Owari Yumeki Golden Day

After telling Sakuma Nobumori that these were the samurai in the city who were willing to submit to me, Sakuma Nobumori did not ask any more questions and only sent a few trusted samurai to surround Shichibei and escort him and his men to retreat.

In total, no fewer than five or six hundred people followed Shichibei out of the city. They retreated all the way to the third level of the deer fence outside the city, where they encountered Sasa Narimasa, who was inspecting the fence. Only then did Shichibei stop and breathe a sigh of relief.

Sasa Narimasa also asked Qibingwei who these people were. Qibingwei smiled and waved his hand, saying that they were all servants of Kawamura-ya.

The chaos in Ohkawachi Castle didn't completely subside until noon the next day. Of the original 8,000-plus soldiers, some fled, some, originally farmers living in the city, abandoned their troops and returned to farming. A few were also forced out by Shichibei, but their number was very small.

The remaining approximately 4,000 people were taken into custody by Sakuma Nobumori and Takigawa Ieyasu. Kitabatake Tomori and Kitabatake Tomofusa, father and son, as well as the Kitabatake clan's elders and senior retainers, and the deputies of the generals of various counties were successively sent to Nobunaga's main camp to pay their respects to him.

They said it was peace talks and opening the city, but in fact it was just surrender.

What difference did Akechi Mitsuhide's earlier offer make between this and simply plundering the entire Kitabatake clan? There was absolutely no difference. Had the castle not been starving, and Kitabatake Tomokuni felt assured by Ashikaga Yoshiaki's intermediary, he wouldn't have opened the gates.

Perhaps now that the city has been opened, Kitabatake Tomonori still feels regret, thinking he shouldn't have agreed so easily to Oda Nobunaga's peace proposal. If he had held out for another ten days or half a month, perhaps the situation would have been completely different.

Not to mention what happened in front of them, but so many people suddenly came to the rear of Shichibei's side, which surprised Takenaka Hanbei and others who stayed in the camp.

How did you manage to come into the city alone and bring out so many people?

Fortunately, there is no such concept as succubus in Japan these days.

What the hell, Shichibei just happened to come across this. If he didn't recruit the samurai who were already there, it would be a waste. And there's a high probability that this group of people would run away as soon as the city opened without Shichibei's recruitment.

Either he joined the Three Good Men or the Nagashima Gansho-ji Temple. Either way, there was no good outcome. Perhaps he would die alone, or his entire family would die. It was all the same.

Putting aside his own forces and family, Shichibei asked directly to the group of samurai who were still in shock, had just escaped, and were eating rice balls with big mouthfuls.

Are you planning to continue being a samurai, or stop being a samurai and become a waiter at Kawamuraya?

If you continue to serve as a samurai, you will be paid a salary first. If you serve long enough and work hard, the Kawamura family will have thousands of kan of land, which is enough to accommodate people like you. Twenty kan per person is enough to recruit a lot of infantry.

Those who knelt before Shichibei ultimately chose to become samurai, wanting to fight back to their former territory in Amaeben County. Or rather, they chose to serve under Shichibei and not fight for now, but would later help them move back to Amaeben County in Northern Ise.

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

"The Kubo has sent an envoy to the battlefield to comfort Kitabatake Chunagon." Nobunaga was talking with Kitabatake Tomoe and Kitabatake Tomoe when an envoy came to report.

Before Kitabatake Gukyo opened the city, didn't he send his family elder and important retainer Fujikata Tomonari to Kyoto to meet Ashikaga Yoshiaki through the relationship between Akechi Mitsuhide and Oda Nobunaga?

It's clear that Ashikaga Yoshiaki was the intermediary. Given the political order in which Yoshiaki was the shogun and Nobunaga was the ruling official, Nobunaga certainly had to protect Yoshiaki's reputation. So, opening the city was opening the city, and Nobunaga would definitely not kill the surrendered. If he did, where would Ashikaga Yoshiaki's reputation be?

"Please come in." The gates of Ohkouchi Castle were opened, and Nobunaga's mood turned from gloomy to sunny.

The visitor was Fujie Mibuchi, also a member of the shogunate's official staff. He immediately greeted Nobunaga and Kitabatake Tomori with a salute. He also said that it was a blessing for the country and its people that both sides had ceased hostilities, each defending their own borders and jointly serving the shogunate.

what?

The words were merely polite and procedural, but they sounded off to Kitabatake Tomori. What did it mean to each defend their own borders and serve together?

Now the Kitabatake family has completely become a vassal daimyo of the Oda family, and its territory has become the sphere of influence under the umbrella of the Oda family. Even if they want to serve Ashikaga Yoshiaki, they must be led by Nobunaga, and only after Nobunaga agrees, will the Kitabatake family be qualified to serve.

That’s not right, it’s really not right. What exactly were the conditions for mediation proposed by Ashikaga Yoshiaki?

Of course it’s just ordinary peace talks.

Stop it, stop it, stop hitting me.jpg

Mitsugu Fujiei, who was able to work in front of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and follow Ashikaga Yoshiaki from being a monk to ascending the throne of Shogun, was no fool. When he saw Kitabatake Tomokuni's uncertain expression, he knew that something was wrong.

On the one hand, he claimed to be exhausted and asked him to wait until he had cleaned up before coming to see him. On the other hand, he carefully observed Oda Nobunaga's situation and made his own guesses.

When he left the tent, he realized that Nobunaga had practically wiped out the Kitabatake clan. Kitabatake's offer wasn't a peace agreement; it was surrender. Nobunaga had used Ashikaga Yoshiaki's influence to trick Kitabatake into surrendering.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki's original intention was to give Kitabatake Tomomi a small punishment and a big warning, to defeat Kitabatake Tomomi, and then come to Kyoto to pay tribute to the shogunate, kowtow to Yoshiaki, and acknowledge Yoshiaki's rule. This battle would be considered a success.

But what conditions did Nobunaga and Mitsuhide give in the end?

Nobunaga's justification for sending troops to attack Kitabatake was that Kitabatake refused to pay homage to the shogun. Therefore, Kitabatake's assumption in his mind was that Yoshiaki hated him, thought he was a traitor, and wanted to kill him.

So, upon receiving the news that Yoshiaki had sent someone to mediate, he immediately assumed the old aristocratic approach, thinking that if he knelt quickly enough, Ashikaga Yoshiaki would not be able to kill his entire family. After all, Yoshiaki was the shogun, the highest position in the old order, and he needed to establish his authority and be tolerant.

The kingly way and the hegemonic way must be used together. If Kitabatake resists to the death, his entire family will surely be killed. If he surrenders, then he must be lenient and use the Kitabatake family as a benchmark to teach the world that those who surrender will not be killed.

But Ashikaga Yoshiaki didn't really hate Kitabatake Munikyoshi. He was mainly angry that Kitabatake Munikyoshi didn't come to kowtow and congratulate him. There were so many people who didn't come to kowtow, and Kitabatake Munikyoshi couldn't even be included. If he had any hatred, it was towards Miyoshi Masayasu and Miyoshi Nagayoshi.

Originally, Yoshiaki was a person with a very flexible moral bottom line. He could even forgive Matsunaga Nagamichi who killed his own brother, so he could forgive a mere Kitabatake Tomori.

This was such a misunderstanding that made Kitabatake Tomonori extremely angry and curse.

He thought that if he did not surrender, Yoshiaki would be even more angry and order Nobunaga to attack the city with all his strength and kill the entire Kitabatake family. Therefore, he made up his mind to open the city, at least to preserve the name of the Kitabatake family, and then make plans for the future.

In reality, Yoshiaki's idea was to give Kitabatake Tomonori a beating, to beat him black and blue, so that he would know who was the king and who was the big king, and then come and kowtow to him.

But now the matter is done. All the Kitabatake army has been taken in and detained by Nobunaga, and Sakuma Nobumori and Takigawa Ieyasu have already occupied Okouchi Castle. There is no chance for them to make a comeback.

Alas, it’s useless to cry out.

After understanding the whole story, Fujieida Sanyuan immediately reported the information about Okawachi Castle to Ashikaga Yoshiaki. This was a serious matter. Nobunaga used Yoshiaki's tiger skin to cheat the Kitabatake family out of everything.

Yoshiaki, who was in Kyoto, thought that he had mediated another dispute between the feudal lords and daimyo, and that Kitabatake Tomomichi would soon come to Kyoto to kowtow to him and apologize, and the prestige of the Muromachi shogunate had risen again.

I never expected that things would develop like this.

Some people may ask, isn't allowing Kitabatake to maintain its independence but be subservient to the shogunate the same as recruiting a daimyo as a vassal, and aren't both ways of increasing the prestige of the current shogunate?

No, there is a procedural issue here.

As the supreme ruler of all Japanese samurai, Yoshiaki granted Nobunaga certain powers, and Nobunaga could accept whatever he did within the scope of his authority. This was because Nobunaga's power theoretically came from Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Ashikaga Yoshiaki was still the master of all samurai, and even if he was just a figurehead, he was still the lord.

I am the king and you are the minister. This point cannot be shaken or reversed.

The current situation is that Oda Nobunaga used Ashikaga Yoshiaki's power to plunder his own interests without Ashikaga Yoshiaki's consent, which greatly damaged the cooperative relationship between the two parties, which had already been fractured.

Playing within the framework of the old order, no matter how you play, there is still order. But Nobunaga and Mitsuhide personally trampled this old order under their feet.

In fact, trampling on the orderly framework in which the shogun authorized the governor to govern the world was more painful for Ashikaga Yoshiaki than directly killing him.

Even if Yoshiaki were killed, the Ashikaga clan still had descendants and a common clan. If there was a need, someone could always become the Ashikaga shogun. Toyotomi Hideyoshi even considered becoming Yoshiaki's adopted son, taking on the Ashikaga surname and becoming the head of the Genji clan. However, destroying the Muromachi shogunate's power structure would be shaking the very foundation of the shogunate.

After hearing about this, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was so angry that his hair stood on end and he could not control himself.

Rebellion, rebellion, Oda Nobunaga is rebelling!

At one point, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was tempted to issue a royal edict to rebuke Oda Nobunaga, annul the peace agreement between Nobunaga and Kokyou, and force Nobunaga to restore the Kitabatake clan's former territories. However, Yoshiaki knew that Nobunaga was at the height of his power, and to rebuke him now would be tantamount to turning against him.

Does the shogunate have the power to turn against the government? If so, is it possible to kill Nobunaga? If not, they can just recruit people from all over the place. But can those recruits kill Nobunaga?

There are many problems, and they are huge. Let alone going to fight Nobunaga, right in front of us, in Kyoto, there is Oda Nobuhiro leading his troops to protect the Nijo Palace. Oda's soldiers are stationed directly in Kyoto, and although they are there for protection, they are also for surveillance.

No, no, no, I have to restrain myself. Even if I have to break up with Nobunaga, I have to be more prepared.

When he thought of this, Yoshiaki, who was originally so angry that he wanted to call Nobunaga immediately and curse at him, finally suppressed his anger.

He believed that the way to check and balance the increasingly arrogant power of Oda Nobunaga was to introduce more external forces to achieve a new dynamic balance. As long as the forces that checked and balanced Oda Nobunaga were strong enough, so that Nobunaga would not dare to trample on the old order framework of the entire shogunate.

As the supreme arbitrator of this old order, Ashikaga Yoshiaki had the opportunity to rule the country from the center, mediate everywhere, and please all sides. With the gradual recovery, the Muromachi shogunate might not be without a chance of revival.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki immediately began writing letters all over the world. He wrote to anyone who was powerful. He even wrote to Asakura Yoshikage, who had not come to Kyoto to congratulate him on his ascension.

Now that Nobunaga has brought down Kitabatake Gukyou, his next main target will be Asakura Yoshikage and the Miyoshi Three. Asakura Yoshikage must be very anxious.

182. Xiu Chang was the first to have a legitimate son

Although he didn't achieve any merit, he didn't make any mistakes either, and even gained a lot of young samurai. Shichibei felt that he had fought well in this battle and could pack up and go home to rest.

Compared to Shichibei's cheerful demeanor, the 75,000 summoned troops seemed a bit more subdued. The most subdued were Koho Hori Hidemura and Higuchi Naofusa. Once the battle was over, Nobunaga gave them 500 kan (approximately 500 kan) and sent them back to Kohoku Sakata County, reporting the battle to Asai Nagamasa.

More than 2,000 people came, more than 200 were killed in the battle, and more than 300 were injured. It really hurt a lot. Even if Nobunaga gave some money and food, it would be difficult to make up for the loss. Wouldn't they have to go home with a sad face?

However, before the Mikawa Okazaki people started to attack the city, Nobunaga had already started to besiege Shikagaki. After all, there was a difference in closeness. Ieyasu's younger brother surrendered early, while Nagamasa's younger brother surrendered late.

The biggest beneficiary of this battle was Oda Chasomaru, who had now changed his name to Kitabatake Nobuo (Kitabatake Nobuyoshi) and took control of Ōkouchi Castle, also temporarily under the supervision of Takigawa Kazumasu.

The next one was Kuki Yoshitaka, who finally restored the Kuki family, became a great citizen of Shima Province, and also obtained part of the territory of Kii.

In addition, even Mokuzo Tomomasa, who had defected earlier and thought he could succeed the Kitabatake clan, was greatly disappointed and believed that he had been deceived by Nobunaga.

The generals received almost no rewards. Just like what Otani Yoshitsugu and Ishida Mitsunari said in "Kurobuta no Kagome," if they carried out a water attack, it would just be a siege and killing, and the generals would not be able to gain any merit, which would naturally make them dissatisfied. Mitsunari's wishful thinking about himself and others is definitely not a good thing.

The Ohkawachi Castle was under siege and starvation, and the generals had no merit, so naturally there was no need for reward. Nobunaga could just give the land to his own sons without worrying about his reputation being affected.

You are loyal and brave in serving the public, so you will receive new imperial grace.

The battle hasn't even been fought, the whole city is under siege, where does the loyalty and bravery come from?

So, at most, everyone just grumbled inwardly. Even those like Shichibei, who were determined to be bad, were eager to fight this kind of war. Fighting this kind of war meant no casualties, just sitting back and watching the battle unfold, and even eating Oda Nobunaga's rice, saving his family a mouth to feed. Why not?

After Nobunaga arranged for the retainers and emissaries to be sent to Kitabatake Nobuo, and sorted out and registered the retainers of the former Kitabatake clan, he heard people talking about how Kawamura Shichibei took hundreds of people with him when he retreated from the city.

Oh my, this Seventh Guard has this ability?

By this time, the bags had been bundled and were being loaded onto the carts. Meanwhile, Shichibei, who had earlier returned many of the horses to the various post stations along the way, suddenly felt a sudden chill that gave him a shudder. It was indeed autumn, and the chill was chilly. He needed to wear more clothes.

Nobunaga, who had not come to care about Shichibei, had a very clear understanding of Akechi Mitsuhide's intentions after this experience, and his love for him grew even more.

Although Nobunaga had given some instructions before entering the city, he had not given them this much. Mitsuhide not only fully fulfilled his request, but also used this opportunity to secretly express to Nobunaga his intention to gradually abandon Yoshiaki and join Nobunaga.

When Nobunaga offered Mitsuhide a salary of 4,000 kan (approximately US$1,000) to recruit him, Mitsuhide calmly refused, saying that joining Nobunaga was an act of disloyalty, injustice, and distrust. At that time, Nobunaga probably felt that his fragile heart had been slightly hurt. He was also a very confident person, and the more he couldn't get something, the more he wanted it.

Now that Mitsuhide had used this method to express his feelings to him, Nobunaga was filled with joy, without even a shred of doubt. Nobunaga was so confident in his ability to harness the talents of the world that it would be strange if others didn't join him.

As for the claim that Akechi Mitsuhide was able to betray Ashikaga Yoshiaki, so he might betray Oda Nobunaga in the future? Not to mention that such a thing has not happened yet. For Nobunaga, perhaps he felt that it would never happen in his lifetime and there was no such probability at all.

Now that the war was won, Nobunaga sent Fujie Mitsuhide and Mitsuhide Akechi back to Kyoto. There was laughter and joy at the banquet, and the parting gifts were very generous.

To be honest, if Shichibei was there, he would definitely say that they look like a pair of bastards.

Nobunaga didn't even pretend. Since there weren't many outsiders around, he didn't hide his affection for Mitsuhide at all. If you ask Fujie Mibuchi what he thought, Fujie Mibuchi couldn't bear to watch.

I could only smile as I watched. Nobunaga and Mitsuhide had done this, effectively trampling on the old order of the shogunate. Compared to such a major event, the two men's flirting was a completely negligible matter.

More importantly, Ashikaga Yoshiaki did not react!

Perhaps Nobunaga was initially a bit worried. This was his first time as shogun, his first time trampling on the old order of the shogunate. Without experience, it was inevitable that he had some concerns. However, Ashikaga Yoshiaki didn't send anyone to reprimand him, nor did he even ask questions.

As if nothing had happened, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was like a blind man, not asking at all. This attitude made Nobunaga very happy, and he was so happy that he rode back to the main camp in Gifu and wrote a letter to the emperor to express his meritorious service in conquering the rebels.

The Kitabatake family was one of the three major clans of the Warring States period, and held considerable influence in the imperial court. Nobunaga did not disown the Kitabatake family, and instead allowed his son to inherit the throne. This approach was considered a way to save the imperial court's reputation, rather than denying it any respect at all.

In the rear team, Shichibei, who was returning to Gifu like cattle and horses with Sakuma Nobumori, Niwa Nagahide and others, somewhat noticed that Nobunaga seemed a little bit out of control.

If it were earlier, Shichibei would have said something to Nobunaga. But now, Asai Nagamasa, his good brother, was kneeling firmly, showing no signs of rebellion, so he probably didn't need to be reminded.

The Kanegasaki retreat was highly unlikely, so Nobunaga could just drift a little bit until he eliminated the Asakura clan, which held 750,000 koku. With Oda clan holding over 3 million koku, they had already formed the momentum to crush all the other lords and unify the country.

At that time, even if it is floating, it will not be called floating, but should be called as having the momentum to swallow the world like a tiger.

"Congratulations, my husband, on your victorious return." Shichibei jumped off his horse. The women who stayed at home, led by the young major-general, came to Kamoi to welcome Shichibei.

"Thank you for your hard work!" Qibingwei's thoughts were interrupted, so he shook his head and stopped thinking about it, and instead expressed his comfort to the young major general.

There was no other way. During the Warring States Period in Japan, men were forced to go out to fight and kill, leaving the household to the women. He was away for over two months, and the family had been safe. In the past, I relied on my eldest sister, Ai, but now I had to rely on the young major general.

"The bath water is ready." The young major general stood up and took the sword of kindness that Shichibei took off.

By the way, marrying a wife from a samurai family also has its advantages. Shichibei secretly gave his kind sword to the young man to take care of in the future. It is said that samurai swords are not to be taken care of by women in the family, but Shichibei is not a samurai. He has been learning to pick up horse manure since he was a child. How could he know this?

Now she was married to a young major general. She was the daughter of a military family and had often watched her father and brothers make these things. Although she had never eaten pork, she had seen pigs run, so she quickly got the hang of it.

How great it would be, as it would prevent Shichibei's kind sword from being scrapped before it reaches the age of sixty-three.

"Is there anything big happening at home?" It must be nothing big, Shichibei was just asking as a routine question.

Then, a piercing cry, nearly piercing my eardrums, came from a samurai residence a little further away. The backside of Shichibei Street was filled with the residences of the magistrates, samurai generals, and foot soldiers—all of them famous samurai. Who was so excited?

"Yes..." The young major general who was rubbing Shichibei's back was also startled. Who was shouting so loudly?

"Hmm?" Shichibei sat in the bucket and began to rub his feet.

"Aci gave birth to a boy."

"What!" Shichibei couldn't help but raise his voice while trimming his pedicure.

"Your sister Aci gave birth to a boy, both mother and child are safe." The young major general had been frightened just now, so he just paused slightly while rubbing his back.

"Koichiro has a son? He actually has a son?" Shichibei realized that his reaction seemed a bit excessive and sat down again.

It's incredible that after Hideyoshi had a biological daughter, Hidenaga actually had a biological son, and he was born right now.

If this son had grown up normally, by the time Hideyoshi passed away and the Battle of Sekigahara was about to begin, the Toyotomi family would have had a Yamato Dainagon who was around 30 years old and in the prime of his life.

By then, the Toyotomi clan will have a powerful figure who can fully support them.

Wait, Hideyoshi shouldn't be...

It shouldn't be that serious. He suffered from Alzheimer's disease, and his main purpose was to threaten Hideyori's inheritance rights. The son of Koichiro Hidenaga in front of him inherited the Yamato Grand Councilor's family.