Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Although Nobunaga's arquebusiers didn't come, he brought along Tsuda Kenmono, Izumi Shikibo, and Suginobo, all of whom came from the inner circle. Tsuda Kenmono was the famous arquebusier who used a musket to shoot birds, and he had even taught Nobunaga. His father died young; if he hadn't, he would definitely be here to fight right now.

There were probably two thousand cannons below the city, divided into several sections, firing upwards in a continuous, cyclical manner. The fire created thick smoke and even changed the color of the clouds around Mount Myoken.

"Let Shichibei go!" Nobunaga saw Shichibei and immediately tapped Goto Mototsugu on the shoulder with his riding staff.

"Understood!"

Goto Mototsugu was even more excited than Shichibei. With Saiga Castle within two days, now was the perfect opportunity to storm it and reap great rewards. Watanabe Kanbei, even more excited than Goto, was the first to charge into Kishiwada Castle.

"You all follow me." Nobunaga pointed to the small group of followers kneeling outside the shogunate.

If you want to rise in the ranks, don't be afraid to risk your life. Nobunaga was known for his clear system of rewards and punishments. You risk your life, he pays you; your life is your reward.

"Hehe." A loud response rang out from outside the tent, and two or three hundred people immediately stood up.

Then came the sound of small drums. Shichibei's main force of three hundred foot soldiers and Nobunaga's three hundred kabuki were sent up first, along with several dozen bundles of bamboo. After the front ranks finished throwing, the rear ranks followed. Taking advantage of the sharpness of the arquebuses, they fought back and forth with the defenders on the castle. It was a fight to the death.

With a shout, Goto Mototsugu led his men in a charge towards the main citadel of Saiga Castle. It was only about a hundred meters, and although it was uphill, it wouldn't take much time. Shouts and the sounds of arquebuses mingled together, and soon several bursts of flame blazed up in the smoke.

It was probably the oil-soaked straw that ignited something. Seeing the fire, even without Nobunaga's orders, small groups of men carrying bundles of bamboo immediately rushed up the castle.

The cycle repeated itself: the city walls burned, the city walls were destroyed, and the two sides fought endlessly until dusk.

"Shichibei, make another five hundred tonight." Nobunaga looked at the Saiga Castle Honmaru, where the smoke had dissipated slightly as the arquebuses had stopped firing.

The castle was burned in patches of black and yellow. The black patches were from charred wood, and the yellow patches were from fires extinguished with earth. The most noticeable result was that half of the turrets on the castle gate were burned away. However, the castle gate itself was only charred black, and it's unclear how the bamboo bundles managed to get onto the two-person-high gate panels.

In short, the fire attack was effective. It was certainly more effective than sacrificing lives.

Under the barrage of fire from the city walls, several hundred of the attacking troops have died, and judging by the trend, at least several hundred more are expected to fall. There's no way around it; sieges always result in casualties.

Feeling sorry for him? Even if it hurts, he has to go. Besides, Nobunaga wouldn't feel sorry for him at all.

As they were talking, a man was lowered from the limestone steps of Saiga Castle's main citadel. He shouted that he was willing to surrender and begged the Oda army below not to fire. This was not convincing at all, because the Suzuki family had already surrendered once.

Just as Hachiya Yoritaka, who was commanding outside the citadel, was about to fire, the man had already run to the front lines. Sakuma Nobuege thought for a moment and said, "Send it to Nobunaga. Whether to surrender or not is up to Nobunaga's decision. We, his vassals, should not make the decision."

Upon hearing this, Hachiya Yoritaka thought it made sense and sent the man to Nobunaga's main camp. This was around the time Nobunaga ordered Shichibei to make several hundred more bamboo bundles, and the man arrived outside the shogunate.

"My lord, an envoy has come out of the castle to express his surrender and request for peace." Sakuma Nobuege and Hachiya Yoritaka led the man to Nobunaga's main camp.

"Hmm?" Nobunaga waved his hand, not answering at all.

The meaning was clear: push them out and behead them; this operation will not accept surrender; the Saiga-Suzuki family will all die; don't even think about feigning surrender and then jumping out to continue opposing Nobunaga.

"Lord, you're willing to commit seppuku!" The attendants on either side drew their swords, ready to advance.

The man who came to tie him up wasn't stupid; he immediately understood what was going on and shouted out those words.

"..." Nobunaga still didn't answer, only hesitated slightly.

Seppuku is not as satisfying as beheading. You can even take the severed head back and use it as a wine glass. How wonderful!

"Since the enemy city is willing to commit seppuku, we might as well listen to it." Shichibei hadn't planned to speak, but upon hearing about seppuku, he still offered a word of advice.

After all, Goto Mototsugu charged so fiercely, burning half of the main gate to the castle, and the arquebuses on the castle were incredibly powerful. It's a shame to send such a fine young man to such a place.

"Hmm." Nobunaga didn't object after Shichibei's suggestion.

He was flanked by shrewd servants, such as Mori Ranmaru and Muto Genjiro (Sanada Nobushige), all of whom were intelligent men. He got up to leave but then pulled the man back, telling him to spit it out.

"My lord, Sadayo, my eldest son, Grandson Juro, and my chief retainer, Minato Sōzaemon, are all willing to commit seppuku." The visitor began reciting the Suzuki family register.

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Nobunaga finally showed some interest.

The reason for not surrendering is to kill the Suzuki family head. Now that the Suzuki family head is here, the remaining juniors are not out of the question.

"Do you think you can escape the grave crime of surrendering and then rebelling just by committing seppuku?" Shichibei noticed Nobunaga's mustache twitching and guessed that Nobunaga was interested, but the price was not enough.

Even if all the parents are dead, the children will still grow up. Will they hold a grudge? Most likely they will. So the best course of action is to eliminate the threat permanently by killing them.

"I'd rather open the city gates than lose the lives of the city's soldiers!" the man continued.

This means that the Suzuki family, including the territories of its affiliated minor families, has relinquished all ownership of the estates. The core members committed seppuku, while the remaining soldiers were released.

You asked about the three thousand arquebuses of the Saiga clan? They were definitely all handed over to Nobunaga and confiscated. It's impossible that they would release the arquebuses as well; they would only release the local Saiga villagers who were part-time farmers and part-time soldiers.

"Indeed!" Shichibei pulled out his folding fan and pointed it at the newcomer, demanding an explanation.

"I would never dare to utter the slightest falsehood." The man immediately knelt down with a deep bow and begged Oda Nobunaga.

"What's your name?" Nobunaga finally raised his eyes and looked at the newcomer.

“Sabu Genzaemon Yoshimasa.”

"Go back and tell Sataifu that if he retreats from the castle and commits seppuku before 7 a.m. tomorrow, the castle soldiers will be spared. After 7 a.m., everything will be destroyed." Nobunaga made the final decision.

Then he ordered someone to send wine and food into the city. It seems that this kind of "last meal" (meal before execution) exists in many places. Historically, when Hideyoshi attacked Miki, the castle eventually ran out of food. After Bessho Nagaharu decided to commit seppuku and surrender, Hideyoshi sent a large amount of wine and food to Bessho Nagaharu that very night. He let the Bessho family eat and drink their fill before committing seppuku and being beheaded.

Preparations for the siege continued unabated; everything proceeded as planned. In fact, the arquebusiers tightened their siege of Saiga Honmaru to prevent any child from being sent out of the castle.

Inside the city? After a heated debate, Suzuki Sataro, Suzuki Shigehide's father, decided to commit seppuku in exchange for the survival of the Suzuki family.

Some in the family pointed out that Nobunaga might still commit indiscriminate killing after the castle fell. But Suzuki Sataro bluntly stated that with Nobunaga's aggressive siege tactics, Saiga Castle would likely only last three to five days. After the castle fell, everyone would die anyway.

Rather than all of them dying, it's better to gamble on the possibility of preserving the family's reputation.

Nobunaga deeply resented the Saiga clan, that much was true, but after sending the entire Suzuki family's patriarchs to heaven, his anger largely subsided. And that saved a few more lives.

By achieving this goal, the Hundred Oda Soldiers would have made a profit, and it wouldn't be a breach of promise.

Persuaded by him, Suzuki and his men drank a farewell drink at dawn the next day, and twenty-one of them committed seppuku together outside the city, seeking Nobunaga's forgiveness.

434. There's even a shrine to it!

Consider this: historically, it was Suzuki Shigehide who murdered his father-in-law, Tsuchibashi Morishige; now, it's Tsuchibashi Morishige, his in-law, who's specifically tasked with identifying Suzuki Sataro and others. How fickle life is, how quickly things change.

Twenty-one key figures of the Suzuki faction, including heads of affiliated minor families, committed seppuku in front of Nobunaga. This vented much of Nobunaga's pent-up anger. After thoroughly examining the heads, Nobunaga ordered them to be sent to Kyoto to be subjected to "prison gate" punishment, which involved displaying them in the streets.

At least it won't be made into a wine glass, which is alright. After a few days of public display, the family will be allowed to take it home for burial.

All of Suzuki's faction's territories were confiscated as agreed, and all samurai retainers became "prisoners," awaiting the arrival of a new lord, after which a decision would be made on whether to appoint them.

The only provision not included in the previous agreement between Nobunaga and Satake Yoshimasa was the issuance of the "Sword Hunting Order" within Saiga Castle. Besides the three thousand arquebuses within Saiga Castle and other swords and spears, the villagers of Saiga Castle, due to their semi-agricultural, semi-soldier status, were also required to surrender all their weapons.

To achieve this goal, Nobunaga ordered more than two hundred Saiga Suzuki...

The families of key Party members will remain with us for the time being. They will be released when the hunt ends.

I understand, I completely understand.

The weapons, left in the hands of the Suzuki clan, might one day become their reliance for launching uprisings, both local and national. In any case, the Oda clan's main force is a standing army; they no longer need to rely on large-scale conscription of peasants from the countryside to participate in battles and achieve victory. A lack of weapons in the countryside only benefits feudal rule.

When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Sabu Yoshimasa could only issue repeated orders, demanding that all villages and hamlets hand over all their weapons, armor, and cannons.

Finally, all the artisans skilled in forging iron cannons were gathered together, and Nobunaga planned to take them all back to Azuchi Castle. Saiga himself was no longer to have any more iron cannon artisans; he could simply be a farmer and pay his taxes.

"Who's left in the Suzuki Party?" Shichibei asked, somewhat surprised, looking at the mountain of weapons piled up in front of him, numbering over 18,000.

"And there's Sonichiro Shigehide too." Todo Takatora rummaged through the weapons he'd acquired during the sword hunt, looking for a couple of decent ones.

"Sun Ichiro Shigehide!" Shichibei paused as he wrote.

That's right, his father, Suzuki Sataro, was the head of the family and the lord of the castle, and his brother...

His eldest son, Yoshishige, was the heir and legitimate son, both of whom Nobunaga had specifically ordered to be killed. Yet, he spared his second son, Suzuki Shigehide. However, Suzuki Shigehide had participated in the Battle of Ishiyama and had attacked Oda Nobunaga, Hanawa Naomasa, and Mori Yoshinari, making him a heinous criminal.

"Now that the city has been opened, we will not ask about what happened before."

“That’s true…” Shichibei continued taking notes.

As instructed by Nobunaga, 500 of these weapons were left to Oda Nobuharu, while the rest were disposed of according to their quality. The better-quality ones were distributed as spoils of war among the various siege units. The lower-quality ones were sold as scrap to Shichibei to be melted down and reforged.

You ask if he'll be retrained? That depends on Shichibei's conscience.

Yes, but not many.

"Do you know who owns these tens of thousands of koku of land?" Todo Takatora was more concerned about this topic. After all, he was a samurai. What else would he care about if not this?

"It's been divided into three: one for Oda, one for Tsuchibashi, and one for Hatakeyama." Nobunaga may have hesitated at first, but he has basically made up his mind in the last two days.

Oda Nobuharu received the larger share, seemingly 50,000 koku. Tsuchibashi Morishige and Hatakeyama Jiroshiro received the smaller shares, with Tsuchibashi Morishige receiving what he truly desired.

The "ten villages of the Mubenzhuang" mentioned, along with the surrounding territories, totaled about 10,000 koku.

Jiroshiro Tomiyama obtained the remaining fragments, roughly ten thousand koku. This restored their family's territory as the governor of Kishu, and they would likely use this asset again to subjugate the local tyrants in Kishu.

"So, Saiga Castle is going to Oda Matarokuro then." Todo Takatora must be really looking forward to winning a castle himself.

"No way, it's all destroyed, it's definitely going to be a ruin." Shichibei glanced at Saiga Castle, which was now a complete wasteland.

"That's true..."

It's not a pity. In Japan, rebuilding abandoned castles was a symbol of authority. New lords would be granted titles, and if they had any power, they would build new castles to flaunt their power. Hideyoshi conquered and built many castles throughout his life, which reflected his desire to show off his authority as the ruler of the land.

"My lord, there is a military council in the Hall of Regents. Please attend immediately." Goto Mototsugu squeezed out from the crowd. Everyone was selecting their spoils of war; it would be strange if they weren't pushing and shoving.

"Toryou, continue registering." Shichibei handed the ledger to Todo Takatora and then ran with Goto Mototsugu towards the Nobunaga Main Camp Shogunate.

Not bad, I arrived pretty early; not everyone's here yet. Nobunaga is chatting with Tsuchibashi Morishige. Tsuchibashi Morishige has betrayed Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple and participated in sending off his in-laws one by one—he's really gone all out. Of course, he also received a bonus of 10,000 koku, so he has to flatter Nobunaga.

After greeting Nobunaga, Shichibei took his seat, the first one under Nobunaga. Logically, this seat should have been for Sakuma Nobumori, but since several senior retainers were absent, Shichibei took the first place.

After waiting a while longer, all the main generals arrived. Mori Ranmaru gently pounded the ground, and everyone quieted down.

As expected, Nobunaga specifically announced that Oda Nobuharu would become the lord of Saiga Castle with a 50,000 koku of rice. Everyone had anticipated this, and simply accepted it.

Regarding Shichibei's matter, he needs to help Toyama Jiroshiro take over the management of his fragmented territory of over 10,000 koku. This requires 200 soldiers; it's military service, and even if Toyama Jiroshiro is still crawling on the ground, he can't skip the military service.

Didn't you see that Kiyoyasu Ataka's leg was lame and he had to be carried around, yet he still had to organize the military service of Sakai South Village to carry guns? If they couldn't serve in the military, they couldn't hold land ownership.

In addition, Nobunaga allocated fifty of his own retainers and five hundred foot soldiers to Oda Nobuharu, temporarily forming a retainer group for the Oda clan in Kishu. Nobunaga did not really trust the local people of Kishu.

That's ridiculous. If he divides things like that, when will he ever be able to restore a direct army of at least 30,000 men?

The meeting adjourned. Nobunaga hadn't brought many people with him; he left on a whim. The main force consisted of Shichibei's nine thousand men, and the generals also had tens of thousands of troops, making the retreat quite troublesome.

For example, Oda Nobunaga asked Shichibei for 20,000 kan, as he needed to demolish Saiga Castle and build a new one. However, he originally only had 1,100 kan of land in Owari Odai Castle. Nobunaga had helped him supplement his vassals with some of the money, but he had to find a way to pay for it himself.

It's a small matter. The fact that he came to borrow money suggests he might have been instructed by Nobunaga. For a mere 20,000 kan, he can simply send someone to Sakai to collect it.

Oda Nobuharu and Shichibei didn't have much interaction, and he was initially a little embarrassed to speak. Seeing how easy Shichibei was to talk to, he praised him as the most honest and kind person in Owari. Everyone was absolutely right; Shichibei was indeed a great treasure of old Owari.

Hey, we're all from Owari, Oda, and the four lower districts, we're all brothers.

When Shichibei lent him the money so readily, Oda Nobunaga, who had initially had a lot to say, suddenly found himself speechless. After praising Shichibei, he started rambling on and on. Having never lent such a large sum of money before, he clearly lacked experience and didn't know how to end the conversation.

As the conversation went on, it eventually involved Suzuki Shigehide and other remnants of the movement.