Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Although a larger group might be slower and could make them a prime target for the enemy, they'd be more daring. Last night, the enemy was chasing after Akechi Mitsuhide. Having more people might even help prevent the fall of the warriors.

With this thought in mind, Ikeda Katsumasa acted immediately, dispatching men to summon Oda's army to join him. The vanguard, which had been moving slowly like headless flies, finally had people stepping forward to assemble the troops as dawn broke, and the samurai and foot soldiers naturally followed.

These days, even when going out to rob, you have to elect a leader. The seasoned samurai foot soldiers understand this principle even better. Ikeda Katsumasa is one of the three governors of Settsu, which means he is a high-ranking and noble figure to ordinary samurai, and he is fully qualified to lead and organize them.

Before long, Ikeda Katsumasa had gathered more than 5,000 people, and in the end, he even ran into Kinoshita Hideyoshi, who was guarding the valley and was only now retreating.

Although Hideyoshi came from humble origins, his status as a native of Owari was undeniable; his own father had served as a spearman for Oda Nobuhide, and Hideyoshi had served as a straw sandal bearer for Nobunaga. At this moment, his shared hometown connection proved particularly advantageous.

The Oda army, fleeing the mountain pass in an endless stream, gathered in droves upon seeing Hideyoshi's banners and horse emblems. This was solely because Hideyoshi was from Owari Province.

Thus, the two generals gathered more than 8,000 men and pursued Kuchiki-dani in Takashima County, north of the river.

You ask why the pursuers disappeared? Firstly, after fighting all night, the Asakura army, being human, also needed rest. Secondly, the Hori army and the Saito clan had already defeated Oda's main force and had ceased fighting to clean up the battlefield.

Secondly, it must be said that Akechi Mitsuhide was incredibly loyal. He kept the pursuers on tenterhooks, making them follow him closely.

Nobunaga's head must be worth at least two thousand kan of hereditary fiefdom. Anyone with a bit of strength would be chasing after Mitsuhide right now, hoping to cut off Lord Nobunaga's head and completely turn the tables and become the master.

This bought Ikeda Katsumasa and Kinoshita Hideyoshi time to regroup, and in a sense, Mitsuhide did Hideyoshi a great favor.

Those Oda soldiers who fell behind and couldn't keep up with the main force were probably in grave danger. After all, the hunting of fallen warriors in every village and hamlet had already begun. The war-loving farmers of the Sengoku period, whose farming seasons had been disrupted, would naturally have to make up for it by taking a few from the Oda soldiers. A sword or a spear could be exchanged for two bushels of rice.

………………

Nobunaga's party consisted of ten people, including Matsunaga Hisahide and his guide Kuchiki Mototsuna. They returned to Kyoto, truly escaping alone and barely escaping with their lives.

However, Nobunaga is Nobunaga. Even after being utterly defeated, he remained composed and spirited. Upon entering Kyoto, he first ordered Oda Nobuhiro to send men to meet the Oda generals who might retreat later. Then, he ordered Shichibei to immediately send men to investigate the situation in various countries, reporting everything in great detail.

He sat down and sent a document to Hatakeyama Akitaka, ordering him to lead two thousand men to the Uji River and set up defenses along the river to prevent the miscellaneous troops of Rokkaku Yoshikata and his son from harassing Kyoto.

After all, Hatakeyama Akitaka is Nobunaga's son-in-law, and he and Nobunaga have a mutually dependent relationship. In the current chaos, it is better to use Hatakeyama Akitaka than anyone else.

"Lend me another 50,000." Shichibei turned to leave to run his errand, but Nobunaga said this.

"understand!"

This time, Shichibei did not hesitate or make any excuses. It would not benefit anyone in the Oda clan if Nobunaga's ship capsized, especially Shichibei, who relied on Nobunaga's power to maintain his large-scale monopoly.

"Is the money in Kyoto or Gifu?" Nobunaga asked more detailed questions.

“You can withdraw it from Sakai, whether it’s 50,000 or 100,000.” Shichibei and the Sakai consorts had reached a gentleman’s agreement, a verbal agreement for lending between business partners.

As long as Nobunaga lives, the Oda clan remains intact, and Shichibei remains the Sakai daikan (official in charge of Sakai), this verbal agreement remains valid and indefinitely effective.

"Tell the Sakai people that whether they go to Akama Pass, Onomichi, or Odawara, I want as many as they can carry: dōmaru, guzaku, jūkasa, bows and arrows, and spears," Nobunaga nodded slightly and immediately gave the order.

The Oda army fled in disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons, and losing a large amount of military equipment. Nobunaga didn't care about the equipment of other feudal lords or daimyo families, but he was responsible for restoring the armor and equipment of his own direct subordinates, the Mokui-shu and the standing foot soldiers. Specifically, Shichibei was tasked with immediately coordinating resources across the entire country.

Since these items were all consumables and wouldn't spoil easily if stored for a short time, Nobunaga generously said he'd take as many as he could. However, the actual number of Shichibei to be deployed would only be based on arming 10,000 men. Nobunaga also had a portion of his troops remaining in Gifu, and those troops were fully equipped.

If there are any shortcomings in the end, we can continue to allocate resources. Anyway, with money, there's no fear of not being able to buy goods. The two largest handicraft production bases in the country—Kyoto and Sakai—are both under Nobunaga's control.

"It's just that we can't deploy arquebuses in the short term." Let's be honest now and not beat around the bush.

"No... never mind, take as many as you can!" Nobunaga first raised his hand, then just waved it, after all, he had recently swept away all the arquebuses of Sakai and Kunitomo.

"I understand."

With Nobunaga's safe return, the other generals also arrived in Kyoto one after another. It must be said that although Shichibei's report was a bit late, he at least arrived before the Asakura army launched their attack, which, putting everything else aside, bought him an extra half hour to escape—that was absolutely crucial.

Thus, not a single general in the entire Oda army perished on the mountain path of Mokuya Pass. Though their armor was disheveled and they were covered in dust, as long as they returned, they wouldn't be heroes eighteen years later; they would be heroes again in eighteen hours. After a bath, a meal, and a nap, they could raise Nobunaga's banner and immediately be ready to wield swords and go after Nobunaga.

When Nobunaga saw Ikeda Katsumasa and Kinoshita Hideyoshi returning to Kyoto with seven thousand men (several hundred of whom either failed to keep up or deserted along the way), he was greatly impressed and almost immediately knelt before Ikeda Katsumasa.

Nobunaga, who had just borrowed money from Shichibei, was not stingy at all. He immediately rewarded Ikeda Katsumasa with 5,000 kan and Hideyoshi with 100 pieces of gold weighing 10 taels each.

Compared to the seven thousand Oda soldiers they brought back in a complete and organized manner, this amount of money was just a drop in the ocean.

Aside from Azai Nagamasa, the rewards for Tokugawa Ieyasu and Akechi Mitsuhide upon their return will certainly not be small. Akechi Mitsuhide served as Nobunaga's bodyguard, drawing away the pursuing enemy forces for Nobunaga; there is no greater merit than saving the emperor, and Mitsuhide performed this service.

Ikeda Katsumasa, who had initially looked somewhat gloomy, suddenly brightened up. Fortunately, he decided to take Oda's army with him halfway through the escape, which not only earned him Nobunaga's attention and appreciation but also provided him with the initial capital to rebuild his army.

The Ikeda clan suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Kinoshita Pass. Without money and supplies, this would have been a disastrous defeat that would have led to the destruction of their country and family in the past. Now, with Nobunaga's support, although rebuilding their fortunes is still difficult, it is no longer beyond repair.

While he thought this way, Araki Murashige, who was standing beside him, didn't think so.

This time, not only did the Ikeda family suffer heavy casualties, but also most of the retainers, nobles, and local lords who followed Ikeda Katsumasa were killed or wounded. Not only was Araki Murashige dissatisfied, but another important retainer in the family, Nakagawa Kiyohide, was also very dissatisfied.

Nobunaga did reward Ikeda Katsumasa with 5,000 kan, but they did not receive any reward from Nobunaga.

However, no one cares what they think for the time being. Because Nobunaga is currently in a mess and has no idea where to begin cleaning up his mess.

The fate of Azai Nagamasa in Jiangbei is unknown. Hori Hidemura has already joined forces with Asakura Yoshikage and returned to Sakata County in Jiangbei, where he has gathered an army of 5,000 men (60,000 koku, actually 100,000 koku) to fight against Oda Nobunaga.

The Rokkaku family, led by Yoshikata, rebelled in Jiangnan, committing murder and arson in all directions, with the aim of completely severing the connection between Nobunaga's main branch, Noo, and Kyoto, and restoring the Rokkaku family's rule in Jiangnan.

More importantly, Saito Tatsuoki, the lord of Kiyosu Castle in southern Owari, rebelled, and Nagai Michitoshi, with the support of Asakura Yoshikage, returned to Mino.

However, Gifu Castle was defended by Oda Myokimaru and Hayashi Hidesada, and its troops were relatively plentiful, making it impossible for Nagai Michitoshi to break through. Therefore, Nagai Michitoshi returned to Owari and incited the powerful clans of Mino to rise up and fight alongside Saito Tatsuoki once again.

This situation did cause some unrest in Mino, but for the time being, no one explicitly rose up in rebellion. The people were mainly waiting to see if Oda Nobunaga was dead or alive; if he was, then a large-scale rebellion would certainly follow. In this time of confusion, everyone was shrewd and remained inactive.

"It's alright, it's alright." Hideyoshi ran back, so Hidenaga must have run back too.

Shichibei was issuing orders to the Kyoto and Sakai guild members, demanding that they produce various military equipment as soon as possible, when he saw Hidenaga lift the curtain and come in, calling him Shichibei, the elder brother.

"My brother asked me to buy twenty horses." Xiu Chang was tall and muscular, with no missing ribs.

"Did the horse die?" Shichibei asked, patting Hideaki.

I can understand. Shichibei, Takenaka Shigeharu, and the others lost their horses in Kanesaki because they had been running all night and couldn't take them with them. Hideyoshi's horses probably died halfway through the journey, having been running day and night at breakneck speed. Even the most stamina-rich horses will eventually perish if ridden non-stop.

"Yes." Hidenaga lent Shichibei to Nobunaga, Nobunaga gave him as a reward, and Hideyoshi took out the money he had saved to buy a horse.

"Go and choose for yourself." Shichibei stopped sitting with Hidenaga and led him to the stables.

Compared to Hideyoshi, Shichibei is definitely closer to Hidenaga. After all, Hidenaga is his brother-in-law, and they've known each other for many years. Besides, the couple has a child, who is also Shichibei's nephew. A newborn child can't be without a father.

As the two chatted and made their selections, a message arrived from outside, saying that Tokugawa Ieyasu had fled over mountains and valleys to Gifu, and that once he reached Gifu, he was safe. A message even reached Nobunaga, asking if his younger brother from Mikawa should gather another eight thousand men to send those rebels to their deaths one by one.

Historically, Ieyasu was the same; after finally managing to return home, he immediately raised an army of 5,000 men and, along with his brother Nobunaga, brutally defeated the Asakura clan at Anegawa.

The Asakura army is said to have numbered 13,000 or 8,000, but in any case, it was definitely larger than Tokugawa Ieyasu's forces. Surprisingly, they failed to break through Ieyasu's army and successfully attacked Nobunaga from both sides.

Either Asakura was incompetent, or Ieyasu was diligent; you can judge for yourselves.

As for Azai Nagamasa, the heavily damaged Azai army, under his leadership, had returned to Odani Castle. However, due to the pressure of the Asakura army's great victory, as well as the instigation and rebellion of the Hori family in Sakata District, even the Ika District and Azai District in the north of the river were shaken.

After all, Nagamasa was only the leader of the National Alliance and had not yet achieved complete unification. Despite such a great disaster, Odani Castle still opened its gates to let him in. It was only because his father, Asai Hisamasa, and his son were both in the castle that no one dared to rebel.

The previously relatively stable situation in the capital region suddenly descended into chaos.

I wonder when Nobunaga will return to Gifu, since Gifu is the main base. If he returns to Gifu, he will have money and food, and he can also mobilize the farmers and soldiers in Mino and Owari.

Although Nobunaga lost at the Battle of Kiga Pass, he only lost his standing army; he still had peasant soldiers to recruit. As soon as Nobunaga returned to Gifu, he could immediately conscript 20,000 peasant soldiers with a single order.

At worst, we can just return the money they owe for their service this year. Nobunaga has a big wallet, Kawamura Shichibei, so he can just pay whatever he wants when he's short of money. It's very convenient for him.

He took Mikawa's younger brother and led 30,000 men directly to Sakata County, where they slaughtered Hori Hidemura.

The only troublesome one is Saito Tatsuoki of Owari Kiyosu; he's a real thorn in my side. How to deal with him requires careful planning.

Upon hearing the news that Oda had indeed suffered a crushing defeat, with only 7,000 of his 30,000 troops returning to battle, the Miyoshi Triumvirate, who had previously ceased their activities, immediately became active again. However, instead of immediately seeking out Araki Murashige, they rushed to Ishiyama Osaka Castle to visit the head priest, Honganji Kennyo.

At this time, Honganji Temple and Nobunaga were neither subordinate allies nor adversaries. They were simply operating independently, without interfering with each other. However, the Miyoshi Triumvirate were well aware that Honganji Kennyo had been quite alarmed after Nobunaga's raid on Awaji Atate Nobuyasu the previous year.

As you can see from the map, Kōjō was confined to the narrow territory of Settsu, Ishiyama, and Ōsaka, with a limit of 100,000 koku. He could have originally communicated with his disciples in Kii and Nagashima by sea.

As a result, Awaji also took the surname Oda, meaning he was completely surrounded by Nobunaga from all sides. Nobunaga first attacked Kitabatake, then Asakura, displaying an attitude of wiping out all forces that refused to submit.

Are you Kennyo of Honganji Temple? Do you have any worries?

196. All the money is in my pocket.

To put it another way, if society is stable and peaceful, the economy is developing steadily, and people live and work in peace and contentment, what will Honganji Temple eat? It should be known that poverty, chaos, and war are the breeding grounds for religion.

With the Kinai region on the verge of being completely pacified by Nobunaga, how could Honganji Temple possibly develop? If Honganji Kennyo couldn't expand the influence of Jodo Shinshu, achieve theocracy, and seize more territory and followers, wouldn't his life have been in vain?

However, Nobunaga's military prowess was at its peak before, having decisively defeated the Sasaki Rokkaku clan, twice dealt heavy blows to the Miyoshi Triumvirate, and forced the surrender of the Kitabatake clan, the provincial governor. With such a glorious record before him, Honganji Kennyo found it difficult to make the decision to completely turn against Nobunaga.

But this time it was different.

Nobunaga was defeated, his invincible myth shattered. Of his 35,000-strong army, only 7,000 escaped back to Kyoto. This was an immense encouragement to Kennyo of Honganji Temple.

To be fair, it wasn't that Kennyo suddenly decided to oppose Nobunaga. Rather, Nobunaga's momentum in unifying the Kinai region was too strong, which frightened Kennyo. For his own benefit, Kennyo naturally had to put up a fight.

Previously, through the mediation of Nijo Haruyoshi, Nagashima Ganshoji had reached a certain agreement with Saito Tatsuoki of Kiyosu, secretly supporting Tatsuoki with money, provisions, and firearms, so that Tatsuoki could undermine Nobunaga from behind the scenes, thus slowing down Nobunaga's unification of the Kinai region.

As for why Nijo Haruyoshi did this, well, as already said, Ashikaga Yoshiaki judged him to have participated in the plot to assassinate Ashikaga Yoshiteru, and not only petitioned to strip him of his position as regent, but also demanded that he be exiled.

Shichibei didn't even know where Nijō Haruyoshi had been exiled to. In any case, he was no longer allowed to stay in Kyoto. As a result, the kid went to Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple and became a guest of honor of the monk Kennyo.

He constantly speaks sarcastically to Kennyo, urging him to join forces with the Miyoshi Triumvirate to overthrow the current Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki. He claims that Kennyo would then be qualified to become the regent of the shogunate, a powerful figure in the government.

These days, nothing is impossible.

Xianru's family started as monks and has now achieved the status of "Menji" (门迹). This is a title of honor that only princes or sons of noble families who have become monks can receive.

The fact is, Kennyo has always sought to expand the secular power of Honganji. Once their Jodo Shinshu sect achieved a great religious victory, they would inevitably pursue even more.

Is it merely a public declaration of rebellion, a way to contradict Nobunaga? The nail that sticks out gets hammered down; the nail that sticks out gets hammered down first. Japan understands this principle, and Kennyo was well aware of it.

Do you want to wait any longer?

Despite the Miyoshi Triumvirate's earnest attempts to persuade Kennyo, he still wanted to observe for a couple more days. Then Nijo Haruyoshi jumped in, and now the Asakura clan had emerged, achieving a "great victory in the initial uprising." If Kennyo continued to delay, the position of regent of the shogunate would undoubtedly belong to the Asakura family in the future.

It's better to be late than early, and better to turn back than late. There is indeed such a saying. Kiso Yoshinaka was the first to rise up, but it was Minamoto no Yoritomo who gained power.

Asakura Yoshikage has already jumped out, so you, Kennyo, are just late? As for rebellion? That's a matter of political intrigue after we enter the capital. Asakura doesn't need a former Kanpaku as an ally. We're practically brothers, aren't we? You'll be the leader, I'll be the Kanpaku, and we'll rule the world together.

Thus, Xianru was finally persuaded.

However, rebellion or uprisings are not things that can be done immediately. Xianru sent a local official to secretly travel to various parts of the capital region, including Hokuriku and Nagashima, to mobilize believers to rise up in rebellion.

Scattered believers would be no match for Oda's large army. But if they gathered at the fortified castle of Ishiyama Honganji Temple and the large fortress of Nagashima Ganshoji Temple, Oda Nobunaga would likely find it difficult to suppress the Ikko-ikki.

It's a pity that Ieyasu almost completely wiped out the Jodo Shinshu followers in Mikawa. If Honsho-ji Temple in Mikawa had still existed, the situation would have been even more dramatic. He could have gathered the Ikko-ikki from both Mikawa and Nagashima, launched a fierce attack on Owari, which had an inside accomplice, and directly overturned Nobunaga's hometown.

Upon learning that Kennyo had finally made up his mind, the Miyoshi Trio, Shinohara Nagafusa, and others finally mustered their courage and prepared to land once again and fight Nobunaga.

It's impossible to say exactly when Xianru will raise his army; he can only guarantee that it will be as soon as possible. He needs to mobilize firearms and ammunition, gather believers and officials, and simultaneously call upon local officials to build fortifications.

That's not enough, that's still not enough...

"There's news! Rumor has it that Tsuruga has been restored, the Asakura family of Sashu has been suppressed, and they are preparing to march south to Jiangzhou to join forces with the Hori army and attack Odani Castle to completely control Jiangbei!" Many of Shichibei's men in Jiangbei have fled back to Gifu with their horses, bringing with them the latest news from Jiangbei.