Owari Yumeki Golden Day

At the banquet yesterday, Murai Sadakatsu saw it clearly. Nobunaga was holding Shichibei's hand in order to get the money, and Shichibei was still saying that there were too many people now.

Being a daimyo isn't easy, it's really hard. You have to reach this point to get the gold coins from Shichibei.

The two were chatting when Niwa Nagahide came running in excitedly. He came and asked if he could withdraw the money. When he saw Shichibei and Murai Sadakatsu, he immediately realized that the money was still being counted and had not yet been deposited.

Niwa Nagahide also saw it at the banquet yesterday. Since he saw it, it was immediately certain that Shichibei, who had a close relationship with Nobunaga, would lend money to Nobunaga today.

He was certain that he would come to withdraw money immediately. After all, Nobunaga's expenses were huge, and he spent money almost every day. If he came too late, he might not be able to withdraw money.

Why do I need to pay money?

Moreover, it is impossible for Niwa Nagahide to use the Oda family's public funds for personal use. There must be a legitimate explanation before the money can be taken out.

While pulling out a document signed and sealed by Nobunaga, Niwa Nagahide explained that there had been signs of progress in the negotiations with Settsu and Izumi. Ataka Nobuyasu, the de facto ruler of Awaji Province, was interested in siding with the Oda clan, but with two conditions.

The first was that the Awaji navy would not be disbanded, transferred, or reassigned, and the old ship mark fees would continue to be levied; the second was that Ataka Nobuyasu would become the lord of Kishiwada Castle.

This castle was captured by his father, Ataka Fuyuyasu, after a desperate battle from the Izumi guardian Hosokawa Keibu and the Izumi guardian deputy Matsuura Hizen no Kami, and it has important significance to the Ataka family.

To put it bluntly, fresh water was difficult to obtain on Awaji Island, making agricultural production difficult. Later generations stopped growing rice and turned to onions, which are drought- and barren-resistant.

Trapped on Awaji Island, they would eventually die. Seeing the Oda clan growing stronger while the Miyoshi trio suffered repeated defeats, Ataka Nobuyasu demanded the territory of Izumi Kishiwada Castle and the power of the Awaji Eight Clans' navy to serve Oda Nobunaga.

What Nobunaga lacks now is the navy. Ataka Nobuyasu has the capital, so he can naturally ask Nobunaga for help.

Once the Shima Kuki navy was revived and combined with the Awaji Ataka navy, Nobunaga would have the ability to cross the sea to expedition to Shikoku and defeat the Miyoshi Three.

Now Niwa Nagahide came to withdraw money, intending to take 2,000 kan to bribe Ataka Nobuyasu, so that he could go ashore as soon as possible, pay homage to Oda Nobunaga, and change his allegiance.

I see……

Shichibei was not quite sure whether Ataka Nobuyasu had defected to the Oda clan in 1526, but since Niwa Nagahide was assigned in this direction, it meant that Nobunaga did have plans to attack Awa, Sanuki and other states and conquer Shikoku.

It depends on whether Ataka Nobuyasu can really surrender to the Oda family. The ready-made Awaji navy has turned to Oda. With Nobunaga's ability, I will kill your whole family today and will not let you live until the fifth watch.

Then let's collect the money. Niwa Nagahide signed his name and seal on the record, and the 2,000 kan were counted out directly. However, Nobunaga would probably agree to the first of the two conditions proposed by Ataka Nobuyasu, but what about the second condition?

Kishiwada Castle now has a lord, so why would they drive him away for no reason? When Shichibei went to Sakaimachi, he vaguely remembered that Matsuura, who had seized the title of Izumi Shugodai with the help of the Hatakeyama family, was the lord of the castle.

The Matsuura family also split into two branches during the internal strife of the Hosokawa clan. Later, the Hosokawa clan gradually declined, and one of the branches defected to the Hatakeyama family, with the support of Hatakeyama Takamasa, the lord of Takaya Castle.

Another branch defected from the Hosokawa clan to the Miyoshi clan. With the defeat of the Miyoshi Three, this branch also fled to Awa or was completely wiped out.

The current lord of Kishiwada Castle, Matsuura, had previously come with Hatakeyama Takamasa and Hatakeyama Akitaka to kowtow to Nobunaga. The key point is that Hatakeyama Akitaka was Nobunaga's son-in-law. Nobunaga was deliberately trying to win over the Hatakeyama family, so why would he offend the Hatakeyama family and weaken Matsuura?

It’s the truth. It’s really the truth.

Talking about this, Niwa Nagahide was also a little distressed. He must have known the reason why Ataka Nobuyasu wanted a piece of territory on Honshu Island. It was to leave himself a way out and to strengthen his own strength.

If he couldn't get any territory on Honshu Island, why would he submit to Nobunaga? Even if he didn't submit to Nobunaga, he would still be the lord of Awaji. Everything that met the first condition was already there, he already had it.

"The lord seems to be a little distressed, and Ataka Shintaro may not be happy to receive the land in Jiangnan." Niwa Nagahide sighed.

If the new territory is in Settsu and Izumi, then Nobuyasu Ataka can maintain close contact between the new territory and Awaji Island. He has ships and people, and he can set off in the morning and arrive in the evening. The sea is a smooth road for them.

But the new territory was in Minami-Omi or Nobi, which he couldn't take care of at all. By then, there was a high probability that he would lose sight of one and end up not being able to take care of both.

"Is there any territory left in Settsu?"

"No, we already have three guardians."

"What about Izumi?" Shichibei tried hard to search his memory. At this time, Izumi did not seem to have any powerful generals guarding it.

"Izumi, the two villages of Sakai Nanbei have not been awarded yet." Niwa Nagahide thought for a while and gave an answer.

"Huh? These two villages are both fertile lands. But..." As the deputy governor of Sakai, Shichibei knew a little bit.

But what? Sakaiminami-sho and Sakaikitasho were estates owned by the shogunate. Ashikaga Yoshiaki asked Nobunaga if he wanted them, but Nobunaga said no. He only wanted the position of magistrate or deputy governor of Sakai. So Yoshiaki granted Nobunaga the entire town of Sakai, Otsu, Kusatsu, Katada, and even Kunitomo Village.

Nobunaga then declared, "I'm going back," and departed for Gifu to prepare for his next expedition. Sakaiminami-sho and Sakaikitasho continued to exist as direct lords of the shogunate, with their deputies being familiar figures: Imai Munehisa and Tsuda Munekichi.

"It's enough to compensate for Kishiwada Castle..." said Niwa Nagahide.

Of course, the combined holdings of these two villages were at least 20,000 koku. Kishiwada Castle, including the surrounding territories, only had about 30,000 koku. The reason Kishiwada Castle became such a strategically located fortress, controlling the central route to Izumi, was because of their good brother, Miyoshi Nagayoshi, who repeatedly landed his troops to aid them.

At that time, the battles in Tamba and Harima on the Settsu side were being led by Naito Munakata, the younger brother of Matsu Hisahide. Therefore, the brothers had to deal with the Yamato and Kawachi areas on the other side, and Kishiwada Castle in Izumi became a perfect landing site.

During the period when Yoshitaka Miyoshi was the lord of the castle, large-scale renovation and expansion were carried out on the Kishiwada Castle, giving it a stone wall and a small castle tower, and the water moat was expanded.

How could a small fiefdom of 30,000 to 50,000 koku of land have a large castle and a castle tower? Even the smaller castles in Japan could only hold a few hundred men, but Kishiwada Castle could hold 8,200 men, making it easy for the Miyoshi army to mobilize troops and attack Hatakeyama Takamasa at the Battle of Kyokō-ji.

"Report to the General that the two Sakai villages be granted to Ataka Shintaro?" When Shichibei saw Niwa Nagahide's expression, he knew what he was planning.

"otherwise?"

Yes, it is true. Ataka Nobuyasu must take the territory of Settsu or Izumi, and Nobunaga does not have any of these territories, so he can only take Yoshiaki's land.

But how could Yoshiaki be happy? How could he be happy? When Yoshiaki and Nobunaga were close, he gave it to Nobunaga, but Nobunaga refused it. Now he comes to ask for it again, which is disgusting no matter how you look at it.

The distrust and even conflict between Yoshiaki and Nobunaga certainly didn't happen overnight or because of a single incident. It was 100% due to various frictions that gradually accumulated and eventually led to the internal strife.

When Nobunaga had driven day and night to rescue Shogun Castle, Yoshiaki had called Nobunaga "good father." Back then, gratitude was undoubtedly stronger than resentment, but now, it's hard to say.

During this time of casual conversation, Shichibei's money was deposited into the gold treasury of Gifu Castle. He then quickly withdrew another 2,000 kan (approximately US$1,000) from Niwa Nagahide to bribe Ataka Nobuyasu.

Shichibei was curious about the Sakai issue. Furthermore, Shichibei's interests lay in commerce, so maintaining a stable trade environment offshore Sakai was crucial. If Nobunaga could dispatch troops to attack Awa and Sanuki in the spring of next year, that would be in line with Shichibei's wishes.

The money happened to be given to Murai Sadakatsu, so Shichibei could reasonably go to Nobunaga to report the matter. He also took the opportunity to find out whether Nobunaga was planning to deal with the Three Great Men or Asakura Yoshikage.

Nobunaga, who had taken 50,000 lives from Shichibei, was now practicing archery. As a samurai, Nobunaga was quite qualified. He trained all his life, riding horses, shooting arrows, and firing cannons, to maintain his body's agility and quick adaptation.

Otherwise, he could have controlled Shichibei with just a pinch of his hands. He had great strength in his hands and waist, and his feet were also very nimble.

Seeing that it was Shichibei coming, Nobunaga understood, so he didn't rush to stop. He shot the remaining five arrows in the young man's hand as usual, then turned around and greeted Shichibei.

"Thank you for your hard work." Nobunaga would occasionally give some emotional value, of course, when he was in a good mood.

"It's my job." Nobunaga took out Murai Sadakatsu's receipt, glanced at it casually, and said he knew about it.

"What else do you want to ask?" Nobunaga sat down and looked at Shichibei casually.

"Hey, just now in Kinzo, I learned that Goroza is trying to train Ataka Shintaro." Nobunaga is really smart. Apart from being arrogant occasionally, he really doesn't have any major shortcomings.

"We don't have enough ships yet, and we may not be able to fight Awa in the spring of next year." As soon as Nobunaga heard this, he knew what Shichibei was asking about.

"Oh..." Well, Nobunaga already said that, why is Shichibei still asking?

But come to think of it, Ataka Nobuyasu was currently in the process of making arrangements, and Kuki Yoshitaka had just returned to Shima Province last month. Even if the Kuki clan had a lot of connections in Shima, it would be impossible for them to organize everything in just three to five months and bring hundreds of large ships to follow Nobunaga on the expedition to Awa.

The Hashu Miyoshi clan under Shinohara Nagafusa can mobilize an army of 20,000. Adding the army of the Miyoshi Three, there must be at least 30,000 troops.

To defeat the Kitabatake clan, which had 16,000 men, Nobunaga mobilized 75,000 men. To defeat the Awa clan, which had 30,000 men, he would have to mobilize 100,000 men and just charge in and crush them.

"Don't worry, we will go to attack Awa after the autumn harvest next year, and then you will be the one to raise the children." Nobunaga had his own arrangements, and he was also good at making big promises.

Fuzutsu or Fuzutsu Port is a key point at the main entrance of the Konaruto Strait. It can connect to the water transportation of Awa Yoshino River internally, and is the gateway for the entire Shikoku Island to Honshu Island externally.

Indigo, timber, salt, and other products from Awa and Sanuki gathered at Fukuyozu and were shipped to Sakai, Osaka, and other places on the other side of the strait. Due to its prosperous trade, it is known as the largest port in Shikoku.

The key point is that this place belongs to Tsumatou, which has excellent port conditions. It is sheltered from the wind, has a deep depth, and occupies the main shipping route from Akagi-seki and Buzen Moji to Sakaimachi and Osaka. Just collecting tolls can make a lot of money.

"I am too busy to handle everything." Shichibei could eat this big pie, but he still had to pretend to refuse it.

Now that we are serving as the deputy governor of Sakai, and with the Awaji navy as our allies, and control of Fuyang Port, Osaka Bay will become a completely safe haven. This is good news for both Sakaimachi and the future development of Osaka.

Nobunaga was indeed good at making promises, and he made promises to Shichibei, either about the position of general agent of the country or the position of agent of Sakai, all of which made Shichibei covetous.

He told Akitaka Hatakeyama that he would marry his daughter to him, and then told Akitaka Hatakeyama that his child was still young and you were his brother-in-law and the eldest in the family, and so on. He frightened Akitaka Hatakeyama so much that he knelt down and called him dad.

Tut tut...

"Okay, okay, go and do your own thing." After sending Shichibei away, Nobunaga was probably ready to shoot two more shots, so he stopped arguing with Shichibei.

"Yes." Shichibei stood up and left. He walked all the way to the door of the residence before he suddenly remembered.

I forgot to ask Nobunaga about his idea of ​​taking Sakai Village from Yoshiaki and then giving it to Ataka Nobuyasu. This would definitely offend Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and what would happen if Yoshiaki hated Nobunaga?

What?

Nobunaga has his own way.

Because Nobunaga discovered Yoshiaki's "cowardice" when he sent someone to mediate the peace talks between Kitabatake and Oda, he thought that in addition to taking over the old framework of the Muromachi shogunate, he could further encroach on the power of the shogun.

Just float, just float.

Nobunaga planned to give Ashikaga Yoshiaki seven more articles in addition to the previous nine articles, one of which was very direct: if Ashikaga Yoshiaki found someone who needed to be rewarded, he could take land from Oda Nobunaga's territory and reward that person.

On the surface, it seems that Nobunaga is at a disadvantage, but the current system of loyalty in Japan is based on the system of loyalty from top to bottom. Whoever gives me land, I will give you loyalty.

Really, really, really...

185. Shingen also asks for help

Indeed, Nobunaga, acting as the shogunate's regent, forcibly awarded Sakainansho to Ataka Nobuyasu. After receiving this reward, Ataka Nobuyasu left Awaji Island and personally landed in Sakaimachi, where he met with Niwa Nagahide and expressed his surrender to the Oda army. He also drafted an oath and sent it to Gifu.

The reason why he didn't come in person was because the Miyoshi Three were in need of a place to hide. Once the news of Ataka Nobuyasu's defection to Oda spread, they would definitely send troops to attack.

The journey from Awaji to Gifu took too long, so to prevent any major incidents, Ataka Nobuyasu only needed to submit an oath. Nobunaga even promised to send reinforcements if Awaji Island was attacked in the future.

And guess what?

When the Miyoshi Three heard that Ataka Nobuyasu had defected, they were naturally furious and began to mobilize troops without hesitation to prepare for the attack on Awaji Island.

Originally, they were living in Awa, with no territory of their own, relying entirely on Shinohara Nagafusa for support. Now, they could seize the foundation of Awaji Island and use it as a springboard for a counterattack on the mainland.

Nobunaga was certain to take the alarm from Awaji lightly. Having finally secured a naval force under his command, he could not sit idly by and watch it fall. The task quickly reached Shichibei, who was to coordinate with Sakaimachi to organize at least fifty large ships to transport reinforcements, including Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, Matsunaga Hisahide, and Hosokawa Fujitaka, to rescue Awaji.

You see, Nobunaga couldn't keep his money. Once he had it, he would spend it until there was not a penny left.

As soon as they'd made a profit, they started spending money and recruiting people everywhere. Renting a boat in Sakaimachi was easy; all they had to do was pay the money. There was no need for Shichibei to personally arrange this sort of thing; he could just send a letter to Kyoto and have So Kotaro at the Kyoto branch handle the matter.

I'll also send a note to Tsuda Munekichi in Sakaimachi. The Miyoshi Trio still maintain such a strong desire to fight, which is truly unavoidable. Please keep a close eye on the situation in Izumi and Settsu, and report any unusual developments to Gifu as quickly as possible.

The guys Shichibei himself stationed in Sakaimachi would also pay attention to the situation, but more people mean more lines. Historically, the next year the Miyoshi Three would land again to counterattack, echoing Yoshiaki's encirclement of Nobunaga.

Although Asai Nagamasa has been stabilized for now, there is a high probability that there will be an encirclement later. After all, Nobunaga and Yoshiaki are no longer as close as they were in the past, and there is a sense of disharmony between the two sides.

After so much busying going back and forth, the end of the year came quickly.

It was snowing, heavy snow, and the snow had relaxed everyone. This was especially true after receiving the military report from Awaji. The Miyoshi Trio had only sent a mere 3,000 men to attempt an attack on Sumoto Castle, without even the support of Shinohara Nagafusa.

What good would three thousand men do? Especially in a siege. Ataka Nobuyasu could mobilize two to three thousand men on his own, and if he really called on the eight families of Ataka to join forces, five thousand wouldn't be out of the question.

I wonder what the Miyoshi trio were thinking? Did they think they couldn't defeat Nobunaga, nor Nobuyasu? They were so arrogant. With just 3,000 men, they laid siege to Sumoto Castle, which was defended by 3,000 men. When Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and his 5,000 men arrived from Sakaimachi on the other side, they would have crushed them with ease.

Attacking from both sides, the three Miyoshis were beaten to the point of crying for their parents, and they were almost drowning themselves. Not to mention taking Awaji, hundreds of lives were lost in vain.

It is not unfair that the Miyoshi family was defeated by such a person.

哪怕有三好长庆一半的本事，不至于最后全都身死道消。被如此暴揍一顿，退回阿波舔伤口，暂时摄津、和泉方向应该能安稳个一两年了。别说信长放下心来，连先知先觉的七兵卫都觉得这帮人应该不会再接着闹了。

So in this atmosphere, Ashikaga Yoshiaki's letters were secretly spread all over the country, especially to the lords who had ties with Nobunaga, all of whom were being won over and mobilized by Yoshiaki.

For example, Hori Hidemura and Higuchi Naofusa, the Hori team, with heavy casualties, returned to Kamahara Castle amidst wailing. As the largest linked hill fortress in the entire Hubei region, Kamahara Castle is naturally magnificent.

But it was precisely because of his grandeur that the recently returned Hori Hidemura looked so pitiful. He was also a wealthy man with tens of thousands of koku, but he was first tormented by Asai Nagamasa and then by Oda Nobunaga. His family, Higuchi Naofumi, was also not an easy person to deal with. Everything was not going well for him.

Who says he is a rich local tyrant? Asai Nagamasa is working hard to achieve the unification of Jiangbei, so Hori Hidemura will be the first target to stand up and be beaten.

Asai Nagamasa's blatant conspiracy was to weaken the Hori family, suppress them, and gradually turn them into vassals. But Hori Hidemura couldn't openly object because Asai Nagamasa was the official governor of Jiangbei appointed by the shogunate.

Unless there is rebellion.

If they rebelled, the relationship would actually be better. Asai Nagamasa could call his brother-in-law Nobunaga without hesitation, and get 30,000 to 50,000 people to beat up the Hori family.

By then, not only would the Hori family's tens of thousands of koku of territory be taken over by Asai Nagamasa, but even Hori Hidemura himself would be "destroyed".

You can't resist, and you can't not resist either. Life is so frustrating, there is no way for Hori Hidemura to survive.

While lamenting, a shogunate official came to Kamaba Castle and handed Hori Hidemura a secret letter from Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and gave Hori Hidemura many hints.

Hori Hidemura was surprised to read the letter. Ashikaga Yoshiaki already harbored hostility towards Nobunaga. However, Nobunaga was currently on a winning streak, with no signs of defeat. Therefore, Yoshiaki urged Hori Hidemura to be patient for now, until he had contacted more people and could rise up and fight together.

Even if Nobunaga was powerful enough to command 75,000 soldiers, so what? As long as the forces opposing Nobunaga were numerous enough, anything was possible.

In the letter, Ashikaga Yoshiaki also made some promises to Hori Hidemura, saying that Asai Nagamasa was currently the guardian of Jiangbei, and as long as Asai Nagamasa was killed, Hori Hidemura would take over.

Originally, in this Jiangbei area, Asai was the boss and you were second in command. The Kyogoku clan had long since collapsed and were of no use at all. Kyogoku Takayoshi even started to get close to Nobunaga, ready to serve as his retainer and live off him.

After defeating Nobunaga, he will be the guardian of Jiangbei, right? It is not impossible.

The Asai family's territory of more than 100,000 stones, plus the position of guardian of Jiangbei of the Muromachi shogunate, these two big pieces of cake fell on Hori Hidemura's head. It was impossible for Hori Hidemura not to be surprised.

moved.

Firstly, Hori Hidemura was young, only in his teens, and hadn't used many tricks or schemes. When Ashikaga Yoshiaki teased him, he became overwhelmed with passion and began to dream unrealistic dreams.