Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

"Hmm... let's discuss this later." Nobuo also felt that there was no rush.

Spending money is fine, even spending a lot of money is fine, but spending a lot of money every day is not acceptable. Nobukatsu, though not particularly bright, isn't stupid either. He plans to first talk to Emperor Hikari and see what the emperor thinks. He'll agree that Nobukatsu's generation will rebuild the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple. Other wonders will be built during Oda Saburo's generation.

If another generation rises to power, that's still manageable. The Oda family is vast and powerful, with a stipend of over three million koku and control of the nation's major gold and silver mines. Supporting the expenses of a spectacle wouldn't be difficult for them.

Taking advantage of the temporary suppression of this proposal, Shichibei quickly put forward a plan to transform Sado into a royal domain and establish a deputy office there. His purpose in coming to Kyoto and Azuchi was to pay homage to Sado and to Nobunaga's Genius Shrine.

As for Sado, which only yields a mere 17,000 koku of silver, divided into three districts, and where Tsuruko Silver Mine barely produces any silver throughout the year, Nobukatsu waved his hand, telling Shichibei to handle it himself. Why bring such a truly remote and impoverished place to the Prime Minister's attention?

Just send two of your samurai to inform them, and that will suffice. Seventeen thousand koku is enough to house a feudal lord, but who would want to take up a fiefdom in such a place?

The elders and young people present all tacitly agreed that the two meager silver mountains and the barren land on the small island of 17,000 shi (approximately 6,667 kilograms) were likely to result in more expenses than revenue, even if a temporary administration was established and people were hired to manage the island.

Nobukatsu himself didn't care, and the other ministers were indifferent; the bill passed swiftly. Shichibei added a question: should he be transferred to the command of the Ginzan Chief Administrator? Nobukatsu simply nodded casually, and the paperwork was ready to be issued to Shichibei on the spot.

As for how many kan of silver would be sent to Nobuo each year, Nobuo simply said to keep the same 30/70 split and not to ask him again. He told Nobuo to speak with Ataka Kiyoyasu if anything came up; Ataka Kiyoyasu was now a young official, officially holding a position and authority, responsible for the civil administration of the territory. Shichibei was also related to him by marriage, so communication was easy.

That's perfect. Shichibei went to great lengths to come all the way from Kumamoto to Azuchi, all for the sake of Sado. Shichibei even paid for Oda Nobuhisa's campaign to pacify Sado. The other day, when he came to report the expenses, he took another nine thousand ryo from Shichibei.

After discussing other matters, the first meeting of the new "cabinet" came to a successful conclusion.

As soon as the event ended, Oda Nobukatsu saw his good brother, henchman, and partner, Hatakeyama Nobutaka, rushing to Kyoto. Although Hatakeyama Nobutaka, as the lord of Nagato Province, did not actually hold a position, the main obstacle preventing him from taking office was his age. Once he was in his twenties, he would be able to assume an important position in Nobukatsu's government.

I really don't know how these two lovable brothers could be so compatible.

Hatakeyama Nobutaka's trip to Kyoto was naturally to inquire with the Imperial Court about the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple. Such matters would certainly involve probing, exchanging information, and making secret agreements before Nobukatsu and Emperor Hikari would step in to make the final decisions.

Hatakeyama Nobutaka, who was very happy running errands for his brother Nobuo, even made a point of meeting Shichibei. He asked Shichibei to confirm one thing: did they really have enough money to rebuild the Great Buddha Hall?

If he has the money to repair it, then he'll have his own explanation. If he doesn't have the money, then he'll have a different explanation. Hey, thinking about it, this guy's got a sharp tongue. Last time he entered Yoshida-Koriyama Castle, it was he who ran around trying to persuade Mori Terumoto to give his daughter to Oda Nobukatsu, ultimately leading to the castle's surrender.

It suits his background; these old nobles, all they have left is a mouth, right?

After being told he had money, Hatakeyama Nobutaka nodded slightly and headed towards Kyoto. Seeing his stepfather, Shichibei, so motivated by his adopted son's enthusiasm, felt quite gratified. He was a good son who had built his own fortune; Shichibei had laid the foundation for his 60,000 koku fortune, and the rest he had truly earned himself by clinging to his older brother, Nobuyuki.

Due to the changing political situation, the feudal lords were even more reluctant to leave their territories and began to act independently. The vacant position was something both they and others wanted to claim.

Without Oda Nobukatsu issuing an order for the lords to serve in the government, the lords voluntarily stayed in Azuchi, and would most likely choose to stay in Osaka afterward.

Historically, around the time of the Battle of Sekigahara, more than seventy feudal lords were stationed in Osaka and Fushimi. This accounted for about one-third of all the feudal lords in Japan, so many political actions had far-reaching implications, as those who could mobilize were all playing their cards against each other within the Kinai region.

With peace prevailing throughout the land, the feudal lords would indeed focus more of their energy on the central government. Their home territories would be entrusted to trusted retainers. After all, the vast majority of feudal lords weren't born and raised in their own territories; they were merely transplanted and placed around like potted plants.

This may be one of the reasons why the handover of the vassal states was able to proceed, as the first and second generation of vassal lords had very weak feelings for their territories.

Chapter 620 Sending Silver in Exchange for Gold (Zhu Xiucai's Three-Jin Crown)

Realizing he was short of money, Oda Nobuo immediately issued two hundred official documents the following day, ordering Japanese merchant ships to set sail and engage in trade with the southern barbarians. This was to keep his money in circulation and be able to cover the inevitable and substantial expenses.

Shichibei was more than happy to pay this sum, but Nobuo was shrewd enough. He kept one hundred bills for himself and gave the other one hundred to Shichibei to distribute on his behalf.

The hundred certificates he kept on hand were naturally intended for use in winning over the feudal lords. As he'd said, these vermilion-stamped certificates were a form of favor, and a very direct one at that. Shichibei understood perfectly well; previously, Nobunaga simply didn't have the time to manage such matters, but now that the country was unified, he had much more time to manipulate politics.

Shichibei's one hundred cards were immediately disbursed with 400,000 kan. After the annual tribute rice harvest, the samurai would be paid their stipends according to custom. Nobukatsu's direct forces had reached over 70,000 men, including some samurai with proper conduct. The remaining regular foot soldiers received cash and rice.

That is, an annual salary of five, eight, or ten strings of cash, with one or three people supporting him. With money and rice, he could support both the servant and his wife and children.

Rice was easy to manage; after the annual tribute rice was stored in the granary, it was distributed according to quantity to ensure that each household of the regular foot soldier had food to eat. As for their salaries, it had become a common practice that they were all paid from the Kawamura-ya (a type of government office).

Nobunaga discovered this problem many years ago. Although the money almost all came from Kawamura-ya, he had to personally distribute the money, or at least have his magistrates do it.

It's a very simple principle, so I won't go into details. But the foot soldiers under Azuchi Castle, whenever they saw oxcarts carrying mountains of coins driving into the castle, knew that Boss Kawamura had sent money again. Once the money arrived, their salaries would also arrive. Nobukatsu still maintained the bottom line that he had to distribute the money and rice himself, but that didn't prevent Shichibei from deciding the days for distributing the money and rations.

Now Nobuo is urging Shichibei to send some money first, as he probably thinks it's better for him to decide the date himself.

I understand. Shichibei never intended to compete with Nobukatsu for military power, so how could I not understand? Sending the money to Nobukatsu sooner will put his mind at ease, and it will also save Shichibei some trouble.

Speaking of this, Shichibei has to mention something else. Unlike the Tokugawa clan, who established their power in Edo and were located in the eastern part of the country, the Oda clan's base was in the Kinai and Noo regions. Their main castle was Azuchi at the time, and later Osaka. Although gold kobans were still widely used, silver also circulated accordingly.

Silver is a real hassle because it's a weighted currency. While gold has been largely reformed into gold shoban (one tael of gold), with each shoban worth one tael, silver, due to continuous production, sees its value change every three days. The market price of silver fluctuates very frequently.

Even though Japan's major gold and silver mines were controlled by the Oda family, it did not prevent Shichibei and the mine developers from maintaining a roughly 20/80 or 30/70 split.

In other words, Shichibei and Nobuo did not actually control all the gold and silver in the market. More than 30% of the gold and silver must have been reserved for the cost of the mines' engineers and miners.

Not to mention the silver found alongside copper, zinc, and gold. These are all simply hidden away; Shichibei only knows they exist, but doesn't investigate their whereabouts.

Due to the uncontrolled influx of a considerable amount of silver into the market, the ratio of gold, silver, and copper coins in the market kept changing. This is one of the reasons why Shichibei needed to establish a nationwide guild for the silver and copper coin exchange industry, so that everyone could work together to make adjustments and cope with the situation.

In the Edo period, this would have been a golden opportunity for money changers to profit immensely. However, in the present context, Shichibei preferred a stable currency value to shape a comprehensive domestic market in Japan. A chaotic currency system and value would be detrimental to a unified market.

Therefore, Shichibei hoped to discuss with Oda Nobuo the possibility of having two large ships specially dispatched by the government to sail overseas. The purpose was not for anything else, but specifically to take the tens of tons of silver that Japan was producing annually at that time to Ming China, Annam, Siam, and Luzon to exchange for gold and placer gold.

You ask why not just mint silver coins? Well, that wouldn't work. In the last one or two hundred years, Japan's peak annual silver production was nearly 100 tons (38-55 tons in Iwami, 12-20 tons in Ikuno, and around 32 tons in Sado), flooding the market. Besides being used to purchase goods in Obi-mei, the domestic market was also saturated with silver, inevitably leading to a long-term downward trend in its value. Minting silver coins wouldn't stabilize its value.

This would still cause chaos in the domestic market, as well as confusion and trouble in the gold and silver exchange industry. Therefore, Shichibei's plan was to exchange as much gold as possible into Japan. He would devote all his efforts to exchanging gold into Japan and try to completely transform the western provinces into regions that used both gold koban and copper coins.

At that time, probably no one was aware of this, but Shichibei wasn't exactly ahead of his time either. But that's what we do, we have to plan ahead.

Nobuo was puzzled by Shichibei's request. However, Shichibei explained that he needed more gold to mint gold koban (a type of Japanese currency) to ensure a sufficient supply of money and goods for the market, so Nobuo could only smile and nod in agreement.

Fortunately, this kid inherited some of his father's good qualities. I don't understand business matters anyway, so just do as Kawamura Nagayoshi suggests. As long as he doesn't shortchange me on money, I won't ask anything else.

The goal was to use one million taels of silver annually to buy gold and placer gold abroad, buying as much as possible. Japan's domestic economy would continue to develop, increasing the demand for gold coins. The Edo Shogunate repeatedly recast coins to reduce their weight. While the primary reason for this was to earn seigniorage, it was also due to a genuine shortage of precious metal currency in the market.

However, as a result, Shichibei first gave 400,000 yen to Nobuo to buy 100 red-inked certificates. He also moved a large amount of silver to places like Obiaki, which greatly reduced the working capital of the entire Kawamura-ya.

After the annual tribute rice is stored, more than two million kan of cash will be temporarily tied up in the rice industry. Even if some of the annual tribute rice can be transferred to people like Imai Munehisa for management, it will still be a huge sum of money.

Just as the money was becoming increasingly tight, Hatakeyama Nobutaka rushed back from Kyoto, bringing Oda Nobuo the "imperial message" from the court nobles and Emperor Yoko.

If the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple could be rebuilt, it would be a great blessing for the entire nation. The Imperial Court guarantees that this project can only be carried out in the short term, at least ten or twenty years, and no longer hopes that Oda Nobukatsu will rebuild any other temples.

With this promise from the Imperial Court and the Emperor, Oda Nobukatsu's desire to rebuild the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple was fully aroused.

Chapter 621 The Expensive Construction of the Great Buddha

What else is there to say?

Make a vow!

Xinxiong publicly declared that he was willing to donate funds to build the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple and rebuild the Vairocana Buddha Sutra Hall, praying for world peace and tranquility for all people.

As expected, Nobuo demanded that Shichibei immediately allocate 200,000 kan, neither asking for a loan nor demanding it, leaving it entirely to Shichibei's "will." With this 200,000 kan as seed money, a large-scale forestry survey and the felling and transportation of massive timbers would be carried out throughout Japan.

As mentioned earlier, during the Edo period, massive timbers were transported from Hyuga Hakuchoyama to Nara at a cost of 8,000 kan. The price today wouldn't be much different; the transportation costs alone for the massive beams and pillars needed to rebuild the Great Buddha Hall could easily amount to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of kan.

Shichibei publicly stated at the meeting that he was willing to pay the money, so now that he has made the vow, he has to pay up. Paying up is easy to say, but with so many messy things happening all at once, even Kotaro, who brought the money to Azuchi, muttered that the money was being spent faster than coins were being minted.

Indeed, even with the Sakai Zenza's tireless minting of gold koban and Yongle tongbao coins day and night, it couldn't keep up with the pace at which two to three million coins were being spent in just one month.

These are all political tasks, and the money has to be spent. Although Shichibei had his doubts, as long as the deal didn't fall through, the money would be back in no time. Although two to three million kan were staked on the annual tribute rice every year, this business was very profitable. Once the rice was sold out, the money would come rolling back in.

Besides, with so many mines, once you dig out the ore, you'll make money. Don't rush.

However, with the commencement of the major construction on the Great Buddha Hall of Todai-ji Temple, the Oda clan will now be undertaking two major projects simultaneously. The difficulty of transporting massive stones and timbers is a significant problem even in neighboring China. During the construction of the imperial mausoleum and the Forbidden City, timber and stone were transported by freezing water on the roads in winter, using these methods to pull and haul them along.

In Nara, Japan, the conditions for freezing water are simply not available. The only option is to place logs under giant trees and haul the water uphill bit by bit. This would require tens of thousands of people; even a hundred thousand would probably be barely enough.

This has led to a problem: previously, the eastern domains could hire laborers from the Kinai region to participate in the construction work in Osaka. Now, however, they have no choice but to send samurai and commoners from within their domains to participate in the major project.

Because the main laborers had been taken away by the Oda clan to carry out comprehensive leveling, road construction, trench digging, and mountain clearing work at Todai-ji Temple in Nara, and because this was a major Buddhist event vowed by Oda Nobukatsu, the ruler of the land, the feudal lords also had to release these laborers for the sake of social stability.

This whole affair has caused chaos and disorder, especially since it's harvest season; it's no wonder there's been such a commotion.

However, some people thought this was a good thing, and that was Niwa Nagahide. He had originally intended to weaken the five daimyo of Yorimitsu. Originally, the five daimyo of Yorimitsu only sent a small number of literate and arithmetic-skilled technicians to hire laborers in the Kinai region to participate in the Osaka Great Construction Project. Now, they would have to conscript civilians from their own territories to participate in the project.

If there are fewer able-bodied men in their territory, then if something really happens in the future, there will be fewer peasant soldiers who can be brought into the city to defend it.

Based on this, Niwa Nagahide made a special application, since his son Niwa Nagashige was serving Oda Nobuo in Azuchi and Kyoto, and he should return to the Aizu territory.

The official statement was to expedite the construction of Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle, but the private conversation with Oda Nobuo was that they could take advantage of the fact that the five powerful daimyo were being exhausted and most of their manpower was being diverted to prepare and start planning their operation.

Oda Nobuo naturally acquiesced to this. Moreover, once Niwa Nagahide returned to Aizu and made some plans and arrangements, it would be snowing in Aizu around that time. Even if some riots occurred then, it would be easy to control their scale, since the heavy snow would block the doors, making it difficult for any disturbances to break out.

Shichibei thought that Niwa Nagahide had cured the parasites in his stomach and was preparing to go home to recuperate. Upon hearing that he was going back, he went to see him off and said frankly that the conditions for recuperation in the Kinai region were better, so why was there a rush to go back?

To be fair, Niwa Nagahide's retainers included several respectable samurai. Figures like Toda Katsunari, Nagatsuka Masaie, Ueda Shigeyasu, and Mizoguchi Hidekatsu were among them. With them guarding Aizu, even if Aizu needed another haircut, Niwa Nagahide wouldn't need to go back himself to do it.

His younger brother, Niwa Hideshige, served as a senior member of the family and was stationed at Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle. He was a staunch supporter of the Niwa family. Historically, Niwa Nagashige was converted into a ronin. Even in his seventies, he fought alongside Niwa Nagashige in the Siege of Osaka.

He first fiercely defeated Kimura Muneaki, and the next day fought a desperate battle with Kimura Shigenari. Because of his heroic performance in holding his ground and ultimately dying in battle, Kimura Shigenari had to expend a great deal of effort to achieve a breakthrough, which greatly hindered the battle along this route.

Even Tokugawa Hidetada, upon hearing this, couldn't help but exclaim that he was "an exceptionally loyal retainer among the leaders of the Niwa clan." With someone like him guarding the home, what was there to fear about trouble at the stronghold? It was simply impossible for anything to happen.

Hearing Shichibei's advice, Niwa Nagahide simply smiled and offered no explanation. After all, he was going back to "shave heads," not just the heads of the remnants of the treacherous people, but also the heads of the five daimyo. There were some things he couldn't say, and it wasn't convenient to say them.

Seeing that he wouldn't explain, Shichibei stopped trying to persuade him. What could he do if the man was worried about the new territory?

Niwa Nagahide, who had rushed back to Aizu, had barely sat down when his attendant reported that several powerful daimyo were requesting an audience. The situation in Osaka had changed too rapidly; suddenly, laborers had to be conscripted directly from their domains for the major construction project. In the harsh, cold lands of Oshu, they had barely managed to survive this autumn harvest, but what about next spring's planting?

The Osaka construction project won't be finished anytime soon; it will take until the middle of next year at the earliest. They aren't major domains, and drawing away able-bodied men will inevitably affect spring planting. The Oshu region has a sparse population, as mentioned before. The population distribution in Japan at this time is completely different from that of the 21st century.

Having listened very attentively to everyone's requests, Niwa Nagahide, as gentle as a spring breeze, expressed that he had also tried his best to fight for it in Azuchi. Unfortunately, the residence of the Great Minister of State, Azuchi, had already been bestowed upon his eldest son, Saburo-hoshi-dono, and the Osaka Grand Construction Project had to proceed, along with the Todai-ji Grand Construction Project, making it impossible to resist.

He had no other choice, but he could use his own money to subsidize everyone. So, four thousand taels of gold were placed in front of the five of them, to be divided equally among them according to the amount of gold.

Everyone was deeply moved, feeling that they had chosen a reasonably decent lord who was considerate and understanding. Niwa Nagahide also told everyone that after the spring, he would definitely urge Oda Nobuo to allow the laborers to return and participate in spring planting first. They could then participate in the major construction projects after spring planting was completed.

Based solely on this performance, Niwa Nagahide deserves a perfect score of five.

After the five powerful daimyo, for whom he had been inexplicably grateful, left, Niwa Nagahide touched his stomach, feeling a pain. He had been taking medicine prescribed by a doctor in Kyoto recently, and whenever he felt pain, he would immediately call for someone to prepare a basin full of hot water.

Vomiting won't get the lump out, but you can try to pass it through the stool. It's a bit disgusting, but it's effective.

The servants quickly brought over several basins of hot water. Niwa Nagahide tried it, then took off his clothes, leaving only his shirt, and squatted down beside the basin. His entire buttocks, especially his crotch, had to be completely submerged in the water. Then he struggled to pull himself out.

There was nothing he could do; that's how the doctors in Kyoto taught him, and he did indeed pass tapeworms. Of course, there was also feces. There was nothing he could do about it; that's just the kind of disease he had.

After each bowel movement, the doctor required him to have someone carefully pry open his opening to check if the entire tapeworm had come out, not just half of it.

The doctor and his attendants knelt at the doorway, waiting for Niwa Nagahide to finish. There's not much more to describe in detail, but the doctor and attendants went inside to examine the basin and found that Niwa Nagahide had indeed expelled tapeworms again.

Just when it seemed he was getting better, Niwa Nagahide even felt that the lump in his abdomen was barely there, and when he touched it occasionally, it was no longer so clearly visible.

Let's celebrate!

Have a serving of sashimi.

It was his younger brother, Niwa Hideshige, who tried to persuade him: "You're already like this, why are you still eating?" Niwa Nagahide, being quite straightforward, replied, "This can be cured, so why can't I eat it?" With that one sentence, he shut Niwa Hideshige up.

That's true. They've even pulled out the tapeworms, and Niwa Nagahide is lively and energetic, with a good appetite. He used to eat tapeworms for over ten years before needing treatment. Now that he's starting to eat them, even if he doesn't need treatment for another ten years, Niwa Nagahide will be in his late sixties or late seventies. Who knows if he'll even live that long? It's really just needless worry.

It's a bit sophistry, but the point isn't wrong. If you start taking it now and get sick in a decade or more, then go ahead and take it; normally you won't live that long.

So Niwa Nagahide happily ate the river fish he had caught from Lake Inawashiro, laughing as he ate. "Mmm, the sashimi is delicious, hahaha..."

Nobukatsu then led his lords back to Nijo Castle in Kyoto. They spent the summers relaxing by Lake Biwa and the winters in Kyoto, a choice that could be considered quite sensible. As for his "80,000 cavalry," most of them remained in Azuchi, waiting to be relocated to Osaka Castle after its completion.