Shogun_ A Novel of Japan - James Clavell [259]
Omi bowed to the futon. Yabu deserves to die, he thought scornfully, he’s so easy to manipulate. “I deserve nothing, Sire. I was just doing my duty.”
“Yes. But a liege lord should reward faithfulness and duty.” Yabu was wearing the Yoshitomo sword tonight. It gave him great pleasure to touch it. “Suzu,” he called to one of the maids. “Send Zukimoto here!”
“How soon will war begin?” Omi asked.
“This year. Maybe you have six months, perhaps not. Why?”
“Perhaps the Lady Mariko should stay more than three days. To protect you.”
“Eh? Why?”
“She’s the mouth of the Anjin-san. In half a month—with her—he can train twenty men who can train a hundred who can train the rest. Then whether he lives or dies doesn’t matter.”
“Why should he die?”
“You’re going to call the Anjin-san again, his next challenge or the one after, Sire. The result may be different next time, who knows? You may want him to die.” Both men knew, as Mariko and Igurashi had known, that for Yabu to swear by any god was meaningless and, of course, he had no intention of keeping any promise. “You may want to put pressure on him. Once you have the information, what good is the carcass?”
“None.”
“You need to learn barbarian war strategy but you must do it very quickly. Lord Toranaga may send for him, so you must have the woman as long as you can. Half a month should be enough to squeeze his head dry of what he knows, now that you have his complete attention. You’ll have to experiment, to adapt their methods to our ways. Yes, it would take at least half a month. Neh?”
“And Toranaga-san?”
“He will agree, if it’s put correctly to him, Sire. He must. The guns are his as well as yours. And her continuing presence here is valuable in other ways.”
“Yes,” Yabu said with satisfaction, for the thought of holding her as hostage had also entered his mind on the ship when he had planned to offer Toranaga as a sacrifice to Ishido. “Toda Mariko should be protected, certainly. It would be bad if she fell into evil hands.”
“Yes. And perhaps she could be the means of controlling Hiro-matsu, Buntaro, and all their clan, even Toranaga.”
“You draft the message about her.”
Omi said, offhand, “My mother heard from Yedo today, Sire. She asked me to tell you that the Lady Genjiko has presented Toranaga with his first grandson.”
Yabu was at once attentive. Toranaga’s grandson! Could Toranaga be controlled through this infant? The grandson assures Toranaga’s dynasty, neh? How can I get the infant as hostage? “And Ochiba, the Lady Ochiba?” he asked.
“She’s left Yedo with all her entourage. Three days ago. By now she’s safe in Lord Ishido’s territory.”
Yabu thought about Ochiba and her sister, Genjiko. So different! Ochiba, vital, beautiful, cunning, relentless, the most desirable woman in the Empire and mother of the Heir. Genjiko, her younger sister, quiet, brooding, flat-faced and plain, with a pitilessness that was legend, even now, that had come down to her from their mother, who was one of Goroda’s sisters. The two sisters loved each other, but Ochiba hated Toranaga and his brood, as Genjiko detested the Taikō and Yaemon, his son. Did the Taikō really father Ochiba’s son, Yabu asked himself again, as all daimyos had done secretly for years. What wouldn’t I give to know the answer to that. What wouldn’t I give to possess that woman.
“Now that Lady Ochiba’s no longer hostage in Yedo … that could be good and bad,” Yabu said tentatively. “Neh?”
“Good, only good. Now Ishido and Toranaga must begin very soon.” Omi deliberately omitted the “sama” from those two names. “The Lady Mariko should stay, for your protection.”
“See to it. Draft the message to send to Toranaga.”
Suzu, the maid, knocked discreetly and opened the door. Zukimoto came into the room. “Sire?”
“Where are all the gifts I ordered brought from Mishima for Omi-san?”
“They’re all in the storehouse, Lord. Here’s the list. The two horses can be selected from the stables. Do you want me to do that now?”
“No. Omi-san will choose them tomorrow.” Yabu glanced at the carefully written list: “Twenty kimonos (second