Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Furthermore, the urgent discussions with Tokugawa Ieyasu regarding military service are likely related to Ando Morinari's efforts to reorganize his forces, which are nearing completion. The defection of the Saino garrison is imminent.

So now Shichibei has another job, or a business deal.

As mentioned earlier, Mikawa lacks large-scale markets, commercial towns, or temple/shrine-fronted streets. Many of Mikawa's horse-riding businesses rely on the support of the Atsuta-cho horse-riding yamen (horse-riding officials).

Now that Tokugawa Ieyasu is about to send troops to Inabayama Castle, this is no longer a battle that can be fought by soldiers carrying lunch boxes or five or ten days' worth of rations.

Assuming we send 3,000 men from Okazaki to Inabayama, the siege would take 10 to 20 days, not to mention the return journey's provisions. Wouldn't we need 100 horses for transport, either as pack animals or carts?

Not only did grain need to be transported to Inabayama, but gunpowder, arrows, and the armor and weapons of the foot soldiers also needed to be transported there.

Even when they reached Mino, Nobunaga provided food for the Tokugawa army, so they didn't need to bring so much rice. However, for such a long march, sufficient transport capacity was still essential.

This is different from the previous warfare model in Sanhe, where everyone would put on armor and walk three to five kilometers to reach the battlefield.

The new model requires new supporting infrastructure.

"So that Shichibei really is a shrewd businessman?" Tokugawa Ieyasu wasn't surprised by Nobuyasu's answer.

"You speak just like the old man." Nobuyasu was still honest in front of his father.

"Hmph, he's not your servant, what advice is he giving you?" Tokugawa Ieyasu was just feeling sorry that Nobunaga was going to exploit him so much.

"I just felt that he spoke in a very old-fashioned way."

How do you know that what he says is what he really thinks?

"..." Nobuyasu is only nine years old. It's quite impressive that he was able to recount his conversation with Shichibei to his father.

As for deeper thinking, divergent thinking, and further extension, that's his father's job. Of course, his father will teach him, but that takes time. Without three to five years of guidance and instruction, the old fox can't simply guide the little fox onto the right path.

"Go with the chief accountant to Owari and buy horses from him." Ieyasu was in no hurry; he was still young and had plenty of time to teach his son.

Matsudaira Hirotada and Matsudaira Kiyoyasu were not necessarily short-lived; they both died from assassination and attacks. If they hadn't been killed, and the grandson had implicated the grandfather, Matsudaira Kiyoyasu would probably still be alive and well at this point.

Of Ieyasu's sons, some died young, while others lived long lives. For example, Hideyasu Yuki was very healthy and strong when he was young, but he eventually died in the plum blossom.

That's Mei. It's said that when she died, her appearance was quite exaggerated, and her mother broke down on the spot when she saw it.

Matsudaira Tadashi lived to be 92 years old, living up to his father's stature and even surpassing him by a great margin.

"Buy horses?" Xin Kang was only nine years old and certainly didn't understand his father's intentions.

“Now that you’re going to Owari, you should naturally visit your father-in-law at Komakiyama. It’ll be a good opportunity to see the talents of Owari.” Tokugawa Ieyasu had a lot of affection for this eldest son of his.

Even if it were a stupid question, Tokugawa Ieyasu would certainly be happy to answer it. Besides, Nobuyasu's question wasn't really that silly; he could bring it up.

The story of Sunomata Castle that lasted one night had made Kinoshita Hideyoshi's deeds known throughout the country. Even merchants and monkey musicians on the sea route were singing the legend of Sunomata Castle that lasted one night. As a supporting character, Shichibei had unknowingly gained some fame.

Upon hearing this story, Tokugawa Ieyasu was naturally curious and sent someone to inquire about it. The story of Kinoshita Hideyoshi and Kawamura Shichibei Nagayoshi was even more legendary than any other tale.

With months of preparation, one was willing to provide funding, and the other was willing to work independently; in this way, a bridgehead for Nobunaga was built in Shinono.

Having already received orders to send troops, Ieyasu understood the significance of Sunomata, which was one of the main reasons why the Saino garrison was willing to defect to Nobunaga. With Nobunaga's castle and army practically at their doorstep, a new choice was inevitable.

How could such talented people emerge one after another in such a small place as Owari?

Before this, Tokugawa Ieyasu hadn't felt much, but when the story of Sunomata Castle spread, he became genuinely curious. He hadn't seen Shuujita yet, but he had met Shichibei. Shichibei was a man of impeccable composure and extreme caution. From Nobunaga's attitude, it was clear that Shichibei was highly regarded.

The night before, Nobunaga was talking to Ieyasu about what would happen if a seven-and-a-half-year-old child beat a five-and-a-half-year-old child to death, and everyone said that the child was too young to understand and didn't know that this was murder, and was even willing to pay the deceased's family for burial expenses. How would you rule in that case?

Ieyasu thought it would be difficult to judge, especially if the victim's family kept pleading. Nobunaga then told him that Shichibei had determined whether the seven-and-a-half-year-old murderer was even capable of reasoning using only a pair of chopsticks.

What a smart person!

Why did talented individuals continuously emerge under Nobunaga's command, while Mikawa was mostly populated by "straightforward" samurai? Logically speaking, Mikawa's cultural and educational level and the foundation of its social talent pool were no worse than Owari's.

Going back a few hundred years, Owari was the territory of the Shiba clan, while Mikawa was mostly the territory of the Kira clan and its branches. Samurai from both clans gradually spread throughout their territories, with the Kira clan branches in Mikawa even having a larger number of descendants. In terms of the number of samurai existing in the rural areas, Mikawa might even have been stronger.

Because the Shiba clan served the shogun and participated in national affairs in Kyoto for many years, their branches gradually remained in Kyoto and even went to Echizen. This was also the basis for the Oda clan's usurpation of Owari Province by the governor-general; the Shiba clan heads, being away from the country most of the time, were bound to be sidelined.

On the contrary, the Kira family initially served in Kyoto, but later went to Kyoto less and less, and most of the branch families remained in Mikawa Province.

I'm not afraid of your numbers when it comes to samurai, and I'm even better at culture than you.

Why are all the samurai who end up in Tokugawa Ieyasu's hands only good at wielding spears and sticks? What about the samurai who can find ways to make money, build infrastructure, conduct diplomatic maneuvering, and develop water conservancy projects?

Now that he had become the lord of the country, Ieyasu needed samurai retainers to lead the nation's development. Just as Shichibei had said, as long as there were stipends and rewards, there would never be a shortage of skilled samurai. But those who could handle all kinds of domestic affairs were rare finds.

Now that the opportunity and need have arisen, Tokugawa Ieyasu hopes to have Hiraiwa Chikayoshi take Tokugawa Nobuyasu to Owari. Ostensibly, this is to express gratitude to Nobunaga and to purchase horses, but in reality, it's to learn more about the inner workings of Owari.

In particular, Nobunaga might have had some special methods for selecting talent.

After the father and son reached an agreement, they went to rest without further mention. Shortly after, Shichibei received a notification from Sakuma Nobumori that the fifty packhorses he had taken to Mikawa had been delivered to Ieyasu; it was not an order.

Sell ​​them? There's nothing hard about selling them. Spring is just around the corner, and the Takeda clan's new horses will arrive. Shichibei even considered buying a few more. The more horses the better, right? Ieyasu will definitely need them in his future battles.

They're going to fight Imagawa Ujizane together with Takeda Shingen, on an expedition to Tōtōmi Province, with a supply route stretching over a hundred kilometers, right?

Unexpectedly, news actually came from Ieyasu's side. Shichibei thought Ieyasu would buy it directly from the Takeda clan, since the Takeda clan's envoy had just left. The two families needed to maintain contact, so it was a good opportunity to send someone to Tsutsumi-zaki-kan.

But in the end, Ieyasu still chose to buy from Owari, which must have been to give face to Oda Nobunaga.

Riding only a few horses, Shichibei returned to Japan lightly. Naturally, Tokugawa Nobuyasu and Hiraiwa Chikayoshi also set off for Owari with about ten attendants.

Shichibei even added that they could gather horses directly from Atsuta and send them to Okazaki immediately. Hiraiwa Chikakichi just smiled and said, "They still have to go to Komakiyama." Oh right, it's like we're kicking out our guests.

While he was apologizing, Hiraiwa Chikayoshi started chatting with Shichibei, asking him how a merchant could be chosen as the governor of Kaito County.

Hiraiwa Chikayoshi was a hereditary retainer of the Ansho Matsudaira clan, and reliable records indicate that he had served for approximately four generations. He also served as a retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu, held the position of lord of a castle, and concurrently served as the governor of Nukata district in Mikawa province.

With such a background, it would be perfectly normal for him to be appointed as a county magistrate. But how could Shichibei, a mere merchant and not even the head of the merchants, have come to Nobunaga's attention?

It's a long story. I was eighteen years old that year, and I stood like a lackey at the foot of Inuyama Castle.

78. The bamboo shoot has a purpose and strength.

ha?

Hiraiwa Chikakichi was slightly puzzled. The reason was that Nobunaga had bundled up all the horses belonging to the Shichibei family and given them to Inuyama Tessai, leaving Shichibei unemployed. So, in order to find work for the unemployed Shichibei, they started building horse stables and post stations, which grew larger and larger until they reached Sunomata Castle.

Is it really just a coincidence?

It seemed like such a coincidence, and Shichibei wasn't entirely certain. He was from the Owari clan, having served the Oda family for three or four generations, making him a long-time retainer. With Nobunaga's power gradually expanding, it was possible he might be included.

Hiraiwa Chikakichi clearly didn't quite believe this answer. According to Shichibei's explanation, Shichibei was simply thrown into the role without any prior experience in domestic administration. As a result, Nobunaga promoted Shichibei, and Shichibei became the one.

and many more!

Suddenly, Hiraiwa Chikakichi grasped a small but crucial point. Not long ago, Kawamuraya was merely a stable boy with a budget of sixty kan and a dozen horses. Now, however, he was a tycoon with over four hundred horses, branches throughout Owari and Mino provinces, and hundreds of acres of arable land.

The speed of expansion is simply unbelievable. How can someone go from a small merchant with a hundred or so kan to a Tsushima-kai with a business of several thousand kan in just two or three years?

In the history of the Tsushima clan, no one has ever prospered this quickly. Even if Shichibei had the exclusive right to operate the horse-riding business granted by Nobunaga, where did the capital come from? How could the recovered funds be converted into production so quickly? And why did Takeda Shingen grant you the exclusive right to operate the Kai horse business?

This Kawamura Shichibei Nagayoshi is dishonest, very dishonest, and quite secretive.

However, Hiraiwa Chikayoshi did not show it outwardly, but kept his doubts to himself. He and Tokugawa Nobuyasu would be staying in Owari for several days, which would give them plenty of opportunities to test him and to probe him indirectly.

The journey from Atsuta back to Komakiyama is a total of forty or fifty kilometers. Traveling on horseback for two days is already a very slow pace. If you don't care about horsepower and change horses along the way, you can make two round trips in a day.

Nobunaga was quite pleased to learn that his son-in-law had come to visit him, and he even considered taking Nobuyasu out for a stroll. This was good news for Shichibei, as he could at least go home and rest for a couple of days.

As soon as he got home, he saw Kinoshita Hidenaga and his younger sister, Aji, busy in the storeroom behind the shop. Hidenaga should be in Sunomata, and Aji should be taking care of Nene.

Seeing Shichibei return, the two didn't think much of it and ran over to greet him.

"What are you two doing here?" Shichibei handed Kinoshita Hidenaga his straw hat and his outer haori to Aji.

The young couple served Shichibei with great skill, as if it were their natural duty. Kinoshita Hidenaga even massaged Shichibei's shoulders, and Aji served him tea.

"Sister-in-law went to visit the Maeda family." Aji and Matsu didn't know each other at all, so there was no need for them to go and join in the fun.

Ningning and Asong have known each other for many years and are considered close friends. The important thing is that Asong has already had two children, the future Maeda Toshinaga, who seems to be over four years old now.

It seems that Ningning, who is pregnant, went to seek advice from Asong. After all, Asong was able to give birth to two children smoothly, which is much better than Ningning, who is newly pregnant.

"I see..." Then we should indeed learn from their experience. These days, everyone has a natural birth. If you can't give birth naturally, it's a tragic ending where both you and your unborn child die.

"And what about you?" Shichibei asked Hidenaga, picking up his teacup.

"I came back with my brother..." Xiu Chang lowered his voice, but there was no need for that at all. All the servants had gone back to the longhouse to rest, except for the two horse feeders, who were in the front hall.

After Hideyoshi spent a few days at Komakiyama Castle after the New Year, he had just returned to Sunomata when he received some very exciting news.

Neither Inaba nor Ujiie attended the New Year's greetings at Inabayama Castle.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Shichibei presented Nobunaga with a sword. Although it was a perfunctory and customary ceremony, presenting a sword to one's lord symbolized a strong relationship between ruler and vassal and expressed the vassal's loyalty.

As a result, not only did Ando not go to Inabayama to present the tachi, but on the first day of the Lunar New Year this year, neither the Inaba nor the Kazuji family did either. What does this mean? It means that both families have completely wavered and are no longer willing to put on a show for Ryusei.

Of course, it's also possible that they were worried that if they went to Inabayama Castle, Ryuxing would leave the two of them there.

Ryūō wasn't stupid; could he not see that the Ninō guild was flirting with Nobunaga? With the loss of Chūnō, the entire Ninō was in turmoil, and it was only natural and simple for the Ninō guild to find new allies.

Now that neither side is going to pay homage to the Ryūgen clan, doesn't that mean that the strategy to subdue the Sinō clique has seen a glimmer of hope, and the Sinō clique will soon side with Nobunaga?

Upon learning this news, Hideyoshi rushed back to Komakiyama to report to Nobunaga.

Shichibei spat the tea leaves back into the cup, smacked his lips, and thought, "It seems the Saino horde will defect to Oda sometime between February and March. Once the summer harvest is complete, the Saino horde will undoubtedly openly rebel."

As for why they were allowed to harvest the summer grain, that was only natural. If Nobunaga had sold out the three families simply to incite infighting in Mino and deplete the military strength of the three families and Saito Tatsuoki, then at least they would have been prepared.

With the summer grain harvested and brought into the city, they'll have the resources to defend it. If they can hold out for three to five months, Longxing will definitely have to withdraw his troops. In any case, nothing major will happen to the three families; they can continue to maintain their current positions.

"Is the information accurate?" Shichibei had expected this, but he still asked anyway.

"Of course, it was Takenaka Hanbei who said it." Hidenaga didn't show any particular respect when he mentioned Takenaka Hanbei.

"That?"

"Yes, it's right below the city walls. I even paid my respects to the main hall yesterday," Xiu Chang replied.

"Hmm, could you run an errand for me and ask him if he's free tonight?" After all, Shichibei was involved in this matter, so he's bound to be a little curious.

If I hadn't participated, that would have been fine. But now that I'm involved, and the person happens to be near Komakiyama Castle, I can finally meet them and find out what's going on.

"Aci, go and buy some sardines."

After seeing the two off, Shichibei tidied himself up a bit and shaved. Nobunaga didn't grow a beard and cleaned his face regularly, which was probably one of the reasons why he could dress as a woman so freely a few years ago. After all, if he had a big stubble and was dressed as a woman, people probably wouldn't be very interested in watching him.

The two returned one after the other. Hidenaga said Takenaka Hanbei would definitely arrive tonight. There were sardines too; thankfully, Owari is by the sea, and it was still the dead of winter.

After changing his clothes and waiting for an hour or so, Takenaka Hanbei arrived as promised. His appearance hadn't changed at all, but there was one difference from their last meeting: this time, he didn't need to whisper. It turned out Takenaka Hanbei had quite a loud voice; last time, he had lowered his voice because it was a private conversation.

When Takenaka Hanbei met Shichibei again, he asked Shichibei in a friendly manner what he had been up to.