Tetsutaisho personally concerned himself in these sometimes threatening matters no further than to give his consent to anything that anybody might propose; and as his mother took the ground that it was her right, and as Nehachibana had nothing to ask, the proposals were always on the side of Takara and the victory in her favour. While Tetsutaisho did not mean to be irreverent he did love a plucky battle and was inclined to the belief that to the winner belongs the spoils. That, probably as much as a careless indifference, prompted him to give the ladies of the house a free hand in its management, and always to absent himself at the first sign of a disturbance. It was, possibly, at one of these bothersome times that Tetsutaisho stole out and unconsciously found his way to the council chamber. He had gone away in this manner before, but seldom got so far as the hall of state. Sometimes he loafed at headquarters or called upon Maido. More often he spent the hour with Ikamon, who was now deeply engrossed with adjusting local affairs so as to meet the requirements of foreign interference, but on this occasion a higher purpose seemed to control him, and for the first time he voiced his sentiment in unmistakable terms. Unconsciously, perhaps, but none the less certain, the hated stranger had peeped into the treasure box, and so infused a commercial and diplomatic awakening as to lay the foundation for nothing less than the rehabilitation of a long lost empire. It was the dawn of a new era, and no one more than Ikamon interpreted correctly the scope and consequence of so sudden a contact with Christian civilization. As yet the shogunate had not been openly accused of collusion with the foreigners; still whisperings to that effect had been heard, as coming from Kyoto; and the prime minister, no more to be outdone at home than to be defeated from abroad, began to encourage an increase in the army and to advise Tetsutaisho accordingly. Ikamon was, also, not slow to grasp at the importance of improved methods and had strongly urged Tetsutaisho to bestir himself in adopting and applying more effective instruments, but the latter was rather inclined to the belief that there was not so much to be gained by radical changes: that the disorganisation attendant upon the introduction of new measures more than offset the benefits derived. He reasoned that the samurai were already trained and fully equipped. He knew they were brave to a man, and loyal. "What more," said he, "would you have? Would you see cowardice supplant courage, and the black powder of a foe substituted for the ringing steel of our forefathers? These men are invincible, and Tetsutaisho is a general. Give me the opportunity, the occasion, and I will convince you."