Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Nobunaga did reward Ikeda Katsumasa Zaixing with 5,000 kan, but they did not receive any reward from Nobunaga.

But for the time being, no one cared about what they thought, because Nobunaga was already in a mess and he had no idea where to start.

The life or death of Asai Nagamasa in Jiangbei was unknown. Hori Hidemura had already contacted Asakura Yoshikage and returned to Sakata County in Jiangbei, gathering an army of 5,000 people (60,000 stones, actually 100,000 stones) to start a fight against Oda Nobunaga.

Rokkaku Yoshitaka and his son in Jiangnan rebelled, killing and burning people everywhere, intending to completely cut off the connection between Nobunaga's main territory, Nobi, and Kyoto, and restore the Rokkaku family's rule in Jiangnan.

More importantly, the lord of Kiyosu Castle in southern Owari, Saito Tatsuoki, rebelled, and Nagai Michitoshi, with the support of Asakura Yoshikage, returned to Mino.

However, Gifu Castle was defended by Oda Qimyoumaru and Hayashi Hidetada, and the city had a relatively sufficient number of troops, making it impossible for Nagai Michitoshi to break through. Therefore, Nagai Michitoshi returned to Owari and incited the local powerful families in Mino to rise up and fight with Saito Tatsuoki again.

This did cause some unrest in Mino, but for the time being, no one explicitly jumped into rebellion. The people were primarily waiting to see if Oda Nobunaga was dead; if he was, they would undoubtedly revolt. Amidst this chaotic news, the wisest of forces remained inactive.

"It's good that you're okay, it's good that you're okay." Hideyoshi ran back, so Hidenaga must have run back too.

Originally, Shichibei was issuing orders to the people gathered in Kyoto and Sakai, asking them to produce various military equipment as soon as possible. Then he saw Hidenaga lifting the curtain and coming in, calling Shichibei "Brother".

"My brother asked me to buy twenty horses." Xiuchang bought them in one piece, not missing a single piece of meat.

"Did the horse run away and die?" Shichibei asked while touching Hidenaga.

It's understandable that Shichibei, Takenaka Shigeharu, and their companions lost their horses at Kanezaki, having ridden all night and unable to take them. Hideyoshi and his companions' horses, driven day and night, likely died mid-route. Even a horse with great endurance would be doomed if ridden constantly.

"Yes." Hidenaga lent the Seven Guards to Nobunaga, who gave them to Hideyoshi as a reward. Hideyoshi then took out the money he had saved to buy a horse.

"Go and choose it yourself." Shichibei left the room and led Hidenaga to the stable.

Compared to Hideyoshi, Shichibei is definitely closer to Hidenaga. After all, Hidenaga is his brother-in-law, and he and Shichibei have known each other for many years. Besides, if the couple has a child, he will be our eldest nephew, right? It would be a shame for a newborn child to be without a father.

As the two chatted and picked, a message arrived saying that Tokugawa Ieyasu had escaped across the mountains and reached Gifu, where he was considered safe. They even sent a message to Nobunaga, asking if his younger brother from Mikawa should gather another 8,000 men to send those rebels to their doom one by one.

The same thing happened to Ieyasu in history. He finally managed to get home, but without saying anything, he immediately raised an army of 5,000 men and followed his brother Nobunaga to beat up the Asakura family at Anegawa.

Some say the Asakura army numbered 13,000, others 8,000, but they were definitely larger than Tokugawa Ieyasu's army. However, they were unable to defeat Ieyasu's army and successfully surrounded Nobunaga from both sides.

Either Asakura is a waste, or Ieyasu is working hard. You can judge for yourself.

As for Asai Nagamasa, the severely damaged Asai army, under the leadership of Nagamasa, had already returned to Odani Castle. However, due to the pressure of the Asakura army's great victory and the instigation and rebellion of the Hori family in Sakata County, even the Ika County and Asai County in Jiangbei were shaken.

After all, Nagamasa was only the leader of the National Alliance and had not yet completed complete unification. Even after such a big disaster, Odani Castle was still able to open the city gates for him to enter. It was also thanks to his father Asai Hisamasa and his son that no one dared to rebel.

The situation in the capital, which had been relatively stable, suddenly became chaotic.

It is unknown when Nobunaga will return to Gifu, as Gifu is the base camp. Back in Gifu, he will have money and food, and he can also mobilize farmers and soldiers from Mino and Owari.

Even though Nobunaga lost at Konosuba Pass, this time he only lost the standing army; he still had the peasant soldiers to recruit. As long as Nobunaga returned to Gifu, he could immediately recruit 20,000 peasant soldiers with a single order.

At worst, we can just return the money they have to pay for the military service this year. Nobunaga now has a big wallet, Kawamura Shichibei, so he can just take it out if he has no money. It's very convenient.

Taking Mikawa's younger brother with them, 30,000 people headed directly to Sakata County and hacked Hori Hidemura to death.

The only problem was Saito Ryuki of Owari Kiyosu. This thing was like a thorn in his throat. How to deal with it needed careful planning.

Upon hearing the news that Oda had indeed suffered a crushing defeat, with only 7,000 returning from the battle of 30,000 men, the Miyoshi Trio, who had been dormant, immediately became active. However, they did not immediately seek out Araki Murashige, but instead rushed to Ishiyama Osaka Castle to visit the Dharma head, Honganji Hōnyō.

At this time, Honganji and Nobunaga had neither a subordinate alliance nor a hostile warring relationship. Their relationship was ordinary, with no interference in each other's affairs. However, the Miyoshi Trio were well aware that Honganji's Shonyo had been alarmed after Nobunaga had conquered Ataka Nobuyasu in Awaji the previous year.

Looking at the map, we can see that Xianru was confined to the narrow territory of 100,000 koku in Settsu Ishiyama Osaka. He could originally communicate with his disciples in Kii and Nagashima by sea.

As a result, Awaji also became an Oda clan, which meant that Nobunaga was completely surrounded on all sides. Nobunaga first attacked Kitabatake and then Asakura, showing an attitude of crushing all non-submissive forces.

If you were Hōnyō of Honganji, would you feel worried?

196. All the money is in my pocket

In other words, if society is peaceful and harmonious, the economy is developing steadily, and people are living and working in peace and contentment, what will Honganji eat? It should be noted that poverty, chaos, and war are the breeding grounds for religion.

With Kinai on the verge of being completely pacified by Nobunaga, how could Honganji continue to thrive? If Honganji Hōnyō could not expand the influence of Jodo Shinshu, unify politics and religion, and seize more territory and followers, wouldn't his life be in vain?

But before that, Nobunaga was at the height of his power, having defeated the Sasaki Rokkaku clan with a single blow, twice inflicted heavy losses on the Miyoshi Trio, and forced the provincial governor, the Kitabatake clan, to surrender. With such a brilliant record before him, it was difficult for Honganji Nobunaga to make the decision to completely break with Nobunaga.

But this time it was different.

Nobunaga was defeated, and his myth of invincibility was shattered. Of the 35,000 troops that went out to fight, only 7,000 escaped back to Kyoto. This was a huge encouragement to Honganji.

Actually, it wasn't that Xianru suddenly decided to become hostile to Nobunaga. It was simply that Nobunaga's drive to unify Kinai was too strong, frightening Xianru. For his own benefit, Xianru was bound to resist.

Previously, through the mediation of Nijo Haruyoshi, Nagashima Ganshoji had reached a certain agreement with Saito Ryuoki of Kiyosu, secretly supporting Ryuoki with money, food, and artillery, so that Ryuoki could secretly deceive Nobunaga and slow down Nobunaga's progress in unifying Kinai.

As for why Nijo Haruyoshi did this, it is said that Ashikaga Yoshiaki judged that Nijo Haruyoshi was involved in the conspiracy to kill Ashikaga Yoshiteru, and not only submitted a petition to deprive Nijo Haruyoshi of his position as regent, but also requested that he be exiled.

At the beginning, Shichibei didn't know where Nijo Haruyoshi was exiled to, but he was not allowed to stay in Kyoto. As a result, this guy ran to Ishiyama Honganji Temple and became a guest of Master Kenshin.

Every day, he was acting strangely in front of Kenshin, and he tried his best to encourage Kenshin and the Miyoshi trio to join forces to overthrow the current shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki. By then, Kenshin would also be qualified to be the regent of the shogunate and the leader of the people.

These days, nothing is impossible.

Xianru's family started out as mere monks, but now they have achieved the status of "Menji," a title only granted to princes or the sons of the Five Regents after they become monks.

The fact is that Hōnyō had been seeking to expand the secular power of Honganji. After their Jodo Shinshu achieved a great religious victory, they would inevitably seek more.

Did he just publicly declare his uprising and come out to oppose Nobunaga? The first bird to stick its head out gets shot, and the first rafter to stick out gets rotted. This principle also applies to Japan, and Xianru is well aware of it.

Do you want to wait any longer?

Despite the fervent persuasion of the Miyoshi Trio, Hidekiyoshi still considered waiting for a few days. Nijo Haruyoshi had resurfaced again, and now the Asakura clan had already jumped in, achieving a "first great victory." If Hidekiyoshi continued to delay, the position of Shogun's regent would undoubtedly belong to the Asakura clan.

It is true that Kiso Yoshinaka was the first to rise up, but it was Minamoto no Yoritomo who won the world.

But Asakura Yoshikage had already jumped out, so aren't you, Hideki, just late? As for rebellion? That's a matter of political conspiracy after we enter Kyoto. Asakura can live without an ally of the former regent. Who will follow whom? When the time comes, you will govern, and I will be the regent, and we will rule the country together.

In this way, Xianru was finally persuaded.

However, rebellion or raising an army is not something that can be done immediately. Xianruo had to send a family of officials and local officials to secretly travel to various places in Kinai, including Hokuriku and Nagashima, to mobilize believers to rise up in arms.

Scattered followers would be a piece of cake against the Oda clan's massive army. But if the followers had gathered at the fortified fortress of Ishiyama Honganji Temple or the large fortress of Nagashima Ganshoji Temple, Oda Nobunaga would have found it difficult to suppress the Ikko Ikki.

It's a pity that Ieyasu almost uprooted the Jodo Shinshu followers in Mikawa. If Mikawa Honshoji Temple still existed, the situation would be even more dramatic. He could gather the Ikko Ikki from Mikawa and Nagashima, attack Owari, which had internal support, and directly overthrow Nobunaga's hometown.

Knowing that Nobunaga had finally made up his mind, the Miyoshi Three, Shinohara Nagafusa and others finally plucked up the courage and prepared to land again and fight Nobunaga.

It was impossible to say exactly when Xianru would launch his rebellion. He could only promise that it would be as soon as possible. He would need to dispatch cannonballs and ammunition, gather believers and officials, and call on the lower houses in various places to build fortifications.

It's not enough, it's not enough...

"There is news. It is rumored that Tsuruga has been restored and the Asakura family in Sashu has been suppressed. They are preparing to go south to Jiangzhou to join the Hori army and attack Odani Castle to completely control Jiangbei!" Many of Shichibei's men in Jiangbei fled back to Gifu with their horses, and also brought the latest news from Jiangbei.

"I understand." Nobunaga pursed his lips, not getting angry, just nodded.

This is completely understandable. Since they had already started a rebellion, Asakura Yoshikage and Hori Hidemura would definitely want to kill Asai Nagamasa, who was caught between them. Killing Asai would allow Asakura to march directly into Jiangnan and, under the leadership of the Rokkaku family, attack Kyoto and seize power.

"My lord, we should rescue Odani!" Shibata Katsuie, who had also escaped back, immediately expressed his opinion.

"That's right. If Odani is lost, the Asakura army will advance straight ahead and be unstoppable." Hideyoshi was also very anxious.

After two weeks of chaos, Nobunaga, with the help of Hatakeyama Akitaka's troops, completely calmed Kyoto and led his army back to Gifu. The Rokkaku clan's troops were insufficient to attack the Oda army, which had recovered to over ten thousand men, and could only watch Nobunaga swagger through.

Upon returning to Gifu Castle, they discovered that several other soldiers, either accompanying Tokugawa Ieyasu or fleeing on their own, had also made it back to Gifu. By this point, the Oda soldiers who hadn't returned must have been wiped out. In total, the Oda army had approximately 2,500 dead or missing.

It's ok, totally acceptable.

"Where is Sanzuo?" Nobunaga looked around, looking for the figure of Mori Kanari.

"I'm here." Mori Kanenari was leaning against the doorpost and resting. He and Nobunaga had gone their separate ways, and he had just returned to Gifu.

"Go to Mount Usa and build a city."

"..." Sen Kecheng opened his mouth, meaning where are the soldiers? Where is the money?

"Look for Shichibei. You have three months to complete the task." Nobunaga and Mori Yoshinari had been old lords and ministers for many years, so they immediately understood what Mori Yoshinari meant and pointed at Shichibei who was sitting at the end.

"clear."

When Shichibei dismantled Kannonji Castle and the various branch castles in the south, he had indeed carefully preserved the parts, and many of the castle buildings could be directly relocated and reassembled. Aside from a portion that was demolished and relocated to Nijo Palace, the remaining materials were readily available and could be mobilized at the drop of a hat.

Manpower can be hired from construction companies near Kyoto, or directly requested from Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Yoshiaki has not made any move so far, as if all this has nothing to do with him.

As for money, didn't Nobunaga just ask Shichibei for another 50,000?

From this, we can see that after Nobunaga was hit, he recovered quickly and without any anxiety. In the direction of Kinai, he first stabilized the periphery of Kyoto. As long as the enemy army could not enter Kyoto and the shogun could not be replaced, Nobunaga would continue to have the dual authority of the imperial court and the shogunate.

The enemy troops are all thieves and rebels, and they cannot wash away the label of treason.

Mori Katsuki turned to look at Shichibei, who nodded. "The money and materials are ready, don't worry." It's just that Jiangnan isn't peaceful right now, so it'd be best to bring more people.

"How's things going on Okazaki?" Nobunaga still ignored Kotani's question and asked Okazaki instead.

"Everything is fine with Tokugawa-dono." Lin Xiuzhen, who stayed behind, looked up and answered. At first, he was worried that something might happen and did not dare to let Tokugawa Ieyasu enter the city. Later, when the news was gradually confirmed, he gave some food and let Ieyasu return home.

Didn't Ieyasu say that he would lead the troops immediately to help Nobunaga counterattack? Obviously, that was a very good idea.

"Qingxu's Long Xing is extremely hateful!"

It's not that Nobunaga wasn't prepared for Ryūshō, but there were countless people who rebelled and then went on to work under Nobunaga. Didn't Shibata Katsuie rebel? Didn't Oda Nobuhiro rebel? Even Tsuda Nobumasa and his father, Oda Nobumasa, joined forces to kill Nobunaga.

Now they were all working diligently under Nobunaga's command. To guard against Ryūshō, Nobunaga had even sent Nagai Michitsugi with a thousand men. With the main force under his watch, he had expected nothing to happen. Who knew the three groups would connect?

"It's also an idea to pacify Kiyosu first." Sakuma Nobumori obviously supported stabilizing his hometown first and then considering Kyoto and Omi.

"Who else jumped out?" Nobunaga continued to ask.

"Tsutsui Junkei of Yamato." This was answered by Shichibei. It was not that Shichibei was responsible for this, but Shichibei received information from various countries while establishing the post station.

"Humph."

"Hikoshichiro." After snorting coldly, Nobunaga called out to his younger brother Oda Nobuoki loudly.

In these days, no one can be trusted, and in the end, one has to rely on one's brothers. Nobunaga summoned Nobuoki and immediately gave him the 80-ki (80 samurai and foot soldiers) of Yoriki, which actually amounted to about 300 soldiers.

Appoint him as the lord of Ogie Castle. Where is Ogie Castle? It's not built yet. Nobunaga now wants to build a castle north of Tsushima, west of Kiyosu, and northeast of Kuwana, a sort of relay point, along the Kiso River. This would ensure communication between Gifu and northern Ise Kuwana, while also limiting Kiyosu's oppression of Tsushima.

If Saito Ryuoki of Kiyosu were to gain control of Tsushima, Ryuoki would be able to continuously obtain external aid and support, and he would be able to kill countless enemies.

Today, the ministers still haven't decided on the general direction of the war, and Nobunaga probably hasn't decided which side to take. After all, history has changed, and now they are stuck in two directions.

With a dismissal, the important officials left the main hall of the palace in an endless stream. Mori Yoshinari and Oda Nobuoki came over to pay their respects to Shichibei. Although Shichibei was not a senior official, at this moment, everyone realized that Shichibei was the one who truly controlled Nobunaga's purse strings. Nobunaga's two sons of bitches were now all in Shichibei's pocket.

Nobunaga's mission was heavy, and time was tight; he needed to get money from Shichibei immediately. Money was needed to get them going, and inside, one of them was a family elder, and the other was the lord's younger brother, so they were a large group. Once outside, I'd kowtow to you, brother, and beg you to release the funds quickly.

Sure, that’s fine.

These were all matters of national and military importance, so why would Shichibei hold back their money? After retreating from the city, they could just go to Kawamuraya's main store and withdraw the money. However, they all had to sign and seal the money so that they could easily settle accounts with Nobunaga at the end of the year.

"What? You want to borrow money too?" Shichibei sent the two away, and Hideyoshi came over.

"I don't need it." Hideyoshi still had some money in the Shichibei cabinet. Besides, he retreated intact, so there were some losses, but they were not big and acceptable.

"That……"

"Do you think His Majesty the Lord is..." Since there was no one around, Hideyoshi didn't completely lower his voice when he spoke.

"What did you find out?" Shichibei knew that Hideyoshi was sent to Kyoto as the magistrate, and he was also having secret talks with Oda Nobuhiro about investigating and arresting him.

"There is a letter from His Majesty the Kufang, sending the physician Dosan to Yoshida-gunyama Castle to treat the Mori governor."

"gross profit?"

Yes, Mori Motonari is ill, and seems to be very ill at the moment. So much so that when Nobunaga first surrounded the Mori clan, there was no trace of the Mori clan at all, because the Mori clan was worried about their own family and they prioritized internal stability.

Not long ago, Ouchi Teruhiro, who had recently received support from Otomo Yoshitsugu, launched a restoration army, attempting to revive the Ouchi clan in Suo and Nagato. Mori Motonari appears to have gone on the expedition while ill.

Yoshikawa Motoharu, who was campaigning in Izumo, and Kobayakawa Takakage, who was campaigning in Bizen, had to interrupt their campaigns several times and return to Yoshida. This was because Mori Motonari's illness, including esophageal cancer, had recurred, greatly affecting his administration.

Without Motonari's support, Mori Terumoto would not have been able to secure his position as governor of the eight western provinces. He could only trouble his two powerful uncles for endless support and care.

In recent years, the Mori family has been useless.

In the end, the Mori family even completely handed over Hakata Town to Otomo Yoshishige in exchange for the Otomo family's promise to no longer support the revival of Ouchi. This greatly reduced the income of the Mori family and made life even more difficult.

"It shouldn't be that serious." Although Shichibei knew that it was Yoshiaki who instigated it, there was indeed no clear evidence.

"Let's wait and see." Hideyoshi seemed certain.

It’s no wonder that the first encirclement of Nobunaga put the greatest pressure on Nobunaga, but Yoshiaki refused to step forward to take the lead, which led to each force fighting on its own and there was no way to form a joint force.

Nobunaga, under the guise of the imperial court, issued an edict for the Asakura clan to withdraw their troops. He even used the righteousness of the imperial edict to demand that the monks of Enryaku-ji Temple also withdraw.

If there was a shogun who took the lead and publicly called for an attack on Oda Nobunaga, the situation would have been different, but Yoshiaki refused to do so. Perhaps he wanted to let others weaken Nobunaga so that he could reap the benefits in the end.

But even Hideyoshi could see what he was thinking. Couldn't others see it?

Each force might have been thinking that they would gain an advantage, and then Yoshiaki would come out to give them the righteous cause, so that they could each do their part and work together to divide Nobunaga.

The human heart is such an elusive existence.