TAIKO: AN EPIC NOVEL OF WAR AND GLORY IN FEUDAL JAPAN

'I don't understand why Hideyoshi sent the man! Who is this Kanbei, anyway? If you look into his background, he turns out to be a retainer of Odera Masamoto. And his father is a senior retainer of Masamoto too. For his part, Masamoto is conspiring with Araki Murashige in communicating with the Mori and betraying us. He's acting in concert with Murashige while he has raised the banner of rebellion in the western provinces.  How could Hideyoshi have chosen Kanbei for such an important mission?'

Hideyoshi was criticized for his lack of foresight, and some even went so far as to suspect him of negotiating with the Mori.

The reports that began to come in all contained the same information: far from submitting to Kanbei's argument, Odera Masamoto had spoken out against Lord Nobunaga all the more. He had spread stories about the weakness of the Oda forces in the area. Moreover, his communications with the Mori had become more and more frequent.

Nobunaga had to admit that this was true.

'Kanbei's action was nothing but a deception. While we wait for good news from such an unreliable man, the enemy strengthens his connections and perfects his defenses, so that in the end our forces will achieve nothing, regardless of how fierce our attack is.'

At that point, news finally came from Hideyoshi. It was, however, not good. Kanbei had still not returned, and there was no clear information. Moreover, the letter sounded hopeless. Nobunaga clicked his tongue. Suddenly he tossed aside the satchel that had contained the letter.

'It's too late!' Finally provoked, Nobunaga suddenly roared out angrily, 'Secretary! Write this immediately and address it to Hideyoshi. Tell him he's to come here without a moment's delay.'

Then he looked at Sakuma Nobumori and said, 'I've heard that Takenaka Hanbei has confined himself in the Nanzen Temple in Kyoto to convalesce. Is he still there?'

'I believe he is.'

Nobunaga's response to Nobumori's reply was as quick as an echo. 'Well then, go there and tell this to Hanbei: Kuroda Kanbei's son, Shojumaru, was sent to his castle by Hideyoshi some time ago as a hostage—he is to be beheaded immediately, and his head sent to his father in Itami.'

Nobumori bowed. Everyone around Nobunaga momentarily crouched in fear of his sudden anger. Not a voice was heard, and for a moment, Nobumori did not get up. Nobunaga's mood was capable of changing from one moment to the next, and his anger exploded without much difficulty. The patience he had exhibited until now was not part of his true nature. That had been strictly a matter of reasoning, into which he had had to put much effort. Therefore, when he did throw off the self-control that he so disliked and raised his voice, his earlobes began to redden, and his face suddenly took on a ferocious appearance.

'My lord, please wait a moment.'

'What is it, Kazumasu? Are you admonishing me?'

'It would be presumptuous for someone like me to admonish you, my lord, but why have you so suddenly given an order to kill Kuroda Kanbei's son? Shouldn't you deliberate on this a bit longer?'

'I don't need to deliberate any more to see Kanbei's treason. He pretended to talk to Odera Masamoto, and then deceived me again into thinking that he was negotiating with Araki Murashige. That I've refrained from taking action for the last ten days is entirely be­cause of that damned Kanbei's schemes. Hideyoshi reported that to me just now. Hideyoshi's had enough of being made a fool of by Kanbei.'

'But what if you summoned Lord Hideyoshi to give you a full report of the situation and talked with him about punishing Kanbei's son?'

'I can't make a peacetime decision at a time like this. And I'm not ordering Hide­yoshi here to listen to his opinion. I'm asking him to explain how he fomented this disas­ter. Hurry up and take the message, Nobumori.'

'Yes, my lord. I'll convey this to Hanbei, as you wish.'

Nobunaga's mood was gradually becoming darker. He turned to the scribe and asked, 'Did you write my summons to Hideyoshi, secretary?'

'Would you like to read it, my lord?'

The letter was shown to Nobunaga and then immediately passed to the chief messenger, who was ordered to take it to Harima.

But before the messenger was able to leave, a retainer announced, 'Lord Hideyoshi has just now arrived.'

'What? Hideyoshi?' Nobunaga's expression remained the same, but for an instant it seemed that his anger had softened.

Soon Hideyoshi's voice could be heard, and it rang out as cheerfully as usual. As soon as Nobunaga heard Hideyoshi, he had to make an effort to maintain his angry expression. His anger melted in his breast the way ice melts under the sun, and there was nothing he could do about it.

With a casual greeting to the generals who were present, Hideyoshi entered the en-dosure. He passed through the assembled generals and knelt courteously before Nobu­naga, then looked up at his lord.

Nobunaga said nothing. He was trying hard to show his anger. There were not many commanders who could do anything other than prostrate themselves in fear when they encountered Nobunaga's silence.

In fact, there was no one even in Nobunaga's family who could withstand this treatment. If veteran generals like Katsuie and Nobumori came under Nobunaga's angry eye, they would turn absolutely pale. Seasoned men like Niwa and Takigawa would become confused and mumble excuses. With all his wisdom, Akechi Mitsuhide had no way of dealing with it, and even all of Nobunaga's affection was no help at all to Ranmaru. But Hideyoshi's handling of such situations was quite different. When Nobunaga was angry and would scowl and glare at him, Hideyoshi would manifest no reaction at all. It was not that he took his lord lightly. On the contrary, he was, more than most men, awed by Nobunaga. Generally, he would look up placidly as though gazing at a threatening sky and desist from speaking except in the most commonplace way.

His Lordship is a little angry again, Hideyoshi was now thinking. This composure seemed to be part of Hideyoshi's own special nature, and certainly no one was able to imitate him. If Katsuie or Mitsuhide had copied Hideyoshi's behavior, they would have been throwing oil on a fire, and Nobunaga would have exploded into a fit of anger. Nobunaga appeared to be losing the game of patience. Finally he spoke.

'Hideyoshi, why did you come here?'

'I came to receive your reprimand,' Hideyoshi answered with deep respect.

He always has a good answer, Nobunaga thought. It was growing more and more difficult to stay angry. He was going to have to speak deliberately, as though he had chewed the words up and were spitting them out. 'What do you mean, you've come to be reprimanded? Did you think this matter was going to be finished with an apology? You made a great error that affects not only me but the entire army.'

'You've already read the letter I sent to you?'

'I have!'

'Sending Kanbei as an intermediary clearly ended in failure. In this connection—

'Is that an excuse?'

'No, but to serve as an apology, I galloped through enemy lines to offer a plan that might turn this disaster into good fortune. I would like to ask you either to order the a cleared of everyone here or to move elsewhere. After that, if there is to be some puniment for my crime, I will respectfully accept it.'

Nobunaga thought for a moment, then granted his request and ordered everyone to leave. The other generals were dumbstruck by Hideyoshi's audacity, but, looking back and forth at each other, they could only withdraw. There were some who accused him of impudence even in the face of his crime. Others clicked their tongues and called him self-seeking. Hideyoshi looked as though he were paying no attention, and waited until he and Nobunaga were the only ones left in the enclosure. When everyone had gone, Nobunaga's appearance softened somewhat.

'So what kind of suggestion do you have that made you ride all the way here from Harima?'

'I have a way to attack Itami. At this point, the only thing left to do is to strike Araki Murashige resolutely.'

'That's been true from the beginning. Not that Itami is so important, but if the Honganji and Murashige act in concert with the Mori, there could be considerable trouble.”

'Not that much, I think. If we move too fast, our troops could suffer considerably; and if there is even the