Owari Yumeki Golden Day

The man claimed to be a subordinate of Takigawa Kazumasu, and went to Komakiyama to find Shichibei, but he didn't expect that Shichibei was actually on the way.

Hearing this, Shichibei signaled him to stop talking. Some things were still secret and unsuitable for sharing. Shichibei waved his hand at Hanbei Takenaka, indicating they'd talk later, and followed him back to Tsushima.

He rushed back to Tsushima, where Takigawa Kazumasu was already waiting at Kawamura-ya. Their eyes met, and they knew immediately that they had something important to discuss.

After sitting in the inner room and confirming that no one was around, Takigawa Ikki expressed his hope that Shichibei would give him 1,000 kan immediately, saying he would be very useful. He could also keep a hostage at Kawamura's house, guaranteed to be a legitimate hostage with a name and surname.

Shichibei certainly had 1,000 kan, but who was Takigawa Ieyasu trying to bribe? As someone who was jointly responsible for the northern Ise conquest with Takigawa Ieyasu, Shichibei needed to know where the money went.

Wooden furniture policy!

Wow! This was the head of a prestigious woodcarving family in Kitase, and he came from a distinguished family background. He was from the Kitabatake family, one of the three major kokusa clans of the Warring States period. His brother was Kitabatake Gukuni, the head of the Kitabatake clan, known as the swordsman kokusa.

"Okay," Shichibei agreed immediately, "but we'll have to send someone for this as well. One thousand kan is a huge sum, and it's unsafe to just hand it over directly to Takigawa Kazumasu. Let Kawamura's retainers carry it on their backs and hand it over directly to Mokuzoku Gumasa. Even if there's a loss later, we can still ask Nobunaga for reimbursement."

And what about the hostages? Where are they?

Kazumasu Takigawa said that the hostage was in Kanie Castle and could be sent to Shichibei immediately. He was a member of the Kizoku family and the third son of the previous generation Kizoku Toshimo.

The two men agreed that Shichibei would go to exchange the gold, and Takigawa Kazumasu would go to pick up the person.

Hadn't they originally planned to give Nobunaga 5,000 kan in cash? But when transferring it to Owari, Shichibei didn't exchange it for gold, only copper coins. Now, to send it to northern Ise, 1,000 kan in cash was too heavy and bulky to transport, so they had to use gold.

A thousand strings of gold can be carried on the road by a strong man.

The next day, Takigawa Ikki also brought people with him, but strangely, they were not samurai. Just like Ando Uemon, who came to Owari on behalf of his father Ando Mamoru, such espionage had to be handled by trusted samurai.

But the one who came today was actually a monk, quite young and a bit naive. Takigawa Kazumasu guessed Shichibei's doubts and quietly explained that their family had let Mokuzoku Tomomasa succeed them, so a proper son had to become a monk.

Makes sense.

What is the monk’s Dharma name?

The source is pure and mysterious.

102. The letter intends to enter the north

He looked ordinary, not like the great monk Ze Yan, who had the air of a great monk. Instead, he had the demeanor of a martial artist. When he held out his hands, his palms were calloused, evidently from years of sword and spear training.

Come to think of it, Kizuki Tomomasa was a successor forced into the Kitabatake clan, and Kizuki Toshimune's sons and nephews have only become monks in recent years. Before that, they were probably trained as samurai, learning to read and write, and engaging in murder and arson.

Now he is just chanting "Amitabha" while preparing to kill and set fire.

Shichibei had no idea the man before him was the future Takigawa Yuri, and only considered him a legitimate hostage. Let's talk, he had to ask about the carpenter's situation and verify his identity.

I had previously sent a dozen or so men to Kitaiise as merchants, gathering a considerable amount of random information. After a thorough discussion with Minamoto Joshu-kun, I found him to be quite knowledgeable and well-informed, with a good understanding of Kitaiise's situation. He also spoke with great detail about the wealthy families, including the carpenters, the Kobe clan, and the Sekike clan.

Okay, I believe it.

"Master, you will stay at Kawamura-ya. When Nobunaga leads his troops into northern Ise, you will follow him back to the Mokuzo family. Shichibei will report this matter to Nobunaga later, explaining the reason."

The matter of the 1,000 kan also needs to be explained to Nobunaga. Minamoto no Jyoshujuen is also a witness, indicating that we really spent that much.

Takigawa Ieyasu and Minamoto Jyoshugen were invited to rest. Shichibei summoned Nanbu Sanenaga and asked him to take his son and carry 1,000 kan to Kitaseki Castle. Shichibei was unsure about sending such a large sum to someone else. The experienced people from his hometown would surely be able to take care of it.

"Boss, aren't you afraid that I'll run away with the thousand kan?" This old man Nanbu Sanenaga is really something. He scares Shichibei for no reason.

"Then run away. If you run away, Kawamura-ya will lose a shareholder." Shichibei patted the old man's arm and pulled out an abacus.

"It's pitiful that an old man like me has to do this heavy work..." Nanbu Sane-chan didn't think about it at all. He acted pitifully while looking at the one thousand coins that had been exchanged for gold.

"You eat more than I do, so how can you be old? 'Young people' like you should shoulder more responsibilities."

How can someone in their fifties be considered old? They don't even count as pre-elderly people; they're clearly in the prime of life. The first spring of my career has just begun, and the best days are yet to come.

“…” Minami Nambu turned to look at Shichibei, his eyes showing more white than black.

"Scared." Go ahead and do your thing, Shichibei turned and left.

He had to report to Nobunaga, and Takigawa Ieyasu must have also reported to Nobunaga. He was the main person responsible for making advance arrangements in Northern Ise, with Shichibei as his assistant.

After hastily writing the report, Shichibei signed his name and handed it to a family. He then assigned a pair of horses to deliver it to Gifu. He also sent another twenty horses to Hanbei Takenaka, who was halfway along the road; he needed more horsepower to plow the road.

After this process was completed, Takigawa Ieyasu was ready to set off. He had to go and negotiate with Mokuzo Tomomasa in person. After all, the Mokuzo family was a wealthy and powerful family. Half of Ichishi County was under their control. Ten thousand koku was the minimum, and fifteen thousand was not a big deal.

Moreover, as a junior member of the Nakain-ryu branch of the Murakami Genji clan, the carpenter had a high position in the imperial court. He was a prestigious family that had the rank of Fifth Rank and was qualified to become a Sangi, a Junior Rank Sangi.

Even if Nobunaga had petitioned the imperial court, they wouldn't have granted him the rank of Junior Third Rank, Councillor, or Left Guard Lieutenant General. However, Minamoto no Jyoshushugen's father, based on seniority, had risen to Junior Third Rank in just twenty years. While not as impressive as the five Fujiwara clans in Kyoto, it was incredibly fast for a local rank.

Before leaving, Takigawa Ieyasu and Shichibei agreed on a code. If the person he sent back said the code, Shichibei was to follow it. If they didn't, he was to disregard everything they said.

He was Takigawa Kazumasu, after all, so he acted methodically. After all, he was out there trying to orchestrate a coup, so being captured, kidnapped, or betrayed wasn't uncommon. It made sense for him to have a backup plan.

In addition, Ikki asked Shichibei to send someone to Annozu to prepare a boat for him, a boat that could be sailed at any time so that he could escape easily.

This was crucial. Shichibei pointed out a retainer and told Takigawa Kazumasu to remember his face. After exchanging names and confirming the destination, Takigawa Kazumasu set off. Shichibei also gave the retainer some silver and told him to go to Ito, the boss, to hire a boat and sail to Anozuk to wait.

If Takigawa Ikki returns safely, then we can send someone to call him back. If Takigawa Ikki doesn't, then we have a backup plan.

This is how it came to an end.

Watching Takigawa Ieyasu and Minami Sanenaga leave, Minamoto Joshugen was quite pleased and pulled Shichibei aside to start a conversation. He explained that he was leading the wooden construction family to join the light, saying that he had heard that Nobunaga had entered Inabayama Castle and had therefore determined that Nobunaga was a powerful lord. By joining Nobunaga now, he could gain a good reputation, not only preserving his family, but perhaps even advancing further.

In fact, his idea was a common practice in the Japanese Warring States period, where a small clan devours a large clan. The Nobunaga clan was a branch of a branch, but now it had become the main branch of the Oda clan. He defeated Iwakura Oda, Kiyosu Oda, and Inuyama Oda, successfully completing the process of transitioning from a small clan to a large clan, becoming the "direct lineage."

The Mokuzo family is a bastard of the Kitabatake family of the Nakain-ryu of the Murakami Genji. Even though Mokuzo Tomomasa is the younger brother of Kitabatake Tomomichi, so what?

Oda Nobukatsu is Oda Nobunaga's biological brother, with the same father and mother.

Now that the Carpenters have defected to Oda, if they can use this opportunity to become the leader of the northern forces, they will not only be able to suppress the long-time hostile Nagano Kudo family, but can also further threaten the main family, the Kitabatake family.

Perhaps one day, Mokuzoku Tomomasa would transform himself into Kitabatake Tomomasa, and Minamoto Joshugen might change his name to Mokuzoku-san, becoming the head of the Mokuzo family and enjoying an income of over ten thousand koku. Then, everyone would have a bright future.

As for Kitabatake Tomonori, those who are ignorant of the times will be eliminated during the Warring States Period in Japan.

It certainly sounds nice. Isn't it just about recruiting external forces, accepting money from the enemy group, and then turning against one's own country? Why put it so nicely? But Shichibei would definitely not show it on his face. If someone came to Oda, it could be considered "admiring the king's rule."

However, Minamoto no Jyoshugen had some vision. First, he could see that Nobunaga would target Ise. Second, when others were still watching or still holding a hostile attitude, he encouraged Mokuzoku Tomomasa to contact Oda Nobunaga.

A person with such insight should have left his name in the Warring States Period.

Perhaps it was because his Dharma name wasn't recognizable, or perhaps it was because in another dimension's history, he only used it for a few years before returning to secular life and taking the name Muzuo So-and-so. Therefore, ultimately, no records of Genjojuku Xuan were left behind.

In addition, he had some unrealistic ideas. Why did he think that if he led the Oda clan to defeat the main family, the Kitabatake clan, the Kitabatake clan would be inherited by Kimura Tomomasa?

Smart, yet not smart.

As if to confirm Shichibei's guess, Nobunaga's fourth brother, Oda Nobuhiro (most likely called Oda Nobuyoshi at this time, but since he changed his name many times, we'll just use the one everyone is familiar with) was ordered to rush to Tsushima with Nobunaga's reply.

Xin Bao was nineteen years old, perfectly suitable for military service. These days, there were plenty of men fifteen or sixteen carrying guns and fighting in the military, so nineteen wasn't too late either. That was the range.

After seeing Shichibei, Oda Shinko first handed over Nobunaga's reply letter respectfully, and then sat down below Shichibei, which was quite polite.

Even though Nobunaga is Nobunaga's younger brother, he has many younger brothers, some of whom have rebelled and killed people. To be frank, these days, being wary of a younger brother who has the right of succession is about the same as being wary of a countryman who is always rebelling.

Even now, Nobunaga has not yet formed a group of retainers for Nobunaga, nor has he rewarded him with any land. Although he is listed as one of the Oda no Ichimonshu, his status cannot be compared with Shichibei, who is listed as a senior official.

Anyway, Nobunaga was holding a meeting of important ministers, and Oda Nobuyuki was not qualified to attend for the time being.

When Takeda Shingen held a meeting of his senior ministers, his younger brother, Kawagoe Nobumasa, refused to attend because he wasn't of sufficient rank. He couldn't even compare to his other brother, Takeda Nobumasa, or even the other foot soldiers. Matsuo Nobuyuki was even worse off, carrying Shingen's spear until his death, but Shingen only awarded him 397 kanmon (a title of nobility).

If there are many brothers but they are not capable, they will be like a dragon, leaving only one record, which says that although the ability is not that great, the saddle is very gorgeous.

Unfolding Nobunaga's handwritten letter, he saw two things. One was asking Shichibei to keep an eye on the northern forces' movements and report any disturbances to him. The daily reports were fine; Nobunaga was waiting for Shichibei's letter.

Another thing is to gain an in-depth understanding of the situations of the various families in northern Ise, to see which family can be subdued by Oda, and then stuff the Oda letter package in front of him into it, becoming a nail planted by the Oda family in northern Ise.

Compared to the fickle Chinese people, Oda's letter package is probably more trustworthy.

No matter which family he inherited, if he wanted to secure his position as the head of the family, he would have to rely on Nobunaga's support. Before he had complete control over the power of the family he inherited, Nobunaga would definitely not dare to have second thoughts about Nobunaga.

As for what would happen after Nobunaga gained control of the family's power? He wasn't afraid of second thoughts. Nobunaga meant that he could just find a wealthy man with 10,000 or 20,000 koku.

If the wood-building architect Tomomasa rebelled against Kitabatake Tomomichi, it would be like inviting a wolf into the house. If Oda Nobunaga, a daimyo with a 20,000-koku treasury, rebelled against Oda Nobunaga, who had a 1.2 million-koku treasury, it would probably be like throwing an egg against a rock.

Nobunaga is Nobunaga, he has a plan.

"Does Sanjuro-dono know what the lord means?" Although his seat in the family was lower, he was Nobunaga's younger brother after all, so he still had to be treated with the respect he deserved.

"Well, my elder brother ordered me to grasp the situation in the north as soon as possible, and to consult Lord Kawamura and Takigawa Sakon on everything." Oda Shinbao spoke surprisingly softly and without any roughness.

He also had a good appearance, with fair skin and not rough skin. No wonder Toyotomi Hideyoshi took his daughter home as a concubine when he saw her.

"I understand." Then Shichibei didn't need to do any psychological preparation with Oda Shinbao.

At this time, Ikeda Terumasa was already the lord of Inuyama Castle, with a salary of 10,000 kan, and Niwa Nagahide, Mori Yoshinari and others also had salaries of 10,000 kan. These were all ministers who had followed Nobunaga on his campaigns, and each of them had a generous salary.

Bie Xinbao thought that since he was a member of the Oda clan, he should have started with 10,000 kan, or at least 5,000 kan. If he was so ambitious, Shichibei would have to act as a babysitter and give him some advice.

They had a core group of retainers as their foundation, and Nobunaga then deployed samurai and distributed them to powerful riders, allowing them to enjoy a huge fortune. Xinbao had nothing but two small followers.

If he had not been born into the rapidly expanding Oda family, he would have likely been born into the Takeda family, like Matsuo Nobu, starting out with a salary of only 200 to 300 kan. His talent would then be judged, and his ability to be trusted would be determined. If he was, his salary would increase.

"What about me?" Xinbao seemed quite active. He watched Qibingwei put the letter away and didn't say anything else.

"Let's look at the records first." Shichibei only left this sentence.

The main reason is that there's no significant historical record of Nobukatsu, a seemingly invisible figure within the Oda clan, even less documented than Tsuda Nobusumi (Oda Nobukatsu's son). During the Kyoto Gomae era, Oda Nobutada commanded eighty riders, Kitabatake Nobuo thirty, and Kobe Nobutaka, Nagano Nobukatsu, and Tsuda Nobusumi all commanded ten riders, clearly indicating equal status within the clan.

Then it would be difficult for Shichibei to judge the character and ability of this prince, so he would observe him for two days first, at least to get a general idea.

The so-called records were small booklets compiled from the news brought back by Kawamuraya's merchants who had previously traveled to northern Ise. Shichibei also had his merchants traveling to and from Sakaimachi collect news from Kinai, recording everything from major events to minor ones, including rumors. Any significant news would be passed on to Nobunaga.

"Ah?" Oda Shinbao was obviously stunned, but in the end he didn't pull Qibingwei to ask any questions. He just took the several records handed to him by Qibingwei.

Not bad, at least he is not impatient, Shichibei thought.

If someone were too impatient, Shichibei would have petitioned Nobunaga to replace him with a younger brother. Even if Northern Ise was pacified, it would still be a "new territory" and would require a seasoned and steady commander to manage it. If someone too impatient came, there was no guarantee they would rebel within the next month.

Historically, Nagayoshi Mori entered Kawanakajima. On the one hand, Takeda's former retainers resisted Oda's general killing order, and on the other, Nagayoshi Mori urgently inspected the territory, leading to an uprising of 8,000 men. The Uesugi clan also sent reinforcements, creating a massive uprising. Following Nobunaga's sudden death, Nagayoshi Mori, unable to survive in northern Shinano, abandoned his territory and fled.

Although in history Oda Nobuo did not rebel against the local tyrants, but it was Oda Nobuo who was a nobody, but since Shichibei was in charge of this matter, he had to be serious.

We don't have Nobunaga's favor.

For the next two days, Oda Shinko was busy reviewing the records, though not meticulously. His patience was indeed impressive, and he qualified.

So Shichibei introduced Minamoto no Jyoshujuen to chat with him. As the local boss of northern Ise, Minamoto no Jyoshujuen was very suitable to test Oda Nobunaga's "ambition" for northern Ise.

When Nobunaga asked him to come, he probably already had someone in his heart. This was a good opportunity to test the waters, and Shichibei could also help with his advice.

However, when Minamoto no Jyoujuku learned that this was Nobunaga's younger brother, a hint of panic and suspicion flashed in his eyes.

103. Nagano is the best solution

"You are one of the first people to join the Northern Force."

Shichibei came over and patted Genjojuku's shoulder. Fortunately, the monk was sitting, otherwise Shichibei would not be able to pat his shoulder and could only pat his arm.

"Oh, haha, hahahaha..." Genjoju Xuanyi was embarrassed, as the doubt in his eyes was noticed by Shichibei. Secondly, he immediately understood what Shichibei meant by this sentence.

The carpenters were the first to come out and support Nobunaga, so at the very least, Nobunaga must have understood the principle of paying a fortune for a horse's bones. Not only would he not insert anyone into the carpenters' ranks, he would also give them sufficient praise and rewards.

Nobunaga was such a generous person when it came to giving money. Sato Tadanori was now holding 4,400 kan in cash and 300 kan in pension, surrounded by beautiful women, feeling very happy. After all, he was already old, so he might as well spend his last days eating, drinking, whoring and gambling.

In later generations, there was a Taiwanese man who, at the age of 90, still rode his motorcycle to pick up girls. He was even arrested. His son went to the police station to bail him out, and they told him to keep an eye on his father. The son said, "I'm so proud that my father can still be happy at 90."

Well, that's it.

Even if Nobunaga sent Oda Nobunaga to Tsushima, it was only to get an advance understanding of the situation in Northern Ise. There were many well-known and established forces in Northern Ise, and Nobunaga couldn't just find a poor family to succeed him.

Now is a world of struggle, how can we expect Nobunaga to just work hard and not make money? Oda Nobuhide was so fertile, with 20 to 30 children, and Nobunaga had many brothers, so he must have found a proper way out.

But it is a bit strange that Oda Nobuhiro was not sent. As the elder brother who once rebelled against Nobunaga, it would be appropriate for him to inherit a famous family and deprive Oda of his surname.

This was probably because, apart from the line of Oda Danmasatada, most of the other Oda clans had been driven away, leaving the Oda clan with a shortage of men. The young and vigorous Oda Nobuhiro was now the chief clerk and samurai general of the Oda clan.

During the New Year, Shichibei saw that before Oda Nobuhiro's name, it was "Nobunaga Gosha-ni". This is considered a respectful gesture in Japanese.

There is no way. The main force of the Oda clan now is Oda Nobuhiro, who is old and strong, has enough prestige and reputation to suppress others, and is also considered to be an experienced warrior.

Nobukatsu rebelled and was killed. Nobukatsu was 19 years old and was sitting in front of Shichibei. Nobunaga's uncle, Oda Nobumitsu, was also a very good Go-Ichimonshu writer, but he was the lord of Kiyosu Castle at the time and was assassinated by a very "coincidental" means.

Among his other uncles, Oda Nobuyasu's son was Oda Nobumasa, the lord of Inuyama Castle, who was driven away by Nobunaga to Kai to eat for free. Oda Nobumasa had died long ago without an heir, so the one he adopted was Nobumitsu's son.

From this perspective, it seems that Nobunaga's family can have children but not live long.

That’s not true. Goudongsai and Nobuo were particularly long-lived.

Forget it, let's arrange the letter package's matter first. Tongyuan Jingshuxuan sat down to chat, and Xinbao couldn't wait to ask about the situation of the three families of Kobe, Nagano Kudo, and Seki.

For example, the branches of the Muzō family, such as the branch families of the Fubu and Kawakita, and the branches of the Nagano Kudo family, such as the Unrinin and Hosono families, were branches of the Nagano Kudo family. Xinbao had no interest in these small, powerful branches. He really didn't care. The main family only had 15,000 or 20,000 koku. The small fortunes of the branch families were of no value at all.

Upon hearing the mention of the Nagano Kudo family in Xinbao's question, Minamoto Joshugen changed his mind. The Nagano family was once a powerful force in the northern region, but in the first year of Eiroku, they accepted Nagano Kudo (Kitabatake Kudo's son) as an heir, becoming a de facto subordinate of the Kitabatake family.