Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

For the Niwa family, this was truly a catastrophe. In particular, the death of Niwa Nagahide and the seizure of Aizu territory by a rebellion were major events that shook the entire Niwa family.

Why go to Aizu now? First, send people to Kanazawa in Kaga, then go to Echigo to take in the fleeing retainers of the Niwa clan and settle them in Kanazawa.

The Niwa family alone no longer has the strength to suppress the Aizu Ikki. Going to Aizu would be futile; they should immediately retreat to Kyoto and request aid from Oda Nobukatsu, asking him to send troops to counterattack Aizu.

Niwa Nagashige understood this point fairly well, knowing he couldn't succeed on his own. But he knew that the people of Aizu also knew this; the Aizu petition and the envoys who had appealed had already arrived in Kyoto and delivered the petition to Wakatoshi.

Because of the Aizu So-ikki uprising, this lawsuit could not be concealed. An uprising had occurred in a territory of 500,000 koku. If this were to be hidden, it would lead to a major disaster.

When Takigawa Kazutada died, Oda Nobukatsu only ordered his chief retainers to hold a meeting. Changing the lord was definitely not going to happen; following Takigawa Kazumasu's advice, they would install a new lord. Therefore, Oda Nobukatsu did not return to Kyoto from Nara, and remained at the Todai-ji Temple construction site.

However, when news of Niwa Nagahide's death, the Aizu-kun uprising, and the fall of Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle arrived, Oda Nobukatsu was still able to distinguish between what was important and what was not. He immediately rode back to Kyoto and summoned his senior retainers and generals for a meeting.

How to do?

Should we appease or suppress?

Oda Nobuo was actually aware of the entire affair involving Aizu and Niwa Nagahide. The reason for this current situation lies in Niwa Nagahide's death; if he hadn't died, none of this mess would have happened. Now he's done for, all dead and gone.

Leaving such a huge mess for Oda Nobukatsu to deal with, Nobukatsu inevitably felt that Niwa Nagahide was truly useless.

Since the people of Aizu have already filed an appeal and submitted their complaint, this matter cannot be dealt with by simply and relentlessly suppressing them. After all, apart from those pro-Hōjō who were completely eradicated, the rest of the people of the eastern provinces have merely surrendered without resistance.

If Nobukatsu's tacit approval of Niwa Nagahide's killing of the five daimyo of Yoriki and his seizure of their territory were to escalate, it could potentially cause a major upheaval among the lords of the entire eastern province.

After all, they expressed their obedience, contributed money and manpower to the Osaka project, and there was no indication of rebellion. So you killed two of them. It makes no sense no matter how you look at it.

Their demands are quite simple: the Niwa clan is tyrannical, and they beg for the restoration of the Ashina family. They are willing to continue to submit to the Oda clan and haven't even requested severe punishment for the Niwa clan.

After all, the main culprit, Niwa Nagahide, is dead, so there's no way to punish him severely.

The problem is that while they are willing to submit and obey, Oda Nobukatsu, who is in the central leadership, has a different stance and a different idea. Because Niwa Nagahide is a hereditary successor of the Owari clan, the hereditary successors, led by Hashiba Hideyoshi and Kawamura Nagayoshi, including the current Maeda Toshiie and Nagano Nobukatsu, will not agree to change the Niwa clan.

Thirty years ago, my brothers followed our late Grand Chancellor through fire and water, braving mountains of knives and seas of fire, finally managing to build up our fortune. It was truly a life-or-death struggle; even Niwa Nagahide's own brother died in battle. Absolutely no changes are allowed; changing even one would shake the entire Owari family's lineage.

On this matter, regardless of seniority, all the Owari hereditary members share the same stance: resolutely demanding the protection of the Niwa family's interests. Even if the Niwa family is 99% at fault, shouldn't the people of Jinzu bear at least 1% of the responsibility?

When it's not time to reason with you, reason and law are a joke at this level.

It can be said that from the moment this incident broke out, the demands of the central government and local governments were completely opposed and irreconcilable.

This was a major test of Oda Nobukatsu's personal abilities. If the verdict favored the Aizu people, the Owari no Kōshō would waver. If the verdict favored the Niwa family, the entire eastern province would be shaken.

Either way, this incident will lead to serious consequences. Favoring either side would be a major blow to the stability of Oda Nobukatsu's regime.

Let's first listen to the advice of the elders and the young men, then summon the envoys from Niwa Nagashige and Aizu Province to learn the details of the incident before taking any action.

However, Takikawa Otoshi quickly added that the lords of Echigo, Oshu, Shimotsuke, and Hitachi should be on alert to prevent the Aizu Ikki from spreading and affecting external forces. He also sent envoys to clearly inform the lords of Satake, Date, Mogami, Soma, and the Oda Takada clans that they were strictly forbidden from getting involved in this matter.

We must try our best to control the situation to prevent it from developing further or even deteriorating.

On this point, everyone naturally agrees that it is indeed necessary to control the situation. Whether before, during, or after an event occurs, the first choice of feudal courts is always to silence dissent; this has remained unchanged for millennia, regardless of time or place.

"They dare to attack the lord's castle; this is no ordinary uprising. We must strike hard!" Maeda Toshiie's attitude was unwavering.

This is the only loophole in the Aizu people's uprising. After suffering unfair treatment, they should have immediately returned to their territory and rallied their people to defend the castle to the death. Up to this point, their response was perfectly reasonable and legal, and there's nothing wrong with it.

If the Niwa clan were to launch another attack on their castle, their crime would be compounded. Instead, the local uprising chose to rise up and besiege Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle, which was only half-renovated. This violated the rules of samurai society.

To reiterate, the law is not meant to protect the vulnerable, nor is it meant to punish perpetrators. Such a law may exist, but it does not exist at present.

The core of feudal military law was to settle disputes peacefully!

In other words, no matter what happens, no one is allowed to cause trouble. If you do, even if you are the victim, you have no right to complain. The goal is to completely extinguish any spirit of resistance in people and make them obedient slaves. The best citizens are those who have no thoughts, only know how to work and pay taxes, and are slaves who do not know how to resist.

To emphasize, this refers to the military code of Japan's Sengoku period. "A quarrelsome argument leads to defeat; both should be met with seppuku."

In theory, impartially, both the Niwa clan and the Aizu people could be punished equally. The Niwa clan committed murder by force, while the Aizu people launched an attack on Yoshinaka Castle—both serious crimes. Sentencing both to re-enlistment would actually be in accordance with current laws.

The main problem is that if everything is changed together, both sides will be offended. So despite Maeda Toshiie's loud demands, Oda Nobuo wasn't going to listen to him; he wanted to see if there was any way to mediate.

Let's settle this!

Mediation should be attempted before trial. If mediation fails, it's okay; there can be a first, second, fifth, nineteenth, or even thirty-fifth mediation session. Even if an ex-wife dies from illness after sleeping with someone else, the ex-husband can still get 20,000 yuan for funeral expenses through mediation. Even if an 180,000 yuan dowry was paid but the marriage didn't happen, it can still be mediated more than ten times until 30,000 yuan is returned and the case is closed. What does this show? It shows that anything is possible with human effort.

"Send someone to mediate and negotiate?" Ataka Kiyoyasu, sensing Nobuo's meaning, remained somewhat noncommittal.

Both sides are bloodthirsty and there's absolutely no political trust between them. Without trust, even if a peace agreement is reached, it will be difficult to maintain. There's even a possibility that after Niwa Nagashige enters the country, these people will rise up again to attack and kill him.

"Peace negotiations are probably going to be very difficult." Nagano Nobukasa followed his brother around the Kinai region getting haircuts. Peace negotiations were as easy as drinking water; they were gone as soon as he took a piss outside.

Hongan-ji Temple never negotiated peace? Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei never negotiated peace? Miyoshi Temple negotiated peace, Asakura Temple negotiated peace, Matsunaga Temple negotiated peace. When they start fighting, it's as easy as peeing.

"If they use peace talks as a pretext to mobilize troops, that would be fine." Maeda Toshiie was clearly still in favor of suppression.

"Eh..." Mori Terumoto did not make a clear statement, but only told everyone not to get excited and not to speak vehemently.

How can he keep resorting to violence? Most importantly, does Oda Nobuo have any money? He barely has any copper coins. Even more importantly, he wiped out Kawamura Nagayoshi in one fell swoop.

Buying timber and paying for shipping would cost 200,000 kan, but it would only amount to nothing. If they were to launch an attack on Aizu, they heard the Aizu uprising would number 40,000 to 50,000. Besides the regular troops of the five daimyo, there would also be a large number of former retainers of Ashina.

Although it was called a "rebellion of the masses," it was actually a legitimate army. To deal with such a large army, it would take at least 100,000 men to be conscripted.

Raising an army of 100,000 would truly cost a fortune every day. Especially in a remote place like Aizu, where logistics and transportation are extremely inconvenient and water transport is simply not an option. It would rely entirely on oxen, horses, and human labor, requiring tens of thousands of people and tens of thousands of oxen, horses, and carts to tirelessly traverse the roads.

The cost of fighting a war is unimaginable.

Everyone here needs to think this through: Oda Nobuo was already struggling to maintain his "80,000 cavalry." If it weren't for Kawamura Nagayoshi's constant financial support, he wouldn't have any cash on hand at all.

Unless the major construction of the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple is immediately halted, but doing so would have very negative political consequences. It would immediately expose Oda Nobukatsu's poverty and weakness, making him despised by all the feudal lords.

As a feudal monarch, one must be extravagant and wasteful where it is appropriate. The Sun King, Louis XIV, was so poor that he couldn't even afford his daughter's dowry, but that didn't stop him from holding balls at Versailles every day and preparing clothes worth tens of thousands of francs.

Feudal monarchs absolutely could not skimp on money when it came to saving face; to do so was to admit that they were already useless.

If that's the case, then today's meeting will likely end inconclusively. It's difficult to reach an agreement between the two sides, and favoring either side would be extremely harmful. If we're going to punish both sides equally, it's better to just play dead.

It's truly a dilemma: you can't hit them, you can't scold them; you're caught in a bind.

Upon hearing that his son, Takikawa Kazutada, whom he had raised with great difficulty and who was now an adult, had passed away, Takikawa Kazumasu felt dizzy and unable to stand up.

The servants on either side rushed forward to help him up. Of all the children in the Takigawa family, only Takigawa Kazumasu is still an adult.

If only we had known this would happen, we wouldn't have done it in the first place. We shouldn't have passed the throne to Takigawa Kazutada; passing it to Takigawa Masushige would have been perfectly fine.

While it's true that the Japanese value family name over bloodline, if there's a blood-related heir, most people would still prefer to pass the mantle to their son. Passing it on to a son-in-law is a last resort; if the son is decent enough, the son-in-law will be excluded.

Alright, the son-in-law Takikawa Masushige has been excluded and has established the Ashikaga Domain in Shimono. There's no way to bring him back.

The second son (Takikawa Kazutoki) is thirteen years old, and the eldest grandson is one and a half years old. They are all children, practically children. Not to mention the other sons.

Given the current situation, Takigawa Kazumasu can only send someone to Kyoto to collect Takigawa Kazutada's body and transport it back to Ueno for a funeral. Afterwards, he will report to Oda Nobukatsu whether to choose his second son or his grandson as heir.

At this very moment, Shichibei's letter arrived in Takigawa Kazumasu's hands. Upon seeing the private message, Takigawa Kazumasu sighed with emotion, truly feeling that his old comrades from Owari were indeed the most reliable.

Shichibei's meaning was very clear: whoever inherited the Masahashi Domain must be of the Takikawa family name.

To put it bluntly, Shichibei was determined to side with Takikawa Kazumasu, even if his one-and-a-half-year-old grandson ultimately succeeded him. Their interests were aligned; having fought their way up from the village in Owari, they were bound by a shared destiny.

Even with Shichibei's support, Takigawa Kazumasu could hardly suppress his grief over the loss of his son. In his youth, he had been fearless, committing murder and arson, and had done countless dirty jobs for Oda Nobunaga. Now, in his old age, with his son dying before him, Takigawa Kazumasu was beginning to feel fear.

As is human nature, fear and grief welled up in Takigawa Kazumasu's heart. This emotion finally erupted when he saw Takigawa Kazutada's body being transported back to Masahashi.

At first, Takigawa Kazumasu just clung to the coffin and cried. After crying for a while, he let out a sob and collapsed.

Even with the help of those on both sides, they couldn't stop Takikawa Kazumasu from collapsing. For the Takikawa family, things are truly in turmoil right now.

The head of the family had only been in charge of the family business for a year when he passed away. The former head of the family is also bedridden; it seems the heavens are determined to destroy the Takikawa family.

Before Takikawa Kazumasu could completely faint, Zuo You grabbed him and asked, "Who will be chosen to inherit the 468,000 koku of the Masahashi Domain?"

Still not in a daze, Takigawa Kazumasu ultimately chose his older second son. Everyone quickly supported the second son's coming-of-age ceremony, naming him Takigawa Ichitoki. They also sent messengers to Oda Nobukatsu, the central government in Kyoto, and the various elders and young men of the household to inform them that Takigawa Ichitoki was the legitimate son of Takigawa Kazutada and would succeed him as the lord of the domain.

Thirteen years old is fine, thirteen is better than one and a half.

Meanwhile, news of Takigawa Kazumasu's critical illness reached Kyoto and was submitted to the Imperial Conference. This caught Oda Nobuo and the other ministers completely off guard.

Chapter 626 Urgent Matters Always Delayed

"This...this..."

Shichibei, far away in Kumamoto, Kyushu, only learned of Niwa Nagahide's death and the fall of Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle twenty-three days after the incident. The news of Aizu's death was only reached in Kumamoto after a long journey involving traversing mountains and seas.

Alas, another hereditary retainer who has served Oda Nobunaga since the time of Nagoya in Owari has been lost. Niwa Nagahide, Niwa Nagahide, why won't you listen when I tell you to eat less?

Why does it feel like the world is unified and peace is on the horizon, yet there's also a sense of impending doom?

News arrived from the Nijō Palace in Kyoto, along with an attendant sent by Oda Nobukatsu to specifically consult Shichibei on his handling of the Aizu affair. Of the four senior retainers left behind by Nobunaga, one had died, one was ill, and the remaining two had been "exiled" to their respective fiefdoms.

When the matter came to a head, the central government couldn't reach a conclusion, so Oda Nobukatsu turned to his veteran retainers. He not only consulted Shichibei and Hashiba Hideyoshi, but also sent people to inquire with Tokugawa Ieyasu. Furthermore, the former Kanpaku (regent) of the Imperial Court, Konoe Sakihisa, was also among those consulted.

Although Konoe Sakihisa was the Kanpaku (regent), his early life could be described as that of a "fallen Kanpaku," marked by constant displacement and a long period of life as a fugitive in hiding. He was a well-traveled and resourceful figure in Japanese politics.

"My lord is now a senior retainer of the Owari family." Although Todo Takatora was not the Owari family's retainer, he was a senior retainer of the family, and he had to remind Shichibei of this.

"The Grand Chancellor has come to inquire, so you must be looking for a solution that satisfies both sides." Takenaka Shigeharu knew about the problem with his backside, but he also knew that his head urgently needed a solution.

Hara Nagayori, Sanada Masaki, Ii Naokichi, and others nodded, while Hiratsuka Tamehiro and Kai Chikahide, who were seated further out, were mainly observers and did not speak directly.

"A solution that satisfies both sides is probably extremely difficult." Tōdō Takatora had followed Shichibei for many years and knew very well that the core of the Oda clan's rule lay with the Owari fudai.

It's true that Nobuo had forty sons-in-law. Through these marriages, he amassed a large following in the Western Kingdom. Wherever there was chaos, the Western Kingdom was unlikely to descend into disorder. Nobuo had learned his father's ways quite well in bestowing gifts and favors.

Although he has become less adept at governing and has recently started causing trouble, the debt of gratitude remains. Many people in the western country became daimyo because of Nobukatsu, and they are deeply grateful.

With this as a backing, coupled with the small lords of Owari with tens of thousands of koku of land promoted through years of conquest, and the large lords of several thousand koku within the territory of Wataru, Nobuo's foundation in the realm was quite solid.

If the Owari lineage remains orderly, then the imperial domain will remain orderly. If the imperial domain remains orderly, then the people of the western provinces will surely support Oda Nobukatsu.

In this respect alone, even if Oda Nobukatsu blindly sided with Owari no Fumoyo, he could still guarantee peace east of Kanto. Even if the eastern provinces were to waver or launch a large-scale rebellion, Oda Nobukatsu could rally the western provinces to send troops to attack.

"If we revive the Ashina family, we'll settle them in the lands previously occupied by the two families. Niwa only gets 300,000 in Aizu. Can that quell public opinion?" Shichibei himself felt that his words were a bit unreliable.

They never actually intended to revive the Ashina clan; they just lacked a legitimate reason to wage a unified war. If the rebellious Aizu people were to love the Ashina clan, they would be sent to heaven by Tokugawa Ieyasu, just like the Nikaido, Inawashiro, and Naganuma clans.

To put it another way, by bringing Britain under the control of the British monarch, the Commonwealth, and even Scotland, there is still a basis for a shared sovereignty. Countries like Thailand (formerly) and Cambodia still have kings on the surface, so their ethnic minorities and warlord forces can fight within a single framework. On the surface, the central government isn't in chaos; it's just that there are internal problems.

Myanmar is an example of someone who hasn't figured things out. Given their level of social development, it's better to have a king at the top. This gives the various states, warlords, ethnic armed groups, and even drug lords a convenient facade to appease the international community, allowing them to conduct private dealings without triggering large-scale economic sanctions.

Of course, one doesn't have to be a king, but given our current stage of human development, nothing is more effective at concealing our true intentions than a king or emperor. Electing a president or prime minister doesn't change the status quo. Even if someone is elected, you can still call it a dictatorship.

After all, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, when poor, respect the sovereignty of other countries and never interfere in their internal affairs. When rich, they hope that all parties to a conflict will sit down at the negotiating table and achieve peace under the coordination of the international community.

The Aizu people's uprising cannot be attributed to cleverness, but rather to the need for a just cause in that era, which is why they supported the prevalence of Ashina.

After Ashina became popular, they supported their former lord, which gave them a legitimate reason to do so and made it easier to persuade the samurai and peasant soldiers in their territory to rise up and fight.

As for whether the Ashina family could ultimately rise again, they could only say so. Shichibei's idea of ​​dividing the territories of the Go and Nihonmatsu families to revive the Ashina clan was virtually impossible. It was highly likely that the territories of those two families had already been privately divided among the other three.