Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Fortunately, Ishigami Tsuguyoshi, who was serving as the acting officer of Shichibei in Tsuruga, reminded him that the quality of these dryland rice grains was inferior to that of rice from the Kinai region, and far inferior to that of rice from Echigo.

Ok?

Cook a pot of food and let your mouth judge for itself.

It's no wonder that Koshihikari rice from Japan is considered one of the future sources of rice for Northeast China. Koshihikari rice is a result of selective breeding of rice varieties from Echigo province. As for rice from Ou?

What were people growing in Oshu, Japan in the 21st century? Yamagata was growing cherries, Aomori was growing apples, and Hokkaido was growing cabbages. Basically, very few places were growing dryland rice or red rice anymore; everything was being converted to cash crops. Even the land not used for farming was mostly used to raise dairy and beef cattle; Sendai beef tongue even became a local specialty.

Therefore, all the rice from Ou has to be sold at a discount. These days, you can't make up stories about green or red rice being organic, very healthy, or that eating it will make you live to be a hundred or ninety-nine. Even if you did, nobody would believe you; if it tastes bad, it tastes bad.

Unlike later generations, there were people who specifically imported wild rice from Canada. This wild rice, which is the rice produced before the water chestnut vegetable becomes diseased, was called "Diaohu rice" in the Tang Dynasty.

You share the same bowl of rice with Li Bai and Bai Juyi!

Isn't that amazing? Selling it to you for 80 yuan a pound is a friendly price, selling it to you for 200 yuan is a normal market price, but selling it for 500 yuan is just ripping off a fool.

So the annual tribute rice from Oshu was ultimately used for brewing alcohol. Apparently, it was because it tasted bad, so they chose to maximize profits by brewing alcohol to increase its value. Shichibei had previously thought that the merchants from Tsuruga were all middlemen who didn't use their brains at all, but now it seems they weren't completely brainless after all.

At least they know that Australian rice is bad, so they use it to brew wine.

During the Edo period, the common people of Edo mainly ate rice produced in Echigo, which was probably for this reason. Rice from Oshu was transported from Sakata to Kyoto and Osaka, brewed into sake, and then transported from Kamigata to Edo and Oshu for consumption, forming a closed loop that was quite self-consistent.

Oshu rice was quickly bought up by wealthy merchants in Kyoto and Sakai, who used it to sell high-quality rice for consumption and inferior rice for brewing. The market does indeed make the choice that best serves its economic interests.

Besides those intended for sale and resale, Shichibei began extensively setting up rice granaries and storage houses in Tsuruga, Azuchi, Gifu, Tsushima, Kyoto, Sakai, and Anotsu. He was storing rice, as it was currently rice season and prices were relatively low. He planned to sell it again after spring, when market supply decreased and demand increased.

The main focus is on market monopoly and control. The original Xiaomi merchants have gradually been squeezed out by Shichibei. Or they have switched to other businesses. Only people like Shichibei, with extremely strong capital and connections at the top, can succeed in this industry.

If you think about it carefully, the wealthy merchants of the Edo period each monopolized no less than a million koku of rice for the annual tribute. The profits they earned each year amounted to hundreds of thousands of taels of gold. Furthermore, through their upstream and downstream expansion and lending business to the shogunate's retainers and hatamoto, it was not uncommon for several major zaibatsu to earn millions of taels of gold annually.

No wonder there's a generation of generals, and even a generation of senior citizens. The monopolistic advantage built on power inevitably rises and falls with that power.

Sooner or later, the entire Japanese rice industry will be merged down to just a few players.

Very well, since Shichibei is already on the table, whether Oda Nobutada, Hashiba Hideyoshi, or Akechi Mitsuhide rule the country, Shichibei can guarantee himself to be the victor after the unification. It might be more difficult if Tokugawa Ieyasu rules the country, but as long as Tokugawa Nobuyasu doesn't die, it shouldn't be too difficult.

After all the rice from various regions had been collected and stored, and the accounts of all the army commanders from Oda Nobunaga down had been settled, Shichibei reappeared on the front lines of Izumi and Kawachi in November of the third year of Tensho.

Unfortunately, after five months of fighting, the Oda army made very little progress, to the point that Nobunaga himself considered retreating and fighting again next year.

Furthermore, Shimada Hidemitsu and Matsui Tomokazu, who had been sent on a mission to Yoshida-Koriyama Castle, had returned, bringing back news that greatly displeased Nobunaga. The Mori clan hoped to divide Harima in half with the Oda clan, with the Mori gaining five districts in western Harima and the Oda gaining eight districts in eastern Harima.

If that were all, Nobunaga might have temporarily refrained from taking action to maintain peace with the Mori clan. But the Oda army had already stormed Shikoku Island and begun to capture Katsuzui Castle's outlying castle.

The Mori clan was in a bit of a hurry because they had some core interests: the hegemony of the Seto Inland Sea, especially the toll fees they received for smuggling trade with Ming and Nanban (Southern Barbarians) through the Seto Inland Sea. The Mori clan really couldn't give up these interests.

The continuous battles with the Ōtomo clan were also aimed at capturing Moji Castle, a crucial pass controlling the Kanmon Strait, and Hakatazu, a major port for trade with Ming China.

Especially in the western region, where the mountainous terrain is rugged and difficult to traverse, the Seto Inland Sea allows for the rapid mobilization of troops and the attainment of dominance. Therefore, the Mori clan placed great importance on their hegemony over the Seto Inland Sea.

They even proposed to Nobunaga that Nobunaga could not enter Iyo Province, and that Iyo Province should be handed over to the Mori army to conquer.

He valued the toll fees from maritime trade, while Nobunaga valued foreign trade directly. He was determined to bring Hakata, Goto, Matsuura, and other places under his rule.

Even if they weren't directly under Nobunaga's control, they were still controlled by Nobunaga's army commanders and senior retainers, who would continuously provide Nobunaga with saltpeter, cannons, leather, and money.

Is that reasonable? Oda Nobunaga was a powerful figure in the Sengoku period, a man who sought to unify Japan. Would he agree to such conditions? Of course not. So Nobunaga, slightly blinded by greed, summoned Hideyoshi from Nagahama Castle to join the attack on Kishu, intending to quickly conquer Kishu, kill Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and then turn around to block the Mori clan.

The principle that haste makes waste was fully demonstrated in Nobunaga's battle; no matter how hard he fought, he couldn't achieve a decent result.

When Shichibei arrived at Sennan's main camp, all he saw were Oda's troops, utterly exhausted and with little will to fight left. With the army weary and the war dragging on, and with indiscriminate captures to boost morale proving futile, the battle was essentially over.

Nobunaga, inside the main camp, flicked his folding fan and delivered a powerful blow to Inoko Isshin, one of the main force members of the Inoko clan. Inoko Isshin had clearly retreated from Takako Pass and had no merit in battle.

Swallowing hard, Shichibei even slowed his steps.

Seeing that it was Shichibei who entered, Nobunaga didn't say much, just sat there frowning. With no progress whatsoever, how could he not be angry and frustrated?

"My lord." Seeing his expression, Shichibei finally spoke.

"Hmm?" Nobunaga turned his head and looked at Shichibei.

It really gave Shichibei a big fright. His dark and gloomy face was like that of a tiger devouring a person. Even just being stared at made Shichibei feel his hair stand on end and his palms sweat.

"Attack from three sides simultaneously, perhaps that's a bit arrogant." Shichibei tried to soften his tone as much as possible.

"What!" Nobunaga now certainly has the strength to stand out from the crowd. He even beat the Ikko-ikki black and blue. Takeda Shingen died of illness and could no longer come. You want to deal with a bunch of unruly people in the mountains?

Normally, it should be a piece of cake.

"I might as well recruit one or two groups of men to my advantage." Shichibei thought to himself that Nobunaga had made the same mistake he made when he fought in Echizen.

Go with the flow!

They didn't prepare in advance when attacking Echizen, who had been a collaborator, and just amassed 50,000 men to fight them head-on. It's the same now; they're attacking Kii Province without any attempts to appease or pacify anyone, just charging straight in.

"..." Nobunaga didn't speak. At this moment, the two sides were fighting fiercely, and if he tried to persuade them to surrender, they might not be willing to do so.

"We should at least give it a try." As Shichibei's father-in-law, Oda Nobuhiro noticed the awkward silence between the two and took the initiative to speak.

A few months ago, Oda Nobuhiro was waiting in Sakaimachi as a substitute, but after a prolonged siege, he was transferred to replace the exhausted troops. Now, he serves as Nobunaga's main force and is stationed in Sennan.

"Then go." Since his older brother had spoken up to persuade him, Nobunaga couldn't very well not answer, so he simply waved his hand.

Oda Nobuhiro hurriedly led Shichibei away from the shogunate tent. When Shichibei came out again, he felt that the soles of his straw sandals were soaked. Nobunaga was really scary.

It's easy to understand. After more than five months of siege against a few unruly villagers, they made no progress whatsoever and were stuck on the mountain road. If it were someone else, they might have already started looting and cannibalism.

But now that Shichibei has spoken, what kind of negotiation plan is this? Who are they going to negotiate with?

Genraiji Temple and Genraizhongba.

If Nobunaga were to grant Negoro-ji Temple a place of security, after fighting for so long, the monks of Negoro-ji Temple would likely be exhausted and would probably be willing to accept the terms of the security offer.

They didn't expect them to help Oda's army attack the Saiga party; as long as they cleared the way and allowed Oda's army to enter Kishu, that would be considered a success.

The Oda army is exhausted, so there's no reason for the Saiga party to still be howling. If their rear is attacked, even if the Saiga party doesn't surrender, their will to resist will likely weaken.

That's settled then. Send someone to make contact with the Negoro clan. The Negoro clan's leaders, Tsuda Kenmon and Negoro Daizen, are supposed to be monk soldiers, but they are actually local warlords with no fundamental conflict of interest with Nobunaga.

The terms of the territory are quite lenient. Nobunaga still has the strength to confront them here. Tens of thousands of men from their ranks have come out to fight, and the autumn harvest is probably delayed.

Chapter 349 Saiga is hard to defeat, truly unyielding.

There's no clear plan on how to proceed. Shichibei can only first meet with the generals, including Sakuma Nobumori, Hashiba Hideyoshi, Mori Yoshinari, and Tsutsui Junkei. They've been bogged down in Kii Province for over five months; they should have some understanding of the situation, or at least have considered this idea.

Upon seeing Shichibei come to inquire about the reorganization, the generals immediately realized that they no longer had to grapple with the matter.

Especially Hideyoshi, who was originally intended to succeed Azai Nagamasa, but heavy snow began to fall in Echizen in October, and there was no fighting in Echizen. So last month he was transferred to the Kii region, but he rushed to the Ino-kaze Pass, and good heavens, more than two hundred people died without even getting a hair on the ground. It was a complete waste of time and energy. He was very anxious.

But Nobunaga is a stubborn person sometimes, and it's hard to persuade him.

Upon learning that Shichibei had offered some advice, everyone was overjoyed. Before Shichibei could even speak, they each contributed two hundred and five hundred, quickly raising two thousand kan. They said they would use the money to find the abbot of the Shin-in Temple at Negoro-ji, whom they had met before; he was quite approachable and not the rigid type.

If they can persuade the Genrai clan to surrender, they'll raise the money, whether it's five thousand or eight thousand kan. It's going to snow in Kishu soon, making the mountain roads even more difficult to traverse, and the soldiers will be in great pain; they simply can't continue fighting.

Let's spend a little money to quickly settle this battle, so everyone can go home and celebrate the New Year.

Oh, so everyone's been waiting for this, haven't they? They just needed someone to take the lead. Shichibei suddenly felt like he'd made a bold move. They'd actually had this idea for a while, but they'd just kept quiet about it.

After all, no one wanted to offend Nobunaga, and Shichibei was no exception. If Oda Nobuhiro hadn't intervened, Nobunaga might have given Shichibei a good beating right away.

Shichibei didn't even recognize this so-called abbot of Negoroji Shōshin-in. Furthermore, who could be sent to negotiate? It needed someone eloquent, bold, and meticulous. The two armies were at war; a single disagreement could result in this person being beheaded.

Tsutsui Junkei quickly stated that his retainer Matsukura Ukon could act as intermediary, and asked Shichibei to send another person to assist in the pacification.

Please, Your Highness Kawamura, get this done as soon as possible.

Hmm? Why does it feel like a guaranteed admission?

Upon returning to Sennan Main Camp, Shichibei became increasingly uneasy. How had the Kishu frontline turned out like this during the three months he had been in charge of the annual tribute rice? When he sat down and spoke to Oda Nobuhiro, Oda Nobuhiro could only sigh.

Actually, there weren't many complicated issues; it was simply a matter of prolonged, fruitless fighting, a lack of morale among the soldiers, and a lack of fighting spirit among the generals. The key point was that Nobunaga was personally overseeing the campaign. He held immense authority among the Oda army's generals, and they had absolutely no intention of rebelling against him. However, while they outwardly appeared rebellious, they were inwardly anxious.

Finally, they bumped into Shichibei, and they clung to him desperately. They might as well give it a try; after all, Shichibei was the one to step in. If it didn't work, they'd just stay there and keep Nobunaga company. If it succeeded? If it did, everyone would be happy, and they could go home for the New Year.

They'd rather give credit for the reorganization to Shichibei. Even though they'd paved the way and done almost everything, all they needed was someone to step forward and shout, "Let's reorganize!"

Tsk.

“Saburo has become too powerful; we can’t disobey him.” Oda Nobuhiro patted Shichibei on the shoulder, just smiled, a hint of bitterness in his expression.

"Then me?"

"You can take care of it. Don't worry about anything. I'll handle things for you at the headquarters."

"Thank you." Shichibei quickly stood up and bowed to Oda Nobuhiro.

Shichibei doesn't need to go to the meeting with the abbot of Jōshin-in Temple at Negoroji. Kōyama Shigeharu is also in the group, and he says he can bring money and go with Matsukura Ukon, promising not to fail in his mission.

In just three days, the abbot had indeed been persuaded by the generals of the Oda army and expressed his willingness to speak with the leaders of the Negoro monks, including Tsuda Kanmono and Negoro Daizen, as well as the masters of the Negoro Temple of the Shingon sect.

The conditions were also clear: Negoro-ji Temple had to secure its 720,000 koku of temple territories throughout Japan—this was the fundamental premise. Only if the temple territories were secured could they clear the way and cooperate with the Oda clan.

If it cannot be contained, then there is no point in mentioning it at all.

All 2,700 temple buildings and courtyards belonging to the Shingon sect's Negoro-ji Temple required a written prohibition from the Oda army. Oda soldiers were forbidden from disturbing a single brick or tile of Negoro-ji Temple; the temple possessed the privilege of not accepting or entering without permission.

Correspondingly, the 10,000 members of the Negoroku clan could be conscripted by Nobunaga and fight for 45 days each year. After that, the Negoroku clan could leave on their own, or Nobunaga could pay them more money to continue fighting.

To put it bluntly, they don't pay taxes, but they can pay blood taxes.

Of course, the issue of blood tax can be delayed. Forty-five days of fighting a year is still too little; it should be at least three months. The scale of the war of annexation is so large, day after day, year after year, that even three months a year is not enough.

Row!

Enough said. Shichibei vividly remembered the expectant looks in the generals' eyes. Their eyes were wide open, hoping for a swift end to this long and fruitless war. He could only send Kuwayama Shigeharu on another trip; forty-five days simply wouldn't be enough.

Three months, it must be three months. There's also an additional condition: the Negoro clan must send men to assist Oda's army in a flanking maneuver, heading straight for Saiga Castle. Only by besieging Saiga Castle and blocking Oda's army at Takako Pass can Saiga Magoichi withdraw his troops, allowing the main force of Oda's army to enter Kii Province.

Whether Saiga Castle surrenders or not is secondary; Oda's army can advance unimpeded, launch a fierce attack on Kōkoku-ji Temple in Hidaka District, Kii Province, and capture Ashikaga Yoshiaki alive.

Soon, Chu Sakon, the wealthy landowner from Izumi Kumagoriya, appeared at Shichibei's camp. He was the father of the abbot of Negoroji Shōshin-in Temple. The abbot had accepted a toll of 2,000 kanmon from Shichibei and had been running around making connections. Now that things were about to go through, he sent his own father to show his sincerity.

With his father's help, Shichibei finally dared to approach Oda Nobunaga again. Nobunaga remained silent, listening to Shichibei's account of the terms regarding the territory of Andokune-ji Temple: no taxes to be paid, blood taxes to be provided, and the terms that would guide the Oda army directly to Saiga Castle.

In the end, they didn't give a clear answer, but thankfully, they didn't say they were against it either. The gist was: go do it, if you succeed, everything will be fine; if you fail, you'll be in big trouble.

Go, go, go.

Sakuma Nobumori and Oda Nobuhiro continued their attack on the Saiga party at Takako Pass, while the Negoro troops at Kazefuki Pass on the east side, under the command of their chief, cleared the way. Each of the two chiefs received a huge sum of 3,500 kanmon, all collected by the Oda army's corps commanders and stored in Sakai Town, ready to be withdrawn at any time.

Fortunately, they had just sold the annual tribute rice; otherwise, the legion commanders wouldn't have had enough cash to bribe the two chieftains. They also wouldn't have been able to use Yongle Tongbao coins to pave the way across the treacherous Fengchui Pass.

Mori Yoshinari led the way, accompanied by his son-in-law Tsutsui Junkei, charging towards Kishu. As agreed, all the temple leaders of Negoro-ji Temple possessed the privilege of not losing or entering, and Hashiba Hideyoshi followed behind the two, erecting restrictions on the temples along the way.

The roadside was lined with buildings displaying wooden signs at their entrances, truly exempting all 2,700 wards from Oda's military service. This impeccable discipline pleased the head monks of Negoro-ji Temple. Now they awaited a written guarantee from Nobunaga himself.