38220.fb2 Gai-Jin - читать онлайн бесплатно полную версию книги . Страница 160

Gai-Jin - читать онлайн бесплатно полную версию книги . Страница 160

Easy to stamp shishi out if you and I wanted to --but their slogan is not as easy to suppress, if indeed it should be suppressed. Power should return to the Emperor, gai-jin should be expelled. Sonno-joi is a good slogan, eh?"

"I could say many things, Ogama-donno, but allies should not bait one another. We are allies? You agree?"

Ogama nodded. "In principle yes."

"Good," Yoshi said, hiding his astonishment that Ogama had agreed to his conditions. "Within the year you are Chief of the Elders. From noon I garrison the Gates." He turned to go.

"Everything as you said. Except the Gates."

The vein in Yoshi's forehead knotted. "But I said I need the Gates."

"So sorry." Ogama's hand had not tightened on his sword though his feet had shifted into a better fighting stance. "Secret allies yes, war with Tosa yes, with Satsuma yes, the Gates no. So sorry."

For a moment Yoshi Toranaga said nothing.

He looked at him. Ogama stared back unafraid, waiting, ready to fight if need be.

Then Yoshi sighed, wiped raindrops from the edge of his wide-brimmed hat. "I want to be allies. Allies should help one another. I have a compromise, perhaps, but first I give you some special information: Katsumata is here in Kyoto."

The blood rushed into Ogama's face. "Not possible, my spies would have told me."

"He is here and has been here for some weeks."

"There are none of Sanjiro's men in Kyoto, least of all that man. My spies would have t--"

"Ah, sorry," Yoshi said softly, "he is here, secretly, not as Sanjiro's pathfinder and spy, at least not openly. Katsumata is shishi, a Sensei of shishi, and the leader of shishi here, code name the Raven."

Ogama gaped at him. "Katsumata is the shishi leader?"

"Yes. And a little more. Think for a moment: is he not Sanjiro's most trusted, long-time counselor and tactician? Did he outsmart you on behalf of Sanjiro with his false pact and foil you at Fushimi and allow Sanjiro to escape? Does that not mean Sanjiro of Satsuma is secretly the real leader of shishi and that all of their assassinations are part of his general plan to overthrow all of us, you particularly, to become Shogun?"

"That's always been Sanjiro's goal, of course," Ogama said, momentarily glazed, many hitherto unexplained occurrences now falling into place. "If he controls all shishi too ..." he stopped, suddenly infuriated that Takeda had never told him. Why? Is Takeda not a spy for me, not a true secret vassal after all? "Where is Katsumata now?"

"One of your patrols almost ambushed him at the Inn of Whispering Pines a few days ago."

Again color came into Ogama's face and he almost spat. "He was there? We heard that shishi were sleeping there but I never knew...." Once again he choked with rage that Takeda had not forewarned him that his hated enemy was within his grasp. Why? Never mind, easy to deal with Takeda. First Katsumata. I have not forgotten Katsumata ruined my surprise attack on Sanjiro.

But for Katsumata, Sanjiro would be dead, I would be overlord of Satsuma, and there would be no need to talk with Toranaga Yoshi--he would be on his knees in front of me. "Where is he now? Do you know where?"

"I know the safe house where he was last night, perhaps tonight too." Yoshi added softly, "There are over a hundred shishi in Kyoto. They already plan a mass attack on you."

Ogama felt chilled, knowing there was no true defense against a fanatic assassin not afraid to die. "When?"

"It was to be at dusk tomorrow--if the attack on the Shogun had been successful. Then, once you were dead, with adherents amongst your troops, they would seize the Gates."

It took much of Ogama's strength not to tell Yoshi a secret meeting with Takeda was due at dusk tomorrow, a perfect moment for a surprise attack. "And now that it was a failure?"

"The information I have is that the leaders are meeting tonight to decide. Now, formally you head their target list, after Nobusada and myself."

"Why?" Ogama spluttered. "I support the Emperor, support the fight against the gai-jin."

Yoshi kept the smile off his face, knowing very well. "Let us join forces tonight. I know their meeting place, where Katsumata and most of the leaders should be--there is a dawn to dusk curfew in that part of the city."

Ogama exhaled. "And the price?"

"First, here is more information that seriously affects both of us." To Ogama's further disquiet, Yoshi related the details of the Elders' meeting with Sir William and the other Ministers, about his spy Misamoto, about Sir William's threat to make an armed sortie here as soon as his fleet returned, and how the threat and payment had been finessed for the moment.

"Their fleet will not pass my Shimonoseki Straits--if I order it."

"They could take the long route around South Island."

"Long route, short route, it makes no difference. If they land in or near Osaka I, or we will destroy them."

"The first time. With great losses but yes, gai-jin will be repulsed. However, two days ago I received a secret report from the department of the Bakufu here who deal with China information." He brought out the scroll. "Here, read it for yourself."

"What does it say?" Ogama snapped.

"That the Yokohama fleet sent to punish the sinking of just one British ship devastated twenty leagues of China's coastline, north of Shanghai, burning all villages, sinking all shipping."

Ogama spat. "Pirates. Pirate nests." He knew much about that area. In the past it had been historic, though secret Choshu--and Satsuma--policy to send raiders to the China coast to pillage ruthlessly from Shanghai, southwards beyond Hong Kong to the Taiwan Straits. The Chinese called them wako, pirates, hating and fearing them so much that, for centuries Emperors of China had forbidden any Japanese from landing on their shores, and all trade between their lands was to be conducted only by non-Japanese.

"Pirates yes, but those scum are not cowards.

Not so long ago an army of these same gai-jin humbled all China a second time and burned the Emperor's Summer Palace and Peking at their whim. Their fleets and armies are awesome in power."

"This is Nippon, not China." Ogama shrugged, not prepared to be drawn out or to divulge his plans for the defense of Choshu. But he was thinking: my coasts are rugged and rock-infested, difficult to invade and very defensible, soon impregnable when all armed emplacements are in place, and bunkers for my fighters. "And we are not Chinese."

"My thought is that we need peace between all daimyos to gain time, to manipulate gai-jin, to learn their cannon secrets and gun secrets and ship secrets and how it seems this one foul little island people, smaller than our land, has become the wealthiest in the world and rules most of it."

"Lies. Lies spread to frighten cowards here."

Yoshi shook his head. "I do not believe that.

First we must learn, then we can smash them, we cannot now."

"We can. This is the Land of the Gods. In Choshu I have one cannon factory, soon there will be others. Satsuma has three small steamers, the beginnings of a shipyard, soon there will be others." His face twisted. "We can smash Yokohama and this fleet and by the time others return we will be ready."

Yoshi hid his surprise at the vehemence and strength of the hatred, secretly elated he had smoked out another weapon to use. "I agree.

My whole point. There, you see, Ogama-dono," he said as though greatly relieved, "we think the same though perhaps from different points. We smash them but in time, we must choose the time, gain their knowledge and let them give us the means to spike their guns and their heads." His voice firmed. "In one year you and I control the Council and Bakufu. In three or four we can buy many guns, cannon and ships."

"Paid for how? Gai-jin are greedy."

"One way is coal for their ships. Another is gold." Yoshi explained his prospecting scheme.

"Clever," Ogama said, his lips twisted into a strange smile. "In Choshu we have coal, iron and trees for ships."

"And one armament factory already."