Part 68 (1/2)
When Hideyos.h.i.+ asked what had happened, Hikoemon looked embarra.s.sed. ”Since I allowed the pages to ride, they're frolicking around in the ranks as though they were on a picnic. They're making a lot of noise and joking with each other, and even Mosuke is unable to control them. Perhaps it's better to make the pages walk, after all.”
Hideyos.h.i.+ forced a laugh and looked back. ”They're in high spirits because they're young, and their playfulness would probably be difficult to control. Let them be. n.o.body's fallen off his horse yet, has he?
”It seems that the youngest of them, Sakichi, is not used to riding, and someone thought it would be fun to make him fall off.”
”Sakichi fell off his horse? Well, that's good training too.”
The army marched on. The road entered Harima, and they finally arrived at Kasuya in the evening, just as they had planned.
Unlike s.h.i.+bata Katsuie's gloomy leaders.h.i.+p, which only respected regulations and form, or n.o.bunaga's severity and rigor, Hideyos.h.i.+'s style of command was distinguished by one characteristic: cheerfulness. No matter what sort of hards.h.i.+p or desperate fighting beset his troops, they still radiated that cheerfulness and a harmonious sense that the entire army was one family.
Thus, while it was easy for this group of pages, made up of boys from eleven to sixteen, to disrupt military discipline, Hideyos.h.i.+, as the ”head of the family,” would just wink and say, ”Let them be.”
It began to grow dark as the vanguard quietly entered Harima, an allied province the middle of enemy territory. At a loss concerning what action to take, and under heavy pressure from their neighbors, the people of this province now lit bonfires and welcomed Hideyos.h.i.+'s troops.
Hideyos.h.i.+'s forces had taken the first step in the invasion of the western provinces. As the long column of troops entered the castle in double file, a clacking sound filled the evening. The first corps was made up of the banners; the second of the gunners; the third of the archers; the fourth of spears and lances; the fifth, of swordsmen and halberdiers. The central corps was made up of mounted men and officers who crowded around Hideyos.h.i.+. With the drummers, the standard bearers, the military police, the inspectors, the reserve horses, the packhorses, and the scouts, there were about seven thousand five hundred men altogether, and an onlooker could only see that this must be a formidable force indeed.
Kuroda Kanbei stood at the gate of Kasuya Castle and welcomed them. When Hideyos.h.i.+ saw him, he quickly dismounted and walked up to him with a smile. Kanbei came forward too, with a shout of welcome and his hands extended. Greeting each other like friends who had known each other for years, they walked into the castle, and Kanbei introduced Hideyos.h.i.+ to his new retainers. Each man gave his own name and swore an oath of loyalty to Hideyos.h.i.+.
Among them was one man who seemed to be of excellent character. ”I am Yamanaka s.h.i.+kanosuke,” he introduced himself, ”one of the few surviving retainers of the Amako clan. Until now we've fought side by side, but in different regiments, so we've never met. But my heart jumped when I heard you were invading the west, and I asked Lord Kanbe to put in a good word for me.”
Even though s.h.i.+kanosuke was kneeling, head bowed, Hideyos.h.i.+ could see from the breadth of his shoulders that he was far taller and broader than average. When he stood up, he topped six feet, and he looked to be about thirty years old. His skin was like iron, and his eyes were as piercing as a hawk's. Hideyos.h.i.+ looked at him for a moment as though he could not quite recall who the man was.
Kanbei helped him out. ”This is a man whose loyalty is rare these days. He formerly served Amako Yos.h.i.+hisa, a lord ruined by the Mori. For many years he has shown undying devotion and faithfulness in the most adverse circ.u.mstances. For the last ten years he has taken part in various battles and wandered from place to place, hara.s.sing the Mori with small forces, in an attempt to restore his former lord to his domain.”
”Even I have heard of the loyal Yamanaka s.h.i.+kanosuke. But what did you mean when you said we've been in different regiments?” Hideyos.h.i.+ asked.
”During the campaign against the Matsunaga clan, I fought alongside the forces of Lord Mitsuhide at Mount s.h.i.+gi.”
”You were at Mount s.h.i.+gi?”
Kanbei once again took up the conversation. ”Those years of loyalty amid such adversity were brought to nought when the Amako were defeated by the Mori. Later, he secretly asked for a.s.sistance from Lord n.o.bunaga through the good offices of Lord Katsuie. It was at the battle at Mount s.h.i.+gi that s.h.i.+kanosuke took the head of the fierce Kawai Hidetaka.”
”It was you who struck down Kawai,” Hideyos.h.i.+ said, as though his doubts were now cleared up, and he looked again at the man, this time with a broad smile.
Hideyos.h.i.+ very quickly demonstrated the might of his troops. The two castles of Sayo and Kozuki fell, and within the same month he defeated the neighboring Ukita clan, an ally of the Mori. Takenaka Hanbei and Kuroda Kanbei were always at Hideyos.h.i.+'s side.
The main camp was moved to Himeji. During this time, Ukita Naoie constantly requested reinforcements from the Mori clan. At the same time Naoie gave Makabe Harutsugu, Bizen's bravest warrior, a force of eight hundred men, with which he successfully captured Kozuki Castle.
”This Hideyos.h.i.+ isn't much, after all,” Makabe bragged.
Kozuki Castle's stores of gunpowder and food were replenished, and fresh troops were sent as reinforcements.
”I suppose we couldn't just let it go,” Hanbei suggested.
”I think not,” Hideyos.h.i.+ said deliberately. Since coming to Himeji, Hideyos.h.i.+ had studied the whole situation of the western provinces. ”Whom do you suppose I should send? I think this battle is going to be rough.”
”s.h.i.+kanosuke is the only choice.”
”s.h.i.+kanosuke?”
”Kanbei, what do you think?” Hideyos.h.i.+ asked.
Kanbei voiced his immediate agreement.
s.h.i.+kanosuke received Hideyos.h.i.+'s orders, readied his forces during the night, and pressed on toward Kozuki Castle. It was the end of the year and bitterly cold.
s.h.i.+kanosuke's officers and men were fired with the same zeal as their commander. Sworn to strike down the Mori and to restore Katsuhisa, the head of the Amako clan, they were men of the most loyal courage.
When the Ukita generals heard from their scouts that the enemy was the Amako clan, with s.h.i.+kanosuke at its head, they were struck with dread. Just hearing the name of s.h.i.+kanosuke sent them into the kind of terror a small bird might feel in front of a raging tiger.
And there was no doubt that they feared the reports of s.h.i.+kanosuke's advance far more than they would have feared a direct attack from Hideyos.h.i.+ himself.
From that standpoint, s.h.i.+kanosuke was the best man to send against Kozuki Castle. He had, after all, with his singleminded loyalty and courage, wreaked havoc and inspired terror like an angry G.o.d. Even the bravest general of the Ukita clan, Makabe Harutsugu, abandoned Kozuki Castle without a fight, figuring he would simply lose too many soldiers if he stayed and opposed s.h.i.+kanosuke.
By the time s.h.i.+kanosuke's men entered the castle and reported to Hideyos.h.i.+ that its capture had been executed without bloodshed, Makabe had already asked for reinforcements. Joining forces with an army led by his brother, to make a combined force of fifteen or sixteen hundred men, Makabe rode forward for a counterattack, stopping in a cloud of dust on a level plain a short distance from the castle.
s.h.i.+kanosuke looked out from the watchtower. ”It hasn't rained for over two weeks. Let's give them a fiery reception,” he laughed.
s.h.i.+kanosuke divided his soldiers into two groups. Late that night they made a sortie from the castle, one group of soldiers lighting fires upwind from the enemy and setting the dry gra.s.ses ablaze. Surrounded by the brushfires, the Ukita forces were completely routed.
s.h.i.+kanosuke's second corps now went into action and moved in to annihilate them. No one knew how many of the enemy perished in this ma.s.sacre, but the enemy commander, Makabe Harutsugu, and his brother were both slain.
”I guess they'll be discouraged now.”
”No, they'll keep coming.”
s.h.i.+kanosuke's forces marched back to Kozuki, raising a victory song. However, a messenger from the main camp in Himeji arrived with an order from Hideyos.h.i.+ to abandon the castle and retreat to Himeji. Not unnaturally, a cry of outrage rang out in all the ranks, from Amako Katsuhisa, the head of the clan, on down. Why should they abandon a castle they had fought so hard to take-and one in a strategically advantageous area?
”Nevertheless, if it's our commander-in-chief's order...” said s.h.i.+kanosuke, obliged to console both Lord Katsuhisa and his troops, and to return to Himeji.
On his return, he immediately consulted with Hideyos.h.i.+. ”If I may speak without reserve, every one of my officers and men were incredulous about your orders. I also share their feelings.”
”To keep the matter secret, I didn't tell the messenger the reason for the retreat, but I'll tell you now. Kozuki Castle has been a fine bait to draw out the Ukita. If we abandon it, the Ukita are sure to reprovision it with supplies, weapons, and gunpowder. They'll probably even strengthen the garrison. And that's when we'll move!” Hideyos.h.i.+ laughed. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he leaned forward on his camp stool and pointed his war fan in the direction of Bizen. ”No doubt, Ukita Naoie is antic.i.p.ating that I will attack Kozuki Castle yet again. Only this time he will lead a large army himself, and we are going to outmaneuver him. Don't be angry, s.h.i.+kanosuke.”
The old year ended. The scouts' reports were exactly as expected: large amounts of supplies were already being transported by the Ukita to Kozuki Castle; the command of the castle had been given to Ukita Kagetos.h.i.+; and picked troops had been sent to man the castle walls.
Hideyos.h.i.+ surrounded the castle and ordered s.h.i.+kanosuke and his force of ten thousand men to hide in the vicinity of the k.u.mami River.
Meanwhile, Ukita Naoie, who had planned a pincer attack on Hideyos.h.i.+'s troops, acting in concert with the castle garrison, led his army from Bizen in person.
The bait was set. When Naoie attacked Hideyos.h.i.+, s.h.i.+kanosuke struck like a whirlwind, cutting his army to pieces. Naoie was barely able to escape with his life. Having dealt with the Ukita, s.h.i.+kanosuke rejoined Hideyos.h.i.+ for a full-scale attack on the castle.
Hideyos.h.i.+ attacked the castle with fire. So many were burned to death in the castle that the place became known to later generations as ”the h.e.l.l Valley of Kozuki.”
”This time I won't tell you to abandon the castle,” Hideyos.h.i.+ told Amako Katsuhisa. ”Guard it well.”
Once Hideyos.h.i.+ had finished mopping up Tajima and Harima, he made a triumphal return to Azuchi. He was there for less than a month before setting out again for the west in the Second Month.