With the dawn, however, the heavens were wiped clean and the hot summer sky appeared once again. From the main camp at the Mii Temple, a thick yellow smoke could be seen rising from the eastern bank of the lake in the direction of Azuchi.

"Azuchi is burning!"

At the report of the guards, the generals went out onto the veranda. Hideyoshi and the rest of them shaded their eyes with their hands.

A messenger reported, "Lord Nobuo, who was camped at Tsuchiyama in Omi, and Lord Gamo joined forces and have been attacking Azuchi since morning. They set fire toboth the town and the castle, and the wind from the lake has engulfed all of Azuchi in flames. But theie were no enemy soldiers left in Azuchi, so there was no battle."

Hideyoshi could imagine what was occurring far away.

"There was no reason to set that fire," he muttered sullenly. "No matter who he is, Lord Nobuo and even Gamo acted hastily."

But he soon calmed down. The culture that Nobunaga had spent the blood and resources of half a lifetime constructing was to be mourned in every way, but Hideyoshi had faith that very soon—and with his own strength—he would build an even greater castle and culture.

Just at that moment, another patrol of soldiers came from the main temple gate.  They were gathered around a single man and were bringing him to Hideyoshi. "A farmer from Ogurusu by the name of Chobei says that he found Lord Mitsuhide's head."

It was the custom to inspect the head of an enemy general with grave decorum and etiquette, and Hideyoshi gave orders for his camp stool to be set up in front of the main temple. Soon thereafter, he sat down with the other generals and looked at Mitsuhide's head in silence.

Afterward, the head was exposed at the ruins of the Honno Temple. Only half a month had passed since the morning the standard of the bellflower had been set up amid the Akechi army's war cries.

Mitsuhide's head had been displayed for the benefit of the citizens of the capital, and they swarmed together at the site from morning till night. Even those who had denounced Mitsuhide's treason now said a prayer, while others threw flowers beneath the rotting skull.

Hideyoshi's military commands were simple and clear. He had only three laws: Be diligent in your work. Commit no wrongs. Troublemakers will be executed.

Hideyoshi had not yet conducted a formal funeral service for Nobunaga; the grand ceremony he had in mind could not be accomplished with military power alone, and it would not be right for it to be under only his patronage. The fire in the capital had finally died down, but the sparks had spread to all the provinces.

Nobunaga was dead, Mitsuhide was dead, and there was the possibility that the country would once again be divided into three spheres of influence, as it had been before Nobunaga. Worse, family feuds and rival warlords defending their own local interests might plunge the country into the chaos of the last years of the shogunate.

From the Mii Temple, Hideyoshi moved his entire army onto a fleet of warships, boarding everything from horses to gilded screens. That was on the eighteenth of the month, and the objective was to move to Azuchi. Another military force also snaked its way east along the land route. The line of ships moving over the lake was driven by the breeze that filled the banners, and it reflected the marching land army advancing along the coast.

But Azuchi was already nothing more than scorched earth, and as soon as the troops arrived, they found themselves disheartened. The gold-and-blue walls of Azuchi no longer existed. All the gates of the outer wall and the towering eaves of the Soken Temple had been burned to the ground. The castle town was even worse. There was nothing for which even the stray dogs could hunt, and the priests from the Christian church walked around with empty eyes.

Nobuo should have been there, but he was fighting rebels in Ise and Iga. It became clear that the burning of Azuchi had not been ordered by Nobuo. Certainly the fires had been started by his men, but it seemed plausible that that had been the result of a misunderstanding or perhaps of false rumors spread by the enemy.

Hideyoshi and Nobutaka had traveled to Azuchi together and lamented the destruction with deep feeling. Nevertheless, after they realized that the fires had not been set at Nobuo's command, their indignation seemed to abate somewhat. They stayed in Azuchi for only two days. The convoy of ships once again set sail, this time for the north. Hideyoshi was advancing his main army to his home castle at Nagahama.

The castle was safe. There was no sign of the enemy, and allied troops were already entering the castle grounds. When the commander's standard with the golden gourds was raised, the people of the castle town were overjoyed. They filled the streets through which Hideyoshi passed en route from his boat to the castle. Women, children, and the elderly prostrated themselves in the dirt to greet him. Some people cried, and some could not even lift their faces. There were some who cheered and waved their hands, while others even forgot themselves as they danced with joy. He purposefully passed by on horseback to respond to the enthusiastic welcome of his people.

For Hideyoshi, however, there remained a very serious anxiety, and it grew even more intense after he entered Nagahama Castle. He burned with such impatience and longing that he could not stand idle even for a moment. Were his mother and wife safe?

After sitting down in the inner citadel, he asked the question over and over to each one of the generals who came and went. He was suddenly very worried about the condition of his family.

"We've looked everywhere for them, but no clear report has come in yet," the generals said.

"Wasn't there anyone who knew anything about their whereabouts?" Hideyoshi asked.

"Well, we thought so," one general answered. "But none of the people seem to have seen them. When they fled the castle, their destination was kept an absolute secret."

"I see. It must be true. If their whereabouts had leaked out to the common people the enemy would have given chase, and they would have been in danger."

Hideyoshi met another general and discussed an entirely different subject. That day the enemy troops at Sawayama Castle had abandoned the fortress and fled in the direction of Wakasa. The general reported that the castle had been returned to the control of its former commander, Niwa Nagahide.

Ishida Sakichi and four or five other members of the pages' group suddenly returned hurriedly from an unknown destination. Before they got to Hideyoshi's room, happy voices could be heard bubbling up in the corridor and the pages' room, and Hideyoshi asked those around him, "Has Sakichi come back? Why is he so slow in coming here?" He sent a man to rebuke him.

Ishida Sakichi had been born in Nagahama, and he knew the geography of the area better than anyone. He had thought, therefore, that now was the time to use his knowledge. He had been out on his own since noon, looking for the place where his lord’s mother and his wife might be hiding.

Sakichi knelt respectfully in front of Hideyoshi. According to his report, Hideyoshi's mother, his wife, and the rest of the household were hiding in the mountains a little more than ten leagues from Nagahama. It seemed that they were barely keeping body and soul together.

"Well, let's get ready to leave right away. If we go now, we should be able to get there tomorrow night," Hideyoshi said, standing. He was nearly unable to restrain himself, so great was his impatience.

"Take care of things while I'm gone," he ordered Kyutaro. "Hikoemon is stationed at Otsu, and Lord Nobutaka is still at Azuchi."

As Hideyoshi left the castle gate, he saw six or seven hundred men lined up and waiting for him. They had fought successive battles at Yamazaki and Sakamoto, and had had no time to rest even at Azuchi. The warriors had arrived only that morning, and their faces were still tired and muddy. Hideyoshi said, "It will be enough if fifty horsemen come with me.