Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Just a short distance at the foot of the mountain, there was a paper mulberry tree still bearing leaves. These things are as formidable as weeds. In his previous life, Shichibei had seen several paper mulberry trees in a dilapidated old house.

They actually sprouted and grew from the bits of yellow mud between the brick walls of the collapsed old house. Such vitality is truly remarkable; anyone who sees it would have to acknowledge its tenacity. It's amazing how nature has managed to evolve and develop to this point—it takes real skill.

He broke off a branch of a paper mulberry tree, stepped on it, and peeled off the bark. Then he asked a group of students, "What can this bark be used for?"

The students touched the bark, and some even chewed on it before spitting out the mushy fibers.

"It can be used to make paper!" Muto Kihei was the first to react, showing his intelligence.

“That’s right!” Shichibei stepped forward and patted Muto Kibei on the shoulder.

This kind of land shouldn't have been cultivated in the first place. Now that it has been cultivated and a harvest is desired, the best approach is not to forcibly transform it with human intervention, but rather to respect its natural characteristics, adjust our development strategy, and follow the inherent order of nature by selecting the best crops.

The barren soil, mixed with a lot of gravel, should be planted with large numbers of paper mulberry trees. On the one hand, their branches can be harvested to make paper mulberry paper. On the other hand, their tenacious survival ability can be used to stabilize the land at the foot of the mountain.

If a wise and benevolent ruler could emerge to completely resolve the flooding problem in Kai, providing a diversion for the torrential summer rains and preventing the annual inundations that wash away the topsoil, then perhaps after ten or twenty years of continuous improvement, this barren soil could be transformed into fertile bean fields.

But that's beyond Shichibei's control. Shichibei can only dream about the future with these students; what the future holds is a matter for the future.

Alright, alright, after all that talk, we can finally go up the mountain!

There were farmhouses at the foot of the mountain, and naturally, there were village heads. As soon as Yonekura Nobutsugu revealed his identity, the village head knelt down. After handing the horse over to the village head's care, the group hiked up the mountain. There was still some snow on the mountain, but there were well-trodden footprints.

The people of Kai are not entirely inflexible; at least they will build kilns on the mountain to burn charcoal, and then carry it down the mountain in baskets to sell.

Charcoal making requires good hardwood, so the mountain near Tsutsuzaki-no-kan has long been scorched, with patches of barren land on both the east and west sides. This is also one of the reasons why heavy summer rains wash large amounts of debris and gravel down the mountain.

Of course, charcoal burners will also replant some trees, but a good hardwood tree takes at least thirty years to take shape, let alone ten. But if you take it to the kiln and burn it, it will turn into charcoal in less than thirty hours.

What you plant can't burn as fast as what you grow.

As the group ascended the mountain, they encountered several women from Kai carrying charcoal down the slope. The men cleared the land to burn charcoal, while the women carried it to sell; this was the harsh reality of life for ordinary people in those days. Seeing Shichibei and his group, they wondered what so many samurai gentlemen were doing up the mountain.

Now that they had spotted the charcoal kiln, Shichibei asked the group of students what the advantages and disadvantages of burning charcoal were. Since they were already there, and it wasn't a proper professor-student relationship anyway, they were just going with the flow.

This time, it wasn't Muto Kihei who spoke; it was a samurai from the mountains and forests of Kai Province who spoke. He pointed to the ventilation shaft of the charcoal kiln and said that the trees below the shaft would gradually wither and die.

She's observant of life and has the potential to be trained.

Whether it's a brick kiln, a pottery kiln, or a charcoal kiln, as long as there's firing and a chimney, the trees downwind will inevitably wither and die within a short time. They'll be "burned" to death; the hot air escaping from the chimney would practically peel your skin off if you put your hand in. Your flesh would be completely melted away at that extreme temperature.

Naturally, downwind, no matter what kind of tree it is, it will start to die after being burned by this kind of wind for three to five days, and after burning for ten days to half a month, it will basically be dead.

Is there any benefit to it? Now no student knows.

Shichibei then took Yonekura Nobutsugu to ask the charcoal worker, who soon brought out a bowl of wood vinegar. This was a byproduct of wood being roasted at high temperatures, and it had a slightly pungent, smoky smell.

What's its purpose? A few spoonfuls of wood vinegar mixed into a bucket of water can be used as an insecticide to protect crops. For agricultural pests that have virtually no resistance to pesticides these days, it's a devastating blow, killing them with ease.

The key point is that this stuff is harmless to the human body and won't easily leave residues on crops. Even if it eventually gets digested, there's absolutely no need to worry.

Wood vinegar is also very useful in forestry. Many diseases and pests of pine and fir trees can be controlled or even eliminated by spraying wood vinegar.

In the days before industrially synthesized pesticides, this stuff was the most important treasure for farmers and mountain workers.

If necessary, wood vinegar can even be diluted with water and applied around the wound for cleaning and disinfection. Of course, this will be quite irritating and painful for the injured person. But what does pain matter? The ability to kill bacteria and save lives is something many people would kill for.

It's not recommended because it's extremely irritating and should only be done as a last resort. In movies, people even use gunpowder to treat wounds; these are all desperate measures, and ordinary people should never try them.

By the time the group descended the mountain, carrying a handful of fruit dug out of the snow, it was already afternoon.

It would take time to get back to the city, so Yonekura Nobutsugu decided to treat Shichibei and his colleagues to a meal out of his own pocket. His family were samurai with a combined income of 450 kan; in the Edo period, they would have been considered high-ranking officials, so they certainly wouldn't have been short of money. They ate at the same estate owner's house down the mountain, and all they had was hot food, hot water, and dried radish.

In Kai, such a meal was actually quite good. Most lower-ranking samurai would be happy for a long time if they could have a soup and a dish. Many samurai who went out to perform official duties would only eat cold rice with hot water or hot tea for lunch.

They only eat rice and drink hot water; their lives are so simple, which is probably why their family has been able to prosper.

These days, it's a rare treat to finally get a hot meal. Luckily, Shichibei isn't a picky eater; he's happy as long as he's full. If there were a simple stir-fried water spinach or romaine lettuce in light oil, that would be perfect. He doesn't necessarily need meat and alcohol to accompany his meal; as long as he's happy, that's all that matters.

The headman was quite tactful; he fed the horse and gave it water. When Yonekura Nobutsugu tried to give him money, he refused, but in the end, he only accepted the food payment, thus making Yonekura Nobutsugu a friend.

By the time they returned to the city, it was already dark. The fifteen Kai samurai actually escorted Shichibei back to Inuyama Yashiki with great respect before parting ways with him and going home.

Needless to say, their study notes were collected and sent to Takeda Nobukazu. Takeda Nobukazu chose two notebooks with the best handwriting, tucked them into his breast pocket, and went to his brother's house to drink and review his study notes.

Shichibei went hiking today, worried that he hadn't had any exercise in a while. Tomorrow, his calves will feel tight and swollen, so he'll relax in the courtyard. He even asked the servants in the house for hot water to soak his feet. They're all from Owari; you can befriend them for a little money.

To be honest, these days, it's always a pleasure to encounter someone from your hometown when you travel, at least communication isn't a problem. As for the saying "when fellow countrymen meet, they might stab each other in the back," that happens all the time, in every era. When there are no conflicts of interest, chatting with a group of people from Owari is definitely more enjoyable.

Just as I was relaxing in the courtyard, I saw Kato Nobutaka returning from outside, his face beaming with joy. "Oh dear," Shichibei thought, "of course I have to ask the old man what good news he has."

Kato Nobutaka didn't hide it from Shichibei, saying that he had finally found a retainer of the Baba family who had brought ten horses from Shinano to the manor. He had run into him and, after much persuasion, bought them from him for five kan each. They had already been brought back and were tied up in the stables at the Inuyama residence.

Inuyama Residence is quite large, over 1,600 tsubo (approximately 1,600 square meters), much larger than a typical fortress. Otherwise, Shichibei wouldn't be able to walk around and relax in his yard; the stables could easily fit nearly a hundred horses.

Oh! Right, didn't Inuyama Tessai ride all 100 horses we sold to Nobunaga to Tsutsuzaki-no-kan? Where are they?

Horses? They were all given away or sold off by Inuyama Tessai long ago, leaving only about ten.

Kato Nobutaka was clearly resentful about this, but what was done was done, and there was no point in saying anything more. When Inuyama Tessai went into exile, he was required by Nobunaga to hand over Kinzo. In other words, he could only take the easily portable gold and silver; all the other copper coins had to be given to Nobunaga as a bribe to save his life.

No wonder Nobunaga gave Shichibei over a thousand catties of copper coins back then, without a single piece of gold. It's likely that the money was taken directly from the gold storehouse in Inuyama Castle and given to Shichibei; Nobunaga had no intention of spending his own money.

In other words, Inuyama Tessai, who had acquired a hundred horses from Nobunaga, would have to sell them all if he wanted to recoup his losses.

A hundred horses, even if they are just ordinary packhorses and riding horses, can still sell for several hundred kan. Just for eating, drinking, and having fun, several hundred kan could last for many years. Besides, Takeda Shingen also paid Inuyama Tessai a salary as a guest general; Inuyama Tessai couldn't even spend all that money.

In a fairly good mood, Kato Nobutaka called out to Shichibei, "Don't look so glum, come have a drink. You can't exactly shoot Inuyama Tessai, that worm."

Similarly, Takeda Shingen was also drinking with Takeda Nobukazu. Today, it wasn't Yonekura Nobutsugu pouring the drinks, but Muto Kihei. Everyone has a family, after all; otherwise, Shingen wouldn't have had six close attendants in the inner palace. Day shifts and night shifts, odd and even days—they could all manage the schedule.

"What brings Kawamura Shichibei to our residence?" Takeda Shingen asked Muto Kibei after reviewing his study notes for the day.

"Buy horses, the more the better," Muto Kihei replied immediately.

Actually, Niwa Nagahide came not only to establish a marriage alliance with the Takeda clan, but also to purchase horses for Nobunaga. Nobunaga was building a postal relay system to Nakano, and that required dozens of horses to fill the gaps.

"Just to buy horses?" Shingen was indeed somewhat surprised.

"That's how it is, according to him. He even asked Gorobei to inquire about it before."

"That's true, after all, it's the heirloom of the Oda family."

After setting down the wine dish, Takeda Shingen instructed his page to send a letter to Kosaka Danjo, who was in Shinano Province, instructing him to quickly fetch one hundred suitable pack horses and mounts to Tsutsuzaki-kan.

"So many?" Xinlian asked incredulously.

It's not that I'm afraid you'll laugh at me, but during the Kawanakajima arc, Shingen deliberately released some horses to disrupt the Uesugi army's formation, hoping that the Uesugi army would panic and fight over the horses.

How many horses were released? Five (some say three).

That's a bit stingy, no wonder Xinlian was surprised.

28. Dan Yu did not understand the sudden change of the hexagram.

Previously, the Takeda clan had no objections to accepting Inuyama Tessai. Inuyama Tessai had been driven out of Owari by Oda Nobunaga, so accepting such an enemy of an enemy and then using them as a banner to fight against him was perfectly justified.

Just like Uesugi Kenshin dragging Murakami Yoshikiyo and Takanashi Masayori to fight in Oku-Shinano, it was reasonable, legal, and justified. Murakami and Takanashi had been in the area for hundreds of years; it was "since ancient times."

Similarly, if Takeda Shingen were to ever conquer Owari, with Inuyama Tessai in charge, he could certainly proclaim that the Takeda family's rule over Owari "has existed since ancient times." Why? Because Inuyama Tessai's family had been based in Owari for hundreds of years.

If you're not satisfied, go complain to the United Nations! No United Nations? There was the Muromachi Shogunate, wasn't there? "When poor, develop together; when rich, prosper as we have always done." Who doesn't know that?

But to arrange a marriage alliance with the Oda clan...

The matter has caused quite a stir within the Takeda clan, especially with Takeda Yoshinobu vehemently opposing a marriage alliance with the Oda clan. What would become of the Imagawa clan if they were allied with Oda?

Hmph, Takeda Yoshinobu still doesn't understand his father enough. His father is a shrewd opportunist, always seizing any opportunity for personal gain, and doing so in a grand and generous way. With the Imagawa clan in such a state of decline, who would believe his father isn't even slightly tempted?

The alliance between Kai, Shun, and Sakai was formed because Takeda focused on Shinano, Imagawa on Owari, and Hojo on Kanto, each with different development directions. It was based on reality and common interests that they formed an alliance.

Times have changed. Takeda's expansion in Shinano has essentially ended, and he can no longer conquer Echigo. Furthermore, access to and from Kanto is inconvenient. Among all the warlords, the easiest one to control nearby is Imagawa.

The greatest principle of Japan's Warring States period was that if you don't move forward, you fall behind.

If you don't fight your way out, you'll be the one who suffers. These days, everything is about interests; money talks, and if you don't, you're just stuck in poverty.

Whether or not a treaty could be concluded did not depend on Niwa Nagahide at all, but on Takeda Shingen. If Takeda Shingen refused, Niwa Nagahide and his party would not even be able to reach Tsutsuzaki-no-kan; they would be stopped at the border.

Now that they've arrived in Kofu, they're still chatting and laughing with Takeda Shingen. Needless to say, the clever Takeda people have basically guessed Takeda Shingen's thoughts.

The reason they were still engaging in these perfunctory negotiations with Niwa Nagahide was simply to observe the reactions of the Takeda retainers.

After all, Yoshinobu Takeda came from a noble family and had been the young lord of Takeda for many years. His retainers were great hereditary retainers like Toramasa Iitomi, and the Imagawa family, an elder clan backed by Suruga, had a considerable following within the Takeda clan.

If someone were to blindly rebel against Yoshinobu Takeda, it wouldn't be impossible for Kai to go into civil war.

No one wanted to see the Kai civil war, so it dragged on like this. They kept an eye on the anti-Oda forces, then swiftly cut them off, killing them all. Once the leaders were gone, they had no power to rebel.

Unconcerned about the matter, Shichibei began instructing the fifteen students on how to steam and boil the mixed fruits and separate the wax. The cotton thread in the center of the candle wasn't hard to find; Japan had its own kapok, which could be spun into thread. Kapok cloth was also quite inexpensive in Japan and readily available everywhere.

A dozen students stirred the mixture in a casting pot for several hours, finally producing a waxy substance. The rest was easy: a cylindrical groove was carved into a wooden board, and the two halves were joined together to form a candle. Adding a step to place the cotton thread was all that was needed; it just required speed.

After all, the wax solidifies quite quickly, and if you're too slow, the two halves of the candle might not close properly.

"Congratulations everyone, this candle is worth eight Yongle Tongbao coins." Shichibei held up the still rather crude candle and congratulated the group of students.

"Great, great..." A group of students chattered excitedly, watching from the sidelines.

I made five candles in total. The random fruits and berries I brought down from the mountain the day before yesterday were all I could manage to produce this much wax.

If the samurai of Kai later become enlightened and use an oil press or other machine to extract the seeds of those miscellaneous fruits, the utilization rate could increase significantly.

If they don't get it? Well, that's their own fault. Shichibei isn't their biological father, and he has no obligation to teach them step by step for a lifetime.

The premise for saying this is that Shichibei saw Muto Kibei and Yonekura Nobutsugu pulling a millstone to examine the crushed fruit seeds and debris.

What I just boiled were the peels and pulp of mixed fruits. Since the peels and pulp contain oils and waxes, there's no reason why the seeds shouldn't contain them too.

Great, it was worth coming to class.

Shichibei patted Muto Kihei and Yonekura Nobutsugu on the arm, asking them what they were thinking about. Sigh, what to do? Even patting their shoulders is a struggle. These two are at least 1.58 meters tall, Shichibei has to look up to talk to them.

Nobutsugu Yonekura immediately answered, saying that he didn't know if the seed had any use.

Hey! That's right. If you can think of discovering the potential value in the visible and tangible things in life, then you've got it all figured out, and you'll definitely become a master in the future.

After being praised by Shichibei, Nobutsugu Yonekura, the eldest son, felt quite embarrassed, scratching the back of his head with his head down. He had received more praise in the past few days than he had ever heard in his entire life. How to describe the feeling? For a moment, he felt that Shichibei was even more affectionate than his strict father.

Since that's the case, we're practically brothers even though we're not from the same father or mother. Help me buy fifty horses.

Shichibei, who had been enduring the hawk's wrath for so many days, has finally given up. Firstly, he still hadn't seen Niwa Nagahide and Takeda Shingen reach an agreement, and secondly, spring was almost here, so he had to hurry back to Owari to prepare for this year's business.

Having finally heard Shichibei's words, Yonekura Nobutsugu immediately patted his chest and guaranteed, "Fifty horses, right? If you can't get them, I'll give you all the horses in my family to ride home, and I won't charge you."

It's true what they say: at home you rely on your parents, but when you're out in the world you rely on your friends. My good brothers, we're counting on you guys. Shichibei's rural Japanese accent from Owari really makes it impossible for him to communicate with the people of Kai. If it's not Yonekura Nobutsugu, who else can he rely on?