Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

By striking first and seizing the initiative, I can ensure that no matter how things unfold, you can't remove me from the "Oda clan"—as long as that status remains. Then, whatever I do can be justified under the guise of loyalty to my lord, Oda Katsuhoshi.

It's not that I want to kill you, it's that Your Excellency wants to kill you.

Before the other senior retainers could even come to pay their respects, Shichibei finished his audience. He then left Osaka Castle's Ninomaru without any ceremony, maintaining his status as a senior retainer of the Oda clan.

In recent times, the people in Osaka haven't been idle. At least some laborers have been mobilized to repair the site of the collapsed Ninomaru. The original earthen platform and stone walls have also been restored.

It's been repaired diligently, so unless there's another earthquake of magnitude 8 or higher, it shouldn't collapse easily again. The buildings in the Ninomaru are also basically finished. Only the Honmaru keep is probably a long way off; it could take ten or eight years to repair.

Therefore, Princess Mori Komatsu, Princess Narita Kai, and Nobuo's harem members, including Oda Katsuhoshi, all moved back into the Ninomaru of Osaka Castle.

After all, Azuchi Castle was badly damaged and has yet to be repaired. The same is true for Nijō Palace in Kyoto; only after the annual tribute rice is collected can funds be allocated for its slow repair. Castle repairs, both in ancient and modern times, have always involved annual and monthly maintenance and reconstruction.

Edo Castle, built by engineers over a century; the Edo keep itself was rebuilt several times throughout history. As for the castle walls and towers, apart from the name, the rest of the components were replaced every two or three hundred years.

Upon arriving at the Sannomaru in Osaka, Shichibei immediately ordered Nobuo Mimawari Takamori, who was in charge of the defense of Sannomaru, to hand over half of the Sannomaru. Then, with lightning speed, he ordered the Kawamura samurai guarding outside to take over Sannomaru.

He entered Osaka Castle in a grand manner as the regent minister of Oda Katsuhoshi, and assisted Oda Katsuhoshi in governing the country.

As for why it's only half? Because the other half can be taken by someone else.

The elders and senior officials who rushed into the castle saw that Shichibei had taken over the third tier of Osaka and part of the castle's defenses, and were about to erupt in anger. They demanded to know who was on duty and how could the castle's defenses be handed over so casually.

Upon inquiry, it was revealed to be Takamori Yuichi. Without Shichibei's choice and the noble cause of marrying Takamori Korenao's daughter, he would still be an unknown samurai wielding his sword and fighting in the Aso Valley of Higo.

Thanks to Shichibei's assistance and his father-in-law's desperate struggle, he suddenly rose to the position of Oda Nobukatsu's Mama-mawari General, with a stipend of 10,000 koku.

Previously, there was Oda Nobukatsu, and he loved Oda Nobukatsu, after all, Nobukatsu had granted him 10,000 koku, and he was expected to be loyal to the emperor. Now that Nobukatsu is dead, and although there is still Oda Katsuhoshi, it is clearly safer to side with Shichibei within the government.

What does it mean to accumulate knowledge and experience before unleashing it? This is what it means to accumulate knowledge and experience before unleashing it.

Normally, nothing seems out of the ordinary, but everywhere you look are Shichibei's buddies and brothers. Even though most of the old brothers have passed away, new brothers are constantly growing in droves.

Several high-ranking officials remained silent, while others wanted to speak out and denounce Takamori Ichiro. Unfortunately, Takamori Ichiro, with his spear in hand, seemed unmoved; what could they do to him?

You're a daimyo, and so am I; aren't we both loyal retainers of the emperor? You want to change my status? Does Prince Kawamura agree? He doesn't agree, so you're nothing.

Fortunately, Gao Senwei was at least not in a position to prevent the important officials from entering the city. If they couldn't even enter the city, then it would be a joke.

Maybe.

Shichibei is taking advantage of the chaos in Osaka to gradually seize control of the central government using a salami-slicing tactic. He's not aiming to overthrow or directly seize control from Oda Katsufumi. This isn't a drastic move; at most, they'll stomp their feet and curse, but they won't actually do anything.

Of course, you have to make a move, but if you're slow on one step, you'll be slow on every step. If you use this move to counter my move, I'll already have my second move coming.

They didn't even need to make a second move, because Shichibei's second move had already been made. Seeing everyone, including Narita Ujichō, the lord of 250,000 koku of Shinto Kita-sō, rushing in, Shichibei smiled and invited everyone to have tea, saying, "Come, come, don't be shy."

"How can I be in the mood for tea?" Terumoto Mori finally couldn't hold back any longer and abandoned his otaku ways, asking Shichibei what he was up to.

What to do? Of course, it's to publicly punish Miyoshi Nobutaka, who, on the battlefield of the East-West War, colluded with the Eastern rebels, betrayed his own side, and stood by while the Eastern rebels' northern forces attacked the central camp of the Western Army's various villages.

"Lieutenant General Awa was merely ordered to defend Kano." Maeda Toshiie's attitude had now shifted to supporting the continuation of the Oda regime with all his might, and he was now strongly against punishing Miyoshi Nobutaka.

Although it was obvious to everyone that Miyoshi Nobutaka was merely waiting for a higher bidder and wasn't genuinely and wholeheartedly assisting the Western Army, he didn't attack any Western Army units during the war and completed his military mission of defending Ghana.

If you're really in a bad mood, just say a few words of criticism and move on. Judge by actions, not intentions; if you judge by intentions, there are few perfect people in the world.

“That’s right!” Mori Terumoto stood with Maeda Toshiie, not because he was particularly close to Miyoshi Nobutaka, but simply because he hadn’t done his part as a shrine maiden.

If Shichibei is going to hold Miyoshi Nobutaka accountable for not contributing, will he also hold Mori Terumoto accountable for not contributing in the future?

This absolutely cannot be started!

Speaking of which, right now, the rumors about the three gods of the Kiso River East-West Battle have already begun to circulate among some of the feudal lords. Mori Terumoto is the "God of the House," Miyoshi Nobutaka is the "God of Food," and naturally, Yamagata Masamitsu is the "God of War." Where did these rumors originate?

Haha, don't ask, it's pointless to ask too many questions.

"Please have some tea." Shichibei, holding the secret letter between Miyoshi Nobutaka and Tokugawa Ieyasu, naturally remained calm and invited them to continue speaking.

“Yes, Lieutenant General Awa is, after all, a member of the imperial family, and should naturally have relatives and nobles.” Nagano Nobukabe also spoke up; Miyoshi Nobutaka was his nephew.

"What if he's colluding with the Eastern bandits?" Shichibei asked with a smile, holding his teacup.

“The Eastern bandits have been defeated; we should not implicate them too much.” Mori Terumoto frowned, believing that this was just Shichibei putting on a show to weaken the opposition.

If there were any evidence, it should have been presented long ago. Riding on the momentum of the Western Army's great victory, relieving Miyoshi Nobutaka of his military command on the spot wouldn't be a big deal. After all, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of victorious troops, could Miyoshi Nobutaka with only 20,000 men possibly turn the tide?

"good."

“Then why bring this up again? The important thing is to hand over the army as soon as possible and arrange the grand funeral for Tokugen-in-dono,” Maeda Toshiie chimed in.

Oda Nobukatsu's coffin has not been laid to rest to this day. Both burial and cremation were suspended due to the East-West War. After all, at that time, it was still unknown who was Oda Nobukatsu's legitimate son.

"What are your intentions in allowing a traitor from the East to attend the funeral of the former Tokugen-in-dono?" Shichibei put down his teacup, looking not only at Maeda Toshiie, but also at everyone present at the meeting.

"In broad daylight, how can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air!" Mori Terumoto almost slammed his fist on the table. This Kawamura Nagayoshi had no shame and was starting to make up stories to frame someone.

"Look for yourselves, everyone." Shichibei took out Miyoshi Nobutaka's secret letter from his inner robe and casually tossed it onto the tatami mat.

"What is that..." Mori Terumoto muttered to himself.

After he unfolded the letter, and everyone around him crowded around to read it, they all wilted like frostbitten eggplants, completely ineligible to say anything more.

You dare to defend these openly traitors?

Almost instantly, Nagano Nobukatsu, who had just been talking about the imperial family and nobility, fell silent, his lips trembling. Maeda Toshiie, who had bluntly stated that Shichibei should prioritize Oda Nobuo's funeral and even try to get Miyoshi Nobutaka to help pull the oxcart carrying Nobuo's coffin, sighed deeply.

Their strength and prestige were far inferior to Shichibei's, so there was no way they could even think about colluding on the spot to cover it up. As for killing Shichibei to silence him, that was something they wouldn't even dare to consider. Hundreds of thousands of Western Army soldiers were right below the city. Even if Shichibei died mysteriously inside the city, there was still Kawamura Nobuyoshi lurking below.

"Change."

That simple sentence came out of Shichibei's mouth. It was as if the Miyoshi family, a close vassal state of Awa Province and half of Higashisanuki Province, was just an insignificant minor feudal lord.

"..." Someone opened their mouth, but couldn't get the words of pleading out.

They had previously opposed killing Tokugawa Ieyasu, but now, with witnesses and evidence piled up, there's no room for argument. If they had killed Tokugawa Ieyasu back then, at least they could have claimed there was no way to verify the story, saying it might have been fabricated.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" Shichibei had already picked up his pen and ink, preparing to issue a document.

"Gulp." Maeda Toshiie swallowed hard, finally deciding to offer a word of advice.

"Please speak."

“After all, he is a descendant of the Great God of Heaven. Since he has rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, let’s reduce his fief to 10,000 koku.” Maeda Toshiie said this while taking a huge political risk.

“Alright, since it's out of consideration for You Zuo, let's reduce the fief to 20,000 koku.” Shichibei agreed without any objection.

Not only did he agree, he added another 10,000 koku. Miyoshi Nobutaka knew exactly what he had done; now that Shichibei was giving him 20,000 koku, he should be thanking him. Of course, this was just a joke, meant only to prevent him from being overly grateful to Maeda Toshiie.

Why did Toshiie only ask for 10,000 koku, while Shichibei gave him 20,000 koku? After such a dramatic turn of events in his life, it's hard to say whether Miyoshi Nobutaka felt any gratitude towards Toshiie upon hearing this news.

"Phew..." Seeing that Shichibei was at least reasonable, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Then I will begin the document." Shichibei picked up his pen and began writing; he had been writing this kind of document countless times lately.

After quickly finishing writing, Shichibei signed his name. At that moment, Mori Terumoto said, "Wait a minute, I want to countersign too." Even if it's after Shichibei's signature, there's an order to it, so it still needs to be countersigned.

They had already suffered a loss by having Shichibei sign documents alone before. The most typical example was the matter of Narita Uchinaga being granted a title. Now they must restore the situation of joint signatures, otherwise their power will be gradually eroded and eventually stripped away.

Upon hearing that Mori Terumoto wanted to countersign, the other elders and middle-aged men also expressed their agreement. Even the previously missing "Wei Jia Hai Nei" seal was brought out by someone.

That's great, this brings harmony to the gathering.

The more relaxed and amicable everyone became, the more Shichibei felt that the atmosphere was conducive to him making his third move.

Look, they've already temporarily forgotten about the first move after just using the second. As long as they don't manage to oust Shichibei today, they won't be able to easily push him out of Osaka Castle's Third Maru again.

Once seated in the Third Maru, Shichibei was the head of the family, and there was nothing more to say. No one could argue with him; after all, the Third Maru blocked the entrance to the Second Maru, and the one who held the key was none other than the master.

"Oh dear, what a pity, the tea has gone cold." Shichibei feigned calmness and composure.

The group, who had just been arguing with Shichibei until their throats were dry, suddenly remembered that there was a cup of tea in front of them, and immediately picked it up and drank it all in one gulp.

"Gentlemen, now that the Lord has inherited the great cause, it is only right that he should come of age." Shichibei immediately unleashed his third move.

"Only two years old..." He paused, noting that "two years old" was the traditional Chinese age, so how could he be expected to come of age and rule the world?

In Japan, the coming-of-age ceremony is more like a formality. Oda Nobunaga was born at the age of twelve. Does that mean he was able to rule a region at that age? Not necessarily. It was more like Oda Nobuhide was setting up attacks everywhere, preparing backup plans in advance in case he died out in the process.

How old was Toyotomi Hideyori when he came of age? Five. Why? Because Hideyoshi was going to die anyway, and Hideyori needed to succeed him.

Why did Shichibei make Oda Katsuhoshi come of age? Because once he came of age, it would theoretically eliminate the possibility of his mother, Mori Komatsuhime, participating in politics. Of course, this is only theoretical; the main reason was for Shichibei to carry out practical operations.

Coming of age does not affect the political participation of his maternal grandfathers, Terumoto Mori and Ujinaga Narita; it only affects Terumoto Mori's power.

By nominally removing Master Sheng from his mother's harem, Shichibei could then openly intervene in his education as a tutor. In other words, the guardianship shifted from his mother to Shichibei.

I want to see who else dares to challenge this noble cause.

Chapter 666 A large area was altered and resealed.

Mori Terumoto and Narita Uchinaga seemed to feel the urge to stop him, but for a moment they didn't know what to stop him from doing. After all, following the Great East-West War, Oda Katsuhoshi was the rightful and sole heir to the Oda Grand Chancellor's government. Therefore, his coming-of-age ceremony and subsequent accession to the throne, and even his appointment as Grand Chancellor, were perfectly reasonable.

On the contrary, Maeda Toshiie had a flash of inspiration. He was a player who was still developing. In his early years, he was indeed a brainless, reckless brute, but now he had entered his mature stage. If he was allowed to develop for another ten or eight years, he could become a master of political maneuvering at the peak of his abilities.

The fact that Shichibei has managed to free Oda Katsufushi from the clutches of the empress dowager serves the interests of the court officials. This weakens the influence of the empress's relatives, making it easier for the court officials to influence Katsufushi and even effectively control him.

However, Shichibei's blunt proposal will undoubtedly further complicate the situation in Osaka. The mere mention of a pretext is enough to cause a huge uproar among the officials in the prefecture.

"What do you all think? If there are no other opinions, I will send an envoy to the court to request the position of Junior General of the Left Imperial Guard of the Fourth Rank." Shichibei's words were actually quite problematic.

First, this matter shouldn't be handled by Shichibei in lieu of office; even if he were, it should be handled jointly by a group of senior retainers of the Oda clan. Second, there's a problem with the position of Junior Fourth Rank. Logically, he should first be promoted to Junior Fifth Rank or Senior Fifth Rank, becoming a Daibu (a high-ranking official). He should then be promoted to Junior Fourth Rank on the second or third day, and subsequently appointed as Left Junior General.

Finally, and most importantly, there is no precedent for this. Oda Saburo died without receiving an official title, Oda Nobukatsu did not follow the path of being a legitimate son to receive an official title, and Nobutada's example is not relevant.

This is the first time this matter has been handled. Once this becomes Shichibei's exclusive affair, Shichibei's power within the Oda regime will be implicitly strengthened.

"Report one by one, report one by one." Mori Terumoto reacted quickly to this matter. In any case, no matter what it is, Shichibei should not be allowed to handle it alone. If he does, he will lose his authority.

Little did they know that blindly following others was also a mistake. Becoming a follower meant losing the ambition to become a faction leader and lead his followers to fight for power.

"Hmm?" Shichibei looked at the crowd again.

"Well then, so be it." Shichibei's three consecutive attacks had already left everyone stunned, so Maeda Toshiie could only try to pause for now.

No more decisions can be made today; the group is completely disoriented. They've been arguing and fighting in Osaka, but haven't been able to figure out one thing.

Because they were not regents appointed by the late Oda Nobukatsu, the source of their power was actually ambiguous; they had neither explicit orders nor the approval of the young lord. They were merely continuing to hold official positions within the government, a position that Shichibei also held, and a rather high one at that.

So, the division of power ultimately depends on strength. Shichibei, who won the Battle of Kiso River, was undeniably the strongest. From the very beginning of their conflict with Shichibei, they were actually at a disadvantage.

Instead of taking advantage of Shichibei's absence to completely seize control of Oda Katsufuji, or even using this one-year-old child to gain the title of regent, they refused to step forward and openly oppose him. Instead, they only thought about using underhanded tricks and schemes behind his back. They were completely finished.

"Alright." Shichibei smiled and nodded in agreement.

The group arrived in a huff, but left as if granted a pardon, their backs covered in white sweat. Today would surely be a day they would never forget in their political careers.

Hmph, I wish you all a long life.