Chapter 43: The Eve of Going Up to Luoyang

  On the night of August 27, after retrieving two treasures, Kira Yoshitsune was busy with another matter. Before leaving Mikawa, Kira Yoshitsune decided to do something meaningful and wrote a long letter to Sanada Yukimura, "Since I've already strayed from the righteous path, I don't mind doing a bit more. I'll stir up the Warring States period with my own power, starting with the future lord of Echigo, Sanada Yukimura!"

  The letter was quickly written, folded and sealed with a seal, this letter would be sent to Echigo through the intelligence channels of Hattori ninja, in the future it will be passed on by some channel to Nagao Kagetora, although the process is long, but can guarantee accurate delivery to the designated target's hands, Iga ninja's professional standard is still very high.

  On August 28th, over 1,600 people gathered outside Saigō's castle, including the samurai and their families, as well as the civilian laborers and craftsmen who followed them, totaling 2,300 people. The number was a bit excessive, but fortunately, about 90% of the men in Saigō's army were not yet married, and the situation among the public servants was similar; otherwise, the number of followers would have doubled.

  Facing the unexpected number of people, Kiryū Mantsumaru felt a great deal of trouble. Fortunately, there were thirty-five horse-drawn carriages present, five of which were packed with women and children, while the remaining thirty were filled with 23,000 kan of coins. ōuchi no Shinbei's efficiency was extremely high, using 4,000 kan of Eiraku-tsuho to exchange for 18,500 kan of coins, which were still in good condition. It is unknown which merchant had the misfortune of falling into his hands.

  Before departing, Shinbei Nobukado led out the fifty pack horses from inside the Kiriyama estate and said to Yoshitoshi Kiriyama: "Since our lord is going up to Rakuyo, let's take these pack horses along! Each horse will carry one koku five to of sea salt, which is the only thing we, the retainers of the Kiriyama family, can do for our lord!"

  "Please, Honorable Master, accept our heartfelt intentions!" This time, the retainers were very united. The head of the house, Uemon no Jō, had gone to Kyoto and was still brooding over past grievances, which only served to lose him the hearts of his men. Therefore, when ōishi Yoshio raised the issue of the pack horses, he didn't think much of it. Originally, they were joint property for transporting salt for sale, but this time they were taken out and presented to Kira Yoshinaka, resulting in a loss of several hundred ryō per person.

  "Alright! I understand your intention." Japan has always been short of horses, especially in western Japan where there are almost no horse farms. All the horses come from relatively remote areas such as Kanto, Hokuriku, Koshin'etsu and Oshu. The pack horses were inferior horses that couldn't be ridden, each worth 30 to 40 monme (a unit of currency), so selling 50 of them would bring in a huge sum of money.

  ōkawa no Nobusada took charge, and all the pack horses that carried goods for the Kira family were brought out, loaded with 75 stones of salt, and transported to Owari. The profit was over 300 monme, which was enough to cover the travel expenses to Kyoto. The simple ceremony would soon be over. At around 6:00 am, Kira Yoshinaka mounted his horse and said to his retainers, "The head of the house is leaving! Please take care of everything in the Kira family!"

  "We will certainly exert ourselves to serve and never betray the trust of our lord!" The retainers of the Kira family knelt down in unison.

  "Alright! Let's get going! The Kiryū household is departing!" With a loud cry of "Departure", the long procession began to move slowly like a giant machine, and under the watchful eyes of the townspeople kneeling along the way, the Jōraku party left Nishijō Castle.

  "Take care, Master!" The retainers shouted in unison, only to see Kiriyama Motsuzoumaru waving goodbye from a distance.

  The section of the Tokaido that connects Owari is called the Hattori Street, and heading west it passes through the castle town of Kariya Castle, which belongs to the Mizuno clan, an ally of the Oda clan, and enters the core area of the Oda clan in Owari. On both sides of the Atsuta Street stand the Narawa Castle and the Takaoka Castle, and continuing on you will arrive at the Atsuta Shrine. The Atsuta Shrine is not only one of the three shrines of Owari Province, but also the most famous commercial town in Owari Province, and can even be considered a microcosm of the prosperity of commerce on the Tokaido.

  The reputation of Atsuta Shrine is very great, even if later generations who are completely unfamiliar with Japan have heard of this name. In fact, its reputation is quite large, because the daughter of Fujiwara no Tadanari, the chief priest of Atsuta Shrine, married Minamoto no Yoshitomo as his legitimate wife and gave birth to Minamoto no Yoritomo. As for the Three Imperial Regalia, just take a look at them.

  Since the Kofun period, the Japanese imperial family has used the Three Sacred Treasures as an important tool for enthronement rituals. By the Heian period, they had gradually become a symbol of the emperor's legitimacy. However, all this came to an end at the end of the Genpei War. With the defeat of the Taira clan, eight-year-old Emperor Antoku, holding the Three Sacred Treasures, was taken by his grandmother, the nun Nii no Ama, and jumped into the sea at Dan-no-Ura, where they went to the underwater palace of Ryūgū to establish their underground court.

  Emperor Antoku's jump destroyed the legitimacy of the Japanese imperial family. His brother, Emperor Go-Toba, did not have the Three Sacred Treasures and could only rely on the declaration of the cloistered emperor Go-Takakura to ascend to the throne. During the Kenmu period, Emperor Go-Daigo brought this up again and created a fake version of the Three Sacred Treasures as a symbol of his imperial family's legitimacy, emphasizing that his Southern Court was orthodox and the Northern Court without the Three Sacred Treasures was a usurping regime.

  It wasn't until the time of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu that the Northern and Southern Courts were finally unified, but as a result of Ashikaga Yoshinori's death in the Kakitsu Incident, the sacred treasures were stolen again by remnants of the Southern Court within days. After more than ten years, it is said that the sacred treasures were recovered, and have been used ever since. In short, what are called the three sacred treasures are nothing but high-quality replicas or knockoff versions, and it would be better to worship ancestral tablets instead.

  To show respect to the Hotoku Shrine, Kira Yoshinaka presented 5 ryō of Eiraku coins and a naginata, along with a handwritten prayer: "May the world be pacified, and the Shogunate revived."

  That night, Kiriu Manabu found Yamamoto Kanetsugu and asked about the journey to Kyoto. The chief retainer gave a surprising answer: "From Atsuta-cho, take the water route to Tsushima, then board a ship and head north through Minō no Seki into ōmi Province. This is the itinerary that I have arranged for our lord."

  "Look at the dead chicken! Don't joke with our family! Isn't it absurd to go north along Tsushima Island? Saito Yoshitatsu is an ally of the Oda family, and our family passed by his gate with over 2,000 people, isn't that seeking death?! Kira Manshirōmaru is not stupid either, this simple logic doesn't need much thought to understand. Shiba Dōsan is not a good person to mess with, what if he bites back? Wouldn't that be more miserable than staying in Mikawa and surrendering to the Imagawa family?"

  Yamamoto Kan no Sukui nodded ambiguously and asked: "So, in your esteemed opinion, which path should we take?"

  "Of course, it's better to take the route through Ise and Sanin Province via Kusatsu Pass, going through Iga and Kohka into Kinai. This section doesn't have any powerful daimyos, so it's much safer than taking the Mino route!" He almost didn't think before blurting out this route. The main overland routes into Kinai are only three: not counting the Hokuriku route in the north, the Tosando route goes through Mino and doesn't break through Sekigahara, while the Tokaido route goes through Ise and Kusatsu Pass; going through Iga is easy, and it's no problem to head north to Kyoto via Yamato Province.

  "However, my humble opinion is completely opposite to that of the Honorable Master. I believe it would be safer to take the Mino route than the Ise and Mikawa routes. The people of Ise and Mikawa have never been sympathetic to the Shogunate's cause, and even if the Master were to raise the flag of protecting the Shogunate, it would be ineffective. Wherever my 2,000-strong Yoshioka army passes, there will surely be chaos and commotion, and whether we can pass through safely is still a question!"

  "Isn't there Hattori Masanari? He's from Iga Province, and with him leading the way, we can surely resolve these issues, right?" Kiryu Manzoumaru retorted somewhat defensively.