Owari Yumeki Golden Day

If the war goes badly, Shichibei will be responsible for the smooth flow of food. If the army is cut off from food, Nobunaga will definitely lend you his head.

Mitsuhide, who was sitting on the other side, also received orders to sneak into Yamashiro and Omi to incite the national heroes, autonomous communities and small groups that were originally subordinate to the shogunate.

In the Kinai region, the Shogun actually had some influence, and many people recognized the Muromachi shogunate. For example, the Kuchiki family of Kuchikidani in Hubei Province cooperated with Nobunaga because Nobunaga supported the Shogun.

The Hatano clan of Tanba, located next to Yamaguchi Castle, also chose to obey Oda Nobunaga's orders for this very reason, and even participated in the construction of the Nijo New Palace. The same was true for the Isshiki clan of Tango and the Yamana clan of Tajima.

Even at the end of a feudal dynasty, when all aspects of it were crumbling, the inertia of its rule remained. Without external forces to destroy it, it could even maintain peace and stability for a short period of time.

These people were like the savages of Kanto. Hojo Ujiyasu fought them all his life but couldn't crush them all. Nobunaga's side wasn't easy either. Mitsuhide's attack on Hatano, Hideyoshi's attack on Miki Bessho, and Nobumori's attack on Honganji all put in tremendous effort. It could even be said that Honganji was ultimately defeated by him simply due to its immense economic power.

If they were all brought together, Shogun Ashikaga would theoretically be able to command the support of hundreds of people and instantly have an army of tens of thousands.

"Will the people of Hunan and Yamashiro respond to us?" After the meeting, everyone went out in twos and threes. Nobunaga actually asked Mitsuhide to stay for a while. Hideyoshi immediately grabbed Shichibei and started teasing Mitsuhide in the corridor outside.

"It's very likely." Shichibei was certain of this.

As soon as Nobunaga's 60,000-man army was revealed, these local tyrants would immediately jump to the Oda camp. Just like in Kanto, when Kenshin Uesugi first arrived, all of Kanto surrendered to the Uesugi clan. After Kenshin Uesugi left, even Hojo Takahiro, the lord of Umabashi Castle and a longtime Echigo official, defected to the Hojo clan.

Japanese tradition prioritized preserving the family name. Surrender wasn't particularly shameful; at worst, father and son would each choose a side. As long as the family name could be carried on, it was considered a success.

When the small forces in Kinai saw Nobunaga's 60,000 troops invading and with Ashikaga Yoshiaki as their righteous leader, they would naturally side with Nobunaga.

"I gave him a great achievement for nothing." Hideyoshi said this with a bit of reluctance.

But there was no way around it. Mitsuhide was a member of the shogunate's court, having even represented the Muromachi shogunate on diplomatic missions to the Mori clan. This status made it easier for him to gain the trust of the various smaller powers in Kinai. Seeing him, everyone automatically assumed they were seeing Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

If someone else were to go, they wouldn't be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort like Mitsuhide did. This was also Mitsuhide's advantage, as he was a shogunate retainer.

"Just do your own thing, the lord will make the decision." Shichibei knew that Hideyoshi was just complaining and it wasn't a real thing.

Who doesn't have strengths and weaknesses? We don't know the psoriasis of the region, and that's our weakness. There's no need to be unable to let go, just do it.

"I'm busy." The two of them now walked out of the residence. It was really pleasant to be by the pond in early summer.

The temperature was not high, and a cool breeze blew. The flowers and trees flourished, and turtles rolled happily in the water plants. From time to time, wild ducks landed on the water and pecked at something.

I wonder if we have the chance to live in such a big house.

Hideyoshi showed little interest in the pond, and after his attendants brought his horse, he set off. Shichibei, on the other hand, was content to observe more of nature and less of the people.

After watching for a while, all the important officials who had come to the meeting left one after another, and Shichibei didn't want to stay for long. He said hello to the turtle that had poked its head out of the water, and then stood up.

Mitsuhide, having just finished his conversation with Nobunaga, emerged. Seeing Shichibei, he naturally greeted him. After all, he was a relative newcomer to the Oda clan, and he knew exactly how the Oda retainers viewed him. He was sure to diligently observe such minor matters of etiquette, lest he offend anyone.

When someone greets us, we must answer. Shichibei responded quickly, pointing at the fish swimming in the water and talking nonsense.

We were still a few steps away from the main entrance to the Linden Valley Residence. It wasn't like Shichibei to just walk to the end of the building without saying a word. So, we could either talk about the wonderful weather or the turtle's shrinking head.

"Among the samurai, there are very few who would linger and observe the scenery like Kawamura-dono." Mitsuhide didn't know if he was exaggerating or what, but he was very happy to hear Shichibei talking about the stone turtle and the swimming fish.

"I am not a samurai at all. I am just my lord's merchant chief." Shichibei never considered himself a samurai.

A samurai has to go into battle and kill people, but Shichibei absolutely doesn't want to kill anyone. To put it bluntly, he's afraid of death. You guys should go to the battlefield.

"To serve His Majesty, Otate-sama, is to be a warrior, but the methods are different."

"You're right."

It doesn't matter. Why would Shichibei argue about this? We can just talk things over peacefully. We're from the core samurai group of Shimo-Owari, and we have our own circle. There's no need to think about hooking up with outsiders.

"Hmm?" Mitsuhide's tone changed, and I don't know what he was thinking of.

"Goodbye." When he arrived at the door, Jia Lai was already waiting with a horse. Shichibei said goodbye with all the courtesy.

"Goodbye." Mitsuhide did not get on the horse, but stood beside the horse and bowed to Shichibei.

Akechi Hidemitsu (Akechi Mitsuharu), who led his horse, arrived in Gifu in the past two days. Others like Akechi Mitsutada and Akechi Mitachika also joined Mitsuhide's army during this period.

Saito Toshizo was still under the Inaba clan at this point, and had yet to accept Mitsuhide's offer of recruitment. After all, Mitsuhide's salary was only 4,000 kan, and without a kōgyō (a noun or a title), it would be difficult to recruit people. This had previously troubled Shichibei, and this was the reality.

Looking at Shichibei riding away on his horse, Akechi Hidemitsu muttered that this man was from old Owari and was a member of the Tsushima Kaiju faction, and might look down on us Mino people.

Hearing this, Akechi Mitsuhide disagreed. He was over forty years old, and now he had finally earned a good salary, but he had no sons. He had already arranged for Akechi Hidemitsu to be his son-in-law and adopted son, just in case. Naturally, he wanted to teach Akechi Hidemitsu a lesson.

In his opinion, Shichibei is definitely a person who can calm down and think carefully, and has his own judgment and values. How could such a person show his dislike for someone so obviously?

My brain is already working, so what's missing is a smile or a hello?

According to Mitsuhide's understanding and observation, Shichibei probably thought Mitsuhide was not worthy or suitable for friendship. So he kept a respectful distance, neither offending nor getting close to him.

If the situation changes in the future, the two of them, who have never had any grudges against each other, can stand together immediately. If they want to sever ties, it will be very easy because there is no personal relationship between the two.

This is not about looking down on us Meinong people. It's just that they are too smart and can't see the situation clearly.

Just now, Nobunaga had just given Shichibei tens of thousands of kan in cash with a simple gesture. What a sign of trust. Last year, the annual tribute rice cost 500 kan per dan. This year, it would cost 800 kan per dan. Nobunaga didn't ask about the margin of maneuver or the profit margin, leaving it all to Shichibei.

Of course, this was related to Nobunaga's busy schedule and lack of time for such details, but it also fully demonstrated that Shichibei was a wise man recognized by Nobunaga, who entrusted him with everything without any doubt.

Nobunaga's great achievements were closely related to the talented people he had.

"Then..." Akechi Hidemitsu led the horse and led Mitsuhide forward.

"That's not necessary." Mitsuhide denied it directly.

Even though Hidemitsu's thoughts were revealed directly, Mitsuhide immediately guessed that what he wanted to say was whether we should make friends with Shichibei.

Why not? Shichibei was already a prominent figure, a prominent member of the Oda clan. Befriending Shichibei would be costly and expendable. Now was the time to befriend the lesser samurai and recruit them.

Judging from Nobunaga's intentions, he was actually very happy to assign his low-ranking samurai to his subordinates as reinforcements. Assisting the recognized generals to quickly form a combat-ready samurai group.

In that case, there's no need to focus on Shichibei. Unless, unless Mitsuhide has a 100,000 or even 200,000 koku of treasury in two years and needs a bugyo to help him, then he can ask Nobunaga if there's a chance he can send Shichibei directly.

The key point is that the blacksmith must be strong himself, work hard enough, and achieve results, then Nobunaga will be generous with everything he gives.

Although he had only been there a short time, Mitsuhide already knew a great deal about Nobunaga. After all, the two had been meeting frequently, even having several secret meetings. The more you interact, the more you understand.

"I see." Akechi Hidemitsu was not a useless person, he could barely be considered a teachable kid.

"Let's go, quickly, we'll go to Hunan tomorrow." Mitsuhide smiled at Hidemitsu.

Mitsuhide actually had another idea. Oda Nobunaga didn't seem to have a particular sectarian bias, and Takigawa Ieyasu had even become the samurai general of the northern Ise region. So, to be honest, there was no need to specifically ally with the Owari samurai group.

Historically, Mitsuhide's main military force consisted mainly of the Mino and Tamba clans, with a secondary force consisting of a large number of former shogunate retainers and those assigned to the Kinai region. Surprisingly, there were not many samurai from Owari on his military force.

What does this mean? It means that when Mitsuhide formed the samurai group, he did not ask Nobunaga for the power of Owari.

Then, after the Honnoji Incident, he actually had no way to win over a large number of Owari samurai who became the middle-level of the Oda Group. He simply did not have the appeal that Hideyoshi or Shibata Katsuie had for the Owari samurai, and no one paid any attention to him.

At the time, there were more than a hundred Owari samurai with 10,000 to 20,000 koku, 30,000 to 50,000 koku, and these individuals constituted a significant portion of the other military commanders' support. Without the support of these seemingly scattered and diverse Owari samurai, even if Mitsuhide had captured Azuchi Castle and controlled Yamashiro, Konan, and other areas, he would not have been able to organize a corresponding army.

Meanwhile, Shichibei, back at the shop, immediately called in his staff and prepared to return to Tsushima. Food needed to be gathered in Tsushima or Annozu before being transported south along the Kiso River to Gifu.

The matter was urgent and needed to be dealt with immediately, lest he be in trouble with Nobunaga later. Riding back to Tsushima, Shichibei began to wonder why Mitsuhide had praised him just now.

It's definitely not an attempt to win over someone, it's more like a test.

Reflecting on his own performance, Shichibei confirmed that he hadn't revealed any flaws. As for Mitsuhide, Shichibei decided to observe his performance within the Oda clan with a cold eye. He hoped that Mitsuhide would do his utmost to please Nobunaga, serving him like a slave without complaint.

129. Take this opportunity to engage in the rice business

"Does this need to be washed too?"

Shichibei was a little hard to identify. Although it wasn't the first time he'd seen it, it still felt strange. Because Minami Sanenaga was burning his hands, he made his own hands even warmer.

Then, then there's that thing about washing the stud.

We have a miraculous stallion at Komaki Farm that's over 1.55 meters tall at the shoulder. He's considered a truly magnificent stallion in Japan. We almost sold him to Akechi Mitsuhide, but he didn't want him, so he's still at Komaki, breeding the mares.

Normally, in the wild, this thing is wrapped in a sheath and is kept inside most of the time, not used every day. Even if there is some dirt inside, it is just dust, pebbles, grass leaves and the like, which the horse itself will not feel uncomfortable.

But lately, the stallion seemed to be using it too much. Minami thought there might be something wrong, so he soaked his hands in warm water until they were hot, about the same temperature as the horse's penis, and then used clean water to wash the horse.

You know what, the old man's skills are quite good. He actually made the horse stretch out the thing without any resistance. He also turned the sheath over and rubbed it, washing it very carefully.

"It's okay not to wash it, just in case." After the old man washed the horse, he untied the horse from the wooden frames on both sides.

The stallion was quite happy. He was a horse with "horse rights" at Xiaomu, with two and a half hectares of free space. He ran out in a flash, very happy.

"When it comes to horse breeding, you are not inferior to the eight herdsmen of Shinano." Fortunately, handshakes are not popular these days, so Shichibei only needs to nod to Nanbu Sanenaga.

"Hehe, His Highness the Emperor is going to the battle again?" Of course the old man didn't think of shaking hands. He just wiped the water off the haystack and asked Shichibei in return.

Shichibei had come to the ranch specifically at this time, naturally to gather the horses. The fact that all the packhorses were needed could only mean that Nobunaga was about to go to war again.

"Go to Luo!"

In Japan today, the phrase "Emperor" has a certain magical power. Just saying it makes you feel like you're showing off. It's not as resounding as the saying next door: "The Son of Heaven is the one who has the strongest army and the most powerful horses!" But the meaning is the same.

Invade Kyoto, seize the throne, let Nobunaga be the general, and we will each be the guardian.

"Oh..." The old man didn't know what he was thinking about, and he sighed.

But sighing is one thing, and leading the horses is another. This time, Shichibei would mobilize 2,000 horses, and the two countries of Nobi would also recruit thousands of soldiers, and bring at least 1,000 ox carts to accompany Nobunaga to Kyoto to fight.

Recruiting soldiers and ox carts from each county was the job of the county magistrate and castle magistrate. Shichibei only had to make sure that he could eventually mobilize two thousand horses to pull carts and carry food for Nobunaga.

Tsushima and Annozu were already gathering food and fodder, and they would have it all ready within ten days. That was why Shichibei had come to Komaki to check on the status of the several hundred horses grazing at the ranch.

We must act as soon as the order is given, Nobunaga's orders cannot be disobeyed.

The old man had lived so long, so naturally he was sensible. After saying he was going to Kyoto, Shichibei went back to the farmhouse to get the book. He recorded the number of horses on the ranch, how many males, how many females, and whether any were pregnant. It was a running account, but it was better than nothing. After all, Shichibei could just ask for the total directly.

When asked about the total, Minami Sanenaga waved to a young man brushing his horse behind him. He looked unfamiliar, perhaps a retainer recruited from Mino or Kitaiise.

"There are 612 of them." When the young man heard this question, he reached out and turned to the page that recorded the total number.

There were also statistics on stallions and mares on it. Shichibei knew what was going on, so he returned the book to Nanbu Sanenaga and asked the young man his name.

The young servant's name was Noda Sanbei, a native of Mino. He had originally been a low-paid infantryman. When Ryūshū's family fortune collapsed, he was laid off. At the time, the Oda clan generals, including Nobunaga, recruited a large number of these unemployed ronin, and Shichibei recruited a hundred of them. At that time, he had accompanied Nanbu Sanenaga to Mikawa Okazaki Castle to repair the stables.

Now he is here to manage the ranch. It seems that he can at least read and write, and has some memory.

"Wait for the military order from Gifu to arrive. Dad is old, so you take the horse to Gifu. Do you understand?" Shichibei mounted his horse and gave instructions immediately.

It's not that I want to promote this guy. Since the old man pushed him in front of Qibing, Qibing must sell the old man's face. Whether he can be used or not, we will see the truth on the battlefield.

When Shichibei and the two families came to pay their respects and leave, Noda Sanbei immediately saluted Nanbu Sanenaga and called him "Dad" as soon as he opened his mouth, not his biological dad, but the dad of his father-in-law.

Well, of course, Minami Sanenaga has a son, who's at the main store in Tsushima. But as Kawamuraya expanded, the various shoguns took on more and more business, and as the owner, the old man needed to find two more capable assistants for his family. He'd been observing his staff for quite some time and had found Noda Sanbei to be a capable hire.

If it works, then quickly give up your daughter and tie her to your own boat first. This is a rare opportunity today, so the mayor of Nanbu naturally wants to give his son-in-law a push.

Noda Sanbei didn't mind Minami Sanenaga's hand. He grabbed it and took the old man in to rest, and was very attentive in serving him tea and water.

really not bad.

Back to the issue of military rations and rice. Last year, Shichibei had practically robbed the powerful families of Northern Ise and earned a fortune exceeding 35,000 kan. A small portion was used to expand Northern Ise's horse-training system, but the rest was kept in the bank.

To put it in a somewhat risky way, Shichibei did not pay for the rice he had dispatched from Sakaimachi and Annozumachi. The condition was that after the autumn harvest, Shichibei would sell them an equal amount of tribute rice and return the rice he had borrowed.

In short, it seems that the people from Sakaimachi and Annotsu didn't gain anything, but the reason behind it is actually easy to understand.

Because of this agreement, Shichibei had to carry it out regardless of harvest. In other words, although the merchants of Sakai and Annozu gave up their profits, they transferred all the risks of rice production and centralized transportation to Shichibei.

Now that everyone has joined together, it is natural that we can earn a steady income. We hope to have a stable supply of goods to ensure the operation of the business.

This wasn't the invention of Shichibei or some other wealthy boss in Sakaimachi. The rudiments of this commercial lending model existed at least a century ago. By the Edo period, it was even more sophisticated, with daimyo issuing rice tickets directly to wealthy Osaka merchants. These tickets even served as financial vouchers, circulating in Osaka's markets with daily quoted prices.

Because the daimyo often use the annual tribute rice income from the next year or the year after to issue invoices as collateral, whether there is rain in the spring or how heavy the snow was last winter will actually affect rice production.

If there was a drought or other disaster, the price of these rice tickets would fluctuate greatly. In good years, wealthy merchants would ask the daimyo to pay for the rice tickets with money, and in bad years, wealthy merchants would ask the daimyo to pay with rice.

Those who could afford to trade in rice tickets were all powerful merchants with the backing of the shogunate. Even the Shimazu family suffered losses in this business. But it didn't matter. Shamelessly, Shimazu Hayato forged fake silver worth three million taels of gold and sold it in the Osaka market, clearing the accounts.

The shogunate was not clean either, and took advantage of the situation to make a fortune from Shimazu. The exact amount is unknown, but it is likely that they split the profits in half.

Shichibei had just discussed the rice allocation with the members of the Sakaimachi and Annozu groups when they proposed this operation. Shocked, Inase Yoshinari, who had rushed to buy rice, quickly waved his hand, saying that he had no say in such matters.

When he came back and asked Shichibei about it, he hadn't expected that these people in the group had already started playing with futures. But thinking about the Song family next door, they already had a prototype of this thing, so it wasn't surprising that it spread to Japan.

Thinking that Nobunaga would definitely entrust this year's tribute rice to Kawamuraya, Shichibei agreed to the proposal of Sakai and Annotsukai to unite after a little thought, and signed a contract with the leader they sent.

The next day, a tawara ship loaded with rice arrived at Tsushima. According to the agreement, the two groups would deliver 40,000 koku of hulled brown rice to Shichibei at the port of Tsushima Town (shielded).

Similarly, before a certain date in the autumn of this year, Shichibei must deliver 80,000 koku of rice to them at the ports of Anozukuri and Sakaimachi. 40,000 koku must be returned to them, without interest. The remaining 40,000 koku must be sold to them at 600 sen per koku, also in the form of hulled brown rice.

It's fair and reasonable, and everyone gets what they need.

Anyway, Nobunaga only wanted 40,000 koku of rice to be delivered to Gifu Castle, and didn't ask about anything else. He also paid Shichibei the 32,000 kan needed for the 40,000 koku of rice.

When receiving the rice, Inase Yoshinari was a little nervous, but Shichibei was not afraid. He just ordered the porters in the harbor to transfer the rice to a small boat and send it directly upstream of the Kiso River.

Takenaka Hanbei and his retainers were already waiting by the river. Once the rice was shipped, he would transport it to the rice storage at Gifu Castle. Once the rice was delivered to Gifu Castle, with Murai Sadakatsu's signature and seal, the mission was complete.

Whether there are more or less, or whether it gets moldy or rotten, that’s all Murai Sadakatsu’s business.