Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Kongobuji Temple in Koyasan.

Lady Takaya hurriedly brought in Shichibei's Milanese children's plate armor with her maid and helped him put it on. Nobunaga saw Lady Takaya but said nothing. As his adopted daughter and the mother of the current head of the Toyama family, it was not without his tacit approval that Lady Takaya was serving as Shichibei's "concubine".

Tomiyama Jiroshiro also hurriedly came out to pay his respects to Nobunaga. He was almost ten years old now, quite a big kid. Over the years, thanks to Shichibei, Shichibei hadn't mistreated him; he had been educated and nurtured as needed.

Upon seeing Toyama Jiroshiro, Nobunaga softened his expression slightly, as he was, by patriarchal lineage, Toyama Jiroshiro's maternal grandfather. Later, during the coming-of-age ceremony, Nobunaga would even have to come and help him put on his eboshi hat.

After offering a few words of simple comfort, he dismissed the child and began giving military instructions to Shichibei. This scene was somewhat like parents who had wrongly accused their child but were too embarrassed to admit their mistake to the child.

So I cook a couple more dishes, or make a dish the child likes, as a huge compromise, and call out, "Come out and eat!" The child then comes out looking aggrieved, resolutely refusing to eat the vegetables, only eating the white rice in front of him.

And he secretly vowed in his heart that he would remember this grudge for the rest of his life, showing a resolute determination not to forgive.

The fact that Nobunaga personally came to urge Shichibei to get up and go to war is like a parent calling a wrongly accused child to eat. This shows that Nobunaga still approves of Shichibei and still favors him, and that there is still an unbreakable relationship between them.

What could Shichibei do? No matter how bitter he felt, he had to mobilize his troops and prepare for Nobunaga's campaign. Oda Nobuharu in Kishu also received military orders, as did other Kishu warlords who had surrendered, such as Yasuda Tomomune, Sogawa Moriyasu, and Tsuchibashi Morishige.

After waiting for three days, Kawamura's army was fully assembled. Even though Shichibei was heartbroken, he had to mount his horse and go into battle. Shichibei also learned about the murder of Oda's constables by the monks of Mount Koya.

The exact details of the incident are no longer important. Publicly attacking and killing Oda clan officials was enough to warrant the burning of Mount Koya. Therefore, when Nobunaga launched his campaign, even the Emperor could only send someone to plead that Mount Koya not be burned, and that a few people be killed to vent his anger.

Please, I beg you! The head temple of the Tendai sect was burned down, the head temple of the Jodo Shinshu sect was demolished, and now they're going to kill the head temple of the Shingon sect. In Nobunaga's eyes, gods and Buddhas are nothing but farts.

With the matter escalating to this point, what else can the imperial court do but plead for help?

Shichibei certainly had nothing to say in response. In his view, religious forces like Mount Koya needed to be severely punished.

The existence of attacks. Unless he can cooperate with feudal rule, even if all the gods and Buddhas in the sky want to bring down calamities, he will still have to be killed severely.

If a religion is not under the king's jurisdiction, then it has no right to exist.

It's not that I'm heartbroken and don't want to offer advice; it's just that you shouldn't offer advice in these kinds of situations. Shichibei didn't stir things up, which is already a big concession.

When the people of Kishu heard that Nobunaga had led tens of thousands of troops into the country, whether they had surrendered or not, they all rushed to Nobunaga's main camp at Wakayama Castle.

Previously, Nobunaga launched a fierce attack on Saiga Castle, burning it to the ground. After the Suzuki family and others were exterminated, Oda Nobunaga granted Saiga Castle 50,000 koku of rice, completely destroyed it, and built Wakayama Castle instead.

Mount Koya was well aware that if he didn't stand up for himself, he would face certain death. So he rallied believers throughout the country, as well as the monks of the main temple, to fully arm themselves. For centuries, the temple had not paid taxes or served in the military, and had received sponsorship from all over Japan, which allowed Kongō-bō-ji, whose territory was only 170,000 koku, to mobilize as many as 30,000 people (historical fact).

Various factions and groups from both inside and outside the mountains led their troops into Mount Koya. Mount Koya was a formidable natural barrier, surrounded by mountains over a thousand meters high. Amidst this mountain range, a single, elevated peak stood out abruptly.

A basin 800 meters deep.

Kongō-ji Temple is firmly held in this basin, and it would be impossible to break in without paying a huge price.

With 30,000 monks holding such a natural stronghold, they should have no difficulty withstanding an attack from 30,000 to 50,000 men. They should also be skilled at firing arrows and cannons from a high vantage point.

Shichibei entered Kishu and began to gather the troops from the Toyama family's territory. He then saw Suzuki Shigehide carrying a long spear, walking towards them and joining a group of small-statured soldiers.

What are you doing here, kid? Shichibei remembers that their shrine was exempted from military service.

Suzuki Shigehide saw Shichibei on horseback and greeted him. Their shrine didn't have military service, but according to regulations, they were required to send two junior monks, whose main job was collecting corpses.

Well, usually, the corpses on the battlefield are cleaned up by local temples who hire black-shovelers. Small temples with little money just send two lowly monks to do the cleaning themselves.

"You should step back a bit; the lord doesn't want to see you." Shichibei said, offering only a brief reminder.

“Now that we have surrendered, we are only serving you; why should we hide?” - Suzuki Shigehideya

He was quite the bachelor, swaggering around with his long spear on his back, following Shichibei's horse.

"Tsk."

Well, good advice is useless against a damned devil. We couldn't persuade Nobunaga, and now we're looking at Suzuki Shigehide; he's definitely beyond our control too.

You're all so unconventional, huh? Hmph, I'll consider myself an idiot if I say another word.

"By the way, regarding the attack on Mount Koya, do you know of any shortcuts that lead directly to Kongōbō-ji Temple?" Since you won't listen to advice, let's proceed officially.

“I am a follower of the Shinshu sect.” Suzuki Shigehide said, somewhat puzzled.

As I've said, the various religions in Japan are locked in fierce, life-or-death struggles. The fact that Jodo Shinshu (the True Sect of Jodo) didn't fully develop in Kishu is undoubtedly related to the presence of Negoro-ji Temple and Mount Koya, two powerful local forces.

Let alone coming to Mount Koya, just hearing the name of Mount Koya makes Suzuki Shigehide very civilized and polite, if he doesn't draw his sword and start a fight.

"..." Shichibei didn't bother to answer, he had nothing to say.

"My lord!" An envoy rode up to Shichibei.

"The Imperial Guard's order: Please search for all Takano Sacred Ones at the foot of the mountain."

"No leaks." The messenger brought Nobunaga's military order from the front.

Since Mount Koya has become an enemy, it's quite normal for them to arrest their monks. They can be taken hostage and used to threaten Mount Koya into surrendering.

478. Takano Sei, who massacred a thousand people

"Let them arrest them. They're already enemies of Oda Nobunaga, it would be strange if we didn't." Todo Takatora, standing beside him, chimed in, "Arrest a few more, who knows if some of them know the inside story."

Yes, that makes sense. Let's go catch them right away.

Shichibei stood guard at Nashigi-zuki, receiving military rations from Funagawa-ji and Meiten behind him. Funagawa-ji is the Tendai sect temple we mentioned earlier; before Nobunaga conquered Kii Province, it had contributed manpower and resources to actively resist Oda Nobunaga.

Now that Nobunaga has stormed into Kishu, even Negoro-ji and the Saiga clan have either surrendered or died. In order to preserve its 40,000 koku of land, Konagawa-ji finally lowered its proud head.

Nobunaga was willing to let such a force that was willing to bow down pass by with a smile. He would simply have them provide some of the military rations, and the past could be temporarily put aside.

As for Nobunaga himself, he was stationed at Jōren-ji Temple in Hanasaka. It must be said, Mount Kōya's assessment might have been correct. Because Nobunaga was in a crucial period of negotiations with the Imperial Court, he certainly wouldn't dare to burn down Kongō-mine Temple, which housed the ancestral tablets of past emperors, at this time.

Therefore, negotiations began between the two sides, with Nobunaga demanding a direct attack on the seventh enemy.

The entire 170,000 koku of temple territory belonging to Kongōbō-ji Temple on Mount Kōya was to be handed over, and Nobunaga would then distribute it as appropriate. Even after the new koku was distributed, service and tribute would still be required according to the prevailing standards of the Sengoku period.

Just like when Shichibei encountered Suzuki Shigehide, who had clearly become a priest, and was ordered to provide two laborers to bury the corpse. It's not about how much labor you provide, but whether you provide it at all.

If you leave, you will be teaching under the king.

Given Nobunaga's temper, Japan wouldn't tolerate anyone who disobeyed him. If you disobeyed, he would come back and beat you until you obeyed.

Not only was Shichibei ordered to arrest Kono Satoshi who was active outside, but all the lords of castles and provinces in the Kinai region also received Nobunaga's strict orders to capture Kono Satoshi. In just a few days, 1383 Kono Satoshis who were active in the Kinai region and had not yet escaped or entered the defense of Mount Konoha were arrested.

With so many hostages in his hands, Koyasan will have to think this over carefully.

The hundreds of captured Takano Sei were driven towards Nobunaga's main camp in Hanasaka. The Takano Sei, brought from various places, were surrounded like pigs, dogs, cattle, and horses, clearly having suffered some physical abuse. But they'd seen plenty of beheadings like Shichibei; what was a little beating? Hanakuma Castle was...

More than 3,000 captured Maori soldiers were even thrown into the mines.

After a couple of blows, it'll be fine in ten days or half a month. But once you go down into the mine, well, life there is a nightmare.

Shichibei and Nobunaga were still somewhat resentful. So after handing the men over to Kanamori Nagachika and Nakagawa Shigemasa of Nobunaga's main force, they rode back to their own units. No one seemed to think much of it, since Shichibei had been Nobunaga's dedicated porter for many years.

Nobunaga supported Shichibei so that Niwa Nagahide, who also possessed military talent, could be freed up to fight properly. Just the other day, Niwa Nagahide had helped Miyoshi Nobutaka and Kagawa Nobusumi conquer Awa, but now he was doing castle construction for Nobunaga instead of being sent to be a large army commander.

Since Shichibei had summoned Takano Hijiri, Nobunaga's followers accepted him. Whether they were beaten or scolded afterward was none of Shichibei's business. As for whether any of them knew the mountain trails, Shichibei had already done a quick survey before sending them over.

They promised that if he revealed the secret path to the mountain and helped the Regent conquer Mount Koya, he would not only be greatly rewarded but also granted a fiefdom. Such a thing was something I could agree to; even if Nobunaga were here, I would have agreed.

Unfortunately, they all said they didn't know.

Speaking of which, Ōno Naoyuki was said to know where the latrine path to Ōno Castle was, and led Kagawa Nobusumi to attack Ōno Naomasa. They've probably already captured it by now. Kagawa Nobusumi needs to quickly subdue the entire northern Iyo region to prepare for Oda Nobutada's later campaign against Aki.

Keep delivering supplies to Nobunaga. Oda Nobuharu, Hachiya Yoritaka, and the others at the vanguard have reportedly engaged the warrior monks of Kongo-mine Temple, with deafening cannon fire ahead.

Defending a city is not about holding it to the death; holding it to the death only leads to waiting for reinforcements or death. The key to defending a city is to constantly engage in battle outside the city, repeatedly harass the enemy, exhaust their troops, and burn their supplies.

Commanding Takano Sei in battle was the high-ranking monk Kisho Oki of Kongōbō-ji Temple. Originally from the Sasaki clan of Ōmi Province, he was a true samurai. He led his monks in repeated skirmishes against Oda's army, holding their own against them.

As a famous "encouraging monk" during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, he was also a scholar of renga poetry; now he's simply picking up his naginata again to kill people.

By the way, to be precise, he should be called Monk Yingqi, or Shenjue Yingqi. He was called "Mushi" because after he went into the mountains to become a monk, he made a great vow to uphold the "Mushi precept" for the rest of his life, never eating any rice or grains.

He's a formidable person too.

Let them fight it out. Shichibei sent people to inquire about the surrounding area. What about Sakuma Nobumori, who had been ordered by Nobunaga to live in seclusion on Mount Koya? With tens of thousands of troops killing each other in this small area, I hope something bad will happen to him, a disgraced exiled official.

We should help him to the end. We've already persuaded Nobunaga to pardon Nobumori, so we should definitely lend a hand now. At the very least, we should take him into the army and protect him properly.

"My lord, my lord..." The envoy who had been sent out to search returned, panting.

"Found them?" Shichibei peeked back, but there was nothing there. They didn't bring anyone back.

"At the gate of Nanyue, the Shigedo-den massacred over a thousand Konosa with arquebuses and bullets." The messenger brought news that left Shichibei speechless (historical fact).

It's not like they're holding people hostage. These important grassroots organizations of Koya Sei, who travel around Koyasan and raise funds, are important bargaining chips that can be used to make a clear deal with Kongōbō-ji.

Ten or eight people might not be a big deal for Kongōmine-ji. But 1383 people—such a large number—could be used to negotiate with Kongōmine-ji. To preserve the Takano Sacred Organization, the temple, if not immediately surrendering, should at least bring out the people who killed the Oda clan's constables, bound and ready for action.

Oda Nobunaga was beheaded.

Afterwards, the temple territories were divided, and all corvée labor was abolished, so everything could be negotiated through the mediation of the imperial court. Subduing the enemy without a fight, and even getting tens of thousands of bushels of temple territories in return—it was practically perfect!

"Such a thing is true!" The generals in Kawamura's tent were also extremely surprised.

Killing people on the battlefield is normal, and even the brutal killing of a few enemy soldiers and generals is quite common, but the brutal killing of hundreds of people at once is somewhat unheard of.

"The monks were terrified and retreated in all directions." The envoy had clearly not expected this either, and could only tell the truth.

“Such indiscriminate killing…” Takenaka Hanbei wanted to say something, but quickly shut up.

With such a massacre, the 30,000 men in Mount Koya, fearing further slaughter after surrender, will surely fight to the death to defend the city and do everything in their power to resist the Oda army's attack.

Of course, there is another possibility: that they would collapse out of fear, open the city gates, or flee, or surrender.

It is unknown which one it is.

But clearly, everyone thinks the former is the better choice. Because Oda Nobu...

Oda's reputation was truly tarnished. Those who refused to surrender and fought to the death were to be killed, and those who surrendered were also to be killed in the end. Since there was no difference between surrendering and not surrendering, it was better to fight to the death and perhaps, like the first Kishu campaign, exhaust the Oda army and force them to surrender.

Kongōbō-ji Temple on Mount Kōya is willing to negotiate, provided it can secure relatively favorable terms. His intention is to retain his temple lands of 170,000 koku, along with exemptions from all corvée labor and the privilege of not paying taxes or levies. If Nobunaga agrees to these conditions, he could easily bow down and call Nobunaga Shogun.

Given such a contradictory situation, to openly murder the Oda clan's constables, Koyasan really... really...

"Kongobo-ji Temple was founded by the monk Kūkai, and it has suffered such a calamity. The magistrate is acting......" Awakawa Sadanori was forced to surrender to the Oda army and had no feelings for Nobunaga.

Anyway, he's under Shichibei's command now, so he can say whatever he wants. Does Shichibei think he'll spread the word?

"Be careful what you say!" The old minister Sangshan Chongqing quickly waved his hand.

Stop talking, stop talking! What kind of nonsense is this? Is this something we should be discussing? Just shut up. With Nobunaga acting like this, insulting everyone he sees, do you think you're more shameless than Sakuma Nobumori?

However, Nobunaga's killing of over a thousand men was not in vain. The situation inside Mount Koya is still unknown, but the imperial court in Kyoto was truly terrified, quite terrified indeed.

Fearing that Nobunaga might burn down the ancestral tablets of his family, the Emperor hurriedly sent Konoe Sakihisa to Kishu to explain the situation to Nobunaga.

At this moment, no one in all of Japan doubted that Nobunaga would actually dare to burn down Mount Koya. After all, Enryaku-ji Temple had been burned down and Hongan-ji Temple demolished; Nobunaga didn't care about the influence of these religions. They usually boasted of being warrior monks with millions of followers, but when it came to actually fighting, they were nothing special.

Ishiyama Honganji Temple resisted for ten years, but ultimately it could only end in surrendering the castle. Honganji Kyonyo and Shimoma Yoritatsu were both beheaded and their heads are still hanging on Nijo Street in Kyoto, keeping company with their fallen comrades.