Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

After that, Sakai probably lost its competitiveness.

Now, let's discuss it again after Osaka is completed. Nobuo hasn't yet demanded that Osaka be changed from one of the five treaty ports in the Kinai region to a trading port, so Nakai's glory can continue.

Once the national rice market is concentrated in Osaka and the foreign trade port is also moved to Osaka, then Sakai will have to end its historical mission.

After the banquet ended, everyone, having come all this way to Kyoto, was calling out to their friends and family, clearly indicating that there would be a second round. But Shichibei had far more than just a second round; there were two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight!

The New Year is all about eating and drinking. The only good news is that since most of the Eastern Kingdom's people were subdued between June and August of last year, the vast majority of them don't have their own houses in Kyoto and are living in temples or shrines. Nobukatsu has already cleared land for them to build houses.

But no matter how quickly they could build, they still needed to construct residences befitting the status of feudal lords and daimyo. Therefore, many people currently had no place to host banquets and would have to wait until next year. Fortunately, Shichibei wouldn't need to drink for over ten days straight. He could concentrate his drinking within three to five days, finishing off the sake offered by his brother-in-law and son-in-law.

After everyone had finished their drinks, Shichibei invited the generals to a banquet at his residence in Kawamura, Kyoto. Only Shibata Nagakatsu and Yamagata Masamitsu, the brothers-in-law of the eleven daughters, came. Only Sagara Tadafune, who was sickly, sent Inudo Yoriyasu to pay his respects to Nobuo.

Privately, Shichibei had already sent someone to inquire. If Sagara Tadafune was dead for good, then his younger brother, Sagara Yorifusa, should continue to fulfill the marriage agreement.

She is still a daughter of the Kawamura family; we can't let her become a widow waiting to be married.

Even considering Tozawa Moriyasu, taking into account the average age of the other men in his family and his arduous journey from Kakunodate Castle to Kyoto and then to Odawara, it's highly likely he died from exhaustion, or at least from illness caused by fatigue. Now that the war has ended and he no longer needs to run thousands of miles, he should be able to live a few more days.

With Shichibei, the brother-in-law and father-in-law, present, everyone drank merrily. These were all powerful lords, and there would be plenty of opportunities for social interaction in the future. They might even have to serve in Kyoto for a long time, so it was good to build relationships first.

Chapter 609 Industrial Development in Higo

Nobukatsu did not establish the sankin-kotai system of the Edo period, where two-thirds of the feudal lords resided in the prefecture and one-third in the province, alternating between April and September each year, constantly traveling on the roads.

After all, he wasn't a god, and might not have realized it immediately. But even so, reminded by his three elders, he began to deplete the money and strength of the feudal lords.

Besides Osaka Castle, the feudal lords of the eastern provinces were also required to construct residences in Azuchi and Kyoto, and to dispatch personnel to maintain them. They were also to send hostages to live in Kyoto or Azuchi, though it wasn't explicitly stated that the principal wife and eldest son had to remain in Kyoto. However, important hostages were mandatory, primarily males with inheritance rights.

If the establishment of a system is a natural evolution, then observing its development and evolution is actually quite interesting. Shichibei, for one, hasn't actively mentioned the handover of his duties as a sankin (senior citizen), but Nobuo is still exploring in that direction. Of course, when it will be fully established depends on the speed and determination with which he pushes it forward.

Previously at Odawara Castle, feudal lords often sent their eldest sons to the battlefield as hostages to express their submission. Now that Oda Nobukatsu has been promoted to Grand Chancellor and secured his position as the ruler of the land, these hostages are no longer simply hostages; they have become their family's "spies" in the central government, or to put it bluntly, their liaison offices in the capital.

Perhaps even if Nobuo asked them to go home, they wouldn't want to. They just want to stay in Kyoto, living a carefree life of luxury and excitement. Compared to the prosperous Kyoto and Azuchi, their hometown is just a poor, remote mountain village.

Even in later generations, you were known as "Little Edo," and I was known as "Little Kyoto." For example, Yonezawa Castle, the current residence of the Date family, was located in the center of the Yonezawa Basin, which was barely considered a good place in the agricultural era. But by later generations, with a population of 80,000, it had become a gradually disappearing autonomous prefecture.

For the sons of the feudal lords of the eastern provinces, living in Kyoto was a world of novelty, far more exciting than staying at home. When Date Masamune was young, he said he wished he could eat sardines every day. But as he grew older and saw more of the world, he was served all sorts of things: salmon, scallops, cockles, tuna, sea cucumbers, and lobsters.

Other animals such as swans, bears, horses, deer, wild ducks, and pheasants—basically anything that could be tasted—Date Masamune tried. He even ate pickled swan, presumably because he liked it, and presented it to the shogun.

That's human nature; who would want to stay in a poor and backward place forever?

Previously, Nobukatsu had been lenient, allowing the young general and his wives, concubines, and children to visit his new territory in Kumamoto. Now, they too must return to Azuchi Castle and continue to serve as hostages. In any case, Kawamura Nobuyoshi would also be serving as Nobukatsu's close aide, which meant that his wife and son were essentially still in the Kinai region.

The same applies to the others. Niwa Nagahide was transferred to Aizu, while Niwa Nagashige remained in Kyoto to serve Nobuo. He also had to build Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle as his residence. The pressure wouldn't be small; it really added more burdens to his load.

After meeting with the junior general and others and staying for two days, Shichibei returned to his territory in Kumamoto. The establishment of the Kanto government had ended; those who were to be transferred were transferred, and those who were to be reassigned were reassigned. In general administrative affairs, the old retainers were not really needed.

This is also a continuation of the practice from the Nobunaga era. During the Nobunaga era, only important matters were discussed with a group of relatives, senior retainers, and other important figures. In ordinary times, the administration of the territory under Nobunaga's direct control was carried out by his subordinate officials.

Currently, the actual administration of the Kinai region is handled by the "Three Elders," who are nominally in charge but not officially appointed. Nobuo has not given them any actual positions or created any new ones. Hijikata Okihisa and Takikawa Otoshi are merely assistant ministers and right scribes, while Ataka Kiyoyasu is a member of the Imperial Guard.

We don't know what Nobukatsu was thinking, and we can't really understand his thoughts. Historically, Hideyoshi established the Five Commissioners, commonly known as the Five Elders and Five Commissioners. The Edo Shogunate, in addition to the Elders, also established various Commissioners and Wakatoshi-yori to manage specific affairs and tens of thousands of hatamoto and gokenin.

Establishing a comprehensive system might be difficult for Xin Xiong. He would have to figure it out gradually, partly because his father's obsession with unifying the world was all that remained in his final years. After assuming the position of Grand Chancellor, any reforms to the system temporarily stalled.

In response, Shichibei gave Kawamura Nobuyoshi a few instructions. Although he couldn't enter Nobukatsu's inner circle of power for the time being, Nobukatsu might ask him about certain matters someday. If he had any ideas, he should tell Shichibei now, and Shichibei would give him some advice. If he had no ideas, he should say that he would follow the Grand Chancellor's instructions.

One should learn the turtle's way of life: when it's time to shrink back, do so.

Kawamura Nobuyoshi learned his lesson; being too assertive in the central government isn't a good thing. Let those who want to stir things up be. We should mind our own business and avoid being nosy.

Thus, Shichibei crossed the sea to Kumamoto. After a year of renovations by Todo Takatora, Kumamoto Castle had long since taken on the appearance of Kumamoto Castle. Currently, large-scale river restoration is underway; since Kumamoto is not on the coast, Todo Takatora's idea is to develop inland waterway transportation.

By building dikes, digging ditches, and deepening waterways, Kumamoto, originally an inland town, was connected to the Amakusa Beach area. As a result, while large ocean-going ships with deep drafts could not enter Kumamoto, ordinary Japanese shosen, with a draft of no more than two meters, could sail directly to Kumamoto Castle.

Construction of the castle town is basically complete, and the row houses of foot soldiers and samurai in the samurai town have been handed over and occupied. However, the townspeople who have moved from various parts of Higo have not yet filled the "Gofuku-cho" area.

It's understandable. Higo wasn't exactly a thriving center for commerce and handicrafts, so they gradually recruited townspeople. Oda Nobuo, on the other hand, completely demolished Odawara Castle and abducted 30,000 townspeople to populate Osaka Castle town. Since we couldn't abduct that many townspeople, we can only develop slowly.

The main issue is the situation in Nagasaki under the jurisdiction of Ōmura. Have any Christians caused any trouble?

No, the suppression in Nagasaki lasted for eight months, during which all the temples and shrines that Nobunaga had donated to build were rebuilt, and the ban was issued by the former Nagayori.

Having lost the strong demands of lord Ōmura Sumitada, and learning that the Jesuits were also being heavily pressured by Nobunaga, the Ōmura lordship of 60,000 people saw approximately 30,000 revert to Shinto and Buddhist beliefs, while the remaining 30,000 maintained their Christian faith—a roughly 50/50 split.

Nobunaga had previously stipulated that the Jesuits must train their own clergy in Japan and translate the Bible into Japanese so that the Japanese people could understand it. Ōmura Nagasaki enforced this regulation very strictly.

Sermons, Masses, and other permissible sacraments are now all conducted in Japanese, as required. Whether this is against Roman custom or without God's permission, in Japan you have to follow Japanese rules.

Shichibei was very supportive of Nobunaga's attitude; religious localization was the right path. If you want to come in, you have to integrate into Japanese social customs and environment. To demand respect when there are few people, and assimilate when there are many—that's utter nonsense.

"With peace and prosperity restored throughout the land, my lord should encourage agriculture and cultivate new fields," said Tōdō Takatora, as he prepared to pull out a map he had prepared beforehand.

The land tax in Higo Province, according to the Kyushu land survey in Nobukatsu, is 570,000 koku. The Kuma district was allocated to the Sagara family, so we won't discuss that. Other districts and villages still have great development potential, especially the Kumamoto Plain, which is considered a very good agricultural area. With improved irrigation, Uchitaka could potentially increase its land tax by tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of koku in a short period.

"Let's not talk about that now." Shichibei waved his hand, signaling to Todo Takatora to stop talking.

While developing new fields is necessary, developing specialty products is even more important. The annual tribute rice of 570,000 koku can only be considered a guaranteed income; we cannot expect to rely on this amount of rice for generations to come. Moreover, Kyushu is prone to typhoons, and we are hit by one or two typhoons almost every year. Even though Kyushu is subtropical with two harvests a year, there is still a possibility of financial hardship.

Japan spans thousands of kilometers from north to south, so it's impossible for every place to be affected by disaster. As long as there's money, ships can sail to Sakai and Osaka, and countless grains of rice can be transported to Kumamoto.

Therefore, the essence of economics in promoting industry and commerce lies not in developing new farmland, but in developing handicrafts with higher added value. Of course, raw materials that are only available in Kumamoto are also acceptable, such as ramie from Echigo.

Someone asked, "You already own a Kawamura-ya, aren't you worried about not having enough money?"

Kawamura-ya is Kawamura-ya, and the Kawamura family is the Kawamura family. Theoretically, the Kawamura family belongs entirely to Shichibei, but Kawamura-ya belongs to Nobunaga and his son Nobuo.

Although the head of the business was Shichibei, Kawamuraya was able to grow from a small roadside horse-riding guild in Tsushima into one of Japan's leading large merchants entirely thanks to the cultivation of Nobunaga and his son, Nobuo.

It might not be immediately apparent, because after Nobukatsu's victory at Odawara, he was practically debt-free. The sums of money he amassed from the Kanto region amounted to millions, which not only covered his military expenses but also left him with a surplus.

In addition, the treasures presented to Nobunaga by feudal lords, temples, wealthy merchants, and nobles were worth hundreds of thousands of kan. For many years, Nobunaga had been regularly dealing with these gifts. However, some of these items were not common goods and could be collected or displayed.

Over time, gifts and collectibles worth hundreds of thousands of kan were stored in the Nijō Palace and the Kinkū of Azuchi Castle. These all ended up in Nobukatsu's possessions.

What if, decades later, when the world has enjoyed peace and prosperity and people have become increasingly extravagant, the Oda clan's demands on Kawamura-ya will certainly increase significantly, and the current harmonious relationship between ruler and subjects will no longer exist.

Therefore, the business should still be divided. The operation of Kawamura-ya could even be handed over to the Inase Kawamura family if necessary. Its two core businesses are rice trading and the annual tribute rice contracting. Both rely on the monopolistic profits of feudal monarchy. If you put a pig on top and let everything proceed methodically, it might even be able to do a good job.

At most, pigs just don't innovate, but in this era before the Industrial Revolution and with minimal social change, putting a pig on board wouldn't cause chaos. It certainly wouldn't lead to reckless actions or squandering Kawamura's money.

Shichibei is still alive and one of the so-called "Four Heavenly Kings of Oda," so there's no need to separate the two sides yet. Once Shichibei begins to hand over responsibilities to Kawamura Nobuyoshi, things will have to start to get under control.

Let's take it one step at a time. First, let's get Higo's affairs sorted out.

It's highly unlikely that the Shimabara-Amakusa Christian Rebellion will occur in this world. After all, the Oda clan doesn't force people to renounce their faith, nor does it prohibit proselytizing; as long as the religion is under the king's control, that's sufficient. Besides, the Shimabara Rebellion was more of a case of the government forcing the people to rebel, using Christianity as a pretext. Shichibei is very disciplined; he sticks to the agreed-upon principle of "five publics and five privates."

The annual tribute rice was split in half. Of the 570,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice in the territory, I was only allowed to see 285,000 shi after the autumn harvest, and that was considered the end of it. In the end, how much can you really squeeze out of the farmers? They still need to make money.

Higo is a mountainous region with two main development paths: one is to develop tea plantations, and the other is to plant ash trees. Developing tea cultivation and candle manufacturing are two major initiatives, and both can be implemented in Higo according to local conditions.

Other smaller items include the cultivation of citrus fruits and daikon radish. Citrus fruits hold an unparalleled position as the most important fruit in Japan during this winter season. If mandarin oranges can be cultivated, they can even be shipped all the way to the Kinai region for sale.

And radishes are even more remarkable. After being introduced to Japan during the Tang Dynasty, the Japanese certainly put in some effort. They managed to cultivate the radish, which was originally only the size of a carrot in later generations, into a truly large radish. Radishes thus secured a prominent place in the Japanese diet at that time.

Moreover, radishes have a longer shelf life than other vegetables after harvesting, and they are also one of the most important vegetable sources in autumn and winter.

In coastal villages and towns, squid and cuttlefish are caught and processed into salted dried fish as a snack with alcohol. These are then transported to consumer markets within the capital region; while not necessarily selling like hotcakes, they at least have a market.

Don't just think about scraping a few hundred or a few thousand shi from the paddy fields. Let's develop agriculture and industry, and fully utilize Higo's geographical advantages. Of course, we should also engage in trade with the southern barbarians, but that's something Nobukatsu intended to use to appease the feudal lords. This year's official documents haven't arrived yet; he's probably still hesitating about how many to issue.

The Shimazu family in the south tried planting everything imaginable: sugarcane, camphor, cork tree, cinnamon, safflower, and alkanet root. Their drive to develop products that could be produced locally and exported was among the strongest in Japan.

"Farming and weaving are the foundation of all industries." Todo Takatora was still a little confused.

Farming ensures food, and weaving ensures clothing; it's true that farming and weaving are the foundation of all industries. However, Japan is now unified, no longer in an era of fragmented power among local warlords. The internal market of Japan is rapidly being established and developed. Clinging to farming and weaving at this point will only lead to poverty.

Developing locally distinctive agriculture and rural handicrafts is beneficial for maintaining the vitality of rural areas. In this agricultural age, only vibrant villages can continuously supply life to Kumamoto Castle, its heart.

There are tens of thousands of samurai and their families living around Kumamoto Castle who do not engage in productive labor. In just two or three generations, they could drain the rural areas of Higo. Making the rural areas more vibrant would also provide a safety net for the Kumamoto Domain.

Chapter 610 Divine Title: Great Heavenly God (Named by Guo)

Niwa Nagahide, who had moved to Kurokawa-kan in Aizu, looked at the vast but still somewhat desolate Aizu territory and the feudal lords who came to pay homage to him, and felt a mix of emotions.

He had worked hard all his life, and his own income was 500,000 koku, while his son's was 140,000 koku, which was actually quite good. But he was still somewhat disappointed when he was transferred from Echizen, which was close to the Kinai region, to Aizu in Oshu.

I wonder what Hideyoshi Hashiba and Nagayoshi Kawamura were thinking when they were kicked away to guard the northern and southern Kyushu.

What are you thinking? Just accept it calmly.

Looking at Hideyoshi's life trajectory, it's clear that all the commanders of the Oda army who were given important positions would eventually reach this point. Hideyoshi first went to Mino Sunomata (Mino Conquest), then to Yokoyama in Kohoku (Battle of Anegawa), then to Nagahama in Kohoku (Pacification of Kinai), then to Himeji in Harima (Conquest of the Mori in Western Japan), and finally to Hakata in Chikuzen (Conquest of Kyushu).

It's all about gradually moving outwards. If you want to be enfeoffed as a major fiefdom, receive great rewards, and establish a prestigious family with an income exceeding 500,000 shi (a unit of grain), you can only go to remote and isolated areas surrounded by powerful figures.

Back then, Takigawa Kazumasu faced both Uesugi Kenshin and Hojo Ujimasa, and the situation was equally difficult as he held Minowa Castle in western Ueno. Nobunaga's approach was consistent: giving you a large fiefdom meant he wanted you to make a big impact.

Although Nobunaga is dead, I still have to say that the benefits he gave you were something you had to give your life for.

Before coming, Niwa Nagahide and Oda Nobuo had a private talk. During the Battle of Odawara, some of the five families that supported him—Sugagawa Suda, Miharuta Village, Tanakura Village, Shirakawa Yuki, and Nihonmatsu Hatakeyama—came with Satake Yoshishige, while others came with Date Terumune.

For example, Tamura Kiyokazu had fought against Satake Yoshishige, and they were not on the same page, with Tamura Kiyokazu leaning more towards Date. Historically, this was changed by Hideyoshi, but in this world, due to Date Terumune's persuasion, they came together.

However, due to years of oppression from forces such as Satake and Soma, the Tamura family was already very weak. Now, separating him from the Date family's wing and transferring him to Niwa Nagahide clearly meant that Niwa Nagahide was being tacitly allowed to subdue the Tamura family and make them complete vassals.

The Shirakawa Yuki Yoshiaki and the Tanakurago Ishimi-no-kami families were actually one family, originally the Shirakawa Yuki clan. After Yuki Harutsuna's death, internal strife broke out within the family, with one faction favoring Ashina and the other favoring Satake. Yuki Yoshiaki, who favored Ashina, was fortunate to have jumped ship quickly, otherwise he would have been killed by Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Since Yuki Harutsuna's death, the Shirakawa Yuki family had fallen into a state of utter weakness. They were twice defeated and forced to flee by Satake Yoshishige, only managing to regain their territory through the mediation of Ashina Moriuji. They were, in a sense, easy targets.

Sugagawa Suda Morihide was the de facto ruler of Sugagawa Castle after the death of Nikaido Moriyoshi. Since the eldest son of the Nikaido family, Nikaido Yukichika, had died and a new lord had not yet been appointed, Suda Morihide, backed by the Satake family, had a subtle tendency to overthrow his superiors.

Why didn't he succeed in overthrowing his superior? Because Ashina Moritaka was still alive at the time, and he was from the Nikaido family. According to the prevailing custom, once Ashina Moritaka had his second and third children, he could have been reinstated into the Nikaido family.

Thus, Suda Morihide remained a nobleman of the Nikaido family until the Odawara Campaign. When Tokugawa Ieyasu led his army in a brutal invasion, Ashina Moritaka was utterly killed, and the Nikaido family line was effectively severed. Ieyasu, in a show of goodwill, acknowledged Suda Morihide's rule over Sukagawa Castle.

At that time, Oda Nobukatsu was eager to be promoted to Grand Chancellor in Kyoto, so he approved the proposal and issued a letter of guarantee. Suda Morihide then replaced Oda Nobukatsu with a new daimyo.

The situation of Nihonmatsu Hatakeyama Yoshitsugu is more straightforward. In 1559, his father, Hatakeyama Yoshikuni, was defeated by Date Sanemoto and Ashina Morioki, and surrendered to the Ashina clan, becoming a force under their protection.

This time, they should be uprooted completely, and Date Terumune persuaded him, so he went to Odawara and thus secured his territory. He was another easy target, already weakened.

These five families, though powerful daimyo, weren't exactly formidable. Nobukatsu's tacit approval of Niwa Nagahide absorbing them meant no uprising or anything like that could erupt. They could follow the example of Hosokawa Fujitaka's massacre of his son-in-law, the entire Isshiki clan—a swift and decisive approach, killing them all. The central government would only question them briefly, and that would be the end of it.

The meat that Niwa Nagahide actually ate was not something he would vomit up.

Historically, when the Kuroda family transferred their fiefdom to Nakatsu Castle in Buzen Province, they also tricked and massacred the entire Utsunomiya clan of Shiroi, all to seize his 30,000 koku of land. It was the Warring States period, a time of chaos; even though the country was unified, there still had to be some echoes after the symphony ended.

Of course, Niwa Nagahide wouldn't rush things. His plan was simple: first, have these five families contribute money and effort to repair Osaka Castle, or perhaps Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle, to generate a windfall of gold and weaken their strength.

When the old forces have faded and the new forces haven't yet emerged, we'll swiftly cut through the mess and give him a good show, like smashing a cup as a signal. They're all characters who've crawled out of piles of corpses; naturally, even Niwa Nagahide has his moments of ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness. In this chaotic world, where are there any pure white lotuses? The real pure white lotuses are long gone.

The five people who came to pay their respects to Niwa Nagahide were relieved to see that he was a refined and composed general who was also smiling and talking to them.

They had already received news of the construction of Osaka Castle; there was nothing they could do about it. They couldn't blame Niwa Nagahide; the Grand Chancellor Taira had given the order, and everyone in the eastern provinces had to participate. So they would contribute money and labor, but seeing the amount on the budget account still made their hearts pound.