generals receiving his commands took their leave at once and each man almost flew back to his camp.
These men, who had been pressed by the alarming feeling that they were in critical danger, now felt impatient and strained, waiting for their own names to be called as Hideyoshi gave out his commands.
Except for Hideyoshi's pages and attendants, practically all the generals had withdrawn to make their preparations. But two local men, Ujiie Hiroyuki and Inaba Ittetsu, as well as Horio Mosuke, who was under Hideyoshi's direct command, had not received orders.
Looking as though he could hardly contain himself, Ujiie came forward on his own and said, 'My lord, I have a favor to ask: I would also like to prepare my own forces to go with you.'
'No, I want you to stay at Ogaki. I'll need you to keep Gifu under control.' He then turned to Mosuke. 'I want you to stay here too.'
With those last orders, Hideyoshi left the enclosure. He called for his page and asked him, 'What about the couriers I ordered before? Are they ready?'
'Yes, my lord! They're waiting for your instructions.'
The page ran off quickly and returned with fifty runners.
Hideyoshi turned to the runners and addressed them directly. 'Today is a day like no other in our lives. It is a great blessing for you to have been chosen to be the heralds of this day.'
He continued with individual orders. 'Twenty of you will announce to the villagesOn the road between Tarui and Nagahama that torches should be set along the roads at nightfall. Also, no obstructions like handcarts, stock, or lumber should be left in the way. Children should be kept indoors and bridges should be strengthened.'
The twenty men on his right nodded simultaneously. To the remaining thirty men he gave the following instructions: 'The rest of you go to Nagahama at top speed. Have the garrison prepare itself, and tell the elders of the towns and villages that military provisions should be placed along the roads that we'll be traveling.' The fifty men ran off right away.
Hideyoshi immediately issued a command to the retainers around him and then mounted his black horse.
Just then Ujiie ran up unexpectedly. 'My lord! Wait a moment!' Clinging to Hideyoshi's saddle, the warrior was weeping silently.
Leaving Ujiie alone in Gifu, with the possibility that he might communicate with Nobutaka and rebel, had been a source of anxiety for Hideyoshi. To forestall betrayal, he ordered Horio Mosuke to stay with Ujiie.
Ujiie was mortified not only by the thought that he had been doubted but also by the realization that Mosuke would be left out of the most important battle of his life just because of him.
It was in response to those deep emotions that Ujiie now clung to the bridle of Hideyoshi's horse. 'Even if it's not right for me to accompany you, I beg you to allow General Mosuke at least to be at your side. I'll be happy to disembowel myself right here to remove your anxiety!'
And he put his hand on his dagger.
'Keep your head, Ujiie!' Hideyoshi shouted, striking the man's hand with his whip. “Mosuke can follow me if he wants to come with me that much. But he should come after the army has left. And for that matter, we can't just leave you. You should come along too.'
Almost insane with joy, Ujiie turned toward the staff headquarters and called out in a loud voice, 'Lord Mosuke! Lord Mosuke! We've received permission to go! Come out and show your gratitude.'
The two men prostrated themselves on the ground, but all that remained was the sound of a whip in the wind. Hideyoshi's horse was already galloping off in the distance. Even his attendants were caught off guard and had to scramble to catch up.
The men on foot, as well as those who quickly mounted their horses, chased after their master all at once without any formation or order.
It was the Hour of the Ram. Not even two hours had passed between the arrival of the first courier and Hideyoshi's departure. During that time, Hideyoshi had turned a defeat in northern Omi into an opportunity for victory. He had created a new strategy for his entire army on the spot. He had instructed couriers and sent them out with orders along the thirteen-league road to Kinomoto—the road that would be his path to all or nothing.
He had been resolved in both body and mind.
With the impetus of that resolve, he himself and a force of fifteen thousand men sped straight ahead, while five thousand men remained behind.
Hideyoshi and his advance guard entered Nagahama that afternoon at the Hour of the Monkey. One corps followed another, and the last men and horses to leave Ogaki must have been departing just about the same time the advance guard was entering Nagahama.
Hideyoshi was not negligent when he arrived at Nagahama, but immediately made preparations for taking the initiative against the enemy. In fact, he never even dismounted. After eating rice balls and slaking his thirst with a ladle of water, he quickly departed from Nagahama and hurried on through Sone and Hayami. He arrived at Kinomoto at the Hour of the Dog.
It had taken them only five hours to travel from Ogaki, because they had come the entire way without stopping.
Hidenaga's fifteen thousand men were at Mount Tagami. Kinomoto was actually a post station on the road that skirted the eastern slope of the mountain. A division of the army on the peak was stationed there. Just outside the village of Jizo, the men had constructed an observation tower.
'Where are we? What's the name of this place?' Hideyoshi asked, pulling his galloping horse to an abrupt halt and holding on tightly.
'This is Jizo.'
'We're close to the camp at Kinomoto.'
The answers came from some of the retainers around him. Hideyoshi remained in the saddle.
'Give me some water,' he ordered. Taking the ladle offered him, he swallowed down the water in one gulp and stretched for the first time since he had left Ogaki, then dismounted and quickly walked to the base of the watchtower and looked up to the sky. The tower was unroofed and had no stairway. The soldiers simply climbed up by stepping on roughly spaced wooden footholds.
Suddenly Hideyoshi seemed to recall his days as a young foot soldier. Tying the cord of his commander's fan to the sword he was wearing, he began to climb to the top of the tower. His pages pushed him up by his hindquarters, and a sort of human ladder was formed.
'This is dangerous, my lord.'
'Don't you need a ladder?'
The men below called to him, but Hideyoshi was already well over twenty feet from the ground.
The violent storm that had passed over the plains of Mino and Owari had abated. The sky was clear and full of stars, and Lake Biwa and Lake Yogo were like two mirrors thrown onto the plain.
When Hideyoshi, who had seemed weary from the journey, stood on the tower—his resolute figure outlined against the night sky—he was far more happy than tired. The more dangerous the situation and the deeper his hardships, the happier he became. It was the happiness that arose from surmounting adversities and being able to turn and see them behind him, and he had experienced it to greater and lesser degrees since the time of his youth. He himself claimed that the greatest happiness of life was to stand at the difficult border between success and failure.
But now, as he gazed out over nearby Shizugatake and Mount Oiwa, he looked like a man who was confident of victory.
Hideyoshi, however, was far more cautious than most men. Now, as was his habit, he fully closed his eyes and placed himself in a position where the world was neither enemy nor ally. Extricating himself from earthly inconsistencies, he himself became the heart of the universe and listened for the declaration of heaven's will.
“It's just about finished up already,' he muttered, finally displaying a smile. 'That Sakuma Genba came out looking so fresh and green. What could he have been dreaming of?”
Descending the tower, he immediately climbed halfway up Mount Tagami, where, he was greeted by Hidenaga. As soon as he finished giving Hidenaga his orders, Hideyoshi once again descended the mountain, passed through Kuroda, crossed over Kannonzaka, went along the east of Yogo, and arrived at Mount Chausu, where he rested for the first since departing Ogaki.
