"No, not all taxes," Morojo admitted with a smile, pleased by his master's reaction. "Around half we got following your orders; sacking the place and stripping down the useless jewels. Half of the wine is gone too, and the other half is due to go shortly."

"That's to be expected," Gengyo agreed with a nod. "But the rest of it is a surprise. Was it truly from taxes?"

"Every bit of it. I have the logs for you to look through, if you need confirmation."

"I would look at them, if they're on hand. I've been studying the doc.u.ments left over by the old Imagawa administration, and the numbers never were this high. What is it, corrupt officials altering reports and pocketing the rest? We've halved the taxes as well, I imagine the merchants will be rather supportive of our rule now… Good. Very good indeed, things are shaping up."

"As to be expected of Miura, that's exactly what we've found. All the tax receipts were sloppily done, miss spellings alongside ridiculous sums. I can't imagine how any one could let it get so bad."

Gengyo had a thoughtful look in his eye as he stroked his chin and considered this new information. This is the nugget I was looking for. Finally, the treasure was revealed, but not by my hand. A discovery that could only be made through experimentation. We're in a far better position than I had previously thought. "And this is from a single city. Granted, the most prosperous of all the Mikawa cities, nevertheless, the total income will far exceed this."

After a silence, the young Lord released a long-held breath, and let drop the coins from his hands. He gave the room one last cursory glance and left for Morojo's office, leaving the shipwright to trail behind him and lock the door. When he'd finally put everything back to the way it should be, he found Gengyo sitting behind his desk, the doc.u.ment he'd offered him earlier held in his hand. He lowered himself into the seat opposite him, still nervous.

"There's only a hundred people in this report. What about the rest?" Gengyo asked, looking out over the top of the paper.

"The drawer to your left," Morojo answered softly, waiting as patiently as he possibly could.

Gengyo followed his direction and found a stack of papers inside. He spread them out across the desk, and each of them were as neatly done as the last. He briefly scanned through them and could not find a single problem. Finally, he set them down, and looked Morojo in the eye. "You've done well here, Morojo, very well indeed. You have been operating outside my orders, yet you have contributed much towards my cause."

"It has been my honour," Morojo dipped his head modestly, a smile blossoming beneath his beard.

"Do you want to keep this position you've established for yourself?"

"I do, my Lord, if you approve of it."

"Very well. It is a position of immense power and responsibility, but I can not think of a better man for it. These reports here," he tapped the papers, "I want you to keep them up, and store them in an orderly manner. They will be your shield against accusations, so keep that in mind."

"Done! Done, a hundred times over!" Morojo said, beaming.

"Your want for coin as well, it will be sated. You will receive your fill, and you'll have your choice of land around Mikawa. Positions will be found for your sons as well. If they have the ability, it may prove useful to have them placed in other cities for administrative purposes."

"Thank you, Miura-dono, my Lord. I will give you no cause to regret this. The coin will pile up until we can not move for it, that I promise you." He bowed once more, standing up from his seat this time.

"Good, and keep me in the dark no longer. When a new venture seems appealing to you, I will hear of it so that we have no cause to mistrust each other."

"That too will not happen again. I see now that it was foolish for me to keep it from you. You're not the sort of man to dismiss an idea because of the person that suggests it. This was my failing."

Gengyo waved his hand, all too ready to move past the business of apologies. "I will deliver you a new order then. With this coin, make sure the entire province is fed. It will be nearing harvest season soon, I want every man to have the rice he needs. Toyone, my home village, it will prove of interest. We sowed much seed long in advance. I knew it would prove useful, in time."

"It will be done."

"Very good." Gengyo got up from his seat, and paused just before the door. "Join us for a meal tonight, in the palace. I'll clear up the misunderstandings. We've missed your company, and Takeshi's as well. It will be good for us to take the time to laugh, just as we used to."

"I'd like that," Morojo admitted. It had been odd how lonely he and the boys had felt in the absence of the army.

"Good," the young Lord finally broke a smile, taking off the mask of a leader, and Morojo was very glad he did. There had been an intensity in the air ever since he'd walked in the room. He was terrifying when he got like that. The shipwright feared what the consequences would have been if he truly had been intending to betray the man, and he'd not had the right answers to his questions. He shuddered to think, closing the door after his master, and wiping the sweat fromhis brown.

"We've missed your company…" Morojo repeated to himself, sitting back behind his desk. He had been pleased to hear that, he realized. It brought a smile to his face and he had to shake his head to dispel it.