"You need guns to test defenses?"
"Our Council advised all daimyos to arm with modern weapons," Yoshi said, his voice outwardly calm, inwardly furious that his plan had been betrayed and that he had not foreseen an ambush. "These are the first of my new rifles. I wish to accustom my men to carry them."
"Wise, yes, very wise. I see you carry one too. Lord Yoshi has to carry a gun himself?"
Seething at the jeer, Yoshi glanced down at the rifle in its holster, hating all guns and blessing the wisdom of his namesake in outlawing their manufacture or importation the day he became Shogun. Hasn't that more than anything ensured our peace for two and a half centuries, he thought grimly. Guns are vile, cowardly weapons, worthy only of stinking gai-jin, weapons that can kill at a thousand paces so you may never see who you kill or who has killed you, weapons that any simpleton, low person, maniac, filthy robber, man or woman can use against anyone, even the highest lord with impunity, or most perfectly schooled swordsman. Yes, and now even I have to carry a gun--the gai-jin have forced us into it.
With Anjo's sneering jibe ringing in his ears, he jerked the rifle out of the holster, pushed the safety off as Misamoto had shown him, pointed it, pulled the trigger, immediately pumped shells into the breech, blasting five bullets deafeningly into the rafters, the rifle almost twisting out of his hands with unexpected force. Everyone scattered, even his own men, a few unseated by frightened rearing ponies, Anjo and his guards dived for the floor anticipating more firing, lethal this time, every man in the room unnerved by the rapidity of firing.
In utter silence all waited breathlessly and then, because there was no follow-up and they realized Yoshi was just demonstrating the rifle, the two ranks of archers hastily but warily reformed around his own men who were sorting themselves into order. Anjo and his guards scrambled to their feet. "What was the meaning of that?" he shouted.
As nonchalantly as he could, his own heart pounding, Yoshi continued to gentle his pony and quietly pushed the safety catch on and laid the gun across his lap, concealing his delight with the success of his action and that he was as impressed as anyone with the rifle's power--he had fired muzzle loaders before and some old-fashioned duelling pistols at targets, but never a breech-loader with cartridges. "I wanted to show you the value of one of these. In certain circumstances they're better than a sword, particularly for daimyos." He was glad to hear that his voice sounded calm. "For instance, when you were ambushed a few weeks ago, you could have used one, neh?"
Shakily Anjo was controlling his wrath, quite sure that now he was in great danger, his life under immediate threat, and equally certain if he ordered Toranaga's arrest as he had planned bullets would pepper him--in the name of all gods where and how did that dog learn to shoot and why was I not informed he had become an expert?
And being reminded of the shishi incident was an added public insult for it was well known he had not been brave but had had to scramble to safety, never duelling once with his assailants and then, after the wounded were captured, had ordered them to be killed in a dishonorable fashion. "Under some circumstances, Yoshi-sama, some, but I doubt if your gun or any others have value tonight. I doubt that. May I ask your purpose tonight? Is it to visit our outside defenses and return?
Or is one of your "doves" a departure for elsewhere?"
Both knew Yoshi was not answerable for his movements in or out of the castle precincts. "That depends on what I see outside," he said curtly. "I may decide to return to my own domain for a day or so, perhaps not--of course I would keep you closely informed."
"The Council would miss your presence, if only for a few days. There's much to be done, if you're absent, we will have to make the decisions ourselves."
"As we decided this afternoon, there's nothing major to be decided, fortunately without five Elders nothing of major importance can be settled."
"There is the matter of the gai-jin agreement."
"That was also decided this afternoon."
The meeting of the Council after the gai-jin had departed, for once, had been happy and filled with laughter at the enemy's loss of face, that once again the gai-jin had been outsmarted, Anjo, Toyama, and Adachi congratulating him for his expert handling of the confrontation and understanding of gai-jin, Zukumura saying little except muttering feeblemindedly from time to time.
Anjo had chortled, "Agreeing to advance a pittance to get rid of them and their ships from Yedo while we bring Satsuma to heel was very clever, Yoshi-sama. V. At the same time we've indefinitely postponed their threat to go to Kyoto, and they agree that Satsuma is completely to blame."
Toyama said, "Then we declare war on Satsuma? Good!"
"No, not war, there are other ways to curb that dog." Anjo was very confident with his newfound knowledge.
"You were right about the gai-jin, Yoshi-sama. It was vastly interesting to see how enmity between them all is so close to their revolting surfaces." He and Toyama had witnessed the meeting from behind the dais, the wall there deliberately made see-through from the inner side. "Revolting. We could even smell them through the screen. Disgusting.
I've ordered that audience room washed out and the seats they sat in destroyed."
"Excellent," Adachi said. "My skin crawled all the time I was there. Yoshi-sama, may I ask about that monkey Misamoto, did he really tell you what the gai-jin said, everything? I couldn't hear a word?"' "Not all of it," he had told them, "enough to give me some advance clues but only when they were speaking English. Misamoto said much of the time they were speaking another language, he thought French.
This proves another point: we must have trusted interpreters. I propose we start a language school for our brightest sons at once."
"School? What school?"' Zukumura mumbled. No one paid any attention.
"I disagree." Toyama's dewlaps shook. "The closer our sons get to gai-jin, the more infected they'll be."
"No," Anjo said, "we'll personally select the students--we must have trusted barbarian speakers. We will vote: The Bakufu will be ordered to form a language school at once.
Agreed? Good, next, the gai-jin letter: we will continue Yoshi-sama's tactic, the day before it's due we tell them it will arrive "as soon as possible." Agreed?"' "Sorry no," he had said, "we must do the exact opposite. We must deliver the letter on time, exactly, and give them the second blackmail payment on time too."
They stared at him and Zukumura mumbled, "Letter?"' Yoshi said patiently, "The gai-jin must be kept off balance. They will be expecting us to delay, so we don't, and that will make them believe the one hundred and fifty-six days is also firm which of course it isn't. That we certainly delay and delay and hope to send them all mad." They had laughed with him, even Zukumura who did not understand why they were laughing had laughed anyway--and even more when Yoshi told them how many times he had almost guffawed during the meeting, seeing how their impatience was ruining their already illusory bargaining position. ""Without the killer dog the master's as weak as a puppy against a man with a stick."
"What? Man with a stick?"' Zukumura asked, his dead codfish eyes peering stupidly, "What dog?"' Much of Yoshi's good humor had left him, reminded that now he had to endure this feebleminded man forever. Nonetheless, he explained that without muscle to back up their complaints, and the will to use it, the enemy were helpless.
"Muscle? Don't understand, Yoshi-sama.
What muscle?"' "Force," Anjo said impatiently, "Force! Their cannons and their fleets, Zukumura. Oh never mind!"
Toyama, the old man, said fiercely, "While they're without their fleet we should burn them out--they are unspeakably arrogant, with foul manners and as for their spokesman... I'm glad I didn't have to be present, Yoshi-sama, I think I would have burst.
Let's burn them out, now."
"Who? Burn who?"' "Keep quiet, Zukumura," Anjo said wearily, "and just vote when I tell you.
Yoshi-sama, I agree with your reasoning.
We'll send the letter on time and the second part of their blackmail money when agreed. Everyone in favor? Good. Next: now that we've dealt with the gai-jin, and the Shogun and Princess are safely on the North Road there's not much to do for the next week or so."
"Allowing them to go was a misguided decision and will come back to haunt us," Yoshi had said.
"In this you are wrong. Please prepare a plan, your ideas how to bring that dog Sanjiro and Satsuma to heel. I vote we meet in two weeks, unless there is an emergency ..."
Later, going back to his own quarters Yoshi had not been able to think of any potential emergency that would require his presence in Yedo-- even the second covert, whispered invitation to visit the French warship that he neither accepted nor refused but left open for the weeks ahead was not urgent. So he had resolved to put into effect at once the plan he and his wife, Hosaki, had devised. Now Anjo and his bowmen were barring his path.
What to do?
"Good night, Anjo-sama," he said, making the decision. "As always, I will keep you advised." Covering his disquiet and feeling naked he spurred his pony forward, heading for the far archway. None of the archers moved, waiting for orders. His men and the two palanquins followed him, feeling equally defenseless.
Anjo watched them go. Enraged. But for those rifles I would have had him arrested as planned.
On what charge? Treason, plotting against the Shogun! But Yoshi would never have been brought to trial, oh no, so sorry, fools would have killed him as he tried to escape justice.
A sudden shaft of pain in his bowels made him grope for a seat. Baka doctors! There must be a cure, he told himself, then heaped more curses on Yoshi and the men who had disappeared under the far archway.
Yoshi was breathing better now, the fear sweat no longer chilling him. He trotted deeper into fortifications, along poorly lit corridors, passed more stables and harness rooms until he came to the end wall. The wall was sheathed in wood. Men dismounted and lit torches from those in wall brackets.
With his riding whip he pointed at a knob to one side. His aide dismounted and pulled it sharply.
A whole section of the wall swung outwards to reveal a tunnel, tall enough and wide enough for two men to ride along, side by side. At once he heeled his pony into motion. When the palanquins and the last man were through and the door once more closed, he sighed with relief. Only then did he holster the rifle.
But for you, Rifle-san, he thought affectionately, I might be a dead man, at the very least a prisoner. Sometimes I can see a rifle really is better than a sword. You deserve a name--it was ancient Shinto custom to give names to special swords or weapons or even rocks or trees. I shall call you "Nori" which also can mean "seaweed" and is a pun on Nori Anjo, to remind me that you saved me from him and that one of your bullets belongs to him, in his heart or head.
"Eeee, Lord," his Captain said, riding alongside. "Your shooting was a marvelous thing to behold."