Owari Yumeki Golden Day

"It is said that the lord had a dispute with Kodani-dono, and Kodani-dono left angrily and rode back to the camp alone." So Kotaro was the one who dispatched horses in Kyoto, so it was not surprising for him to see something.

So Kotaro was not quite sure what the dispute was about, but Shichibei could guess what it was about.

Guardian of Jiangbei!

Before going to Kyoto, Nobunaga did not explicitly promise Asai Nagamasa, after all, at that time no one knew whether it would be successful. Halfway through the journey, seeing that the success rate had greatly increased, Asai Nagamasa probably mentioned this to Nobunaga.

After all, he had also brought 5,000 men with him. He was Nobunaga's brother-in-law, supported Nobunaga as the leader of the alliance, and was quite powerful. Logically, being a guardian of Jiangbei shouldn't be difficult, it was reasonable.

But Nobunaga didn't know what his plan was, or he thought he could use the Jiangbei Guardian to keep Asai Nagamasa on his side and force him to fight for him. So even Matsunaga Hisahide was appointed as the Yamato Guardian, and Ikeda Katsumasa was able to retain the Settsu Guardian, but he, who had served the emperor so well, still had nothing.

Giving him money and food was the price of his troops' deployment, not a reward at all. Furthermore, after entering Kyoto, Nobunaga didn't allow the soldiers to plunder for three days to enjoy themselves. This meant that Asai Nagamasa's trip with over 5,000 men was a complete waste.

It's just a matter of a word, why didn't Nobunaga help to mention it?

As if to confirm their conversation, a subordinate reported that Asai Kodani-dono was leading his troops back north to Omi. The checkpoints along the way hadn't received orders and were unsure whether to stop them. Perhaps they didn't, but the samurai guarding the checkpoints chose to push the issue up to higher-ups.

If something goes wrong, I have reported it and my work will be recorded.

At that time, even if Nobunaga was extremely angry, the stick would not hit the samurai guarding the checkpoint, but would hit Shichibei's forehead.

"Oh my God..." After listening to the report, Shichibei felt that this matter might not be resolved peacefully.

What on earth was Nobunaga doing? Why was he so reluctant to give the position of Jiangbei Guardian to Asai Nagamasa? If he let Asai Nagamasa take the post of Jiangbei Guardian and then recommended him as Omi Guardian, Asai Nagamasa would be grateful and serve him wholeheartedly.

Now that this incident has happened, even if Asai Nagamasa is his biological son-in-law, he will still feel a thorn in his heart. Even if Nobunaga later comes to his senses and sends these two things to Nagamasa, Asai Nagamasa's gratitude will not be that great.

He only saw the Asai army of more than 5,000 people flying across the Kannonji Castle, leaving Nobunaga's main force and returning to Odani. At this moment, Asai Nagamasa must have felt like he had been deceived and was being played like a monkey by Nobunaga.

They didn't gain an inch of territory, and they weren't even recommended for a decent official position. Indeed, for the Asai family, this trip was just a trip to Luobai, which meant nothing.

145. New Order under the Old Framework

Asai Nagamasa returned to the city in such a hurry. Since information was not transmitted smoothly in that era and many people were fighting outside at this time, no one thought much of it and just thought that Nobunaga asked him to leave.

Soon after, the 5,000 cavalrymen of Mikawa were allowed to leave Kyoto and return to their base in Mikawa. The imperial court had originally planned to follow customary practice and grant the powerful ally of the people of the world the title of Kyōshō no daifu, similar to the previous appointments of Isshiki Yoshitatsu of Mino and Date Harumune of Mutsu.

However, since Nobunaga resigned from the post of Kanrei and the Vice-Shogun of Tenka was unwilling to take the post, Tokugawa did not accept the post of Kyozhao Daifu and continued to use Mikawa no Kami. Even though Ieyasu had already entered Totomi and began to divide the declining Imagawa family with Takeda Shingen.

Oh, what on earth is Nobunaga thinking?

Why was Asai Nagamasa treated like this?

Despite Shichibei's doubts, he could only suppress them for now. Nobunaga could offer suggestions, but the decision to follow them was always his own. He had done many things, often going against the grain or acting on his own accord. Some of them succeeded, others didn't, and it was hard to say whether they were right or wrong.

Let's continue registering the land situation in Minami-Omi. This is a mission, and if we don't do it right, we'll be punished. Also, once we've determined the land's output and who owns it, we can order the landowner to perform labor based on the output of the land, and build the road between Ogaki Castle and Seta Bridge.

This was relatively easy to do, as the Jiangnan Rokkaku family had been pioneers in road construction, the gathering of retainers, and the establishment of music markets and music halls. Rokkaku Tadayori likely realized long ago that exploiting the common people was a waste of resources, and that the correct path was to obtain a steady stream of cash from commerce and trade.

The streets of Minami-Omi were relatively well-built, and the road network was relatively well-formed. If it weren't for the sudden passage of an army of over 60,000 men, perhaps repairs wouldn't have been necessary.

Let's take this opportunity to take control of Minami-Omi's road network. Shichibei finds no fatigue in carrying out his family's errands; he even enjoys it. Recording the road conditions in detail, archiving maps, and backing them up will be crucial business data for running the horse-drawn carriage house in the future.

Halfway through, Nobunaga sent for Shichibei. Because of a scene that was a little unbelievable to Nobunaga, Shimazu Yoshihisa and Kiiri Nokihisa personally went to Kyoto to congratulate Ashikaga Yoshiaki on his arrival in Kyoto.

too fast!

He is the well-known Shimazu Yoshihisa, although he is not well-known outside of southern Kyushu. After the four brothers conquered Kyushu, they became famous generals of the Warring States period.

Since all the main retainers were sent out to fight, even important shogunate officials, such as Wada Koremasa, were appointed lord of Akutagawa Castle and sent to Yamato to participate in the campaign. Nobunaga had few people who could handle the situation, and the ones who were close enough and able to spare time were mainly Shichibei and Murai Sadakatsu.

Someone asked about Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide. Hideyoshi went to entertain the envoys of Sagara Yoshiharu, and Mitsuhide went to entertain the envoys of Mori Motonari. If they had not been sent out, why would Nobunaga send someone to call Shichibei?

Sagara and Mori were truly loyal retainers to the shogunate. As soon as news of Yoshiaki's successful expedition to Kyoto reached them, they immediately sent people to congratulate him. No wonder Yoshiaki had sent people to deceive them in the first place, even if it was just 500 people to reinforce his strength.

Okay, okay, it would be a great opportunity to meet Shimazu Yoshihisa.

The Shimazu family arrived in a hurry, with only about a dozen people in total, so accommodation was easy to arrange. Later in the Edo period, the Shimazu family had numerous residences in Osaka, Kyoto, and Edo, allowing them to stay wherever they went. This was because Satsuma was located in a remote area, far from the central government. In order to obtain first-hand information from the central government, they chose to station personnel directly in the area.

Now the Shimazu family has already shown this trend. By constantly strengthening their ties with the central government and gaining its recognition, they have gained control of the righteous cause and launched attacks on various nearby forces one after another.

The main reason for this visit was to congratulate Yoshiaki on his succession to the throne. As for the position of Satsuma guardian, it had long been recognized by Ashikaga Yoshiharu and Ashikaga Yoshiteru, and the current head of the Shimazu clan, Shimazu Takahisa, was the official Satsuma guardian.

Take a look.

Hayato Satsuma doesn't seem to be any different from other Japanese people. He's dark-skinned and thin, just an ordinary guy. However, in history, Shimazu Yoshihisa was one of the heirs of the "Ancient and Modern Transmission" and was said to have a very high level of cultural accomplishment.

Now, it's not obvious that even Shichibei hasn't received the ancient and modern teachings, let alone a country bumpkin like him from Satsuma. However, at this point, their family has already established ties with the Konoe clan of the Sekkan clan, and relying on the Konoe clan, it's not impossible for them to receive the ancient and modern teachings.

By the way, why didn’t the guard come for a long time?

Because Ashikaga Yoshiaki reported to the court that Konoe Maehisa had assisted the Miyoshi Three in the assassination of Ashikaga Yoshiteru and that Miyoshi had helped Yoshiei succeed to the throne. With the change of dynasties, the emperor changed his ministers, and the regent had to be replaced.

Therefore, according to Ashikaga Yoshiaki's ideas and suggestions, the court appointed Nijo Haruyoshi as regent. As for Konoe Maehisa, Ashikaga Yoshiaki actually requested to exile him.

It's just exile. Although it doesn't say where he's going, it's true that Konoe Maehisa is not in Kyoto now.

Shimazu Yoshihisa was quite curious about Shichibei, wondering why a renowned samurai with 5,000 kan (approximately 5,000 kan) wouldn't go on a campaign, but instead inspected land in southern Omi. Perhaps he was trying to understand the larger picture, the organization of Oda clan retainers and how they were used.

Our Shichibei didn't pretend to be anything more than a merchant, stating that he was simply under no obligation to participate in military campaigns. This time, he was serving as a small magistrate. If Nobunaga hadn't suddenly expanded his empire to include five or six other states, leaving him with a difficult task, Shichibei would never have been assigned to serve as a receptionist.

The imperial merchants can also get 5,000 strings of cash!

The entire Satsuma region currently held only 220,000 koku, equivalent to 55,000 kan. Granting roughly one-tenth of Satsuma's territory to a single imperial merchant, free of military obligations, was truly beyond Shimazu Yoshihisa's comprehension.

The Shimazu clan's military system required those who owned two acres of land and could provide their own armor to be called "Azushishu." Those who owned less than two acres of land were required to equip themselves with armor depending on the situation and were called "Muzushishu."

Its essence is to mobilize peasant soldiers to the greatest extent possible, extending military obligations to every peasant in the territory. This is also a direct manifestation of the thirst for soldiers.

In Shimazu Yoshihisa's opinion, 5,000 kan could buy at least 500 permanent foot soldiers. How could Nobunaga be willing to give such a large territory to reward a royal merchant?

Once you conquer all of Kyushu and begin procuring the massive logistics for crossing the sea, as well as establishing horse-drawn transport services covering more than ten countries, you'll understand. As for now, haha, Shichibei smiled and said nothing.

Fortunately, there are many people who can solve riddles these days, and Shimazu Yoshihisa is not a truly reckless man who would kill people if he disagrees with them. After making all the arrangements and confirming with Yoshiaki's close retainer Mibuchi Fujiei, Shichibei took Shimazu Yoshihisa to meet Yoshiaki.

Speaking of it, the Shimazu family was just like that. They presented the shogunate with 100 taels of gold, a katana, and a horse.

Yoshiaki wasn't in a rush to use the hundred taels; he simply wanted this attitude. The Shogun resided in Kyoto, sat in the palace, and managed the samurai of the world. The more samurai that recognized Yoshiaki, the greater his power.

The money is of secondary importance. If the people come and kowtow to me and acknowledge me as a general, that is the real thing. If the princes from all over the world come to kowtow to Yoshiaki and send tributes of dozens or hundreds of taels, then Nobunaga will have to think twice before exiling Yoshiaki.

After all, the title of common ruler of the world is really great, and it is difficult for people who are not from this era to understand it.

After Yoshiaki finished his meeting, Nobunaga also specifically requested a meeting with Shimazu Yoshihisa and Kiiri Nokihisa, saying he was hosting a banquet to entertain the guests from the shogunate. Everyone in Kyoto already knew that Nobunaga had refused the kanrei position, but Shimazu Yoshihisa was unaware and assumed Nobunaga was the shogun's kanrei. So, if a kanrei invited the shugo to dinner, the shugo would certainly want to show his respect.

Nobunaga didn't care about Shimazu or Satsuma. After three rounds of drinks, he began to ask about the Nanman trade with Kyushu, especially the trade in iron cannons and saltpeter. Of course, the same applies to trade with Ming, Ryukyu, and even Annan and Siam. Nobunaga was very interested in this kind of ocean trade.

The main thing I'm interested in is that this thing can make money quickly, KuKu can make money.

Before the banquet, Shimazu Yoshihisa, still trying to understand Nobunaga's character, was stunned. He immediately concluded that Nobunaga was a man who valued practical benefits. As long as there was a clear benefit, he would do it, even if it meant breaking certain social conventions.

The key point is that there is a lot of intention to win over the Shimazu family in Nobunaga's words. After all, apart from other things, the Shimazu family has been trading with Ryukyu for a long time, and they have seen real southern barbarians and have experience in conducting trade.

So Shimazu Yoshihisa made another judgment: as long as there was a person or force that was useful to Lord Nobunaga, Lord Nobunaga would not hesitate to win them over and reward them.

Just now, Nobunaga asked Yoshihisa, who had already been appointed to the rank of Shuri no Daifu, if he wanted to be promoted to the rank of fifth rank. Or perhaps Shimazu Takahisa could find a way to move up a position. The Shimazu family sent people to Kyoto precisely to secure positions in the imperial court and the shogunate.

Nobunaga's image in Yoshihisa's mind became more and more perfect.

Because the Shimazu family was useful and a window for Nobunaga to contact, Nobunaga ordered Shichibei to do his best to entertain Shimazu Yoshihisa and make sure that Yoshihisa returned satisfied. He even paid out of his own pocket and gave Yoshihisa many gifts from Kyoto.

After finishing the meal, I went out and ran into Mitsuhide. Nobunaga continued the meeting after the meal, so he was really busy.

After helping Yoshihisa onto his horse, Shichibei turned back and chatted with Mitsuhide. Did the Mori clan's envoys pay their respects to Yoshiaki? They came to Kyoto to congratulate the new ruler on his accession to the throne, right?

Mitsuhide was waiting for Nobunaga's summons anyway, so he had nothing to do and since it was all public business, he started chatting with Shichibei. It turned out that the Mori family came to Kyoto not only to congratulate Ashikaga Yoshiaki, but also to request something.

Yamanaka Kanosuke, the deer who swore an oath to the moon, conquered Tsukiyama Tomita Castle. Therefore, at this stage, the Mori clan could not advance to Kyoto and had to continue fighting against the remnants of the Amago clan.

In order to suppress the Amago clan, which could mobilize tens of thousands of rebels in just Izumo Province, Mori Motonari hoped that the shogunate would send troops to attack the famous clans of Tajimayama.

Because of their former alliance with the Amago clan, the Yamana clan supported the restoration of the Amago clan by Katsuhisa Amago and Yamanaka Kanosuke. With the financial and food support of the Yamana clan, it would be more difficult for the Mori clan to defeat the Amago clan.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki had no say in this matter. After all, Yoshiaki had just taken over the Imperial Household Department in Yamashiro and had no soldiers or money. It was up to Oda Nobunaga to decide whether to send troops to aid Mori.

The Mori family came to ask for this, but they also paid a price. One of the imperial residences in Bingo Province was returned to the shogunate. To put it bluntly, the Mori family paid Ashikaga Yoshiaki a certain amount of money every year, and then used Yoshiaki's name to persuade Nobunaga.

At this time, Nobunaga was establishing himself, gaining fame, and consolidating his status as the ruler of the world. There was indeed a certain chance that he would agree to Mori Motonari's request and send troops to Tajima.

Just like Matsunaga Hisahide of Yamato, who presented 99 eggplants and put on a good show in front of Nobunaga. Nobunaga then ordered Sakuma Nobumori to lead 20,000 troops to restore Yamato for him.

When it comes to war, both economics and politics must be considered.

After chatting for a while, the young man from the inner house came in and Nobunaga rested well. Mitsuhide came and apologized, and led the envoys of the Mori family to meet Nobunaga.

As it should be, Shichibei also prepared to leave. Although Nobunaga was not a kanrei, he was indeed playing the role of a kanrei. To put it bluntly, he was in charge of the shogunate government when the shogun was underage, and participated in the shogunate government when the shogun was an adult.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki was indeed an adult, but he did not have the ability to handle the shogunate, so Nobunaga had to handle it himself.

Wait, Shichibei suddenly grasped something. Nobunaga had removed the name of the Muromachi shogunate, but seized its power. He was constantly using various methods, either directly or indirectly, to adjust the allegiance of the samurai.

He is responsible to his subordinates, so those below him must be loyal to him.

Since Yoshiaki was unable to take on the responsibility, Nobunaga took it over and gained the loyalty of the old samurai under the shogunate framework.

If he became a kanrei, everyone would only think that Nobunaga was ruling on behalf of Yoshiaki, and their loyalty would naturally still be to Yoshiaki. If he did not become a kanrei, he would lose this empty shell, and if he wanted to gain Nobunaga's decision-making and responsibility for the affairs of the world, he would have to pay loyalty to Nobunaga.

The entire pattern may not be described accurately, but the path Nobunaga chose to take seems to be such a path.

Nobunaga not only wanted to seize the world, but also because the Oda family was of humble origin and lacked samurai groups, he planned to inherit all the old ministers under the framework of the Muromachi shogunate in one wave to form a new "Engrave and Serve the Country" system.

Nobunaga lacked sufficient samurai to govern the newly acquired territories of several provinces in Kinai, so he had to temporarily manage Kinai by utilizing the old samurai system. For example, he employed figures like Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and Hatakeyama Takamasa, both of whom maintained the old system while absorbing and annexing new territories.

Hey!

No wonder, no wonder, no wonder. Nobunaga was unwilling to grant the post of guardian of Jiangbei to Asai Nagamasa. He had his own considerations.

146. Don’t be wishful thinking

How to put it, Nobunaga has just arrived in Kyoto and has just begun to have the legal cover and opportunity to take over and digest the forces under the framework of the old order.

But if you want to digest the old order, you have to maintain it temporarily.

The disagreement between Asai Nagamasa and Nobunaga was inevitable, as Asai Nagamasa wanted to break with the old order and take on the role of guardian of Jiangbei. If Nagamasa had been appointed guardian of Jiangbei, what would the other participants and defenders of the old order think? Would they have felt that Nobunaga was not here to maintain the old order, but to break it?

Compared to taking over the entire old order, Nobunaga felt that the "slight dissatisfaction" of his brother-in-law Asai Nagamasa should be overcome.

Besides, to be honest, based on our interactions over the past few days, Shichibei feels that Nobunaga is becoming a bit arrogant. He feels like he has the whole world under his control. Even Shimazu Takahisa of Satsuma, Yoshiharu Saeyoshi of Higo, and Motonari Mori of Aki have come to me to express their goodwill and honor me as the kanrei, the shogun's replacement.

That kind of atmosphere and changes in the environment can easily make a person feel proud.

Furthermore, Rokkaku died as soon as he touched him, and Miyoshi's lightning-fast escape made Nobunaga feel that there were no heroes in the world. He was truly an unbeatable fighter, but being invincible was so lonely.

With this understanding, Asai Nagamasa, with a 300,000-koku treasury, no longer had a clear position or qualifications to continue to be Nobunaga's ally. Instead, he should have clearly recognized the current situation and become Nobunaga's vassal daimyo, and eventually become Nobunaga's retainer step by step.

Perhaps Nobunaga thought that Asai Nagamasa should see the situation clearly at this time and surrender with courtesy, and he could still be granted the title of nobility.

Instead of thinking that he was still Nobunaga's ally and the one who supported Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki to go to Kyoto, he was qualified to sit down and talk with Nobunaga and put forward conditions to him.

A person's ambitions, character, and even principles of conduct all change with the course of life. History has witnessed countless instances of a wise ruler transforming into a foolish and rebellious ruler in just three to five years.

Hideyoshi is so inspiring now, and his hardworking and striving appearance, if it were made into a movie, even if it was forced to be sensational, it would probably make billions or even billions at the box office. Who could have imagined that in his old age, he would be accompanied by Alzheimer's stupidity, violence, greed, and resentment...

Give some advice?

Shichibei turned around and wanted to ask for another audience with Nobunaga, but then he thought, "That's not right. Akechi Mitsuhide is still inside, accompanying Nobunaga to receive the envoys from the Mori clan." He had to wait until Nobunaga was free before he could bring up the matter.

Although there may be no way for the time being and it is not convenient to immediately grant Asai Nagamasa the post of guardian of Jiangbei, it would be better to recommend Nagamasa as the guardian of Omi first.

It's not like Nagamasa, after becoming the Lord of Omi, would have any unrealistic ideas about Nobunaga's southern Omi. That's too much of a worry. Nagamasa is now thinking about subjugating the warlords of northern Omi and becoming the de facto lord of northern Omi, rather than being the most powerful leader among his colleagues.

In other words, if even Omi-no-kami was unwilling to make a petition on Nagamasa's behalf, then Nobunaga should at least help Nagamasa get the title of a shogunate attendant.

Some of the powerful families in Jiangbei had ancestors who served as officials in the shogunate or the government, and they also had some status in the shogunate. Since we are talking about this old order, then within the old order, we should give limited praise to Nagamasa.

Forget about the Gosai companions, let's just talk about the Gosai, and acknowledge that Asai Nagamasa was one of Ashikaga Yoshiaki's worshippers. In this way, at least within the old order of the shogunate, Nagamasa became a national hero in Jiangbei, second only to the Kyogoku clan.

Even though the Kyogoku and Asai clans have a deep hatred, the Kyogoku clan is now completely defeated. Let's mediate. If we can't give the Jiangbei Guardian position, we can give him a Jiangbei Guardian deputy.

The Amago family was merely the guardian of Izumo under the Kyogoku clan, and this had been passed down for three generations, nearly becoming a true "Yin Yang Taishou." Since they were all subordinates of the Kyogoku clan and had a precedent for promotion, it wouldn't be unreasonable to use this as an opportunity to win over Asai Nagamasa.

Standing outside the mansion, Kanemori Nagachika, the guard on duty, asked Shichibei if he had anything else to report to Nobunaga. It was such a hot day, there was no need to wait in the sun. He could wait inside the samurai's hut. He could help him get in and cut in line, so waiting was no big deal.

Well, if you insist on waiting, you don't know how long you'll have to wait. It would be best to cut in line and announce the news right after Mitsuhide and the Mori envoys, when Nobunaga is changing clothes, resting, and drinking water.

With Kanamori Nagachika's reminder, Shichibei sat down in the samurai's hut and waited. Kanamori Nagachika called a servant and quietly ran in to ask Nobunaga's surname and arrange this matter.

Anyway, Shichibei is an old Owari, an old Oda, and a native of the lower four counties. He is a genuine Oda person. As long as he doesn't make any principled mistakes, he has one more life than outsiders.

When Shichibei was reporting on the matter, Nobunaga was eating there and didn't feel annoyed by Shichibei.

After waiting for about forty minutes, Mitsuhide and the Mōri envoy left the embassy. This Mōri envoy was probably also a prominent figure, like Kiiri Kihisa, whom Shichibei had received, someone whose name was recorded in history books. However, Shichibei was busy now, so he decided not to interact with him.

Mitsuhide was slightly puzzled when he saw Shichibei still standing outside the monastery. However, he was not one to talk too much, so he nodded to Shichibei and left the monastery to escort the Mori envoy back to his base.