Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

In order to preserve his family's ancestral tablets, Nobunaga requested two things from the imperial court, and received clear answers in a short time. Nobunaga himself was promoted to Minister of the Right, and the request to go before the emperor's horse was fully approved, allowing the emperor to leave the palace to "inspect" the Oda clan's cavalry.

In any case, the imperial court has granted Nobunaga all the requests that could be made. If the Seiryoden Palace in Azuchi Castle is completed, then even the exact date of the Emperor's visit to Azuchi Castle will probably have to be decided.

Perhaps Nobunaga had long intended to use the hundreds of ancestral tablets belonging to the Imperial Family to threaten those stubborn old fogies in the Imperial Court. However, the massacre of over a thousand people, solely to force the Imperial Court to submit, was truly against the natural order.

In addition, Konoe Sakihisa made a request to Nobunaga to release the "students" who were from the imperial court and were undergoing training at Kongōmine-ji Temple.

War is war, killing a couple of common samurai is one thing, but the Shingon sect students from noble families are still of high status. I hope Nobunaga will show mercy and make them withdraw.

Very well, since Konoe Sakihisa personally came to plead for him, Nobunaga will certainly give him a friendly welcome. Besides, the Imperial Court has agreed to all of Nobunaga's requests, so releasing him is fine.

The noble-born students of the Shingon sect were led away from the mountains and fled. Their courage, which had been bolstered by the massacre of Kono Sei, vanished instantly.

Peace talks!

Konohaku Monastery requested Konoe Sakihisa to mediate and ensure a peace agreement with Oda Nobunaga, agreeing to reduce the monastery's territory.

"My lord, the Regent's actions are so ruthless; I fear there may be trouble to come." (Night)

In the stillness of the night, Tōdō Takatora sat on one side of Shichibei, while Takenaka Hanbei sat on the other.

"It's more than just a disaster!" Since there was no one around, Takenaka Hanbei stopped pretending.

The old retainers from Owari and the retainers who had been brought in by Takanori Sadenori were not present at the moment, so we could talk about some very disrespectful topics.

"What do you think?" Shichibei knew, of course, that Nobunaga's actions were wrong, but he had no idea when things would escalate.

The situation had changed so drastically that it was no longer relevant. The Mori clan was on the verge of collapse, the Takeda clan had long been destroyed, and Ishiyama Honganji had not only surrendered but also lost a member of the Kyoryu clan. Despite this situation, the Kinai region still possessed a large number of military units, and when Nobunaga sounded his whistle, they would all come to reinforce him.

How could it happen?

"With 20,000 men in the Regent's Palace, even if there are any troubles, they will never succeed," said Tōdō Takatora with great certainty.

Nobunaga now has 20,000 men by his side. As long as he doesn't assign more men to his sons or nephews for some reason, they will basically stay by his side at all times.

Unless Nobunaga himself was reckless, bringing his hundreds of page servants...

Running around aimlessly.

Even the most capable commanders of Oda's army could only mobilize 20,000 to 30,000 men, and that number had to be factored in with the troops they relied on. These troops were all appointed by Nobunaga, and it was impossible to know whether they were truly loyal.

A single legion commander's rebellion would have absolutely no impact on Nobunaga. Even in a surprise attack, with 20,000 men attacking 20,000 men, as long as Nobunaga wasn't killed on the day of the attack, Takayama Shigetomo from Settsu would arrive with reinforcements the next day.

On the third day, Ikeda Tsuneoki and his son from Osaka, along with Shichibei from Kishiwada, arrived. The three groups combined numbered about 30,000, which a single legion commander simply could not withstand.

"With people's hearts in turmoil, there may be more than one source of trouble, right?" Takenaka Hanbei said in a low voice.

"Hiss..." Shichibei and Todo Takatora both gasped at the same time.

If two or three army commanders were to rebel simultaneously, amassing over 50,000 troops, and quickly defeat Oda Nobunaga and his direct army, then if they could subsequently defeat Oda Nobutada, the remaining army commanders would inevitably become complacent and unwilling to fight with their full strength.

At that time, things really are hard to predict.

“No! Even if there are two or three calamities, which is greater or lesser? Which comes first or last?” Tōdō Takatora put forward a counterargument.

479. A slap and a sweet date

Yup!

That's true. Shichibei only dared to say anything treasonous to his close retainers. He didn't even dare to bring retainers from Riki and Owari, but only met secretly with his close retainers who had been fighting alongside him for over ten years.

If you were Akechi Mitsuhide or Hashiba Hideyoshi, would you openly plot against each other? Especially openly plotting against another legion commander?

Even if everyone harbors rebellious thoughts, as long as you openly express them, the legion commander on the other side, upon hearing this news, will undoubtedly betray you without hesitation to claim credit and reward you.

If it were Shichibei, he would definitely report it immediately.

Nobunaga's eyes widened; this was real killing. Outside the main gate of Nanyue, over 1,300 corpses lay scattered about, not to be collected, but simply left there—this was the intimidating effect Nobunaga wanted.

To force Mount Koya to submit, so many people were killed so easily. And what about to quell rebellions and discontent? The number would be unimaginably large.

"Given the current situation, as long as the Regent's Palace remains in power, a riot is unlikely." Tōdō Takatora was optimistic about the situation, believing the matter was settled.

It can all be taken lightly.

A delicate balance was reached in politics; even though everyone wanted to kill Oda Nobunaga, no one on their own was strong enough to do so.

It's even more impossible to connect them.

This was practically a perfect situation, and one of the reasons why Nobunaga dared to act so perversely. He was certain that, apart from Oda Nobutada, no one else could possibly rebel against him alone.

"Thinking about it carefully, it's true." Takenaka Hanbei rubbed his hands together, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

"I have a feeling it won't be that easy." Shichibei wasn't as optimistic as the others.

Historically, Akechi Mitsuhide's actions were more likely driven by a sense of passion. He failed to persuade even his two most important allies, Hosokawa Fujitaka and Tsutsui Junkei, beforehand. Hosokawa Fujitaka and Hosokawa Tadaoki directly defected, while Tsutsui Junkei wavered, choosing not to support Mitsuhide before the Battle of Yamazaki.

You can't expect a person to be rational forever.

How brilliant and capable was Oda Nobunaga back then? And now? Now it's not just a matter of arrogance; it's truly a matter of going against the tide. People are still...

It's that person, but their mindset is different now.

What if an Oda clan commander, in a moment of impulsiveness, decided to kill Nobunaga first, believing that once Nobunaga was dead, everything would be fine and the entire Oda regime could be easily overthrown?

Even Shichibei's retainers could see that the Oda clan was showing signs of disloyalty. Couldn't others see it?

After killing Oda Nobunaga, supporting Ashikaga Yoshihide or Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who were idle in Kyoto, would have provided the simplest and most justifiable reason for their rule. Wouldn't the various legion commanders then begin to observe, hesitate, and prioritize their own safety?

It's true that it's hard to say what will happen if you always look at things in an idealized way. Besides, most of the army commanders have clear strategies: Oda Nobuhiro is facing off against Uesugi Kagetora, Takigawa Kazumasu is facing off against Hojo Takahiro, and Takeda Nobufusa is preparing to attack Odawara. Hideyoshi is even better off, as he's currently keeping an eye on Takamatsu Castle and the 50,000 Mori reinforcements.

But while he was keeping an eye on the Mori, wasn't the Mori army also holding Hideyoshi captive? Hideyoshi had no chance of retreating now. If he ran away, Yoshikawa Motoharu and Kobayakawa Takakage would still be alive.

“Hmm…” Shichibei described the purely idealistic development, and both Todo Takatora and Takenaka Hanbei fell silent.

To say it's completely impossible isn't entirely true. But to say it's possible seems very unlikely. Right now, it's like the blind men and the elephant—we have no idea what the whole picture is.

"Excuse me!" The three were in silence when Sanegori Morinao's voice suddenly came from outside, startling them.

Shichibei quickly signaled to the two men with his eyes not to be afraid. This was the eldest son of Ii-sama's family, whom I had slept with. He was practically my eldest son. We were family, so it was nothing to worry about.

"What is it?" Shichibei replied calmly.

"Kongomine-ji Temple has opened its gates." Saegusa Morinao brought the news that Mount Koya had yielded.

"Come in and speak."

After Konoe Sakihisa took the noble students away, Koya Sanai was both shocked and frightened. Faced with the corpses scattered outside the Nanyue Gate, he finally chose to surrender with Konoe Sakihisa's mediation.

Nobunaga got what he wanted from the imperial court and also gave a good scolding to Kongō-ji, the head temple of the Shingon sect, which greatly boosted his prestige.

The temple's revenue of 170,000 shi has been reduced to 21,000 shi!

They carved out a new territory of nearly 150,000 koku, and it should be noted that Inaba and Bi...

These poor provinces in the middle of the country didn't even have 150,000 koku. Neighboring Sanuki was the same, with a total of no more than 100,000 koku. In the Edo period, Awa Province had an official value of only 200,000 koku, but an actual value of 306,000 koku.

No matter how you look at it, we produced 150,000 shi of grain with very little fighting, so the advantage is on our side.

"The Regent's Palace is indeed formidable." Todo Takatora exclaimed sincerely, "Isn't this yet another force that has been intimidated by Nobunaga?"

The Kongōhō-ji Temple on Mount Kōya, which boasted 30,000 cavalrymen and monks defending the castle, couldn't even hold out for half a month under Nobunaga's intimidation. Despite suffering minimal losses as its main force of 30,000 men, it could have easily relied on its advantageous terrain to continue its struggle against Oda's army.

However, considering that Nobunaga did indeed kill people and bring down two major sects, the facts were laid bare before everyone's eyes. This was the power of accumulated prestige. The moment Nobunaga's face appeared, whether it was Dainichi Nyorai or Bishamonten, they would all have to kowtow and pay their respects to him.

Not kowtowing?

Aren't there 1,383 Takano Sei lying outside the Nanyue Gate?

Clearly, Kongo Mineji Temple couldn't summon countless gods and Buddhas to kill Nobunaga, so it had almost no other choice but to submit to Nobunaga.

"His reputation is more than just formidable; he's practically a god on earth!" Takenaka Hanbei exclaimed, marveling at how Nobunaga's power had become so great that he could kill anyone who stood in his way.

"Alright, congratulations on your victory, my lord." That's enough, saying any more would be a sin.

Shichibei immediately rushed over to congratulate Oda Nobunaga on another resounding victory against religious forces. Except for Negoro-ji, which quickly knelt and escaped Nobunaga's brutal beating, Kongo-mine-ji was now also under Nobunaga's iron fist, witnessing firsthand what it meant for religion to be subservient to the king.

This little Japan doesn't allow the existence of such an awesome religious group that exempts people from all taxes and duties.

Oda Nobunaga said it!

Arriving at Nobunaga's main camp in Hanasaka, he saw tens of thousands of monks, mountain bandits, Koya samurai, travelers, and local lords. They were handing over all their weapons and armor, and he himself was paying a body tax according to different ranks. Only after being stripped naked were they allowed to leave Mount Koya.

"Oh, you've come at the right time." Nobunaga looked down from his horse at Takano, who was dejected and worse than a dog, and who had dared to attack and kill Oda clan constables last month.

The people in the mountain had very "warm" smiles.

"My lord's military fortune is long-lasting." Shichibei, of course, knew what he was about to do.

The money received went directly into Oda Nobunaga's treasury; it had nothing to do with Shichibei unless Nobunaga voluntarily handed it over. However, the large quantity of weapons acquired would be dealt with separately.

After a simple classification, the best batch will be taken by Nobunaga's pagemen, retainers, and servants to upgrade their equipment. The better batch will be stored, depending on the number Nobunaga wants to recruit or reserve.

The rest were all sold in one go to Shichibei. Shichibei then repainted them and resold them to Nobunaga and other legion commanders.

It was all a well-established process, and Nobunaga was quite hands-off about it. Basically, whatever price Shichibei quoted, he would accept it; as long as the cash was quickly converted into cash and presented to him, that was all that mattered.

Bringing troops from Azuchi and Kyoto to Mount Koya in Kii Province is incredibly expensive, costing thousands of taels of gold per day. In addition to the 150,000 koku of land, cash is also a significant expense.

Kongō-ō-ji Temple also had to pay 10,000 kan of arrow money as a gift for surrendering to Oda Nobunaga's new regime. This was after Nobunaga's successful march on Kyoto, when Ishiyama-moto...

The temple also donated 5,000 strings of cash. This was all expected and in accordance with the general social norms of the time.

"Do you want these 150,000 koku?" Shichibei was about to turn around and call the Kawamura-ya shopkeeper who had come with the army when Nobunaga suddenly asked this question, which made Shichibei shudder.

"I cannot accept rewards without merit, I would never dare to do so." Apart from arresting people, Shichibei did almost nothing in this battle.

Serving Nobunaga in logistics was a feudal military obligation, not a major military achievement. If Ishida Mitsunari had achieved sufficient military merit, he would have earned 200,000 to 300,000 koku long ago, instead of sharing the same salary as Shima Sakon. Serving Hideyoshi in logistics only earned him a meager stipend for his hard work, maybe 20,000 koku this year and 30,000 next year.

"Hmph, what's there to be afraid of?" Nobunaga chuckled and said no more.

"After all, we haven't accomplished anything yet." Shichibei simply lowered his head and didn't dare to say anything more.

Nobunaga then summoned Oda Nobuharu, who was to serve as the vanguard. Nobuharu was granted an additional 50,000 koku, becoming the lord of Wakayama Castle in Kii Province with a 100,000 koku. Of the remaining 100,000 koku, 50,000 koku were used to exchange for Toyama Jiroshiro's 50,000 koku in Izumi. Thus, the Toyama family, the so-called governor of Kii Province, was granted 65,000 koku of Iwamuro Castle in Kii Province.

Because Jiroshiro Toyama had not yet come of age, he was still under the temporary jurisdiction of Shichibei. Shichibei was granted an additional 50,000 koku of rice in Izumi Province as a reward for his service in the campaigns over the years.

The remaining 50,000 koku of Ki Province was divided into three parts, with Nobunaga using the remaining 200 to install the heads of several trusted foot soldiers. These men had served him for years, so they deserved a daimyo title of 13,000 koku.

The massacre at Mount Koya seemed to have greatly pleased Nobunaga. Many things that he had previously been unable to persuade him to do were now being carried out immediately because of his good mood.

First was Sakuma Nobueshige, who was pardoned and given a fief of 5,000 koku to serve as a retainer under Oda Nobutada. Although this was nothing compared to his former high fief of 1.2 million koku, at least he was reinstated and no longer had to be seen as a disgraced official.

Secondly, Tsutsui Junkei of Yamato was assigned to Akechi Mitsuhide as his assistant. In addition, all the soldiers of the northern half of Yamashiro Province were also assigned to Mitsuhide.

If we calculate based on the 720,000 koku of the Negoroji Temple and the entire Nippon-ji Temple, then Mitsuhide himself, along with his forces, would have possessed a total of 2 million koku. Even if we only consider 100,000 to 200,000 koku, Mitsuhide's Tanba Temple, at 350,000 koku, would still have a formidable strength exceeding 1.4 million koku.

Finally, there's the issue of Echizen Asai Nagamasa. The three members of the Fuchu clan were all allocated 200,000 koku of Kaga, leaving 100,000 koku for Echizen Fuchu, right? Ichibo was given to Niwa Nagahide, while the current three members of the Kaga clan, Noto Tomiyama Yoshiharu, and others, totaling over 400,000 koku, were explicitly allocated to Asai Nagamasa.