As Fujitaka considered Hideyoshi's words, he meditated once again on the old saying "He who rests his men well will be able to employ them to desperate efforts."

As Fujitaka's son looked at Hideyoshi, he also remembered something. When the Hosokawa clan's fate had stood at a great crossroads, and its retainers had all met to deliberate a course of action, Fujitaka had spoken and directly indicated the position to take: "In this generation, I have seen only two truly uncommon men: one of them is Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu, the other is unmistakably Lord Hideyoshi."

Recalling those words now, the young man could only wonder if they were true. Was this what his father called an uncommon man? Was Hideyoshi really one of the two truly great generals of his generation?

When they had withdrawn to their quarters, Tadaoki expressed his doubts.

"I guess you don't understand," Fujitaka mumbled in response. "You're still lacking in experience." Aware of Tadaoki's dissatisfied look, he guessed what was on his son's mind and said, "The closer you get to a large mountain, the less its great size can be perceived. When you start to climb, you will not understand its size at all. When you listen and then compare everyone's comments, you can understand that most men will speak without having seen the entire mountain and, having seen only one peak or valley, will imagine they have seen everything. But they'll really be doing nothing more than making judg­ments on the whole while having seen only one part."

Tadaoki's mind was left with its former doubts, despite the lesson he had received. He knew, however, that his father had experienced far more of the world than he had, and so he could do nothing more than accept what his father was saying.

Surprisingly enough, two days after their arrival, Nagahama Castle passed into Hideyoshi's hands without injury to a single soldier. It had been exactly as Hideyoshi had pre­dicted to Fujitaka and his son: "The castle will be captured from within."

The envoys were three of Shibata Katsutoyo's senior retainers. They brought a written pledge in which Katsutoyo and all of his retainers swore to obey and serve Hideyoshi.

"They have acted with discrimination," Hideyoshi said with apparent satisfaction. According to the terms of the pledge, the castle's territory would remain the same as before, and Katsutoyo would be allowed to continue as its possessor.

When Hideyoshi gave up the castle, people commented on how quickly he had resigned himself to the loss of such a strategic location. Retaking the castle had been executed as easily as passing something from the left hand to the right.

But even if Katsutoyo had asked for reinforcements from Echizen, they could not have come because of the heavy snows. In addition, Katsuie would only have treated him harshly, just as he had done before. When Katsutoyo had fallen ill on his mission to Hideyoshi, Katsuie had made his anger plain to the whole clan.

"To take advantage of Hideyoshi's hospitality under the pretense of illness, and then to return after spending several days as his guest—that man is a fool beyond words."

Reports of Katsuie's harsh words eventually reached Katsutoyo.

Now, surrounded by Hideyoshi's army, Nagahama Castle was isolated, and Katsutoyo had nowhere to turn.

His senior retainers, who had already guessed his intentions, announced, "Those retainers who have family in Echizen should go back. Those who feel like staying here with Katsutoyo and aligning themselves with Lord Hideyoshi may stay. His Lordship understands, however, that many of you may feel it would be difficult to remain true to the Way of the Samurai by leaving the Shibata clan and turning your back on Lord Katsuie. Those who feel that way may withdraw without hesitation."

For a moment the atmosphere was filled with tension. The men simply hung their heads in bitterness, and there were few objections. That night sake cups were raised in an honorable separation of lord and retainers, but fewer than one out of ten returned to Echizen.

In this way Katsutoyo cut his ties with his stepfather and allied himself with Hideyoshi. From that time on he was officially under Hideyoshi's command, but it had only a matter of form. Long before these events, Katsutoyo's heart had already been like a bird being fed in Hideyoshi's cage.

At any rate, the seizure of Nagahama was now complete. To Hideyoshi, however, it had been nothing more than a passing event on the way to Gifu—Nobutaka's main castle,.

The pass over Fuwa was famous as a place that was difficult to cross in winter, and conditions on the plain of Sekigahara were especially severe.

From the eighteenth to the twenty-eighth day of the Twelfth Month, Hideyoshi's army marched across Sekigahara. The army was divided into corps, and those corps were further broken down into divisions: packhorses, gunners, spearmen, mounted warriors, and foot soldiers. Defying the snow and mud, they pushed on. It took Hideyoshi's force of about thirty thousand soldiers two days to cross into Mino.

The main camp was set up at Ogaki. From there, Hideyoshi attacked and took all of the smaller castles in the area. This was immediately reported to Nobutaka, who spent several days in complete confusion. He hardly knew what strategy to take, much less how to fight a defensive battle.

Nobutaka had thought only of grandiose schemes but had had no idea how to accomplish them. Until then he had allied himself to men like Katsuie and Takigawa and submitted schemes for attacking Hideyoshi, but he had never expected to be attacked by him.

At his wits' end, Nobutaka left his fate to the discretion of his senior retainers. But after arriving at the current pass, they had nothing left that could be called "discretion."

There was nothing the senior retainers could do but kowtow at Hideyoshi's camp just Katsutoyo's retainers had done. Nobutaka's mother was sent as a hostage, and his senior retainers had to send their own mothers as well.

Niwa begged Hideyoshi to spare Nobutaka's life. Hideyoshi, as might be expected, pardoned him. Granting them peace for the time, he smiled at Nobutaka's senior retainers and asked, "Has Lord Nobutaka come to his senses? It will be a blessing if he has."

The hostages were immediately sent to Azuchi. Immediately thereafter Samboshi, who had been kept at Gifu, was turned over to Hideyoshi and moved to Azuchi as well.

After that, Nobuo was put in charge of the young lord. Having delivered that trust, Hideyoshi made a triumphal return to Takaradera Castle. New Year's Eve was celebrated two days after his return. Then came the first day of the eleventh year of Tensho. From morning on, sunshine glittered on the snow that had recently fallen on the trees just planted on the grounds of the renovated castle.

The fragrance of the New Year's rice cakes drifted through the grounds, and the sound of the drum reverberated through the corridors for more than half a day. But at noon an announcement rang out from the main citadel: "Lord Hideyoshi is going to Himeji!"

Hideyoshi arrived at Himeji around midnight on New Year's Day. Greeted by the flames of bonfires, he quickly entered the castle. The greatest joy, however, was not Hideyoshi's, but his people's, as they watched the flourish of the grand spectacle: all his retainers and their families were assembled at the main gate of the castle to welcome him.

Dismounting, he handed the reins to an attendant and, for a moment, looked up at the keep. In the Sixth Month of the previous summer, just before his forced march to Yamazaki and his great victory to avenge Nobunaga, he had stood at the same gate and wondered whether he would come back alive.

His last orders to his retainers had been clear: "If you hear that I have been defeated, kill my entire family and burn the castle to the ground."