Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Like a frightened little girl, she frantically opened her purse and pulled out a piece of silver. It must have been weighed beforehand, exactly, and worth fifteen hundred coins.

Since the money had been received, the transaction was complete. Shichibei asked So Kotaro to deliver the grass to the other party, and then turned around and sat back in the store.

So Kotaro naturally asked where her home was. The little girl gave an address. There were hundreds of samurai living under Komakiyama Castle, and it was impossible to remember all their addresses. But So Kotaro remembered that area, which seemed to be where Nobunaga's horse-carriages lived, had their own separate houses, unlike the foot soldiers, who lived in longhouses.

Fortunately, it was sold. After all, he was Nobunaga's stableman, the person who led Nobunaga and worked around him. It would be unwise to offend Makai for fifty bundles of grass.

When the grass was delivered, So Kotaro felt that the place looked familiar. When the adults from the little girl's family came out to ask what was going on, they were surprised to learn that they were delivering horse grass. But when they saw the little girl, they seemed to understand.

The samurai wasn't very old, but it wasn't uncommon for people as young as fourteen or fifteen to have children these days, so Sokotaro didn't really care. He naturally inquired about the family's status and decided that next time, instead of the women coming in person, he could just send a servant to greet them and the samurai would deliver the grass.

The answer given by the samurai surprised So Kotaro very much. Nobunaga Makai Oda Nobuya.

That! That little girl just now, wasn't she Shichibei's...

"He doesn't look like a warrior." The little maid gave her own evaluation.

"I'm originally a royal merchant."

"He's not like those merchants from Tsushima. Their eyes move faster than an abacus. This one is a bit dull." Since there was no one in the room, the little maid spoke more boldly.

"What are you talking about?" As the adopted daughter of Oda Nobuya, she is not worthy of the title of Princess yet, but her name is quite samurai-like, so she is called Little Major General.

"Don't you think I'm allowed to say it?" The maid helped the young major-general change his coat, and her smile was a little impudent.

"That's not stupidity, that's prudentness. He's the governor of Kaito County and an important official of the Oda clan." The young major general immediately pointed out the maid's mistake.

In fact, Shichibei is not an important official at all. He is not qualified to present a katana to Nobunaga on New Year's Day, so he cannot be considered an important official.

72. Chatting at the New Year's Banquet

ha?

Shichibei touched his face. It was unwashed and a little oily. That dry little girl from earlier was actually his fiancée? How bold! She came to her fiancé's shop to look for a man.

Tut tut...

As So Kotaro unloaded the truck, he said he had never expected that the family he had just met was actually Oda Nobuya's. Oda Nobuya had no children yet, so the one who had just called him father could only be his adopted daughter.

The adopted daughter is Shichibei's fiancée.

This was decided before Shichibei's adopted father died. So Kotaro, who had grown up in Kawamura-ya, knew about it. Now, his hands and mouth kept busy, as he and Shichibei recalled the little girl's appearance.

There's really nothing good to recall. Even when I was thinking about Shichibei as a big sister, I remember her very clearly. She was just a petite little girl.

I hope to succeed in a few more years.

He waved his hand, signaling So Kotaro to stop thinking about it, and quickly pushed the cart back to the hut. Shichibei also packed up the account books and waited for Aci to bring him and Kinoshita Hidenaga food.

Andō Morinaga still needed some time to convince the other two families. They had only agreed on the basic terms, and would likely have to meet with representatives from the other two families later. But Shichibei didn't need to go back to Mino for this matter. After all, Hideyoshi, who was in charge of the West Mino region, should be held responsible.

I still don't understand why Nobunaga wants us to do this.

Shichibei is not cut out for diplomacy or negotiation; if he had the skills of a strategist, he would have made his fortune by talking. Look at Li Shiqi, who emerged from retirement in his sixties and became Hirono-kun in just a few years.

It's just a miserable death, a living person being boiled alive.

After waiting at Komakiyama for a few days, Nobunaga did not consult Shichibei again about Ando no Mamoru's defection, but informed Shichibei of two important matters.

First, Shichibei was listed as a "nao sanshu", so he had to bring a katana with him on New Year's Day and kowtow to Nobunaga to wish him a happy new year.

Secondly, the marriage between Oda and Matsudaira needed to be concluded as soon as possible. Therefore, after the annual tribute was in place, Nobunaga decided to send the eight-year-old Princess Tokuhime to Okazaki Castle after New Year's Day of the following year. Shichibei provided a hundred horses and the dowry as an escort.

Upon hearing this order, the family was overjoyed. Shichibei became Nobunaga's direct senshu, which was truly worthy of the title of Kaito County Magistrate. Although this county magistrate was only half a county magistrate, it was still a county magistrate.

If you call me Deputy Director in front of the Director, I won't bother you. But if you still call me Deputy Director when we're alone, then I have to have a serious talk with you.

After all, I am the head of the Kawamura family with a total of 380 kan. I have 15 riders in my household and 20 riders in my service. If I can recruit the local leaders and military veterans from the village, it will be no problem to put together a small reserve force of 300 people.

In the tenth year of Yonglu, the first month of the year is Zhengdan.

Although he was at the end of the line, Shichibei was still able to enter the Ohiroma of the Onitsuka Castle in Komakiyama Castle, and together with the important officials of the Oda clan, he congratulated Nobunaga on the New Year and presented him with a great sword.

It’s not expensive, only worth five strings of cash.

Hideyoshi, who was sitting next to him, was winking at Shichibei. I came in last year, and you came in this year. We both have a bright future.

One look at his shiny bald head tells you he's got something up his sleeve. But Shichibei doesn't care. With Hideyoshi's current status and position, he can't use any tricks on us.

Even though you sit one place ahead of me in the meeting, you are not sitting in the center.

Nobunaga wasn't completely above formality. Shichibei had no idea what the purpose of sprinkling incense ash on his father's shrine was. If he had the chance, he could ask Sakuma Nobumori, who was undoubtedly present. But Nobunaga, now dressed formally, with his hair tied up and a crown on his head, looked dignified as he accepted the homage of important ministers and powerful figures.

And they visited each person individually, not just a simple ritual where everyone kowtowed before him and then shouted "Everlasting Years." Instead, Hayashi Hidetada and Sakuma Nobumori sat on either side of Nobunaga, calling out each person's name one by one to wish him a happy new year. Nobunaga would then shout "Congratulations!" The formal ceremony took over an hour.

But Shichibei was the last one standing, and his calves ached from kneeling. In "Kagemusha," the attendants and commoners, knowing they were in front of a Kagemusha, relaxed and sat cross-legged. Only when the Kagemusha, played by Nakadai Tatsuya, radiated the aura of his predecessor, Takeda Shingen, did they involuntarily kneel down.

The Japanese also know that kneeling so seriously is very tiring, and it is not that they are born to love kneeling.

After finally getting through this process, everyone congratulated Nobunaga once more, and he announced that he would treat everyone to a meal. This time it was a more formal meal, with five tables, including fish, meat, vegetables, and finally snacks.

Secretly rubbing his calf, Shichibei didn't forget to eat. If he had known being a high-ranking official would be like this, he would have preferred not to be one. But think about the people next door. Even if they became prime ministers before the Tang Dynasty, they could still sit and discuss things, but now they have to stand before the emperor and answer questions. The emperor is generous and gives you a seat, but you can only sit halfway.

Being an official was truly miserable. I had to stand guard all day and night, and then get up at two or three in the morning to stand, and then stand all morning. Of course, it was better than having to kneel down all morning.

Shichibei was full of complaints, but Hideyoshi was quite cheerful. He stayed in Sunomata every day and guessed that he wouldn't be able to eat much good food, so he stuffed his food into his mouth.

"Is it so delicious?" Shichibei put down his chopsticks and picked up the wine dish.

"It's delicious." Hideyoshi quickly raised his wine dish. There was no need to clink glasses, just a gesture to each other would be enough.

In Japan, it was a single sake dish. Nobunaga drank from it without wiping it off, passing it down to his retainers. Eight people drank from the same dish, and unless you were the second person, you had to touch your lips to the person who had already drunk. While later generations would consider this unhygienic, it was a sign of affection, trust, and closeness back then.

You are not a senior general of the Oda family, so you are not qualified to use the same wine dish with Nobunaga.

Anyway, Shichibei and Hideyoshi were not qualified at the moment. It was a good thing for Shichibei. The main thing was that he felt uncomfortable and couldn't get over it.

Besides, the Japanese tea ceremony is fine if it's one-on-one, but if there are three or five people watching or tasting a cup of tea, Shichibei will have to stay away. After all, not everyone can be like Ishida Mitsunari, who saw a drop of pus on Yoshitsugu Otani's face fall into the teacup and still calmly drank the tea.

For this sip of tea, Otani Yoshitsugu sold his life to Ishida Mitsunari. He did it despite knowing it was impossible, and in the end, it really was "the first one to go and the second one to go will meet each other".

"Ningning, didn't you prepare any New Year's dishes?" Before coming here, Shichibei's sisters had prepared a large table of New Year's dishes, including a lot of rice cakes.

"She's pregnant, so she didn't prepare much." Hideyoshi's answer surprised Shichibei.

Nene and Hideyoshi were probably childless. If Nene had a legitimate son, the Toyotomi family would have ruled for two or three hundred years. In the future, the people who will be criticized in "Prince Prince Goma-zen" will not be the traitors of Bandō, but the traitors of Osaka.

Moreover, if the child is born now, by the time of the Battle of Sekigahara, the child will be in his thirties, in the prime of life. Who would dare to act rashly?

The Owari faction's generals would certainly rally around this legitimate son, and a civil war might break out with the Omi faction's generals. This presupposes that the Omi faction could also support a young master from the Toyotomi family, and that he had to be a decent, adult young master.

If only Hideyori had been there in the end, there wouldn't have been any internal strife. The Omi faction's generals were by no means foolish. A grown monarch could have turned a bicycle into a motorcycle if he'd taken a chance. A child? A child would be useless.

"No, you..." Qibingwei didn't mean anything else, he just wanted to remind him.

Brother, you are stationed in Sunomata, and Ningning is held hostage in Komakiyama. Although this does seem to disrupt other people's family harmony, there are some things, right?

According to historical experience, both Hideyoshi and Hidenaga seemed to have some problems. If Hideyoshi's damage was caused by the war, what about Hidenaga?

It's likely due to poor genes. Even Hidenaga, who wasn't injured, only left behind two daughters. Hideyoshi had over thirty concubines with names and surnames, and probably hundreds of maids he had sex with, yet Hideyoshi was the only one left.

If you say that Hideyoshi hit the target with one shot, no one would believe it.

"Hahahaha, what are you thinking about?" Hideyoshi turned around and argued with Shichibei.

When Hideyoshi was pacifying the western Mino hordes, he stayed at the castle for a while, and then Shichibei went to Mino. The trip back and forth took less than a month, otherwise Nobunaga wouldn't have had to hand over the Kaito County tribute to Sakai Masanari.

In other words, Hideyoshi stayed at the foot of Komakiyama Castle for a month, and now Ningning is more than three months pregnant, and it is finally starting to show. Counting the dates, it is around that time. At that time, Hideyoshi was at home every day, so no matter how you count, it is his.

"Congratulations, congratulations..." Of course he was congratulating. How could Shichibei not congratulate him?

If you could have a son right now, I'd definitely bet on him. Honestly, protecting Nobunaga is the preferred option, but if he dies, we'll have to find another one. Rather than looking for someone else, why not this child from Owari's core samurai group?

Since he was the eldest and the most legitimate son, when Nobunaga died and Hideyoshi came to power, this child would definitely be the target of all the Owari samurai's allegiance. When the time came, he would follow Hideyoshi to pacify the Hojo clan and then pacify the Oshu clan. With military merits and a legitimate heir, he would inherit the throne smoothly.

It is even possible that since the succession of the legitimate son was guaranteed, Hideyoshi did not need to go to Korea to fight. After all, since his own succession was guaranteed, there was no need to divert the conflict to Korea.

"Hahahaha." Hideyoshi laughed so happily that his "hair" which had few hairs on it began to tremble as his facial muscles laughed.

It was obviously the braid that Ningning had tied for him, and it was even oiled, neat and shiny like his forehead.

The New Year's dinner concluded, and everyone dispersed. Shichibei rode home. His main family members were in Tsushima, so there wasn't much to celebrate. Besides, the shops were closed. He briefly checked that no one was busy, then rode back to Tsushima. It would take some time to get Princess Tokuhime to Mikawa Okazaki, so there was no need to use horses right away.

Halfway through the journey, Shichibei was still thinking about Ningning's pregnancy. Has there ever been such a child in history?

Should I send some baby clothes or something now? After thinking for a while, I decided it wasn't necessary. I didn't know if the child could be saved. If not, everything would be in vain.

If she's safe, with our relationship with the Kinoshita family, it wouldn't be a problem to send some care after the baby is born. Aji is currently living with Hideyoshi, and Hidenaga has been assigned to garrison Sumata. As Shichibei's younger sister, Aji can be with Nene to prevent any accidents.

Maybe the child’s wet nurse is Aci.

Thinking and planning all the way, Shichibei even fantasized that if he got married and had a son in a few years, he could give the son to Ningning's legitimate son as a surname. No matter whether he finally slept with the child or not, at least the wealth of our Kawamura family would be preserved, and it might even be possible to reach a higher level.

They arrived at Tsushima smiling all the way, but Shichibei's face froze, and everyone thought he was just blown away by the wind. Ai and Inase Yoshinari provided hot water and hand kettles.

Japan also has copper and ceramic hand warmers that use hot water or charcoal in a container to provide warmth. They were popular during the Edo period and have become quite popular today. In Owari, a region renowned for its ceramic production, these ceramic hand warmers are particularly popular.

Holding the hand warmer, Shichibei drank hot tea and didn't feel that cold at all. The sweat he made from riding a horse for more than ten or twenty kilometers was enough to make him hot.

"Hey, you two?" Shichibei suddenly thought, they have been married for seven or eight months, and they are seventeen or eighteen years old, full of vigor and vitality, right?

Why is there no sound?

“…” Inase Yoshinari covered his face and walked away. Ai didn’t say anything and stuffed a piece of miso grilled rice cake into Shichibei’s hand.

"This is a serious matter. If things go wrong, this child can become the legitimate son of Kawamura." Shichibei really thought this matter was serious.

"How about I go and pray tomorrow?" Ai was familiar with Shichibei after all, so she wasn't that shameless.

"The Bull-Headed Heavenly King?" This is the god of medicine, I'm afraid it won't be of much use.

"That's it." Ai is also very single, so who can guarantee this thing?

Oh, asking serious questions and still getting scolded. Shichibei lay sideways on the couch, leaning against the firepit. Just as he was half asleep, someone knocked on Kawamura's door. It's New Year's Day, so even the horse-riding inn is closed. Unless another shogun is assassinated in Kyoto, then you're here to borrow a horse.

Yoshinari Inase, who had just covered his face and left, ran to open the door. It turned out to be a man dressed as a farmer, but even a landowner with a salary of 50 kan nowadays would work in the fields, and he looked as simple as a farmer, so it was hard to be completely sure.

Inase Yoshishige said that horses were not lent out during the New Year, so the farmer quickly waved his hand and asked if this was the official residence of Lord Shichibei of Daikawamura in Kaito County?

Hmm? Yes, it's the agency's location.

After hearing these fragments, Shichibei sat up, and the farmer was also led to him. To make a long story short, what's the matter with you coming to visit during the New Year?

It’s a big deal, of course it’s a big deal. A murder has occurred. I ask you to come forward and deal with it.

73. A child beat another child to death

Good guy!

Killing someone on New Year's Day, how big a hatred is this?

Call them in quickly and tell them what the case is. Was it a robbery? A murder of passion? A murder of revenge? It all makes a difference. If there are a lot of criminals, then Shichibei will have to sound the gong and drum, call all his subordinates and family members, and go with swords, guns, bows and arrows to capture them.

If it was a case of passion killing, then Shichibei could just take two other people with him. After all, a passion killing would only involve two people, and catching the adulterer would be enough to settle the matter.

We have caught the murderer...

Huh? The farmer before him wasn't boasting at all. Instead, he claimed to have apprehended the murderer and imprisoned him in the firewood shed of a local lord. That's when he came to the county magistrate to try to make a judgment.

There was no other way. It was dark and windy, and I had to go to investigate with a lantern. If they hadn't come to my door, Shichibei could have pretended not to know. But now that they had come to my door, I had to deal with it, and deal with it properly.

A clean government and harmonious people are still important.

Shichibei rode on horseback, while Inase Yoshinari held a lantern. As soon as Minami-sanaga, who was apparently old and toothless, heard someone had died, he came running from his house behind Kawamura's house, draped in his cloak. He kept muttering about how old he was and how little sleep he got, and how others needed to sleep at night, but he didn't. Then he took Shichibei's horse.

The old man was no pushover either. Shichibei didn't mind, so he also called one of Shinchi's retainers along. It wasn't that they were short on people, but rather that none of them carried swords, and Shinchi's retainer still pretended to wear one every day to show off his samurai status.

It just so happens that they need two men with swords to bolster their presence. After all, Shichibei is half a village chief, so he must be accompanied by a driver, a secretary, and lackeys when he goes out.

The village was not far from Tsushima, just outside the Jingu-ji Temple of Tsushima Taisha Shrine. There were many torches and a bonfire in the village, as if they were all waiting for Shichibei.

Call the victims, the perpetrators, the witnesses, and the victims. Shichibei went straight to sit in the lord's farmhouse. Sure enough, the farmer was the lord. No wonder he dared to deal with the officials.

The case was crystal clear, leaving no room for doubt. The victim was a five-and-a-half-year-old boy who was beaten to death.

The perpetrator was a seven-and-a-half-year-old boy who was captured at the scene and had no chance of escaping.

The reason was that everyone had gone to Jingu-ji Temple this morning to pray for the New Year. There weren't many entertainment activities these days, and even opportunities to leave the village were rare. Furthermore, the people at this time were quite superstitious about the gods and Buddhas, so visiting temples and shrines was considered an important New Year's activity.

The perpetrator and the victim did not know each other and did not even travel the same route. The victim's parents were visiting Jingu-ji Temple, and the victim was running around in the temple grounds when he somehow found a coin on the ground.

Just as he was about to pick it up, the criminal came up from behind and started to fight for it. He also said that he saw it first and it should belong to him. But the victim would definitely not agree. He already had it in his hand, so why should he give it to the criminal?

If you know a familiar friend with children, you might buy a piece of cake, eat half each, and go home happily.