Owari Yumeki Golden Day

The old virgin forests have long been cleared, and many of the remaining trees are planted. Besides the simplest way to sell them for building materials after planting, the most important use is for charcoal.

Charcoal wasn't just used for heating; it was also used extensively in Japanese iron smelting. Major iron ore owners and merchants during the Edo period often owned forests and charcoal fields stretching back tens of thousands of acres, sometimes even hundreds of thousands.

As long as there is no technological revolution in human fuel, Japan's forestry prosperity will continue.

"I trust you to do the work!" Nobunaga was only responsible for talking, so if Shichibei was capable, let him do more.

With one thing done, Nobunaga waved outside, and a kneeling attendant led Niwa Nagahide inside. Naturally, he had other matters to attend to, so Shichibei excused himself and left. He could vaguely hear something about unusual movements in Settsu in the corridor, but there was no way Shichibei would stop and eavesdrop.

Now that he had received Nobunaga's order, Shichibei had to start making arrangements. Kawamuraya's main store had moved to Gifu, so there was no need to go to Tsushima anymore. Instead, he could send a direct letter to the Tsushima and Annozu branches.

The Tsushima branch prepared 20,000 logs of timber and transferred cash to the Anotsu branch. The Anotsu branch rented a warehouse in advance and began storing horse feed and miso.

All of this was done to prepare for Nobunaga's battle. Even though the sickles hadn't even been sharpened yet, that didn't stop Shichibei from preparing in advance. Didn't you see that Nobunaga hadn't even defeated Kitabatake Gukyou, yet he was already preparing for his son?

Letters were sent out one after another, and many people who worked for Kawamuraya were like arrows from a bow, connecting the increasingly large Kawamuraya business network.

After signing the note, Shichibei finally had time to sit down and have a cup of tea. As he sipped, he recalled the morning's report from Niwa Nagahide and Nobunaga. He suspected the Miyoshi Three were planning to stir up trouble in Settsu again. Settsu Koshimizu Castle and Akutagawa Castle had originally been the Miyoshi clan's strongholds on Honshu, and they had many people secretly supporting them.

In 49, there were still people who voluntarily joined the National Army. Naturally, there are still people who think that the Three Good Men have a chance to counterattack Honshu.

However, Niwa Nagahide and Shichibei found themselves adding another variable to Nobunaga's timeline. Many of Nobunaga's domestic affairs, military logistics, and military communications were outsourced to Shichibei, using only a mere 5,000 kan (not counting the minor general's makeup) of territory.

Therefore, Niwa Nagahide, who had been serving Nobunaga in history and spent a lot of energy as Nobunaga's small burden, was now completely liberated and became an important combat and strategic force under Nobunaga.

After all, Shichibei was very helpful in providing Nobunaga with logistical support, and he never made any mistakes. As Nobunaga's son-in-law, Niwa Nagahide, who was also a member of the Oda clan to some extent, would definitely be of great use.

Perhaps this great use is in the direction of Settsu?

Settsu is now governed by the so-called "Three Guardians of Settsu," who support Nobunaga's military campaigns. Wada Koremasa, Ikeda Katsumasa, and Itami Shinnoki appear to be doing well for now, at least following Nobunaga's orders. Only the Ishiyama Honganji area remains somewhat independent.

Perhaps they have already started preparing for an expedition to Awaji and Awa?

That's good news. It's the most important military direction for Shichibei. With a sudden thought, Shichibei immediately decided to ask Niwa Nagahide if he was secretly planning an expedition to Shikoku. Shichibei would definitely lend a hand.

Historically, when Oda Nobutaka attacked Shikoku, he used a hundred ships from the Kuki navy and two hundred ships rented by Sakaimachi. This was all that was needed to cross the sea for an army of tens of thousands.

If he wanted to transport 30,000 people across the sea now, Shichibei could rely on his relationship with Tsuda Munehito and the big boss to help him hire a ship from Sakaimachi.

As for the navy, isn't Kuki Yoshitaka about to become Nobunaga's naval commander? Add in Saji's navy on the Chita Peninsula, and it's more than enough.

174. Everyone is smart

Furthermore, the Oda clan lacked any strong supporters in Shikoku, acting as a sort of support force after landing. Needless to say, a landing battle would be difficult. However, if there were a support force, they could sail directly to the island, disembark, and regroup, and then conduct a land battle in an organized manner, which would be much easier.

Historically, the Oda clan had already gained a foothold in Shikoku after gaining the support of Miyoshi Yasunaga and Sogo Noriyasu, and only then did they launch a large-scale attack on Shikoku. At that time, Miyoshi Yasunaga was promised the entire province of Awa, and Sogo Noriyasu half of the province of Sanuki.

It wasn't that Nobunaga was generous, but because Miyoshi Yasunaga's son was killed by Chosokabe Motochika, Nobutaka was said to be preparing to succeed Miyoshi Yasunaga, using the Miyoshi clan's prestige to effectively rule the entire Shikoku Island.

From this perspective, Nobunaga's plan for western Japan was fully deployed by then. Nobutaka received Shikoku, Hideyoshi received northern Kyushu, Mitsuhide received southern Kyushu, and San'in and Sanyo were used to house daimyo who had migrated from Kinai. The five provinces of Kinai, plus Omi and Nobi, were controlled by Nobunaga first and Nobutada second.

It's understandable that if you work hard for Nobunaga, he will give you a good salary, but he will send you to remote towns one by one.

Why does it feel a bit like the Zhou Emperor?

It made me laugh. Nobunaga was just imitating King Wen of Zhou who made the phoenix cry at Mount Qishan and spread his military power throughout the world.

Send two people to Sakaimachi to keep watch there. If Niwa Nagahide changes his attack direction to Settsu and Izumi, the areas facing Shikoku, then the crossing will definitely require the help of Sakaimachi's shipping capacity, and Shichibei will be able to keep an eye on them.

Putting down the brush, Shichibei's reverie was interrupted when he heard that someone from the Gujo Hachiman Endo family was coming to visit.

After Shichibei withdrew from the battlefield and returned to Gifu, he wrote a letter to Gujo Hachiman Castle, expressing his wish to act as a matchmaker for Yamanouchi Kazutoyo and Endo Chiyo.

Neither abrupt nor presumptuous, that's how political marriages work these days. Shichibei was a close relative of the Nobi clan and a key official of the Oda clan. A small, powerful clan like the Endō family would be delighted if they could use this opportunity to climb into Shichibei's good graces.

Moreover, Shichibei asked Takenaka Hanbei to deliver the letter personally. At least having a samurai from Mino come to his house was very thoughtful.

The people who came were Jinuemon Yukawa and Rokuemon Nikudori, both samurai of the Endo family. Hanbei Takenaka, who led them in, nodded slightly when he saw Shichibei.

It became.

In fact, what's so difficult about it? Although Kawamura Shichibei's reputation in the Oda family is not that great, he is still a member of the core samurai group of the old Owari family and is of the same blood as the important ministers.

Besides, Shichibei has three younger sisters. When Oda Nobuhiro saw them helping at the banquet, he patted Shichibei's shoulder happily.

The daughters of our four counties, Oda, Owari, and Shimo, will be precious in the future. The implicit meaning behind his words was that he hoped to adopt one in the future for a political marriage.

Indeed, Shichibei could still decide the marriages of Ai and Aji, but he did not have the final say on the marriages of his three younger sisters. Even though it was Oda Nobunaga who said this, it did not necessarily mean that he did not have Oda Nobunaga's intentions.

Since Nobunaga cared so much about the spiritual development of the Owari Samurai Group, he might have already made up his mind to use Shichibei's three sisters to marry off some young people he liked and hoped to recruit into the Owari Samurai Group.

"Let's sit down and talk first." The two Endo samurai kowtowed to Shichibei and said without hesitation that their master was delighted and honored to receive Shichibei's letter. With Shichibei acting as matchmaker, even a beggar or an old man would be no problem, let alone Yamauchi Kazutoyo.

When they learned that Yamauchi Ichitoyo was a twenty-four or twenty-five year old young man with a strong stick, a salary of three hundred kan, and a knowledge and practice of forty-five koku, he responded even more quickly.

Without even a moment's hesitation, he quickly sent someone to Gifu Castle to reply to Shichibei. He was afraid that if he arrived too late, Shichibei would help Yamanouchi Kazutoyo propose marriage to other families' daughters.

Well, there’s no need to be so anxious.

That old pervert, Yamauchi Ichitoyo, was truly despicable, lusting after a twelve-year-old girl. Even though this was during the Warring States Period in Japan, it wasn't particularly unusual, but it didn't stop Shichibei from secretly criticizing him.

But since she said so, Shichibei had to be polite and express his gratitude. He invited her to stay, and after going to Sunomata to inform Yamauchi Kazutoyo, the two of them would make a marriage contract.

As for when to get married?

Let's wait until after the battle of Kitabatake. After all, Nobunaga will be heading off to war after the autumn harvest. Time is too tight, so it's better to wait until the battle is over. Hideyoshi's Sumota clan will definitely be deployed at the Battle of Minami-Ise. If they perform well, Yamanouchi Ichitoyo might even receive an additional 100 koku, making him even more worthy of Endō Chiyo.

How far is Sumata from Gifu? The news had already been sent back and forth that day. Yamauchi Kazutoyo was completely obsessed with marrying Chiyo, a dream he'd longed for day and night. Fortunately, Shichibei had sent someone to inform him that Endō Yoshitaka had agreed. If it had been delayed for two more days, he might have even rushed to Gifu to ask Shichibei directly.

Why wouldn't he agree? Yamanouchi Ichitoyo agreed immediately and sent his retainer Goto Yoshibei to Gifu to finalize all the details of the marriage contract.

Furthermore, Yamanouchi Ippo's father, eldest brother, and second brother were all dead, but his mother was still alive and lived at the foot of Gifu Castle. As a 100-man ashigaru (foot soldier), Yamanouchi Ippo was already entitled to a separate courtyard at the foot of Gifu Castle. Since he was being sent abroad as Hideyoshi's right-hand man, his mother must have stayed at the foot of Gifu Castle.

It was just a hostage situation, no need to be so secretive. Shichibei moved his shop to the foot of Gifu Castle. Now, his eldest sister's family, his second sister's family, his own family, and his three younger sisters were all at the foot of the castle. If a major earthquake hit Gifu, they would take over.

Ippo's mother, who had become a nun and taken the Buddhist name Hoshuni, learned that Shichibei had personally arranged a match for Yamanouchi Ippo and rushed to Kawamuraya to express her gratitude. The couple's parents were also there, and the details of the wedding were discussed. The engagement was finalized, and the wedding was a success.

After finishing this personal matter, the rice on the Nobi Plain began to be harvested and dried. This year was a normal year, with no major disasters. Apart from two heavy rains during typhoon season, everything was smooth sailing.

Nobunaga was quite lucky. Neighboring Shanghai has an average elevation of less than two meters. But in later times, Nagoya has an average elevation of over twelve meters. Despite being called the Nobi Plain, the terrain is actually quite high. Almost all of Nagoya sits on the Atsuta Plateau, at an elevation of about fifteen meters.

Even with typhoons, the Nobi Plain rarely experiences flooding. Of course, there's no way to prevent the Kiso River from overflowing. The river can't hold the water after a short period of heavy rain, so flooding for two or three days is common.

However, the flooding of the Kiso River also brought a large amount of silt from upstream, and the land was continuously reclaimed. The coastline in later generations was more than ten kilometers away from Tsushima.

It is said that this land can give birth to all the people in the world, so any place is good.

Thanks to last year's successful operation and Shichibei's strong reputation in both Nobi and Aoi, the business was fully operational this year. Not only did the annual tribute rice from Nobunaga's direct domains continue to arrive in Gifu and Tsushima, but Kawamuraya also sold nearly all of the tribute rice from the domains of many powerful local families and Nobunaga's most influential officials.

In a short period of time, Shichibei had received over 300,000 koku of annual tribute rice. Judging from the current situation, 400,000 or even 500,000 koku would not be difficult to obtain.

As expected, once the business scales up and the reputation is well-established, subsequent business will come naturally. Compared to handing over the business to unknown or unreputable small merchants, it is better to leave it to Kawamura-ya.

The good days of making money while lying down have finally come to Shichibei.

With the annual tribute rice delivered, Nobunaga also issued a mobilization order, formally requesting all troops to gather in Gifu and prepare to march to southern Ise. Before setting off, Nobunaga also asked Ashikaga Yoshiaki for orders.

You didn't bow when Yoshiaki succeeded to the throne, and you didn't come when the Imperial Palace was being built. If we don't attack you, who should we attack?

With Ashikaga Yoshiaki's imperial instructions, the Oda army had a legitimate reason to attack the Kitabatake clan. Even if the Kitabatake clan had connections and connections with the imperial court, it would not be effective. At most, if they were defeated, they could use the imperial court to ask for peace or surrender, giving them some room to beg for mercy from Nobunaga.

The advantage of using a general as a hostage to control disobedience is that as long as you find fault with them, you are a thief, a bandit, and a rebel.

The army gathered at Gifu Castle exceeded 70,000. Nobunaga even asked Asai Nagamasa and Tokugawa Ieyasu, whose army had just captured Kakegawa Castle and was exhausted, to send troops to join the battle.

Asai Nagamasa sent Hori Hidemura, a prominent Kokumizu from Sakata County, to the area. Hori Hidemura and his nephew, Higuchi Naofusa, together controlled almost two-thirds of Sakata County. Furthermore, their family enjoyed considerable influence and trust in Sakata County, making them considered influential figures in the region.

Nagamasa, who was promoting the unification of Jiangbei, naturally wanted to consume the powerful families under his command, and sent Hori Hidemura and Higuchi Naofusa to die.

With the Shogun's imperial edict, the mobilization order from the shogunate, and the letter from the Jiangbei Shugodai, Hori Hidemura and Higuchi Naofusa reluctantly brought more than 2,000 people to Gifu to join the battle.

Compared to the reluctance of the other two, Tokugawa Ieyasu was quite enthusiastic. Mainly because he felt that Nobunaga had too many troops and that the Mikawa Okazaki clan would be cheering and waving flags, so there was a high probability that they would not need to act as a vanguard to attack the gates of Okawachi Castle.

Besides, Nobunaga is not stingy. When you come, you will eat Nobunaga, drink Nobunaga, use Nobunaga, and after winning, you can even take something home. A few deaths will not be a loss, so come on.

With the 3,000 Okazaki people, Nobunaga now had an army of 75,000 cavalry. With so many people attacking the Kitabatake clan, it was like a flying dragon riding on their face.

After the army assembled in Gifu, they rested overnight at Ohashi Castle on the Ise Kaido Kaido before joining the Kuki navy in Tsushima Town on the other side of the river. Kuki Yoshitaka, who had received a large amount of money and food aid from Nobunaga, managed to gather nearly 3,000 men, including the temporarily recruited oarsmen and sailors.

According to Nobunaga's instructions, the Kuki navy cooperated with the Saji navy to attack directly to Shima Province and Minami-Ise-Watari County, making sure to destroy the local Kitabatake forces. This would cause a fire in the Kitabatake army's backyard and make them lose sight of the big picture.

By the way, we must also be on guard against the possible existence of the Kitabatake clan's naval forces in Ise Bay. After Kitada Tomokuni defeated the Kuki clan and fled, he supported Obama Kagetaka.

In history, Obama Kagetaka took the initiative to attack, relying on his own Atakabune, thinking that he could beat the returning Kuki Yoshitaka. However, he was beaten up by Kuki Yoshitaka and fled to Suruga to join Takeda Shingen.

Later, he was recruited by Tokugawa Ieyasu and served as the ship commander of the Tokugawa family. However, when Tokugawa Ieyasu was able to fight back to Shima Province and help the Obama family to revive, Obama Kagetaka died.

Only if you live long enough, everything will be possible.

After entering Ise, Takigawa Ieyasu, as the vanguard, began to clear the way for Nobunaga. At the same time, he reported the movements of the Kitabatake army to Nobunaga for his reference.

After learning that the Oda army was about to invade, Kitabatake Muneori and Kitabatake Munefusa, father and son, gathered an army of 16,000 people, abandoned the Kiriyama Palace, and moved into Ōkouchi Castle with almost all of their direct troops.

A large number of troops were also deployed in the various castles outside Ohkawachi Castle, such as Asaka Castle, Omiya Castle, and Chi Castle, and defenses were established.

Compared to the previously unstable Rokkaku Army, the Kitabatake Army was united and determined to resist. Because Kimura Tomomasa had defected to Oda, the surrender faction fled, indirectly contributing to the unity of the Kitabatake Army.

After arriving at Anotsu, Nobunaga learned of the deployment of the Kitabatake army and began to plan his offensive strategy.

As usual, Shichibei was not involved in military strategy, only responsible for the water transport logistics in and around Annozu. Therefore, he did not notice the silence of the Oda retainers in the shogunate.

If he had participated in the military meeting, Shichibei might have discovered that the Oda clan's important officials were indeed not easy to deal with. With Shichibei's guidance, Takigawa Ikmasu was able to guess that Nobunaga was planning to insert his two sons into the Kitabatake clan. What about the other family elders and samurai generals?

Needless to say, others also secretly guessed this.

Without new royal grace to receive and rewards to bestow, the degree of dedication to the public service would be discounted. When Nobunaga asked for advice, the important ministers were silent.

Everyone's reasons were very sufficient. Dahe Nei Castle was obviously an impenetrable city, so it was normal that there was no strategy for attacking the city for a while.

In the end, Nobunaga directly assigned the tasks. Hideyoshi besieged Asaka Castle, Ikmasu led his troops around the rear, and Niwa Nagahide, Ikeda Terumasa, and Inaba Yoshimichi divided into three groups, preparing to go straight to the foot of Okawachi Castle and launch a night attack.

Sakuma Nobumori and Shibata Katsuie sought an opportunity to attack Kiriyama Palace to see if the Kitabatake clan's family members were there. If so, they would capture them all and bring them to the gates of the city, forcing the defenders inside to surrender.

In addition, Nobunaga saw Hori Hidemura and Higuchi Naofusa sitting at the end, and waved his hand, asking the two of them to charge at Ohkouchi Castle first to see its condition.

175. Shooting Hideyoshi's testicles with an arrow

Hori Hidemura was only fifteen or sixteen years old, the most he would have been in his first year of high school in later generations, but at this age, he had already started to wear his coming-of-age uniform, sword in hand, ready to go out and kill people and chop off heads. However, since he was still young, his name, Naofusa Higuchi, usually acted as his deputy.

Now that Oda Nobunaga has ordered the Horibe to attack first, Higuchi Naofusa can only go ahead with it.

The two weren't Oda retainers, but rather provincial governors who had come to serve the shogunate. From Higuchi Naofusa's perspective, they were just paying lip service, charging into the battle lines twice, incurring a few hundred casualties, and having an explanation to their superiors and subordinates, it wasn't a bad thing, and the matter was essentially over.

Speaking of which, Higuchi Naofusa and Hori Hidemura weren't always harmonious and loving ruler and subject. When it comes to acts of subjugation, whether or not to do so isn't always a matter of one person's will.

Just like the neighboring Awa Province, when Miyoshi Nagaharu was young, all family affairs were controlled by Shinohara Nagafusa. So much so that Nagaharu's mother married him, and as Nagaharu grew older, Nagaharu launched a fierce attack on Shinohara Nagafusa's forces, killing him and his son.

Now that Hori Hidemura is getting older, it is unknown whether the two can maintain harmony or whether some other internal conflicts will arise.

Higuchi Naofusa, full of plans, led the warriors loyal to the Hori family to attack the castle. What kind of castle was Ōkōchi Castle? Surrounded by water on two sides, cliffs on two sides, and a single winding path on a hilly slope. Within the castle, Kitabatake Tomomichi and Kitabatake Tomofusa, father and son, and 8,000 cavalrymen held out, making it impregnable.

Hundreds of people rushed forward, and half of them rolled down.

In just a moment, the Hori army, which attacked first, suffered almost 200 casualties from the arrows and cannons from the city walls and retreated in a screaming manner.

Nobunaga stood at the foot of the city, and before he could even investigate the firepower deployment inside the city, the Hori army retreated. This was too useless. If you don't expect you to break the city, at least point out the firepower points on the city and expose them.

What was Nobunaga's position at this time? The powerful shogunate was so powerful that he could ignore even the intentions of Asai Nagamasa, let alone those of Hori Hidemura and Higuchi Naofusa.

How can your family, with only two or three thousand people, compare with Nobunaga's more than seventy thousand people?

So Nobunaga ordered the Hori army to attack again without hesitation, and to attack fiercely so that all the firepower points of the Kitabatake army on the city were exposed.

After receiving the order, Hori Hidemura was deeply distressed. All the dead were his own trusted warriors. He quickly asked Higuchi Naofusa to plead with Nobunaga to at least replace them and continue the attack tomorrow to rest.

Higuchi Naofusa felt more and more that Hori Hidemura had grown up. He did not obey the order, but instead commanded the Hori army to attack Okouchi Castle again.

After two attacks, Hori's army suffered 200 deaths and 300 wounded. They were unable to fight anymore, and this reserve force of more than 2,000 people was basically scrapped.

At this point, Nobunaga recognized that Hori Hidemura had fully exhausted his strength. He had also basically ascertained the firepower of the city, and after rewarding Hori Hidemura with 1,000 taels of rice and 500 kan of cash, he summoned the Oda generals to discuss siege strategies.

Hori Hidemura, who was left with great hatred, and Higuchi Naofusa, who had eliminated many opponents in the family, had different expressions on their faces.

The Oda generals, not wanting to launch a full-scale attack, and also because Ōkōchi Castle was indeed home to something, offered suggestions. They suggested that they first capture all the branch castles to cut off reinforcements from Ōkōchi Castle. Then, they would drive the families and locals of the defenders into the castle to deplete its food supplies.

Hadn't Shichibei previously bribed the local tyrants of the southern Ise villages with all their surplus food? He then drove them into the city, leaving no food to carry them in. Thus, the Kitabatake army, which might have held out for three or even six months, was reduced to only a month or two of food and fodder due to the influx of so many family members.

The core theme is that you don’t want to waste lives attacking the city!

Nobunaga, who had watched the Hori army attack the city, was still unconvinced. His retainers were not working hard, but his direct subordinates, the mother and foot soldiers, were definitely working hard. After all, these people were desperately trying to get a job under Nobunaga. If they succeeded, they would earn 200 koku of hereditary rank and a lifetime of security.

So Nobunaga ordered all the troops to start the action according to the strategy of the previous military meeting, while he also deployed tens of thousands of elite soldiers directly under his command to prepare for the siege.

"Is Asaka Castle easy to attack?" Shichibei saw Hidenaga coming to collect the gunpowder, and felt that the name Hidenaga said sounded familiar.