Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Tsk tsk tsk, this young man isn't having an easy time.

The matter Nobunaga is inquiring about right now is indeed a very important one. One difference between this plane and the other is that Nobunaga has a large purse. Therefore, large-scale currency reformation and issuance have already begun.

Not only has the gold shoban appeared ahead of schedule, but even the Tianzheng Tongbao, which doesn't exist in history, has been minted in quantities exceeding one million kan. It's currently circulating in the market.

It circulated everywhere and gradually replaced the old money.

Alright, let's ask. Taking advantage of the opportunity when everyone was treating each other to drinks and shows, Shichibei kept exchanging ideas with big bosses from various places.

The problem first arose in Oshu. It has been previously noted that commerce in the Oshu region was underdeveloped, and the amount of currency in circulation was very small. The people had long been in a stage of bartering, with a liter of rice being a basic unit of exchange.

Furthermore, since there are almost no poultry sideline businesses like raising chickens and ducks in rural Japan, even the exchange of eggs for goods is rare. This is unlike the rural areas of neighboring Henan and Shandong provinces in central China, where peddlers often bring needles, thread, and various odds and ends from Nanjing to the villages to exchange for eggs, which are then collected and transported to the cities.

In rural Japan, poultry farming is very small-scale, especially in Oshu and Ushu. In vast rural areas, farmers have nothing of value except rice and silk.

Even rice and silk had to be used to pay annual tributes to meet the lord's needs. This resulted in a severe shortage of currency in the vast rural society of Oshu.

If the Guan Gao system were implemented in the Ou region, the rural people simply wouldn't have the cash to pay their annual tribute. Even local merchants...

There wasn't much cash in the house, as I've mentioned before.

Merchants returning north would purchase annual tribute rice from Ōshu (the area around Ōshu), transport it to Tsuruga for delivery, and buy handicrafts such as soy sauce, vinegar, miso, and sake, as well as goods from Tang (the Tang Dynasty) and Kyoto (the capital). They would essentially have no cash left from selling the rice, because Ōshu's handicraft industry was underdeveloped, and all kinds of goods were in short supply. They could only exchange annual tribute rice for these goods.

Of course, there are also placer gold and silver mines in Australia, but that's another story and not part of the plan for this distorted trade route.

In other words, the lords of Ao Province and Yu Province sold rice to merchants returning from the north in exchange for handicrafts they needed, including firearms, saltpeter, lead ingots, and the like. Although the money was given to the lords for a few days, it immediately returned to the hands of the merchants returning from the north once the merchant ships arrived with the goods.

After a while, everyone in the entire Oyu region, from feudal lords and nobles to ordinary people, was left without a single coin.

There are exceptions, such as Nanbu Casting, which was a "famous item" in the Edo period. It had two very sophisticated uses. One was for tea ceremonies, where a tea kettle was needed to boil water. Nanbu Casting produced special iron tea kettles; the tea kettle Matsunaga Hisahide is depicted holding in a self-destructing manner was made of iron. The other use was for narrow-necked iron bottles, commonly used in religious ceremonies.

I don't know if the Spider Cauldron is from the Southern Castings. Anyway, it's found in this area.

The cast iron products produced there were praised for their "truly robust quality" and "long-lasting like a husband's." They became the flagship products of the Morioka Domain in the southern region, sold throughout Japan. They produced everything from iron pots and pans to iron candlesticks.

In places with local specialties, there's a significant amount of cash. But in vast areas without local specialties, you can't even implement a system of guaranteed cash flow. It's simply impossible; there's no economic foundation.

Even if you transport a million strings of copper coins to Oyu every year, he will still spend them all. There's really no other way but to purchase all kinds of handicrafts from abroad.

Besides the merchants from Oshu and Ushu who were unimpressed with the koku system, merchants from central and southern Kyushu also felt that koku was unacceptable. Don't be fooled by the fact that Shichibei's territory of Higo province has a koku of 570,000; a large portion of it is sandy land formed after volcanic eruptions. Volcanic ash fertile? That would require a long period of natural evolution before it could become fertile land.

Unfortunately, the volcanic eruptions in Kyushu haven't been over for many years. The plateaus and plateaus formed by extensive geological movements are mostly sandy. They're okay for growing sweet potatoes, but even sugarcane is difficult to grow. The water retention is too poor, making it impossible to grow rice.

This led to widespread poverty among the peasantry. While there was a large circulation of copper coins in Kyushu, the peasants had no goods to exchange for. If the Guan Gao system were implemented, would the peasants be forced to sell sweet potatoes?

One thing to note is that sweet potatoes spoil very quickly if not stored properly, much faster than rice or wheat.

It would be better to convert everything into a grain price of shi (石高). Even if there's no rice, there's still red rice, green rice, and millet. When they invaded Korea, Satsuma soldiers used miso to coat taro stems and braid them into ropes to wear on their bodies. This shows that the Shimazu clan also collected taro as an annual tribute, just like the Kanto Hojo clan collected wasabi, salted fish, and even bonito flakes as annual tribute.

Receiving something in kind is better than receiving nothing at all. Anyway, whatever kind of food it is, as long as it fills your stomach, that's enough.

The Tokaido and Kinai regions didn't have this problem. Owari and the Yuchita Peninsula produced ceramics that were sold throughout half of Japan, and Tōtōmi was Japan's most important exporter of Tenryū cedar timber. Suruga and Tōtōmi also produced tea. Mikawa was the poorest, but because it was located along the entire trade route of the Tokaido, it was never short of money in the market.

These places are eager for the grain to be traded, and the farmers and landowners wish for faster, more convenient, and simpler cash flow in grain transactions.

Well……

After giving a brief summary, Shichibei reported the situation to Shin.

It is difficult to promote the Kanagawa system nationwide, even though Kawamura-ya now has large-scale minting of Japanese currency. The development of agriculture, rural household sideline businesses, and urban handicrafts is uneven across the country.

Tsutsui Sadatsugu took Shichibei's report and ran back. He was just a gofer; Oda Nobunaga wouldn't take his advice seriously. At most, Nobunaga would ask a couple of questions, like, "Has so-and-so arrived?" or "Are there any merchants from Kanto?"

It was quite a major incident, since this decision would determine whether Japan would adopt the national high school system or the national high school system.

Returning to the topic of this rice guild and the potential establishment of a rice futures market, the Japanese name for it would be "Kusunakama," an organization where the owners (shareholders) would discuss trading rules.

Actually, this thing was very much in line with the needs of the feudal era, because whether it was the shogun, the prime minister, or anyone else, all they needed to do was say hello to the rice guild, which was equivalent to saying hello to all the rice merchants in Japan.

During the Edo period, the prime minister, the senior councilor Tanuma Okiji, unified the guilds ("gaishoku") that had spontaneously formed among the common people into officially recognized "gomensoku." The shogunate directly levied a monopoly fee on these guild leaders, which greatly restored the shogunate's revenue.

It improved the shogunate's dire finances.

Nobunaga doesn't concern himself with these matters now; he only spends money. Shichibei represents the official "great kinship guild," so the guild being formed now is a feudal guild officially endorsed by the government.

From now on, we will be of one mind and resolutely prevent any disruption to the market. We must act in unison and not allow any guild to act arbitrarily, engage in hoarding and speculation, or invite official crackdowns from the Oda regime.

Making money is fine, but you should aim for a steady, sustainable income, not the kind of money that's too hot to handle or that might cost you dearly.

The novel "A Few Extra Bushels of Rice" clearly states that when autumn rice was widely available, it was only worth "five yuan for unpolished rice and three yuan for millet." But when spring came and the harvest was scarce, it would sell for fifteen or sixteen yuan, and people would still dare to sell it.

This kind of easy money, which won't attract the court's wrath, is something you can earn. When there's a famine, just follow the ratio from the "Great Ming 1566" (a historical text about disaster relief) – 50 shi of rice per mu in normal times, and 30 shi of rice per mu in disaster years. Give them a 40% discount, and even the officials will think it's reasonable and appropriate.

Rice that costs fifteen or sixteen yuan a bushel, sold for twenty-two yuan, might only earn a reputation for being a profiteer. That's ridiculous! Who here isn't a profiteer? Shichibei himself is the biggest profiteer.

The junk salvaged from the battlefield, after a coat of paint, makes Kawamura-ya seem brand new, perfect for men of foot soldiers to sell.

In short, we need to establish rules and ensure everyone is in sync. And when necessary, such as when a famine occurs in a certain area and the Grand Chancellor needs us to transport rice for relief, then we must go.

Although you lost the opportunity to make a fortune, you became an integral part of the Pingda Chancellor's regime. This is crucial; you must integrate into the ruling institution and become one of its members to ensure longevity and peace.

Those who go it alone will inevitably perish sooner or later.

To be honest, some people don't quite agree with this. If not during a year of disaster, when else can you make a fortune? But there are also smart people, or people with a broad vision, who know that this is the only way to ensure long-term success.

Shichibei didn't intend to completely convince everyone. He simply said, "Those who want to join the rice guild can join, and those who don't want to will not be forced. Those who don't join will receive the same purchase price, the same unloading price, and the same storage price for the annual tribute rice delivered to the guild."

Anyway, they won't say anything about retaliating against you or openly killing your whole family.

Let time prove it. Just follow the rules and have some basic principles.

As the saying goes, "If you maintain a little morality, your family will surely have abundant blessings." I'm sure none of you here are just planning to do one-off business; you all think about passing the business down from generation to generation, with your descendants never running out.

The vast majority of people chose to join a guild, and many of them certainly joined simply because of the crowd, without genuine sincerity. But that's okay. Once you join a guild, you'll be bound by the guild rules, and you can gradually adapt and adjust, eventually integrating into the community.

A small number of people were unwilling to join the rice guild. Some had no intention of engaging in the tribute rice business at all, while others felt it didn't matter if they didn't join. After all, Shichibei was a man of his word; he had promised no discrimination, so why should they join and be managed?

Those who don't sign are ignored, but those who sign and join swear an oath together, offering a petition to the gods and Buddhas. This signifies that they will advance and retreat together, help each other internally, and even establish a disaster relief fund, etc. In short, they are moving towards becoming a tightly organized group.

597. The Siege of Odawara begins.

With the guild's affairs settled, the tenth year of Tensho had come to an end. Historically, by this time, Oda Nobunaga would have been a minor barbecue, joining Matsunaga Hisahide, the major barbecue, at a table. Shibata Katsuie and Lady Oichi would also be joining, ensuring there would be no shortage of people for a mahjong game.

Now things are much better. Western Japan is completely pacified, and the Oda clan has long displayed an unstoppable momentum. Hideyoshi's rapid unification of the country is actually a continuation of this trend. It's just that Hideyoshi relied less on military conquest and more on civil administration, making the foundation of his regime inherently unstable.

Look at Echigo next door, the self-destruction of Kasugayama Castle blew up three or four thousand of the Uesugi retainers, including Uesugi Kagetora. Just like the Ryuzoji family, it was like the entire family was wiped out. Only by uprooting and destroying them like this can new lords be installed, and they can be moved around like potted plants.

In the eleventh year of the Tianzheng era, in the spring, in the first month.

Five thousand soldiers from the Nijō Palace retinue, two thousand Nobunaga's retainers and pageboys, two thousand Nobukatsu's retainers and pageboys, and eight thousand of Oda Nobushige's restored army gathered in Kyoto. Nobunaga and his son Nobukatsu were able to formally assemble and offer New Year's mirror rice cakes to temples and shrines throughout Kyoto.

He entered the palace to pay homage to Emperor Sunshine.

As the eldest son of Oda Nobutada, Oda Nobushige was ultimately granted a fief of 200,000 koku in Shinano. You might ask, shouldn't it have been 250,000? Because Mori Hideyori was granted an additional 100,000 koku fief to temporarily assist the young Oda Nobushige in governing his newly acquired 200,000 koku territory.

The so-called eight thousand cavalrymen were actually many of Nobunaga's former retainers, including many of his own retainers and over two thousand regular foot soldiers, who were assigned to him by Nobunaga. This allowed him to quickly build a large army and effectively control two hundred thousand koku of rice in Shinano and Matsushiro.

The other day, Shichibei saw Dan Tadamasa go to serve as Oda Nobushige's chief retainer. This man is a true loyal retainer, and it is reasonable for him to be given a large sum of several thousand or even ten thousand koku of rice as chief retainer.

Having said that, the matter of transferring Oda Nobuhisa to Echigo with a fief of 450,000 koku was proceeded as before. After much deliberation, Nobunaga decided to transfer Oda Nobuhisa to Echigo.

There are two reasons. First, although Nobuhisa himself was only ten years old, the retainers his father left him were a genuine, well-organized group of loyal retainers who had fought for decades during the Sengoku period in Japan. Many of them would certainly have left their names and deeds in the history of the Sengoku period in this world.

With such a mature and well-organized group of retainers, Oda Nobuhisa was in charge.

The difficulty of governing Echigo will be greatly reduced. Moreover, Mori Hideyori and his group have already helped complete the sword hunt and land survey. The local resistance level has been greatly reduced, and it can barely be considered safe.

Secondly, it was Oda Nobukatsu's own opinion. Why? Because Nobunaga's pre-arranged "Oda Gosanke" (Oda's three main families) consisted of Oda Nobuhisa, Oda Nobushige, and Nobukatsu's second son.

Princess Mori is currently pregnant but has not yet given birth, so the sex of the child is completely unknown. However, Oda Nobushige has already come of age and has begun to assemble a retinue of retainers, so he will either go to Echigo Province (450,000 li) or go somewhere else.

In Tajima-Harima, the Ikeda Tsuneoki and his son, who were originally from Osaka, were transferred to Himeji Castle, and Hayashi Hideyoshi's son, Hayashi Ichikichi, was also transferred to Harima, completely emptying the Kinai region and leaving it to the Oda clan as their domain. However, the domains were not completely divided, and with Hideyoshi's departure, Hidenaga, who had 50,000 koku in Tajima-Harima, was also taken away.

Thus, in the area of ​​Tajima and Harima, there are probably still some scattered territories of around 100,000 koku. If we add the 50,000 koku of Awaji Island, that would be more than enough, enough to form the foundation of a vassal state with 200,000 to 300,000 koku.

If Oda Nobushige isn't sent to Shinano, he'll most likely be confined to a small territory in Tajima or Harima. Keep in mind that Nishisanuki still has 50,000 koku of vacant land; raising 200,000 to 300,000 koku for Nobushige wouldn't be difficult.

However, Nobukatsu had his own selfish motives regarding the territory near the Kinai region, a prosperous industrial and commercial area, and wanted to leave it to his own son. At worst, he could relocate the Ikeda Tsuneoki and his son to some minor post, while settling his own son in Himeji Castle with a fief of 200,000 koku.

With this selfish motive, Nobushige could only go to the distant Shinano.

It is also said that Mōri Hideyori's grant of 100,000 koku was intended to reduce Oda Nobushige's koku to 200,000 koku. Thus, Nobuhisa's koku would be 450,000, Nobukatsu's second son 250,000 to 300,000, and Nobushige 200,000, a perfect order.

Well, anyway, this matter has already been announced. The emperor's order has been issued, so nothing else matters.

Let's return to the story of Nobunaga and his son Nobukatsu, who were gathered together. At the beginning of the new year, Nobunaga, in his capacity as the Grand Chancellor who oversaw all national affairs, reported to Emperor Hikari that the Eastern Barbarians were causing trouble in the country.

"Toyi Hojo をて"

Emperor Hikari readily issued the imperial edict to subjugate Hojo Ujimasa, and Oda Nobukatsu temporarily assumed the position of "Sei-i Taishogun" (Shogun). He had just been promoted to Acting Middle Counselor and Right General of the Imperial Guard; now he was a true general, reverting to the true nature of the position of Sei-i Taishogun.

According to the imperial edict, the Hojo clan became "enemies of the court," and...

The leader issued a decree that anyone could attack the Hojo clan and would be rewarded for killing them.

In an instant, war clouds loomed overhead. Even the children in the Kinai region, running through the streets and playing games of horseback riding and fighting, were all talking about Oda fighting Hojo.

As soon as the imperial edict was issued, the lords of Shikoku, Kyushu, and the western provinces completely disregarded the New Year and brought one-fifth or one-sixth of their troops to Kyoto to pay homage to Oda Nobunaga and Nobukatsu, offer their New Year greetings, and present their Otachi swords.

Unless there are special circumstances, the head of the household always personally leads the troops into battle. Only when the head of the Sagara family is ten years old and unable to fight is Fukami Nagatomo and Inudou Raian lead four hundred men to participate in the battle.

Furthermore, Ōtomo Sōrin of the Ōtomo family, disregarding his advanced age, led three powerful daimyo in place of his grandson. Takahashi Shōun and Shiga Chikatsugu were quite young, but Tachibana Dōsetsu was truly old, and moreover, he was lame. This time, he brought Tachibana Muneshige along as well, expressing his desire to retire to Nobunaga, which was approved.

Ōtomo Sōrin can be considered a dream team, with three forwards under his command: Takahashi Shōun, Shiga Chikaji, and Tachibana Muneshige. Their skill level is quite high.

With such capable ministers and fierce warriors, the Ōtomo clan actually went from a million koku of rice to 195,000 koku, which is truly terrible.

It was much easier for Shichibei. Tōdō Takatora, who was left behind, dispatched Shichibei's personal attendant, his close retainers, and five hundred arquebusiers to help Shichibei gather more than a thousand men, and the army was formed immediately.

Sanada Masaki, Kawamura Naokichi, and Hiratsuka each led a contingent; while not exactly a dream team, their skill level was quite respectable. Including the two or three hundred men who followed Shichibei to Shinano to command Oda Nobuhiro's army, the total was nearly two thousand, a considerable show of respect for Nobunaga.

Kagawa Nobuzumi, who had been transferred to Kyushu, and Miyoshi Nobutaka, whose life was essentially over, both came, and the atmosphere was barely harmonious. After all, Nobukatsu had repeatedly rendered great service and was the eldest son established by Nobunaga. Even if he was resentful, what good was it without supporters?

The Oda clan's forces were entirely a ragtag group assembled by Nobunaga during his forty years of conquest. Since Nobunaga led the way in supporting Nobukatsu, the vast majority of people would certainly support Nobukatsu as well.

If Oda Nobuhiro were still alive, perhaps he could offer some advice, but Nobuhiro is dead. The four senior retainers, Hashiba Hideyoshi, Niwa Nagahide, Takigawa Kazumasu, and Kawamura Nagayoshi, can all be said to be in favor of maintaining the status quo.

All four were underlings Nobunaga recruited from the village; without Nobunaga, they wouldn't be where they are today. Those four are definitely supporters of the status quo, always ready to support him, no matter who's in power.

So, everyone got along well.

Everyone happily ate at Nobunaga and Nobukatsu's respective banquets, and after that, they went to Kawamura's residence for another banquet. There was no way around it; this was his brother-in-law, and that was his son-in-law. Since they were in Kyoto, Shichibei had to treat them well.

Fortunately, Lady Takaya moved to the Kawamura residence in Kyoto, where she was in charge of these affairs. She managed them very well and was no less capable than Shichibei's other concubines.

Compared to the relaxed and carefree atmosphere of the western garrison, the eastern garrison was much busier. The previous pacification of Kyushu was primarily carried out by the western garrison. Now, to pacify Kanto, naturally, the eastern garrison would be needed. Mino was to contribute 25,000 men, Owari 25,000, Ise 25,000, and even Iga 4,000.

Anyway, it's about mobilizing as many troops as possible, and it's not exactly a long-distance operation. Tokugawa Ieyasu from Mikawa and Totomi only needs to travel three or four days to reach the Izu front, so he'd have to bring 20,000 men into battle.