Chapter 13 Tax-free Liberty City

Azuchi Castle is located on Azuchi Mountain in Shimofengpu, Azuchi Village, Gamo County, Omi Country (Shiga County). The height of Mount Antu is 120 feet. Overlooking the surrounding area from the mountain, the north and west are the beautiful Lake Biwa, the east is the North Country Road leading to Echizen, and the south is the road leading to Kyoto from Gifu.At the end of the road is Jorakuji Temple, where a grand sumo wrestling match was held before Nobunaga sent his troops to attack the North Kingdom for the first time. The Sasaki clan of Omi Genji was the first to build the castle in Azuchi.In order to check and balance Sasaki's power, Liujiao also built Guanyin Temple City at the exit of the city!After Nobunaga attacked Rokukaku Chengzhen, he specially ordered his general Nakagawa Hachiroemon Shigemasa to guard the three important cities.Of course, the scale of the newly built Antu City is far more magnificent than the cities built in the past.

This is not only to curb the idea of ​​Uesugi Kenshin's trip to Shangluo, but also to suppress the Mori clan who took the opportunity to invade eastward in the name of aiding Honganji Temple.Therefore, the scale of this new city can be described as unprecedented. For Mitsuhide Akechi, who was in charge of planning, this design incorporates all his wisdom and is the most proud contribution in his life. The main body of Azuchi Castle is composed of stone walls taken from Mt. Kannonji. Two trenches were excavated below the castle, and residences of various daimyos are dotted between the trenches.Outside the city walls are ordinary streets, and the traffic is extremely convenient.In addition to military purposes, this city also considered future prosperity, and it can be said to be the precursor of today's urban planning, contributing a lot to the prosperity of the economy.

The scale of the city is breathtaking; Mitsuhide also referred to the medieval fortresses and castles of various countries in the world, and designed a seven-story large pavilion—the castle tower on the top of the mountain. In addition, Mitsuhide plated the exterior of the castle tower with gold leaf, making it look like a huge golden city from a distance.The reflection floating on the water looks even more resplendent under the blazing sun, making one feel like being in a fairyland. Before this magnificent and magnificent city was built—— "——Mr. Nobunaga has nowhere to live, everyone must act fast!"

The general practice is to urge the husbands to build the city day and night, and there is almost no time to rest.After working tirelessly, the city was finally built.When Nobunaga moved from Sakuma's house in Gifu to Azuchi Castle, he had nothing but Nohime, and he seemed very relaxed and comfortable. That was the twenty-third of February. "It looks like it's getting better soon! How is it? Is it better? Mitsusu!" Mitsuhide, who is the chief executive, seemed to be at a loss as to how to respond. "Hmm! This...but..." He faltered vaguely. "Hahaha……"

Nobunaga patted his knees and laughed: "I'm not asking about the city, don't worry! I'm asking if there is a place for me to sleep? Starting today, I will live here and personally supervise you and the head of the city. Left (Nagahide Niwa)." "Then, let me build you a temporary residence first!..." General You personally supervised the work on site, this is a big event! Always follow the principle of obedience Hinata Mamoru (Akechi Mitsuhide) The general head Fuyue lives in Gorozaemon (Nagahide Niwa) Nishio Kozaemon Rokuro Saburo Ozawa Yoshida Hirai Mataemon Okabe

Zaemon Painter's First Sentence Department A view of the brick-burning master Tang Ren Gilded Master Heishiro Goto Woodcarver to Ami Kano Yongtoku The talents recruited are all the best in all walks of life, and there is an exclusive working group to serve them.In addition, Hashiba Chikumae, Takikawa Sakon, Niwa Goroza and others each sent tens of thousands of husbands here; therefore, this originally quiet small fishing village became extremely noisy in a blink of an eye. The city is surrounded by huge stones from Mount Kannonji, Mount Iba, Mount Chomyoji, and Mount Chokoji. It took three days and three nights of work by stone workers and craftsmen from Kyoto, Nara, Sakai Port and other places to complete the construction. It is conceivable that the vastness of the project is complete.

Nobunaga ordered people to build a temporary house on the east side of Azuchi Mountain, and he went to and from the construction site every day.On this day, when he came back from inspecting the construction site, he picked up the design drawing again. "Ah Nong! Bring Xi'an here." "You want to find Mr. Takei... Follow orders!" Yubi Xi'an quickly came to Nobunaga. "The city and streets are almost completed, but there are no laws that can be used as norms by the people. This is my negligence! Now, I want you to write down the legal provisions I made for Antu City."

"Obey!" The warm spring sun shines on the earth, making everything show vigorous vitality. After hearing the news of Nobunaga's fortification, businessmen from various countries came here to find out.Of course, it is impossible for Nobunaga to turn a blind eye to this situation. "Ready? You just write as I say! First, I decided to name this street Azuchikamachi." "Well, I remember it." "Here it will be called Le Market (that is, the free market). Since it is Le Market, of course it means that all seats, all services, and all official affairs are exempt from tax."

"Oh! Once the people in the city hear that they can be exempted from tax and tax, they will definitely be happy to do business; in this way, won't it promote the prosperity of the place?" "Exactly! Otherwise, how can it develop in a short period of time? Right? Ah Nong!" "That's right! This is the method that my late father came up with. According to him, as long as it takes a while, it will definitely achieve results." "Yeah! In this respect, Saito Dozo is indeed a master. Alright, let's move on!" "Yes, I'm ready." "First, merchants traveling by sea can stay or board here."

"Well! Since the businessmen are allowed to stay here, it means that their lives and properties are protected; in this way, more businessmen will definitely come here to do business." "That's what I mean! However, this alone will not immediately make the street prosperous; therefore, I have decided to exempt the townspeople from the carriage tax. Don't forget to make a note of this matter." "Exemption of the carriage and horse tax... I believe the people will be very happy. Once the people no longer have to pay the carriage and horse tax, this place will surely prosper soon."

Nobunaga gave Nohime a smug look, then laughed loudly. "How about it? Anon! Only I can do this, right? After all, Hashi (Michizo Saito) is not exempt from the carriage tax!" "I believe that my late father knew something underground, and he would definitely praise you." "Hahaha... However, I can't indulge in this vain praise! Xi'an! Let's continue. What I just said was the benefits that can be enjoyed by settling in Antu City; the next thing I want to talk about is Antu City The obligations of the people. Of course, in your opinion, you may feel that these provisions are too strict." "I dare not!" Xi'an held the pen nervously and waited for orders. 1. Regarding the fire, if it is a natural or man-made disaster, the owner of the fire can be exempted from punishment; but if the owner himself set the fire and it is found to be true, he will be expelled from the city immediately.Also: Criminal responsibility depends on the severity of the crime. 2. Anyone who shelters or harbors criminals shall be punished with the same penalty; those who do not know will be exempted from punishment.Also: The offender shall be punished according to the crime committed. 3. Those who buy stolen goods without knowing it can be exempted from punishment, but they must return the goods to their original owners in accordance with the ancient law. 4. The taxation system practiced in each country is hereby exempted. Xi'an carefully considered what Nobunaga said and wrote it down. Among all crimes, arson is the heaviest; as for other crimes, such as hiding criminals and buying and selling stolen goods, after careful investigation, those who do not know are all acquitted. Most of the general legal provisions are "--those who commit this crime must be punished--", ​​but Nobunaga clearly stipulates that "--anyone who commits this crime will be exempted from punishment..." First of all, the scope of non-punishment is clearly stated, Guide the townspeople in the right direction. It can be seen that Nobunaga does have a very keen political mind, not only knows how to win people's hearts, but also knows how to show a human side at the right time, so as to change people's impression of him in the past. Nobunaga reminded Xi'an to add a sentence at the end of the article: "—Anyone who intends to buy or sell horses must do so in the local Antu. It is absolutely forbidden to trade with other countries without permission." This also means that Nobunaga intends to control the horse market in order to control the number of horses in Antu territory.In that era, horses were the main fighting force, so they had to be strictly controlled. The next step is to post the regulations on the street so that passers-by can see them. When the news spread that he could be protected by Nobunaga and be exempted from all taxes, businessmen from all over the world flocked here. They built homes on both sides of the street, making the prototype of the new city take shape.Of course, the people who built the city didn't want to be left behind, so they encouraged each other; under this virtuous circle, the development of the new city was further promoted.When Antu Mountain was covered with fallen leaves, although the new city was not yet fully built, it was already in a rough shape.At this time, a large number of Oda soldiers appeared on the top of the mountain. Although the next work is extremely heavy, Nobunaga doesn't care at all, because he knows that he will no longer be a homeless person. The problem is that the season when Uesugi Kenshin sends troops from Kasuga Mountain is very close at this time...