Chapter 43

"Why did you manage to conquer the entire province of Kii so well? I thought it would be a great achievement just to capture one castle..."

When Hikaru appeared before Nobunaga in Kyoto after the pacification of Kii, Nobunaga looked at him with a surprised expression.

"In return, we are short of gunpowder and money, and many soldiers have been sacrificed, but Kii is still smoldering..."

"It will be so. I will exempt you from expeditions for a while."

Of course, it was a lie, but Nobunaga believed it after hearing about the Newchi army's fighting style. He judged that the Newchi family would be unable to act for a while due to the cost of the large amount of gunpowder used alone.

The current Oda army is led by Shibata Katsuie, who has been granted half of Echizen, to suppress the remnants of the Ikko sect in Echizen and advance to Kaga to maintain a defensive offensive.

It is said that the Newchi army, which defeated over 20,000 in Kii, has cut off and annihilated more than twice as many Ikko sect followers.

Truly, it is a display of the prowess of the "Devil Shibata."

Similarly, Wakasa, which was under the control of the Asakura family but saw significant resistance from the local lords, has been pacified by Dan羽 Nagahide, who has been granted this land.

Akechi Mitsuhide, who subdued the Hatano and Akai families in Tamba, and Kuroda Kanbee, who forced the retreat of the Miyoshi army in Settsu, along with Matsunaga Hisahide and the troops he had persuaded, such as Araki Murashige and Nakagawa Chikahide, have joined the siege of Ishiyama.

Together with the Sakuma Nobumori troops, who have been entrusted with an army by Nobunaga, they are besieging, but there is no sign of it falling.

The strong faction of the Saiga, led by Magoichi, has joined the battle with a musket corps and is putting up a stubborn resistance.

"Ishiyama will probably end in a truce."

Gifts have been sent to the court, and it seems that Murai Sadakatsu is currently working on it.

It is impossible to capture the massive fortress of Ishiyama so easily.

Since all the forces that had been attacking the Oda family have been defeated, Nobunaga says that the Hongan-ji will accept a truce.

"What about Lord Yoshitaka?"

"He looks as if he has eaten nothing."

Despite secretly leading the siege from behind, when Nobunaga appears, he hands over a sword as a reward, saying, "It is for the righteous cause!"

Whether Yoshitaka is a master of intrigue or just shameless and can easily forget things that are inconvenient to himself, Hikaru cannot quite judge.

"Lord Yoshitaka orders that Kii be returned to its rightful guardian, Hatakeyama Takahashi."

Despite issuing a secret order to pursue Nobunaga, and after that order fails, Hikaru, who has worked hard to occupy Kii, is ordered to return it to its rightful guardian, Hatakeyama Takahashi.

Hikaru understands that Yoshitaka is a shameless and cunning little villain.

"Will you return it?"

"Even if you return it, it will only cause unnecessary confusion."

Moreover, Kii has been pacified by Hikaru with a great deal of funds and effort.

What if the Newchi family rebels against the Oda family if they try to take it away?

Just thinking about it makes Nobunaga shudder.

It is a land that requires a great deal of effort to govern anyway.

Nobunaga thinks it is better to entrust it to the Newchi family as a reward.

"(Yoshitaka! You are trying a ridiculous sowing of discord!) Besides, Takahashi cannot even govern a single province of Kawachi properly."

Although he has been entrusted with Kawachi reluctantly, he is a puppet of the guardian substitute Yusa clan and heavyweights like Tange Masaharu and Yasumi Munetake, and has no time to govern Kii.

Nobunaga explains the current state of Hatakeyama Takahashi to Hikaru.

"He is a troublesome one, isn't he?"

The troublesome one, of course, is Yoshitaka.

"Since he still has some use, he cannot be eliminated."

Hikaru, who has received permission from Nobunaga to not send troops for the stabilization of Kii for a while, will focus all his efforts on governing Kii.

"Why are new personnel and matchlock guns not being sent?"

In the end, the Ishiyama Hongan-ji, surrounded by the Oda army, ended in a truce mediated by the court.

However, such a truce could collapse at any time.

Magoichi, who brought his loyal musket corps from Kii's Saiga district to join the battle, tried to receive reinforcements and matchlock guns from Saiga.

However, nothing was sent from Saiga.

On the contrary, a reply came saying that such a request was a nuisance.

This left Magoichi speechless.

"Lord, it seems that the Saiga district has been stripped of its teeth by the Newchi family."

After the pacification of Kii, the Saiga district was ruthlessly dismantled by the Newchi army.

Skilled matchlock gunsmiths who were obedient were moved with their families to Newchi, where they received good treatment and did not follow Magoichi's orders.

Even those who were dissatisfied internally were not allowed to manufacture matchlock guns, but large-scale development was underway within the Newchi domain.

With a large number of orders for civilian products such as farm tools, cooking utensils, construction tools, iron materials, and nails, they were busy and soon became obedient to the Newchi family as their lives gradually improved.

There was no reason to rebel against the Newchi family by forcibly arming themselves.

More people have moved to the industrial area in Newchi, and new development is underway in Saiga, with new residents moving in.

Saiga is no longer a place where Magoichi can exert his influence as before.

As a result, it has become impossible to rise up against the Newchi family on a large scale.

"What about Negoro-ji? What about Koyasan?"

"They are not reliable either..."

The monk soldiers were killed in large numbers, but the Newchi army did not touch the temples at all.

Under the guidance of the Newchi family, the temples and shrines in Kii are being rebuilt to welcome many visitors and tourists, and development of the surrounding areas is underway.

Although they are prohibited from arming, the Newchi army is maintaining law and order, so there is no problem.

Construction of roads to Ise, Kii, and Yamato has also begun, and the Ise Shrine, which is currently being rebuilt in Ise, and the Kumano Sanzan, which has also submitted to the Newchi family, are being developed as tourist sites.

The Newchi family has started promoting tours of these famous shrines and temples.

"Let's visit the blessed temples and shrines of Ise, Kii, and Yamato at least once in our lives. Although the temples are not allowed, let's have a cute shrine maiden character introduce the Ise Shrine."

Seiki has started producing and printing tourist guides, and construction of post towns has also begun.

The initial target is the residents of the Kinai region, which Nobunaga is in the process of pacifying.

"What about those who scattered outside of Kii?"

"They are no good either."

When they arrived at local manors, they became independent with the backing of military power.

They claim to "recover the principal image and restore the proper faith, and to defeat the enemy of Buddhism, Nobunaga and the Newchi," but they have no plans to raise an army and attack Kii.

"They probably just want to dominate the local manor if they can claim a righteous cause..."

Naturally, their reputation among the original monk soldiers and monks is poor.

If they leave carelessly, there is a possibility of a rebellion, so they stay to secure the manors and privileges they have taken.

Humans do not take risks when they have something to protect.

"Critical of the principal image that has become a puppet of the Newchi family, they claim to recover it while occupying the local temples and manors they have taken over."

Magoichi momentarily thought, "Maybe I should have done the same," but it was too late.

If he compromises with the Newchi family, who have taken control of Saiga, even the loyal troops he has will defect.

He must oppose Seiki Hikaru at all costs.

To do so, he must gain the trust of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji musket corps as their commander.

"A truce is just a way to buy time! The battle with Nobunaga will begin soon. I will shoot and kill that mere underling, Seiki Hikaru!"

Magoichi, for the sake of his subordinates, exaggeratedly declared the defeat of Hikaru, who had occupied his hometown.

"That is brave and commendable, but there is one unfortunate piece of news..."

"Unfortunate news?"

"Yes... actually..."

Immediately after, Magoichi was discouraged to learn that half of the musket corps he led had returned to Saiga on their own.

This was the beginning of Magoichi's long trial.

In the twelfth year of Eiroku, the Oda family was unusually not at war.

The only exception was Kaga, but Shibata Katsuie, who had cut off the roots of the Ikko sect in Echizen, was successful in eliminating the war in Echizen by reconstructing the devastated area and sending troops to Kaga to fight the Ikko sect.

It is a somewhat harsh method, but it is effective.

His administrative skills are not bad, and the gap with the two senior vassals, Hayashi and Sakuma, is gradually narrowing.

The fourth in line is Dan羽 Nagahide, who has been granted Wakasa, the fifth is Takigawa Masatsugu, who holds a fief in eastern Mino, the sixth is Akechi Mitsuhide, who holds a fief in Sakamoto and is already leaning towards the Oda family, and the seventh is Kuroda Kanbee, who has been granted an increase in the western Mino area around Sumata, now renamed Hashiba Hideyoshi.

Hideyoshi, when he changed his name, received characters from Shibata Katsuie and Dan羽 Nagahide.

Katsuie complained, "What a sly flatterer, just like a monkey!" but did not refuse.

Katsuie, confident in his own martial prowess and achievements, understood that the surroundings would not think badly of Hideyoshi's name change.

"It might be the calm before the storm."

Taking advantage of the free time Hikaru had while governing Kii, Hashiba Hideyoshi visited Newchi to inform him that his wife Nene was pregnant with their second child.

Their first child was a boy, and Hideyoshi, who named him Hikosuke, dotes on him.

"Is that general planning something?"

"The lord must be having a hard time with that fool."

It is good that he is trying to strengthen the shogunate, but he issued a secret order to pursue Nobunaga, who had established him, and when that failed, he demanded that the Oda family give the land they had taken to his favored vassals.

From Hideyoshi's perspective, it is surprising that Nobunaga does not fly into a rage.

"Because he still has some use..."

"Is he still useful... or is he a rotten fish?"

"Something like that."

Hideyoshi returned to his domain, and Hikaru focused on governing Kii.

He invested a large sum of money to forcibly develop the area and suppressed uprisings by local samurai and armed monks that occasionally occurred.

No matter how much the Newchi family explained their policies, if they were not understood and disliked, there was no choice but to suppress them ruthlessly.

However, as life improved, the majority of the subjects supported the new lord's administration.

Large-scale road construction was underway, making access to Yamato, Ise, Kii, and Kawachi and Settsu easier, and the economy began to develop.

Matsunaga Hisahide, who wanted to strengthen his governance of Yamato by using the development of southern Yamato as a carrot, cooperated, and this was going well for now.

With the fall of Nagashima and the stabilization of Ise, construction of the site was underway.

Todayko had two boys and two girls, Oichi had two girls, and Seiki's wife Takako had two boys and was pregnant with her third.

The Newchi family was enjoying a period of peace.

"But, is the second child Jiro? That's a rather casual name."

"It's fine! I'll give him a name when he comes of age!"

Hikaru, criticized by Masahiro about the children's names, retorted in a huff.

Incidentally, Oichi's second child was also a girl, named Oe by her and Oichi.

Hikaru, saying, "It sounds strong," was scolded by Todayko.

"Brother, the Takeda family is rich, isn't it?"

"Rich, or rather, they have plenty of gold."

The Newchi family, currently focused on internal affairs, is making efforts to gain benefits from other major families besides the Oda family.

First, the purchase of copper blocks.

In fact, copper blocks contain a large amount of gold and silver.

Merchants from Ming and the South Seas bought copper blocks from Japan, extracted gold and silver from them, and made huge profits.

The Newchi family does the same and obtains a lot of gold and silver.

To prepare for emergencies, they stockpile, and the rest is minted into gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins, including the Eiraku Tsuho, and circulated in society.

The Takeda family has gold mines such as the Kurokawa and Yunosato gold mines, which circulate as Koshu gold.

They exchange these for food, which is often in short supply.

During the Little Ice Age, with frequent poor harvests in Kai and Shinano, they export food and receive Koshu gold in return.

They also exchange Bi-ta coins for Eiraku Tsuho, and Koshu gold for Newchi-minted gold and silver coins.

The Newchi-minted gold and silver coins, with their excellent minting technology and consistent weight and purity, gained more credibility than Koshu gold and were used by the local lords of Shinano and Kai for stockpiling and transactions.

The trading window is through Takigawa Masatsugu, who is friendly with Hikaru in eastern Mino, and from there to Shinano and Kai.

The intermediary, Masatsugu, also benefits, and it helps reduce the Takeda family's gold holdings.

Since the Oda and Takeda families are in an alliance, there is no reason to stop this trade.

Nobunaga even recommends it, as he does not want to be bothered by the hungry wolf that is the Takeda family.

The Takeda family is simply strong.

Kai is not that poor, but it is mostly mountainous, and the amount of rice that can be harvested is low compared to the land area.

With that amount of rice, they constantly lead an army of over 10,000 into battle.

It is clear to everyone that they march with the expectation of local procurement.

It is only natural that a starving army is strong.

That is why Nobunaga is very careful with Takeda Shingen.

He does not neglect to send gifts and has arranged the engagement of his heir, Nobuzane, to Shingen's daughter, Matsuhime.

He probably does not want to be attacked by the Takeda, who are developing Owari and Mino.

"Isn't Shingen busy with the invasion of Suruga?"

The Takeda family was allied with the Imagawa and Hojo families until the Battle of Okehazama, but now they have deposed and forced the suicide of their heir, Yoshinobu, who had the daughter of Imagawa Yoshimoto as his wife, and are attacking Suruga.

Before that, they had added western Kozuke to their territory, and Nobunaga was afraid of Shingen.

"I don't really want to get involved with them."

"Being strong because they are starving is not something to be proud of..."

The Tokugawa family, who had unified Mikawa, was advancing to annex the Imagawa territory of Totomi.

There seems to be a secret agreement between the two, with the Takeda family taking Suruga and the Tokugawa family taking Totomi.

It is not a secret agreement as far as Hikaru knows, but if that is the rule, there is nothing he can do.

More than that, Hikaru and Seiki were terrified by the fear of the Warring States period, where the weak are devoured.

There is no time for Hikaru to sympathize with the Imagawa family.

"Even if they manage to divide things well, there is no guarantee that the Takeda will not attack the Tokugawa, is there?"

"It will probably be fine."

The Oda and Takeda families are in a semi-alliance, and the Oda and Tokugawa families are also in an alliance.

Hikaru thinks that they will not attack such allies.

"But, that guy who deposed and forced the suicide of his heir to attack the Imagawa, and there is one more thing that worries me."

Despite being a recluse, Seiki was sharp when it came to information.

"Takeda Shingen and Hongan-ji Kennyo's wives are sisters..."

"What? Really?"

"They are from Hikosuke's in-laws."

"Oh, I remember such a story!"

When Hikosuke got married, he seems to have heard such a story.

However, no matter how much they are married, they will fight when it comes to war.

Hikaru thought it was pointless to worry about it.

"Does Hikosuke not say anything about it?"

"She was adopted from a distant relative's family and has never met her sisters-in-law."

In such a situation, Hikaru wonders if it is even possible to use the kinship to promote reconciliation between the two.

If the Takeda family asks for something, it would be a problem for Hikaru as well.

"Maybe we should prepare just in case?"