Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Shichibei, who was talking with Sugaya Nagayasu, looked up at the battlefield and saw a soldier wearing only a simple ashigaru uniform and holding a katana in his mouth. He had already climbed up the earthen rampart and was fighting with the Inuyama army behind the fence.

This is called being the first to ascend.

Multiply it!

Others followed behind the soldier, assisting the man while slashing at the ropes that bound the fence, trying to pull it out or push it down.

With this man leading the charge, the ronin were driven forward with increasing force. One after another, they scaled the earthen ramparts and engaged the Inuyama army behind the fence.

At this time, Nobunaga, who was riding on a horse and watching the battle from the range of bows and cannons, casually asked Sasa Narimasa beside him, "What is the name of the ronin who came first?" When recruiting ronin before, Sasa Narimasa had obviously handled the whole process.

Unfortunately, even though he recruited hundreds of people at once, Sasa Narimasa did not have such a good memory. He could only secretly memorize the patent leather pattern on the soldier's foot soldier's torso and come back to confirm it.

I had a vague impression of another man beside Nobunaga, Makame Maeda Toshiie, who seemed to be a samurai from Owari. Who was he? He seemed to be the son of a retainer of a fallen branch of the Oda clan.

After pondering for a moment, Maeda Toshiie finally remembered. This person was Yamauchi Kazutoyo, a former retainer of the Iwakura Oda clan.

Nobunaga nodded slightly, without saying anything, and continued to watch the battle. The Inuyama army had apparently noticed that Yamanouchi Ippo had arrived first, so they immediately selected several archers, ready to shoot Yamanouchi Ippo down and undermine the morale of the Oda army's ronin.

In the blink of an eye, a long arrow flew straight towards Yamanouchi Ippo's face. Yamanouchi Ippo was shouting, "Kill!" and suddenly felt the danger coming. He tilted his head and the long arrow hit him accurately in the mouth and passed through the left cheek.

Anyone else would have collapsed by now, but Yamauchi Ichifeng was quite courageous. In a split second, he bit down on the shaft of the long arrow. Even with the arrow piercing his cheek, he continued to fight.

At this moment, the fence in front of Yamauchi Ippo was finally cut down by the three of them. As the fence fell, Goto Yoshibei shouted that it was Yamauchi Ippo who was the first to enter Inuyama Castle.

There were loud cheers from both sides, and even Nobunaga on horseback shouted "Good!"

21. Nobunaga Scroll My Whole Family

Wow, this guy is so awesome.

Even Shichibei was watching from below the city wall with a shudder of fear, not to mention the soldiers who were currently storming the city. It was just unknown who the first soldier to ascend was. Such a formidable individual would most likely thrive under Nobunaga's command.

After all, Nobunaga was conquering the world, and he either used unparalleled brave generals or unparalleled wise generals. As long as you have some talent, you can get a step forward from Nobunaga.

When he heard the call of Yamanouchi Inoemon Ichitoyo Ichibanjo, Shichibei nearly chopped his own foot with his axe. No, he hadn't even bothered with the revenge for his father's murder? And he was so desperate to serve Nobunaga?

"This Yamauchi Inoemon is really brave." Shichibei glanced at Sugaya Nagayari who was watching the battle nervously, and said this according to the situation.

"Yes, yes, fortunately it was not allocated to the special forces before." Sugaya Nagayaru Benzhan was the Ogado Bugyo and participated in the military meeting.

There were actually several special forces. Kinoshita Tokichirō, mentioned earlier, assigned over thirty ronin and foot soldiers to cross the river and defend the Saito clan. Others were assigned to defend the Kawabamishu on the Kiso River. The so-called Kawanamishu not only performed general water transport work but also collected tolls and protection fees on the river.

Of course, when necessary, it is not uncommon for those who don't pay to occasionally act like a pirate and treat them to some knife-cut noodles or wonton noodles.

Therefore, Nobunaga also had to guard against the Kawanami people on the Kiso River being bribed by Oda Nobumasa and then attacking the Oda army. He also sent people to defend this part, about a hundred people would be enough, as the scale of the war was limited at that time.

Send some here, send some there, recruit hundreds of ronin, and it may not be enough.

"So it's going to be allocated to Team Leader Kinoshita." Shichibei was not completely unaware of this.

"Yes, Fujikichiro and the others are now out on patrol." Sugaya Nagayashi just nodded.

With that said, Shichibei probably understood a little. Yamanouchi Ichitoyo had joined the army hoping to strike down Oda Nobunaga during the battle. However, he discovered that Nobunaga had his men deployed everywhere, leaving him no chance to even get within ten meters of Nobunaga.

So what's the best way to get a direct audience with Nobunaga? One-hit spear, one-hit chariot, one-hit commander—anything is fine. As long as you achieve military merit, then, according to the rules of that era, Nobunaga will definitely meet with Nobunaga after the battle and give him appropriate rewards, or even confer the title of Zhixing.

At this time, he was most likely in front of Nobunaga, even only half a meter or one meter away from Nobunaga's feet. And there was definitely not much convenience left and right to meet his own meritorious official.

If he draws his sword and strikes with it, won’t Nobunaga die instantly?

If that's the case, then Yamanouchi Ichitoyo is quite a bit of a strategist, not some straight-laced warrior. He had some brains, no wonder he was so successful in history.

Yamanouchi Ichifuku led the way, followed by a dozen ronin and foot soldiers, who scaled the rampart with their hands and feet. Soon, the felled fence became a breakthrough point for Inuyama Castle's outer wall.

If Nobunaga fails to seize this opportunity, then he will not be able to rule Owari anymore.

With a wave of the military uniform in his hand, the foot soldiers immediately separated into a group of about forty or fifty people, half of them were armed with guns and half with knives, and joined the fight for the breakthrough point.

In order to increase the pressure on Inuyama Castle, he ordered the imperial guards to detach dozens of men and reinforce the city gates. They began to attack the gates fiercely to prevent the enemy troops at the gates from splitting up.

The archery and arquebus foot soldiers who were firing from behind their bamboo bundles and shields were ordered to press forward, especially to suppress the soldiers on the turrets of Inuyama Castle, so as to minimize the blows faced by the siege troops.

Seeing this situation, Oda Nobumasa took the risk and ordered his son Oda Nobumasa to lead a group of men to fight to the death to defeat Nobunaga's army that had broken through.

Surrounding only three sections of the fence, each side deployed more than a hundred soldiers, killing each other endlessly. One moment Nobunaga's army had the advantage, the next moment Nobumasa's army had the advantage.

The life of that person was stuffed into the millstone like flesh and blood, pushed, piled up, and entangled.

Seeing that the breakthrough would not quickly establish an advantage, Nobunaga immediately rushed to the water embankment in front of the earthen rampart. With a loud cry, he charged into the city, with 20 kan of ronin Zhixing and three more foot soldiers to support him.

The reward boosted morale. Sasa Narimasa and Maeda Toshiie, who were standing in front of Nobunaga, brought a small drum and held it up from under their horses. Nobunaga took out the drumsticks and started beating it.

The drums beat rapidly, like thunder and lightning. With a cry of despair, Nobunaga's army, united in purpose, pushed forward at the cost of their lives. With a crash, seven or eight sections of the fence were pushed down at once, and the sound of groaning and screaming filled the air.

Stepping on the bodies of the dead and wounded of Nobunaga's army, the first indigo-dyed papaya flag of Nobunaga was raised on Inuyama Castle.

From the Kiso River to the castle grounds, shouts of victory erupted. The gate, already crumbling under the onslaught of Nobunaga's army, collapsed, and Nobunaga's troops charged into the castle.

Oda Nobumasa, his face covered in blood, was escorted by his retainers as he retreated towards Matsunomaru. The disorderly foot soldiers and smaller soldiers of Nobumasa's army abandoned their armor and weapons, leaving corpses strewn all over the ground.

The cry of "Tian Sheng" echoed all the way to the base of Matsunomaru, the inner castle of Inuyama. The gates of Matsunomaru were vibrating and humming with the sound. The soldiers in the castle were terrified and had lost most of their fighting spirit.

Once the outer city was lost, they couldn't even leave the city to attack Nobunaga's army in the middle of the night. Moreover, the main military buildings such as granaries, stables, wells, and ashigaru residences were all located downhill. If this was lost, the entire city would be destabilized, which was almost inevitable.

Defeated, defeated, Oda Nobumasa was defeated.

Nobunaga was in a strong position and temporarily stopped the fighting. Niwa Nagahide, who had been in charge of the Inuyama Oda clan, and Nakajima Bingo-no-kami, who had previously surrendered to Nobunaga, entered the city together to persuade Oda Nobumasa to surrender.

Anyway, at this point in the battle, it would take at least five or six days for the Saito family's reinforcements to arrive, and the small Inuyama Castle Matsunomaru would definitely not last more than five days.

Furthermore, Nobuakita's retainers had suffered heavy losses in the previous surprise attack and the recent siege. Samurai weren't exactly easy to find; training one took time and effort.

The Inuyama family has already lost so many samurai. If the fighting continues, what will happen even if Oda Nobumasa manages to defend the city?

Nobumasa's branch of the Oda clan would be completely depleted, having lost most of its hereditary retainers and samurai. What kind of daimyo would it be? This is exactly what happened to the Imagawa clan in history. His father lost a wave of hereditary samurai from three generations of Suruga at Okehazama, and the entire Imagawa clan was devastated.

If he surrendered now, even if he lost Inuyama Castle, at least Oda Nobumasa's retainers would be safe. He could flee and find Saito Tatsuoki, still having some capital to serve as a guest general and a chance to fight back.

Defending Inuyama will only lead to the destruction of both ourselves and the enemy.

It’s better to have a good talk and leave some capital for a comeback.

Niwa Nagahide was in the city for less than an hour and quickly escaped. Shichibei, who was delivering hot soup to Nobunaga's main camp, happened to hear Oda Nobumasa's surrender terms.

Nobunaga gave Nobumasa a hundred horses and ordered him to leave Inuyama Castle with his trusted retainers, his entourage, his concubines, and other servants. Nobunaga was not allowed to stop or harm them, and as a sign of sincerity, he had to send a family elder or a member of the family clan to serve as a hostage in Nobumasa's army until Nobumasa was out of danger.

Nobumasa surrendered Inuyama Castle, including its gold and armory. Nobumasa's son, Oda Nobumasa, surrendered on behalf of the Inuyama Oda clan, leading his followers and retainers to join Oda Nobunaga.

Of course, Oda Nobuyasu had to retreat from the city and live in the castle town of Komakiyama Castle. He only retained the territories where he settled and supported his retainers. The rest of the territories were handed over to Nobunaga for inspection and disposal.

In order to express sincerity, Nobumasa's wife, Nobuyasu's mother, and Nobunaga's elder sister, Inuyama-dono, will be immediately sent out of the city to Nobunaga's main camp.

Nobumasa's younger brother, Oda Nobumasa, had already arrived at Nobunaga's main camp in advance, holding Nobumasa's youngest son, Juro, as a hostage, to express that Nobumasa had no intention of regretting it.

The conditions were not outrageous. Nobunaga, who was drinking tea and rice, thought about it while eating the rice. After he finished his bowl of rice, he agreed to Oda Nobumasa's peace conditions.

Nobunaga then called on Sugaya Nagayasu, who was sitting at the end, to immediately recruit a hundred pack horses and riding horses from the small pack team, and gave them to Niwa Nagahide, and then handed them over to Oda Nobumasa, so that Nobumasa could escape.

Huh? Sugaya Nagarai swallowed hard, then asked a soul-searching question: Where did the hundred horses come from?

No? Nobunaga paused. Really.

If we count the entire Oda army's horses, there would be at least 800, if not 1,000. However, at least 500 of these were war horses and replacement horses for the samurai and messengers. The remaining pack and riding horses were scarce.

Even if there are any, they are not from Nobunaga, but from the Michuden horsemen of the Atsuta and Tsushima clans who responded to your military request.

Kato Nobunaga brought more than sixty horses, Shichibei brought more than thirty horses, and together with the mules and horses of the foot soldiers directly under Oda Nobunaga, they formed a small packhorse of more than one hundred horses.

That's all we have. You're asking for a hundred of them, you're just making trouble.

"Then call Kawamura Nagayoshi and Kato Nobutaka!" Nobunaga didn't hesitate at all, he put down the bowl and called for help.

"Huh? Why are you calling me by my name? It's been years since anyone has called me by my name." Having already poured tea for Mori Kanari and was about to leave, Shichibei turned back to look at Nobunaga.

"Kawamura Shichibei Nagakichi is right here." Sugaya Nagayari pushed Shichibei's head down and asked him to kowtow to Nobunaga.

"Look up." Nobunaga looked around unconsciously to see where the servant who had just poured tea had gone.

Don't worry, Nobunaga doesn't look down on people like Shichibei. No wonder he was surprised just now. Where did this little dwarf come from to pour tea for me?

"Are you Tsushima Denmatou? How much do you know?"

"I have ceded sixty strings of cash to the land in Gengao, Haixi County." Shichibei answered truthfully.

"How many horses do you have?"

"Thirty-three."

"Gorozu, give Shichibei 230 kan." After Nobunaga got the confirmed number, he pointed at Niwa Nagahide.

"Ah, this..." Shichibei didn't want to agree, but Nobunaga didn't allow any discussion and requisitioned all of Shichibei's horses.

At this time, Kato Nobunaga was also summoned. Nobunaga did the same thing, buying all his pack horses directly without any room for bargaining. Then he ordered the two men to immediately follow Niwa Nagahide and lead the horses to Inuyama Castle.

No, it's fine if you buy the horse, but why do you want me to deliver it to the city? If Oda Nobukiyo fights to the death, killing one will break even, and killing two will make a profit?

Shichibei, who was full of complaints, came to Inuyama Castle under the escort of his foot soldiers, along with all the usable horses in his family.

At this point, Oda Nobumasa, his trusted servants, and some of his concubines had simply packed their belongings. Nobumasa, still wearing his armor, spoke a few words to Oda Nobumasa, who had come to see him off. He then glanced at Oda Nobunaga from a distance before heading upstream along the Kiso River.

I want to join Takeda.

Immediately, Oda Nobuyasu led the Inuyama family's retainers to surrender to Nobunaga and handed over everything in Inuyama Castle. Nobunaga's foster brother Ikeda Terumasa was appointed as the lord of Inuyama Castle and immediately led a team to take over Inuyama Castle.

"Nanabe, I now order you to assist Goroza in building the streets from Komakiyama to Mino, setting up post stations, and storing horse grass." Nanabe returned to Nobunaga's army with a dejected look.

Halfway along the road, he saw Nobunaga galloping towards him. He stopped his horse with a whoosh and gave an order to Shichibei without hesitation.

"I'm the head of the horse, not the general head." As soon as Shichibei knelt on one knee, he wanted to explain his duties to Nobunaga. However, Nobunaga just gave orders, then untied his wakizashi and tossed it to Shichibei.

The wakizashi hit Shichibei's forehead directly, causing him great pain. Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, Nobunaga's horse had already started running, leaving Shichibei with a mouthful of dust.

To be honest, Shichibei never thought that his first interaction with Nobunaga would be like this.

He walked back with a sound of "Pooh, Pooh" and saw his first familiar face, Yamauchi Kazutoyo. At this time, the lower half of Yamauchi Kazutoyo's face was wrapped tightly. If Goto Yoshibei beside him was not familiar, he would almost be unrecognizable.

Yamanouchi Ippo saw Shichibei and mumbled something. It was Goto Yoshibei who added that just now, Nobunaga had recognized Yamanouchi Ippo Ichijo and his contribution in fighting his way into Inuyama Gaimaru, and had awarded him a salary of 45 kan.

It was near Kuroda Castle, the hometown of his Yamanouchi family, that Yamanouchi Iktoyo was able to regain the Yamanouchi family's former territory in one battle and revive the family.

Not to mention the time when he drew his sword and chopped Nobunaga, Yamauchi Ichitoyo was so excited that he almost hugged Goto Yoshibei on the spot. The two of them were crying and laughing, and they were still crying now.

"Everyone has seen Inoemon's bravery." What could Shichibei say? Why didn't you dare to fight Oda Nobunaga?

“…” Yamauchi Ippo mumbled a long string of words, which was translated by Goto Yoshibei again.

The gist of it was, "Do you have any horses left? Sell me one. Nobunaga will surely send troops to Mino again." Yamanouchi Ichitoyo was a wealthy man with 45 kan (approximately 25 kan), so logically, he should have one horseman and two swordsmen.

"Haha, where would I get a horse?" Shichibei laughed.

A horse? You ask me for a horse? I don't even know where to find one.

22. Wu Lang Zuo deliberately tested

On the way there, more than a dozen servants came, driving more than 30 horses. When they returned, only one person was left, carrying over a thousand pounds of copper coins. Nobunaga was so deliberate that he wouldn't give a single gold coin, calculating the entire payment in copper coins.

Only Shichibei was better off. After all, he was the boss, so he didn't get to do the hard labor. His share was taken by Xiaozhu. The young man was very perceptive. Although it wasn't their Itoya's business, it was his brother-in-law's business.

When they returned to Kawamura's house, everyone thought Nobunaga had lost the battle and even lost all his horses. Only when they saw the 230 kan of money did they breathe a sigh of relief.

But it was just a sigh of relief. Now that the horses were gone, how could the horse-transportation business continue?

Find a way to buy a horse, what else can I do?

Just like the monthly markets held in Tsushima and Atsuta, horse traders from Shinano also regularly traveled the sea route. Why? Those who have seen "Yongzheng Dynasty" will surely remember the episode where Grandpa is the First Baturu of the Qing Dynasty. Everyone else goes hunting, but the fourth brother refuses.

Firstly, he might not be as good at riding and shooting as the other princes. Secondly, I advise you not to shoot birds in spring, because their chicks are waiting for their mothers to return. Spring is the mating season for animals, and female animals often become pregnant and begin to give birth to the next generation.

Horses are like this: they mate and become pregnant in the spring, which takes about ten months, and foals take another two years to mature. If you calculate carefully, there are a number of horses that reach adulthood in May and June every year.

The last time Shichibei was in Imahama was in May or June, when he ran into a horse trader heading south from Oshu. If he went looking for the horse trader now, he'd definitely not find him.

Everyone naturally turned to look at Shichibei. After all, Shichibei was the head of the family and the Dana, so they all hung out with him and ate with him.

Must we buy horses? First, we should ask our own people in Tsushima Town. There's no need to ask Atsuta; Kato Nobunaga is definitely more anxious than we are. Also, send two people to the foot of Komakiyama Castle, where the samurai gather. There might be a few people selling horses.

Secondly, the money couldn't just be left at home; it had to be managed by the Tsushima Gyuto Tenno Shrine or the Tsushima Tsuchikara. Similar to the Tang and Song dynasties in neighboring China, temples and shrines had, to some extent, taken on the role of "banks," collecting and lending money.

In Kyoto and other large towns like Mitsu-shichimata, dokoras (banking houses) emerged, which were multifunctional financial institutions that combined pawning, pledging, lending, and savings.

I'll deposit the 230 guan with them first. Even if the interest is only 10 or 8 guan a year, it's still good. At least they don't charge a storage fee, so I should be grateful.

As for your question about buying horses?