Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Upon hearing this, Zuo You remained silent and simply obeyed the order to fetch them. If it were Shichibei from two or three years ago, he might have tried to persuade him, but now, taking advantage of the large number of people around him, he simply urged someone to quickly invite Lady Nohime and the young master Oda Myojou.

It looks like they're going to kill someone...

Within minutes, over a hundred elderly, women, and children were driven outside the residence. Lady Nohime arrived at this time; in fact, she had come from the other side of the residence after hearing of Nobunaga's defeated army's retreat. She arrived even earlier than the captured families.

Seeing that Nobunaga had captured all these prisoners, Lady Nohime knew things might be going badly, and she quickly bowed to Nobunaga. Nobunaga, who had always been very friendly to Lady Nohime, turned his head and glared at her.

Just from a glance from the corner of his eye, Shichibei felt a chill run down his spine. Nobunaga was now the ruler of the land, holding the lives of millions in his hands. A commoner's anger could spill blood five steps away, and a feudal lord's anger could draw blood for a thousand miles.

Lady Nohime, who was about to speak to persuade him, was so shocked by this that she couldn't utter a sound for a moment and stared blankly at Nobunaga.

Even she couldn't bring herself to offer advice, let alone anyone else.

Looking around, Nobunaga spotted Lady Saito and the two children she was holding in her arms. Nobunaga, who had been furious, actually smiled; the slight tremor of his mustache emanated from him, a chilling aura about him.

This immediately terrified Saito Toyotaro, who was only three years old and already felt fear. Logically, Nobunaga was his grandfather, yet his smile was almost murderous.

With a loud "Wah...", the child burst into tears. Nobunaga's laughter widened, his gaze fixed intently on Saito Toyotaro. Lady Saito tried to hide the child behind her, but Nobunaga slapped her hand away, breaking the clasped hands between mother and child.

"Yosaemon!" Nobunaga immediately called out to Sasa Narimasa, who was standing to one side.

"Here!" Sasa Narimasa came over, tucked Saito Toyotaro under his arm, and walked a little further away.

Seeing this, Lady Saito knelt down without hesitation, crying out for her father. Nobunaga was indeed her adoptive father, but the two had no real affection for each other, so her crying and pleading were of no use. In fact, her cries only fueled Nobunaga's anger, and he kicked Lady Saito.

Finally realizing what was happening, Lady Nohime quickly stepped forward and knelt before Nobunaga. She loudly questioned him, "Can't you even spare a woman?"

Upon hearing this question, Nobunaga angrily rebuked Lady Nohime for meddling in other people's business, and actually slapped her face with his sleeve.

Shichibei was so frightened that he lowered his head. None of the high-ranking officials who might have wanted to persuade him dared to speak up anymore. They all lowered their heads and remained silent.

As for why Nobunaga was so furious?

Because Ujiie Bokuzen, one of the three leaders of Mino, was killed by the Ikko-ikki, Ando Morinari's son Ando Uemon died in battle, and Inaba Yoshimichi's younger brother Inaba Toyomichi also died in battle. Oda Nobuoki, the lord of Kogie Castle who went into battle with him, lived six months longer than the other side, but because he served as Oda Nobunaga's shadow warrior, he was surrounded and killed by tens of thousands of Ikko-ikki.

The three men of Nishi-Mino suffered over a thousand casualties, and Nobunaga's main force also lost over a thousand men. This surprise attack directly broke the backbone of the entire Nishi-Mino trio, rendering them unable to engage in battle for a short period of time.

Including the capture of Kiyosu Castle, Nobunaga lost 3,000 men and his younger brother Oda Nobuoki. The already weak Oda clan lost another general.

But Lady Nohime's questioning, or rather, her reminder, seemed to have an effect. Accompanied by the sound of Oda samurai executing the three-year-old Saito Toyotaro in the distance, Nobunaga ordered all the important retainers and their families of the Saito clan to be driven away.

At least they didn't kill them all.

Lady Saito, who had witnessed her son's execution by Nobunaga, still rushed up to berate him. Nobunaga glared at her coldly and simply told her that he didn't want to see Lady Saito again. Immediately, men rushed forward and dragged Lady Saito, who was still trying to fight back, away.

Amidst the low sobs of over a hundred people and the panting of the senior retainers in the palace, Nobunaga's heavy footsteps gradually faded away.

Only then did Shichibei dare to raise his head, only to see Lady Nohime slumped on the ground, silently weeping. The Saito family prisoners on the ground were terrified, showing no joy at their escape.

The high-ranking officials inside and outside the palace could understand the reason for Nobunaga's anger, but...

"Alas!" Shichibei hurriedly called for a maid to help Lady Nohime into the house. Then he sent Oda Mystic Maru away. By this time, Sakuma Nobumori and Niwa Nagahide had also realized what was happening and ordered their subordinates to quickly send all the weeping Saito family captives out of the residence. They also sent people to collect the small corpse in the courtyard.

There's not much to say. In the chaotic Warring States period, it was either you kill me or I kill you.

If Oda Nobuoki hadn't died in his place, then it would have been Oda Nobunaga who died in northern Ise. There's no such thing as one person being allowed to do one thing while another isn't. When Saito Tatsuoki and the Ikko-ikki launched their surprise attack on Nobunaga, they must have been prepared for their entire families to be slaughtered, leaving no one alive.

Killing only Saito Toyotaro now is truly magnanimous.

Shichibei swallowed hard, glancing at Saito Toyotaro a short distance away. His head was severed from his body, rolling at least four or five meters away. Blood was still flowing from his entrails. The wind around him carried cries and wails, indistinguishable between the living and the dead.

Even after returning home, Shichibei was still somewhat stunned. He had seen Nobunaga angry before, and not just once or twice. He had seen it both publicly and privately, always the kind of anger that wasn't shown to his retainers.

But this time was different. Shichibei clearly felt Nobunaga's unbridled anger, like a tiger about to devour its prey, which terrified him.

The young general, seeing the somewhat dazed Shichibei and the distraught Lady Saito, naturally guessed what had happened in the castle. When the servants announced that Nobunaga had executed Saito Toyotaro, the young general sighed.

The key point is that Shichibei is absolutely right; this Lady Saito is a powder keg right now.

Chapter 227 Out of sight, out of mind

The entire Gifu Castle cooled down several degrees. Although Nobunaga had indeed recaptured Kiyosu Castle and eliminated the internal threat in Owari, this victory was accompanied by enormous losses and a subsequent defeat.

This incident has caused quite a stir, especially for Mrs. Saito, who lives next door; she's been crying for a whole day and night.

The husband abandoned his wife and children and ran away, while the son was executed on the orders of his adoptive father, right in front of her. If this were a novel, she would probably have gone mad by now, becoming delirious.

If she were somewhere else, Shichibei could simply pretend he didn't know and hadn't heard or seen her crying. The important thing is that she lived right next door to us, and he could hear and see the crying clearly.

It's tragic. Shichibei can't stand seeing these people. He feels sorry for them and wants to help them.

"How can I persuade him?" Lady Nohime pleaded, clutching Nobunaga's sleeve, but to no avail. "We are merely minor merchants, while we are Maeda Toshiie, who is practically inseparable from Nobunaga. If we offend Nobunaga, we will be hunted down. Our relationship with Nobunaga is not strong enough to support such a serious matter."

Anyway, Nobunaga himself said to drive these people far away and never let him see them again. So let's do as he says and find some temple or nunnery to have Lady Saito become a nun.

She didn't catch Nobunaga's eye, so he wouldn't have any intention of killing her.

As for Ryūō's daughter, she certainly wouldn't be left in Lady Nohime's care. Bringing her into the temple would be inappropriate, and entrusting her to someone else might not be safe either; she'll stay with the Kawamura family.

In Japan at that time, it was common practice to exterminate all the male members of defeated samurai families, but not necessarily the females. The three Asai sisters, for example, were sent out of Odani Castle when it was about to fall. Originally, Oichi was also supposed to die with Azai Nagamasa, but in the end, it didn't happen.

However, Shichibei found it difficult to bring this up himself. It was the young admiral who, saying Lady Saito was quite pitiful, volunteered to go and persuade her. She even asked Shichibei to visit Lady Nohime again and explain the arrangement to her. This wasn't an unnecessary step, and it could be considered as getting Lady Nohime's endorsement.

You're quite smart.

But she's already five months pregnant, with such a big belly, is it convenient for her to go? Before Shichibei could even ask, the young general blinked, indicating that she wouldn't understand.

She gently stroked her swollen pregnant belly, letting Shichibei look again. This time, Shichibei understood. Pregnancy seems to be a significant characteristic that makes people more likely to lower their guard. Most people, upon seeing a pregnant woman, will instinctively give her a wide berth and offer assistance within their means. It also makes it easier to let down one's guard and get to know each other during interactions.

Thinking about it that way, the young major general is indeed a suitable candidate. However, he shouldn't go alone; he should bring two maids with him. He should be careful while walking; the pregnancy is definitely stable after five months, but he still needs to be cautious.

Shichibei then went up the castle to pay his respects to Lady Nohime. At first, Lady Nohime refused to see him. Later, she told him it was about her wife, and only then did she allow Shichibei to enter.

Inside the residence, there was no sign of panic. At the gate, Shichibei saw Kajikawa Yasaburo, the head of the hundred foot soldiers guarding the gate. He said that Nobunaga had gone out of the castle to ride his horse early in the morning.

Riding a horse for a while is both relaxing and makes you sweat; Nobunaga really needs to run around a bit right now.

Since she wasn't in the mansion, nothing unusual happened inside. When they finally saw Lady Nohime, her eyes were swollen from crying, and even powder couldn't cover them. Clearly, she hadn't had a good night either. This matter involved the Saito family, which, in a sense, was Nobunaga's bottom line.

Nobunaga's core territory was Owari, but Mino was also "inherited" from his father-in-law, Dosan, through his son-in-law. Mino had been absorbed into Nobunaga's core territory, unlike his other domains.

Anyone or anything that might shake Nobunaga's rule over Mino was considered a threat to him. Nobunaga was absolutely capable of being ruthless and cold-blooded when dealing with political matters.

Even if you were Lady Nohime, and even if Dosan were resurrected and jumped out to compete with Nobunaga for Mino, Nobunaga would still take you down.

Upon learning that Shichibei planned to send Lady Saito to the mountains to become a nun, Lady Nohime was initially taken aback, but then nodded in acquiescence. As for the remaining girl, Lady Nohime seemed to want to try and persuade her, but after Shichibei's persuasion, she gave up.

Although she and Nobunaga had a relatively harmonious marriage, they had no children. This remained her regret, but no matter how much of a regret she felt, she couldn't use this girl to impress Nobunaga.

"Take good care of him for a few years, it's really too much trouble for you." Lady Nohime was also tired and waved to Shichibei.

"I understand."

"It won't be long..."

Of course, it wouldn't be long. Given Nobunaga's personality, unless Ryūjō escapes Japan and goes directly to Southeast Asia, he's doomed. No matter who he pledges allegiance to, Nobunaga will rush over and kill him.

Because Ryūshō could threaten Nobunaga's status as the "orthodox leader of Mino"!

To give an imperfect example, if Koxinga had conquered Taiwan and then immediately pacified Luzon and the Spice Islands, and then died, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty would certainly have conquered Luzon and the Spice Islands.

The reason was simple: Zheng Ming had the right to claim the Central Plains, making him one of the contenders for the rightful rule of the empire. With this claim in place, Kangxi was absolutely uneasy.

Ryūō has now fled to Nagashima. As long as there is no immediate external threat, Nobunaga will definitely launch a full-scale attack on Nagashima. Other external forces should pray that Ryūō doesn't go to their territory, because once Ryūō arrives on their land, Nobunaga will have an excuse to attack.

So, it will only take three to five years, at most seven or eight years, for Nobunaga to hunt down Ryūshō and kill him until he sees Ryūshō's head.

Once Ryūgen's head appears before Nobunaga, Lady Saitō and the little girl will be safe. Nobunaga, having vented his anger, will then be magnanimous and spare them.

The matter was settled, and he left the residence cautiously. But as fate would have it, Nobunaga returned on horseback and, as he stepped into the building from afar, saw Shichibei cowering and trying to run away.

Do you think you can get away with this?

impossible.

Nobunaga rode straight to Shichibei and asked him why he had climbed the castle. Why? Shichibei glanced at Nobunaga on horseback, pondered for a moment, but didn't dare make up a lie. Instead, he honestly said that he had sent Lady Saito to become a nun.

Upon hearing this, Nobunaga unconsciously spurred his horse. The horse, which had been stationary, began to walk, and Nobunaga circled around on the horse before returning to Shichibei.

"Go and give her 500 kan, and build her a house." Nobunaga hadn't expected that when he came to Shichibei, he would say such a thing.

"Huh?" Shichibei was genuinely surprised and was a little stunned.

"Do I have to say it a second time?" Nobunaga gently tapped Shichibei's head with his horse staff, causing a slight pain.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes..." Shichibei quickly bowed and agreed.

"Send two people to keep an eye on things, and also send in fifty taels of land." With his horse-drawn carriage back, Nobunaga continued to give instructions.

It's certain that someone will be sent to look after him; Shichibei will definitely send all of Lady Saito's maids and servants to him. As for Yoshinada, who is only 50 taels tall, Nobunaga probably didn't intend to wipe him out completely.

I don't understand. Shichibei couldn't fathom Nobunaga's thoughts. In any case, doing this was definitely not a way to atone for his sins.

Executing all the men on the opposing side is the prevailing social norm today; it's not a crime, and there's no question of atonement. If everyone's pulling out knives and killing each other, what else is there to talk about?

"..." Where did this fifty-tatami field property come from?

"Go and discuss this with Kuemon." Nobunaga was perceptive and immediately guessed what Shichibei wanted to ask.

Go find Sugaya Nagayori, and within Nobunaga's direct domain, find any land that produces fifty kiyos of rice annually, and send it to the temple. Nobunaga's direct domain is so large; it's very easy to quietly take away fifty kiyos.

"Yes," Shichibei replied loudly, while Nobunaga spurred his horse and rode away without answering again.

He certainly saved himself the trouble, dumping all this messy stuff on Shichibei. But it's alright, at least he achieved his goal of getting the person away. These chaotic times are unpredictable and ruthless; it's already quite good that we can take care of ourselves.

Unable to go home, he turned to Sugaya Nagayori and asked him for a plot of land that produced fifty taels of rice a year, something he could use. Sugaya Nagayori even asked, "What about the order?"

Order? Just ask Nobunaga if he has an order.

Sugaya Nagayori, who had no intention of offending Nobunaga at this time, didn't waste any words and directly took out the ration book and asked Shichibei where he wanted it.

Ideally, it should be in a remote mountain valley, the farther away from Gifu Castle the better. If you have the ability to acquire a piece of land deep in the Hida Mountains, then I'll thank your whole family.

Having already sensed something amiss, Sugaya Nagayori immediately pointed to a plot of land in Kamigaru District, northern Mino Province. "Alright, a ravine will do." Shichibei and he exchanged documents, which were then submitted to Sakuma Nobumori for countersignature.

Ostensibly, the money was sent to a newly built temple in the area, but everyone had their own suspicions.

With this land, Shichibei could arrange for his family to send Lady Saito and several maids and servants into the mountains. Her disappearance would be good for him and for his children.

After a few years, when Tatsuoki is beheaded by Nobunaga, she can secretly send someone to plead with Lady Nohime, and perhaps she can be released and reunited with her daughter.

Let's just leave it at that; nobody wants to bring it up again anytime soon. Nobunaga also began sending out official documents everywhere, reminding his lords and senior retainers to prepare for a large-scale war that could very well break out in the Kinai region.

But the things that displeased Nobunaga wouldn't stop, at least not for the time being. Hosokawa Fujitaka sent someone to inform Nobunaga that Ashikaga Yoshiaki intended to adopt the daughter of the Kujo family and then marry her to Tsutsui Junkei.

The reason is simple: Tsutsui Junkei demonstrated his value in the united front. First, he was soundly defeated by tens of thousands of troops assembled by Nobunaga, losing almost the entire Yamato Province. Then, he engaged in a back-and-forth struggle with Matsunaga Hisahide, not only surviving but also becoming more energetic with each passing day.

Last year, when Nobunaga was deeply mired in the war, Tsutsui Junkei was even able to raise a large army to besiege Toichi Castle, causing Matsunaga Hisamichi of Tamonyama Castle and Matsunaga Hisahide of Shigetakayama Castle to gather their forces to protect themselves, and were unable to send troops to support Nobunaga.