Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

There's an old saying that a man should dress smartly in black; a woman should dress smartly in mourning clothes. Although Lady Takaya wasn't wearing mourning clothes, she was indeed plain-looking, and given her frail appearance, Shichibei, being a normal man, still harbored lustful desires.

"Then it seems everything is alright."

"Thanks to you." Shichibei said this as usual, but then felt that saying it now was simply offensive.

How could you say such a thing when her husband has just died? But the words were already spoken and couldn't be taken back. Mrs. Takaya, upon hearing this, didn't show a significant change in expression, only slightly furrowing her brow.

Shichibei felt incredibly stupid for bringing up such a sensitive topic at a time like this.

"What are your instructions? I will go to Luoyang with you to report to my lord." Shichibei quickly changed the subject, trying to turn the page on the matter.

"Thank you for your trouble..." Mrs. Takaya bowed first, then continued her explanation.

Just as she had expected, she hoped that Nobunaga could give her and her child some cosmetics. It didn't necessarily have to be a thousand kan; five or eight hundred kan would be fine too. As long as it could ensure their livelihood and allow the child to grow up smoothly, that would be enough.

After all, this child still carries the blood of the prestigious Hatakeyama Kingo family, a powerful samurai clan. Although their influence is far less than before, they still retain some prestige. Nobunaga won't lose out by spending a little money to support the mother and child.

In addition, she hoped that Nobunaga could demand the return of Hatakeyama Akitaka's head. This also included the heads of over thirty of his close retainers, whom she wished to send back for a proper funeral, thus fulfilling the duty of loyalty between lord and subject.

These are the two main things. As for the other minor details and odds and ends, just mention them directly from Kawamura-ya.

"I will certainly handle it properly," Shichibei assured him.

Regarding the cosmetics, that requires Nobunaga's promise; Shichibei can only offer suggestions. But the heads are easy to handle. If Nobunaga refuses to claim them, we can simply pay to ransom them. Returning the heads of the fallen is, in essence, a battlefield rule. At most, it'll cost a small ransom; Shichibei isn't short of that.

Hatakeyama Akitaka is no match for Imagawa Yoshimoto. Imagawa Yoshimoto was won back by Okabe Motonobu in exchange for five castles. Hatakeyama Akitaka would be lucky to get fifty taels of gold, and probably not even that.

After finishing his story, Shichibei quickly took his leave. He felt that today's exchange hadn't gone well and he hadn't performed well; staying any longer would only lead to more trouble.

After speaking with Oda Nobutada at the castle, Oda Nobutada entrusted Shichibei with the entire matter of his succession. He also wrote a letter to Oda Nobunaga, informing him that it was indeed inconvenient for Lady Takaya to rely on Oda Nobuhiro in Gifu, and that it would be better to send her some cosmetics.

Oh my, our young master has learned to behave himself; it must have been Oda Nobuhiro who came first who reminded him.

With this letter, Shichibei felt certain that the matter was settled. He hurriedly returned home, ordered his servants to pack his bags, and prepared to depart for Kyoto.

A normal journey, without a large army or a rapid cavalry charge, would take three days to reach Kyoto from Gifu. Some of the roads along the route were maintained with the help of Shichibei, while others were repaired by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Hidemitsu Shimada, Nagahide Niwa, and others. The Seta Bridge over the Seta River was also repaired and maintained, with its rotten wood planks replaced.

Most of the checkpoints along the entire trade route were removed, and the stables and post stations at Kawamura-ya served as the main means of guarding and patrolling. Merchants and travelers along the way preferred to stay at the post stations at Kawamura-ya, since the Oda clan acted as guarantors and the post stations were guarded by foot soldiers and samurai.

Although the Kawachi and Settsu regions were still embroiled in war, Omi had been largely pacified, and Oda Nobunaga's rule was steadily strengthening.

Chapter 308 Four hundred thousand strings of cash is not difficult

Kyoto had by this time fully recovered from the chaos of the expulsion of the shogun. With Oda Nobunaga's generosity and increased control, houses and workshops of all sizes were built up in the ruins of both Upper and Lower Kyoto. It was chaotic and noisy, but that did not hinder the vibrant life that was growing within it.

Karasuma Mitsunori, who had been indulging in drinking, gambling, and whoring in Otsu until he collapsed, was brought out by Shichibei. The young man, now free from the constraints of his wife, was also given a villa by Shichibei in Otsu and was having a great time.

Since Shichibei was his theoretical disciple, he would present Karasuma Mitsunori with gifts on major holidays and his birthday. Feeling so hungry in Kyoto, he figured he might as well relax in Ōtsu.

I'm so happy here, I don't miss the capital.

Even if I don't want to, I have to get you out of here. Karasuma Mitsunori, born in the eighteenth year of the Tenbun era (1549), is only twenty-five years old. He should be working hard. Instead of working, he wants to go whoring until he faints.

Historically, Karasuma Mitsunori was not appointed as a Senior Fourth Rank Councilor until the fifth year of Tensho (1545), at which point he was only a Junior Fourth Rank Councilor. However, the Junior Fourth Rank was sufficient for him to ascend the throne and pay homage to the Emperor, and to handle the matter of Oda Nobutada's appointment.

Upon learning that it was for the investiture of the eldest son of the Oda clan, Karasuma Mitsunori, who had been dragged out of the Ōtsu villa, still managed to distinguish the importance of the matter. While asking Shichibei about Oda Nobutada's brief situation, he indicated that given Nobunaga's good relationship with the court through his generous donations, this matter would be settled for fifty kan.

After the Great Rebellion of Ōnin, it was considered a great opportunity for the nobles who went to various parts of the country to sell their official positions to the court, in addition to begging for food and alms.

Especially for noble families like the Karasuma clan, who had considerable connections with samurai families, they were very familiar with the process. Normally, a fifth-rank official would receive a congratulatory gift of at least 100 kan, but for someone like Tokugawa Ieyasu, who also had to acknowledge his family lineage, it would be 300 kan.

Mori Motonari got a discount thanks to the influence of the Ōuchi clan, and even then, a rank of Junior Fifth Rank would still cost 60 kan. Now, Oda Nobutada, thanks to Nobunaga's influence, only needs 50 kan—that's an epic discount!

You ask why he wasn't dealt with together with his father, the Right General of the Imperial Guard? A father is a father, and propriety is propriety.

One official, one salary; fair and square, young and old, okay?

Upon hearing that it would only cost fifty kan, Shichibei was certain that Karasuma Mitsunori wasn't just eating and drinking for free, and immediately took out two gold coins as his personal operating expenses. Once he successfully obtained his position, he would naturally offer fifty kan in cash to the imperial court. The imperial envoy delivering the decree to Gifu could also enjoy both food and drink.

As a result, Karasuma Mitsunori accepted the two gold coins, patted his dilapidated foyer, and neither offered to see Shichibei off nor invited him to stay for dinner.

Wasn't he attacked by Isshiki Fujinaga because of the mysterious death of his legal wife, Ashikaga Yoshiaki's sister? Half of the Karasuma family's mansion was burned down, and the rest was in ruins.

I've finally managed to pass on my skills to a wealthy apprentice, but this opportunity won't last.

Since Shichibei needs his help now, he can't ask for it later. This is probably one of the reasons why he would rather stay at his villa in Ōtsu than return to Kyoto; his house was burned down, and he doesn't want to go back.

Shichibei turned to look at Karasuma Mitsunori's biological father, Karasuma Mitsunori, who had theoretically become a monk with the Dharma name Ryōkaku. His eyes were also closed. It was unclear whether he was chanting Amitabha or praying for wealth.

It's no wonder that this father and son were able to become one of the officials serving the general, with both generations successively appointed as ministers. Just their audacity alone is quite remarkable.

"Alright, alright," Shichibei readily agreed, promising to rebuild their residence. However, he forgot about anything like bronze doors or vermilion lacquer paintings. He was already being very generous by completely repairing the houses and rebuilding the burned-down parts.

As for your request to gild it and assemble wood carvings, we'll talk about that next time Shichibei comes to ask.

Knowing full well what was going on, Karasuma Mitsunori stopped banging on the railing and invited Shichibei to stay for dinner, specifically "forced rice." It was like filling a bucket with rice and then turning it upside down onto a bowl.

It was quite good; it was a very grand reception. Since Shichibei was already a junior physician, a proper doctor, it was indeed necessary to have such formalities.

The next day, Karasuma Mitsunori excitedly went to the Gakushuin (Study Hall) to prepare for the appointment of Oda Nobutada as emperor. Shichibei, however, encountered trouble.

Because Nobunaga could not be found.

Only after asking the Kyoto Shojidai or Kyoto Magistrate Murai Sadakatsu did I learn that after confirming that Takaya Castle was safe, Nobunaga went to inspect the border between Yamashiro and Tanba to learn about the situation in Tanba.

Of all the areas surrounding Yamashiro, only Tanba remained unconquered by the Oda clan. To ensure the stability of Yamashiro, Nobunaga was determined to subjugate the entire Tanba region.

For example, Naito Joan, from Tanba Funai District, was the son of Matsunaga Nagayori (Naito Munekatsu), the younger brother of Matsunaga Hisahide. He inherited the Naito family as the deputy governor of Tanba and openly sided with the anti-Nobunaga faction.

Naito Munekatsu was originally a subordinate of the Miyoshi clan and was relatively close to them. Although he focused his efforts on pacifying Tanba after inheriting the Naito family, after his death in battle, Naito Joan could not survive alone. He then tended to rely on the Miyoshi clan's banner to maintain the Naito family's precarious rule.

Even Hideharu Hatano went to Kyoto to congratulate Nobunaga on his successful march on Kyoto, but Naito Joan, the deputy governor, didn't come. A day earlier or a day later, he would have been killed by Nobunaga anyway.

Furthermore, Utsu Yorishige of Kuwata District, along with Naito Joan, held an anti-Nobunaga stance. However, while they opposed Nobunaga, Akai Naomasa of Hikami District and Hatano Hideharu, the lord of Yagami Castle, temporarily adopted a pro-Nobunaga stance, preparing to suppress them.

By the way, Nobunaga went with Akechi Mitsuhide.

I understand. After Mitsuhide received Sakamoto's fiefdom, he didn't have a main direction of attack yet. Now Nobunaga should be assigning him to the Tanba and Tango campaigns.

People like Hideharu Hatano will definitely be assigned to Mitsuhide as his ally. This will allow Mitsuhide to quickly raise an army of 20,000 to 30,000 men for a campaign in a specific direction.

Since they've gone to patrol the border, Shichibei can only wait in Kyoto. There isn't a systematic system of streets, stables, post stations, and inns in the Tanba area yet, so there's no way to immediately find out Nobunaga and Mitsuhide's location.

They could only wait at the Kawamura-ya Kyoto branch for both Nobunaga's return and news from Karasuma Mitsunori.

Taking advantage of Shichibei's presence in Kyoto, Tsuda Muneki came over and introduced Shichibei to the Tada Copper Mine. If Shichibei wanted to take over, all that was needed was to appease the local lords, Takayama Shigetomo and Araki Murashige. Takayama Shigetomo was simple; as for Araki Murashige, he could handle the negotiations.

Upon hearing about the large copper mountain that previously produced hundreds of thousands of kilograms annually, Shichibei naturally became interested. However, there must be a reason why Tsuda Munechika and the big boss came all this way.

"Kawamura-ya is also preparing to mint Kyoto coins?" Tsuda Muneki asked bluntly. He was already a big businessman who controlled the Japanese business world, so there was no need for him to pretend.

Shichibei's greatest advantage is that wherever Nobunaga storms in, all the commercial rights there automatically become Shichibei's. Because Shichibei is so useful, Nobunaga hasn't even started trying to win over the big merchants from places like Sakai and Hakata; he simply gives orders to Shichibei.

Hideyoshi, along with his younger brother Hidenaga, also used the Kawamuraya business system. So far, he hasn't made any moves with Sen no Rikyu or Konishi Ryūsō; he simply put Hidenaga in charge of this area.

Hidenaga is Shichibei's brother-in-law and has a son with him. He didn't need to bring a knife when he came to Kawamura-ya to borrow money. He said, "I'll use my life as collateral to borrow money."

It comes out as soon as you open your mouth.

Why did Hideyoshi need others? Although Hideyoshi wasn't like Nobunaga, who would exploit anyone he could catch, he was very good at extracting value from a person.

"That's right!" Shichibei, with this advantage, was naturally very calm and composed.

"This isn't exactly a good business," Tsuda Muneki said frankly. While minting bad coins could generate profits, for a merchant of his caliber, a stable currency was far more important to facilitate the flow of goods.

"My Kyoto currency is different from others." Shichibei aims to establish the rules for currency exchange and thus become the person who controls the operating model behind the entire Japanese business world.

"Refine the fine coins!" Tsuda Muneki immediately understood Shichibei's meaning.

"good."

As you may have noticed, Nobunaga sometimes used the amount of kan-gao (a unit of weight) and sometimes the amount of koku (another unit of weight) when bestowing rewards. This is a typical example of the different methods of land statistics and the different levels of economic development between different countries. In Kyushu, similar to the Shimazu or Ryuzoji families, there are records of rewarding someone with 200 cho (a unit of land measurement) or 50 tan (a unit of land measurement) of rice paddies.

Logically, one could simply emulate Hideyoshi and Ieyasu by implementing the rice tax system nationwide. However, this would create an internal factor: a decrease in the urgency to acquire money. Since annual tribute payments would no longer require money, simply handing over packaged rice would suffice. This would reduce the need for large sums of money among the peasant class, who comprised over 80% of the population.

Even if a daimyo needs to collect other miscellaneous fees, they can often use rice to offset them, because all land is measured in koku (a unit of dry measure), and the fixed method of measurement is rice. Using money would be inconvenient and would greatly increase administrative costs.

In small, sparsely populated rural areas, almost everything can be produced domestically; men farm and women weave, achieving self-sufficiency. Even if there is a need for exchange, they only need to use their own produced white silk or rice for small-scale transactions.

In a sense, it really is the stable social model that feudal rulers generally pursued.

Upper-class samurai and feudal lords do need money, but they need all kinds of consumer goods even more. Money is just a means of exchange, or rather, a medium.

The shogunate never cared about the credibility of its currency, and reminted it year after year, causing the value of gold and silver coins to decrease continuously, and eventually even directly issuing coins worth 100 cash.

As long as I can redeem goods and services, that's all that matters; everything else is a secondary consideration.

This refers to the situation from the late Azuchi-Momoyama period to the early to mid-Edo period. By the mid-to-late Edo period, the upper-class samurai had become increasingly extravagant and wasteful, and they started demanding more money. Even figures like Arai Hakuseki realized the negative impact of the outflow of gold and silver. But what did the shogunate and feudal lords do besides prohibiting the outflow of gold and silver?

He invented the domain-issued paper money, which could only be used within his own domain. He invented rice coupons, which allowed him to borrow money from wealthy merchants in Osaka for later use. He invented various commodity circulation coupons, such as umbrella coupons in Mino, charcoal coupons in Musashi, and sugar coupons in Satsuma, allowing people to spend money first and then worry about it later.

Completely lacking a long-term economic vision, focusing only on the immediate future, Japan has not produced a single decent person with normal economic logic in hundreds of years.

Shichibei didn't consider himself an economist, nor did he intend to reverse any economic logic. Becoming a Japanese zaibatsu was a matter for the future; his current priority was to promote the flow of goods and nationwide trade, and to assist Nobunaga in unifying Japan.

It's commonly known as taking things one step at a time; after all, being able to foresee things one step ahead already makes one an exceptional person.

"Are you planning to unify the two regions of the Kinai?" Tsuda Munekichi, as expected of a big boss, immediately thought of currency unification as soon as he mentioned minting fine coins.

"Yes!" Shichibei was a typical merchant who carried arquebuses and swords, and had the power to push for changes in some business models.

"His ambitions are vast, truly vast." Seigniorage is already a trivial matter; controlling the right to mint coins is the real issue that can significantly impact power and status.

Without a doubt, if Shichibei's only aim was to mint fine coins to improve the flow of goods within Oda's territory, Nobunaga would not have objected in the slightest. He wouldn't even have reacted, because he lacked a full understanding of this matter.

Nobunaga possessed exceptional talent in both military and political affairs, but even human beings have their limitations, and there were always areas he didn't understand. Entrusting all commercial rights to Shichibei reflected his belief that he could control Shichibei.

Is he dead?

Where there is life, there is death; what is there for a brave man to regret?

If you die, that's it.

"Is it possible that this Tada copper mine produces a million kilograms of copper annually?" Shichibei had to confirm that it was indeed a very rich copper mine.

"Then we might need to recruit more people and expand the tunnels," Tsuda Muneki said, not giving a definitive answer.

But judging from his expression, he clearly didn't think it was a big problem. Assuming they could obtain one million catties of copper annually, and with a copper-to-zinc ratio of 6:4, it would be possible to mint over 400,000 strings of fine coins each year.

Shichibei remembered clearly from his high school political class that gold and silver are not naturally currency; currency is naturally gold and silver.

The value of a copper coin can be said to come entirely from the copper itself. As long as the weight is sufficient and the casting is not flawed, the coin can stand upright.

Given the size of the Japanese market, 400,000 kan per year is definitely not enough. With a population of approximately 12 million, the amount of refined currency needed in circulation is at least 50 million kan.

This estimate is very rough, taking into account the neighboring Ming Dynasty's population of 80 million and the circulation of 300 million taels of silver.

Let alone 400,000 strings of cash per year, even 1.4 million strings per year would probably not be enough to fully meet market demand. After all, copper coins can break, be stored, or even leak out.