Takeda's Civil War
April 3, 1837—The Palace of the Shogun
Ieyoshi growled a curse as he read the report on Satsuma. The corrupt lad had declared for Takeda. Now it would be a real civil war. Now Takeda had some sort of legitimacy. A knock sounded on the door. He had called his advisors in for a council of war. He began opening another sealed report.
“Come!”
Two old men filed in, both tutors of his youth. They sat before him. He finished opening it, and placed it on the table.
“Thank you for coming.”
The one to the left spoke. “Ieyoshi, I believe that you will be discussing the fall of Satsuma.”
“Indeed.” The other, a blademaster, said slowly. Both men were respected. The man on the left, a sage known only as Hakata, after his home town, had sworn fealty three days after his father’s death. The blademaster, a tall, tough, old man was the chief of the Tokugawa house guards. This great man had fought for the Tokugawa clan for three decades. His name was Hiroshi Reoniddo.
Hakata spoke. “The former Daimyo Shimazu was not happy with the more moderate regime. However, he was more opposed to Takeda’s raising the peasants. You have lost a piece in this game. It is too soon to tell if it will be fatal.”
Ieyoshi looked at Hiroshi. He looked back blankly. “Hakata said all that needed to be said.”
Ieyoshi nodded, then opened the report, his eyes growing wide in surprise. Hakata spoke quietly. “You find something interesting, yes?” The gross understatement irritated Ieyoshi, but he forced himself to calm. “Apparently, an agent has located Takeda at the head of an army outside Satsuma.”
Hakata’s eyes blazed. “We must hunt and put him down like the mangy cur he is!” This was the most angry Ieyoshi had ever seen the sage. In fact it was the only time he had seen Hakata’s emotions show. What don’t I know about him? He recalled his father’s teaching: ‘an unknown ally is much more dangerous than a known enemy’. He turned to Hiroshi.
“Ieyoshi, the only honorable way to fight is on the battlefield. Espionage is part of your duty, and often you must act on it, but assassination makes you just as dishonorable as Takeda. You have earned respect among your soldiers and people for fighting honorably. Do not throw it away.” That was the most Hiroshi had said ever. He was serious. In fact, he likely would retire if Ieyoshi ordered the assassination.
Hiroshi was right, though. His rule would effectively end if he killed Takeda. But was it worth it for Japan? He would need to think. He shook his head to get rid of an irritating buzzing sound. It was Hakata, frothing at the mouth about how killing Takeda was essential to the war effort. How had he managed to ignore his advisor? His father said that if you were able to tune out your advisors, you had already made a decision, the right one.
Hiroshi was merely looking calmly at Hakata. Ieyoshi opened his mouth. “Hakata, please. I have made my decision. I thank you both for your counsel.” As the two bowed and filed out, Ieyoshi wondered which decision he had made. He grabbed a piece of paper and began to write orders.