Owari Yumeki Golden Day

The money was easy to explain, but was the claim of Mokuzo's defection true? Takigawa Kazumasu had brought back another hostage, and it didn't seem like he belonged to Mokuzo's family. He probably had other plans for Ise, but Shichibei didn't ask, and Takigawa Kazumasu didn't specify.

Well, when it comes to such meritorious deeds, everyone has some little secrets.

We have also recruited Nanbu Tadaaki, who is now in front of Nobunaga, and we don't know whether he is in his favor.

Anyway, Takigawa Kazumashi happily rushed to Gifu Castle, and Shichibei didn't envy him. Two days later, Raiya returned from Annozu's home by boat, not only returning himself but also bringing back a boatload of soybeans.

Upon inquiry, it turned out that this year in Ise was a normal year, even relatively good, so the powerful families in the north and south were selling grain for cash. Powers like Nobunaga, whose territories enjoyed thriving trade and easy access to cash, were not so bad. The smaller local tycoons in the villages of northern Ise had no means of generating cash, relying entirely on the cash generated by selling grain after the autumn harvest.

Jialai discovered that soybean prices near Annozu were reasonable, with a bulk price of just over 400 coins per koku. He took it upon himself to buy 100 koku. As for the money, he borrowed it from the Annozu kaiju, using Shichibei's name as the head of the Tsushima kaiju. They didn't even ask for interest, out of Shichibei's respect.

Horses used in combat or under heavy loads certainly need beans. Beans are cheap in Annozu, so we should definitely buy some. Shichibei nodded, opened the bill, and withdrew cash from the counter, leaving the family to pay their bills.

and many more!

Are you saying that the powerful families in the northern and central regions were selling grain? They didn't clearly realize that Nobunaga was about to attack and needed to stockpile food and prepare to defend the city?

When asked by Shichibei, Jialai explained that the food from the northern and central regions was now concentrated in Annojin, where it had been sold for over a month. Many local tycoons had already sold out their food and were almost done with it.

"Yoshinari? Where is Yoshinari? Where did that kid Yoshinari go?" Shichibei couldn't see Inase Yoshinari anywhere, so he shouted to look for him.

"Yes, yes, boss." Yoshinari Inase ran out while tying his belt.

"Take 10,000 kan with you immediately and go to Anongjin to raise the price of rice. Buy as much as you can. If you don't have enough money, come back to me." Shichibei gave the instructions immediately without caring whether his pants were on properly.

"Huh?" Yoshinari Inase was probably halfway through his bowel movement, still squinting.

"Repeat it!" Shichibei clamped Inase Yoshinari's arms with his left and right hands, almost touching their faces.

"Take 10,000 kan with you and go to Annozu. Raise the price of rice and buy as much as you can." Fortunately, Yoshinari Inase was a clerk, so he was able to remember this.

"Very good, let's go immediately."

Don't return the boat to Mr. Ito. Just unload the soybeans and head back. Rent a house in Anotsu and store the purchased rice there. If there's too much to store, ship it back to Tsushima.

Assuming that the local tyrants in the north and the center have sold most of their food, if they buy more food from them, their military rations will be reduced.

Even though the news of Nobunaga's unification of Mino and Owari had spread throughout the kingdoms, few people were fully aware that Nobunaga would return to attack Ise between this winter and the beginning of next spring. When Minami Sanenaga tried to trick Minami Kanetsuna into selling his youngest son to the Oda clan as a child laborer, Minami Kanetsuna clearly wasn't certain Nobunaga would return that year.

According to common sense, Nobunaga would have to spend at least two or three years in Mino to digest the situation before launching another campaign. After all, Mino was a large country, with hundreds of thousands of koku of territory. If it fell into his hands all of a sudden, it would take him half a year just to eliminate the troublemakers. He also had to guard against rebellions by the old faction or religious incitement within the territory.

But didn't Ryūsei bring Saito's core retainers to Nobunaga's side and even become the lord of Kiyosu Castle? The West Mino trio surrendered, and East Mino Iwamura Toyama Keito was Nobunaga's uncle. What did Nobunaga need to integrate?

I'm already waiting for Takigawa Kazumasu's response, so I'll start attacking Kitasei.

Otherwise, why would they hurriedly order Shichibei and Takenaka Hanbei to build the street from Kiyosu to Tsushima? It was because it was going to be used soon and there was no time to delay.

Now we are buying up the grain from the northern and central regions at a higher price. What will happen if Nobunaga decides to send troops to the northern regions? The nobles of the northern regions, who have no more food at home, will have to sell everything they have and buy back the food they just sold at double or even triple the price.

Without food, you can't defend the city, and without food, you can't call on the peasants living under the city to come in and defend it. Between the destruction of the city and the extermination of the clan and the survival of the clan, all the nobles will choose to defend the city.

What good will it be for those who don't surrender to Oda now? Nobunaga came to destroy the country and expand the territory. Those who surrendered will serve as the vanguard to maintain local rule, and those who didn't surrender will all be doomed.

Either the country will be destroyed or Nobunaga's sons and brothers will be chosen to succeed him. You want to be unscathed? You're dreaming.

As for us, we can only take advantage of this small time difference by taking advantage of his information gap. When others know about Nobunaga's upcoming battle depends on their position in the Oda clan and their closeness to Nobunaga. We are different. Besides Nobunaga, we will definitely be the first to know the date of Nobunaga's battle.

Once the army of tens of thousands was dispatched, the seven soldiers and horses had to be mobilized to provide logistics for Nobunaga, and cattle and horses from the countryside had to be requisitioned. Forty to fifty thousand people would consume a thousand koku of grain a day, and this was just for the people. The war horses accompanying the army ate five times as much as the people. Once the army was on the move, the people and cattle and horses on the road worked day and night to transport food.

By the way, at this point, most of the food in Anozuk was also being sent to Sakai and Kyoto, the two western food distribution centers. It was likely that Anozuk itself didn't have much food in stock. If Nobunaga had captured Anozuk, he might have collected arrow money and military rations from the local area.

We must store a batch of food in Annozu and not sell it no matter how much it costs. We will wait until Nobunaga extorts food from Annozu and then sell it to the people gathered in Annozu at a good price.

People were even willing to give Shichibei dozens of kan on credit so that he could come home and buy a hundred koku of soybeans. This shows that the merchants in Annotsu were not stupid and ignorant, but had some business acumen.

Shichibei will become a "pro-official" sooner or later, so it is only natural for him to make friends with the merchants under his command.

Ai was puzzled when she saw Shichibei driving her husband to Anotsu, taking tens of thousands of kan with him to buy rice. But after some thought, she suddenly realized what was happening and immediately began packing for Inase Yoshinari. She even complained to Shichibei, saying that even if it was urgent, there was no need to rush. Even if Nobunaga marched, even with an army of 40,000 or 50,000 men, it would take four or five days to get from Gifu to Tsushima.

It would take another four or five days to recruit all the troops in the province. The reinforcements from Asai and Tokugawa were coming one after another, so it would take a long time.

That's the truth, but who knows if there are any clever people in Kitai-Ise? Better to strike now while the opportunity presents itself. The sooner you strike, the sooner you'll feel at ease.

As we spoke, a hundred koku of soybeans were unloaded at Kawamuraya. Nobunaga was likely coming, so he would have to buy all the soybeans, and it would be best if he could also buy some from Annozu.

The packages were packed, and Inase Yoshinari called over a dozen people, including four or five men armed with swords, and set off overnight without stopping.

There was only a little over 6,000 kan in cash on hand, with some at other branches. Some was even loaned out at local warehouses, temples, and shrines, earning interest. Shichibei had been busy lately, and hadn't figured out what to invest in next. Now that he finally had a project, he could put all his money aside and get ready to go.

Inase Yoshishige, who rushed to Anozukuo, spread false news that there was a severe flood in the Mikawa-Tōmi area at the turn of summer and autumn, and the harvest was very poor, so grain needed to be purchased at a high price.

Sanhe and Yuanjiang are far apart, but not too far away. It seems real, but it would take several days to go back and forth. After all, Sanhe and Yuanjiang are quite large, and it may not be possible to completely circle them in five or six days.

In short, the price is high, nine hundred coins per stone of rice!

With a loud bang, the wealthy families in the northern and central regions were blown out. They clapped their hands and stamped their feet, saying that they had sold their rice too early. They were filled with regret, annoyance, and pain because they had not earned twice the price of rice.

Some people stamped their feet and sold their stored military rations and rice, betting that if there was no war in the winter, they could survive by eating wild vegetables in the spring. In the summer, the wheat would be harvested and everything would be fine.

One man led the way, followed by ten others, and thousands of stones of rice converged on Anozukuri. However, the purchase was still ongoing, and Shichibei asked Inase Yoshinari to open up the purchase as long as the money could hold.

If the powerful families in the north and middle regions showed any fear or hesitation, they would continue to provoke them with one kan of money per koku, squeezing out all the rice they had. If they didn't squeeze it out completely, when Nobunaga's army arrived, how could they be willing to pawn their underwear to buy rice?

In just seven or eight days, over ten thousand shi of rice from Beishi and Zhongshi were purchased and stored by the Seven Guards. Almost all the military rations from the nobles in both regions were taken away, leaving not a drop left.

At this time, Nanbu Tadaaki, who was sent to Gifu, rode back to Tsushima.

There was news, and Shichibei certainly knew it. After Nobunaga confirmed the secrets of the carpenters and other prominent figures from Takigawa Ieyoshi, he finally made the decision to dispatch his troops. By the time Nanbu Tadaki returned to Tsushima, the envoys to Odani and Okazaki Castles would have arrived.

Nobunaga officially ordered the mobilization of all the troops in the territory to march out in full force and attack from the north.

106. I want three strings of cash, no bargaining required

Nobunaga was indeed a qualified feudal monarch. He believed that the most important things for a nation were farming and warfare. Farming was another matter, but when it came to warfare, Nobunaga was like a shot of chicken blood. He actually utilized the ships of the Kiso River Namishu and the Tsushima Shu, and in just one day, he reached the pre-determined meeting point, Tsushima.

Outside Tsushima Town, flags flew like a sea, and over 3,000 of Nobunaga's troops rushed over at lightning speed. Then, Nobunaga sat down on Tsushima, signed his signature, and issued orders in all directions. Troops and horses, both land and sea, flocked to gather beneath his large, gold-painted Tang umbrella.

Saji Nobukata from the Chita Peninsula also came at full speed with the Saji navy. Although the Kuki Clan in Minami Ise had been defeated by internal strife and foreign wars, Kitabatake Munekuni still had some navy under his command, so they had to be on guard.

Since Saji Nobukata was his brother-in-law and the only naval talent under Nobunaga's command, Nobunaga must have valued him greatly. He held banquets for both his arrival and departure, and even invited Noh actors to Tsushima to entertain Saji Nobukata.

But he arrived quickly, while the other troops from Mino, Owari, Mikawa, and Hubei also had to walk slowly. His two sons-in-law, for example, arrived right after each other. Niwa Nagahide was even slightly faster than Saito Tatsuoki, considering Tatsuoki's territory was in Kiyosu Castle, quite close.

Well, being here is a courtesy to Nobunaga. And Long Xing also brought 1,700 to the battle line with a serious attitude. The number of samurai in the reserve force is quite large, and they are quite organized and combat-ready.

Will you let him deliver it first?

Not sure.

Nobunaga would gather his forces at Tsushima. Shichibei didn't need to spread the news that the Oda clan had set out from the north and were about to attack Kuwana County. Kuwana County was separated from Tsushima by the Kiso River, so anyone with a discerning eye could immediately spot Nobunaga preparing his army.

In an instant, even the local tyrants in Kuwana, Inabe, and Asamei counties knew about this. Especially Nanbu Kanetsuna, who had just sent his youngest son to the Oda family as a child laborer the previous month, ran away, calling for the blessing of his ancestors.

Why did they run away? Of course, they wanted to get the villagers from the three villages under Tomita Castle to defend the city. The so-called Tomita Castle was not even as good as the post station built by Shichibei. It had no defense at all.

Even with the inferior siege technology of the Japanese Warring States period, it was only a single blow. However, the Nanbu clan was technically a subordinate of the provincial governor, the Kitabatake clan, and had to adopt a defensive posture. There was no guarantee that Kitabatake would send 15,000 troops to meet Oda Nobunaga.

Anyway, his family was split into two, so even if he died in battle, the family name could be inherited and would not be cut off.

The other three counties' powerful families were not as "easy" as him. There were two reasons. First, they had not informed Nobunaga in advance. Now Nobunaga was coming and would surely kill their entire family. Second, they had sold all the military rations to Annozu not long ago. Now they had no food to even defend the city. What should they do?

The Umedo clan, a prominent clan in the Inabe County of the three northern counties, was actually a subsidiary of the Rokkaku clan. The former head of the clan, Umedo Takashige, was Rokkaku Sadanari's son, and the current head of the clan, Umedo Sanehide, and Rokkaku Yoshiharu were close cousins.

Umeto Mihide chose to ask for help from the Rokkaku family immediately and buy rice at the same time.

The Asakura clan, headed by the Asakura clan, comprised over a dozen powerful clans, all descended from the Muromachi shogunate's loyalists. This loose alliance formed a powerful alliance, but given its perceived looseness, even if the Asakura clan invited more than a dozen powerful clans to join them in defending Asakura Shigefuku Castle, the clans would be hesitant. Historically, they were defeated one by one, nearly annihilated.

Despite their hesitation, they still asked for help from Kitabatake Guinori and purchased military rations and rice again.

As for Kuwana County? Nobunaga had already begun the process, sending Saji Nobukata with thousands of Oda soldiers to "set it on fire." This would not only allow for plunder, but also intimidate the local nobles of the three counties, telling them, "I, Oda Nobunaga, am here; surrender or die."

Surrender depends on the situation. If you surrender quickly, you may be able to be safe. If you surrender slowly, you will only be spared. Those who don't surrender? Stay at home and listen to Nobunaga's instructions.

Rumors have spread in Kuwana County that an army of 60,000 from five countries is about to invade.

The origin of the rumor had nothing to do with Shichibei. In any case, Shichibei was immediately transferred to Ogado Bugyo from the moment Nobunaga arrived, taking charge of the Oda army's logistics. Aside from the weapons and ammunition brought from Gifu Castle by Murai Sadakatsu, all other supplies were collected locally in Tsushima and Atsuta.

This was Nobunaga's first battle after the autumn harvest, and he had money, lots of money, so he fought a war of plenty. Furthermore, this was Nobunaga's first time commanding such a large army, so he asked Shichibei to be generous in all matters.

The 60,000-strong army is pure rumor. Nobunaga and Nobi countries mobilized a total of 37,000 men to the battlefield, 3,000 from Mikawa and 2,500 from Asai and Kotani, totaling only 42,500 men.

Even though it was a group of more than 40,000 people, it was the first time for Nobunaga to lead one. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why he was the first to rush to Tsushima to plan and deploy in advance and make preparations.

Let's not talk about Shichibei, let's just talk about Inase Yoshinari who was in Anozuk. After he spent all the 13,000 kan given by Shichibei, he spent five very peaceful days.

When he was almost covered with hair, a man suddenly came and said he was willing to buy back the 200 dan of rice that he had sold to him at the original price of one guan of money, or even one guan and one hundred coins.

finally come!

No, three strings of cash!

At this point, the rumors about Mikawa flooding and poor harvests were no longer important. What was important was that the only person in Annozu who controlled tens of thousands of stones of grain was Inase Yoshinari.

You have to buy it whether you want to or not.

Of course, there was a rice shop in Annozu itself. The owner of that shop had a better nose than Inase Yoshinari. As soon as Nobunaga arrived in Tsushima, he immediately closed the door, transferred the property, and waited for the opportunity with several thousand stones of grain.

When the rice buyer heard the price of three kan for one koku, he immediately wanted to punch Inase Yoshisari. The five samurai guarding Inase Yoshisari immediately put their hands on the hilts of their swords. "Even if the deal doesn't go through, we'll still be friends. But if you resort to violence, don't blame us for drawing our swords."

In addition, why did Shichibei repeatedly instruct Yoshinari Inase to spend money to rent a warehouse and store the purchased rice in the warehouse of the Annotsu Kaiheshu?

Of course, this is because the Annozu-kai also has thousands of Yojimbo and two to three thousand employees who can be armed at any time to defend the rice warehouses, rice storages, and shops.

You have only three villages and a hundred old and weak peasant soldiers. How dare you come to Anongjin to rob?

The entire Ise clan, namely the Kitabatake clan and the former Nagano clan, had sufficient military strength to independently attack Anozukuri, which was governed by the Kaiga clan. The other powerful clans would have to form a large alliance, perhaps even a group of 20 or 30, to attempt an attack on Anozukuri.

Struggling to survive through the chaotic Japanese Warring States period, the Annozu Kai would have perished long ago if they hadn't retained sufficient military strength. Merchants also understood the principle that only when you have a strong gun can you speak with confidence.

Nobunaga had already set fire to Kuwana County at this time. It was said that 60,000 troops from the five countries (Owari, Mino, Mikawa, Kita-Omi, and Kai reinforcements) would arrive immediately. If they didn't buy rice and go home, Nobunaga would tear down the door.

Don't think about tricking the peasant soldiers into the city first. The peasants in the Warring States Period were very cunning. They would only go to the city if you gave them rice. This is the simplest natural truth.

In "Castle of the Golem," the peasants packed up their bags and fled upon hearing that Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army was approaching. If it weren't for Narita Nagachika's reputation and prestige, how could Oshi Castle have had the three thousand men and women to defend it?

Only when there is enough rice will the farmers living under the city carry the guns they picked up while hunting and enter the city to participate in the defense.

I don't know who the rice buyer is from, but he's lingering at the door. Gritting his teeth and stamping his feet, he tells his servant to bring two large baskets of money from somewhere else. "I admit defeat, and give me eighty dan of rice immediately."

Paying money makes things easier. It would have been nice if this had happened earlier. Yoshinari Inase, who also started out as a shop assistant, believed in making money through harmony, and he wasn't at all angry about the guy trying to punch him. He agreed on three kan, and that was it. He wouldn't raise the price at the last minute.

After this person left, another person came in. He was short, perhaps even shorter than Shichibei, and thin, but he looked mature. This person called himself Kamiki Kurozaemon and was a branch of the Kamiki family in Inabe County. May I ask who is Inase Yoshinari's master?

master?

"If the customer wants to buy rice, I'm very welcome. As for the master, I can't tell you." Inase Yoshinari also knew that what he was earning now was not legitimate money, so there was no need to show off Shichibei's name everywhere.

"Haha, big boss, you are so young, but you have tens of thousands of kan in capital, and the people behind you are only two or three people." Kamiki Kurouzaemon smiled and continued chatting.

"What do you think?" What the other person said was absolutely right.

At this time of year, the only people who could afford tens of thousands of kan (actually over 13,000) in cash were either Kitabatake Gukuni in the south or Oda Nobunaga in the north. Shangmu's guess was actually pretty close; perhaps he had already figured out most of the details of the rice purchase.

"If it's the north, I'm willing to serve you and only ask for your protection. If it's the south, I just need to buy rice and don't think about anything else." Kamiki Kurozaemon leaned close to Inase Yoshinari's ear and said in a low and quick voice.

"I can't decide on such a big matter. If you are interested, the right thing to do is to go to Tsushima to meet him immediately." Inase Yoshinari had never encountered such a thing before, and he was thinking of pushing the person in front of him to his brother-in-law Kawamura Shichibei.

In fact, he was reckless. If he pushed this, Shichibei would think that this was a national hero he recognized and would be willing to guarantee this person. Shichibei would not doubt Inase Yoshinari and would use his own identity to push this person to Nobunaga and also act as a guarantee.

It would be fine if nothing happened, but if something happened, Shichibei would definitely be held accountable.

It was also Shichibei's fault that he had not anticipated such a situation before Inase Yoshinari came, so he did not say those two sentences.

"I couldn't ask for more. I couldn't ask for more." Kamiki Kurouzaemon immediately took out two large gold coins and stuffed them into Inase Yoshinari's hand. He didn't buy rice anymore, but just asked Inase Yoshinari to send him to Tsushima as soon as possible.

Holding the gold coin, Inase Yoshinari turned around and told a waiter to take the coin to Tsushima on a wooden express boat. The boy was very quick to take the money, not thinking there was anything wrong with it, just treating it as a boat fare.

The place went from deserted to bustling with activity in just half a day. Just as these wealthy families were eager to sell grain half a month ago, they were now just as eager to buy it.

The local rice shop owner from Tsushima went directly to Inase Yoshisari to form a price alliance. Others did not know, but this man knew very well that Kawamura Shichibei was behind Inase Yoshisari, and that Kawamura Shichibei was behind Oda Nobunaga.

Nobunaga is so cruel. He not only wants to seize people's property, but also their wealth.

Nobunaga is ruthless, but what does it have to do with a rice shop owner like me? Tomorrow, please raise the price of rice to three kan, five hundred sen. Four kan is not a bad idea. Nobunaga's sword is about to strike. If I don't take advantage of it now, it will be difficult to make such a good profit in the future.

The man spoke so frankly that Inase Yoshinari naturally accepted the offer. In a short period of time, thousands of koku of grain were sold, and both families made a fortune. And with the support of the powerful merchants of the Anozuk Association, Inase Yoshinari felt safe in Anozuk, exchanging gold and silver with impunity.

Nobunaga's campaign was equally successful, with over 40,000 soldiers deployed in several directions to capture and plunder cities. Umedo Sanehide, unable to wait for the reinforcements of his brother Rokkaku Yoshiharu, was attacked and killed by Takigawa Ikki, and his possessions were confiscated.

The Asakura family, who had resisted the attack of Oda Nobuhiro and the Mino Three at Mofuku Castle, were completely slaughtered, leaving no one alive. Mofuku Castle was burned to the ground and abandoned.

Nanbu Kanetsuna, who was a member of the Ming dynasty's patron saint, initially adopted a defensive stance. However, upon seeing his son leading Nobunaga, he slid down to his knees with remarkable ease. He had, after all, fulfilled his duty by notifying Kitabatake Tomonori. However, since he had "resisted," he was punished, and Nanbu Kanetsuna became a monk. However, the family business passed from one hand to the other, passing to Nanbu Tadaki.