status. It was far more likely that Nobuo would stand aside to support Samboshi than that he would do so to back the succession of Nobutaka.
Katsuie struggled to find an argument to use against Hideyoshi. He had not thought that Hideyoshi would easily agree with his own proposal at today's conference, but he had not estimated how vigorously the man would insist on backing Samboshi. Nor had he foreseen that so many of the other generals would lean toward supporting the child.
"Hm, well now, let me see. Your words may seem logical by the force of argument, but there is a great difference between taking charge of a two-year-old lord and looking up to a man who has both proper age and military ability. Remember that we remaining retainers must shoulder the responsibility both for the morale of the administration and for the long-range policies for the future. There are also a number of difficulties with the Mori and the Uesugi. What's going to happen if we have an infant lord? Our former lord's work could be stopped halfway, and left as it is, the Oda clan's domain could actually diminish. No, if we choose a defensive attitude, our enemies on all four sides will think that their opportunity has come and will invade. Then the country will sink into chaos once again. No, I think your idea is dangerous. What do you think, all of you?"
Looking around at the men seated in the hall, his eyes searched out supporters. Not only was there no clear response from anywhere, but suddenly another eye caught his own.
"Katsuie."
A voice called his name, exhibiting an opposing force that might as well be cutting him from the side.
"Well, Nagahide, what is it?" Katsuie shot back a reply filled with disgust, almost as a reflex action.
"I've listened to your prudent thoughtfulness for some time now, but I can't help being persuaded by Hideyoshi's argument. I'm fully in agreement with what Hideyoshi says."
Niwa had the rank of elder. With Niwa breaking the silence and clearly placing his banner in Hideyoshi's camp, Katsuie and everyone attending the conference suddenly became agitated.
"Why do you say that, Niwa?"
Niwa had known Katsuie for years, and knew him well. Thus, he spoke soothingly. "Don't be angry, Katsuie." Looking at Katsuie with a kindly expression, he went on, "Regardless of what might be said, wasn't it Hideyoshi who most pleased our lord? And when Lord Nobunaga met his untimely death, it was Hideyoshi who returned from the west to attack the immoral Mitsuhide."
Katsuie's face was smeared with his own wretchedness. But he would not be broken, and his obstinacy was manifest right in his physical body.
Niwa Nagahide went on, "At that time you were involved in the campaign in the north. Even if the troops under your command had not been ready but you had whipped your horses to the capital as soon as you heard of Lord Nobunaga's death, you might have crushed the Akechi on the spot—your status is so much higher than Hideyoshi's, after all. Because of your negligence, however, you were simply late, and that was certainly regrettable."
That opinion was in the breast of every man there, and Niwa's words expressed their innermost feelings. That negligence was Katsuie's weakest point. The single factor of having arrived late and not participated in the battle for their late lord could not be excused in any way. After Niwa had brought it out into the open, he unreservedly gave his own approval to Hideyoshi's proposal, saying that it was both just and proper.
When Niwa finished speaking, the atmosphere in the great hall had changed. It was now filled with gloom.
As if to help Katsuie in his crisis, Takigawa quickly took the opportunity to whisper to the man next to him, and soon sighs and low voices filled the room.
A resolution was going to be difficult. It could be a turning point for the Oda clan. On the surface, it was never anything more than the noise of individual voices, but beneath the uproar there was great anxiety concerning the outcome of the confrontation between Katsuie and Hideyoshi.
In the midst of the oppressive atmosphere, a tea master came in and quietly informed Katsuie that it was now past noon. Nodding to the man, Katsuie ordered him to bring him something to wipe the sweat from his body. When one of the attendants gave him a damp white cloth, he grabbed it in his large hand and wiped the sweat from his neck.
Just at that time, Hideyoshi put his left hand to his side. Grimacing with knitted brows, he turned to Katsuie and said, "You'll have to excuse me for a moment, Lord Katsuie. I seem to have a sudden case of indigestion." Suddenly he stood up and retired several rooms away from the conference hall.
"It hurts," he complained loudly, disconcerting the men around him.
Looking very ill, he lay down. Apparently in full control of himself, however, he iced the cushion to face the cool breeze wafting in from the garden, turned his back to the others, and loosened his sweat-soaked collar by himself.
But the doctor and the attendants were alarmed. His retainers also came in anxiously, one after another, to look in on him.
But Hideyoshi never even looked around. With his back still turned to them, he waved them away as he might a fly.
"This happens all the time. Just leave me in peace, and I'll be better soon."
The attendants quickly prepared a sweet-smelling decoction for him, which Hideyoshi drank in one gulp. Then he lay down again and seemed to fall asleep, so his attendants and samurai withdrew to the next room. The conference hall was some distance away, so Hideyoshi did not know what happened after he had excused himself. He had left just as the attendants were repeatedly announcing the noon hour, however, so his departure had most likely given the generals the portunity to adjourn for lunch.
About two hours passed. During that time, the afternoon sun of the Seventh Month shone relentlessly. The castle was as peaceful as though nothing were happening at all. Niwa came into the room and asked, "How are you feeling, Hideyoshi? Has your stomach settled down?"
Hideyoshi turned and propped himself up on one elbow. Seeing Niwa's face, he seemed to quickly regain consciousness and sat up straight. "My goodness, excuse me!"
"Katsuie asked me to come and fetch you."
"What about the conference?"
"It cannot resume without you. Katsuie said we would continue after you came back."
"I have said all I had to say."
"After an hour's rest in their rooms, the retainers' mood seems to have changed. Even Katsuie has had second thoughts."
"Let's go."
Hideyoshi stood up. Niwa smiled, but an unsmiling Hideyoshi was already leaving the room.
Katsuie greeted him with a direct look in the eye, while the men gathered there seemed somehow relieved. The atmosphere of the conference hall had changed. Katsuie stated positively that he had given in and accepted Hideyoshi's proposal. A measure had been agreed upon establishing Samboshi as Nobunaga's heir.
With Katsuie's conciliation, the entire conference hall was swept clean of the ominous clouds in an instant. A blending spirit of peace was beginning to arise.
"Everyone agreed that Lord Samboshi should be regarded as the head of the Oda clan, and I have no objection." Katsuie repeated. Seeing that his own view had been rejected by everyone, Katsuie had quickly withdrawn his previous remarks but had barely survived his disappointment.
There was, however, one hope he still held.
It had to do with the next item to be discussed by the conference: the fate of the former Akechi domain—or, in other words, the problem of how the domain would be divided up between the surviving Oda retainers.
Because it was a substantial problem directly affecting the interests of all the generals, it was a difficulty—even more so than the problem of succession—that no one expected to be able to avoid.
"This matter should be decided upon by the senior retainers." Hideyoshi, who had obtained the first victory, expressed his modest opinion, and it greatly smoothed the progress of the conference.
"Well, what are the thoughts of our most senior retainer?"
Niwa, Takigawa, and the others now saved the crushed Katsuie from disgrace, giving him the central position in the conference.
The presence of Hideyoshi, however, was difficult to deny, and the draft proposal was eventually sent to him as well. Apparently it could not be finished without first asking his opinion.
"Bring me a brush," he ordered. Dipping the brush in the ink, he artlessly drew a line through three or four clauses and wrote in his own opinions. With this revision, he sent it back.
Once again it was sent to Katsuie, and Katsuie looked displeased. He thought silently for some time; the clause containing his own hopes was still wet with the ink that had been drawn across it. Hideyoshi, however, had also inked a line through the section allotting himself Sakamoto Castle, which he had replaced by the province of Tamba.
Exhibiting a lack of selfishness, he was proposing that Katsuie exhibit the same quality. Finally, a good portion of the Akechi domain was allotted to Nobuo and Nobutaka,
And the rest was assigned as allotments to men according to their merits at the battle of Yamazaki.
“There will be more business tomorrow," Katsuie began. "And with this long conference taking place in such heat, I'm sure you're all tired. I certainly am. Shall we adjourn, my lords?"