Taiko. Part 72

"How do I win over Ukon?" Hideyoshi asked him eagerly, and Hanbei did not disapoint him.

"Takayama Ukon is an enthusiastic follower of Christianity. If you give him condiions permitting the propagation of his faith, he'll leave Murashige without a doubt."

"Yes, that's clear," Hideyoshi said in admiration. If he could get Ukon to convince Sebei, it would kill two birds with one stone. He stopped his questions. Hanbei appeared to be tired, too. Hideyoshi got up to leave.

"Wait just a moment," Hanbei requested. He got up and went from the room, possibly toward the kitchen.

Hideyoshi remembered that he was hungry. His attendants must have finished eating their lunches by this time. But before he even thought about returning to the temple's guest quarters and having some rice, a boy, who seemed to be Hanbei's attendant, brought in two trays, one bearing a sake container.

"What happened to Hanbei? Did he get tired after our long conversation?"

"No, my lord. He went to the kitchen a little while ago and prepared the vegetables for your meal himself. He's cooking the rice right now, so he'll be in as soon as he's done."

"What? Hanbei's cooking for me?"

"Yes, my lord."

Hideyoshi took a bite of taro-it was still hot-and the tears once again came to his eyes. The taste of the vegetable seemed to be not only on his tongue but filling his entire body. He felt that the taste was almost too good for someone like him. Although Hanbei was a retainer, he had taught Hideyoshi all of the secret principles of ancient Chinese miltary lore. The things that Hideyoshi had learned while sitting with him every day were not ordinary things: the governing of the people during times of peace and the necessity of self-discipline.

"He shouldn't be doing that." Suddenly, Hideyoshi put down his cup and, leaving the page who had been serving him, went to the kitchen, where Hanbei was cooking rice.

Hideyoshi took him by the hand. "Hanbei, this is too much. Won't you come sit and talk with me for a while instead?"

He led Hanbei back to the room and made him take a cup of sake but because of his illness, Hanbei could do no more than touch it to his lips. The two of them then ate together. It had been a long time since lord and retainer had enjoyed the pleasure of a meal in each other's company.

"It's time to go. But I've been invigorated. Now I can go fight. Hanbei, please take good care of yourself."

When Hideyoshi left the Nanzen Temple, the day had already begun to end, and the sky over the capital was turning crimson.

It was quiet, without even the report of a single firearm-so quiet that one might doubt it was a battlefield, so quiet that the sound of a praying mantis sliding through the dry gra.s.s rustled in the ear. It was mid-autumn in the western provinces. The maples had been turning red everywhere on the peaks for the last two or three days, and their redness burned in Hideyoshi's eyes.

Hideyoshi was back at the camp at Mount Hirai. He was seated across from Kanbei, underneath the pine on the hill from which they had viewed the moon some time before. Having talked over a number of things, they had come to an important conclusion.

"Well, you'll go for me, then?"

"I'll be happy to undertake this mission. Whether I succeed is up to heaven."

"I'm counting on you."

"I will do my best, and leave the rest to providence. My going there is just the last chance. If I don't come back alive, you know what follows."

"Nothing but force."

They stood up. The high-pitched cry of the bulbul could be heard from across the valley to the west. The red leaves in that direction were stunning. The two men silently descended the hill and walked toward the camp. The specter of death-and imminent parting-filled the atmosphere of the peaceful afternoon and lay quietly in the thoughts of these two good friends.

"Kanbei." Hideyoshi looked back as he went down the narrow, sloping path. The possibility that his friend would not be coming back again struck him deeply, and he thought Kanbei might have some last things to say. "Is there anything else?"

"No."

"Nothing for Himeji Castle?"

"No."

"Have you got a message for your father?"

"Just explain to him why I'm going on this mission."

"Very well."

The air had become clear, and it was possible to see the enemy castle at Miki far in the distance. The road leading to the castle had been cut off since summer, so it was easy to imagine the hunger and thirst inside. Nevertheless, as might be expected of the garrison of Harima's most spirited general and bravest soldiers, it continued throughout the siege to manifest a martial spirit as biting as the autumn frost.

The besieged enemy had been driven to make sallies against the surrounding Oda troops. Hideyoshi, however, gave his men strict orders not to give in to their provocations, and sharply cautioned them against impulsive action.

Again, minute care was taken to allow no news of the external situation to reach the castle. If the men inside the castle heard that Araki Murashige had revolted against n.o.bunaga, it would strengthen their morale. After all, Murashige's revolt did not simply cause dismay in Azuchi; it threatened the whole western campaign. As a matter of fact, as soon as Odera Masamoto, the lord of Gochaku Castle, became aware of Murashige's revolt, he made a clear declaration separating himself from n.o.bunaga and even went one night to the enemy's camp.

'The western provinces should not just be given over into the hands of the invader,' Odera told them. "We should make the Mori clan our rallying point, reorganize our forces, and strike down these outsiders."

Odera Masamoto was Kanbei's father's lord and, therefore, Kanbei's as well. Kanbei therefore, was placed in a dilemma: on the one hand were n.o.bunaga and Hideyoshi, on the other were his father and his overlord.

Araki Murashige was a man known for his courage, but he was also one who bragged about it. Sensitivity and a clear understanding of the times were far beyond him. He was at the age described by Confucius as "free from vacillation," that is, he was about forty, the age when a man should be mature, but it seemed that Murashige's character had not changed much from what it had been ten years before. Lacking the qualities of thoughtfulness and refinement that he should naturally have possessed, even though he was the lord of a castle he had not advanced a single step from what he was formerly: a fearsome samurai warrior.

It could be said that in attaching him to Hideyoshi as second-in-command, n.o.bunaga had made up for Hideyoshi's deficiencies. Murashige, however, did not think of himself in that way. He was always very free with his advice, yet neither Hideyoshi nor n.o.butada ever employed his ideas.

He found Hideyoshi annoying. But his f.e.c.kless thoughts aside, he never showed his antipathy when he met Hideyoshi face to face.

From time to time he would expose his resentment and even laugh out loud before his own retainers. There are some men in this world you can't offend, no matter how angry you get, and to Murashige, Hideyoshi was one of them. At the time of the attack on Kozuki Castle, Murashige had been on the front lines. Yet, when the time was right for the battle and Hideyoshi had given him the order to attack, he had sat there with folded arms and would not budge.

"Why didn't you go out and fight?" Hideyoshi had reprimanded him later.

"I don't partic.i.p.ate in a battle I'm not interested in," Murashige had replied without flinching.

Since Hideyoshi had laughed good-naturedly at the time, Murashige had forced a smile too. The matter was closed, but the rumors that pa.s.sed among the generals in camp were extremely uncomplimentary.

Mitsuhide censured Murashige's conduct heavily. Murashige held in contempt generals like Akechi Mitsuhide and Hosokawa Fujitaka, who had the scent of cultured men. He liked to characterize such men as effeminate. This judgment was based on his abhorrence of the poetry parties and tea ceremonies they held in camp. The only thing that did impress Murashige was that Hideyoshi appeared not to have made a report of his behavior to either n.o.bunaga or n.o.butada.

Murashige looked down on Hideyoshi as a warrior who was more soft-hearted than he, and yet he figured Hideyoshi a hard man to handle precisely because of this. At any rate, the people who really understood his att.i.tude while he was in the field were his enemies, the Mori. To them it appeared that Murashige held some grievances, and that if they could talk to him, there was a good possibility they could get him to change sides.

The fact that the secret messengers from both the Mori and the Honganji were able to avoid detection and repeatedly slip in and out of his camp, and even Itami Castle, would indicate that they were not unwelcomed guests. The enemy had already been encouraged by Murashige, and his actions had been a wordless invitation to them.

When a man without real substance or resourcefulness begins to play at being clever, he is playing with fire. His advisers cautioned their lord any number of times that such a plot could never succeed, but Murashige turned a deaf ear.

"Don't talk foolishness! Especially when the Mori clan has sent me a written pledge."

Having such absolute faith in a written pledge, he very quickly and clearly demonstrated his spirit of rebellion toward n.o.bunaga. How highly could a written pledge from the Mori-who had been enemies until yesterday-be regarded in these chaotic times, when men tossed aside a pledge between lord and retainer like a pair of worn-out sandals? Murashige neither thought that far ahead nor felt such a large contradiction to be a contradiction at all.

"He's a fool-an honest man with whom it isn't worth getting angry," Hideyoshi had said to n.o.bunaga to calm him down, and it was probably the best thing he could have said at the time.

n.o.bunaga, however, could not look at the situation lightly, and cautioned, "But he's a strong man."

Added to this were the important questions of how the revolt would affect the other generals under his command and what its psychological influence might be. For these reasons, n.o.bunaga had tried everything, including sending Akechi Mitsuhide to pacify Murashige.

In the end, however, Murashige responded with all the more suspicion, and in the meanwhile strengthened his preparations for war, saying, "I've already demonstrated my hostility, so if I were to fall for n.o.bunaga's sweet words and respond to Azuchi's summons, I have no doubt that I would be murdered or thrown into prison."

n.o.bunaga was outraged. Finally, the decision to fight Murashige was announced, and on the ninth day of the Eleventh Month, n.o.bunaga himself led a force as far as Yamazaki. The army of Azuchi was divided into three parts. The first army, composed of the forces of Takigawa Kazumasu, Akechi Mitsuhide, and Niwa Nagahide, surrounded Ibaragi Castle; the second, made up of the forces under Fuwa, Maeda, Sa.s.sa, and Kanamori, besieged Takatsuki Castle.

n.o.bunaga's headquarters was at Mount Amano. And, while his resplendent line-up was unfolding itself, he still had a faint hope of subjugating the rebellious army without bloodshed. That hope was tied to Hideyoshi, who had now returned to Harima and from whom a message had just arrived.

"I have one more idea," Hideyoshi had written. Behind his words was Hideyoshi's friendship for the man as well as his feeling that Murashige's valor was too valuable to waste, and he appealed earnestly to n.o.bunaga to wait just a little longer. Hideyoshi's right-hand man, Kuroda Kanbei, had suddenly left the camp at Mount Hirai one night.

The following day, Kanbei hurried to Gochaku Castle, where he met with Odera Masamoto.

There is a rumor that you are supporting Lord Murashige's revolt, and that this castle has turned it back on the Oda clan." He spoke simply and directly, and first appealed to the man heart-to-heart.

A thin smile floated to Masamoto's lips as he listened. In terms of years, Kanbei was the age of his own son; and even in status, he was nothing more than the son of a senior retainer. Thus, his answer was, not surprisingly, extremely arrogant.

"Kanbei, you appear to be serious, but think for a moment. Since this clan became n.o.bunaga's ally, what have we gotten in return? Nothing."

"I don't think it's just a problem of profit and loss anymore."

"Well then, what is it?"

"It's a matter of loyalty. You are the head of a well-known clan, and have been an ally of the Oda in Harima. Suddenly to join Araki Murashige's revolt and betray your former allies would be a blow to the ideal of loyalty."

"What are you saying?" Masamoto asked. He treated Kanbei as an inexperienced negotiator, and the more fervent Kanbei became, the more coolly Masamoto behaved toward him.

"My reliance on n.o.bunaga was never a matter of loyalty," he said. "You and your father seem to think that the future of this country is in n.o.bunaga's hands; and when he took the capital, it was expedient to collude with him. At least that's the way the situation was presented to me, and even I was persuaded. But the truth is that there are many dangers facing n.o.bunaga from now on. Think of it as looking at a large ship out at sea. From the sh.o.r.e it looks safe; you think that if you boarded it, you would have no fear of sailing through turbulent seas. But then you actually get on board and tie your own fate to that of the ship. Now that you've put yourself into its keeping, instead of peace of mind, you find yourself without confidence. Every time you're battered by the waves, you feel uneasy and have doubts about the boat's endurance. This is human nature."

Kanbei unconsciously slapped his knee. "And once you've gotten on board, you can't disembark halfway through the trip."

"Why not? If you see that the boat's not going to make it through the crush of the waves, there may be no other way to save your life than to abandon ship and swim for sh.o.r.e before the ship wrecks. Sometimes you have to close your eyes to your feelings."

"That's shameful thinking, my lord. When the weather clears and the boat that seemed so much in danger raises its sails and finally arrives in port, it is exactly the man who shuddered during a gale, doubted the boat he'd entrusted himself to, betrayed his fellow travelers, and jumped overboard in confusion into the sea, who will be seen as a laughable fool."

"I'm no match for you when it comes to words," Masamoto laughed. "The truth is that you're eloquent beyond eloquence. First you said that when n.o.bunaga turned his hand to the west, he would quickly sweep over it. But the forces sent with Hideyoshi number a mere five or six thousand. And even though Lord n.o.butada and other generals have frequently come to his aid, there's uneasiness in the capital, and it appears as though the army may not be here for very long. Then I am simply used as Hideyoshi's vanguard and am requisitioned for soldiers, horses, and provisions, but it will amount to nothing more than positioning me as a barrier between the Oda and their enemies. Consider the Oda clan's prospects judging simply by the way Araki Murashige-who was promoted to such a responsible post by n.o.bunaga-completely turned around the situation in the capital when he allied himself with the Mori clan! The reason I left the Oda clan with Murashige should be clear."

"What I've been listening to is a truly wretched plan. I suspect you're going to regret it soon."

"You're still young. You're strong in battle, but not in worldly affairs."

"My lord, I'm begging you to change your mind."

"That's not going to happen. I've made it clear to my retainers that I've made promise to Murashige and taken a stand to ally myself with the Mori."

"But if you considered your decision once more..."

"Before you say any more, talk to Araki Murashige. If he rethinks his defection, I will too."

Adult and child. The difference between the two was not just sophistry. It might be said that even a man like Kanbei, who was considered unique in the west for his talents and progressive ideas, could not have held his own against an opponent like Odera Masamoto, regardless of right or wrong.

Masamoto spoke once more to emphasize his point. "At any rate, take this with you and go to Itami. Then bring me an answer quickly. When I've heard Lord Murashige's thoughts, I'll give you a definite answer."

Masamoto wrote a note to Araki Murashige. Kanbei put it in his kimono and hurried off to Itami. The situation was pressing, and his own actions could have great consequences. As he approached Itami Castle, he saw that the soldiers were digging trenches and building a palisade.

Seemingly oblivious of the fact that he was quickly surrounded by a ring of spears, said, as if he had nothing to fear, "I'm Kuroda Kanbei from Himeji Castle. I'm an ally neither of Lord n.o.bunaga nor of Lord Murashige. I've come alone for an urgent private talk with Lord Murashige." And he pushed his way through.

He pa.s.sed through several fortified gates, finally entered the castle, and quickly met Murashige. His first impression upon looking at Murashige's face was that the man was not as strong-willed as he had expected. Murashige's countenance was not very impresssive. Kanbei perceived his opponent's lack of spirit and self-confidence and wondered why he had chosen to fight n.o.bunaga, who was considered the most outstanding man of his generation.

"Well, it's been a long time!" Murashige said desultorily. It sounded almost like flattery. Kanbei guessed that for a fierce general like Murashige to treat him in this way meant that he was still somewhat unsure of himself.

Kanbei responded with small talk, smiling fixedly at Murashige. For his part, Murashige was unable to conceal his innate honesty, and looked extraordinarily embarra.s.sed under Kanbei's gaze.

Murashige felt his face turn red. "What is your business?" he asked.

"I've heard rumors."

"About my raising an army?"

"You've gotten yourself into a mess."

'What is everyone saying?"

"Some are saying good things, some bad."

"I suppose opinions are divided. But people should wait until the fighting's over to decide who was right and who was wrong. A man's reputation is never settled until after his death."

"Have you considered what will happen after you die?"

"Of course."

"If that's so, then I'm sure you know that the consequences of your decision are irrevocable."

"Why is that?"

"The bad name you'll get from turning against a lord from whom you've received so many favors won't die out for generations."

Murashige fell silent. The throbbing of his temples showed that he was full of emotion, but he did not have the eloquence for a refutation.

"The sake is ready," a retainer announced.

Murashige looked relieved. He stood up. "Kanbei, come inside. It has been a long time, everything else aside. Let's have a drink together," he suggested.

Murashige showed himself a generous host. A banquet had been prepared in the main citadel. The two men naturally avoided any argument as they drank sake, and Murashige's expression relaxed considerably. At some point, however, Kanbei broached the subject again.

"How about it, Murashige? Why don't you stop this thing before it goes too far?"

"Before what goes too far?"