hundred.
'Genba's forces have already started to retreat toward Shimizudani and have left a rear guard in the area of Hachigamine,' a scout reported.
Hideyoshi then issued an order to Nagahide to relay the following information and commands to all the fortresses of their allies:
At the Hour of the Ox, I will begin a surprise attack on Genba. Gather the local people and have them yell battle cries from the mountaintops at dawn. Just as dawn breaks, you will hear gunfire, which will signal that the opportunity has come for getting the enemy in our grasp. You should know without being told that the firing before dawn will be coming from the muskets of the enemy. The conch shell will be the signal for the general attack. The chance should not be missed.
As soon as Nagahide departed, Hideyoshi had the camp stool taken away. 'They say Genba's running away. Follow his path of retreat and pursue him furiously,' he said, telling the warriors around him to relay that order to the entire army. 'And be sure not to fire your muskets until the sky begins to turn light.'
It was not a level road they were on, but really just a mountain path with a good many dangerous spots. The attack began with one corps after another starting out, but they could not advance as fast as they would have liked.
Along the way, men dismounted and led their horses through swamps or along cliff faces where there was no road at all.
After midnight the moon rose to the middle of the sky and helped the Sakuma forces along their path of retreat. Its light, however, was also a blessing for Hideyoshi's pursuit of them.
The two armies were no more than three hours apart. Hideyoshi had sent an overwhelmingly large army into this one battle, and his warriors' morale was high. The probable outcome was clear before the fighting began.
The sun was high. It was almost the Hour of the Dragon. There had been fighting on the shore of Lake Yogo, but the Shibata had fled once again, collecting themselves in the area of Moyama and the Sokkai Pass.
Here, Maeda Inuchiyo and his son were camped, their banners flying peacefully. Very peacefully. Seated on his camp stool, Inuchiyo no doubt had coolly observed the gunfire and sparks that had been spreading over Shizugatake, Oiwa, and Shimizudani since dawn.
He commanded a wing of Katsuie's army, which put him in a truly delicate position, for his personal feelings and his duty to Katsuie were in conflict. One mistake and his province and entire family would perish. The situation was very clear. If he opposed Katsuie, he would be destroyed. If he abandoned his long friendship with Hideyoshi, however
Katsuie… Hideyoshi…
Comparing the two men, Inuchiyo very likely would not make a mistake in choosing between them. When he had left his castle at Fuchu for the battlefield, his wife had been worried about her husband's intentions and had questioned him closely.
“If you don't fight Lord Hideyoshi, you won't be fulfilling your duty as a warrior,' she said.
“Do you think so?'
“But I don't think that you need to honor your word to Lord Katsuie.'
“Don't be foolish. Do you think I'm capable of betraying my word as a warrior once I’ve given it?'
“Well then, which one are you going to support?'
“I'm leaving it up to heaven. I don't know what else I can do. Man's wisdom is too limited for something like this.'
The bloody, screaming Sakuma forces were fleeing toward the Maeda positions. “Don't panic! Don't act disgracefully!' Genba, who was also fleeing in that direction accompanied by a group of mounted men, leapt from his crimson saddle and rebuked his troops with hoarse shrieks. 'What's the matter with you? Are you going to run, after so little fighting?'
Reproaching his warriors, Genba was trying to encourage himself at the same time. As he sat down heavily on one of the rocks, his shoulders heaved and he seemed almost to be breathing fire. A bitter taste filled his mouth. The effort he had made not to lose his dignity as a general in the middle of this confusion and disaster was extraordinary, considering his youth.
It was only now that he was told that his younger brother had been killed. With open disbelief he listened to the reports informing him that many of his commanders had died.
“What about my other brothers?'
In response to that abrupt question, a retainer pointed them out behind him. 'Two of your brothers are over there, my lord.'
Genba, with bloodshot eyes, spotted the two men. Yasumasa had stretched out on the ground and was staring absentmindedly up to the sky. The youngest brother slept with head dangling off to the side, while blood from a wound filled his lap.
Genba felt affection for his brothers and was relived that they were still alive, but the sight of those same brothers—his own flesh and blood—also seemed to enrage him.
“Stand up, Yasumasa!' he yelled. 'And pull yourself together, Shichiroemon! It's too early for you to be lying on the ground. What are you doing!'
Mustering his courage, Genba stood up with some difficulty. He, too, seemed to have sustained a wound.
“Where’s Lord Inuchiyo's camp? On the top of that hill?' He started to walk away, dragging one of his feet, but turned back and looked at his younger brothers, who seemed coming behind him. 'You don't have to come. You two should collect some men and prepare for the enemy. Hideyoshi is not going to waste time.'
Genba sat on the commander's stool within the enclosure and waited. Inuchiyo soon appeared.
'I was sorry to hear what happened,' he sympathized.
'Don't be.' Genba managed to force a bitter smile. 'With such mediocre thinking, I was bound to lose.'
It was such an unexpectedly tame answer that Inuchiyo looked again at Genba. It seemed that Genba was taking the blame for his defeat entirely upon himself. Genba did not complain about Inuchiyo not sending his troops into battle.
'For the present, would you give us your assistance by holding off the attacking Hideyoshi forces with your fresh troops?'
'Of course. But do you want the spear corps or the firearm corps?'
'I would like the gunners' corps to lie in wait a good bit out in front. They could shoot into the confusion of the advancing enemy, and we could then act as a second force, brandishing our own bloody spears and fighting like we're ready to die. Go quickly! I beg of you!'
On any other day, Genba would not have begged Inuchiyo for anything. Even Inuchiyo could not help feeling pity for the man. He understood that Genba's humility was most likely due to the weakness he felt because of his defeat. But it also might have been because Genba already understood Inuchiyo's real intentions.
'The enemy seems to be approaching,' Genba said, not relaxing even for a moment. As he muttered these words, he stood up. 'Well then,' he said, 'I'll see you later.' He lifted the curtain and went out, but then turned to Inuchiyo, who was coming out from behind to see him off. 'We may not meet again on this earth, but I do not plan on dying ignominiously.'
Inuchiyo escorted him as far as the place where he had been lingering a little while before. Genba bade him good-bye and descended the slope with quick steps. The scene below that filled his field of vision had changed completely from what it had been only minutes before.
The Sakuma forces had numbered eight thousand men, but it appeared that only about one-third of them remained. The others were either dead or wounded or had deserted. Those who did remain were either routed soldiers or distracted commanders, and their yells of confusion made the situation seem even worse than it was.
It was clear that Genba's younger brothers were incapable of organizing the chaos. Most of the senior officers were dead. The various corps had no leaders, and the soldiers were unsure of who would be next in command, while Hideyoshi's army was already visible in the distance. Even if the Sakuma brothers had been able to stop the rout at that point, little could have been done about the army's wavering.
