There was an obvious question in the air now, for both old soldiers and new. They all knew of and deeply respected the military capabilities of Matsudaira Motoyasu, but it was not him who they had expected to serve. They had travelled here fuelled by the stories of glory and the victories achieved by Miura Tadakata. It was that invincible man that they expected to fight for. His novel strategies would surely be what they needed to grasp victory, despite the odds against him.
Instead, he pushed all responsibility onto his newest general. Why was that? Did he not believe in their chances of victory? Was this some attempt to preserve his reputation whilst incurring a loss? Was he about to flee and go elsewhere, having them fight in his name, sitting in a house in the mountains, safe from it all? In their blank hearts, there was written a new displeasure. They did not want to fight for a coward.
