Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Who knows? But it's better to keep one more item than to leave it all in Azuchi Castle or Osaka Castle and eventually burn it all down.

In the end, after calculating the total, these treasures alone amounted to over 40,000 kan. And that wasn't even all of it; the decorative items Nobunaga usually used, or those he might have given as gifts, weren't even sold. In reality, less than a third of it was probably sold. It just goes to show that ruling the country has its advantages; you have hundreds of thousands of kan of unused possessions.

Tokugawa Ieyasu's estate was worth approximately two million taels of gold. At Nobunaga's current rate of accumulation, his estate would also approach two million taels in ten years. However, Nobunaga spent money far more lavishly than Tokugawa Ieyasu, his extravagant spending perhaps even surpassing that of Shichibei today.

Once the money is deposited, Nobunaga will take it and scatter it somewhere tomorrow.

Whatever.

The army commanders and lords of the various garrisons in Kyoto returned to their towns; after spring arrived, no one could rest. Even Oda Nobutada had to prepare for a possible campaign against the Hojo.

Preparations are underway. After all, the non-occupation agreement with the Hojo was only for a mere year, and Nobunaga now possesses the economic and military strength to fight on two fronts, so he no longer needs to personally lead expeditions to the east and west.

Since Araki Village rejoined Oda Nobunaga last year, Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple's land-based food supply has been basically cut off. The small amount of fertile land within the encirclement is absolutely insufficient to sustain the temple's inhabitants.

The monk, Kōjō, was extremely anxious. He questioned his subordinate officials, who informed him that Ashikaga Yoshiaki had been captured and most of the anti-Nobunaga forces in the Kinai region had surrendered. What should be done with the Hongan-ji Temple?

At that time, Shinmon Kyōyū, the eldest son of the monk Kōjū, stepped forward and declared that, in the world today, only the Mōri clan could powerfully oppose Nobunaga, the Sixth Heavenly Demon King, the enemy of Buddha.

Family.

An envoy must be sent to the Mori family immediately to explain the situation and urge the Mori to form an alliance with the Honganji Temple to jointly fight against Nobunaga.

Yinggu Stream

The somewhat flustered Kennyo Shonin then inquired about the thoughts of Shimoma Yorihiro and Shimoma Yoritatsu. Shimoma Yorihiro stated that if they could obtain external assistance, the Hongan-ji Temple could continue to hold out. How could they obtain external assistance? Only the Mori clan, with its powerful navy, could utilize its maritime advantage to support the entry into Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple.

Both sides were clearly in agreement, hoping that Kennyo would seek help from Mori Terumoto. At this point, they couldn't rely on Mori Terumoto, nor on anyone else. Uesugi Kenshin and Nobunaga were theoretically still allies, while the Hojo clan, fearing Nobunaga's power, had signed a truce.

Moreover, these two sources are too far away to provide immediate relief to the increasingly food-scarce Ishiyama Honganji Temple. Even Miyoshi Nagaharu of Awa has been killed by Niwa Nagahide and Miyoshi Nobutaka, and Sogawa Moriyasu of Sanuki is in dire straits, seemingly destined to be defeated by Kagawa Nobusumi this year.

Don't even think about getting support from the four countries; it's already cut off.

The Saiga party in Kishu still actively supported Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple. The Saiga members were using their familiarity with Osaka Bay and the Kuroshio Current to transport military supplies and weapons into the castle by small boats. However, this was a drop in the ocean; with tens of thousands of people inside, each small boat could only bring in ten or twenty koku of grain at a time.

To break this deadlock, we need the Mori family!

白流

"Alright, request reinforcements." Immediately, the monk Kōjō ordered Shimoma Nakataka to go to Yoshida-Kōriyama Castle in Aki Province to request reinforcements from Mōri Terumoto, asking the Mōri clan to quickly mobilize their navy and transport military provisions to Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple.

What were Mori Terumoto's thoughts in Aki? His uncle, Yoshikawa Motoharu, advised restraint, while Kobayakawa Takakage suggested sending troops, which was exactly the opposite of what happened in history.

The reason is not hard to guess. Yoshikawa Motoharu, who was in charge of the San'in region, could no longer attack Tajima due to the peace between Ge and Tajima, and thus lost his direction for expansion. On the other hand, Kobayakawa Takakage of the San'yō region, after entering Harima, found that there was a flood of surrenders, and a large number of local people had turned to the Mōri clan.

Furthermore, due to the complete decline of the Urakami family, the Tatsuno Akamatsu family, and the Akamatsu main family, a de facto power vacuum emerged in the Harima region.

Despite the Mori clan's size, excluding the Ukita Naoie family, the Omote-no-Taka family only possessed a little over 1.5 million koku. If they could seize the relatively unclaimed Harima province, Kobayakawa Takakage himself would not only reap huge profits, but his influence within the clan would also greatly increase. More importantly, the warlords of the Sanyo region were also eyeing Harima's 420,000 koku of unclaimed koku and all hoped to get a share.

Your perspective is determined by your position; that's generally how it is.

After listening to Shimoma Nakataka's request, Mori Terumoto listened to the analysis and debate of his senior retainers and the rest of his family. In the end, he decided that they still had to fight.

The Oda clan next door has grown so large that if they continue to expand, the Mori clan won't even have the resources to compete. Now, perhaps they can still unite with the Uesugi, Hojo, and Honganji clans to create an encirclement.

Moreover, this could alleviate family conflicts. Kobayakawa Takakage, wanting to get his good second brother involved, made a suggestion. Yoshikawa Motoharu had several sons, and his eldest son, Yoshikawa Motonaga, was, of course, the heir to the Yoshikawa family business.

The second son, Gento, has been confirmed to be adopted into the Jinbo clan, and will be known as Jinbo Gento (later Shigezawa Gento). The third son, Yoshikawa Tsuneyoshi (later Yoshikawa Hiroie), is slated to be adopted into the Iwamiyama Fukiogasawa clan, which has a stipend of 35,000 koku. This is the same family that Yamanaka Shikanosuke and Shichibei mentioned earlier, the Amago family that relied on developing the Iwami Silver Mine.

Kobayakawa Takakage, in order to motivate his older brother and change Yoshikawa Motoharu's mind, believed that Yoshikawa Tsuneyoshi could inherit the more noble Sōyō Akamatsu clan, and be revered as the Nishi-Harima-dono, possessing land of 120,000 koku.

So Yoshikawa Motoharu was finally persuaded, and that's how he ended up with the three men.

By throwing them out, we can also take the opportunity to remove two more troublemakers from the old retainers of the Amago clan in Izumo.

If there are benefits, then this battle can be fought. Moreover, Kobayakawa Takakage promised to lead the vanguard, with Yoshikawa Motoharu following behind, and the two would coordinate their attacks.

The Takehara Kobayakawa family's navy, together with Nomi's navy, Murakami's navy, and others, transported grain to Ishiyama Honganji Temple, which was already experiencing a food crisis.

Once the grain reaches Hongan-ji Temple, the fighting strength of the Ikko-ikki monks will be restored, tying down 30,000 to 50,000, or even more, Oda troops. This will reduce the number of troops Oda can commit to western Japan, allowing the Mori clan to unleash their entire force of 100,000, which will surely defeat Oda.

Furthermore, Kobayakawa Takakage, as the commander of the army in charge of the Sanyo Road, clearly perceived the Oda clan's intention to entice the Ukita family. Ukita Naoie was a smart man; he would only choose to follow the strong.

The Mori clan truly intended to use their most elite navy to break the Oda clan's siege of Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple. A resounding victory would demonstrate to Ukita Naoie that the Mori clan was capable and had a chance of winning. Jumping ship now would only make them cannon fodder for Oda Nobunaga, the first to be used as a shield against the Mori army's guns.

Upon learning that the Mori clan was willing to send troops, Shimoma Nakataka was overjoyed and rushed back to Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple to deliver the good news to Kennyo Shonin. He also relayed Mori Terumoto's request that the Mori army transport supplies to Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple, but Kennyo Shonin also needed to deploy troops at Kizu Fortress to see if they could take advantage of the victory to break through the Oda army's encirclement.

Chapter 390 Hearing that Murakami was stopping the boat

"Why are so many people missing?"

Shichibei returned to Sakai, and Zhang asked Takeno Munekazu. Takeno Munekazu reported an alarmingly low number of people. Almost no merchants from the western provinces had come; instead, merchants from Tsuchizaki Minato, Juzo Minato, and Sakata Minato in the northeast had braved the harsh winter snow of Oshu to reach Kyoto.

"I have some information, but it's not entirely accurate." Takeno Munekazu leaned close to Shichibei's ear. "What?"

"The Murakami navy is intercepting merchant ships that are turning back and requisitioning grain."

"Such a thing is true!" Upon hearing this, Shichibei's heart skipped a beat. Murakami's navy had been known for charging fees on the Seto Inland Sea for many years.

of.

There has almost never been any incident of intercepting ships or requisitioning supplies. After all, doing such a thing would truly ruin the maritime commercial reputation built up over hundreds of years.

Building a reputation is incredibly difficult, but once it's destroyed, even ten times the effort might not be enough to restore it.

"We only got the news in the last two days; we were completely clueless the first few days." Takeno Munekazu waved his hand. Although he wasn't cut out to be a businessman, he knew all the tricks of the trade from growing up in Leather House.

"Hmm..." Shichibei already had a bad feeling.

He sent Takeno Munekata away to attend to other matters, then summoned a member of the Flying Kick faction and immediately wrote an urgent letter, instructing the member to rush to Kyoto and present it to Oda Nobunaga.

On the other hand, Shichibei sent someone to invite Tsuda Munekichi, a local bigwig who probably knew more detailed information. Moreover, Tsuda Munekichi was also involved in overseas trade and had connections in Kyushu, so there was definitely something wrong with the Murakami Navy's affairs.

Tsuda Muneki quickly arrived at Shichibei's residence. He had actually wanted to come after hearing that Shichibei was coming to Sakai. He had planned to come secretly at night, but since Shichibei had summoned him during the day, he could come openly.

The two men's thoughts immediately aligned with those of Tsuda Muneki.

This was a signal that the Mori clan was preparing to requisition ships on a large scale to advance into the Kinai or Harima regions. In particular, in addition to requisitioning ships, the Mori clan also seized military supplies, including grain.

Since the autumn harvest last year, the annual tribute rice from the Kyushu region has been transported via shovels across the relatively calm Seto Inland Sea to the Kinai region, the center of the rice trade, in exchange for gold, silver, copper coins, and other goods. These ships sailed to Kinai in a continuous stream; if they didn't come for a day, it might be due to strong winds; if they didn't come for two days, it would raise suspicion; and if they didn't come for three days, something major must have happened.

It's been more than three days since I last came. Kyushu's total rice production is two to three million koku. Half of that rice stays locally, and the other half is transported to the Kinai region. How can there not be a lot of ships?

Tsuda Muneyuki was worried that the Mori clan might attack Sakai. Despite Sakai's large arquebusiers and thousands of cannons, they were no match for the Mori army of 100,000; it would be like throwing an egg against a rock. Sakai was known as the "Free Capital."

The city serves two purposes: firstly, it relies on powerful forces, and secondly, it can repel petty thieves and retreating soldiers.

If they really encounter a powerful opponent, Sakai is nothing. With its limited military strength, it can only manage a few dozen men against a local lord. But against a powerful overlord like the Mori or Oda clan, it's a complete joke.

However, Tsuda Muneyuki was clearly overthinking it. If the Mori clan were truly going to rebel, it would undoubtedly be for the purpose of seizing power. They wouldn't send a large army to plunder Sakai for short-term gains. Besides…

Red on the boat

Nobunaga's main force and several army commanders and castle lords were scattered throughout the Kinai region. Unless the Mori army could sweep through Sakai in a single day, they would face a strong counterattack from the Oda clan.

Logically, the Mori clan should have allied with the Honganji Temple and the Saiga clan to instigate trouble in the Kinai region, thus tying down some of Oda's forces. Simultaneously, they should have launched a fierce attack on Hideyoshi in Harima, defeating his army, causing Nobunaga to lose a key general, and extending the war into the Kinai region.

Go to Luo!

It's all for naught if you don't go to Luoyang. Only by occupying the capital, supporting a general, or establishing a new system of governance can you truly become a ruler of the land. Merely ruling as a local tyrant will only make you a feudal lord for life.

Boss Tsuda must have connections in the Seto Inland Sea. Quickly send people there to investigate and report back. Report back daily. Don't be afraid to spend money. Five or ten taels of gold a day is fine. Hire people to gather information in the Seto Inland Sea.

At this moment, news is more important than gold.

With this happening, business was definitely impossible, but Shichibei's business relied on Nobunaga's power. Therefore, maintaining power was more important than business.

Yes. Some people don't understand this.

The principle is this: even powerful forces are being drained dry by capital, and they'll continue to do so without hesitation. Shichibei understands this principle; that's why Nobunaga is good, and Kawamura-ya is good.

To Shichibei's surprise, Nobunaga arrived in Sakai on the very next day at noon with only two hundred retainers. He immediately summoned the wealthy merchants engaged in shipbuilding and yamen (traditional Japanese shops) and ordered them to report all the information they knew, without distinguishing between truth and falsehood.

Shichibei knelt to one side, still feeling a chill even though he had heard it yesterday. No merchant ships or return ships from the Seto Inland Sea had entered the port today, and not a single grain of rice from Kyushu or the western provinces had been delivered to Sakai.

After everyone finished reporting, Nobunaga waved for them to leave, then turned to Shichibei and asked what he thought. What else could he think? He was sure the Mori army was going to launch a large-scale landing in Harima or Kinai.

Or perhaps they want to support Honganji Temple and fight a major battle outside the temple. Although Shichibei isn't much of a fighter, he does have some foresight.

"Have you sent anyone to the west?" Nobunaga wasn't quite sure where the Mori clan's main attack was, since the Mori clan possessed the most powerful navy in all of Japan at that time.

Given Japan's geographical environment, a navy can, when necessary, [use its forces].

This allowed them to play a significant role. Especially on the battlefields between the Mori and Oda clans, the Mori clan possessed a tremendous advantage in mobility.

"We have already recruited men at great expense to go to the three islands." The men were sent out yesterday, at a price of five taels of gold a day—that's the price of buying lives and heads.

If you come back alive, you'll have everything you could want; if you die in the Seto Inland Sea, everything will be wiped clean.

"Send more men, and also send men to Bizen and Aki!" Nobunaga tapped his folding fan against his thighs as he sat cross-legged, making a loud noise.

"Understood." This is a major matter, a matter of utmost importance, Shichibei will definitely send someone.

Nobunaga nodded and ordered his men to summon Kuki Yoshitaka of the Shima navy, Atate Nobuyasu of the Awaji navy, and Saji Kazunari of the Chita navy. He also sent men to Awa Katsuzui Castle to urge Nobutaka to inquire about the reconstruction progress of the Awa navy, specifically how many ships and men had been mobilized.

Now that we need it, can we use it? Is it a shortage of ships or a shortage of men? If there is a shortage, immediately explain to Oda Nobunaga, and Nobunaga will help in any way he can. Didn't he sell 40,000 worth of junk from the treasury the other day? Nobunaga has a small amount of pocket money.

Kuki Yoshitaka, Ataka Nobuyasu, and Saji Kazunari arrived quickly, but Miyoshi Nobutaka did not come because he was mobilizing and organizing troops with Kagawa Nobusumi to attack Sogawa Masayasu. With a major battle imminent, he indeed had no way to come.

Miyoshi Nobutaka didn't pretend to accept the Awa navy that Nobunaga had requested; many of them had starved or died of disease towards the end of the siege of Katsuzuri. The ships, on the other hand, were a good thing.

There is indeed a shortage of personnel. The main problem is the lack of experienced captains and commanders, many of whom were killed by Miyoshi Nagaharu along with Shinohara Nagafusa.

Many of the remaining survivors died in Shengrui City, leaving only a handful. If they were to force the ship out, it would be instantly destroyed and everyone on board would perish in the infamous Naruto Whirlpool in the Naruto Strait.

Therefore, we can forget about the Awa Navy for the time being, and Nobutaka really can't send anyone to support Sakai Town.

If Nobutaka had been lazy, Nobunaga would have scolded him, but Nobutaka was currently attacking Sanuki with Kagawa Nobusumi. So what could be said? Nobunaga sent 3,000 kan to Nobutaka and 2,000 kan to Nobusumi, encouraging the two juniors to keep up the good work.

The only three capable of confronting the Mori navy at present are the aforementioned three. Ataka Nobuyasu was previously in charge of the Oda clan's campaign in Shikoku.

The ships, exhausted from their maritime mission, are currently undergoing repairs in Awaji. Kuki Yoshitaka is in charge of the naval encirclement of Ishiyama Honganji Temple. Although they can take turns resting in Sakai, they can only maintain a fleet of no more than two hundred large and small warships in Osaka Bay between shifts.

As for Saji Kazunari, he only has about a hundred ships, and they are all in Ise Bay. It depends on whether Nobunaga wants to transfer them. If he does, Saji Kazunari will return to the Chita Peninsula to retrieve the ships.

What should we do?

"How many ships does the Mori have?" Nobunaga had always fought on land, so he really didn't know much about naval warfare, or rather, he knew absolutely nothing about it.

He had wins and losses in land battles, but regardless, he had his own set of operating logic, which worked well in the current Sengoku period of Japan. But as for naval battles, we can only ask Kuki Yoshitaka and his ilk.

"There's no need to worry about two or three thousand." Kuki Yoshitaka was even being conservative in his statement.

In Mishima Village alone, each household had its own formidable army, with hundreds of ships. Even the most basic shoal was still a ship. The rockets and tinder launched from the shoal could still cause damage.

One Mifune

Including the Mori clan's own navy, saying it numbered three thousand would be an understatement. However, the Mori clan had to protect a vast area; in Kyushu, they needed to compete with the Otomo clan, and in the Sea of ​​Japan, they needed to maintain communication with the San'in region. They also needed to retain ships in the Seto Inland Sea.