Taiko. Part 110

At that time, given Hideyoshi's sudden popularity and power after the Battle of Yamazaki, the allies he could count on were the provinces of Harima, Tajima, Settsu, Tango, Yamato, and a few others, for a total a military strength of sixty-seven thousand soldiers. If the soldiers of Owari, Ise, Iga, and Bizen were added to that, the total would be about one hundred thousand.

Katsuie could bring together the main strength of Echizen, Noto, Oyama, Ono, Matsuto, and Toyama. That would mean a force of perhaps no more than forty-five thousand men. If, however, he added n.o.butaka's Mino and Ise and Kazumasu's provincial strength, he would have a military force of close to sixty-two thousand men, a number with which he could almost compete with the enemy.

A Bowl of Tea The man appeared to be a traveling monk, but walked with the gait of a fighting man. Right now he was climbing the Shuf.u.kuji road.

'Where are you going!" the Shibata guard challenged.

'It's me," the priest replied, pushing back his monk's hood.

The sentries signaled to the palisade behind them. At the wooden gate was huddled yet another party of men. The monk approached the officer and said a few words. There appeared to be some confusion for a few moments, but then the officer himself led out a horse and handed the priest the reins.

Mount Yukiichi was the encampment of Sak.u.ma Genba and his younger brother, Yasumasa. The man dressed as a priest was Mizuno Shinroku, a retainer of Yasumasa. He had been entrusted with a secret message, and was now kneeling in front of his lord, inside his headquarters.

"How did it go? Good or bad news?" Yasumasa asked impatiently.

"Everything is arranged," Shinroku replied.

"Were you able to meet him? Did everything go well?"

"The enemy already has strict lookouts, but I was able to meet with Lord Shogen."

"What are his intentions?"

"I have them written down in a letter."

He looked inside his wickerwork hat and tore off the joint of the hat's cord. A letter that had been pasted underneath fell onto his lap. Shinroku straightened out the creases and put the letter into his lord's hand.

Yasumasa studied the envelope for some time.

"Yes, this is definitely Shogen's handwriting, but it's addressed to my brother. Come with me. We'll go see my brother right now and notify the main camp at Mount Nakao."

Lord and retainer went out through the palisade and climbed to the peak of Mount Yukiichi. The arrangement of men and horses, the palisade gates and the barracks became progressively tighter and more controlled as they reached the top. Finally the main citadel, which looked like a castle, came into view, and they could see innumerable curtained enclosures spread over the peak.

"Tell my brother that I am here." As Yasumasa spoke to the guard, one of Genba's retainers came running up.

"I'm afraid Lord Genba is not in his quarters, my lord."

"Has he gone to Mount Nakao?"

"No, he's over there."

Looking in the direction in which the retainer was pointing, he saw his brother, Genba, sitting with five or six warriors and pages on the gra.s.s beyond the main citadel. It was difficult to see what they were doing.

When he came closer, he could see that Genba was having one of the pages hold a mirror while another held a basin. There, under a blue sky, he was shaving as though he had no other care in the world.

It was the twelfth day of the Fourth Month.

Summer had already come, and in the castle towns on the plains, the heat could be felt. But in the mountains, spring was now at its height.

Yasumasa walked over and knelt on the gra.s.s.

"Well, brother?" Genba looked at him out of the corner of his eye, but continued to thrust out his chin in front of the mirror until he was finally finished shaving. Only after the razor was put away and the shaved hair was washed from his face with the water in the basin did he turn completely to face his little brother. "What is it, Yasumasa?"

"Would you have all the pages withdraw, please?"

"Why don't we go back to my quarters?"

"No, no. This is really the best place for a secret discussion."

"You think so? All right." Turning to his pages, Genba ordered them to withdraw some distance.

The pages took the mirror and basin and left. The samurai also withdrew. The Sak.u.ma brothers remained facing each other on the top of the mountain. One other man was there-Mizuno Shinroku, who had come along with Yasumasa.

In accordance with his position, Shinroku was still at a distance, prostrating himself toward his two superiors.

At that point Genba noticed him. "Shinroku has returned, has he?"

"He has and he reports that everything went smoothly. His errand seems to have been successful."

"I'm sure it wasn't easy. Well, what about Shogen's reply?"

"Here is Shogen's letter."

Genba opened the letter as soon as he held it in his hand. An open pleasure filled his eyes and hung on the corners of his mouth. What kind of secret success could have made him so happy? His shoulders shook almost uncontrollably.

"Shinroku, come a little closer. You're too far away over there."

"Yes, my lord."

"According to Shogen's letter, it appears that the real details were entrusted to you. Tell me everything Shogen had to say."

"Lord Shogen said that both he and Lord Ogane had had differences of opinion with their lord, Katsutoyo, even before Nagahama changed sides. Hideyoshi knew that and though they have been put in charge of the fortresses at Mount Dangi and Mount Shinmei, they are under the watchful eye of Hideyoshi's trusted retainer, Kimura Hayato. They can hardly make a move."

"But both Shogen and Ogane intend to escape and come here."

"They plan to kill Kimura Hayato tomorrow morning, and then bring their men over to our side."

"If this is going to happen tomorrow morning, there's no time to lose. Send out a force to them," Genba ordered Yasumasa. He then interrogated Shinroku once again "Some reports say that Hideyoshi is in his main camp, while others claim that he is in ihama. Do you know where he is?"

Shinroku admitted that he did not.

For the Shibata side, the question of whether Hideyoshi was at the front or at Nagahama was an extremely important one.

Without knowing where he was, the Shibata were uncertain how to proceed. Katsuie's strategy was not for a single frontal attack. He had been waiting quite some time for the opportunity to have n.o.butaka's Gifu army spring into action. Takigawa Kazumasu's forces could then initiate their attack, and together the two armies of Mino and Ise would Threaten Hideyoshi's rear. At that point Katsuie's main force of twenty thousand men could rush in and drive Hideyoshi into a corner at Nagahama.

Katsuie had already received a letter from n.o.butaka to that effect. If Hideyoshi was at Nagahama, he would quickly catch wind of such operations and see to it that both Gifu and Yanagase were ready. If Hideyoshi was now on the front lines, Katsuie would have to be fully ready, for the time for n.o.butaka's uprising was now.

But before any of those plans could be carried out, the Shibata had to pin down Hideyoshi to create the right circ.u.mstances for n.o.butaka to move.

"That one point remains unclear," Genba said again. There was no doubt that during the long period of waiting, which had lasted for more than a month, he was becoming more and more depressed. "Well, we succeeded in luring Shogen, and we should rejoice in that alone. Lord Katsuie must be informed immediately. We will wait for Shogen's signal tomorrow."

Yasumasa and Shinroku left first and returned to their own camp. Genba called over a page to bring him his favorite horse. Accompanied by ten warriors, he left immediately for the main camp on Mount Nakao. '

The newly built road between Mount Yukiichi and the main camp at Nakao was about four yards wide and meandered along for over two leagues, along the ridgeline of the mountains. The spring greenery of the mountains filled the warriors' eyes, and as as Genba whipped his horse along, even he was overcome by a poetic sentiment.

The main camp at Mount Nakao was surrounded by several palisades. Each time Genba approached a gate, he would simply give his name and ride through, looking down at the guards from his saddle.

But just as he was about to ride through the gate to the main citadel, the commander of the guards called out abruptly and challenged him. "Wait! Where are you going?"

Genba turned around and stared at the man.

"Ah, is that you, Menju? I've come to see my uncle. Is he in his quarters or at staff headquarters?"

Menju frowned, walked around in front of Genba, and said angrily, "Dismount first please."

"What?"

"This gate is very close to Lord Katsuie's headquarters. It doesn't make any difference who you are or how much of a hurry you're in, it is not permitted to ride in on horseback."

"You dare say that to me, Menju?" Genba said angrily, but according to military discipline he could not really refuse. Instead he dismounted as Menju had required him tc do and barked, "Where's my uncle?"

"He's in the middle of a military conference."

"Who's attending?"

"Lord Haigo, Lord Osa, Lord Hara, Lord Asami, and Lord Katsutoshi."

"If that's so, it'll be all right if I join them."

"No, I'll announce you."

"That won't be necessary."

Genba pushed his way through. Menju watched him as he walked off. A look of misery clouded his face. The challenge he had thrown out just now, at the risk of his own reputation, was not simply for the sake of military law. He had been secretly trying to get Genba to reflect on his att.i.tude for some time.

The att.i.tude shown in the proud manner Genba usually displayed was connected with his uncle's favoritism. When he observed how the lord of Kitanosho acted with biased blind love toward his nephew, Menju could not help feeling uneasy about the future. At the very least, he felt that it was not right for Genba to be calling the commander-in-chief "uncle."

But Genba paid no attention to such matters as Menju's unhappy thoughts. He now walked directly into his uncle's headquarters, ignoring the other retainers there, and whispered to his uncle, "When you're finished, I have a private matter to discuss with you."

Katsuie quickly ended the conference. After the generals had all withdrawn, he leaned from his camp stool and spoke excitedly with his nephew. After giving a self-satisfied laugh, Genba silently showed Shogen's answer as though he knew it would give Katsuie great pleasure.

Katsuie was immensely pleased. The plot that he had conceived and asked Genba to put into effect was working. On that account alone, the happiness of having seen everything go according to plan was greater for him than for anyone. He, in particular, had the reputation for loving intrigue, and as he read Shogen's reply he was so happy that he was almost drooling.

The aim of the plot was to weaken the enemy from within. From Katsuie's point of view, the presence of men like Shogen and Ogane in Hideyoshi's army provided opportunities for hatching plot after plot.

As for Shogen, he believed that the victory would go to the Shibata. That belief was surprisingly blind. It is true that at a later date he, too, would be anguished and undoubtedly questioned by his own conscience. But the letter of consent had already been sent, and it was no longer a matter for deliberation. For better or worse, Shogen's betrayal was definitely set for the following morning, and he waited to invite the Shibata army into his fortress.

The twelfth day of the month, midnight. The bonfires were smoldering, and the only sound to be heard in the mist-shrouded mountain camp was the soughing of the pine trees.

"Open the gate!" someone called out in a hushed voice, knocking repeatedly on the wooden gate of the palisade.

The small fort on Motoyama had formerly been Shogen's headquarters, but Hideyoshi had replaced him with Kimura Hayato.

"Who is it?" the sentry asked, peering through the palisade.

A solitary figure was standing outside in the dark. "Call Commander Osaki," the figure said.

"First tell me who you are and where you've come from."

The man outside did not reply for a moment. A misty rain was falling, and the sky was the color of India ink. "That's something I can't tell you. I must speak with Osaki Uemon, here at the palisade. Just tell him that."

"Friend or foe?"

"Friend, of course! Do you think an enemy could have come up this far so easily? Are your guards that careless? If this were some enemy plot, would I be knocking at the gate?"

The man's explanation seemed reasonable. The guard nodded and went to fetch Osaki.

"What is it?" Osaki asked.

"Aree you Commander Osaki?"

"Yes, I am. What do you want?"

"My name is Nomura Shojiro, and I am a retainer of Lord Katsutoyo, presently in the service of Lord Shogen."

"What business do you have here in the middle of the night?"

"I have to speak to Lord Hayato at once. I know this must sound suspicious, but I have something of great importance that I must tell him immediately."

"Can't you tell me and let me relay the message?"

"No, I must speak with him in person. As a sign of my good faith, I'll entrust these to you," Nomura said, removing his swords and handing them through the palisade to Osaki.

Osaki realized Nomura was genuine and opened the gate, then led him to Hayato's quarters. It was a wartime camp, and there was really no difference in the security measures, night or day.

The place Nomura was led to was called the main citadel, but it was really just a hut, and Hayato's living quarters were little more than a board fence.

Hayato came in and quietly sat down. "What do you have to say?" he asked, looking directly at Nomura. Possibly because of the lamplight shining from the side, Hayato's face looked extremely pale.

"I believe you have been invited to attend a tea ceremony tomorrow morning at Lord Shogen's camp on Mount Shinmei."

A questioning look burned in Nomura's eyes, and the weird quiet of the night gave a faint shiver to the man's voice. Both Hayato and Osaki experienced an uncanny sensation.

"That's right," Hayato answered.

"Have you already agreed to attend, my lord?"