Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

"This matter needs further consideration." Shichibei was not in a hurry. The Kato family was currently without horses to replenish their ranks, and their fortunes would inevitably decline sooner or later.

"How's your alfalfa growing?" Nobunaga was quick to change the subject, directly bringing up the alfalfa fields.

"She's very good-looking." Of course, someone with favorable weather would be good-looking.

"Go, go and have a look."

After saying that, Nobunaga jumped up. He was in really good physical condition. Shichibei was much younger than Nobunaga, and he felt that his vitality and energy were not as good as Nobunaga's.

Because Nobunaga also brought more than a dozen retainers and servants, one boat wasn't enough to carry them all; they had to take three boats to get everyone onto the sandbar. Alfalfa can theoretically be harvested quickly, five or six times a year. However, the sandbar lacks sufficient fertility, and besides, little effort was put into planting it. This year, two harvests would break even, and three harvests would be a huge profit.

Looking at the alfalfa that had sprouted and grown rapidly again, Nobunaga was quite pleased. There were people within his domain specifically cultivating horse feed, which was very beneficial for the war; why wouldn't he be happy?

Then I heard a dog barking...

Hey, this time the dog is smarter. Seeing a crowd, it immediately shut up. Not only did it shut up, it even ran away. Nobunaga, seeing the red flower hut and the fortified village, naturally went to investigate.

The safflower harvest is over, leaving only bare land. The old man plans to plant a season of beans to nourish the soil, making it easier to plant safflower again in late autumn.

As the old man was talking, his dogs saw Nobunaga and, perhaps intimidated by his domineering aura, actually came up to him and licked him, even nudging his feet.

Damn it, I almost got bitten by this dog when I first came here.

Nobunaga even praised the old man's dog, stroking its head before asking how much the safflower cakes had sold for this year. "Sold my foot! The safflower cakes are still stored with the old man." Shichibei had just gone out to ask about prices and was even planning to compare prices at different places, since the safflower cakes wouldn't spoil anyway.

"Not for sale?" Nobunaga didn't know the price of red flower cakes either. He picked up a dog, got up, and left. Since he was Nobunaga, naturally no one dared to stop him, so they let him pet the dog's head and walk out with the dog on his hind legs.

Once everyone was on the ship, the Shiba Inu was still resting under Nobunaga's arm.

This Shiba Inu is already a year old and weighs several dozen kilograms. Doesn't Nobunaga get tired of carrying it? Everyone around was astonished. When they boarded the ship, the old man wanted to take the dog back, but then he thought, "This is Nobunaga. If Nobunaga takes your dog, that's your good fortune."

The boat had already left the shore when Nobunaga suddenly cried out and slapped the dog on the head, as if he had suddenly realized something. Then he casually put the dog down, and the dog, being quite forgiving, didn't hold a grudge against Nobunaga. It leaped off the boat and swam back to the old man.

So you didn't want a dog?

"Shichibei, these sandbars of yours must be worth more than a thousand acres, right?" Nobunaga stopped looking at the dog and turned to look at Shichibei.

"Yes." Shichibei was watching the dogs swim, and only answered when Nobunaga called him.

"Give 500 mu to the Kato family, so that they can have their own property." Nobunaga very arbitrarily proposed a new solution.

"Ah, this..." Shichibei had never thought of this method before.

Now that Nobunaga has brought it up, it doesn't seem like a bad idea. The Kato family's horse-breeding business is on the verge of collapse; they've run out of horses and have to rely on breeding them themselves. It's almost impossible for them to recover to their former scale in the short term.

Rather than watching the family business decline and fall into ruin, it's better to change course. Maintaining the family business first is the only way to have a chance to rise again. After all, Kato Nobutaka doesn't know that Nobunaga has the opportunity to conquer Omi and then control the resources of Hokusei-ma in Oshu.

To replenish horses in Owari, they relied entirely on horse merchants from Kaishin coming from the west to sell their wares. This route is now likely monopolized by Shichibei. Since selling to him is the same to him, why bother peddling along the streets if Shichibei can afford it?

They exchanged 500 mu of sandbar land for Shichibei's land, planting alfalfa three times a year. The Kato family no longer needed to raise horses, so they could sell them all. One mu of land produced thirty bundles of hay a year, and each bundle cost thirty sen. Five hundred mu could generate an income of four hundred and fifty kan per year. After deducting labor costs, they could still earn at least two or three hundred kan.

Shichibei only earned 200 kan a year because he raised over a hundred horses and had to keep half of them for himself. The Kato family, on the other hand, got rid of that burden and made a sure profit.

Unless the world is unified and there is no more war next year, and weapons are stored away and horses are let graze freely.

Otherwise, this is a sure-fire way to make money, so why not switch?

"It's decided then. I'll send someone to tell Yasaburo." Nobunaga clapped his hands and made the decision on his own.

Since Shichibei didn't explicitly object, and this sandbar was practically free, exchanging it for an opportunity to unify the Owari horse-riding service wasn't out of the question.

So what can be done? Shichibei can only say he's filled with both fear and joy. Nobunaga has already made the decision, so there's no point in objecting.

To be fair, Nobunaga was indeed quite efficient. After all, he took the matter of resolving the issues within Owari territory quite seriously. Kato Yasaburo personally went to Tsushima, along with his father, Kato Nobutaka. Neither of them knew how Shichibei had persuaded Nobunaga to step in and preside over the matter.

However, they were indeed somewhat tempted by Nobunaga's proposal; five hundred acres of alfalfa land was a considerable fortune in itself.

Kato Nobutaka's demand was that he himself demarcate the 500 mu of land. After personally landing on the island and seeing clearly the alfalfa and barnyard grass planted by Shichibei, he hesitated for only a moment before deciding to transfer Atsuta's family business.

From then on, the Atsuta Kato clan split into two: the one that served Nobunaga was called the Atsuta East Kato family, and the one that acquired the 500 mu sandbar on Tsushima Island was called the Atsuta West Kato family.

The Atsuta Kato clan retained their original paddy fields and harvested land, but the Atsuta Denma-monya and all its associated property, including more than forty employees and more than thirty child laborers, were all transferred to Shichibei. Kato Nobutaka went into seclusion, and Kato Tosuke only took a dozen or so houses with him.

The merger went so smoothly, something Shichibei had never imagined.

40. Fujikichiro asked to borrow money.

The joy of unifying the entire Owari horse-riding force hadn't even subsided when the wedding procession returning from Kai brought Shichibei even more surprises. According to reports from his hometown, Yonekura Nobutsugu had already submitted a memorial to Takeda Shingen, indicating that he accepted Shichibei's request to purchase all packhorses produced in Kai and Shingen.

Nobutsugu Yonekura felt quite regretful that Shichibei did not rush to Kai to see the bride off.

I'd like to go, but the higher-ups won't let me.

Whether Shichibei goes or not doesn't stop Kai from selling the horse to him. His family brought back over two hundred packhorses and riding horses in one go, and even four warhorses.

The number of horses available was barely sufficient to fill the gaps in the Atsuta horse-riding service and to establish the horse-riding network along the Owari Road. Of course, they would still be far from being able to perform at their full potential.

After all, when Kato Nobutaka was in Atsuta, he owned nearly a hundred horses, with sixty or seventy of them being used directly. Even that many horses were insufficient to meet Atsuta's own needs, as Atsuta also had to supply some of the Mikawa market.

Mikawa lacked any large-scale markets or towns. It's simple: while other places in later generations frequently had names like "Yokatsuichi" (four-day market) or "Rokkaichi" (six-day market), Mikawa remained barren. It's easy to imagine that in this day and age, Mikawa didn't even have a decent market town; it was a truly impoverished place.

Many things need to be transported from the hot fields to Mikawa Province. Since there are no waterways in the interior, they can only rely on horse-drawn carts for transport.

Fortunately, we acquired the Kato family's stables beforehand; otherwise, with so many horses arriving all at once, we wouldn't have had enough space to house them. The Kato family's stables originally only had a handful of horses, but now we've crammed in over a hundred—just right, not too spacious, not too crowded.

We need to build stables and barns as soon as possible at the foot of Komakiyama Castle. The money from selling alfalfa and millet is about a hundred kan, which is more than enough to build a spacious stable.

Nobunaga was quite pleased with himself for "mediating" a dispute between nobles within his domain. He even designated a horse racing track outside Komakiyama Castle for Shichibei, so that his horses could run around near the castle. He could be considered to have gone all the way to being a good person, since in those days land couldn't be developed into paddy fields, and rice-growing land wasn't worth much.

It's really annoying when my pockets are constantly being emptied...

Shichibei found that whenever he had a little money, he would spend it all. He was always busy with this and that. Although the Kawamura family's business was expanding and the amount of fixed assets was increasing significantly, their cash flow was getting a bit tight.

If things stay this tense, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later.

We still need to keep an eye on the red flower cakes; we need to leave a backup plan for the Kawamura family.

By the way, to thank Nobunaga for his "mediation," Shichibei rushed to present Nobunaga with a "moon-haired" horse. "Moon-haired" (つきげ) is a type of horse coat color, which can probably be referred to as a pale yellow color of milk skin, or a less pure white. The slightly yellowish-white color on the surface of milled rice also refers to "moon-haired."

Uesugi Kenshin had a horse named Hosho Gekko, which was a moon-haired horse bred in the Hosho-tsu region. It's that simple. Japanese people don't actually have that many fancy names.

The moon-haired horse before us could probably be called Iifu Moon-haired or Kai Moon-haired, depending on Nobunaga's thoughts.

Nobunaga even praised Shichibei for being sensible and accepted the moon-haired horse that Shichibei presented. After all, Shichibei had been given a large horse farm outside Komakiyama Castle.

Perhaps because he had presented a warhorse to Nobunaga, the samurai who had previously inquired about warhorses came running back again. This time, he finally bought a "Renzen Reisho" (a type of horse), and was overjoyed, paying Shichibei a full forty kan (a unit of currency).

The so-called "coin-patterned horse" refers to a horse with a mixed blue, white, and gray color. The small spots on its body resemble strings of coins, with varying shades of color, making it quite beautiful.

Yonekura Nobutsugu is truly a good student of ours. Although he only sold us four horses, all four were quite decent. They were among the finest horses of the Konobu-Kiso lineage, each with a shoulder height of over 1.35 meters.

After Kawamura-ya opened, many Owari samurai began placing orders with it.

It's impossible to specify what kind of horse you want, but you can wait until the Takeda family ships their horses in the second half of the year to see if any new horses have arrived.

Some samurai specifically requested horses. These were horses they used for everyday riding or for transportation before going to battle. For example, if they were about to attack Okehazama, Nobunaga might have them run for two or three hours, covering over ten kilometers, to reach Atsuta Shrine. Afterwards, they would have to engage in battle against the Imagawa army. Even an iron man would feel exhausted.

The best way is to ride a horse. Riding a horse to Atsuta Shrine is much less strenuous than running there on your own two legs.

Horseback riding can also be used as a warm-up exercise, making it easier to wield swords and spears and clash with Imagawa Yoshimoto later.

For riding horses, all you need is a strong, obedient horse that can run. Horses that are hardy, can carry goods over mountains, and can endure rough feed are another area of ​​selective breeding.

In "Seven Samurai," there are three horses in the village, which the farmers usually use for plowing. One of them is a bad horse that even Kikuchiyo would throw off if she tried to ride it. It's a typical stale horse that can only die in its stall, only used for plowing, and then whipped every day.

To make a horse obedient for riding, it needs some training. But the intensity is far less than that of training warhorses, which must withstand the sound of gunfire, and that alone eliminates all timid horses.

Compared to packhorses, riding horses weren't much more expensive; they were just a means of transportation used by samurai lords when they went out. In Owari, they were only worth ten or eight kan, slightly more than packhorses.

Fortunately, some of the horses that came from Kai were also mounted. They would buy four or five kan from Kai and sell eight or nine kan from Owari, making a profit from the difference.

In recent years, while Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen maintained a facade of harmony, they might be able to make a small profit by reselling horses.

It sounds wonderful.

However, the reason why the samurai below the castle were so eager to buy horses was not because Shichibei's horses were particularly good, but mainly because news from the Kinai region was coming back one after another, indicating that war might be imminent.

First, Shichibei sent a man to the town and brought back news that the Miyoshi Triumvirate had already enthroned Ashikaga Yoshihide, the Awa Kubo, and were seeking the imperial court's approval of the Shogun.

Then came the news of the murder of Rokuonin Shugo, son of the late Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu. It is still unclear who assassinated him, but he was killed nonetheless.

Immediately afterwards, news emerged that the son of another former general, the monk Ichijōin Kakukei, had fled to Yajima in Ōmi Province and was under the protection of Wada Koremasa. Whether this was true or not remains entirely uncertain.

But with the arrival of Hosokawa Fujitaka, the situation was basically set in stone.

The monk Ichijōin Kakukei, now known as Ashikaga Yoshiaki, sent letters to more than forty daimyo and powerful figures in the Kinai region, neighboring provinces, and China, requesting their support in his ascension to the throne in Kyoto.

The throne of the Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate will most likely be contested between Ashikaga Yoshihide and Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

With a clear choice of who to bet on, a small meeting was definitely needed to discuss the matter. Nobunaga, a powerful lord aspiring to expand his influence and participate in the struggle for control of Kyoto, was particularly attentive to this kind of thing.

Unfortunately, Shichibei's status and position were insufficient to qualify him to attend meetings of Oda clan's senior retainers. Perhaps if Shichibei were to attain the rank of Samurai-shogun someday, he could then attend.

It was only after the discussion started that Shichibei heard it from Kinoshita Koichiro. Yes, Shichibei had specifically summoned his younger sister, Aji, to Komakiyama Castle to manage the accounts. Of course, this was only nominal; in reality, he wanted her to meet Kinoshita Koichiro to see if any sparks could fly.

In any case, Kinoshita Koichiro was overjoyed because Shichibei was a 260-kan vassal of the Oda family, and a member of the old Owari, old Oda, and old Shimo-ji districts.

Even if she were an ugly woman, Koichiro would accept her. Besides, Aji is a shrewd, straightforward, literate, and arithmetic-savvy ordinary daughter of a samurai family who can also take care of horses.

That's enough. Stop being so picky. You'll miss this opportunity.

Taking advantage of Oda Nobunaga's current peace and quiet, Koichiro was constantly running to the stables. Even a fool would realize something was amiss with his frequent trips there. Not to mention, girls generally understand these things earlier than boys.

We'll see how things go. It would be best if there were some feelings involved, because a forced relationship only quenches thirst, it's not sweet.

Returning to the discussion in the city, the result was that they accepted Ashikaga Yoshiaki's letter, and presented him with two hundred kan of cash, a katana, and a horse. They'd deal with him for now, just in case he was assassinated too.

In Sakai, secretly send someone to check things out. If Ashikaga Yoshiezumi is just a puppet of the Miyoshi Triumvirate, with no autonomy whatsoever, and unlikely to be used by the Oda clan, then forget it.

If Ashikaga Yoshihide had any potential and could stir up trouble in the Kinai and Kyoto regions, then he would have to bring a lot of gold to support this candidate shogun.

A little chaos in the Kinai region would at least benefit Oda Nobunaga in the present day.

With chaos erupting in the Kinai region, the Rokkaku clan's primary attention will shift to Kyoto. They will then have less time to focus on Mino, leaving Saito Tatsuoki in Mino even more helpless.

But here's the thing: a small problem has arisen.

During a previous meeting of senior retainers of the Oda clan, it was discussed whether or not to listen to a candidate shogun who specifically wrote a letter mediating the conflict between the Oda and Saito clans.

The argument is entirely correct; Hosokawa Fujitaka did indeed bring a document from Ashikaga Yoshiaki expressing his hope that Oda Nobunaga and Saito Tatsuoki would maintain harmony and then strongly support his ascension to the throne in Kyoto.

To listen or not to listen?

Contrary to many people's impression of Nobunaga, Nobunaga hesitated and hesitated, and did not dare to throw away Ashikaga Yoshiaki's document as toilet paper.

After all, Nobunaga is only the lord of Owari Province at present. Although he has become the powerful figure of Owari Province after killing Imagawa Yoshimoto, this does not change the fact that his strength is limited to only one province.