Owari Yumeki Golden Day

116. Special horse farm for the elderly

It’s great to employ people.

No wonder Nobunaga trusted his subordinates and handed over the tasks to his subordinates, while he was responsible for coordinating the work. It was really cool. It was so cool that he could watch sumo wrestling during the day, dance Atsumori at night, and occasionally make a living.

Oh, just kidding. Nobunaga was quite busy when he was busy, but he just knew the right people for the right positions. We're putting Inase Yoshinari on this mission now, which is also knowing the right people for the right positions. If we don't train more capable people, are we going to let a talented horse die in the stable?

Besides, I also drank a cup of cold tea that was full of the sour smell of love.

With Inase Yoshinari busy, Shichibei had time to visit the Komakiyama land harvesting area. Shichibei was actually quite familiar with Komakiyama, having lived there for several years. The mountain itself wasn't very large, measuring only 600 meters from east to west and 400 meters from north to south, making it just over 21 hectares.

Including the original townscape and the current vacant land at the foot of the mountain, the total area is only about 70 hectares. The good thing is that it's adjacent to the Aise River, providing an abundant water source. As of 2024, there are still large tracts of farmland at the foot of Mount Komaki, all of which are highly productive rice fields, which is quite good.

Originally, there was a Kannon-in temple on the mountain, but when Nobunaga relocated, he forced the temple to the foot of the castle. Now, it's been relocated to Gifu Castle, competing with a large number of temples for worship. I wonder if it's the Kannon of Childbirth. If it is, then it might attract some worshippers.

By the way, Shichibei wasn't yet a key samurai in Nobunaga's family, so when Oda's main castle was moved from Kiyosu to Komakiyama, he wasn't informed. However, the Oda clan's most important officials, who were informed, were strongly opposed to the decision. After all, Kiyosu had been the home of the Owari shugo family for over eighty years, a prosperous and peaceful place where everyone had families and businesses, and they were reluctant to leave.

Nobunaga then lied and said he was moving further north to Ninomiyayama (present-day Honguyama in the Rakuta district of Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture) to build Ninomiya Castle. His retainers were in great turmoil, but Nobunaga was able to defeat Imagawa Yoshimoto, and his reputation flourished, transforming him from the "Big Fool of Owari" to the "Child of Owari."

Under Nobunaga's insistence, the retainers were forced to set off. When they reached Komaki, they found themselves in a continuous downpour, making it unbearable for everyone. So Nobunaga said, "Forget it. Let's build a castle in Komaki, not far from Kiyosu." Everyone was delighted and accepted the offer, saying Komaki was a good place.

This version of the story is really like the reform of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, who moved the capital from Pingcheng to Luoyang.

What exactly happened at the time? Shichibei was young and not in the core. The other retainers did not mention this matter, so it is difficult to tell whether it is true or not. I don't know what tricks Nobunaga used.

If it weren't for the decision to move from Kiyosu to Komakiyama last time, this time moving from Komakiyama to Gifu might not have been so easy. It all depended on Nobunaga's word.

The repeated relocation of the castle to prevent the formation of local vassal political power was clearly part of Nobunaga's efforts to establish a new rule. He must have had a plan for how to regulate the relationship between daimyo and vassal, and he constantly adjusted it to keep pace with the times.

buy it.

Nobunaga was the landlord, so he certainly wouldn't have the time to sign a contract with Shichibei. He simply handed it over to Murai Sadakatsu, who was in charge of general affairs, to sign the contract documents. After Shichibei signed, Nobunaga could add his signature when he had the time, and the deal would be done.

The money wasn't even handed over to Murai Sadakatsu; instead, as Nobunaga instructed, it was deposited directly in Shichibei's safe. The Battle of Kyoto might be imminent, so preparations should be made to purchase saltpeter, lead ingots, and cannons. Furthermore, a large number of troops and miscellaneous soldiers might need to be recruited on short notice, so cheap military equipment like the Imperial Loan must also be prepared.

If the battle turns into a stalemate, the miscellaneous soldiers will be useless. But if the battle is going in your favor, the miscellaneous soldiers can be very useful in the back waving flags and cheering to boost the morale of the army.

When Imagawa Yoshimoto led his army to attack Owari, he hired a large number of miscellaneous soldiers. This also led to the army's immediate dispersal after Yoshimoto's death, and some units even attacked the Imagawa army and seized weapons, military supplies, and money.

Mercenaries, who can't even provide their own weapons, how strong can we expect them to be in combat? How loyal can we expect them to be?

Almost done.

Upon hearing that the money didn't need to be delivered to Gifu, Shichibei immediately instructed his men to go to Sakaimachi to purchase the teppo anyway, so they should bring along some fine brushes. Giving money directly to Murai Sadakatsu would be too vulgar; giving two Tang Dynasty brushes imported from China would be both presentable and discreet. Besides, it wasn't really a bribe; it was simply a courtesy between colleagues.

We'll have to coordinate with Murai Sadakatsu when we settle the accounts at the end of the year. Nobunaga couldn't possibly reconcile every single account with Shichibei. Would he just be watching Shichibei deliver a few lead ingots into the city? Impossible. If we settle the accounts quickly, it will also streamline our financial processes at Kawamura-ya.

More than 70 hectares of land now belong to Shichibei, which is equivalent to 0.7 square kilometers, about one two thousandth of the entire Owari.

At least there's enough space for racing horses. Japanese horses are tolerant of roughage, and we're not breeding them for war. We don't need three hectares of roaming space and natural pasture for each warhorse. For pack horses, a 100-200 square meter trotting enclosure is sufficient. By that calculation, raising a few hundred horses is easy.

There's even some land left to grow alfalfa. It just so happens that the sandbar on the Tsushima side is going to be converted to growing safflowers, so we can take over here and ensure Kawamura's horse feed and fodder needs.

"In this case, Xiaomu will have to set up another group." Shichibei muttered to himself.

Previously, staffing was based on one country, one group, one store, with an additional backup team. Now that the ranch is expanding, a dedicated team is needed to oversee horse breeding.

As one of Kawamuraya's foundational businesses, this could be elevated to the same status as its branches. Making a mental note of this, Shichibei returned to Tsushima and immediately sought out his family in the south.

The old man is a master horse breeder. When Shichibei was still collecting horse manure, he was already leading horses all over the riverbank. Now that the small ranch is under construction, we need to entrust it to someone trustworthy and experienced. We can't find a more suitable person than Minami-san.

"Team leader?" Nanbu Shichang's teeth were not in good condition, their teeth were crooked, and his voice sounded like a lisp.

Because the word "group leader" mostly appeared in Japanese underworld groups in later generations, so Taiwanese and mainland Chinese translators translated it as "boss", making it seem like a derogatory word even though it is a fairly serious word.

Nowadays, being a team leader doesn't have any negative connotations at all; it means leading a team. And there's also the "Team Leader," and the "Ashigaru Team Leader" is older than the "Ashigaru Team Leader."

"How about this? I'll give you an extra thirty kan of wages every year." Shichibei knew that the old man was very smart just by looking at the half-deaf look of the old man.

"Mr. Duo?" Nanbu Shizhang opened his leaky teeth but still couldn't hear clearly.

"Forty kan, forty kan, okay." Shichibei forced a smile. This is a talent, this is a talent, it's worth the price.

"Oh, okay. With my old bones, I'm afraid I can only feed horses." Hey, Shichibei's price was raised to forty kan, the old man's ears were no longer deaf, and his voice was no longer hoarse, so he got up and walked back.

What? Packing, of course. If you take Shichibei's money, you have to work for him. And don't forget, the old man at least has some business ethics. If you pay, you get the job done, and I guarantee it'll be worth the price.

As the owner of Kawamuraya, Minami-sanaga worked hard for the store, and it was a great favor for Shichibei to give him a bonus.

"Bring a few more people, Kai's horse will be delivered soon." Shichibei seemed to be trying to give way, but in fact he didn't move at all, as he had already cooperated with the old man's performance.

"If there are fewer, I can't keep an eye on them..." He said that the old man was pretending. At this moment, everyone changed their mind and Shichibei only heard half of the answer.

A few days later, Minami Sanenaga and his men set up camp in Komaki, hiring workers to build stables, warehouses, and fences. As if to cooperate with him, the Kawamuraya clan and the Takeda clan's cavalry arrived at Tsushima at the same time.

Shingen had no message for Nobunaga this time, so no famous samurai led the expedition, and neither did Yonekura Nobutsugu. However, he did bring a large number of horses, nearly a thousand of various types. And the number of warhorses once again remained in the double digits, reaching twelve.

Looking closely, the one who came to deliver the horse seemed to be a student who had attended the lecture in Shichibei's small class. There were dozens of students in the class later, and Shichibei couldn't remember them all, so he just knew them by sight.

Counting and handing over horses, settling horse prices, were all old procedures that had been in place for years. Shichibei also asked them when they would set out for the Suruga expedition.

After Iitomi Toramasa committed suicide and Takeda Yoshinobu died in captivity, word of the Takeda clan's planned invasion of Suruga spread among the upper echelons. Later, after Imagawa Yoshimoto's daughter, Reishoin, was returned to Suruga and Imagawa Ujizane implemented the "salt-cutting" policy in Kai, the news became public knowledge.

Not only Suruga salt, but also the Hojo clan of Sagami and Izu prohibited merchants from importing salt into Kai. Without salt to eat, even the children of Kai knew that Shingen was at odds with the Imagawa and Hojo clans.

Perhaps at this moment, Takeda Shingen was already holding his nose and buying salt from Uesugi Kenshin at several times the price.

The visitor said that he was of low rank and did not know when the battle would be launched. However, their Lord Shingen had already mobilized horses, food, and soldiers, and such a large-scale military operation could not be concealed.

That's fast.

Historically, Tokugawa Ieyasu had already dispatched Sakai Tadatsugu to Tsutsujizaki-kan to formally sign an alliance with the Takeda clan. Both sides ceded the Imagawa clan's Suruga and Totomi provinces, with the Oi River serving as the boundary.

After chatting for a while, the visitor seemed to remember something and pulled a roll of paper from the package. He said that the paper had been improved according to Shichibei's previous suggestions. The quality of the paper was now very uniform. Although it was not as white, it wrote smoothly and was not fragile.

Shichibei took the paper and smacked his lips, a bit rude. But he did have a doubt in his heart: Shingen wouldn't turn things around just because he earned a few thousand more kan every year.

117. Kai wants to buy iron cannons

Unfortunately, the person who came was too low-ranking, and he had no idea how Shingen was trying to control the Suruga samurai. Shichibei wanted to ask, but he had nowhere to turn and could only stare blankly.

Given Takeda Shingen's prowess, most of the Suruga nobles would have already chosen to confederate with Takeda and jump ship. If Shichibei were in Suruga, he would definitely choose Takeda as well. After all, while Imagawa Ujizane wasn't exactly a loser, he seemed insignificant compared to someone like Takeda Shingen.

Unless his father-in-law, Hojo Ujiyasu, put all his efforts into rescuing Imagawa Ujizane, then perhaps Imagawa Ujizane still had a chance to stabilize his family business. After all, Hojo was also a daimyo with a million koku level. If he really mobilized 30,000 to 50,000 people, it would not be difficult to do so.

It’s just that there were too many psoriasis cases in Kanto, and Hojo Ujiyasu never eradicated the psoriasis cases in all places throughout his life. He could only watch them jumping around under his nose.

In order to guard against these disgusting psoriasis, the Hojo family's troops were scattered everywhere and could not be gathered together. If they could gather 30,000 men to camp outside the Fuji Pass, Imagawa Ujizane would have survived for at least two more years.

Furthermore, Hojo Ujiyasu was facing a dire situation. It was unclear whether Kenshin Uesugi to the north would march into Kanto again after the spring. To the west, Shingen Takeda had already broken off his alliance with the Imagawa and Hojo clans, while to the east, the Satomi clan was a formidable force, only to grow stronger with each attack.

Fortunately, there is the sea to the south.

If nothing unexpected happened, at this point Hojo Ujiyasu had already sent Ishinomaki Yasutaka to send a signal of peace to Uesugi Kenshin through the former retainers of the Kanto Kanrei and the Kanto Kubo in Higashiueno, Kitamushi, and Nishishimotano.

Historically, it was Yoshitari Yoshiharu, Hojo Takahiro, and others who orchestrated the process that led to the agreement being reached by the end of the year. Next year, Hojo Ujihide would have to become Uesugi Kagetora and serve as Kenshin's eldest son.

Poor thing, Captain Tsubasa doesn’t have many good days left.

The only pity is that Captain Tsubasa is a very powerful "cultured person", but because of his blood feud with Nobunaga, he is temporarily unable to come to Owari.

Like the cultural figure of Ichijodani, Asakura Yoshikage, he was a renowned master of the renowned Sonjin-ryu calligraphy (the Shoren-in school, founded by Prince Sonjinho, son of Emperor Go-Kashiwabara). Cuju was his least impressive talent, though his other skills, such as waka, renga, archery, swordplay, and painting, were all considered exceptional.

Historically, even before Hosokawa Fujitaka, he received instruction in waka from the nobles Reizei and Sanjo Nishi. However, when he was in his sixties and writing waka for Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ieyasu remarked that Ujizane's waka used too many allusions and lacked the natural, unrestrained spirit of his writing. While his waka did not conform to the Way of Poetry, it nonetheless exuded genuine meaning.

What can everyone say? They will just say “Ah, yes, yes!”, “Ah, right, right!”, you are Ogosho, you are the best.

If it is true that after entering the Pass, there will be great scholars who will debate for me. What ancient and modern teachings are all bullshit, not as good as my true nature.

If Imagawa Ujizane could visit Owari or Gifu, he'd be proficient in almost every artistic skill imaginable these days. Learning from him would be twice as effective with half the effort. He'd likely be even better than the great monk Sawahiko Soen.

such a pity……

After weighing the gold, the Takeda samurai took the opportunity to ask Shichibei if it was possible to purchase a teppo. Takeda Shingen himself attached great importance to teppo and had various records of its deployment.

By the way, Takeda Shingen should have been equipped with firearms earlier than Oda Nobunaga.

This firearm does not refer to the matchlock gun introduced from Portugal, but the copper single-barreled matchlock gun introduced from Korea, also known as the single-eyed gun.

Before Nobunaga had even seen the arquebus, Shingen had already equipped himself with hundreds of matchlock guns, which he was firing everywhere. However, the matchlock gun was definitely an outdated weapon compared to the matchlock gun. When the arquebus was introduced, it quickly became obsolete.

Now Shingen came to ask Shichibei about purchasing the arquebus because he really wanted it, not because he was just grabbing at straws to save himself from the crisis.

But you're asking the wrong person. Shichibei is Nobunaga's personal merchant. If it's silk, salted fish, or even rice, he can negotiate. Just asking for a teppo is out of the question. If Shichibei can get his hands on any teppo, he has to sell it to Nobunaga at a price.

Who would dare to sell a teppo to someone else without any hesitation? Unless they wanted to quit Owari.

The man refused to give up and offered to double the price. It would be best if it came with saltpeter. If saltpeter was available, the price could be increased.

Qibingwei could only wave his hands repeatedly. This thing couldn't be done. It wasn't a question of money. If he really did it, and someone reported him, would Qibingwei still have his head?

Looking at the disappointed look on the Takeda samurai's face, Shichibei thought for a moment. He could introduce him to the owner of Tennojiya in Sakaimachi, Tsuda Muneki. Whether he could buy it in Sakaimachi depended on his own ability.

Anyway, whenever Shichibei went to Sakaimachi, he had to queue up to place an order. Back then, teppo were in short supply, but within a decade or so, many daimyo began producing their own teppo, and even Date, in faraway Oshu, had its own teppo forging facility.

"I am like a brother to Gorobei, so I can help you with this." Shichibei could only point out a clear way out, and it was impossible to sell it directly.

"Thank you very much, thank you very much." The samurai saluted hurriedly. He was a little disappointed at first, but now he heard that someone could be sent to Sakaimachi to find the cannon manufacturer directly, so he nodded excitedly.

As he ordered, he felt a surge of gratitude towards Yonekura Nobutsugu. No wonder Yonekura Nobutsugu had told him beforehand that he must beg Shichibei for help. With the Takeda sea route now blocked, it was impossible to buy gunpowder or saltpeter. The only person he could rely on was Owari Shichibei. Satomi Yoshiyasu might be a possibility, but he wasn't sure if he had a solution.

For the Takeda family, both the merchants of Sakaimachi and the craftsmen of Kunitomo Village were very unfamiliar and had never been in contact with them.

In the past, it might have been possible to get to know Sakaimachi merchants who were engaged in the shipping industry through merchants at the trading node of Suruga. However, now that Sakaimachi and Suruga are at odds and the road is cut off, it is simply impossible.

"You stay in Tsushima for two more days. When you encounter a shuttle boat going to Sakaimachi, I will send a shop assistant to go with you." Shichibei asked people to be patient. Although the shuttle boat has a fixed departure schedule, the return trip may not be every day.

"understand."

Less than ten minutes later, the man came back and said that Yamagata Masakage had given Shichibei a fine horse and asked Shichibei to accept it.

Good fellow! Who said the Kai samurai were brainless? He's quite clever, a man who wouldn't have let loose until he saw the rabbit. If we hadn't taken him to Sakaimachi, we wouldn't have been able to get this warhorse out.

Just looking at the horse's sleek black fur, you can tell it's a good horse. According to Shichibei's many years of experience selling horses, he can definitely get it for fifty kan, and if he finds one he likes, then sixty kan is enough.

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Shichibei looked at the young man carefully.

"I forgot, I forgot." The Takeda warrior scratched his head and was very thick-skinned. He said directly that he had forgotten. What can you do to him?

"I accept this horse. Please convey my gratitude to Lord Yamagata for me." Yamagata Masakage was a wealthy man with 23,000 kan, so he had to address him as Lord.

A few years ago, we were eating and drinking soup from the same pot with him, but now he has become a general of the Takeda clan who is beyond our reach.

Originally, they'd exchange the entire price of the horse for gold and have the person carry it back to Kai. Now, there was no need to exchange gold; they could simply issue a receipt and have the Takeda samurai take it and present it to Tennoji-ya. As the representative of both the Tsushima-kai and the Anotsu-kai, Shichibei had the authority to buy on credit, not just issue the receipt first and pay later.

But that samurai, touching the bill made of mulberry paper cut in two, said bluntly that this piece of paper could be exchanged for 1,400 kan in Sakaimachi?

That's right, this piece of paper is worth 1,400 strings of cash. If you're lucky, you can buy 100 iron cannons. If you're even luckier, you can even get some gunpowder and lead ingots.

The samurai of Mount Kai had never seen this kind of exchange, so it was understandable. Based on the trust built up over many years of cooperation, they carefully boarded the ship with the piece of paper and seven or eight of their companions.

As soon as the man left, Shichibei immediately ran to Gifu to report that Takeda Shingen was looking to purchase a teppo. There was a prior report, and what happened after the report was the boss's business. We were just lousy workers, so we shouldn't worry about it.

Anyway, Shichibei didn't sell a single cannon to Takeda Shingen. As long as he could hold on to this fact, he wouldn't be afraid of Nobunaga's punishment.

Nobunaga, who was awaiting reports from Ichijodani and Kyoto, was not alarmed by the news. He simply nodded and handed the land transfer document, signed with his signature, to Shichibei.

"How many cannons do you think Sakai can produce in a year?" Nobunaga was very curious.

"At least three to five thousand." Shichibei didn't know either. This was a trade secret. We are not from Sakai's group.

Besides the inherently high market demand, teppo can break down. For example, after firing hundreds of lead bullets, the barrel breaks and becomes scrapped. Or perhaps the manufacturing process wasn't up to par, or perhaps the ashigaru overloaded the barrel with gunpowder, causing it to explode.

Even though it's a consumable item, the profit margins are substantial. Sakaimachi must have mobilized manpower to produce it vigorously. Saying they produce three to five thousand a year is a low figure. A skilled craftsman can drill through a cannon barrel in a month, and this barrel is the most important component of the cannon. In short, a skilled craftsman making fifteen cannons a year is reasonable.

There are more than a few hundred blacksmiths in Sakaimachi. If they were to work at full capacity, they would make at least five thousand cannons.

Furthermore, Sakaimachi was an important port for Ming Dynasty trade, and Ming Dynasty smuggled iron cannons were also imported into Japan. The exact amount of this was unknown.

"Three to five thousand?" Nobunaga pondered the number and seemed very interested in it.

118. Yoshiaki decides to escape

Nobunaga probably really wanted to have a large-scale iron cannon production base, but unfortunately he only had a small Christian community under Gifu Castle that could provide him with iron cannons, and at most seventy or eighty of them a year.

However, the ally, the Asai clan, ruled over a village called Kunitomo. Located near Imahama-cho, Sakata District, Omi Province, this area was originally a production base for Omi-made kodachi swords. At the request of the previous shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiharu, and the former governor, Hosokawa Harumoto, they began to produce imitation teppo.

This place had the "autonomy" permission of the shogunate. Although the shogunate had collapsed, Kinai was still a region with a relatively strong atmosphere of the old order, and Asai Nagamasa did not strictly control the production and sales of Kunitomo Village.

By the way, Omi Hino is also the place where teppo are produced today. Hino Town was under the jurisdiction of the Gamo family, the same Gamo family of Gamo Ujisato.

Why did Nobunaga marry his own daughter to Gamo Ujisato? Was it really because he showed extraordinary talent when he was seven or eight years old, which was rare in the world?