"Like her second skin. You sent for me, Sire?"

"I want you to find Katsumata, alive if you can," he had said. "Did you remove the traitor ronin working for the gai-jin as I ordered?

What was his name? Ori Ryoma, a Satsuma, yes that's it."

"That man is dead, Sire, but it seems he was not the traitor. Gai-jin killed Ori some weeks ago. They shot him trying to break into one of their houses. The man supplying them with information, still, is a Choshu ronin named Hiraga."

Yoshi was startled. "He of the poster? The shishi who led those who murdered Utani?"

"Yes Sire. For the moment I cannot remove him, he is under the protection of the Chief Ing'erish and stays close to their building. I have a spy in the village and can tell you more in a few days."

"Good. What else? All this talk of war?"

"I hope to have more news in a few days."

"Make it fewer than more," he said curtly, dismissing him. "When you have serious news come back."

Inejin won't fail me, he thought, sorry that he had been short-tempered. Spies must be cherished like no others... on them depends your ability to move... Ah, Sun-tzu what a genius you were--but even my intimate knowledge of your precepts do not tell me what to do about the gai-jin, about that stupid boy and my arch enemy, the Princess Yazu--both still gorging on the honeyed gruel served by Court sycophants obeying that dog, the Lord Chancellor. What would you do to destroy the enemies that surround me? Anjo, the Elders, the Court, Ogama, Sanjiro--the list endless. And impossible. And atop them all, the gai-jin.

Then he had remembered the invitation to go aboard the Furansu--French--warship. The coaling venture that his wife, Hosaki, had positioned in conjunction with the Gyokoyamas and the gai-jin prospector, made it easy for him to send Misamoto, his make-believe samurai, the fisherman interpreter, to make the arrangements.

This had taken place yesterday.

He had slipped away from Yedo by oared galley to a sea rendezvous without fanfare, just beyond sight of land--with Abeh, twenty guards and Misamoto. The experience had been awesome. The size and power of the ship's engines, and cannon, the amount of powder and shot and coal carried, and the stories they told, lies or truths he could not yet tell about the extent of their Furansu Empire, its wealth and power, the leagues of travel such a ship could cover, numbers of warships and cannon, and size of their armies as they stated them, were beyond belief.

Misamoto interpreted, with the interpreter who called himself Andreh Furansu-san. Though they had their own language this meeting was conducted mostly in English.

A lot of what he was told, Yoshi had not understood. The words used were strange and much time was spent explaining miles and yards and powder and pitch and pistons, paddle steamers against screw power, breech blocks and flintlocks, factories and firepower.

Yet all of it was illuminating and certain pieces of information of major importance: the vital necessity of coaling facilities and safe harbors, without which steamer warships were so many hulks--unable to carry all the coal needed for the voyage out, for naval operations, and then the voyage back. And second, as he had witnessed at the Council meeting with gai-jin in Yedo Castle and found it difficult to believe the true extent, any mention of Ing'erish gai-jin brought sneers to Furansu gai-jin faces who had no hesitation in showing the extent of their hatred.

This delighted him and enhanced what Misamoto had said earlier, that Ing'erish were hated by nearly every other nation on earth because they had the biggest Empire, they were the strongest and wealthiest nation, with the greatest, most modern fleets, the most powerful, disciplined and best-equipped armies, as well as enjoying their gains by producing more than half of the world's goods. With, best of all, an impregnable island redoubt to guard it all.

Of course they are hated. Like we Toranagas are hated. And therefore, he thought with an ache in his bowels for his past mistake, these Ing'erish gai-jin are the ones to be fawned on, to befriend, and handle with the most exquisite care.

Best fleets? And arms? How could I tempt them into building me a fleet? Providing me with one? Would coal pay for it?

"Misamoto, say to them that I would like to learn more about these marvelous Furansu devices," he said blandly, "and yes, I would like friends amongst gai-jin. I am not opposed to trade--perhaps I could arrange my coal concession to go to the Furansu and not the Ing'erish."

This caught their immediate interest. At this time they were below decks in the largest cabin in the stern, that he found cramped and foul-smelling, with odors of oil and coal smoke and human waste, with a fine coating of coal dust everywhere. They sat around a long table, half a dozen officers in gold-braided uniforms and their leader, Seratard--Serata as it was correctly pronounced--in the center. Abeh and half his guards were at his back, the rest on deck.

The moment he had seen Seratard and heard his name he liked him immediately--totally different from the tall, sour-faced Ing'erish High Leader with the unpronounceable name. Serata, like Furansu-san Andreh, were easily pronounceable. In fact the names were Japanese.

Serata was a miraculous omen.

Serata was the name of his family's ancestral village in which their ancestor, Yoshi-shigeh Serata-noh Minowara had settled in the twelfth century. In the thirteenth, the warrior daimyo Yoshi-sada Serata, raised an army against his overlords, the Hojo, obliterated them and captured their capital Kamakura and made it his own. Since then his direct descendants, the Yoshi noh Toranaga noh Serata still ruled Kamakura--Shogun Yoshi Toranaga being buried there in his great mausoleum.

"So we are related," he had joked, after explaining the coincidence to Seratard. Seratard had laughed and, with the others who chattered like so many monkeys in outlandish uniforms, then had explained that his own family was an ancient one in Furansuland too, but in no way as illustrious.

"My Master," Andreh said with a bow, "my Master, he greatly honored be friend and gai-jin part of your great family, Sire."

"Tell him that I consider his name a good sign," he had said, noting this man seemed much more than just interpreter.

"My Master thanks and says what Ing'erish promise, Furansu promise better."

Misamoto said, obsequiously, "Lord, he means they will make a better deal--money arrangement. The Furansu make cannon as well as Ing'erish though not as many."

"Tell them I will consider a proposal to give them the coal concession. They must tell me how many guns or cannons, with powder and shot, and when I can have them, for how much coal. And I want a steamer, a steamship with officers to train my officers and sailors. In fact," he added innocently, "perhaps I could grant Furansus the sole right to build, sell and train a navy. Of course I would pay. If reasonable."

He saw Misamoto's eyes widen, but before Misamoto had time to begin, the gai-jin Andreh who had been listening equally carefully, "My Master sure King of Furansuland, greatly honor assist Lord Yoshi Toranaga in ships." Fascinated, he watched Andreh turn to Leader Serata and begin talking, the naval officers listening and nodding, quickly becoming as excited. Astonishing how easy to manipulate these men with trade and the future promise of money, he had thought. If the Furansus react so quickly, surely the Ing'erish leader will do so also. Two fish fighting for the same hook is better than one.

They had talked of other matters, not enough time to cover them all, but he learned enough to want to learn more. One detail Andreh Furansu-san had mentioned had rocked him. They had been discussing modern medical knowledge, and how easy it would be to train and equip a hospital: "Chief Medicine Doctor in Kanagawa good, Sire. Hear Tairo Anjo sick. Hear maybe tairo see Chief Doctor-sama."