Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Takigawa Ieyasu's father and brother were still serving the Rokkaku clan as Koga people. To put it more mysteriously, their family was also known as the Koga ninja.

What ninjas? They are just doing things like espionage, sneak attacks, and arson. To put it in a high-end way, they are the masters of the dark world. To put it in a normal way today, they are just a group of villagers in the mountains who can't get enough food to eat, doing some petty thefts to make a living.

If you pay me, I'll hang out with you today. If he pays me, I'll hang out with him tomorrow.

As for the "City Lord of Crab River," a mercenary manager definitely needs an office. They can't just wander around in the wilds all the time. Nowadays, Italian mercenary managers openly operate in major towns, setting up offices and connecting with banks, guilds, and even princes.

Furthermore, it's said that Kanie Castle was acquired by Takigawa Ieyasu through deception, deception, and a surprise attack on his old comrade, Hattori Tomosada. It wasn't a famous city or town, at best a fortress. If it weren't for Takigawa Ieyasu's fame, Kanie Castle probably wouldn't even have a chance to appear in history.

However, this scale and this kind of operation are also very consistent with Takigawa Kazumasu's current status. After all, he is a mercenary, so why should he talk about morality?

The two sides met, said hello to each other, and then discussed cooperation.

Leaving Ohiroma, Nobunaga unexpectedly found himself on the same path as the other three. He was heading out of the city, while the other three were just leaving normally. Following Nobunaga, I didn't get to chat for a while. Never mind, there would be plenty of opportunities later.

When they reached the gate, Nobunaga was already on his horse. Suddenly, he called out to Shichibei. It was nothing serious, just asking him to bring up a map of the route from Komakiyama Castle to Tsushima Town.

The most recent route should be drawn, and it should be the most convenient for marching. What does the most convenient route mean? It's not the shortest route, but the one with the best road conditions, the easiest access to supplies and water, and the easiest way to support the gathering and movement of troops.

Yes, Nobunaga has already set his sights on northern Ise, so he has to start planning his route of advance.

After receiving the order, the three of them left the city. Hosuga Koroku wanted to get his cow back, Takigawa Ikmasu went back to Kanie, and Shichibei naturally went back to Tsushima.

What a coincidence, Takigawa Kazumasu and Shichibei were traveling the same way, and Kanie Castle was not far from Tsushima.

Takigawa Kazumasu had also heard about the order to survey the route, a route he often took. He casually asked Shichibei what he thought. What else could he have imagined? It had to be Komakiyama Castle, Kiyosu Castle, Katsubata Castle (now abandoned), and Tsushima Town.

Doesn't this resonate with the struggles of Nobuhide and Nobunaga, father and son? Nobuhide built Katsubata Castle, subjugating and winning over Tsushima Town, empowering him to stir up trouble throughout Lower Owari. Nobunaga was also born in Katsubata Castle. Afterward, both father and son moved toward Kiyosu Castle, or perhaps Kiyosu itself, and by the time of Nobunaga, they had finally conquered Kiyosu.

Now Nobunaga built a castle on Komakiyama, conquered Inuyama, and unified Owari. The efforts of two generations of father and son finally succeeded.

After the street reached Tsushima, across the Kiso River, it was Kitai-Ise. That was the land of the Kitai-Ise lords, so Nobunaga couldn't have built the road ahead of time. Wait, is Nobunaga trying to get me to do some research on the streets of Kitai-Ise?

It's possible, Shichibei quickly noted. He would then send people to Annozu and Ominato, preferably also traveling by land. After all, he was already a member of the Tsushima Kaihe. The documents he issued were widely accepted, and the nearby major commercial towns and smaller lords generally recognized them.

Why offend a big boss of Tsushima Kai Heshu for no reason?

Talking about this, Shichibei asked Takigawa Kazumasu, what is the current situation in Northern Ise? Later generations on the Internet are calling it the Forty-Eight Families of Northern Ise, the Small Warring States of Japan, and so on.

Speaking of his expertise, Takigawa Ieyasu was quite proud. There were no forty-eight families in Northern Ise. If you counted the small local tycoons with only a few hundred kan of land, there were only a little over forty families.

Regarding the so-called Forty-Eight Families of Northern Ise mentioned by Shichibei, he said he had never heard of it. Unbeknownst to the two, this was a forgery of military records during the Edo period, when some clever writer had forcibly added drama to the Northern Ise family using the trope of the Forty-Eight Moves of Sumo.

There were only five or six truly significant factions, and they were all vacant. When the Rokkaku clan invaded northern Ise, they all fell in line with Rokkaku. Rokkaku was at a disadvantage in their battles with Miyoshi, and was attacked twice by Asai. Finally, the Kannonji Incident erupted, causing their power to decline drastically, and their influence in northern Ise was naturally wiped out.

Right now, Kitai-Ise is a prime example of a savory piece of meat. This is because the various families in Kitai-Ise haven't formed a loose alliance like the Kokumin of Nishi-Ueno. They're still fighting among themselves, not banding together to defend against external threats.

It was simply God who gave Oda Nobunaga such a powerful talent.

Well, the two of them were now on horseback at Iwakura, the Iwakura Castle of the Iwakura Oda clan. Iwakura Castle was now abandoned, having been destroyed by Nobunaga. If they hadn't demolished it, they would have waited for it to be rebuilt.

Moreover, the stones and wood from the demolished iwakura could be reused. For example, many of Japan's temple halls and gates were purchased or donated by temples after the castles of various feudal domains were demolished during the Meiji era.

Moreover, when Nobunaga attacked the city, he also carried out the so-called "burning attack", that is, a fire attack, and many buildings in the city were burned down. Now the original site is just a ruin, and in another ten or eight years, it will most likely be razed by the people and turned into farmland.

No, we can’t tear the land down for the common people. When Nobunaga attacks northern Ise later, we have to build an inn here.

Shichibei didn't dismount, and, imitating Sakuma Nobumori's example, he steered his horse, using his legs to measure the size and circumference of Iwakura Castle. Though it was called a castle, Iwakura Castle was only about a hundred meters long and wide.

Consider that during the early Warring States period in Japan, castles of this size served as the residences of local shugodai or guardians. The fact that the attackers and defenders fought for thirty to fifty years over a castle measuring a hundred meters long and wide, with no clear winner, gives you an idea of ​​the intensity of the wars at the time.

When Yamanouchi Kazutoyo's father was defending Iwakura Castle, he might have thought that his family's castle was huge and solid, and was the strongest castle in the country (Owari Province).

Seeing Shichibei's horse trampling the city walls and measuring the area, Takigawa Ikki immediately understood that Shichibei was planning the layout and size of the post stations along the streets. He rode over and praised Shichibei's diligence.

Well, what kind of diligence is this? If you have Nobunaga's order, you have to work hard for him. In fact, Nobunaga is not the best boss, but he is still okay. At least he pays you generously for your hard work.

Nobunaga had paid 500 kan to build the post station at Sunomata, but Shichibei only spent a little over 200, leaving him with 300 kan. With such a generous budget, the workers were naturally willing to work hard.

"Thank you for your compliment, thank you for your compliment..." Shichibei smiled.

"Nanabe is now considered a man who runs in front of the Imperial Palace." Takigawa Kazumasu's words seemed to be deliberately leaning towards the intellectuals.

I feel like the choice of words and sentences is very deliberate. Although it is normal speech, it is not "vulgar" enough.

"I am just a small businessman, I appreciate your trust."

"I heard that the younger brother of Sunomata Castle Daigi Shitedono married your sister?" Takigawa Kazumasu said with some emotion.

"Yes, not long ago."

"what……"

Ichimasu sighed deeply. He was already in his forties, so it was unlikely he would ask Shichibei for a wife who had come from one of Owari's core samurai groups. Perhaps he was lamenting that if he were a dozen years younger, he would have had the same opportunity.

It is understandable. After all, the daughters of the samurai groups of the four counties of old Oda, old Owari, and old Shimo will become popular commodities in the world until Nobunaga's sudden death.

All in all, there are probably only two or three hundred daughters from families who meet this standard.

Furthermore, Takigawa Ikki's eldest son, the future Takigawa Iktada, was only in his early teens. While a marriage could be discussed, it was still too early. Furthermore, as a mercenary leader, he felt embarrassed to ask Shichibei for a marriage for his son. His own status was even lower.

"Let's go." After visiting the ruins of Iwakura Castle, Shichibei had a clear idea of ​​what was going on and was ready to continue on to the next stage.

"Shichibei, do you also do this kind of thing yourself?" Takigawa Kazumasu put away his emotion and asked curiously.

"Kawamuraya actually doesn't have enough staff." Shichibei said the truth.

"Do you know the five hundred like-minded people in Nawu?"

56. Help me recruit new employees

There are five hundred people of the same mind in the house.

This term requires some explanation. First, "na-ya" isn't just a shop name; it's a company name. For example, the Shichibei family was called Kawamura Denbaya. The famous Mitsukoshi department store in later generations was originally Mitsukoshiya Gofuku-den during the Edo period.

In today's era, "nagaya" refers to a warehouse. In later times, in Sakata, northeastern Japan, there are large-scale nagaya buildings that have been preserved from the Edo period.

Nowadays, big businessmen who own large port warehouse buildings, sell grain, wine, soy sauce, miso, and seafood, and also run transportation logistics, marine insurance, loan guarantees and other businesses are called "Nawuzhong".

Having a large warehouse means having strong capital, a strong sales channel network, and a strong stick to guard the warehouse, which all show the strength of a businessman.

If we add a major premise before the word "Nayashu", that is, Sakaimachi Naayashu, it refers to Imai Munehisa.

Imai Munehisa qualified as a member of the Nayashu because he was the deputy of the imperial court and the shogunate in Sakai Kitasho and Sakai Minamisho. Indeed, Imai Munehisa also held a fiefdom. As deputy of both Sakaisho, he built a vast Naya complex to provide storage services for the entire town of Sakai.

He then got involved in the weapons manufacturing and financial credit industries, gradually expanding his influence and becoming the boss of the Sakai Kaiheshu. Those who served him under his command were called "Naya Gohyuk Doshinshu".

Five hundred is an approximate number. It does not mean that Imai Munehisa really has five hundred subordinates. He just said that.

Takigawa Kazumasu brought this up to ask Shichibei why he didn't follow the example of other big bosses and recruit talented ronin, samurai, farmers, and townspeople to serve under Kawamuraya. This would expand Kawamuraya's organization and create an efficient business system, eliminating the need to do everything himself.

Oh, do you think I don’t want to?

We're in Owari, and in Owari, any decent talent was recruited by Nobunaga, and most of them volunteered to join him. Nobunaga's territories were constantly expanding, and working with him offered rewards and even opportunities. Once Nobunaga hired someone, it was like entering a period of rapid advancement.

Compared with the salary offered by Kawamura-ya, or even the equity, the hereditary territory knowledge is obviously more attractive.

Moreover, being a samurai meant being a superior person, holding worldly power. Whether it was administration or justice, it was all controlled by the samurai. How could being a businessman be so happy?

Why in history, there was no large merchant group in Owari or Omi that emerged along with the rise of the Owari and Omi samurai groups? It is related to the fact that Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi came from similar backgrounds and frantically absorbed talents from both countries to enrich the samurai groups.

Especially in this day and age, the Japanese accent problem is so severe that it's completely incomprehensible outside of the country of origin. This problem will still exist in 2024. If someone went to Aomori, Japan, and looked for elderly people, they would find that even Japanese people themselves would find it difficult to understand the Japanese they speak.

Due to this huge language limitation and the lack of talent, the merchant groups in Owari and Omi were completely unable to expand.

So forget about asking Shichibei to recruit outsiders. Outsiders who didn't fit in wouldn't be able to fit in. Only samurai with a decent education and who could speak some decent Mandarin or Tokyo dialect could have a chance of communicating with the people of Kawamuraya.

But would such a warrior become a businessman?

As for those intellectuals, they are either nobles or monks, which is even more impossible.

Running a school? It wasn't like Shichibei hadn't considered this. After five years of elementary school, he was practically ready for the job. But there was a crucial question: why would he be given the job?

I've been studying at your school for five or seven years. Wouldn't it be better for me to go and become a superior to Oda Nobunaga? Anyway, Oda Nobunaga is always short of people and always needs people to rely on.

Shichibei couldn't form a strong personal bond with the students at the school, guaranteeing they wouldn't leave after completing their studies. Even the apprentices in our shop only signed seven or nine-year apprenticeship contracts. After the contract ended, most apprentices chose to stay in the shop, but it was voluntary.

Didn't Inase Yoshisari come to our family from Boss Ito? Boss Ito trained him for seven years, and although he also exploited him as a child laborer for seven years, he taught him writing, arithmetic, accounting, and other knowledge, which are now priceless.

So, Shichibei wasn't planning to run a school at all. He trained someone for five or seven years for free, without being able to exploit their labor, and then walked away. What was the point?

With this money, it would be better to think about poaching the employees trained by Tsushima, Atsuta, and other big bosses. In the end, they will all fade into obscurity. For example, the Tsushima clan quickly fell into decline during the Edo period due to the gradual siltation of the lower reaches of the Kiso River, which deprived them of convenient water transportation.

Although the Tsushima Gyuto Tenno Shrine still exists and Monzenmachi is prosperous, a town without water transportation support on land must have a limit to its development.

"After the turmoil in the Sasaki family in Hunan, the people's hearts have been very divided in the past two years. You might want to give it a try." Takigawa Kazumasu just mentioned this. Whether it can succeed or not is not up to him.

"His family..." Shichibei simply responded without being very proactive.

The Rokkaku family was indeed in turmoil, but they could have turned to Asai Nagamasa, Asakura Yoshikage, or even Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Don't laugh, Ashikaga Yoshiaki wasn't acting alone. He had hundreds of people around him. A poor person wouldn't be qualified to receive Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

For example, Hatakeyama Akitaka, now Hatakeyama Akitaka, served Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Hosokawa Fujitaka, Isshiki Fujinaga and others were even more attentive to Ashikaga Yoshiaki, serving him without asking for any salary.

Even when Ashikaga Yoshiaki was exiled by Oda Nobunaga and fled to Tomo Castle in Bingo under the Mori clan, he still had hundreds of people following him. However, a considerable number of samurai among the shogunate retainers were annexed and absorbed by Akechi Mitsuhide, which enabled him to mobilize and organize a huge army of thousands of people.

If it weren't for the benefits he received from the remaining retainers of the Muromachi shogunate, Akechi Mitsuhide might not have had the capital to rise to prominence.

The Muromachi shogunate was now in a state of unstoppable power, and many people were willing to work for Ashikaga Yoshiaki with their own food in hopes of becoming the future shogun. Compared to the less famous Shichibei, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was clearly more worthy of their allegiance.

"There are quite a few people who fled to Koga." Takigawa Kazumasu mentioned this when he saw that Shichibei didn't seem very enthusiastic.

In history, the Rokkaku family suffered several major defeats and fled to Koga to wait for the right time. For example, when Oda Nobunaga defeated Rokkaku Yoshitaka and Yoshiharu, they also fled to Koga.

The same is true now. After Goto Kentoyo was killed, the samurai associated with the Goto family began to flee. Some went to seek refuge with his family, while others turned to hide in Koga.

A small number of them joined mercenaries like Takigawa Kazumasu, doing dirty work and earning a meager income to support their families. After all, this way they didn't have to leave Hunan for long, allowing them to "wait for the right time" in Hunan. Once the situation changed, they could launch a counterattack, defeat Rokkaku Yoshiharu, and revive their families.

"Hmm?" Shichibei understood the hidden meaning.

Honestly, even part-time work would be fine. After all, I'm a businessman. How could I not know that when things are good, we work together, and when they're bad, we part ways? In the business world, there's no such thing as eternal friendship or unshakable loyalty.

If some low- and middle-level samurai who escaped from the Rokkaku family were willing to come to Kawamuraya to work, not as yojimbo, but to handle paperwork, accounts, or be in charge of buying and selling, then even as a temporary worker would be great.

"Leave it to me." Seeing that Shichibei was finally moved, Takigawa Kazumasu, who wanted to make friends with Shichibei, immediately struck up a conversation.

"Well, I'd be remiss to refuse." It is a taboo to talk too much with someone you just met, but Shichibei really lacks available manpower.

When the Kato clan was annexed, only thirty or so of their servants and thirty or so apprentices were taken over. As for the retainers, there had always been only eight. Now there were nine, with the addition of Inase Yoshinari.

Consider it a favor to Takigawa Kazumasu. Given his current position, he definitely wasn't trying to send spies into Kawamuraya. Most likely, he was trying to befriend Shichibei Ichiban and strengthen his relationship with the Owari samurai.

"Okay, okay." Favors must be repaid.

Don’t think that owing favors is a bad thing. If both parties can use the other party, then if you owe each other favors and repay each other, the favor will grow stronger and stronger, and the stronger the favor, the easier it will be to get along with each other.

If you have no use for others, but still owe them favors, that's a bad thing. The more you use them, the less favor you have, and it's not impossible that they will become enemies in the future.

When they reached Tsushima-cho, they said goodbye. Takigawa Ieyasu went to Kanie, while Shichibei returned to the main store of Kawamuraya. Kanie was not far south of Tsushima-cho.

With Yoshinari Inase and his family guarding the main store, everything was naturally fine. Everyone was already accustomed to Shichibei's frequent trips between Tsushima and Komakiyama. Now that Shichibei had returned and requested two employees to help him plan a street map for Owari, it had caught their attention.

What? Nobunaga wants to use his troops against the south?

Shhh!

Even if you know it, don't open your mouth and say it to others. Shichibei also needs to find two brave and careful guys to send to the north of Ise to start the vanguard for Nobunaga.

Inviting the two families and letting Inase Yoshinari sit in, Shichibei informed a small group of people about Nobunaga's instructions, which was also a point-to-point communication. After all, they would have to do the work later, and Shichibei couldn't just go undercover by himself.

The last time he went to build the castle with Shibata Katsuie, So Kotaro, who came back happily, was the first to express his understanding. His clan has nothing to do with the Tsushima clan, and the other clan is derived from the Yui clan.

Instead of calling him Sosuke-bun, it would be better to call him Tsengsuke-bun or Kiso-kawasuke-bun. But these days, everyone has a low level of education, just like Saito Ryuki in Mino across the street, who is called both Saito Ryuki and Nato Ryuki.

Our Oda Nobunaga, the Emperor of the Palace, has long been rumored to be Oda Nobunaga. This is the case. These days, everyone's cultural level is comparable to that of a Crouching Dragon or a Phoenix Child, so we just make do with what we have.

I don’t know which generation of So Kotaro’s family made a mistake in writing the character “宗” (Zong). Then they just let it go and the character “苗” (Zong) became “宗” (Zong).

Okay, since you're so proactive, I'll be in charge of sending troops to Kitaiise. Remember to contact Kazumasu Takigawa in Kanie Castle. He has Yamabushi and Nobushi from Koga to assist him.

Sosuke naturally agreed without hesitation. He was really smart. He and Shichibei grew up picking up horse manure together, so he was trustworthy.

As for planning the street route, Shichibei had just walked a distance, so there was no need to discuss it further and he just started drawing. The only trouble was to clearly mark the length of the route so that Nobunaga would understand it.

Nowadays, there are techniques for calculating the distance of roads by using the sun, determining the angle, and using data such as mountain and human figures. But Shichibei doesn't know how, and neither does anyone at Kawamuraya. I wonder if this now-highly advanced mathematical method has been introduced to Japan.

The Japanese use a clumsy method. They find a rope, no matter how long it is, and measure it piece by piece. This is called the "rope stretching" method.

When Ishida Mitsunari surveyed the land, he used a standardized rope and ruler to measure the depth of the Taiko Zang. His ruler later survived and became a national treasure of Japan. After all, it's a crucial milestone in Japan's standardization of weights and measures, much like China's Qin Dynasty bronze weights, which are also national treasures.

Before Ishida Mitsunari, the term "一町" (machi) was not standardized across Japan. Under the coercion of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a unified standard was reluctantly adopted, but it was not fully implemented in the end. It took the Meiji Restoration and the use of the Maxim system to achieve national unification.

After all, during the Meiji era, people really dared to fire machine guns at Japanese farmers...

Shichibei also had plans for the locations of several post stations. For example, the Iwakura Castle ruins he had visited earlier had two trenches carrying running water, making them ideal for a post station.

Since Shichibei had an idea, Inase Yoshinari and the others didn't say much and just went ahead with it. After all, it was Nobunaga's order, so they had no choice but to obey.