John Flanagan: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

Alyss shrugged awkwardly. 'Well…maybe a bit. But I'm over that now.' She looked up at Evanlyn and they smiled at each other. There was a new warmth in their smiles and Alyss realised that this was a friendship that would last for her lifetime.

'Are you really going to marry Horace?' she asked, intrigued. Evanlyn nodded.

'I'll be needing a bridesmaid,' she said. 'A tall one. That way, I'll look more petite and feminine.'

Halt clapped his hand on the shoulder of the exhausted scout.

'Thanks, my friend,' he said. 'Now go and get some food, then rest. You've served your Emperor well.'

'Hai, Halto-san!' the travel-stained young Kikori replied. He had spent a nerve-racking four days avoiding Arisaka's army to bring his report to Ran-Koshi. He bowed to the command group, then again, more deeply, to the Emperor. Then he turned and left. Halt waited until he was gone.

'I think that seals it,' he said. 'We'll have to force Arisaka's hand before his reinforcements get here.'

'Now we know why he's waited,' Horace said thoughtfully. The valley leading to Ran-Koshi had been clear for several days, the last of the snow having melted away. Each day they had expected Arisaka to attack and each day he had failed to do so. Now the reason for his delay was obvious. General Yamada, an unexpected ally, was marching to his aid with a force of three hundred Senshi.

According to the report they had just received, the extra troops could arrive within a matter of days.

Shigeru shook his head sadly. 'I had hoped that Yamada would at least remain neutral. I never thought he would believe the lies that Arisaka has been spreading about me.'

Through the winter, Atsu's network of spies had brought in reports of an extensive disinformation campaign generated by Arisaka and his allies to win over the uncommitted clans. According to these reports, Shigeru had abandoned the throne and fled the country. Arisaka was claiming to have trapped a rebel force that was using Shigeru's name and an impostor who resembled the Emperor, in an attempt to seize the throne.

'The bigger the lie, the easier it is to sell,' Halt said sympathetically. 'People tend to believe that a preposterous story must be true – precisely because it is so unlikely.'

'But surely, once Yamada and his men see Shigeru, they'll know the story's false?' Will said.

Halt shook his head. 'How many of Yamada's men would know you by sight?' he asked the Emperor.

Shigeru pursed his lips. 'Very few. Even Yamada would need to see me at close quarters to recognise me.'

'And by the time he had the chance to do so, you'd be dead. You can be sure Arisaka would see to that,' Halt replied. 'But, if we can break Arisaka's force before Yamada arrives, you'd have the chance to prove you are the Emperor.'

'Arisaka has at least five hundred men,' Will pointed out. 'They'll outnumber us by more than two to one.'

'They'll outnumber us four to one if we wait for Yamada to arrive,' Halt pointed out. 'And this way, we can choose our own battleground.' He turned to where Jito, the former headman of Riverside Village, was standing – a few paces away from the others. Jito was still a little in awe of being so close to the Emperor but he'd earned his place in these councils. Halt had put him in charge of logistics and organising defences. 'Jito, are the hedgehogs ready?'

Jito nodded in confirmation. 'Yes, Halto-san. We have fifty of them. I've had them taken down Mikeru's Pass and they're ready to be assembled and placed in position.'

Those Kikori who weren't training as fighters had been busy during the previous months, constructing defensive measures and equipment. The hedgehogs, portable obstructions designed by Halt that could be assembled quickly on the battlefield, were one example of their work.

'Then deploy them tonight where we decided – between the rocks and the drop-off on our left flank.'

'Yes, Halto-san. It will take four to five hours to assemble them and place them in position.'

'We need them in place by first light. Set your own timetable but make sure they're in place when we need them.'

'Yes, Halto-san.' Jito bowed to the Emperor and turned to leave the tent.

Horace stepped forward to study the map Halt had prepared. 'You plan to engage Arisaka on the same ground where we fought the first battle.'

Halt nodded in confirmation. 'Our right flank will be secured by the bluff. The rocks were good enough on the left flank when we weren't outnumbered, but we'll need more this time. The hedgehogs will extend the protection to this shallow cliff. That way, both flanks are secure.'

Selethen rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the chart. 'Relatively secure,' he corrected. 'They'll still get through the hedgehogs, given time,' he said and Halt glanced up at him.

'True. So I'll put Mikeru's dart-throwers on the left flank. They can stay hidden among the rocks, then hit the Senshi while they're forcing their way through the defences. The reserve goju can take care of any that make it through. And Moka's men can take a hand if they're needed.'

Moka, head of Shigeru's Senshi bodyguard, frowned as the foreigners discussed these dispositions.

'Halto-san,' he asked, 'why don't we simply advance down the valley below the palisade? We could choose a spot where the valley walls protect both our flanks.'

'If we do that,' Halt explained, 'there's no incentive for Arisaka to attack. He'll know we could simply retreat back up the valley to the palisade. If we go out onto the plain here, he'll see we have no real line of retreat.'

'Other than Mikeru's Pass,' Will put in and Halt glanced at him.

'True. But Arisaka doesn't know about that. He'll see this as his chance to defeat us once and for all.'

'If the worst comes to the worst, we'd never make it back up that pass in a hurry. It's too narrow. Our men would be jammed up at the entrance,' Horace said.

'It's a risk,' Halt said. 'But I think we have to roll the dice and take it.'

The Emperor wore a worried expression on his face. He looked at Horace, then back to Halt.

'Halto-san, you're saying that in order to make Arisaka attack us, we have to place ourselves in this dangerous, exposed position?'

Halt met his gaze levelly. 'That's right, your excellency. There are always risks in battle. It's a dangerous business. The trick is to take the right ones.'

'How do you know which are the right ones?' Shigeru asked.

Halt glanced at his two younger companions. They grinned and answered in chorus, 'You wait and see if you win.'

Shigeru nodded. 'I suppose I should have known that.'

Halt smiled grimly at Will and Horace. They knew, as well as he did, that they were taking a huge chance. But the only way to win battles, when you were seriously outnumbered, was to take chances.

'Have your gojus ready to move out two hours before dawn,' he ordered. 'We'll jump off from the palisade gate and march down the main valley. It'll be safer and quicker than moving down Mikeru's Pass. And besides, we need to keep that clear for Jito's people.'

After the others had left, Halt stayed behind with Shigeru. The Emperor sat, waiting expectantly. He knew Halt wanted to talk to him and he had a shrewd idea what he wanted to talk about.

'Your highness,' Halt began, 'there is one alternative we haven't discussed…'

He paused, searching for the right way to broach the subject. But Shigeru was ahead of him.

'Halto-san, you're going to suggest that I might make my escape from here alone, correct?'

Halt was taken aback that the Emperor had read his thoughts so easily. But he recovered quickly.

'Yes, sir, I am. It needn't be a permanent thing. But I have to admit, the odds are against us here. It might be better if you made your way to the coast. Our ship is waiting at an island only a few days away. They could take you on board and -'