Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Shichibei first wrote "Daxing" on the paper in front of him. There was no other way, so he just had to do it. After all, it wasn't Shichibei who would be studying history in the future.

But this name is a complete plagiarism, and I'm afraid Nobunaga wouldn't like it. Nobunaga was a man of unconventional ideas, quite willing to abandon old conventions, and he wasn't too keen on using names he knew. So, what else should Inabayama Castle be renamed? It's all about grandeur, and a new dynasty should have new, elegant governance.

So Shichibei carefully erased "Daxing" and then wrote "Xiong'an" underneath it. Sure enough, "Xiong'an" was right under "Daxing".

After writing this name, Shichibei was delighted. Without even glancing at it three times, he immediately erased it with his pen. How could he call it that? If he did, how would he name his future millennium plan?

How to fix it?

Nobunaga was just sitting there, bragging and chatting with the monk Zeyan. It had been a while since they last met, and old friends should talk a lot.

Master Zeyan is quite tall, but not fat, which is different from the real monks of later generations. The real monks of later generations are generally fatter, while the fake monks are more likely to be thinner.

The reason is quite simple. Many monks who truly observe the precepts and only eat vegetarian food love fried soy products, which are high in oil and protein. How can they not gain weight? However, they cannot eat meat, so when they crave meat, they can only satisfy it by eating fried soy products, which makes them gain weight.

On the contrary, the fake monks lock the temple door at five o'clock, drive a Mercedes-Benz to the club, smoke, drink and play with women, and work for two hours every day. It would be a miracle if they can gain weight.

Looking at the face of the great monk Zeyan, he seemed quite kind and benevolent. It was hard to tell whether he was righteous or not, but he was certainly eloquent. As he sat there chatting with Nobunaga, Nobunaga was quite cheerful, laughing from time to time.

Why didn't this great monk tell Nobunaga the name "Gifu"? The important officials of Oda were scratching their heads. Shichibei saw that Hirate Hanhide was about to lick the bristles of his brush off.

In the front row, Nobumori Sakuma was also at a loss, his arms folded across his chest, lost in thought. There was no ink on the paper before him. At least we still had two ink blobs before us, even if their names were unreliable.

Unreliable? Tongliao Universe.

As soon as he wrote it down, Shichibei was amused. If it was actually adopted, wouldn't he have to pay royalties? He quickly blacked out the Tongliao. Nobunaga, who was chatting happily with the monk Zeyan, glanced at Shichibei. Shichibei quickly lowered his head, pretending to be serious, silently praying, "You can't see me."

Fortunately, Nobunaga and the monk Zeyan were still chatting and had no time to pay attention to Shichibei, so Shichibei was able to escape the disaster. But in the end, after thinking about names over and over again, he couldn't think of a name that fits the meaning of "Tenka Fubu".

Nobunaga finished his conversation with the monk Zeyan and tapped the tatami with his folding fan, signaling everyone to follow his lead. Hirate Hanshu, whose pen was already worn out, was the first to drop it and stand erect, gazing at Nobunaga.

Nobunaga, of course, heard about this grand gesture and eagerly went to see his brother Hirate's answer. Well, he took a quick glance and sighed. He shouldn't expect anything from anyone, not Hirate. Of Hirate's three sons, aside from the second son, who had fought Nobunaga for the horse and was not well-liked, the other two were quite close.

As a result, the eldest brother died in Ise and the third brother died in Mikatahara, which made Nobunaga very angry.

Hirate Hanhide was also single. Nobunaga looked up at him, and he looked back at Nobunaga, then lowered his head and chuckled. "Okay, I'll drink three glasses of wine tomorrow, and I'll just pretend this never happened."

If the east is dark, then you can only look to the west, and to the west is Sakuma Nobumori. It's blank, the slightly yellowed paper is spotless, without a single hair.

Nobumori was too embarrassed to smile at Nobunaga, so he quickly lowered his head, saying that he was not talented enough and was not qualified for the job. He asked Nobunaga to find someone else as soon as possible.

Everyone around him couldn't avoid Nobunaga. After all, everyone present was a wealthy man from the four lower counties of Owari. Their previous generation was just a village chief. No matter how educated they were, it was just that.

It’s better to look at the work of Master Zeyan.

The monk had a kind face, and he must have seen through the uneducated nature of these roughnecks. He first wrote on a piece of paper, "Tenka Fubu" (The World Spreads Military Power). Nobunaga had chatted with him last night, and this was probably the core idea.

The slogan was quite loud, and Nobunaga also said that he would come up with a monogram that matched the tenkabu. Later, the monogram would also be changed to tenkabu, and he would practice what he preached.

It does have some echoes with the signature of a certain "unique person in the world" next door, but the person next door finally went to Wuguo City to wear animal skins, and the result was not very good.

Well, Nobunaga's final barbecue at Honnoji Temple was no different from wearing animal skins.

After showing everyone a piece of paper with the words "天下布武" written on it, Master Zeyan asked everyone if they had any ideas. Everyone just shook their heads, saying that if they had any ideas, they would have come up with them long ago and would not just sit there and do nothing.

"The Ming Kingdom was in the time of King Wen of Zhou, and its country was located in Mount Qi..." There was no other way, the monk could only start teaching a group of students who had graduated from prenatal education and had an average cultural level.

Some of them may still be uneducated in prenatal education...

Forget it, enough small talk, let's listen to the monk show off his knowledge. After the monk Zeyan spoke for a long time, the important officials of the Oda family finally understood. It was at Mount Qishan that King Wen of Zhou led his military forces throughout the country, and eventually his son King Wu of Zhou defeated the Shang Dynasty and seized the world.

The foundation for Zhou's conquest of the world was Mount Qi, so they could follow the naming wisdom of King Wen of Zhou and rename Mount Inaba to "Mount Qi".

In addition, "Gifu" and "Qiyang" can also be used as alternatives. Anyway, they are both auspicious names, which can make clear the story that "In the past, King Xibo of Zhou attacked King Xin of Yin, and they settled in Qiyang, which was the capital for more than 860 years."

(There is a theory that Inabayama Castle was originally called Gifu Castle, originally meaning Tokifuchu Castle, or simply Gifu. After Nobunaga entered the castle, the name continued to be called Gifu due to rumors. This is purely a fictional plot, not a complete historical fact.)

Good, good, as long as someone comes up with the name "Gifu", it will be fine. Shichibei breathed a sigh of relief. At least in the future, Japanese elementary school students will not need to learn "Daikobubu" anymore, but "Gifububu".

Nobunaga, sitting on the couch, tapped his broken folding fan, naturally wondering which name would be more resounding and would better reflect his desire to spread his military power throughout the world.

“Let’s choose Gifu!”

With a "bang", Nobunaga's folding fan slammed heavily on the tatami, which was considered the final word. The naming idiots immediately bowed their heads and obeyed. As long as it wasn't me who named it, you can call it whatever you like.

"I wish the lord long-lasting military fortune." Sakuma Nobumori took the lead and began to shout 666.

"I wish the lord long-lasting military fortune." With the elder taking the lead, everyone naturally understood and helped to shout 666.

Nobunaga was indeed happy to hear this, as it felt like a worry was put to rest. He opened his folding fan and started fanning himself, laughing as he did so.

Let’s have the wine, let’s have the wine today.

Oh, and seeing the smiling monk Zeyan, Shichibei remembered what Nobunaga had said to him before: learn more about culture. It didn't matter if he was a country bumpkin now, but what if he could enter the capital someday?

Tea ceremony, Japanese songs, connected poems, Cuju...

Shichibei needs to learn one or two of these, lest he be left without a decent social and entertainment method in the future. Tea ceremony is the most popular, but Shichibei is a bit uncomfortable with it, so we'll talk about it later.

First, ask the abbot if he has any genuine literary traditions. If so, Shichibei is willing to pay to learn. It's just tuition, isn't it? Confucius taught everyone, yet he still collected bacon. If we learn, we'll definitely be sensible.

Whether it's gold or silver, it's easy to deal with.

While the wine was being served, Shichibei went to ask the great monk Zehiko. The great monk had just looked Shichibei over a few times, because as far as he could remember, there was no such person as Kawamura Shichibei among the Oda clan's hereditary retainers. Moreover, Shichibei's appearance did not match those of the deceased Oda retainers.

But when Nobunaga started his career, he promoted a group of people. The monk Zeyan did not take it lightly and drank a cup with Shichibei.

Seeing that the monk was quite easy to talk to, Shichibei immediately stated his request. Owari didn't have any nobles who were always guests, nor was it like in "Nobunaga's Ambition 11" where intellectuals came to visit every month and could learn various skills.

I finally managed to grab a cultured monk and I have to make some money.

The abbot, Zeyan, was quite polite. He explained that his primary study was in the sutras and literature, with a bit of study of Zhou and Confucius. He didn't know anything about tea ceremony, archery, or cuju, but he did have the Kokin Wakashu and Manyoshu, and if Shichibei didn't mind, he could copy a copy.

Whether to teach or not is another matter. Shichibei can copy it and read it through first, and if he can memorize most of the poems and songs, then we can study together.

The saying "If you read 300 Tang poems carefully, you will be able to recite them even if you can't write poems" probably means this.

It's not realistic to start studying without any basic knowledge. You should have a basic foundation and then start learning.

After hearing what the monk said, Shichibei nodded quickly. He was right. He really needed to lay a solid foundation before learning. It was just like learning pinyin. Once you master pinyin, you can learn Chinese characters.

Nobunaga saw that Shichibei was devoted to learning and praised him. Although he was a little ugly, he had a bright mind.

Hey, boss, you really know how to praise people.

Shichibei then sent someone to Masahide-ji Temple to borrow the Kokin Wakashu and Manyoshu volumes from the monk Zehiko. But there's no time to copy them now. We'll wait until Komakiyama Castle is demolished and we move to Inabayama Castle. The monk hasn't said when to return the books, so we can just give him a gift along with the books.

Or if that really doesn't work, when he follows Nobunaga to move the temple to Mino, Shichibei will donate money to build a gate for the temple.

The gate of Sensoji Temple in Tokyo was donated by Konosuke Matsushita. There was even some controversy surrounding it, with some saying Matsushita was stingy and could have bought the necessary logs from Indonesia or Brazil, but he chose to build a gate with concrete and steel instead.

However, Nobunaga certainly paid for the entirety of Masahide-ji Temple, so Shichibei could have donated some of the temple's assets later, perhaps opening a two-bedroom house and letting Masahide-ji take a share.

With his castle now named after him, Nobunaga finally stopped wandering around Komakiyama Castle, chatting with people, and rode his horse to Inabayama Castle to check the progress of the construction.

According to Shichibei's understanding, although the new Gifu Castle would have a magnificent, four-tiered, five-story castle tower, it was purely to show off Nobunaga's wealth and power. Not only did Nobunaga not intend to live in the castle tower, he didn't even intend to live in the main castle.

He had chosen the Linden Valley at the foot of the mountain and planned to build a residence with a vast pond, which would serve as his actual residence in Gifu Castle. The design is said to have been inspired by Oda Castle, the residence of another "Oda." Also featuring a vast pond and pavilions, its residential properties far outweighed its military ones.

After all, His Highness the "Kanto Phoenix" has the blood of the Muromachi Shogun, so his tastes must be very high. As for fighting, it can only be said that he fought again and again despite repeated defeats.

In addition, the construction of a residence with a vast garden would also serve as a place to entertain envoys from Kyoto in the future. As we have said, Nobunaga was a humble peasant, not from any noble family, so he forcibly exaggerated the status of the imperial court to highlight his own high status.

It was probably from this time that Nobunaga had already begun to think about winning over the court officials. Otherwise, there would be no need to build a huge landscaped building just for his own comfort.

He is not stingy at all when it comes to the money he should spend, but you can't get a penny out of him when it comes to the money he shouldn't spend.

There must have been a purpose for him to order the digging of ponds and the construction of pavilions and waterside terraces that had no military significance.

It was just a hardship for Nobumori Sakuma and Shichibei who were in Komakiyama, because Nobumori Sakuma wanted to move his castle residence as it was, and Shichibei received an order to follow Hideyoshi to prepare timber on the Kiso River.

All the people along the Kiso River were under Hideyoshi's command. Nobunaga wanted to build a large-scale garden residence, so he needed a lot of wood. All of it was cut down from the upper reaches of the Kiso River and transported by water.

The final leg of the journey from the raw timber to the river was handled by Shichibei. Already stretched thin on transport capacity, Shichibei was even more busy moving so much timber.

The construction of Gifu Castle was under tight schedule, and Nobunaga had long been eager to stir up trouble in Kinai, his mind probably already drifting to Kyoto. He simply walked away, leaving the workers below suffering.

Perhaps Nobunaga, perhaps realizing the lack of transport capacity, had Mori Nagahide bring 100 kan to Shichibei. He added freight costs, and regardless of whether he hired men or oxen, he had to transport all the timber to Linden Valley.

It’s the same old thing. Anyway, I have the money, and you can exercise your subjective initiative for the rest.

As Nobunaga's stable boy, Mori Nagahide even tried to appease Shichibei. "Go for it! As long as you do your job well, His Highness will not forget your contribution." Shichibei, of course, said yes. What else could he say to this elder brother from the Sasaki family?

But speaking of it, this eldest brother will be quite famous in the future, because his name will be Hashiba Hideyori, which is coincidentally the same name as Hideyoshi's eldest son.

95. Just rely on the power of Yi Zhao

"Owari no Kami is truly courageous!"

Wada Koremasa, who came from Ashikaga Yoshiaki to visit Oda Nobunaga, couldn't help but feel emotional when he saw the large-scale excavation of the Linden Valley Pond.

"It's just an ordinary residence." Nobunaga answered casually, but he could hear something that made him dissatisfied from Wada Koremasa's words.

He was no longer just the Lord of Owari Province, but also the Lord of Mino Province. Still using the Owari no Kami's official title was truly unworthy. Even Tokugawa Ieyasu, who lived next door, had risen to the fifth rank of Mikawa no Kami, and he was still using the fifth rank of Owari no Kami. It was truly embarrassing.

Look at Long Xing, who, thanks to his father's connections in the shogunate and Kyoto, was able to rise to the rank of Jibu Daifu. Yoshitatsu was even more powerful, having directly become a Jingzhao Daifu.

The rank of Jingzhao Daifu was generally given to strong supporters of the shogunate or important allies of the Kanrei. Clearly, Yoshitatsu, who changed his name to Isshiki, was a clear supporter of the shogunate.

The various official positions granted to samurai generally followed certain rules. For example, the Ōuchi clan, in order to secure a position as Dazai Shoni, which would allow them to unify northern Kyushu, reportedly resorted to beating up the Shoni clan while simultaneously lavishing money on the imperial court. Once the court was satisfied, they ultimately granted the position to the Ōuchi clan.

Theoretically, Ouchi Yoshitaka's Dazai Shoni is considered the third rank.

Nobunaga's old master, Sasaki Yoshitsugu, could inherit the fourth rank of Sasaki-gu. This was an official position in line with the three governors of the Muromachi shogunate, and even Sasaki Yoshikane, who was on the run, could serve as Sasaki-gu.

It was a symbol of class under the old feudal system. It would have been fine if it wasn't mentioned normally, but now that it was mentioned, Oda Nobunaga felt a little uncomfortable.

"Now that you dominate the vast territory of two countries, have a total of 100,000 soldiers, are threatening neighboring countries with a covetous look, and are preparing for the arrival of thousands of people from afar, doesn't Owari no Kami want to go further?" Wada Koremasa certainly didn't come here for nothing.

Previously, Ashikaga Yoshiaki had hoped that Nobunaga and Ryūōki would join forces to cease hostilities and then support Nobunaga in ascending the throne to Kyoto. However, Nobunaga still focused on conquering Mino and did not follow Ashikaga Yoshiaki's advice.

Of course, it was also related to the fact that someone told him at the time that he was not even qualified to jump into the capital and stir up trouble.

Therefore, Ashikaga Yoshiaki ran to the Wakasa Takeda clan for refuge, and then moved to Ichijodani, where he was protected by Asakura Yoshikage. The Asakura clan was a powerful daimyo with a total of 750,000 koku, so they naturally had the strength to support Ashikaga Yoshiaki's entry into the capital.

Unlike Asakura Yoshikage who was slow to take action, it was Ashikaga Yoshiei who was supported by the Miyoshi Three and was the first to obtain the position of Sabaragi, which made Yoshiaki very anxious.

But what could be done in such a hurry? Ashikaga Yoshiaki had only a few hundred generals under his command. Although he had many followers, including the sons of various samurai and shogunate officials, it was impossible to rely on these few hundred people to capture Kyoto.

After hearing that Nobunaga had conquered Inabayama Castle, entered Mino, and subdued the West Mino Three, Ashikaga Yoshiaki immediately sent Wada Koremasa to visit Nobunaga and understand Nobunaga's intentions.

Perhaps at this time, Nobunaga would be willing to support him in going to Kyoto.

"Okay, okay..." Nobunaga did not answer, but asked Niwa Nagahide to arrange for Wada Koremasa to stay.

After all, Ashikaga Yoshiaki had been left out for over a year, so a few days wouldn't make a difference. Nobunaga did want to go to Kyoto to stir things up, but he hadn't decided on the exact day to do so.

Moreover, the wealth of both Nobi and Nobi was now concentrated in Inabayama Castle. Nobunaga intended to use the tribute from the coming autumn harvest to build himself a fortress unrivaled in the world, thus bolstering his reputation as a "military power that spreads throughout the world."

To be a master of the world, one must have the dignity of a master of the world. These days, the quality of Japanese horses is so high that even BMWs can't pull off a big gap. A more expensive horse costs a hundred or two hundred kan, which is already a "dragon colt" with a shoulder height of over 1.45 meters.

If you want to show off your power and influence, you can only work hard on building a castle.

Wada Koremasa also knew that it was impossible to discuss everything as soon as they met, so he stayed there first and worked hard with Nobunaga, hoping that he would get something from him.

Regardless of whether it was a promise to go to Kyoto or a donation of several hundred kan, the amount had to be decided by Nobunaga.

Leaving Niwa Nagahide to entertain Wada Koremasa, Nobunaga galloped back to Komakiyama to discuss matters with the important officials still at the gates of Komakiyama Castle. How should he respond to Wada Koremasa's request? How should he respond to Ashikaga Yoshiaki?

When he heard this question, Shichibei knew that Nobunaga had actually set the premise.

If he didn't want to bother with Ashikaga Yoshiaki, he could have simply said he was busy and asked Niwa Nagahide to entertain him. Wada Koremasa would have waited for ten days or so, and when Nobunaga refused to see him, he would have given up. Everyone was respectable and wouldn't have said anything to drive Wada Koremasa away. When Wada left, Niwa Nagahide would have given him a horse and money.

Now, not only did he receive Wada Koremasa, but he also ran back to Owari to ask for advice, which actually meant that he was already guessing what the important ministers in his family were thinking.

After all, if they really wanted to march to Kyoto, they would have to bring everyone along. Of the Miyoshi clan, the Hashu Miyoshi clan alone, Shinohara Nagafusa had mobilized 20,000 men to support Ashikaga Yoshihide. Add in Ataka Nobuyasu of Awaji and the Miyoshi Three of Setkawa Izumi, and the total would be 50,000 men, no less.

Without bringing 50,000 people with him, he wouldn't even have the strength to compete with the Miyoshi family.

As the dominant force in Kinai for the past two or three decades, the Miyoshi family's soldiers were undoubtedly skilled warriors. Many of them were veterans, their fighting prowess undeniable. Miyoshi Nagayoshi led them to punch Ashikaga, kick Hosokawa, and treat Hatakeyama like a chicken and Rokkaku like a clay dog, killing anyone who stood in their way.

He beat Ashikaga Yoshiharu and Ashikaga Yoshiteru away. He was as powerful as he could be.

Nobunaga surveyed the room and first called out Sakuma Nobumori. Sakuma Nobumori expressed the need to restore his friendship with Ashikaga Yoshiaki, but he was not in a rush to support Ashikaga's move to Kyoto. After all, the Oda clan was currently occupied, with Mino still unintegrated and the relocation process still halfway through, leaving them unable to spare time.

"How do we restore our friendship?" Nobunaga nodded slightly and asked this key question.

"Just send someone to deliver 500 kan." Sakuma Nobumori answered without hesitation, indicating that this was easy.

Many daimyo did the same thing, and just gave Ashikaga Yoshiaki a few small gifts. I've already given you money, isn't friendship enough?

It was a little insufficient, and Shichibei could probably guess what Nobunaga meant. He not only wanted to cooperate with Ashikaga Yoshiaki, but also hoped to build some mutual trust between the two sides.

What does this mean? It means that in the eyes of the Kyoto nobles and the emperor, Nobunaga was still a country bumpkin from Tōkaidō. After going to Kyoto, he wanted to use the imperial court's cover to "respect the emperor and expel the barbarians," but he lacked a bridge.

The Muromachi shogunate is actually a very good bridge, but there is no idea how to make the Muromachi shogunate willingly come to serve as a bridge between Nobunaga and the imperial court.