Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

With the arrival of hundreds of feudal lords, the consumer market within the capital region became even more active. Ironically, the capital region itself was also a production area, so the consumer and production sides collided and mutually reinforced each other.

This also benefited the merchants who were already in the Kinai region, as they no longer needed to travel to Edo to "start anew" and rebuild a commercial system from scratch in Edo.

The reason I'm bringing this up is that merchants from Kyoto and Sakai have been asking Shichibei if they need to increase the production of various daily necessities. Not a short-term increase, but a long-term one.

They were unsure whether this gathering of feudal lords within the capital region was a temporary phenomenon or a long-term trend.

The days when the Muromachi Shogunate's regents and guardians, along with court nobles, flocked to Kyoto, indulging in extravagant spending with the wealth they collected from their estates throughout the country, are almost a century gone. Those who remember those days are long gone.

For short-term production increases, you can use some existing stock, work from dawn till dusk, and that will suffice. But for long-term production increases, you need to train apprentices, open workshops, and expand production lines, which requires considerable investment and is no joke.

Shichibei's attitude towards this was singular: increase production, increase production as much as possible. Now that the world is at peace, how can your vision be so narrow? You only see the tens of thousands of pure consumers brought by the feudal lords, but you don't consider the entire Japanese consumer population whose markets have been opened up after peace is restored.

The Japanese market has long suffered from a lack of various goods, even books had to be imported from the Ming and Qing dynasties onwards—that's incredibly wasteful. You're all quite adept at woodblock printing, don't be so stingy with your knowledge. Get to work and get things done!

In every other industry, those with the capacity to expand sought to do so. When Perry from America arrived, were they still going to say that Japan was a country that produced nothing but rice and silk?

For a long time, Japan needed to purchase various daily necessities from merchants in the Netherlands, Qing Dynasty, and Korea to meet the needs of its domestic market. With a population of over 30 million, even England could have begun its First and Second Industrial Revolutions. Yet Japan couldn't even fully produce the basic necessities it needed.

Stop asking questions, let's get to work. In the future, it won't just be a hundred lords who will stay in the capital region; I'm afraid all the lords in the world will stay in the capital region because they are serving in the government.

With Shichibei's words, the merchants from Kyoto and Sakai finally felt relieved. They weren't at the core of the government, but Shichibei, as a senior member of the Oda clan, was still there. In particular, Shichibei still monopolized this year's imperial rice tribute, which was practically a trendsetter for the industry.

The annual tribute rice from Satsuma and Hyuga in Kyushu to the annual tribute rice from the Tozawa family in Kakunodate, Uzushima, was all specifically requested to be brought in and sold to Shichibei.

As long as the annual tribute rice is still sold to Shichibei, Shichibei will definitely remain at the center of power!

Merchants have a keen sense of smell; they were right about that alone. Shichibei is still at the core of power, but he's already showing signs of being on the periphery. Nobuo's closest confidants are the three senior retainers, after all, these three are considered the founding fathers of the dynasty, while Shichibei is merely a former official.

Fortunately, he wasn't a regent, as regents rarely had good outcomes throughout history.

After encouraging the merchants of Kyoto and Sakai to expand production, Shichibei immediately devoted himself to the task of handling the annual tribute rice. At the same time, while the construction of Osaka Castle was still in progress, he prepared to consolidate the three Kawamura-ya (traditional riverside houses) that were originally located in Sakai, Kyoto, and Azuchi, and relocate them to the area around Osaka Castle.

Osaka, situated by the sea, will soon surpass Sakai in prominence, becoming a crucial departure port for Japan's five major trading ports. Furthermore, it will become the residence of Oda Nobuo, attracting 80,000 cavalrymen, and will quickly become Japan's largest town. A population of one million will be commonplace.

"My lord, a message has arrived from Kumamoto: Monk Zongyun has passed away." Just as I was settling accounts, a servant came in to deliver the news.

"Ah... I understand." Kai Chikanao has passed away, and Kyushu has lost another old monster.

"Furthermore, the Grand Master of Aso is seriously ill. I humbly request that Your Highness report this on my behalf."

Chapter 622 A New Generation Surpasses the Old (Zhu Xiucai's Three-Jin Crown)

Oh right, the Aso Grand Master is a religious official, an "official" under the Emperor, the head of Shintoism. Now that Aso is about to die, he must come to inform the Emperor and announce the successor, and the Imperial Court will then approve the appointment.

This is very similar to the appointment of Catholic clergy in a certain major country in later times. Didn't you see that Aso Korechika first informed Shichibei? As the chief priest of Aso Taisha under Shichibei's jurisdiction, having this awareness is enough.

The matter needs to be addressed by submitting a memorial on his behalf. Since Aso no Kosei has no son, his successor is his younger brother, Aso no Kosei. Aso no Kosei's son, born to his concubine, is too young, only a little over two years old. How could he possibly hold the position of Grand Master of Ceremonies, a religious office requiring attendance at numerous ceremonies? Therefore, the only option is for the younger brother to succeed the elder brother.

Perfect timing, since Shichibei is in Kyoto anyway. The so-called petition to the court is really just a formality; they'll offer a hundred or eighty taels of silver, and the court will issue an imperial edict to Aso, and the process is complete.

It was a trivial matter, not something to report to Oda Nobukatsu. Shichibei wrote a note and had a servant deliver it to Ataka Kiyoyasu. Ataka Kiyoyasu would take a small sum of money, and the imperial edict would arrive in three to five days.

"My lord, I just went to the Nijo Palace and saw Takigawa Uenosuke being carried out." Hiratsuka Tamehiro had just returned from running errands, clearly having seen some big news.

Takigawa Ueno-suke was Takigawa Kazutada. After Takigawa Kazumasu retired, he only retained the rank of Junior Fourth Rank and resigned from all other official positions. Therefore, his successor, Takigawa Kazutada, was appointed as Junior Fifth Rank Ueno-suke, and then gradually promoted to Attendant-at-Large, and then to Major General. This can be considered part of the institutional development.

"Huh?" Takigawa Kazutada is only seventeen years old, how come he's being brought up like this?

"I have already asked someone to inquire, and if there is any news, they will arrive at this time." Hiratsuka Tamehiro was also very clever and had already sent someone to inquire at Nijō Palace.

"What's going on here?" Shichibei had a premonition about Takigawa Kazumasu, but had no memory of Takigawa Kazutada.

Because Takigawa Kazutada died earlier than his father, Takigawa Kazumasu can be considered to have lost in the power struggle within the Oda clan after Nobunaga's death, and ultimately died in despair. There are no records of Takigawa Kazutada, though some say he died in the Battle of Kanie Castle in Owari, while others say he died of illness. In any case, he died very early, before his father.

"My lord, there is news." The servant ran in and bowed to Shichibei.

"how?"

"I don't know what illness he contracted, but he started shaking all over while sitting. He drank two sips of hot tea, but it didn't stop, and he just collapsed." The servant's words must have been firsthand information.

"Send someone to the Takikawa residence to inquire." Shichibei's words were purely out of concern for his colleague.

Takigawa Kazumasu had just retired, and his successor, Takigawa Kazutada, was already in this state. Could it be that he would end up outliving his son? That would be truly tragic.

Kai Muneun's death only made a splash in Higo. His retirement allowance was inherited by Kai Chikahide, which was unremarkable; if there was a son, it was naturally his son who would inherit it. However, the news of Takikawa Kazutada's illness spread like wildfire in Kyoto, and then became a hot topic among certain social classes.

According to the doctor, it was just that he caught a chill after the weather turned cold, which caused him to have shivering. It's not a serious illness; keeping warm, getting plenty of rest, and taking some medicine should be enough.

Upon hearing the story, the previously buzzing crowd had nothing left to discuss. It was just a common cold; even those who hadn't had it had seen others get it. It wasn't a serious illness, and it was treatable. In fact, some people with strong constitutions could even recover on their own after a few days of rest.

It's good that everything's alright; Shichibei was happy for Takigawa Kazumasu. He'd heard that Takigawa Kazumasu had originally planned to come to Kyoto to see what was happening, but he changed his mind after the news reached him. These days, the difference in status between the eldest son and other sons is enormous. The eldest son possesses everything in the entire family, including the right to use the other sons.

Even after World War II ended, when Emperor MacArthur went to Japan to carry out land reform, there were still examples of second and third sons working as serfs for their eldest son until they were in their thirties or forties, and they were still less free than the tenant farmers outside.

After this little incident, everyone eagerly awaited the New Year. Similarly, the newly appointed officials Maeda Toshiie and Nagano Nobukatsu also made proposals to Oda Nobuo. Maeda Toshiie suggested that Oda Nobuo issue a "prohibition order on the sale of persons," which, to put it bluntly, meant abolishing the slave system.

The main purpose is to combat population concealment, not to claim that it is particularly advanced. After all, human resources are a resource, and sufficient human resources under the control of the central government are a prerequisite for development.

If the central government is weak, then having a large population is actually a bad thing. But let's leave that aside for now; the current Taira no Taikoku regime in Japan has a very strong hand and is naturally capable of controlling the population.

On the one hand, it was to strengthen population management and understand population size to facilitate the collection of population taxes later. On the other hand, it was to prevent feudal lords and other powerful figures from secretly increasing their power by keeping slaves.

As for landlords and powerful figures who effectively control tenant farmers on the land, turning them into serfs, then it doesn't matter; they can do whatever they want.

Nagano Nobukabe's proposal was much more direct: register all the monks in the world, then establish a "temple council" in each region, and select a leader to manage these monks.

Although this was an era when religion was quite effective and complemented rule, all feudal rulers should have known in their hearts that religion could only be used, not allowed to threaten their rule. Therefore, it was the rulers who promoted the Dharma, and it was also the rulers who destroyed it.

In an era when most ordinary people in Japan were ignorant, monks had a lot of freedom of movement. It was fine for you to move around normally within the temple grounds or in the town in front of the temple, but if you caused a disturbance, that was unacceptable.

Oda Nobukatsu would never allow the scene of the previous evil monks carrying a palanquin to Kyoto to force a complaint to be repeated. If any temple dared to do so, Nobukatsu would dare to set the mountain on fire.

Strengthening the management of monks became necessary. Upon hearing about this case, Nobuo added directly that "recruiting monks" should be banned throughout Japan.

In other words, going out and begging for alms is acceptable. It's fine to accept offerings at a temple, as they are made by believers themselves and are relatively controllable. However, it's not allowed to go out and ask for money or solicit donations.

Similarly, this was also to strengthen the management of the temple gates and prevent them from having too much financial power, to the point that they could support tens of thousands of monk soldiers and defy the law.

For the Taira no Chōkō regime, both cases were considered good policies and laws, and Shichibei was very supportive of them after hearing about them. Oda Nobukō was even more pleased to see that the newly promoted chief retainer was suitable for his position.

Only when the new generation of elders is useful can it subtly suggest to the previous generation that they can retire comfortably.

Chapter 623 Changxiu's Determination to Launch a Major Campaign

In the thirteenth year of Tianzheng, spring.

After the New Year's greetings, Shichibei finally left the Kinai region. Someone had mentioned to Nobukatsu that it wasn't really necessary for all the chief retainers and young officials to be stationed in Kyoto. With all nine ministers in Kyoto, wouldn't the administration of the provinces fall into disarray?

Therefore, Nobukatsu readily began to implement the shift system of the chief retainer, Wakatoshi, and gradually a situation began to emerge where two-thirds of the feudal lords served in the government offices and one-third of the feudal lords governed their own domains.

Clearly, this political shift suited Oda Nobukatsu's needs. Which two-thirds needed to remain, and which third could return to their domains to govern the people—that was entirely up to Nobukatsu.

As a result, Shichibei and Hideyoshi returned to Japan to pacify the people. With Takigawa Kazumasu resigning and Niwa Nagahide returning to Japan, Kyoto was now the domain of the "newcomers."

Only after experiencing it firsthand could Shichibei truly understand how those regents in history were gradually weakened by the new emperor and ultimately swept into the dustbin of history. No wonder some chose to rise up in rebellion; having enjoyed the thrill of wielding power, they were unwilling to relinquish it.

Shichibei, on the other hand, did not have such a strong desire for power. After all, the Kawamura family was the heirloom of Oda's Grand Chancellor's regime, and Nobukatsu was unusually clear-headed in maintaining the Kawamura family's operations and providing them with money for a long time.

As a ruler, having a firm grip on the purse strings and the military is basic political common sense. Clearly, Nobuo possessed this fundamental knowledge, showing considerable care and trust towards his chief retainer, Kawamura Nobuyoshi. Once Kawamura Nobuyoshi served by his side for a few more years, and the bond between ruler and retainer solidified, Shichibei would undoubtedly be ousted to make way for his son.

That's great, making room for my son, what else is there to say?

Oh, and something else happened when I got back to Japan. Last year, Aso Korechika fell seriously ill and, through Shichibei, submitted a proposal to the Imperial Court regarding the successor to the Aso Grand Prince. The Imperial Edict had barely reached Higo Province when Aso Korechika died, not even making it to the New Year.

That would have been fine; a man in his sixties was living a very long life. Even Shichibei was envious of him passing away at such a young age. But just a few days after his death, his younger brother, Aso Korechika, also fell ill. When Shichibei returned home after the New Year's greetings, news of Aso Korechika's death spread.

Within three months of each other, the two brothers set off together. If this were a novel, it would definitely be considered a conspiracy. After all, the Grand Master of Aso was a prestigious shrine with a fief of 8,000 koku, holding a high position in Shintoism throughout Japan.

In the Sengoku period of Japan, it was perfectly normal for people to do all sorts of dirty things in order to seize control of the 8,000 koku shrine.

Fortunately, Shichibei was in Kyoto when his two brothers died one after the other, so he had no opportunity to commit the crime. Furthermore, after Aso Koretoge's death, Shichibei appointed his son, who was only three years old at the time of the New Year, as the new chief priest of Aso, thus silencing all speculation and doubt.

There was no other way; the various ceremonies that the chief priest needed to preside over were handled by Kai Chikahide. Later generations of Japan even had the Kai Shrine, which had no connection to the Kai province; it was dedicated to Kai Chikahide.

Because Kai Chikahide participated in the Higo Kuni uprising and served as its general, he was arrested after the defeat and fell off a cliff while fleeing. He must have broken his arms and legs, and somehow, he became known as the "God of Broken Bones" in Japan.

Since their family is a Shinto priest family from the Takachiho region, it's not a problem for them to temporarily take over the affairs of the shrine in place of the new chief priest named Aso Koremitsu.

Speaking of Aso Yuzane, he's quite capable. He either doesn't have children at all, or he has them like a never-ending stream. His concubines are pregnant again, and have given birth to both sons and daughters. The Aso family, which was almost on the verge of extinction, has, thanks to Aso Yuzane's efforts, returned to having both sons and daughters, and more than one at that.

Surely he didn't die from overwork?

Never mind, respect for the dead is paramount. Shichibei even attended Aso Koretoge's funeral. He wasn't exactly a retainer of the Kawamura family, but a Shinto priest, whose territory was just in Higo. Just like the Kishu Domain during the Edo period, the 21,000 koku of Kongōbō-ji Temple on Mount Kōya wasn't under the jurisdiction of the Kishu Domain, but there were certain political obligations and exchanges between the two sides.

The succession of the chief priest of Aso was a major event in Higo, and it took about a month of work to smooth things over. The neighboring Kora Shrine in Chikugo, however, didn't have so much trouble. After Kobayakawa Takakage gave it a sound thrashing, everything was cleaned up, and there wasn't a single word of gossip.

I ran into Kobayakawa Takakage the other day at the New Year's celebration. He was thanking Shichibei, saying that he had already invited two mountain masters from the Iwami Silver Mine and they were excavating the gold mines in Chikugo. He really managed to pull something off; even a transfer of fiefdom can lead to a gold mine.

"What major event has occurred in the capital?" After finally finishing his work, Shichibei leaned against Ii's sister-in-law's leg, letting her clean his ears while he listened to the daily news reports from the "Beijing Liaison Office."

"The Grand Chancellor has submitted a report to the Lord of the Bungo Usukiri Domain, requesting that he be appointed as the Governor of Bungo." Hiratsuka Tamehiro glanced at the report sent back by the Kyoto Express and confirmed that there was nothing of great importance to it.

This lord of the Usugi Domain, with a staggering 195,000 koku of rice, was the son of Ōtomo Yoshitomo. Because Ōtomo Yoshitomo was forced to become a monk and live in seclusion, he inherited the position of lord of the Usugi Domain and took the name Ōtomo Yoshinobu.

Poor thing, Nobunaga didn't like him, and Nobukatsu didn't like him either. Neither of them gave him a proper name, and he was given a name according to the tradition of the Ōtomo family.

However, he was still the head of the Ōtomo family after all, so after Ōtomo Sōrin pleaded, Nobuo finally helped him submit a memorial to the emperor and was appointed as the governor of Bungo, a junior fifth rank.

There were no attendants or officials, no such thing as the Left Guard Commander. He was only appointed Governor of Bungo Province because of Ōtomo Sōrin's courteous surrender. It should be noted that the 100,000 koku currently owned by the Ōtomo clan's main family was theoretically Ōtomo Sōrin's retirement fund.

"Mmm." Shichibei closed his eyes, enjoying the service, and only responded softly.

“The Jodo Shinshu monk Kennyo paid homage to the Great Shokoku-sama and prayed for the revival of Honganji Temple,” Hiratsuka Tamehiro continued reciting.

It was clearly Oda Nobukatsu's order to rebuild the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple that made Kennyo of Hongan-ji Temple realize that a true change of dynasty had occurred. He left Kii no Sagimori Gobo and eagerly ran to pay his respects to Nobukatsu.

Unlike other temples, Master Hsien-yu stated that he could rebuild Honganji Temple at his own expense. He did not need the imperial court or military lords to make vows and donate funds; he could rebuild it by relying on the support of his followers. All he lacked was permission.

With Nobunaga dead, Nobukatsu seemed to have the idea of ​​using religion to stabilize the people's hearts, so how could Kennyo Shonin be willing to miss this opportunity?

However, Nobukatsu was wary of this, especially since the Jodo Shinshu sect had once had a large following in the Kinai region, significantly impacting Nobunaga's ambition to unify Japan by force. Asking him to reopen his sect and recruit followers now was probably not a good strategy.

Well, the wish of Master Kennyo to rebuild Honganji Temple still needs to be put on hold. When it will be fulfilled is uncertain; at least Nobuo hasn't yet resolved his inner conflict.

"Ah."

"The lord of the Kameyama Domain in Tanba, Tsutsui Yoshunbo, has passed away." After turning the page, Hiratsuka Tamehiro announced a rather important piece of news.

"Ouch." Shichibei rolled over, exposing his other ear to Ii's sister-in-law.

During the previous attack on Odawara, it was clear that Tsutsui Junkei wasn't up to par, and now he's finally dead. He's practically a remnant of Akechi Mitsuhide's faction; the sooner he's gone, the less trouble he'll cause. However, his adopted son, Tsutsui Sadatsugu, was chosen long ago and even served as Oda Nobunaga's close aide, so there's no possibility of a change in his position for the time being.

Unless there's a major upheaval within their household, rendering Tsutsui Sadatsugu incapable of governing, there might be some possibility of a change in course. Otherwise, the priority now is to maintain composure and focus on the bigger picture.

It was a big deal, considering it involved a feudal lord with a fief of 100,000 koku. But for Shichibei, it was just something that could help him turn his life around; he didn't really care.

It is said that Shima Sakon fled after Tsutsui Junkei's death, and Shichibei was not very interested in him. Firstly, Shichibei could not offer Shima Sakon the promise of equal rewards between lord and vassal, and secondly, Shichibei felt that Shima Sakon was not that formidable.