Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

That's why Shichibei said that it was necessary to establish some mutual trust between the two sides. Then the shogunate should step in to bring Oda and the imperial court closer together, and elevate Oda's "status" within the old feudal system of the imperial court.

Once he reaches a higher rank, whether he can overthrow the shogunate and go it alone is another matter. Right now, Nobunaga definitely needs a middleman to act as a go-between for him and the imperial court.

"It should be Ichijōdani who should step forward and recommend the official position for the Lord," Shichibei said.

Although Ashikaga Yoshiaki was only a junior fifth-rank official, he still held a certain status and was responsible for submitting official appointments to the imperial court on behalf of the feudal lords. Before officially appointing Ashikaga Yoshihide as shogun, the imperial court would certainly give him some leeway.

Nobunaga's position as the governor of Owari was indeed too low; it would be good to move him up a bit. He couldn't possibly be lower in rank than the two defeated generals, the governors of Jibu.

Assuming Ashikaga Yoshiaki did indeed recommend Nobunaga for an official position, then Nobunaga would owe Yoshiaki a favor, which would allow for normal and relatively friendly interactions.

Furthermore, the Oda clan was able to send retainers to Kyoto to cultivate good relations with court nobles after new official appointments were made. For example, when Mori Motonari successfully bought his position, he gifted each of the court nobles in Kyoto two kan of coins.

Don't laugh, this is all the government is worth now.

Before the prestige of the two generations of rulers, Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, was elevated, the two kan per person was merely a reward after the deed was done, so it was acceptable.

The expenses for the activities before the event was completed were already provided, and local specialties were regularly sent from Yoshida-Koriyama Castle to the court nobles and the Emperor. For example, the small cucumbers produced in Aki Province are said to be a favorite of the Emperor.

In short, the Oda clan now had a reason to socialize with the court nobles. After a while, they became friends.

“Eh! But there’s no rush to recommend him for an official position…” Nobunaga initially agreed with Shichibei’s expression, but then denied it verbally.

"Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation." Since Nobunaga did not accept his advice, Shichibei could only be filled with trepidation and immediately shut his mouth.

"Someone should be sent to check on that official." But Nobunaga didn't rule it out definitively; he seemed to have another idea of ​​his own.

Shichibei had just spoken, and had even brought up this idea for him. How far it would go depended on Nobunaga's subsequent arrangements.

"Leave this matter to Sadakatsu!" Nobunaga pointed at Murai Sadakatsu.

"I understand." Murai Sadakatsu was doing this job, and he would be serving as the Kyoto Magistrate in the future, so he naturally accepted the order.

"Shichibei, you said you'd have Ichijōdani Kubo recommend me for an official position. What kind of position would be suitable?" Nobunaga turned back to Shichibei and asked.

"A mere guardian of a nation is unbecoming of a lord; at the very least, one should be an assistant to the Imperial Guard." Shichibei didn't just spout off like that.

Although this position is still a step below that of a commander of the Imperial Guard, it at least elevates Nobunaga's rank. The key point is that several generations of young masters of the Shiba clan first served as assistant commanders of the Imperial Guard before becoming commanders. Nobunaga's current path, following in the footsteps of his predecessors in the Shiba Takee family, is in line with the current "trend."

"Tsk, go back and think about it again." Nobunaga actually denied Shichibei again.

Although it looks like an official position in the imperial court, and it's funny to see the two of them arguing about it, the main thing about buying an official position is having a lot of choices.

96. Investing in kings and nobles yields countless riches.

Come on, I don't have time to think about your business. Shichibei was hauling logs when he was called back for a meeting. He was sweating profusely, and the abacus beads were practically smoking from all the work.

It's not surprising that he guessed Nobunaga's thoughts wrong twice in a row.

What's even more infuriating is that Hideyoshi was taken away by Nobunaga again because Murai Sadakatsu was going with Wada Koremasa to Ichijodani to meet Ashikaga Yoshiaki. So Hideyoshi was temporarily appointed as a magistrate to help move the supplies from Komakiyama Castle.

Just as Shichibei was about to start cursing, Takenaka Hanbei arrived at Komakiyama Castle with a dozen or so samurai as Shichibei's accomplices. It was only in front of outsiders that Shichibei arrived; otherwise, he would have certainly cursed Nobunaga for treating people like animals.

A proper samurai is still the best; at least they can read and write, have some education, and can be taught quickly. Asking Nobunaga for the Takenaka family's support was definitely the right decision.

As a retainer of the newly appointed governor, Takenaka Shigeharu knew that Shichibei was currently working on the relocation of Inabayama Castle, a project that Nobunaga valued highly. Therefore, he worked extremely hard without complaining.

Contributing to major projects that the leadership is focused on, as long as the tasks are handled well, is the easiest way to gain their favor. It's the same as writing a good article for the leader; the leader will like you. The key isn't what you do, but how you do it in front of the leader. As long as you're in front of the leader, it doesn't matter.

With the help of Takenaka Hanbei and a dozen or so respectable samurai, Shichibei was finally able to put aside his duties of transporting timber from Kiso and had time to sit down, rest, and think about Nobunaga.

Nobunaga definitely wanted to become an official. A few years ago, after defeating the Imagawa army and seizing the Yoshimoto Samonji, he excitedly carved the name "Oda Owari no Kami Nobunaga" on it to declare his ownership of the sword.

Back then, he considered the Owari governor a respectable and good official position. Times have changed, and now he not only wants to build a magnificent Gifu Castle to elevate his status, but also wants to get himself an even more prestigious official position.

Tan Zhengzhong?

It doesn't seem right. Preparing to fire a bullet at this hour seems a bit inappropriate. Although his father, Nobuhide, had donated money to the court for this task, it's still not quite befitting the status of the lord of Nobi Province.

However, it's still worth explaining why some people are so fixated on the title of Danjō-chū (弹正忠). You can simplify it to "Kenbi-kishi" (检非违使). Seeing "Kenbi-kishi" will probably help you understand why some samurai are so obsessed with the Danjō title.

After Emperor Saga established the position of Kenbi-shi (賊非賊), the power of the Danjōdai (賊正台) was essentially usurped, rendering it a nominal position. Instead, the Kenbi-shi effectively became synonymous with the head of the samurai families in Kyoto and even throughout the country. At that time, all major administrative and judicial powers in Kyoto were controlled by the Kenbi-shi Agency.

You all know Genjiro Yoshitsune, right? He was a junior lieutenant in charge of investigating illegal activities, which is to say, a junior lieutenant in charge of criminal investigations.

Now that the Bureau of Investigation and Punishment has been abolished, Nobunaga can no longer become a second lieutenant in the Bureau of Investigation and Punishment even if he wanted to. He could still become a junior officer in the Bureau of Investigation and Punishment, but he didn't make it to the capital to become the leader of all the samurai families.

Buying a position as a military officer in a local area is just a nominal title and doesn't mean much. Becoming a junior military officer in the capital is one of the prerequisites for becoming a pillar of the martial arts world.

If Nobunaga had already launched the attack on Kyoto, Shichibei would definitely have advised Nobunaga to reconfirm Danjo-chū's official position with the Imperial Court, but he wasn't ready to go yet.

That's not quite right.

So what did Nobunaga mean? He wanted to elevate his own status while also establishing a preliminary good relationship with the Imperial Court... Hmm...

It seemed that Shichibei didn't immediately come up with an answer, but instead told one of the shop's employees to make a trip to Tsushima. He asked the employee who had returned from Sakai to come and inquire if anything major had happened in Sakai or Kyoto recently.

Or, to put it another way, has any major event occurred in the court? The key is the kind of major event that requires money to resolve. For example, the death of the Emperor, a prince, or the Empress—ideally, something that would be so serious that even a coffin couldn't be afforded.

It's pitiful; they were already quite grown up before they were able to be buried thanks to donations from the feudal lords.

As someone who wasn't short of money, it would be easy for Nobunaga to donate some funds to the imperial court. What he lacked was just a pretext and a means to do so. He currently had Ashikaga Yoshiaki as the means to do so, but as for the pretext, he would have to find one.

It would be great if someone from the Imperial Family died; everyone's looking forward to it.

Unfortunately, when the guy who had gone to Tianjin Island arrived at Komakiyama and showed the copied Kinai news to Shichibei, no one in the palace had died. Not even a single decent regent noble had died; they were all so poor their bellies were practically empty, yet they were still incredibly energetic, able to run all over Japan begging for food.

Today I'll go to Yoshida-Koriyama Castle, tomorrow to Ichijo-dani Castle, and the day after tomorrow to Kasuga-yama Castle. Even if I don't get the money, I certainly won't starve.

Meanwhile, Murai Sadakatsu returned to Komakiyama, bringing back news of Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Ashikaga Yoshiaki was very willing to act as a go-between for Nobunaga and the Imperial Court, and had decided to send Isshiki Fujinaga and Ueno Hidemasa, along with envoys from the Oda clan, to pay homage to Yoshida Kensuke, the shrine priest of Yoshida Shrine.

At present, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was still without official rank and status, so it was not appropriate for him to directly submit a memorial to the emperor. However, his old connections in Kyoto remained. Yoshida Ken'yō was the son of Kiyohara Nobukata, a Junior Third Rank Official and Junior Counselor, and had been adopted by the Yoshida Shrine. His official position was Junior Second Rank Attendant-in-Ordinary, concurrently serving as Grand Vice-Minister of the Imperial Household (Tang Dynasty name: Junior Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices).

At their level, they're practically immortals in Japan, not even human. Yoshida Kensuke certainly had the authority to act as a go-between, helping the Oda clan's envoy to travel to the capital for an audience.

Nobunaga didn't care too much about who the intermediary was, as long as he was influential enough to bring people into the Kyoto court circles. At worst, he could offer a shrine fee of 100 or 200 kan in the future, which would be a great honor.

Now that we have a plan, what do you all think?

Everyone gathered again at Nobumori's residence in Sakuma for a meeting. Nobunaga once again asked everyone how to communicate, or rather, trade, with the Imperial Court. He wanted to maximize Oda Nobunaga's prestige at this time.

The position of Hyōe-no-suke, which Shichibei had previously suggested, had already been rejected by Nobunaga, so naturally no one would mention it. Nobunaga clearly didn't think much of the position of Jibu-no-daifu, his old enemy Imagawa Yoshimoto.

What should we do then? Even Niwa Nagahide, who had rushed back from Gifu Castle, was scratching his head in frustration. After all, they were all from humble backgrounds and didn't really understand these bureaucratic and convoluted matters.

"I don't know how to select officials, but I have a preliminary idea." Shichibei was still sitting there thinking when Hideyoshi, who had been transferred back to handle Murai Sadakatsu's affairs, spoke first.

"Oh! Speak, speak freely." Nobunaga also liked Hideyoshi, after all, Hideyoshi was just as enjoyable and easy to use.

"I have heard that in ancient times, there was a merchant named Lü Buwei who said that farming could bring tenfold profit, doing business could bring a hundredfold profit, and currying favor with kings and nobles could bring countless profits..." It was very rare for Hideyoshi to start showing off his cultural knowledge in front of a group of Oda retainers.

As Hideyoshi spoke eloquently, Nobunaga, Shichibei, and all the senior retainers of the Oda clan below him understood what Hideyoshi was thinking.

Invest in the Crown Prince!

That's right, the current Emperor Ogimachi has only one son. Furthermore, he is already fifty-one years old this year. In Japan's Sengoku period, if he died tomorrow, everyone would think he had died a natural death.

However, due to extreme poverty, he had to beg Mori Motonari for the money for his own coronation ceremony.

So even though he only had one son, and the son was already sixteen years old, he had not yet undergone the coming-of-age ceremony, let alone the ceremony of being appointed as the crown prince.

I'm poor!

If he's poor, wouldn't that be Oda Nobunaga's opportunity? Nobunaga took this chance to get closer to the prince, and even personally support the prince's ascension to the throne as a swordsman or attendant.

Forget about trying to boost your family's status. It would be easy for him to become the Prime Minister of Qingsheng in the future.

"You've put it very well!" Nobunaga exclaimed, approving of Hideyoshi's idea and clearly intending to implement it immediately.

After all, investing in a prince who will inevitably become emperor in the future is unlikely to be a loss. Perhaps you can even get a 20% discount when buying an official position in the future. I was there when my future emperor friend was getting his hair tied up, and I was handing his uncle a razor.

What is the significance of being on-site?

Some people weren't even there, but they still insisted on altering the oil painting, trying to paint themselves into the scene.

"Hahaha, Fujikichiro's proposal is exactly what I wanted!" Nobunaga praised again.

Since money is going to be spent on the imperial court anyway, why not spend it wisely? Official positions need to be bought, but Nobunaga hasn't decided which ones to buy yet. But the deal is done, and it would be best to send an envoy to Kyoto immediately.

Since that's the case, let's first cultivate good relations with the Imperial Household. Spending two or three hundred kan is nothing to Nobunaga. But for the impoverished Imperial Household, that could accomplish great things.

That's enough to repaint a palace and buy the crown prince a proper set of clothes. If these two things are done, the appearance will be perfect, and everything else can be simplified.

"My lord is too kind," Hideyoshi said, having somehow learned to flatter.

Shichibei inwardly scoffed, but also felt that Hideyoshi's approach was correct. It's better to invest in a sixteen-year-old than a fifty-one-year-old man.

If Emperor Ogimachi only has this one son, there's no need to worry about any mistakes in the investment. Unless this emperor suddenly passes away and another member of a collateral branch of the imperial family is chosen to succeed to the throne.

"You'll handle this. Don't be afraid to spend money; you must win the court's favor." With a plan in mind, things will be much easier.

Hideyoshi, who provided the idea, was immediately handpicked by Nobunaga to handle the matter. This may be one of the reasons why Nobunaga appointed Hideyoshi as Kyoto Magistrate after his campaign to Kyoto.

Ah, that's a story for later. Right now, Hideyoshi is all excited. Suddenly having to take charge of such an important diplomatic direction, Hideyoshi doesn't feel any pain at all.

Not only did he immediately and loudly agree, expressing his willingness to do his best, but he also repeatedly expressed his gratitude for Nobunaga's wise leadership. What a harmonious relationship between ruler and subject! A fine show indeed.

97. A general unparalleled throughout history

It seems outrageous, but it's actually not outrageous at all. Hideyoshi, such a country bumpkin, brazenly went to Kyoto as Nobunaga's representative. He was preparing to confront the court nobles and try to get an audience with the current first prince.

Alright, alright. Shichibei is a bumpkin too. If he goes to Kyoto, people might laugh at us Owari monkeys. Why don't we let Hideyoshi go instead?

When Nobunaga leads 50,000 men to Kyoto, even Malou can become the Monkey King.

The Jade Emperor can summon the Buddha, but the officials in Kyoto cannot summon Amaterasu.

Let's move Nobunaga properly. If we do a good job, Nobunaga will remember our kindness. However, while moving, Shichibei was still thinking about the position of Hyōe-no-suke that Nobunaga had previously rejected.

How is this handled in China? Suppose someone's official position can't be promoted temporarily for one reason or another, or if they are promoted, it wouldn't be very meaningful, how is that resolved?

It seems to be about bestowing titles and privileges upon one's wife and children, giving the son an official position or a hereditary post. Then, all the wives would be granted titles, like "Lady of the Imperial Decree," just like in operas where stories tell of sons passing the imperial examinations and earning titles for their mothers.

However, in this area, noblewomen generally did not hold official titles. There were no such honors as "Ruren" or "Shuren," or perhaps they ever did? We don't know.

Unless this noblewoman becomes a nun, who can follow the clergy system once she becomes a nun, even as a "second-rank nun," there have been many such cases in history.

Since Nobunaga's wife couldn't be granted a title, and his son was too young to have completed his coming-of-age ceremony, the only option was to posthumously grant Nobunaga's father a title.

Given Nobunaga's current situation, even he himself could only be granted the rank of Fourth Rank at most. Posthumously awarding Nobuhide the rank of Fourth Rank would naturally also be a great honor, a very high rank at that.

This really won't do much to elevate the family's status. Nobunaga might as well try shaving his head and see if that gets him the seal of the third rank.

(Nobunaga's first rank was bestowed upon him by the Taisho era. Considering how good he was to the Imperial Court, promoting Toyotomi Hideyoshi and supporting Tokugawa Ieyasu, it's clear these two men showed no gratitude whatsoever to their former lords.)