Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

How about that? It's very simple. They leave Namae Castle and surrender. Rokkaku Yoshikata becomes a monk, and Rokkaku Yoshiharu goes to Kyoto to live a life of leisure.

Shichibei had also considered the location for his ordination: the Baekje-ji Temple, one of the "Three Mountains of the East Lake" in the former territory of the Rokkaku clan in the south. The Three Mountains of the East Lake refer to Seimei-ji Temple, Kongōrin-ji Temple, and Baekje-ji Temple, all of which are Tendai sect temples. This Baekje-ji Temple was founded by order of Prince Shotoku to specifically accommodate monks from Baekje who came to Japan, and it enshrines an eleven-faced Kannon.

In later generations it has become a tourist attraction for viewing autumn leaves, and at this time it is still a large temple with considerable influence in the local area. The status of the Tendai sect in Japan does not need much further explanation.

If you were to send both father and son to Kyoto to live off the land, they probably wouldn't be happy. Sending only one, leaving the older one in the local area, would be acceptable to both sides.

how about it?

Opposite them, Rokkaku Yoshikata and Rokkaku Yoshiharu hesitated for a moment, then suppressed their anger and accepted Shichibei's arrangement. They couldn't refuse; after all, Nobunaga's fist was still the strongest. Asakura Yoshikage could go toe-to-toe with Nobunaga, but Rokkaku Yoshikata didn't have that ability.

A peace agreement was reached.

. 123.

He rode alone into the city, and the Rokkaku family retreated. Just as he was about to leave, Nagawa Sadahatsu of Nagawa Castle specifically sought out Shichibei to inquire whether Shichibei accepted retainers.

Rokkaku Yoshiharu and Rokkaku Yoshikazu's last remaining resources were completely wiped out in this wave, leaving them utterly destitute. Therefore, the hundreds of yakubura horsemen who followed them were now completely without any source of income.

Just then, Shichibei arrived. And what was Shichibei's identity? He was the head of the Oda clan's horse-riding guild, the largest horse merchant and horse farm owner in the entire Lake Biwa region.

Those samurai skilled in yūbō (horse-drawn carriage) neither wanted to go too far from Ōmi Province nor did they need to find a place to eat. The appearance of Shichibei provided them with a good option.

A horse with a flowing arrow?

"Think it through. If you vote for me, you'll only be able to work as a horse ranch and herd horses." Shichibei swallowed hard and asked Namazue Sadaharu seriously.

"It's better than being dissolute." Namie Sadaharu thought that if there were only ten or eight people, they could find a nobleman in Kyoto and surrender.

But there are several hundred of them, and this wave will all have to be disbanded. The only groups capable of taking them in are the Miyoshi Triumvirate, Ishiyama Honganji, Asakura Yoshikage, and at most Oda Nobunaga.

The first three families—if they were to surrender, they'd probably be slaughtered by Nobunaga before they even left Jiangzhou. The latter, Nobunaga? To hell with him! Their territories and fiefdoms were all taken by Nobunaga; they wouldn't surrender to him.

That's why they came to join Shichibei, but they made it very clear that they were guest generals!

Do you understand, guest general?

If we get along, then we'll all be fine. If we don't, then goodbye. The guest generals don't need Shichibei to assign them any duties; just provide them with a salary to support their warhorses and families. If war breaks out, they can even go into battle with Shichibei—it's a mutually beneficial arrangement, I suppose.

"How many of you are there?" Shichibei asked seriously, his expression hardening.

“Four hundred and seventy riders.” Nagae Sadaharu didn’t need to lie, because he had to ask Shichibei for wages based on the number of riders.

Each person's salary had to be more than fifty strings of cash, which adds up to twenty-four thousand strings of cash. Such a price was indeed only something that the aforementioned powerful lords could afford to accept.

It wasn't that they were asking for too much; it was that they needed to raise two or three horses, and at least one warhorse, which they had to feed lavishly on a regular basis. Add to that armor, weapons, and the fact that the whole family needed to be well-fed and clothed, and they could train without any distractions. To be honest, fifty strings of cash were barely enough, just enough to get by.

"How is it, Lord Kawamura?" Namae Sadaharu asked, noticing Shichibei blinking repeatedly.

"Alright, let's go." Shichibei blinked as he calculated the economics, wondering if he could afford the 24,000 kan increase in expenses in a year.

They also had to keep large sums of cash on hand to lend to Oda Nobunaga, and couldn't just spend all the money they earned each year.

"Please accept my bow." Since Shichibei has agreed, from this day forward, Shichibei will become their patron, and they will become Shichibei's guests, forming a clear superior-subordinate relationship, and they must kowtow.

"No problem, no problem." Shichibei immediately helped the man up.

He immediately sent someone to Inase Yoshinari of the Gifu headquarters, instructing him to apply to Oda Myojo-maru for a plot of land in the samurai town to begin construction of samurai residences immediately. A large mansion of 2,000 square meters was unavailable; a residence of 200 square meters would be necessary for each of these yūbōma samurai families.

Overjoyed, Shichibei rode to Odani Castle to meet Nobunaga and report the contents of the peace agreement with the Rokkaku clan.

Upon learning that Rokkaku Yoshiharu was willing to stay in Kyoto temporarily and that Namae Castle had been vacated, Nobunaga approved of the peace agreement. Even after learning that Rokkaku Yoshikata was going to become a monk at Hyakujeji Temple, he merely instructed his attendant, Takei Yuan, to keep a close eye on Hyakujeji Temple.

On the other hand, in Odani Castle, Azai Nagamasa is truly in dire straits. Due to the plundering of the autumn grain in his territory by the Asakura army, the entire Azai family is facing a crisis of food shortage.

Excuse me, are you Nagamasa Asai? What are you planning to do?

Of course, we came to ask Nobunaga for help.

If you were Nobunaga, what would you do? It's simple: seize this opportunity to force Azai Nagamasa to change from an allied daimyo to a completely subservient daimyo.

Like Tokugawa Ieyasu, they are now practically vassals of daimyo. In a few more years, they will be no different from Nobunaga's retainers.

Nobunaga brought his troops to Otani not only to oversee the retreat of the Wakasa clan and the dismantling of the castle, but also to exert psychological pressure on Azai Nagamasa.

Don't think that doing this now will force Asai Nagamasa to rebel. Does he even have anyone left to rebel against? The territory north of the river has already been promised to Hori Hidemura.

We're all in this together. If we don't take advantage of this opportunity, is Nobunaga some kind of philanthropist?

Once he pledged allegiance to Nobunaga, Nobunaga immediately took out a loan from Shichibei's pocket, asking for 10,000 or 20,000 yen at will, and even 30,000 or 50,000 yen was not out of the question.

Refuse to vote? Hmph, will you just stay home and starve to death?

Asai Nagamasa is currently the deputy governor of Kohoku and a courtier, while Nobunaga is the regent of the Muromachi shogunate. They are both courtiers, so what?

Just because I've become the prime minister and you're the county magistrate doesn't mean I'm obligated to provide you with financial assistance.

Shichibei, who was standing by watching, wasn't worried about the two coins in his pocket. Anyway, the autumn harvest in Mino was over, and the tribute rice and money for the year would soon be in Shichibei's pocket. He was mainly impressed by Nobunaga's calm and composed demeanor.

Drinking while being stabbed, that's some kind of superhuman feat.

Chapter 213 Arranged Marriage Rights, Six Assistants, Shibata

Asai Nagamasa, being a man of flexibility, immediately knelt down and borrowed money and provisions from his brother-in-law. "Once I have the money and provisions, they're all mine. I don't care about yours."

Once the kowtow was made, the relationship between ruler and subject was established. Only then did Nobunaga order Shichibei to send 10,000 kan to Azai Nagamasa to save his little brother Azai's life.

Thinking about it carefully, Asai Nagamasa's original name was Asai Kensei, and he was a vassal daimyo of the Rokkaku family. He divorced when he needed to and changed his name when he needed to, without any hesitation.

Give him the money...

Haha, anyway, it was borrowed by Oda Nobunaga, so Shichibei didn't have much to say. In addition, with the autumn harvest in Nobi completed, hundreds of thousands of koku of annual tribute rice and tens of thousands of kan of cash were either transported to Gifu or Tsushima and had already entered Shichibei's household. Although theoretically he still had to reconcile accounts with Nobunaga, in fact, it had already gone into Shichibei's pocket.

"Fine, I'll lend it to him. Nobunaga has already owed more than 100,000 kan since last year. One more or one less won't make a difference. As long as Nobunaga's annual tribute from his territory can cover the interest, Shichibei is willing to lend him the money."

Returning to Yokoyama Castle, Nobunaga praised Hideyoshi and ordered him to mobilize three thousand men to help Azai Nagamasa pacify Azai and Ika districts. As for Hori Hidemura and Higuchi Naofusa's Sakata district, he spared their lives until Nobunaga could catch his breath.

Upon retreating to Gifu, Nobunaga immediately began dealing with internal affairs and issued his first order after the retreat without hesitation.

Order of Exile from Jodo Shinshu!

All Oda retainers who adhere to the Jodo Shinshu sect are required to convert within fifteen days. Those who fail to convert within the deadline and voluntarily resign their posts and relinquish their lands will be exiled. Those who refuse to convert and also refuse to relinquish their lands will be immediately arrested and executed.

Although Nobunaga and the monk Kennyo of Honganji Temple reached a peace agreement, with both sides withdrawing their troops and temporarily refraining from attacking each other, it didn't stipulate that Nobunaga was forbidden from prohibiting his retainers from practicing Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. This wasn't exactly skirting the issue; it wasn't mentioned in the peace treaty, and it was a matter within the Oda clan—who could interfere?

Among Oda's retainers, those who adhered to the Jodo Shinshu sect were mainly followers of the Nagashima Ganshoji Temple, which spanned northern Ise, Shimoo-Owari, and western Mino. While this group did waver, the formidable defenses of Gifu Castle, with its high walls and moats, and the presence of Oda Kyokumaru, the eldest son of the Oda clan, along with several thousand of Nobunaga's standing troops, prevented any unrest.

Now that things haven't escalated and Nobunaga is out of danger, it's time to start dealing with the cockroaches and bedbugs in his house.

No one in the household objected, since none of Nobunaga's core trusted ministers were followers of the Jodo Shinshu sect. The Hōke sect was much better; everyone could try it. People like Matsunaga Hisahide were even Christians, which Nobunaga found interesting and didn't forbid.

What do you want to know about Shichibei?

I believe money can move mountains.

Sigh, faith is just a matter of feigning conversion and then regretting it later. Even the archbishop is so shrewd, why is Shichibei pretending to be such a virtuous woman? Whatever Nobunaga believes, I believe; I'll always stand with Nobunaga.

"So, if I work for a year, I'll still owe you two?" Nobunaga looked at Sakuma Nobumori, Niwa Nagahide, Murai Sadakatsu, Sugaya Nagayaru, and most importantly, the "creditor" Kawamura Shichibei, who were kneeling in front of him.

"Well..." How would you answer if I asked Shichibei?

Nobunaga lost about two thousand men during his retreat from Kanesaki, about a thousand men at Anegawa, and about a thousand men at Nagakoji. In other battles, he lost several hundred men, bringing the total to five thousand regular troops.

Those who were purely foot soldiers, without families, were simply forgotten when they died. But those who had families and male members who could continue to carry the guns had to receive a pension, the amount of which was uncertain, but something was necessary.

In addition, after the annual tribute rice is collected, the salaries and subsidies of the retainers, samurai, and foot soldiers under his command must be paid out first. If they are not paid enough, who will fight for you?

Finally, after setting aside some funds for daily administration and expenses for Nobunaga and his family, all the remaining annual tribute rice and money were used to pay off Shichibei's debts, which were still incurred during the famine.

"Don't worry, would I cheat you out of this money?" Nobunaga signed his name on the accounting books with a flourish.

"Actually, it's not much different..." Shichibei quickly crawled forward a few steps to examine Nobunaga's monogram.

The annual tribute rice and land tax were only part of Nobunaga's income. Next year, there would also be arrow taxes from the towns and villages under Nobunaga's control. Although arrow taxes were not collected every year, there were many towns and villages under Nobunaga's control, so the taxes were collected in rotation, dividing the towns and villages into three groups. This year, two-thirds of the taxes were collected from one group, and next year, two-thirds were collected from another group, and so on.

Furthermore, Nobunaga is still the regent of the shogunate, and theoretically, all matters concerning the samurai families of the land, including lawsuits, must first be reported to Nobunaga, who then reports to Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Each additional intermediary means more money, and this extra step can bring in thousands or even tens of thousands of kan (a unit of currency).

"Anyway, I've spent a lot of money, so it's fine." Nobunaga was quite a bachelor at the moment.

He only cared about having military funds when fighting; as long as the funds were in place, everything else could be postponed. This was a consensus among the Japanese samurai lords: in chaotic times, everything else could be neglected, but the army and its weapons remained constant.

As long as the military maintains strict control, and other aspects are less stringent, the chances of things going wrong aren't high. The real doomsday scenario would be if the military loosens its grip or if discontent arises.

"I understand, I understand, I understand..." Shichibei nodded repeatedly. It's just a loan, as long as the interest is covered, he's not afraid.

Unless Nobunaga kills Shichibei to renege on his debt.

The Owari lords must be heartbroken. Shichibei worked tirelessly for him, making money for him, only to be beheaded in the end. Even if the core members of the Oda group didn't say it out loud, they would still have something to say about it.

Besides, as long as Nobunaga keeps expanding, new territories bring new income, which is perfectly sustainable at the moment. Even if he's still in debt after a year, so be it, what's there to be afraid of?

The real problem is when expansion stops and there's no new revenue.

"Prepare 40,000 koku of military rations in Tsushima and another 40,000 koku in Kyoto." Nobunaga put down his pen. He had been beaten this year, so he would definitely get his revenge next year.

Although the war is scheduled for next year, we must stockpile military rations during the autumn harvest to avoid running out of food and being unable to advance.

As for Kiyosu's Saito Tatsuoki, there was nothing that could be done but let him continue to cause trouble in Shimo-Owari. Nobunaga's main force had lost 5,000 men, and several high-ranking officers of the samurai rank had also been lost. He needed to take advantage of this winter to lick his wounds and gradually replenish his losses.

To put it bluntly, it involved recruiting ronin and low-ranking soldiers. The ronin were used as junior foot soldiers (ashigaru leaders), and the low-ranking soldiers were recruited as foot soldiers. In a sense, these low-ranking samurai and foot soldiers were purely expendable. In the relatively smooth flow of people in the Kinai and Tokaido regions, Nobunaga had money and supplies, so he recruited people very quickly.

With the money in place, it's just five thousand people, it's a piece of cake.

Moreover, even if you survive, you won't reach Hideyoshi's level. The level of Mosuke in the movie "Himeko" is actually not difficult to achieve. He was a pure peasant who was temporarily conscripted. He started as a lowly soldier, but by the time of the Battle of Yamazaki, you could tell from his armor that he had really made it and had already achieved some status and respectability.

Oda's army lost 5,000 men, and now they are recruiting. The surviving veterans will be directly appointed as foot soldier squad leaders or foot soldier captains. These positions, held by lower-ranking samurai or up-and-coming foot soldiers, are highly mobile and far from being untouchable.

If one day luck comes their way, they can accumulate strength and then rise to become a daimyo with a staggering 50,000 or 70,000 koku of rice. This was not an isolated case in the history of Japan's Sengoku period.

There are many examples of people who started out as small-time tycoons and eventually built up a fortune of 50,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).

However, the recruitment of men was no longer Shichibei's responsibility; that was handled by Sakuma Nobumori and Niwa Nagahide. Nobunaga spoke at length with the two, explicitly stating that recruited soldiers could not be followers of the Jodo Shinshu sect.

In addition to quantity, quality is also important, with priority given to those with war experience. Although most of these grunts are seasoned veterans who are unwilling to fight to the death, they do not require extensive training.

To put it bluntly, all you need to do is give them a spear and rush to the battlefield, since the enemy's level is just so-so, not some outstanding elite force.

Nobunaga was generous with his pay and rewards. Naturally, the old soldier was willing to put in ten minutes of his effort to do some work for Nobunaga.

Recruiting honest, simple farmers would be ideal, but unfortunately, Nobunaga lacked the time and resources to train them. It would take at least three years for an old farmer to become a skilled soldier. Where would Nobunaga find three years of free time? He was eager to immediately seize Kiyosu Castle and eliminate this thorn in his side.

So in the end, they still recruited veteran soldiers, mainly as expendable troops. If they won, they would naturally gain morale. If they lost, they would abandon these men and the core samurai group would run away.

Foot soldiers with an annual salary of five or ten strings of cash only sought pleasure.

The foot soldiers' longhouses below the castle are quite empty now. They've even been temporarily allocated to the 470 families of Ryubima samurai recruited by Shichibei. The samurai residences are still under construction; although the wooden houses can be built in a month or two, it will still take a month or two.

Anyone willing to apply right now will be provided with food and lodging, and will be given rice and housing subsidies immediately. Isn't that great? These days, the benefits are excellent.