Taiko. Part 48

I could sulk and be depressed about trivialities, but it would be shameful for a man in his prime, Mitsuhide decided. His skin disease had cleared up at the spa and now Mitsuhide quickly presented himself before his lord. Yos.h.i.+kage barely acknowledged his return, and Mitsuhide withdrew before his lord's indifference. He was not summoned after that. He had been relieved of his command of the gunners' regiment in his absence, and everywhere the atmosphere seemed to be hostile. Now that Yos.h.i.+kage's former reliance on him had completely changed, Mitsuhide was once again prey to mental agony.

It was then that he received the visit from Hosokawa Fujitaka, who could only be described as a heaven-sent visitor. Mitsuhide was so surprised that he went out to greet the man himself, overawed that a person as exalted as Fujitaka had come to his house.

Fujitaka's character was exactly to Mitsuhide's liking. He certainly had the air of a n.o.ble and learned man. Mitsuhide had long lamented that he was unable to meet men of real quality, and such a guest naturally brought joy into his heart. He felt doubt, however, about the purpose of Fujitaka's visit.

Although his lineage was n.o.ble, at the time he secredy visited Mitsuhide's home, Fujitaka was really nothing more than an exile. Having been driven out of Kyoto, the refugee shogun, Yos.h.i.+aki, was fleeing through the provinces. It was Fujitaka who approached Asakura Yos.h.i.+kage on the shogun's behalf. Touring the provinces preaching loyalty and trying to stir the provincial lords to action, Hosokawa Fujitaka was the only man who suffered with Yos.h.i.+aki, trying to overcome his master's pitiful reverses.

"Surely the Asakura clan will declare itself his ally. If fhe two provinces of Wakasa and Echizen joined us, then all the clans of the north would rush to our cause."

Yos.h.i.+kage was of a mind to refuse. Regardless of what Fujitaka preached about loyalty, Yos.h.i.+kage was not inclined to fight for a powerless, exiled shogun. It was not for a lack of military strength or resources, but because Yos.h.i.+kage supported the status quo.

Fujitaka quickly perceived that the situation was not in their favor and, aware of the nepotism and internal struggles within the Asakura clan, abandoned his efforts there. Yos.h.i.+aki and his retainers, however, were already on their way to Echizen.

Although the Asakura clan felt greatly annoyed about having him as a dependent, they could not mistreat the shogun, and designated a temple as his temporary residence. They treated him well but also prayed for his early departure.

Then, quite suddenly, here was Mitsuhide, receiving a visit from Fujitaka. He was, however, still unable to guess the reason for the visit.

"I've heard that you have a taste for poetry. I saw one of your works when you went to Mis.h.i.+ma," Fujitaka said by way of an opening remark. He did not look like a man whose heart was suffering. His countenance was absolutely mild and benign.

"Oh, I'm ashamed to hear it." Mitsuhide was not just being modest; he was sincerely embarra.s.sed. Fujitaka, of course, was famous for his verses. That day their conversation began with poetry and went on to j.a.panese cla.s.sical literature.

"Gracious, the conversation was so interesting, I forgot this was my first visit here Apologizing for his long stay, Fujitaka took his leave.

After Fujitaka had left, Mitsuhide was even more perplexed. Gazing at the lamp, he became lost in thought. Fujitaka called on him two or three times, but the subjects of conversation never departed from poetry or the tea ceremony. But then one day-a day of drizzling rain so dark that lamps were needed inside-at a quiet moment, Fujitaka was more formal than usual.

"Today I have something very serious and secret to discuss," he began.

Mitsuhide, of course, had been waiting for him to break the ice like this, and answered, "If you trust me enough to tell me a secret, I certainly promise to keep it. Please speak freely, on any subject."

Fujitaka nodded. "I'm sure that someone as perceptive as you has already quickly guessed why I have been visiting like this. The fact is that those of us in attendance on the shogun came here depending on Lord Asakura as the only provincial lord who would be his ally, and until now we have secretly negotiated and appealed to him a number of times. His final answer, however, has been put off from day to day, and a decision does not seem to be in the offing. In the meantime we have studied the internal administration and affairs of Lord Asakura, and I know now that he does not have the will to fight for the shogun. Those of us who have appealed to him understand that it is futile. However..." Fujitaka spoke as though he were an entirely different man from the ne who had visited before. "Who among all the provincial lords-besides Lord Asakura- is a man upon whom we could rely? Who is the most reliable military leader in the count today? Does such a man exist?"

"He does."

"He does?" Fujitaka's eyes shone.

Mitsuhide calmly wrote a name on the floor with his finger: Oda n.o.bunaga.

"The lord of Gifu?" Fujitaka caught his breath. Raising his eyes from the floor to Mitsuhide's face, he said nothing for a short while. After that, the two men discussed n.o.bunaga for a long time. Mitsuhide had been a retainer of the Saito clan, and in serving his former master, Lord Dosan, he had observed the character of Dosan's son-in-law. Thus there was a certain authority in what he said.

A few days later, Mitsuhide met Fujitaka in the mountains behind the temple that had become the shogun's lodging. From him he received a personal letter written by the shogun and addressed to n.o.bunaga. That night, Mitsuhide quickly left Ichijogadani. Naturally he abandoned both his residence and retainers, expecting never to return. The next day the Asakura clan was in an uproar.

The he cry went up, "Mitsuhide has disappeared!" A punitive force was sent out to bring him back, but he could no longer be found within the boundaries of the province.

Asakura Yos.h.i.+kage had heard that one of the shogun's followers, Hosokawa Fujitaka, had visited Mitsuhide, and so now Yos.h.i.+kage turned on the shogun, saying, "a.s.suredly he's incited Mitsuhide in this matter, and has probably sent him off to another province as a envoy." And Yos.h.i.+kage drove the shogun from the province.

Fujitaka had guessed this outcome beforehand. Thus, taking it rather as an opportunity, he went with his entourage from Echizen to Omi and found shelter with Asai Nagamasa in Odani Castle. There he waited for good news from Mitsuhide.

And this was why Mitsuhide had come to Gifu. Carrying the shogun's letter, he had risked his life many times along the way. Now he had finally completed half of his objective. He had found his way to Mori Yos.h.i.+nari's residence, and was this very evening quietly seated across from Yos.h.i.+nari himself, explaining in detail the aim of his mission and asking Yos.h.i.+nari to act as an intermediary with n.o.bunaga.

It was the seventh day of the Tenth Month in the ninth year of Eiroku. One might, perhaps, call it a fateful day. Mori had interceded for Mitsuhide, and the details of the situation had reached n.o.bunaga. This was the day that Mitsuhide entered Gifu Castle and met n.o.bunaga for the first time. Mitsuhide was thirty-eight, six years older than n.o.bunaga.

"I have carefully looked over the letters from Lord Hosokawa and the shogun," n.o.bunaga said, "and I see that they have requested a.s.sistance from me. Unworthy as I am, I will give them whatever strength I can."

Mitsuhide bowed and responded to n.o.bunaga's words. "Risking my insignificant life for the nation has been a mission far exceeding my own low status." There was nothing false in Mitsuhide's words.

His sincerity impressed n.o.bunaga, as did his bearing and conduct, his perceptive use of words, his admirable intelligence. The more n.o.bunaga watched him, the more he was impressed. This man should prove to be of service, he thought. Thus Akechi Mitsuhide came under the wing of the Oda clan. Soon, he was granted a domain in Mino of four thousand kan. Moreover, as the shogun and his followers were now with the Asai clan, n.o.bunaga sent a number of men under Mitsuhide's command to escort them to Gifu Castle. n.o.bunaga went to the provincial border himself to greet the shogun, who had been treated as such a troublesome man in the other provinces.

At the castle gate, he took the reins of the shogun's horse and treated him as an honored guest. In truth, n.o.bunaga was not just holding the reins of the shogun's horse, but taking hold of the reins of the nation. From this moment on, whatever road he took, the storm clouds and winds of the times were in the fist that held those reins so tightly.

The Wandering Shogun After the shogun and his party had found refuge with n.o.bunaga, they were lodged at a temple in Gifu. Vain and small-minded as they were, all that the shogun's retainers wanted to do was to display their own authority. They did not realize the extent of the changes occurring among the common people, and as soon as they had settled in, they began to behave in a highhanded, aristocratic manner, and complained to n.o.bunaga' retainers: "This food doesn't taste quite right."

"The bedding is much too coa.r.s.e."

"I know this cramped temple is just a temporary residence, but it reflects poorly on the shogun's dignity."

They went on, "We would like to see the treatment of the shogun improved. For the present, you might select some picturesque spot for the new shogun's palace and begin its construction."

n.o.bunaga, hearing of their demands, considered these men to be pitiable. Immediately summoning Yos.h.i.+aki's retainers, he told them, "I've heard that you wish to have me build a palace for the shogun because his present residence is so cramped."

"Indeed!" their spokesman replied. "His present lodgings are so inconvenient. As the shogun's residence, they lack even basic amenities."

Well, well," n.o.bunaga answered with some contempt. "Aren't you gentlemen thinking rather slowly? The reason the shogun appealed to me was so that I might drive out Milyos.h.i.+ and Matsunaga from Kyoto, recover his lost lands, and restore him to his rightful place."

"That's correct."

"Unworthy as I am, I consented to take on this great responsibility. More than that, I think that I should be able to realize the shogun's hopes for him in the very near future. How am I going to have the leisure to build a palace for him? And do you gentlemen really want to give up your hopes of returning to Kyoto to reestablish a national government? Would you be satisfied to spend your lives quietly in some scenic place in Gifu, and become early recluses in a large palace, with your meals provided by your host?"

Yos.h.i.+aki's attendants withdrew without saying another word. Thereafter, they did not complain so much. There was nothing false about n.o.bunaga's grand words. As summer turned to fall, n.o.bunaga ordered a general mobilization of Mino and Owari. By the fifth day of the Ninth Month, nearly thirty thousand soldiers were ready to go. By the seventh day, they were already marching out of Gifu for the capital.

At the great feast in the castle the night before the army's departure, n.o.bunaga had told his officers and men, "The commotion in the country, which is the result of territorial disputes among rival lords, is causing endless distress to the people. It is hardly necessary to mention that the misery of the entire nation is the anguish of the Emperor. It has been the iron rule of the Oda clan-from the time of my father, n.o.buhide, to the present-that the duty of the samurai must be, first and foremost, the protection of the Imperial House. Thus, in our march on the capital at this time, you are not an army acting for me, but one that is acting in the name of the Emperor."

Every one of the commanders and men were in high spirits at the proclamation to set out.

For this great enterprise, Tokugawa Ieyasu of Mikawa, having recently bound himself in a military alliance to n.o.bunaga, also sent a thousand of his own troops. At the departure of the entire army, some voiced criticism.

"The Lord of Mikawa hasn't sent many men. He's sly, just as we've always heard."

n.o.bunaga shrugged this off with a laugh. "Mikawa is reforming its administration and economy. It has no time for other considerations. For him to send a large number of troops right now would mean great expense. He's going to be frugal even if he is criticized, but he's no common commander. I suspect that the troops he sent are his best men."

Just as n.o.bunaga had expected, the one thousand soldiers from Mikawa under Matsudaira Kans.h.i.+ro were never outstripped in any battle. Always fighting in the vanguard, they opened the way for their allies, their courage bringing all the more fame to Ieyasu's name.

Every day the weather continued to be beautiful. The thirty thousand troops marched in black lines beneath the clear autumn sky. The column was so long that when the vanguard had reached Kas.h.i.+wabara, the rear guard was still pa.s.sing through Tarui and Akasaka. Their banners hid the sky. As they pa.s.sed the post town of Hirao and entered Takamiya, there was some shouting from up ahead.

"Messengers! There are messengers from the capital!"

Three generals rode out to meet them.

"We wish to have an audience with Lord n.o.bunaga." They carried with them a letter from Miyos.h.i.+ Nagayos.h.i.+ and Matsunaga Hisahide.

When this was related to headquarters, n.o.bunaga said, "Bring them here."

The messengers were brought in immediately, but n.o.bunaga sneered at the message of reconciliation in the letter as a trick of the enemy. "Tell them I will give them my answer when I reach the capital."

As the sun rose on the eleventh, the vanguard crossed the Aichi River. The following morning n.o.bunaga moved toward the Sasaki strongholds of Kannonji and Mitsukuri. Kannonji Castle was held by Sasaki Jotei. Jotei's son, Sasaki Rokkaku, prepared Mitsukuri Castle for a siege. The Sasaki clan of Omi were allied with Miyos.h.i.+ and Matsunaga, and when Yos.h.i.+aki had sought shelter with them during his flight, they had tried to murder him.

Omi was a strategic area along Lake Biwa on the road to the south. And here the Sasaki waited, boasting that he would destroy n.o.bunaga just as n.o.bunaga had annihilated Imagawa Yos.h.i.+moto, in a single blow. Sasaki Rokkaku left Mitsukuri Castle, joined forces with his father at Kannonji, and distributed his troops among the eighteen fortresses in Omi.

Shading his eyes with his hand, n.o.bunaga looked down from high ground and laughed. "This is a wonderful enemy line, isn't it? Just like in a cla.s.sic treatise."

He ordered Sak.u.ma n.o.b.u.mori and Niwa Nagahide to take Mitsukuri Castle, placing the Mikawa troops in the vanguard. Then he said, "As I told you the night before we left, this march on the capital is not a personal vendetta; I want it understood by every soldier in the army that we are fighting for the Emperor. Do not kill those who flee. Do not burn the people's homes. And, as far as possible, do not trample over the fields where crops have not yet been harvested."

The waters of Lake Biwa were still invisible through the morning mist. Darkly piercing that mist, thirty thousand men began to move. When n.o.bunaga saw the flare that signaled the attack on Mitsukuri Castle by Niwa Nagahide's and Sak.u.ma n.o.b.u.mori's troops, he ordered, "Move the headquarters to Wada Castle."

Wada Castle was an enemy stronghold, so n.o.bunaga's order meant to attack and take the castle. He said it, though, as if he were ordering his men to move into an unoccupied position.

"n.o.bunaga himself is coming to attack!" the commanding general of Wada Castle shouted in response to the lookouts on the watchtower. Striking the hilt of his sword, he harangued the garrison: "This is heaven-sent! Both Kannonji and Mitsukuri Castle would have been able to hold for at least a month, and during that time the Matsunaga and Miyos.h.i.+ forces and their allies to the north of the lake would have cut off n.o.bunaa's path of retreat. But n.o.bunaga has hastened his own death by attacking this castle. A wonderful opportunity indeed! Do not let this piece of martial luck escape. Take n.o.bunaga's head!"

The entire army screamed its a.s.sent. They were confident that the iron walls of the Sasaki clan could hold out for a month, even though n.o.bunaga commanded an army of thirty thousand men and had many able generals. The powerful provinces surrounding them also believed this. But Wada Castle fell in half a day. After a battle lasting a little over four hours, the defenders were routed, and fled into the mountains and to the sh.o.r.es of the lake.

"Do not pursue them!" n.o.bunaga ordered from atop Mount Wada, and the banners erected there so quickly could clearly be seen under the noonday sun. Covered with blood and mud, the men gradually collected under the banners of their own generals. Then, raising a shout of victory, they ate their noonday rations. A number of messages continued to come in from the direction of Mitsukuri. The Tokugawa forces from Mikawa, which had been positioned as the vanguard for Niwa and n.o.b.u.mori, were just now fighting courageously, bathed in blood. Moment by moment, messages of success collected in n.o.bunaga's hand.

The report of Mitsukuri's fall reached n.o.bunaga before the sun had set. As evening neared, black smoke rose from the direction of the castle at Kannonji. Hideyos.h.i.+'s forces were already pressing in. The command for an all-out attack was given. n.o.bunaga moved his camp, and the entire force of Mitsukuri and its allies were pushed back to Kannonji Castle. By the time evening fell, the first men had breached the walls of the enemy castles.

Stars and sparks filled the clear autumn night sky. The attacking forces surged in. Viclory songs were raised, and to those allied with the Sasaki, they must have sounded like the heartless voice of the autumn wind. No one had expected that this stronghold would fall in but a single day. The fortress at Mount Wada and the eighteen strategic points had been no defense at all against these billowing waves of attackers.

The entire Sasaki clan-from women and children to its leaders, Rokkaku and Jotei-stumbled and fought through the darkness, fleeing from the flames of their castles to the fortress at Is.h.i.+be.

"Let the fugitives flee as they will; there will be enemies still ahead of us tomorrow." n.o.bunaga spared not only their lives, but also ignored the vast amount of treasure they carried with them. It was not n.o.bunaga's style to tarry along the way. His mind was already in Kyoto, the center of the field. The castle at Kannonji stopped burning at the keep. As soon as n.o.bunaga entered what was left of it, he showed his appreciation to his troops, saying, "The horses and men should be given a good rest."

He himself, however, did not rest much. That night he slept in his armor, and as morning broke, he gathered his senior retainers for a conference. Again he commanded decrees to be posted throughout the province, and immediately sent Fuwa Kawachi off with the command to bring Yos.h.i.+aki from Gifu to Moriyama.

Yesterday he had fought at the head of an army; today he was taking the reins of the administration. This was n.o.bunaga. Temporarily giving four of his generals responsibilities as administrators and magistrates in the port city of Otsu, two days later he crossed Lake Biwa, nearly forgetting to eat as he issued order after order.

It was the twelfth of the month when n.o.bunaga struck into Omi and attacked Kannonji and Mitsukuri. Then, by the twenty-fifth, n.o.bunaga's army had gone from the aftermath of battle to setting up notices of the new laws for the province. One road to supremacy, to the center of the field! With that, the wars.h.i.+ps from the east sh.o.r.e of Lake Biwa were lined up, and they sailed for Omi. Everything from the preparation of the s.h.i.+ps to the loading of the rations for the soldiers and feed for their horses involved the cooperation of the common people. Certainly they crouched in fear of n.o.bunaga's miliary strength. But more than that, the fact that the common people of Omi united in support of him was due to their approval of his style of government, which they trusted as reliable.

n.o.bunaga was the only man who had rescued the hearts of the common people from the flames of war and who had committed himself to them publicly. When they asked themselves what was to become of them, he rea.s.sured them. In such situations, there is no time to establish a detailed political policy. n.o.bunaga's secret was nothing more than to do things swiftly and decisively. What the common people clearly wanted in this country at civil war was not a talented administrator or a great sage. The world was in chaos. If n.o.bunaga was able to control it, they would accept a certain amount of hards.h.i.+p.

The wind on the lake reminded one that it was autumn, and the water drew beautiful long patterns in the wake of the myriad boats. On the twenty-fifth, Yos.h.i.+aki's boat crossed the waters of the lake from Moriyama and landed near Mii Temple.

n.o.bunaga, who had already landed, expected an attack by Miyos.h.i.+ and Matsunaga, but it did not come.

He greeted Yos.h.i.+aki at the temple, saying, "It's the same as if we've already entered the capital."

On the twenty-eighth, n.o.bunaga at last pushed his troops toward Kyoto. When they reached Awataguchi, the army stopped. Hideyos.h.i.+, who was at n.o.bunaga's side, galloped forward at the same time that Akechi Mitsuhide was hurrying back from the van.

"What is it?"

"Imperial messengers."

n.o.bunaga, too, was surprised, and hurriedly dismounted. The two messengers arrived with a letter from the Emperor.

Bowing low, n.o.bunaga responded reverently, "As a provincial warrior, I have no other abilities than taking up the weapons of war. Since my father's time, we have long lamented the grievous condition of the Imperial Palace and the uneasiness in the Emperor's heart. Today, however, I have come to the capital from a far corner of the country to guard His Imperial Majesty. No other responsibility would be a greater honor for a samurai, or a greater joy for my clan."

Thirty thousand soldiers silently and solemnly swore an oath with n.o.bunaga that they would obey the Emperor's wishes.

n.o.bunaga made his camp at Tof.u.ku Temple. On the same day, proclamations were set up throughout the capital. The disposition of the police patrols came first. The day watch was given to Sugaya Kuemon, and the night watch to Hideyos.h.i.+.

One of the soldiers from the Oda army was out drinking, and a victorious soldier will easily become arrogant. Drunk and having eaten his fill, he tossed down a few coins that amounted to less than half of what he owed, and walked out, saying, "That should do."

The proprietor ran out after him, yelling, and when he tried to grab the soldier, the man struck him and then swaggered away. Midway through his rounds, Hideyos.h.i.+ witnessed the incident and immediately ordered the man's arrest. When he was brought to headquarters, n.o.bunaga praised the police, stripped the soldier of his armor, and had him bound to a large tree in front of the temple gate. The nature of the offense was then signposted, and n.o.bunaga ordered the man to be exposed for seven days and then beheaded. Every day, an immense number of people traveled back and forth in front of the temple gate. Many of them were merchants and n.o.bles, and there were also messengers from other temples and shrines, and shopkeepers transporting their goods.

The pa.s.sersby stopped to read the placard and look at the man bound to the tree. Thus the common people in the capital witnessed both n.o.bunaga's justice and the severity of his laws. They saw that the law posted on placards all over town-that the theft of even a single coin would be punished by death-was to be strictly enforced, starting with n.o.bunaga's own soldiers. No one uttered any discontent.

The phrase "a one-coin cut" became common among the people for the sort of punishment meted out by n.o.bunaga's rule. It had been twenty-one days since the army's departure from Gifu.

After n.o.bunaga had settled the situation in the capital and returned to Gifu, he turned away from the matters that had preoccupied him and found that Mikawa was no longer the weak, poverty-stricken province it had once been.

He could not help marveling secretly at Ieyasu's vigilance. The lord of Mikawa had not simply been content to be a guard dog at the back gate of Owari and Mino while his ally, n.o.bunaga, marched off to the center of the field. Rather than let the opportunity go by, he had expelled the forces of Imagawa Yos.h.i.+moto's successor, Ujizane, from the two provinces of Suruga and Totomi. This, of course, was not through his own strength alone. Connected with the Oda clan on the one hand, he was also in collusion with Takeda s.h.i.+ngen of Kai, and he had a pact with the latter to divide and share the two remaining provinces of the Imagawa. Ujizane had been a fool and had given both the Tokugawa and Takeda clans a number of good excuses to attack him.

Even though the country was in chaos, every military commander understood that he could not start a war without some reason, and that if he did, the battle would be lost in the end. Ujizane was operating an administration against which the enemy could take just such a moral stand, and was weak-minded enough to be unable to see what the future held. Everyone knew he was an unworthy successor to Yos.h.i.+moto.

The province of Suruga became the possession of the Takeda clan, while Totomi became the Tokugawa clan's domain. On New Year's Day of the thirteenth year of Eiroku, Ieyasu left his son in charge of the castle at Okazaki, and he himself moved to Hamamatsu in Totomi. In the Second Month, a message of congratulations came from n.o.bunaga: Last year, I myself mentioned my long-cherished desire and had some small success, but nothing could be more felicitous than adding the fertile land of Totomi to your own domains. Collectively, we have become all the stronger.

In early spring, Ieyasu went to Kyoto in the company of n.o.bunaga. Of course the purpose of the trip was to enjoy the capital in the springtime and to relax beneath the cherry blossoms, or so it appeared. From a political perspective, however, the rest of the world looked at the two leaders meeting in Kyoto and wondered what it was really about.

But n.o.bunaga's trip this time was really just a magnificent and leisurely progress. Alone, the two of them would spend the entire day hawking in the fields. At night n.o.bunaga held banquets and had the popular songs and dances of the villagers performed at their inn. All in all, it looked like nothing more than an outing. On the day n.o.bunaga and Ieyasu were to arrive at the capital, Hideyos.h.i.+, who was in charge of the defense of Kyoto, had gone out as far as Otsu to greet them. n.o.bunaga had introduced him to Ieyasu.

"Yes, I've known him for a long time. The first time I met him was when I visited Kiyosu, and he was among the samurai stationed at the entrance to greet me. That was a year after the battle of Okehazama, so it was quite a while ago." Ieyasu looked directly at Hideyos.h.i.+ and smiled. Hideyos.h.i.+ was surprised at how good the man's memory was. Ieyasu was now twenty-eight years old. Lord n.o.bunaga was thirty-six. Hideyos.h.i.+ was going to be thirty-four. The battle of Okehazama had taken place a good ten years before.

When they had settled down in Kyoto, n.o.bunaga first went to inspect the repairs being done on the Imperial Palace.

"We antic.i.p.ate that the Imperial Palace will be finished by next year," the two construction overseers informed him.

"Don't be stingy with the expenses," n.o.bunaga replied. "The Imperial Palace has lain in ruins for years."

Ieyasu heard n.o.bunaga's comments and said, "I truly envy your position. You have been able to demonstrate your loyalty to the Emperor in actual fact."

"That's so," n.o.bunaga answered without modesty, and nodded as though he approved of himself.

Thus, n.o.bunaga not only rebuilt the Imperial Palace, but he also revised the finances of the court. The Emperor was pleased, of course, and n.o.bunaga's loyalty impressed the people. Seeing that the n.o.bles were at ease and that the lower cla.s.ses were at peace and in harmony, n.o.bunaga truly enjoyed the time spent with Ieyasu during the Second Month, viewing the cherry blossoms, and attending tea ceremonies and concerts.

Who would have known that, during that time, his mind was preparing to strike through the next set of difficulties? n.o.bunaga initiated his actions as new situations developed, and moved ahead with the outlines of his plans and their execution even as he lay sleeping. Suddenly, on the second day of the Fourth Month, all of his generals received summonses to meet at the residence of the shogun.

The large conference room was full.

"This concerns the Asakura clan of Echizen," n.o.bunaga began, revealing what he had been planning since the Second Month. "Lord Asakura has ignored the numerous requests of the shogun and has not offered a single piece of lumber for the construction of the Imperial Palace. Lord Asakura was appointed by the shogun and holds the position of retainer to the Emperor, but he thinks of nothing but the luxury and indolence of his own clan. I would like to investigate this crime myself, and a.s.semble a punitive force of soldiers. What are your opinions?"

Among those under direct control of the shogunate, there were a number of men who had old friends.h.i.+ps with the Asakura clan and who supported the clan indirectly; but no one disagreed. And as a large number of men voiced frank approval quite readily, no one spoke under the added pressure of the large group.