Owari Yumeki Golden Day

At the entrance to Riksei-ji Temple, the Oda clan's important retainers, the Nao-sanju, stood respectfully, awaiting Yoshiaki's arrival. Now that Nobunaga needed Yoshiaki's reputation as a righteous figure, he naturally held him in high regard. Not only was standing guard at the entrance to Riksei-ji Temple unacceptable, but kneeling was also acceptable.

Nobunaga personally cleared the way for Yoshiaki, and the two of them entered Rissho-ji Temple.

Shichibei, standing behind the family's senior retainer, secretly observed Ashikaga Yoshiaki. He had a round face, a short beard, and was neither tall nor strong, not exactly handsome. As for his bearing? It's hard to describe, but it wasn't as natural as Nobunaga's. He seemed a bit pretentious, or, as later generations would say, "pretentious."

Ashikaga Yoshiaki, known as the "poor shogun", only had the identity of the heir to the former shogun to rely on at this time. If he didn't "pretend" a little more, he probably wouldn't have anything to show for it.

Can understand.

Similarly, during the first meeting, Shichibei could only sit in the corridor, acting as a foil. Hosokawa Fujitaka and Isshiki Fujinaga sat on one side of the Ashikaga couch, while Wada Koremasa, Akechi Mitsuhide, and others also sat on the other side of the corridor, just like Shichibei.

This wasn't the first time this had happened. If Isshiki Fujinaga were in later games, many people wouldn't want him. But now, he's a shogunate retainer under Yoshiaki, a high-ranking one at that. In the game, many people treated Sakuma Nobumori as a conscript, not a high-ranking one. But now, he sits closest to Nobunaga, a senior family member.

Shichibei couldn't see what was going on inside, but he heard the sounds. When Nobunaga clapped his hands and said to offer the ceremony of getting on the bed, Shichibei quickly stuck his butt out and took the famous sword that the attendant outside brought up, placed it on a small stand (it should be called a three-sided stand, with both large and small ones), and carried it into the hall.

Hideyoshi also held a shoji of gold coins, probably worth a few hundred kan. Someone behind him held Kyoto silk, and still others held saddles and boots. There was a rule about how many gifts to give. For good luck, he also gave a box of steamed buns. This wasn't Shichibei's responsibility; he was responsible for delivering it to Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

Yoshiaki did not respond, it was Hosokawa Fujitaka beside him who thanked Nobunaga. Only when Nobunaga saluted did Yoshiaki open his mouth to respond, asking Nobunaga to excuse himself.

After that, most of the questions were asked by Hosokawa Fujitaka, and Shichibei didn't even have the chance to hear Ashikaga Yoshiaki's voice. Yoshiaki was quite patient during their first meeting, and didn't rush to ask when Nobunaga would come to Kyoto, but rather just waited for everyone to meet up and call it a day.

After the ceremonial first meeting, Nobunaga invited Yoshiaki to stay at Riksei-ji Temple for a while. It was a happy occasion for both the host and the guest, as Nobunaga was in high spirits, having at least secured Ashikaga Yoshiaki's hand.

"Nanabe, there are shogunate retainers following behind. You should send someone to the border to pick them up. Make sure everything is arranged properly." Nobunaga left Rissho-ji Temple happily, and gave orders immediately when he saw Nanabe.

"I understand!" It's a serious matter.

Although our horse-drawn carriages haven't been built to Omi, they have already reached the border of Mino. If anyone comes to Mino later, we can send horses to bring them back one by one.

Nobunaga's intention, of course, was to bring him here for free, and to take good care of him along the way. Having finally secured Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Nobunaga remained deeply protective of this "treasure." The future lay in the future, but for now, Nobunaga couldn't wait to hold him in his hands and embrace him.

"We need to prepare resting places along the way." Nobunaga turned and looked at Niwa Nagahide.

In reality, if they had run faster, it would only take half a day to get from the border of Mino Province to Gifu Castle, so there was no need to rest. But Nobunaga's idea was to provide the best possible hospitality. If someone came to surrender in the middle of the night, he would provide them with hot soup, rice, and a warm bed.

"I will make arrangements." Niwa Nagahide naturally understood Nobunaga's thoughts.

"Okay, go back to your own business." Nobunaga waved his hand at the Oda retainers who came over to make up the numbers, signaling everyone to go back to their homes and look after their mothers.

The protection of Riksei-ji Temple was overseen by his mother, the shogun, Mori Nagahide. His father was Sasaki Yoshitsugu, so Ashikaga Yoshiaki would have found him pleasing. Furthermore, the Sasaki family was one of the three kanrei (regents of the three shogunates), one of the cornerstones of the Muromachi shogunate. Yoshiaki would have undoubtedly been willing to be close to Mori Nagahide.

After saying hello to Mori Nagahide, Shichibei immediately returned to Kawamura-ya to assign tasks.

Yoshiaki's arrival in Gifu was the biggest news in the castle town. On the way back to the inn, everyone was talking about it. Some were saying that Nobunaga would soon become Kanrei, inheriting the Sasaki family's legacy and ruling the country in place of the Shogun.

As expected, the people of the capital love to chat on the internet and are the most sensitive to politics. Anyone can talk about it and make sense.

It's none of my business.

Actually, there was a connection. Yamauchi Kazutoyo, who had come to treat Shichibei to a drink, said that Oda Nobunaga was going to go falcon hunting and dog hunting with Ashikaga Yoshiaki, essentially to demonstrate the Oda clan's military might. There happened to be a lot of wild boars near the Lime Valley, so if they killed them quickly, not only would everyone have meat to share, but the pig infestation in the castle town would also be alleviated.

Could you bring me a pig leg? I hear wild boar meat is a bit smelly because they're not castrated. But we can smoke it, or add spices to make sausages.

If you eat sardines every day, you will feel like a sardine.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo said he would participate in hawk hunting, but he didn't know if he could actually kill a wild boar. If he did, it would be up to Nobunaga to decide how to divide the spoils.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Kawamura here?" The two were chatting when they saw someone asking at the door.

If it’s not Akechi Mitsuhide, then who else could it be?

"It's me." Shichibei had seen Akechi Mitsuhide before and recognized him at a glance.

"You are..." Akechi Mitsuhide also saw Shichibei and felt that he looked familiar. They had met each other the last time he came to the Oda family.

"Haha, I was the one who took your horse away last time." The last time Hosokawa Fujitaka and Akechi Mitsuhide came to the Oda family, Nobunaga saw that the horses they rode were weak, so he asked Shichibei to pick out two good horses for them, so that they would not be exhausted to death on the way back to Ichijodani.

"What a coincidence, what a..."

"What can I do for you?" Since the person came to visit, there must be something.

"Mori Juro-dono said that Kawamuraya is the only shop in Gifu that sells good horses, so I wanted to come and ask." Akechi Mitsuhide was also asked by someone.

Specifically, Nobunaga was asked by Ashikaga Yoshiaki to organize a hunting trip. Ashikaga Yoshiaki was, naturally, not very good at it. However, he didn't want to be outdone by Nobunaga, so he immediately summoned Akechi Mitsuhide. He instructed him to buy a good horse and a good bow and arrow, and to earn the Ashikaga family's reputation.

Don't let those brave generals under Oda Nobunaga get too much attention, or Ashikaga Yoshiaki won't be able to chat and laugh with Nobunaga. Although the Ashikaga family was defeated, they must tell Nobunaga that even a broken ship has three pounds of iron.

I remember the last time Shichibei and Nobunaga watched Akechi Mitsuhide perform martial arts at the racecourse. Even at the age of forty, he was still as heroic and imposing on horseback. He was no less brave than Nobunaga's twenty-year-old generals, and even more so.

"Yes, yes, please come and see." Shichibei opened the door to do business, how could he refuse Akechi Mitsuhide.

Akechi Mitsuhide was also generous this time, because Ashikaga Yoshiaki had just received gifts worth thousands of kan from Nobunaga, so it was easy for him to buy a good horse for Akechi Mitsuhide.

124. It’s just a facade

If this were a Japanese period drama, Shichibei would have generously gifted Akechi Mitsuhide a fine horse, and the two would have said, "Thanks for meeting each other so late," and become sworn brothers. Unfortunately, however, Akechi Mitsuhide treated Shichibei as just another Oda retainer, with no intention of deliberately befriending him. So Shichibei didn't need to bother trying to please someone who didn't want him, since we didn't want anything from him.

There were definitely good horses, freshly delivered by Takeda Shingen, who should have already dispatched his troops to Suruga. By the end of the year, he'd be able to annihilate the entire province of Suruga and repel Hojo Ujiyasu's reinforcements. Meanwhile, Captain Tsubasa would have been forced to flee to Totomi Kakegawa Castle, relying on Asahina Taitomo.

After all, Nobunaga had instructed that the Ashikaga clan be entertained, so Shichibei made no secret of his kindness and brought several horses for Akechi Mitsuhide to see. He also told Mitsuhide that if he didn't like any of them, he could go directly to the small ranch where there was a stallion that had miraculously grown to over 1.5 meters tall.

Akechi Mitsuhide repeatedly said no, but politely asked if he could try riding it himself. Of course, a test drive is what you can do. Even in later generations, people could test drive cars. Why can't you test drive a horse now? Are you afraid it'll run away?

If Akechi Mitsuhide really ran away on horseback, Shichibei decided to start writing a diary from today.

Not only should an original copy be made, but a copy should also be prepared to ensure that it is not lost.

Mitsuhide's demeanor changed when he mounted his horse. He truly had that air of style. He lived in poverty and wore shabby clothes, but his demeanor was exquisitely practiced. He had the awe-inspiring bearing of a fighting general. No wonder Nobunaga fell in love with him at first sight.

Just like at Komakiyama Castle, Kawamuraya had a racecourse outside Gifu Castle Town. This was a gift from Nobunaga to his retainer, Shichibei, for use. Upon Nobunaga's relocation, the grounds would be returned to the new lord. If Shichibei died and the next head of the Kawamuraya clan failed to please Nobunaga, he could reclaim the grounds.

Perhaps this could be considered part of the "entitlement," just like the samurai who carried spears for Nobunaga, who were provided with food, shelter, and a wife. All one needed was a sword and the skills that Nobunaga appreciated.

"This guy's horsemanship is amazing." Yamauchi Kazutoyo was quite discerning and had been watching Akechi Mitsuhide from the side.

"Yes, it's hard for us to compare." It's not shameful to be unable to compare with Akechi Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide was a figure who triggered a turning point in Japanese history. What kind of small fry are we?

"Even though His Highness is in exile, he still has such servants. Tsk tsk tsk tsk..." Yamauchi Kazutoyo nodded.

"When you become the ruler of a country or a city, with hundreds of thousands of stones, you will be able to recruit such warriors." Shichibei suddenly thought of someone.

Maori Katsunaga!

In terms of martial arts, military strategy, moral character, and even his willingness to sell his ass to serve Hideyori again, he was first-rate in every aspect. And such a general served the Yamanouchi family for a full thirteen years, and Yamanouchi Itoyo must have been secretly happy.

"Hundreds of thousands of stones? I dare not even think about it." Yamauchi Kazutoyo had a clear understanding of himself and felt that he was only at the level of a few thousand stones, so he quickly waved his hands.

As the two men were discussing, Akechi Mitsuhide rode back. He said he'd like the horse he had, and wondered how much it would cost. Shichibei was about to brag, his businesslike nature evident, but he held back and demanded forty kan (a sum of cash) from Mitsuhide. It was purely cost price, a slight increase on Takeda's selling price.

It’s not expensive, it’s really not expensive.

Mitsuhide nodded repeatedly. After so many years in the martial arts world, how could he not know the price of a good horse? In Ichijodani, a horse like this would cost fifty kan. Shichibei only asked for forty kan, which was truly a friendly price.

"Please send someone to go with me to get the money." Of course, it was impossible for Akechi Mitsuhide to carry forty strings of copper coins on him.

Forty kan weighed about one hundred and sixty kilograms, making it difficult for a person to carry that much money. Unless it was gold, who would carry such a large piece of gold? Back then, when Yamauchi Ichifeng came to buy a horse, he paid a deposit and the balance was paid separately.

"Okay, please wait a moment." Shichibei turned around and called a waiter, asking him to follow him to Rissho-ji Temple.

After the servants caught up, Mitsuhide saluted Shichibei again. It's true, this man was polite and courteous in public. No wonder even the missionary Freud called him a gentleman. He was well-educated, cultured, and tall and handsome.

A handsome man in his forties is indeed quite popular if he is successful in his career.

After seeing the men and horses off, Shichibei glanced at the sky, thinking it might be quiet, so he arranged to go out to a tavern with Yamauchi Kazutoyo. Sardines were the side dish at home, but at least the tavern had something else. Without a partner, that was just what bachelors do at home.

I work from 6am to 6pm, so I don't have time to buy groceries or cook. I'm exhausted from work. If I want to eat, I can only eat ready-made food.

The tavern was full of Yamanouchi Ichitoyo's acquaintances, having started out as a foot soldier. Nobunaga's regular foot soldiers were mostly bachelors, and when they had no food at home, they had no choice but to eat out. Eating out wasn't expensive, and they could brag about their experiences with their acquaintances.

The longhouses Nobunaga provided for his foot soldiers were really just for sleeping. Wanting to cook? There wasn't even a doma (kitchen), making it impossible to use a fire.

If you want to live in a big mansion, you have to work hard to kill people for Nobunaga. The more people you kill, the better the treatment, just like Yamauchi Kazutoyo lives in a single room. After a few more years of killing, you can live in a mansion with a garden.

As the acquaintances grew, their conversation became increasingly wild, with everyone talking about Nobunaga and Yoshiaki's upcoming falcon hunting trip. Some said they had been specifically called out to be on guard, while others said they were responsible for beating gongs and drums in advance to drive the beasts out for Nobunaga and Yoshiaki to shoot.

"What are you responsible for?" Shichibei picked up the dried squid in front of him. It tasted okay.

Ganpao is a plant from the Cucurbitaceae family that is cut into sections, dried, and then boiled. It's eaten cold with vinegar and sesame seeds. It's not a very good or bad dish.

"Me? I'm responsible for the shogunate's security." Yamauchi Kazutoyo was eating pickles made from taro stems.

Next door, Daming has preserved fruits and drinks with wine, and here Xiao Rizu has sardines and pickles and drinks with wine. Please bring in the peanuts soon, it would be great to fry a handful of peanuts.

"That's right." Shichibei thought, isn't that what Yamauchi Kazutoyo does?

In peacetime, they guarded the gates for Nobunaga, and in wartime, they guarded the shogunate. That's what the standing ashigaru did: when the daimyo went into battle, they followed him forward.

No wonder when Shichibei wanted a piece of pork, Yamauchi Ichifeng said it was up to Nobunaga to decide how to divide it. He stayed by Nobunaga's side, depending on Nobunaga's wishes.

After the hunt, the distribution of the spoils was also one of the daimyo's powers. Sometimes, organizing large-scale hunting events was even a privilege reserved for the daimyo. For example, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered the establishment of an enclosure in Kasumigaura, Hitachi, specifically for his own use in hunting wild geese. Others were forbidden from hunting in the area, let alone obtaining wild geese.

We were chatting happily when someone came over to say hello and asked what Shichibei was responsible for. This question stumped Shichibei, and Nobunaga didn't send anyone to inform him. He probably wouldn't need us, after all, Shichibei was a rookie, and his bow and arrow skills were mediocre.

But the words just didn't make it through. It would have been fine if we hadn't discussed this, but as soon as we did, Nobunaga's notice arrived. Shichibei was responsible for accompanying the wine, music, and maids, and accompanying the large-scale falconry hunting teams, providing services to Nobunaga and Yoshiaki.

Indeed, Shichibei was quite adept at this job. Back when Sunomata Castle was built overnight, Shichibei had given courtesans and alcohol to Hosuka Koroku from Ushioko Village to encourage them to cut wood boards and splice logs properly.

Come on, let’s get started.

It was now fully spring, and the weather was pleasant. While hunting in spring was not a normal practice, according to Confucianism, it was considered mating season, and since females were pregnant, killing them would be unlucky. However, Confucianism wasn't yet popular in Japan, so Nobunaga could do it any day he pleased.

He only had to talk, but Shichibei had to mobilize various merchants in the castle town to make tens of thousands of rice balls. To ensure they didn't go bad, they had to add sour plums.

In fact, this is also part of the pre-war preparations. Thousands of standing troops are suddenly mobilized. Either the women and children in the city are mobilized to cook and make rice balls, or a large amount of temporary purchases have to be made outside the city.

One of the advantages of recruiting a large number of merchants in the city is that there are many stoves, which makes it convenient to quickly steam and cook rice and prepare one or two days of military rations for the soldiers to go to war.

Japan is such a small place, and if you run fast, it only takes three or four days from Gifu to Kyoto. You can pack enough rice balls for two days, and halfway through, you'll find yourself in Otsu, a town in Hunan. Still needing something to eat in Otsu? Just buy some in the castle town.

After buying the gold and resting for a night, they would take their rations and head straight for Kyoto. The entire army didn't even need logistics personnel or pack teams; just a few strong men carrying some gold would be enough.

Of course, this is a short-term battle. If it is a large-scale expedition deep into enemy territory, we still have to prepare a large amount of logistical supplies and mobilize farmers as logistical personnel.

Nobunaga asked Shichibei to gather tens of thousands of rice balls at the foot of the city, which was also a kind of advance training for Shichibei.

After preparing rice balls in the early morning and distributing a daily ration to each soldier, Nobunaga and Ashikaga Yoshiaki marched towards the hunting grounds in the mountains of northern Mino.

Because of some business, Shichibei called back Takenaka Hanbei, who had been on vacation at home for over a month, and asked him to act accordingly. Nobunaga's hunting trip was only for a few days, but the "how many" was not easy to determine.

So Shichibei served in the troop, while Takenaka Hanbei waited in Gifu. If someone came back to ask for rice balls, they would buy them immediately and send them over. If no one came back to ask for them, they would wait.

It’s takeout!

Arriving at the hunting grounds at noon, the task of setting up camp was left to the military commissioner. The Oda clan's military commissioner was either Sakuma Nobumori or Niwa Nagahide, though Nobunaga could also personally deploy the troops. However, as Nobunaga's army grew, he began to delegate this task to his subordinates.

At the Battle of Anegawa, Nobunaga confidently embraced Gamo Fushu, declaring, "Look, father, how will I defeat the enemy?" Then, the Oda army below was scattered by Isono Umamasa, with eleven divisions scattered and the leader's men lost. If this battle is not a parody, then it is certain that Nobunaga had already stopped actually deploying his battle squads before the Battle of Anegawa.

He only commands the legion commanders and generals, and how to deploy troops and fight depends on the performance of his subordinates.

Shichibei was only responsible for bringing the bamboo leaf-wrapped rice balls to the scene, and then began to arrange a banquet for Nobunaga and Yoshiaki. The food and drinks were prepared in advance in the castle, all cold food, packed in food boxes. Whether you are used to it or not depends on your taste.

"Nanabe." Nobunaga saw Nanabe setting up camp and waved to him.

"Lord."

"How do I look like?"

"Huh?" Seeing Nobunaga dressed up so fancy, Shichibei didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Nobunaga's outlandish attire wasn't new, and today he was wearing something equally gorgeous, made of imported Ming Dynasty brocade. Even his bamboo hat was decorated with colorful patterns, as if he was afraid of being outdone by Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

Come to think of it, even his horse was dressed up. Silver noodles (ぎんめん), necklaces (くびぶさ), cloud beads (うず), almond leaves (ぎようよう), etc., none of them are missing.

"It seems good." Seeing Shichibei like this, Nobunaga was quite pleased.

"It's very gorgeous and impressive." That Seventh Guard had nothing to say.

You look really good in this dry state.

However, Shichibei felt that Nobunaga seemed too eager to suppress Ashikaga Yoshiaki. There was no need to do that. He only needed to show off his military prowess to Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Everything else was just a sideshow. Ashikaga Yoshiaki looked down on country folk anyway. No matter how well you dressed, he would still look down on you from the bottom of his heart.

The Oda family's background was particularly poor. Before Nobuhide's time, they had very little contact with the imperial court and the shogunate. They were nothing more than upstarts, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki only relied on Nobunaga now, who was somewhat polite. If Yoshiaki had ruled Kyoto and ruled the world, I wonder if Nobunaga would still remember his brother Ashikaga Yoshiteru.

At that time, Nobunaga proposed to Ashikaga Yoshiteru, hoping to be appointed as the guardian of Owari in exchange for the restoration of the guardian fee he had to pay. Yoshiteru refused Nobunaga's offer without even accepting the money.

Maybe it is because of this experience that Nobunaga is a little too extreme now.

After organizing his words briefly, Shichibei gave a few words of advice, saying that the most important thing was to demonstrate strength, and we could put the rest aside.

"Hmm..." Nobunaga scratched his scalp. After hearing this, he felt that he was possessed.

"I'm going to distribute dry food." Let Nobunaga think about it himself, and Shichibei turned around and went out to meet Niwa Nagahide.

The leaders and clerks of each unit sent people to collect the rice balls, and Shichibei had to record them carefully, because Nobunaga would later use the annual tribute rice to settle the accounts. Only when the accounts were clear could reimbursement be made.

Shichibei personally delivered the rice balls to Ashikaga Yoshiaki's group. Ashikaga Yoshiaki was chatting with Soga Sukejo, while Wada Koremasa stood nearby, gazing at the mountain view.