Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

As the only wallet-holder in the Oda family, even Oda Nobuoki, who guarded Komie, knew that Shichibei was Nobunaga's personal wallet. How could Oda Kyokumaru not know?

Perhaps his father will kick the bucket, and he'll still have to inherit this wonderful big wallet.

What's wrong with getting closer right now? It's essential to cultivate a good relationship in advance so that you can eventually extract money from Shichibei's pocket.

Of course, he didn't cause the uproar; Hideyoshi did it first. Hideyoshi was stationed at Yokoyama Castle, facing Horihidemura and Higuchi Naofabu in Sakata District. Originally, with the assistance of Azai Nagamasa, it should have been relatively easy. However, Nagamasa was twice brutally beaten by Asakura Yoshikage, leaving him unable to take care of himself and completely powerless to help Hideyoshi suppress Sakata District.

The main tasks of pacification, suppression, and military engineering construction all fell on Hideyoshi's shoulders. Even with his total assets now exceeding ten thousand kan, Hideyoshi was unable to cope with such a complex situation.

Besides, he was a regular customer of Shichibei, having borrowed money from him since before Sunomata built his castle. Borrowing again now was a familiar and easy process.

It also cost 3,000 kan, with the main expenditure being to appease the wavering powerful clans of Kohoku. Many of these clans, seeing Hori Hidemura's growing influence, sided with Hori Hidemura and the Asakura family. Now, Hideyoshi needed to bring them all under his control, and it was from this time that a large number of Omi people began to appear among Hideyoshi's retainers.

It is said that in order to recruit men from Koshu, Hideyoshi set three rules: the first-class samurai would be given a fief and a salary upon arrival. Of course, they would also have to immediately go into battle and follow Hideyoshi to fight against Hori Hidemura and Higuchi Naofabu.

The second class mostly came alone, without power or organization. They were given a salary, organized into followers, and followed into the war city.

The third class is the most interesting. If you are a person, a man who can carry a gun, then you can eat in Hideyoshi's kitchen. Hideyoshi won't assign you any chores, nor will he force you to work or go to war. He will simply allow you to have three meals a day for free at Hideyoshi's house.

Many of the future mid-level samurai of the Toyotomi clan, and even daimyo with a 10,000 koku of rice, started their careers by working for Hideyoshi.

If you lack ambition, then forget about everything. If you do have ambition, then observe and learn from others. When others shoot, you pass them arrows; when others fire, you load them. As Hideyoshi's empire continues to expand, there will always be a time when you are promoted.

For example, Hayami Morihisa, the future head of Hideyoshi's Seven-Handed Army, came to Hideyoshi at this time simply to freeload. His family was roughly wealthy farmers in the Jiangbei region, but even wealthy farmers don't have surplus grain. In this chaotic world, when Hideyoshi offered them a feast, they readily came to seek refuge without hesitation.

As a loyal retainer of Toyotomi who died alongside Hideyori, Hideyoshi's father's meal was truly worthwhile.

Starting such a business definitely requires money, a lot of money. Shichibei isn't envious of the so-called Omi samurai group; aside from the three who betrayed Sekigahara, Shichibei has little interest. After all, we're in business, and there's probably not much room for improvement in martial arts; those with ambition might not be willing to join us.

However, Hideyoshi's approach is worth learning from; he can be considered a miniature version of Lord Mengchang. He kept a large retinue of guests, provided them with good food, drink, and clothing, and had no tasks throughout the year. Of course, when they really needed you, you had to risk your life for them.

Borrowing it is a legitimate purpose.

Then the news spread. There were only so many high-ranking officials and generals, and anyone who had played "Nobunaga's Ambition" could basically name them. As soon as they heard that Hideyoshi had taken 3,000 kan, these guys started taking 2,000 or 3,000 kan each.

Take Lin Tongzheng, for example. He suffered considerable losses in the siege of Qingxu and needed money to replenish his manpower and equip himself with new weapons. He hadn't dared to ask Shichibei before, but now that they had fought side by side, he asked for two thousand kan.

Come on, come on, come on, there are only a few dozen people here anyway.

By the time Nobunaga retreated from Kyoto to Gifu, Shichibei had already lent out more than 30,000 kan. These people, adhering to the principle of lending as much as they could and whenever they could, did so without any burden.

There was even a hint of urgency in it.

Upon learning of this, Nobunaga laughed heartily, saying that Shichibei was like a piece of mochi, covered in bumps. However, he had no intention of stopping or interfering, because he had also heard about the three rules that Shichibei and his senior retainers had agreed upon.

There's only one condition: all annual tribute rice will be handled by Kawamura-ya.

At the current rate, producing a million koku of tribute rice next year is definitely not a problem, and could even be more. This is because, in addition to the regular annual tributes from the five public officials and five private officials, ordinary people also have to pay all sorts of miscellaneous items. They either pay in copper coins or cash, or in rice; Oda Nobunaga certainly won't accept your taro.

For every shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice delivered to Shichibei, he would earn eighty sen (a unit of currency) by transporting it to Sakai. As for hoarding and reselling, manipulating rice prices, and plundering, those are matters for later. Cooperating with Nobunaga in his military supply campaigns was extremely profitable.

Once the money from selling the rice arrives, these people will need to use Shichibei to purchase large quantities of military equipment and daily necessities. Shichibei, acting as a middleman, will then resell these items for a profit. Let's not exaggerate; a 15% profit margin is the minimum, and it's usually at least 20%. Given the transportation capabilities of these days, 20% is practically a bargain.

Everyone knew the truth, so Nobunaga borrowed without any burden, and neither did these senior retainers, since they were paying interest anyway, and were more afraid of borrowing too little.

Once the doors are open, business will naturally follow.

Looking at the rows of IOUs before him, Shichibei was quite pleased. "These debts I've lent you will have to repay for the rest of your life," he thought. Given Shichibei's foresight and the accelerating pace of the Warring States period in Japan, it seemed unlikely that he and his group would ever be able to pay off their debts.

It's nothing more than paying off old debts with new ones, and all you get is interest at the end of the year. It seems like your territory is constantly expanding, but after a whole year, you're just working for Shichibei.

Of course, he was also working for Oda Nobunaga.

"What's so funny about this?" The junior officer, who was adding charcoal to the brazier next to Shichibei, was puzzled when he saw Shichibei's somewhat malicious smile.

"Oh dear, you don't understand." Shichibei suddenly sounded a bit like a father, his tone even carrying a hint of lecturing.

"Okay." The young general just pursed her lips; she didn't understand the ins and outs of this loan business.

During the day, Shichibei would lecture her, but at night, she would sleep while Shichibei lectured her. Who lectured whom was anyone's guess.

"Go and call Sukeemon here." Shichibei needs to record all these IOUs in the books, because he'll have to plead poverty with Oda Nobunaga next year.

Kawamura-ya had no money at all; there was no surplus grain. It was all taken by these people.

Inase Yoshinari quickly entered, carrying the ledger as if he understood. Shichibei reported the numbers, and Inase Yoshinari recorded them. After one round, they did it again, with Inase Yoshinari reporting the numbers and Shichibei recording them. The accounts had to be handled carefully; even a difference of one coin was a big deal, indicating that something had gone wrong.

After they finished comparing their accounts, they each took out their abacuses and ran the calculations again, writing down the totals. The two accounts were then compared and found to be perfectly correct. Shichibei's monogram and Inase Yoshinari's seal were then added to the tally.

"Please have some tea." Seeing that the two had closed their ledgers, the young master took the teapot from the brazier and poured a cup of hot tea for each of them.

"Let me do it, let me do it." Inase Yoshinari politely declined the young general's offer before accepting the teacup.

We're all family, yet we're still being so polite and deferential. That's just how Japanese people are; it's exhausting for Shichibei to watch. Luckily, he's the head of the household; if he had a father, Shichibei would be doing the same thing.

Just as I was drinking tea, I saw the young master take out a handkerchief and cover his mouth, looking like he was feeling nauseous.

What?! Shichibei washed his feet before coming in. Inase Yoshinari was also wearing cotton socks; only tough guys go barefoot in this freezing weather.

and many more!

"Sukeemon, go and fetch a doctor." Shichibei glanced at the young admiral who seemed perfectly fine, adding water to the teapot.

"What? Doctor? Where do you feel unwell?" Although Inase Yoshinari had experienced it before, he hadn't thought of it that way.

"Just go and invite them." Shichibei has worked so hard; surely it's time for it to bear fruit.

Chapter 223 Xin Guangxiong Reports His Triumphant Victory

The crowds on both sides were full of congratulatory people, from the head of the guards to the junior monks, everyone was congratulating Shichibei. Today's feast, with wine and dishes, is all on us.

I've been struggling every day for the past two months, and my back is so sore I can barely stand up straight. It seems like things are finally starting to look up, and I can finally take a break for three or five days.

The young general, still processing the matter, was currently surrounded by several familiar female members of samurai families and Shichibei's younger sisters. Although his sisters were all married, they still lived near Gifu Castle due to the presence of retainers and their de facto hostage status; the furthest was only a fifteen-minute walk away.

Those who have given birth talked about precautions, while those who haven't asked about their experiences.

What does it feel like? Some people say that giving birth is like taking a dump.

The area below the castle was a small samurai community, and news spread quickly. A large group of samurai, of course, wouldn't come themselves, but they all sent their wives and daughters to pay their respects to the young general.

These are all grown men, stern-faced and ruthless, who swindled over 30,000 kan from Shichibei. They're just here to make some connections and maintain the relationship, hoping to borrow again next year.

Let them try to build rapport; Shichibei has another matter to attend to. Our father-in-law, after all, didn't he make a great leap forward and naturally become Nobunaga's chosen next regional commander?

In addition to receiving various forms of reinforcement, they also gained Nobunaga's personal support. This support came in two forms: one was the direct distribution of Nobunaga's regular foot soldiers to his legion commanders. Before conquering the designated target territory, Nobunaga personally paid all the wages. After the territory was conquered, the outcome depended on the agreement between Nobunaga and the legion commander.

Some legion commanders directly absorbed these foot soldiers, because the new territories needed sufficient administrators. Many of the foot soldiers who were assigned there would be promoted to lower-ranking samurai. Becoming a samurai meant gaining control of the new territory, which ended their employment relationship with Nobunaga and made them samurai retainers of the legion commander.

Those who did not receive the necessary training and continued to serve as foot soldiers were uncertain whether their wages would come from Nobunaga's pocket or the legion commander's pocket.

Oda Nobuhiro gained more power, including not only his troops and foot soldiers, but also a large sum of money. After all, soldiers assembled in this reserve unit for battle needed a unified flag, namely the small banner on their backs. The entire unit also needed a large number of flags to identify its members.

This single transaction alone is quite expensive.

Nobunaga didn't have a penny to his name; he worked for Shichibei all year. He paid off last year's debts and continued to gamble this year, borrowing another 5,000 kan as a reward for Oda Nobuhiro, ordering Nobuhiro to immediately equip and mobilize.

It's war!

As a legion commander, one must fight; this was Nobunaga's only requirement. Oda Nobuhiro didn't have a clear area of ​​responsibility, presumably because Nobunaga hadn't decided yet. Shibata Katsuie, who had previously died in battle, was responsible for assisting Mori Yoshinari in Jiangnan; Nakagawa Shigemasa had already gone there.

So yesterday, Nobunaga gave the order for Oda Nobuhiro to gather his capable men and his own main force, totaling three thousand, to join forces with Akechi Mitsuhide's two thousand men in Kyoto. Taking advantage of the heavy snowfall in Echizen, with snow reaching a meter deep, they were to raid Wakasa.

Kill or subdue Muto Tomomasu (lord of the 17th lord of Saburi Village, Ōi District), the lord of Nishi-Wakasa Ishiyama Castle, and then install a pro-Oda lord of the Wakasa Takeda clan, and help this person win over the Wakasa people.

To prevent Asakura Yoshikage from leading 30,000 men south next year, first blocking Azai Nagamasa at Odani Castle, then leaving 4,000 Wakasa to seal the gate, while the main Asakura force swaggered straight to Kyoto.

Right now, Shichibei needs to prepare all kinds of equipment for his father-in-law, quickly acquire two thousand flags and other items, and then send him off to war with a bang.

Judging from his condition, he definitely won't have the chance to spend the New Year at Gifu Castle this year.

I understand; this is the destiny of carrying Nobunaga's gun. It suddenly reminds me of a saying from later generations: if a boss paid me 50,000 yuan a month, and I got up at 5 a.m. to walk his dog, picked up his child from evening self-study at 10 p.m., and even took out his trash, I'd be completely sold to the company, and I'd do it willingly.

Similarly, if Nobunaga were to reward merit, offering 10,000 koku today, 30,000 koku tomorrow, and so on, up to 100,000 koku, he could rise from a castle lord to a province governor—a swift and direct reward. It seems he really didn't need to consider the feelings and attitudes of his underlings; as long as the money was right, everything was fine.

It's not that my boss is making things difficult for me; it's that I haven't been careful enough in my work and haven't been able to keep up with his schedule.

Unfortunately, Oda Nobunaga would actually give 100,000 koku, while later bosses would consider even 3,000 koku a favor.

"Swords? Spears? Five hundred bows..." This wasn't Oda Nobuhiro's first time as a general; he meticulously counted the various military weapons needed for the expedition.

"Don't worry, I've prepared everything for you." Shichibei, who was in charge of the Oda clan's military logistics, knew exactly how much stuff was needed for three thousand men.

"Well, it's never wrong to be careful." Oda Nobuhiro really valued this opportunity.

"So you're planning to keep up the good work and achieve great things?" Since Nobuhiro said that, Shichibei naturally went along with it.

Surely a son-in-law wouldn't argue with his father-in-law, would he? What's there to argue about? Besides, Oda Nobuhiro is far more skilled in warfare than Shichibei. After all, Nobuhiro has been in the game for over a decade or two, having been brutally attacked by the Zen master Taigen Sessai and successfully marched on Kyoto with Nobunaga. He's seen it all, big and small, and can be considered a veteran.

As for why Shichibei helped so much, besides the fact that Oda Nobuhiro was his father-in-law, it just so happened that they were taking 5,000 men with them.

Let's bring Tsuchiya Chang'an along.

But the Ginzan Ginzan is there, and getting there is a problem. The Kinai region is not peaceful, but with Nobuhiro and Mitsuhide's five thousand men escorting him to the Tanba region, the people of Tanba, Tango, and Tajima will not make things difficult for Tsuchiya Nagayasu.

This kind of trouble isn't like robbery or murder. If you actually killed Tsuchiya Nagayasu, just wait for Oda Nobunaga to storm in and kill your whole family. It's nothing more than extortion and bribery, occasionally setting up some kind of checkpoint to embezzle charcoal, equipment, and the like.

Since we are officials and businessmen, we must leverage the power of officials; otherwise, this facade of officials and businessmen will be meaningless.

Nobuhiro understood, but he didn't say anything; they were all family, and everyone understood. Meanwhile, Tsuchiya Nagayoshi had already selected thirty promising apprentices and ten skilled workers at his main store near Gifu Castle, ready to depart for Tajima's Ikuno Gigantomachia at any time.

In addition, Nobunaga also assigned thirty foot soldiers to Tsuchiya Nagayasu. These men were not really useful for guarding the silver mines; they were only good for guarding a treasury.

If a large army were to attack the Silver Mine, we could simply take the silver and run away. The Silver Mine wouldn't be destroyed anyway; we could just wait for the Oda clan's army to take it back.

Both the miner and the mountain master, Yamana Hirotoyo, promised to be handed over to the Oda family. With Tsuchiya Nagayasu gone, they could continue recruiting manpower, and all the money would come from the mines. Aside from the initial investment, they could just wait to collect the profits.

Chang'an's salary was not a fixed amount. Shichibei and Tsuchiya Chang'an had clearly agreed that they would keep the gold that came with the silver mine for themselves, and they did not need to report it to Nobunaga. They only needed to let Shichibei know the approximate amount.

If 5,000 strings of silver are produced annually, Chang'an can receive 50 strings, or 1%. If it's 6,000 strings, the extra 1,000 strings can be divided as 1.2%. And so on, 7,000 strings would be 1.4%, and 8,000 strings would be 1.6%. The more silver the mountain produces, the more he personally receives.

Shichibei and Oda Nobunaga had the same attitude towards skilled and capable people: give them money, a lot of money.

If Tsuchiya Nagasu works for a few years and achieves great success, it's not impossible for him to become the owner of Kawamura-ya. He could then become a shareholder and enjoy Kawamura-ya's dividends.

Upon hearing about this distribution ratio, Tsuchiya Nagaan's eyes immediately lit up. He had been working for the Takeda clan as a low-ranking official under the Kinzan Magistrate, earning a fixed salary, and hadn't earned a single cent in over ten years.

In the Oda clan, there's a progressive reward system from the start, which definitely motivates people.

When Shichibei returned from Oda Nobuhiro's residence, Tsuchiya Nagayasu and his dozens of apprentices and servants had all settled in. Shichibei promised all the servants that if they did well in Gifu, they would be rewarded handsomely. They would also be given a month-long leave each year to visit their families.

Alright, let's go.

Ikuno Ginzan awaits you!

After offering Oda Nobuhiro a toast and saying a few words about his long-lasting military fortune, the three thousand Oda soldiers, including Tsuchiya Nagayasu and dozens of servants from the Kawamura-ya, left Gifu in the winter cold.

An army of this size can march all the way to Kyoto without needing logistical support. A normal march would take three to four days, surviving on personal rations and miso pills. Upon arriving in Kyoto, they will eat what Akechi Mitsuhide prepared, and then their progress will depend on the attack on Wakasa Ishiyama Castle.