Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Nobunaga showed considerable care for these three men, as they had protected Oda Nobushige during Azai Nagamasa's attack, helping him escape from Gifu Castle. Later, when the Oda clan launched their counterattack, they immediately rallied their remaining troops and joined the battle.

If it weren't for the fact that the three of them had already shared 200,000 koku of land in western Mino, they wouldn't have been able to serve as Oda Nobushige's three elders, supporting and enthroning him.

After a brief meeting, Nobunaga dismissed the three men, citing fatigue. The three men didn't see anything wrong with it; the Grand Chancellor was a ruler of the entire realm and very busy, while they were merely daimyo with a rank of 66,000 koku. For him to take the time to receive them was already a great honor.

Sakuma Nobue was still grumbling, regretting that the banquet he had prepared seemed to be a waste. But it didn't matter; he was happy as long as Nobunaga could see him. His father, Sakuma Nobumori, now known as the monk Sosuke, was also mentioned by Nobunaga as a meeting, and that alone made him overjoyed.

Sakuma Nobumori was already waiting at Ōgaki Castle. After being pardoned by Nobunaga, he became a daimyo of 10,000 koku in Narumi, Owari Province. He completely abandoned any ambition for power and wealth, spending his time drinking tea, raising fish, and tending to his family.

Find some fun for yourself.

Historically, Nobumori would have already passed away by this time, but now, perhaps due to a simple life, he appears quite healthy. Perhaps his self-cultivation and relaxed state of mind have contributed to his longevity.

When he appeared before Nobunaga, Nobumori exclaimed in surprise. He was clearly taken aback by Nobunaga's weathered appearance. Nobunaga, seeing Nobumori's relaxed and carefree demeanor, whether out of envy or something else, asked him how old he was.

Fifty-five years old.

Not too old, not too young. Dying at that age in the Sengoku period could certainly be considered a natural death. But for someone like Nobunaga Nobumori, it was somewhat inadequate.

"If I have another five years, that will be enough for me." Nobunaga picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.

"Why does my lord always keep saying that life is only fifty years?" Sakuma Nobumori had kissed Nobunaga before, and he was quite bold to say it again this time.

"The previous Muromachi Rokuon-in died at fifty, and the previous Toji-in died at fifty-three. Life, it seems, is only about fifty." Nobunaga, perhaps having completely let go of his inhibitions with Nobumori, showed no annoyance, but instead gave examples...

Refuting Shinsei.

“Since you know that the monk is fifty-three, then he must be at least three more years away from turning fifty,” Nobumori replied with a smile.

You said Ashikaga Takauji would live to be fifty-three, so you still have three years left, right? Three years is enough time to crush the Hojo clan, seize Odawara, and establish a complete Taira-style empire. And while you're at it, pass the position of Grand Chancellor to Oda Nobukatsu, ensuring a smooth succession.

"Haha, thank you for your kind words." Nobunaga actually laughed.

Sitting on the other side, Shichibei listened to their conversation and even began to doubt whether the person before him was Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga was already the Grand Chancellor, and he was stern and unsmiling towards others, especially towards samurai. Even face to face with Shichibei, he was far from being a warm and friendly figure.

On the contrary, when drinking tea with Sakuma Nobumori, he displayed a completely different, relaxed demeanor. Could it be that this is a case of reconciliation after a smile?

They look somewhat alike.

Nobumori no longer harbored any worldly ambitions or desires for fame or fortune with Nobunaga; the two were truly old friends since their early days in Owari fifty years ago. Nobumori had witnessed every step of Nobunaga's growth. Scandals, anecdotes, embarrassing moments, and pleasant experiences—all were now shared by the two of them.

It was just a lighthearted conversation between them.

If you really think about it, there are probably very few people left who were Nobunaga's contemporaries and grew up with him. Among them, Nobumori is probably the only one who can be considered truly close.

“Oh, Higashiyama Jishoin is only fifty-five years old. And Taira no Shokoku is sixty-four.” Nobumori replied with a smile.

The Grand Chancellor here is naturally Taira no Kiyomori, who lived to be sixty-four. Nobunaga could have looked up to Kiyomori's age and tried to live to be sixty-four himself.

"Sixty-four? I really dare not hope for that." As a family member, Nobunaga knew his own health condition all too well.

He would be content if he could keep going for another three years and catch up with Ashikaga Takauji. As for Taira no Kiyomori, that was an age he wouldn't even dare to dream of.

"An old steed in its stall may still aspire to gallop a thousand miles." Oh my, Sakuma Nobumori has indeed become cultured since becoming a monk, quoting Chinese poetry at the drop of a hat.

"Hahaha, good, good, good." Nobunaga nodded and laughed, clearly enjoying his conversation with Nobumori, at least he could let down his guard and have a casual chat.

594. Finally, a peer meeting was held.

Nobunaga returned to Kyoto smoothly, while Nobukatsu remained in Azuchi. The father and son maintained this distance, so close yet so far, and were quite at peace.

Nobukatsu, who had already been appointed Councilor, was promoted to Junior Third Rank, Acting Middle Counselor, and Right General of the Imperial Guard, due to his great achievements in pacifying Kyushu. After defeating Odawara, he would become Acting Grand Counselor, and then smoothly transition into Minister of the Interior.

To be honest, as for the rest, we can just wait until Nobunaga dies.

With Nobunaga dead, he could succeed as the eldest son of the Oda clan as the Grand Chancellor, becoming the supreme leader of both the court and military families of Japan.

Regarding Nobunaga's illness, Shichibei asked if he should inform Nobukatsu, but Nobunaga only said no. However, he revised the original plan of assembling the army in September of the following year, harvesting the autumn grain in October, and then launching an attack on Odawara. The revised plan was to mobilize the army in early March of the following year, and for all armies to arrive at the designated battlefield in early April.

Historically, Hideyoshi's Odawara Campaign began in March of the 18th year of the Tensho era. On March 1st, he received the sword for the campaign against the Eastern Barbarians from Emperor Go-Yozei and began his campaign.

By March 29th, the formidable Yamanaka Castle in Hakone had fallen to the Toyotomi army. Although preparations had begun in February...

Although it was initiated earlier, Hideyoshi's actions were still swift in this era, making him truly a figure capable of completing the Great Reversal of Western Provinces and the Great Reversal of Mino Province.

Fortunately, Shichibei has already ordered the purchase of annual tribute rice from the Nakasendo and Tokaido regions, so it's perfectly feasible and won't delay Nobunaga's important business.

The military orders issued from Kyoto came in droves, and Nobunaga was to mobilize an army of over 200,000 to achieve victory in one battle. Therefore, in theory, even the daimyo of Kyushu and western provinces would need to participate.

However, since Nobunaga is indeed very powerful now, he doesn't need everyone to go into battle. For example, Hideyoshi and his son Hidekatsu theoretically need to mobilize 25,000 men. Nobunaga only needs them to bring 5,000 men as a token gesture, and they don't necessarily have to personally lead the human assault on Odawara.

It's possible he'll be appointed as the governor of Kyoto and Azuchi, since Nobukatsu is taking 20,000 cavalry with him, and the Kinai region needs people to defend it. More importantly, he needs to mobilize the lords and local people of Kyushu to participate in the war, making them begin to fulfill their feudal obligations as lords and vassals to Oda Nobunaga.

Ōtomo, Shimazu, Ito, and Akizuki—all must come; deploy troops at one-fifth capacity. The number of troops from Kyushu is not important; what matters is their participation.

Shichibei made things the easiest. Since only 5,000 men were needed, he simply organized a transport team of 4,000 men, with the personnel stationed in granaries, ships, and roads along the Tokaido and Nakasendo routes. The remaining 1,000 or so men were Shichibei's steeds, attendants, and pagemen.

This means that there is no need to bring people from Higo and Kumamoto; you can directly mobilize the servants and employees from the branches in Gifu, Tsushima, Azuchi, Kofu, and Hamamatsu, as well as the horse-riding servants and katanamen.

Get to work, get to work! There's no time for leisurely strolls. Also, Shichibei has invited all the major merchants from across Japan to gather again in Surimachi for a guild meeting.

Taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the annual tribute rice from various regions converging at the rice market in the Kinai region, let's have all the wealthy merchants and big bosses come together. Let's sit down face-to-face and reach a solid agreement, jointly signing a pledge to be offered before the gods and Buddhas. From now on, we will all be part of the "Federal Reserve of Japan," adjusting and developing within a unified framework.

The date is set for early November of the tenth year of Tensho, and there is still time to prepare. Shichibei has to work on both fronts and cannot relax on either.

"The big bosses from Naotsu have already arrived in Tsuruga?" Shichibei was quite incredulous; the most enthusiastic ones were actually Naotsu's group.

Shichibei is signing letters addressed to the four lords of Owari.

It didn't stop. Owari now has 300,000 koku of Nagoya's Takayama Shigetomo, 100,000 koku of Inuyama's Nakagawa Kiyohide, 90,000 koku of Ohashi's Oda Nobuhisa (Tsuda Nobuhisa), and 10,000 koku of Narumi's Sakuma Nobumori.

Owari is one of Japan's most important grain-producing regions, producing hundreds of thousands of koku of rice annually. Shichibei must ensure that all of Owari's annual tribute rice has a destination this year.

With the fall of Kasugayama Castle, the fact that the Oda army was going to attack Hojo Odawara Castle was as obvious as a lice on a bald head.

Would the merchants of Odawara, especially those from the Hojo clan, have purchased rice along the Tokaido? Would they have gone to Anotsu to buy rice? They certainly would, without a doubt.

It should be noted that Odawara Castle alone housed 40,000 townspeople and 50,000 soldiers, nearly 100,000 people gathered in one castle. The daily consumption of grain was astronomical. Although the Kanto region was a vast plain, its development level was still low. Even during the reign of the eighth Shogun Yoshimune, efforts were still underway to control floods and develop new fields (400,000 koku).

When Ieyasu entered Japan, the eight provinces he granted him, including Kanto, only yielded a total of 2.5 million koku. This illustrates how underdeveloped the Kanto region was at that time. By the early Meiji era, when the anti-shogunate forces took control of Edo, Musashi Province alone possessed 1.28 million koku. The combined koku of Kazusa and Shimousa provinces was over 1.1 million koku.

Ten thousand shi. These three kingdoms alone have nearly two hundred and fifty. If you really calculate it, the other territories are just wasting their resources.

Currently, Odawara Castle, in order to prepare military rations for a year's defense, will definitely need to seek to purchase the annual tribute rice that has entered the market. Not only is the total output of grain in the Kanto region not that high, but the commercialization of grain is also very low. Many wealthy households have received the annual tribute rice but have no channels to sell it; in rural areas, bartering with rice is common practice.

Instead of buying rice from door to door, why not just buy it from the towns and villages along the Tokaido?

Now Shichibei must act ahead of them and buy up all the tribute rice circulating in the market for Kawamura-ya. Even if it costs more money, it must be done.

So they had to write letters, one by one, to these local daimyo. After they received the annual tribute rice from their subjects, they should hold onto it and deal directly with Shichibei, instead of sending any more to the market. Shichibei was rich and powerful enough to monopolize their annual tribute rice supply.

"Yes, Lord Ishigami of Tsuruga has already sent word." Takeno Munekazu was willing to run errands for Shichibei. As soon as Shichibei arrived in Sakai, he served him hand and foot.

"I've witnessed the Lord's methods firsthand." Shichibei finally put down his pen and examined the letter delivered by the Flying Legs.

After a decisive blow, people are bound to be more obedient. The entire Uesugi Kagetora family is gone, and the merchants of Naoezu have completely lost their protector. Now, if they don't turn to Shichibei, who else can they turn to?

Echigo has not yet seen any new daimyo enfeoffed, and if the enfeoffed daimyo are not hereditary retainers of the Oda clan, but rather powerful figures who have been transferred to other provinces, they are simply not worth relying on.

For example, Kiso Yoshimasa was transferred from 50,000 koku of Kiso-Fukushima Castle in Shinano Province to 100,000 koku of Naoezu in Echigo Province. This kind of lord would seem like a powerful and prestigious castle lord. However, his status within the Oda clan was very low; he was essentially a tozama daimyo (outer vassal lord). When Nobunaga invited him to meals, he could only sit in the corridor, his status similar to, or even lower than, that of Sanada Nobushige, a close attendant with 8,000 koku of koku.

So either don't rely on anyone, or rely on someone who can keep Naoetsu safe. Although Shichibei is unlikely to be transferred to Echigo, his status in the Oda clan is undeniable. It's better for these people to look for Shichibei than to wander around like headless flies.

The visitor was Kurata Goroza, a merchant from Naoetsu Kashiwazaki, but he was not the same Kurata Goroza from the first failed conference. They were father and son; his father, as a merchant serving the Uesugi clan, also served as the magistrate of Kasugayama Castle, and was defeated in the previous castle defense battle.

As merchants, the head of the family usually inherits the same title from generation to generation. Their family has a hereditary title of Gorozaemon, and the head of our Tsushima branch, Ito Sojuro, has also inherited the title of Sojuro from generation to generation. The Japanese like to play this game; the eldest son of the Tokugawa family is called Takechiyo, and now the eldest son of the Oda family is also called Saburohoshi Saburo.

Upon seeing Shichibei, Kurata Goro repeatedly expressed his gratitude. His father's death in battle was unavoidable; in war between two nations, swords have no eyes. As a retainer of the Uesugi clan, dying alongside his lord was nothing to complain about. However, it was Shichibei who intervened and prevented the Oda army from plundering Naoezu-Kashiwazaki.

They were truly the second parents of the Naoezu people. Their entire fortune and businesses were in Naoezu, especially their large stock of ramie, which was their lifeblood. Preserving the port town and the yamen meant preserving their lives.

"I have come here for only one matter." Kurata Gorozusa adopted a very humble posture.

"The matter of the lord of Echigo Province, is it? It's a pity, the title was originally bestowed by the acting prime minister of Shinano Province. Because of his passing, I didn't know at the time." Someone had asked Shichibei about this, and Shichibei indeed didn't know.

"Oh dear..." Upon hearing that it was originally Oda Nobuhiro, Kurata Goroza exclaimed in surprise.

It would be so much better to have someone like Nobunaga Osamu, someone who could be among the first to make deals within the Oda clan. By siding with Oda Nobuhiro, Naoezu Kashiwazaki would be safe. Unfortunately, Oda Nobuhiro passed away, leaving behind young children.

"However, there should be news by the end of this year." Echigo is a major country, and it's impossible for it to remain idle.

Half of Bungo Province and half of Hyuga Province in Kyushu were organized into the Nobuo-Kurai region because someone was stationed there to guard it. The Otomo Sōrin family and their descendants, along with Itō Yūhei, were both natives and capable of governing it. Echigo Province, however, lacked such powerful natives to assist in its governance. Therefore, a decision would inevitably be made before winter.

The army will be marching into Kanto next April. As the rear of Ueno, Echigo should send at least 3,000 men to show its support, which can be considered as raising another flag for Nobunaga.

“Then I am willing to wait in Richō.” It was not easy for Kurata Gorozusa either. As the leader of the Naoezu merchants, he had to work hard for his local counterparts.

As the head of the "Echigo Aoramisa" clan, which monopolized the Japanese ramie trade, the Kurata family was known for its flexibility, eloquence, and keen understanding of political trends.

Back when Nagao Tamekage was in power, he conquered the Kariwa and Kashiwazaki regions, controlling the export route to the Kinai region. He then promoted Kurata Gorozusa.

One of the upper-ranking officials, Goro, served as a merchant and personally traveled to Kyoto to negotiate with the Sanjō Sai family, a court noble who held a monopoly on ramie.

Originally, the Echigo Aobutsu-za was supposed to pay the Sanjo Nishi family 150 kan of "za-sen" (monopoly fee) every year. However, Kurata Goroza managed to reduce it to 50 kan, and in doing so, he also used this to establish connections between the Nagao family and the court nobles in Kyoto.

Using his cunning, Goroza successively defeated the Tennoji Aozaki-za and the Omi Sakamoto Aozaki-za, crushing all his competitors who relied on temple gates and noble families. From the textile workshops in Echigo Naoezu to Kyoto, most of those who tried to take advantage of the situation were crushed by Goroza, who relied on Nagao Tamekage's martial prowess.

It was precisely because of his shrewdness that the Kurada family became a high-ranking retainer of the Uesugi clan, holding the position of General-in-Chief on multiple occasions. They contributed enormous sums of money to Uesugi Kenshin's seventy-one campaigns.

"I'll wait in Sakai Town for a while. If there's any news, I'll relay it immediately." Shichibei was quite kind to this kind of person who could humble himself and was very sensible.

With the arrival of Kurata Goroza, merchants from all over Japan flocked to Sakai, the distribution center for the annual tribute rice, to respond to Shichibei's request for a meeting.

Such a large merchant from all over the country. Only Shichibei has this kind of influence.

Face is what brings them all together. Unless Oda Nobunaga personally invites them, there's simply no way to gather them all.

Most of the merchants from the eastern provinces had already met at the last meeting. The merchants from the western provinces of Kyushu, however, were absent because they had been kidnapped and obstructed when the Mori clan rebelled and attacked the Oda clan.

Now that the Mori clan has been subdued and Kyushu is completely pacified, wealthy merchants from all over western Japan can finally get to know their counterparts from the eastern country.

The first day of the conference had no set agenda; it was simply a process of getting to know each other and introducing themselves. Since most of these people sold their local tribute rice to Ritsu-machi, they had many acquaintances there, and could arrange accommodations and banquets. As a result, the originally planned first and second days for socializing were even a little too short.

Although there may be disagreements or even competition in business, it doesn't stop everyone from meeting, having meals together, calling each other buddies, and addressing each other as brothers.

After two days of intensive banquets, tea parties, and Kabuki performances, the first item on the conference agenda finally began. The first was a report from various regions on the promotion and use of the centrally issued currency.

It's not just about the circulation and use of the Tensho gold koban. It also includes the flat...

The circulation and promotion of the "Tenshō Tsūhō" (天正通宝), a Japanese-made currency publicly issued by the Da Xiangguo regime.

Needless to say, the gold koban was universally praised; everyone who used it raved about it. Thanks to Shichibei's reliable and high-quality castings and Kawamura-ya's excellent reputation, the koban was widely adopted and used throughout the country. This greatly facilitated large-scale trade; even merchants as far away as Satsuma-bozu or Mutsu-jussou expressed their delight in using it and hoped for faster production, the more the better.

As for the Tianzheng Tongbao small coin, due to its relatively short circulation period, it has not yet been able to completely replace the Song and Ming copper coins in the market. The number of trade copper coins that flowed in from the Song and Ming dynasties is too large to be found in existence. It is suggested that Shichibei could exchange the old coins for new ones and then recast them.

Otherwise, this process might take decades to fully promote and squeeze Song and Ming dynasty coins out of the market.

595. The conference agenda has three items.