Chapter 41

After annihilating the Ikko-ikki of Nagashima, the next target for the Shinchi army was Kii to the west of Shinano.

A letter arrived from Nobunaga, who was continuing his fierce battle against the Asakura and Kaga Ikko-ikki alliance, ordering the assassination of Saka Matsuichi, who was sending out arquebus mercenaries to various Ikko-ikki groups, the Asakura family, the Hatano family, and the Miyoshi family.

This was also because an assassination attempt on Nobunaga had failed, and the culprit was quickly captured. After a severe interrogation, it was revealed that the culprit was one of the Saka clan.

"Kii? I can foresee many difficulties. The morale of the soldiers is high, but..."

Hiroshuu cast his gaze over the soldiers and commanders who were pleased with the rewards given by Mitsuharu after the Nagashima battle. They were probably thinking of buying souvenirs for their families with the money they received.

"Are you not happy with the rewards being gold and silver coins?"

"No, I'm used to it now."

None of the Shinchi family's vassals owned land. All of them were called 'money samurai' from outside, and were paid in money. The families recognized by the Shinchi as upper and middle-ranking samurai received stipends, which continued as long as there was a successor. For those who obtained positions in the military, internal affairs, diplomacy, or technology, it depended on their talent; if they were capable, they would be given important positions and receive a salary. Even if the head of the family was not particularly talented, the stipend would continue, so the upper and middle-ranking samurai families would not suddenly fall into ruin.

Many of the vassals' children also studied at schools hosted by the Shinchi family until they came of age, and some served as attendants to the heir, Taro. There was no system of hostages, and since Taro's attendants were still children, today, Taro was feeding them and teaching them.

Incidentally, he was also secretly teaching them suspicious things with Seiki and Takako.

The second-generation head of the Shinchi family, Taro, was forming a close group of vassals to ensure the survival of the rising Shinchi family. Mitsuharu believed that no noble family could last forever, but he did not want his children to experience that.

Therefore, he was making every effort possible.

Hiroshuu's grandchildren also attended the Shinchi residence as Taro's attendants. Occasionally, they would talk about the delicious sweets and meals they had, the various things they learned, and the unusual games they played, all with a happy expression.

Hiroshuu understood that his family was treated as a hereditary vassal, so he had no particular complaints. The only thing left was to make every effort not to bring down the Shinchi family. He thought that the fate of the Saito family was to be avoided.

"Gold and silver coins, huh? That's a good name."

There was a shortage of copper coins, and Nobunaga was recommending the use of gold and silver for high-value transactions, so Hiroshuu also thought that gold and silver as rewards were effective. In the past, gold was weighed and the necessary amount was cut off for transactions, but since the Shinchi family minted gold and silver coins in units of one monme, it became easier to exchange them for copper coins.

They were well-received in the Shinchi domain, and some were already circulating outside the domain. Because they all had the same purity and weight, they were easy to trade, especially among merchants, who found them very popular. In addition, the work of reminting bita coins into Eiraku Tsuho was ongoing. Recently, they had secretly obtained copper ingots and were often minting Eiraku Tsuho using them. There was a great demand because of the shortage of coins. First, the widespread circulation of bita coins was due to the shortage of coins.

Recently, even in western Japan, where Song coins were more valued than Eiraku Tsuho, the credibility of Eiraku Tsuho had increased. After using the same copper coins for several hundred years, they became worn out and were treated as bita coins. There was no new minting of Song coins, and the circulation of low-quality bita coins that imitated them increased, which raised the value of Eiraku Tsuho flowing in through Sakai and increased the demand even more.

"Bro, I'm just minting coins all day."

Seiki seemed to be getting tired of the endless minting.

"So, I tried making some for fun!"

In Seiki's hand was a brass coin inscribed with "Eiroku Tsuho."

"This weighs one monme. Can it circulate as ten mon?"

"Hmm, might it be treated as a counterfeit gold coin?"

"Doesn't work, huh... How about this?"

Seiki then produced a larger coin inscribed with "Eiroku Tsuho." It weighed the same one monme but was larger because it was made of aluminum.

"Aluminum... in this era..."

"It's not silver, so it should be okay, right?"

It was clearly counterfeiting, but there was no one to enforce it in this era, and privately minted coins were used if they were of good quality. Mitsuharu thought, "How much more money is needed?"

"It can't be made without Kanagawa, and Japan has a low production of bauxite, so it can't be made in large quantities."

"Then, is it okay?"

The aluminum coins that were released into the market with such a light-hearted attitude quickly gained value due to their beauty and novelty, and began to be traded at the value of about 100 Eiraku Tsuho.

"Kii is a troublesome land. My lord has given a difficult order."

Hiroshuu, who had a grudge against Nobunaga, thought that the order to pacify Kii was a way to harass the Shinchi family.

"We'll try. But we need to leave enough forces to prepare for Ise."

"I think that's a good idea."

The Ikko-ikki were like a terrorist group, and it was uncertain when they would rise up again. It was necessary to have a defense ready to respond immediately.

"15,000 men will advance into Kii."

"I think that's a reasonable number. Complete pacification is impossible anyway."

"We have enough supplies, though."

"Let's just advance as far as we can."

The Shinchi army began to move to pacify Kii. Thanks to the road construction in Ise, the Shinchi army reached Shinano much faster.

But the problem was what lay ahead. The Namasako district, the base of the Saka clan, was close to Settsu and Kawachi. A long journey lay ahead.

"Perhaps invading from Ise was a mistake."

"Since we have almost secured the Muro district, I think this is fine. Settsu and Kawachi are probably in chaos right now."

Since it wouldn't reach Saka Matsuichi anyway, Hiroshuu advised Mitsuharu to strengthen the control of the Muro district. The adjacent districts depended on the situation.

"Ah, the Kumano Sanzan..."

Although the Shinchi family had taken control of the Muro district by destroying the Horiuchi party, the power of the Kumano Sanzan was strong in this area. They rejected the proposal to transfer the temple lands to the Shinchi family for money, and some priests formed alliances with other temple monks and local samurai to resist the Shinchi family's land survey and map-making. After temporarily recognizing their rights, the negotiations and skirmishes continued, but they were swept up in the defeat of the Saka clan and the suppression of the remaining enemies, resulting in many casualties.

As a result, the rapidly weakening Kumano Sanzan accepted the peace proposal to disarm and receive the temple lands in exchange for money. Some priests and local samurai who opposed this were either defeated or fled the Muro district.

"Kii also has the Koyasan and Negoroji..."

"Kii is a religious paradise, isn't it?"

"Well, it's going to become hell from now on."

Hiroshuu, determined to show no mercy to religious forces, decided to go all the way, despite his initial concerns about retribution. Seeing that Mitsuharu and his men were not worried, he found it ridiculous to be afraid.

Both Koyasan and Negoroji owned vast temple lands across the country and had strong economic power with their front towns. They also had military power, with local samurai as followers and armed monks with a large number of arquebuses. While they were not desirable as enemies, it was uncertain how things would turn out.

"Before that, we won't even reach Negoro."

In Kii, many other temples and shrines owned temple lands and had armed monks and priests. The local samurai were also strong, and the Shinchi army had to advance cautiously to minimize casualties.

"It's frustrating to deal with rebellious temples and local samurai."

Abandoning the temple lands and receiving stipends from the Shinchi family in exchange for money, disarming the monks and priests, and prohibiting armed conflict. These were common conditions, but they refused and attacked the Shinchi army like samurai. The Shinchi army responded with continuous arquebus fire, bronze cannons, and arrows, and suffered many casualties from the monks' arquebus fire and sword attacks. The resistance of the local samurai was also fierce. They opposed the condition of being hired by the Shinchi family for money and attacked with weapons.

After defeating them, they distributed the land to obedient farmers and recognized their rights, and to pacify them, they built roads from Ise, started new land reclamation and flood control projects, and began new town planning. They also tried to gain the support of non-rebellious farmers and merchants by purchasing as many supplies as possible locally.

"My lord, if we do it, we can achieve more than we thought."

Honda Masanobu was looking at the Saka Castle with a sense of accomplishment. After a persistent campaign for about half a year, the Shinchi army finally reached near Saka Castle. To avoid provoking Koyasan and Negoroji, they had to suppress the rebellion of the local samurai and then face the risk of another uprising. Mitsuharu finally understood why Kii was considered a hellish place.

In the past half year, the Asakura and Kaga Ikko-ikki alliance in Echizen had been annihilated, and the Asakura family had fallen, and Echizen had been pacified by the Oda family. However, the surviving Kaga Ikko-ikki were planning an invasion of Echizen, and Shibata Katsuie was responding to it. He had received half of Echizen and was continuing the battle with vassals like Maeda Toshiie and Sasa Narimasa.

In the Tamba area, the negotiations with the Hatano and Akai families by Akechi Mitsuhide and Kusunoki Masashige had succeeded, and the situation was somewhat under control. However, the outbreak of the Ikko-ikki in Omi forced both to return and continue the battle.

In the Settsu area, Matsunaga Hisahide, who had come to support, had successfully negotiated with Araki Murashige, a friend through the tea ceremony, and succeeded in driving the Miyoshi army back to the sea. However, it was necessary to keep an eye on Ishiyama, and Nobunaga's main force was attacking Ishiyama.

"The only ones left are the Saka clan, but the all-out uprising against the Oda family has failed. They might surrender easily."

The Hongan-ji in Ishiyama had lost its base at Nagashima, and the Ikko-ikki in Omi were being pacified, and they were not actually coordinating with the Ikko-ikki in Kaga. It seemed that the Hongan-ji in Ishiyama was also struggling with the lack of control over Kaga, and rumors were spreading that they were starting to abandon the effort.

In that case, the Saka clan might surrender easily... Mitsuharu was thinking this when he received a shocking report from Masanobu.

"My lord, the Negoroji and Koyasan have risen up."

"Damn monks!"

Mitsuharu couldn't help but shout.

When he heard the detailed report from Masanobu, it seemed that monks from the Negoroji and Koyasan estates in the occupied areas had come out and started occupying the Shinchi family's farmland and castles without permission. Several of his vassals who resisted were expelled or killed.

"Why?"

"Well... they probably thought it was a good opportunity."

"Why? Aren't they temples?"

"The Negoroji and Koyasan often send out troops to expand their estates."

The Negoroji owned 720,000 koku of estates across the country and had more than 10,000 armed monks. Koyasan also owned 170,000 koku of estates across the country. They were armed and had one of the largest numbers of arquebuses in the country. In other words, the monks had become daimyo.

"Armed monks who seize other people's land... the world is coming to an end..."

"Yes, it is."

Even Hiroshuu seemed to be tired of the strength of the Kii temple and shrine forces.

"The Saka clan has joined forces with the Negoroji and Koyasan, and their total number exceeds 20,000."

"Isn't the Saka clan part of the Ikko-ikki?"

"Not all of them, and if necessary, they will join to drive the Shinchi army out of Kii."

"Prepare for battle. Don't spare the ammunition and arrows."

The battle between the 20,000-strong Shinchi army, reinforced, and the 24,000-strong alliance of the Negoroji, Koyasan, Saka clan, and remaining local samurai was a fierce artillery battle.

With a combined 14,000 arquebuses and 200 bronze cannons possessed only by the Shinchi army, both sides suffered casualties at first, but the casualties of the Negoroji, Koyasan, Saka clan, and remaining local samurai alliance increased explosively due to the performance of the arquebuses, the amount of ammunition prepared, and the power of the bronze cannons possessed only by the Shinchi army.

"Don't spare it! Fire! Fire! Fire!"

The Shinchi army's shooting did not stop, and the Negoroji, Koyasan, Saka clan, and remaining local samurai alliance began to retreat, leaving a large number of dead bodies.

"Why doesn't the gunpowder run out!"

"Maybe they are also manufacturing saltpeter?"

To the raging Saka Matsuichi, one of his vassals replied.

"My lord, if this continues, the Tsuchihashi will..."

The Saka clan had a collective leadership system, and there were conflicts among the heads over territorial disputes, so they were not a united front. If the casualties were due to the cooperation with the Hongan-ji that Matsuichi had recommended, there was a possibility of a responsibility debate against him.

"Some might kill me and offer my head to the Shinchi..."

Further fighting would not be beneficial. Feeling this, Matsuichi left the battlefield with only a part of his personal troops and fled to Ishiyama Hongan-ji from Kii. The remaining alliance, however, suffered heavy casualties due to their large numbers.

The alliance, which had already run out of ammunition, was in despair at the continuous shooting.

"Why can they keep shooting without cooling the arquebuses!"

The answer was that the Shinchi army had four arquebuses per person. When one heated up, they would switch to a spare and continue shooting. They also had a large number of pre-prepared cartridges, and the shooting density was high. They created a barrage of bullets that seemed wasteful to prevent the enemy from getting close, and the monk troops that tried to charge with spears and long swords were annihilated.

"Don't let them get close! Fire! Fire! Fire!"

The Negoroji and Koyasan, with their strong economic power, had powerful arquebus units. However, they were terrified by the even greater firepower of the Shinchi army,