Owari Yumeki Golden Day

135. If the city gate burns, you must pay compensation

At about ten o'clock in the morning, Nobunaga arrived with hundreds of cavalrymen. They first surrounded the burned and damaged Minasaku Castle, and then asked where Hideyoshi was.

Hideyoshi personally led his troops to block the gates of Kannonji Temple, leaving behind only Hosuka Koroku and Maeno Nagayasu. Hard work was a hallmark of Hideyoshi's success, and Nobunaga, far from resentful of not being able to see Hideyoshi, praised him for his dedication.

Nobunaga wasn't interested in seeing the 200 heads chopped off inside the castle, so he ordered the military commander, Tsukemurai Sadakatsu, to review them and moved on. He was more concerned with how Minazaku Castle was captured. How did Hideyoshi manage only 2,300 men when Takigawa Ikki and Niwa Nagahide hadn't been able to capture the castle during the day with 8,000 men?

In fact, it was thanks to those two men. They attacked Minazak Castle for seven hours, exhausting the soldiers, which gave Hideyoshi an opportunity to take advantage of.

Shichibei was completely invisible here, not even participating in the reception of Nobunaga. He led his men back to the Aichi River safely and continued to be responsible for the supplies in the rear and move forward.

Originally, Shichibei had no credit for this; it was just a matter of talking, they were all brothers. The ones who actually went in and chopped people were Hideyoshi and Koroku. They earned the credit by putting their heads on their belts, so why should we argue?

However, Shichibei did not seek Nobunaga out; Nobunaga sought Shichibei out instead. After Nobunaga entered Kannonji Castle, all the Oda troops, which had been halted north of the Aichi River, crossed the river. The troops gathered at the foot of Kannonji Castle, and Shichibei was forced to follow.

On the one hand, Nobunaga ordered the surrendered lord of Kurita County, Kondo Kenmori, to send people to search for the whereabouts of Rokkaku and his son, and on the other hand, he began to send people to recruit the castellans and soldiers of the remaining 17 branch castles to surrender.

According to estimates, before entering Kyoto, the Miyoshi Three would undoubtedly gather tens of thousands of troops near the Uji River to confront Nobunaga. Who would easily surrender Kyoto? Furthermore, the Miyoshi Three had a general who had already received a decree.

Therefore, Nobunaga intended to recruit all the foot soldiers and miscellaneous soldiers in this group, and keep them where they were if necessary. If they won, they could shout 666, and if they lost, they could be left to Miyoshi to kill, so as to preserve Nobi's main troops.

If they really captured Kyoto and seized hundreds of thousands of koku of territory in southern Omi, Nobunaga could afford to support an additional three to five thousand foot soldiers and miscellaneous soldiers.

Historically, Mori Motonari did the same thing. After defeating Sue Harukata on Itsukushima, he recruited 2,000 to 3,000 foot soldiers from the Sue clan. He then led these troops to attack Bocho. If they won, they could expand their territory; if they lost, they lost, as it was Sue Harukata's soldiers who died anyway.

This wasn't the home turf of the Oda retainers, but rather the home turf of Akechi Mitsuhide, Hosokawa Fujitaka, and others. After all, the Sasaki Rokkaku clan, with its long-standing ties to the Ashikaga shogunate, held a large network of connections and considerable influence. They had to rely on these retainers to persuade the Rokkaku retainers, who might be related to them, to surrender. Resisting the imperial army might mean losing territory, but preserving the lives of their families was a given.

As long as he's alive, there's a chance he could make a comeback. At worst, he could join Asai Nagamasa. Asai Nagamasa is currently recruiting talented individuals from around the world to strengthen his retainers and further expand his territory. The Asai clan, which declined during Hisamasa's reign, once controlled only about 100,000 koku of treasury, now holds around 300,000 koku.

Later generations said that Nobunaga invited Asai Nagamasa to send troops as a reward of two counties in Konan, but Shichibei in this dimension never heard of such a statement. Nobunaga only gave money and food, and called on Asai Nagamasa to fight in the name of supporting Ashikaga Yoshiaki's expedition to Kyoto.

To put it more mysteriously, Nobunaga and Nagamasa seemed to have a tacit understanding. Nobunaga's plan was to gradually shift the Asai clan from an ally to a vassal. At the same time, he also had to help Asai Nagamasa elevate his status and strengthen his prestige.

Everyone knows the Asai family's status: a powerful national collegial system. National leaders like Akao, Hori, Abe, Hyakumoku (Hyaku), Endō, and Anyoji wield a powerful voice within the Asai family. So powerful was it that they were able to depose Asai Hisamasa and enthrone Asai Nagamasa.

Although Asai Nagamasa apparently held a fiefdom of nearly 300,000 koku, he actually only directly controlled half of Asai County and Ika County. The other three counties were simply a large alliance of various forces that supported Asai Nagamasa to survive in the chaotic Warring States period.

The Asai family itself had only gradually risen in power during the reign of Asai Ryomasa, becoming prominent as a vassal during the Warring States Period. They had neither noble birth nor a distinct family lineage. Even within the shogunate, the Asai family was theoretically a retainer, or shugoku deputie, of the Kyogoku clan, the shugoku of northern Omi.

Being close to Nobunaga, the future Kanrei, Nagamasa had a very strong demand. He had to obtain a more noble military status from the new shogunate.

For example, Ashikaga Yoshiaki granted him the truly valuable position of guardian of Northern Omi, and freed him from the trap of being a retainer of the Kyogoku clan, making the Asai clan one level higher than the other nobles of Northern Omi.

Before the Kyogoku clan was around, the Asai clan, like all the other provincial lords, were Kyogoku retainers, except that the Asai were the strongest. Now they want to drive out the Kyogoku clan, the old lord who was oppressing them, and elevate the Asai clan, making them the new masters of the northern Omi provincial lords.

With this righteous cause, Asai Nagamasa was confident that he could gradually subjugate his generals and turn them into complete retainers, transforming them from the old Shugo daimyo family to the Warring States daimyo organization.

Some people may think that during the Warring States period, Asai Nagamasa was not ambitious and only wanted to stabilize his family, which was really a waste.

But put yourself in their shoes and think about it: if you win the battle and gain new territory, your strength will increase. Those powerful families in your country will also gain more territory and their strength will also increase.

In the past, there was Rokkaku Yoshitaka who was suppressing Minami-Omi, so everyone could work together and face the outside world in a unified way. Now that Rokkaku has been killed, the external pressure has suddenly decreased. Given the ambitions of the Japanese Warring States warriors, would they think of usurping the master's family?

What you put in your mouth is real.

No matter how big the pot is, what’s the point if you can’t eat the meat in it?

If he could successfully stabilize the family fortune of 300,000 koku and become a powerful vassal, Asai Nagamasa's life would not have been in vain. Don't think that Hideyoshi's rise from a farmer to a worldly leader is inspiring, and look down on the idea of ​​stabilizing the family fortune of 300,000 koku and letting it be passed down in the hands of Asai's descendants.

Therefore, Asai Nagamasa is working very hard on this trip to Kyoto, hoping to gain the recognition of Shogun Yoshiaki and Kanrei Nobunaga, completely solidify his position as the guardian of northern Omi, and get out of the big pit of being a retainer of Kyogoku.

He had already completed the preparations. All of Kyogoku Takayoshi's forces in northern Omi had been eliminated by Nagamasa after the Battle of Norada. Not only could he not raise an army again, he couldn't even find a place to live in his old age.

It's urgent.

Arriving at Kannonji Castle, Shichibei, following the orders of military commissioner Sakuma Nobumori, first set up camp and began setting up tents, warehouses, and vehicles. He then quickly set up temporary signposts on the road between Sawayama Castle and Kannonji Castle to guide the following vehicles and personnel.

Finally, ammunition and weapons were distributed to the troops that were transferred later. The three teams that attacked Minasaku Castle were all destroyed and could no longer face the Ujigawa Miyoshi Battle that was likely to take place later.

Even though Hideyoshi killed 1,500 men and beheaded 200, at the last count, he himself had also lost 200 men. His entire reserve force was only 2,300 men, and with 200 men killed in battle, the entire army was unable to fight any further.

Historically, after Hideyoshi entered Kyoto, he served as the Kyoto Magistrate. He did not participate in any of the subsequent attacks on Akutagawa Castle, Koshimizu Castle, Katsuryuji Castle, etc. It is likely that he did not want to participate, but he did not have the money to do so.

But his victory was worth it. Shichibei saw with his own eyes that Nobunaga was very impressed with him and said that Hideyoshi had devoted his life to him. In one battle, the Rokkaku army's spirit was completely destroyed, and Rokkaku and his son abandoned the city and fled.

Although the reward was not immediately granted, Nobunaga gave Hideyoshi his own small sword as a token of his loyalty. Once the battle for Kyoto was successful, he could claim the reward from Nobunaga with this small sword.

I wonder if this time it will be increased to five thousand strings of cash.

When Nobunaga saw Shichibei busy outside, he actually waved at him, indicating that Shichibei should come into the shogunate, as he had something to say.

"Nashibei, you burned the gate of my Minuzaku Castle, so you have to compensate me with one!" Nobunaga was in high spirits and his face was full of joy.

"Ah?" No, Shichibei really didn't know how to answer Nobunaga.

They burned the city gate during the war, and now they are holding someone responsible? That's not the case.

"Hahaha, look at you." Nobunaga actually stood up from the small stool and clapped his hands.

I see. You're teasing me, Shichibei. I've been telling you, there's no such thing as burning the enemy's gates during a siege and still having to pay compensation.

"I'm willing to pay compensation, I'm willing to pay compensation." Shichibei had no choice but to bow his head and cooperate with Nobunaga.

"Tsk, I really want you to compensate me with one? Okay, then you have to compensate me with a wide gate in the future." Nobunaga was shameless enough to actually say this.

The Seven Guards were not feudal lords or powerful individuals who had no obligation to build castles for their lords. They usually just provided labor or donated money according to their salary.

"It must be spacious enough!"

"It's a deal, hahahaha..." Nobunaga laughed, and the entire shogunate was filled with a happy atmosphere.

No one really took it seriously. They all knew Nobunaga was overjoyed. Seeing the gates of Minazaku Castle on fire meant he knew it had fallen. Now he was just looking for Shichibei's fun. Sometimes Nobunaga and his retainers really had no sense of boundaries, making them seem like bad friends.

Shichibei, who was sitting at the bottom, had to smile along. How could Nobunaga not smile when he was happy? Even Asai Nagamasa, who was sitting opposite him, was smiling happily.

As Nobunaga was laughing, news arrived that Hino Castle Lord Gamo Kenhide had been persuaded to surrender by Kobe Tomori and was now heading towards Kanonji Temple with hostages. The envoy asked Nobunaga whether he should wait for three days or arrange an immediate audience with Kenhide to appease the Gamo clan.

136. I Didn’t Meet Nobunaga Aiji

Before coming here, Nobunaga knew that there was a teppo forge in Hino Town. For the sake of these hundreds of teppo forges, Nobunaga had to meet Gamo Kenhide. Who told him to have teppo? At this time, teppo was still in short supply.

As expected, Gamo Kenhide sent his father, Gamo Sadahide, and his son, Gamo Tsuruchiyo, to Nobunaga as hostages. The other lords of the Rokkaku clan's branch castles did the same, including Kondo Kenmori and Goto Takaharu.

By the way, I still have to say that at this time, the Gamo family mobilized all their forces to defend Hino Castle, but only mobilized a thousand people.

Excluding the peasants who were temporarily mobilized to defend the city, he was considered impressive to have 500 men. This clearly demonstrates the strength of the Gamo clan. Takenaka Hanbei's clan could still muster over 100 men, and the Mino Three could each muster 2,000 men.

So after capturing Minasaku Castle, which was defended by Yoshida Izumo-no-kami, and blocking Wadayama Castle, which was defended by Tanaka Jibu Daisuke, Nobunaga paid no attention to the other branch castles. Because each branch castle had only a few hundred people, and half of them were farmers, it would be difficult for them to defend themselves, let alone go out to fight in the field, or even select elite troops to launch a surprise attack on Nobunaga.

The three generations of grandparents and grandchildren kowtowed to Nobunaga in unison, and Nobunaga became a little more friendly towards them. While ordering the three to skip the formalities, he also praised Gamo Kenhide's loyalty.

The main city has been opened, but the branch city is still resisting. Doesn't this deserve the title of loyalty?

It's reasonable to suspect that the Shiga Prefecture government decided that the Gamo family, having moved to Aizu with 920,000 koku of wealth, were no longer Shiga Prefecture residents and therefore didn't film a film about them. Just look at Narita Nagachika, a historically obscure figure who somehow managed to become the star of a major film just for defending Oshi Castle.

Shichibei was present, watching Gamo Kenhide surrender to Nobunaga. Kobe Gumori sat nearby, explaining the details of the situation, while the Gamo grandparents remained tense, not daring to act rashly.

Hurry up, I want to read Japanese Warring States novel.

After all the introductions and Nobunaga's praise, isn't it still this Gamo Tsuruchiyo who is naturally heroic and full of vigor, and is suitable to be my beloved son-in-law?

After watching for another five minutes, and still no scene of being accepted as a son-in-law on the spot, Shichibei yawned. These past few days, he had been sleeping in the wild every day, without even a temple. He couldn't sleep well and was so sleepy that he wanted to crawl into a hole.

"Nanabe, go back and have a rest." Sakuma Nobumori happened to be walking towards him. He had to go and arrange a banquet to entertain Gamo Kenhide, and saw Nanabe yawning at the gate of the shogunate.

"No hurry, no hurry." The show hasn't ended yet, Shichibei has to hold on.

"There is always work to be done, just take your time." Sakuma Nobumori smiled and without saying anything else, he lifted the curtain and walked out.

"You are saying..."

Eh, did Sakuma Nobumori realize at this point that there was no end to the work? Nobunaga hadn't even made it to Kyoto yet, becoming the de facto regent of the shogunate.

If he had started the war now, it's no wonder he would have clashed with Nobunaga later when they attacked Asakura. Nobunaga's career was now in full swing, and he absolutely wouldn't allow anyone else to start the war. Everyone had to be dedicated to Nobunaga at this point; those who didn't would only be exiled.

This included Kato Yasaburo, who escorted Nobunaga out of Kiyosu Castle during the Battle of Okehazama. He was furious at the Battle of Ōkouchi, where he didn't contribute, and Nobunaga exiled him. Fortunately, Tokugawa Ieyasu took him in, giving him a place to stay.

Tokugawa Ieyasu offered Kato Yasaburo a salary of 3,000 kan (approximately 2,000 kan) before his exile.

If you don’t work hard, get out.

This is Nobunaga's principle of employing people.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. If Sakuma Nobumori really thought he could stop working so hard, then his death knell had sounded. A well-established Oda clan elder, a man who might even rival Hideyoshi for the throne, would have to leave the stage early, completely finished.

Before he could finish his sigh, Sakuma Nobumori returned, presumably having given his instructions. He even smiled at Shichibei. Honestly, he was quite a nice guy, always taking good care of him. He was also a cultured and well-educated man, a true samurai, with some moral principles and a clear conscience.

Personally, Shichibei did not want Sakuma Nobumori to fall.

But if he's truly useless, we won't be able to stop him. With a sigh, Shichibei looked at Sakuma Nobumori, who had returned to Nobunaga's seat. As the Oda army's military commissioner at the time, Nobumori was effectively in charge of direct deployment and coordination, while Nobunaga was merely in charge of the overall situation. The two seemed quite harmonious, with no conflict between them.

"Come, come, try the wine produced in Owari." Nobunaga opened his mouth and gave the wine dish he had just used to the three generations of Gamo ancestors and grandchildren.

The Gamo grandparents, led by Gamo Kenhide, took Nobunaga's wine dish, and the young man beside him poured wine for them. After Kenhide finished drinking, he kowtowed to Nobunaga and blew it.

"What a great wine! It really lives up to its reputation."

"Hahahaha, remember to bring a few gifts back to Doctor Sabei." Nobunaga also wanted to win over the Gamo family.

Halfway through the banquet, the topic of the Hino-cho iron cannon forging finally came up. Nobunaga didn't say anything, but Gamo Kenhide presented Nobunaga with a Hino-nobi tube as a gift. Nobunaga then superficially praised it, saying, "It's really good, it's on par with the Kunitomo tube."

Immediately afterwards, Gamo Kenhide said casually that Hino Town was short of a deputy governor. Seeing this, Shichibei thought that the biggest drama was finally about to begin, and even squeezed forward.

What was the result? Nobunaga was naturally delighted and said he would send an agent to specifically manage the commercial activities of the entire Minami-Omi region. There is no doubt about this.

Immediately afterwards, Nobunaga announced that the Gamo family would become Shibata Katsuie's ally and would follow Shibata Katsuie in the future.

As for Gamo Sadahide and Gamo Tsuruchiyo, they stayed as guests in Gifu Castle. Tsuruchiyo was already thirteen years old and could serve as Nobunaga's concubine, running around Nobunaga.

ha?

what?

its not right!

Is the historical plot twisting around me? Shichibei was stunned upon hearing this conclusion. Shouldn't Gamo Kenhide offer Hino Town, and then Nobunaga, overjoyed, take Gamo Tsuruchiyo as his son-in-law? A win-win deal, a win-win for both parties.

How come at this point, it has become that Gamo Kenhide handed over the cannon, joined Shibata Katsuie's samurai group, successfully changed his allegiance, and that's the end?

It was finally over. Shibata Katsuie and Gamō Kenhide exchanged greetings, and the next step was for Gamō Kenhide to lead 500 men and march on Kyoto with Shibata Katsuie. With the agreement complete, Gamō Kenhide was released back to Hino Castle, while his father and son remained with Nobunaga's main force, accompanying the other hostages handed over by the powerful families of southern Omi.

Nobunaga didn't even pay undue attention to Gamo Sadahide and Gamo Tsuruchiyo, but simply exchanged a few words with Shibata Katsuie. Now that Takigawa, Niwa, and Kinoshita's three divisions were all disabled, Shibata Katsuie or Mori Yoshinari would have to lead the charge across the Uji River, so a few more words of advice wouldn't be a problem.

Faintly, some words came over the wind, such as "Let Pu Shengbing die more."

This was not unusual; using the people of each nation and letting them consume their own people first was a common practice among the daimyo of the Warring States period. Shibata Katsuie was also quite perceptive, understanding Nobunaga's intentions and nodding beside him.

Today's scene was so confusing to Shichibei. None of the content he wanted to see appeared. When he lay down in the room, it felt unreal.

Never mind, at least I can sleep in the big house tonight. After Rokkaku and his son fled, the castle town of Kanonji Castle was essentially empty. The important officials of the Oda army each occupied a corner of the castle, each with a resting house. Even many foot soldiers could rest in the long houses above and below the castle.

Who wants to camp when they can live in a big house? Shichibei even occupied the warehouses under the city, using Guanyin Temple as a relay point for going to Kyoto, storing supplies.

However, according to Nobunaga's words, Kannonji Castle was to be demolished, including its main branch castles. All branch castles that did not receive Nobunaga's approval were also to be demolished to prevent the remnants of the Rokkaku clan from harassing them.

The city was completely demolished, so even if Rokkaku and his son wanted to return, they would have no city to rely on. By the time Nobunaga realized what was happening, the army had arrived, and Rokkaku and his son had no choice but to flee.

Now Nobunaga likes to fight field battles because he has a lot of people. Theoretically, he should be the daimyo with the strongest mobilization power in the entire Japanese Warring States Period, including southern Omi.

No matter which big list you pick out, no one has as strong mobilization power as Nobunaga.

Unless Uesugi Kenshin could unify the entire Kanto region once again, he would have an army of 110,000, but Kenshin had already lost his appeal and did not have the ability to unite the people.

As he was thinking, Shichibei finally got a good night's sleep.

Nobunaga was in no rush to dispatch his troops today. He waited for the Oda forces surrounding Sawayama Castle to converge on Kannonji Temple, while also urging Ashikaga Yoshiaki to advance. The lords and castellans of the various castles in southern Omi had either fled or surrendered, and several of Nobunaga's Homoe-shu generals were recruiting their foot soldiers and miscellaneous troops.

Although more than 1,200 people died before and after the attack on Mizukuri Castle, more than 6,000 Rokkaku soldiers were recruited in the past few days. It always feels that Nobunaga found it easy to win wars. The more he fought, the richer he became, and the more people he recruited.

The 6,000 Rokkaku soldiers would need another three to five days to reorganize, and it was estimated that Nobunaga would not march on Kyoto during this period. He sent Hosokawa Fujitaka and Isshiki Fujinaga to negotiate with the imperial court. After arriving in Kyoto, the imperial court would need to transfer the shogunate's order to Yoshiaki. This had to be negotiated.

Nobunaga himself, accompanied by hundreds of followers, wandered around southern Omi, apparently searching for new land to build a castle.

The demolition of Guanyin Temple and its branch city symbolized the demise of the old rulers, and the construction of a new city symbolized the establishment and strengthening of the new rulers' rule in the local area.

Just like Ii Naotaka demolished Sawayama Castle and built Hikone Castle, looking at the castle of the former lord always reminds us of the times when the former lord was there. Whether this situation is good or bad, it is never a good thing to miss the former lord.

It was a rare opportunity for Shichibei to have such free time in the middle of a war.

Staying in the camp, Sakuma Nobumori and Oda Nobuhiro, who were actually Nobunaga's lieutenants, were not idle. Before Nobunaga went out for a stroll, he told them two things: they didn't need to do it now, but they had to prepare for it.

Point out the inspection land and collect section fees.

First, inspect the land, then collect the money. The purpose of inspecting the land was less to confirm the territory's income than to clarify the subsequent military service. This was something Shichibei had done before in Kamiowari, and it wasn't particularly tedious. But this time, the Minami-Omi territory was larger and new, so Shichibei couldn't handle it alone.