Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Of course, the fact that the Tanaka family failed to hold on in the end is another matter. It was all Tanaka Tadamasa's fault for not being able to have children.

Tanaka Tadamasa was Ieyasu's adopted son-in-law and a close retainer to Tokugawa Hidetada. He inherited the throne over his three older brothers to ensure the continuation of the Yanagikawa domain. Ishida Mitsunari's wealth, earned through his own head, was no match for the tragedy of not being able to have children.

"Your post station and stables must be built immediately, understand?" Nobunaga naturally knew that it was very difficult to arrest people across provinces these days, so he had to settle for the next best thing.

Set up a police station first and keep watch on time!

Catching a traitor means reducing one factor of social instability.

Since Nobunaga gave Shichibei the monopoly privilege of the road horse-carrying service, Shichibei had to take on the obligation of establishing post stations and stables and becoming a local "grid member".

"I understand." Shichibei nodded repeatedly and said he understood.

Needless to say, Shichibei was sometimes quite clever, at least understanding Nobunaga's reasoning for immediately deploying the Beishi and Zhongshi stations. With this firefly-like intelligence, coupled with his ability to execute, Nobunaga's favor quickly came to him.

Shichibei, still nodding, immediately received a reward of 200 kan from Nobunaga. Nobunaga would pay for the materials, and he agreed to mobilize local laborers for the work.

As before, Nobunaga, while the army was still in Ise, ordered a large-scale collection of danqian and fuqian in northern and central areas. Rural property taxes and head taxes totaled over 40,000 kan.

Adding in other scattered offerings and gifts, Nobunaga could have pocketed at least 50,000 kan from this expedition to Ise. After deducting costs, he'd have gotten at least half that. Therefore, giving Shichibei 200 kan was nothing, just a drop in the bucket.

After everything was sorted out and the arrangements in Ise were basically completed, Nobunaga finally announced his return to the capital.

The victor goes home with his original crew and a huge prize. Win! Win! Win! Three times.

The Odani and Mikawa groups also plundered their wares and received additional rewards, promising to return to Nobunaga's brother, Takayoshi, if necessary. One returned to Hubei via the Ise route, while the other took the Tokai route back to Okazaki. Before leaving, Hiraiwa Shinkichi even asked Shichibei to buy twenty horses and several carts. There were so many things that the Mikawa group couldn't carry them all.

Ise is really rich. I wonder how many millionaires it has created.

Originally, Shichibei hadn't planned to go to Gifu. Tsushima had suddenly received over 40,000 kan in accounts, requiring a review and reconciliation. But now, there was no other option. To escort the massive 50,000 kan of loot, Shichibei had summoned a hundred foot soldiers, iekai, and yoriki. Nobunaga also dispatched another 500 men to protect the small pack train and prevent any accidents.

The leader of the group was Yamanouchi Kazutoyo, a foot soldier with a salary of 250 kan. His 130 archers and arquebusiers were directly under his command and formed the core of the escort. He also assigned the other foot soldier team leaders and group leaders.

The Oda clan has grown so fast that even Yamanouchi Ichitoyo has become the leader of a hundred foot soldiers. A few years ago, he had to rush into battle and fight for the first place, risking his life to make money from the dead. Now he rides a big horse and leads 130 soldiers. He has made a name for himself.

Really, as long as you have a light as big as the butt of a firefly, you can take off from the Oda platform right now.

Yamanouchi Ichitoyo was still bragging to Shichibei that he had made great contributions in the siege of Gao (Shielded) Gang Castle, and that he would go this time, which would probably add a hundred or so kan to his salary. All the retainers who had been scattered after the death of his father, Yamanouchi Moritoyo, could be recruited back.

Inoemon is also considered a half-fighter!

Shichibei looked Yamauchi Kazutoyo up and down. Although this man was later called a man whose success depended entirely on his wife in the history of the Warring States Period, from what he saw, he was not completely useless. At least he was quite fierce when attacking the city.

If Shichibei hadn't had any combat mission, he wouldn't have felt comfortable asking Nobunaga for a powerful general, so he would have taken him along as well.

Now, it's the 11th year of Eiroku, and there are three more vacancies this year. I can ask Nobunaga for help. Yamanouchi Kazutoyo is not easy to ask, so who should I ask for?

"Inoemon, do you have any friends who are not good at fighting?" Shichibei asked as he and Yamauchi Kazutoyo were walking side by side.

"Not very lucky in martial arts?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo hesitated for a moment. After all, he was usually responsible for killing Nobunaga's kuku indiscriminately and did not need to use his brain.

After thinking for a while, I finally understood that it was because their martial arts skills were not that good, they could not make contributions to Nobunaga, and they were not promoted. If they were not promoted, then it meant that they were not lucky in martial arts.

Considering Shichibei's identity, he may not have developed muscles, but he's educated and has a decent brain. Hanging out with Shichibei might actually give you a chance to get promoted.

"It would be best if he's from Owari and has some family." Shichibei didn't mean that he didn't want a bachelor, but he mainly wanted someone with a family.

After that, he could bring all his uncles, nephews, and nieces together. In theory, it only required one warrior, but in reality, it was equivalent to requiring a dozen or even dozens of warriors.

Just like we want Takenaka Hanbei, although half of his family's retainers followed Takenaka Shigenori to join Ando Morimasa, there were still forty or fifty people who joined Shichibei's army.

On the other hand, people like Tsuchida Yoshikiyo came alone, but as his salary increased and he had some money, people from his clan, even his village, and even his hometown who had not yet entered the government came to him for help. With his "double talents," he was able to gather seven or eight people.

This is the advantage of being a local and having a family business. These days, when someone becomes successful, it's almost natural for people from the same family, or even the same village, to come and live with them.

Villagers and clans, whether in Japan or abroad, or even in China and North Korea, are generally the first group to make a fortune.

"A proper samurai from old Owari would be the equivalent of his entire family, friends, and relatives coming. We're as shrewd as monkeys now, so we can't have a bachelor."

"Yes, yes, it's Kuwayama Hikojiro Shigekatsu (Kuwaiyama Shigeharu)." Yamauchi Kazutoyo thought for a moment and then spoke up.

As for the reason, Yamauchi Ippo explained it clearly without Shichibei even asking. Because Kuwayama Shigekatsu was already 44 years old this year, he was only an ashigaru with a salary of 200 kan and a head count of 50.

In a daimyo family like the Oda clan, which was experiencing explosive growth, at the age of 44, when he was old enough to call himself an old man, he was still carrying a gun and serving as an archer on the front line of battle. It can be seen that he really had not made any decent contributions.

"What about this person?" Shichibei asked immediately, as he found out that it was someone he had heard of before.

"It's hard to describe, but he often lamented his bad luck. By the way, his handwriting is pretty good." After organizing his words, Yamauchi Kazutoyo came up with a word that was beautifully written.

In fact, this is indeed a good advantage, because people who write beautiful characters are likely to have put in a lot of hard work and practice. If you can practice calligraphy frequently, you must have patience, no matter what else.

Sitting down to practice calligraphy for two or three hours straight, this patience surpasses many others. Perhaps this person is indeed not suited to fighting, but more suited to being a cultured person.

"Okay, let's go together later..." Shichibei made a gesture of holding the wine glass and drinking quickly.

"Hahaha, then I'll wait." Yamauchi Kazutoyo naturally agreed. Why not go if someone invites you to dinner.

Because there was too much luggage and the troops had to stop and go, disband and split up along the way, it took them five and a half days to return to Gifu Castle from Ise.

At this point, Shichibei also saw a panoramic view of Nobunaga's residence in Tilia Valley. Spring hadn't arrived yet, and the trees had only just been transplanted, so it looked a bit bleak. But it must be said that the gardens were magnificent, not the kind of shabby, petty dry landscape gardens.

Japanese garden design experienced a significant trend towards grandeur and splendor during the Edo period. Although several surviving famous gardens from the Edo period have undergone subsequent modifications, they retain an overall sense of grandeur. They tended to prioritize panoramic harmony and aesthetic beauty, prioritizing meticulous detail.

How come in later times, Japanese garden landscaping seems not to be grand enough?

No matter, this is not Shichibei's business. Once the spoils from Ise are delivered to Murai Sadakatsu and Shimada Hidemitsu, the mission accomplished, Shichibei will have to get back to his own business.

The first is to fully develop the business of the Gifu Castle Kawamuraya branch, train dozens of new employees sent from Ise, and select key business personnel to go to Anotsu.

Secondly, we need to send someone to learn about Kuwayama Shigekatsu's situation. Yamanouchi Ichifeng didn't give us a detailed account of the situation during the trip, but he did mention that it was well written. We need to send someone to find out more now, as the number of people available is limited and we can't waste them.

By the way, Nanbu Tadaaki, who was originally supposed to be assigned to Shichibei as a retainer, was favored by Nobunaga and kept by his side as a mother-in-law. Nobunaga didn't say whether he would be compensated or not, so if he could get two more retainers for this, that would be great.

When he arrived at the Gifu branch of Kawamuraya, Tsuchida Yoshikiyo was already waiting inside. With all the staff from the Komakiyama branch having been transferred to Gifu, the shop was now well-staffed. With the addition of over forty apprentices from Ise, the Kawamuraya samurai corps, or rather, business group, had begun to take shape.

112. Kawamura Nine Riders and Five Hundred People of One Mind

The Mino branch, originally located in Kanjo, was now merged into the Gifu branch. Due to the large influx of Oda retainers and the influx of numerous Ise hostages, the samurai population of Gifu Castle alone, not counting the rest, exceeded 50,000. Adding in the service industry and artisan workers who served the samurai, the total population of Gifu Castle reached at least 80,000.

Over 6,000 samurai with spending power, along with a large number of hostages, quickly restored the castle town that Nobunaga had previously burned and looted. Even buildings like temples and shrines were divided into designated areas, occupying the faithful population, and began to flourish in Gifu Castle Town.

It really is a place where one can use his skills.

The prime intersection location that I had asked Niwa Nagahide to reserve for me was indeed located on the crossroads at the foot of the city. There was a shop in front and a horse market in the back, and there was also a racecourse and stables outside the town. Just based on this location, any store would be able to prosper.

The householders, samurai, and servants, seeing Shichibei return from Ise, came to pay their respects. From the counter inside the shop to the eaves outside the door, hundreds of heads bowed before Shichibei.

Suddenly, I had an incredible feeling that I would have such a day.

"Dayi!"

Shichibei stood and bowed his head in response. Then everyone stood up and lined up in the order they were in the store, starting with Kawamura Kyuki (including Inase Yoshinari), then the banto, the temaku, the apprentice, the fireman, the monk, and so on.

"Thank you for your hard work in the battle of Ise." Shichibei saluted everyone again.

The logistics of the 40,000-strong army were handled by the Kawamuraya staff and the conscripted troops from the two countries of Nobi. The continuous supply of troops for months was entirely due to the diligence of everyone in the shop. At least half of Shichibei's favor with Oda Nobunaga was due to the efforts of everyone in the shop.

"Your Majesty!" Everyone stood up and bowed to Shichibei.

"The boss will give a reward to all the servants." After the road was repaired, Takenaka Hanbei, who returned to Gifu with Shichibei, announced to everyone.

"Okay, let's not go home until we are drunk today." Before everyone could cheer, Shichibei added another point.

Gofushi Tetoku was a reward for hard work during the campaign. Shichibei had earned over 30,000 kan in a single operation at Annozu, and he had to give some money to everyone in the shop.

People don't go to war to fight for their fortunes, they come to Kawamura-ya, they just want a stable life with good wages. If we can't let everyone contribute, it will be disheartening.

Previously, Shichibei had received a reward from Nobunaga, which was increased to 2,500 kan. As the head of the family, Shichibei received a reward, so the servants under him should also receive a reward.

Although the cake is not made bigger, if we grab someone else's cake, everyone who contributed will get a share.

The shop suddenly erupted in laughter, a cheerful atmosphere filling the air. Shichibei returned to the building behind the shop and asked Tsuchida Shinkiyo about the recent situation. Business was just beginning and developing, and with the high turnover of staff, there was still much that needed to be sorted out.

Another important matter was that Inase Yoshinari was in Tsushima, responsible for expanding the horse-carrying business to Mikawa, while Tsuchida Yoshikiyo was in Gifu, naturally responsible for expanding the horse-carrying business to Omi.

Well, they encountered a joint resistance from the already developed horse-carrying companies in Hunan and Hubei, who certainly did not want Shichibei to enter their territory. Putting Hubei aside, the horse-carrying companies in Hunan had commercial privileges granted by the Rokkaku family, and they did not allow other merchants in the same industry to enter.

Upon hearing this, Shichibei didn't care at all. If we can't get in, then we can't get in. Someone will naturally take us in.

Those who are resisting us now will either have their entire families killed by Nobunaga in the future, or be driven away directly. Or they will surrender humbly and hand over their shops, harvested land, pack horses, and even their servants and themselves to Shichibei.

Nobunaga already had Shichibei, the chief disciple of the sect, and he also favored Shichibei, so he would not support another chief disciple to compete with Shichibei.

We are not like those samurai who slaughtered people everywhere and fought in battles in the wild. We are just merchants. It is enough to bring value to Nobunaga's psychological goals. As a monopoly merchant dependent on power, we don't need any dissenting opinions to interfere with the strategy.

If Shichibei ever disobeys, it would be very easy to simply cancel his monopoly rights.

It's easy to lift you up, and just as easy to tear you down. This was true even in the Edo period, unchanged. Of course, the relationship between government and business after World War II was a completely different matter.

Seeing that Shichibei didn't care, Tsuchida Chikakiyoshi was not the only one who could say anything. Shichibei seemed completely confident and not at all anxious. He'd even thought he'd failed to do his job well and would be reprimanded by Shichibei later.

After all, he was sent from being Nobunaga's direct retainer to serving under Shichibei. It was very likely that the fame, wealth and honor of the rest of his life would be tied to Shichibei. If Shichibei didn't appreciate him, it would be more painful than killing him.

Besides this?

No, everything is fine in Minong.

OK, Shichibei said that he would definitely report to Nobunaga and grant Tsuchida Chikakiyoshi the title of governor. His title of governor would be added to the total number of Kawamura's samurai group.

Just like the previously mentioned Hachisuka Koroku, he was transferred from Mino to Harima Tatsuno with 53,000 koku, which was included in Hideyoshi's entire Harima domain of 400,000 koku. Hachisuka Koroku was still a yorikyuki, a yorikyuki daimyo.

Seki Morinobu, whom we just met, was ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to become the daimyo of Gamo Ujisato, and his father and son were transferred to Mutsu Shirakawa with 53,000 koku, becoming an organic part of the so-called Aizu Gamo with 920,000 koku.

So even though some daimyo in the late Warring States period had hundreds of thousands of koku, the territories that actually belonged to them and their direct ministers often only accounted for half of the total territory, or slightly more.

When Ieyasu was transferred to Kanto, the total land of all his retainers and the territories of the daimyo was only 2.5 million. For example, the Satomi family was also given to Ieyasu as a daimyo.

Hearing what Shichibei said, Tsuchida Yoshikiyo quickly took three steps back on his knees and saluted Shichibei respectfully.

Although the two sides do not have the official status of monarch and subject, the Japanese believe in "serving the emperor with grace". Grace refers to salary and knowledge and behavior. Whoever brings me salary and knowledge and behavior, I will be loyal to him and work hard to serve the country.

During the Kamakura Shogunate's reign, despite victory against the invading Yuan army, there weren't enough manors and territories to reward the retainers who had gone to war. This led many retainers to feel they had served their country well but hadn't received any "new favors," leading to their growing discontent with the Hojo clan, who later became the ruling party. This laid the groundwork for the Hojo clan's demise.

However, speaking of salary and power, Shichibei has something he has always wanted to do but has never had the time for. He has to take advantage of the fact that he has no official business assignments for the time being to do it.

Ming established a retainer account!

When he increased the salary by 1,000 kan last year and recruited more than a hundred retainers, Shichibei wanted to record the retainers' names, origins, backgrounds, salaries, etc. one by one as a means to consolidate the Kawamura samurai group.

Only with household registration can there be obligations. Only with a household register can there be clear hierarchy, organization, use, and order of succession.

At this moment, So Kotaro also sat down and immediately agreed when he heard about the division of the retainers. He also hoped that Shichibei would clearly divide the people into Mino Group, Owari Group, and later Ise Group, Mikawa Group, and so on.

Each person was assigned to a group, and whenever there was trouble, the retainers from that area would be dispatched. Unless it was Oda Nobunaga himself going on a campaign, in which case the entire Kawamura family would have to follow. Otherwise, every task would be assigned to a specific individual, ensuring no buck-passing or wrangling.

In addition, while there are sufficient personnel now, a minimum reserve group should be retained, that is, everyone should follow Oda Nobunaga to the expedition. However, the basic business of the entire Kawamura-ya must still operate, and the corresponding personnel and horses must be available.

Well said!

After all, we grew up in the mud and piss, and we can say that we are working hard for the Kawamura family. If the Kawamura family does a good job, Kawamura Kyuki will get more benefits.

Then Shichibei summoned other retainers such as Inase Yoshinari and Nanbu Sanenaga who remained in Tsushima to Gifu Castle and announced to them the important household matter of establishing a limited number of retainer accounts.

Everyone agreed with it, and the shareholders of Kawamura-ya unanimously agreed and passed it.

A rough estimate showed that the Kawamura family now had over 450 servants, including those sent by Nobunaga. This time, they had to list them all, including the dozens of people who came with Takenaka Hanbei, and their names would be registered and given a stipend.

If they serve the public with the emperor's grace, then new grace will be bestowed upon them.

Kawamuraya's business is growing, and it doesn't mind spending a bit more on staff. Especially in this era of low human rights, the difference between labor costs and profits is almost like a world of difference.

Mitsui, the Tokugawa shogunate's imperial merchant, earned over 600,000 yen a year. Does this have anything to do with the fact that his monks, the fire-workers, were pure child laborers with no wages? Or does it have anything to do with the fact that his employees only received 6 or 8 taels a year?

Of course it has nothing to do with it.

However, when saying this, Shichibei still took into account the feelings of Takenaka Hanbei, and made it clear that after the retainers were divided into accounts, the money from the hand-pawn would be given to him first, and then he would pass it on to his retainers.

Whether he got involved or not was his business, but Shichibei would pay for all the work done at Kawamura-ya. He would also keep his retainers informed, so there was no need to mention it.

The 205 newly arrived Ise ronin, as they were the most numerous and had no work to do, were registered first and then picked up by the various branch chiefs. Those who were not picked up were sent to local post stations and stables. Each post station was assigned three to five people, each with their own duties.

The newly built post stations in Ise, in particular, had to perform a certain level of local oversight. While they could only set off fireworks and firecrackers if something did happen, and they couldn't be expected to suppress the situation with force or arrest anyone, they could still report the news. With the news being relayed from one post station to another all the way to Gifu, it was only natural that Oda Nobunaga would strike down the scene with his sword.

Apart from anything else, Nobunaga's sword is still quite fast now.

Those sent to Ise as post station messengers were put to good use. It's rare to find someone like Naniwa Shigesuke in "The First," who was obsessed with becoming a samurai general and who could truly rise to prominence on the battlefield, going from a rookie who could only cry and wail when faced with a battle to someone who could lead an assault directly into a city in just two or three years.

In the end, if he really gave Mitsuhide's head to Hideyoshi, he would have to give him 5,000 koku, or maybe 10,000 koku, which would be easy for the general.

But it is really rare to find someone like him who is completely focused on being a general and still says he has no burden even after his whole family died. You won't come across such a person easily.

After registering the Ise ronin, the retainer register was divided into two books. One book was for the retainers sent by Nobunaga, from the most senior ones, such as Takenaka Hanbei, to the lesser ones who had previously been supported by the Kaito County guardian. The only exception was So Kotaro, who served Shichibei as a direct vassal of Nobunaga, a retainer of Kawamura, and also the owner of the Kawamura family, thus forming a "two-fold" division.

The Oyamada Nobushige family was also considered "dual-affiliated," and in the Hojo clan's military records, one can occasionally see information about the Oyamada family leading troops to assist the Hojo clan in battle. It seems that whenever Takeda had a war, he would fight with Shingen, and whenever the Hojo clan had a war, he would fight with Ujiyasu, giving them a strong sense of semi-independent status.

Aside from these accounts of power, the rest consisted of retainers, servants, and samurai who had originally served Shichibei. This group was quite large, having begun with Shichibei at Tsushima Denbato, annexing Atsuta Katoya, absorbing the Oda Post Station, and summoning the ronin who had escaped from the Kannon Temple, step by step, until now.