Owari Yumeki Golden Day

He asked a few people to take the horses away, and then had tea and a meal. Shichibei didn't even bother to ask what had happened.

Following them were Shibata Katsuie and his retainers, clinging to their horses' necks. The Shibata clan must have lost dozens of soldiers in this battle, having faced Saito Tatsuoki's army head-on.

Following these horsemen, horseless peasants and foot soldiers also returned in droves, some heading towards the city walls, while others, even better, returned directly to the village.

After losing, why don't you go back to the village? Waiting for Nobunaga to give you a bonus?

Anyway, if the city construction failed, it would be Shibata Katsuie's responsibility to hold him accountable. Nobunaga couldn't just ask the peasants to do the labor for more than 3,000 peko, right?

By nightfall, rumors were flying everywhere outside the city. Even the grooms at Shichibei's inn, returning from brushing their horses, were talking about it.

It was clear that Shibata Katsuie was no idler. After arriving in Sunomata, he divided the farmers into two groups, one to immediately begin building a city, and the other to set up a temporary camp. After all, it was already late autumn and early winter, and if they were to spend the night in the wilderness, they might actually die.

More than 400 Shibata troops crossed the river and advanced, and at the same time sent out a certain number of patrols to investigate the movements of the Saito family.

Nothing happened on the first day, but on the second day, scouts from the Saito family appeared on the outskirts of Sunomata, but there was still no actual conflict between the two sides.

On the third day, Saito Tatsuoki's 4,000 troops advanced and, in less than half an hour, crushed Shibata's army of just 400 men. They captured over 40 heads, leaving Shibata Katsuie utterly defeated. With 40 men dead, the loss was a near-fatal blow to his family.

The ordinary farmers who built the city in the center of the Sunamata River Island immediately showed their "Warring States spirit" and rushed forward.

There was no chance for the Saito army to come up and surround them. As soon as Shibata Katsuie showed signs of defeat, some of his men took their tools and ran away like the wind.

Once Shibata's army was defeated, over 3,000 peasants would disintegrate at lightning speed, their feet greased, their speed unimaginable. It's safe to say that even if Shibata Katsuie had a horse, someone else would have gotten home before him.

The construction site, which had just begun, was naturally burned down by the Saito army. The trenches that had already been dug were also filled in by the Saito family.

In this battle, the Mino trio also joined in.

There is a high probability that Takenaka Hanbei is among them.

Once Sunomata Castle is built, Nobunaga can directly threaten Ogaki Castle and cut off the connection between Ogaki Castle and Inabayama Castle. They have no choice but to fight hard.

So what happened? It snowed, of course. Nobunaga didn't get angry; anger was pointless. Building a castle in the snow would be infinitely more difficult. Frozen soil made digging trenches difficult.

If these small castles in Japan did not have moats, their defensive capabilities would be only 70% to 80%.

So Nobunaga convened another meeting of important ministers. Since the pig samurai Shibata Katsuie was defeated, he would choose someone who could build a city, endure hard battles, and fight continuously.

Of course not now, at least not until spring, when the ground thaws and it becomes easier to erect fences, dig trenches, and then send out personnel.

Who is going?

Sakuma Nobumori invited Shichibei to his home and asked him seriously about his opinion on building a castle. He also asked how much transportation capacity Kawamuraya could mobilize after the spring to gather in the Sumata area in a short period of time.

Huh? No, could it be that your elder brother is going to Sunomata?

Seeing Shichibei's doubts, Sakuma Nobumori didn't pretend. Nobunaga was still considering the candidates, but in fact, he was just choosing from a few family elders and generals.

Since Nobunaga did not want to launch a general military service, which would require a lot of money, he could only mobilize the more powerful lords on a small scale, such as Shibata, who could lead more than 400 people.

The scope is narrowed down immediately. It is nothing more than Hirate Hanhide, Niwa Nagahide, Mori Yoshinari, and Sakuma Nobumori.

44. Make a New Year's Clothes for My Brother

Oh, that's true. Nobunaga is reluctant to mobilize the army, so he can only fleece the vassals. Now, you are the only ones in Owari who can independently raise a team of several hundred people.

At most, they could bring in Hayashi Hidetada or Mizuno Nobumoto. However, Mizuno Nobumoto was a "rebellious" national force and might not be completely trustworthy, and was far inferior to the hereditary retainers of the Oda clan.

Furthermore, the current Sakuma Nobumori was not the Sakuma Nobumori who would be stripped of his territory and exiled far away in the future. He was quite famous in the Owari, Mino, and Mikawa areas, and was known as the "Retreating Sakuma" or "Retainer Sakuma."

Anyone who could serve as the rearguard of an army was undoubtedly a man of great courage and strategy. After all, serving as the rearguard meant facing an enemy force several times larger than their own. Being able to serve as the rearguard multiple times and still escape unscathed was truly impressive.

In addition, the bravest Shibata Katsuie has now failed, and personal bravery does not seem to be of much help in this kind of military mission of building a city.

No wonder Sakuma Nobumori came to ask Shichibei...

So, why do you want me to mobilize so many horses? Is there something special going on? Shichibei looked a bit puzzled, a perfectly normal reaction. Horses are the lifeblood of the Kawamura family. If they lose too many, the stable won't be able to continue.

Why the horses? It's actually quite simple. Sakuma Nobumori's idea was to prepare thousands of logs as thick as an arm in Owari. Since heavy snow was coming soon, he had two or three months to prepare.

When they set out, each peasant, who was a laborer, carried one on his back, and the packhorses pulled as much as they could. When they reached the Nagara River, they did nothing else but frantically erect numerous fences, providing a safe haven for the Oda army and the peasants.

As with Shibata Katsuie's case, digging a trench on site might not be possible in time, so a horse fence made of a bundle of straw ropes would be the most convenient option. Place a horse fence in front and a tree-like fence in the back.

Relying on the quickly built fortifications, they fought repeatedly with the Saito army.

As long as they could delay the enemy for more than seven days, at least the fortifications on the Mino side could be completed. Then, Nobunaga's foot soldiers could be summoned to reinforce the city's defenses. Even if Mino sent out an army of 10,000, it would take a desperate effort to capture the castle, which was garrisoned by two or three thousand foot soldiers.

Furthermore, this posed no danger to Kawamuraya's horses. Sakuma Nobumori simply wanted to use the horses' power to transport more wood to Sunamata, allowing him to quickly build a fence and establish a position.

Once the timber arrived at Sunomata, Shichibei would collect the freight and return to Komaki Castle. The subsequent battles and castle building had nothing to do with Shichibei.

I understand. Shichibei basically understood.

There's a game called "Nobuo Risshiden 5" that features a scene from the Battle of Nagashino, where two layers of wooden fences were placed on the battlefield to prevent the Takeda army from attacking.

Now Nobumori Sakuma's idea should be to set up horse-proof fences and ordinary wooden fences madly, forming four, five, six, seven or eight layers of obstacles, the more the better.

Then when the Saito army came to remove the fence, he would shoot arrows and shoot spears from behind. Layer upon layer of fences could greatly delay the Saito army's attack.

After six or seven days, the wide trench surrounding the 3,000 square meter castle would definitely be dug. With a complete set of trenches, a small Japanese castle would be halfway to success.

As for your question about why the Saito army had to storm the fenced area like idiots and couldn't just go around and attack directly?

Because Sunomata is a small, shallow island in the middle of the river. If you don't attack it, you can't stop the city from being built. As for cutting off the food supply and water supply? Those are trivial matters. You can bring enough food to last you ten days or half a month. Water? It's right in the river. Why are you talking about cutting off the water?

As long as the city is built, any subsequent operations can be deployed with ease.

Even if Saito Tatsuoki mobilized tens of thousands of men for a large-scale battle, Nobunaga would simply empty the treasury, drain the people's wealth, and mobilize tens of thousands of men to fight you. A large-scale battle is a large-scale battle, and Nobunaga was not afraid of it. Nobunaga did not want to engage in a tedious and difficult siege, especially since Inabayama Castle was a world-renowned and impregnable fortress.

Even if he lost this battle, Nobunaga could quickly raise money and recruit more people thanks to the relatively prosperous business in his territory.

Nobunaga can lose once, twice, and three times, he has the confidence.

Shichibei understood, and of course he wouldn't refuse such a business. At the beginning of spring, there weren't many people around, so following Sakuma Nobumori to Sumata would only take two or three days, so it wouldn't affect him at all.

Of course, this was just Sakuma Nobumori's own idea. Nobunaga hadn't yet appointed a key official to carry out the plan to build the castle at Sunomata. Who knows, Niwa Nagahide might be the one to lead the charge?

Speaking of which, Sakuma Nobumori's plan is exactly the opposite of Kinoshita Tokichirō's plan.

Sakuma Nobumori tried to dig a four-meter-wide trench enclosing over 3,000 square meters of land within six or seven days. Kinoshita Tokichirō temporarily abandoned the trench and attempted to complete all the carpentry work directly in one day and one night, or two days and one night, to build a city on flat ground.

In a sense, the two people have similar ideas.

Doing some math, hey, under the extreme circumstances, Sunamata Castle was built in ten days. Shibata Katsuie estimated that it would take ten to fifteen days to build.

It's hard to say whose splitting method is more advanced. Sakuma Nobumori clearly earned his reputation for some planning, at least more so than Shibata Katsuie, who was willing to use his brain.

Row.

Waiting for your call.

To show his affection, Sakuma Nobumori even ordered his son Jinkuro to escort Shichibei to the door. Even a blind person could see that Sakuma Nobumori was trying to win him over, and Shichibei had indeed shown some value.

Considering this, Niwa Nagahide actually didn't make any obvious attempts to win over Shichibei; instead, it was Sakuma Nobumori who made the first move. As for the Kinoshita brothers, they were practically in-laws, so there wasn't much to say. Furthermore, given their status, there wasn't much of a question of whether to win them over or not.

There was no need to stay at Komakiyama Castle during the New Year, because Shichibei was not one of Nobunaga's "direct attendants." This term has other meanings elsewhere, but here it specifically refers to high-ranking retainers who could directly meet Nobunaga.

As a businessman, Shichibei did not have the right to congratulate Nobunaga on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Even the boss Ito of Itoya can't do it. Only the important retainers and elders of the Oda family, the generals, and the powerful people in the territory are qualified to do this.

As mentioned earlier, Mizuno Nobumoto, as a citizen, was qualified to present a tachi to Nobunaga on the first day of the new year and perform the so-called "Gotachi Ceremony".

The others could just spend the New Year at home, without even having to make the long journey to Komakiyama Castle to pay their respects to the capital. Shichibei, happy to have nothing to do, went home to play with his five younger sisters.

Making rice cakes, mirror cakes, cutting bamboo, worshipping ancestors, and praying for good luck in the new year...

It was busy, and there were a lot of things to do during the New Year. Especially since Ai finally opened up to Shichibei and said she would be eighteen this New Year, and Kotake would be seventeen, meaning their seven-year contract with Itoya would expire. Originally, they were definitely going to continue working at Itoya, but now, you know what?

Ouch ouch ouch...

"I understand, I understand," said his sister. "Nichibei quickly opened his cash box and took out the receipt for the Tsushima Gyuto Tenno Shrine. 'One hundred kan of dowry, right?'" "No matter what, I can't do without you five sisters for this one hundred kan of dowry."

"Master, where does your daily tea-soaked rice go?" Wow, Ai said in a very formal tone, staring at Shichibei, and then questioned.

"Huh?" Shichibei had already noticed that something was going on between Ai and Xiaozhu. I'm not stopping you from pursuing true love, so why are you making a big deal out of it?

"Xiaozhu can come to Kawamura-ya to work!" Ai really felt that her brother was a dull and brainless person. How could he not understand such a direct suggestion?

"Ah? Is it okay?" Is it okay for Shichibei to stay here?

"Of course!" Ai even said it with a little girl's gnashing of teeth, the kind that's cute and forgotten afterwards.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay."

The other sisters also started laughing at this moment. On the one hand, they were happy that their sister's plan was finally successful, and on the other hand, their sister didn't have to leave home.

It's obvious that if Xiaozhu came to Kawamura-ya to work, Ai would definitely still be living with them on a daily basis.

According to the custom of the Japanese Warring States period, Xiaozhu would definitely become a so-called Ichimonshu, serving the head of the family, Shichibei. Of course, this was not free work, and he would be paid the salary he deserved.

Then our main store needs to be expanded a bit, at least to give Ayi and her husband a private living room. Otherwise, they will have to suppress their sexual intercourse in the future to prevent the brothers and sisters from eavesdropping on them.

"Aci, Aci..." Shichibei thought to himself, one is getting married, two is also marrying, can you and Kinoshita Koichirō do it?

The five sisters who had been chattering around Aiyi now started asking about Ah Ci. Ah Ci would be sixteen this New Year, and at this age, she could get married.

"That little Ichiro is a bit wooden and dull." Although he said this, Aci said it with a smile.

It's pretty good, at least there's no bad feeling. Besides, is Kinoshita Koichiro a wooden man? It's because your body looks like a wooden man. In public, he's very smart.

"I understand." Shichibei stretched out his hand, signaling you to stop talking, I know what I'm doing.

If they're still together and it's about the same, then they can get married. Shichibei's fiancée is only thirteen this year, and some people would actually get married around that age. But the biggest factor that determines whether someone gets married is whether or not their period has arrived.

Only when the baby comes into the womb can one have the ability to reproduce. In today's marriage, in addition to various interests, the proportion of continuing offspring is still very important.

In other words, the main purpose of marriage and life these days is to have offspring. Not only can the family name be passed down, but it also provides security and support in old age.

The reason is quite simple. If you can't have children, it is a taboo nowadays.

But Shichibei was not in a hurry, as his fiancée had already been adopted by Oda Nobuhiro. Don't blame Shichibei for having some ulterior motives, as since she could be adopted by Oda Nobuhiro, she might be able to move up a level.

The other day, Nobumori Sakuma started to win me over on a small scale. If I keep going for another two years, who knows, someone more senior might come and win me over?

Although a wife's background might not have a significant impact, status and position were important these days. Marrying a wife of high status would make many things easier.

For example, the most famous example is that of the Firefly daimyo Kyogoku Takatsugu, whose wife was Asai Hatsu. So Hideyori's mother, Lady Yodo, repeatedly mediated and asked Kyogoku Takatsugu and Otsu Castle to surrender to the Western Army.

Relying on his wife's connections, he was able to hold back 37,000 Western Army troops for thirteen days, indirectly changing the outcome of the Battle of Sekigahara.

If 37,000 men had been deployed in the Battle of Sekigahara, the outcome would have been far from certain.

Just a little fantasy about the future, right? Just a little dreaming. I've traveled through time, and you still can't dream? The family happily spent the New Year like this.

Yonglu ninth year, spring, January.

Time passed quickly. After celebrating the New Year in Tsushima, Shichibei rushed to the foot of Komakiyama Castle and presided over Kotake's coming-of-age ceremony together with Kotake's brother Inase Sukemon.

The Inase family had no foundation, had never produced a samurai, and had no ancestral lineage. Having Shichibei as their guest was a pleasant surprise. After all, Shichibei was a legitimate 260-kan kan lord, while the current Kinoshita Tokichirō only received a mere 100 kan. Inase Sukeemon, on the other hand, had only 50 kan and served as Nobunaga's head clerk.

Shichibei came to give Kotake a haircut. Essentially, it was just a matter of braiding her hair and putting on the crown symbolizing adulthood. Outsiders would call it an eboshi (black hat) and a barber service, but the Inase family had no tradition, so they didn't care about that. Genfuku was just Genfuku.

Our Shichibei is called Kawamura Shichibei Nagakichi, so we gave the character "Yi" to Kotake, who changed his name to Inase Takeichiro Yoshisari after he came of age.

He was not a famous general from the Warring States Period, nor was he related to any famous generals, and he was obviously not a member of the Omihata clan of the Edo Period. He came directly to serve as Shichibei's assistant, to put it bluntly.

The two families discussed the marriage directly, and Inase Yoshisari's brother Sukeemon agreed without hesitation. He even tried his best to take out 50 kan, saying that he would definitely hold a grand wedding for Inase Yoshisari and Ai and buy some property for them.

Oh my, for a samurai like him with a salary of 50 kan, this might be all his savings. He took it out to help his brother get married, which is very affectionate and loyal.

Don't worry, Shichibei doesn't care about the bride price. It's not like he's selling his daughter. Yoshinari Inase doesn't even need to prepare a house himself. He can just live in the Kawamura household and work hard for us.

All are happy.

After leaving the Inase family, Shichibei's only remaining task was to marry his sister off with brilliance. While he was considering who to invite, the servant stationed in Sakai took the first ferry of the new year and rushed back to Owari.

Many things happened years ago, but they can be summarized into one thing: Matsunaga Hide's younger brother, Matsunaga Hōun, also known as Naito Munen, was killed in battle. The Matsunaga clan's power declined significantly, and they were squeezed out of the Miyoshi family by the Miyoshi Three.

Matsunaga Hisahide and his son Hisamichi, who were originally fighting for power with the Miyoshi Three within the Miyoshi family, defected, changed their stance, and sent people to present a sword and money to Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

45. Xinsheng went out to build a city

Naito Munekatsu was the adopted son-in-law of Tamba Shugodai Naito Kunisada, and the legitimate ruler of Tamba under the Muromachi shogunate. However, Naito Munekatsu did not ascend to power peacefully. Instead, he succeeded to the Naito family after decimating Naito Kunisada's forces and forcing him to sign a humiliating treaty.

As the younger brothers of Matsunaga Hisahide, they supported and helped each other. One was in Tamba and the other in Yamato. With the east and west working together, they were able to threaten the rule of the Miyoshi Three in Settsu, Izumi, Yamashiro, Kawachi and other countries.

It was only because of Matsunaga Hisahide and his son Hisamichi that they were able to wrestle with the Miyoshi Three and the Awa Miyoshi clan who supported them. If they all had the strength to rally 20,000 to 30,000 people, then they would have to sit down and talk.

At his peak, Naito Munekatsu ruled all of Tamba Province except for half of Hyokami County, and was even able to intervene in the conflict in Wakasa. He was also a very good fighter, dominating Hatano, Akai and others.

However, there must be a but, the Matsunaga Hisahide brothers came from humble beginnings, without a large group of retainers and a family to support them. When Naito Munakata attacked Naito Kunisada, he was very ruthless.