Part 83 (1/2)

Parents, wife, sons, daughters, even their newborn child.

It was regrettable but necessary. The past history of Ne-Issan had been shaped on more than one occasion by orphaned children of deposed domain-lords who had grown to become avenging generals of armies and had swept away those who had unwisely spared them.

Lord Yama-s.h.i.+ta had eliminated all serious rivals, but with the disappearance of his own direct line, a worthy and, it was hoped, a more amenable - successor would appear. All great families, including the Toh-Yota, had strong and weak branches. They were like trees; when a strong branch which took the greater share of the light was lopped off because it shadowed its owner's house, the weaker branches prospered.

The measures taken against the house of Yamas.h.i.+ta would be punis.h.i.+ng but not crippling. Their commercial activities were inextricably linked to the general economic well-being of Ne-Issan. If they were forced to pay too high a price, it would create a source of continuing disaffection.

A balance had to be struck. Firmness had to be tempered with magnanimity. But they would no longer have the monopoly on trade with the Mutes. Their former allies the Ko-Nikka would henceforth be able to build and operate wheelboats across the Western seas, and the Se-Iko would become the land-agents for the slave trade.

The Yama-s.h.i.+ta could still bring them ash.o.r.e, but they could only be sold through the Se-Iko. It was through these two crucial deals, masterminded by Ieyasu, that their loyalty had been purchased - leaving the Yamas.h.i.+ta to pay the price.

The s.h.i.+p flying the house-flags of the Hase-Gawa was, in fact, part of the Shogun's battle fleet. It was this heavily disguised vessel which had brought Yoritomo and the six domain-lords into the port of Ba-satana during the night.

On the command of Lord Min-Orota, a salvo of cannon was fired from the island fort which guarded the entrance to the outer bay. It was the signal for the other five wars.h.i.+ps from the same flotilla to enter harbour. When they have into sight and their ident.i.ty became clear, their sister s.h.i.+p hauled down the Hase-Gawa flags and revealed her true colours.

'As troops of the Min-Orota flooded on to the dockside, it was clear to the astonished captains of Yamas.h.i.+ta's vessels that there had been a sea-change in the political fortunes of their dead master's family.

With six TohYota s.h.i.+ps, barring the only exit, there was little chance of breaking out into the open sea. They were left with two choices: go down fighting, scuttling their junks when defeat seemed certain, or surrender.

Two deck officers from each of the three boats went to the dockside to parley under a flag of truce with representatives of the Toh-Yota, Min-Orota and the six visiting domain-lords. They informed the deck-officers of the charge of high treason against their house. Their vessels were now forfeit. If they surrendered by the next tide, their crews would be returned unharmed to their native domain. Resistance was pointless, but if the captains chose to scuttle their boats, not one man would escape alive. All would be judged to be as guilty as their late master.

The deck-officers returned to their respective s.h.i.+ps. An hour later, the house-flags of the Yama-s.h.i.+ta were hauled down and laid reverently over the corpses of the three captains and their senior officers. It was all over without a shot being fired.

Lord Yama-s.h.i.+ta's death at the hands of the mysterious white witch had not been antic.i.p.ated by Ieyasu, but if he had lived, the result would have been the same. The pike and not the minnows would have fallen into the trap !aid with the help of Kiyo Min-Orota.

The chastened domain-lord, shaken by his own narrow escape from a similar charge of high treason, was now pathetically eager to work his way back into favour.

He had actually gone as far as to broach the subject of a marriage between one of his children and one of the Shogun's many nephews or nieces when escorting Yoritomo to the gangway of his vessel.

Yoritomo agreed that the proposal merited serious consideration, but reminded Min-Orota that he still awaited his proposals for compensating Her Highness the Lady Mis.h.i.+ko for the loss of her husband. The veiled threat robbed the domain-lord of the relief he might otherwise have felt at watching the Shogun's fleet sail out of his harbour.

The Shogun had been advised by Ieyasu to keep his parting words cool and ambiguous, but political necessity required that there be a marriage, whatever his own personal feelings. And that saddened him.

He had thought Kiyo Min-Orota strong, even if he was not totally trustworthy, but he was spineless and treacherous.

Perhaps a grandson, who would carry the blood of the Toh-Yota in his veins, would prove to be made of sterner stuff.

On the journey back to his palace on Arongiren, Yoritomo reflected on the ferment of intrigues that had first been uncovered by Tos.h.i.+ro, his most trusted Herald. It had been Ieyasu who had pressed him to award the licence to build flying-horses to Kiyo Min-Orota. With the discovery of the conspiratorial axis between his house and the Yama-s.h.i.+ta, the Shogun had been convinced that his wily old opponent had finally made the serious error of judgement that could be used to secure his removal from office.

He had secretly hoped Tos.h.i.+ro would produce evidence that would prove Ieyasu was directly implicated in the conspiracy, but it was now evident that he could not have been more wrong. Kiyo Min-Orota had been chosen because the Lord Chamberlain knew exactly what he was doing. He knew Min-Orota's strengths and weaknesses and had used him to ensnare and finally betray the Yama-s.h.i.+ta. The sly old fox was still as fast on his feet as ever, and Yoritomo could only count himself fortunate that Ieyasu's allegiance was unshakeable. They might disagree about ways and means, but they both served a common end - the maintenance of the Toh*Yota Shogunate.

The Herald, Tos.h.i.+ro Hase-Gawa, took no part in the judgement proceedings. In fact, the secrecy surrounding the event was so complete, he was not even aware that the Shogun and Ieyasu were in Ba-satana. When the action moved into the public domain with the seizure of Yama-s.h.i.+ta's three ocean-going junks, the Herald was already on his way south to Nyo-poro with the Consul-General's grieving wife and her three tearstained children.

The Lady Mis.h.i.+ko had expressed her wish to return to her brother's palace at Yedo on Aron-giren, and it was his duty to escort her carriage and baggage-train which, among other things, included the casket containing the grossly distorted body of her late husband.

Tos.h.i.+ro had, in any case, to make his personal report to the Shogun on the successful outcome of his a.s.signment. The mexican had escaped with his prisoners; the Consul-General had met his death in the prescribed manner. But he was less certain about how to explain what had occurred after the female Mute had intervened in the struggle. He had left the field immediately after Nakane Toh-s.h.i.+ba had crashed to earth, so he had not personally witnessed what some of the Min-Orota line-officers claimed had taken place.

If it was true that Clearwater had employed the demonic powers that witches were reputed to possess then it placed him in a rather delicate position. Better by far to attribute the highly selective earthquake to a wayward Mother Nature and the stories of flying stones to shock, hysteria or over-heated imaginations.

Travelling by the longer but considerably faster sea-route, the Shogun returned to Aron-giren before the Herald arrived with the newly widowed Lady Mis.h.i.+ko.