Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

The three of them get along quite well; they're long past the age of jealousy and rivalry. Besides, Shichibei didn't even approach them first. These were all sent by Nobunaga, and who would dare defy Nobunaga's authority? They'd be courting death.

Because Kumamoto Castle was still undergoing large-scale reconstruction, everyone had to live outside the castle. Fortunately, longhouses, which were simple structures that could be built in ten days or so and could house five to eight families, were already being constructed in large numbers. Even if all of Shichibei's family members in the Kinai region came, everyone would have a place to live.

The residences of several senior retainers with a rank of 10,000 koku or more, and high-ranking officers with a rank of 1,000 koku or more, are either nearly completed or still under construction. This is the second time that Tōdō Takatora has renovated the castle, and having learned from his previous experience, he is now building with greater order and skill.

"Will Nobuyoshi become the lord of Kumamoto Castle from now on?" The young general was getting on in years, and he looked tired after traveling a long distance.

The so-called Nobuyoshi is naturally Kawamura Nobuyoshi. While the name hasn't been officially announced, it's confirmed. "Nobu" is the same as Oda Nobukatsu's, and "Yoshi" is a common name in the Kawamura family. He will immediately come of age and marry Nobunaga's adopted daughter, Nobukatsu's daughter, becoming the young lord of the Kawamura family and preparing to inherit the family business.

Oda Nobukatsu had initially wanted Kawamura Nobuyoshi to be his page, but Shichibei didn't immediately agree. Now that he's come of age, he'll most likely become...

As the vanguard for Nobunaga and Nobukatsu's campaign at Odawara, I had to go into battle with my attendants; it was still a fight.

“Of course, the entire 570,000 koku of Kumamoto’s estate must be handed over to him.” Shichibei glanced at Kawamura Nobuyoshi, who was sitting to his left, and thought to himself that this kid was really lucky.

I worked my butt off to become a self-made millionaire, while he effortlessly married a beautiful, rich, and successful woman—a second-generation rich kid who got into university through a special admission program. It's true what they say, comparisons are odious.

"I heard he has an older brother?" The young general understood Shichibei's meaning perfectly well, but she didn't care about that. Instead, she was curious as to why Saegusa Morinao was temporarily recognized as Shichibei's adopted son, known as Kawamura Naokichi.

"Nonsense, he was originally my adopted son." Previously, Shichibei was blocked in front of Mount Aso by more than 20,000 Shimazu soldiers. In order to persuade Aso Koreyoshi Kai Muneun to come out of the city to help fight, he had to send one of his sons into the city as a hostage.

"I see." After hearing Shichibei explain what had happened, the young general finally understood.

He also nodded to Ii's sister-in-law, and it was also agreed that Kawamura Naokichi would marry the daughter born to Shichibei and Ii's sister-in-law. Thus, he would be a standard member of the Kawamura clan, without any controversy.

"Perfect timing. My lord mentioned that he will be establishing the Oda Gosanke. As you know, my father left me as the only male heir." Shichibei's family business of 570,000 koku, worth millions of koku, would be a disaster if it were to be cut off.

Therefore, Shichibei also planned to follow Nobunaga's example and establish the Kawamura Family. Which four families? The family of Inase Yoshinari, to which Shichibei's eldest sister, Ai, married, was called the Inase Kawamura Family.

The boy born to Lady Takaya was known as the Takaya Kawamura family. The daughter born to Ii's sister-in-law and Shichibei became involved with Kawamura Naokichi and established the Ii Kawamura family.

The last one is Shichibei and the young general's second son, and Shichibei is currently looking for a new family for him. Of course, it's unlikely that he will be adopted into a daimyo or feudal lord's family; he will most likely remain within the Kawamura family's framework.

“Aww…” The young general became serious when talking about this, as it was a necessary step in the family’s succession.

Shichibei was an only child; his father's generation only had one uncle who had become a monk. Later, Shichibei sent someone to inquire, and the monk said that being a monk was good, so he didn't return to secular life. Later, Shichibei sent 500 koku of land rent to the temple and didn't ask for anything more.

"What are your thoughts?" The young major general had been stationed among the families of the hostages in Gifu and Azuchi for a long time. The group actually included quite a few people.

Later, due to Azai Nagamasa's rebellion, she gained a lot of goodwill at the Battle of Azuchi Castle, and everyone treated her like a close sister, grateful for her saving their lives. With such a wide network of connections, she must have some intelligence or something.

If the young admiral doesn't have any ideas either, Shichibei can simply find a piece of land and grant 10,000 koku to his second son. He can then use the place name as his surname, which will be the same in the end.

But it would certainly be better if it didn't require an additional 10,000 koku of rice. Inheriting the existing family would provide ready-made territory, and Shichibei, being a shrewd small merchant, would certainly have some calculations involved.

"Do you still remember Sugaya Kyuemon, the magistrate from back then?" The young major general has indeed found a suitable candidate.

Sugaya Kyuemon was Sugaya Nagayori, and his father was Oda Nobufusa. He was likely a cousin of Oda Nobuhide. Early records of the Oda family are scarce, and the Oda clan had too many members to be certain. In the list of those who participated in the Battle of Azukizaka, Oda Nobufusa ranked second only to Oda Nobuyasu, Nobumitsu, and Nobutsugu, indicating that he held a relatively high position within the Oda clan.

Back when Shichibei was still a stable boy on the main road, Sugaya Nagayori was already Nobunaga's right-hand scribe and magistrate. Historically, he originally received a reward of 100,000 koku in Echizen Fuchu, but unfortunately, he died in the Honnoji Incident, and everything vanished.

The same was true in this world. As Nobunaga's close advisor, he, along with his younger brother Ose Kiyonaga and two sons, all died in the battles of the rearguard and the Nijō Palace. The Sugaya family effectively died out, with no heirs.

The family line is definitely extinct, but if Shichibei steps in and asks Nobunaga for help, there's a high chance it can be revived. Moreover, it could be revived by someone with the right connections, since his family is a collateral branch of the Oda clan, and the young shogun is also from a collateral branch of the Oda clan, so he could be adopted.

It's safe to say that Sugaya Nagayori and Ose Kiyonaga can forget about getting 100,000 koku of land. Before their deaths, their respective fiefs were 3,000 kan, which can be understood as 12,000 koku. Not too high, not too low, just right.

"Yes, I'll get the paperwork done right away." The main reason is that, theoretically, the young general's son has a patriarchal blood relationship with Sugaya Nagayori, so he can definitely inherit the title.

They were loyal retainers who died in the Nijō Incident in Kyoto. To let their family name die out like this is truly inhumane. Didn't you see that Nobunaga was trying to find a way out for Oda Sanboshi? He didn't want the Nobutada lineage to die out.

"That's fine." Shichibei's acceptance of this was also a way of establishing the position of the young general's wife in front of his two concubines.

Two letters were to be sent. One to Nobunaga. The other to Nobuo. (Sugata)

The territory of the chief lord, Lai Sanqianguan, was originally located in Mino and Kinai. It was originally supposed to be returned to the emperor and then merged and transferred to other territories.

Like Shichibei, who originally possessed a small, fragmented territory of 50,000 koku in Owari's Tsushima, Komakiyama, Mino-Kana, Omi's Otsu and Kusatsu, and Echizen's Tsuruga. In the end, he was transferred to Izumi Province with a total of 100,000 koku, and all those fragmented territories were returned to him, leaving only the towns and villages under Shichibei's administration.

The ownership of these three thousand guan of land is probably still unclear, and it may have already been seized by the newly appointed feudal lords and used to house their own warriors.

With Nobunaga's permission, the Sugaya family was allowed to be revived, and Nobukatsu allocated 12,000 koku of land in Oda's territory to establish the new Sugaya family.

To put it bluntly, it's about asking Nobunaga for a fiefdom. After all, 12,000 koku could be given to any other member of the Oda clan. The Oda family has many blood relatives, so it mainly depends on Nobunaga Nobukatsu's wishes.

"My lord, a great victory! A great victory!" Just as he was chatting with the young general, the head servant, Kawamura Naokichi, ran in.

"Where did you win the great victory?" Shichibei immediately asked.

"The castle of Uozu in Etchu has been opened, and the lord of the castle, Shiina Koshiro, has been sent to Kyoto." Sure enough, Kawamura Naokichi brought great news.

"Then it seems that the spring mountain castle will be open to the public this year." Shichibei was not particularly surprised when he heard this news.

With the change of rulers in Kaga, the surrender of Noto, and the collapse of Echigo Province in the Hokuriku region, Niwa Nagahide's army had grown strong enough to exceed 1.5 million koku. Now that Uozu Castle had been opened to the public, Niwa Nagahide would command his generals to participate in the attack on Echigo Province.

Uesugi Kagetora is barely clinging to life, and it's unlikely he'll have any chance of turning things around.

As Shichibei had predicted, Oda Nobuhiro's army, which had entered Echigo from Kashiwabara and seized the strategic pass of Sekiyama, was advancing towards Torisaka Castle. Meanwhile, Ueno Takigawa Kazumasu was leading his troops from Kozuki out of Numata Castle and advancing towards Uonuma District in Echigo.

In fact, Uesugi Kagetora, caught in a pincer attack from three sides, was powerless to resist. Although he sent a secret envoy to his elder brother Hojo Ujimasa in Odawara, Kanto, requesting reinforcements and hoping that the Hojo army would launch a fierce attack on Kozuke to relieve the pressure on Echigo, it remains unknown whether the envoy actually reached Odawara.

Along with the news of the opening of Uozu Castle, came news that the main force of Oda Nobuhiro's central army had already broken through Torisaka Castle and would soon arrive at Takada Hirano below Kasugayama Castle.

Before Kasugayama Castle, there was no cover left, and what was about to befall Uesugi Kagetora was the brutal siege of Kasugayama Castle.

Strangely, the Oda army had been resting at Torisaka Castle for three days without making any move. This completely baffled Uesugi Kagetora, but he had no time to worry about it. The vanguard of the Hokuriku Oda army, Sasa Narimasa, had already entered the Itogawa River and would soon be pressing on Noriyama and advancing on Kasugayama.

You ask why Oda's central army didn't move? Because Oda Nobuhiro's health suddenly collapsed. After all, he was over fifty years old and had previously suffered serious injuries, losing an eye. Years of warfare had greatly damaged his body.

After conquering Sekiyama and Torisaka, they finally succumbed to their weakness. With their commander in trouble, the army naturally halted, and Mori Hideyori immediately sent the news to Kyushu.

Too far away, both Nobunaga and Nobukatsu are in Kyushu.

588. Nobuhiro was on his deathbed.

"My lord has ordered me to rush into the Echigo army to oversee the main force!"

Shichibei was completely unprepared for this. Back in Kyoto, he'd seen Oda Nobuhiro, who, despite his advanced age, was still capable of working for another three years with a good whip. How could he just collapse like that? This is too much…

"My lord has already made his way swiftly to Azuchi by sea, while the Prime Minister is returning to the capital region by land from the western provinces." The Nobunaga retainer who came to deliver the message still has to take a boat to catch up with Nobunaga.

Although the incident was sudden, Nobunaga Nobukatsu did not panic. Nobunaga immediately took a boat back to Sakai, then entered Azuchi Castle, where he planned and deployed the attack on the Uesugi clan.

Nobukatsu and Nobunaga split up, first heading to Kokura Castle in Buzen Province, then taking a boat to Suō on the other side. They rode quickly back, which might be slower, but it was safer. Moreover, most of the people in the western provinces owed Nobukatsu a debt of gratitude; they were his core support base, making them quite secure.

As for your question about why Niwa Nagahide, the commander of the nearby Hokuriku Army, wasn't in charge of supervising Oda Nobuhiro's army, it's because Niwa Nagahide's rice yield had already exceeded 1.5 million, approaching 2 million. If he were given over 700,000 rice yields in Kai and Nobukatsu provinces, even if Nobunaga trusted him, Nobukatsu might not.

rest assured.

Takigawa Kazumasu? After capturing Sakado Castle, Takigawa Kazumasu had to divide his forces to worry about the Hojo army that had marched out from Odawara Castle. Uesugi Kagetora's secret envoy seeking reinforcements finally arrived at Odawara; it was only after much pleading that the Hojo army, which had previously suffered a major defeat in Shimotsuke, finally agreed to send troops. Oishi Ujiteru, Fujita Ujikuni, Ota Ujifusa, and others, with 25,000 cavalry, marched to Odawara.

There was no way around it; 25,000 was still a frightening number, and Takigawa Kazumasu dared not underestimate it. He handed over Sakado Castle to Takigawa Masashige and personally turned back to confront the Hojo army.

"Please depart immediately, the military situation is urgent." The servant bowed deeply after saying this.

"Understood, I'll go right away," Shichibei replied immediately.

Shichibei originally planned to go to Sakai in the fall to convene a national conference for commercial and trade industry professionals. It's only late summer now, three months too early, but there's no way around it; military matters are urgent, and he must leave immediately.

There was no need to pack anything; any shortages could be raised locally. Several elders, including Shichibei, could not all be taken. Todo Takatora continued building the castle; Hara Nagayori went to Ōmura to suppress the Christians and construct temples and shrines; Takenaka Shigeharu remained in the town to oversee the various armies.

Shichibei then took with him Sanada Masaki, who was from Shinano, and Kawamura Naokichi, who was from Tōtōmi, along with two hundred retainers, including Makai. They sped to Usuki Port in Bungo, bought a boat on the spot, and headed to Shimizu Port in Suruga Bay instead of Akimachi.

Fortunately, there were still many return ships from Tokaido and Kinai in Usukki Port. If there were only return ships from Kyushu, they might not have been able to make it all the way to Suruga Bay.

Let's go, let's go.

In later times, a ferry from Oita Prefecture to Tokyo would only take a day and a night. But modern ferries are different; they mainly rely on wind power, and a speed of four to five knots is considered quite good. The only saving grace is that from southern Kyushu to the Kishu coast, one can rely on the Kuroshio Current to sail directly, reaching the waters off Kishu in just two days and nights.

Afterwards, you can rest in Kishu for a day and then rush to Suruga in four days. Alternatively, when you reach Shima Bay, go to Kuki Yoshitaka and have him send out a rowboat. Row the boat vigorously along the way, and you can reach Suruga Bay in two days at most.

They were rushing towards Suruga Bay, doing whatever it took.

The main force of Kainobu in the Echigo campaign was now under the supervision of Nobuhiro's vice-general, Mori Hideyori. Mori Hideyori was both a lord of 50,000 koku at Iida Castle in Ina District, Shinano Province, and a former general of Oda Nobunaga's entourage, and more...

Yoshimasa Mogi, Masayuki Sanada, and Masamitsu Yamagata held much higher positions.

But he was, after all, only a feudal lord with a fief of 50,000 koku. He could easily command two or three thousand men, but commanding an army of thirty thousand was a bit of a challenge. He could only temporarily halt at Torizaka Castle and await Nobunaga's orders.

It took a full fourteen days for Nobunaga's military orders to be sent back to Torizaka. There was only one order: to remain in place, hold the main force firmly, and await Kawamura Kyōjō's arrival to take over.

Kawamura Kyōjō? He can fight?

Yes, he did. In the previous battle at Higo Iidayama and Mifune Castle, he decisively defeated the army of Shimazu Yoshihiro and Toshihisa, severing one of Shimazu's arms, and even defeated Shimazu Toshihisa in battle.

Besides, Shichibei is Oda Nobuhiro's son-in-law, so it's perfectly reasonable for him to oversee the various armies. It's better for a brother-in-law to look after his father-in-law and brother-in-law than for a complete outsider to do so.

Another brother-in-law, Niwa Nagahide, isn't he just too strong?

Four days later, Sasa Narimasa had already captured Noshiro, and Kasugayama and Naoezu were in sight. Niwa Nagahide's large army from the Hokuriku region marched into Echigo. Shichibei himself finally crossed the Sekiyama Mountains and arrived at the Echigo camp.

Putting everything else aside, let's first ask about Oda Nobuhiro's condition. It's terrible; he's sometimes awake, sometimes unconscious. When he's awake, he can still drink porridge, but when he's unconscious, he can't be woken up at all.

Especially now that they are still in the midst of battle, they can only be sent to the nearby Renwang Hall and handed over to the monks of the temple to take care of them, leaving the nearly 30,000 troops stationed in place.

Let's leave it at that for now. The fierce general, Kengo Ieyoshi, who has already become a retainer of Oda Nobuhiro, led three thousand cavalry to clear the way and entered the Takada Plain to look out over Kasuga Castle.

Sanada Nobuoki's successor, Sanada Masayuki, led 3,000 men as the rearguard, Yamagata Masamitsu's 10,000 men formed the central army, Oda Nobuhiro's horse-riding, bow-serving, gun-serving, and spear-serving men, as well as Mori Hideyori's 8,000 cavalry, were taken over by Shichibei, and Kiso Yoshimasa led 2,000 men as the rearguard.

When we go into battle, we can't betray our teammate Niwa Nagahide, who's charging forward relentlessly. Betraying a teammate is too unethical; we can't do it.

Two thousand men were to be left at Niōdō to protect Oda Nobuhiro, and the battle was to be fought with the utmost swiftness to capture Kasugayama Castle. Upon hearing the plan, the generals had no further objections and began to move their troops.

What were the Uesugi army doing? It wouldn't be accurate to say they were simply waiting to die. Uesugi Kagenobu was leading 12,000 cavalry, resisting the attack of the Oda army in the Hokuriku region. Uesugi Kagetora, on the other hand, had 15,000 cavalry, forming a defensive line against Takada Hirano.

Kasugayama.

In addition, there were 3,500 cavalrymen in Uonuma County, confronting Takigawa Masushige. Although Takigawa Masushige had 8,000 cavalrymen and a numerical advantage, the Uesugi army held their ground and it was difficult to determine a winner for the time being.

how to spell?

At this moment, Tsuda Nobuie, who was assigned to Oda Nobuhiro's command, immediately spoke up. He believed that Kasugayama Castle was known as an impregnable fortress and that the enemy must be annihilated in open battle. Therefore, they had to attack immediately and take advantage of the opportunity while Uesugi Kagenobu was entangled with the Hokkaido Army. The Konobu Area Army should immediately launch an attack.

By the way, Tsuda Nobuie is, in a sense, Shichibei's brother-in-law.

His younger sister was Ichihime, who was adopted by Nobunaga. She first married Saito Tatsuoki, and later married Shichibei as a concubine. Their father was Oda Hiroyoshi, and their grandfather was Oda Nobuyasu, who was the younger brother of Oda Nobuhide.

Nobunaga's decision to send Shichibei was indeed appropriate, given the close relationship between the Kawamura and Oda Nobuhiro families, with numerous connections between them.

The other elders, including Hanxiang Jiajia, Dajin Zhengyuan, and Yan...

Ishige and others shared this attitude. Therefore, Shichibei then sought the opinions of several powerful figures, all of whom expressed their willingness to lead the vanguard in a fierce attack on Uesugi Kagetora.

Since that's the case, there's nothing more to say. Let's immediately launch a full-scale attack on Uesugi Kagetora. With over 20,000 troops attacking 15,000 cavalry, the advantage is on our side.

At the Battle of Takadano, Uesugi Kagetora was a valiant warrior whom Uesugi Kenshin particularly favored. As the Kanto Kanrei (regent of the Kanto region), Uesugi Kagetora, proud of his family's reputation, personally wielded his spear into battle to inspire the morale of the Echigo soldiers.

Hojo Kagehiro guarded his side, and the two rode together to attack the Oda army. The Uesugi army hadn't been idle for the past ten days or so. First, they managed to amass troops; otherwise, how could a small province like Echigo, with only 400,000 koku of rice, possibly gather an army of over 30,000?