Taiko. Part 56

"General Baba, what do you think?" Yamagata asked, drawing his horse up next to his colleague. He seemed to be totally puzzled. Baba had his doubts as well and looked out toward the enemy's gate. There, burning in the distance, were the bonfires, both before and within the castle gate. And the iron doors were wide open. It was gateless, and yet there was a gate. The situation seemed to pose a disturbing question.

The water in the moat was black, the snow on the fully manned castle was white. Not a sound could be heard. If the men listened very carefully, they could hear the crackling sound of the firewood in the distance. And if they had concentrated both mind and ears, they might have heard the snores of Ieyasu, the defeated general, as he dreamed-the very heart of this gateless gate-inside the keep.

Yamagata said, "I think our pursuit was so fast and the enemy has become so confused that they've had no time to close the castle gate and are lying low. We should attack at once."

No, wait," Baba interrupted. He had a reputation as one of the cleverest tacticians in Shingen's army. A wise man who cultivates wisdom may sometimes drown in it. He explained to Yamagata why his plan was wrong.

To have secured the castle gates would have been the natural psychology of defeat in this case. But leaving the castle wide open and taking the time to build bonfires is proof of the man's fearlessness and composure. If you think about it, he's undoubtedly waiting for us to attack rashly. He's concentrating on this one castle and is fully confident of his victory. Our opponent is a young general, but he is Tokugawa Ieyasu. We shouldn't step carelessly, only to bring shame on the martial reputation of the Takeda and be laughed later."

They had pressed that far, but in the end, both generals pulled their men back.

Inside, when Ieyasu heard his attendant's voice penetrating his sleep, he leaped up with a start. "I'm not dead!" he shouted, and jumped for joy. He immediately sent troops in pursuit. As might be expected of them, Yamagata and Baba did not lose their heads in the confusion, but rather threw up a resistance, set fires in the neighborhood of Naguri, and executed several brilliant maneuvers.

The Tokugawa had suffered a grave defeat, but it might be said that they had shown their mettle. Not only that, but they had once again caused Shingen to abandon his march to the capital and left him with no other choice than to withdraw to Kai. Many men had been sacrificed. Compared with the four hundred men of the Takeda, the dead and wounded on the Tokugawa side numbered as many as eleven hundred eighty.

Funeral for the Living Red and white petals fluttered down from Gifu Castle on its high mountain peak, and fell on the roofs in the town below.

Year by year, the people's confidence in n.o.bunaga increased-a confidence that grew from the security of their lives. The laws were strict, but n.o.bunaga's words were not empty. The things he promised concerning the people's livelihood were always put into effect, and this was reflected in their wealth.

To think that a man Has but fifty years to live under heaven.

Surely this world Seems but a vain dream....

The people of the province knew the verses n.o.bunaga loved to chant when he drank. But he understood these words quite differently from the way the monks did-that the world was nothing more than a fleeting and impermanent dream. "Is there anything that will not decay?" was his favorite line, and every time he sang it, he raised the pitch of his voice. His view of life seemed to be contained in this one line. A man would not make the most of his life if he did not think deeply about it. n.o.bunaga knew this about life: In the end, we die. For a man of thirty-seven, the future would not be a long one. And for such a short time, his ambition was extraordinarily large. His ideals were limitless, and facing these ideals and overcoming the obstacles fulfilled him completely. Man, however, has an allotted span of life, and he could not help his feelings of regret.

"Ranmaru, beat the drum."

He was going to dance today again. Earlier that day, he had entertained a messenger from Ise. He continued to drink through the afternoon.

Ranmaru brought the drum from the next room. Instead of playing it, however, he delivered a message: "Lord Hideyoshi has just arrived."

At one time it had seemed that the Asai and Asakura were going to make their move after Mikatagahara, as they had begun to wriggle and squirm repeatedly. But after Shingen had retreated, they cowered inside their own provinces and began to strengthen the defenses.

Antic.i.p.ating peace, Hideyoshi had secretly left Yokoyama Castle and toured the area around the capital. None of the castle commanders anywhere, regardless of how chaotic the conditions of the country, remained locked up in their castles. Sometimes they would pretend to be gone but would really be there; at other times they would pretend to be there but would really be gone, for the way of a soldier lay in properly using the forms of truth and falsehood.

Of course, Hideyoshi had also traveled incognito on this trip, and quite likely that was also the reason he had arrived so suddenly at Gifu.

"Hideyoshi?" n.o.bunaga had him wait in another room, and soon came in and sat down. He was in an extraordinarily good mood.

Hideyoshi was dressed with extreme simplicity, looking no different from an ordinary traveler. In this attire he prostrated himself, but then looked up and laughed. "I'll bet you're surprised."

n.o.bunaga looked as though he didn't understand. "About what?" he asked.

"My sudden arrival."

"What kind of foolishness is this? I've known you were not in Yokoyama for the last two weeks."

"But you probably didn't expect me to show up here today."

n.o.bunaga laughed. "You think I'm blind, don't you? You probably got tired of playing around with the prost.i.tutes in the capital, came down the Omi Road as far as some man's house in Nagahama, secretly called Oyu, and came here after a rendezvous."

Hideyoshi mumbled a reply.

"You're the one who's probably surprised," n.o.bunaga said.

"I am surprised, my lord. You see everything."

"This mountain is high enough for me to look out over ten provinces at least. But there's someone who knows your behavior in even more detail than I do. Do you have any idea who that is?"

"You must have a spy trailing me."

"Your wife."

"You're joking! Aren't you a little intoxicated today, my lord?"

"I may be drunk, but I'm hardly mistaken about what I'm saying. Your wife may be living at Sunomata, but if you think she's far away, you're making a serious mistake."

"Oh, no. Well, I've come at a bad time. With your permission, I-"

"You can't be blamed for playing around," n.o.bunaga said, laughing. "There's nothing wrong with looking at the cherry blossoms from time to time. But why don't you call Nene, and the two of you get together?"

"Of course."

"It's been a while since you've seen her, hasn't it?"

"Has my wife been bothering you with letters or the like?"

"Don't worry. There hasn't been anything like that, but I sympathize. And not just with your wife. Every wife has to look after the home while her husband is away at war, so even if he has only a little bit of time, a man should show his wife before anyone else that he's all right."

"As you wish, but..."

"Do you refuse?"

"I do. There's been nothing untoward for a number of months, but my state of mind has not moved away from the battlefield by even a hair's breadth."

"Always the clever talker! Are you going to start wagging that tongue again? It's quite unnecessary."

"I'll retire, my lord. I'm rolling up my banners here."

Lord and retainer laughed together. After a while they started drinking and even sent Ranmaru away. Then the talk turned to a topic serious enough for them to lower their voices.

n.o.bunaga asked expectantly, "So how are things in the capital? I have messengers constantly going back and forth, but I want to hear what you have seen."

What Hideyoshi was about to say seemed to have to do with his expectations.

"Our seats are a little far apart. Either my lord or I should move a little closer for this."

"I'll move." n.o.bunaga took the sake flask and his cup and moved down from the seat of honor. "Close the sliding doors to the next room too," he ordered.

Hideyoshi sat down directly in front of n.o.bunaga and said, "The conditions are the same as ever. Except that, since Shingen failed to reach the capital, the shogun seems to have become more despondent. His schemes have become openly hostile to you, my lord."

"Well, I can imagine. After all, Shingen got as far as Mikatagahara, and then the shogun heard that he had withdrawn."

"Shogun Yoshiaki is a crafty politician. He fidgets about, bestowing favors on the people, and indirectly makes them fear you. He's made good propaganda out of the burning of Mount Hiei, and seems to be inciting other religious groups to rebellion."

"Not a pleasant set of circ.u.mstances."

"But it's not worth worrying about. The warrior-monks have seen what happened to Mount Hiei, and it has cooled their courage considerably."

"Hosokawa is in the capital. Did you see him?"

"Lord Hosokawa has fallen out of favor with the shogun and has confined himself to his country estate."

"He was driven away by Yoshiaki?" n.o.bunaga asked.

"It seems that Lord Hosokawa thought that allying with you would be the best way to preserve the shogunate. He risked his own reputation and advised Lord Yoshiaki several times."

"It's apparent that Yoshiaki won't listen to anyone."

"More than that, he's taking a rather extravagant view of the remaining powers of the shogunate. In a period of transition, a cataclysm separates past and future. Almost all of those who perish are those who, because of their blind attachment to the past, fail to realize that the world has changed."

"Are we living through such a cataclysm?"

"In fact a very dramatic event has just occurred. Word was just sent to me, but-"

"What kind of dramatic event?"

"Well! This has still not leaked out to the world, but since it was heard by the keen ears of my agent Watanabe Tenzo, I think that it can perhaps be believed."

"What is it?"

"It's incredible, but the guiding star of Kai may have finally set."

"What! Shingen?"

'During the Second Month, he attacked Mikawa, and one night while he was laying siege to Noda Castle, he was shot. This is what Tenzo heard."

For a moment, n.o.bunaga's eyes widened and he looked straight at Hideyoshi's face. If it was true that Shingen was dead, the course of the nation was going to change very quickly. n.o.bunaga felt as though the tiger at his back had suddenly disappeared, and he was shocked. He wanted to believe this story, but at the same time he could not. As soon as heard the news, he felt an incredible surge of relief, and an indescribable joy welled up inside of him.

"If this is true, a very gifted general has left this world," n.o.bunaga said. "And from now on history has been entrusted into our hands." His expression was not nearly as complex as Hideyoshi's. In fact, he looked as though he had just been served the main course at a meal.

"He was shot, but I still have no idea whether he died immediately, what were the extent of his wounds, or where he was. .h.i.t. But I've heard that when they suddenly lifted the siege of Noda Castle and withdrew into Kai, they did not display the usual Takeda fighting spirit."

"I suspect not. But it doesn't matter how fierce the Kai samurai are, if they have lost Shingen."

"I received this report secretly from Tenzo on my way here, so I immediately sent him back to Kai to get confirmation."

"Has no one heard this yet in the other provinces?"

"There are no indications that anyone has. The Takeda clan will probably keep it a secret, and will make it appear that Shingen is in good health. So if some policy is promulgated in Shingen's name, the chances are nine out of ten that Shingen is dead, or at least in a serious condition."

n.o.bunaga nodded thoughtfully. He seemed to want to confirm this story. Suddenly he took the cup of cold sake, and sighed. To think that a man has but fifty years.... But he did not feel like dancing. Reflecting on another man's death moved him far more than reflecting on his own.

"When will Tenzo return?"

"He should be back within three days."

"To Yokoyama Castle?"

"No, I told him to come straight here."

"Well then, stay here until then."

"I had planned on doing that, but if I could, I'd like to wait for your orders at an inn in the castle town."

"Why?"

"No particular reason."

"Well, how about staying in the castle? Keep me company for a while."

"Well..."

"What a dullard! Do you feel constrained to be at my side?"

"No, the truth is..."

"The truth is what?"

"I left a... companion in that inn in the castle town, and since I imagined it would be lonely there, I promised I would go back tonight."

"Is this companion a woman?" n.o.bunaga was dumbfounded. The emotions that the report of Shingen's death aroused in him were so far removed from Hideyoshi's worries.

"Go to the inn tonight, but come back to the castle tomorrow. You can bring your 'companion' with you." These were n.o.bunaga's last words to him as he turned to go.

He had hit the nail right on the head, Hideyoshi thought on his way back to the inn. He felt as though he had been reprimanded, but this was, again, n.o.bunaga's grace. He was wrapping the head of the nail in an artistic decoration without the nail even noticing. The following day he went up to the castle with Oyu, but it did not cause him any embarra.s.sment.

n.o.bunaga had moved to a different room and, unlike the day before, was not surrounded by the smell of sake. Sitting in front of Hideyoshi and Oyu, he looked down at them from a dais.

"Aren't you Takenaka Hanbei's sister?" he asked familiarly.

This was the first time Oyu had met n.o.bunaga, and here she was with Hideyoshi. She hid her face and would have liked to have sunk through the floor, but she answered with a faint voice that was a thing of beauty.

"I am honored to make your acquaintance, my lord. You have also favored my other brother, Shigeharu."

n.o.bunaga gazed at her, impressed. He had felt like teasing Hideyoshi a little, but now he felt guilty and became serious.

"Has Hanbei's health improved?"