Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

65. There are rumors about the preparation of the dowry.

Hey, if we were really sending Princess Tokuhime to Okazaki in Mikawa, we'd definitely hire your horses. It's impossible to take a boat; with a dowry of over a thousand kan and the accompanying samurai foot soldiers, we'd need at least a hundred horses to pull her along.

What's there to ask? Whoever goes will take you with them.

Sugaya Nagayori is right, Shichibei realized. He'd definitely take Kawamuraya's horse with him; after all, he could catch a glimpse of the old tortoise's appearance either way.

"Then I won't stop Sugaya Nagayori," Shichibei said, patting his horse as he watched Sugaya Nagayori depart. Once the dust kicked up by the horse had settled, Shichibei returned to his room, took out the list, and reviewed it with Inase Yoshinari. Inase Yoshinari had previously worked in the water transport industry under the patron Ito, and had seen many goods, so he could readily name several prices.

Tang goods are not cheap, while Kyoto goods are slightly better, but Princess Tokuhime's dowry would certainly not be bad if it were not well-prepared, otherwise it would not have caught Nobunaga's eye.

Then you go and do it.

Shichibei was the governor of Kaito District. Unless it was for important official business, he couldn't easily leave his post, or at least he had to stay in Owari.

There's no need for such a fuss. Just find a few strong men, hire a boat, and you just hired some samurai, right? Let them go out with swords for protection. You can definitely get everything ready in Sakaimachi. There's no need to go all the way to Kyoto. A round trip can be quick; it can be done within ten days.

Afterwards, they were taken to Komakiyama Castle to be inspected by Nobunaga and Princess Tokuhime, and the expenses were settled there as well. The fabric for the clothes was given to Nobunaga's family to cut and sew, so that dozens of changes of clothes could be prepared for Princess Tokuhime.

This kid really grew up in a business world; when it comes to business and trade, he's much better at it than anyone else.

However, he made a mistake. Shichibei wasn't choosing people who could kill; he was choosing people who could get things done. As for those who could kill, Nobunaga sent twenty, didn't he? Gentlemen, draw lots. Ten out of the twenty will go on a publicly funded trip to Sakaimachi to broaden their horizons. Their main task is to oversee Princess Tokuhime's dowry, understand?

The soldiers, who had just returned from Sekijo, initially thought they could rest for a few days, but when they heard they were being assigned work again, they were grumbling to themselves. After Shichibei finished speaking, they stopped grumbling. "Find twenty straw stalks, blacken the bottom of ten of them with ink, and draw lots."

Going to Sakaimachi now is just like going to Shanghai back in the days of reform and opening up.

I traveled to Shanghai in the 1990s; it was a very popular travel destination. So much so that even Montblanc could rip off tourists from the mainland by selling a single T-shirt for over a thousand RMB.

Those who won the lottery were overjoyed, while those who didn't were truly disappointed.

The only rule for this publicly funded trip is to keep an eye on the dowry. That's all. Whether you split into two or three shifts to guard it, I don't care. As long as the dowry returns to Tsushima safely, you're not involved.

On the ship to Sakaimachi, we'll prepare rice balls for you. We'll also provide bento boxes for you in Sakaimachi and on the return trip, and you'll be paid the full price. Now go find Inase Yoshinari to collect your meal payment. Accommodation will be arranged later. If Tennoji-ya provides accommodation, you'll stay there; otherwise, you'll stay on the ship to guard Princess Tokuhime's dowry.

Understand?

The group readily agreed and got up to collect their money from Inase Yoshinari. They definitely wouldn't be leaving today; they'd have to go to Boss Ito tomorrow to rent a large ship before setting off. With so much dowry, it was a bit unsettling to put it on an ordinary ship at the last minute.

The remaining ten were divided into two shifts: one shift had a ten-day holiday, while the other shift spent their time at the Kawamura-ya (traditional village office). The lack of local lawsuits was one thing; the existence of a county magistrate's office and personnel was another.

At least you should provide a door open for people to file a lawsuit if they want to.

Then Shichibei finally received an official mission from the county governor. At the Battle of Todo Castle, a local magistrate had been killed in battle. He had no adult brothers or sons, so Komakiyama Castle sent a document asking if it was possible to adopt a son from the same village to join his family, marry his wife, and rebuild their household.

This was a perfectly normal military and political act. Former Sekijo lord Nagai Michitoshi married Endo Yoshitaka's mother and became Endo Yoshitaka's successor, supporting the Endo family's business.

To give another example, Ryuzoji Takanobu married his own mother to Nabeshima Naoshige's father to maintain stability in his family. Fortunately, he did this, which allowed him to secure his position when he ascended the throne at a young age.

Then Shichibei will have to go and uphold justice.

The idea of ​​widows dancing on graves is a thing of the past. These days, people's greatest goal is to live. If a husband dies, a woman can remarry immediately without facing any criticism. Without support, it's very difficult to survive on your own.

Upon arriving at the gate, Shichibei discovered that this family was quite well-off, possessing over fifty kan of property and owning land in half the village. During the last military conscription, their family sent six people.

The head of the household was shot by a musket and died instantly, as did one of his family members who had gone to war. Now his son is five years old and his younger brother is ten, so it's really impossible for them to immediately don armor and carry a spear for Nobunaga.

Do you have your own ideas? Although Shichibei is here to enforce the order on behalf of Nobunaga, this is the first time he has done something like this, and Shichibei wants to go through the entire process.

For example, if the head of the family has any cousins, that would be the best, at least they'd be relatives. If not, then they'd have to adopt an adult male from another family, someone they wouldn't know at all, and there's even a chance he might raise the original owner's child to death.

The woman representing the family who was discussing the matter with Shichibei pulled her son aside and said that she had a seventeen-year-old cousin from her maternal family who could be adopted and married to her.

Row!

Is he here? Shichibei represents the government and doesn't care about the man's identity, as long as the military service of this conscript household can be reorganized and someone can carry a gun.

A man of similar age was brought up, and Shichibei, observing his appearance, thought he seemed quite strong. So he had him put on armor, carry a spear, and run a lap to test him. When the man returned from the paddy field, he proved to be a capable laborer for Nobunaga.

That concludes the proceedings. It is determined that you are bound by fate, will change your names and surnames, and will inherit the family line. You will be reinstated to the military service register. Two others died in battle, so you are exempt from two years of annual tribute, two years of general corvée labor, two years of land tax, and one round of building tax collection, plus an additional five strings of cash.

Is there anything you disagree with? If you're not satisfied, you can appeal to Komakiyama Castle. Do you know how to write a complaint? I can write it for you.

Having finally accomplished something, Shichibei was quite pleased. The woman opposite him, however, was rather surprised; this new county magistrate looked rather unimpressive.

It's ridiculous to talk about authority with a small businessman.

"No, no, no complaints. This is a good solution." The woman immediately agreed, saying that closing the case this way was indeed swift. Shichibei went out, mounted his horse, and was even seen off to the door.

Yoriki, who accompanied Shichibei to handle the matter, seemed to have dealt with similar situations before, remaining expressionless. Shichibei, on the other hand, was quite excited, even asking Yoriki if his handling of the situation was satisfactory and if the procedures were adequate.

Yu Li readily agreed, but was curious why Shichibei hadn't eaten a meal at their house. He was out on official business; why hadn't he eaten at their home?

Hmph, this isn't the first time Shichibei has done something like this.

There are some conventions and such that Shichibei doesn't know, but since you reminded me, I'll do it next time. Shichibei isn't unaware of the principle of blending in with the crowd, and since he's not expecting to create an image of clean governance, enough is enough.

I hummed a wild tune as I returned to Kawamura-ya, only to see many people carrying boxes and parcels into the shop. There were so many of them, and judging by the time, they must have returned from the boat to Sakaimachi.

I handed the horses to the porter and asked, and sure enough, it was true. With so many chests and crates, I'd need to take dozens more horses with me to Komakiyama Castle. I wonder if Nobunaga will pay for them.

When I opened the box, I saw several rolls of Jingtang paper, which was later regarded as an intangible cultural heritage in Japan. Nowadays, it is not mainly used for writing, but for pasting sliding doors.

Whether it's good or bad, Shichibei has never used it. The paper we use to cover our sliding doors is just ordinary mulberry paper, not very translucent, but it's produced in Mino next door, so it's neither expensive nor hard to buy.

Since Tokuhime married into the Matsudaira family, it was only natural for her to use good things.

They pulled out the list, sat down, and compared it item by item, planning to send it to Komakiyama tomorrow. The men and samurai who returned from Sakaimachi were all quite excited, clearly having seen a great world, and were talking about all sorts of things. Some even brought their own packages, it was unclear what they had bought.

Two men were sitting by the manger, boasting to others about how great the Tang-type ships were. They said, "Our Tsushima tawara-go (marble-ships) can't even compare to the San-ichi Tang-type ships."

Tsk tsk tsk, it's a pity I can't go up and take a look.

The man who led the way to Shichibei's old home in Sakai, Nanbu Sonjiro Sanenaga, who was of the same generation as Shichibei's father, sat opposite Shichibei. The old man was over fifty, which was quite old for this era. Nobunaga only managed to stay alive until he was forcibly taken off the show at forty-nine.

Their Nanbu family is said to have connections with southern Oshu. According to "The Lineage of the Noble and the Humble" and "The Mirror of My Wife," the Nanbu family once served as a retainer in the Kamakura Shogunate and had a connection with Hojo Tokiyori. As a result, they acquired a piece of land in northern Ise, and one branch of the family migrated there.

It's hard to tell if it's true or not; Shichibei doesn't really believe it. However, Nanbu Sanenaga does do the same thing as his ancestors; his family were horse herders in Nanbu, Koma District, Kai Province.

If we only talk about horse breeding, it really is a case of ancestors and grandchildren sharing the same origin.

Putting that aside, Nanbu Sancho pulled out a small notebook. He's getting old and forgetful. Plus, he's a businessman, so he keeps accounts of many things; the old man has a "handbook."

As expected, something was amiss. What was it? The imperial court had successively recognized Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Ashikaga Yoshihide as Left Horse Heads.

This isn't just a matter of one government official selling to two different parties; the imperial court selling official positions was nothing new. It's said that at its peak, a single position as the governor of Bingchu could be sold for over a dozen different people. Even Nobunaga's father, Nobuhide, bought the position of governor of Bingo in his early years. How much he spent is unknown, but it wasn't expensive, because Nobuhide had once donated a huge sum of 1,000 kan to the imperial court for the renovation of the Ise Grand Shrine.

Other official positions were less important; samurai daimyo could even obtain positions like the fourth rank of Kyoto Daifu, such as Date Tanemune and Date Harumune, who both served as Kyoto Daifu, as did Isshiki Yoshitatsu and Hosokawa Harumoto. Ōuchi Yoshitaka even served as Dazai Shōni and was granted the rank of Junior Third Rank during his lifetime.

Only the left horse head...

This position was the starting point for the Muromachi Shogun. In this era of conformity and established titles, the fact that the heir of the Shogun's family was granted the title of Left Horse Head meant that he had been recognized by the Imperial Court and was an officially certified successor to the Shogunate.

Given this premise, what's with appointing both Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Ashikaga Yoshihide as left horse heads?

Wait! Shichibei suddenly clapped his hands. Why didn't Asakura Yoshikage send troops to Kyoto after the summer harvest to send Ashikaga Yoshiaki to the capital to succeed the throne?

It should be noted that winter comes early and goes late in the Hokuriku region; it's not uncommon for it to start snowing in October. The snow in December can be so heavy that it could completely bury a modern-day Japanese dwarf, rendering them immobile.

If we don't go to Luoyang after the summer harvest, we won't be able to go this year.

What's even stranger is that the Miyoshi Triumvirate didn't send Ashikaga Yoshihide to Kyoto to assume the throne. If he didn't go to Kyoto to succeed to the throne and was proclaimed shogun, he would be called a kōbō (palace official) and referred to as the "gosho" (shogun), but he wouldn't be a proper shogun.

There's something absurd about this, both inside and out. What's going on here?

Seeing Shichibei looking at him, Nanbu Saneatsu, from his hometown, closed his eyes and actually dozed off. Whether he was genuinely tired or just using sleep as an excuse was unclear. In any case, he was old enough to act like a senior citizen. Besides, he was from the Kawamura family's hometown, so there was some respect between them. Was Shichibei really going to pull out his abacus and slap him in the face?

That's true, what would an old man like him know? We can't even understand the major affairs of the Kyoto court, let alone ordinary people. Make a note of this, and when you send the dowry into the city tomorrow, tell Nobunaga if you see him.

In any case, Nobunaga has temporarily abandoned his plan to support Yoshiaki Asakura, since Yoshiaki had sided with Yoshikage Asakura and had repeatedly mediated between Nobunaga and Ryūō. It's understandable that Nobunaga is somewhat displeased.

Horses were put on the horses, and people were brought along. The dowry, load after load, was quickly delivered to the foot of Komakiyama Castle. Then it was carried into Komakiyama Castle, where Nobunaga's principal wife, Lady Nohime Sagiyama, came forward to accept the gifts, of course, with Princess Tokuhime accompanying her.

Whether a seven-year-old girl can truly understand that she is about to get married is hard to say.

"Where is Nobunaga?" Shichibei asked Lady Nohime. "Nobunaga went to Sunomata, saying he had some business to attend to." Shichibei was a hereditary retainer, so it was only natural for him to inquire about his lord's whereabouts; there was no need to hide anything.

They went to Sunomata? Could it be to recruit the three leaders of Western Mino? It's almost time, I wonder if that's it. But there's no point in guessing these things, we'll just wait for Nobunaga outside the castle.

It wasn't even dark yet when Nobunaga returned quite early. When he learned that Shichibei needed to see him, he assumed it was because he was in a hurry to settle accounts.

Instead of letting Shichibei go up the castle, he rode his horse straight to Kawamura-ya's branch in Komakiyama. Just as he was about to ask Shichibei how much it cost in the end, he learned from Shichibei that the Imperial Court had also issued a post to the Left Horse Head.

One sentence was enough to silence Nobunaga.

66. You must have some idea.

Nobunaga remained silent, and Shichibei, naturally not wanting to ramble on, let Nobunaga walk to the haystack on his own. Then he sat down heavily and began to ponder.

Pulling Sasa Narimasa over, Shichibei whispered, "What were you doing in Sunomata? Why did you come back so late?" Sasa Narimasa didn't try to hide the truth, saying it was to sway the various factions in Nishi Mino. Nishi Mino wasn't just dominated by the three factions of Inaba Itetsu, Ujiie Bokuzen, and Ando Morishuna; there were many other scattered factions.

Aside from Takenaka Hanbei, one of the so-called two great generals of the land, who is well-known to many in later generations, there was also Fuwa Mitsuharu, a general from western Mino. Fuwa Mitsuharu was quite respectful to Tatsukō, fighting until Tatsukō withdrew from Mino before surrendering to Nobunaga.

Nobunaga was ruthless, demoting him completely and changing his job immediately. After serving Nobunaga for several years and proving his loyalty, he was then sent to Shibata Katsuie as a retainer, with a salary of 20,000 koku (some say 30,000). Maeda Toshiie was also sent to Katsuie's command as a retainer at the same time, and together with Sasa Narimasa, the three were known as the "Three Men of the Fuchu".

As for why Mitsuharu Fubuki didn't have many achievements, it's mainly because he died young, before Nobunaga even had a chance to barbecue him.

"So how's the operation going? Any results?" Shichibei blurted out. Sasa Narimasa didn't answer, but instead gestured towards Nobunaga. Oh, Nobunaga's looking over. The two quickly went up, ready to receive orders.

There were no orders to give; Nobunaga had simply lost control of the situation in the Kinai region for a while, which was why things had paused. Now that he seemed to have figured things out, he asked Shichibei how much it had cost to prepare a dowry for Tokuhime, and offered to reimburse everything.

There's no need to be in such a hurry. Shichibei's family is large and powerful; they can also buy things on credit in Sakaimachi.

Since Nobunaga has spoken, Shichibei has nothing to be ashamed of. He will report exactly what he spent. Nobunaga has been arranging marriages everywhere in the past two years, and he knows the prices of many of them. He dares not overstate the costs.

Nobunaga didn't bother with settling the accounts. He casually picked up paper and pen from the desk beside him, wrote a note, and told Shichibei to go to Sugaya Nagayori to settle the accounts the next day.

They left without hesitation, without any lingering or delay.

Sometimes Shichibei felt that he couldn't keep up with Nobunaga's movements at all, both mentally and physically, since Nobunaga had excellent footwork and was very energetic.

The next day, upon entering the city to settle the accounts, Lady Nohime summoned Shichibei. Yesterday afternoon, after inspecting her dowry, she found a few minor additions. Speaking of which, Lady Nohime, for some reason, never conceived. Nobunaga was undoubtedly very capable, having twenty or thirty children in his lifetime; the problem essentially lay with Lady Nohime.

In the early days of Nobunaga's household affairs, they were all managed by Lady Ikoma, including Oda Nobutada, Oda Nobuo, and Princess Tokuhime, who were all born to Lady Ikoma.

With her biological mother, Shichibei was not sure what happened to Princess Tokuhime and Lady Nouhime. However, Lady Nouhime, as the wife of the principal wife, seemed quite proactive and generous in this matter, choosing a dowry specifically for Princess Tokuhime.

Actually, it wasn't much, except for things like needing a sash in a certain iris color, or fabric with an azalea pattern. Shichibei could probably understand why they were being so meticulous, because in those days, aristocratic women seemed to pay attention to what colors to wear in what season, what colors to match, and even the patterns on their clothes.

To put it more bluntly, Matsudaira Ieyasu's principal wife, Lady Tsukiyama, was the adopted daughter of Imagawa Yoshimoto. She was also a noblewoman from a prestigious family, and there were many more considerations involved. Our Princess Tokuhime is going; we can't afford to lose face. We must uphold the dignity of a samurai lord and not be intimidated by those pretentious public displays.

A war between women...

After taking detailed notes, Shichibei excused himself as instructed. However, before he even left, Nobunaga, hearing that Shichibei was there, summoned him back to the archery range. Nobunaga was practicing archery, with only a few attendants around him, standing in small groups, until someone led Shichibei to his side.