Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Of course, the fact that the Tanaka family ultimately failed to hold on is another matter entirely; after all, Tanaka Tadamasa couldn't have children.

Tanaka Tadamasa was Ieyasu's adopted son-in-law and a former retainer of Tokugawa Hidetada. His succession to the position of lord, bypassing his three elder brothers, was solely to ensure the continuation of the Yanagawa Domain. Ishida Mitsunari's wealth, gained at the cost of his life, couldn't outweigh the tragedy of being unable to give birth.

"Your post station and stables must be built immediately, understand?" Nobunaga naturally knew that it was very difficult to arrest people across provinces in those days, so he settled for second best.

First, set up a police station to keep watch at specific locations!

Catching a traitor means reducing one factor of social instability.

Since Nobunaga granted Shichibei the monopoly on postal service, Shichibei had to take on the responsibility of establishing post stations and stables, becoming a local "grid manager."

"Understood, understood." Shichibei nodded repeatedly, saying he understood.

Needless to say, Shichibei was sometimes quite clever; at least he understood why Nobunaga wanted to immediately deploy the post stations in the northern and central regions. With this tiny bit of intelligence, coupled with his strong execution skills, Nobunaga's favor came quickly.

Shichibei, who was still nodding, immediately received a reward of 200 kan from Nobunaga. Nobunaga paid for the materials, and promised to mobilize local laborers for the work.

As before in Mino, while his army was still in Ise, Nobunaga ordered a large-scale collection of taxes, including land tax and poll tax, in the northern and central regions. The total amount of rural property tax and poll tax exceeded 40,000 kan.

Including other miscellaneous donations and gifts, Nobunaga's expedition to Ise should have netted him at least 50,000 kan. After deducting costs, he should have kept at least half of that. Therefore, giving Shichibei 200 kan was nothing at all; it was just a drop in the bucket.

After everything was settled and the arrangements in Ise were basically completed, Nobunaga finally announced the return of his troops.

The victor returned home with his original team and a huge amount of spoils. Win! Win! Win! He won three times.

The Otani and Mikawa groups were also thoroughly plundered and rewarded, praising Nobunaga as their elder brother and promising to return if needed. One group traveled back to Hokuriku via the Ise Road, while the other traveled back to Okazaki via the Tokai Road. Before leaving, Hiraiwa Chikayoshi asked Shichibei to buy twenty horses and several carts. There was so much stuff that the Mikawa group couldn't carry it all.

Ise is truly wealthy; its rise to power has created countless millionaires.

Shichibei hadn't originally planned to go to Gifu; over 40,000 kan had suddenly been deposited into accounts at Tsushima, requiring a review and re-accounting. But now he had no choice, as he was there to escort the massive 50,000 kan of spoils. In addition to the 100 foot soldiers, kenori, and yochi that Shichibei himself had summoned, Nobunaga also assigned 500 men to protect the small pack animal caravan and prevent any accidents from happening to them.

Leading the group was Yamanouchi Kazutoyo, a 100-man foot soldier captain with a family stipend of 250 kan (a unit of currency). His 130 archers and arquebusiers were the core of his guard. The other foot soldier platoon leaders and captains were all under his command.

The Oda clan has really risen to power quickly. Even Yamauchi Kazutoyo is now the head of a hundred foot soldiers. Just a few years ago, he had to charge into battle to be the first to scale the walls, risking his life to earn money from dead men. Now he rides a big horse, leads a hundred and thirty soldiers, and has made a name for himself.

Seriously, if you had a light as small as a firefly's bottom, you could take off right here on Oda's big platform.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo was still bragging to Shichibei that he had distinguished himself in the siege of Takaoka Castle and that he would be going again this time, earning at least a hundred kan more. He could also recruit all the retainers who had scattered after his father Yamauchi Moritoyo's death.

Inouemon can be considered half a fierce general!

Shichibei sized up Yamauchi Kazutoyo. Although this guy was known in later Sengoku history as a man who succeeded entirely because of his wife, he wasn't entirely useless in the eyes of the people present. At least he was quite fierce when attacking castles.

If Shichibei hadn't been without combat duties and too embarrassed to ask Nobunaga for his sworn brother, he would have been included in the conversation as well.

Now that you mention it, it's already the eleventh year of Eiroku. There are three more spots available this year, so we can ask Nobunaga for some. Yamauchi Kazutoyo is a bit difficult to get right now; who should we ask for?

"Inouemon, do you have any friends who aren't very lucky in martial arts?" Shichibei asked as he walked side by side with Yamauchi Kazutoyo.

"Not strong in terms of martial luck?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo hesitated for a moment. After all, he was usually only responsible for killing indiscriminately for Nobunaga and didn't need to use his brain.

After thinking for a while, it dawned on me that it meant someone whose martial arts skills weren't good enough to earn merit for Nobunaga and thus wouldn't be promoted. And if they weren't promoted, it meant they lacked martial luck.

Considering Shichibei's background—he's not physically strong, but he's educated and has a decent brain—associating with him might actually give you a chance to get promoted.

"Ideally, they should be from Owari, the kind with some families." Shichibei wasn't saying he didn't want bachelors, but he mainly hoped to find someone with a family.

Then you can bring all his uncles, nephews, and cousins ​​with you. Theoretically, you only need one Yu Li, but in reality, you need a dozen or even dozens of warriors.

Just like with Takenaka Hanbei, although half of his retainers followed Takenaka Shigenori to join Ando Morinari, there were still forty or fifty people under Shichibei's command.

Another example is Tsuchida Chikakiyo, who arrived alone. However, his salary increased, and he became a servant. As a result, people from his clan, and even his village, who had not yet entered officialdom, came to rely on him. With his dual status, he was able to gather seven or eight people to serve him.

This is the advantage of being a local and having a family and business. These days, when someone becomes successful, it's almost a given that people from their family or even their village come to rely on them.

Villagers and clans, whether in Japan or abroad, or even in China and Korea, are the common first-line groups for building wealth.

We need a respectable samurai from Owari, someone close to him, like his relatives and friends. We've already been as cunning as monkeys this time; we absolutely cannot accept a bachelor.

"Yes, yes, it's Kuwayama Hikojiro Shigekatsu (Kuwaiyama Shigeharu)." Yamauchi Kazutoyo thought for a moment and then spoke up.

As for the reason, there was no need for Shichibei to ask; Yamauchi Kazutoyo explained it clearly. Because Kuwayama Shigekatsu was already forty-four years old and only had fifty foot soldiers with a rank of two hundred kan.

In a daimyo family like the Oda clan, which was experiencing explosive growth, at the age of 44, when he was old enough to call himself an old man, he was still carrying a gun and serving as an archer on the front line of battle. It can be seen that he really had not made any decent contributions.

"What do you think of this person?" Shichibei immediately asked, surprised to learn that he was someone whose name he had heard of.

"It's hard to describe, but he often lamented his bad luck. By the way, he had pretty good handwriting." After organizing his thoughts, Yamauchi Kazutoyo managed to squeeze out a single word: "Well-written."

This is indeed a good advantage, because people who write beautifully have most likely practiced diligently. Aside from anything else, being able to practice calligraphy regularly certainly indicates patience.

Sitting down to practice calligraphy for two or three hours straight—that patience surpasses that of many. Perhaps this person is indeed not suited for fighting; they are better suited to be a cultured individual.

"Alright, let's drink together later..." Shichibei made a gesture of holding a wine glass and tilting his head back to drink quickly.

"Hahaha, then I'll be waiting." Yamauchi Kazutoyo readily agreed; why wouldn't he go when someone invites him to dinner?

Because they had too much luggage, and the troops kept stopping and starting, disbanding and splitting up along the way, it took them five and a half days to return to Gifu Castle from Ise.

At this moment, Shichibei also saw the panoramic view of Nobunaga's residence in Titiya. Spring had not yet arrived, and the trees had just been transplanted, so it looked somewhat desolate. However, it must be said that the garden was very spacious, not the kind of small, shabby, and barren landscape.

Speaking of Japanese garden design, there was a trend towards grandeur and extravagance during the Edo period. Several surviving famous Edo-era gardens, although modified in later periods, still retain an overall sense of spaciousness. The focus was on overall harmony and beauty, with meticulous attention to detail at the end.

Why is it that in later generations, Japanese gardens and landscaping seemed less grand?

No matter, this isn't Shichibei's business. Once he's handed over all the spoils from Ise to Murai Sadakatsu and Shimada Hidemitsu, his mission is complete, and Shichibei will have to attend to his own affairs.

First, we fully developed the business of the Gifu Castle Shimogawa Village branch, trained dozens of new employees from Ise, and selected key personnel to go to Anotsu.

Secondly, we need to send someone to find out about Shigekatsu Sangyama's situation. Yamanouchi Kazutoyo's account halfway there wasn't very detailed, only mentioning that his handwriting was good. Now we need to send someone to inquire more, as the number of available spots is limited and we can't waste them.

By the way, Nanbu Tadaki, who was originally supposed to be assigned to Shichibei as a retainer, was favored by Nobunaga and kept by his side as a member of the Mokushi-shu (a type of retainer). Nobunaga didn't mention any compensation, but if he could get two more retainers because of this, that would be great.

Upon arriving at the Kawamura-ya Gifu branch, Tsuchida Chikakiyo was already waiting inside. All the staff from the Komakiyama branch had been transferred to Gifu, and the store was now well-staffed. With over forty apprentices from Ise, the Kawamura family's samurai group, or rather, their business syndicate, was beginning to take shape.

112. Kawamura's Nine Riders and Five Hundred of People United

The Mino branch, originally located in Sekijo, has now been merged into the Gifu branch. Due to the large-scale gathering of Oda clan retainers and the influx of Ise hostages, the samurai population alone in Gifu Castle exceeded 50,000, excluding other factors. If the service industry and artisan populations serving the samurai are included, the total population in Gifu Castle is at least 80,000.

With over six thousand able-bodied samurai and a large number of hostages, the castle town that Nobunaga had previously burned and looted was quickly restored. Even temples and shrines were divided into sections, occupying areas for the worshippers, and began to flourish in Gifu Castle Town.

This is truly a place where my skills can be put to good use.

The prime location that I asked Niwa Nagahide to reserve for me is indeed right on the main crossroads below the castle. It has shops in the front and a parking lot in the back, and there are also racecourses and stables outside the town. Just based on this location, any shop that opens here will be successful.

The servants, samurai, and shopkeepers, seeing Shichibei return from Ise, all bowed in reverence. From the counter inside the shop all the way to the eaves outside, hundreds of heads bowed before Shichibei.

It suddenly gave me an unbelievable feeling, that I could actually have such a day.

"Great Ceremony!"

Shichibei stood and bowed to the crowd in response. The crowd then stood up and, in the order they had been in the shop, began with the nine riders of Kawamura (including Inase Yoshinari), followed by the headman, the clerk, the apprentice, the fireman, the young monk, and so on, forming a neat line.

"Ise's campaign must have been arduous." Shichibei bowed to the crowd again.

The logistics for the more than 40,000 troops were handled by the staff of Kawamura-ya and the soldiers conscripted from Nobi Province. The supplies were replenished month after month, thanks entirely to the diligence of everyone in the shop. At least half of Shichibei's favor with Oda Nobunaga was maintained thanks to the efforts of everyone in the shop.

"Your Majesty!" Everyone stood up and bowed to Shichibei.

"The master will reward all the servants with a generous reward." Takenaka Hanbei announced to the group as he returned to Gifu with Shichibei after the road was repaired.

"Alright, let's drink until we drop tonight!" Before the crowd could even cheer, Shichibei added another rule.

"Gohonshi-te-dang" refers to the bonuses awarded for hard work during campaigns. Shichibei earned over 30,000 kan in one operation at Anotsu, and he needed to allocate some of that money to reward the entire store.

People don't go to war or risk their lives to get ahead; they come to Sichuan village houses because they want stability and decent pay. We can't let them work hard only to feel disheartened.

Shichibei had already received a reward from Nobunaga, which increased his fief to 2,500 kan. Since Shichibei, as the head of the household, had received a reward, the servants below him should also receive one.

Even though the cake wasn't made big, it was a piece of someone else's cake, so everyone who contributed gets a share.

Laughter filled the shop, creating a cheerful atmosphere. Shichibei turned and went back to the house behind the shop to ask Tsuchida Chikakiyo about the situation during this period. The business had just started and was still developing, and there was also a lot of staff turnover, so there were still many things that needed to be sorted out.

Another important matter is that Inase Yoshinari is in Tsushima, responsible for expanding the horse-riding business into Mikawa. Tsuchida Chikakiyo is in Gifu, naturally responsible for expanding the horse-riding business into Omi.

Yes, he encountered resistance from the established horse-riding merchants in Hunan and Hubei, who certainly didn't want Shichibei to enter their territory. Leaving Hubei aside for now, the horse-riding merchants in Hunan had commercial privileges granted by the Rokkaku family, and simply didn't allow other merchants in the same industry to enter.

Upon hearing this, Shichibei didn't care at all. If we can't get in, then we can't get in. Someone will naturally take us in.

Those horse handlers from Hunan who are resisting us now will either have their entire families killed by Nobunaga in the war, or be driven away directly. Or they will have to submit and hand over their shops, ceded land, packhorses, and even their employees and themselves to Shichibei.

Nobunaga already had Shichibei as his successor and favored him, so he wouldn't support another successor to compete with Shichibei.

We are not like those samurai who slaughtered countless people and fought for cities. We are just merchants who serve Nobunaga. It is enough for us to bring value to Nobunaga within his psychological goals. As monopolistic merchants who depend on power, we don't need any lousy or dire strategies that cause dissent.

If Shichibei ever becomes disobedient, simply canceling the monopoly on the business would be incredibly easy.

It's easy to lift you up, and it's equally easy to drag you down. This remained true even in the Edo period. Of course, the power dynamics between government and business after World War II were a completely different story.

Seeing that Shichibei didn't seem to care at all, what was there to say? Shichibei seemed completely confident and didn't appear to be in any hurry. He had been worried that he would be reprimanded by Shichibei for his poor performance.

After all, he had been promoted from Nobunaga Naotomi to serve under Shichibei, and it was highly likely that his future fame and fortune would be tied to Shichibei. If Shichibei did not appreciate him, it would be worse than killing him.

What else is there besides this?

That's all. Everything's settled in Mino.

"Alright," Shichibei replied, indicating that he would definitely petition Nobunaga to grant Tsuchida Chikakiyo the title of Chikakiyo. His Chikakiyo title would then be added to the total number of members of the Kawamura samurai group.

As mentioned before, Hachisuka Koroku was transferred from Mino to Harima Tatsuno with a fief of 53,000 koku. This 53,000 koku was included within Hideyoshi's entire Harima fief of 400,000 koku. Hachisuka Koroku remained a Yoriki daimyo.

Seki Morinobu, whom we just met, was appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and his son became the powerful daimyo of Gamo Ujisato. They were then granted a fief of 53,000 koku in Mutsu-Shirakawa, becoming an integral part of the so-called Aizu-Gamabu 920,000 koku.

So even though some daimyo in the late Warring States period possessed hundreds of thousands of shi (a unit of dry measure), the actual amount of land belonging to them and their direct retainers often only accounted for half or slightly more of their total territory.

When Ieyasu was transferred to the Kanto region, even including the territories of all his retainers and the daimyo, the total amount he received was only 2.5 million. For example, the Satomi family was also given to Ieyasu as a daimyo.

Upon hearing Shichibei's words, Tsuchida Chikakiyo quickly took three steps back, kneeling on his knees, and respectfully bowed to Shichibei.

Although there was no formal relationship between the two parties, the Japanese valued a concept called "Goon-fuko" (御恩奉公). "Goon" refers to salary and service. Whoever provides me with a salary and service, I will show my loyalty to them and strive to serve them.

During the Kamakura Shogunate, although the army was victorious against the Mongol invasion, there were not enough estates and territories to reward the retainers who fought in the war. Many retainers felt they had served the country but received no "new favor," leading to great dissatisfaction with the regent Hojo clan. This laid the groundwork for the later downfall of the Hojo clan.

However, when it comes to salary and labor, Shichibei has something he's always wanted to do but hasn't had the time for, and he needs to take advantage of the fact that he doesn't have any official duties right now to get it done.

Establish a household retainer account!

When Shichibei was awarded a thousand kan last year and recruited over a hundred retainers, he wanted to record the retainers' names, lineages, origins, and stipends in detail as a means to solidify the Kawamura samurai group.

Only with household registration can one have obligations. Only with a household register can there be a clear hierarchy, organization, appointment, and order of service.

At this moment, Kotaro also sat down, and upon hearing that a system of dividing retainers into groups was to be established, he immediately agreed. Moreover, he hoped that Shichibei would clearly divide the people into the Mino Group, the Owari Group, and later the Ise Group, the Mikawa Group, and so on.

Each person was assigned to a different group, and wherever there was trouble, the retainers from that group would be dispatched. Unless it was Oda Nobunaga personally leading an expedition, in which case the entire Kawamura-ya would have to go, everything had to be assigned to an individual to ensure that there was no shirking or passing the buck.

Furthermore, while there are still plenty of people available, a minimum reserve group should be maintained, meaning everyone should follow Oda Nobunaga on his campaigns. However, the basic operations of the Kawamura-ya business still need to be maintained, requiring the corresponding personnel and horses.