"The Akechi?"

"No, they were Asai ronin allied to the Akechi. But according to a rumor I heard on the road, a large Akechi force is now heading for Nagahama."

"What were the men at Nagahama going to do?"

"There are not enough men to withstand a siege, so in case of an emergency, they plan to move your family to a hiding place in the mountains."

The messenger placed a letter in front of Hideyoshi. It was from Nene. As the lord's wife, it was her duty to take care of everything while her husband was away. Although she must have written the letter in the midst of a storm of confusion and doubt, her handwriting was composed. The contents, however, clearly indicated that this letter might be her very last: If worst comes to worst, I a.s.sure you, my lord, that your wife will do nothing to disgrace your name. Your mother's and my only concern is that you overcome your own difficulties in these important times.

The first call of the conch sh.e.l.l echoed through the castle and the town.

Hideyoshi gave his final instructions to his retainers in Himeji Castle: "Victory and defeat are in the hands of fate, but if I should be struck down by Mitsuhide, set fire to the castle and make sure nothing remains. We have to act bravely, following the example of the man who died at the Honno Temple."

The second call sounded, and the supply train started off. As the sun began to set in the west, Hideyoshi had his camp stool moved outside the castle and had the third conch sh.e.l.l call blown. Night had fallen on the wide fields and on the pine trees lining the coastal road. From evening until well past midnight, the ground shook as ten thousand men formed into their divisions outside Himeji Castle.

Dawn broke and, one by one, the silhouettes of the pines along the road became visible. In the east, a perfectly red morning sun rose over the horizon of the Harima Sea between the clouds of dawn, as though urging the men forward.

"Look!" Hideyoshi called out. "We have a fair wind. Our banners and pennants are blowing east. I know that a man's fate is uncertain. We do not know whether we will live to see tomorrow's dawn, but heaven shows us the way forward. Let us raise a mighty w cry and inform heaven of our departure."

In the ten days since the death of n.o.bunaga, the national situation had changed dramatically. In Kyoto, the people had been uneasy since the Honno Temple incident. n.o.bunaga's two senior generals, Shibata Katsuie and Takigawa Kazumasu, were far away; Tokugawa Ieyasu had withdrawn to his own home province; Hosokawa Fujitaka's and Tsutsui Junkei's commitments were unclear; and Niwa Nagahide was in Osaka.

The rumor that Hideyoshi's army had arrived in Amagasaki, near Kyoto, spread like the wind on the morning of the eleventh. Many could not believe it. There were other rumors-that Lord Ieyasu was moving westward; that n.o.bunaga's eldest surviving son, n.o.buo, was mounting a counterattack; that the Akechi were fighting here or there. The most believable rumor was that Hideyoshi's army was pinned down by the Mori at Takamatsu. Only those who knew Hideyoshi well did not fall into that error.

The skills Hideyoshi had shown in the invasion of the western provinces over the last five years had taught many of n.o.bunaga's other generals his true value. Among those men were Niwa Nagahide, Nakagawa Sebei, Takayama Ukon, and Ikeda Shonyu. They perceived Hideyoshi's loyalty under such long adversity as unswerving devotion to their former lord. When they heard that Hideyoshi had made peace with the Mori and was marching at full speed toward the capital, they were pleased that their expectations had not been disappointed. As Hideyoshi made his way eastward, they sent him urgent messages, pressing him to hurry and informing him of the latest movements of the Akechi troops.

When Hideyoshi arrived at Amagasaki, Nakagawa Sebei and Takayama Ukon each took part of their forces and visited Hideyoshi's camp.

When the two generals arrived, the samurai on guard duty at the gate did not seem overjoyed at their presence, nor did he hurry to announce their arrival. "His Lordship is resting just now," he informed them.

The two men were taken aback. Sebei and Ukon knew well their own value as allies. The military strength of the man they sided with would be doubled. In addition, the nearby castles controlled the entrance to Kyoto. Certainly, securing those two key castles, which were almost in the middle of enemy territory, would give Hideyoshi tremendous strategic and logistic advantages.

Thus, when they came to Hideyoshi's camp, they took it for granted that Hideyoshi himself would come out to welcome them. All that the two generals could do was wait. During that time, they watched the arrival of stragglers. All the while, messengers were coming and going in all directions. Among them was a samurai whom Nakagawa Sebei recognized.

"Isn't that a Hosokawa samurai?" he muttered.

It was well known that the relationship between Mitsuhide and Hosokawa Fujitaka was very close. The two men had been close friends for many years, and their families were linked by marriage.

What is a messenger from the Hosokawa doing here? Sebei asked himself. This was a matter that concerned not only the two generals waiting to see Hideyoshi but the entire nation.

"He said Lord Hideyoshi was sleeping, but I think he's wide awake. He's being rather rude, no matter what he's doing," Ukon complained.

They were about to leave when one of Hideyoshi's pages ran up to them and invited them into the temple that served as Hideyoshi's headquarters. Hideyoshi was not in the room they were led into, but it was certain that he had been awake for some time. Loud laughter was coming from the abbot's quarters. This was not the kind of reception the two generals had antic.i.p.ated. They had hurried here to ally themselves with Hideyoshi and strike at Mitsuhide. Ukon seemed vexed, a vaguely bitter look on his face; Sebei's expression was sullen.

The oppressive summer heat aggravated their dissatisfaction. The rainy season should have begun to clear by then, but the air refused to dry. In the sky, the clouds moved back and forth in an unsettled way, as if reflecting the state of the nation. From time to time the sun shone through the clouds with an intense brilliance that was enough to make a man feverish.

"It's hot, Sebei," Ukon commented.

"Yes, and there's no wind at all."

Naturally, the two men wore full armor. Even though modern armor had become lighter and more flexible, there was no doubt that beneath the leather breastplates, their sweat ran in rivulets.

Sebei opened his fan and cooled himself. Then, to show that they did not rank lower than Hideyoshi, Sebei and Ukon made a point of moving to the seats reserved for men of the highest rank.

Just then, a shout of greeting came in with the breeze. It was Hideyoshi, and as soon he sat down in front of the men, he apologized profusely. "I'm really sorry to have been so rude. When I got up, I went over to the main temple; and while I was having my head shaved," he said, patting his bald head, "a messenger from Hosokawa Fujitaka arrived with an urgent dispatch. So I had to talk with him first and make you wait."

He sat in his usual way, oblivious to distinctions of rank. The two men forgot their formal greetings and simply stared at Hideyoshi's freshly shaved head, which reflected the green of the trees of the neighboring garden.

"At least my head is cool in this heat," Hideyoshi added with a grin. "Taking the tonsure is very refreshing."

Looking a little self-conscious, Hideyoshi vigorously rubbed his scalp. When Sebei and Ukon saw that Hideyoshi had gone so far as to shave his head for the sake of their former lord they forgot their earlier displeasure and instead felt ashamed of their own pettiness.

The only trouble was that each time they looked at Hideyoshi they wanted to laugh. Although no one called him Monkey to his face anymore, his former nickname and his present appearance provoked a certain feeling of amus.e.m.e.nt.

"Your speed surprised us," Sebei started. "You must not have slept at all between here and Takamatsu. We're relieved to see that you're in good health," he went on, fighting to stifle his laughter.

"You know," Hideyoshi said ingratiatingly, "I very much appreciated the reports you sent me. Because of them I was able to know the movements of the Akechi, and, more important, that the two of you were my allies."

Neither Sebei nor Ukon was so soft-headed that flattery could take him in. Almost ignoring Hideyoshi's last remark, they quickly began to give him advice.

"When will you be setting out for Osaka? Lord n.o.butaka is there with Lord Niwa."

"I haven't got time to go to Osaka now; that's not where the enemy is. I sent a messenger to Osaka this morning."

"Lord n.o.butaka is the third son of Lord n.o.bunaga. Shouldn't you meet him first?"

"I'm not asking him to come here. I have asked him to take part in the forthcoming battle, which will be the memorial service for Lord n.o.bunaga. He is with Niwa, sco I thought it wouldn't be necessary to stick to formalities. He'll be joining our camp tomorrow for sure."

"What about Ikeda Shonyu?"

"We'll be meeting him as well. I haven't seen him yet, but he sent a messenger with a pledge of his support."

Hideyoshi was confident about his allies. Even Hosokawa Fujitaka had refused Mitsuhide's invitation. Instead, he had just sent a retainer to Hideyoshi telling him that he would not join forces with a rebel. Hideyoshi triumphantly stressed to the two generals that this loyalty was not only the natural trend of the world but also a great moral principle of the warrior cla.s.s.

Finally, after talking over various subjects, both Sebei and Ukon formally delivered to Hideyoshi the hostages they had brought along with them as pledges of their good faith.

Hideyoshi declined with a laugh.

"That won't be necessary. I know you both so well. Send these children back to your castles right away."

That very day Ikeda Shonyu, who had known Hideyoshi since their early days together in Kiyosu Castle, joined Hideyoshi's army. Just before setting out that morning Shonyu had also taken the tonsure.

"What! You had your head shaved too?" Hideyoshi said when he saw his friend.

"We did the same thing by chance."

"We think the same way."

Neither Hideyoshi nor Shonyu needed to say anything more. Shonyu now added his four thousand men to Hideyoshi's army. Hideyoshi had started with an army of about ten thousand men, but with the addition of Ukon's two thousand men., Sebei's two thousand five hundred men, Hachiya's one thousand, and the Ikeda corps of four thousand, the army now numbered more than twenty thousand troops.

At the first war conference, Sebei and Ukon unexpectedly began to argue with each other, neither man giving any ground.

"It has been a matter of samurai etiquette since ancient times that the lord of the castle closest to the enemy leads the vanguard," Ukon said. "So there is no reason at all why my troops should follow Sebei's."

Sebei refused to give in. "The division between rear and vanguard should have nothing to do with how close to or how far away from the battlefield a man's castle is. The caliber of the troops and the commander are what matter."

"Well then, are you saying that I am unworthy of leading the vanguard against the enemy?

"I don't know about you. I am certain in my belief, however, that I am not going to yield to anyone. And I'm not going to hesitate in front of anyone in my desire to lead the vanguard in this battle. The order should be given to me, Nakagawa Sebei."

Sebei pressed Hideyoshi for the honor, but Ukon also bowed and looked up to him the expectation of receiving the command. Hideyoshi, seated on his camp stool, made his decision with the demeanor of a commander-in-chief.

"Both of you have spoken well, so it stands to reason that Sebei should take up one line of the first battle formation and Ukon should take up the other. I expect you both to accomplish deeds worthy of your words."

Throughout the council, scouts came in to make their reports.

"Lord Mitsuhide has withdrawn from Horagamine and has concentrated his strength in the area around Yamazaki and Enmyoji. He also seemed to be falling back toward Sakamoto Castle, but suddenly this morning he began to demonstrate a clearly offensive disposition, and a division of his army is marching toward Shoryuji Castle."

With the receipt of this report, a strained expression abruptly appeared on the faces of the generals. The distance between their camp at Amagasaki and Yamazaki was less than a lightning strike away. They could already sense the enemy in that area.

Sebei and Ukon had been given the responsibility for leading the vanguard, and they stood up and asked, "Shouldn't we advance on Yamazaki at once?"

Hideyoshi, unmoved by the men's agitation and the pressure of the moment, answered with extreme deliberation.

"I think we should wait here one more day for Lord n.o.butaka's arrival. It's obvious that during the one night and half a day that we wait, this great opportunity will slip away moment by moment, but I would like one of our late lord's sons to partic.i.p.ate in the battle. I don't want to put Lord n.o.butaka in a situation that he would regret for the rest of his life, one which would make him unable to face the world."

"But what if the enemy is able to take advantageous ground in the meantime?"

"Well, there are naturally limits even to waiting for Lord n.o.butaka. We'll have to start out for Yamazaki by tomorrow, no matter what happens. Once the entire army has gathered at Yamazaki, we'll be in contact again, so both of you should go ahead and advance imediately."

Sebei and Ukon made their way out. The order of the vanguard's departure was to be as follows: first, the Takayama corps; second, the Nakagawa corps; and third, the Ikeda corps.

As soon as they left Tonda, the two-thousand-man Takayama corps dashed out as though they had already seen the enemy army. Watching the dust from their horses, Sebei and everyone in the second corps wondered if the Akechi forces hadn't already got to Yamazaki.

"They're going too fast even for that," some thought suspiciously.

Immediately after entering the village of Yamazaki, Ukon's men closed off all the gates on the roads that led to the town and even intercepted travelers on the backroads in the area.

The Nakagawa corps that came up later naturally encountered these roadblocks and suddenly understood the reason for Ukon's hurry: he could not bear to be in the second attacking line. Sebei abandoned this strategic position and immediately started off for a hill called Tennozan.

In the end Hideyoshi quartered his troops at Tonda that night, but the next day he finally received the report that n.o.butaka and Niwa had reached the Yodo River.

As soon as he heard the news, Hideyoshi nearly knocked over his camp stool as he jumped up for joy. "A horse! Bring me a horse!" he ordered.

As he mounted, he turned to the men at the gate and yelled, "I'm going off to greet Lord n.o.butaka!" and whipped his horse toward the Yodo River.

The wide river was almost overflowing. On the bank, n.o.butaka's forces were divided into two corps of four and three thousand men respectively.

"Where is Lord n.o.butaka?" Hideyoshi yelled as he dismounted among the sweaty soldiers who watched him go by. n.o.body realized that it was Hideyoshi.

"It's me, Hideyoshi," he announced.

The soldiers gaped in surprise.

Hideyoshi did not wait for a formal welcome. Pushing his way through the throng of men, he headed for the tree beneath which n.o.butaka had set up his standard.

Surrounded by his field staff, n.o.butaka was resting on his camp stool, shading his eyes from the glare of the water. Suddenly he turned and saw Hideyoshi running toward him, yelling as he came. As soon as he saw Hideyoshi, n.o.butaka was overcome by a feeling of grat.i.tude. Here was a retainer whom his father had trained for many years, and what he was doing now went far beyond the normal ties that bound a lord and retainer. His eyes shone with a light that showed he was feeling an emotion usually reserved for blood relations.

"Hideyoshi!" n.o.butaka called out.

Without waiting for n.o.butaka to extend his hand, Hideyoshi suddenly walked up to him and grasped it firmly.

"Lord n.o.butaka!" was all Hideyoshi said. Neither man said anything further, but their eyes spoke at length. Tears flowed down their cheeks. Through those tears n.o.butaka was able to express all his feelings for his dead father to a retainer of his clan. And Hideyoshi understood what was in the young man's heart. He finally released the hand he had held so tightly and at the same time knelt to the ground.

"It's so good that you have come. There is no time to say anything more, and there's really nothing else in my heart. I'm just grateful to be with you now, and firmly believe that in heaven your father's soul will be pleased by this action. I feel as though I've finally been able to pay my respects to you here and have fulfilled my duty as a retainer. I'm happy for the first time since Takamatsu Castle."

Later that day Hideyoshi invited n.o.butaka to accompany him back to his camp in Tonda, and together they turned toward Yamazaki.

They arrived at Yamazaki at the Hour of the Monkey, the ten thousand men of their reserve army adding to the eight thousand five hundred men of the three vanguard corps. Now there was no place in the mountains or village where horses and soldiers could not be seen.

"We've just received a report that an Akechi army has attacked the Nakagawa corps in the foothills east of Tennozan."

Now was the time to strike. Hideyoshi gave the command for the entire army to attack.

On the morning of the ninth, when Hideyoshi was leaving Himeji, Mitsuhide returned to Kyoto. Less than a week had gone by since n.o.bunaga's murder.

On the second, at the Hour of the Ram, while the ruins of the Honno Temple were still smoldering, Mitsuhide had left Kyoto to attack Azuchi. But on his very first step outside the capital, Mitsuhide ran into an obstacle at the river crossing at Seta. That morning he had sent a letter demanding the surrender of Seta Castle, but its governor had killed the messenger and set fire to the castle and the Seta Bridge.

Thus the Akechi troops were unable to cross the river. Mitsuhide's eyes burned with indignation. The fire-gutted bridge seemed almost to be mocking him. The world does not see you as you see the world.

Forced to return to Sakamoto Castle, Mitsuhide spent two or three fruitless days waiting until the bridge was repaired. By the time he rode into Azuchi, however, the town was deserted, and its huge castle housed neither master nor men. In the town, there were no goods or even a shop sign left to be seen. n.o.bunaga's family had fled, but in their haste they had been forced to leave behind n.o.bunaga's h.o.a.rd of gold and silver, and his collection of works of art.

Mitsuhide was shown these things after his troops secured the castle, but he did not feel wealthier for it. Somehow he felt beggared.

This is not what I was looking for, he thought, and it's mortifying if people think it was.

He had all the gold and silver in the treasury distributed as rewards to his men. Common soldiers received several hundred gold pieces, while the highest-ranking generals recieved three to five thousand gold pieces.

What do I want? Mitsuhide asked himself time and again. To rule the nation! came the answer, but it had a hollow ring to it. He had to admit to himself that he had never embraced such lofty hopes, having neither the ambition nor the ability. All along, he had had only one motive: to kill n.o.bunaga. Mitsuhide's desires had been sated by the fires of the Honno Temple, and now all that was left was a pa.s.sion so devoid of conviction that it seemed nothing more than frenzy.

According to a story circulating at the time, Mitsuhide had tried to kill himself soon as he heard that n.o.bunaga was dead. His retainers had forcibly stopped him. In instant that n.o.bunaga had been turned to ashes, the hatred that had frozen Mitsuhide's heart had dissolved like melting snow. The ten thousand soldiers who served him, however, did not share his att.i.tude. On the contrary, they hoped that their real reward was to come.

"From this day on, Lord Mitsuhide is the ruler of the country," the Akechi generals announced with a conviction Mitsuhide lacked. .

But the lord they looked up to was no more than a hollow simulacrum of his former self. He differed in appearance and disposition-even in intellect.

Mitsuhide remained in Azuchi from the fifth until the morning of the eighth, and during that time he took Hideyoshi's castle at Nagahama as well as Niwa Nagahide's at Sawayama. Once he had completely occupied the province of Omi, Mitsuhide re-outfitted his army and once again set off for the capital.