The Two-Tigers-Devouring Stratagem and the Drive-the-Tiger-Swallow-the-Wolf Stratagem

[The Land of Ke: Sōja]

"The foe is a large-scale dungeon, so should we fight it head-on, Ke too may be expected to suffer grievous losses. To wage a fight to the death at the risk of death and injury is not 'in keeping with our nature as beasts.'"

As the great old tanuki, Takahashi Tsushima-no-kami, District Governor of Gunma, observed, animals, save in cases where they can finish off a foe at low risk, are for the most part creatures that avoid a duel to the death.

"First, let us define the most favorable state of affairs for Ke. Shina and Koshi beyond the mountains, and Ōshū beyond Nasu-Shiobara, are no threat. A state of stability in which there is no extreme disparity in national strength with our neighbors (Musashi, Sō, and the East) is what we call 'peace.' That is to say, a state in which the danger of being attacked is slight and there is no need to attack."

To be attacked is out of the question. Conversely, even if one did attack, for a Beast to govern great numbers of humans is a wellspring of grievance and discontent. Even with the rather "indulgent" rule of something like the Library-City Dungeon there are limits, and ordinarily one has no margin to make such a thing possible at all.

"Of course, there is no need to force the matter and destroy the Library-City Dungeon utterly. The food that dungeon will supply hereafter is useful to the stability of the region. 'What is needful is balance, and ensuring that no power of extreme strength arises.' … So a Beast cur of Ōshū once said."

Beyond Nasu-Shiobara, in the land of Ōshū, humans, Beasts, and Pretas all dwell intermingled.

"Next, as for the situation we may expect hereafter: for the time being the Library-City Dungeon will not attack of its own intent. To be the first to tear up a pact is a politically perilous act."

"And yet time serves only the foe."

"The first measure we set our hand to is the Two-Tigers-Devouring Stratagem."

Takahashi Tsushima-no-kami spread open a paper inscribed "Two Tigers Devouring."

"We pit dungeon against dungeon and wait for both to wear themselves down. Nasu-Shiobara to the east is a powerful dungeon, where the Asura Nasu clan reigns supreme. Asura are by and large arrogant and overbearing, so it should serve nicely for setting a clash in motion. Rather, I expect they would clash of their own accord even if we did nothing."

"Will the battlefield not become Utsunomiya Castle?"

"Utsunomiya Castle is inhabited, so the battlefield will most likely be the eastern part of Kawachi. In that case, there is a danger Haga becomes isolated. There is also a chance the small nearby dungeons (the 'Ōya Underground Labyrinth' and the 'Kawachi Softshell-Turtle Pond') get drawn in. Should that happen, Kawachi too may end up cut off. But so long as we maintain good relations with the Library-City Dungeon on the surface, we will be able to pass through its sphere of influence."

"The second is the Drive-the-Tiger-Swallow-the-Wolf Stratagem. We set the Library-City Dungeon after another large-scale dungeon (say, Tanzawa Hills, which produces precious timber) and then loose Nasu-Shiobara upon it to grind it down. As the dungeon's population grows, so too will its demand for timber, so here as well there is a high chance a fight will arise of its own accord, with no effort on our part."

"And last: the Library-City Dungeon is ruled by an Asura, while its populace is largely human. Should grievance and discontent pile up, then even if it does not go so far as an uprising, we can sap its strength."

"In the end, it's all just 'waiting,' ain't it?"

One of the attendants, not a District Governor, let it slip in a mutter.

"Here now, that's rude."

A District Governor reproved the man.

"It is no matter. If you have something on your mind, speak it."

The lord of the realm, Kōzuke-no-suke, urged him on.

"I'm Arai, of Ōta in Nitta County, an Arai-the-Bear, as you can plainly see. They tell me I'm some species called a 'trash panda,' but damned if I know what that means. I don't follow the schemes of you great folk, but is it really all right to just sit here, staring and waiting? The enemy Asura number fewer than a hundred, don't they? In this Bandō there are not just us Beasts; counting humans and all the rest, how many millions of people are there?"