Their horses bounded through the mud of the border village days later. Fields had been abandoned mid-harvest – there was not a single soul in sight.
"They've fled the Uesugi," Jikouji said, "a relief that they had sense enough to do that at least. We have made good time. We might be able to meet them yet."
"The tracks my lord," a samurai interrupted. He had professed himself to be an expert of the hunt and so they had brought him to the front of the column in order to test his skill. "The mud is chewed up. There have been horses through here. A lot of them and recently too."
Gengyo shared a look with Jikouji at that. "Uesugi or Takeda?" He asked as he thought out loud.
"Let us hope it is the latter," Jikouji said bitterly. Their scouts were running late and their knowledge of the position was far more crude than they would have liked. With smoke on the horizon, things were looking grim.
Their Daimyo raised his voice, about to rouse his men and demand that they march faster, but a single look at the soldier's faces and it was easy to tell that such a thing was an impossible task. The men were exhausted. They had marched throughout half the night only catching glimmers of sleep. Their haste was approaching the point of recklessness, but with his promise to Shingen and the lives of thousands of civilians on the line, Gengyo was reluctant to slow down.
"We need Uesugi to know that we're here. We need to alarm him. We need to stop him without moving," Gengyo said, twisting his lips as he pondered that seemingly impossible problem. "Jikouji, have the men set up their tents. We will camp here."
"But Miura, it's midday at latest! We can push on further than this. There are lives at stake," Jikouji said indignantly and it was easy to tell that Yamagata and Yamamoto shared the same opinion. They were anxious for action.
"Look at the men, Jikouji. They're exhausted. I will not force them into battle when they are going mad from sleep deprivation. They are far too valuable assets for us to expend lightly. They have done their part. The rest will be down to us generals and trickery. You will do as I say and all of you will meet with me in my tent when it is done," Gengyo said in a tone that brooked no argument, staring Jikouji down. Finally, the old warrior dipped his head, managing to set aside his anxious will to move.
"As you say, my lord," he said, moving away on his mount, barking the orders to the men.
Gengyo watched the confusion on the soldier's faces as they dropped their packs to the ground, but the relief was obvious there too. He could tell, from the way they were walking, that the only thing on their mind from the moment they had woken up was going back to sleep. There had been a painful lack of conversation. Morale was dead and they walked like an army of ghouls towards the hope of rest.
The Daimyo caught Akiko's eye as he looked past the men and he saw her nod approvingly. She was growing an adept hand at war. She was able to keep her emotions in check and calculate appropriately so that she might understand her husband's conclusions. In that sense, she had a hold above the older warriors.
Rin noticed the exchange and looked between the two of them with a hint of confusion. "What?" She asked, irritated that she was being left out of something.
"Nothing," Akiko said with a smile, knowing it would irritate her friend further.
The two of them spent their time quarrelling as tents were erected around them, within the ghostly confines of the abandoned village. The men went to their beds still full in their armour, too tired to care about attempting to loosen it. The sun was still high in the sky and there was plenty of daylight to spare.
Gengyo made his way to his tent ahead of his men. His war table had been set up and the map had been spread across it with bowls full of pieces placed either side, ready to be used. A soldier was still busying himself preparing the rest of the tent as Gengyo sat down in his chair at the head of the table.
The flap trembled after him and Jikouji came in ahead of the rest, taking his seat by Gengyo's side.
"Apologies," the old man said quietly, now that there was no one around to hear. "I should not have questioned you like that. I know you would not come to such a decision lightly. I am too invested in the lives of people that are not even my own. I have embarrassed myself through it."
"It might have been best if you had saved that apology," Gengyo said, wearing his joking grin, "it still might happen that we are unable to come up with a solution and thousands of woman and children will be slaughtered as a result of my carelessness."
Jikouji stared at him, stunned. "You do not mince your words, do you boy?"
"I aim to please," Gengyo replied, setting aside his morbid predictions as Yamagata and Yamamoto joined them with Rin and Akiko behind and Morohira and Rokkaku to the rear. He busied himself setting the pieces in place, according to what their scouts had last told them.
"Well," he said at last, after a silence had reigned for a time. "We are faced with a problem: how do we stop the Uesugi army without moving our own? My best estimate is that we have, say, six hours to hit upon a solution. Every hour after that and there will be another village burned."
The generals clenched their fists hearing the facts and the stared intensely at the board, willing a solution to manifest itself.