Owari Yumeki Golden Day

No matter how you look at it, it seems to be a later fabrication, especially suspected to be made up by Japanese-American soldiers. Did Shingen have enough stone mills to grind noodles for his 20,000-strong army?

The Shingenmochi is pretty good, though. It's made by kneading glutinous rice flour with sugar, steaming it, and then dipping it in roasted soybean flour. It's wrapped in a thinly cut paper, so you don't have to worry about getting your hands dirty.

It wasn't too sweet, which suited Shichibei's taste. Nobunaga ate it and nodded, thinking it was a new way to try Japanese confectionery.

After the entire process was complete, the brewed tea was served. This was already the third lesson. Shichibei managed to at least manage a line like, "The foam is evenly distributed, like the smooth waves of Lake Biwa."

The class was not in vain, and the learning was not in vain.

Nobunaga took the tea bowl and drank it in three sips, bit by bit. He was already feeling a bit nauseous after finishing it. The first sip balanced the sweetness of the first, bland and unobtrusive. The second sip was slightly bitter, prominent but not overpowering. The third sip was the bitterest, excessive but sobering.

"Okay, okay, I'll applaud you," Shichibei almost clapped his hands. A good subordinate should always make it a habit to support their leader, and always keep it in mind.

"It seems that you two have already immersed yourself in the harmony of the tea ceremony." Matsui Tomokan gave a rare standard smile, as if he had successfully educated two qualified students.

"It's all thanks to your teaching." Nobunaga would not kowtow to Matsui Tomokan, so Shichibei answered on his behalf.

"I am a humble monk who has been entrusted by a loyal person." Matsui Tomokan returned the greeting, and Nobunaga then lowered his head.

The two men came out of the room, and Nobunaga smacked his lips, a rare occurrence. It was unclear whether he was savoring the bitterness of the tea or his condition.

"This person is very organized." Nobunaga first set the tone.

"He's neither impatient nor irritable, and he does have some sense of propriety." Shichibei also noticed this. At least he didn't get angry or anxious because he taught two stupid students.

"Tea ceremony is indeed a thing that can test a person's character."

"That's what you said."

"Tell him to come to the city in a couple of days so we can have a good taste of it." At this moment, the young man guarding the door had already brought the horse over, and Nobunaga made the decision immediately.

"I understand." Shichibei agreed.

At least now Matsui Tomokan behaves like a qualified official, regardless of how well he actually does his job. According to Nobunaga, it would be great if he stayed and made Japanese confectionery.

Whether he could be retained or not might still be a test from Nobunaga. But Shichibei was certain of one thing: this old man, who had come to Gifu to inquire about the situation, was able to remain silent even though he knew a high-ranking retainer like Oda Nobuhiro.

What a strong willpower! He can hold it in longer than Shichibei.

122. Hideyoshi brings back the letter from Kyoto

This time, Oda Nobuhiro really came and even saluted Shichibei. After all, Nobunaga was in charge, and he would soon become Shichibei's father-in-law, so he just wanted to get to know him.

Marriages during the Warring States Period, especially between military families, were often fraught with political considerations. However, it must be said that in an era where betrayal was a possibility, marriages were considered a relatively stable and robust political alliance.

So much so that by the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, it was clearly stipulated that marriages between daimyo had to be agreed upon by Hideyoshi himself or later by Hideyori.

Tokugawa Ieyasu, on the one hand, destroyed this rule, and on the other hand, he inherited it. The Edo shogunate also required that marriages between lords and lords, and between lords and large hatamoto, must be approved by the shogunate.

Watch closely.

But this was not the main topic of the day. The main topic was that Matsui Tomokan was invited into the city to serve tea to Oda Nobunaga. He was also told in advance that several other important officials of the Oda clan would be there.

Gifu is not a place with a prosperous culture, and it is rare for a serious tea connoisseur to come here. It is not surprising that "Oda Nobuhiro" drank tea and talked about it with his brother.

Then Matsui Tomokan saw that Nobunaga was sitting in the seat of honor, while the real Oda Nobuhiro was sitting below Nobunaga. The two were brothers and had similar faces, so it was really difficult to tell them apart for a moment.

It's amazing that this man was only stunned for a moment before he accepted the reality very calmly. He respectfully saluted Nobunaga, who was Oda Nobuhiro a few days ago, and also saluted other important Oda officials one by one.

He bowed his head. Nobunaga turned his gaze, saw Shichibei, and nodded in agreement. A normal person would have been agitated for a moment. Any kind of excitement, even a trembling hand, would have counted. But Matsui Tomokan accepted it quickly, adjusting perfectly. He simply kowtowed and was done with it.

He didn't even ask, and of course even if he asked, he might not get an answer.

Have tea!

Sakuma Nobumori and Niwa Nagahide were both legitimate samurai, so they were certainly not completely ignorant of etiquette. Murai Sadakatsu was even more so. Having received advance notice, the three of them had made an effort to inquire about the situation. Now, they were intently observing Nobunaga's actions, or rather, his pretentious demeanor.

If you follow Nobunaga, you will be almost right.

Yes, Shichibei suddenly felt warm inside. Why? Because Nobunaga had taken tea ceremony lessons with Shichibei. He'd seen all the shabby little things. Nobunaga hadn't been shy at all, revealing aspects of himself to Shichibei.

On the contrary, when he was in front of these trusted ministers, he acted very formal, serious and methodical, fearing that what he did was not in compliance with the regulations and standards.

Nobunaga also loves me.

pet.

After everyone had admired the bubbles on the tea and expressed their opinions, Nobunaga didn't pretend to be arrogant and asked Matsui Tomokan if he would like to be his tea master.

Why wouldn't he? Matsui Tomokan didn't even bother to refuse, and immediately agreed. After all, he wasn't a famous tea ceremony master, and his future fame in the tea ceremony would be even less than that of Furuta Oribe, who was currently serving as an envoy outside the sect.

Even if Nobunaga hadn't conquered Kyoto, what kind of tea master wouldn't he have found once he had conquered Kyoto? Kyoto was already full of tea masters serving the imperial family, the shogunate, and the court nobles. It was only because Sen no Rikyu had the support of two generations of powerful rulers that he became the founder of many schools of tea ceremony.

The so-called Three Thousand Schools have already occupied the first level of the Japanese tea ceremony ecological niche.

It's better to lean on a big tree for shade. Murata Shuko is the disciple of Ikkyu, the monk who teases Ashikaga Yoshimitsu every day in the cartoon.

The disciples of such a master are not only unknown in their school, but also the descendants of their school cannot even be found on Japanese Wikipedia. For example, Matsumoto Juho, Kuritaguchi Zenho, etc.

The Shinkage-ryu is exactly the same as Kamiizumi Nobutsuna's. The Kamiizumi family has both heirs and disciples. However, the Yagyu family fell in love with a good master and eventually conquered the Tokugawa family. Therefore, the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu became the main representative of the Shinkage-ryu.

To put it bluntly, learn the arts of literature and martial arts and serve the emperor.

If you don't sell it to powerful princes or even the world, then even the best tea ceremony or swordsmanship will be forgotten. If you practice hard in the mountains, no matter how good your skills are, if no one supports you, you can only enjoy yourself.

This is a common point all over the world. If you don't climb the ladder of power, even gold will be buried in the ground.

After the tea party, Nobunaga asked Xiao Xing to assign Matsui Tomokan a room at the foot of the castle and give him an additional salary of 100 kan. He said, "Just do it for now, and we'll see what happens later."

Arriving at the city gate, Matsui Tomokan was quite polite and gave a firm salute to Shichibei. Before he came, Tsuda Muneki told him that Shichibei was a favorite of Nobunaga, and that if he got close to Shichibei, he would have his own way.

He had thought that Shichibei was entrusted by someone to place him before Nobunaga. But now he had no power, no influence, and a salary of only 100 kan, and he didn't even say thank you to Shichibei.

He bowed and accepted the favor, and would repay it when he had the chance in the future.

There are no random promises or boasts about the future, just a simple greeting. It's quite interesting, really interesting.

After Shichibei returned the gift, Xiaoxing took him to his new home. Nobunaga had set up numerous residences at the foot of the castle, all for the purpose of recruiting samurai. If anyone surrendered now, they would be provided with food, lodging, and even a wife.

Don't laugh. Didn't Long Xing organize hundreds of men for a surprise attack in the middle of the night during the general attack on Inabayama? Nobunaga hacked over 300 of them to death on the spot. Counting those killed before and after, there must have been at least hundreds of widows and unmarried daughters among the samurai in Mino.

Underage sons and brothers were not permitted to serve Nobunaga. Therefore, Shimada Hidemitsu and Sugaya Nagayasu were tasked with matching recruited single samurai with widows with children, widows living alone, and little girls. They were required to ensure that these families quickly regained their fighting strength and joined Nobunaga's campaign to conquer the world.

Even though Nobunaga killed your father, your brother, or your husband, or any male in your family, he was still responsible for finding a new man for you.

Nobunaga is a pretty good person.

Well, let's not talk about that. Shichibei is planning to head to Komakiyama again. Nanbu Sanenaga has been gone for almost a month now, so the ranch should be almost finished. This is a major project for Kawamuraya, and it's worth Shichibei's special visit.

Before leaving the house, I heard people from the city say that Hideyoshi had returned from Kyoto. Well, I'll spend a day there and find out about Hideyoshi's wonderful adventure in Kyoto.

Hideyoshi's trip to Kyoto wasn't in vain; he learned a great deal about the situation in Kyoto. For example, why did the imperial court first grant Ashikaga Yoshiei the imperial edict? It was because at least the Miyoshi clan, the old "protectors of Kyoto," led by the Miyoshi Three, supported Ashikaga Yoshiei. Meanwhile, Ashikaga Yoshiaki had no strong support.

Nobunaga was killing people in Ise at that time and had no intention of going to Kyoto. The imperial court and Nobunaga had just made contact and were not sure when Nobunaga would come.

In this case, the Miyoshi family, which had had a "good relationship" with the imperial court for decades, naturally gained the favor of the imperial court, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who supported it, was able to be appointed as the shogun.

The court's favor also came with conditions, which was that once Ashikaga Yoshihide ascended the throne in Kyoto, he would be responsible for the security of the entire Kyoto.

Kyoto's population exceeded 100,000, sometimes even 200,000. By the Edo period, it had consistently hovered between 300,000 and 400,000. As one of Japan's largest towns, its large population created significant pressure for public security. The imperial court alone was no longer able to maintain public order in Kyoto, requiring the shogun and kanrei to rely on them.

The Miyoshi Three did not lack sufficient troops to escort Ashikaga Yoshihide to Kyoto to succeed to the throne, but they were now engaged in battles with Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, Matsunaga Hisahide and his son, and other forces such as Hatakeyama.

Unfortunately, their abilities were far inferior to those of Miyoshi Nagayoshi, who was known for his ability to beat people to death. He even had to seize his castle, Iimori Castle, from Kizawa Nagamasa. The Miyoshi trio fought for two or three years, but they still hadn't managed to kill Matsunaga Hisahide and his son. The more they fought, the fewer troops they had, and their army was becoming increasingly exhausted.

Assuming that Ashikaga Yoshihide went to Kyoto, it would be very simple to station an army of 5,000 people in Kyoto, at least temporarily.

Some may ask, doesn't the shogunate have over 2,000 members of the Fugongshi and Ashigaru? These are troops supported by income from the manors in the mountain castles and the customs offices in Kyoto. As long as the shogun is in power, they can come at his command.

Yes, they did, but in the rebellion of 1865 by the governor of the government, Sadaka Ise, these local military forces in Kyoto suffered heavy losses. Not only did the governor Sadaka Ise and his son die in the battle, but he also died with hundreds of his soldiers.

Later, Ashikaga Yoshiteru replaced him with Settsu Harumon, the administrative steward, who did not have this appeal and could not gather an army of two to three thousand people to defend Kyoto and maintain public order. This was one of the reasons for the subsequent outbreak of the Eiroku Rebellion.

The military forces directly under the shogun never recovered after this incident and could not even do such basic tasks as cooperating with the imperial court and maintaining public order in Kyoto.

So when Ashikaga Yoshihide went to Kyoto, should he deploy troops?

In terms of deployment, with 5,000 fewer troops, the Miyoshi Three even felt they couldn't defeat Matsunaga Hisahide and his son. This wasn't a question of whether Matsunaga Hisahide would attack them from behind after they went to Kyoto. It was the objective fact that the Miyoshi Three were unable to go to Kyoto for the time being, and the key issue was their ability to maintain stability in Kyoto.

Without this ability, Ashikaga Yoshiei certainly could not go to Kyoto. This actually created a good opportunity for Nobunaga, who had the ability to maintain public order in Kyoto.

Whether it was money or military strength, Nobunaga had the power to maintain the security of Kyoto. In fact, as long as Nobunaga entered Kyoto, the court would actively embrace Nobunaga.

After all, the court officials didn't want to encounter bandits when they went out, or have their homes robbed every day. They longed for someone truly capable of maintaining peace in Kyoto, no matter what that person's name was.

How can those who have never experienced war understand the value of peace?

"So the court is expecting the lord to come to Kyoto?" By the evening, Hideyoshi was already sitting in front of Shichibei and explained all the details to him.

"That's right, the court looks forward to the lord as people in a drought look forward to rainbows." Hideyoshi must have plagiarized this from someone, but it's very true.

"What does the lord say?" Hideyoshi had reported to Nobunaga during the day, so Nobunaga should have some instructions or something.

"The lord just smiled and nodded repeatedly." Hideyoshi certainly would not deceive Shichibei about this matter.

Nobunaga was only surprised, but he didn't show it right away. He had gradually realized a problem: those once powerful forces in Kinai were showing signs of aging and decline.

The Hatakeyama clan, which could mobilize 20,000 to 30,000 men a few years ago, is no longer active, the Miyoshi clan is exhausted and weak, and even the Rokkaku clan did not take advantage of such a good opportunity to go to Kyoto to fight for power.

This shows that these former powers were all outwardly strong but inwardly weak, and it was fitting that a new hegemonic lord like Oda Nobunaga should go to Kyoto and conquer them.

"Hmm..." Shichibei nodded, probably understanding.

But Ashikaga Yoshiaki still hasn't escaped from Ichijodani? He should be even more anxious than Nobunaga.

123. Yoshiaki's clever plan to escape

Yes, Hideyoshi was also confused. Ashikaga Yoshiaki should be the person who most wanted to be the shogun in Japan. Now Nobunaga has promised to support him to go to Kyoto, so why didn't he come?

It's really confusing.

Yoshiaki was actually trying to escape. Asakura Yoshikage had suffered a mental breakdown after his only son's sudden death. But while he was broken, others weren't. There were still many people protecting, or monitoring, Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

How can we make the guards relax? Ashikaga Yoshiaki thought about it and decided that if he relied on others, he would be a princess; if he relied on others, he would be a Japanese; if he relied on others, he would be a Taiwanese. Only by relying on himself could he have a bright future.

So Yoshiaki personally submitted a petition to the imperial court and sent someone to seek the help of the former regent Nijo Haruyoshi. Looking at the name, everyone can guess that the "Haru" in this person is the "Haru" in the name of Ashikaga Yoshiaki's biological father, Ashikaga Yoshiharu.

It was a serious matter. Asakura Yoshikage's father had died long ago, more than a decade ago. But his mother was still alive and had become a nun, known as Kōtokuin.

The remains of the Ichijodani in later Japan also include the remains of the garden that Yoshikage built for his mother. The mother and son must have had a very good relationship, even better than the "mother-son filial piety" of Nobunaga or Date Masamune.

So this was what Ashikaga Yoshiaki had in mind. He submitted a petition to the imperial court, and with the help of Nijo Haruyoshi, he persuaded Yoshikage's mother, Kōtokuin, to be promoted to the rank of "Nibi-ni".

Aside from women of the imperial family, this was probably the highest honor aristocratic woman could receive in feudal Japan. There was no greater honor than this, and it was completely impossible for ordinary people to obtain it.

Later, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi also secured a nun for his mother, Keishoin, and then the imperial court came to announce the decree. However, the reception by the Ako domain lord Asano Naganori was poor, which angered Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and he ordered her to commit seppuku.

Needless to say, when the imperial court suddenly announced that it would promote Kōtoku-in to the rank of Ni-no-ni, Asakura Yoshikage, who had previously suffered a mental breakdown and neglected government affairs, suddenly came back to life. Of course, it could also be that she had gotten over the grief of losing her son, and the two events coincided.

Upon learning that Ashikaga Yoshiaki had assisted, Asakura Yoshikage was overjoyed and entertained him for days. Later, the imperial court's ministers arrived at Ichijodani, where three days of Noh performances and a grand banquet were held. The leading Asakura warriors, all drunk, finally relaxed their watchful eye on Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

Yoshiaki raised his legs and ran, and Nobunaga happened to give him thirty horses.

Of course, Yoshiaki felt a little embarrassed. For the past year or so, he had only been able to avoid starvation thanks to Asakura Yoshikage's hospitality. So before leaving, he wrote a letter to Asakura Yoshikage to express his gratitude.

After writing the letter, Ashikaga Yoshiaki took a dozen of his close associates and confidants and rushed south to Gifu Castle. He didn't even have time to inform Oda Nobunaga, after all, who knew when Asakura Yoshikage would host a banquet and get drunk.

Nobunaga only received the report when Yoshiaki arrived in Mino and passed through the border. He immediately sent five people, including Sakuma Nobumori, Ando Morinari, Kinoshita Hideyoshi, Murai Sadakatsu and Fuwa Mitsuharu, to the border to welcome Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

He also asked Shichibei and Maeda Toshiie to clean up Mino Ritsho-ji Temple (now Nishisho 3-chome 7-11, Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture), not far from Gifu, in order to welcome Ashikaga Yoshiaki's arrival.

Why didn't they go directly to Nobunaga's residence in Tilia Valley? Of course not. There's no record of Kenshin Uesugi giving up Kasugayama Castle when he welcomed Kenshin Uesugi to Echigo. Kenshin Uesugi also lived in a temple at first, and later in Echigo Fuchu Castle.

At this point, Shichibei still had no idea how Ashikaga Yoshiaki had escaped. He simply assumed he had been in a hurry, having taken only a dozen attendants with him. Following Nobunaga's orders, he immediately visited Lady Nohime and asked her to find a few more maids to look after Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

You can't arrange for a bunch of grown men to bathe Ashikaga Yoshiaki, right? Oda Nobunaga might have liked strong and handsome teenagers, but I'm not aware that Ashikaga Yoshiaki had this hobby.

Once inside, Nobunaga was busy preparing a gift for Ashikaga Yoshiaki. He left him alone and focused on Lady Nouhime. Lady Nouhime was playing with a little girl whom Shichibei knew. She was Saito Dosan's youngest daughter, previously raised by Nagai Michitoshi. Now considered Nobunaga's adopted daughter, she was being raised exclusively by Lady Nouhime.

The girl wasn't shy, even bowing to Shichibei. I wonder who this girl will marry, but she's sure she'll marry well. Saito Dosan was a legitimate Mino shugodai, and Nobunaga was the future ruler of the world.

Upon hearing that she was going to arrange a maid for Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Lady Nohime took it very seriously and quickly said that she would take care of it. She would arrange for someone to go to Rissho-ji Temple tonight and ensure that it would not affect Yoshiaki's reception later.

Now that the house is clean and staffed, I can explain some important things to the maids later. For example, they should talk less and not answer all of Yoshiaki's questions. If Yoshiaki is interested in you, then show some interest. If you can give Yoshiaki a child, that wouldn't be a bad thing either.

Yoshiaki's sons had access to grand temples and courtyards, and enjoyed fiefs of thousands or even tens of thousands of koku. Living with such a son would surely be a life of luxury.

As for the daughters of the Ashikaga family, they had no trouble finding a husband. Every feudal lord in the world wanted a daughter-in-law from the Ashikaga family. This was the claim of the Muromachi shogunate.

After all this was done, Ashikaga Yoshiaki also arrived in Gifu, escorted by more than ten attendants.

Shichibei was not a guard, so he did not need to stand in the street and march a mile forward to greet Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Instead, Niwa Nagahide and Hayashi Hidetada were responsible for the guard duty, mobilizing thousands of men directly under Nobunaga's command to line up along the street all the way to the gate of Rissho-ji Temple.

This not only demonstrates Oda Nobunaga's regard for Ashikaga Yoshiaki, but also demonstrates the Oda clan's military might at the time. After all, the daimyo's direct standing army had thousands of men, and now, at most, there aren't that many. All of them were daimyo with millions of koku of treasury, and all of them were regional hegemons.