Asano left immediately. Now the only ones who remained were Kyutaro and Yuko.

"What time is it now, Yuko?"

"It's the second half of the Hour of the Boar."

"Today was the third of the month, right?"

"That's correct."

"Tomorrow's the fourth," he mumbled to himself. "Then the fifth." His eyes closed halfway, and he moved his fingers on his knee as though he were counting.

"It's difficult for me to just sit here. Won't you give me some orders?" Kyutaro begged.

"No, I want you to stay here a little longer," Hideyoshi said, trying to soothe the man's impatience. "Kanbei should be here soon. I know that Hikoemon went to take care of the courier, but while we have some free moments, why don't you go double-check?"

Kyutaro immediately got up and went off to the temple kitchen. The courier was in a small room next to the kitchen, hungrily eating some food that had been given to him. The man had not drunk or eaten anything since noon the day before, and when he finally finished filling himself, he sat back with a bulging stomach.

When Hikoemon saw that the man had finished, he beckoned him over and accompanied him to a room in the priests' quarters, the storeroom for the sutras. Telling him to sleep well, Hikoemon showed the courier into the room and locked the door securely from the outside. Just then, Kyutaro stepped quietly to Hikoemon's side and whispered in his ear.

"His Lordship is worried that news of the incident in Kyoto might leak out to the men."

Kyutaro's eyes revealed his intention to kill the messenger, but Hikoemon shook his head. After they had walked a few steps, Hikoemon said, "He'll probably die right where he is from overeating. Let's let him die innocently."

Looking toward the sutra room, Hikoemon held an extended palm out from his chest in prayer.

8 TENTH YEAR OF TENSHO 1582 SUMMER

Characters and Places

Hori Kyutaro, senior Oda retainer

Oda Nobutaka, Nobunaga's third son

Oda Nobuo, Nobunaga's second son

Niwa Nagahide, senior Oda retainer

Tsutsui Junkei, senior Oda retainer

Matsuda Tarozaemon, senior Akechi retainer

Ishida Sakichi, Hideyoshi's retainer

Samboshi, Nobunaga's grandson and heir

Takigawa Kazumasu, senior Oda retainer

Maeda Geni, senior Oda retainer

Sakuma Genba, Shibata Katsuie's nephew

Shibata Katsutoyo, Katsuie's adopted son

An Ill-Fated Messenger

Hideyoshi had not moved. Fine pieces of ash were falling around the base of the lamp- probably the remains of Hasegawa's letter.

Kanbei came limping in, and Hideyoshi greeted him with a nod. Kanbei bent his crippled leg and lowered himself to the floor. During his captivity at Itami Castle, he had developed a chronic scalp condition that had never fully cleared up. When he sat close to the lamp, his thinning hair seemed almost transparent, giving him a grotesque appearance.

"I received your summons, my lord. What could be so urgent at this time of night?” Kanbei asked.

Hideyoshi replied, "Hikoemon will tell you." Then he folded his arms and hung his head with a long sigh.

"This will come as a shock, Kanbei," Hikoemon began.

Kanbei was known for his courage, but as he listened, he blanched. Saying nothing, he sighed deeply, folded his arms, and stared at Hideyoshi.

Kyutaro now edged forward on his knees, and said, "This is no time to be thinking of what is past. The wind of change is blowing through the world, and it's a fair wind for you. Time to raise your sails and depart."

Kanbei slapped his knee and said, "Well spoken! Heaven and earth are eternal, but life only progresses because all things change with the seasons. From a broader perspective this is an auspicious event."

The two men's opinions made Hideyoshi smile with satisfaction, because they mirrored his own thoughts. Yet he could not admit to those feelings in public without running the risk of being misunderstood. For a retainer, the death of his lord was a tragedy, and one that must be avenged.

Kanbei, Kyutaro, you've given me great encouragement. There's only one thing we can do now," Hideyoshi said with conviction. "Make peace with the Mori as quickly and secretly as possible."

The monk Ekei had come to Hideyoshi's camp as the Mori's envoy to negotiate a peace treaty. Ekei had contacted Hikoemon first, because of their long acquaintance; then he had met with Kanbei. Hideyoshi had so far refused to come to terms with the Mori, regarddless of what they offered. When Ekei and Hikoemon had met earlier that day, they had parted without reaching an agreement.

Turning to Hikoemon, Hideyoshi said, "You met Ekei today. What are the Mori planning to do?"

“We could conclude a treaty quickly, if we agreed to their terms," Hikoemon replied.

“Absolutely not!" Hideyoshi said flatly. "As they stand, there is no way I can agree. And what did he offer you, Kanbei?"

“The five provinces of Bitchu, Bingo, Mimasaka, Inaba, and Hoki if we lift the siege of Takamatsu Castle and spare the lives of General Muneharu and his men."

“A handsome offer, superficially. But apart from Bingo, the four other provinces the Mori are offering are no longer under their control. We cannot accept those terms now without arousing their suspicions," Hideyoshi said. "But if the Mori have found out what has happened in Kyoto, they'll never agree to peace. With luck, they still know nothing.  Heaven has given me a few hours' grace, but it will be tight."

“It's still only the third. If we requested a formal peace conference tomorrow, one could be held in two or three days," Hikoemon suggested.

'No, that's too slow," Hideyoshi countered. "We have to start immediately, and not wait until dawn. Hikoemon, get Ekei to come here again."

“Should I send a messenger right now?" Hikoemon asked.

“No, wait a little. A messenger arriving in the middle of the night would make him suspicious. We should put a good deal of thought into what we're going to say."

Following Hideyoshi's orders, Asano Yahei's men began a close inspection of all travelers going in and out of the area. At about midnight, the guards stopped a blind man who was walking along with a heavy bamboo staff and asked him where he was going. Surrounded by the soldiers, the man rested on his staff. "I'm going to a relative's house in the village of Niwase," he said with extreme humility.

"If you're going to Niwase, why are you on this mountain track in the middle of the night?" the officer in charge asked.

"I couldn't find an inn, so I just kept on walking," the blind man replied, lowering his head in an appeal for sympathy. "Perhaps you'd be so kind as to tell me where I might find a village with an inn."

The officer suddenly yelled out, "He's a fake! Tie him up."

The man protested, "I'm no fake! I'm a licensed blind musician from Kyoto, where I’ve lived for many years. But now my elderly aunt in Niwase is dying." He pressed his palms  together in supplication.

"You're lying!" the officer said. "Your eyes may be closed, but I doubt if you need this!"

The officer abruptly grabbed the man's bamboo staff and cut it in half with his sword. A tightly rolled letter fell from the hollow interior.

The man's eyes now blazed like mirrors at the soldiers. Looking for the weakest point in the circle of men, he tried to make a run for it. But with more than twenty soldiers around him, even this fox of a man could not escape. The soldiers grappled him to the ground, trussed him up so that he could hardly move, and hoisted him over a horse like a piece of baggage.

The man heaped insults and curses on his captors. The officer stuffed some dirt in his mouth. Whipping the horse's belly, the soldiers hurried off to Hideyoshi's camp with their prisoner.