Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

This effectively brought Asai Nagamasa's total strength to one million koku. Of course, this one million koku was somewhat exaggerated, as Toyama Yoshiharu was relatively independent and could only be considered an ally, not a complete ally.

As a result, Akechi Mitsuhide gained the so-called "power over the seven and a half provinces," and with the Hosokawa father and son who had already conquered Tango, Mitsuhide was now practically a "Kanrei" (regent).

That's right, Tanba, Tango, Yamashiro, Mino, Kawachi, Yamato, Settsu. As for the half? In Jiangnan, Mitsuhide has Sakamoto Castle.

Some were only a few dozen or a few hundred men, while others possessed more than half a country's worth of power; it was just for show. In Settsu, for example, only a small group of people, originally assigned to Hosokawa Fujitaka, with a territory of several thousand koku, followed Mitsuhide. But when they called out to others, they still did so very loudly.

In the very end, Nobunaga even personally funded the arming of his small retinue.

Two thousand men, including archers and gunners, were all transferred to Akechi Mitsuhide as reinforcements for his attack on Yagami Castle.

The political situation within the Oda clan suddenly became drastically unstable, sparking widespread speculation. Many believed that Mitsuhide was likely planning to land in Kyushu; otherwise, he wouldn't have strengthened his forces so dramatically.

Actually, Nobunaga probably also wanted to make amends to Nobunaga.

If you harmed Mitsuhide's mother, then elevate Mitsuhide's rank. If you humiliated Shichibei, then give Shichibei a reward of 50,000 koku to make him feel better.

Such an operation can only be described as baffling.

Shichibei, who was dragging tens of thousands of pieces of rubbish back to Ananda Castle, was puzzled by this. It was utterly unrealistic to think that such a small favor could completely win someone over.

At least Shichibei didn't actually develop any greater respect for Nobunaga; he just found Nobunaga unpredictable and difficult to please. One day he'd be doing this, the next tomorrow—when would it ever end?

What to do? The only option is to send money to Nobunaga first; the bill for these tens of thousands of weapons needs to be settled with Nobunaga on the spot. Nobunaga is about to sponsor Nobutada's expedition to Aki and Bingo, and this money will all come from Nobutada.

It's quite difficult. Nobunaga, being the kind and supportive father figure he is, will certainly have to sponsor a portion of it.

In fact, Nobunaga had incurred considerable debts for his good sons and retainers. But he wasn't afraid; money could simply be earned back.

We can't think that far ahead. Let's repair and mend these tens of thousands of weapons first. Repaint what we can use, and remelt what we can't. Anyway, Sakai is just around the corner, and in less than two months, all of them will be ready for the use of the new male samurai.

480. Changing every day leaves one feeling lost.

In total, Shichibei possessed a large number of military weapons. In addition to the continuous production in Sakai, Kunitomo, and Ominato, most of the weapons captured by the Oda army also ended up in Shichibei's hands.

Not only spoils of war, but also many damaged, broken, and even weapons of unknown origin were bought back by the traveling horse grooms of Kawamuraya.

Sure enough, Tsuda Nobuyoshi came over specifically to buy some foreign goods from Shichibei. Nobuyoshi was the eldest son of Oda Nobukiyo, the lord of Inuyama Castle. After surrendering to Oda, he was stripped of his Oda lineage and renamed Tsuda. This time, he was pulled out of his former territory in Owari and received a portion of the former territory of Sakuma in Kitakawachi, and was granted a fief of 25,000 koku.

In the past two years, Nobunaga and Nobutada have been working to eliminate the natives of Owari and Mino. On the one hand, this was to pave the way for Nobutada, to completely eliminate the local "troublemakers," and to make all areas submit to Nobutada's orders.

On the other hand, because of the constant large-scale rebellions, Nobunaga preferred to use the relatively loyal people of Owari to establish the foundation of his regime in the Kinai region.

This has caused even the most insignificant village chiefs throughout Owari to become...

He was promoted to the rank of daimyo with a rank of three thousand koku, five thousand koku, or even ten thousand koku.

Don't be fooled by the fact that some legion commanders have a million or two million koku of rice, and they may seem impressive on their own. But the hundreds of minor daimyo in Owari, each with their own share of 10,000 or 20,000 koku, are actually the core of the Oda regime's middle ranks.

Because their strength was relatively weak, they were not strong enough to survive alone. They were either distributed among the various factions or united around Oda Nobunaga. It can be said that the cornerstone of the Oda regime was these hundreds of minor daimyo.

One person can only bring three or five hundred people, but what about ten people? What about a hundred people? Nobunaga's main force only has 18,000 men left, but if they are brought along, they have the resources to start fighting again.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Shichibei, Tsuda Nobumasa expressed his desire to purchase several armored kukuri and jinkasa (battle armor), as well as thirty arquebuses. Given his rank of 25,000 koku, Nobunaga would be absolutely furious if he didn't have six or seven hundred men following him.

It was a piece of cake. Shichibei told Tsuda Nobuyoshi to go to the ya in Sakaimachi and pick out whatever he wanted. There were tens of thousands of weapons and equipment. Good or bad, cheap or expensive, all kinds.

Just then, he arrived, and Shichibei asked about his father, Inuyama Tessai (Oda Nobukiyo), and how he was doing lately. After fleeing to Kai, Inuyama Tessai first served as a daimyo (chief retainer) for Takeda Shingen, but later, after the Takeda clan was destroyed, he retired.

I'm going back to Owari to lie down.

Speaking of Inuyama Tessai, he was a very prominent figure in Kami-Owari. Back when Takeda Shingen attacked the Tokaido, he had planned to use Inuyama Tessai to pacify Kami-Owari and Shichibei to pacify Shimo-Owari.

Of course, all of this is now history. Takeda Shingen himself has been put into a vat, and he is probably just a skeleton now.

Speaking of this, Tsuda Nobuyoshi was quite emotional, saying that Takeda Nobufusa invited Inuyama Tessai to serve as his retainer with 10,000 koku of rice. Inuyama Tessai didn't dare to make the decision on his own and instead brought the matter to Nobunaga's desk.

Nobunaga personally assigned nearly two thousand men to Takeda Nobufusa to help him organize a new group of Takeda retainers. Later, he also absorbed the Suruga samurai group led by Okabe Motonobu, basically setting up the backbone of the Suruga Takeda clan's army.

However, Takeda Nobufusa was worried that he wouldn't perform well in this attack on Izu and Sagami, and his retainer Okabe Motonobu wasn't a direct subordinate. So he thought of taking Inuyama Tessai to Suruga, and also recruiting about a hundred Owari samurai to Suruga.

Although Nobufusa first inherited the Iwamura Toyama family and then the Kai Takeda family, his most trusted confidants were definitely the samurai from Owari.

This is evident in the households of many Owari clan daimyo.

It was quite obvious. Kagawa Nobusumi had moved to Yuzuki Castle, and his chief retainer was still his maternal uncle from Owari, Wada Bizen-no-kami. Miyoshi Nobutaka had moved to Katsuzui Castle, and his chief retainer was his wet nurse brother, Koda Takayuki.

Takeda Nobufusa naturally hoped to recruit more vassals from Owari to support him, since Inuyama Tessai had served as a Takeda retainer for several years, so it was reasonable and appropriate for him to come now.

So, did Nobunaga agree? Yes, he agreed.

Inuyama Tessai has already taken his two sons born to the Takeda family to serve Takeda Nobufusa. He left Tsuda Nobumasa with two younger sisters (historically Oda Nobukatsu's adopted daughters), who are now waiting for Nobunaga to arrange their marriages.

Because Inuyama Tessai's wife, Lady Inuyama, was Oda Nobunaga's sister, she could be used as Oda Nobunaga's daughter if necessary. She was an important political resource, and her priority was higher than that of the dozen or so daughters of the Shichibei family.

By the way, Shichibei's adopted daughter, now Nobunaga's adopted daughter, has been given a dowry of 10,000 kan by Nobunaga and Shichibei. She has been carried to Tosaoka Toyojo in a grand procession to marry Chosokabe Nobuchika.

Nobuchika not only received a name from Nobunaga, but also married Nobunaga's adopted daughter, and greatly admired Nobunaga. Afterwards, he subdued the Mori clan...

He was about to go to the capital to pay his respects.

Of course, we should also pay our respects to Shichibei, since Shichibei also contributed a dowry to the eldest son.

"Brother, you transferred your fiefdom to Kawachi, but who transferred their fiefdom to Ki Province?" Shichibei asked casually, wanting to find out who Nobunaga had granted the hundreds of thousands of koku of land in Kawachi and Ki Province to.

“Island Sweeper, Matsuoka Kurojiro, and Atsumi Gyoubu-suke,” Tsuda Nobuyoshi announced three names.

Shichibei only had a superficial impression of him, since these were originally roughly equivalent to one hundred or two hundred of Nobunaga's foot soldiers. After years of hard work, he was granted a fief of ten thousand koku, and Nobunaga was quite shrewd in some ways.

Why are some places so unclear about this?

"The high house in Hanoi is the guardian of Miyoshiyama Castle. Where is Nakahanoi?"

"Asai Shinhachiro was granted a fief of 35,000 koku." Tsuda Nobuyoshi and Asai Masasada together were granted a fief of 60,000 koku in Kawachi.

Sakuma Nobueshige regained his 5,000 koku, leaving him with little territory in Kawachi. Perhaps it was Nobunaga's retirement allowance for Nobumori? It remains unknown.

The other day at Mount Koya, Shichibei met with Nobumori. Nobumori wasn't in good spirits, mainly due to depression stemming from setbacks. Previously...

He was the chief retainer of the Oda clan, the most important retainer in the family, and a loyal follower since the beginning of Oda's rebellion. Suddenly, he was stripped of all his official positions and territories and exiled.

Anyone in that situation would become depressed.

Judging from the severity of his depression, even if Sakuma Nobumori were given the finest food and clothing, it would be difficult for him to recover quickly. In that godforsaken place of Mount Koya, he might very well die in two or three years.

Nobunaga, why bother? Giving Sakuma Nobumori 10,000 koku to live out his retirement would have been fine. Releasing him would not only not affect his reputation, but would also stabilize the hearts of his family.

Although 10,000 koku is a drop in the ocean compared to the previous 1.2 million koku, at least it's a safe landing, even if the difference is a bit large.

“Shinhachiro is a veteran now,” Shichibei replied, snapping out of his reverie.

"The lord even bestowed the name 'Naga' upon his son Tamiya Maru's coming-of-age ceremony." Tsuda Nobuyoshi's son had not yet reached the coming-of-age ceremony, so there was no question of bestowing a name upon him.

"Asai Nagatoki?" This name is also recorded in Japanese history.

He was one of the three elders executed by Nobukatsu, so he was only at the age of 14 (coming of age) at this time. He must have been only in his late teens or early twenties when he was killed.

"Correct."

"He is quite favored." To receive a courtesy name from Nobunaga is indeed a great honor.

Although there is a difference between the upper and lower parts of the characters "信" and "长", the Asai Masasada and his son only had 35,000 koku, while the Nagasokabe family had 300,000 koku. The difference is huge.

"There's one more thing, the governor of Hayashi-Sado might also be transferred to a different post." Tsuda Nobuyoshi had already started talking.

"Hmm?" What was Lin Xiuzhen being promoted to? Hadn't he already been handed over to Nobunaga to serve as his chief retainer?

"My lord has ordered Hayashi Sado to guard Kyoto."

Is there anyone else?

"Ando Iga no Kami and his son, Niwa Ukon and his son (Niwa Ujikatsu and Niwa Ujitsugu), etc." Tsuda Nobuyoshi also came from Owari, and many of his people even traveled with him.

what!

Recently, there have been large-scale changes in the ownership of Oda clan's territories.

The landscape changed. Many became daimyo or castle lords, while others fell from grace.

But because Sakuma Nobuege was pardoned, the previously unsettled hearts of the people calmed down somewhat. Indeed, Sakuma Nobumori's arson attack on Ishiyama Town deprived Nobunaga of a golden goose, and Nobunaga must have been furious.

Since Nobuyoshi was pardoned because of Kawamura Sakyō and Chōkichi's strong remonstrance, Nobumori will also be pardoned in a year or two.

After all, the old minister still had some dignity.

"My lord, something terrible has happened!" As if to confirm Shichibei's suspicions, Saegusa Morinaka's voice rang out from outside the gate.

Shichibei's heart skipped a beat. It was clear that Nobunaga had begun to act in an extremely unpredictable and unpredictable manner, going from one thing to another.

"how? "

"The sons of Hayashi Sado no Kami, Ando Iga no Kami, and Niwa Ukon no Daifu, have been confiscated and are hereby released!" Saegusa no Morinaka opened the barrier and brought the latest news from Kyoto.

"What!" Tsuda Nobuyoshi, who had just been speaking cheerfully, was shocked.

The Lin Xiuzhen and Lin Yiji father and son, Ando Morishige and Ando Moriharu father and son, and Niwa Ujikatsu and Niwa Ujiji father and son were all stripped of their possessions and exiled.

Whether they were long-time retainers from Owari or contributors to the conquest of Mino, if Nobunaga and Nobutada were dissatisfied, they would always include Nobutada, because at this point, they were all Nobutada's retainers or allies. Those who were dissatisfied were all kicked out by the father and son.

Like father, like son!

This father and son truly treat people like dirt; they act on impulse without considering the political implications. And in the current situation, they're even fanning the flames.

"Ah..." Shichibei could only let out a long sigh, without saying anything more.

Tsuda Nobuyoshi was just an acquaintance, not close enough to be a friend or ally, so he couldn't say anything that crossed the line. All he could do was sigh.

"Please excuse me for taking my leave." Tsuda Nobuyoshi was clearly in a hurry to get back.

These minor daimyo, who were not as powerful as the castle lords, naturally had their own social circles. Although they were on good terms with Shichibei because they were both from Owari in their early years, they might not discuss such important matters in detail with Shichibei.

"Please." Shichibei quickly stood up and escorted Tsuda Nobuyoshi to the door.

Although he was only a minor daimyo with 25,000 koku, such people rise very quickly. Hideyoshi took 10,000 koku of Yokoyama, and in the blink of an eye, he had 120,000 koku of Kotani in Kohoku. As long as Nobunaga values ​​you, 100,000 or 200,000 koku is not difficult to obtain.

After sending the man away, immediately go and summon the senior retainers of the household. Halfway through issuing the order, Shichibei abruptly stopped himself. Inviting all the key retainers and high-ranking officers would surely cause unrest. It would be better to send someone to invite Takenaka Hanbei and Todo Takatora first; as for the other retainers, leave them for now.

Because the crickets were meant to represent Oda Nobunaga, Shichibei didn't call out to either Kuwayama Shigeharu or Ota Gyuichi. It wasn't that they couldn't call out, but they were afraid of causing some trouble.

The two quickly climbed the city walls, where no such news had yet reached the foot of the walls. After hearing Saegusa Morinaka's report, they wore expressions of disbelief.

Shichibei thought for a moment and then had Saegusa Morinaka sit by the door so he could hear their discussion. After all, he was an adopted son; he had to be taken care of eventually.

"It now seems that the Regent's Hall and the Gifu Hall have reached a consensus." Toudou Takatora made no secret of it; some things were indeed obvious.

"It's more than a consensus; it's practically discarded like trash!" Takenaka Hanbei's words were quite harsh.

This is pure, blatant discarding of a useful tool after it's been used. Who is this even meant for? Doing this over and over again is driving people to the brink of madness. Sakuma Nobumori, exiled to Mount Koya, was certainly suffering, even becoming depressed. But are those like Shichibei, still in their positions, enjoying high rank and generous salaries, truly content?