Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Hmm, should we report this to Nobunaga?

Shichibei actually had no evidence; it was all just his own speculation and suspicion. The only evidence he could call was the account book showing Yonekura Nobutsugu's purchase of horse hay. But theoretically, this could also be considered Shichibei's own account, and Yonekura Nobutsugu could have easily denied it.

There was neither surveillance nor transaction records; at most, there was a clerk who kept the books as witnesses. But the clerk was one of Shichibei's men, and even in later times, such witnesses cannot be entirely trusted.

Let's wait and see. If Nobutsugu Yonekura and Tatsuoki Saito really have some secret dealings, they'll have some interactions this year, let alone next year. Let's observe from the shadows; the truth will eventually come out.

Nobunaga is even officiating at the wedding of his good nephew, Ryūō. Ryūō is a useful person, so let's hold off for a few more days.

Instruct the men to invite Takikawa Kazumasu to Komakiyama; Shichibei feels he can help with some things. We'll monitor Kiyosu Castle at our own expense. Ryūshō is too conspicuous, but Kiyosu will be a smaller target.

There's a high probability they'll slip up, and it'll be Kiyosu's side that slips up. Komakiyama is about to be demolished, and Ryūshō will have to pack up and revisit Inabayama. As the magistrate of Kotetsu, Shichibei is perfectly positioned to "keep an eye on things."

The relocation project of Komakiyama Castle has officially begun!

Niwa Nagahide set off first, taking dozens of samurai and their families with him. They were settled in the houses that Ryūō had originally bestowed upon his retainers; everything was ready, and they could move in as soon as they arrived. There were even cooking stoves. The Saitō retainers, having fled after their defeat, had at most taken some valuables and clothing. Once the Oda army entered the city, looting was prohibited, so the houses contained only a few things that could be hidden.

Wardrobes, vases, cast iron pots—these are all valuable, but the soldiers entering the city certainly couldn't take them with them; they'll have to leave them for future generations.

Sakuma Nobumori then entered the castle and began dividing the area, preparing to demolish this place today and that place tomorrow. The dismantled components had to be moved to Inabayama Castle for reuse, and even important military buildings such as turrets had to be rebuilt; they couldn't just be haphazardly moved there.

Nobunaga is certainly unsure if he can maintain his foothold in the Kinai region. After all, Ōuchi Yoshioki and Hosokawa Masamoto both served in Kyoto's Shōzō, where they were once invincible yet lonely. But look at the Ōuchi and Hosokawa clans now—both have been defeated.

Therefore, it is necessary to build a stronghold. If victorious, one can launch a major offensive; if defeated, one can retreat and defend. In any case, a large city is essential.

By the way, taking advantage of the power shift, Shichibei arranged for Niwa Nagahide to reserve a spot for us at the most convenient intersection when building the castle town.

It has to be a major intersection.

Before leaving, Niwa Nagahide gave Shichibei a knowing smile, clearly understanding what he meant. Consider it a favor owed to Niwa Nagahide; he could always repay it in the future.

Anyway, the Denmaya branch in Inabayama Castle is useful. Even after the Meiji Restoration, Gifu-cho is still the leading central town in Gifu Prefecture, and the railway lines of the Tokaido have to turn from here to Omi.

Correspondingly, Shichibei also used the privileges granted by Nobunaga to recruit dozens of oxen from the common people, hitch them to carts, and transport the belongings of the samurai families who had set off for Inabayama Castle earlier. They really brought wardrobes, tables, pots and pans with them when they moved; the bedding alone filled several carts.

Convenient with others, convenient with yourself.

Logically, villagers wouldn't be willing to lend out their oxen and horses, but now Shichibei has a bit of a reputation in many villages in Owari, mainly because of his official position. Everyone knows that the Kawamura boss doesn't cheat honest people; he charges fair prices.

We'll be keeping in touch often, so borrowing the ox was quite easy now. Anyway, the rice seedlings have all been planted, so the ox is temporarily useless in the village.

They were real cattle and horses, and their rest was genuine.

After agreeing with them on a daily rate for borrowing horses and the promise of compensation for any deaths, Shichibei's work proceeded smoothly. Thanks to the addition of horses by Nobutsugu Yonekura, Shichibei now had over a thousand horses, but this was still insufficient compared to the large-scale relocation of tens of thousands of people.

Fortunately, people leave in batches, not all at once. As long as the plans are made properly, the flow of people can be managed.

Let's do it. As long as we don't die, let's work ourselves to the bone. Those twenty men sent to Kaito County have all been brought back to Komakiyama by Shichibei. Two of them will guard each post station, doing the work of traffic police. They'll point out the way to people station by station and escort them to Inabayama Castle.

If a horse or ox dies halfway through the journey, you have to run back and ask the Edo-hime to drag it away. If it collapses on the road and blocks the way, remember to drag it into a ditch and have the Edo-hime retrieve it.

"Shichibei, a fine horse has arrived. Why don't you let me see it first?" Just as the spinning top was busy spinning, the boss came over to give it a spin.

"..." Shichibei wanted to pretend he hadn't heard anything, after all, with all the noise of people and horses, it wouldn't be surprising if he hadn't heard anything.

"Shichibei, Shichibei, Shichibei..." To everyone's surprise, ignoring the boss made him come closer on his own.

There was no way around it; he was sure he'd heard it this time. Shichibei quickly turned around and bowed. While bowing, he had to explain that he really hadn't heard it.

"You go about your business, I'll just keep an eye on things." Note that when your boss says this, it doesn't mean you should continue with your current task; it means he's giving you instructions.

"Yes, yes, yes." Shichibei, who knew exactly what was going on, directed the horses to pull the timber cart for Sakuma Nobumori while standing beside Nobunaga, listening respectfully to the holy instructions.

"Do you know that Inabayama used to be called Kinkayama?" Nobunaga waved his whip, patting one horse after another.

For a samurai, loving horses is the most basic skill—yes, a skill, not a hobby. If you can't get along peacefully with your horse, to the point of "bonding" it, you're doomed on the battlefield. If your horse suddenly stops running, leaving you vulnerable to enemy arrows and spears, your life is over.

It appeared to be just touching the horse, and Nobunaga did it quite skillfully, but his question was rather subtle.

"It is said that the former steward of the shogunate, Nikaido Yamashiro no Kami (Nikaido administration/Kudo administration), built a fort there, hence the name Kinka Yamashiro." Shichibei wasn't showing off his knowledge; he just had no choice since the boss had asked.

Since Nobunaga has spoken, as a retainer, all I can do is flatter him. If no one around him gives Nobunaga a way to continue speaking, how embarrassing would that be?

"Oh my, I knew it." Nobunaga stopped touching the horse and slapped Shichibei on the back.

"Huh?" Shichibei, a mere shrew, almost stumbled when Nobunaga slapped him.

"I asked seven or eight people today, and they all said they didn't know. Tsk tsk tsk, you must have studied for two years." Nobunaga seemed very happy, like a bad chess player who had finally found someone even worse than himself.

"Why don't we ask Lord Sakuma?" Shichibei thought to himself, "Oh no."

We've finally found someone to brag about; Nobunaga definitely won't let us off the hook. But Shichibei is already swamped with work. He doesn't have time to argue with Nobunaga about renaming Inabayama Castle.

Judging from Nobunaga's behavior of chatting with people everywhere, it's clear he's already considering renaming Inabayama Castle. It's said that Hideyoshi once said that building and destroying castles are rights reserved for the most talented people in the land, and that constructing a magnificent castle is a symbol of power and immense wealth.

As the lord of the two provinces of Nobi and Obi, with a combined koku of rice, Nobunaga certainly needed a castle befitting his status, and the castle also needed a resounding name.

What's the point of discussing naming things with a horse breeder like me? You should talk to the elders of the family. Sakuma Nobumori is well-educated, definitely more so than Shichibei. Go find him.

"He's busy, isn't he?" Nobunaga had obviously already contacted Sakuma Nobumori, but Nobumori was busy demolishing the entire Komakiyama Castle and had no time to deal with Nobunaga.

“Then you should consult the abbot of Seishuji Temple, the Venerable Sawahiko.” Shichibei’s mind had already caught on, and he immediately pushed this person forward.

Sawahiko Sōon was a monk of the Tōkai school of the Myōshin-ji lineage of the Rinzai sect. He was originally the abbot of the Daihō-ji temple in Mino. Later, he accepted an invitation from Hirate Masahide to help teach the then-young Nobunaga.

In this day and age, monks and nobles effectively monopolize the vast majority of knowledge. Even for the sons of powerful figures, sending them to monasteries for education or hiring eminent monks for instruction is a common practice.

Later, after Hirate Masahide committed suicide, Nobunaga built Seishu-ji Temple specifically for him and invited the monk Sawahiko to serve as its abbot. Sawahiko lived in Owari and was responsible for the daily maintenance of Seishu-ji Temple.

"That's right, you're right." Nobunaga has been fighting and killing outside for the past two years, and he probably hasn't visited his good teacher Hirate Masahide in a long time. It's no wonder he forgot about the monk Sawahiko.

"Are you going to give Inabayama Castle a new name?" Shichibei tidied himself up, clapped his hands, and stood in front of Nobunaga.

"What ideas do you have?" Nobunaga was looking for inspiration.

Naming a child is a difficult task worldwide. Whether it's naming a child, a building, or a city, it's always a challenge.

There's a joke, isn't there? Xinxiang in Henan province has the most cities in the world with the same name. So-called New York, translated, should be Xinxiang. Actually, Pondicherry in India should also be called Xinxiang.

This shows that people all over the world really have a hard time when it comes to naming their children.

“If you want to conquer the world by force, then you should start from this direction.” Shichibei subconsciously blurted out a “great name”.

"Unify the world by force! Well said!" Upon hearing Shichibei utter the words "Unify the world by force," Nobunaga's eyes lit up, and he immediately shouted "Bravo!"

"Hiss..." I spoke too soon.

Shichibei subconsciously assumed that Nobunaga had already had this idea, because the two had talked before, and Nobunaga did indeed want to go to the Kinai region to cause trouble. Whether it succeeds or not, he had to give it a try.

A true man, if he cannot live on five tripods of food, then he shall die cooked in five tripods of food.

At this moment, Nobunaga was definitely thinking along these lines. Now that he had the resources to stir up trouble in the Kinai region, he might as well go for it. After all, there was still a chance of success.

What's the point of living a life of great achievements if you're just a country bumpkin lord hiding in the countryside of Owari? During the Heian period, Owari, Mikawa, and Tōtōmi were standard places of exile. If any noble or courtier were exiled to Owari, they'd probably cry on the spot.

Even now, most of the nobles in Kyoto still regard Owari as the countryside.

If you think about it, Nobunaga was also a small-town youth!

He was holding his breath, determined to take the capital and show the world that even a country bumpkin could marry a noblewoman and become her concubine.

"Go on, what other ideas do you have?" Nobunaga clapped his hands repeatedly, signaling Shichibei to continue along this line of thought.

If he wanted to unify the land by force, what name should he give Inabayama Castle? Kyoto has already directly copied the names of Chang'an and Luoyang from the Tang Dynasty, so Nobunaga certainly wouldn't use it.

Daxing?

I'm still in Wanping.

The neighboring Tang Dynasty capital Chang'an had a Wannian County, the Song Dynasty capital Kaifeng had a Xiangfu County, and the Ming Dynasty capital Yingtian had Jiangning and Shangyuan. Shuntian is another story. These are all auspicious names created simply for the sake of sounding good.

"I can't think of anything right now either." Shichibei could only feign difficulty, indicating that he really couldn't think of a name.

"Tsk, how boring." Nobunaga saw that Shichibei really couldn't utter a single fart, so he could only stand up and take a stroll.

On one hand, he ordered someone to invite the Venerable Sawahiko from Seishuji Temple, and on the other hand, he sent someone to inform the senior retainers who were still under the walls of Komakiyama Castle that a meeting would be held at the Sakuma residence the next day.

Naming a child is a big deal, and following the principle of holding smaller meetings for important matters, only the above-mentioned individuals will participate. Just as he was about to leave, Nobunaga, already mounted his horse, called out again, "Shichibei, you come too!"

"Yes, yes, yes," Shichibei could only nod in agreement. He'd better get rid of this unpredictable boss first.

Having studied for so many years, the Venerable Zehiko is sure to be able to come up with a few auspicious names when Nobunaga asks him for advice. Hopefully, Shichibei's casual remark about "unifying the realm by force" won't disrupt Nobunaga's train of thought and lead him to actually rename Inabayama Castle to Daikō.

It's not impossible, but it would be funny if Japanese history books later wrote "greatly promoted and spread military power".

94. Gifu was chosen without any surprises.

On the paper in front of him, Shichibei first wrote "Great Prosperity". There was nothing he could do, so let the military rise and fall, since Shichibei himself wouldn't be the one studying history in the future anyway.

However, this name is indeed plagiarized, and Nobunaga probably wouldn't like it. Nobunaga was a man of innovation, with a strong desire to abandon old customs, and he wasn't keen on using names he already knew. Otherwise, why would he rename Inabayama Castle? It was all about creating a grand and imposing atmosphere; a new dynasty should have elegant governance.

So Shichibei very carefully erased "Daxing" completely, and then wrote "Xiong'an" below it. Sure enough, "Xiong'an" was indeed below "Daxing".

Shichibei laughed as soon as he finished writing the name. Before he'd even glanced at it three times, he immediately erased it with his pen. How could they possibly name it that? If they used that name, how would they name their grand plan for the next millennium?

How to fix it?

Nobunaga was sitting there, chatting and joking with the monk Sawahiko. The two hadn't seen each other for a while, and old friends meeting again naturally had to keep chatting.

The Venerable Zeyan was quite tall, but not fat, which is different from the real monks of later generations. Real monks of later generations were generally fatter, while fake monks were mostly thinner.

The reason is simple: many monks who truly uphold the precepts and only eat vegetarian food enjoy fried soy products. These are high in oil and protein, so how can they not gain weight? Unfortunately, they can't eat meat, so when they crave it, they can only satisfy their cravings by eating fried soy products, and the more they eat, the fatter they get.

On the contrary, fake monks lock the temple gates at five o'clock, drive their Mercedes-Benz to a club, smoke, drink, and play with women. They work for two hours every day; it would be a miracle if they gained weight.

Looking at that monk Zeyan's face, he seemed quite kind and benevolent. Whether he was enlightened or not was hard to tell, but he was certainly eloquent. Because he was chatting with Nobunaga, Nobunaga seemed quite pleased, laughing frequently.

Why hasn't this great monk told Nobunaga the name "Gifu" yet? The Oda retainers around him were scratching their heads in frustration, and Shichibei even saw that Hirate Hirohide had practically licked the bristles off his brush.

Sakuma Nobumori in the front row was also at a loss, crossing his arms and staring blankly. There wasn't a drop of ink on the paper in front of him. At least we had two ink blots in front of us, even though neither name seemed plausible.

Unreliable? Tongliao Universe.

As soon as he wrote it down, Shichibei was amused. If it was actually adopted, wouldn't he have to pay royalties? He quickly blacked out the Tongliao. Nobunaga, who was chatting happily with the monk Zeyan, glanced at Shichibei. Shichibei quickly lowered his head, pretending to be serious, silently praying, "You can't see me."

Fortunately, Nobunaga and the monk Sawahiko hadn't finished their conversation and didn't have time to deal with Shichibei, thus saving him from disaster. However, after racking his brains for a name, he still couldn't come up with one that fit the phrase "unifying the realm by force."

Nobunaga finished his conversation with the monk Zeyan and tapped the tatami with his folding fan, signaling everyone to follow his lead. Hirate Hanshu, whose pen was already worn out, was the first to drop it and stand erect, gazing at Nobunaga.

Nobunaga, of course, heard about such a big commotion and went to see his brother Hirate's results with high hopes. Sigh, he only glanced at them before letting out a sigh. He shouldn't have expected anything from Hirate. Of Hirate's three sons, aside from the second son who fought with Nobunaga over the horse and was disliked, the other two were quite close to him.

As a result, the eldest son died in Ise, and the third son died in Mikatagahara, which infuriated Nobunaga.

Hirate Hirohide was also a bachelor. When Nobunaga looked up at him, he looked up at Nobunaga, then lowered his head and chuckled. Alright, three cups of wine as punishment tomorrow, let's pretend this never happened.

If it's dark in the east, then you can only look to the west, and to the west is Sakuma Nobumori. The paper is blank, slightly yellowed, completely clean, without a single hair.