Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

To be honest, Kamei Tsunetori's abilities were rather limited. His greatest skill was his ability to read people's expressions and moods. After the Amago Restoration Army was defeated, he naturally joined Hideyoshi. He was extremely good at flattering Hideyoshi. When Hideyoshi ordered the King of Ryukyu to pay homage, he called himself "Governor of Ryukyu" and went around saying that he was willing to conquer Ryukyu for Hideyoshi.

Not only did he say it, but he also ordered the construction of a fleet within his territory, indicating that he would soon lead three thousand troops into Ryukyu.

When the Ryukyu king, Sho, came to sue for peace with Hideyoshi, and Hideyoshi revealed his intention to conquer Korea, he immediately changed his official title to "Governor of Taizhou." Yes, that's the Taizhou in Zhejiang that everyone knows, because Taizhou is next to Ningbo.

Hideyoshi boasted that after unifying East Asia, he would establish his capital in Ningbo and continue to handle military and political affairs related to the conquest of India and the southern barbarians.

In an effort to please Hideyoshi, Kato Kiyomasa used both pistols to fight tigers, while Kamei Tsutomu also fought tigers and leopards. They even sent a flying ship to Nagoya Castle for Hideyoshi to enjoy.

Perhaps this fellow was somewhat capable in domestic affairs, but militarily he was truly lacking. Yoshikawa Motoharu confirmed this and launched a fierce attack on Shibe Castle. Unsurprisingly, Shibe Castle quickly fell. Kamei Tsukinori, with a small number of remaining troops, retreated swiftly to Harima.

As a result, Yamanaka Shikanosuke's supply lines were cut off.

Yoshikawa Motoharu then went to fight Miura Sadayoshi. Although Miura Sadayoshi had a so-so relationship with the Amago family, he was more supportive of the Amago Re-establishment Army because of his desire to resist the Mori family.

Once Miura Sadayoshi's army is defeated, Inaba Wakasakura Castle will be a death trap. Yamanaka Shikanosuke is also very anxious.

At this time, a messenger sent by his good friend Nagasaka Nihonsuke arrived at Wakasakura Castle. He brought him some very good news: it seemed that Lord Oda Nobunaga, the regent of Kyoto, intended to accept and settle the Amago Restoration Army.

Inaba is already a dead end, so we should lead our troops to retreat to Tajima as soon as possible. Then we should take Amago Katsuhisa to kowtow to Oda Nobunaga. Although Oda and Mori are now allies, what alliance in the world is truly unbreakable?

Who knows, once you arrive in Kyoto, Nobunaga might greatly admire you and grant the Amago family tens of thousands of koku of rice, giving the Amago army a place to settle. Then you can recruit more soldiers and gradually take control, which is better than fighting to the death in Inaba.

The poorest you can be is a beggar; as long as you don't die, you'll eventually rise above your circumstances.

There's only hope if you're alive; once you're dead, everything's over. Let's hurry and get on the boat with the crew and run away.

Chapter 346 Eight Thousand Strings of Cash Offered as a Recruitment

Why not let Mitsuhide take charge?

It's quite simple. Nobunaga was in a hurry and ordered Mitsuhide to quickly pacify Tanba and Tango, fully establish contact with Tajima, and prepare for a possible war with the Mori clan later. Nobunaga gave Mitsuhide a death order, instructing him to eliminate the Utsu and Naito clans of Tanba as soon as possible and pacify the entire Tanba region.

Furthermore, Mitsuhide also needs to cooperate in mediating the dispute between the Chosokabe and Ichijo families, and he is currently shuttling between Kyoto and Sakamoto, leaving him with limited time.

Nobunaga would certainly delegate such trivial matters as pacifying the Amago clan to Shichibei. He knew that Shichibei was busy setting up temporary shelters in Kyoto and Sakai, so since he was in Kyoto, it would be a convenient side job.

Moreover, Miyoshi Nobutaka was going to fight Awa, and Sakuma Nobumori and Oda Nobuhiro were going to fight Kishu. Both of these routes needed Shichibei's logistical support, and Shichibei couldn't do without Kyoto.

What else could they do but send someone to deliver a message to Yamana Hirotoyo? Although Yun and Shichibei had reconciled, Shichibei absolutely did not believe that Yamana Hirotoyo and the Amago Restoration Army had completely severed ties.

Look at how clever Yamana Hiroyuki is. Although he's an old guard who's not quite up-to-date with the times, he's not stupid. In fact, when it comes to political maneuvering and negotiations, Yamana Hiroyuki is a very flexible and intelligent person.

Sending someone to Tajima, Shichibei didn't completely stop in Kyoto. He rode towards Azuchi; a new main store for Kawamuraya was being built near the castle, and Shichibei needed to secure a prime location on the main street.

Given our position within the Oda clan, we can certainly go wherever we want without anyone stopping us. Niwa Nagahide, who was originally in charge of the castle construction in Azuchi, also went to Sakai with Miyoshi Nobutaka and the others. He divided his main force in two, entrusting the Wakasa troops to Awaya Katsuhisa and the Owari troops to Toda Shigemasa.

The two led troops to protect Miyoshi Nobutaka's landing in Awa, while the remaining few Mino, Omi and Riki followed Niwa Nagahide in Sakai as personnel for escorting logistics and transportation, as well as as reinforcements.

Urged on by Nobunaga, preparations for battle proceeded rapidly. The only problem was that July and August were typhoon season, and although the journey from Sakai to Awa would take at most a day and a night, the logistical transport ships could not stop. Therefore, Niwa Nagahide was still discussing with the ship captains in Sakai to ensure that at least 15,000 Oda troops were safely transported to Awa, along with a month's worth of supplies.

With Miyoshi Yasutoshi's support, it should be about a month before we can capture Katsuzui Castle. Whether we decide to settle the matter by issuing a proclamation or launch a two-pronged attack with Chosokabe Motochika depends on the situation.

As they walked back along the marked path, they arrived in Otsu and overheard local merchants saying that the pirate leader of the Sea of ​​Japan, Nagasawa Nihonsuke, had just arrived in Otsu with hundreds of guards.

Who?

Nizi!

I'm looking for you.

He hurried to the port town, where Shichibei sent someone to inform the daimyo. Nasa Nihonsuke, who had met Shichibei at Takeda Castle, quickly disembarked to confirm his identity. Upon seeing him, he recognized him as Kawamura Shichibei Nagayoshi, a senior retainer of the Oda clan, and immediately bowed to him. He explained that he had already sent someone to Kyoto to inform Nobunaga, and was surprised to encounter Shichibei here.

Ah, no need to inform Nobunaga, I'm in charge of this now.

Upon hearing this, Nagasawa Nihonsuke immediately returned to the ship to invite Amago Katsuhisa to pay his respects to Shichibei. A group of samurai, flanking him, escorted a young man with a calm and dignified appearance, short in stature but with a steady gait, who appeared before Shichibei.

No wonder they are descendants of Amago Tsunehisa!

Amago Katsuhisa was twenty-two years old this year. He originally became a monk at Tofukuji Temple in Kyoto, but later Amago Yoshihisa surrendered to Mori Motonari. Most of the Amago clan members were relocated to Yoshida-Koriyama Castle. The former retainers of the Amago clan who were unwilling to surrender then led by Tatehara Hisatsuna and Yamanaka Shikanosuke to support Amago Katsuhisa and start a resistance.

Having spent years in the military, Amago Katsuhisa, though only in his early twenties, has already endured hardships unseen by most. Yet, unwavering in his pursuit of restoring the dynasty, he has risen and fallen twice, and now, having pledged allegiance to the Oda clan, seeks only to raise an army once more.

"I never expected to meet the descendants of Amago Minbu here." Amago Katsuhisa bowed to him, and Shichibei quickly returned the bow.

"I am ashamed of my father and grandfather's reputation, and have fallen to this state." As expected of someone from the Kinai temple, Amago Katsuhisa's accent was the kind that Shichibei could easily understand.

"He fought on despite repeated defeats, his heart never wavered, truly worthy of praise." Shichibei certainly wouldn't belittle anything; who would mock such a tragic figure from history?

“This time, it was all thanks to the assistance of the Regent Hall…” Amago Katsuhisa kowtowed to Shichibei.

"No problem, no problem. Luckily we're in Otsu. Let's set up a feast right away. The food will all be paid for by Shichibei. Many of the Amago soldiers have just been withdrawn from the battlefield, some even wounded, and they've also experienced the hardships of the sea. When they hear that Shichibei is holding a grand feast, they are all overjoyed and bow down to him."

At the table, everyone introduced themselves by name. Apart from Kairi Hara Hisatsuna and Yamanaka Shikanosuke, key figures such as Amago Ujihisa, Amago Michihisa, Kannishi Motomichi, and Kamei Tsukinori were also recognized.

Thus, Shichibei dispatched his flying knights to Kyoto to inform Nobunaga, and at the same time, he instructed Kawamura-ya to arrange lodging for the Amago army in Kyoto. He was instructed to provide as much comfort as possible for these hundreds of men, ensuring they had no shortage of food, fuel, or clothing.

Upon hearing the news that Amago's faction had arrived in Kyoto, Nobunaga took time out of his busy schedule to meet with him and immediately expressed his intention to recommend Amago Katsuhisa for the position of Junior Assistant Minister of the Imperial Household, a title previously held by his father, Amago Seihisa.

As for Tachihara Hisatsuna, Nobunaga praised him as Tachihara Okami Yoshio and Tachihara Furuya, and then bestowed upon him the famous sword Sadamune (tachi). As for Yamanaka Shikanosuke, Nobunaga simply exclaimed "Yoshio!" and then bestowed upon him the hair of his own prized horse, Forty Mile Deer Hair.

Due to specific political purposes, Nobunaga attached great importance to the Amago faction, especially the faction that could attract hundreds of core members to join him.

Without a doubt, Amago Katsuhisa first served as a senior retainer under Nobunaga. Nobunaga originally intended to grant Amago Katsuhisa a stipend of 20,000 koku of Takeda, but for some unknown reason, he instead accepted Amago's faction with a stipend of 8,000 kan.

At the same time, he bestowed upon Nobunaga a gift of 1,000 taels of gold and 300 kan of silver, instructing Amago Katsuhisa to do his utmost to recruit and arm the former retainers of the San'in and San'yō regions. He also instructed Nobunaga to procure any necessary weapons and supplies from Shichibei, and to place all the burden of these expenses on Nobunaga's shoulders.

It is imperative to recruit a large army of three thousand men within the year, a fully formed army capable of going out to fight as a large reserve force.

The Amago faction, having received Nobunaga's substantial support, were overjoyed and immediately declared that even if they were to retake Izumo Province and recapture Gassan-Toda Castle, they would still acknowledge Oda Nobunaga as their lord. They were willing to become vassals and serve under Nobunaga's command.

"Do you think these remnants of the army can be of any use?" Nobunaga led Shichibei on horseback to Sakai and escorted Miyoshi Nobutaka to Awa.

"He still has fighting spirit and is capable of being used." Shichibei's answer was standard and unremarkable.

In reality, the Amago Re-establishment Army was already regressing further and further. During its first re-establishment, it amassed an army of tens of thousands in a flash, capturing most of the outlying castles outside Gassan-Toda Castle, almost completely restoring Izumo. By the time of its second re-establishment, it could only operate in the Inaba and Tajima areas.

Just now, they were defeated by Yoshikawa Motoharu, and it seemed that Wakao Ghost Castle was about to fall. Under the strong persuasion of Nasa Nihonsuke, he led several hundred remnants to flee to Kyoto.

With Nobunaga's assistance, this marks the third time the dynasty has been revived. How far can it go this time?

"They have fought to this day without losing their fighting spirit, which is quite remarkable." Nobunaga certainly agreed with this point.

A person without fighting spirit is just a salted fish. In peaceful times, being a salted fish, lying down and doing nothing, is understandable. But now it's the Warring States period in Japan, a time of great strife, and being a salted fish will definitely not end well.

"Hopefully it will come in handy."

"To be assigned to Jubei as a subordinate?" Nobunaga continued to ask.

Currently, Akechi Mitsuhide is the main person in charge of the Oda clan in the western provinces, so it's not unreasonable for the Amago faction to appoint him; it should be done that way. However, if a war really breaks out with the Mori clan later, someone will definitely need to be in charge of the Sanyo region.

But the war hasn't even started yet, and besides, Amago's faction only has a few hundred remnants left. Let's wait until he gathers three thousand men. What good are a few hundred defeated soldiers? At the current scale of the battle, they're not even enough to rush in and fill the gaps.

"Even with a large army, it's impossible to effectively attack powerful states like Utsu and Naito." Shichibei just returned from Tanba, didn't he?

"That's true..." In the original timeline, Nobunaga only urged Mitsuhide to act; he was just that kind of person.

In this different world, Nobunaga personally toured Tanba. The Utsu clan's awful terrain and the Naito clan's dilapidated mountain castle were simply irritating. No wonder Tanba had been plagued by centuries of warring states, and yet no single power had truly achieved unification.

Deep in the mountains, even with a million troops, it's impossible to deploy them. Even with ten thousand men, it's difficult to arrange them in formation in Danbo. Most of the troops have to be sent elsewhere, along different routes.

And then what will happen? Salhu, of course.

You have the advantage, with several times the number of troops attacking, but you've divided your forces into four routes. They don't care how many routes you take; I'll only send one. It would be strange if you weren't completely disoriented.

In his previous life, Shichibei vaguely remembered reading a novel where the protagonist fought against Tanba. They seemed to have used water attacks against the Utsu clan, but the spring floods were long over. Clearly, that was no longer an option. Judging from Mitsuhide's attitude, he figured they'd go back to the heavy-hitting, brick-throwing method.

Taking advantage of the Oda army's large size, they could engage in a war of attrition with the Utsu and Naito clans. A small force with only 20,000 koku of rice couldn't afford such a game; they'd collapse in a year or two.

"Furthermore, Yaemon, who went to Aki, has not yet returned." Shichibei was referring to Shimada Hidemitsu and his group.

Perhaps the Mori clan would back down and stop at Bizen Province, agreeing to establish the Ukita clan as dual vassal states. If so, the alliance between Oda and Mori would have to continue until after the pacification of Shikoku and Kyushu.

When that time comes, Mori Terumoto will personally come to Azuchi to pay homage to Nobunaga, and kowtow to the ground. Then the Mori family will split up, with the Kobayakawa and Kikkawa families going their separate ways. It's estimated that there's still a chance that they can survive.

"Very well, let's wait a little longer." Nobunaga was indeed waiting for the Mori clan's reply; he still needed to prepare for the war with the Takeda clan.

At this time, Sakai-cho harbor was filled with warships, and tens of thousands of Oda soldiers were boarding the ships. Miyoshi Nobutaka was Nobunaga's son, and Nobunaga assigned him two thousand men, while Kagawa Nobusumi was his nephew, so he received one thousand men. These were all troops that Nobunaga had directly recruited and armed for them; there was indeed a difference between sons and nephews.

This was probably to highlight the positions of Miyoshi Nobutaka as commander-in-chief and Kagawa Nobusumi as deputy commander; it was definitely Nobunaga's intention.

As the third son of the Oda clan, Nobunaga's efforts in paving the way for Nobutaka were already quite remarkable. Before their departure, Nobutaka and Nobusumi came to kowtow to Nobunaga, who then uttered only one sentence.

Either conquer Awa or die in Awa; the Oda clan has no useless members.

Actually, there is one who was sentenced to imprisonment and is currently in jail.

Nobutaka and Nobusumi responded loudly, and with the countless military supplies and men bestowed upon them by Nobunaga, they left Sakaimachi and headed towards the chaotic Awa region. More than six years earlier than in history, it was truly a major upheaval.

Another major advantage is that the various Kishu mercenary forces that were constantly sending troops to Ishiyama, Osaka, Honganji, and Shikoku are now under immense pressure from the Kawachi and Yamato groups led by Sakuma Nobumori, and have stopped accepting orders altogether.

These mercenaries in Kishu are now fortifying their camps, setting up fortifications in the mountain passes, forging weapons and cannons, and stockpiling saltpeter and matchlock. Even if Miyoshi Nagaharu offered to hire them, or even if the Venerable Kennyo offered to hire them, they might not be willing to send troops.

Thus, when Nobutaka and his men landed in Awa, they would only face a portion of Miyoshi Nagaharu's own forces, as well as resistance from the people of Awa.

Therefore, Nobunaga specifically asked Ashikaga Yoshihide to write a letter to his younger brother Ashikaga Yoshisuke on Awa Hirashima Island, asking him to go and pacify the people of Awa and tell them to follow Miyoshi Nobutaka.

The Awahirajima Kubo (Prime Minister) still holds considerable influence in the local area. Historically, the Miyoshi family has two main factions: one that cooperates with Ashikaga Yoshiteru, and the other that supports Ashikaga Yoshihisa.

Those who supported the cooperation with Ashikaga Yoshiteru were some of the retainers of the Miyoshi family in the Kinai region, while those who supported Ashikaga Yoshihisa were retainers from Shikoku.

With Ashikaga Yoshihide's offer of amnesty, the people of Awa Province would likely not resist Nobutaka's army excessively. It's even possible that the army would be routed at the mere sight of the royal troops, with surrendering soldiers flooding in.

In conclusion, I wish Hsin-hsiao and Hsin-cheng success.

Nobunaga, who rarely visits Sakai, leads Niwa Nagahide and Shichibei in holding a tea party at the villa of the great master craftsman Sen no Rikyu. Sen no Rikyu has been famous for a long time, but he has not gotten on Hideyoshi's good side, nor has he become Nobunaga's tea master. At this time, he is still active in Sakai as a wealthy merchant and great master craftsman.

He was overjoyed at Nobunaga's arrival and the fact that he was using his villa to hold a tea party. He extended a great deal of invitation to the wealthy merchants of the Kaiju to participate and offered Nobunaga a bowl of early morning tea, hoping to use this opportunity to make contact with the core circle of the Oda regime.

Chapter 347 Nobuhiro Gets a Son and Wants to Strive

Looking at the flower arrangement before him, Shichibei had nothing particularly remarkable to boast about, but Nobunaga remarked that it was truly elegant. The wealthy merchants and master craftsmen around him then joined in the praise.

Niwa Nagahide winked at Shichibei. Haha, it's clear that this expert in Oda's internal affairs and a senior retainer thinks the same way as Shichibei: what are you guys bragging about with just a pretty face?

But such things are inevitable. When it was Shichibei's turn to drink tea, he took a small sip, then took out a piece of paper to wipe the rim of the teacup and handed it to Nagahide. Once the tea was finished, the meeting was considered over.

Nobunaga's main task in coming to Sakai was to send his eldest son, Nobutaka, to Awa. His secondary task was to inspect the weapons production situation in Sakai. He planned to take five thousand arquebuses to clash with the Takeda army, determined to wipe out the Takeda tiger's teeth.

So after the tea was finished, what remained was to display his majesty and intimidate the assembled wealthy merchants, forcing them to submit to the Oda clan and behave themselves.

Shichibei, seated to one side, had already introduced the assembled members to Nobunaga as the patriarch. Now it was time for them to fawn over Nobunaga like peacocks displaying their plumage.

The main reason was Sen no Rikyu. As a wealthy merchant and master craftsman, he had nothing to be dissatisfied with in terms of money and reputation. He seemed to have changed his pursuit and began to yearn for power.

It seems that, regardless of time or place, the desire for power after acquiring wealth is a common mindset.

Sen no Rikyu was ordered to commit seppuku because he interfered in politics and ultimately angered Hideyoshi. His senior disciple, Furuta Oribe, Nobunaga's envoy, was also ordered to commit seppuku after becoming involved in political struggles.