Owari Yumeki Golden Day

After the inspection is completed, property tax will be levied. This is how we fought Mino and Northern Ise. If we don't collect 50,000 or 80,000 kan, the war would be in vain.

The business tax, the Tobetsu money, was something that was tied to Shichibei. Or rather, it was Shichibei's job, and dealing with merchants was now a matter that the old Owari samurai corps had tacitly assigned to Shichibei, who only cared about the money.

All of the above were things that needed to be done, but there was one thing that needed to be done now. After Nobunaga led the Oda army into Minami-Omi, the monopoly of the horse-carrying service in Minami-Omi was abolished, and all the existing stables, post stations, horse farms, and land were recognized as enemy property and handed over to Shichibei.

Receive immediately!

Because in the summer, horse traders from Oshu and Ushu would take their Hokkai ships, driving thousands of horses to Omi, a hub of the Hokkai trade, to sell them.

Shichibei must immediately secure these horses for Nobunaga. In return, the exclusive rights to Omi's horses and the monopoly on horse breeding would also be transferred to Shichibei. The document, already signed and sealed by Nobunaga, would now be passed on to Shichibei by Oda Nobuhiro.

After receiving the document, Shichibei's dissatisfaction at being disturbed in his leisure time immediately disappeared.

I told you, if the merchants of Minami-Omi won't cooperate with me, then I'll have to return to the West to invite the Tathagata. Now, after Nobunaga's violent attack, all the fixed assets have been taken away by Shichibei. They've lost everything except their horses.

After a few days, there was no food to eat and even the horses had to be sold to Shichibei.

"Nanabe, how much capital do you have now?" Oda Nobuhiro didn't mean anything else, he was just very curious. After all, Nanabe would soon become his son-in-law.

"Hmm..." Shichibei couldn't really say anything for a moment.

Fixed assets are increasing, and most were acquired at low prices or even for free. The horse-carrying business is ongoing, and the income is healthy and smooth. If you include working capital, the normal estimated value should be over 250,000 guan.

"One hundred thousand kan?" Sakuma Nobumori expressed his guess.

"I think it's more than 150,000 kan." Oda Nobuhiro didn't guess either.

"Fifteen thousand is about right, probably. Some things are hard to estimate." Of course, Shichibei wouldn't add any more money. Just take whatever you say.

Once the Minami-Omi horse-carrying service is annexed, Shichibei's fortune will definitely reach 350,000 kan.

"I was saying, 150,000 kan, it's really unimaginable." Oda Nobuhiro sighed, and Sakuma Nobumori nodded repeatedly.

"There are still tens of thousands of dollars in debt outside. It's just for show."

137. Want the Sekigahara Three

"Seventh Guard, what do you mean?"

Asai Nagamasa looked at the gold worth three thousand kan in front of him and Shichibei kneeling in front of him and paying his respects, feeling a little confused.

If Shichibei was here to deliver food, that would be easy to understand. When he led his troops into battle, Nobunaga had agreed in advance that all food would be supplied by the Oda army, and if there was a shortage, he would kill Shichibei.

Can I send money?

"This is Yunshangjin." Shichibei raised his head and looked at Asai Nagamasa with a smile.

"Yunshangjin?" Nagamasa had no idea where the money came from and just looked at Shichibei.

"The lord has granted all the authority to deliver horses in Omi to Kawamuraya. The lord will naturally have the final say in South Omi, and North Omi still needs the care of His Highness Odani." Shichibei's money was certainly not given for free, this was to get the job done in one go.

The Omi region's horse-carrying services were essentially derived from the various autonomous and monopoly rights granted by the Muromachi shogunate, the imperial court, and major temples and shrines in Kinai. Later, when southern Omi became a province under the Sasaki Rokkaku clan, the horse-carrying services along the shores of Lake Biwa came under the Rokkaku clan's control and enjoyed their special privileges.

Hey, how come it was the Rokkaku family that approved it, when it should have been approved by the shogunate?

Just like the Kawamura family's horses and stables, how did they go from being state draft horses to becoming my father's private property?

The Asai family in northern Omi was only in its third generation by Nagamasa, and their control over the local area was very weak. During the Hisamasa era, they became vassal daimyo of the Rokkaku family.

Therefore, the horse-carriers in Kita-Omi were actually commissioned by the Rokkaku clan. Although Nobunaga had now labeled them all traitors, executed them, and transferred the monopoly to Shichibei, Kita-Omi was ultimately the domain of the Asai clan, and the prefectural magistrate was less competent than the current one. Shichibei, a small businessman, understood the necessary principles.

Rather than having any disputes in the future, it is better to pave the way now and shut Asai Nagamasa's mouth.

Furthermore, Shichibei had to seize the opportunity to attack the Omi-denma service companies that also had operations in Kita-Omi and completely eliminate any chances they might have of lingering. The Kita-Omi-denma service business would also be brought under the control of Kawamuraya.

"So this is how His Majesty Gifu makes money." Asai Nagamasa was still surprised after hearing this. He certainly knew that he could make money by selling commercial monopoly rights.

But I didn't expect that even such a small horse-riding servant could be sold for such a large sum of money, and Shichibei was willing to come forward to pay the money.

"The lord is busy with many things, so naturally he entrusts these menial affairs to us, the humble ones." Shichibei didn't care what he thought. He just wanted to coax Asai Nagamasa to sell the franchise to Kawamuraya first.

"Okay, okay." Asai Nagamasa stood up from the stool and directly helped Shichibei up, as if he wanted to have a friendly chat.

What then? Then Asai Nagamasa asked Shichibei, "Nobunaga owned large towns like Tsushima, Atsuta, and Anotsu. He also owned large towns like Nagahama, situated somewhere in the middle of the Hokukai trade." While he wasn't as successful as Asakura Yoshikage, who controlled Obama and Tsuruga, he still profited little from the Hokukai trade.

Apart from going to war and getting a sum of money, what other ways are there? Like Nobunaga, selling or confirming the old commercial monopoly?

You can only squeeze it once, there's no way to squeeze it year after year, month after month, to make a steady stream of money? To be able to get more money, the family's power can be strengthened.

Well, it seems that Asai Nagamasa is just a macho man.

The story of Ishida Mitsunari is quite long. Hideyoshi offered him a salary of 200 koku, but Mitsunari said he didn't want a salary, but only the right to harvest reeds in certain areas along Lake Biwa. He would then weave the reeds into mats, transport them to Kyoto, and sell them, earning him an annual profit of 10,000 koku.

This story likely has some truth to it, though it's also embellished. Kyoto townhouses and government officials used reed mats for sunshade. They were valuable, and in the past, ordinary people produced and sold them themselves, with no monopoly. However, Ishida Mitsunari managed to monopolize the market, naturally generating profits.

However, according to later records, when Kobayakawa Hideaki entered Sawayama Castle, he assumed that Mitsunari, as the chief of the Toyotomi family's annual resident envoys, had amassed a vast fortune through plunder. However, upon entering, he discovered Mitsunari's abode was extremely simple, with no savings at home. It was then that everyone realized that Mitsunari was truly working hard for Hideyoshi, with no personal agenda at all.

Hideyoshi and Mitsunari are truly a model of harmony between a ruler and his subjects.

Taking the protagonist out of this story, Shichibei used this as an example to talk to Asai Nagamasa. Asai Nagamasa almost touched Shichibei's forehead and said he wanted to open it to see what was inside.

He was 5'82" tall, a big, dark-skinned guy, and with Shichibei standing beside him, the scene was truly difficult to describe. Anyway, in later generations, men who were 5'82" tall rarely looked for girlfriends who were 5'42".

"You are in the Oda family, what is your family salary?" Asai Nagamasa stroked Shichibei. Indeed, Shichibei was small and short, and looked like a toy next to him.

"Two thousand five hundred kan." Shichibei couldn't get angry yet and could only smile.

"Not much, really not much..." Asai Nagamasa sighed and let go of his hand, and said that he invited Shichibei to stay for a drink.

Now that he had the document signed and sealed by Asai Nagamasa, the entire Omi horse-carrying service would be under Shichibei's control, and all the old practitioners would be exiled.

Let them roam free for a few days. Shichibei still needs to go to Imahama to purchase horses from the Hokugawa merchants. This is an important source of horses for Nobunaga to control and ensure the dispatch of Oda clan's military horses.

Nagamasa reluctantly signed the official document to Shichibei, and while accepting the three thousand kan with a smile, he also told Shichibei that he didn't need to come in person for such small matters in the future, and could just send a clerk.

It's not impossible. If Nagamasa finally chooses to rebel against Nobunaga, then Shichibei will indeed have to stay away from the "Three Wine Cups".

A major undertaking successfully completed, a mere 3,000 kan secured the exclusive horse franchise and horse-carrying service rights in northern Omi—a truly lucrative deal. Merchants and travelers from Hokuriku and even Oshu entering Kinai all passed through Omi. Even if most chose to travel by water via Lake Biwa, the few who remained by land would still be enough to make Shichibei a fortune.

So Kotaro was already waiting at the foot of Kannonji Castle. Upon hearing the news of Shichibei's triumphant return, he immediately declared that he would handle the matter. No one should compete with him for the task of taking over Kitaomi.

He was a veteran, so no one dared to snatch the money from him. However, Shichibei asked Kuwayama Shigekatsu to bring a few soldiers with him. This would make it easier to interact with people and also help him prepare for any unexpected events.

As a result, just as So Kotaro was excitedly heading to Kitaomi with dozens of people, he ran into Nobunaga who was returning from Yuma. Nobunaga knew the boy who almost knocked Saito Ryūoki into the Kiso River with a stick, and asked So Kotaro where he was going.

After asking, he naturally knew that So Kotaro was going to Kita-Omi. After asking a few more questions, Nobunaga seemed to be thinking about something, and after giving So Kotaro a few casual instructions, he rode his horse to the Nayakura warehouse under Kannonji Castle to look for Shichibei.

"Nanabe, is it convenient for you to do things in Jiangnan?" Nobunaga sat on his horse and asked Nanabe directly.

"Ah? There's nothing inconvenient." Shichibei really didn't have any inconvenience for the time being.

After all, those who dared to cause trouble for Shichibei were crushed by Nobunaga's iron fist and fled. Kita-Omi had just received the documents of Asai Nagamasa, and although the local system was based on the people's collegiality, Nagamasa enjoyed a high prestige within the family due to his victory over the Rokkaku family.

Prestigious lords spoke loudly, and their retainers would often choose to follow them. This was also the reason why Nagamasa felt that he had the opportunity to subjugate the powerful lords under his command, becoming the true guardian of Northern Omi and clarifying the hierarchy between the ruler and his subjects.

While he still has prestige, is young and has time to suppress it, we must quickly seize the 300,000 koku of northern Omi. If he gets older, many things will be impossible to accomplish.

"Okay, okay." Nobunaga stared at Shichibei for several seconds without saying anything. Finally, he turned around and looked at the hundreds of riders following him.

"..." Although Nobunaga often asked some nonsensical questions, Shichibei was already used to it, but what was he doing?

"How about this, Aochi Suruga will be assigned to you!" After taking a look around, Nobunaga immediately made a decision.

"With power!" Shichibei subconsciously knelt on one knee, but immediately realized that he didn't want it yet.

Before coming, Shichibei had thought about which members of the Jiangzhou clan he wanted, and at the beginning, Shichibei had a bit of a bad taste and wanted to ask Nobunaga for the three generals: Kuchiki Kawachi-no-kami, Ogawa Tosa-no-kami, and Akaza Bingo-no-kami.

I want to see if the company will go bankrupt if I have these three people in my team.

It was only when they arrived at Kanonji Castle that they found out that Kuchiki Mototsuna was a retainer of the shogunate; the Ogawa branches were divided into two, one was in Koga Ogawa Castle, still serving Rokkaku Yoshitaka, and the other was serving Asai Nagamasa; Akaza Naoyasu was even better, he was not from Omi at all, and it was not known where he was serving now (Asakura family).

It's a shame that I couldn't gather all three of them together today. Shichibei was annoyed for a few seconds because of this, feeling that he had lost the great joy of collecting cards.

Later, I thought about looking for other decent samurai. Many of those from Omi had risen to high positions by joining the Toyotomi regime. Many would become vassal princes in the future, so I could take my time to select them.

Why are you pointing me to a Aochi Suruga Mori Shigetsuna now?

"Let's do it this way. You need a helper in Omi." After saying this, Nobunaga kicked his horse and rode away without giving Shichibei any more time to say anything.

"No, this..." Nobunaga really meant what he said.

I don't know any Aochi Suruga no Moritsuna, who is he? The people around here are just some guys, and no one knows the origins of the southern Omi samurai.

When Nobumori Sakuma brought Shigetsuna Aochi over in the evening, Shichibei felt that the man looked familiar. After introducing him, he found out that he was Kenhide Gamo's younger brother.

Hey, I was wondering why it looked so familiar. I waited for half a day the other day just to see the Warring States period drama, but I didn't see anything.

Let's get a little clear on this. Aochi Shigetsuna is 38 years old and has inherited the Kurita Aochi clan from the Hino Gamo clan. As mentioned earlier, Kondo Kenmori is the lord of half of Kurita County, with the remaining half, including 4,000 koku, belonging to the Aochi clan.

In the joint list of Kurita County, the Rokkaku family listed twenty powerful local families, and the Aochi family was among them, ranking fourth.

Their ancestry can be traced back to Sasaki Sadatsuna, whose fifth son was Mabuchi Hirotada, whose fourth son was Aochi Mototsuna. This branch of the Sasaki Rokkaku clan, with a well-established lineage, flourished in southern Omi for three or four hundred years.

It fits the criteria of having a large number of people and a good reputation, but the strength is average, and can be used as a force for Qibingbei. It can also pull out a hundred people, and there are always 20 to 30 serious samurai, which is enough for Qibingbei to run around in Minami-Omi.

At least Nobunaga didn't just randomly name the person, he selected him carefully for Shichibei.

Then let's stay, what else can we do? Nobunaga personally took action and would not tolerate refusal. It is not clear what happened to this family in the end. We only know that Aochi Shigetsuna's eldest son, Aochi Chiyoju, was sent to Nobunaga as a vassal.

Aochi Shigetsuna even asked Shichibei if he was married, if he had any concubines, and so on. Sakuma Nobumori, standing nearby, coughed twice. Shichibei was engaged to the daughter of Oda Nobuhiro. This was offensive, offensive. This was the first time in Shigetsuna's life that he had surrendered to a different family and changed his family. There were many things he didn't understand.

Perhaps he thought that Shichibei's 2,500 kan (approximately 10,000 koku) would be equivalent to 10,000 koku (approximately 10,000 koku) outside of the capital. With such a fortune, he was fully qualified to have two children in addition to his wife.

Not to mention, Gamo Sadahide was quite fertile, and Aochi Shigetsuna even had a younger sister waiting to be married. Of course, his brother Gamo Kenhide was probably also trying to figure out if Shibata Katsuie had any concubines.

We are at war now, we will discuss this matter later.

With the Kawamura family, there are no combat missions. Basically, I do the work of a small magistrate. In normal times, there is no need to go to Gifu or Tsushima to serve. Only when a war breaks out will we mobilize our troops and go to Shichibei's camp to receive orders.

After all, Nobunaga's wars were becoming increasingly large, often involving tens of thousands of soldiers, grooms, and other small forces, all of which required the management of samurai. The Seven Guards alone were not enough, and they needed to be coordinated with the force.

The rest is gone.

Upon hearing that he wouldn't be sent to the front lines as cannon fodder, Aochi Shigetsuna breathed a sigh of relief, his slightly nervous expression instantly relaxing. He felt fortunate to be able to preserve his family; winning battles on the battlefield was beyond his reach.

138. Sanhao never fights

Let's not even mention Nobunaga's leisurely wanderings through southern Omi, searching for a new castle base. Let's just talk about two other major events. One was that Ashikaga Yoshiaki had moved from Sawayama Castle to Kannonji Temple, excited and enthusiastic. Perhaps Yoshiaki felt he had a chance to enter Kyoto and inherit the throne in the autumn.

Another task, overseen by Sakuma Nobumori and Oda Nobuhiro, was to recruit and dispose of the defeated Rokkaku clan forces. With the exception of Rokkaku and his son, who retreated to Koga County to continue their resistance, the vast majority of the forces in southern Omi had either fled or surrendered. The remaining forces had been reorganized and could be driven forward to consume the Miyoshi Three.

By the way, Yoshida Izumo-no-kami Takashige mentioned earlier had amazing legs. Even when the whole city of Minasaku Castle was on fire and surrounded by enemies, he and his younger brother managed to escape and retreat to Kyoto.

Despite his advanced age, Yoshida Shigemasa, who remained at Omi River Village, personally visited Nobunaga. As the sole heir of the Hioki Ryukyū technique, Nobunaga granted him some favors, promising to waive the charge against Minasaku Castle for resisting the imperial army and halting the pursuit of Yoshida Izumo-no-kami and his men.

It's true that one skill is truly remarkable. After the fall of Minowa Castle, Takeda Shingen actively sought to recruit Kamiizumi Nobunaga of the Shinkage-ryu. Hosokawa Fujitaka was defending the castle, and fearing his death, the imperial court even sent someone to have him write and transmit the "Gujin Chuanshu" (The Teachings of Ancient and Modern Times) before allowing the Western Army to continue its assault on the castle.

As Yoshida Shigemasa was the successor of Hioki-ryu archery, Nobunaga gave him face by allowing his son to live in Kyoto and teach him archery.

This further solidified Shichibei's resolve to study the Way of Literature. It was too late to learn martial arts, and besides, we couldn't become sword masters. He still had some potential in the Way of Literature; perhaps he could brag about it and become a local tycoon.

Continue to advance?

Everyone thought they were going to continue the march, but they didn't, because Hosokawa Fujitaka and Isshiki Fujinaga, who had gone to Kyoto, brought back news: Ashikaga Yoshihide's shogunate's proclamation was genuine, and the imperial court, out of common legal tradition, had not confiscated the shogunate's proclamation.

Another general's proclamation could be issued, and it would be equally effective. But...

Therefore, it would be better to send someone to persuade Ashikaga Yoshiaki to submit a letter asking him to resign as shogun. Then the subsequent appointment of Ashikaga Yoshiaki as shogun would be smooth.

Of course, everyone took the initiative in this matter. The imperial court, fearing Nobunaga's anger, especially after Nobunaga nearly beat Rokkaku to death, proactively sent someone to Sakaimachi to meet with Ashikaga Yoshihide.

In addition, Matsunaga Hisahide of Yamato was also mobilized and sent people to Sakaimachi to persuade the Sakai people to give up their support for Ashikaga Yoshiei and the Miyoshi Three.

What I mean is that, Nobunaga, you continue to attack Yamashiro Province. During this period of time, we will try our best to make Ashikaga Yoshiei resign so as not to disturb your interest.

Therefore, Nobunaga stopped for another day, on the one hand, to send people to understand the deployment of the Miyoshi family's troops in Yamashiro Province, and on the other hand, to report back to the court that he knew about this matter and hoped to deal with it as soon as possible.

Two days on the same day is never a good thing.

(Historically, Nobunaga captured Kannon Temple on September 9.12th, and continued his advance and crossed Otsu on September 9.25th)

At this time, the situation inside and outside the capital was not clear. Tsutsui Junkei, supported by the Miyoshi Three, had already captured Shigiyama Castle. Matsunaga Hisahide was really bad at fighting and retreated to Tamonyama Castle.

Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, who was originally stationed at Takaya Castle, was not a skilled fighter. Takaya Castle was also broken, and he retreated to Kawachi Wakae Castle, which was a last-ditch effort.

As for Hatakeyama Takamasa and Yasumi Munefusa, they were both people who were hunted down during the Miyoshi Nagayoshi era. If Hatakeyama Takamasa had not had the support of the Kii Yukawa family, he would have died long ago.

On the other hand, the Miyoshi Three, Iwanari Tomomichi was in the mountain castle Katsuryuji Castle, Miyoshi Nagayoshi was in the mountain castle Akutagawa in Settsu, Miyoshi Masayasu was in the mountain castle Kizu Castle, and Shinohara Nagafusa was based in Koshimizu Castle and Iimori Castle, and continued fighting in Kinai.

If Katsumasa Ikeda of Settsu Ikeda Castle is included, it will not be difficult for these people to mobilize 50,000 people, and even more can be mobilized if they work hard.

This was also the reason why Nobunaga waited for the armies to be defeated, and even stopped to recruit over 6,000 defeated Rokkaku soldiers. This was Nobunaga's second time leading such a large army, and he was no match for the battle-hardened Miyoshi Trio in Kinai. Although he was confident, he had to be cautious.

Why don't the Miyoshi Three and Shinohara Nagafusa bring 50,000 people to fight me?