Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Then there's Chosokabe Motochika, who, after invading Awa Province, captured Okamoto, the young general. At this time, Okamoto was at least forty-five years old, and he wasn't picky at all. After all, this was the Awa Guardian, the Deputy Awa Guardian, and the head of the Deputy Awa Guardian's household—three generations of Awa people who had enjoyed this blessing.

He should also enjoy it!

Even more outrageous is that this young Major General Okamoto also had a son with Chosokabe Motochika, and this son lived until the Siege of Osaka in the summer.

It's fair to say that these two do share some common interests. They should be able to have a good chat once they're in hell.

"You may stay in Sakai for now. If you need anything, you can send someone back to let me know." Shichibei certainly wouldn't make things difficult for Ashikaga Princess, and he would help her with her daily needs.

"I understand." Ashikaga Princess didn't have any special requests. She had already redeemed all five of her maids, so what more could she ask for?

Asking her son to come back to life? That's a joke, absolutely impossible.

"Furthermore, if Lord Kubo of Kyokoku-ji Temple in Kishu sends someone to contact you, you must inform me immediately." This was Shichibei's only request of her.

Ashikaga Princess, widowed and without any children, was the perfect political tool for marriage. For Ashikaga Yoshiaki, this was a treasure.

He might be thinking of marrying his sister off to some random daimyo in order to gain their assistance or financial support.

"Yes." Ashikaga Princess bowed again.

"Alright, you can set off with Hikojiro and the others." Kuwayama Shigeharu and Todo Takatora were already waiting outside. They had to escort Ashikaga Princess to Sakai first, and then take a boat from Sakai to Tosaurado.

He didn't bring Nobunaga's letter, only Shichibei's greetings and congratulatory letter, along with a fine horse and a pair of katana. This was just a so-called congratulatory gift to celebrate his pacification of Tosa Province, a mere pretext to offer something.

"May your military fortune last long." After bowing, Princess Ashikaga, supported by her maid, boarded the oxcart and set off.

There was no palanquin; Shichibei himself disliked palanquins and preferred to ride in an oxcart, even if it was slower and more bumpy. Actually, samurai women could ride horses without any problem; they just needed to wear a straw hat with gauze wrapped around it.

However, Princess Ashikaga was rather delicate, and it was estimated that she was not capable of riding a horse. So this was the only arrangement.

After giving Todo Takatora a few instructions, the group quickly went and returned, trying to gauge Chosokabe Motochika's attitude. If Chosokabe Motochika could immediately send troops to attack Awa, Nobunaga was willing to form an alliance with the Chosokabe clan.

As a pragmatist, Nobunaga was unconventional in his personnel selection and diplomatic methods. He forgave Araki Murashige and Matsunaga Hisahide, both of whom defected twice. When Yamana Hirotoyo offered him Ikuno silver mines, he received forgiveness, allowing him to return to his former Tajima territory and settle in a district.

If Chosokabe Motochika puts in a good effort to attack Miyoshi Nagaharu and Togawa Moriyasu, he could conquer not only Awa Province, but even half of Sanuki Province.

Chapter 322 Tsutsui's Surrender Feast

However, since Ashikaga Princess was a gift from Nobunaga, Shichibei hesitated for a moment before deciding to go up the castle to give Nobunaga a brief report on the matter of sending her to Sakai.

If the leader asks, that's the leader's business; if we proactively explain, that's our business.

Upon reaching the city walls, he saw his attendants bustling about. Grabbing one at random, he learned that Mori Yoshinari had returned. Not only had he returned, but he had also brought Tsutsui Junkei with him.

Seeing that Matsunaga Hisahide was undecided about whether to submit or not, and that his fighting strength was really worrying, Nobunaga was finally going to accept Tsutsui Junkei, who had married Ashikaga Yoshiaki's adopted daughter, Takahime.

Of course, this might also be related to the fact that Takahime died in childbirth. As the adopted daughter of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and the real daughter of the court noble Kujo clan, Takahime was not so easily divorced.

As luck would have it, Shibata Nagakatsu was just walking out when he saw Shichibei and immediately greeted him. Because the senior retainers were either moving or relocating their former territories in Owari, they were all tied up. Therefore, Shichibei was needed to temporarily serve as a host for the upcoming Ichibankei (banquet service) and entertain Tsutsui Junkei.

Feasts are simple to prepare; in Gifu, our old stronghold, a feast can be prepared instantly. From mountain beasts and cloud-dwelling geese to land-dwelling cattle and sheep and seafood, there are monkey heads, bird's nest, shark fin, bear paws, dried scallops, and deer tail tips.

Never mind, none of them.

Let's eat sea bream. Being able to eat sea bream is already a good thing. We can always prepare a few pheasants too. These days, samurai families value a simple and robust lifestyle; meals are a minor matter. Even a high-ranking feudal lord like Shichibei usually only eats a soup and a dish. Being able to cook rice is already an enviable lifestyle.

The only reason we need to prepare these dishes is because Tsutsui Junkei is here to subdue us. We won't be serving any sushi from Omi; it's too strong a flavor, and even in Kohoku, not many people enjoy it.

I don't know what got into Mitsuhide, but he served this as one of the main dishes that Oda Nobunaga served to Tokugawa Ieyasu.

It stinks, it's unbearably smelly.

He immediately went to the Titonoya residence to report for duty, and also to tell Nobunaga about sending Ashikaga Princess to Sakai. Nobunaga simply grunted in response, offering no other reaction whatsoever. The implication was clear: was there anything else to say? If not, then leave quickly; I have other matters to attend to.

Very well, Nobunaga didn't really take Ashikaga Princess seriously, and sent her away without a second thought. Shichibei was already getting up to leave when Nobunaga added one last thing: prepare a spacious enough house with decent decorations and furnishings near the castle.

After so many years of fighting between Tsutsui Junkei and Nobunaga, it was impossible for them to reach a consensus so quickly. Therefore, for the Tsutsui family to surrender, they would have to offer hostages. According to the urgent report sent in advance by Mori Yoshinari, Tsutsui Junkei would send his mother to Gifu as a hostage for surrender.

With neither a wife nor children, Tsutsui Junkei could be considered a jinxed loner.

There are many houses around Gifu Castle, and many of Nobunaga's senior retainers also built villas a little further outside the castle town. Since so many senior retainers have moved to their respective territories, there are many vacant houses. We'll let Tsutsui Junkei's mother live there for now, and if she wants to stay for a longer period, we'll build her a house specifically for her.

If she doesn't need to stay long, for example, if her eldest son Tsutsui Junkei were to defect to the Oda clan, she, as a hostage, could naturally pass away peacefully, saving the trouble of building a new house.

Fortunately, the operations at Kamioka and Tada mines had already been arranged. Under Nobunaga, there were always things to do, and it was difficult to find a moment of leisure.

Ota Ushiichi was tasked with finding the residence. Inase Yoshinari was responsible for procuring the ingredients needed for the banquet. Other items, such as venison, eel, and bonito, were also to be prepared. Whether they would actually be used was secondary; having a good variety would be sufficient.

In addition, we need to hire someone to make a few slices of yokan (sweet bean jelly), which is considered a dessert after the meal. It would be too meager to simply serve Mino persimmon cakes as dessert.

Nobunaga's favorite konpeito (Japanese sugar candy) should also be prepared. Although it's not suitable to be eaten as a meal, it's quite appropriate for someone to carry it with them after the meal.

Lu Ji carrying oranges was simply a dessert served after a meal at a dinner hosted by Yuan Shu. Whether Lu Ji himself liked them or genuinely intended for his mother is beyond the scope of this discussion.

With clear requirements, the task wasn't difficult for Ota Gyuichi and Inase Yoshinari. After receiving their orders, the two went their separate ways and returned in no time.

The house is ready, and fresh produce is delivered to Gifu Castle daily. Does anyone know when Tsutsui Junkei will arrive? To prevent spoilage, the best solution is to deliver fresh produce every day.

Wasteful? Not at all. It was made that very night, and Nobunaga's whole family could eat it too, since it was on his tab anyway.

Without wasting three days, Mori Yoshinari, along with Tsutsui Junkei and his mother, arrived at Gifu Castle. Although Tsutsui Junkei was the de facto owner of half of Yamato Province and a regional lord, he dressed as a monk.

To be precise, the Tsutsui family was the pillar, or rather the leader, of the "Kanpu Sōtsū" (official patron) of Kōfuku-ji Ichijō-in Temple. They were the brains of the temple's warrior monks and lay disciples. By the time of Tsutsui Junkei's father, Junshō, the transformation of the Sōtsū into a local samurai group had already been completed.

Nominally, they remained the leaders of the sects, behaving like monks, but in reality, they were no different from the samurai lords. They also established branch families, fortified castles, controlled towns and villages, and granted fiefdoms.

That shows their family is quite capable.

As part of the banquet service, Shichibei and Takei Yuan, the temple and shrine commissioner of Nobunaga, welcomed Mori Yoshinari and Tsutsui Junkei. Takei Yuan and Tsutsui Junkei had met several times before when the Ranshatai was seized, and the two were quite familiar with each other, so he was responsible for the main tasks of accompanying and communicating with them.

Our Shichibei are mainly responsible for ensuring good food and lodging. In addition, we will allocate a dozen or twenty men and women to serve as temporary errand runners for the Tsutsui mother and son at Gifu Castle.

They brought their own guards, plus Mori Yoshinari's escort. As the Yamato Protector designated by Nobunaga's regime, Mori Yoshinari would probably first hand over his daughter to Nobunaga as an adopted daughter, and then marry her off to Tsutsui Junkei, the Yamato powerhouse.

By the way, Mori Yoshinari left behind nine or eleven children in his not-so-short life. Since he didn't die in the battle of Jiangnan in this world, he persevered and now has more than a dozen children.

If nothing unexpected happens, and if Nobunaga doesn't die for a long time, he will always have a twelve or thirteen-year-old Mori family boy as his page.

This can probably be considered a simple, long-term, and stable supply relationship. After all, when a monarch bestows favors upon his subjects, the subjects are required to "serve the public in return," which aligns with the core principle of serving the public in accordance with the monarch's favors.

Currently, Mori Yoshinari is willing to sacrifice one of his daughters to become Tsutsui Junkei's legal wife, which is quite suitable, since the Tsutsui family is basically tied to him anyway.

"Thinking about it this way, two-thirds of the capital region has already been pacified by the Regent's Palace." Takenaka Hanbei was invited by Shichibei to help with the reception arrangements.

The main reason was that he heard he knew several temples in Mino that were skilled in martial arts, and that their yokan (sweet bean jelly) desserts were exceptional.

"Hmm, only the bandits of Settsu are rather stubborn." Shichibei tasted the yokan (sweet bean jelly) that he was going to offer to Nobunaga and Tsutsui Junkei that evening.

First, stew the red beans until they are very soft. Then, strain them through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the bean skins and any coarser particles. Continue stewing with sugar. This is a sweet dish that perfectly suits the tastes of the Japanese today.

On the other hand, the mutton cakes from the area around Taihu Lake on the other side still maintain the combination of mutton and mutton skin jelly. The Japanese can actually be quite adept at cooking, at least better than the Koreans.

There are at least some food options when traveling to Japan, but when it comes to Korea, well...

"How is it?" Takenaka Hanbei had been watching the red bean paste cook for eight hours and was very confident.

"Mmm..." It was a rare treat to be able to eat sweets, and although Shichibei wasn't particularly fond of sweets, he couldn't help but eat a couple more pieces.

I wonder if Nobunaga has any cavities right now. If he does, he must be feeling terrible.

"Once the Regent has escaped from the capital region, our army will likely join forces to attack Kaishin." Seeing how seriously Shichibei was eating, Takenaka Hanbei knew he was doing a good job.

"Not necessarily. Our lord values ​​trade with the southern barbarians highly. Perhaps he will attack Kyushu first and subdue the four kingdoms." Shichibei put down his toothpick and drank a cup of tea to cleanse his mouth.

"With the strength of our army, we have the power to attack from both the east and the west."

"Kai Takeda is not to be underestimated." Shichibei's view differed from Takenaka Hanbei's on this point.

That's right, the Oda clan is currently mobilizing a total of 120,000 troops. It seems like they can launch a two-pronged attack with 60,000 troops on each side. However, if the Takeda clan fights locally in Konoshino, they can easily mobilize 50,000 troops to resist. Given the mountainous terrain of Konoshino, 60,000 Oda troops might not be able to break through.

"So, from now on, young master will attack Koshin from Nobi?" Takenaka Hanbei seemed to be waiting for Shichibei to say this.

"Our lord has not yet relinquished his title!" Shichibei quickly gestured for you to shut up.

Knowing that Oda Nobutada would become the lord of Mino and Owari, were they already eager to curry favor with him?

Judging from your current demeanor, do you think this is gambling? You think winning will bring you instant success? And losing? You'll be ruined, never to rise again. All you talk about is opportunity, opportunity. Hmph, there aren't that many ready-made opportunities waiting for you. If everyone can see it, everyone can get involved, is that really an opportunity?

As for power, Takenaka Hanbei and Shichibei's political lives are intertwined. Now is a sensitive time; don't think you can save yourself by being the first to act, just like the Mino Triumvirate did when they sided with Nobunaga.

"Hiss..." Takenaka Hanbei lowered his head inwardly, then suddenly gasped, followed by a series of coughs.

"What's wrong?" Shichibei quickly went over to help Takenaka Hanbei pat his back.

Historically, Takenaka Hanbei seems to have died of lung disease, possibly tuberculosis, or something else. Could there already be some kind of premonition?

"..." Takenaka Hanbei quickly waved his hand, indicating that he was fine.

I choked on my saliva.

"Ouch..." Choked by saliva? Dude, can you stop scaring people like that?

However, judging from Takenaka Hanbei's question today, we can get a glimpse of the bigger picture. Leaving aside the feudal lords and important retainers who have been enfeoffed to other territories, those who remain in Nobi are beginning to prepare to align themselves with Oda Nobutada.

After all, Nobunaga was over forty years old. Although he looked healthy and strong, who knew what tomorrow would bring? Only by following the right person could he ensure the continuation of his family line.

In this world of rising and falling generations, nine out of ten families are embroiled in internal strife. If we don't anticipate these changes beforehand, even a small family like the Takenaka might be wiped out by a single major wave.

Nobunaga had asked Shichibei about this earlier, whether he should also assign Shichibei to Nobutada so that Nobutada could use him. In the end, it was Nobunaga himself who rejected the idea, unwilling to let go.

The Oda clan has really grown big; everyone is starting to...

Well, when a feudal dynasty reaches this stage, factions inevitably begin to emerge, and people gradually choose sides. However, Nobunaga's bold use of talent and extreme self-confidence slowed down this trend.

Now that the Kinai region is gradually being pacified, even Tsutsui Junkei has come to surrender, leaving only Settsu as a more difficult situation. Nobunaga has also revealed his intention to pass the throne to Nobutada, and the signal is already quite clear.

It's time to start getting closer to Shinchong!

To stand or not to stand? Although Shichibei has his own skills, it's highly likely that the next Oda Nobutada will rely on Shichibei to manage business and provide large-scale military and economic financing. But whether they are close or not is definitely a matter of choice.

Shichibei was personally promoted from humble beginnings by Nobunaga, just like Hideyoshi. Therefore, Nobunaga treated Shichibei with a close and trusting attitude.

As for Xinzhong...

"Please prepare the banquet." Shichibei was still pondering when Shibata Nagakatsu, who came running in, instructed that the banquet could be served.

Shichibei, who was serving at the banquet, would not be seated at the table; Norimori Yoshinari would accompany him. After checking the dishes and confirming the drinks, the banquet in the inner room officially began.

Inside, the group chatted and laughed. After confirming that the hospitality was good in the outer corridor, Shichibei breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the dining room to sit opposite Takenaka Hanbei.

"Do you think the lord's empire will last?" Anyway, there was no one else around, and Shichibei and Takenaka Hanbei had a good enough relationship.

"Hmm?" Takenaka Hanbei seemed to be either coughing from earlier or was simply sensitive to the question.

"Or rather, do you think the young master has the magnanimity to rule the world?"

I can't say for sure.