"Yes, so true, Sire. You are so wise," she agreed. Then sadly, she took a deep breath. "All daimyos are impoverished and in debt--us as much as any."

"Eh? The harvest?" he asked sharply.

"So sorry to bring bad news, less than last year."

"How much less?"

"About a third."

"That is dreadful news, and just when I need extra revenue!" His fist bunched. "Farmers are all baka."

"So sorry, it is not their fault, Yoshi-chan, the rains were too late or too early, the sun too. This year the gods have not smiled on us."

"There are no gods, Hosaki-chan, but there is karma. Karma that there is a bad harvest--you will have to put up taxes nonetheless."

Her eyes glistened with tears. "There will be famine in the Kwanto before next harvest--and if with us, the richest rice land in all Nippon, what about the others?" The memory of the famine four years ago rushed back at them.

Thousands had died, and tens of thousands in the inevitable plagues that followed. And in the Great Famine, twenty years ago, hundreds of thousands had perished. "This is indeed the Land of Tears."

He nodded absently. Then he said, his voice acid, "You will increase taxes by a tenth part, all samurai will get a tenth part less. Talk to the moneylenders. They can increase our loans.

The money will be spent on armaments."

"Of course." Then added carefully, "We are better off than most, only next year's harvest is pledged. But it will be difficult to get ordinary interest rates."

He said irritably, "What do I know or care of interest rates, make the best arrangement you can." His face tightened. "Perhaps the time has come to propose to the Council we adjust "interest rates" like my great-grandfather."

Sixty odd years ago the Shogun, crushed under the weight of his father's debts, with years of future harvests mortgaged like those of all daimyos, and goaded by the ever-increasing arrogance and disdain of the merchant class, had abruptly decreed that all debts were cancelled and all future harvests debt free.

In the two and a half centuries since Sekigahara this extreme act had been promulgated four times. It caused chaos throughout the land. Suffering amongst all classes was huge, especially samurai. There was little the rice merchants, the main moneylenders, could do. Many went bankrupt. A few committed seppuku.

The rest slid under cover as best they could and suffered in the general lake of pain.

Until the next harvest. Then farmers needed merchants, and all people needed rice, and so, carefully, sales were consummated and scarce-- therefore highly expensive--money was loaned to them for seed and tools against the next harvest, and once more, but very humbly, money and credit was advanced to samurai, against their expected income, for living and entertainment, and silks and swords. Soon samurai overspending became endemic. With greater care moneylenders slipped back into business.

Soon inducements had to be offered to them, samurai status was reluctantly proffered and gratefully purchased for some sons and everything was soon as before, with fiefs in pawn.

"Perhaps you should, Sire." She was as disgusted as he with moneylenders. "I have secret stocks of rice against famine, your men would be hungry but they will not starve."

"Good. Barter these for the guns."

"So sorry, the amount would not be significant," she told him gently, appalled with his naivet`e and added quickly to divert him, "Meanwhile taxes will not produce the cash gai-jin will require."

"Then it will have to be the moneylenders," he said sharply. "Do whatever is necessary. I must have guns."

"Yes." She allowed the silence to gather then, slowly, put forward a long pondered plan: "Something you said before you left home gave me an idea, Sire. The small gold mine in our north mountains. I propose we increase the work force."

"But you have told me many times the mine is already scavenged to capacity and produces less revenue every year."

"True, but you made me realize our miners are not experts and my thought is that where there is one vein, there may be others if we had expert prospectors to seek them out. Perhaps our methods are old-fashioned. Amongst the gai-jin there may be experts."

He looked at her. "How so?"

"I was talking to Old Smelly"--this was the nickname of an old Dutchman who, years ago had been a merchant at Deshima and had been enticed to become one of Yoshi's tutors and who, with the gift of maids, a youthful consort and much sak`e had been induced to stay until it was too late to leave. "He told me about a huge gold rush in the Land of the Golden Mountain you mentioned, only thirteen years ago, where gai-jin of all nations went to steal a fortune from the earth.

Also, a few years ago there was another such gold rush in a land far to our south--he called it Van Diemen's Land. In Yokohama there must be men who took part in one or the other. Experts."

"And if they exist?" Yoshi wondered about Misamoto.

"I suggest you offer them safe passage and half the gold they discover within one year. There are many Americans and adventurers in the Settlement so I am told."

"You would want gai-jin wandering about our lands, spying our lands?" he asked slowly.

She shook her head then leaned forward, knowing she had his complete attention. "Once again you provided the solution, Yoshi-chan. Say you approached the most important Yokohama trader, in secret, the one you told me you thought was going to supply Choshu with rifles--I agree we must get rifles and modern cannon at all costs and prevent enemies from acquiring them.

Say you offer him your gold concession, an exclusive. In return he arranges all aspects of the search and mining. You would accept only one or two unarmed prospectors, and of course they would be closely monitored. In return you are supplied immediately with so many cannon and rifles in advance, against your half of the gold found, and this merchant agrees to sell guns and cannon only to you. Never to Choshu, Tosa or Satsumas. You smile, Sire?"

"And our go-between is Misamoto?"

"Without your cleverness in discovering and training him this would not be possible." She said it with perfect deference, and sat back, secretly content, listening to his comments and her replies, knowing that he would put her plan into operation quickly, that they would somehow get some guns and never never never barter her secret rice away. Then, shortly, she could pretend to be tired and beg his permission to rest: "You should rest also, Sire, after such a marvelous though strenuous practice session..."

Of course he should, a fine man like him, she thought. And once there, many judicious compliments, asking permission to massage his tired shoulder muscles, cautiously becoming more intimate, a sigh or two and quickly he would be as close as she could ever desire. As close as Koiko.

Earlier Koiko had correctly begged permission to visit her and had bowed and thanked her and said that she hoped her services had pleased the Great Lord, that she was honored to be allowed into his household for even a brief time. They had chatted for a while and then she had gone away.

Such a beauty, Hosaki thought without jealousy, or envy. Yoshi is entitled to a toy, however expensive, from time to time. Their beauty is so fragile, so transient, their life so sad, truly cherry blossoms from the Tree of Life.

A man's world is so much more physically exciting than ours. Eeee, to be able to go from flower to flower without hurt or thought.

If the punishment for even a little philandering on our side was not so immediate and severe, women would consider it much more frequently. Wouldn't we? Why not? If it was safe.

Sometimes, when Yoshi is away, the thought of such enormous danger and immediate death is an almost overwhelming aphrodisiac. Foolish, for such a fleeting pleasure. Is it?