and become a lower-ranking samurai.

It's good that no one wants to carry guns; as long as the substitute service fee is paid, that's fine. Shichibei doesn't want to lead peasant soldiers either, because peasant soldiers are often controlled by powerful local lords and don't completely obey the military orders of feudal lords.

Why not use Guohao's money to support our directly subordinate soldiers?

Does Izumi have any heroic figures? Anyway, when recruiting regular foot soldiers, archers, and arquebusiers, Shichibei didn't see any. He accepted all the second and third sons from wealthy families who were willing to take a chance.

Accept it. Anyway, our army doesn't rely on the land for food, so we can afford to pay for more people.

There are no celebrities if there are none. In Japan, where it's common practice these days, a person changes their name five, six, seven, or eight times in their lifetime. Who knows, one day a decent person might emerge.

By the way, Kishiwada Castle was the first castle that Shichibei acquired.

Although Tsuruga was previously granted a fief of 50,000 koku, it didn't have a castle. Asakura Kageki's Kanegasaki Castle was completely destroyed by Tokugawa Ieyasu in a fierce battle. Furthermore, Kanegasaki Castle was located in a mountainous area, its military importance far outweighing all other attributes, making it unsuitable for habitation and economic development.

After entering the territory, because Echizen had tall men to protect it, there was no need for defense. Apart from appointing Nagayori to lead a thousand men as acting officials, Shichibei did not actually build a castle.

Now it's all good, there's no need to build a city anymore, we can just stay in Anshi and Tiancheng.

The main keep is intact. After clearing away all traces of the battle, including the corpses, Shichibei can move in. Furnishings can be arranged directly from Sakai; it's a simple matter of a word. From now on, Kishiwada will also be considered one of Shichibei's homes, which is perfect for settling in.

For example, Mrs. Takaya...

"Greetings, Lord Kawamura." Lady Takaya, leading her eldest son, arrived at Kishiwada Castle with great enthusiasm.

Nobunaga's promise had to be fulfilled, and Hine District in southern Izumi was to be granted to Toyama Jiroshiro. Shichibei was also about to send troops to seize Sano Fortress and completely pacify Hine District. But that didn't stop the mother and son from finally having a real territory, and they happily came from Sakai to take up their fief.

"The battle for Sano Fortress is still ongoing, so please wait a moment, both of you." Shichibei hadn't expected that Lady Takaya would come running over so soon after he had just muttered those words.

"Everything is in Your Highness's hands." Since taking a long bath with Shichibei, Lady Takaya has become more relaxed and openly sought benefits for her son.

“No problem, no problem. Part of the money I earned earlier was from Hine County, and I will transfer it to you later.” Shichibei turned to Toyama Jiroshiro and said this.

The young boy seemed oblivious to the fact that his mother had found him a cheap stepfather, and was still quite clueless. He was nowhere near as clever as Saegusa Morinaka, who dared to ransack the entire castle tower of Kishiwada Castle as soon as his stepmother had gotten into Shichibei's bed.

Did Shichibei ask anything? Not a single question.

Why not take the stepfather's money? Shichibei has his own son. These burdens should take advantage of Shichibei and their mother's relationship to accumulate more wealth for themselves. That way, they can live a better life outside after the family splits up.

"Thank you very much." Mrs. Takaya quickly bowed with her child.

"You and your son should stay in Kishiwada for now. Hine District is close to the Saiga gang, and there's a lot of trouble there. It's safer inside the castle," Shichibei said very naturally.

"We are entirely dependent on you."

Shichibei's principal wife, the young shogun, had to remain at Azuchi Castle, Nobunaga's main castle, as a hostage, so there would be no de facto mistress of Kishiwada Castle. Thus, it was neither impossible nor unacceptable for Lady Takaya to become the mistress.

After handing the main keep over to Lady Takaya, Shichibei recruited several maids to serve her, along with some she had brought herself. The keep was quickly transformed.

However, Kishiwada Castle is located by the sea, and Shichibei felt that the castle tower was not a place to live for long; he was afraid of getting rheumatism if he stayed there for too long. Especially since the castle tower was built on Mount Inobushi, which was dozens of meters high, it was practically exposed to strong winds all to itself.

Therefore, Shichibei still had to build a palace in Ninomaru. Anyway, many places in the castle had been burned down and needed to be rebuilt, so there was no shortage of open space.

The old, dilapidated buildings had to be demolished, and the castle, which could only hold five thousand people, had to be rebuilt to accommodate at least ten thousand. Since there were more than ten thousand Shichibei, the castle had to be built according to their status.

The city was so shabby that everyone thought Shichibei was poor.

It has to be luxurious and magnificent.

"Should we build a small garden?" Shichibei asked Lady Takaya while she and Lady Takaya were taking a long bath. She said it would be best if they could, since the castle itself needed to have a water reservoir built anyway.

Kishiwada Castle is located by the sea and doesn't lack water, but a water storage tank within the castle is still essential. Even if the Heavenly King himself came, he would have a point. Pavilions and waterside terraces were built next to the water storage tank, and trees were transplanted, using it as a garden in peacetime and as a water storage tank in wartime.

That makes sense. When setting up the palace in the Ninomaru, we can simply create a garden next to it. It wouldn't take much effort, and it's much simpler than rebuilding the stone walls in the Sannomaru.

"Report!" Shichibei had already sat down with Lady Takaya to drink tea and receive a post-bath massage when a servant knelt in the courtyard with a message.

"Where?" Shichibei didn't move, and it was clear from his expression that it wasn't anything urgent.

"Sano Village."

"Has it been conquered already?" He raised his eyes slightly and noticed that Lady Takaya's head was also turned towards the servant who had come to deliver the message.

"The Saiga remnants have abandoned Sano Fortress, crossed Takako Pass, and retreated to Kii Province." The attendant's report was quite unusual; given the Saiga people's tenacious nature, how could they bear to abandon Sano Fortress?

431. The Saiga clan mobilized a large army.

Send people to investigate immediately and find out what exactly happened. The Saiga clan has a large number of followers of the Jodo Shinshu sect, and under the leadership of Sagimori Gobo, they are one of the most powerful allies of Ishiyama and Osaka.

If something were to happen to the Saiga clan, it would not only save Shichibei some trouble, but it would also be great news for Nobunaga. Although Nobunaga's last campaign against Kishu had superficially subdued the Saiga clan, they rebelled again as soon as the army withdrew, showing no respect for Nobunaga whatsoever.

Such a person is registered under Nobunaga's name.

The subordinate immediately obeyed the order. Since the Oda clan had the support of Negoro-ji Temple in Kishu, gathering information was not particularly difficult. Back then, Negoro-ji Temple had demanded the so-called 720,000 koku of land for its temple lordship, which Nobunaga had approved. However, upon closer inspection, it turned out that Negoro-ji Temple's actual power in Kishu probably didn't even reach 200,000 koku.

They were quite bold back then, first declaring the ownership of all the Shimoji territories in Japan, and then settling down there. Many wealthy locals in Kishu also used the name of temples to secure protection for themselves.

For example, Izumi Shōbō Kaigen, one of the two great practitioners of the Negoroji Temple.

His father was Tsuchibashi Morishige, the leader of one of the Saiga Five Groups, and the Ōkuninushi of Kiikawa.

The Genlai Temple is mainly divided into two groups: the Scholars' Group, which focuses on academic study and chanting sutras; and the Travelers' Group, which is responsible for general affairs, as well as providing hospitality and guidance, and engaging in armed conflict when necessary.

There are no clear records of how many high-ranking officials there were in the past, but now there are only two: Izumi no Shibo Kaigen and Sugi no Shibo Shōsuke. Izumi no Shibo and Sugi no Shibo are the lower temples of Negoro-ji Temple.