Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Meanwhile, a dispute arose over the inheritance of property belonging to a local military conscript, and the general, acting as the county representative, needed to resolve it. A local river diverted its course, causing land changes between the two villages, and the general needed to make a judgment.

Indirectly controlling administrative and judicial power, he became the de facto ruler of a region. This led to a certain perception that the Samurai General was superior to the Ashigaru General and the Hatamoto General. Although this was indeed the case, on the daimyo side, the three were still of the same rank.

Fujikichiro could have served as the governor of Sunomata Castle as an Ashigaru general.

Why was it changed to Samurai-shogun? This is related to the Hosuka and Tsubouchi factions. If Nobunaga had given Tokichiro 500 foot soldiers to garrison Sumata, he would not have needed the title of Samurai-shogun.

But now he is in charge of the Nishi-Mino factions, which means he is responsible for negotiations, mobilization, and coordination, which is more in line with the work scope of the Samurai General.

In case of emergency and the need for battle, Fujikichiro would mobilize soldiers from within his own territory. The organic components of his army were the forces of the Hosuka and Tsubouchi factions.

Of course, if Fujikichiro later won over other wealthy people in Nishimino, their troops would also be under Fujikichiro's command. In fact, the lord of these people was still Nobunaga, but Nobunaga could not manage them one by one, so he sent them to the samurai general Fujikichiro to manage them, adding an extra level of management.

The simple and crude local management model resulted in some generals being able to mobilize only 200 to 300 people, while some generals were able to mobilize 3,000 to 5,000 people.

For example, when Otomo Sorin visited Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he described the decline of his country's power by saying that more than 20 loyal and brave generals had died in battle. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi heard that more than 20 generals had died, he thought that the Otomo family was about to be destroyed and quickly sent support.

A Samurai General was a military unit capable of independent action, small or large, but definitely responsible for the region. Even the Otomo family, who served as the Kyushu Tandai, could not afford the loss of more than twenty Samurai Generals.

"By the way, from now on you will be called Kinoshita Tokichiro Hideyoshi, and Chisumata 500 kan."

Nobunaga seemed to suddenly realize that Fujikichiro had no name, which was somewhat inconsistent with his identity, so he just gave Fujikichiro a name.

Kinoshita Hideyoshi!

"What a good name! What a good name!" Shichibei clapped his hands. "What a good name!" The point is that Hideyoshi was already a mid-to-high-level samurai with a wealth of 500 kan, so he was quite capable.

Although we haven't decided to board Hideyoshi's ship, at least we have tied up Koichirō's ship. Even if we end up poor and destitute in the future, we won't starve to death on the streets, at least that was the case before Koichirō died.

Shichibei's imagination ran wild, and Hideyoshi was practically in tears. If this wasn't gratitude for someone's support, then what was it? Everything Hideyoshi had now was the result of both his struggles and Nobunaga's appreciation and kindness. Speaking solely of this stage, perhaps the relationship between Nobunaga and Hideyoshi could only be described as "like fish and water, ruler and subject."

Hideyoshi, with tears streaming down his face, kowtowed to Nobunaga. If we ignore his future achievements, Hideyoshi can be considered a success now. He not only achieved a class leap, but even became a member of the ruling class. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is very moved.

"Nanabe, what role did you play?" Nobunaga saw Nanabe clapping Hideyoshi's hands and tapped Nanabe's forehead with his whip.

"I'm just delivering wine." Why are you asking me? I didn't do anything.

If we must explain what Shichibei did while the castle was being built, it was helping pass rice balls around. He didn't dig the pit, he didn't build the fence, he didn't even put up the planks; he just watched.

Of course, I did some guard duty later on, but it wasn't much effort, and I could even do it while sitting. If I had to give credit, I'd put up the shield for Hosuka Koroku.

"Is that the only way?" Nobunaga jumped off his horse and began to patrol the city. There was no choice but for everyone to follow him.

"I spent some money, but not much." Shichibei told the truth. Anyway, the debt was owed by Hideyoshi.

After serving as the Samurai General and Nishi Mino Party Commander, was he still worried that he wouldn't be able to pay back the money? After all, Koichirō had already been pawned to the Kawamura family, so Shichibei wouldn't lose out anyway.

"Fujikichiro, how much did Shichibei cost?" Nobunaga smiled and asked Hideyoshi.

"Two thousand kan, including interest." Hideyoshi said an incredible number.

"Hahahahaha, of course I want it, of course I want it. For such a big city, I think two thousand kan is still not enough." Shibata Katsuie and Sakuma Nobumori had spent more than this amount of money before, so Nobunaga knew it.

"Yes." Fujikichiro bent his waist, lowered his head and answered with a smile.

“…” Shichibei wanted to answer, but was interrupted by Nobunaga.

"Kyuemon, after returning to the city, give Shichibei 2,500 kan." Nobunaga immediately gave the order to Sugaya Nagayari.

"Shichibei, you are responsible for building another post station on the south bank. It must be large and can accommodate 500 people and 50 horses for overnight rest." Nobunaga should still have money for this post station in his account.

As mentioned earlier, Sunomata Castle only had a little over 3,000 square meters of enclosed land. With the over 1,000 people crammed in during construction, it was already packed. With the addition of rice storage, armories, ashigaru longhouses, and battle stations, the permanent garrison within the castle would likely be around 500 to 800 men at most.

Such a small capacity is definitely too small. Nobunaga needs Sunomata to become a bridgehead for attacking Seino and Nakano, and to cram all his standing army into it.

The expansion of Sunamata Castle was definitely on the agenda, but that was a later matter, as it would be very expensive. Sunamata Castle was currently located on a small island in the middle of the river, and in order to squeeze in more people, Nobunaga's idea was to build another post station on the south bank of the Nagara River.

It just forms the structure of two cities in the north and south with Sunamata Castle. In Japan, it is called a branch castle, and in China, it is called a lower camp outside the city, forming a pincer attack.

With Sunomata Castle at the forefront, the post station at the back could be built smoothly. It didn't need to be too defensive, and was primarily intended to serve as a resting place for the soldiers of Sunomata Castle and a place to station troops when Nobunaga advanced.

"Yes, sir!" Having said that, Shichibei had no choice but to respond.

"Okay, okay, hahahaha..." Nobunaga was really happy. Sunomata had built the city successfully. Now he was in an invincible position where he could attack or defend.

After an exciting night, the two armies faced off at the Nagara River. The 3,000 men of the Nishimino Trio had already been mobilized. After all, they were local, so with a single call, they donned their armor and assembled within a day.

But Nobunaga had already arrived in Sunomata. There were more than a thousand members of the Hosuga Party and the Tsubouchi Party in Sunomata Castle, and more than two thousand regular soldiers of the Oda family outside the city. They were fully capable of fighting the Saito army for a hundred rounds.

By the way, Nobunaga was supposed to arrive this morning, but after receiving Fujikichiro's report yesterday morning, he immediately ordered the Oda army, which was still preparing, to set off. They hurried along, trotting all the way, and arrived at Sunomata by dusk. If he had arrived this morning, Ryūshū might have actually started a night battle last night.

If they fought at night, Hideyoshi and Shichibei would definitely suffer the most. After all, the Hosuka faction consisted of wealthy local tyrants, while the Saito army was a regular force.

It's possible that Sunomata Castle was captured and destroyed by Saito's army last night. It's only Nobunaga's timely arrival that led to the current standoff.

Seven thousand people attacking a city garrisoned by several hundred people?

It's impossible. Both armies are regular armies. Even those without military common sense wouldn't do such a foolish thing. Defending the city is an advantage. The Saito army's strength is just that, not a force of 20,000 or 30,000.

Finally, Sakuma Nobumori mentioned the need to prevent water attacks. Nobunaga took his word for it, and the Oda army entered the city to defend it, while the Hosuka group left the city to dig two trenches, one facing the upper reaches of the Nagara River.

As expected, Ryūshō's reluctance to retreat was due to his attempt to flood Sunomata Castle. A day later, the seven soldiers returned to Komakiyama and brought back 500 taels of grain. The water from the upper reaches of the Nagara River finally began to flow.

It was useless. Most of the water was drained out by the trench. Although a small part of the water spread into the Sun Moon Lake Castle, it had no effect on the city as a whole. The city still stood firmly in its place.

There was no point in fighting. Long Xing could only lead his troops back to Inabayama Castle and seek other ways to remove Sumata, the nail that was nailed into Mino.

53. Strolling and Chatting City Building Method

After leaving 500 foot soldiers at Sunamata Castle, Oda Nobunaga led his army back to Komakiyama Castle.

He was delighted that he had a forward base for the advance into Mino, and his retainers were delighted that Nobunaga had gained tens of thousands of kan of new territory. This meant that if they fought hard in the future, they would gain knowledge and skills, which would be passed down from generation to generation.

Nobunaga was now eager to recruit soldiers. At this progressive stage of his life, he was not stingy at all when it came to the expenses of recruiting soldiers and rewarding meritorious soldiers.

Well, for example, when paying Shichibei 2,500 kan, he wasn’t stingy.

I already have Sunomata Castle, so why would I care about 2,500 kan? Of course not.

Shichibei managed to remain calm despite the ups and downs, and was quite composed in the face of this huge sum of money. Now he had to do two things: immediately arrange the marriages of Inase Yoshinari and Ai, and Kinoshita Hidenaga and Aji.

Both marriages had to proceed, and Inase Yoshinari had to remain in Tsushima to oversee the operation of Kawamuraya's Tsushima headquarters. Shichibei had a premonition that he would be busy for a long time between Owari and Mino, preparing roads for Nobunaga, building post stations, and planning the various arrangements for the subsequent Owari-Mino invasion.

As for the marriage between Kinoshita Koichirō Hidenaga and Aji, it must be done immediately. Doing it now would be a happy event for everyone. In two years, Nobunaga would defeat Saito Tatsuoki and seize Mino, gaining a vast domain of over a million koku, and his retainers would become increasingly powerful. By then, uncertainty would increase significantly, which would be unfavorable indeed.

As the head of the Kawamura family, Shichibei can still make the decision on this matter.

However, the 100 kan dowries my two younger sisters prepared earlier seem inadequate now. 500 kan each, so they don't think I, Kawamura Nagakichi, am stingy or that the Kawamura family is of low status.

Do things, do things, do things.

While Hideyoshi undoubtedly played a significant role in the construction of Sunomata Castle, Shichibei, who provided him with the vast sums of funds necessary for the preparations, has also miraculously found his way into the story. This fact alone is likely enough to ensure Shichibei's name is immortalized in history, perhaps even in a short chapter of twenty or thirty words.

As Shichibei was from the Owari, Oda, and Shimo counties, and a hereditary retainer of the Oda clan, he was considered the most legitimate of the gang members. Furthermore, he was also known to be extremely wealthy and the boss. Upon learning that Shichibei's sister was marrying Kinoshita Hidenaga, the Owari samurai group was very respectful, congratulating him and sending him gifts.

After all, with the recently popular Kinoshita Hideyoshi on the other side, there would definitely be many people who would add icing on the cake. Even the elders and important ministers of the Oda family participated.

The same is true of Inase Yoshinari and Ai's marriage. Who told him that his brother was Nobunaga's servant? In front of Nobunaga, he was just a waiter who led a horse and carried straw sandals, but outside...

Nanny of the mayor's family, are you being so rude?

Besides, Nobunaga was about to become the mayor of two cities. If he were to be in the next position, he would be a prefect or a provincial governor, a deputy minister with the title of deputy censor or councilor of the provincial government.

After several days of turmoil, the two marriages were finally finalized. Nobunaga, feeling incredibly happy, even came to drink with the group. Despite his outburst of prestige, Nobunaga remained a lord who could mingle with the common people of Owari. He would not truly detach himself from the Owari people until he moved to Azuchi.

Of course, Owari was given to Oda Nobutada. If Nobutada had succeeded to the throne, history would have recorded the various romantic affairs between Nobutada and the people of Owari.

Isn't it good to have a bunch of Owari kids following you? How many Owari kids became successful because they became Nobunaga's followers?

The feeling is the same across the ages. Liu Bei even pointed to the large mulberry tree at home and said he would ride in a large carriage covered by an umbrella. When he was a child, he also directed the children of his clan to play games. Later, these children must have followed him to start a business.

In the end, didn’t he establish a foundation that controlled one-third of the world?

After all, it was during the founding of the dynasty that such scenes of emperor and ministers enjoying music together could be seen for several years. According to Sakuma Nobumori, before that, when everyone was drinking and having fun, Princess Aichi, who had married and moved to Hubei, would even come out to beat the drums, and Nobunaga himself would dance.

Otherwise, how could so many old perverts yearn for it?

Now that Nobunaga is the ruler, he's put on some airs and won't dance with everyone. If the construction of Sunomata Castle had been replaced by a battle for the unification of Owari, Nobunaga would have been wearing women's clothing tonight.

Women's clothing...

Well, I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to see Nobunaga in women's clothing again, even though I've seen plenty of cross-dressing dudes in later generations. But this is Oda Nobunaga after all. Nobunaga dancing in women's clothing, with Aichi and Nohime clapping hand drums behind him, was a truly spectacular sight.

Think about it and get on with your work.

Don't we have to build a post station on the south bank of the Nagara River? It's not difficult, the project is not big, and with the Sunamata Castle in front, we can do it slowly and there is no need to recruit thousands of people to fight hard.

After Saito Tatsuoki retreated, Fujikichiro was ordered to allocate funds and start hiring laborers to dig a water moat. With a four-meter-wide moat, even if Saito's army of 10,000 men arrived, Sunomata Castle could be well defended.

The excavated earth was used to build an earthen wall for Shichibei. This time, it was truly a rammed earth wall, consisting of two wooden planks filled with earth and then compacted. Nobunaga used this post station on the south bank as a garrison, so its defenses had to be taken to the next level. It couldn't be like the previous post stations, which only had a wooden fence as a partition.

Five hundred kan is more than enough for this job. We're already familiar with the stables, stables, and feed storage. A foot soldier's long house wasn't one of those private residences of later generations; it was a true large bunk house. Inside the long house, quilts were laid out at both the north and south ends, with the goal of cramming a hundred people into one long house.

Ashigaru, after all, were just cannon fodder with an annual salary of five or ten kan. Having a roof over their heads was good enough; it was better than those European monarchs who not only withheld wages but also lacked adequate tents.

The only things that needed strengthening were the wells and latrines. Not only would the horses require a lot of water, but the 500 men would also need a lot. Although the station was located near the Nagara River, the possibility of being surrounded had to be considered. Therefore, two large wells would be dug north and south of the station. A well latrine would also need to be built above the wells to protect them from wind and rain and prevent contamination.

As for the latrine, it's easy to understand. If 500 people were stationed there, the amount of urine and feces they'd excrete would be as huge as a small mountain. A large latrine would have to be built, and a canal would have to be run into it.

Arrange with the nearby villagers and have them come to clean the toilets once a month or every ten days. It's free, but the price is cleaning the toilets. Anyway, there's a canal, so if we open it and let the water in, it'll be easy to clean. If hundreds of people were trapped inside the city and there were no way to deal with the waste, it would be a disaster.

Neighboring China would boil the liquid to make gold, so instead of leaving it to stink inside the city walls, it would be heated up and used to serve as a refreshment to the attacking enemy. European castles were even simpler, as they had special openings for pouring the liquid out.

Hideyoshi, who was stationed in Sunomata, even came to see Shichibei. He was now in high spirits, smiling all day long. Moreover, he and Shichibei were real relatives, so he didn't treat Shichibei as an outsider. He even asked Shichibei about his ideas for building this post station.

Although Hideyoshi built the Sunomata Castle in one night, he was not a natural fortress builder and had no experience in building a magnificent castle.

In Shichibei's opinion, Hideyoshi's ability to build cities was probably acquired through the experience he accumulated from constantly attacking and demolishing cities in the western region.

Sunomata Castle was largely planned and arranged in advance, with no innovation or uniqueness in its defensive design. It was nothing like the future Osaka, which caused great trouble for the attacking Tokugawa Ieyasu, who ultimately abandoned the attack and bombarded the castle tower, scaring Lady Yodo to death.

The more you dismantle and the more you see, the more you will learn how to do it.

So, at this moment, Fujiyoshiro is still asking Shichibei. After all, Shichibei is actually building the post station according to the strength of a branch castle.

Well, Shichibei doesn't even know how to build a fortress, but that doesn't stop him from bragging. It's all about finding ways to increase the density and intensity of firepower. Looking around the world, any army willing and able to engage in large-scale hand-to-hand combat is a formidable, first-rate force.

Regardless of whether they are in China or abroad, most people prefer to use long-range weapons to kill the enemy. This is not only more efficient, but also saves lives and does not shake the morale of the army.

The idea on the Japanese side is to build those "narrow spaces" that look strange in shape, either round or square, big inside and small outside, with the idea that I can only shoot you, but you cannot shoot me.

Even in a flat city, it is best to form a multi-dimensional firepower. That is, when the enemy attacks the first wall, the defenders inside the second wall must also be able to attack the enemy.

What should be done about this? Of course, it's not about making the first wall three meters high and the second six meters high. Building a six-meter-high wall in Japan would be too extravagant.

It is sufficient to build turrets in key defensive areas. For example, the future Akashi Castle was built with many small turrets only two stories high, numbered according to the ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches.

Small scull towers were often added to the gates and water gates of the first wall, or at corners. Wherever there was a possibility of enemy gathering, scull towers were placed there, with the idea that even if I just randomly shot at you, I could still kill you.

When talking about this, Hideyoshi said that those cities were too big, what about a small city like our Sunomata?

Hey, you're just the mayor of Sunamata Castle, why do you act like Sunamata Castle already belongs to you?

But Shichibei wouldn't point at anything at this point. He simply pointed at the wall and told Fujikichirō, "It's simple. For example, build a false wall outside the wooden wall. Simply put, hang a large wooden plank. Place a few logs with iron nails behind the plank. Once the enemy crosses the ditch or the open moat, you can cut the ropes holding the plank together from the castle."

The false wall collapsed, and the logs came crashing down on the enemy. They probably wouldn't be killed instantly, since it was only two or three meters high, but it wouldn't be difficult to crush them half to death.

The key is that you can make the enemy lose their combat effectiveness, which was considered a very important military strategy in World War II.

The main purpose of anti-infantry mines is to blow off the soldiers' legs, making the legless soldiers a burden to the entire army, or even the entire country, unable to continue working or fighting.

By analogy, if you break the enemy's arm or leg, it will also have the same effect. Because a warrior is not as easy to become as cabbage, it takes more than ten years to train a warrior.

The powerful Nozakawa family, the number one giant in Kaido, Ichinoburi, was immediately devastated after Nobunaga killed hundreds of his warriors in Yoshimoto's main camp.

A log with nails in it could render a warrior unable to fight, or even cost him a leg or an arm. The profit would be many times greater.

That made sense, Hideyoshi nodded repeatedly. He had fought for over a decade, and in fact, studied for over a decade, to become a qualified samurai, possessing certain combat skills and a level of domestic management. If his leg were broken, his life would basically be over, so he should just give up the family name to Hidenaga.

The two were chatting happily when someone from the city of Komakiyama Castle came to inform Shichibei that the horse delivery man from the Takeda family had arrived, and he should go home to settle the bill.

Yes, yes, yes, the Takeda family notified us at the beginning of spring that they would come to sell horses in May or June of summer, and asked Shichibei to prepare cash.

Sumata to Komakiyama is twenty kilometers. If you ride slowly, you're talking five kilometers an hour, and if you ride fast, you're talking ten kilometers. Even faster is possible, so if you travel 600 li at an express rate, each horse will cover thirty li, and you'll change horses at the next post station. Resting the horses doesn't mean the riders have to rest. Legend has it that news from Guangzhou can reach Beijing in seventeen days.

The Takeda family shouldn't be that anxious; Shichibei's two-hour run back to the city was considered fast. When he got to the store, hey, guess what? It was an acquaintance.

Nobutsugu Yonekura.

"Why are you in Owari?" Shichibei hurriedly greeted Yonekura Nobutsugu. Yonekura Nobutsugu was also very happy and said that he was sending a horse to Shichibei and that he was going to Omi to find Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

Selling the horses was a simple matter; the shop assistant had already counted the horses and confirmed their condition. This year, Shingen had shown favor as well, sending five war horses and over two hundred pack horses.

While fiddling with the abacus, Shichibei asked Yonekura Nobutsugu why he went to see Ashikaga Yoshiaki?

It wasn't a big deal, actually. Takeda Shingen's wife, Lady Sanjo, was born in Kyoto, and her family had some information channels there. It was said that after Ashikaga Yoshiteru's death, the former Shinano shugo, Ogasawara Nagatoki, took dozens of his retainers and gang members and defected to Ashikaga Yoshiaki.