state of affairs: of seven thousand soldiers, not even three thousand now remained.
This was the army that had departed from Echizen with a will firmly set to fight Hideyoshi. Those men should not have been ready to run away at the first actual threat from him.
What had led them to that point—an army of over seven thousand men? It had been one thing only: the lack of an authoritative command. Also, Hideyoshi's actions had been unexpectedly swift, and that only dumbfounded them all the more. Rumors and false reports ran rampant, and thus cowardice was encouraged.
When Katsuie observed his troops' ugly confusion, he was not merely disheartened, but enraged. Gnashing his teeth, he seemed unable to keep from spitting out his indignation to the officers around him. First sitting, then standing, then walking around, the warriors around Katsuie had been unable to calm themselves down at all. His orders had been relayed two or three times, but the answers had been unclear.
“Why are you all so flustered?' he asked, rebuking those around him. 'Calm down! Leaving posts of duty and spreading rumors and gossip only causes our men to become more confused. Anyone committing such acts will be severely punished,' he said, adding one rebuke to another.
A number of his subordinates dashed out a second time, announcing his strict orders. But even after that, Katsuie could be heard shouting in a high-pitched voice, 'Don't get excited! Don't get confused!' But his intentions to suppress the turmoil only resulted in adding one more voice to the wild commotion.
Dawn had almost come.
The war cries and musket fire that had moved from the area of Shizugatake to the western bank of Lake Yogo echoed across the water.
'The way things are going, Hideyoshi should be getting here soon!'
'At least by noon.'
'What! You think they're going to wait until then?'
Cowardice engendered more cowardice, and finally fear enveloped the entire camp.
'There must be ten thousand of the enemy!'
'No, I think there must be twenty thousand!'
'What? With that kind of power, there must be thirty thousand of them!'
The soldiers were caught up in their own fears, and no one felt comfortable without the agreement of his companions. Then a rumor that sounded like the truth started to circulate.
'Maeda Inuchiyo has gone over to Hideyoshi!'
At that point, the Shibata officers were no longer able to control their troops. Katsuie finally mounted his horse. Riding around the area of Kitsunezaka, he personally berated the soldiers in the separate encampments. Apparently he had come to the conclusion that it would be ineffective to let his own generals pass on the strict orders coming from headquarters.
'Anyone leaving camp for no reason will be cut down immediately,' he screamed. Chase down and shoot any cowardly deserters! Anyone spreading rumors or dampening the martial spirit of the men is to be killed on the spot!'
But the situation had advanced too far, and the revival of Katsuie's severe martial spirit was in vain. Over half of his seven thousand troops had already deserted, and the remaining men hardly had their feet on the ground. In addition, they had already lost confidence in their own commander-in-chief. Reduced as he was to a position lacking in respect, even Demon Shibata's orders sounded hollow.
He rode back into his main camp, which was already under attack.
Ah, he thought, the end has come for me, too…. Seeing his dispirited army, Katsuie realized the futility of the situation. His fierce spirit, however, pushed him on relentlessly toward his own desperate death. As dawn began to break, horses and men were scattered thinly over his sparse camp.
'My lord, this way. Over here for just a moment.' Two warriors held on to either side of Katsuie's armor as though they were supporting his large body. 'It's not like you to be this quick-tempered.' Leading him forcibly through the maelstrom of horses and men and out of the temple gate, they shouted desperately at the others, 'Hurry up and bring his horse! Where is our lord's horse!'
In the meantime Katsuie himself was shouting. 'I will not retreat! Who do you think I am! I'm not running away from this place!' His fierce words came with increasing vehemence. Once again he glared and yelled at the staff officers who would not leave hisSide. “Why are you doing this? Why are you keeping me from going out to attack? While you hold me down, why aren't you attacking the enemy?'
A mount was brought up. A soldier carrying the beautiful commander's standard emblazoned with the golden emblem came and stood next to it.
“We can't stem the tide here, my lord. If you die in this place, it will be in vain. Why don’t you fall back to Kitanosho and put your thoughts into a plan for another attempt?'
Katsuie shook his head and yelled, but the men around him hastily forced his body into the saddle. The situation was urgent. Suddenly the captain of the pages, Menju Shosuke, a man who had never distinguished himself in battle, ran forward and prostrated himself in front of Katsuie's horse.
“Please, my lord! Allow me to take your commander's standard.'
To ask one's lord for permission to carry the commander's standard meant that one was volunteering to make a stand in his place.
Shosuke said nothing more but remained kneeling in front of Katsuie. He displayed no particular preparedness for death, desperation, or ferocity; he looked as he usually did when he appeared before Katsuie as the captain of the pages.
“What? You want me to give you the commander's standard?'
Mounted on his horse, Katsuie stared down at Shosuke's back in amazement. The
generals around him, struck with surprise, also fixed their eyes on Shosuke. Among Katsuie's many personal attendants, few had been treated more coldly than Shosuke had been.
Katsuie, who held that kind of prejudice against Shosuke, must have known what effect it had been having better than anyone else. And yet, wasn't that very Shosuke now before Katsuie, offering to put himself in Katsuie's place?
The wind of defeat blew desolately across the camp, and it had been unbearable for Katsuie to watch his men wavering since dawn. The cowards who had quickly thrown down their weapons and deserted had not been few in number; Katsuie had looked warmly upon many of those men and had given them his favors for many years. As those thoughts came to him, Katsuie was unable to hold back his tears.
Butt whatever Katsuie was thinking, he now kicked his horse's flanks with the heels of his stirrups, and chased away the pained look in his face with a thundering roar.
“What are you talking about, Shosuke? Once you die, that's the time for me to die! Now move away!'
Shosuke scurried away from the rearing horse but grabbed its reins,
'Then let me accompany you.'
Against Katsuie's will, Menju put the battlefield behind him and hurried off in the direction of Yanagase. Both the man who guarded the commander's standard and Katsuie's retainers surrounded his horse and hurried him off in the middle of their group.
But Hideyoshi's vanguard had already broken through Kitsunezaka and, ignoring the Shibata warriors standing in its defense, put their sights on the golden standard fleeing into the distance.
'That's Katsuie! Don't let him get away!' A crowd of swift-running spearmen gath-Jgether and ran in Katsuie's direction.
We'll take our leave here, my lord!' Tossing off those words of farewell, the generals fleeing with Katsuie suddenly left his side, wheeled around, and dashed into the midst of the fierce spears of the pursuing troops. Their corpses soon fell to the ground.
Menju Shosuke had also turned and faced the enemy's onslaught, but now he once again chased after his lord's horse and yelled at Katsuie from behind.
'The commander's standard… please… let me carry it!'
They were just outside of Yanagase.
Katsuie brought his horse to a halt and took the gold commander's standard from the man next to him. It held so many memories—he had raised it in his camps together with his reputation as the 'Demon Shibata.'
'Here, Shosuke. Take it among my warriors!'
