Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

The document bearing Nobukatsu's seal, "Power Over the Seas," spread throughout the entire Oshu region. Nobukatsu reiterated his demand that the Oshu lords begin to impose a blockade on Aizu, prohibiting any personnel or goods from entering or leaving Aizu.

The main purpose was to prevent the influx of military supplies and weapons. Although Oyu hadn't conducted a thorough land search and sword hunt, it would be difficult for 40,000 to 50,000 rebels to be fully armed without the influx of external supplies. After all, weapons are consumed very quickly once fighting begins.

Even the simplest Japanese swords, ordinary cheap katana, can be bought for a couple hundred wen. Japan produces around 100,000 of these swords annually. During the Jiajing era, when Ningbo was vying for tribute, Japanese merchant ships brought at least 20,000 "fine" swords to the Ming Dynasty for trade.

As everyone knows, this thing is very effective at killing unarmored units, but it's not very useful against armored units; they'll be gone after just a few hits.

I don't expect everyone to have full armor or a lacquered spear with a single hilt, but at least they should have a cheap katana. Add a spare, and that would be 100,000 katanas.

Aizu's demand for weapons is certainly huge, so a blockade must be imposed now. Only by shifting the balance of power can Aizu be swiftly pacified.

All checkpoints and key roads were sealed off according to Oda Nobukatsu's orders. Tokugawa Ieyasu was about to bring 120,000 men to Oshu for a haircut. It was a double-edged sword; if he could haircut 50,000 men in Aizu, he could haircut 50,000 men elsewhere in Oshu. This was not a difficult task.

In addition, after settling the Niwa retainers who had fled from Aizu and the ashes of his father, Niwa Nagahide, in Kanazawa Castle, Niwa Nagashige requested to be appointed as the commander of the Taira clan's vanguard.

This was a demand that even Maeda Toshiie, who had previously taken the initiative to oppose, couldn't argue with, since Niwa Nagashige was somewhat motivated by revenge for his father. Although his father wasn't killed by people from Aizu Province, the castle was ultimately breached by them.

"Your Excellency is extremely determined this time." Hideyoshi, as the military commissioner, stayed in Kyoto to coordinate troops for Oda Nobukatsu, and they set off for Kanto one after another.

With such a large-scale military deployment, Oda Nobukatsu undoubtedly trusted the futonari of Owari Province. Especially someone like Hideyoshi, a veteran of countless battles, renowned as Japan's foremost siege commander. Hideyoshi's military achievements were all genuine, earned through hard-fought battles, and no one could dispute them.

"This is a good thing. After the pacification of Aizu, the eastern country will be stable for at least twenty years." Shichibei then began to allocate personnel and resources for the development of Edo Port.

Afterwards, a branch of Kawamura-ya was set up in Edo. Although history took a huge turn, it seems that Edo was still chosen as the military and political center of eastern Japan. After Edo became Tokugawa Ieyasu's castle, tens of thousands of samurai and their families moved in, and the area around the castle developed rapidly.

With the added boost of the current "war boom," Edo will undoubtedly become the main trading port for the entire Kanto region.

"Where is the master?" Hideyoshi finally calmed down and sat down next to Shichibei.

"Inspecting the Osaka construction site." After a full eighteen months of construction, the main structure of Osaka is basically completed, with stone walls, moats, castle walls, and residences all in place.

The only thing that is not yet completed is Osaka Castle Keep. Since the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple also requires large timbers for the construction of a giant wooden building, the materials from Osaka Castle Keep are being prioritized for use by Todai-ji Temple.

The Osaka castle tower can be built slowly; three to five years is not too late. Right now, Osaka only needs some finishing touches. The land below the castle has been divided up, and the feudal lords are building new Osaka residences.

Nobukatsu will govern between Osaka and Kyoto, while Oda Saburo will fulfill his role as the heir apparent in Azuchi. This can be seen as a lesson learned from the Nijō Incident in Kyoto, where the lord and the heir apparent each have their own castle, and they do not often meet or reunite.

While it might prevent a very close relationship between father and son, it can ensure that the succession of the Oda family will not encounter major problems.

"Osaka Castle Keep, that's another huge expense." Hideyoshi smiled at Shichibei, his expression quite sympathetic.

"Every difficulty is a challenge, but we'll overcome it. It's nothing to worry about." Shichibei wasn't so broke that he couldn't even find a penny to his name.

Last year, we spent 200,000 yuan to build the Great Buddha Hall at Dongda Temple, and this year we're spending another 300,000 yuan on war preparations. We also have to advance the price of the annual tribute rice and the cost of the shipping permits; money is needed everywhere. Fortunately, the output of our gold and silver mountains is relatively stable right now, so at least we have some income every day.

"There will always be a time when the money runs out." Hideyoshi was quite concerned about Shichibei.

"Sigh..." Shichibei didn't have much to explain. As long as money is in circulation, it will come and go. At worst, you can just rob Peter to pay Paul.

"How much wealth has been transported to Edo?"

"Four hundred thousand kan have already been shipped, and more need to be shipped out." This is what Shichibei is really worried about.

Although Nobukatsu managed to bring over merchants from the five treaty ports, as well as from Kyoto, Tsuruga, and Nagahama, and that 500,000 yen was pooled together by everyone, the problem lay precisely there: Nobukatsu wanted the money to arrive the very next day on his promises.

They were given a month to be escorted to Kyoto, but in reality, the sooner the better. Finally, everyone collectively asked Shichibei for a loan, asking him to advance the funds so they could immediately ship to Edo. They would then issue receipts to Kyoto first, and then slowly transport cash to pay the difference.

The annual tribute rice was about to be purchased, and Shichibei was constantly thinking to himself, either the rice would come slowly or the money would come quickly. He was so worried that he had a few more gray hairs.

I'm too difficult.

Compared to Hideyoshi's busy schedule and Shichibei's busy and worried state, Nobukatsu was relatively carefree. Although he was annoyed by the Aizu people's ungratefulness, he knew his life couldn't be completely confined by just this one thing.

Despite being the ruler of Japan, he still managed to tour the newly built Osaka Castle with great interest. His unfavored retainer, the old retainer Sawai Oshige, was now by Nobuo's side, explaining every aspect of Osaka Castle to him.

Where were the tiger's mouths and the narrow passages? How many wells were set up? How were the watchtowers distributed? The continuous construction over eighteen months was naturally quite effective.

Looking at the castle, even more magnificent and imposing than the historical Toyotomi Osaka Castle, Nobuo was very satisfied. The Osaka Honmaru was still an empty plot of land, but the Ninomaru was already perfectly constructed.

Ninomaru is the former Ishiyama Gobo. Although the main buildings were demolished from Azuchi Castle and Takatsuki Castle, thanks to the restoration by Ikeda Tsuneoki and the construction by Sawai Takeshi, a samurai academy-style residence has been built.

It could not only accommodate Oda Nobukatsu himself, but also his ever-expanding harem. When Shichibei built the Sento Palace for Emperor Ogimachi, he only planned to construct three separate harem residences. Now, with Nobukatsu's side, even thirteen residences would probably not be enough.

Therefore, a series of interconnected halls were built on the left and right sides, and small, separate halls and pavilions were distributed around them to facilitate the placement of personnel.

Seeing this, Nobuo asked Sawai Takeshige how long the interior decoration would take. Actually, the answer to this question shouldn't be Sawai Takeshige's, but Nobuo's.

Because Nobuo didn't give a single copper coin to the Osaka construction site, the materials, manpower, and expenses for building Osaka Castle were all paid for by the people of the East. However, they weren't responsible for the interior decoration, but they could contribute manpower and labor for the construction of the castle tower later, and the exact amount they would contribute would need to be settled.

If Nobuo doesn't pay, Sawai Yushige won't be able to do any interior decoration.

After asking this question, Nobuo quickly understood the reason when he saw that Sawai Oshige did not answer. He simply turned to Hijikata Okihisa and instructed him to take a portion of the 100,000 kan that was at the bottom of his treasury. As for decorations and furnishings, the Oda family's treasury had plenty of them; they could simply be moved over for use.

For the items that need to be purchased, make a clear list and buy them one by one. Try to get Oda Nobuo to move into Osaka before winter and hold a New Year's banquet in Osaka Castle to entertain two or three hundred lords.

According to the plan, Oda Nobuo was supposed to spend the New Year in Kyoto. However, Osaka had just been built, so he would definitely have to stay in Osaka for his first New Year's.

With money, things would be much easier. Sawai Yushige said he could arrange the interior decoration within a month at most. After that, he could invite Nobuo and his harem members to move in.

A month? That's great, we could even hold the "Nirimatsu Festival" at Osaka Castle. It's a festival where we eat rice from this year's newly harvested rice, and the dates are about right.

"You did a great job!" Nobuo's words put Sawai Yushige at ease, as he had been working day and night, rain or shine.

Chapter 630 The Nirayomi Festival will be held next month

Along with the relocation came Nobukatsu's administrative order to relocate the rice merchants and other merchants engaged in the annual tribute rice trade to Osaka. Sakaizu, originally one of the five treaty ports in the Kinai region, had its trading rights revoked and was instead opened to trade by Osaka.

Many of the "entrepot merchants" active in Sakaimachi, as well as temples, shrines, court nobles, and large merchants involved in foreign trade, moved out of Sakaimachi.

In particular, Shichibei, as the chief retainer and Ōchikata of the Oda clan, was ordered by Oda Nobukatsu to have the main store of Kawamura-ya moved to Osaka. Subsequently, the minting station and a large number of rice granaries were also moved to the outskirts of Osaka Castle.

Those who remained in Sakai were mainly engaged in the manufacture of military supplies, primarily arquebuses. Even the shipbuilding industry was ordered to relocate half of its operations to Osaka.

With the addition of the 20,000 to 30,000 artisan townspeople that Nobuo plundered from Odawara Castle, and the hatamoto and gokenin who moved from Azuchi Castle, the once desolate Osaka region after the Battle of Ishiyama ten years ago was transformed in an instant into a giant city with a population of 200,000 to 300,000.

Moreover, 300,000 is just the beginning; a steady stream of people continues to flock to Osaka. After all, the demand for labor services created by the large settled population, as well as the accompanying demand for goods transportation, is readily apparent.

In the simplest case, since there were 20,000 to 30,000 foot soldiers living in longhouses, there was often only one toilet for every 10 or 20 longhouses. So, this toilet would be contracted out to someone who would come and empty it at fixed times, and then take the excrement out to either make "green manure" or sell it directly.

A large population cluster makes it easier to develop and guide various industries, especially since Osaka is a city with strong productivity.

Perhaps in just a few years, Osaka will have a population of one million, becoming a rare metropolis with a population of one million in the world.

This is a good thing; at least it will create an economic and political center, as well as a transportation hub, further promoting the formation of a unified market across Japan. Although Shichibei was forcibly relocated to Osaka by administrative order, he didn't seem particularly unwilling.

They arrived happily, and many merchants and townspeople from Kyoto and Sakai were also relocated, keeping them very busy. In particular, in order to redistribute ownership of storehouses and docks, everyone agreed to hold a nationwide trade conference early next year to ensure that ferries bound for Osaka from all over the country have sufficient berths and wharves for storing goods.

Shichibei then moved the young general and Princess Ichi to Osaka. Azuchi Castle was now the residence of the monk Oda Saburo, so there was no longer a need to place hostages there. This was good news for Shichibei, as he could now reunite with the young general and Kawamura Nobuyoshi whenever he came to the Kinai region on official business.

Lady Takaya remained at Kyo-yashiki, while Princess Ashikaga, who remained at Sakai-yashiki, moved to Osaka because Ashikaga Satoshimaru, whom she was temporarily raising, had come of age. She was considered Ashikaga Satoshimaru's adoptive mother and was also the daughter of the former shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu, thus qualifying to serve as a hostage.

Ashikaga Satoshimaru abandoned his proposal to succeed the Kyushu Tandai Shibukawa clan with a reward of 5,000 or 10,000 koku, and since Oda Nobunaga had already passed away, he had not yet secured any territory.

Ashikaga Yorimitsu, who was in the Kanto region, received 10,000 koku of rice from Koga in Shimōsa Province and had effectively established himself in the new dynasty. However, due to Nobunaga's death, the promise of 10,000 kan of Yoshie's retirement allowance was no longer being fulfilled for him.

In other words, there was no problem with the coming-of-age ceremony. Oda Nobuo stepped forward to perform the ceremony for him and bestowed the character "Nobu" upon him, so he was named Ashikaga Nobuyoshi.

It's quite ironic. His father was the Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, but now even his name is subject to someone else's control. Ashikaga Nobuyoshi himself certainly wouldn't have wanted someone else's bestowed name. But circumstances dictate his fate; he was under someone else's roof.

With no biological father to rely on, and his elder relative Oda Nobunaga, with whom he had some connection, now dead, Ashikaga Nobuyoshi had no choice but to come to Shichibei for help again. Or perhaps it wasn't so much him coming, but rather Shichibei coming to visit Princess Ashikaga and, incidentally, to see the daughter she had given birth to for him.

Then Ashikaga Nobuyoshi, who lived in the Ashikaga residence, bumped into Shichibei. Ashikaga Princess's instigation played a part, but some things don't need to be so clearly defined.

What do you mean by that?

Naturally, Shichibei was asked to petition on his behalf to reclaim the territory worth 10,000 kan or 40,000 to 50,000 koku. Moreover, it had to be reclaimed by him as the head of the Ashikaga Shogunate, since he could no longer be the Shogun, but the prestige of being a direct descendant of the Ashikaga clan could not be diminished.

Tsk.

"This matter..." If it weren't for Ashikaga Princess and her daughter, Shichibei wouldn't have bothered with it at all.

Look at Ashikaga Yoshiaki next door, how clever he is! He and his two sons all became monks. Although he received a stipend of 10,000 koku and held the rank of daimyo, he never identified himself as Ashikaga. Whether in public or private, he always referred to himself by his monastic name, "Changzan Dokyu".

Clearly, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was far more clear-headed than Ashikaga Nobuyoshi. The Ashikaga family was no longer useful; it was time for them to step down. Humility and subservience might lead to a better outcome, while insisting on forceful rule would only breed suspicion and distrust.

By the way, in Oda Nobukatsu's lineage, the direct descendant of the Ashikaga clan was Ashikaga Yoshiaki, so Yoshiaki received the treatment of a "quasi-three-prince" in the imperial court and had a fief of ten thousand koku.

Ashikaga Nobuyoshi had nothing but Ashikaga Princess's cosmetics and the rice Nobunaga had given to the Taka family or the samurai. Without territory, he couldn't even recruit retainers or hire samurai.

"Please do your best to mediate." Ashikaga Princess and Shichibei had been sleeping together for so many years, and she could tell at a glance that Shichibei no longer wanted to get involved in this matter.

"As you know, the Prime Minister is furious because of those people from Aizu." Shichibei still tried to deflect the question, his excuse readily available.

Oda Nobukatsu is still in a rage, and he has no patience for even mundane matters, let alone the appointment of new lords. It was only when the Osaka construction project was nearly complete that he began to show some interest.

They've only just moved to Osaka, and the locals of Aizu haven't even shaved their heads yet. We can only bring this up after the Aizu campaign is over.

And even if we must mention it, we should stop flaunting the Ashikaga lineage and the so-called direct lineage of the Ashikaga clan. Let's change the lineage now, and stop calling it Ashikaga.

But when this was mentioned, Ashikaga Nobuyoshi simply refused. Not even twenty years old, he was a stubborn fellow who not only refused to change his lineage but also insisted on claiming the title of a direct descendant of the Ashikaga clan.

Then go to Ashikaga.

"Your Highness." Seeing a hint of displeasure flash in Shichibei's eyes, Ashikaga Princess quickly gestured for Ashikaga Nobuyoshi to leave, saying she would deal with Shichibei.

"You should also try to persuade him; if he continues like this, there's a risk of trouble." Shichibei wasn't angry, but he just wondered if the kid was stupid.

He's almost twenty. These days, there are plenty of twenty-year-olds who have killed three to five people in their early twenties. He should be mature enough to understand the consequences. How come he still thinks he's superior, has status and position, and that Oda is number one and I'm number two?

Stubborn people will be beaten; the whip will surely teach them a lesson, and I won't care if they're not convinced. But idiots are hopeless; if they continue like this, they'll inevitably bring about their own demise.

Xinxiong is not a tolerant or generous person. He is very generous when it comes to giving money, but you have to risk your life to fill the moat or climb the city wall to get it.

"Alas, how can I persuade her?" Ashikaga Princess was caught in the middle, utterly helpless.

As a woman, she could only advise Ashikaga Nobuyoshi in private; she had no way to openly control him. Besides, Ashikaga Nobuyoshi had now become the de facto head of the Ashikaga Yoshihide family, and theoretically, he was the one whose word was law.

"Then just ignore him. You can move to Kumamoto later." Shichibei didn't have time to coax a brainless "child."

Shichibei is too busy with all these things to handle, so how could he have time to deal with the emotions of such a brainless fool? If he had been allowed to inherit the Shibukawa clan back then, he could have easily made a fortune of 50,000 koku in Bungo.

You've missed that one and only chance, so die.

"Ah, this, this, this..." Ashikaga Princess was reluctant to leave the bustling Kinai region.

Sakai and Osaka are now the most prosperous parts of Japan. Kumamoto, on the other hand, is a backwater. For Ashikaga Princess, it was exile.

"Oh dear." Speechless. The Ashikaga family is truly...

Let's just look at our daughter for now. Shichibei originally had eleven daughters, all of whom are now married or have married other people. Now, this is the only daughter who can bring us joy. The youngest daughter always receives extra attention from her parents, at least that's how it is for Shichibei.

Furthermore, Oda Nobuo didn't have his eye on this daughter. Perhaps if she could marry into his family, he could see her often, which would be ideal.

After having dinner at the Ashikaga residence, Princess Ashikaga escorted Shichibei back to the Kawamura residence. Ultimately, Shichibei's heart softened because of her influence.

The annual tribute rice has been harvested, and Oda Nobuo will likely hold the Nijinami Festival at Osaka Castle. Shichibei will then try to get this matter to Nobuo, depending on his mood.

In fact, the fact that Nobukatsu only bestowed the character "Nobu" upon Ashikaga Nobuyoshi without mentioning the inheritance of his former territory already speaks volumes. However, Shichibei doesn't really expect Oda Nobukatsu to pay off Ashikaga Nobuyoshi with 50,000 koku; he'll just give him 3,000 to 5,000 koku and call it a day.