Owari Yumeki Golden Day

65. There are rumors about dowry

Hey, if we really want to send Princess Tokuhime to Mikawa Okazaki, we'll definitely hire your horses. We can't take a boat, and with a dowry of over a thousand kan, plus the accompanying samurai foot soldiers, it's impossible to pull it without hiring a hundred horses.

What's there to ask? Whoever goes will take you with them.

What Sugaya Nagarai said was what Shichibei reacted to. He must go out with Kawamura's horse. Indeed, he could see the old turtle's appearance anyway.

Then he wouldn't stop Nagaya. Patting his horse, Shichibei watched Nagaya leave. Once the dust from the horse's steps had cleared, Shichibei returned to his room, sat down, and took out the list. He and Inase Yoshisari reviewed it together. Inase Yoshisari had previously worked in shipping under Boss Ito, and had seen a lot of goods, so he could easily tell the prices.

Tang items are not very cheap, and Kyoto items are slightly better, but Princess Tokuhime's dowry must be good after preparation, and any bad one would not be acceptable to Nobunaga.

Then you go do it?

Shichibei is the governor of Kaito County. If it is not an important official business, it would be difficult for him to leave his post easily, or at least he would have to stay in Owari.

There's no need to mobilize so many troops. Just find a few strong men and hire a boat. You just hired a few samurai, right? Have them go out with swords to protect us. We can definitely take care of everything in Sakaimachi. There's no need to go all the way to Kyoto. It'll be done in ten days.

Afterwards, they were taken to Komakiyama Castle for Nobunaga and Princess Tokuhime to review and settle the bill. The clothing material and other supplies were handed over to Nobunaga's family to cut and sew, and to prepare dozens of replacement clothes for Princess Tokuhime.

This kid really grew up in a business house. When it comes to business, he's much better than anyone else.

But he was wrong about one thing. Shichibei didn't select men who could kill, but rather those who could get the job done. As for those who could kill, didn't Nobunaga send twenty? Draw lots, and ten of the twenty will go on a trip to Sakaimachi at public expense. Their main mission is to keep an eye on Princess Tokuhime's dowry. Understand?

The Yoriki, having just returned from Kanjo, initially thought they could rest for a few days, but when they heard they were being assigned more work, they were still grumbling. But after Shichibei finished speaking, their grumbling stopped. "Find twenty straw stalks, blacken the bottoms of ten with ink, and draw lots."

Going to Sakaimachi now is the same as going to Shanghai during the reform and opening up period.

Shanghai was a very popular travel destination back in the 1990s. Even Montagut could trick mainland tourists into buying a single sweatshirt for over a thousand yuan.

Those who won the lottery were happy, and those who didn’t were really disappointed.

The discipline for this public trip is to keep an eye on the dowry. Nothing else matters. I don't care whether you are divided into two or three shifts to guard it. As long as the dowry is finally returned to Tsushima safely, you will have nothing to do with it.

I'll prepare rice balls for you on the boat to Sakaimachi. You'll also be paid the actual price for your lunchboxes in Sakaimachi and on the return trip. Go to Inase Yoshinari to collect your meal payment. Accommodation will be arranged by the end of the day. If Tennoji-ya is available, you'll stay there. If not, you'll stay on the boat to guard Princess Tokuhime's dowry.

Understand?

The group roared in agreement, rising to go to Inase Yoshinari to collect their money. They definitely wouldn't leave today; they'd have to go to Boss Ito tomorrow to rent a large boat before they could depart. With so much dowry, it was a bit unsettling to board a simple boat at short notice.

The remaining ten men were divided into two groups, one group had a ten-day holiday, and the other group spent their time at Kawamura House. The lack of local lawsuits was one thing, but the lack of a county representative's office and staff was another.

At least you have to make sure that when people want to sue you, there is a door open for them to sue.

Then Shichibei finally received an official mission from the county governor. A local lord had been killed in the battle of Dondong Castle. He had no adult brothers or sons, so Komakiyama Castle sent a letter asking if he could adopt a son from the same village, marry his wife, and establish a new family.

It was a very normal military and political behavior. The former lord of the Former Fortress Nagai Michitoshi married Endo Yoshitaka's mother, became Endo Yoshitaka's successor, and supported the Endo family's business.

For example, Ryuzoji Takanobu married his own mother to Naoshige's father to maintain the stability of the family. Thanks to this, he was able to secure the throne when he succeeded to the throne at a young age.

Then Shichibei will have to rush to uphold justice.

The idea of ​​a widow, or dancing on a grave, is all from a later era. These days, survival is the most important thing for a person. Remarrying immediately after a husband's death isn't frowned upon. It's difficult to survive on your own without help.

Arriving at the gate, Shichibei discovered that the family was quite well-off, with a fortune of over fifty kan and half the village covered by their land. In the last draft, six members of their family had been drafted.

The head of the family was hit by a cannonball and died instantly, and one of his family members who had joined the expedition also died. Now his son was five years old and his younger brother was ten, so there was really no way they could immediately put on their armor and carry the spear for Nobunaga.

Do you have any ideas of your own? Although Qibing was here to enforce the order on behalf of Nobunaga, this was his first time doing something like this, so he wanted to go through the entire process.

For example, if the head of the family has any cousins, that would be the best, at least they are relatives. If not, then they would adopt an adult male from another family, a completely unfamiliar one, and there is even the possibility that the original owner's children would be raised to death.

The woman who represented the family in the negotiation with Shichibei pulled her son over and said that she had a seventeen-year-old cousin on her mother's side who could be adopted and married to her.

Row!

Is he there? Shichibei represented the government and didn't care what the man's status was. As long as he could reorganize the military service of the conscripted household and have someone to carry the gun, that was all he needed.

A man of about the same age was brought up. Shichibei saw that he looked quite strong. So he asked him to put on armor and hold a spear and run around to see if he could help Nobunaga. After he ran back from the ridge, he could indeed work hard for Nobunaga.

That's the end of the punishment. You are destined to be together, change your names, and inherit the family lineage. You will be re-enlisted in the military service register. Since two of you died in battle, you will be exempted from two years of annual tribute, two years of general service, two years of land tax, and one year of separate tax. In addition, you will be given an additional five kan of money.

Are you dissatisfied with the handling of the case? If so, you can appeal to Komakiyama Castle. Do you know how to write a complaint? I can write it for you.

Having finally accomplished something, Shichibei was quite pleased. The woman across from him, on the other hand, was quite surprised at how the new governor looked, lacking any dignity at all.

It's ridiculous to talk about majesty with a small businessman.

No, no, no complaints, this is a good solution. The woman immediately expressed her opinion, and the case was closed quickly. Shichibei went out and mounted his horse, and was even escorted to the door.

Yoriki, who accompanied Shichibei to handle the case, was probably not the first time to deal with such a thing, so he had a blank expression. Shichibei, on the other hand, was quite excited and even asked Yoriki if his own handling of the case was successful and if the process was sufficient.

Of course, Yu Li agreed, but he was just curious why Shichibei didn't even eat at his home. He was out of the government office on business, so why didn't he eat at his home?

Well, this is not the first time that Shichibei has done this.

There were some conventions that Shichibei didn't know about, but since you reminded me, I'll do it next time. Shichibei understood the principle of blending in with the world, but he wasn't expecting to create an image of clean governance anyway, so he'd just settle for something close enough.

I hummed a wild tune as I returned to Kawamura-ya, only to see many people carrying boxes and parcels into the shop. There were so many of them, and judging by the time, they must have returned from the boat to Sakaimachi.

I handed the horses to the clerk and asked him about them. Sure enough, they were right. With so many boxes and cages, I'd have to take dozens of horses to Komaki Castle. I wondered if Nobunaga would pay me for the horses.

When I opened the box, I saw several rolls of Jingtang paper, which was later regarded as an intangible cultural heritage in Japan. Nowadays, it is not mainly used for writing, but for pasting sliding doors.

I'm not sure if it's good or not, but I've never used it. The paper we use for our sliding doors is just ordinary mulberry paper, which isn't very light-transmitting, but it's produced in Mino next door, so it's both affordable and readily available.

Since Tokuhime married into the Matsudaira family, it was only natural for her to use good things.

He pulled out the list, sat down, and compared everything. He'd send it off to Komakiyama tomorrow. The shop assistants and samurai who had returned from Sakaimachi were all quite excited, clearly having seen a lot of the world, talking about all sorts of things. Some had even brought their own packages; I wondered what they'd bought.

Two men were sitting by the manger, boasting to others about the great Tang-style ships. They said, "Our Tsushima Tawarako ships are not even as good as the Tang-style ships of Sanyi."

Tsk tsk tsk, what a pity I can’t go up and take a look.

Nanbu, who had led the way to his hometown in Sakaimachi and was of the same generation as Shichibei's father, sat across from Shichibei. The old man was in his fifties, a very old age in those days. Hadn't Nobunaga been forced to resign at forty-nine?

The Nanbu clan of their family is said to be related to southern Oshu. According to "The Branch of the Son and the Bone" and "The Azuma Mirror," the Nanbu clan once served as retainers of the Kamakura shogunate and had a chance encounter with Hojo Tokiyori. As a result, they acquired a certain territory in northern Ise, and one branch of the clan migrated to northern Ise.

It's hard to tell whether it's true or not, and Shichibei doesn't really believe it. But Nanbu Sanenaga does the same job as his ancestors, who were horse herders in Nanbu, Kyomo County, Kai Province.

If we just talk about horse breeding, it really is a common origin for both ancestors and grandchildren.

Without mentioning this, Nanbu Minoru pulled out a small notebook. He was old and forgetful. Plus, as a businessman, he kept a lot of records, so the old man had a "handbook."

When asked, it turned out that there was indeed something wrong. What was it? The imperial court successively recognized the official positions of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Ashikaga Yoshiei as left-hand men.

This wasn't just a matter of one official selling to two different parties. The imperial court's practice of selling official positions was not uncommon. It's said that at its peak, a single Bizen no Kami was sold to dozens of people. Even Nobunaga's father, Nobuhide, had previously purchased the position of Bizen no Kami. It's unclear how much he paid for it, but it wasn't expensive, considering Nobuhide had previously donated a massive 1,000 kan (approximately 1,000 kan) to the imperial court for the renovation of Ise Grand Shrine.

Other official positions were irrelevant. Military daimyo and feudal lords could even achieve the rank of Kyōshō-no-bō (Jōshō-no-fu), a position of Junior Fourth Rank. Date Tanemune and Date Harumune both served as Kyōshō-no-bō (Jōshō-no-fu), as did Isshiki Yoshitatsu and Hosokawa Harumoto. Ōuchi Yoshitaka even served as Dazai Shōni, achieving the rank of Junior Third Rank while still alive.

Just the left horse head...

This position is the official career that the Shogun of the Muromachi shogunate started. In today's era of following rules and regulations and having different titles, if the heir of the Shogun's family is granted the title of Sabotage, it means that he has been recognized by the court and is the officially certified successor to the shogunate.

Based on this premise, why were both Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Ashikaga Yoshiei appointed as Sabotage?

Wait! Shichibei suddenly clapped his hands. Why didn't Asakura Yoshikage send troops to Kyoto after the summer harvest to send Ashikaga Yoshiaki to the capital to succeed the throne?

It's important to note that winter arrives early and ends late in Hokuriku, so it's not uncommon for snow to start falling in October. The snow in December is so heavy it could completely bury a modern-day Japanese dwarf, rendering him unable to move.

If you don’t go to Luo after the summer harvest, you won’t be able to go to Luo this year.

What's even more bizarre is why the Miyoshi Three didn't send Ashikaga Yoshiei to Kyoto to take the throne. If he didn't go to Kyoto to succeed to the throne and receive the shogun's proclamation, he would be called the kufang and addressed as the imperial palace, which would not be a proper shogun.

There's an outrageous feeling inside and out. What's going on?

Seeing Shichibei looking at him, Nanbu Sancho, who came from his hometown, closed his eyes and dozed off. He didn't know if he was truly tired or if he was just trying to escape by sleeping. He was old enough to take advantage of his age. And since he was from the Kawamura family's hometown, he had some face. Could Shichibei pull out his abacus and slap him in the face?

"Well, what does an old man know? We can't even grasp the major events of the Kyoto court, let alone other mortals. Remember this. When you bring your dowry into the city tomorrow, tell Nobunaga when you see him."

Nobunaga had temporarily given up his plan to support Ashikaga Yoshiaki, as Yoshiaki had joined forces with Asakura Yoshikage and had repeatedly mediated between Nobunaga and Ryūshū. It was understandable that Nobunaga was somewhat unhappy with this.

With horses and people, the dowry was quickly delivered to the foot of Komakiyama Castle. Then it was moved into Komakiyama Castle, and Nobunaga's wife, Sagiyama-dono Nohime, came out to receive these things, and of course, she brought Princess Tokuhime with her.

It's hard to say whether a seven-year-old girl can understand that she is about to get married.

"Where's Nobunaga?" Shichibei asked Lady Nouhime. Nobunaga had gone to Sumata, saying something was up. As a hereditary retainer, Shichibei had no business asking about his lord's whereabouts, so it was only natural for him to do so. He had no need to hide it.

Went to Sunomata? Were they recruiting the West Mino Three? It's almost time, so I wonder if that's the case. But there's no need to speculate about this kind of thing. We'll just wait for Nobunaga at the gates of the castle.

It was not yet dark and Nobunaga came back quite early. When he learned that Shichibei had something to talk to him about, he thought he was in a hurry to settle a score.

Without letting Shichibei enter the castle, he rode his horse to the Kawamuraya branch in Komakiyama. Just as he was about to ask Shichibei how much he spent in the end, he learned from him that the imperial court had also issued a salary to Sabato.

One sentence silenced Nobunaga.

66. You must have an idea

Nobunaga was silent, so Shichibei naturally didn't want to say anything, so he just let Nobunaga walk to the haystack, sat down with his buttocks, and began to think.

Pulling Sasa Narimasa over, Shichibei whispered, "What were you doing in Sunomata? Why did you come back so late?" Sasa Narimasa didn't try to hide the truth, saying it was to sway the various factions in Nishi Mino. Nishi Mino wasn't just dominated by the three factions of Inaba Itetsu, Ujiie Bokuzen, and Ando Morishuna; there were many other scattered factions.

Besides Hanbei Takenaka, one of the two great generals known to many later generations, there was also Mitsuharu Fuba, a great general from western Mino. He was known for his respect for Ryūshū, fighting until Ryūshū retreated from Mino before surrendering to Nobunaga.

Nobunaga wasn't shy about dismissing him, simply changing his position. After proving his loyalty to Nobunaga for several years, he was assigned to serve under Shibata Katsuie as a sergeant, with a salary of 20,000 koku (some say 30,000 koku). Maeda Toshiie was also assigned to serve under Katsuie at the same time, and along with Sasaki Narimasa, they were collectively known as the Fuchū Three.

As for why Fuba Mitsuharu did not accomplish anything, it was mainly because he died early and died before Nobunaga even had time to grill him.

So, how's the negotiation going? Any results? Shichibei asked. Sasa Narimasa didn't answer, but instead muttered to Nobunaga, "Oh, Nobunaga's looking over here." The two hurried forward, ready to take orders.

There were no orders to be given; Nobunaga simply lost control of the situation in Kinai, which was why he paused for a while. Now that he figured it out, he asked Shichibei how much he had spent on Tokuhime's dowry and offered to reimburse him for it.

There's no need to be so anxious. Shichibei's family is wealthy and he can buy things on credit in Sakaimachi.

Since Nobunaga said so, Shichibei had nothing to be shy about. He would report whatever he spent. Nobunaga had been marrying people everywhere in the past two years, and many of the prices were known, but he didn't dare report the expenses.

Nobunaga didn't bother to settle the bill. He took a pen and paper from the desk beside him and wrote a note, asking Shichibei to go to Sugaya Nagaya to settle the bill tomorrow.

He just flatters and leaves without any hesitation.

Sometimes Shichibei felt that he could not keep up with Nobunaga's movements, both mentally and physically. After all, Nobunaga had good leg strength and was full of energy.

The next day, when we went into the city to settle the accounts, Lady Nouhime summoned Shichibei. She'd inspected the dowry yesterday afternoon and found a few extra items. Speaking of which, Lady Nouhime had been childless for some reason. Nobunaga must have been incredibly capable, having siphoned off twenty or thirty children in his lifetime. The problem, then, was essentially Lady Nouhime's fault.

In the early days of Nobunaga's household affairs, they were all managed by Lady Ikoma, including Oda Nobutada, Oda Nobuo, and Princess Tokuhime, who were all born to Lady Ikoma.

With her biological mother, Shichibei was not sure what happened to Princess Tokuhime and Lady Nouhime. However, Lady Nouhime, as the wife of the principal wife, seemed quite proactive and generous in this matter, choosing a dowry specifically for Princess Tokuhime.

It wasn't much, really. Just a kite-colored sash, for example, and a piece of fabric with an azalea pattern. Shichibei could probably understand why she was so particular, because these days, noblewomen seemed to be particular about what colors to wear according to the season, what colors should go with what, and even the patterns on their clothes.

To put it more seriously, Matsudaira Ieyasu's wife, Tsukiyama-dono, was the adopted daughter of Imagawa Yoshimoto. She was also a noble lady from a distinguished family, so she was incredibly particular. Princess Tokuhime must not lose face when she goes there. She must maintain the proper etiquette of a military lord and not be intimidated by those pretentious official tricks.

The war between women...

After taking detailed notes, Shichibei left as ordered. However, before he left, Nobunaga, upon hearing of Shichibei's presence, summoned him to the range. Nobunaga was practicing archery, and his attendants, few in number, stood in groups of three or four until someone brought Shichibei to Nobunaga's side.

Before he could salute, Nobunaga shouted "arrows". Shichibei quickly took an arrow from the table beside him and handed it to Nobunaga with both hands. Nobunaga didn't even look at Shichibei, he took the arrow and shot.

Of course, there were no ten or eight rings these days. Shichibei's eyesight was average, as he used to keep accounts and write calculations by lamplight at night. But he could see that Nobunaga's target was getting further and further off target. Not only did he not hit the bull's eye, he couldn't even touch the edge of the bull's eye.

After the third time, Nobunaga swung his bow to Shichibei and, shirtless, began to drink. Drinking low-alcohol rice wine like water wasn't uncommon these days.

Holding the bow, Qibingwei was lying there, neither standing nor kneeling. It was not until Nobunaga drank half a bottle of wine, as if he had just discovered Qibingwei, and beckoned him over that Qibingwei felt relieved.

Without even bowing, Nobunaga asked Shichibei why he sent people to set up a stable in Sekijo Castle?

Huh? What's so strange about that? I'm a horse courier. Once you conquer new territory, I'll set up a branch. According to our feudal contract, I'll send you horses to carry goods during wars, and in peacetime, you promise to be the only horse courier in your territory. If there's a new market, I'll definitely send people to occupy it.

"Then why didn't you go to set up the stable, Momota?" Nobunaga raised the wine bottle again and looked at Shichibei.

"Ah, this..." Shichibei couldn't say that Sumota would be useless sooner or later, and it would be useless to set it up. He would just go directly to Ogaki Castle to set it up in the future.

Now we are going to Guancheng to set up stables, which is also a preparation for setting up stables in Inabayama Castle later. To put it bluntly, Shichibei opened a little God's perspective in advance, and did not want to waste too much effort, so he only planned to set up stables in the streets that would develop and the castle town.

Then Nobunaga seemed to realize something.

Sunomata was Nobunaga's bridgehead against Seino, while Sekijo was Nobunaga's main stronghold in Nakano. There shouldn't have been a clear distinction between the two, at least not yet. Yet, Shichibei abandoned Sunomata and focused solely on Sekijo. What does this indicate? It suggests that Shichibei had his own assessment of the future situation.

Just last night, after Nobunaga learned that the imperial court had granted both Ashikaga Yoshiei and Ashikaga Yoshiaki the title of Sabayashi, he became somewhat unsure about the future development of the situation.

Please tell me your predictions so that I can refer to them.

Well, this time, it was Nobunaga who instantly silenced Shichibei. Nobunaga didn't press him, as this was clearly a big topic that required everyone to organize their words before discussing it. So, Nobunaga held up the bottle, taking a sip every now and then. The entire range was silent, with only the sound of Nobunaga swallowing.

After holding his breath, Shichibei could only deduce the answer and talk about what happened last night. At that time, the Miyoshi Three controlled Kyoto, and it was very reasonable for the court to grant Ashikaga Yoshiei the position of Sabara. After all, he still relied on the Miyoshi Three for his livelihood.

But why was Ashikaga Yoshiaki given the title of Saboro? This is likely related to Asakura Yoshikage's excellent relationship with the nobles and the imperial court in Kyoto. Asakura Yoshikage himself was an expert in poetry, waka, renga, sarugaku, garden painting, e-painting, and the tea ceremony, and he attracted many nobles and monks to sing and respond to his poems at Ichijodani.

Sanjo Nishikojo bluntly stated that Asakura Yoshikage was a modern-day sage, capable of governing a country and maintaining peace. Even Catholic missionaries who visited Ichijodani praised its prosperity and peace.

The Asakura family recruited and entertained a large number of Kyoto nobles who were in trouble, so one can imagine how good their reputation was in the court.

In order to promote his literary and artistic career, Asakura Yoshikage often paid court nobles to visit Ichijodani for entertainment, and he even demonstrated Ogasawara-ryu archery and horsemanship in person, singing and singing with the court nobles, praising each other.

In addition, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was the son of the former shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu and the brother of Ashikaga Yoshiteru, and was clearly superior to Ashikaga Yoshiei in terms of the line of succession. The imperial court was left with only an empty shell, and if he did not take the initiative to maintain the empty shell of the monarch-minister, father-father-son relationship, no one would take him seriously.