Owari Yumeki Golden Day

This was the case with Yamato, Kawachi, Izumi, and other provinces. Nobunaga would ask the new lords of these territories to renovate the streets within their territories to facilitate the rapid movement of the Oda army and the flow of people from various countries.

Nobunaga then began to inquire about the pursuit of the remnants of Rokkaku Yoshitaka and Rokkaku Yoshiharu. It was now almost certain that Rokkaku and his son were completely hidden in Koga County. This place "refused to obey the king's rule", and if they wanted to capture them, they would probably have to lead a large army to sweep them away.

Another new development is that Rokkaku and his son may have been in contact with the Kitabatake clan in Iga and Ise. A quick look at the map shows that the Kitabatake clan is now completely surrounded by Oda's forces.

Unfortunately, the Kitabatake clan was still independent, and Nobunaga could not allow this situation to continue for too long. Therefore, war or diplomatic suppression was a foreseeable outcome.

Rokkaku and his son were once powerful daimyo, so it's no surprise that they were in contact with the Kitabatake clan. At this point, Kitabatake was probably the only one who could leverage their power. The Miyoshi clan fled at such a speed that the Oda army was unable to catch up, and their forces were completely routed from Kinai.

The territory that Miyoshi Nagayoshi had fought for decades to seize in Kinai was completely lost to the Miyoshi trio in just over ten days.

This news was also heard by the personnel stationed at the Minami-Omi customs office. Once Shichibei reported it to Nobunaga, even if the matter was settled, it was Nobunaga's responsibility to decide how to deal with it later.

"Hmph, Kitabatake, right? Once the matter in Jiangnan is settled, you return to Gifu and go on a diplomatic mission to Kitabatake with (Takigawa) Sakon." Nobunaga made the decision so quickly, with almost no hesitation.

Come to think of it, even Shimazu Yoshihisa of Satsuma personally came to Kyoto to congratulate Ashikaga Yoshiaki. It's a bit hard for you, Kitada Tsuneyoshi in Minami Ise, to say you didn't know about the new emperor's accession to the throne.

In Nobunaga's view at this time, if you do not come to pay homage to Yoshiaki, it is equivalent to not recognizing my, Oda Nobunaga's, regime over the people of the world.

The two are directly equated. After all, anyone who comes to pay homage to Yoshiaki must pay homage to Nobunaga and call him Kanrei-dono. Nobunaga's decision not to accept the Kanrei's duties is his own. If you don't treat Nobunaga as Kanrei, then Nobunaga will have a heart-to-heart talk with you.

"Encourage him to go to Kyoto?" Shichibei was very clear about this.

"Not bad!"

If Kitabatake Munekyo could understand the situation and go to Kyoto to be subservient to Nobunaga, then there would be room for negotiation. Even if he colluded with the remnants of the Rokkaku clan, it wouldn't be impossible to turn the tables.

But if you don't even have this attitude, then I can only laugh. It's not difficult for Nobunaga to recruit 90,000 troops now. It all depends on whether Nobunaga has the ability to provide food for 90,000 troops.

The autumn harvest is coming soon, and the Nobi Plain is rich with a million koku of rice. A million koku of rice has been harvested and stored in the warehouse. If you still think Nobunaga is a country bumpkin, unworthy of the homage of Kitabatake Gukuni, one of the "Three Kingdoms of the Warring States Period", then you will have to taste Nobunaga's iron fist.

"I understand."

"Do it well."

Nobunaga said nothing more. It was already dark and everyone was ready to rest.

With the completion of the renovation of the streets from Ogaki Castle to Setabashi, the Kawamura horse houses set up in Imahama, Otsu and Kanonji Temple were also completed. Relying on the horse resources from the Omi-Northern Return Trade and the confiscated assets of the old horse houses, the layout expanded rapidly.

The only thing that Shichibei didn't expect was that those old horse messengers were still holding on, and some even went to Koga County to join Rokkaku and his son, refusing to bow to Shichibei.

Perhaps they felt that the Rokkaku family still had a chance to make a comeback. Shichibei had no time to take care of them for the time being, so he could only leave behind the necessary bantou and servants, and at the same time ordered them to recruit as many of the old Jiangnan messengers as possible, and then withdrew to Gifu.

Takigawa Ieyasu was not in Gifu, but at Kanie Castle in Owari. He had not yet built Matsushima Castle in northern Ise. After reporting back to Nobunaga and settling all expenses, Shichibei had no time to rest and immediately rushed to Kanie Castle.

Consider it a return to the Tsushima main store to catch up on recent events. We'll soon be taking on the sole sales contract for the Oda clan's annual tribute rice, and we also have to repay the combined 40,000 koku of rice owed to Sakaimachi and the Anotsukai. I'll have to ask Inase Yoshinari to handle this.

Yoshinari Inase naturally understood the importance of this matter and said that he would definitely stay in Tsushima and deal with it with all his strength.

So, after checking the accounts of Kawamuraya during this period and talking with some of the headmen and branch managers, Shichibei felt relieved and rushed to Kanie Castle.

Takigawa Kazumasu, who had been waiting for Shichibei for a long time, boarded Shichibei's boat and went to Anoutsu together. Taking the boat allowed him to walk less. Shichibei had been very busy recently and was indeed tired.

In addition, he had already sent people to inform the people of the Kitabatake family in advance, telling them that His Highness the Kanrei of the Muromachi shogunate would send an envoy to meet them, so please make preparations in advance.

Preparation? The Kitabatake family has already started quarreling among themselves.

150. You are also a minister

The situation of the Kitabatake family is not difficult to guess. At this point, Oda Nobunaga had just ascended to the throne of the world and was at the peak of his power. At this point, Nobunaga was preparing to take over the entire Muromachi shogunate's old order.

As it happens, the Kitabatake family was not part of the old order's power loyalty system. Otherwise, they would be called "Warring States Three Kingdoms" because they were first and foremost court nobles, before they were daimyo.

But Nobunaga didn't care about this. He even ignored his brother-in-law, Asai Nagamasa, who he had to deliberately win over, let alone the Kitabatake family.

Either they could express their obedience to Nobunaga and accept his orders, though not necessarily with a clear understanding of their status as subjects. Or they could resist the king's army and wait for their doom.

In fact, judging from the current situation, the brothers Hatakeyama Takamasa and Hatakeyama Akitaka have expressed goodwill to Nobunaga, and the Hatakeyama family has been given the task of securing and protecting half of Kawachi. Nobunaga did not immediately ask these old vassals to become retainers.

The key is to listen to Nobunaga, the successor of the old order, even if it's just on the surface.

Like the Negoro clan in Kishu, he also expressed a certain degree of goodwill towards Nobunaga. However, for the time being, he simply did not obey Nobunaga's orders to mobilize troops, and only supported the new Oda regime on the surface.

Lower your head, it's good for you, me, and everyone. It saves Nobunaga's face, and your own fundamental interests are not affected.

But the problem lies here. The Kitabatake clan is not willing to even bow down. If they do, they can just send someone to Kyoto to congratulate Yoshiaki and offer him 100 taels of gold, and that's it.

One hundred taels of gold is nothing to a daimyo. The key point is this attitude.

As the saying goes, "Don't punish the diligent, don't punish the lazy, only punish the blind." Kitabatake had to jump out and be the one who was blind, which must have displeased Nobunaga. Not long ago, even Hida's Anekoji Jitsuna and Tajima's Otagaki Terunobu, figures who would be unheard of in later generations, had the good sense to send people to Kyoto to congratulate Yoshiaki and Nobunaga.

What do you mean Kitabatake can't teach?

In this case, Nobunaga would definitely send someone to have a good talk with Kitabatake Munekuni as the shogun. This is how Shichibei and Takigawa Ikmasu were sent to the Kitabatake clan.

By this time, Kitabatake Gufusa was the head of the Kitabatake family, a common practice during the Warring States Period. A father in his prime relinquishing the family tutelage to his son not only avoided a situation of "kind father, filial son" but also provided his son with peace of mind. He also allowed his son to take over for a few years while still in his prime, thus stabilizing the situation.

When the old father passed away, the son was old enough to inherit the family business. When Nobunaga was in Honnoji Incident, the position of Oda family head had already been passed to Oda Nobutada. It was the same for them.

Due to historical changes in this dimension, the Oda clan successfully compromised Mokuzo Gumomasa and disrupted the Nagano Kudo clan. Oda's pressure on Kitabatake intensified, and the situation became even more pressing. Consequently, the clan was violently divided into two factions.

Some believed that Oda Nobunaga, now the shogunate's governor, the new ruler of the country, was a powerful figure who had reorganized the Kinai region and was the successor and protector of the old order. Even representatives of religious powers like Honganji and Mount Hiei were flocking to pay homage to Nobunaga, so why not follow suit?

This faction included important minister Fujikata Toshinari, as well as people like Toriyao Mitsuyoshi who had previously met Shichibei and was quite wise. They all proposed this.

Anyway, it was just a matter of bowing one's head. Judging from Nobunaga's actions, he did not actually interfere in the internal affairs of the daimyo. The key point was to recognize his new regime.

Another group of people thought Oda Nobunaga was nothing, and his father, Oda Nobuhide, was a troublemaker. Both father and son were warmongering country bumpkins, while our Kitabatake clan was a noble and prestigious family, inherited from generation to generation, and our family status was far higher than that of the Oda clan.

The point is, the Kitabatake clan never once mentioned bowing to the shogunate's kanrei or requesting their approval. It's not like the shogunate of Northern Ise was serving the public, needing to curry favor with the shogunate's regent. If we were to do something without precedent, without precedent, wouldn't that be a disgrace to the Kitabatake clan's reputation?

This faction, mainly composed of Nagano Guto, who was driven away by Nobunaga, and Kitabatake Shinari of the Ichimonshu, advocated ignoring Nobunaga's call and strengthening ties with the imperial court.

Don’t you, Nobunaga, respect the imperial court? Then my Kitabatake family is recognized by the imperial court. If you hit me, you are hitting the imperial court in the face. You can try hitting me first.

After learning that Oda Nobunaga had successfully supported Ashikaga Yoshiaki's expedition to Kyoto, both sides began to argue fiercely. After all, people are living beings, able to hear and see. Even the feudal lords of Satsuma and Higo heard the news and sent people to Kyoto. The Kitabatake clan could not play dead, and if they did, Nobunaga would immediately send people to question them.

Just like Asakura Yoshikage, why haven’t you come yet? Do you still want to be the Echizen guardian?

Now, Nobunaga's messenger is about to arrive at the Kiriyama Palace. How should he deal with it? How should he respond? He can't just kill him and continue to pretend he doesn't know.

Well, that's a good idea. Kitabatake Shinari directly suggested that he find some bandits and pirates to kill the Muromachi shogunate's interrogator on the way. Since the Kitabatake family hadn't received any interrogation, there was no need for them to express their views.

Fortunately, Kitada Tomokyo was still alive and not obsessed with gain or loss. How could someone be so arrogant as to kill an envoy officially sent by the shogunate?

Once the interrogator was beheaded, Oda Nobunaga could have easily issued a shogunate order, summoning a million-strong army from across the country to kill Kitabatake. This would have been perfectly natural. The imperial court wouldn't even say a word. This wasn't just a simple act of beheading someone; it was a devastating blow to the old national order.

The topic can only return to how to respond after meeting.

"The Lord has already accepted the proclamation from the Forbidden City. Since Kiriyama-dono is a vassal, why doesn't he go to Rakucho to pay homage?" Takigawa Kazumasu was considered the chief envoy. He sat in front of Kitabatake Tomofusa and asked the reason.

"I, Kitabatake, am neither a vassal nor a guardian, but a governor of the country under the divine order." Kitabatake Tomofusa replied.

Two things. One is that my family is a high-ranking official of the imperial court. Kitada Tomokuni is a bona fide high-ranking official, a junior high minister of the rank of Chunagon. There's a difference between a court official and a samurai official. It's not your place, the Muromachi shogunate, to control my family.

Another meaning is to show off their family's power in the imperial court and their status in front of the emperor. Don't be arrogant and don't get ahead of yourself.

"Hmph..." It's just arguing. Everyone can do that.

Shichibei stopped Takigawa Kazumasu from answering and bowed forward, paying his respects to Kitabatake Gufusa. "If nothing unexpected happens, he'll be a junior rank, Chu-nagon, in the future. This is considered a deity in Japan, not a human title. So, for the sake of appearances, we have to make sure he can't find fault with us."

"The so-called provincial governor is nothing more than the head of the country. Once you have received the title, you will be a minister of my shogunate!" Shichibei opened his mouth.

The Chigyo Kuni-no-Kuni mentioned here was derived from the Inmiya-Bunkoku system of the Heian period. To put it simply, it was a system where nobles and officials were allowed to recommend their own sons or relatives to serve as governors and governors in the provinces, thereby receiving taxes and tributes from the country.

At the beginning, only those who were qualified to be recommended were the retired emperor, the legal emperor, the empress dowager, the crown prince, and the like. They had extremely high status but were not the emperor and needed some money to maintain their living standards.

Right, you are the Empress of the Central Palace, you are the Crown Prince of the Crown Prince, it is not decent to have no money to spend. The Emperor allows you to send someone to the countryside as a governor, to obtain the money of this state, and use it to make you happy.

However, this system soon fell apart and was exploited by the Sekkan clan. The Fujiwara clan, which frequently produced empresses, frequently recommended provincial governors and plundered the country's taxes.

Even more impressive was the rise of Taira no Kiyomori, who expanded this system to include over 30 provinces in Japan as "Chigyo-koku" (provinces) under the Taira clan. Instead of appointing provincial governors, the imperial court directly appointed Taira clan members as Chigyo-koku lords, giving them full control of these provinces.

The Kamakura shogunate followed suit and organized the nine provinces of Kanto into the "Kanto Gobunkoku." This meant that all nine provinces of Kanto became hereditary territorial provinces of the Kamakura shogunate, stripping them from the hands of the imperial court. From then on, these nine provinces had nothing to do with the imperial court.

In addition to the military, the temples also did this. The last time the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple was renovated, Todai-ji Temple had no money. What should it do?

They went to the imperial court and cried, made a fuss, and jumped up and down. In the end, the imperial court ordered that Todaiji Temple become the governor of Suo Province, that is, the monks would serve as the governor of Suo Province, collect money, and build the Great Buddha Hall.

The system is completely corrupt and no longer in shape.

Therefore, during the Muromachi shogunate, the eras of Ashikaga Takauji and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, corresponding institutional adjustments were made to the various situations of Chigyokuni and Chigyokuni rulers.

Especially during the period of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, all the powers of the old provincial governors, such as the "Katada chaos take the power, the envoy compliance power, the half-tax payment power, the shogunate land management power, and the section money tax collection power" were finally established and had to be granted by the shogunate before they could be implemented.

In other words, either you, the governor of a certain province, will become a completely empty figurehead, living off the fat of Kyoto while the shugo sent by the shogunate govern your province. Or you will accept the shogunate's new system, regain these powers from the Muromachi shogun, and govern.

The vast majority of provincial governors, or lords of the province, were beaten back to Kyoto by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's iron fist, leaving only a few nobles who still retained local power.

Then naturally, they had to accept the new system of the shogunate, that is, obtain authorization from the shogunate.

You're still spouting such bullshit, saying you're some kind of provincial governor, a court official, a high-ranking official, and connected to Amaterasu, sharing the same clan? Sorry, you once received orders from me, Rokuon-in-dono, and received instruction from me.

If you don't accept Ashikaga's orders and don't follow Ashikaga's instructions, how can you have the power to be a provincial governor?

Is there such a thing? Kitabatake Tomofusa quickly turned to look at his father, while the Kitabatake retainers were whispering among themselves. They couldn't understand, couldn't accept, their ancestors had kowtowed to Ashikaga Takauji and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, pledging loyalty, and becoming vassals of both the imperial court and the samurai.

Hehe, that's the kind of thing that happened. It's highly likely that Ashikaga Takauji and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu compromised with the ancestors of the Kitabatake family. The Ashikaga ancestors were masters of balancing things. Ashikaga Takauji could be said to have relied solely on his words. He started out in Kanto with 120 men, reached Mikawa with 2500, and even entered Omi and dragged Sasaki Hougan into bed.

In the end, he actually conquered the world and established the Muromachi shogunate.

How the compromise was reached is now unknown. However, this system must be real. If it were not for this system, how could the shogunate completely devalue the provincial governors in the imperial court and make the shugo the actual rulers of the local areas?

The Kitabatake family's ability to survive the initial wave of new officials replacing old ones must have involved some collusion and dealing. However, this does not detract from the fact that the Kitabatake family's ancestor was a retainer of the Ashikaga family.

In Japan, it is quite normal to have two retainers. Oyamada Nobushige was also a retainer of both the Takeda and Hojo clans, but the span of the two retainers of the Kitabatake clan was much larger.

"Since you are His Majesty's subject, why don't you bow?"

Not only do you have to pay homage to Ashikaga Yoshiaki, but you also have to pay homage to Oda Nobunaga, because Nobunaga is the regent of the shogunate who rules on behalf of the shogun, and his status is equal to that of the shogun himself.

If you don't kowtow to Nobunaga, Nobunaga can attack you openly.

"Please wait for a moment, the two messengers. The banquet has been prepared." Seeing that the situation on the scene took a sudden turn for the worse, Toiyao Manrong immediately stood up.

He signaled that the discussion would end today. Kitabatake Gufusa had no objection. If Shichibei were to continue questioning him, Kitabatake Gufusa would be on his knees. Rather than embarrass himself, he should immediately send Shichibei away and discuss the matter among the Kitabatake family.

"Please think about it soon, Lord Kiriyama." In the Oda army, Nobunaga gave me the cold shoulder, but outside, I am an angel.

151. Spreading rumors to harm upright people (Zhu Xiucai's three-jin crown)

Takigawa Kazumasu really wanted to ask Shichibei where he had gotten all this information. Don't underestimate these secrets; a quick Google search will reveal them. At the moment, they are incredibly valuable.

People who can grasp historical allusions can still make a living in Japan in 2024, let alone today's Japan.

Guessing what he was going to ask, Shichibei had to play it safe. After all, most historical texts these days were copied and circulated. Japan's printing industry wasn't very advanced, and even if it did print, it rarely produced historical texts.

Seeing Shichibei's expression, Takigawa Kazumasu immediately concluded that Shichibei had some opportunity in Kyoto or at Kannon-ji Temple. Shichibei had previously made no secret of his studies in waka poetry, tea ceremony, and other arts. He had even openly asked the abbot Sawahiko Muneon for the Kokin Wakashu, which Sawahiko Muneon had instructed Shichibei to memorize and copy at home.

Now that he was in the capital, Shichibei, having been on official business in southern Omi for a long time, knew relatively little about the situation. However, he had heard that some nobles of lower status were attempting to form marriage alliances with important officials of the Oda clan.

Even Matsunaga Hisahide was able to marry the eldest daughter of a noble family in the imperial court, so why couldn't the important officials of the new world Nobunaga family marry her? It is foreseeable that the guardians of various countries in the future will definitely be born among the important officials of Oda.

In the past, nobles looked down on the barbaric country bumpkin warriors, but now if they could marry their daughters to the Shugo family, do you think they would be happy?

If even daughters can be offered for marriage, then naturally all kinds of heirloom skills can also be "traded". It all depends on what the important officials of the Oda family need.

There is no reason why Shimazu Yoshihisa could obtain the ancient and modern teachings, but Shichibei couldn't.

Teaching this kind of unique skill has never been difficult, let alone copying and reading various historical texts. As long as Shichibei is willing, I'm sure someone will immediately act as an intermediary and copy it for him.

He acted cool in front of Takigawa Ieyasu again, but he wasn't particularly happy about it. Shichibei and Takigawa Ieyasu came to do something, and Nobunaga's temper was a little bit unpredictable now. He had to do it seriously, or go back if he couldn't do it?

Nobunaga gives you a big shovel.

So did Nobunaga hope that the Kitabatake clan would surrender? Or did he hope that the Kitabatake clan would hold out, giving Nobunaga a reason to attack?

During his visit to Kyoto, Nobunaga secured control of key Lake Biwa ports like Otsu and Kusatsu, but he didn't specifically request any territorial gains. The Rokkaku clan, defeated by Nobunaga, passed its territories to the Oda clan. However, Nobunaga didn't claim any of the territories in the five provinces of Kinai, instead distributing them all to the former noble families and shogunate retainers.

This is one of the reasons why the old guards at this time all felt that Nobunaga was the Kanrei, the one who held power. Although Nobunaga readjusted many territories, he essentially maintained the old order in Kinai.

Even the act of enfeoffing the local tyrant Wada Koremasa of Koga to Akutagawa Castle in Settsu was considered a reward for Ashikaga Yoshiaki's followers and almost no one opposed it.

Even Ashikaga Yoshiaki was pleased, as Wada Koremasa had not betrayed Yoshiaki during his most difficult and difficult times, and the two had a close relationship. Giving Wada Koremasa the tens of thousands of koku of land in Settsu and Akutagawa Castle not only commended Wada Koremasa but also strengthened Ashikaga Yoshiaki's military might.

So, despite Nobunaga's refusal to assume the position of Kanrei or Vice-Shogun, the goodwill shown by Nobunaga kept the relationship between Yoshiaki and Nobunaga intact. At most, it was a honeymoon period, with some initial friction. Yoshiaki felt that Nobunaga was still playing within the framework and could be slowly shaped into the shape of the Muromachi shogunate.

So after going to Kyoto, Nobunaga, whose reputation and prestige had been greatly enhanced, should now want practical benefits.

Minami-Ise, in the heart of his own territory, might be the real benefit. The 300,000 koku of territory in Minami-Omi was definitely not enough to cover Nobunaga's expenses for this trip to Kyoto. Adding Minami-Ise might be more appropriate.

He shared his thoughts with Takigawa Ikki, who also thought that Nobunaga might not really want the Kitabatake family to be his vassal, but rather wanted to seize Minami-Ise.

It's unknown who went to Ichijodani to announce the decree to Asakura Yoshikage. At this point, Nobunaga must have compiled a list of those who had disobeyed and refused to send someone to Kyoto to congratulate Yoshiaki and his daimyo. He sent people to ask each one, "Are you really unwilling to come? Or are you waiting for me to invite you?"