"Prepare a mat at a spot on Mount Hirai with a commanding view. We're going to have a moon-viewing party tonight. Now don't fight among yourselves. This is a party, not a battle."

"Yes, my lord!"

"Toranosuke."

"My lord?"

"Ask Hanbei to join me if he feels well enough for moon viewing."

Two of the pages quickly returned and announced that they had prepared the mat. They had chosen a place near the summit of Mount Hirai, a short climb from the camp.

"A superb view, indeed," Hideyoshi commented. Then he once again turned to the pages and said, "Go ask Kanbei too. It would be a shame if he didn't see this moon." And he sent a page running to Kanbei's tent.

The moon-viewing platform had been set up under a huge pine tree. There was cold sake in a crane-necked flask, and food on a square cypress-wood tray. Although the setting was hardly luxurious, it was quite sufficient for a brief respite during a military campaign-especially with the shining moon overhead. The three men sat on the mat in a line, with Hideyoshi in the center and Hanbei and Kanbei on either side.

It was the same moon that the three men gazed up at, but it evoked completely different thoughts in each of them. Hideyoshi thought about the fields of Nakamura; Hanbei remembered the magical moon over Mount Bodai; and only Kanbei thought about the days ahead.

"Are you cold, Hanbei?" Kanbei asked his friend, and Hideyoshi, perhaps from sudden concern, also turned and looked at Hanbei.

"No, I'm fine." Hanbei shook his head; but just at that moment his face looked paler than the moon.

This talented man has frail health, Hideyoshi sighed without cheer. He worried about Hanbei's health far more than Hanbei himself did.

Once Hanbei had vomited blood while riding at Nagahama, and he had often been ill during the northern campaign. When they had started out this time, Hideyoshi had tried to stop his friend from coming, protesting that he was overstraining himself.

"What are you talking about?" Hanbei had replied lightly, and joined him in the field anyway.

It was rea.s.suring to Hideyoshi to have Hanbei at his side. He was both a visible and an invisible strength-the relationship was one of lord and retainer, but in his heart Hideyoshi looked up to Hanbei as a teacher. Now, especially, he was faced with the difficult task of the western campaign, the war was dragging on, and many of his fellow generals were envious of him. He was approaching the steepest climb of life, and his reliance on Hanbei was all the more critical.

But Hanbei had already fallen ill twice since they had entered the western provinces. Hideyoshi had been so worried that he had ordered Hanbei to see a doctor in Kyoto. Hanbei, however, had quickly returned.

"I've been ill since my birth, so I'm used to infirmity. Medical treatment would be useless in my case. A warrior's life is on the battlefield." With that, he worked at staff headquarters as diligently as before, without the least sign of fatigue. His weak const.i.tution, however, was a grim fact, and there was no way to beat the disease, regardless of how strong his spirit might be.

Heavy rain had poured down on them when the army moved from Tajima. Possibly because of the excesses of that trip, Hanbei had pleaded ill health and did not show his face to Hideyoshi for two days after they set up camp at Mount Hirai. It was normal for Hanbei not to appear before Hideyoshi on days when he was very ill; he very likely did not want to give his lord cause for concern. But because Hanbei had looked fit during the past few days, Hideyoshi had thought they could sit together under the moon and talk as they had not been able to for a long time. But it was not just the light of the moon: as Hideyoshi had feared, there was something not quite right in Hanbei's complexion.

When he sensed Hideyoshi's and Kanbei's concern, Hanbei purposely steered the conversation in another direction.

"Kanbei, according to the news I received yesterday from a retainer in my home province, your son, Shojumaru, is quite healthy and has finally gotten used to his new surroundings."

"Because Shojumaru is in your home province, Hanbei, I have no worries. I hardly ever think about it."

The two of them spoke about Kanbei's son for a little while. Hideyoshi, who still had no children of his own, could not help feeling a little envious as he listened to this talk between fathers. Shojumaru was Kanbei's heir, but when Kanbei had realized what the future held, he had entrusted his son to n.o.bunaga as a pledge of good faith.

The young hostage had been put into of Hanbei's care, who had sent him to his castle in Fuwa and was raising him as though he were his own son. Thus, with Hideyoshi as the linchpin of their relationship, Kanbei and Hanbei were also bound by ties of friendship. And while they were rivals as generals, there was not the least bit of jealousy between them. The saying that "two great men cannot stand side by side" was hardly applicable in Hideyoshi's field headquarters.

Looking at the moon, drinking sake, and talking about the great men of past and present, and the rise and fall of provinces and clans, it seemed that Hanbei managed to forget his illness.

Kanbei, however, returned to the subject. "Even if a man leads a great army in the morning, he doesn't know whether he'll be alive in the evening. But if you hold some great ambition-no matter how great a man you are-you must live a long time to bring it to fruition. There have been many glorious heroes and loyal retainers who left their names to eternity and whose lives were short, but what if they had lived a long time? It's only natural to feel regret about the shortness of life. The destruction that goes with pushing aside the old and striking at evil is not the only work of a great man. His work is not accomplished until he has rebuilt the nation."

Hideyoshi nodded vigorously. He then said to the silent Hanbei, "That's why we must cherish our lives. I'd like you to take care of your health for those reasons, too, Hanbei."

"I feel the same way," Kanbei added. "Rather than push yourself to excess, why don't you retire to a temple in Kyoto, find a good doctor, and take care of yourself? I suggest this as a friend, and I think you could say that it would be an act of loyalty to give our lord peace of mind."

Hanbei listened, quite overcome by grat.i.tude toward his two friends. "I'll do as you say, and go to Kyoto for a while. But right now we're laying our plans, so I'd like to leave after I see them completed."

Hideyoshi nodded. Thus far he had based his strategy on Hanbei's suggestions, but he still had not seen it succeed. "Are you worried about Akashi Kagechika?" Hideyoshi asked.

"Exactly," Hanbei said, nodding. "If you'll give me five or six days before my convalescent leave, I'll go to Mount Hachiman and meet Akashi Kagechika. I'll try to persuade him to join our side. Do I have your permission?"

"Of course, it would be a great achievement. But what if something happens? You must see that the odds of running into trouble are about eight or nine out of ten. What then?"

"I will only die," Hanbei answered without blinking. From the way he spoke, it was clearly no braggart's bluff.

After Miki Castle fell, Hideyoshi's next enemy would be Akashi Kagechika. But for the time being, Hideyoshi was unable to take Miki Castle. He was not, however, obsessed with the siege. Miki Castle was only one part of the campaign to subdue the whole of the west. So he had little choice but to accept Hanbei's plan to subvert Akashi.

"Will you go, then?" Hideyoshi asked.

"I will."

Hideyoshi was still hesitating, despite Hanbei's spirited resolve. a.s.suming Hanbei did get past the many dangers on the road and met with Akashi, if the negotiations ended in disagreement, it could not be taken for granted that the enemy would let him return alive. Neither could Hideyoshi be sure that Hanbei would want to return empty-handed. Was Hanbei's true motive to die? Whether he died from disease or was killed by the enemy, he could only die once.

At this point, Kanbei put forward another plan. He had several acquaintances among the retainers of Ukita Naoie. While Hanbei approached the Akashi clan, he himself could go to the senior retainers of the Ukita clan.

When he heard this idea, Hideyoshi intuitively felt rea.s.sured. It might be possible to subvert the Ukita clan. Since the invasion of the western provinces had begun, the Ukita had appeared to be somewhat lukewarm, waiting to see which side had the advantage. Ukita Naoie had appealed to the Mori for help, but if he could be persuaded that the future was n.o.bunaga's...More than that, the Ukita's alliance with the Mori might prove worthless if they received no military support. It could spell the demise of the Ukita clan. The Ukita had learned this after the withdrawal of the Mori army once it had recaptured Kozuki Castle.

"If the Ukita come to an agreement with us, Akashi Kagechika will have no alternative but to come to terms too," Hideyoshi observed. "And if Kagechika submitted to us the Ukita would immediately sue for peace. To carry on both negotiations at the same time is an excellent idea."

The following day, Hanbei publicly requested leave owing to illness, and announced that he would be going to Kyoto for convalescence. Under this pretense, he left the camp at Mount Hirai, accompanied by only two or three attendants. After a few days, Kanbei also left the camp.

Hanbei first called on Kagechika's younger brother, Akashi Kanjiro. He was not a friend of Kanjiro's, but he had met him twice at the Nanzen Temple in Kyoto, where they had both practiced Zen meditation. Kanjiro was attracted to Zen. Hanbei reasoned that if he appealed to him from the standpoint of the Way, they would come to a quick understanding. Then he could go on to talk to his older brother, Kagechika.

Until they met him, both Akashi Kanjiro and his elder brother, Kagechika, had waited, wondering what kind of policy Hanbei would advocate and how eloquent he would be. He was, after all, both Hideyoshi's teacher and a renowned military tactician But when they did speak to him, contrary to their expectations they found him to be a plainspoken man who seemed devoid of the least bit of showmanship or guile.

Hanbei's conviction and sincerity were so different from the stratagems usually employed during negotiations between samurai clans that the Akashi were convinced. They cut their ties to the Ukita clan. Only when his mission was accomplished did Hanbei finally ask for a short period of leave. This time he truly did put aside his military responsibilities and go to Kyoto to convalesce.

Hideyoshi spoke with him upon his departure and asked him to visit n.o.bunaga. He was to inform n.o.bunaga that they had successfully persuaded Akashi Kagechika to join the Oda alliance.

When he learned the news, n.o.bunaga was overjoyed. "What? You took Mount Hachiman without losing a drop of blood? You did well!" The Oda forces that had occupied the entirety of Harima had now entered Bizen for the first time. It was a first step of great significance.

"You look as though you've lost weight. Take good care to recuperate," n.o.bunaga said, sympathizing with Hanbei's ill health, and in appreciation for his meritorious deed, he rewarded him with twenty pieces of silver.

To Hideyoshi he wrote: You have used uncommon wisdom in this situation. I'll hear the details when we meet in person, but for the present, here is a token of my grat.i.tude.

And he sent him one hundred gold pieces. When n.o.bunaga was happy, he was happy to excess. Taking his vermilion seal in hand, he appointed Hideyoshi military governor of Harima.

The long campaign at Mount Hirai, with the extended siege of Miki Castle, had reached a stalemate. But with the defection of the Akashi to their side, the Oda were gradually succeeding in their maneuvers. However, as might be expected of a clan of such distinction, the Ukita were not as easily influenced by negotiations, even though Kanbei used every bit of his ac.u.men in dealing with them. Holding the provinces of Bizen and Mimasaka, the Ukita were caught between the Oda and the Mori. Thus it was not an overstatement to say that the future of the western provinces depended entirely on their attiitude.

Ukita Naoie followed the advice of four senior retainers: Osafune Kii, Togawa Higo, Oka Echizen, and Hanabusa Sukebei. Among them, Hanabusa had a slight connection with Kuroda Kanbei. And it was to Hanabusa that Kanbei first addressed himself. Kanbei talked all night, discussing the present and future of the country. He spoke of n.o.bunaga's aspirations and of Hideyoshi's character, and succeeded in winning over Hanabusa.

Hanabusa then persuaded Togawa Higo to join them, and having won over these two men, Kanbei was able to meet with Ukita Naoie.

After hearing their arguments, Naoie said, "We must consider the fact that a great national force is rising in the east. If we are attacked by Lord n.o.bunaga and Lord Hideyoshi, the entire Ukita clan will perish to defend the Mori. To save the lives of thousands of soldiers and benefit the nation, my own three sons would gladly meet their deaths as hostages in enemy territory. If I'm able to protect this domain and save thousands of lives, my prayers will be fulfilled."

These words from Naoie ended the discussion among his retainers. The conference was concluded, and a letter pledging the cooperation of the Ukita clan was given to Hikoemon, who delivered it to Mount Hirai. Thus, Hideyoshi won a victory to the rear of his army without expending a single arrow. The two provinces of Bizen and Mimasaka bloodlessly became allies of the Oda.

Hideyoshi naturally wanted to inform his lord of this happy event as quickly as he could, but a letter might be dangerous, he thought. This was a matter of the greatest secrecy: until the right opportunity presented itself, it would be necessary to conceal the alliance from the Mori clan.

He sent Kanbei to Kyoto to inform n.o.bunaga.

Kanbei immediately set off for the capital. When he arrived, he had an audience with n.o.bunaga.

As he listened to Kanbei's report, n.o.bunaga seemed to become extraordinarily displeased. Previously, when Takenaka Hanbei had come to Nijo Palace and had reported on the submission of the Akashi, n.o.bunaga had been overjoyed and had praised him. This time, however, his reaction was completely different.

"On whose orders did you do this? If it was on Hideyoshi's, he is going to get a grilling! For him to enter into an agreement with the two provinces of Bizen and Mimasaka at all is the worst form of audacity. Go back and tell that to Hideyoshi!" Then, as though this blunt rebuke were not enough, he continued, "According to Hideyoshi's letter, he'll be coming to Azuchi in a few days with Ukita Naoie. You tell him that I won't see Naoie even if he does come. In fact, I won't even see Hideyoshi!"

He was so angry that even Kanbei could not deal with him. Having come in vain, Kanbei returned to Harima nursing feelings of discontent.

Even though he felt ashamed to tell Hideyoshi exactly what had happened in view of all the hardships Hideyoshi had been through, he could hardly keep the matter secret. When Kanbei looked surrept.i.tiously at Hideyoshi's face, he could see a forced smile appear on his haggard cheeks.

"Yes, I understand," Hideyoshi said. "He got angry because I made an unnecessary alliance on my own authority." He didn't seem to be as discouraged as Kanbei. "I imagine Lord n.o.bunaga wanted us to destroy the Ukita so that he could divide their lands among his retainers." Then, trying to console the downcast Kanbei, he said "It's a real battle when things don't go as planned. The plans you thought through last night change in the morning, and the schemes you have in the morning change by the afternoon."

Kanbei, for his part, was suddenly aware that his life was in this man's hands. Deep in his heart, he felt that he would not even begrudge dying for Hideyoshi.

Hideyoshi had read n.o.bunaga's heart. If he truly knew how to serve n.o.bunaga, he obviously understood his way of thinking. Nevertheless, Kanbei now fully understood that the present confidence and status that Hideyoshi enjoyed had been won through twenty years of service with n.o.bunaga.

"Well then, does this mean that you went ahead with the alliance with the Ukita even though you knew it would be against Lord n.o.bunaga's will?" Kanbei asked.

"Considering Lord n.o.bunaga's ambitions, there was no doubt he was going to be angry. When Takenaka Hanbei reported the submission of Akashi Kagechika, His Lordship was so happy that he rewarded both Hanbei and me excessively. Certainly he saw that the submission of the Akashi clan would ease the attack on the Ukita, and a successful attack would have allowed him to divide up the Ukita province and offer it as rewards. But now that I have made the Ukita submit to us, he cannot very well grab their lands, can he?"

"When you explain it that way, I can understand Lord n.o.bunaga's feelings. But he was so angry that you're not easily going to get a chance to talk frankly with him. He said that if Ukita Naoie comes to Azuchi, or even if you come to intercede for him, he won't give an audience to either one of you."

"I'll have to call on him, regardless of how angry he is. There are ways of avoiding a row when a husband and wife are angry with each other, but it's not good to avoid the anger of one's lord. Nothing is going to make him feel better than my going to apologize, even if I get a beating or he yells at me while I lie prostrate at his feet, looking foolish."

The written pledge procured from Ukita Naoie was in Hideyoshi's hands, but Hideyoshi was only the commander of an expeditionary army. If the treaty did not meet with n.o.bunaga's approval, it would be worthless.

Moreover, as a matter of formality, etiquette demanded that Ukita Naoie go to Azuchi, pay obeisance to n.o.bunaga, and ask his further orders. On the date they had prearranged, Hideyoshi accompanied Naoie to Azuchi. n.o.bunaga's anger, however, had not yet cooled off.

"I won't meet with them." This is all he would tell Hideyoshi through his attendant.

Hideyoshi was at a loss. He could only wait. He went back to the guest room where Naoie was waiting and reported the outcome.

"His Lordship is not in such a good mood today. Would you wait for me awhile back at your lodgings?"

"Is he indisposed?" Naoie asked unhappily. In suing for peace, he had not been seeking n.o.bunaga's pity. He could still count on a formidable army. What's the matter? Why this cold reception? These words never left his mouth, but he could not help indignantly thinking them.

Naoie could not bear further humiliation. He was beginning to think that he should return to his home province and once again send out the salutations that were appropriate for enemy provinces.

"No, no," Hideyoshi told him. "If there's a problem now, we can meet him later. For the time being, let's go to the castle town."

Hideyoshi had arranged for Naoie's lodgings in the Sojitsu Temple. The two hastily returned to the temple, where Naoie changed from his formal clothing and spoke to Hideyoshi.

"I'm going to leave Azuchi before nightfall and stay overnight in the capital. Then I think it would be better if I returned to Bizen."

"Now, why would you want to do that? At least why would you want to leave before we meet Lord n.o.bunaga again?"

"I don't feel like meeting him any longer." For the first time, Naoie manifested his feelings in both his countenance and his words. "And I think that Lord n.o.bunaga does not want to see me, either. Moreover, this is an enemy province with which I have no connection. It would probably be better for both of us if I left right away."

"It will compromise my honor."

"I'll come and thank you properly for the way you've treated me on another day, Lord Hideyoshi. And I shall not forget your kindness."

"Please stay one more night. I can't bear to see the two clans that I have brought together for a peace conference suddenly become enemies again. Lord n.o.bunaga refused to grant us an audience today, and he has his reasons. Let's meet again this evening and I'll explain them to you. Right now I'm going back to my lodgings to change out of these clothes. Wait for me before eating dinner."

There was nothing Naoie could do but wait until evening. Hideyoshi changed and returned to the temple. They talked and laughed as they ate their evening meal, and as they finished, Hideyoshi remarked, "Ah, that's right. I promised to tell you why Lord n.o.bunaga was so displeased with me."

And he started to talk as though he had just remembered the subject. In his desire to hear Hideyoshi's explanation, Naoie had put off his departure. Now Hideyoshi had hisundivided attention.

With artless candor, Hideyoshi explained why his own arbitrary settlement had offended n.o.bunaga. "It's rude of me to say so, but both the provinces of Mimasaka and Bizen would sooner or later have become the possessions of the Oda clan. So to make a peace treaty now with you was not really necessary. But if Lord n.o.bunaga did not crush the Ukita clan, he would not be able to divide its territory among his generals as rewards for their meritorious deeds. In addition, it was unpardonable that I didn't even seek His Lordship's permission. This is why he's so angry." He laughed as he spoke, but because there was not the slightest fabrication in what he said, the truth was manifested with a clear conscience even from behind his smile.

Naoie was overwhelmed. His face, flushed by sake, suddenly went pale as the blood drained from it. He did not doubt, however, that n.o.bunaga was thinking in this way.

"So he's in a bad mood," Hideyoshi went on. "He won't give me an audience and he won't meet you either. Once he's that resolved, he's not going to bend. I'm stumped, and I feel horrible for you. The pledge that you entrusted to me is still unauthorized, and long as it doesn't receive His Lordship's vermilion seal, there's nothing I can do. I will return it to you, so you might as well sever your connections with us, renounce the treaty, and hurry back to Bizen tomorrow morning."

With that, Hideyoshi took out Naoie's pledge and handed it back to him. Naoie, however, quietly stared at the light flickering in the tall lamps and refused even to touch the doc.u.ment.

Hideyoshi remained silent.

"No," Naoie said, suddenly breaking the silence. Courteously, he put his hands gether. "I'm going to entreat you to do everything you can once again. Please mediate with Lord n.o.bunaga for me."

This time his att.i.tude was that of a man who had surrendered from the bottom of his heart. Until now he had appeared to surrender only because of the forcible arguments Kuroda Kanbei.

"All right. If you have that much confidence in the Oda," Hideyoshi said, nodding vigorously, and he consented to undertake the matter.

Naoie stayed at the Sojitsu Temple more than ten days waiting for the outcome. Hideyoshi hurriedly sent off a messenger to Gifu, hoping that n.o.butada could mollify n.o.bunaga somewhat. Already having some business in the capital, n.o.butada left for Kyoto soon thereafter.

Accompanied by Naoie, Hideyoshi then had an audience with n.o.butada. Finally, through the latter's intercession, n.o.bunaga relented. Later that day the vermilion seal was affixed to the pledge, and the Ukita clan completely severed its ties to the Mori and allied itself with the Oda.

Hardly seven days later, however, whether by coincidence or for reasons of military expediencey, one of n.o.bunaga's generals, Araki Murashige, betrayed his lord and joined the enemy camp, raising the banner of rebellion right at the Oda's feet.

Murashige's Treachery "It's a lie! It must be a lie!"

n.o.bunaga could not believe it at first. When the news of Murashige's revolt reached n.o.bunaga in Azuchi, his first reaction was denial. But the gravity of the situation was quickly confirmed when two of Murashige's senior retainers, Takayama Ukon of Takatsuki and Nakagawa Sebei of Ibaragi, cited moral obligations and followed Murashige in unfurling the banner of revolt.

The look of dismay deepened on n.o.bunaga's brow. The strange thing was that he showed neither anger nor his usual hot temper at this unexpected turn of events. It would be a mistake to judge n.o.bunaga's character as one of fire. But it would also be an error, in observing his coolness, to cla.s.sify him as water. When you thought of him as fire, he was water; when you thought of him as water, he was fire. Both the heat of flames and the chill of water coexisted in his body.

"Call Hideyoshi," n.o.bunaga suddenly ordered.