Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

I had just washed my feet and was lying in my self-designed super-sized dormitory room, which could fit a hundred people, when someone knocked on the door. It's already dark; I'm not accepting guests.

But there was no other way; the job at the post station was to receive guests, so Shichibei had no choice but to put on his outer robe and go open the door for people. Luckily, it was summer, and with the robe hanging loose, the evening breeze made him completely naked.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a dozen or so people, including Yonekura Nobutsugu.

You guys are pretty quick! You found Ashikaga Yoshiaki in just twelve days and even got a written certificate from him.

Yonekura Nobutsugu also found it absurd. How could Shichibei, the stable owner, have opened a post station again? But since they were acquaintances, he immediately relaxed and asked if there was anything to eat.

"Do you want some leftover rice?" It was an unsolicited question, but the group of Takeda samurai were happily eating leftover rice soaked in hot water, with two slices of dried radish each.

After asking around, it turned out to be Ashikaga Yoshiaki—no, it should be Ashikaga Yoshiaki now. Asakura Yoshikage rushed to Wakasa and met with Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Yoshiaki was very pleased and seemed to have the idea of ​​relying on Asakura Yoshikage.

But that's all hindsight. Right now, Yoshiaki is in a situation where no one can provide substantial support for his march on Kyoto. Take Uesugi Kenshin, for example; he sent him a lot of money, but he couldn't send troops to help him.

Wakasa Takeda Yoshitomo was in a terrible state, and Yoshiaki realized that his brother-in-law was incapable of fighting the Miyoshi Triumvirate. So at this moment, Wakasa was writing letters to daimyo all over the country. Not to mention the letters to Asakura Yoshikage and Rokkaku Yoshikata, let's not even mention the nearby Tango Isshiki family.

He is currently writing to Higo Sagara Yoshiyo, hoping that Sagara Yoshiyo will send several hundred men to help him.

To put it bluntly, even those from later generations who are familiar with the history of Japan's Sengoku period would likely pause for a few seconds upon hearing the name Sagara Yoshiaki before recalling where he might be from. Yet Ashikaga Yoshiaki actually wrote a letter and sent it to Higo in Kyushu.

As for Aki Mori Motonari, Iyo Kono Michinobu, and Noto Hatakeyama Yosuna, they wrote about them non-stop, with constant urging.

Upon seeing Yonekura Nobutsugu visit him, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, in a moment of wild inspiration, wrote a letter specifically for him. Yoshiaki believed that Uesugi Kenshin greatly respected the shogunate and was friendly towards him, the future shogun, so he could write to Uesugi Kenshin to persuade him to cease hostilities with Takeda Shingen and Hojo Ujiyasu.

Since Takeda and Hojo are still allies, the three most powerful forces in the entire eastern country—Uesugi, Takeda, and Hojo—can jointly send troops to Kyoto to assist Ashikaga Yoshiaki in Wakasa and help him ascend the throne in Kyoto.

This Shangluo is not the same as that Shangluo. Yizhao's idea is for him to persuade the feudal lords along the way to make way. Whether the three families send five thousand or ten thousand men, they can lead the troops into the mountain city under his command.

Whether it was this ingenious idea that sparked Ashikaga Yoshiaki's little mind, Yoshiaki also wrote letters to Azai Nagamasa and Rokkaku Yoshikata, Oda Nobunaga and Saito Tatsuoki, and Asakura Yoshikage and the Kaga Ikko-shu disciples.

Stop hitting! Stop hitting! Please stop hitting!

She looked just like that little girl shouting excitedly in the rain.

Are these rivals something you can just stop fighting at will? They're practically mortal enemies, each wanting to tear the other to pieces.

The only thing worth mentioning is that Ashikaga Yoshiaki did have some brains after all. After this moment of impulsiveness, he finally came to his senses and decided to join Asakura Yoshikage. At least Asakura Yoshikage had 750,000 koku of rice in Echizen and Wakasa, plus the revenue from the northward trade, so calling him a daimyo with a million koku of rice would be quite appropriate.

"This news is quite important. Let's travel together tomorrow and report this to Nobunaga." Upon hearing that it was someone from the Takeda clan, and that they had just returned from Ashikaga Yoshiaki's time, Nobunaga immediately granted them an audience. After recounting the main points, Nobunaga only confirmed one thing: Ashikaga Yoshiaki had already gone to rely on Asakura Yoshikage, hadn't he?

Yes.

After receiving a clear answer, Nobunaga thanked Yonekura Nobutsugu, invited him to drink, and gave him his folding fan as a gift.

Afterwards, Yonekura led the remaining horses back to Kai in peace. Nobunaga, on the other hand, beat the drums to gather the crowd and immediately summoned all the generals to hold a meeting of senior retainers.

Oh dear, I forgot to ask Yonekura Nobutsugu if they've started making candles in Kai yet.

Well, Shichibei miraculously also attended the meeting, but not as a high-ranking retainer, but as someone involved in the Mino campaign, sitting in the corridor of the main hall, waiting for Nobunaga's summons. Hachisuka Koroku was also sitting next to him, looking quite respectable, dressed impeccably.

Perhaps it was the nature of a small-time businessman, but Shichibei also took a good look at Xiao Liu's clothes. Hmm, one set of clothes for this kid would be enough for Shichibei to make one and a half sets.

Hideyoshi was different, because he was already a senior retainer of the rank of "Great General" and had finally sat at the end of the list of generals. He not only had to attend the meeting, but also had the right to speak and vote.

Shichibei could hear the discussions inside the main hall clearly. Nobunaga brought up the topic himself: Ashikaga Yoshiaki had sided with Asakura Yoshikage, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, Yoshikage would either this year or next year support Ashikaga Yoshiaki to go to Kyoto.

Whether he travels west or east of the lake, the local powers will not refuse the shogun's passage. He only needs to defeat the Miyoshi Triumvirate, who occupy Kyoto, to smoothly ascend to the throne.

The Asakura army at this time was one of the strongest armies in the country.

Both the Tsuruga troops responsible for the Wakasa and Omi regions and the Ōno troops responsible for the Kaga region were renowned and well-established military units.

The most legendary battle was the Battle of Jiulongtouchuan, where 9,000 men defeated 300,000. Even though the vast majority of the 300,000 rebels were civilians, the number 300,000 was still astonishing.

The Tsuruga and Ōno armies, who achieved a record of defeating 300,000 with only 9,000 men, were not only famous in the Hokuriku region, but were also renowned forces throughout the Kinai region.

With the nation's strongest army, he could support a shogun, take control of the capital, and eventually become a governor, plotting to conquer the world. Nobunaga had dreamed of such a powerful opportunity before, and judging by his own experience, Asakura Yoshikage must have considered it as well.

Everyone listening below can understand, so what do you mean by this?

What does that mean? This year we must do everything we can to kill Saito Tatsuoki. If we fail, when the Kinai region is divided up, the Oda clan won't even get a drop of the pie.

This is something that doesn't make sense to everyone. Even if you don't kill Ryūō, you're still the lord of Owari Province, qualified to play chess. Why is it absolutely necessary to kill Ryūō?

Since Oda is currently on the offensive and Saito is defending, Saito will definitely try to find outside help. At that time, with the shogun's righteous cause, the Asakura family might accept Ryuko's request for help and get involved in the Mino affair.

Think of Ōuchi Yoshioki. Is there anyone in the entire Kinai region that he hasn't beaten? In Shikoku, Saigoku, and Kaido, countless people have been indiscriminately slaughtered by Ōuchi Yoshioki. He forced countless Kanrei, Kanrei-dai, Shugo, and Shugo-dai to their deaths during his attacks.

If it were Asakura Yoshikage instead, that's a possibility...

Ultimately, the fundamental reason is that Nobunaga no longer needs to consider Ashikaga Yoshiaki's opinion, because Yoshiaki relies solely on Asakura Yoshikage, thus rendering the ceasefire treaty between Oda and Saito, which Yoshiaki facilitated, null and void.

With the big business of supporting the shogun gone, Nobunaga could only focus on the smaller business of conquering Mino.

"Hey, brother, you should have said so earlier. Why did you have to make it sound so high-class and sophisticated?" The generals in the main hall remained silent, but Shichibei, sitting in the corridor, thought to himself, "That's what you don't understand. Oda Nobunaga's family background is very humble. He might even be a priest from Atsuta in Owari who impersonated Oda."

Therefore, Nobunaga was quite particular about righteousness and legitimacy when it came to warfare. When he attacked Mino, he used his status as Saito Dosan's son-in-law to fabricate the story that Dosan had passed Mino to him, and openly launched an attack.

For example, the attack on Asakura was based on the fact that Asakura had not obeyed the shogun's request to march to Kyoto. The attack on Miyoshi was because Miyoshi was a traitor who murdered the shogun. The attack on Matsunaga was because Matsunaga was a fickle and treacherous person who plotted rebellion.

Inevitably, in his daily actions, Nobunaga would cloak himself in a veneer of sophistication. As a child, he was dissolute and flamboyant, but as he grew up, he became serious and dignified; Nobunaga's personality truly changed.

"Alright, get ready. After the summer harvest, we'll march to Tangdong immediately!"

Upon receiving the order, the generals responded with a resounding roar; it was just a battle, and they were all seasoned veterans. Shichibei, however, thought to himself, "Why did you call me here without asking me anything?" Struggling to his feet, Shichibei had to wait for the senior retainers to leave before he could make his exit.

"Shichibei is outside? Come in."

55. Preparations for the Northern Ise Campaign

Wasn't the meeting adjourned?

Shichibei was a little confused when his name was suddenly called, but since Oda Nobunaga had called him, he had to go in and pay his respects to Nobunaga immediately.

Similarly, Hachisuka Koroku was also called by name. Nobunaga casually praised Shichibei, saying that the Sunomata Post Station was very well built and he was very satisfied. After praising him, he began to talk about business.

As mentioned at the meeting, there's one thing: to quickly conquer Mino. There's another: the eight districts of northern Ise. Northern Ise is a complex web of power struggles, with numerous smaller factions, making it a veritable mini-Warring States period.

During Nobuhide's reign, he had attempted to seize territory in northern Ise. At that time, Nobuhide waged war on all sides, and there was no power he didn't fight. Of course, the result of making enemies everywhere was that he made enemies everywhere. In the end, he made a marriage agreement with Saito Dosan, which barely ensured the stability of the north and allowed him to concentrate on dealing with the wars in Mikawa and northern Ise.

And then? Then Shin-soo just spread his hands and kicked his legs.

The mess was left to Nobunaga. The Oda clan that Nobunaga took over was actually quite precarious at the time, not a powerful force with deep roots and a solid family foundation.

However, that's all old news. Nobunaga has now suppressed Zeno and is focusing all his efforts on conquering Mino. But he can't abandon the northern forces either; Nobunaga's thinking is simple.

Did Shichibei have trade dealings with merchants from Anotsu in the Kita region? Did Hachisuka Koroku serve as a member of the Kawanami clan and have dealings with local forces in the Kita region?

The Seki family of Kita-Ise, the Seki family of Seki Morinobu and Seki Issei, only had a little over 20,000 koku at most. The branch family of Mitsuyoshi had a little over 10,000 koku, and the Kobe family was slightly better, with a little over 40,000 koku. Basically, they were all minor figures, nothing particularly noteworthy.

Without strong local power, there is no strong control over the region. Naturally, would sending some "traveling merchants" and "Kawabe-shu" to northern Ise be discovered, or even arouse suspicion?

Definitely not.

They are all people with public identities and legitimate professions, so what is there to doubt?

After sending people there, they only need to do one thing: lie in wait or search for information sources to prevent Saito Tatsuoki, the lord of Mino, from fleeing to Kita-Ise.

Better safe than sorry. Nobunaga still harbored murderous intentions towards his beloved nephew. After all, there was only one Mino; it either belonged to Nobunaga or to Tatsuoki.

Ow...

Got it. So, you're going to lay in ambush in northern Ise to intercept Ryūō, who might be fleeing there? I understand, Shichibei completely understands. This kind of thing was perfectly normal in Japan's Sengoku period; it was practically an everyday occurrence.

Hachisuka Koroku understood and simply nodded, indicating that he would take good care of the matter.

Both men lowered their heads, but Nobunaga cleared his throat, indicating that he wasn't finished. Besides preparing for an ambush against Saito Tatsuoki, they were also to gather extensive information on the movements of various factions in northern Ise. Any news should be reported to Nobunaga immediately.

Now that Nobunaga has temporarily lost the prestigious title of supporting Yoshiaki Asari's march on Kyoto, he'll have to look for a lesser one. Expansion is a must, and ideally, some minor power in northern Ise would take in Saito Tatsuoki, allowing him to attack northern Ise openly.

In addition, Nobunaga introduced Takigawa Kazumasu to the two, saying that Takigawa Kazumasu had already begun to make arrangements in northern Ise, and that the more cooperation they had, the more people they sent, and the more information they had, the better.

Having sufficient sources of information is essential for making adequate preparations for future wars.

"Understood, understood. Nobunaga has finished speaking this time." Shichibei and Hachisuka Koroku then greeted Takikawa Kazumasu, as they were all loyal to Nobunaga and would see each other frequently.

At this time, Kazumasu was not yet considered a senior retainer of the Oda clan, and he wasn't even qualified to participate in the Oda clan's senior retainer meetings. To use a somewhat inaccurate analogy, Takigawa Kazumasu was more like a mercenary leader for Oda Nobunaga, the daimyo.

Yi Yi had his own group of men who were responsible for all sorts of dirty work, and of course, they could also participate in actual military operations. In more Western terms, Yi Yi was a mercenary leader or mercenary manager.

If Nobunaga paid him for 200 men, he could recruit 200 men to do certain tasks for Nobunaga. If Nobunaga paid him for 500 men, he could recruit 500 men from Koga and Ise.

In a sense, Nobunaga and Kazumasu did not yet have a clear master-servant relationship at this time; their relationship was more akin to that of a business employer-employee relationship.

After all, Nobunaga had not yet established any power or clear interests in northern Ise at this time, so he could not use the territory to establish a master-servant relationship to bind Takigawa Kazumasu.

Kazumasu Takigawa's father and brother are still serving the Rokkaku clan as members of the Koga ninja. To put it more mysteriously, their family is also associated with the so-called Koga ninja.

What ninjas? These days, they're just doing things like spying, ambushes, and arson. To put it more grandly, they're the rulers of the underworld; to put it simply, they're just a bunch of starving villagers in the mountains, doing petty theft to make ends meet.

If you give me money, I'll work for you today. If he gives me money, I'll work for him tomorrow.

As for the Lord of Xiejiang City? A mercenary manager definitely needs an office. He can't just wander the wilderness forever. These days, mercenary managers in Italy openly appear in big towns, setting up offices and dealing with banks, guilds, and even feudal lords.

Moreover, it's said that Kanie Castle was acquired through a trick, deception, and ambush by Takigawa Kazumasu, who cleverly manipulated the old comrade Hattori Tomosada. It wasn't a famous castle or town to begin with; at best, it was just a fortress. If it weren't for Takigawa Kazumasu's reputation, Kanie Castle probably wouldn't have even appeared in history.

However, this scale and operation are quite in line with Takikawa Kazumasu's current status. He's a mercenary, after all; why should he worry about morality?

The two sides met, exchanged pleasantries, and then discussed cooperation.

Leaving Ōhiroma, Nobunaga was surprisingly traveling the same route as the three, though he was heading out of the castle while the others were retreating as usual. Following behind Nobunaga, he didn't even get a proper chat. Oh well, there will be plenty of opportunities later.

By the time they reached the gate, Nobunaga was already mounted on his horse. Suddenly, he called out to Shichibei. It wasn't anything important; he just wanted Shichibei to bring him a map of the route from Komakiyama Castle to Tsushima-cho.

We need to draw the newest route, and it must be the most convenient for marching. What does "most convenient for marching" mean? It doesn't mean the shortest route, but rather the route with the best road conditions, where supplies and water are most easily obtained, and where it's easiest to support troop gathering and advance.

Yes, Nobunaga has already set his sights on northern Ise, so he has to start planning his advance.

After receiving their orders, the three of them left the city. Hachisuka Koroku was going back to his Ushiko, Takigawa Kazumasu was going back to Kanie, and Shichibei was going back to Tsushima.

Coincidentally, Takikawa Kazumasu and Shichibei were traveling the same way, and Kanie Castle was not far from Tsushima.

Takigawa Kazumasu had also heard about the order to inspect the route, as he frequently traveled this route. He casually asked Shichibei what he was thinking. What else could he be thinking? It was definitely Komakiyama Castle – Kiyosu Castle – Katsuhata Castle (now abandoned) – Tsushima Town.

Look, doesn't it resemble the career paths of Nobuhide and Nobunaga, father and son? Nobuhide built Katsuhata Castle, suppressed and won over Tsushima Town, and gained the power to stir up trouble everywhere in Shimo-Owari. Nobunaga was also born in Katsuhata Castle, and later, father and son developed towards Kiyosu Castle, or Kiyosu Castle. In Nobunaga's time, they finally conquered Kiyosu.

Now Nobunaga has built a castle at Komakiyama and conquered Inuyama, unifying Owari. The efforts of two generations of father and son have finally brought him success.

After the streets are built to Tsushima, across the Kiso River lies Kita-Ise, the land of the lords of Kita-Ise Province. Nobunaga couldn't possibly have built the roads ahead of time. Wait, is Nobunaga hinting at me? Is he sending me to investigate the street routes of Kita-Ise beforehand?

"Possibly," Shichibei quickly noted. He then sent people to Anotsu and Ominato, preferably by land as well. After all, he was already part of the Tsushima Alliance, and his documents were practically universally accepted; the major commercial towns and smaller lords in the vicinity generally recognized them.

Why would anyone offend a big boss of the Tsushima Kaido Association?

When this topic came up, Shichibei asked Takigawa Kazumasu what the situation was like in northern Ise. In later years, people on the internet would talk about things like the forty-eight families of northern Ise, or the Warring States period.