Owari Yumeki Golden Day

So Shichibei's father-in-law, Oda Nobuhiro, led 500 foot soldiers and was ordered to "guard" the shogunate.

Nobuhiro is now considered a relative general whom Nobunaga trusts very much. Leaving his brother in Kyoto, on the one hand, can act as Nobunaga's "nominal representative" when necessary, and on the other hand, prevent Yoshiaki from contacting the outside world, and he will definitely work harder.

What about marriage? Shichibei still asked.

What's the big deal? Look at Princess Hideko. She was brought to Kyoto by oxcart, and the ceremony was completed within three days, before being sent directly to Takaya Castle to become the principal wife of the Hatakeyama family. Political marriages are primarily based on interests, so the process can be kept simple. Furthermore, the marriage was directly presided over by Nobunaga and Princess Nohime, so Shichibei wouldn't be embarrassed.

Since Nobunaga had said so, Shichibei agreed. After appointing So Kotaro as the branch chief of Sakai and Kyoto, effectively acting as a "minor official," the Kawamuraya group, who had been lingering in Kyoto for five months, withdrew to Gifu.

All was well at the Gifu main store, with Inase Yoshinari guarding it. He had already made proper arrangements with the people the Takeda clan had sent to sell horses, and had also purchased another 800 horses from the Takeda clan.

Are they all gone? Shichibei quickly drafted a letter and had it delivered to Kai Tsutsujizaki-kan, asking his elder brother, Nobutsugu Yonekura, to help him find a samurai musician with a junior rank in the gold mining industry in Kai, Shinano, and Suruga.

I don't know his name at all, I only know that he is a sarumaru musician and is about twenty-five years old.

And one thing is clear, that is, at this time, Okubo Nagayasu did not obtain the title of nobility in the Takeda family, and should have been just a certain status that received a salary.

Why was he so certain? Because historically, Oda Nobunaga had issued a hunting order against the Takeda. All samurai who were clearly on the Takeda military payroll were on Nobunaga's list for slaughter and extermination.

Almost all the Takeda samurai with names, surnames, and knowledge were massacred by the Oda army. Only those samurai who received salaries but did not actually receive the favor of the Takeda family were protected by Tokugawa Ieyasu because of their humble status.

Anyway, that's all the information I have. I hope Nobutsugu Yonekura can help me.

Judging from his age, Ōkubo Nagayasu should have been working on the Takeda family's gold mine for a decade or eight. Although historical records are lacking, he should have learned most of what he needed to learn.

Shingen was currently engaged in a struggle with Hojo Ujiyasu, though I don't recall the exact details. Since Imagawa Ujizane was still holding out in Kakegawa Castle in Totomi, Hojo Ujiyasu's harassment of Suruga hadn't ended. It's likely that Shingen would have to march down to Odawara Castle, make a run for it, and completely defeat Imagawa Ujizane before the two families could reconcile.

The day when Takeda and Hojo are at peace is the day when Takeda and Oda start to fight.

This has nothing to do with whether Nobunaga has an encirclement or not. After making peace with Hojo Ujiyasu, the only directions Shingen can try to attack are Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga in the Kaido line.

Even without Ashikaga Yoshiaki's secret order, Shingen would probably have come up and given it a try.

"Brother-in-law, everyone in the city said that you will get married when you come back?" Inase Yoshinari saw Shichibei finished writing the letter, took it and helped put it in the bag.

"Yes, the lord has already promised. It may be within the next two or three days." Although Japan also pays attention to auspicious times, it is an auspicious time, right? Nobunaga went to Atsuta Shrine to shake it, and any day would be auspicious.

171. Jiangbei Radical Unification

Incredibly, upon hearing of Shichibei's upcoming wedding, Asai Nagamasa of Kita-Omi sent a gift to Gifu. Reed mats, mosquito nets, white silk, and Shigaraki ware are all local specialties of Kita-Omi.

Tsk.

Shichibei was somewhat bewildered upon receiving the gift, but then he thought about it, as he had been the one who had announced Asai Nagamasa's appointment as Jiangbei's guardian deputie. In a sense, he and Asai Nagamasa were semi-acquaintances.

Next door, if an official from the Ministry of Personnel comes to announce your promotion, you have to prepare a good meal and give him some travel expenses.

Now that he'd heard Shichibei was getting married, it seemed only natural to send him some gifts. Asai Iki, who had brought the gift, had met him before, and they'd fought side by side. Naturally, Shichibei invited him to stay for a drink at the wedding.

I might as well ask that old man Asai Nagamasa what he has been doing recently?

The last time I saw him, after being appointed the Shogun's Imperial Court Official and Jiangbei Shugodai, he looked like he'd eaten bee feces, beaming like a flower every day. Now, he's taking a break from fighting and working hard to have a child with Princess Aichi in Odani Castle.

Perhaps it was because he drank a few too many glasses of wine, and also because Shichibei was in some sense indebted to the Asai family, so Asai Inori was not so restrained in his words.

Since being officially appointed as the guardian of Jiangbei by Nobunaga, Asai Nagamasa has finally begun to legitimately and legally rule over the entire Jiangbei region. He is now a legitimate "monarch", no longer the leader of the Jiangbei People's Alliance.

In terms of power, Asai Nagamasa controlled over 120,000 koku of wealth in both Asai and Ika counties, meaning half of the Asai family's assets were directly under his control. In terms of status, the appointment letters of the shōgunshu and shugodai bore the seals of both the shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and the regent, Oda Nobunaga.

For both public and private reasons, the people of Jiangbei should submit to Asai Nagamasa, change their status, and begin serving Nagamasa as retainers.

And there was a very good opportunity earlier. Oda Nobunaga issued the "Buke Palace Repair Order", requiring the feudal lords and daimyo of more than 20 provinces near Kinki to conscript men and pay money to build a palace for Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

As the guardian of Jiangbei, Asai Nagamasa had the authority and public right to recruit young men from Jiangbei and temporarily collect Dongbetsu money.

If you don't build a house for the general, you are a traitor!

Under the guise of the shogunate and Oda Nobunaga, he began to unify Jiangbei. The first step was to summon all the Jiangbei nobles and, under the leadership of Asai Nagamasa, establish a plan to support the construction of the Shogun's palace.

The rights and obligations of the powerful families in Jiangbei should be clarified, and each of them should fully exert their subjective initiative under the command of His Highness Asai Nagamasa, the guardian, and make suggestions for the engineering projects of the Shogun's Palace.

The salami-slicing tactic has been used throughout history, both in China and abroad. Today, we are still establishing a temporary style, but what about tomorrow?

There was something unusual about Asai Jingui's words. Shichibei nodded slightly. After all, what daimyo didn't want to unify his kingdom these days?

There's even a theory that the historical reason the Mori were willing to sell Shimizu Muneharu to Hideyoshi in order to seal a peace treaty was because Shimizu Muneharu was a native of Bitchu, and his life or death didn't matter. A victory would open up new territories and ease family conflicts. A loss would also eliminate local troublemakers and stabilize the family situation.

Of course, this is probably also related to the early death of Hoida Motochika. If Hoida Motochika were still alive, the strength of the Mori family's control over the Mibi region and its strategic situation would have changed.

It's not too late to start unifying the territories at this stage. Take Uesugi Kenshin, for example. He never truly unified his territories in his lifetime. It was only after Uesugi Kagekatsu finally put down the Gogokono-Shibata Rebellion that the territories were completely pacified, and the Uesugi family achieved complete rule over Echigo.

I wish Asai Nagamasa success.

Who knows, Jiangbei Guohao's unyielding situation may lead to another national uprising waiting for Asai Nagamasa. It is possible that this good brother-in-law will have to send someone to beg Nobunaga to send troops to help suppress the Jiangbei national uprising.

Nobunaga would have been delighted. Previously, he had considered Asai Nagamasa an ally, but now he considered him a younger brother. Once Nagamasa came to Nobunaga for help, and Nobunaga sent troops to help stabilize his territory, the master-servant relationship would have been firmly established.

Isn't Tokugawa Ieyasu of Mikawa, the neighboring daimyo, now a loyal vassal? In the later years of Nobunaga's reign, Ieyasu was the de facto commander of Nobunaga's army. Even the peace treaty for Suruga Province was issued by Nobunaga. There's no doubt that the two sides already had a de facto, clear-cut relationship between ruler and subject.

Looking at Nobunaga who was drinking with Oda Nobuhiro who had returned temporarily, Shichibei felt that this kind of official business should be brought to his attention.

After ordering his family to take the already drunk Asai Iori to bed, Shichibei approached Nobunaga as if nothing had happened. Nobunaga had actually observed Shichibei "testing" the Asai family's envoy, but he hadn't reacted. Now, as Shichibei approached, he stopped drinking.

I told Nobunaga about how Nagamasa was trying to unify the country and was using the righteousness of the shogunate to establish a clear domestic system. Nobunaga just nodded slightly.

Everyone here knows the immense effort Nobunaga put into unifying Owari. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Nobuhide, suppressing his brother Nobuyuki's rebellion, uncovering his elder brother Nobuhiro's conspiracy, and waging a war of attrition with his brother-in-law, Isshiki Yoshitatsu, for years. He then defeated both the Iwakura and Inuyama Oda clans, miraculously holding off the invasion of the Suruga Imagawa clan. All of this took more than a decade.

Even Nobunaga had put so much effort into it, so Nagamasa's unification of the realm would definitely not be achieved smoothly and peacefully. The uprising that Shichibei predicted would likely break out, and that would be Nobunaga's chance to shine.

"I have found a good son-in-law for my brother!" Nobunaga nodded with a smile and said to Oda Nobuhiro.

"Hahaha, Shichibei is a smart man." Oda Nobuhiro was the elder retainer and general of the Oda family, and this kind of information would be discussed with each other.

"By the way, Shichibei, do you also have a stable at the foot of Odani Castle?" Nobunaga obviously didn't just remember it.

"It has been set up for a year." This was an important success of Shichibei's offering of 3,000 kan of gold to Nagamasa, which led to the monopoly of the horse-carrying service in the Asai domain.

"Saemon will hand over to you later." Nobunaga was referring to Sasa Narimasa of the Mother's clan.

"clear."

I see. It's just sending two spies to Odani Castle. Actually, it wouldn't be a problem to have the guys at Kawamuraya do it. Businessmen are inherently sensitive to information. Gathering information from all over the place is part of their nature.

Before Nobunaga went to Kyoto, Shichibei would regularly send people to Sakaimachi to learn about major news in Kinai, transcribe it, and send it to Tsushima for display. Even now that Shichibei has become the governor of Sakai, he has not stopped this practice, and has even expanded it to cover the entire country.

He sent people to Oshu and Ushu, and to Kai and Kanto, both to conduct business, understand market conditions, and gather information from various places. Otherwise, how would he know that Imagawa Ujizane had gone to Kakegawa Castle and taken refuge with Asahina Taitomo?

"Okay, okay, let's not delay Shichibei's good deeds." Oda Nobuhiro also put down his wine glass and pulled Nobunaga away.

"Give birth to a legitimate son as soon as possible!" Nobunaga raised his eyebrows at Shichibei, which meant that he should give birth to a calf or horse as soon as possible so that he can carry the spear for Nobunaga.

"Yes, yes, yes..." Bah, if you hadn't paid the bill so quickly, right...

By the way, Shichibei previously provided a large number of horses to aid Nobunaga's thousand-horse cavalry in a surprise attack on the main camp of the Miyoshi Trio at the Shogun's Yama Castle. After the battle, Shichibei, Sasa Narimasa, and Akechi Mitsuhide were jointly awarded the highest merit. Sasa Narimasa was the first to charge in and disrupt the Miyoshi army, while Akechi Mitsuhide fought bravely to open the castle gates and drive back the Miyoshi army.

Therefore, all three of them were honored with the highest merit and received rewards. However, the reward for Shichibei was more subtle, which was one of the reasons why Nobunaga wanted to officiate Shichibei's wedding this time.

Like Hideko-hime before him, Nobunaga gave Shichibei's wife 1,200 kan of cosmetics. Although the wife was still the nominal lord, in reality, it was still Shichibei who managed and organized the territory.

Seeing Nobunaga sticking out his butt, the guests sitting inside and outside the mansion also stood up, and many of them congratulated Shichibei again. The sake had already been drunk, and the bride had already been brought inside.

Princess Hideko wanted to tell Shichibei what the bride's name was before, but now he knows it after asking her today.

But when he heard the name, Qibingwei was a little surprised. You also call him Major General?

That young major-general from Shikoku, known as the most beautiful woman in the world, was fought over by five or six men, all of whom were powerful figures, either vassals or guardians. The man who finally took over, Chosokabe Motochika, was also known as the "Bat of Birdless Island."

What's even more amazing is that this young major general had a good fertility and had children with almost every husband, leaving behind many half-brothers who loved and hated each other.

Looking at the young Major General before him, she was indeed just a frail little girl. Although she was already sixteen or seventeen years old, she still had a body as slender as a willow in the wind. Perhaps it was because her frame was naturally small that she could only grow this big.

For a moment, Shichibei felt a little uncomfortable taking action.

What about others? After all, Shichibei came from another time. How could he be interested in a little girl who looked like a junior high school student at most?

However, Major General Oda was very proactive. It was 100% because his parents, including Oda Nobuhiro, had instructed her to serve Shichibei well and give birth to a legitimate son as soon as possible before she came.

A little girl was dragging a large quilt. Just to smooth out the corners of the quilt, she had to run from one end to the other. There was no way because her arms were not long enough.

As he lay down on the couch, Shichibei silently kept repeating in his heart, "Sins, sins..."

....................................

It's no wonder that the young major general was well educated and trained in Japan's feudal moral system. She got up before Shichibei got up and started busying herself in the kitchen, helping Shichibei's three sisters and the maids in the house to make breakfast.

After all, they not only have to prepare breakfast for Shichibei alone, but also for the entire Gifu main store and the young monks who have signed contracts of seven or nine years to serve as apprentices in the store.

There are dozens of people.

There were also some waiters and family members who had not yet started a family and naturally had no place to eat, so they had to eat in the store. They had to prepare breakfast for hundreds of people, and the large steaming pot had to be set up with ten stoves.

When Shichibei got up, he ran into Inase Yoshinari standing at the temple gate directing the monks to carry firewood to the kitchen. Inase Yoshinari, who had seen and eaten before, smiled wickedly at Shichibei.

What a joke, it's just that little thing, what's so funny about it.

After returning from the battle, Qibingwei asked about it and learned that Ai was about to give birth in the next three to five days. Otherwise, the young major-general would help his four sisters cook. At this moment, Ai had difficulty walking and could only lie down to rest.

Fortunately, Inase Yoshisari lived with Shichibei in the backyard of the Gifu main store, so the two families could look after each other. Otherwise, I really couldn't rest assured, and Inase Yoshisari would have no time to stand in the yard and direct the moving of firewood.

"Husband." The two were staring at each other when the young major general wearing an apron and a bun came running over and invited them to have breakfast.

"Yeah." Shichibei slapped Inase Yoshinari on the shoulder and told him to stop laughing and eat rice to shut his mouth.

Picking up the bowl, Shichibei said to the young major-general, "Thank you for your hard work!" In Japan, there are two ways to eat. One is that the whole family eats together. After the head of the family picks up the bowl, others can take their bowls. Even the head of the family's father and mother have to wait.

Another possibility is that if there are many people in the house, the man will eat first, or he will sit in the house and wait for the women in the house to serve him food. The women will eat after the men have finished eating, or they may eat in the kitchen.

There is no debate about eating at a table these days. After all, Japanese people don’t use tables when eating, they only have a small table in front of them.

After breakfast, Sasa Narimasa came to the door. As expected, he was talking about Nobunaga's instructions yesterday to send a few people to the Kawamura-ya Odani Castle's stable.

It's not difficult to do, and there's no trouble. Just call him over, give him an identity, and place him in Odani. Asai Nagamasa is also one of Nobunaga's important allies in Kinai. The more you know about him, the more you can control him.

To the south, Hatakeyama Akitaka of Kawachi, though flattered by Nobunaga to the point of being completely bewildered, was ultimately no match for Asai Nagamasa in terms of fighting prowess. Furthermore, Princess Aichi and Asai Nagamasa had already given birth to a legitimate son, a child with half Oda blood, and Nobunaga was sure to trust him more.

In the future, Asai Manpukumaru, as a member of the Oda clan, will inherit the Asai clan's family business and can be perfectly integrated into the Oda clan's military and political group.

The two of them were almost done chatting, and Sasa Narimasa had already decided which people to send out when suddenly a message came from the store saying that Ai was about to give birth.

When he heard that there was something going on at home, Sasa Narimasa told him to say goodbye. Shichibei apologized and did not go to see him off. He hurried to see Ai off.

By the evening, mother and child were safe, and everyone in the family breathed a sigh of relief. Inase Yoshinari held the child in his arms, boasting happily that his sister-in-law's arrival was a double blessing for the family, and that she was truly a lucky star.

172. Why did you choose the fifth one?

Well, at least the Kawamura family now has a backup. Even though it wasn't her own child, it was still a joyous occasion when her sister gave birth.

Those old acquaintances who had just finished drinking and were drunk were called in again. Come on, come on, continue. Anyway, Nobunaga is not fighting a war now, and there is nothing important to be busy about, so it's a good time for everyone to get together.

Only his father-in-law, Oda Nobuhiro, returned to Kyoto. After all, he was stationed at Myokaku-ji Temple, shouldering the heavy responsibility of supporting the Nijo Palace and taking care of Kyoto. He was grateful that he had returned midway to celebrate Shichibei and the young major-general's wedding.

Oda Nobunaga, who had nothing else to do, came to join the fun. Sitting among a group of young Owari warriors, he casually asked everyone: "Should we go after Kitabatake Gufusa? Should we go after Asakura Yoshikage? Should we go after the Three Miyoshis?"

Thanks to his exceptional performance during the Honkuji Incident, Oda Nobunaga's control over the old powers in Kinai has become increasingly complete and strengthened. However, Oda Nobunaga's conquests will not cease. Therefore, he must seize this opportune moment to use the Shogun as leverage to subjugate the rebellious forces and quickly quell the rebellious forces and expand his own power.

Before going to Kyoto, Nobunaga gained control of many towns along the shores of Lake Biwa, as well as the two major handicraft trade centers of Kyoto and Sakai, thereby expanding his financial resources.

However, this did not add much territory (Southern Omi accepted many people), and in Japan, the core of "Goen Fuku" is "Goen", which can be referred to as the knowledge and practice of territory. Nobunaga accepted many dogs and recruited many people, and he had to further expand his territory to place new people and expand the group of people who served him.

There is nothing wrong with bringing this matter to the table, because all three directions have already sought death, and they were the kind who cut themselves off from Oda during the previous changes in the times.

As it is, with the natural law of change, old forces will always perish and fall, and new forces will step on their corpses and rush into the new era.

Since Nobunaga wants to kill people anyway, he will naturally kill these blind people.

Everyone spoke freely, and Shichibei, sitting nearby, didn't interrupt, but he could hear something different. Because most of Nobunaga's core samurai were from Owari at this point, discussions of military action inevitably included a degree of personal bias. Many felt that the Oda clan's navy wasn't up to the task of crossing the sea immediately to kill the Miyoshi Three.

Echizen Province would begin to snow in October, so at most, there were only three and a half months left. The Asakura clan was a daimyo with a 750,000-koku reserve, capable of mobilizing 30,000 men, or even more. Three and a half months was not enough time to raise an army and destroy the Asakura clan.

If Nobunaga retreats, all the gains he has made will be wiped out by a heavy snowfall. It would be a waste of effort and meaningless.

He rejected both directions at once, and his arguments were well-reasoned and well-founded.

Well, they were all eager to attack Kitabatake in southern Ise. Since the time of Oda Nobuhide, the Owari clan had been eyeing Ise. Now that they had captured northern Ise, southern Ise, completely surrounded by Nobunaga's forces, was a formidable prey.

In addition, two powerful families, Kimura Tomomasa and Kuki Yoshitaka, had already defected to the Oda clan in southern Ise and Shima. The Kimura family could serve as guides on the road, while the Kuki family could serve as the vanguard at sea.

Kuki Yoshitaka's ship had already been fully built in Tsushima. Combined with the pirates and sailors he recruited, Nobunaga was able to launch a combined land and sea offensive.

He even used a tactic of setting fire to the Kitabatake clan from behind, pulling hundreds of pirates ashore by boat and then killing and burning them in the heart of Minami Ise.

Live together.