Owari Yumeki Golden Day

The last seven soldiers are simple. Just take out all the horses and let them take on the transportation task.

The six people accepted the orders one by one. Nobunaga's arrangements must have been well thought out and were all appropriate.

Upon learning that he was only responsible for delivering horses, Shichibei breathed a sigh of relief. "We don't build castles," he said. A closer look at Japanese castles reveals that they are small but strong. During the Wanli Aid Korea Campaign, the Japanese castles in southern Korea caused considerable trouble for the Ming army.

The turtle shell is smelly and hard.

Of course, there are some tricks to it. We haven't learned it, and we don't know how to build it. If we have the chance, we can ask Niwa Nagahide or Sakuma Nobumori for advice. They should have some experience, but they probably won't teach it all to Shichibei.

"Nanabe, you should quit your job as Kaito County Magistrate for now and take up the position of Yoyue Bugyo." Nobunaga raised his butt and thought of this before leaving.

After the autumn harvest, Shichibei has to take charge of the annual tribute rice, and now he has to deal with the horse transmission to Inabayama. If he is also responsible for the civil affairs of Haidong County, it will be a bit too much for him to handle.

What about the twenty men who were supported by the "guardianship" of Kaito County? Shichibei quickly stood up and chased Nobunaga to ask.

"I'll give it all to you. I'll also give it to you when you do something else in the future." Nobunaga answered without any hesitation.

"I know."

"I understand," Shichibei said, bowing quickly. "If we don't withdraw the people, it will be easier to handle. Having enough people makes things easier."

Once the mission was given, everyone had to work together in unity. There were two Hikage Bugyo: Niwa Nagahide on the Inabayama side and Sakuma Nobumori on the Komakiyama side.

If there's anything wrong, just look for these two. The remaining four will be in charge of the work, each responsible for their own tasks. If there's any mistake or omission in any link, they will be held responsible.

"Nanabe, bring 500 bundles of horse hay to my residence." When everyone retreated from the city, Sakuma Nobumori probably thought of something and instructed Nanabe.

"Is it prepared for the lord?" Shichibei immediately understood.

Nobunaga himself had at least dozens of horses, and any daimyo who could afford it would have prepared a few more horses for himself. If they were to be sent to Sakuma's house all at once, they would have to prepare more horse fodder.

"Haha." Sakuma Nobumori nodded naturally. That's what he thought.

"I'll send someone back when I get back."

"Hey, did that guy buy horse grass from you?" It was a long way from the city to the outside, so the two of them naturally had to chat.

The latest "in the news" in the castle is, of course, Saito Tatsuoki. Nobunaga is about to officiate the wedding between Tatsuoki and the daughter of Nobunaga's cousin, Oda Hiroyoshi. Five years ago, Oda Hiroyoshi had led the attack at the Battle of Jujujo, only to be captured by Saito's army, Nonomura Masashige.

So his children were transferred to Nobunaga's care for raising. He happened to have a daughter who was slightly younger than Ryūō.

By the way, this girl is also called Aichi.

When hearing this news, Shichibei was a little surprised. If I had known there was an Aichi, and that she was the daughter of Nobunaga's younger brother, I would have worked very hard.

I only realized it now, so there was no point in struggling.

Otherwise, going public through a backdoor listing would also be a good thing.

"Oh, no." After being reminded by Sakuma Nobumori, Shichibei thought about it and realized that this was not the case.

I remember the Saito family sending someone to buy a horse, and when they did, they'd always give him a few bundles of grass. If Shichibei can't even handle this little bit of business, what good is a boss? But Ryuxing first rode non-stop to Kiyosu Castle, settled his retainers, and then raced back to Komakiyama, leaving him no time to let his horse roam the wasteland on the riverbank.

The horse must have only been fed with readily available hay, supplemented by rice bran, bran, barnyard grass, and soybeans when necessary. Unless he bought it from Katoya, that wouldn't be surprising.

It's possible. Earlier in Mino, Long Xing complained that he'd been victimized by a small businessman. It's normal for him to hold a grudge against Shichibei and not take care of his business.

The reason is that horses can only be bought from Shichibei, but grass can be exchanged for Katoya.

The two chatted casually, and now, having reached the gates of the castle, Sakuma Nobumori mounted his horse and galloped off. Shichibei also mounted his horse and headed home. He hadn't really wanted to ride, but with his current status, how could he show off his status as a thousand-kan samurai without a horse? So, even if it was only a ten-minute walk, he still had to ride.

When Xinma arrived home, Shichibei threw the reins to his servant and drank a cup of tea. He was thirsty after climbing the city for so long without a sip of water.

After finishing his drink, Shichibei sat there bored, thinking back to what Sakuma Nobumori had just said. He flipped through the recent account book and found that Longxing hadn't come to buy horse grass, but Yonekura Nobutsugu had actually bought some.

93. Tianxia Buwu needs to change its name

Yonekura Nobutsugu was at Kawamura's house, and the grass and good feed for his horses were all provided to him by Shichibei. He didn't need to buy any of them himself. After all, they were friends, so what was a few bundles of grass? The gold coin he slipped into his pocket was enough to feed countless bundles of grass for his entire team's horses.

Is it possible...

Needless to say, Shichibei's suspicions were growing. This was the Warring States Period in Japan, and some things were better believed than not. While we had some interactions with Yonekura Nobutsugu, we each served a different master. While we were currently allied by marriage and seemed quite harmonious, the future was uncertain.

Wasn't Asai Nagamasa also Nobunaga's brother-in-law? He even had a child, so he should be killed. Takeda Katsuyori was technically Nobunaga's son-in-law, so wouldn't he be killed if a fight broke out?

Historically, Oda Nobutada did not intend to kill his fiancée, Takeda Matsuhime, and even searched for her in Kai. Furthermore, Nobutada never appointed a wife as his principal wife, or did he really intend to marry Takeda Matsuhime.

Hey, should I report this to Nobunaga?

Shichibei actually had no evidence, only his own speculation and suspicion. The only thing that could be considered evidence was the account record of Nobutsugu Yonekura purchasing horse grass. But in theory, this could also be said to be Shichibei's own words, and Nobutsugu Yonekura could have completely denied it.

There was no surveillance, no transfer records, and at most there was a bookkeeper who could serve as a witness. But the bookkeeper was Shichibei's man, and such witnesses could not be fully trusted even in later times.

Wait a minute, if Yonekura Nobutsugu and Saito Ryuoki are really secretly interacting, they'll have to be doing so this year, not to mention next year. Let's observe from the shadows; the truth will eventually show up.

Now Nobunaga is officiating the wedding of his great nephew Longxing. Longxing is a useful person, so let's wait and see.

Tell the men to invite Takigawa Ikki to Komakiyama. Shichibei thinks he can help with something. "We'll monitor the situation in Kiyosu Castle at our own expense. Longxing's target is too large, but Kiyosu's will be smaller."

There was a high probability that something would be revealed, and it would be Kiyosu's fault. Komakiyama was about to be demolished, and Ryuxing would have to pack up and revisit his old home in Inabayama. As the magistrate of Hikari, Shichibei was perfectly placed to "keep an eye on things."

The relocation project of Komakiyama Castle has officially begun!

Niwa Nagahide set out first, taking dozens of samurai and their families with him. They settled in the houses that Ryūshū had originally gifted to his retainers. These houses were fully furnished and ready for immediate habitation, even having stoves and cooking pots. The Saito retainers, defeated and fleeing, had taken only a few fine clothes and clothing with them. When the Oda army entered the city, looting was prohibited, so the few things they left in their houses were just enough to hide their belongings.

Large wardrobes, vases, and cast iron pots are all valuable, but the soldiers entering the city certainly couldn't take them away, so they could only leave them for future generations to use.

Sakuma Nobumori entered the castle and began dividing it into sections, preparing to demolish this part today and that part tomorrow. The dismantled components had to be moved to Inabayama Castle for reuse, and even important military structures like the yakko gate had to be rebuilt, not just haphazardly carried over.

Now Nobunaga must be unsure whether he can gain a foothold in Kinai. After all, Ouchi Yoshioki and Hosokawa Masatoshi had both lived in Kyoto, and how invincible and lonely they were back then. But look at the Ouchi family and the Kanrei Hosokawa family now, they have both been defeated.

Therefore, you have to build your own nest more solidly. If you win, you can advance your troops; if you lose, you can retreat and defend. In any case, you need a big city.

By the way, taking advantage of the change in power, Shichibei asked Niwa Nagahide to reserve a place for us at the most convenient intersection when building the castle town.

It must be a big intersection.

Before leaving, Niwa Nagahide gave Shichibei a knowing smile, clearly understanding what he meant. Consider it a favor he owed Niwa Nagahide, and at worst, he could always pay it back in the future.

Anyway, this Denbaya branch in Inabayama Castle is useful. Even during the Meiji Restoration, Gifu Town was still the most important central town in Gifu Prefecture, and the Tokaido railway line had to turn from here to Omi.

In response, Shichibei used the privilege granted by Nobunaga to recruit dozens of oxen from the public, harnessing them to carts to transport the belongings of the samurai families who were leaving for Inabayama Castle. They literally took everything from wardrobes and tables to pots and pans, and the bedding alone took several carts.

Convenient with others, convenient with yourself.

Normally, the villagers would be reluctant to lend their oxen and horses, but Shichibei was now a well-known figure in many villages in Owari. Besides his reputation as an official, which was not very impressive, Shichibei was mainly known for selling his horses. Everyone knew that Kawamura would not cheat honest people and would give them the price they deserved.

We'll have to keep in touch, so borrowing an ox is easier now. The rice has been planted, so the oxen are useless in the village for the time being.

They are real cows and horses, and their rest is real rest.

After agreeing to pay them a certain amount per day, and compensation if they died, Shichibei's work went smoothly. With the help of Nobutsugu Yonekura's new batch of horses, Shichibei now had over a thousand horses, but compared to the large-scale relocation of tens of thousands of people, it was still insufficient.

Fortunately, people left in batches, not tens of thousands of people all at once. As long as the calculations were done properly, the flow could be supported.

Go ahead, as long as you don't kill them, do it to the death. The twenty yokai sent to Kaito County were all brought back to Komakiyama by Shichibei. Two of them would guard each post station, acting like traffic police. They would show people the way at each stop, escorting them to Inabayama Castle.

If a horse or cow died on the way, they would have to run back and ask the Huta people to drag it away. If it fell dead on the road, blocking the way, remember to drag it into the ditch and let the Huta people fish it out.

"Nanabe, here comes a good horse, why don't you let me see it first?" The spinning top was busy spinning, and sure enough, the boss came over to hit it.

"..." Shichibei wanted to pretend that he didn't hear anything. After all, there were so many people shouting and horses neighing, so it wasn't surprising that he didn't hear anything.

"Nanabei, Nanbei, Nanbei..." I never expected that if I ignored the boss, the boss would come forward by himself.

There was no way he could have heard it this time, so Shichibei quickly turned around and saluted. While saluting, he also had to explain that he really hadn't heard it just now.

"You do your thing, I'll just take a look." Pay attention, when the boss says this, he is not asking you to mind the task at hand, but he is giving instructions.

"Yes, yes, yes." Shichibei, who was clear in his mind, dispatched horses to pull the wood cart for Sakuma Nobumori, while also standing beside Nobunaga and listening attentively to his instructions.

"Do you know that Inaba Mountain was called Kinka Mountain in the past?" Nobunaga waved a whip and touched this horse and then that horse.

For a warrior, loving your horse is a fundamental skill. That's right, it's a skill, not a hobby. Failure to get along peacefully with your horse, to the point of "opening your heart," will lead to your downfall on the battlefield. If your horse stops running, stops mid-race, and lets an enemy shoot or arrow at you, your life is sealed.

It looked like he was just touching the horse, and Nobunaga did it very smoothly, but the question he asked was quite implicit.

"It is said that the former shogunate steward, Nikaidoyama Castle Nobu (Nikaido Administration/Kudo Administration), built a fort there, and it became known as Kinkayama Castle." Shichibei was not showing off his knowledge, but since his boss had asked, there was nothing he could do.

Nobunaga has spoken, and as a retainer, you can only obey. If no one around you passes on the message to Nobunaga and gives him a way to continue speaking, Nobunaga will be very embarrassed.

"Oh, I knew it." Nobunaga stopped touching the horse and slapped Shichibei on the back.

"Huh?" Shichibei, a mere small man, was almost knocked off balance by Nobunaga.

"I asked seven or eight people today, and they all said they didn't know. Tsk tsk tsk, it's because you've studied for two years." Nobunaga looked very happy, as if a bad chess player finally found someone who was worse than him.

"Why don't you ask Lord Sakuma?" Shichibei thought to himself, it's over.

We finally caught someone who boasted so much, Nobunaga would definitely not let us go. But with so many things on his plate right now, Shichibei is practically mad with work. How could he have the time to argue with Nobunaga about the name change of Inabayama Castle?

Looking at Nobunaga chatting with people everywhere, it's clear that he had already considered changing the name of Inabayama Castle. It is said that Hideyoshi once said that building and destroying castles is a power only possessed by the people of the world, and building a magnificent castle is a symbol of a person's power and great wealth.

As the lord of the two countries of Nobi with a fertile land of one million koku, Nobunaga really needed a castle to match it, and the castle also needed a resounding name.

But what's the point of talking to a horse breeder like me about naming? If you're going to talk, you should talk to the family elders. Sakuma Nobumori has studied, so he's definitely more educated than Shichibei. Go talk to him.

"He's busy." Obviously Nobunaga had already looked for Sakuma Nobumori, but Nobumori was demolishing the entire Komakiyama Castle and had no time to deal with Nobunaga.

"Then you should go and ask the abbot of Zhengxiu Temple, Master Zeyan." Shichibei had figured it out by now and immediately pushed the man out.

Sawahiko Soen, a monk of the Tokai school of the Rinzai sect of Myoshin-ji, was originally the abbot of Daiho-ji Temple in Mino. He later accepted Hirate Masahide's invitation to help teach the then-young Nobunaga.

In this era, monks and nobles actually monopolized most of the knowledge. Even for the sons of daimyo, it was common to send them to temples to study or to hire high-ranking monks to teach them.

Later, Hirate Masahide committed suicide, and Nobunaga built Masahide Temple specifically for Hirate Masahide and invited monk Zeyan to be the abbot. He lived in Owari and was responsible for the daily maintenance of Masahide Temple.

"Yes, you make sense." Nobunaga has been fighting outside for the past two years, and he probably hasn't visited his good master Hirate Masahide for a long time. It's no wonder that he forgot about Monk Zeyan.

"Do you want to give Inabayama Castle a new name?" Shichibei tidied himself up, clapped his hands and stood in front of Nobunaga.

"What do you think?" Nobunaga was looking for inspiration.

Naming is a problem all over the world. Whether it's naming a child, a building, or a city, it's always a challenge.

There's a joke that Xinxiang, Henan, has the most cities with the same name in the world. New York should actually be called Xinxiang. In fact, Pondicherry in India should also be called Xinxiang.

This shows that naming is really difficult for people all over the world.

"If you want to spread your military power throughout the world, you should start from this direction." Shichibei subconsciously gave out his "name".

"Tenka fubu! Well said!" Nobunaga's eyes lit up when he suddenly heard the words "Tenka fubu" from Shichibei's mouth, and he immediately shouted "good".

"Hiss..." It's too early to say.

Shichibei subconsciously assumed that Nobunaga had already had this idea, as they had previously discussed Nobunaga's intention to go to Kinai and stir things up. Whether it worked or not, he had to give it a try.

A real man cannot eat from five tripods when he is alive, but he should be cooked in five tripods when he is dead.

At that very moment, Nobunaga must have had this thought in mind. Since he had the resources to jump into Kinai and stir things up, he might as well go for it. There was still a chance of success.

What's the point of living a glorious life and hiding out in the countryside of Owari as a country bumpkin? Back in the Heian period, Owari, Mikawa, and Totomi were all standard places of exile. If a noble was exiled to Owari, they would burst into tears.

Even now, most of the nobles in Kyoto still regard Owari as the countryside.

To put it another way, Nobunaga is also a small town youth!

He was holding his breath, ready to attack the capital to show the world that a country bumpkin could marry the daughter of a nobleman, and have her be his concubine.

"Go on, do you have any other ideas?" Nobunaga clapped his hands repeatedly, signaling Shichibei to continue along this line of thought.

If we want to spread military power throughout the country, what name should we give Inabayama Castle? Kyoto has directly copied the names of Chang'an and Luoyang from the Tang Dynasty, so Nobunaga would definitely not use them.

Daxing?

I'm still in Wanping.

Next door, there was Wannian County in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty, Xiangfu County in Kaifeng during the Song Dynasty, and Jiangning and Shangyuan in Yingtian during the Ming Dynasty, not mentioning Shuntian. These names are all auspicious names made up just to sound good.

"I can't think of it at the moment." Shichibei could only pretend to be embarrassed, saying that he really couldn't think of what to call it.

"Tsk, how boring." Nobunaga saw that Shichibei really couldn't hold back a fart, so he could only stand up and take a walk.

On the one hand, he ordered people to go to Masahide-ji Temple to invite the great monk Zehiko, and on the other hand, he sent people to inform the elders and important ministers of the family who were still in the city of Komakiyama Castle that they would hold a meeting at Sakuma Mansion tomorrow.

Naming is a big deal, so according to the principle of holding a small meeting for big things, the above few people will participate. Before leaving, Nobunaga has already mounted his horse and called out to Shichibei, "Come too."

Yes, yes, yes. Shichibei could only nod in agreement. First, let's trick this impulsive boss out of here.

Master Zeyan had studied for so many years, and if Nobunaga asked him to come up with a few auspicious names, he would definitely be able to come up with a few. I just hope that Shichibei's words "Tenka Fubu" don't disrupt Nobunaga's train of thought and make him actually change the name of Inabayama Castle to Daxing.

Although it is not impossible, it would be interesting to see "Daxing Fuwu" written in Japanese history books later.

94. No surprises in choosing Gifu