Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Hideyoshi spread his hands. Shichibei thought for a moment and then did the same. "Ningning's back, so you two can have some first. Just two candied black beans."

A small, palm-sized dish, containing no more than twenty black beans. These days, drinking is all about that. Dai Ming next door drinks with preserved fruits and other things. Fried peanuts, pig ears, and salads—that's all in the future.

Not to mention that what I am drinking now is bitter wine, which really makes my heart ache when it goes down my throat.

As the second in command of the Western Mino factions, Hideyoshi must have been severely criticized by Nobunaga, which is why he had such a bitter face. But Nobunaga was anxious, but he was unwilling to change the conditions.

Even if it was only half or one-third of the military service, Hideyoshi would have the courage to use both kindness and force. Now the two sides are stuck here, and Hideyoshi is stuck between two huge rocks. I'm afraid even an iron rod will be ground into an embroidery needle.

It's a pity that he has to do such an errand. Fortunately, our Shichibei's job is to buy dowries. Although it is tedious, it is not too difficult.

While holding the black beans, Shichibei suddenly thought of something. Now that the Nishimino Three felt they had the strength to withstand Nobunaga's attack, this was a challenge. So why didn't Nobunaga just go ahead and surround Ogaki Castle directly?

The autumn harvest was approaching, and once it was finished, the people could be mobilized to fight. Furthermore, they had already captured Nakanō, deployed hundreds of new standing foot soldiers, and gathered the Kajita people. With Nobunaga's current strength, mobilizing an army of 20,000 would not be difficult.

Ogaki City can withstand 10,000 people, but can it withstand 20,000 people?

Twenty thousand troops were deployed outside Ogaki Castle, ten times the number of soldiers in the city. I don't believe that with so many retainers in the Uji family, all of them are loyal and loyal, without any traitors trying to sit on the fence. If only one person was willing to open the gates, wouldn't this city be easy to take?

Hideyoshi, who had tried eight times to pick up the black bean but failed, dropped his chopsticks and immediately returned. After conquering the three counties of Nakanosuke, Nobunaga neither engaged in indiscriminate hunting nor in human hunting, thus fighting a losing battle.

He finally managed to scrape off some money, a temporary property tax, and gave all of it to Sato Tadanori, totaling 4,400 kan. After returning from the battle, he began planning the marriage of Princess Tokuhime and Matsudaira Nobuyasu. Even if he was covered in gold, how many times could he win?

You submitted the blueprints of the streets from Komakiyama to Tsushima. Did Nobunaga ever mention road construction?

It’s just that I have no money!

After the autumn harvest, the losses from the Battle of Dodo had to be repaired. A portion of the money had to be given to Princess Tokuhime as a dowry to bribe the Mikawa Matsudaira clan. The remaining money would be used to fight the war.

No matter how much is left, even if the temporary commercial taxes on Tsushima and Atsuta are added, it is absolutely impossible to raise enough money to send out 20,000 troops.

Sun Tzu said it well: whenever an army of 100,000 is raised and marched a thousand miles away, the expenses on the people and the public treasury amount to thousands of pieces of gold a day, and 700,000 families will be left idle on the roads and unable to work due to internal and external unrest.

Although Nobunaga only traveled about 40 kilometers to fight, and his army was estimated to be only 20,000, how much capital did Nobunaga have? Only Owari and the three counties of Nakano. It's hard to believe he could afford to supply them.

"Then you..." Shichibei originally wanted to say "May the best of luck to you", but he didn't have the courage to say it out loud.

"Me? What can I do? Only God knows." Unexpectedly, Hideyoshi directly revealed the truth.

"By the way, didn't the lord promise them money?" Since Hideyoshi said so, Shichibei must have said something.

"Yes, all the anti-money and husband-money west of the Hangze River belong to these three families."

To put it simply, the temporary property tax and temporary head tax of the six counties, Mino Ikeda, Fuwa, Ishizu, Tain, Anpachi, and Kaisai, were taken out and divided equally among the three families.

I'd like to mention that Hangase River is quite famous in history because it was the outpost of the Battle of Sekigahara. Over 500 Eastern Army soldiers were annihilated here. Ishida Mitsunari was so happy that he felt he had the upper hand and attacked directly.

Of the six counties west of the Hangase River, Ikeda and Fuwa are mountainous and forested, with little arable land. Leaving aside the remaining four counties, agriculture is well developed. If all efforts were made to collect both the anti-money and the husband-money, 15,000 kan would not be difficult to collect.

But if each of the three companies gets one share, and each gets 5,000, the attractiveness is greatly reduced.

The territory was still their own territory. Nobunaga promised them to collect a temporary tax on their own territory, but there was no question of any reward.

"Hiss... How much money do you have?" Hideyoshi suddenly grabbed Shichibei.

"I don't have any. I gave all my money to my five younger sisters as dowries!" Shichibei immediately waved his hands. Although there was still some left, it wasn't much.

Of the 2,500 kan Nobunaga gave her last time, 500 kan went directly into the Kinoshita family as a dowry. Hideyoshi knew about this, and Shichibei hadn't hidden it from him at all.

"Five thousand kan, no, do you have three thousand kan?" Hideyoshi refused to let go and grabbed Shichibei's sleeve tightly.

"Do you think I look like three thousand guan?"

"Looks like it! Give it to me! I'll return it to you later!" Hideyoshi seemed not to hear Shichibei's tone and directly reached out to him.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Shichibei shouted "no" and slapped Hideyoshi's hand. Hideyoshi's black hand turned red, but he refused to let go.

"..." Hideyoshi stared at Nanabei and found that Nanabei's eyes were quite sincere, as if he really didn't have any feelings. Then he pulled his bloody hand away.

"Even if there is, people may not be interested in it if it's worth 3,000 kan." Shichibei's hands were sore from clapping.

"If they don't like it, then do their retainers think it's not good?" Hideyoshi touched his hand, as if he had indeed hit it a little too hard.

"That would only be useful during a siege."

"Too……"

The two of them fell silent. Not long after, Ningning brought in tea and food, and they picked up their chopsticks to eat again. They continued to eat in silence, as they really didn't have any good ideas.

However, what the two did not expect was that Ando Mamoru ordered his son Ando Uemon to sneak into Owari and contact Takagi Sadahisa, Ando's old retainer who had already defected to Nobunaga.

Andō Mamoru had an immature idea: if Andō Mamoru turned to Nobunaga, would Nobunaga support him to become the head of the Nishi Mino clan? If so, he was willing to persuade the Nishi Mino clan, including Inaba Itetsu and Ujiie Bokuzen.

69. Why should I go lurking?

The next day, Shichibei came to see Hideyoshi again, wanting to ask if there was a way to arrange for Takenaka Hanbei to see and have a chat. After all, this future figure was too famous, known as the "Modern Zhuge Liang", and he was an important supporting role in both film and television dramas and games.

How could Shichibei, who was even curious about whether Matsudaira Ieyasu ate three parts wheat and seven parts rice, not be curious about Takenaka Hanbei?

It's so hard to come here, if you don't take a look at everything, it would be a waste of time.

Ningning then said that Hideyoshi had been summoned to the castle early in the morning and hadn't returned yet. Huh? He went into the castle? Poor Hideyoshi, poor Hideyoshi, getting scolded by his boss all day long.

It was even more painful than the Monday morning meeting where the leader simply said three o'clock and talked until a quarter past twelve, and then had to go to the big hotel for dinner in fifteen minutes. I couldn't even make it to the cafeteria, and it was even more painful.

He had no choice but to ride home. After returning to Kawamura-ya in the castle town, Shichibei was thinking about whether he should pack up and go back to Tsushima first.

As things stand, Nobunaga and the Nishi Mino trio are at a stalemate. Unless the situation changes, a miracle isn't likely to happen anytime soon. Hanbei Takenaka will likely be constantly traveling between Sunomata and Nishi Mino, providing ample opportunities for encounters.

Even if someone dies young, he won't die immediately. He still has another ten years to live.

The autumn harvest was approaching, and with it came the matter of the annual tribute, a matter of great importance. As the governor of Kaito County, Shichibei had to deliver the tribute to Komakiyama in a beautiful manner, otherwise Nobunaga would surely be angry.

What Hideyoshi said last night was right. Nobunaga has many places to make money, and he makes a lot of money, but his expenses are even greater, so we must not mess with the annual tribute.

After instructing his family and the staff at the castle branch, Shichibei began to greet the members who had returned to Komakiyama for the holiday.

Before everyone arrived, someone from the city summoned Shichibei to come in. No way, after scolding Hideyoshi, what could he possibly remember about me? Shichibei thought about it all the way, but couldn't figure out what was wrong with him recently.

When they sat down in the room, Hideyoshi was there, and Nobunaga sat on the couch with a thoughtful look on his face, not saying a word. Shichibei came in, saluted, and then called out "Go-mie".

What?

Why is the environment a bit weird?

Hideyoshi invited Shichibei to sit next to him, and then briefly recounted the matter of Ando Uemon's conditional transfer of allegiance through Takagi Sadahisa.

The head of the Nishi Mino clan? It's easy to understand why Andō Mamoru wanted to be the agent and leader of the Nishi Mino clan under the Oda clan. All matters concerning the Oda clan regarding Nishi Mino first passed through his hands, and he then passed on the instructions to his subordinates.

Do you think it is possible that he gradually turned the Nishi-Mino factions into his vassals?

possible!

Nobunaga's plan was to consume Western Mino and gradually turn them into vassals, so he had to force them to send troops. But could Andō no Mamoru not do this? When he was ready to send troops, he would let other powerful families go first, preserving his own strength. Once the other powerful families were weakened, he would then force them to become vassals.

This smooth and practical method was being used throughout Japan. Mori Motonari had so many sons, each with a different surname, that he even gave pregnant maids to his retainers, allowing his illegitimate children to inherit the family business. Within ten or twenty years, it was possible to build a considerable group of retainers.

Although this system of retainers is not reliable, you can still say that he has grown from a small local tycoon with 3,000 guan to a great prince with more than 1 million shi.

As long as there are many children and they are filled up quickly, the group of retainers will expand rapidly.

Some people may ask, how big of a face does Andō Mamoru have? Why should Inaba Itetsu and Ujiie Bokuzen listen to him? The reason is very simple. They all know that the Saito family is unreliable, and Nobunaga is the best potential buyer nearby for the time being.

But they also wanted to sell it to the next owner at a good price and get a good position. What should they do? They were not very familiar with Nobunaga and needed time to get along with him.

So if you were Inaba Iktetsu, would you be willing to let Ando Mamoru take the lead and have a good talk with Nobunaga, see Nobunaga's rank, and then make any decisions?

The first one to stick his head out gets shot, so if anyone has to die, Ando Mamoru will be the first to die.

Everyone has their own plans, but their plans happened to reach a consensus in a very strange place and were tacitly approved by all parties.

But what does this have to do with me?

I'm the Kaito County Governor, not the Sunomata Castle Governor. Regardless of whether Nobunaga agrees or not, the Sunomata Castle Governor, Kinoshita Hideyoshi, should handle the matter. It has no chance of being Shichibei's turn.

That's true, but life is full of buts. Nobunaga planned to send a trustworthy retainer of some standing, yet not so important that his death wouldn't cause any grief to the Oda clan, to the northern castle to meet with Andō Mori. He would further ascertain Andō Mori's intentions and negotiate terms with him.

Nobunaga had to make some conditions clear to Ando Mamoru. For example, after Ando Mamoru became the head writer of the Seino clan, how many people could he recruit?

You, the defender, want to weaken the other members of the Nishino clan, and I, Nobunaga, want to weaken your defender. Negotiations are a process of mutual tug-of-war, with both sides trying to negotiate in a direction that benefits them.

So send me?

I?

Shichibei hadn't been out of luck today. What if he'd gone to Northern City and been killed by Andō-mori? The two sides were still enemies, so what if he'd killed a spy who came to negotiate? If Shichibei died in a place like this, there wouldn't even be any compensation.

Moreover, he had no sons, and there was no one to inherit the huge Kawamura family. Nobunaga might appoint a young man under his command to marry Shichibei's sister and inherit the Kawamura family.

Unfortunately, just as Qibing was about to raise his head to argue with Nobunaga, Nobunaga knocked on the tatami and looked at Qibing. The look in his eyes clearly showed that you have to do it whether you want to or not.

Needless to say, Shichibei practically trembled with fear. But Nobunaga had seen a lot recently, so he still had some resistance. Who would collect the annual tribute from Haidong County right now? This was serious business.

It was a truthful statement, but Nobunaga didn't take it seriously, stating that Sakai Masanari could bring 20 men and collect the annual tribute with a knife. Without Shichibei, Kaito County wouldn't immediately fall into chaos.

Nobunaga pointed to Takagi Sadahisa who was sitting on the other side, saying that this man was from Ando Morinari's family and could secretly take Shichibei to the northern castle, and Hideyoshi would arrange the rest.

In the blink of an eye, Nobunaga left like a whirlwind, and no one knew why he was in such a hurry.

Takagi Sadahisa bowed his head to Shichibei, introduced himself, and asked how many days it would take for him to prepare. Would they leave tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? Did he have any questions?

You go back first, we'll meet at Sunomata Castle tomorrow night. Shichibei sent Takagi Sadahisa away and then captured Hideyoshi. Was it you who recommended me to the higher-ups?

Hideyoshi cried out in injustice, claiming the assignment was his due. However, Nobunaga retorted that Hideyoshi was still second only to the Hosuka and Tsubouchi factions, who could mobilize over 1,500 men. Both factions trusted Hideyoshi, and with Mino in limbo, Hideyoshi couldn't afford to suffer any setbacks for a while. Then, he summoned Shichibei.

its not right……

Shichibei vaguely remembered that during a battle, Nobunaga sent Hideyoshi into the city to persuade the enemy to surrender. This meant that Hideyoshi was a samurai general, a high-ranking general, but did not have many troops, and he had a younger brother, Hidenaga, who could succeed him, so he sent Hideyoshi into the city.

This statement is clearly contradictory.

But a closer look at Hideyoshi reveals a genuine sincerity. He's still quite down-to-earth now, having been quite direct last night when he dragged Shichibei to ask for money. He's probably not yet the brutal, murderous, and somewhat Alzheimer-inducing figure he'll be a decade or so later.

After thinking about it, he felt that Hideyoshi was not involved, so he released Hideyoshi from his armpit. Naturally, Shichibei, who was thinking about something, did not notice the glint of light in Hideyoshi's eyes after he was freed.

Nobunaga, convinced I was useful, began stuffing things in here and there. It was like giving a two- or three-year-old a puzzle toy, where the child takes a triangular building block and shoves it into a wooden frame with circles, triangles, squares, and diamonds. One by one, they shove it in, and when it fits perfectly, they clap their hands.

That must be the case, Nobunaga was just that kind of person. When he found someone who was good, he would give him all the KPIs he could, using him to the utmost without leaving any room for improvement, until he could no longer use him.

After letting Hideyoshi go, Hideyoshi even asked Shichibei if he wanted to go to Sunomata Castle with him. If not, he would return to Sunomata that afternoon. How could that be possible? Shichibei was planning to return to Tsushima to collect taxes that morning and hadn't even packed his bags.

He hurried home, packed his things, and sent a flying kick back to Tsushima to inform Inase Yoshinari to meet him at Komakiyama. The next morning, Inase Yoshinari arrived at Komakiyama, where Shichibei personally gave him instructions. "If I fail, you must immediately change your surname to Kawamura, inherit my name, Kawamura Nagakichi, and maintain the Kawamura family business."

Do you understand?

While Inase Yoshinari was still dazed, Shichibei spurred his horse and charged towards Sunomata Castle. They arrived at Sunomata Castle in the afternoon, where Takagi Sadahisa was already waiting inside. Hideyoshi, undeterred, assigned Hidenaga to Shichibei, appointing him as his attendant and accompanying him to the northern castle.

After all, Hidenaga was Shichibei's brother-in-law, so serving him tea and water was only natural. There was nothing wrong with being his attendant now. More importantly, he had to accompany Shichibei throughout the entire process and return to tell Hideyoshi everything about Seino.

As the leader of the various factions in Nishi Mino, Hideyoshi was responsible for coordinating the people of Nishi Mino, and there was nothing wrong with doing so.

With Takagi Sadahisa leading the way, the entire journey went smoothly. Kitagawa Castle and Sone Castle were both located north of Ōgaki Castle, not far from each other. The area surrounding Kitagawa Castle would develop into Kitagawa Town during the Meiji era, while Sone Castle would eventually fall into decline. Of course, neither city could rival Ōgaki City, where the Tokaido Main Line would eventually be built.

Ando Uemon, who had made an appointment with Takagi Sadahisa in advance, met the three men at a farmhouse in a small village. He was surprised to learn that Shichibei was the head of the Tsushima clan and the governor of Kaito.

After all, monks generally have more dealings with monks when it comes to negotiations. For example, Kaikawa Shoki and Ameishu Keijun were active in Mino diplomacy, and many documents and letters signed by Yoshitatsu and his son Ryuoki were preserved.

Of course there were businessmen as well, such as the big boss of Tennojiya Tsuda who had business dealings with Shichibei. He often mediated disputes between daimyo in the capacity of a tea connoisseur.

In the future, Qian Zongyi would become a leader in this field. However, he got too involved in politics and ended up losing everything.

Let's talk about this. A wise bird chooses a tree to roost in, a wise minister chooses a master to serve; this is the way of the Warring States. Isn't Shichibei simply looking for a reserve? Nobunaga is certainly okay, but given his temper, there's a good chance he could turn against you. Employing people is like piling firewood. If there's no Akechi Mitsuhide, there will be another Mitsuhide to deliver the blow.

As the son of Ando Morinari, Ando Uemon knew very well what his father wanted. He could invest, but the price would be high.

It’s okay, ask for a high price and pay it back.

If Morinaga were to be entrusted with this task, would he be able to persuade Inaba Itetsu and Ujiie Bokuzen to surrender? Rubbing his hands together, Ando Uemon reminded Shichibei, "This is a no-brainer. There's no guarantee." Nobunaga didn't even have to sign an oath; it was just a promise. "You don't look like a diplomat, buddy."

hiss……

This guy was a formidable opponent. Shichibei was definitely not a diplomat, and he'd been outmaneuvered. Luckily, Shichibei, a small-time businessman, managed his expression well, not showing any fear, and instead questioned Ando Uemon. Nobunaga had an army of 20,000, and defeating anyone was easy. We're talking to you now, and we want results. Without results, there's no point in talking.

It was Andō Uemon's turn to pause. Shichibei's words were true. If Nobunaga hadn't grown stronger and had the power to shield others, the three families might not have considered joining Nobunaga.

Okay, then state the conditions.

The inspectors and county officials were not required to pay taxes or tributes (no money for building, money for turning, money for land, or money for land, and no annual tribute). Military service was revised, with the six counties of Seino limited to 3,000 cavalry. They were not required to bear the general costs of Nobunaga's castle construction, the general costs of managing the Kiso River, or the general costs of shrines, the imperial court, or official residences.

Hey!

What impressive terms! Besides calling Nobunaga "brother," you only get 15 days of free service a year, and there are only 3,000 of them. If you go beyond 15 days, does Nobunaga have to pay you six liters of rice, two spoonfuls of salt, and 50 Yongle coins a day?

Yep.

What Shichibei said was absolutely right. Andou Emon's conditions were indeed like that. He said it so naturally that it seemed like it was only natural.