Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Then there is no need for Shichibei to climb up to a high position for this, unless that high position is Nobunaga's daughter or adopted daughter.

But now Shichibei is not in a position to marry Nobunaga's daughter, nor can he adopt her. Unless one day Shichibei enjoys a salary of over ten thousand kan and serves as the lord of the Nobi clan, then he may have a chance to dream of becoming a prince consort.

No matter how much Saito Tatsuoki had a grudge against Nobunaga, it did not prevent him from becoming the lord of Kiyosu Castle with a salary of 15,000 kan. Nobunaga's condition for his surrender was that he marry his adopted daughter to Nobunaga, become a relative of the Oda clan, and become a member of the Oda family.

"How about this? I'll let my elder brother adopt her. What do you think?" Nobunaga clapped the folding fan in his hand and quickly made a decision.

Nobunaga had only one elder brother, his brother Oda Nobuhiro, who was the chief retainer and samurai general of the Oda clan. The daughter of a family of this status was more than enough for Shichibei, who had a fortune of 2,500 kan.

Oda Nobuya was only Nobunaga's nephew, while Oda Nobuhiro was not only Nobunaga's elder brother, but also an important patriarch of the family with a high salary.

"I dare not approach you so high as Sanlang or Wulang." He raised his hand too high at once, and Shichibei did not expect it.

"What's so unrealistic about this? It's reasonable and proper. Let me make the decision." Nobunaga saw that Shichibei was not determined to refuse, so he made the decision immediately.

Anyway, Shichibei's father is dead, and he has no relatives in high positions. As the lord, Nobunaga can take charge of this matter completely legally and reasonably.

"There's news from Echizen!"

Nobunaga, feeling elated and thinking he had done something great, suddenly looked up. Even the relaxed Nobunaga could clearly hear the sound of footsteps approaching on the porch.

Kosaka Masanobu once said of Nobunaga that he could forget toilet paper, but he would never forget his sword. It seems his assessment was spot on, as Nobunaga was meticulously watching and listening to all directions while arranging Shichibei's marriage.

"I'll take my leave." Since Echizen has urgent news, why is Shichibei still standing here?

"No need, just listen." Nobunaga signaled Lady Nohime to leave with her maid and children, but did not let Shichibei go.

Hearing the word "Echizen," Shichibei knew what was going on. Ashikaga Yoshiaki had come again to ask Nobunaga when he would take him to Kyoto, a request he had already made several times. Wada Koremasa, Isshiki Fujinaga, Hosokawa Fujitaka, Akechi Mitsuhide, and a whole host of other shogunate officials had come.

Nobunaga hadn't been available before, but now that Nobunaga had won in northern Ise, the news had probably spread to Kyoto and Echizen Ichijodani. So, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was asking again, so what else could it be?

"Greetings to Gifu-dono!" When the person came in, Shichibei didn't recognize him.

He introduced himself as Soga no Sukejo, a retainer of Ashikaga Yoshiaki. He traveled back and forth between Echizen Ichijodani and Kyoto, gathering news from Kyoto for Ashikaga Yoshiaki. He was also a veteran retainer, having served both Ashikaga Yoshiharu and Ashikaga Yoshiteru. As for what news he brought, Shichibei's guess was completely wrong.

General Ashikaga Yoshiei announces!

That's right, Ashikaga Yoshiei, the Kubunaka of Awa, who was supported by the Miyoshi Three, had already received the shogunate's order from the Kyoto court and officially became the 14th Shogun of the Muromachi shogunate.

Nobunaga was startled upon hearing the news and almost sat up, but he quickly suppressed his emotion. On the one hand, he asked Soga to go down and rest, and on the other hand, he ordered his attendants to immediately summon the elders and important officials of the family to the castle.

Who could have imagined that before Oda Nobunaga supported Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Ashikaga Yoshiei had already become a general. To put it in a bad way, if Nobunaga still wanted to support Ashikaga Yoshiaki, he would have to take the huge risk of being a traitor and a traitor.

After all, at this time, Nobunaga certainly couldn't be sure that he would succeed in his attack on Kyoto. The Miyoshi family was the overlord of more than ten countries in Kinai, and Miyoshi Nagayoshi could attack wherever he wanted, and he was very powerful.

If Ashikaga Yoshiaki fails, Owari might be fine, but northern Ise and Mino will likely experience huge unrest. All powerful families and people will have the right to attack Oda Nobunaga, and even other daimyo can openly attack Oda.

It belongs to a traitor.

No wonder Sogasuke rushed to inform Nobunaga in such a hurry. It was 100% because Ashikaga Yoshiaki was completely devastated after hearing the news and felt like the sky was falling, so he quickly sent people to Gifu.

It wasn't long before the elders and important retainers arrived at the residence one after another. This was the advantage of having retainers living together. If something happened, they would be there at a moment's notice. The elders' residences were all built around the residence, almost door to door.

Before they came, everyone was still asking what was going on. When Shichibei, who was sitting at the end, informed them of the news announced by General Ashikaga Yoshiei, the expressions of the Oda retainers changed drastically.

He is already a legitimate general, can we still fight him?

The samurai below were unaware of Nobunaga's plan, but the elders and important officials of the family were all aware of it. He dominated Nobi and jumped into Kinai to stir up trouble. With Hosokawa Masamoto in front and Ouchi Yoshioki behind, Nobunaga wanted to try it too.

But before they even tried, they were already being labeled traitors. That was not a good thing. Perhaps the Miyoshi Trio were waiting for Asakura Yoshikage or Oda Nobunaga to suffer a lifetime of setbacks at the Konan Rokkaku clan, only to then emerge wounded at Seta Bridge, where they could easily defeat them while they were at ease.

Who could have thought that Rokkaku, who had once fought against the Shogun family without being defeated, would collapse at the first blow, and who could have thought that Miyoshi, who controlled more than ten countries in the capital, would be so vulnerable.

"We only wish to follow our lord and will never regret it even if we die." While everyone was still considering it, Shibata Katsuie was the first to jump out. Without saying anything, he expressed his loyalty first.

Go ahead, Kaka!

Anyway, I'll do whatever you want, whether I can do it or not. It's all about conquering Kyoto and taking over that throne.

"Yes!" It was obvious that Nobunaga was very pleased with the expression of loyalty, and he nodded heavily to Shibata Katsuie.

Follow Nobunaga to support Yoshiaki. If Nobunaga succeeds, you'll be a hero who saves the country, and everyone else will be military officials who support him. Lose? Go home and prepare for a tough ten-year battle.

Akamatsu killed the general, but he's still alive. Rokkaku rebelled against the general, but he's still alive. At worst, I could go into the mountains and fight guerrilla warfare. There's always a chance I can make a comeback.

"He doesn't go to Luoyang, sits in the center, and is called the general of the world. What kind of general is he?" Qibingwei said.

If Ashikaga Yoshihide went to the capital and sat in the main hall, issued edicts, issued orders to the world, and granted official positions to Mori Motonari, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin and others, and these people accepted them, then he would be the shogun.

This doesn’t count if you don’t take the Kyoto train!

115. Acquired Komakiyama in one fell swoop

Well said!

Nobunaga immediately clapped his hands. What kind of general is a general who doesn't go to Kyoto? A general who doesn't issue orders in Kyoto is just a wild chicken. If he sits in the palace in Kyoto, I still respect him. If he sits in Awa or Sakai, what does that mean?

Whether you believe it or not, I believe it anyway.

The key is to have an excuse, and one that seems half-decent. Give everyone an excuse to help dispel the mystique of the Muromachi shogun, and coupled with Nobunaga's prestige within the Oda clan at the time, everyone can comfort themselves.

That's not a general, that's not a general, that's not a general.

That's a pheasant, that's a pheasant, that's a pheasant.

"Prepare the army immediately and send someone to deliver a letter to Ichijodani." Nobunaga snapped the fan in his hand, stood up suddenly, and looked at the important ministers sitting under him.

"Hehe..." The important officials bowed and saluted to show their compliance.

The military order was issued, and Kinoshita Hideyoshi, who was stationed at Sumata, was summoned back first. As someone with some connections in Kyoto, Nobunaga ordered him to come to the capital immediately and inquire about the details of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki's announcement. He also asked the court nobles to make a report to the court, stating that Oda Nobunaga would also accompany Ashikaga Yoshiaki to Kyoto, and the court would then make a fair and impartial decision.

In addition, they sent people to inform Tokugawa Ieyasu and Asai Nagamasa that if Nobunaga launched an attack on Kyoto, they would both send troops to help. And they needed more than 5,000 men to avoid being defeated by Rokkaku and Miyoshi.

Actually, this wasn't a good time, because Tokugawa Ieyasu had already made an appointment with Takeda Shingen to go together to attack his old boss, Imagawa Ujizane. The number of people they had last time was fine, but this time they needed at least 5,000. I wondered if Tokugawa Ieyasu could spare the manpower.

After all, he only had an incomplete Mikawa Province now, and could only mobilize 10,000 people at most, and in reality, only 8,000 or 9,000. Historically, he followed Nobunaga to Kyoto in September and October of the 11th year of Eiroku, and only returned to his main base in Mikawa in November and December.

In January of the 12th year of Eiroku, Imagawa Ujizane and Asahina Taitomo invaded and occupied Kakegawa Castle. We won't criticize Tosho-no-Omi-shin here, but they used the army, which had just returned from an expedition, to besiege Kakegawa Castle. After six months of fighting, they finally won by persuading the city to surrender due to the city's lack of food.

It’s not that the God is not strong enough, it’s really that the old soldiers are too tired to fight.

But that was all later. At this moment, Nobunaga didn't care about these things, nor did he know about them. He just wanted to recruit allies. Even the newly conquered Northern Ise had to be led by Takigawa Ieyasu and others and follow them into battle.

If he didn't bring along the real 60,000 people, Nobunaga himself probably wouldn't have enough confidence.

Finally, there was one more point, which was to send people to Ichijodani and Ashikaga Yoshiaki to express his position. Nobunaga had actually wanted to support Yoshiaki to go to Kyoto before, and Yoshiaki even wrote a letter asking Ryūshū and Nobunaga to stop fighting and join forces to send him to Kyoto.

At that time, Shichibei advised Nobunaga to first acquire the strength to be a troublemaker before considering these things. So Nobunaga himself decided to pacify Mino first and then Kitase, which delayed Ashikaga Yoshiaki instead.

By leveraging Yoshiaki's connections, he bought himself the title of "Unparalleled General of Ancient and Modern Times" and sponsored Prince Masahito's coming-of-age ceremony and the enthronement ceremony of the Crown Prince. The two sides were reconnected and gradually entered a honeymoon period.

The honeymoon period has lasted for several months, and it’s almost time to confess your love and then get married.

Sending someone to Ichijodani now is a confession of love. Come with me to Kyoto, do you want me to make you a general?

Who would go? Shimada Hidemitsu and Niwa Nagahide. They had received orders from Nobunaga to persuade Yoshiaki to break away from Asakura Yoshikage and come to Mino and Gifu.

Okay, quite proactive.

However, this matter would not fall on Shichibei for the time being, as he had no actual military service. It was nothing more than a small pack team sent out during wartime. Even if the rank eventually swelled to 10,000 kan, it would only mean bringing a few more horses.

He just didn't know when the Takeda clan would sell horses this year. With this thought in mind, Shichibei immediately sent someone with money to Kai to tell Yonekura Nobutsugu, or to go directly to Yamagata Masakage and ask them to send more horses.

If Nobunaga truly planned to march 60,000 men to Kyoto, the logistics support would have required several thousand men. At a normal walking pace, the journey from Gifu to Kyoto would take three or four days. A large-scale military operation would take between ten and twelve days. Including any intervening battles, 60,000 men would need at least a month's supply of food.

Ten thousand people could produce at least 200 dan a day, and 60,000 people would produce 1,200 dan. A month would produce 36,000 dan, which would require thousands of men and horses, pulling and hauling, and transporting by carts and boats, and it would still be tight.

Perhaps there weren't enough horses, so more would be needed. The condition of the vehicles also needed to be reviewed. During a previous expedition of over 40,000 men to northern Ise, some vehicles had been damaged along the way. Learning from this experience, this time the journey was even longer, requiring even greater preparation.

This is just talking about food.

They say there aren't any missions, but there's still a lot to do. We can't stay at Gifu Castle any longer. First, we need to send the people to Kai away, and then Shichibei will head to Tsushima. After all, Tsushima is the headquarters of Kawamuraya. The registers, personnel, main warehouse, and land for harvesting are all in Tsushima Town.

After all, Tsushima is the center of trade and grain distribution for Owari and half of Mino. Gifu is considered the largest consumer center, but the largest logistics and freight center is in Tsushima. Shichibei has to run between the two, and the main store cannot be moved to Gifu for the time being.

After all, Gifu wouldn't be Nobunaga's home for many more years, and he would have to move to Omi sooner or later. According to Nobunaga's plans, he had his foster brother Ikeda Tsuneoki guard the castle tower at Ishiyama Honganji Temple, clearly intending to build a fortress in Osaka and unify western and Kinki regions.

Anyway, Tsushima hasn't been blocked yet, so we can just make do with it. If Nobunaga ever moves to Osaka, or someone else in the world moves to Osaka, we can move the main office with him.

As they rode their horses to Tsushima, Inase Yoshinari was talking to Shichibei about something else. Nobunaga's original castle was in Komakiyama, but it had been moved to Gifu at the end of last year.

The entire city of Komakiyama was completely demolished. In addition, Komakiyama is a protruding hill several tens of meters high that suddenly appeared on the Nobi Plain like a pimple.

While the nearby river allowed for the cultivation of paddy fields on the land below, which was once used for streets and houses, the same couldn't be said for the entirety of Mount Komaki. Bringing water from the mountainside to create terraced fields would be time-consuming, labor-intensive, and require significant investment.

So now this piece of land has not been sold.

Yes, it was indeed "sold." The seller was Oda Nobunaga, and due to the feudal bureaucratic indolence, Mount Komaki and the land below it had to be sold together. If they weren't bundled together, no one would want such a large piece of land near the mountain.

It had been on the market for almost six months, but no one was buying. The land was already large, and they refused to subdivide it. Even the wealthy landowners of Owari Mino were holding off on selling it. Horida Uma, the former mayor of Tsushima Town, asked Inase Yoshinari if he was interested in buying the land as a ploughing plot.

They grazed horses on the mountain and in areas near the mountain where water was inaccessible, while rice and alfalfa were grown at the foot of the mountain, a practice of rotational farming. Kawamura-ya wasn't short of money anyway, so it would be a shame not to take over such a prime piece of land.

Especially this matter, there is another matter involved.

Northern Ise was conquered, so Inase Yoshishige reminded Shichibei of the plan they had made back then, which was to bring the family members and friends of the old man who grew safflowers to Ise on the other side of the Kiso River and settle them there.

The old man, Honghua, was willing to teach people how to grow safflowers, but he wouldn't share his technique for making safflower cakes. If he wanted to teach, his Christian family would have to be allowed to settle ashore.

Currently, dozens of acres of safflower are planted on the sandbar, generating hundreds of kan in revenue. Considering the Komakikari land cession, if the old man's family could be relocated to northern Ise, hundreds of acres of safflower could be planted on the sandbar at the mouth of the Kiso River.

Insufficient pasture and cropland will be moved to Xiaomu Mountain. The horses can graze on the mountain while the crops can be cultivated below. It's the best of both worlds. Now that spring has arrived, it's a perfect time to plant two crops of alfalfa to fertilize the soil. Next year, we can plant paddy fields at the foot of the mountain and grow rice, or divide the land into small plots and sell them to others.

We can just sow alfalfa on the hills and let the horses run free, which will allow us to find a way to raise them. It's not impossible to rely entirely on outsourcing, but we always have to have a backup plan.

hiss……

You're quite capable, kid. You've already made up your mind before asking me? Shichibei suddenly understood Nobunaga's approach. He'd push forward the most promising people, assign them specific tasks, and then kick them out if they couldn't. Those who did were rewarded with money, power, and even higher commissions.

When Shichibei had previously sent Inase Yoshinari to Annozu to purchase rice for the army, he had been somewhat concerned, fearing that Inase Yoshinari wouldn't be able to do it properly. However, he not only succeeded, but also did it beautifully.

People with abilities and capabilities should indeed be given more responsibilities, both to develop their potential and to promote our family's business.

"Let's do as you say. I will report to the lord about the placement of those townspeople. You go and discuss the matter of Komakiyama." Shichibei did not change Inase Yoshinari's plan at all and accepted it completely.

Send those dozen or so Christian townspeople to Kitai-Ise. Just write a letter to Nobunaga about this. Send them to Kitai-Ise to compete with Ise Taisha Shrine and Ikko-so Gansho-ji Temple for their faith. Let them kill them at will.

They couldn't even win a fight themselves, so how could they care about a dozen Christian families? Even if the Nagashima Ikko Ikki broke out in the future, their main goal would be to attack Nobunaga's military power in northern Ise. They couldn't even take Tsushima and were pushed back by Nobunaga.

"Yes!" Inase Yoshinari responded happily.

Before proposing this rather large-scale plan, Inase Yoshinari was somewhat hesitant, but now that Shichibei had fully accepted it, he was extremely delighted. After all, this was his first major business venture planned independently.

"Work hard, and one day you will become the owner of the stock." Shichibei patted his good brother-in-law and made a big promise.

The issue of the shares was dealt out a little later, and the imperial servant's stipend was issued. Yoshinari Inase received a particularly large stipend because of his involvement in the rice purchase at Anozukuri. The bonus had already been paid, and we would discuss other matters after he had taken care of this matter.

Seeing Shichibei patting Inase Yoshinari, Ai, who had been leaning against the door frame, finally came in. She handed Shichibei a cup of cold hot tea.

Perhaps Ai also had some credit for this plan. The young couple was a perfect match, childhood sweethearts with similar interests. Free love was indeed a good thing; at least you could find someone you loved.

Unlike our wedding, I've only met my fiancée once, and that was in secret. The image of the flat little girl in Shichibei's memory is a bit blurry.

It's a pity that we can't freely fall in love with each other in our status, so we'll just have to listen to Nobunaga's arrangements. Seeing how he's taking on so much, I hope he'll prepare a few more when he prepares his dowry.

While drinking cold tea and watching the sweet young couple, the tea tastes so bitter.

He stopped drinking and immediately put on a stern face. He began to check with Inase Yoshinari the material data of the Tsushima main store, and to learn about the construction work of the Anotsu branch and the Tsushima-Anotsu street.

The purpose of checking the data is to have a clear idea of ​​the situation. The number of people who have worked together with the store was already in mind, and now it is the number of fixed assets in the store.

Inase Yoshishinari was a former clerk at Itoya, a shipping company. Arithmetic and allocation were his forte, having spent nine years learning the ropes before becoming a master. How could he not be adept at it? Shichibei asked, and Inase Yoshishinari answered, almost effortlessly.

As for the streetscape between Tsushima and Anozukuri, Nobunaga recruited the locals from northern Ise to undertake a large-scale street renovation. The work is still ongoing, with approximately two to three months left. However, the Anozukuri branch is progressing rapidly, as it's not a grand palace, just a collection of cookie-cutter townhouses and shops.

The Anozukuri branch will be completed next month, and hopefully the Takeda clan's cavalry will be there by then. This will be a good opportunity to strengthen the Anozukuri and Gifu branches. Staff training is being conducted in Gifu and Tsushima, and should be completed in a month.

Anyway, the old employees will guide the new employees, and the core positions will be held by the old employees of the store. The newly recruited employees will start by doing odd jobs to assist, and they will be able to be of great use after one or two years.

Everything went smoothly. It can be said that only with the support of Oda Nobunaga was it possible to achieve such rapid and smooth business expansion at this stage.

The next stage will depend on Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the west and Tokugawa Ieyasu in the east. The styles of these two are too different, and they may not be able to be coaxed together.

It is better to expand it now so that it will be easier to deliver it to others in the future.

"The lord may have to march to Kyoto, so you should order more vehicles." Since Inase Yoshinari is capable, Shichibei doesn't have to order the vehicles himself.

"Go to Kyoto!" Inase Yoshinari was slightly surprised.

It wasn't that Shichibei was being careless, because Inase Yoshinari's brother was Nobunaga's head servant, so even if Shichibei didn't tell him, he would know. The real thing was to tell him the reason directly and let him prepare well and not be lazy.

"The matter has not been decided yet, there is no need to make it public." Shichibei nodded.

If it was a simple attack on Kyoto, then it would only take a few troops to Kyoto. Now it was a march on Kyoto, so they had to fight their way in. Such a big event naturally surprised Yoshinari Inase. How many times in a lifetime could a Japanese person have the experience of sending troops to Kyoto?

It was a great achievement in life, something you could brag about when you were old. Being able to participate and become a member of the army heading to Kyoto, Inase Yoshinari was even more motivated than Shichibei.