Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

"It's...it's...it's on the next page..." Shichibei is usually a very amiable person; after all, he's a businessman, and amiability brings wealth.

His sudden outburst of anger startled Inase Yoshinari, who had never seen him like this before. He frantically flipped through the documents, pointing to the records at the back of the book detailing the movement of ships to Nagashima and the gathering of believers.

"You almost ruined everything!" Shichibei picked up the document and gave Inase Yoshinari a very harsh rebuke.

He's already the head of the store, living in a chaotic era, how come he has absolutely no sensitivity to such a big issue as gatherings of people?

Inase Yoshinari wasn't entirely stupid; considering the current situation, he suddenly realized why Shichibei criticized him.

However, Shichibei had no time to pay him any attention. Since the Nagashima Ikko-ikki had already begun to assemble, it meant that the Honganji Temple would soon become enemies with Nobunaga. With this clear evidence, he had to report it immediately.

As darkness fell, he harnessed his horse and galloped to the Titonoya Inn. The foot soldier guarding the gate saw that it was Shichibei and immediately sent someone in to report, leading Shichibei inside as he did so.

Nobunaga was having dinner when he learned that Shichibei had something important to report. Without any hesitation, he told Shichibei to sit down and speak. When he heard that the Nagashima Ikko-ikki were gathering, Nobunaga stopped eating.

Although he didn't show any outward alarm, he still put down his rice bowl. He placed his hands on his lap and pounded them a few times.

After finishing the pounding, he didn't say anything, picked up the bowl, and carefully finished eating the rice. He even asked Shichibei if he had eaten, and if not, he would bring him a bowl to eat first.

At a time like this, please don't play the "unfazed by a collapsing mountain" act with me, okay? I don't have the time to eat.

Shichibei said no need, please give instructions on what to do now.

Instructions? Nobunaga waved for the small dining table to be taken away. Where would he get instructions when things happened so suddenly? The Honganji Temple and Nobunaga clearly had a relationship of keeping to themselves. When Nobunaga attacked northern Ise, he didn't interfere with Nagashima at all.

Although Nagashima is just a large sandbar at the mouth of a river, its sphere of influence also includes some land on the shore of Ise, with a total koku of approximately 100,000 to 150,000 koku, making it effectively a regional lord.

If Nagashima Ganshoji were given more time to develop, it might very well have grown into a powerful force like Kaga Kanazawa Gobo.

Since Shichibei refused to eat, Nobunaga didn't force him. Instead, he asked Shichibei directly when Honganji would openly become an enemy. Nobunaga was already facing a crisis on two fronts. If Honganji were to join the battle, he would be overwhelmed.

"At the latest, after the autumn harvest." Shichibei wasn't being prescient; he was stating a statement based on reality.

Because Ganshoji Temple was also one of Kawamuraya's customers, after last autumn's harvest, Ganshoji Temple sold over 10,000 koku of rice to Shichibei. Records of this can be found at Kawamuraya's branches in Tsushima and Anotsu.

In other words, Nagashima Ganshoji Temple has very little food reserves, and now that it is calling on believers to gather, it needs to obtain sufficient military rations if it wants to wage a protracted war. Even if Ishiyama Honganji Temple provides support and transports rice and grain, it will not be able to fully cover local expenses.

Furthermore, Ishiyama's support was likely primarily in the form of military aid. The town in front of Ishiyama Honganji Temple was home to at least 40,000 townspeople. The entire upstream and downstream of the arquebus industry ultimately converged on Ishiyama's town.

Let's not even talk about supporting Yuanzheng Temple with several thousand arquebuses, but we should at least need five or eight hundred. As for saltpeter ammunition, Long Island doesn't produce any, so we need to get supplies from Shishan now.

Once the weapons and rations are replenished, Long Island will most likely launch an attack.

"The autumn harvest?" Nobunaga's gaze drifted towards the distant Nagashima Island, his expression neither confirming nor denying.

If Nobunaga could delay his open uprising until the autumn harvest, he would still have time to prepare. He could easily defeat either Asakura or Saito's forces, leaving him with the resources to deal with Nagashima.

As for Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple in Settsu, the three guardians of Settsu can be ordered to attack it. Ikeda Katsumasa has performed so diligently during the retreat from Kanesaki, Nobunaga can simply promise to grant the Ikeda family all his territory after taking Ishiyama.

On his territory, Nobunaga wasn't stingy; as long as you were good at fighting and willing to risk your life for him, you would be rewarded.

"Urgent report!"

Just as the two were facing each other in silence, a servant rushed in, bringing in two samurai. Neither of them looked very familiar; they didn't seem to be samurai from the Oda clan.

"Your Excellency, the traitor Asakura has already marched on Odani and begun deploying his troops at Kinomoto!" Upon hearing this, it can be confirmed that these are samurai from the Asai family.

"understood."

The Asai samurai didn't request reinforcements, and Nobunaga didn't offer to send troops; it was a tacit understanding between the two sides. Nagamasa knew that Nobunaga was currently besieged on both sides and might not be able to send reinforcements, but he still held onto hope. After all, the Asakura army numbered 30,000, while the Asai army defending the castle only numbered four or five thousand.

"My lord," Shichibei called out.

The situation is dire; there's no time for hesitation. Things are escalating everywhere, but the one jumping the gun the most is Asakura Yoshikage. We must first give Asakura Yoshikage a sound beating, a good thrashing to prevent a hundred more blows.

As long as Yoshikage Asakura gets hurt, he'll retreat back to Echizen. Once the autumn harvest is over and snow starts falling in Echizen, the region can finally relax for a while. Whether it's dealing with Hori Hidemura in Kohoku or Saito Tatsuoki in Kiyosu, there will be three or four months of ample time to prepare.

"Go and summon Murai Minbu." Nobunaga did not respond to Shichibei, but instead sent someone to summon Murai Sadakatsu.

"If we're talking about military rations, I still have 25,000 koku of brown rice in the rice granaries at the castle and Tsushima." Shichibei should have had 40,000 koku, but some of it was lost in Kanesaki.

However, the blame is all placed on Nobunaga, since he was the one who paid for the military rations.

"Hmm?" Nobunaga's expression was hard to describe; it wasn't hostile.

It's roughly a mix of emotions, including surprise, disbelief, and the realization that you actually have so much food.

"We can't hesitate any longer, we must strike hard!"

"Send word to Okazaki, ordering Mikawa no Kami to lead 5,000 men to Gifu." Nobunaga stood up abruptly and gave the order to his attendants outside.

The servants rushed out as fast as they could; they dared not delay for even a moment in this matter.

"What about those weapons that I ordered to be deployed?" Nobunaga turned around and asked Shichibei.

"Most of them have already been dispatched, and the remaining quantity will definitely be in place within half a month," Shichibei immediately replied loudly.

"it is good!"

It would take Tokugawa Ieyasu about mobilizing his troops and arriving in Gifu in about ten days. Nobunaga would also need time to wait and gather some more peasant soldiers. Half a month would be just right.

While the two were chatting, Murai Sadamatsu arrived. Nobunaga had originally intended to ask him how much rice was left in the castle, but now there was no need to. Since he was already there, Nobunaga instructed Murai Sadamatsu to quickly begin preparing provisions and fodder for Tokugawa Ieyasu's five thousand men.

Since they volunteered to help carry guns and fight, it was only right to treat them to a good meal. Murai Sadakatsu accepted the order and asked where the battle was to be fought. The distance and time required were prerequisites for preparing the appropriate amount of rations and feed for the troops.

Nobunaga, who had been somewhat hesitant, ultimately decided to rescue Otani and Azai Nagamasa first.

The Oda army wasn't afraid of battle. Although they had just fled from Kanegasaki, who hadn't suffered a defeat these days? Hadn't Takeda Shingen next door been brutally beaten? He was hung up and beaten by Murakami Yoshikiyo. Even the Hongan-ji Temple was beaten all the way from Yamashina in Kyoto, forcing them to flee to Ishiyama in Settsu.

Let's fight! As long as we have a goal and direction, that's good. Nobunaga has prestige in his household and can allocate sufficient war funds and military provisions. Samurai consider serving the public a sacred duty, so they acted immediately and were mobilized.

198. Building fortifications and besieging Qingxu City

Shichibei did not accompany Nobunaga into battle because the expedition did not require small pack animals. To put it simply, the marching route was easy to understand: starting from Gifu Castle, they entered Fuwa District, passed through Sekigahara, a place that would be famous in Japanese history, and then entered the Kamiraji area of ​​Omi Province.

Kamipaiji Castle was the last territory that Kyogoku Takayoshi and his father had in Jiangbei. Now the castle has been demolished, and only the name of the place remains.

After passing Kamohiraji Temple, it only takes two hours to cross the mountains of Ibuki (where Ishida Mitsunari fled) and enter the plains surrounding Lake Biwa.

And then where? Then it's Sister River.

Therefore, if you make a static distribution map of all the battles throughout history, you will find that these battles were all fought around certain important roads, passes, and rivers.

This was also an inevitable outcome of the Battle of Anegawa in history. Some say that Azai Nagamasa did it to send reinforcements and supplies to Sawayama Castle in the south. Others say that Nobunaga, heading north from Mino to attack Odani, would have to cross the Anegawa River, so Azai Nagamasa had to block him at the Anegawa.

There are many different opinions, but we will leave them aside for now.

In this present situation, Nobunaga's expedition to Anegawa was aimed at cutting off the rear of the Asakura and Hori armies who were besieging Otani. By the way, the area north of the river that enters through Sekigahara is Sakata District, the same Sakata District where Hori Hidemura was based at Kamajima Castle.

We entered Sakata County and relied on the enemy for supplies!

Rob him, you're committing treason.

Upon learning of the disturbance in Sakata County, Asakura Yoshikage dispatched 4,000 men, including Maebami Yoshitsugu and his generals, to continue the siege of Odani Castle. He himself led 20,000 troops, along with 3,000 men from Hori Hidemura, to confront Nobunaga.

Shichibei, stationed in the rear, was not concerned with the progress of the battle; he simply continued to transport supplies and provisions to the front lines and fully supported the castle-building activities at Usayama and Ogie.

Until the very last moment before the campaign, Nobunaga decided not to conscript farmers, but instead ordered the Mino Triumvirate to lead 6,000 men to join him in the campaign north of the river. The Inaba, Ujiie, and Ando families did not show any signs of rebellion for the time being. Perhaps Ryūō had also tried to recruit them, but at least for now, none of the three families had turned against him.

With their 6,000 men, and Tokugawa Ieyasu bringing 5,000 to assist, Nobunaga only needed to gather 19,000 men, giving him an army of 30,000, enough to contend with the Asakura-Hori alliance.

While they did their thing, Shichibei, in his capacity as the general (garrison commander) remaining in the castle, began to plan the overall encirclement of Kiyosu Castle.

The old retainer Hayashi Hideyoshi, who was originally ordered to stay behind, went directly back to Owari and built the Iwakura Jinya on the site of the Iwakura Castle post station, suppressing Saito Tatsuoki's rebellion from the north.

Historically, before Imagawa Yoshimoto marched on Kyoto, he captured Narumi and Ōdaka Castles on the border of the three rivers of Owari Province. Nobunaga then built five fortifications around Ōdaka Castle, directly besieging it, attempting to starve it to death. At the same time, he monitored the Imagawa clan's movements to provide early warning for Kiyosu Castle.

Thus, Tokugawa Ieyasu, in his first battle, dressed in his flamboyant golden robes and covered in gold leaf, bravely defeated the Oda army that tried to stop him and delivered provisions to the Imagawa army inside the castle.

Since Oda Nobunaga lacked sufficient funds and supplies to launch a large-scale all-out attack on Kiyosu Castle, he ordered Shichibei and Hayashi Hidesada to cooperate in building fortifications around Kiyosu Castle and attempting to besiege it.

Logically speaking, Kiyosu Castle was Nobunaga's stronghold, so it shouldn't have been difficult for him to deal with it. In fact, it wasn't difficult, but the samurai group that Tatsuoki brought with him when he moved into Kiyosu were all samurai from the Saito family for three generations, and they were only loyal to Tatsuoki.

So, despite having roughly the same territory, Hori-hide Village was able to mobilize over 5,000 men to fight near their home. Ryūshō, on the other hand, only managed to mobilize over 3,000 men. The anticipated overwhelming force of Mino, which had rallied the enemy, did not materialize, making Ryūshō the weakest link among Nobunaga's entire opposing forces.

Of course, if the Nagashima Ikko-ikki formally launches an uprising and Ryuhsing receives support, that would be a different story.

When Nobunaga led his troops to attack Asakura, Shichibei advised him that since they had discovered Nagashima might also be hostile, they must trap Ryuko's forces in Kiyosu. If Ryuko's elite core samurai group retreated to Ganshoji Temple on Nagashima, it's unimaginable how formidable the Nagashima Ikko-ikki would be, with religious indoctrination, ample military supplies, and a qualified samurai group.

Nobunaga, well-versed in the rules of the Warring States period's bloody battles, naturally agreed. After all, it was Shichibei's money being spent; he could just leave it all in debt. He was like a man with many lice, untroubled by his own debts. With a wave of his hand, Nobunaga ordered Shichibei to take the lead.

You even made Oda Mystic Maru bow to Shichibei? You should stay home and learn the Turtle Technique from your Uncle Kawamura.

From now on, when you go out to fight in the field, learn from your father. Fighting in a siege or using a turtle shell is expensive; learn that from your Uncle Kawamura. Shichibei keeps saying he can't accept that title. Oda Kyokumaru is already a legitimate son of the Oda clan; if he calls you "uncle" now, what will he call you in the future?

Somewhat strangely, when Oda Myojou came to pay his respects to Shichibei, Shichibei also noticed Gamo Tsuruchiyo, who had been sent to Gifu Castle as a hostage earlier. At this time, Gamo Tsuruchiyo was serving as a page to Oda Myojou. Although she hadn't managed to get Oda's daughter, she had become Myojou's follower.

Wow, how come this kid is so lucky?

Becoming a son-in-law can lead to success, and becoming a follower can lead to success as well.

In later Tokugawa Shogunates, the advisors of successive shoguns, especially those who succeeded to the throne from outer domains, almost all eventually became daimyo and controlled the shogunate.

Gamo Tsuruchiyo also bowed to Shichibei, because his uncle, Aochi Shigetsuna, was under Shichibei's command, and the two families were now somewhat connected.

Putting everything else aside, his manners were impeccable, and he seemed quite perceptive; at least Oda Myojou was very close to Gamo Tsuruchiyo. This historical figure, known as the "son-in-law of the Sengoku period," also possessed some talent.

Nobunaga then led his troops away, while Shichibei remained in Gifu Castle to plan the encirclement of Kiyosu.

Lord Ikeda Tsuneoki of Inuyama Castle and Iwakura Jinshiro Hayashi Michimasa provided Shichibei with military and manpower assistance. Since Shichibei was from the four lower districts of Owari and was well-versed in local geography, he immediately selected five locations—Ochiai, Shimonosato, Kamijō, Takashige, and Takamitō—to build fortresses.

Among them, Takamitō Fortress was responsible for contacting Ogie Castle to the west, Ochiai Fortress to the north was responsible for contacting Iwakura Jinya, and Kamijō Fortress was responsible for contacting Tsushima Town to the southwest.

The various fortresses worked together to encircle Saito Tatsuoki from all sides, desperately blocking him from entering Kiyosu Castle.

Of course, Ryūō would not sit idly by and wait for his death. When he went to Echizen to attack Asakura Yoshikage, Ryūō claimed that he was ill and unable to go into battle, and ordered Nagai Michiriki to lead more than a thousand soldiers to follow Nobunaga. Now, there was no sign that he was unwell. When Ikeda Tsuneoki led several hundred men to Ochiai Village and began to build a fort, Ryūō led his troops out of the city to stop him without saying a word.

This really degenerated into a village battle. Ikeda Tsuneoki had five or six hundred men, and Ryuko had seven or eight hundred men. They fought fiercely near Ochiai Village for a full twenty-five minutes.

Because Lin Tongzheng led four hundred men to arrive and charged into Saito's right flank, he shook Longxing's formation. Longxing was then unable to withstand the attack and retreated to Qingxu Castle with his remaining troops.

A total of twenty-two heads were severed...

Shichibei was not involved in the actual fighting; such small-scale skirmishes were perfectly fine to be handled by Ikeda Tsuneoki and Hayashi Michimasa. By the time the messenger arrived in Gifu, the battle had already been over for a day.

In just one day, a large quantity of timber procured from the Kiso River was assembled into wooden fences and antler walls. This was a technique that Shichibei had learned from Hideyoshi at Sunomata Castle, and which he had now passed on to Oda Mystic Maru and his friend Gamo Tsuruchiyo.

Don't underestimate the power of a mere wooden fence. In a chaotic battle involving a few hundred men, it provides a stronghold and a foothold. Once the wooden shields are erected, and a couple hundred arquebusiers and archers are deployed for defense, unless a large army comes to contest it, a few hundred men simply cannot take it.

The most typical example is the land acquisition at an airport in Tokyo, Japan. The authorities mobilized 7,000 people to attack a wooden camp. 7,000 people! They even brought in excavators and bulldozers. Multiple lines of defense were set up around the perimeter to prevent guerrillas from breaking in and supplying the camp with resources.

And what happened? It took several days of fighting to finally destroy the camp. Three of the official troops even "died" in the battle—how shameful!

If Longxing doesn't come to contest the fortress again the next day, then the moat surrounding the fortress will be completed. In that case, unless several thousand men are fully prepared and launch a full-scale attack, it will be easy to take it.

You're just a poor foot soldier, only getting ten or eight strings of cash a year. Why are you rushing in so aggressively?