Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Shimoma Yorihiro's monks and soldiers, along with their followers, were utterly routed by Oda's army overnight and were forced to slowly retreat to Hongan-ji Temple in an attempt to regroup.

Naomasa Hanawa, who was besieged at Tennoji Fortress, finally broke through the encirclement and arrived at Tenkakuji Temple before noon. There he found Mitsuhide Akechi, Yoshinari Mori, and Nagayoshi Kawamura lying on the ground.

His head pounded on the ground, thud, thud, and his forehead immediately swelled up.

Nobunaga is indeed not dead. The deaths of these three generals and castle lords would have been enough to have Naomasa Hanawa's entire family arrested and executed. To save one, losing three is simply not worth it.

After all, Hanawa Naomasa was the deputy governor of Yamashiro and one of the best commanders in the Oda clan's army, so Nobunaga couldn't just deal with him so easily. Therefore, Nobunaga only ordered Hanawa Naomasa to return to Tennoji Fortress and continue guarding the fortress, and to deal with everything after the situation was completely settled.

No sooner had Hanawa Naomasa left than Sakuma Nobumori and Oda Nobuharu arrived at Tenkakuji Temple in a somewhat awkward situation. Taking advantage of the fact that Oda Nobuharu and Sakuma's army was building the castle, the soldiers of the Saiga Fifth Division launched a surprise attack on them. Not only was the Sano Fortress not completed, but they were also driven out of Kii Province's Takako Pass (historical fact).

Both armies were exhausted, but Oda Nobuharu and Sakuma Nobumori hadn't had a single day of rest, while the Saiga troops had a month of rest during the New Year.

With such a small difference in resources, coupled with a surprise attack, Sano Fortress was lost, and the vital passage for the Oda army to enter and exit Ki Province was also lost. The Ki Province campaign lasted for more than half a year, and almost nothing was accomplished.

Already enraged, Nobunaga didn't offer any opinion, simply accepting the reality calmly. First, he ordered Oda Nobunaga to return to Gifu; this opportunity had been missed, and he likely wouldn't have another chance to become a castle lord.

It was surprising that Sakuma Nobumori, a veteran general, could make such a mistake, which immediately aroused considerable dissatisfaction in Nobunaga's heart.

Especially considering that the Saiga clan was recruited at the strong insistence of Sakuma Nobumori, and now the Saiga clan not only did not submit, but also launched another attack on Honganji Temple, and almost killed Mori Yoshinari and Kawamura Nagayoshi.

Excellent, excellent! Sakuma Nobumori's decision to pacify them was brilliant, absolutely superb! He had the foresight to bring in such a band of rebels.

Chapter 359 Nobumasa's Succession to the Harada Family

After waking from his coma, Shichibei heard some truly shocking news. The news was so shocking that he forgot about the pain in his back.

Nobunaga angrily rebuked Sakuma Nobumori in front of everyone!

He bluntly stated that Sakuma Nobumori advocated for the pacification of the Saiga clan, but the Saiga clan surrendered and then rebelled again, nearly killing two of Oda's generals. Furthermore, the Saiga clan also seized the Sano Fortress at Kishu Takako-toge, a truly unforgivable offense.

Of course, it's hard to guess whether Nobunaga himself almost got beaten to death by the Saiga clan, leading to personal resentment.

The key point is that Sakuma Nobumori even retorted, stating that there were no more loyal and brave samurai in the world than his retainers. It was truly disheartening that Nobunaga would so harshly criticize them for a mere victory or defeat.

It is said that the two almost came to blows, nearly wrestling. Fortunately, Oda Nobutada arrived in time to stop them. Nobutada was the head of the Oda clan, and theoretically—and only theoretically—Nobunaga's rank and status in the Oda clan were already lower than Nobutada's.

Sakuma Nobumori then retreated to Wakae Castle in Kawachi to reorganize, while Nobunaga moved his main camp to Tennoji Fortress to deal with the many chaotic consequences of this war.

The news was relayed by the young general and Shichibei. After receiving the news that Shichibei had been shot, she followed Oda Nobutada and sped from Gifu to Settsu.

Fortunately, Shichibei only suffered a fracture from the lead bullet, without any broken bones. He was grateful for the Milan children's plate armor and the silk cotton armor, which saved his life.

As for how he was shot? Nobody mentioned it; everyone just assumed he was hit by a stray bullet during the retreat.

"You're lucky. Sakamoto-dono slept for two days and two nights before waking up. After eating rice balls, he went back to sleep. The bullet that hit Tamonzan-dono's foot went right through it; it was much more serious than yours..." The young general helped Shichibei wipe his back and face, rambling on and on.

Guangxiu was exhausted; his mental and physical strength were severely depleted, to the point that his body activated its self-protection mechanism. This is quite normal. During the Huaihai Campaign, General Su Yu didn't sleep for five days and five nights. When he heard that Du Yuming and Qiu Qingquan had been defeated, he collapsed and slept for several days straight.

Judging from Mitsuhide's condition, it will take him at least two or three months to recover. Mori Yoshinari, on the other hand, was shot in the right foot; the lead bullet pierced through the instep. Fortunately, the weather is cold, and the treatment was relatively quick. The rest depends on his resilience.

If it doesn't get inflamed or suppurate, and heals properly with scabs forming, it won't become a one-legged leg. If it really gets worse, then the leg will have to be amputated.

"What about Harada Kenmon?" Shichibei was more curious about Hanawa Naomasa, who had lost so much money at Honganji Temple.

"Ah..." The young major general quickly lowered his head, not daring to speak.

"Many members of the Hana clan have died, I'm afraid..." The young general whispered this sentence into Shichibei's ear.

"It was to be expected." Shichibei could roughly guess what would happen.

Although Hanawa Naomasa himself was unharmed, he lost nearly two thousand men at Kizu Fortress. Hanawa Yasuhiro himself and his two thousand men also perished, resulting in a loss of more than three thousand men from these two routes alone. If we also consider the losses of samurai of all ranks and the generals, Hanawa Naomasa's army lost at least half of its fighting strength.

The deaths of key retainers such as Hanawa Koshichiro, Minamoto Muemon, and Niwa Koshiro left no replacements available. In those days, anyone capable of effectively managing a team of over five hundred people, leading them to the battlefield, and executing tactical orders was a treasure in any country.

"By the way, Young Master Nobumasa has also arrived." The young general delivered another message to Shichibei.

Oda Nobumasa!

Did he arrive as one of Oda Nobutada's vassals, or under some other identity? After all, Oda Nobumasa's mother was Hanawa Naomasa's sister, and at this moment, that identity was extremely sensitive.

After resting for a few more days, Shichibei was able to get up and lie down, and could even walk a few steps with help. Reinforcements from the Oda clan arrived at Tennoji Fortress from all directions. Araki Murashige, who had originally sent troops to support Honganji Temple, withdrew and abandoned his attack on Takayama Shigetomo.

With no fewer than 40,000 troops gathered at Tennoji Fortress, it was highly unrealistic for Honganji to launch another offensive against Oda's army.

Akechi Mitsuhide had woken up, and Mori Yoshinari was temporarily lame, but seemed to be in good spirits. Oda Nobunaga and Oda Nobutada sat at the head of the table, flanked by other officials, while the senior retainers of the Oda clan arrived and sat quietly in the hall awaiting the king's command.

Something important is about to be announced.

Before they arrived, everyone was already speculating. Hanawa Naomasa had lost half of the Hanawa family's hand this time and had lost the ability to independently conquer Honganji Temple, so his outcome was predictable.

Article 1: Hanawa Naomasa was ordered to retire from public life, and his entire household, including his samurai clan and all his property, was to be handed over to Oda Nobumasa. Oda Nobumasa succeeded him and changed his name to Harada Nobumasa.

The Hanawa family's territory in Yamashiro Province was divided into three parts: one part was given to Nobunaga as his direct ruler, one part was given to Akechi Mitsuhide, who had made great contributions this time, and the other part continued to house Hanawa Naomasa's former associates.

Harada Nobumasa, as the new head of the clan, will not be assigned any power or strategic plans for the time being. The focus will be on reorganizing and restoring the Hanawa army, which was thrown into disarray by its defeat, and taking further action after everything is settled.

This is understandable to everyone. Given the disastrous siege of Honganji, Hanawa Naomasa's punishment was entirely justified. Furthermore, after Harada Nobumasa succeeded to the throne, his family became a de facto branch of the Oda clan. While things may be dire now, their future is uncertain.

Naomasa Hanawa, who was ordered to live in seclusion, immediately accepted the order and announced that he would become a monk in Gifu. Nobunaga also approved of this, which was perfectly reasonable.

Article Two: Sakuma Nobumori will serve as the commander of the Honganji campaign legion and will no longer be responsible for the campaign in the Kii region. The legion commanders and castle lords originally assigned to the Kii region will be temporarily placed on standby and will no longer launch offensives against Kii.

Anyway, Ashikaga Yoshiaki has already got his hands on it. As for Kishu, that rotten land, once we kill the Honganji, we'll have plenty of ways to deal with it.

Saiga Gogumi, or Saiga Gosho, originated from the "Sōmura Ikki" in the Kinai region. It was an organization formed by local kokujin (local people) who gathered together to resist and protect their homeland.

The five groups are respectively the Zhonghe Village, the Ten Palaces, the Zhongchu Mountains, the Nan Mountains, the Three Upper Mountains, and the Gong Palaces, among which Zahezhuang is particularly different.

The other four groups were all organized by local powerful local lords, while the Saiga group was established by relying on the Jodo Shinshu sect's Sagimori Gobo to resist the daimyo.

Therefore, Saiga was the strongest supporter of Hongan-ji Temple, because without the blessing of Jodo Shinshu, it would have been impossible to gather such a group of people. The two sides had a mutually beneficial and interdependent alliance, so much so that when Kennyo Shonin announced his departure from Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple, the place he chose to go was Saiga Sagimori Gobo.

It is clear that the Venerable King also felt that he was safest and most easily protected in Saiga, and Saiga also had the ability to protect him.

Nobunaga's thinking had changed after this great battle. He guessed that he hoped to isolate Saiga-sho, a staunch supporter of Honganji among the Saiga Five Groups, and to win over and win over other forces in Kishu Province.

After completely isolating Saiga-sou, which has the strongest fighting power and the most resolute fighting will, then proceed with the attack.

Moreover, the Negoroku sect has already submitted to Nobunaga, and there is no fundamental conflict of interest between the Shingon sect and Nobunaga. As long as Nobunaga retains their temple territories, it is perfectly acceptable for them to assist Nobunaga in his conquests.

Who knows, if they jumped on Oda Nobunaga's ship, Negoroji might be able to go even further.

The third condition, which was also completely unexpected, was that Nobunaga offered the condition of securing half of Settsu Province, recruiting Araki Murashige to surrender and participate in the conquest of Honganji.

No, Ikeda Katsumasa is still fighting under Oda Nobunaga as a major general. Araki Murashige's territory was something Nobunaga promised to return to Ikeda Katsumasa. Now that it's been handed over to Araki Murashige, what will Katsumasa do if he's unhappy?

Nobunaga had obviously thought of this as well, and didn't consider it a big deal. After all, Nobunaga had confiscated a third of Hanawa Naomasa's territory in Yamashiro; now he was transferring it to Ikeda Katsumasa to appease him first.

Once we've conquered Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple, we can just carve out a portion of its territory for Ikeda Katsumasa. Anyway, it's all in Settsu; being able to return to Settsu would be great.

Well, Honganji has really made a worthwhile move, forcing Nobunaga to reluctantly begin his campaign against Araki Murashige.

With the three major announcements made, everyone was buzzing with discussion. Fortunately, none of these matters concerned Shichibei, allowing him to return to Gifu and recuperate for two months.

"Shichibei, and Ose Shirozaemon, who fought alongside you, I entrust you with my utmost strength." As everyone was about to stand up and leave, Nobunaga gave them one last instruction.

"Hehe." Shichibei quickly bowed his head in agreement.

Yes, Naomasa Hanawa has been stripped of all his power and influence, awaiting distribution. It's understandable that he's given one to Shichibei first.

Moreover, there's something I shouldn't tell outsiders: this Ose is Hanawa Naomasa's son-in-law. After Harada Nobumasa took over, having such a powerful "sworn brother" in front of him is ultimately detrimental to unifying the family.

The best solution is to send them away. But who should they send them to? Shichibei, please. Shichibei has the money to support five or six hundred men, including Ose, and besides, they've fought together, so there's some loyalty between them.

You ask where these 500-plus people came from? Ose herself has over 200, and there are another 200-300 outside Sakai Town.

It would be perfect to give the whole package to Shichibei. Harada Nobumasa is just a young man who hasn't fought alongside his father for many years. How could he possibly command a massive army of 12,000 men like Hanawa Naomasa?

First, separate the allies. After Harada Nobumasa has fought alongside Nobunaga for a few years and gained experience, Nobunaga will then assign him a few more allies. Then, he can follow the example of Miyoshi Nobutaka and Kagawa Nobusumi, and go out to conquer a province and establish his own territory.

The Oda clan's wealth and power all belonged to Oda Nobutada. These illegitimate sons could only rely on their own abilities to carve out their own territory. As his father, Nobunaga had already done a great service by assembling a group of retainers for him.

To reiterate, distribution and effort are also a form of reward, and even more so, an affirmation of one's status.

During the Toyotomi era, Naoe Kanetsugu was nominally an associate of Uesugi Kagekatsu. Naoe Kanetsugu's personal stipend of 300,000 koku was included in the Uesugi clan's estate.

If we were to calculate based on the territory's assets, Shichibei, in addition to his own 50,000 koku, would have a total of no less than 120,000 koku with his entourage.

Because Oda Nobunaga expanded extremely rapidly, he used "pointing out the land area" (a system of land surveying), so the actual rice yield should be even higher.

Having made these three decisions today, there wasn't much to say in the way of congratulations, so everyone went their separate ways. However, Shichibei seemed inclined to exchange a few words with Sakuma Nobumori: "I heard you and Nobunaga had a shouting match?"

Actually, being scolded is a good thing. If Nobunaga still scolds you, it means that he cares about you.

Look at Hanawa Naomasa. He lost half his fortune in one battle, and Nobunaga didn't even bother to scold him anymore. He simply brought his son over to inherit the family business. And what about Hanawa Naomasa himself? He shaved his head and became a monk.

You might as well give him a good scolding, don't you think?

"Ouch..." Sakuma Nobumori saw Shichibei's condition and came over to comfort him, so he immediately reached out to help Shichibei up.

"It's nothing for the lord to scold me a couple of times; being scolded won't cost me anything." Shichibei genuinely wanted Nobumori to be well, after all, as an old Owari native, Nobumori was naturally the leader of the Owari people.

There are many things he can say to Nobunaga, and Nobunaga will listen. But if someone else says them, Nobunaga may not be willing to listen. Especially since Nobunaga is a wise and capable ruler who can refuse advice, this is extremely important.

With Nobunaga's power so strong right now, it is the common wish of many retainers to have someone who can persuade him.

Look at Hanawa Naomasa, he was kicked aside by Nobunaga in one fell swoop, although he deserved to die somewhat. But everyone still can't help feeling a sense of shared sorrow, after all those years of hard work, he was stripped of half his position, right?

Protect Sakuma Nobumori, so that at least when everyone is in trouble, there is someone who can stand up as a representative and offer advice.

"I know, how could I not know?" Sakuma Nobumori simply smiled, a hint of bitterness in his expression.

"Honganji Temple only has 20,000 members, and with the Saiga party, it's at most 30,000. It's not a difficult task at all," Shichibei continued to encourage Sakuma Nobumori.

Nobumori, who controls the entire province of Kawachi, could easily muster an army of eight to ten thousand men. Adding in all his allies, he could easily amass over twenty thousand. Now, Kuki Yoshitaka has been transferred here as well. Once Araki Village is brought back into control and the Kizu River mouth is blocked, they could starve the Honganji Temple to death.

It should be successful in one or two years at most. At that time, of the 100,000 koku of Honganji Temple, after deducting the 20,000 to 30,000 koku that Ikeda Katsumasa received, the rest would all go to Nobumori, the meritorious retainer.

Nobunaga scolds you because he loves you and wants to motivate you. He scolds you until you're sweating profusely, but he doesn't make you commit seppuku. That's how deep his love is.

"Thank you." Sakuma Nobumori nodded slightly and patted Shichibei's arm. He knew that what Shichibei said was true.

Chapter 360 Let him in and beat him up

Shichibei returned to Gifu by oxcart, as he couldn't ride a horse and had to slowly make his way home in the oxcart. What should have been a three-to-five-day journey took him almost half a month.

If you walk slower, Shichibei's fractured back will be almost healed.

As soon as he arrived at the city walls, every household sent someone to greet Shichibei. This was mainly because Shichibei was well-liked, and of course, some people also wanted to get some inside information from the young admiral.

A few days ago, Naomasa Hanawa rushed back to Gifu, shaved his head, became a monk, and was ordered to live in seclusion. Such a high-ranking army commander, the deputy governor of Yamashiro, has "fallen" just like that. Although Nobumasa Harada inherited the family business, this is still quite a shocking piece of news.

Most of the people who returned gave vague accounts, and they just wanted to find at least the junior general who was on the scene to have a serious talk with him.

There was only one person whom Shichibei personally received: Mori Yoshinari's eldest son, Mori Nagayoshi, the lord of Mino's Kanayama Castle. This samurai, who bore the heavy responsibility of protecting the Kiso Mountains and the strategic pass leading to the Nobi Plain, was unable to go to Tamonyama Castle to visit his father. His younger brother, Mori Ranmaru, was serving Nobunaga and could not return either.

Upon hearing that his own father had been shot twice, and receiving reports that were sometimes severe, even requiring amputation of his leg, and other times suggesting a more stable recovery, Mori Nagato couldn't sit still any longer. Hearing that Shichibei had returned, he immediately came to visit.