Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Tsk, how come this kid is so lucky?

You can become rich by being a son-in-law, and you can also become rich by being a follower.

In the later Tokugawa shogunate, the sidekicks of successive shoguns, especially those who succeeded to the throne from outer vassal states, almost all eventually became daimyo and took control of the shogunate's politics.

Gamo Tsuruchiyo also saluted Shichibei, because his uncle Aochi Shigetsuna was under Shichibei's command, and the two families now had some kind of connection.

Apart from other things, his etiquette was spot on, and he seemed to have a good eye for detail. At least Oda Qimyoumaru was very close to Gamo Tsuruchiyo. This historical "Warring States son-in-law" also had some talent.

So Nobunaga took his troops and left, and Shichibei stayed in the center of Gifu Castle and began to plan the general encirclement of Kiyosu.

Inuyama Castle Lords Ikeda Tsuneoki and Iwakura Jindai Hayashi Michimasa provided military and manpower support to Shichibei. As Shichibei was from the lower four districts of Owari and well-versed in local geography, he immediately selected five locations for the construction of forts: Ochiai, Shimonogo, Kamijou, Takashige, and Takamido.

Among them, Takamido Fort was responsible for communication with Okine Castle in the west, Ochiai Fort in the north was responsible for communication with Iwakura Jinya, and Kamijo Fort was responsible for communication with Tsushima Town in the southwest.

The various forts worked together to surround the city from all sides and block Saito Ryuoki from entering Kiyosu Castle.

Of course, Ryūshū was not one to sit idly by. Previously, when he had marched to Echizen to attack Asakura Yoshikage, Ryūshū had claimed illness and unable to go forward, ordering Nagai Michiri to lead over a thousand men to accompany Nobunaga. Now, there was no sign of him being unwell. When Ikeda Terumasa led several hundred men into Ochiai Village and began constructing a fort, Ryūshū, without a word, led his troops out of the city to stop them.

The situation here really degenerated into a village war. Ikeda Terumasa led 500 to 600 men, and Ryuga led 700 to 800 men. They fought fiercely near Ochiai Village, and the battle lasted for a full 25 minutes.

Lin Tongzheng arrived with 400 men and charged into the right wing of the Saito army, shaking Long Xing's position. Long Xing was defeated and retreated to Qingxu Castle with his remaining troops.

A total of twenty-two heads were beheaded...

Shichibei hadn't been present at the battle. This small-scale conflict would have been handled easily by Ikeda Terumasa and Hayashi Michimasa. By the time the messenger arrived in Gifu, the battle had already been going on for a day.

In just one day, the vast amount of lumber brought from the Kiso River was assembled into wooden fences and antler walls. This was a technique Shichibei had learned from Hideyoshi at Sunomata Castle, and now passed on to Oda Qimyoumaru and his friend Gamo Tsuruchiyo.

Don't underestimate the wooden fence. In a fierce battle involving hundreds of people, it provides a safe haven, a foothold. All you need to do is erect wooden shields and deploy a hundred or two hundred iron cannons and archers to defend it. Unless a large army comes to take it, a mere three or five hundred men will be unable to capture it.

A typical example is the land acquisition for an airport in Tokyo, Japan. Officials mobilized 7,000 people to attack the wooden camp. Seven thousand people, even excavators and bulldozers were deployed. Multiple defense lines were set up around the perimeter to prevent guerrillas from breaking in and delivering supplies to the camp.

The result? It took days of fighting before the camp was finally destroyed. Officially, three were "killed in battle," which is truly shameful.

If Long Xing did not come to fight for Luohe Fort the next day, the trench surrounding Luohe Fort would have been dug through. In this case, unless thousands of people were sent to attack with full preparation, it would be easy to capture it.

You are a poor soldier with only a few strings of cash a year. Why are you charging so hard?

Once there is a chance, there will be a second chance. However, after Long Xing went into battle several times and found that the Oda army was difficult to deal with, he actually exercised his subjective initiative. He did not completely defend Kiyosu Castle, but went out of the city to build a military fort in Kamijou, which connected to Gansho-ji Temple in Nagashima in the southwest, and ordered Hibino Shimonomari to lead 500 soldiers to garrison there.

As a result, the battle turned into a fierce one between the two sides for the Kamijo Fort southwest of Qingxu Castle.

Upon hearing this news, Shichibei was completely certain that Longxing was connected to Nagashima Ganshoji Temple. Although Nagashima Ganshoji Temple did not send a single soldier to Qingsu Castle, it used the cover of its believers and the incomplete siege of Qingsu Castle to continuously send various military supplies to Qingsu.

You said it was sent by Yuanzheng Temple? Then I would say it was sent by the local people of Qingxu who are inclined towards Longxing.

The common people are real common people. Apart from their belief in the Pure Land Buddhism, they have nothing to do with Gansho-ji Temple. Unless you have the ability to make that iron cannon or that long spear speak and shout, "I believe in the Pure Land Buddhism."

Long Xing also fought very determinedly. The Oda family was now in trouble on all sides. As long as Nobunaga failed again, they would be doomed.

Then Nobunaga defeated the Asakura family at Anegawa and drove Hori Hidemura back to Kamaba Castle. He then carried out random arrests in Sakata County and set fire to Kamaba Castle. The news was sent to Gifu Castle and Kiyosu Castle.

The situation is barely stabilized!

"The lord won a great victory and killed the powerful general of the Asakura family, Magara Tarozaemon, in battle!" The envoys rushed into the town of Gifu Castle like flying, loudly reporting the news of victory.

Everyone who stayed behind in Gifu, including Nobunaga's family, breathed a sigh of relief. With the crisis facing Asai Nagamasa and Odani Castle now resolved, the mess in Jiangbei could be left to Asai Nagamasa to sort out, allowing Nobunaga to focus on other matters.

"It seems there is still a chance for it to go public..." Shichibei muttered.

Oda Qimyoumaru, who was sitting next to Shichibei, was so happy to hear his father's victory that he didn't hear what Shichibei said at all. However, Gamo Tsuruchiyo, who was sitting behind him, saw Shichibei's mouth shape.

Unfortunately, the words "listing" were spoken in Chinese, which didn't match his Japanese lip movements at all. Even if Gamo Tsuruchiyo racked her brains, she would never be able to figure out what Shichibei had said.

"Your Highness should start preparing for the banquet to celebrate our lord's victory." Quickly putting his thoughts aside, Shichibei turned to Oda Qimyoumaru and made a suggestion.

"That's absolutely right." Oda Qimyoumaru was just happy and had no other thoughts.

However, Nobunaga did not return to Gifu immediately. He only sent Tokugawa Ieyasu and the three Nishi Mino men back first. The Oda army rushed to Odani Castle and sent a certain amount of money and food to Asai Nagamasa.

The retainers of the Asai family suffered heavy losses in the previous attack on Echizen, which is why Asai Nagamasa could only choose to defend the city and was unable to even go out of the city with Nobunaga to attack Asakura Yoshikage.

With so many junior officers dead, they could still hold the city together by gathering four to five thousand men to defend it. The main thing was to draw men out of the city and fight indiscriminately. How could they fight the Asakura army, which was so high in morale?

That's why Nobunaga sent him money and food, hoping that he would heal his wounds as soon as possible and stabilize the situation. He also blocked Nobunaga from the north of the Yangtze River, at least preventing Asakura Yoshikage from entering or leaving Kinai easily.

Even if Yoshikage came in, with Odani Castle behind him, he could tie up Yoshikage's food supply and prevent the Asakura family from fighting wholeheartedly.

He really should have saved Asai Nagamasa, brother. Only by saving Asai Nagamasa could he free up his hands to fight Saito Ryuoki. By the time all this was done, it was already the sweltering heat of July, the height of summer.

Almost no one wants to go to war at this point, a fact universally acknowledged throughout history. Going to war in the sweltering heat of July is pure unhappiness.

However, there are always people who break common sense. After successfully persuading Honganji Temple's Hideyoshi, the Miyoshi Three once again gathered their strength, landed in Settsu and Izumi, and rushed to Noda and Fukushima, where they built a temporary camp and prepared to intervene in the situation in Kinai again.

Despite repeated heavy blows from Nobunaga, the Miyoshi Trio had the support of Shinohara Nagafusa. To build and defend the city, they desperately gathered over 10,000 men, even including Saiga Magoichi of the Kishu Saiga clan.

Tsutsui Junkei, who was in Yamato, also joined the Miyoshi Three and launched an attack on Toichi Castle. This forced Matsunaga Hisahide and his son Matsunaga Michi to focus on strengthening the defense of Shigiyama Castle while rescuing Toichi Castle.

Even within Settsu Ikeda's territory, there was unrest, with all sorts of rumors circulating. Severely wounded, Ikeda Katsumasa was afraid to leave Ikeda Castle, fearing an attack from someone with ulterior motives.

Nobunaga, who had just sat down to take a breath and was asking Shichibei about the Kiyosu encirclement work, looked solemn.

199. I can do it too

This is not just a storm coming, it's like dark clouds are pressing down on the city and it's about to be destroyed.

There was no other way. Kiyosu could continue to pull and suppress the enemy, but the Miyoshi Three had already called their friends ashore on Noda Fukushima's side, so Oda Nobunaga had to go and fight.

When things were going smoothly, Nobunaga seemed to have capable men under his command. But when things started to go wrong, you could see that Akechi Mitsuhide and Oda Nobuhiro guarded Kyoto; Hayashi Hidetada, Hayashi Michimasa, Ikeda Terumasa, Oda Nobuoki, and Mizuno Nobumoto guarded Owari; Kawamura Shichibei Nagakichi, assisted by Oda Qimyoumaru, guarded Gifu; Takigawa Kazumasu and Nagano Nobuho guarded Ise.

Mori Yoshinari went to Usayama Castle to build the city, Shibata Katsuie went to Choko-ji Temple to monitor Rokkaku Yoshitaka, Hanawa Naomasa and Niwa Nagahide became the captains of the left and right guards, and followed Nobunaga to put out fires everywhere.

The promoted Kinoshita Hideyoshi moved from Sunamata Castle to Yokoyama Castle, which was captured from Hori Hidemura, as a response to Hori Hidemura's call to suppress Asai Nagamasa.

Of the huge Oda clan, only the Sakuma Nobumori samurai group was left, which was considered a reserve force and could be deployed at any time.

If you were Oda Nobunaga, what would you do? You wouldn't even have time to curse. You'd immediately rise up, quickly look for other places to summon troops, and drive the Sanyoshi trio into the sea.

A tree man once said, forget it, no matter who said it, life is just ups and downs...

Since the big stick has been hit on Nobunaga's head, it will definitely not stop easily. Just when Nobunaga was about to ask his good son-in-law Hatakeyama Akitaka to start mobilizing troops and join Nobunaga's main force in the battle, an urgent report was sent to Gifu.

Ikeda Katsumasa, one of the Three Guardians of Settsu, was exiled by his brother Ikeda Tomomasa and was currently on the run for Gifu. Ikeda clan retainers like Araki Murashige and Nakagawa Kiyohide all joined the Miyoshi Three, aligning themselves with Tomomasa's uprising. Thanks to their assistance, the Miyoshi Three were able to rapidly build their castle at Noda-Fukushima.

Grass!

Shichibei, who was sitting next to Nobunaga, clearly saw Nobunaga swear, but it was not so concise. The curse should be "Baka Yaro!"

Fortunately, Nobunaga was mentally strong enough to immediately instruct Shichibei to prepare a spacious house for Ikeda Katsumasa. Although the Ikeda family had defected, Ikeda Katsumasa did not escape alone, but with two or three hundred people.

This was probably the last capital of Ikeda Katsumasa, the guardian of half the country. He lost too much capital in Echizen, so he was overthrown and could only temporarily serve Nobunaga as a "Omi-shu".

The term "Daimyo" doesn't have many fancy explanations; it simply means daimyo. During the Edo period, its meaning was further expanded to include the higher-paid hatamoto class, also known as "Daimyo Hatamoto." To put it simply, it was a title for samurai with high status and high salaries.

There are big bodies, and there are small bodies. Now Nobunaga has a special "small body group" around him, which is different from the mother-clothes group and the ashigaru group.

The Hoi-shu, almost all of whom were from the Nobi clan, served as a gateway for the advancement of the rank of direct descendant. They served as both a student of warfare and a protector of Nobunaga's safety. Given Nobunaga's penchant for personally participating in battles, even leading charges, his rapid advancement through the Hoi-shu ranks was quite natural.

The Ashigaru need no introduction. They are generally divided into bow and teppo groups. Nobunaga may also have a long-handled group. This is the long-handled group in the later game "Total War: Shogun 2" that can face off against the sword warriors in the gun formation.

In addition to these standing armies, the later-established "Komizu" were samurai from various countries who joined Nobunaga's army. They had legitimate family names and served a lord, but their territories were once humble and now they had either lost their lord or been driven away and had nowhere to stay.

In this way, they joined Nobunaga's army and Nobunaga gave them salaries and supported them. This not only provided them with an additional combat force, but also provided them with a guide when they invaded other territories.

The "Omi-shu" were people like Ikeda Katsumasa, once high-ranking guardians, with a stipend of 100,000 koku, 5,800 men, and powerful lords. Unfortunately, their fortunes have collapsed, they've fled, and nowhere to go. Nobunaga was willing to accept these people and keep them around. Any daimyo with a conflict of interest would be willing to keep such powerful figures around.

If I can stand up one day, I will be able to lead my troops and attack a certain country under the name of "Da Shen Zhong".

If the Imagawa clan had really come to Nobunaga's side, they would have been included in Nobunaga's "Omi-shu." Historically, Takeda Motoaki, who Yoshiaki asked Nobunaga to support and fight back to Wakasa, could also be called an Omi-shu.

The loyal Ikeda Katsumasa fell, and Settsu was in turmoil, so the 5,000 reinforcements that the Ikeda clan could have called in were gone. Mikawa's brother, Tokugawa Ieyasu, had just defeated Anegawa and was unable to recruit any more.

Matsunaga Hisahide was on guard against Tsutsui Junkei, and he was really at his wit's end. He could only ask Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, the guardian of half of Kawachi, for help.

The Oda army had just retreated from the Anegawa River, but Nobunaga had left his men behind, leaving behind 4,000 men as a defensive force to protect Gifu Castle. Now, from these 4,000 men, 3,000 men were immediately mobilized to attack Noda and Fukushima.

In addition, if we call Wada Koremasa and Hosokawa Fujitaka, one is the lord of Akutagawa Castle and the other is the lord of Katsuryuji Castle, they can each bring at least two to three thousand people to join us.

Including Hatakeyama Akitaka and Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, that's 15,000 men. Add Sakuma Nobumori's reserve troops, and we'll have 20,000 men.

For the most part, during the Japanese Warring States period, the so-called armies of tens of thousands were built up in this way. You led some, I led some, and when you finally counted them on the battlefield, you'd find over ten thousand men and horses, endless and boundless.

"Nanabe, I'm going to Settsu. You must be careful with Nagashima and assist Qimyoumaru well!" Nobunaga didn't get much sleep in Gifu. Once the war broke out, he was ready to set off immediately.

"Ikeda-dono's hospitality?" Shichibei had to ask clearly. Ikeda Katsumasa had not yet fled to Gifu when Nobunaga set off.

"Follow the rules of Mikawa." Nobunaga did not hesitate. Ikeda Katsumasa brought more than 7,000 Oda troops back to Kyoto from Kanegasaki intact, which was a great achievement.

Nobunaga would not be stingy with those who were loyal to him and capable. Ikeda Katsumasa's hospitality level was certainly not lower than that of Tokugawa Ieyasu in Mikawa.

"I understand." Now that the matter was clear, Shichibei had nothing more to say.

In the end, Nobunaga only led 3,000 people including the Motoi clan to attack Settsu. Most of the soldiers had only been home for a few days. Even if they were regular soldiers, they could not go to the battlefield to kill the enemy every day. How could a general not understand the principle that the army will be tired after being worn out?

And rest for ten days or half a month before considering changing players.

"The encirclement of Kiyosu must be accelerated!" Nobunaga raised his chariot and gave this last instruction.

"Yes!" Shichibei bent down and lowered his head, with a mouthful of ashes in his mouth.

Whether to speed up or not, it's up to Ikeda Terumasa and Hayashi Michimasa to speed up. What's the point of telling me?

It's been said that Shichibei was a novice warrior and couldn't possibly carry a spear in battle. With our physique, even if we ran into someone like Honda Tadakatsu or Yamagata Masakage, even if we ran into someone like Yamanouchi Kazutoyo, we'd be shot in the face.

Saito Tatsuoki had already made up his mind to raise an army in Kiyosu, and his only support was Nagashima Ganshoji. This battle of encirclement and counter-encirclement was going to be interesting.

Two days later, the defeated Ikeda Katsumasa fled to Gifu in disgrace. Historically, he fled to Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, as the Miyoshi Three were considered rebels against the Miyoshi family, and Miyoshi Yoshitsugu was the head of the family. He likely wanted to rely on Miyoshi Yoshitsugu's righteousness, and Kawachi's proximity to Settsu made it easier for him to respond, so he didn't come to Gifu.

At present, Nobunaga admired him very much. Last time, he rewarded him with 5,000 kan with a wave of his hand. Apart from anything else, Ikeda Katsumasa still recognized Nobunaga's "strength".

After hesitation, he chose to join Nobunaga.

Well, this is how it is these days, flowers bloom and fall, tides rise and fall, who knows.

Come follow Lord Nobunaga, you've got it. As long as you carry his spear and fight diligently for him, Lord Nobunaga will definitely treat you well. Look at the 200 or so samurai following behind you, right? This is the capital for your revival.

After settling in, news from Nobunaga's front line arrived daily, with no end in sight. The Oda main force reached Yokoyama Castle in the north of the Yangtze River in one day, Choko-ji Temple in the south of the Yangtze River the next day, and Kyoto on the third. After resting in Kyoto for a day, Nobunaga arrived at the Settsu front on the fifth day (historical fact).

This speed alone was enough to astonish the lords and daimyo of the time. Nobunaga was truly fast, how could anyone compare to his reaction speed?

Nobunaga, who was setting up his battle array at Nakajima Island in Settsu, summoned a large number of vassal states. The Miyoshi trio also continued to build cities and recruit troops from Shikoku.

Soon, Miyoshi Yasunaga, Konishi Naganobu, and others arrived from Shikoku with their troops to reinforce the defenses of Noda and Fukushima Castles. Their total force had reached 13,000 men.

It is indeed difficult to fight a siege without three to five times the number of troops.

Noda Castle and Fukushima Castle were located in a shallow, swampy area near Osaka Bay. With the exception of the sea to the west, the east, south, and north were all surrounded by rivers. The Miyoshi Trio took advantage of these natural rivers to quickly build their castles.

With the fortress as a support, there are still 13,000 soldiers and horses defending the city, and the sea route leads directly to Awa. Shinohara Nagafusa can continuously transport military equipment and food supplies into the city from the rear. This city is really disgusting.

Nobunaga's first thought was to dispatch Ataka Nobuyasu to try to cut off the Hashima naval support for Noda and Fukushima Castle. However, Ataka Nobuyasu wasn't strong enough to completely suppress Osaka Bay, as Awa also had its own navy. This would require also bringing Kuki Yoshitaka's navy to Osaka Bay and anchoring it in Sakaimachi.

Only by attacking from both sides can we completely control the entire water area.

Waiting for Kuki Yoshitaka to come?

Nobunaga, who had anticipated this, was not very happy to transfer Kuki Yoshitaka. He had already guessed that there might be chaos in Nagashima. Nobunaga hoped that Kuki Yoshitaka's navy would stay outside his hometown of Owari.

As soon as there was trouble on Nagashima, Kuki Yoshitaka could be ordered to raid the coast of Nagashima, which would not only undermine the morale of the Ikko Ikki on Nagashima, but also cut off the waterway from Nagashima to the Owari mainland.

As a result, the matter was delayed.

His delay delayed Owari Kiyosu as well. Because of Nobunaga's repeated warnings, and because Owari, as Nobunaga's home base, held an unshakable position within the entire Oda clan, Shichibei finally arrived at Iwakura Jinya to learn about the progress of the siege.

Not ideal.

Hayashi Hidetsugu was not a warrior who was good at fighting, so he only stayed at Iwakura Jinya as the successor to Ikeda Terumasa and Hayashi Michimasa in the front, transporting materials and food to the five forts on the front line.

Ask him? It's better not to ask. His level is probably on par with Shichibei's, and considering his past record, he might not have fought as many times as Shichibei.

In order to fulfill Nobunaga's request, Shichibei had no choice but to rush to Ochiai Fort. Ikeda Terumasa led several hundred men to Ochiai Fort and tried to completely encircle Kiyosu Castle. Unfortunately, Saito Tatsuoki was very tenacious and fought repeatedly. The battle line shifted back and forth. Both sides were in a situation where they could not kill him, but they were enough to disgust him.

Seeing Shichibei coming, Ikeda Terumasa asked Shichibei if Nobunaga could send another 2,000 soldiers, no, 1,500 soldiers?

Haha, you grew up with him, don't you understand Nobunaga's character? If Nobunaga could have brought more troops, he would have done so long ago. Look at how hard it was for him, leading only 3,000 men to the battle of Noda-Fukushima.

You are stationed in Ochiai, with nearly a thousand men under your command, and Lin Tongzheng's hundreds of men supporting you. We don't want you to break through Qingxu, we just want to build a fort and besiege it.

Tsk, you are not doing your job well.

No wonder that in history, although he became the lord of Inuyama Castle with a fortune of ten thousand koku very early in the Oda family, when Nobunaga died, many of his colleagues (including those with power) had a fortune of one million koku, while he was only at the level of 140,000 koku.

If it weren't for Nobunaga's support, it would have been difficult to get these 140,000 stones.

"Don't you know what the situation is now?" Shichibei was not anxious, but felt that Ikeda Terumasa was a little ignorant.