Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Although Miyoshi Nobutaka was supposed to inherit the Miyoshi family, he had his own group of men. His father, Nobunaga, had assigned him about a hundred samurai, and after he took over the Kobe family, he also seized four hundred and eighty retainers from the Kobe family.

Because he already had a strong core group of warriors, Miyoshi Nobutaka was not enthusiastic about employing local samurai from Awa. In any case, the Awa samurai were already weakened by the great plague that broke out in Katsuzui Castle, and by the previous situation involving Miyoshi Nagaharu.

The internal strife with Shinohara's eldest son severely damaged the family, leaving only a handful of members who could no longer cause any significant trouble.

Haru Morimura absorbed these people, and although the process was a bit slow, it was still manageable; he wasn't completely falling behind.

Shichibei's generosity in throwing money around gave Morimura Haru a lot of confidence in his speech. He was practically a native of Awa, and held some sway in the area. Now, with all that money going out the window, many people were flocking to him.

Then the "good news" arrived: Miyoshi Nobutaka and Kagawa Nobusumi defeated the Sanshu coalition and took control of Sanuki. Like Nobutaka, Nobusumi had several hundred retainers left by his father and gifted by his uncle Oda Nobunaga. He didn't care much about the Sanshu people, and almost all of the low- and middle-ranking retainers of the Sogawa family were unemployed.

Of course, the core retainers of the Sogawa clan were also taken away by Nobutaka Nobuzumi in the previous battle. These lower-ranking Sogawa samurai were leaderless, and their territories were all taken away by Kagawa Nobuzumi.

Upon hearing this news, Morimura Haru raised a recruitment flag and immediately recruited hundreds of men. Shinohara Ukyo Susumu, Shono Izumi no Kami, Kuwano Kawachi no Kami, Izawa Echizen no Kami, and others all chose to join him.

The ship was not only packed full, but there were also many more people. If Shichibei hadn't summoned Morimura Haru recently, Morimura Haru would have come to pay his respects to Shichibei.

The matter needs to be clarified.

Both Miyoshi Nobutaka and Kagawa Nobusumi have their own factions, and when it comes to local samurai groups, they either recruit them as corporals or disband them entirely. Moreover, their main focus is currently on preparing for the attack on Nishi-Sanuki and Kita-Iyo, so they don't bother with these trivial matters.

When Oda Nobunaga ordered the reconstruction of the Awa Navy, he specifically requested that Miyoshi Nobutaka and Shichibei jointly build it. Initially, Nobunaga's idea was probably to establish a lord-vassal relationship for the navy in Awa, that is, as Miyoshi Nobutaka's retainers.

However, Nobutaka was already at a critical juncture in the Sanuki campaign and couldn't leave his post for even a moment. At that time, he also had to worry about Sogawa Masayasu siding with the Mori, so he simply didn't have time to deal with this.

So in the end, it became a simple matter of Shichibei organizing and rebuilding the Awa Navy, and the relationship between the lord and his retainers shifted to Oda Nobunaga, becoming Nobunaga's direct retainer.

Last year, in order to strengthen Shichibei's power, Nobunaga assigned Ataka Kiyoyasu and Morimura Haru to Shichibei as his retainers, meaning that everyone below Morimura Haru became Shichibei's adopted sons.

So, after going through all this trouble, did all those admirals who joined the Awa Navy become Nobunaga's retainers or Shichibei's retainers?

In other words, should one obtain knowledge and skills from Nobunaga or from Shichibei?

There is still a difference between "yōri" (与力, meaning "retainer" or "vassal"). Taking the most detailed account of Hideyoshi's "yōri" as an example, Hachisuka Koroku followed Hideyoshi to his new fiefdom of 53,000 koku in Harima Province. Although theoretically still considered "yōri," he was practically indistinguishable from a retainer. Similar to the powerful and influential feudal lords and their retainers established by the shoguns of the Edo period, they were essentially lord and vassal.

However, despite also being a subordinate, Takenaka Shigeharu was not taken away from Mino. The relationship between the two was merely that of foster parents and foster children; Hideyoshi simply used Takenaka Shigeharu and his troops, nothing more.

So much so that even after Takenaka Shigeharu's death, Takenaka Shigenori was still able to lead troops into battle, and everything was fine. But with Shigenori's death, everything changed immediately, and there was no sentiment left to speak of.

If the Sanshu retainers simply become Nobunaga's direct retainers, then the normal procedure will apply. If they can be placed in Shichibei's territory, then although they will nominally be Shichibei's retainers, in reality they will be no different from his vassals.

Just like Hachisuka Koroku served as the chief retainer of the Hashiba family, he was theoretically still Nobunaga Naotomi, so what?

In this turbulent era, rules are constantly being broken, constantly...

The re-establishment of the land itself involves many chaotic and ambiguous areas. Each person experiences and understands this matter individually.

"I wonder how Your Highness intends to deal with this?" Morimura Haru looked up at Shichibei.

After all that, I just wanted to see Shichibei's decision. After receiving Nobunaga's letter assigning Shichibei to his duties, Morimura Haru decided to completely cling to Shichibei's coattails. Whether the Mori family could rise to prominence, becoming a powerful lord with a 10,000 koku of rice, or even the lord of a province and a castle, depended entirely on whether Shichibei could succeed.

As the saying goes, a good bird chooses a good tree to perch on, and a good minister chooses a good lord to serve. Just as Shichibei was choosing his retainers, Yorimitsu was also choosing his lord.

Historically, Maeda Toshiie did not choose Shibata Katsuie, but instead chose Hashiba Hideyoshi. Was it solely because of his friendship with Hideyoshi? Probably not entirely. Perhaps Maeda Toshiie, during the Battle of Shizugatake, believed that Hideyoshi possessed the magnanimity to rule the entire nation, while Katsuie lacked it.

"Although I have just acquired the province of Izumi, the placement of guest generals has already taken away almost all of my new comrades." Shichibei understood Morimura Haru's meaning, but unfortunately, he didn't have enough territory.

"..." Morimura Haru lowered his head and frowned slightly.

"However, I have a matter to report back to you. I am currently serving as the successor to Toyama Jiroshiro, and I am in charge of his 50,000 koku of grain. You may..."

Of those, five thousand koku would be specifically used to settle them. "If I later seize Awaji, how about I transfer the five thousand koku of Awaji as a fiefdom?" Shichibei offered a compromise.

Tomiyama Jiroshiro owned the entire Izumi district and over 10,000 koku of land in Kishu, totaling approximately 50,000 koku based on land surveys. Within the old elite class, this was considered a very good fortune. Of course, it was still somewhat inferior to Hosokawa Fujitaka. No, he no longer used the Hosokawa name; he had changed his name to Nagaoka Fujitaka and was beginning to distance himself from the old elite class.

"That's fine!" What Morimura Haru wanted was an attitude, and since Shichibei had this attitude, that was good.

The Hachisuka clan followed Hideyoshi in being transferred to Harima, while the Takenaka clan did not, resulting in a clear difference in their relationship. This was likely not only because Hideyoshi did not highly value Takenaka Shigeharu's abilities, but also because the Takenaka family was unwilling to be transferred.

If Takenaka Shigeharu truly did not want to leave his old territory, then his relocation was indeed justified.

Now that Shichibei is willing to place the Sanshu people there, this attitude can meet the expectations of the Sanshu people, and both sides can be said to be heading towards the same goal.

"I will now issue a binding document with a red seal, and you and I will go to Nan Zong Temple to swear an oath." However, such a promise has a normal procedure to follow; it cannot be concluded in just a few words.

Historically, in order to launch his conquest of Shikoku, Hideyoshi recruited naval heroes, and Morimura Haru chose to join him. Hideyoshi then offered him a permanent fief of 3,000 koku and 100 men, appointing Morimura Haru as the commander of the vanguard fleet.

After the conquest of Shikoku was completed, the Hachisuka family, upon being granted fiefdoms, was bound by a red seal and granted Morimura Harufukui Village 2525 koku and five other villages 500 koku, totaling approximately 3026 koku (there were scraps after the two koku, so one koku was extra). Thereafter, he became the chief retainer and ship commander of the Hachisuka family, a position that lasted until the end of the Edo period.

To be fair, the enforcement of such promises in some later games is entirely consistent with historical facts.

"I will immediately go to take a bath." Morimura Haruya was sensible and knew that this procedure required submitting a petition to the temple and offering money.

There's also a set of rules before the gods, so we have to dress more formally. After all, it concerns the safety of the five thousand shi (a unit of grain measure), and hundreds of people on Apo's side are eagerly awaiting our arrival; we can't be careless.

While he went down to take a bath, Shichibei sent someone to deliver a letter to Nansō-ji Temple, and at the same time reported the matter to Oda Nobunaga in writing.

Nobunaga didn't care about expanding his power, or about the favors and support he received, but that was his business. We still had to inform him; it was our duty as subjects.

It's perfect to send this to Nobunaga along with the matter of Sogawa's preservation. We only need to send one Hikatsu-jutsu, saving us the cost of a trip.

No matter how big or small your business, you still have to spend money where necessary and save where appropriate. This has nothing to do with how much wealth you have; it's Shichibei's attitude towards life as a small businessman.

The ceremony at Nanzo-ji Temple concluded quickly. Morimura Haru, clutching the 5,000 koku red seal certificate with great care, rushed back to Awa. According to him, all he needed now was joint training. With a few months of training, he was certain he could put up a good fight against the Mori navy.

With a fleet of over a hundred boats of various sizes, it would be easy to rebuild the water encirclement of Ishiyama Honganji Temple, accompanied by Kuki Yoshitaka and Ataka Kiyoyasu.

Before leaving, Morimura Haru asked what kind of ships Kuki Yoshitaka had built to counter the Mori navy. Good question. Shichibei told him that Kuki Yoshitaka had ordered thirty-six large iron cannons, and Shichibei ordered the cannon craftsmen in Sakai and Kunitomo to build seventy-two large iron cannons.

A large cannon capable of firing over 100 coins' worth of bullets could shatter a small boat with a single shot, preventing the Maori navy from getting close.

Upon hearing this, Morimura Haru swallowed hard. He was certain he had seen the giant iron cannons before. Previously, when Niwa Nagahide led his army to assist Nobutaka in attacking Katsuzui Castle, they had used giant iron cannons to bombard the castle walls; the scene was quite spectacular.

It was shocking.

With such a large ship in front and the smaller ships providing flank cover, they were at least capable of fighting, if not absolutely safe.

Thus, Morimura Haru asked no further questions and hurried back to Awa under the cover of night.

The focus shifted to Oda Nobunaga, who had entered Beizhuang. Nobunaga chatted with the Asai retainers and Kanamori Nagachika who remained behind, and learned that the Ikko-ikki and Uesugi army had already sent vanguards into Echizen, setting fires and indiscriminately arresting people in the villages of Echizen.

Was Azai Nagamasa dead? With 25,000 troops and the fortified city of Kanazawa, how come they couldn't stop Uesugi Kenshin's 30,000 cavalry?

I do not know.

If only we had known, we wouldn't have needed to rush to request reinforcements from Oda Nobunaga in the rear.

Weren't there any deserters? Or any who came back to deliver a message? Yes, there were. If it weren't for the messengers who rushed out, how would they have known that Azai Nagamasa and Uesugi Kenshin had suffered a defeat and lost four thousand men? But they didn't know the details. What knowledge could an ordinary soldier have? The two sides had a combined force of fifty or sixty thousand men fighting on a battlefield that might have stretched for more than ten kilometers. Even a general might not have known everything.

Immediately send someone to Jinze to bring out the news and find out the current situation.

In truth, Azai Nagamasa's defeat wasn't entirely unjust. After learning that Uesugi Kenshin had crossed Mount Echino-Toyama, he decided to defend his castle with his back to the wall. Defending a castle without resorting to a defensive strategy, and being able to fight in the open to avoid being surrounded, is a tactic universally applicable throughout history and across cultures.

The two sides clashed near the Asano River. It started as a normal skirmish, and then spring rain began to fall. Uesugi Kenshin, who had 12,000 Ikko-ikki followers in his army, knew that if this kind of rain lasted for one or two days, the Asano River would soon experience a spring flood.

Upon confirming this news, Uesugi Kenshin personally led his troops to launch a fierce attack on Azai Nagamasa. This time, he did not allow the Ikko-ikki to advance, but instead had his own captain, Makai, and Uesugi Kagekatsu's Ueda troops launch an attack during a brief period of overcast skies in the rain.

The overwhelming onslaught caught Azai Nagamasa off guard. Coupled with the continuous spring rains of the past two days, making camping in the wild difficult, Azai Nagamasa decided to break camp and retreat to Kanazawa.

At the order, the troops retreated, and the water level of the Asano River rose more than five times overnight. At first, it was still possible to cross the river normally, but when the Uesugi army attacked again, men and horses scrambled to retreat, and countless people fell into the water and drowned.

439.Always fight and support Nobuzada

At this time, Uesugi Kenshin's secret envoy also arrived at Ishiyama Honganji Temple, repeatedly urging the head monk Kenryo Shonin to appeal to the Jodo Shinshu followers in the Kinai region to launch another large-scale attack.

He had already decisively defeated Azai Nagamasa's army at the Asano River in Kaga and besieged Kanazawa Castle. Kaga had been devastated by years of war, and Azai Nagamasa was relying on Kitasho in Echizen to maintain his supply lines. Kanazawa Castle had little food left, and at most by the end of summer, Uesugi Kenshin would be able to force Azai Nagamasa to surrender.

Thus, the Uesugi army could advance directly to the north bank of the river. There were no more powerful lords left in Omi Province; they had all been captured by Nobunaga. Unable to mount any significant resistance, the Uesugi army's march on Kyoto was imminent.

Before attacking Kyoto, there will inevitably be another major battle, so we earnestly request that Master Kennyo do everything in his power to help.

It's not just for myself, but also for the Jodo Shinshu sect. With Uesugi Kenshin's help, Jodo Shinshu can at least restore the earthly Buddhist kingdom of Kaga. If Uesugi Kenshin loses this round too, then it's a true defeat, and nothing will be left.

It should be noted that Azai Nagamasa alone routed the Kaga Ikko-ikki. Nobunaga's power was far too great; he didn't need a single blow to deal with us, a mere flick of his finger would be enough to make us suffer.

A whole pot of it.

Uesugi Kenshin is currently besieging Kanazawa Castle, cutting off its supply lines. We must not allow Oda clan reinforcements to reopen the supply lines, otherwise Kanazawa Castle can be revived.

The simplest solution would be for Ishiyama Honganji to launch another major offensive, tying down all the troops Oda Nobunaga might be able to mobilize. Meanwhile, if Uesugi Kenshin were to besiege Kanazawa Castle for two or three months, the more than 20,000 people within would be too much for Azai Nagamasa to handle.

But Ishiyama Honganji Temple is also nearing its end...

The main reason wasn't a lack of food. Even if the Mori army stopped transporting rations into the city, Ishiyama could still openly go out and buy food. After all, the siege had been broken, and Ishiyama could maintain communication with the outside world before the navy could encircle him.

The problem is a lack of soldiers, not a lack of people. If it were people, even a hundred thousand could be lured to the rocky mountain if the Master went on a rampage. But a simple following of believers has virtually no fighting power; everyone knows that.

Who told the Saiga clan to be defeated by Nobunaga? With the Saiga clan gone, Ishiyama lost at least 20,000 to 30,000 mercenaries with sufficient fighting power.

The number of monks and soldiers within Ishiyama-Osaka Castle, along with the relatively capable household retainers, would be at most a little over 20,000. This number would only be enough to contend with one of Nobunaga's nearby legion commanders, and they might not even be able to defeat Kawamura Shichibei Nagayoshi, who came from a humble background as a small merchant.

However, the people of Ishiyama Honganji Temple also knew that they had to cooperate with the lords who were capable of conquering Kyoto. Ishiyama was known throughout the land for its stronghold, but it was ultimately limited to a small area. Although it could tie down two or three times the size of Oda's army, its productivity was poor, and it needed external support to maintain its position.

If no external forces attacked Oda, Nobunaga, with his strength, could have surrounded and killed Ishiyama.

We must rise to the top!

Araki Murakami is beyond saving, Kawachi's Mikasa Yorimitsu is finished, Yusa Kawachi Nyudo is like a grasshopper in autumn, and Yamato's Matsunaga Hisahide has become a fragment of starlight.

Where's Mori? Help!

The Mori offensive had depleted most of the supplies sent to the front lines, necessitating further stockpiling. Meanwhile, Kikkawa Motoharu of the Mori San'in army had been persuaded by his son, Kikkawa Tsuneyoshi, to advance towards Inaba and Tajima, with plans to further capture Tango and Tanba. This flank of the army was unlikely to participate in the military operations of the Kobayakawa army in the San'yō region.

In action.

Unless Kobayakawa Takakage is willing to continue fighting Hideyoshi in Harima and help Yoshikawa Tsunegen truly conquer a territory of 150,000 koku, Yoshikawa Tsunegen and Yoshikawa Tsuneyasu feel that Inaba and Tajima are simpler, since there are no powerful local clans.

By the way, since the Yoshikawa army hasn't yet entered Tajima, Ikuno Ginzan hasn't sent any messages to Shichibei. Hideyoshi is still busy with other matters, and his military prowess is now widely known throughout the land.

There was no secret that Nobunaga himself had left Tennoji Fortress, the forward outpost monitoring the direction of Honganji Temple; Nobunaga himself was no longer there. However, his main force of over ten thousand men remained, firmly stationed at Tennoji Fortress, and could not be easily dealt with.

In addition, Nobunaga added a layer of protection: Oda Nobutada and Akechi Mitsuhide were besieging Arioka Castle and Hanakuma Castle in Settsu. If something happened at Honganji, Oda Nobutada could rush over immediately and take command of the army.

Nobutada captured six castles in a single day on Nagashima, sent Matsunaga Hisahide to heaven, and decisively defeated Araki Murashige at Amagasaki. His military achievements grew ever more impressive, and no one dared to underestimate this eldest son of Nobunaga.

He should be addressed as Lieutenant General Gifu.

It's estimated that once Araki Murashige is killed, Oda Nobutada will be promoted to Councilor, which would make him the Prime Minister of Gifu. Step by step, he will take over Oda Nobunaga's cause of unifying Japan by force.

Given the current situation, how should they fight? Immediately, the monk Kennyo asked Shimoma Yorihiro, the general in charge of the Kokkyushu, who was in actual command. If it weren't for Shimoma Yorihiro's calm organization and deployment, the victory that Honganji Temple had inflicted on the besieging army and severely damaged Hanawa Naomasa might not have happened.

Unfortunately, of the two great generals of Osaka, only he remains. Suzuki Satoyu, who inherited the name of Saiga Magoichi generation after generation, is gone. Of course, Suzuki Shigehide is still alive, but he has become a priest at Fujishiro Shrine. Barring any major unforeseen events, Suzuki Shigehide will not return to Ishiyama Osaka Castle.

We will definitely have to fight.

Who to hit?

Defeat Oda Nobutada!