Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

After inspecting the warehouses within the Ōmland and receiving hospitality from the assembled followers, Nobunaga summoned Tahara Chikamori. Clearly, Tahara Chikamori's demands were too high, and the two sides could not reach an agreement.

The Oda clan's bottom line was Bungo Province, or at most Buzen County. Why? Bungo was a significant concession; if they didn't receive it, the Otomo clan would rather resist to the end. The reason for Buzen County was simple: amidst the collapse and instability of the surrounding region, the powerful Sada clan of Usa County, the southernmost part of Buzen, remained fiercely loyal to the Otomo clan.

Sada Takayuki and Sada Shigetsuna, father and son, as collateral relatives of the Shiroi Utsunomiya family, did not waver with the Shiroi family, but stood firmly on the side of the Otomo family.

Such a person, whose strength is revealed in adversity and whose loyalty is shown in times of turmoil, would be highly regarded even by Oda Nobunaga, who would be willing to reward his abilities.

Tahara Chikamori would definitely disagree. His family still had a third of Chikuzen Province. Even if they wanted to settle the three districts of Akizuki, what was wrong with settling the rest of Chikuzen Province with the Otomo?

You mean Hideyoshi's post as governor of Chikuzen? How about changing it to governor of Hizen? Hizen's rank is over 200,000 koku, and with the addition of the area beyond Chikuzen, 300,000 to 400,000 wouldn't be difficult.

There's no way Hideyoshi can be placed there.

It can only be said that Tahara Chikamori's love for Ōtomo runs deep. Although he was adopted into the Tahara clan of the Ōtomo family, he was still the third son of Ōtomo Sōrin. So he argued that his father, Ōtomo Sōrin, also needed to support him in his old age.

When Ōtomo Yoshitomo acquired Bungo Province, did Ōtomo Sōrin get nothing? In Japan's Sengoku period, this was absolutely a path to chaos.

Because Ōtomo Sōrin was the legitimate former head of the Ōtomo clan, he had a large following. These close associates, attendants, and retainers were loyal only to Ōtomo Sōrin. As long as Ōtomo Sōrin lived, it would be difficult for them to easily turn against him.

This transfer of power, including various forms of recognition, loyalty, marriage alliances, and even diplomacy with the imperial court and feudal lords within the capital region, all required these former lords' close associates to gradually share with the new lord's close associates.

Why don't you just take over the old ones?

Let alone Japan, which country in the world doesn't have a new emperor and a new court?

Even if it's your father's closest confidant, you wouldn't find it easy to use them. There are far too many examples to list them all, like the Boss Zong's good daughter's "bloodbath" of the old ministers, right? Her father's body was barely cold before she took action.

During the subsequent Edo period, there was a period of early handover between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Tokugawa Hidetada, and between Tokugawa Hidetada and Tokugawa Iemitsu, with the Ōgosho (Imperial Palace) being moved to Suruga. The elders of the previous generation often moved with the Ōgosho, and once the Ōgosho died, a purge was inevitable.

Honda Masazumi and Aoyama Tadatoshi are prime examples; ministers valued by their fathers were ruthlessly dealt with by their sons, stripped of their titles and honors.

To prevent large-scale unrest, at least 40,000 to 50,000 koku of land should be provided for Ōtomo Sōrin's retirement, allowing him to settle down his old retainers. He should then be left to die naturally, ideally with Sōrin and all his veteran retainers, after which the territory should be returned to the Ōtomo family as a future retirement home for Ōtomo Yoshitō.

The words were true, but they didn't sound good to Oda Nobunaga because he needed the distribution of resources in Kyushu to support the new mid-level forces of the Owari samurai.

The dozens of minor daimyo with 10,000 to 20,000 koku of land previously scattered throughout the Kinai region were all sent to western provinces and Kyushu to become the foundation for the Oda clan's rule over these remote areas. The Kinai region was to be transformed into the Oda clan's domain, and 2 million koku was clearly still a bit too little for a nationwide regime.

Ideally, it should reach three million koku. Currently, Japan's total is roughly between 1200 and 1600 million koku. The Oda clan's main family possessed three million koku, which is about right.

It's between one-quarter and one-fifth. Adding the clan and hereditary retainers, the territory would exceed half.

After more than half of them have passed, the world will naturally be at peace.

Therefore, it is necessary to seize the lands of various states, re-enfeoff these minor daimyo in the Kinai region, and support every village chief and every foot soldier guild leader in Owari, making them all minor lords with a 10,000 koku of rice, to guard the four directions for Oda's great prime minister.

Under such circumstances, how could Oda and Ōtomo possibly reach an agreement? They simply couldn't. Ōtomo's demands were too high, and Oda had already made concessions to two local strongmen, leaving him no room for further inflated prices.

Given the current situation, we must kill either Shimazu or Ryuzoji and seize their territory before we can install Oda's new people.

Ultimately, the negotiations between Oda Nobunaga and Tahara Chikamori fell through. However, Akizuki Tanezane's envoy, Eri Naozuke, rushed to Chikuzen Kokiyama Castle with a relatively satisfactory contract.

The standoff between Shimazu and Ryuzoji has been going on for some time, and who knows how the battlefield has developed? It is precisely the time for Akizuki Tanemi to step in and mediate a reconciliation.

"Long time no see." Hideyoshi looked at Shichibei who had hurriedly arrived, and seemed quite pleased.

"What good news do you have?" Shichibei looked at Hideyoshi's expression, which looked like he had just eaten bee droppings, and knew that the kid must have gotten into some good luck.

“Hachiro’s mother is pregnant.” Then Hideyoshi gave a slightly awkward answer.

"ha?"

To summarize, Ukita Hachiro's mother, Ōkata-dono, was the widow of Ukita Naoie and now Hideyoshi's semi-public concubine. She became pregnant by Hideyoshi, though historically there seems to be no record of any children between them.

"Haha, didn't expect that, did you?" Hideyoshi was really proud. He was actually quite capable, but his success rate and survival rate were low.

By now, a son and a daughter should have died young, both born to a concubine. You ask why not to Nene? Because Nene is a hostage at Azuchi Castle. Shichibei's principal wife, the young admiral, is also a hostage in Azuchi; there's nothing that can be done about it.

"Fujikichiro, there are some things you need to be more serious about. Even if he's a boy, he can only serve as a retainer of His Highness." Shichibei, seeing Hideyoshi's bee-poop-eating look, thought for a moment and still brought it up.

"Of course!" Hideyoshi's reaction did not surprise Shichibei.

material.

As long as Nobunaga was alive, Nobunaga was Hideyoshi's "god." Hideyoshi harbored no resentment towards the adopted son Nobunaga sent to the Hashiba family. Furthermore, Hashiba Hidekatsu married Hideyoshi and Nene's legitimate daughter, and their children were still of Hideyoshi's blood.

"You must keep your posture upright." Seeing Hideyoshi's attitude, Shichibei had nothing more to say.

"Are you...?" Even though he had some ulterior motives, Hideyoshi's admiration for Nobunaga was absolutely genuine. He was intelligent enough to understand this matter, but he also thought about it quite a bit.

"Hmph." Shichibei was fine.

The main reason was that Nobunaga's way of dragging him along before he came was rather perplexing. Judging from Nobunaga's appearance, although he was physically weak, he wasn't on his deathbed yet. The plan to defeat the Mori this year and pacify Kyushu next year was already underway.

"Something must have happened!" Hideyoshi persisted. He was currently in an outer domain and could not serve Nobunaga often, so he was actually quite anxious.

Especially in Japan's current chaotic era, where the relationship between ruler and subject is even more crucial to maintain, it's not just the monarch who needs to uphold the loyalty of his subjects.

A subject also needs to maintain the monarch's trust.

"When you went to Kyoto last time, did the lord make you swear an oath of eternal loyalty?" With no one around, Shichibei finally asked.

After all, the two families are related by marriage and have been friends since Owari. Now that they are both going to be exiled to the western provinces of Kyushu, there is nothing wrong with speaking freely.

This can also be seen as a manifestation of the unrest within the Oda clan after the rebellion of Akechi Mitsuhide and Asai Nagamasa.

"This..." Hideyoshi paused, momentarily speechless.

Judging from his appearance, it's clear that Nobunaga must have discussed this matter with him to some extent; in fact, this kind of thing isn't unusual. In his later years, Hideyoshi made the feudal lords swear blood oaths twice, promising to be loyal to Hideyori for life.

They even required Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiie, and others to lead the oath, cutting their thumbs with a knife and pressing their blood as their fingerprints.

To be honest, even if you send out a thousand or ten thousand of these messages, it's not as good as Hideyoshi living one more day. If Hideyoshi were alive, even if he had dementia and drooled when he laughed, everyone's loyalty wouldn't easily waver.

Because Hideyoshi really killed people, and you don't know if Hideyoshi is truly senile or just pretending.

The current situation does indeed suggest that the ruler is getting old.

The followers began to show less unwavering loyalty. They knew the ruler's future was short, and his remaining glory and wealth were also dwindling. Although he still held considerable power, that power was, in reality, shaky.

The most typical example is the Northern and Southern Examination Case in the 31st year of Hongwu's reign, which was because some people saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was getting old and wanted to test whether his power was still secure and whether his authority was still strong.

We don't have any scapegoats to launch a counterattack and test whether Oda Nobunaga's power is still secure. We can only guess and make judgments in private.

"Hey, let's take care of the matter at hand first." Shichibei patted Hashiba on the shoulder.

Hey, that's good. It's difficult for Shichibei to pat Nobunaga on the shoulder, but when he stands next to Hideyoshi, he's even a bit taller than Hideyoshi.

"Hey, brother, you should have let us know before you came!" Hideyoshi rushed in excitedly, but stopped when he saw Shichibei and Hideyoshi encouraging each other.

"It's time to go into battle, isn't it?" Shichibei smiled at Hideaki.

“You guys? This…” Hideyoshi pointed at Hideyoshi, then looked at Shichibei.

"It's nothing, we were just joking around."

Playing? What kind of playing? They've even silenced Hideyoshi. Looking at Hideyoshi, he's practically questioning his existence. This truly is a case of "Garen utters a whisper, silence breaks down defenses."

"Have you received the lord's new military order? You are to assist Lieutenant General Ōkōchi in battle." I never imagined that we would end up supporting Oda Nobuo in this lifetime. It seems we're getting worse and worse.

"It has already been communicated to all the armies and all forces."

"That's good. Is Suiida Shōsuke Shirō here?" Well, Shichibei really needs to get down to business.

Before the Oda clan faced any trouble, Hoida Motochika had already surrendered to them with Sarugake Castle, offering 35,000 koku of rice per district on the condition that he be surrendered. At the time, Shichibei and Hideyoshi were quite surprised that he had actually surrendered. Just in case, they immediately dispatched Amago Saekawa's army to take over Sarugake Castle.

Now look what's happened! They've suddenly gained a traitor—Mori Motonari's own son. What's the point of fighting now? They can just surrender easily along the way. Even Hoida Motochika has surrendered; what's wrong with surrendering the others? Even Mori Terumoto and his two nephews were already slated to surrender.

Hurry up and invite him here. Shichibei still needs him to persuade the surrender of Shera-no-ura, an important port, so that the Shikoku troops can land.

However, judging from Nobunaga's words, he might have to remove Kagawa Nobusumi from Shikoku.

It's been pulled out. This kid currently commands 300,000 koku of land in Northern Iyo and Western Sanki. If he's transferred to Kyushu, he'll probably get at least 350,000 or 400,000 koku.

As it turned out, Hideyoshi said that Hoidamoto's relatives were not around, and that his sons Miyazurumaru and Miyamatsumaru (Mouri Hideyoshi), as well as his eldest daughter, were being held hostage in Himeji.

In truth, Shichibei and Hideyoshi should have noticed some flaws earlier. Hoida Motochika brought his elderly mother, Nomi Daifusa, along with his son and daughter, while leaving his wife, Mikawa Oo (Matsukei Myoju), and his younger brother, Saikikumaru (Kobayakawa Hidekazu), in Aki's territory, Sakurao Castle.

It's quite surprising that Mori Terumoto would agree to such a solution.

Normally, the eldest son is the most important hostage held in the mansion. Shichibei's eldest son was kept in Azuchi, and similarly, the underage eldest sons of Niwa Nagahide, Maeda Toshiie, and others were kept at Azuchi Castle. Only eldest sons who had come of age and had to go out with their fathers to fight and prepare to inherit the army and the territory were released.

However, the hostages—the mother, the legal wife, and the eldest son of a high-ranking official—were most likely unable to escape. Two of the other sons and daughters would also have to be kept in the household.

There were flaws from the beginning, but Hideyoshi and Shichibei didn't realize them immediately.

It's obvious. They only thought that Hoida Motochika would surrender the castle and live peacefully, offering up hostages; this seems rather suspicious.

But speaking of which, Hoida Motochika was more anxious than anyone else. Why hadn't they attacked the Mori clan yet? Please, come and attack the Mori clan quickly! Take over Koriyama Castle and capture Lord Oe alive!

Because some of the Mori retainers were unaware that their superiors had betrayed them to Oda, everyone condemned and was dissatisfied with Hoida Motochika's "betrayal."

Everyone was saying that they should kill Hoida Motochika's wife and younger brother, who were left behind in Sakurao Castle, to boost morale and prepare for the subsequent resistance against the Oda clan's invasion.

Haha, little did the lower-ranking samurai know, their lord had already surrendered.

Hoida Motochika only surrendered because he was supposed to lead Oda Nobutada's way, and in return, he received 30,000 koku of grain in Bitchu and the safety of his family.

Otherwise, how long could his pathetic Sarukake Castle possibly hold out against Hideyoshi? In Hideyoshi's original world, he was an unparalleled siege master, capable of "attacking Sanki with earth, attacking Takamatsu with water, starving Tottori without losing a single soldier."

There was no castle that Hideyoshi could not conquer. Miki Castle.

The city, known as impregnable, was still destroyed. Bessho Yoshichika died a gruesome death.

At Hideyoshi's call, Hoida Motochika practically flew from Bitchu Sarugake Castle to Harima Himeji Castle.

The central idea can be summed up in one sentence: When are you coming to do my good nephew's dirty work?

In addition, Hoida Motokiyo brought another piece of news: Oda Nobunaga's exile to Yoshida-Koriyama Castle in Aki Province has fallen ill, and it is said that he is very ill. What do you think?

Clearly, Sarugake Castle and Yoshida-Koriyama Castle are still connected to some extent. There's no need to ask to what extent they are connected, since Mori Terumoto and his uncles have already decided to surrender.

Previously unaware, Shichibei now knows that Hayashi Hideyoshi is actually a hostage planted by Oda Nobutada within the Mori clan for negotiations, and he takes this matter very seriously. He immediately dispatches someone to Kyoto to inform Oda Nobunaga.

The Mori clan certainly hoped to have another hostage of sufficient importance enter Koriyama Castle to ensure that Oda Nobuo, who came to attack the castle, was only there to reap the rewards, and not to actually attack the castle.

After waiting for seven days, Shichibei witnessed something incredible.

The visitor was Nobutaka Hatakeyama.

No, what are you doing in this godforsaken place, buddy? Are you really planning to use your status as the head of the Hatakeyama Kingo family to try and make a fortune in Yoshida-Koriyama Castle in Aki Province?

"Why are you here?" Shichibei is practically a stepfather to Hatakeyama Nobuhiro, and his mother is currently pregnant with Shichibei's child.

"Entrusted by Lieutenant General Ōkōchi, I will go to Yoshida-Koriyama Castle to persuade them." Hatakeyama Nobutaka was very excited, feeling that he had stood up and shouldered a heavy responsibility.

It's perfectly acceptable to say this openly: to conduct strategic maneuvering before a battle, to subdue the enemy without fighting, is the highest form of strategy. Both sides can fight and negotiate; unless they are mortal enemies, they generally negotiate while fighting.

"What did Vice Admiral Ōkōchi say?" Not only was Shichibei surprised, but Hideyoshi was also surprised.