Imagawa campaign: "Short Letters to Mariko"

[Adam99]

Get your Kyushu shinobi into 2 sqauds and try and get simultaneous rebellions going in 2 provinces at once. Get most of your Kyushu amries into one stack, commanded by the Daimyo and get ready to launch it at Shimazu when the rebellions occur. Leave Chikugo with the minimum, don't think Shimazu will be in that much of a position to counterattack. I think all that was said by Wishazu so think were on the same wavelength.

As for Honshu I think Hojo is gearing up for something. maybe have a scout around with a spare shinobi if possible, I'd anticipate some sort of thrust from him so just get the defences ready. If its possible to grab Owari then consider it, but if Oda's looking strong then keep on good terms.

One enemy at a time i think, cripple Shimazu and gain Kyushu should give you a nice platform to build on, then weaken Hojo.

[ReluctantSamurai]

Another question: is there an elegant way of abandoning an alliance? I hate this "Are you sure you want to break the alliance?"-question. Makes me feel bad about me not announcing my attack first.

Ehh...the AI has no qualms about busting you when it's suitable to its plans, and neither should you

Is this stupid because the AI does usually NOT break an alliance unless invited to?

The AI will almost always break an alliance, in my experience, especially if you have a common border with whoever you are allied to. In all my time playing STW, I could count on one hand the number of alliances that have lasted until we were the last two standing.......................

I am always running on minimum amount of money

That's the challenge of holding in the north and conquering Kyushu...the provinces are generally poor to average in producing koku................

[patdj]

Thanks for the help. I am making progress. For a change I took some more screens but I do not have the time write the text now. Will be interesting though. :)

[patdj]

Second Letter from Spring 1539:
Mariko,
our daughter’s wedding was beautiful. My doubts concerning Yasunaga-san are fading more and more with every day I see Yoshiko this happy.
Apart from being granted the honour of a visit by Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto-sama there was something else of importance to happen today. Before the start of the wedding it was Yoshimoto-sama who spoke:
"I ask the audience to forgive me. But one of my most honourable Samurai is marrying this woman, the daughter of a mere peasant in my service. I will not tolerate a social intermarriage in this case."
There was dead silence. I felt my heart bumping in my chest. Then I saw something I had never seen during my service for Lord Imagawa. The young man was smiling like a ten-year-old.
"...therefore I will grant Hayashi Minoru-san the honour of wielding the Daishô from this day on, as a true Samurai in the service of Imagawa Yoshimoto."
There was an approving muttering among the guests and Yoshimoto-sama sat down again, still looking very pleased of himself and this rather unusual joke. Two of his guards approached me and handed me the two swords he must have brought from Honshû when he had visited his brother last summer. I took them and consecrate them to him with what I thought was the adequate respect, never having experienced a apart from my own.
Then I withdrew to the background in order to not suppress my daughter’s Great Day under a minor star.
Later this evening Yoshiko insisted on showing me her Ninja suit and weapons. She herself had made the suit while Yasunaga-san had bought the weapons from a secret contact in Iga. When I asked her if she was ready to do this she hesitated. Then she told me that Yasunaga-san would take her to Higo in two weeks time in order to provide her with her first operational experience. They wanted to assist the Shinobi in provoking uneasiness about and rebellions against the peasants` current landlord.
I do not think that there is much chance of dissuade her from this project, so I decided to let her believe that she has my absolute support though I am unsure whether she does... ...or does not have it.
Some days ago Lord Yoshimoto-sama held another secret meeting with Yasunaga-san and me. We considered our winning chances if we launched a major attack on Bungo and Buzen. As Lord Shimazu Takahisa is residing in Buzen, the benefits of such an open war are obvious. Yasunaga-san claimed the being far too risky and that if one the attacks failed we could hardly stand our ground.
The attack on Bungo would have been led by Yoshimoto himself and therefore was the minor problem. I did not forget to communicate my total faith in Inoue-san`s ability of overthrowing the Daimyô-army in Buzen, still I did not insist on the attack.
Instead we agreed in splitting up the Shinobi squad in order to complicate the control of the Shimazu backland and distract the enemy from our borders. They will remain in Higo and Hyuga.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1539:
Mariko,
I got a proof of life from Yoshiko today. Yasunaga-san and she joined the squad in Higo and moved on to Satsuma. They other group entered Hyuga some days ago.
There are political news from Honshû. Apparently Lord Oda Nobuhide was beaten on the battlefield by a fanatic monk army and committed Seppuku out of shame. His son Nobuhiro-sama has taken over the reign. As far as we know he is isolated in Owari and reorganizes his army. Lord Uesugi, maybe the strongest Daimyô in Honshû, was joined by his son who is now old enough to command. They send troops against the remains of the monks that bet the Oda.

林 実



Letter from Autumn 1539:
Mariko,
there are reports of rebellions in Satsuma and the Shinobis returned to Higo. I just held a meeting with Lord Imagawa-sama to convince him of a precautionary strike against Bungo. I feel uneasy about me favouring the start of a war but this wettrüsten eats up our funds and would end up in a massive warfare anyway.
As for the timing of our attack, I pointed out a number of advantages. First the weather tends to be fog or rain and our Shinobi report a decisive share of Samurai bowmen in Lord Takahisa`s troops. Additionally, the coming winter will make a possible counterattack a very daring attempt. And third, the rebellion in Satsuma will draw troops from Higo and decrease the possibility of a surprise attack against Chikugo.
Lord Imagawa agreed, an open war is about to begin.
We agreed in invading from Chikugo, leaving a small defensive garrison behind. Our army will be mainly Samurai infantry, no archers. Inoue-san was informed and is to guard his borders in case Takahisa-sama reacts quickly. A successful attack would isolate him in Buzen, but we agree that ordering Inoue-taisho to attack could end in open backland in case of defeat.
I hope this not being my last letter, Mariko, and that I will be able to send you word from the process of battle.

林 実



Letter from Winter 1539:
Mariko,
as you can see I am still alive. I copied the following battle notes and pictures for you.

Autumn 1539, Battle of Bungo
Second day after departure
It is night, we rest. The climate is very humid and we hope for heavy fog for the following day. We crossed the border today under the cover of foggy weather and wish this to continue. Our forces are complete now, 720 men. No sign of Shimazu activities, we avoided the settlements and hope that we are still under cover.

Third day after departure, morning
I slept badly. Still, I was relieved to spot a thick cloud of fog in the valley we are about to cross. We travel downhill, I thank Buddha for that as I can hardly ride nor walk anymore.

Third day after departure, nearly midday
Suddenly there is action. The scouts report a Shimazu archer unit approaching. I order a unit of Samurai to engage them and the Ashigaru to flank their right side. Lord Imagawa rides up the slope to our right, followed by a unit of Lord Shimazu`s Yari Samurai that emerged out of the woods. I order warriors of equal quality to assist them.
The battle in middle is quickly decided for our benefit, as the bowmen were totally taken by surprise due to the fog. The quickly retreat to the remaining army. A Samurai approaches me from my left flank and reports that Shimazu bowmen put them under archer fire from the mountain to our left. I order them to approach them and avoid fire by loose formation. He adds that he spotted the main Shimazu army in a clear patch right ahead of us, all archers, ready to fire into the fog. I thank him and he returns to his unit.
I command the main body of my army to follow the routing archers slowly and without a sound.
Meantime I spot Yoshimoto-sama, pulling the persecuting infantry down the hill again. The Samurai I sent for support will now charge into their rear.



Arrows! Shimazu archers are firing into the fog, hardly hitting anything. The next wave ends lethal for some of my comrades. I order to charge.
Battle goes on well. The enemy is deployed very narrow and again the Ashigaru flank them, deciding the battle.



One of my yari samurai units is following an archer unit uphill to our right. A messenger from Yoshimoto-sama reports that he routed his persecutors with help of the infantry sends them to support our right flank and goes to support Tandô-san, who requested help against the left archer unit.



The enemy taishô decides in favour of his own life and retreats, causing mass routing of his army.



I command half of my army to follow them carefully and impede rehording.



The death of the enemy taishô is called out over the whole battlefield. There is hardly anything that could prevent us from winning now. The last thing to do is to break the last resistance in the woods to our right. They are successful.



One of Yoshimoto-sama`s Hatamoto reports that the left Shimazu flank was beaten too, but Tandô took heavy losses and is badly wounded. I feel guilty.
The battle is finally won and we reach the castle of Usuki by nightfall.



Forth day after departure, morning
As the beaten army has locked itself in the castle we have spent the night outside the city. The villagers seem relieved that the pillaging concentrated on military infrastructure. Still, they are hostile and try to get the fires under control.

Forth day after departure, evening
The head of the city, merely called Mura, asked for an audience of Lord Imagawa. Yoshimoto-sama denied but told me to speak with him to see what it was about.
Mura-san tells me that the local noblemen feel uneasy about Bungo being the main fighting scene and will eventually set up a civil army to attack us. He proposes that we leave these lands.
I do not think that he is making this up and I will reconsider the information when deciding about our next move.

End of battle notes.


In fact, Mariko, we withdrew to Chikugo. Not without making a theater out of it. Imagawa Yoshimoto-sama himself spoke to the villagers, assuring that our aggression was not directed against the inhabitants of this lands but against the growing Shimazu troops that threatened our borders. Then we marched, leaving nothing behind that could be of usage against us, but having distributed free rations of rice among the villagers.
It is now 2 weeks after the battle and I am still floating on the cheer of victory. I have to take care that I do not get too proud but I got used to the honourable attitude of the Samurai surprisingly quickly. After having returned there were several messengers arriving in the following days. Lord Takeda, as well as Lord Hôjô and the young Lord Oda communicated their indignation concerning our aggression against the peaceful Shimazu and declared our alliances as abandoned. Immediately Lord Imagawa-sama ordered for Abe-san to renew our bonds by stating the "real" circumstances of the attack. Additionally we made preparations to defend Chikuzen against a counterattack of the Daimyô army in Buzen. Apparently we had moved very carefully and were not discovered soon enough for Lord Takahisa-sama to aid his Bungo garrison.
Lord Imagawa sent orders to the Shinobi today. They are to concentrate in Higo because the splitted Squads do not have the desired impact. Additionally the Shinobi reinforcements will arrive in Iyo. If they withdraw from there to aid their garrison in Bungo they will loose this province to revolting peasants.
I expect reports of a Shimazu counterattack every day now, but everything is quiet.

林 実



Letter from Spring 1540:
Mariko,
there was no counterattack as it seems and Inoue-san had a peaceful winter. Lord Yoshimoto-sama wants to continue weakening the Shimazu troops by strong attacks on weak targets. We leave a minor garrison in Chikugo that can easily defend itself against the rather small army from Bungo that, until now, was not reinforced, and attack Higo. Shinobi groups are moved to adjacent provinces to distract defending forces.




This time I am more confident of victory.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1540:
Mariko,
we won in Higo. Enclosed I send you a copy of my battle notes.

Spring 1540, Battle of Higo



Fourth day after departure, evening
We made first contact with the foe. Since these were only scouts they quickly withdrew but we expect the encounter for tomorrow morning.

Fifth day after departure, early morning
The first light of the day reveals a foggy day. Drums announce the approaching Shimazu troops, my confidence is fading.

Fifth day after departure, nearly midday
A unit of archers is approaching us quickly with their main army following in constant distance. I think they have not spotted us yet. Lord Imagawa sends our archer unit up the left slope and heads for the near woods to guard their flank against an ambush.
The battle starts. Imagawa-sama`s Shakuhachi reports "woods - clear - flank - enemy". The first arrows rain down into our infantry and our bowmen answer immediately. A sound of crushing bones occurs and because of the thick fog we can hardly figure out its source.



Then I see it: Lord Shimazu and his Hatamoto crashed into the right flank of the archers and were cutting them down severely.
We are deployed very broadly and can easily close in on the rather narrow Shimazu army, mainly bowmen. Our archers are effective and Lord Yoshimoto manages to drag the enemy infantry off the battlefield. My heart misses a beat as I see how close he escapes them.



At some point in time he is in the very back of the enemy and calls a charge into their main formation.
The enemy archers, trying to skirmish our infantry at any price has given up any reasonable battle formation and their taishô struggles with approaching infantry and our archer fire.



Lord Imagawa is right in the middle of the fighting, slaughtering the surprised archers. Then I see how the distracted Yari Samurai arrive and hit Yoshimoto-sama into his rear. He looses half of his Hatamoto by that and tries to push through the enemy line back towards me.
As if the enemy taishô had not noticed how close his army was in taking my lord's head he called to withdraw.



My enemies immediately lost any sense of military reason and just ran for their lives.



We try to persecute them but can not catch many.
Still, the battle is won.



Sixth day after departure, morning
This was a busy night. The villagers of Udo castle put up a hell of fight while the remaining Shimazu troops fortified the castle. As nearly all the important buildings were destroyed in that struggle we withdraw from the city at this very moment. We are heading for a near hill to control the garrison's movements.

Seventh day after departure, morning
The city is all quiet but we expect serious resistance of the population that might eventually become a loyalist’s revolt. Lord Imagawa and I decide to withdraw towards Chikugo and wait for Takahisa-sama's next move.

End of battle notes.


Mariko, actually we did not return to Chikugo. Instead, considering the current situation we will re-attack the garrison in Bungo in a few days time. We expect reinforcements coming from Chikugo, led by Fukushima Nobushige-san. According to a scout that arrived yesterday, Lord Shimazu is still residing in Buzen and has hardly reinforced the troops in Bungo. There are even rumours that Lord Shimazu's son is on his way to Bungo. If we succeed there a second time, Lord Takahisa is trapped and his son in severe danger. Lord Imagawa therefore sent the scout to inform Inoue-san in Chikuzen that he might approach and attack Takahisa-sama if he considers it reasonable.
This might become a decisive manoeuvre.
Another interesting thing happened while we were passing near our homelands. A delegation of merchants crossed our way and they were actually looking for us. These merchants apparently are arms dealer and interested in supplying our lands with fine swords and armours. They said that Imagawa Yoshimoto-sama's excellent performance in sword fight authorizes him to found an own Sword Dojo in order to train swordsmen for the battlefield. We agreed in contacting them if we have the funds for this venture.



Further decisions were to cause unrest in the Shimazu backland by moving the Shinobi to Satsuma. They managed to cause a major rebellion in Hyuga that might overtake the province.
So far, everything is going fine. We are still waiting for Abe-san to report news from Honshû.

林 実


Summary:
Wow, took time to write all that stuff, I think I have to get back to basics step by step now or I will do this campain for some months.
The progress is well, the next attacks on Bungo and Buzen are totally winnable. If I get the general in Bungo, the Shimazu should die out.

[Wishazu]

Excellent.

[patdj]

Letter from Autumn 1540
Mariko,
we are in Bungo. I was looking forward to a battle against the only heir of Shimazu, whose name is Shimazu Yoshimoto-sama, as I learned just before crossing the border. We were right, he arrived from Iyo to assist his father in the battle against us. As it seems, they have secured Iya as well as Tosa rather well now. In any case, Takahisa Yoshimoto-sama was warned in advance. After arriving with his ship he immediately set off towards Hyuga with the whole garrison, knowing that coming to aid his father in Buzen would be possibly pointless and even very risky.
Inoue Kagemochi-san sent news from Buzen yesterday. He reports a glorious victory for our forces. After their defeat, Lord Takahisa's army knew that they would be captured when trying to flee through Bungo and committed Seppuku.
Their fight though does not seem to have been that honourable. Enclosed are Inoue-san's battle reports.


Summer 1540, Battle of Buzen



We find the enemy army on a small plateau in front of us as we cross a grassy field. We try to circle them from right and climb the same plateau to bring our archers in position to strike as early as theirs.
They dodge to their left, climbing down the plateau. We approach them quickly to send arrows in until something unexpected happens: Lord Shimazu Takahisa-sama, a young man of the size of a bear charges towards us without the backup of his men. He dodges the first wave of arrows and crushes against a wall of Yaris, not without taking the lives of a few brave bowmen that retreated too late.
The rest of my infantry closes the circle around him. His Hatamoto die fast and the Daimyô will not escape.



After having killed 37 men together with his Hatamoto, Lord Shimazu's left leg is chopped off by one of my Yaris. He falls of his horse, but only needs seconds to get to onto his remaining foot. My Samurai, impressed by this toughness, give ground. Bleeding heavily, he picks up a Yari of one of my dead soldiers, aims and launches it directly into the face of the Samurai that had wounded him. Then he raises his swords and calls out the name of his dynasty.
The cry dies out under the clinging of metal. The most honourable death I have ever witnessed.



The rest of the battle is not honourable at all. The Taishô in charge now is playing on time, sending peasants to die in a rain of arrows, wandering through a forest of blades, mainly to retreat his unit from the battle. We persecute them over the whole field until they finally, in a wood, stand their fate. Not much of their soldiers get away with their lives.



We find their bodies 2 days after the battle near the border of Bungo. They committed Seppuku. Furthermore I have to report that a major army of the Ouchi clan is holding Nagato and have enough ships to set over at any time of the year. As for now I think it will be best to defend Buzen against them. The population feels uneasy about us, but I doubt that there is enough potential to set up an army against us.
I am awaiting your orders, Hayashi-san.
End of notes.

Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto-sama gave Inoue-taisho his thanks and congratulated him to have been awarded the third rank in his army. Concerning privileges and admiration he is now equal to Lord Imagawa's younger brother.
So this is the end of Shimazu Takahisa, Daimyô of the great Shimazu empire. One could say that even if he was a rather cautious and defensive general, he was a daring and aggressive warrior of decent quality. May he find the same glory in the other world.
Since his son, Shimazu Yoshimoto-sama got away from Bungo we expect him to have taken over the control of his father's empire. He will not have an easy reign. There have been Shinobi-independent riots throughout their whole country, except for Higo and Shikoku, where the strongest armies are stationed. Our current tactical position unfortunately is too complicated to draw advantage of this. Inoue-san is bound to defend Buzen against the opportunistic Ouchi Yasumichi from Nagato. If we leave Bungo we must expect an invasion from Shikoku. If Shimazu Yoshimoto-sama decides to leave southern Kyûshû in rebellion he could attack Chikugo within the next few weeks. Therefore we are expecting additional reinforcements from Totomi within the next days.
Lord Imagawa lowered taxes in order to show his "compassion" to his newly acquired subjects.
Abe-san sent interesting news from Lord Oda the other day. He said that negotiations were going well and finally, Lord Oda accepted his proposal. He was about to leave the castle, when a messenger approached him, telling him that Lord Oda had changed his mind because of the recent and unnecessary attacks on Shimazu lands. Abe-san therefore stayed at the court in order to renegotiate the issue.

Letter from Winter 1540
Mariko,
everything remained quiet. Shimazu Yoshimoto put down the rebellion in Osumi. We are retraining troops, waiting for a good moment to strike. My hope is that Lord Shimazu struggles with recuperating his forces because of the constant rioting in his land.
Abe-san reported that Lord Oda is reluctant to accept our proposal. He turned even a bit hostile because of Abe-san's constant approaching. We sent him to Lord Hôjô and hope him to be wiser.

林 実



Letter from Spring 1541
Mariko,
Shimazu Yoshimoto-sama moved to Hyuga, he is in range for a quick and final strike. Still, we are not in position to move because of the dangerous garrison in Iyo. Interesting is, that he is apparently supervising the fortification of his borders in order to control our Shinobi movements. I hope for Yoshiko to be all right.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1541
Mariko,
Shimazu Yoshimoto retreated very early this summer. We would not have been able to get a grip on him. Apparently they have problems in holding Satsuma against constant peasant rebellion. Two units of Yari Samurai are ready and joined our forces in Chikugo. We are waiting for a good opportunity.
Abe-san reports that Lord Hôjô did not even receive him. He apologizes for having decided to visit Lord Takeda in Kai before consulting Lord Imagawa but he thought this would have been the inevitable conclusion in any way and he feared hostility at the court of Lord Hôjô. Abe-san, as a skilled emissary, knows perfectly when to back off. I am glad he did so and although my Lord Yoshimoto-sama did not seem pleased about the message, I think he does so, too.

林 実



Letter from Autumn 1541:
Mariko,
young Lord Shimazu Yoshimoto-sama moved back to Hyuga and seems to be the only armed force there. A big Shimazu army is manoeuvring in Higo. If we could attack both armies simultaneously there would be no escape for Shimazu Yoshimoto-sama. Lord Imagawa is favouring a quick strike against them. He fears that the Shimazu regain their strength. Their lands in Shikoku are very rich and provide him with the necessary funds to constant retraining of troops. Lord Imagawa would lead the attack from Bungo, joined by forces of Chikugo. Additionally we would send a minor force to attack Lord Yoshimoto in Hyuga. Inoue-taishô could take over control of Bungo, leaving Katagiri Nobutaka in charge of Buzen.
I thought this attempt through overnight. I refuse to do so. The chance of not being outmanoeuvred is too low and I still hope for Shimazu to attack first. Meantime we could gather strength and keep their troops busy with rebellion. I would move all Shinobi to Higo, because Hyuga's fortification was completed and are death traps for our Men of Shadows now.
Lord Imagawa does not like the idea of waiting. I therefore thought of an alternative approach.
I proposed him to move some Shinobi and a minor garrison to Bungo while our main army attacks the garrison in Iyo. We thereby could seriously damage Shimazu's infrastructure and avoid being backstabbed by this force if we move further into Kyûshû.
He promised me to think this alternative over.




林 実



Summary:
Despite my battle victories I am in a tricky situation. I have three border provinces, and since Higo is mostly too fortified to attack I can not advance without having four afterwards. I personally am favouring to attack Iyo. I do not know if I want to retreat after that, depends on the strength of the surrounding garrisons and how many of their soldiers die in the quarrel. In any case I would snatch a mine and a farm upgraded province from Shimazu and cut his troop training severely. He definetely has forces in Tosa but I am not sure how well he is doing in Osumi and Satsuma.

[Adam99]

Looks as if there is a rebellion in Satsuma, and I would have thought Higo might rebel soon as well. Go for Iyo, damaging that army there should help, but be careful of your losses. At some point your going to have to go into Higo as well even if its only just to try and decimate that army there.

[patdj]

Worked out nicely, Shimazu are giving ground. I'll post the enxt update asap, but I'm writing an exam on Tuesday. Worst case would be to post my update on Tuesday evening.

Thanks for the help!

[patdj]

Letter from Autumn 1541
Mariko,
Lord Imagawa agreed and we are carrying out my plan. A preventive strike against the garrison in Iyo was carried out under my command in this late Autumn. Katagiri Nobutaka-san took control of Bungo for this season.

Autumn 1541, Battle of Iyo



Eigth day after departure, morning
We are weary from the sea trip and a two days walk until we finally see a minor group of Shimazu soldiers at the other end of the meadow. It is raining.
We stop. Lord Imagawa wants to have a better overview. We ride up the hill, accompanied by 10 of Lord Imagawa`s hatamoto. From there we have a good view over our army formation and the enemy.
"They are way too few to be the whole army."
"I agree, Hayashi-taisho."
"So we must watch out for an ambush. May I ask you something, Yoshimoto-sama?"
"Go ahead."
"I feel guilty, commanding my men into battle while always staying behind the secure lines. I want to lead my man into battle like you do, with sword and bow, in the first line.
"Have you ever killed a man, Hayashi-taisho?"
"I was part of an archer unit in the battle against the Kikuchi clan at Chikugo-kawa. I expect my arrows to have hit at least one foe."
"I am sorry, Minoru, but that does not count. There is a world’s difference between the anonymous killing by archer fire and a victory in a man to man sword fight. If the enemy infantry approaches and an archer must draw his sword he has too fight the enemy in vicious melee battle like any other swordsmen. You have trained the handling, Minoru, and you are not doing badly at it. But you were never trained to trust your blade into the soft flesh of an ashigaru that is trying to penetrate you with his yari out of fearful zeal."
He pauses. I have pictures of the bridge fight still vividly in my head... the cries, the sound of metal crushing against metal, stone and bones, the blood and the corpses carried away by the current.
"Please, Hayashi Minoru, postpone your first swordfight to a battle that can not be lost by a slaughtered taishô. The men will understand, stay behind our line with Tamura."
"You are probably right, Yoshimoto-sama."
"Wise of you to admit that."
With these words he gives his horse a start and rode towards the near woods, where he probably expected enemy ambushers. Tamura, a tall and closemouthed Hatamoto brought me to the back of my army that was now moving slowly towards the group of archers and Ashigaru, approximately 160 men.
Then Lord Imagawa's Shakuhachi reports "ambush - woods - left". I quickly reorganize troops: withdraw the left, advance the right. I command my right flank to approach the bait, which is now marching towards us, knowing that the ambush was discovered in advance. Apparently the taisho unit, archers, was hiding in the woods with another group of archers and a unit of Yari Samurai. We are closing in on them after having exchanged some archer fire with minor effect. The Samurai in the woods engage in a melee fight and cause heavy losses. It is reported that the bait was crushed on the open field and is routing. After one hours of bloody fight the enemy taisho calls the retreat. Only 60 archers survived the struggle and are now fleeing. We manage to catch some of them, the rest managed to get to Tosa.



Nineth day after departure, midday
We must decide quickly. We lost many men to the sword. Men that are needed in Bungo. We set fire to the copper mine and the rice fields. We burn down the guard towers. Some Shinobi from Bungo arrived to ensure that the population imputes this iniquity to the fleeing Shimazu troops.
End of battle notes.

At the moment we are heading back to the port, Mariko. Winter is coming. I feel bad about the destruction in Iyo. Lord Imagawa does not share my compassion. This is probably what I need to learn if I want to lead an army into battle myself.

林 実



Letter from Winter 1541
Mariko,
we are back in Bungo. No Shimazu attacks. There is a major rebellion in Higo from which we want to draw advantage. Lord Imagawa is setting up an invasion army at the moment, I am to stay in Bungo in case of an attack. Until today there is no report of the Tosa garrison claiming back Iyo.

林 実



Letter from Spring 1542
Mariko,
Lord Imagawa succeeded in Hyuga. He burnt down the border forts to ease our Shinobi's movements. Enclosed I send you a copy of his battle report:

Winter 1541, Battle of Hyuga



We found the enemy on a rainy day, hiding in the trees of a mountain. We climbed the mountain on the shadowed side, avoiding the archer fire. They thereby lost their height advantage and approached us quickly. I led an Ashigaru unit and my Hatamoto to the left side of a major rock, while my Yari Samurai were attacking the enemy, only archers, on the right side. Having circled the rock I command a charge into the archers’ right flank. The cowards try to skirmish the melee fight but fight bravely against my infantry.





We have light advantages until they finally flee.



End of battle notes.

He gave me the battle report just today. He is back in Bungo and told me that there is a major Shimazu army in Higo that threatened to cut his way if he would not have retreated. I had the honour to deliver formidable news to my Lord:
His wife gave birth to a healthy son, he will be named Tokugawa, Tokugawa Ieyasu.
We lost Iyo to a minor group of local noblemen. That isolates the Shimazu forces in Tosa, and gives us at least a time advantage if the Tosa garrison decides to aid their Lord.
We hope that there will be no loyalist revolt in Hyuga, our Shinobi are moving in.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1542
Mariko,
Lord Shimazu reclaimed Hyuga alone without the help of an army. Now we are in the position to strike against Higo. Because we have the upper hand anyway we invade Hyuga a second time.

林 実



Letter from Autumn 1542
Mariko,
both Shimazu armies retreated without a fight. I wanted to meet Yoshiko in Hyuga but her fellow Shinobi told me that Hattori Yasunaga-san and her had to flee to Honshû because local noblemen potentially recognized Yasunaga-san. I hope they are healthy.
Lord Imagawa took Higo and put 300 of their men under siege, including one of the last decorated Shimazu generals. We are awaiting counterattack of Lord Shimazu to free his men. Our Shinobi reported a strange ship at the Satsuma coast. We do not know what this is about but in case this is to strengthen our enemy we will hurry to put this to an end.

林 実



Summary:
Looks like I am addicted.
Shimazu stands with his back against the wall. But I think I must hurry now before he draws advantage of the arriving Portuguese. When I am finally through with this I must think of a purpose for my massive army of rank 4 Ninja.

[Wishazu]

This keeps getting better and better. Have you decided yet whether or not your going to convert to christianity when the portuguese come knocking?

[patdj]

Given my current financial situation and the power that Lord Uesugi acquired by now I think I should if I do not want to loose my Honshu provinces. Additionally I have two rather strong Clans living next door, dwelling in their little lands, unable to expand into anything but Uesugi or me... Oda might as well decide that ronin are stronger than I am...

[Adam99]

Good going, time to stabilise and integrate the acquired territory and prepare to finish Shimazu off and maybe acquire Shioku as well. As for back over on honshu, if Uesugi is looking too powerful maybe slip some Shinobi's in to give him some trouble.

[Wishazu]

Aye, Shinobi are always good for keeping people off of your back.

[Adam99]

Thats if he's not beefed his security up too much, but a couple of shinobi/ ninja's in there causing him some trouble should slow him down.

[patdj]

Gnarr, I feel like in a dead end! Update is in progress, a lot happened in Honshu and I cant really react to it because I am unable to finish Shimazu off. What can you do against a 700men Daimyo army with mostly 400 high honour archers when attacking Satsuma? They are a fortress...

[patdj]

Letter from winter 1542
Mariko,
a messenger arrived from Imagawa Yoshitsune-sama, the Lord's brother, today. He said that Hojo forces have invaded Totomi with a massive army, but he was able to push them back. Since we do not see us abel to defeat the remaining Shimazu forces in the mountains of Satsuma we decide to move forces to Honshû to assist Yoshitsune-sama. I am to accompany them and take over the command from Yoshitsune-sama. Lord Imagawa told me that since his son Ieyasu is too young to leed his clan he need his brother alive.

林 実



Letter from Spring 1543
Mariko,
I arrived in Totomi. What a journey! Imagawa Yoshitsune-sama welcomed my in person and quickly brought me to his residence. He was gratefull fore the reinforcements and immediately wanted to tell me about the battle. He seemed a lot more vivid than his rather restrained brother.

Winter 1542, Battle of Totomi



Yoshitsune-sama stood up and gesticulated dynamically while describing the battlefield. Totomi is very flat but he said that they found a small slope very near the castle. If they had fallen there, there would have been no space to regroup. Everything would have been lost. Yoshitsune-sama apparently tended to dramtize his reports a bit.
"The Hôjô, these untrustworthy sons of a dog, advanced through thick snow, slowly. I spotted a large army, consisting of mainly infantry. As soon as they were in range my archers became impatient. I told them: "Hold it... hold it..." and then, when the Hôjô were to close to withdraw from the lethal rain... "FIRE!""
His guards risked a glance into the room to make sure that everything was all right. Then Yoshitsune-sama continued, obviously very thrilled by his own story.
"Like the Fist of the Gods the arrows crushed down on their main body. Their lines lightened, but drew together quickly as if they were awaiting the second wave.
"Taisho-niii!" I shouted and we concentrated fire on their general, apparently marching with an Ashigaru unit. They were heavily decimated, but the infantry was approaching steadily.



We launched a volley into a Yari Samurai unit, only a few meters away from us. The effect was devastating, but they were too much to be impressed by that."
He made a stage wait.
"Then... we had to draw swords. I commanded the other archer units to guard my flank and keep firing at the taisho, into the mess of reoganising troops. "Doooooo!" I shouted and charged."
He ran into my direction, as if he was charging me. Luckily he did not draw his sword to this purpose but acted as if wielding one.
"The Yari soldies of the Hôjô were taken by surprise, constant archer fire hindered them in forming a straight line. We crushed into them and slaughtered down their first line. Then they fled. Seing this, the taisho decided to do the same. I shouted insults at him and cleaned my sword. I decided not to pursue. These soldiers just lost their honour, this was even more punishement than being killed by one of our swords.
We regroup and, you will not believe, the Hôjô rally - and return. Obviously Lord Hôjô is not too empathic with routing Ashigaru generals. Still, his second wave is ridiculous. Two volleys are perfectly enough to convince them to retreat again, and this time they do not have the guts to return."



I asked him for losses and he had prepared a detailed analysis.



End of battle report.

Now came the part that I had feared. I had to tell him that he was to move his unit to Mikawa because I was taking over command in case the Hôjô returned. I hoped that he would understand, but he did not. Luckily his anger was directed against his brother, not against me. He told me that a Samurai Archer unit was in training and would be ready in summer. I could take over its command.
He told me he would set off tomorrow to be consistend with his brother's wishes. I pity him, he is a good warrior.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1543
Mariko,
Yoshiko and Yasunaga-san visited me today! They told me that they went into hiding in Mikawa for the last 3 years and avoided contact to Imagawa officials because of the suspicion that fell onto them. Since Yasunaga-san and Yoshiko are Samurai with a "second identity", they have to take care that they are not uncovered. But what is more important: they have a son! He was born tow years ago during their exile in Mikawa and is named Hattori Hanzô. Additionally, Yoshiko is pregnant again. We celebrated this the whole night and I was able to forget about the constant worries that are troubling me.
I received several other messages of importance, too:
First, Lord Imagawa has invaded Osumi in Spring and took it without a fight. He does not want to keep it, but tempt Shimazu to split his troops and burn the border forts that were recently build. He says that Shimazu's army in Satsuma is way too big for an attack. I am glad that even the impatient Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto admits this fact.
Second, Lord Uesugi assured me that he will remain allied to me and turn against his former ally, the Hôjô.



Third, Abe-san informed me that Lord Takeda is still reluctant to renew his alliance with us. This Shimazu struggle is messing up our diplomacy network.
I caught myself being interested in the fate of the Ashigaru Taisho leading the Hôjô forces into battle. From what I heard we was still alive last spring, his name is Ota Yasusuke. Still, there are rumours that the Hôjô send a much more experienced General to lead the Suruga garrison. Looks like they are not interested in peace. I decided not to counterattack because I hoped for the Hôjô to give in. But they are constantly reinforcing their troops at our borders.
I already wrote a report for Lord Imagawa, also mentioning that Hattori Yasunaga-san is residing with me in Totomi.

林 実



Letter from Autumn 1543
Mariko,
Lord Shimazu did not take back Osumi in summer. He seems to smell a trap. Lord Imagawa wants to bleed him out and moved Shinobi into Tosa to get to know the economic potential there because out of Satsuma Shimazu can not generate the rice to feed his soldiers.
Abe-san moved into Izu to spy on the Hôjô backland.
A powerfull alliance of Uesugi and Oda are invading the ronin provinces of Central Honshû.

林 実



Letter from Winter 1543
Mariko,
we had a bad harvest and our expansion slows down significantly. Barbarian traders arrived in autumn at the coast of Hizen.



Lord Imagawa granted them residence in Hizen and assured them to think over their proposal as soon as we have the funds to act.
Tosa is apparently not expanding economically but definitely the rice source of Lord Shimazu. Still, Shimazu must slowly go bankrupt. In fact, that does not help us much. We need him to attack us first, otherwise many of our soldiers will die in the highlands of Satsuma.
Hôjô is now strong enough to strike again. I am awaiting him next spring.

林 実



Letter from Spring 1544
Mariko,
Lord Hôjô attacks again. At the moment I am in my tent on the very field where Imagawa Yoshitsune-sama defeated his troops.

Spring 1544, Battle of Totomi
We deploy near to the spot where Yoshitsune did. The Hôjô are approaching with an army even bigger than the previous one. Still, I see mainly peasant in their lines.
As they approach I command my archers to decimate the lightly guarded ashigaru first. Many of them rout even before they come close. The army is led by a new general, an archer, well guarded in the back of the army.



I have deployed infantry to our left flank and command them to slowly approach the decimated ashigaru units.
The latter do not withstand long and rout. We concentrate fire on the taisho, convincing him of our superiority. He flees and despite being highly decorated he does NOT have the guts to return.



We wait till night falls before we retreat to the castle. The Hôjô wave ran into a massive rock.



End of battle notes.

Returning to the castle, I am informed that Lord Hojo launched an attack into Uesugi land, too. Lord Takeda attacked Shinano, an Uesugi province, now forming a new alliance of the Takeda and Hojo that now threaten to undercut Uesugis authority in Eastern Honshû.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1544
Mariko,
we have another grandchild! His name is Hattori Yoshitoki. I am very glad that my daughter and her family is still staying with me in Totomi.
Rebels are engaging into the quarrel of Shinano. Takeda and Hojô attack Uesugi constantly, but the garrison of Suruga is preventing me from aiding my ally. Lord Oda seems to help Uesugi holding of the Takeda. Though I would like to become part of the powerful Oda-Uesugi alliance and backstab the Hôjô I am afraid that due to hostilities against Shimazu Lord Oda refuses to trust me. There must be close bonds between these two families.

林 実



Letter from Autumn 1544
Mariko,
there has not happened much. Shimazu remains very patient, but so does Lord Imagawa-sama.
There have been multiple battles in the northern territories but it is still hard to tell which alliance is winning this war.

林 実



Letter from Winter 1544
Mariko,
another poor harvest. This means that we will have to cancel all expansion plans.

林 実



Letter from Spring 1545
Mariko,
Hattori Yasunaga-san returned to Kyûshû to assist Lord Imagawa with the Shimazu problem. Apparently, Lord Imagawa does not dare to attack Shimazu Yoshimoto-samas best men in the hills of Satsuma.
Rumours are told that a Shimazu general in Tosa was assassinated by one of Yasunaga-sans Ninja. I hope to hear more from that in near future.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1545
Mariko,
it is true. All the experienced Tosa generals were assassinated. Lord Imagawa ordered Inoue-san to take Iyo in case we want to draw advantage of this.

林 実



Letter from Autumn 1545
Mariko,
Hôjô and Takeda drove Uesugi out of Shinano. It looks like the tide is turning. Lord Oda is isolated in Echizen with an allied Uesugi province between him and his homelands.

林 実



Letter from winter 1545
Mariko.
Inoue-san took Iyo without fight but has to fear a peasant revolt.
We had an regular harvest, finally! Training of new troops was ordered in Honshû as well as in Kyûshû. Additionally, a highly ranked general of the ronin garrison in Nagato was killed by a Ninja dagger. Yasunaga-san trustfully informed me that this outstanding Ninja is Kotega Mototsugu-san, an old friend of his from Iga.

林 実



Letter from Spring 1546
Mariko,
Lord Oda and Uesugi took back Hida, still the Takeda are a major opponent with very large armies that could easily crush us under their hooves.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1546
Mariko,
Abe-san reports that Lord Oda is still reluctant to ally. Owari was attacked by a large rebel army but the Oda troops withstood the storm.
According to our information, Lord Shimazu has made a contract with the gaijin and converted to their religion. I bet that he has large benefits from that and we must do something about it. I sent a message to Yasunaga-san and proposed to move Shinobi into Satsuma now and cause a religious uproar. Once the revolt is supported by the monasteries it becomes a lethal weapon against our enemy, whom we fear to attack.



林 実



Letter from Autumn 1546
Mariko,
Lord Imagawa reports that there are loyalist tendencies in the Shimazu provinces and that he has to split troops to hold the lands under control. The rebellion failed but cost over a hundred Shimazu soldiers their life. Yasunaga-san moved Shinobi into Tosa to spy on the expansion there. The Oda clan is at war with Lord Uesugi, so my alliance is crumbling. We need to finally get a hold on Kyûshû or we will not be able to withstand the troubles in Honshû.

林 実



Letter from Winter 1546
Mariko,
there has been another monk-led revolt in Satsuma and we had an average harvest. Things are getting better now. Still, Shinobi have reported that Shimazu is trading with the gaijin. They call themselves Porutogeisu and show the Shimazu soldiers how to throw fire out of long metal weapons. I think this sounds ridiculous, but the report was rather serious. I am a bit worried about this.



林 実



Letter from Spring 1547
Mariko,
another revolt in Satsuma. The previous was put down mercilessly. I am not sure whether this leads us anywhere. Lord Shimazu's army is decreasing but the remaining soldiers seem to get more and more skilled with every battle they fight.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1547
Mariko,
the forth revolt is marching towards Lord Shimazu's castle. I fear that there will be more and more bloodshed. Shinobi reported that the Porutogeisu set up a firethrower unit for the Shimazu which is now commanding the troops in Tosa. Inoue-san reported that he will not withstand an invasion of that quality and quantity.

林 実



Letter from Autumn 1547
Mariko,
the rebellion was put down again and the motivation of the religious fanatics is fading. Lord Imagawa asked my to come to Kyûshû and meet him and Yasunaga-san to decide what to do. I wish I would have a proposal, but I do not.







林 実



Summary:
Dear me, I'm stuck. The monk revolts prooved to be quite usefull but they have a declining effect. With the massive high honour archers Shimazu has they put down every revolt. I see multiple options:
- I keep revolting him to death, problem is, that he obviously is generating money with the Portuguese and I do not know, how many revolts I need to put him down. Additionally he will start training units to replace the old ones.
- Start a massive battle against him. I am outnumbering him nearly 2 to 1. After I saved I tried that out to see how strong he really is. His army is nearly unroutable, they all fight to death, including the daimyo himself. With the massive slopes in Satsuma I have to manouvre carefully, if he withdraws to the very back I can hardly avoid fighting uphill.
- I try to assassinate the Daimyo. He is rank 3, with the constant revolts he may turn 4 eventually. I have a rank 4 Ninja handy but has a very low chance (around 17%). Additionally I do not have the money to create a Ninja army to help him.
- I need to do something about Tosa. Funny that they did not drive me out of Iyo by now. In any case that would help me revolting the backland. But Shimazu did not even take back an unguarded Osumi. I guess he SEES Shinobi and does not want to run into another rebellion wave.
At the moment I am favouring to let the monks hit as hard as possible and then attack and concentrate on winning this thing. From what I experienced it is pointless to attack together with a rebellion since both armies than just remain where they are and wait for you? Is it possible to lure them together so that they engage?

Note:
I had to change something about this letter for consistency.

Letter from Autumn 1542
Mariko,
both Shimazu armies retreated without a fight. I wanted to meet Yoshiko in Hyuga but her fellow Shinobi told me that Hattori Yasunaga-san and her had to flee to Honshû because local noblemen potentially recognized Yasunaga-san. I hope they are healthy.
Lord Imagawa took Higo and put 300 of their men under siege, including one of the last decorated Shimazu generals. We are awaiting counterattack of Lord Shimazu to free his men. Our Shinobi reported a strange ship at the Satsuma coast. We do not know what this is about but in case this is to strengthen our enemy we will hurry to put this to an end.

林 実

[Adam99]

It is problematical. they just wont lie down! I think you've tried everything i would have suggested.

Assassinating him seems to be out the question.

Wahst the possibility of moving a few troops and taking Iyo? if thats where most of his money is coming from and you killed off the top generals over there maybe thats might be the next thing to try???

Either that or one costly battle in Satsuma. Maybe i'm missing something...

[caravel]

Your revolts in Satsuma won't help. All you're doing is training the enemy Daimyo and he is gaining command stars from it. I would advise on an all out attack or trigger the revolt and invade the same season yourself. Let Shimazu and the ronin have at it and then try to take advantage. Once you've taken Satsuma leave an Ashigaru garrison and an a few of those high honour shinobi and get that army off to the front line (Nagato or Tosa being worthwhile targets).

[patdj]

Thanks for the advise, Adam and Caravel.

I managed to beat him, update is in progress. I did an all-in attack and concentrated on effective troop usage and weather advantage. Was a hard battle though. Post it tomorrow.

[Adam99]

Glad ypu beat, look forward to seeing the update and battle reports.

[ReluctantSamurai]

In 3-way battles with another clan and ronin, the ronin will often not take sides but they do force the opposing taisho to pay attention to them and maybe change deployment area...........also, if the ronin army is large enough they usually will attack one of you

Btw, if I haven't said so before, I think "Short Letters to Mariko" is the most novel method of presenting a campaign I ever seen. Very well done

I did an all-in attack and concentrated on effective troop usage

Sometimes you just have to wade in and go toe-to-toe and take your losses.

[patdj]

Second Letter from Autumn 1547
Mariko,
I hate the sea. Not only that is brings death to those travelling over her but also to those living next to her. The journey was terrible, windy and cold, but I arrived Hizen today in the morning hours. I feel sad about leaving Yoshiko behind, alone with two kids. Especially now that her husband has gone for Kyûshû, too. But the Shimazu problem is a grave one that could cost us all that we have fought for.
I had time to think when I was on the boat, struggling with sea sickness. I thought about who was the aggressor of this war. If our preventive attacks on Shimazu Takahisa-sama were rightful or opportunistic? All the soldiers, trying to defend their Lord and their lands and their families, found their way to Sword and Arrow of the Imagawa army. We do not even know if they would ever have threatened us. The good thing about a Cold War is that, in fact, no soldier has to die in it. Imagawa Yoshitsune-sama, the Lord's brother, once told me that I was much more alike him rather than alike his brother. He told me that his brother was an attacker, he was the one to grab the things he wanted. A military genius in undercutting the enemies defence as well as an extraordinary swordsman. Concerning himself and my person he stated that we were more the defenders. We were able to put down any aggression against us or the people we loved, even if force was needed. He told me that as far as he thought that was the reason for sending me to Honshû under the pretext of aiding him. He said that probably I was being to defensive and that in Lord Imagawa's opinion I slowed down the process in Kyûshû. But then, why was he calling me back there?
As far as I got to know when I arrived, troops have already been sent to Higo and will arrive there in no time. Imagawa Yoshimoto-sama is planning an attack, I sense that.

林 実



Letter from Winter 1547
Mariko,
there have been rebellions in Satsuma. Yasunaga-san informed me that all Shinobi have left the province by the end of last year. They are heading for Tosa, to prevent the local Shimazu garrison from invading Iyo.
I am on my way to Lord Imagawa's camp, but my entourage is travelling slowly. I suspect that Lord Yoshimoto does not want me to arrive too early. Perhaps he fears that I could intervene in his battle preparations.

林 実



Letter from Spring 1548
Mariko,
I arrived at the camp 2 days ago. I was merely informed that we will have a rather poor harvest and that Lord Shimazu is still patrolling the borders, ready to defend in case of an attack. When I asked about the purpose of my visit, my Lord told me that the matter is to be postponed until Yasunaga-san returns. Yasunaga-san had left the camp only some hours before this conversation and I wonder what sowed this recent mistrust in my person.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1548
Mariko,
Lord Imagawa is attacking Satsuma. I am to follow the army and ensure that the reinforcements from Osumi and Hyuga arrive in time to merge under Lord Yoshimoto-samas command. Shimazu Yoshimoto-sama is cornered, our Shinobi burnt the few ships anchoring at the Satsuma coast. They will by all means fight to death. Although the constant monk revolts have weakened their number there is no doubt that Lord Imagawa is encountering the toughest and most battle-experienced Samurai on this whole isle. I pray for the sake of the 1340 men attempting to deliver Shimazu the final blow.

林 実



Letter from Autumn 1548
Mariko,
enclosed you will find the notes I took when observing the battle as part of the rearguard.

Summer 1548, Battle of Satsuma



My Lord decides to attack under the sheltering cover of the heavy summer rain. We were informed that Lord Shimazu is guarding the last slope on the way to Kagoshima castle with a decent army of bowmen. It is the same spot where all the rebellions of the last years were crushed bloodily and without any mercy. I am still distracted by the worsening of my relationship to my Lord but I keep track of the manoeuvres. Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto leads his men to the left side of the slope, I can see woods there. Maybe he is suspecting an ambush. It would definitely not be the first time that the deceitful Shimazu try to hit us into our back.
Then he advances towards the Shimazu forces. They are deployed along the slope and take note of our movements rather late. A small unit of bowmen tracks our army first and advances . Even I am hearing the insults and battle roaring coming from them, despite wind and distance. The silence suggests: bowmen started firing on both sides. I convince my men to accompany me a bit nearer to the place of action since it is hard to see through the walls of water. From what I am seeing none of the bowmen is making process. Slowly the Shimazu troops approach, one after the other, without clear formation. They will be mopped up one by one, is Shimazu Yoshimoto-sama getting careless? Lord Imagawa is sending infantry to his right flank and some units to his left, uphill. I get a glimpse on the Lord Shimazu Yoshimoto, climbing the hill on the other side, towards our left flank. Meantime our infantry starts engaging with the Shimazu samurai. I can see some Yari samurai and some Ashigaru in green armour, apart from that there are only Shimazu bowmen joining the melee. Lord Imagawa sends his archers to decimate the cavalry archers unit that is trying to fire into the rear of our infantry superiority.



Slowly our troops are closing in on the Shimazu army. Moving even closer I get a good impression of the carnage. Lord Imagawa climbed the hill through a gap in our and the enemies lines and charged into the back of a samurai archer unit in swordfight. Despite their desperate situation they fight like wildcats while others keep themselves on reserve, trying to rain arrows onto our infantry with minimal effect.
The tide is turning clearly towards us with every minute. The cavalry archers got trapped by our flanking infantry and took crucial losses, resulting in fast retreat. They will probably warn the castle about the upcoming siege.



Demotivated by the routing more and more Shimazu units give up fighting. I see some archers committing Seppuku in the middle of the combat. A victorious roar emerges from the right flank, the few Shimazu survivors are retreating while our troops are moving towards our left to close in on the still fighting Shimazu Daimyo.



Lord Imagawa in person joins the struggle but I can not figure out if the two noblemen actually are duelling themselves. The cheers I hear about some instances later clearly state that Lord Shimazu Yoshimoto-sama was killed in the battle - which is in fact not over: our archers in the meantime persecuted the remaining Shimazu samurai up to the woods in the north east. I follow them quickly.



They are put down easily as far as I can tell. I am still not realizing the momentousness of this victory.



End of battle notes.

The celebrations were pompous but short. With the castle still under control of ownerless samurai it took place at the edge of the city. Still something of outstanding importance occurred: the head of a major Satsuma Samurai family, the Masamune, approached Lord Imagawa to propose to him the foundation of a Sword Dojo in Satsuma. He claimed the Satsuma swordsmen being the best of all Japan and that it would be a great honour for him to supervise the training of No Dachi Samurai for Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto-sama, who had proved himself an extraordinarily able sword fighter on the battlefield. Lord Imagawa agreed but is already heading for Tosa. We still do not have information if the news of Lord Shimazu's death has already reached the last Shimazu forces or if they still await orders from their dead Lord. I was left here, in charge of assaulting the besieged castle as soon as it is reasonable and initiating the foundation of the Dojo in cooperation with Masamune-san. I expect the garrison being near to starvation by the end of the year. An attack then should be an easy business.
I received message from Abe-san who is now on his way to Honshû in order to settle our diplomatic problems. Since the line of the Shimazu has ended in the bloodshed of Satsuma he expects our old allies to reunite at our side. Additionally he stated that he ordered infrastructural expansion in agriculture for the north of Kyûshû.

林 実



Letter from Winter 1548
Mariko,



the Shimazu troops of Tosa have faced the death of their Lord with remarkable composure. Message arrived of Inoue-san from Iyo. The garrison has, without exception, declared itself part of the Hôjô empire and already shipped troops to their new homeland. Apparently they joined Hôjô because of their hostility against the Imagawa clan. Given this evil motivation I would expect it only to be a matter of time until they invade Iyo. Since Lord Imagawa probably thinks similar I expect him to lead a preventive strike against Tosa in summer of next year.
Concerning my situation here in Satsuma I am dwelling in anger and boredom. The castle occupiers will not surrender but are already struggling with internal conflicts, disease and hunger. It is strange, but I do not pity them. This is so much not alike me, but since they somehow constrain me to remain here I want them to die slowly. The general in charge of the remaining troops, Katagiri Nobutaka-san, proposed to assault them earlier than I had planned, in order to give them a soldier's death. I refused. Lord Imagawa ordered me to take the castle without loosing to many men in the assault.
I will do so, in the coming autumn.

林 実



Letter from Spring 1549
Mariko,
Abe-san informed me that with the good harvest we had last year he will continue his infrastructural program. That is building castles in the Kyûshû provinces and improving the fortifications of Totomi.
Lord Imagawa-sama must by now have arrived in Iyo. Since there were no reports of a Hôjô invasion I guess that the two armies will meet in Tosa.
I decided to leave Satsuma earlier than planned and give the command to Katagiri-taisho. The number of men holding the castle declines moon by moon and if we assault before they burn the castle it should be not much of a problem to overthrow the remaining garrison. I decided to send reinforcements to Bungo since they are not needed anymore to hold the province against the minor castle garrison of Kagoshima and ordered an attack in midth of autumn and will head north to Hizen in order to take a ship back to Totomi. I am done with dwelling in Satsuma, I will feel better when I am back in Honshû, with my daughter and her family.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1549
Mariko,
I just crossed reached the border to Higo. Satsuma was deserted, most of the villages I passed were totally abandoned. The constant state of civil war has pressed its mark onto the lands.

林 実



Letter from Autumn 1549
Mariko,
I am passing Higo and met a messenger from Lord Imagawa on his way to Kagoshima castle. He informed me about the recent happenings in Shikoku. Lord Imagawa had not wasted much time and immediately attacked Tosa.

Summer 1549, Battle of Tosa
The Hôjô hid in the woods and where quickly surrounded. Lord Imagawa attacked in rainy weather and apparently the fire throwers of the gaijin were unable to use their weapons. It was a massive slaughter and the Hôjô quickly decided that it would be better to try to reach the harbour and fled.





Only a few of them were caught before reaching the ships. We do not know if the remaining managed to arrive in Honshû. Stormy weather was expected at that time.



End of battle notes.

Lord Imagawa had left Asano Harufusa with 200 men behind in Iyo. Apparently they were attacked by the Ronin of Awa after these had noted that Iyo was not properly guarded. The attack took place some days ago and the messenger was lucky to get one of the last ships off the isle.

Autumn 1549, Battle of Iyo
As far as we know Asano-san tried to defeat the invading army but was heavily outnumbered.



Still his men were able to take many heads before they fell.



End of battle notes.

The messenger asked me if we would be able to hold Bungo if the Ronin decided to ship over to Kyûshû. I though if the reinforcements I sent to Bungo and if they would arrive in time. This could become a severe problem. I decided to head for Bungo immediately to prepare the defence.

林 実



Letter from Winter 1549
Mariko,
the Bungo troops arrived in time and prevented the rebels from shipping over to Kyûshû. In fact we are preparing to counterattack Iyo and free Lord Imagawa from his isolation.



I met Yasunaga-san who came here because of the ronin-threat, too. He had some information for me that clarify the picture of the past years. Apparently Katagiri Nobutaka-san is a close relative to Toshie Saketomo-san, the man that defied me during my inauguration and then left to one of the Shimazu provinces. He was one of the soldiers that defended Satsuma against us, survived and held the castle in the resulting siege. Thinking about it you will note the irony: I left Katagiri-san in charge of assaulting the castle held by his relative Toshiee-san. This explains why he wanted to give them a soldier’s death, while I ordered to let them starve or die of disease.
Katagiri-san ordered the early attack on Kagoshima as soon as I was out of reach, during the last summer. There are rumours that he assisted Toshie-san in committing Seppuku. I am not planning to confront him about this open disobedience, but I think I created myself another opponent.
From what Yasunaga-san told me it was Katagiri-san who also discredited me during my absence in Kyûshû.
I do not know what scares me more: the fact that I have already conspiracies running against me or that Yasunaga-sans Shinobi seem to keep track of our own people, too.
Apart from that there is good news, too. We had a rich harvest and Abe-san acquired funds to continue with his expansion. Katagiri-san has also ordered the construction of a sword dojo in Satsuma.



林 実



Letter from Spring 1550
Mariko,
we counterattacked Iyo and the rebels withdrew without a fight. I am now going to meet with Imagawa Yoshimoto-sama in Tosa to settle some matters. Yasunaga-san agreed on assisting me in the correction of certain issues Katagiri-san had stated. I am afraid I totally forgot about my plans of travelling back to Honshû.

林 実



Letter from Summer 1550
Mariko,
the castle in Tosa has fallen some days before my arrival. The whole garrison was starved to death and I can literally smell the misery. My conversation with Lord Imagawa-sama went well. He told me to stay with him, he is planning to bring whole Shikoku under his control.





林 実



Summary:
Yay, with the Shimazu whiped out Shikoku and Western Honshû are mine fr the taking. This will be my long term plan: defend my holdings in Honshû and expand linear (as usual ) from West to East. As soon as I have a good grip on my lands I will eventually turn Christian. I do not think that I really NEED the gaijin but I have by now never used them and am eager to see how they are like.

Comment:
Thanks everyone for interest and advice. I am glad that someone is actually reading it. I think that the masses of text scare many people off. And sorry that the update took me that long. Had some exams to be written. I have not continued by now. If you have any superb tactics to propose I am eager to read from it.

[ReluctantSamurai]

As soon as I have a good grip on my lands I will eventually turn Christian. I do not think that I really NEED the gaijin but I have by now never used them and am eager to see how they are like.

Any campaign can be won without muskets. But it's been my experience that the later the starting date of the campaign, the more important they become. And your opposing clans will field them, and not just the arquebus but the musket, as well.

If you ever take on the 1580 Oda campaign without guns, you could, IMHO, add one more level to the difficulty slider.........nightmare mode

[Adam99]

I think, story wise its absolutely brilliant.

As for suggestions, mop up Shikoku, and keep an eye on that large Hojo stack next to Totomi.

[patdj]

The Hojo stack is growing turn by turn. Still, they have been smashed twice in Totomi, they will be smashed the third time as well.

Thanks everyone for the interest. I think I will turn Christian, but with Kyushu just recently conquered and Shikoku not fully under control I am afraid the monks would instantly want to see me on the battlefield. So I'll postpone that for some years.

[ReluctantSamurai]

I think I will turn Christian, but with Kyushu just recently conquered and Shikoku not fully under control I am afraid the monks would instantly want to see me on the battlefield. So I'll postpone that for some years.

You can accept the Portuguese offer anytime. You do not incur the wrath of the Buddhists until you build that first church or trading post. Sometimes is good to have the option in your back pocket to use when you're ready. The AI can be quirky at times about offering you the option. I had a recent campaign where after 48 yrs I still hadn't received an offer from either the Portuguese or the Dutch, so you never know...........

[Adam99]

I think accept it and get the shinobi bumping up loyalty.

Personally I'd launch a pre-emptive raid on Hojo to trim that stack down a little, but thats just me. I think your situation means your probably better on the defensive for the moment. I'd expect an attack from the Hojo in the next 3 or 4 turns or the nearest summer.

[patdj]

Letter from Autumn 1550
Mariko,
two weeks ago, Lord Imagawa-sama went into negotiations with some major landowners of Tosa. Apparently they tried to bargain on the affirmation of their estates by offering cooperation concerning infrastructure and population loyalty. They also intended to persuade Imagawa Yoshimoto-sama to make Tosa to Shikoku's main province and a major base for troop recruitment, since especially Tosa's land population was well known for her fighting spirit. Today my Lord announced his decision: the landowners' efforts were successful.
Although I openly dislike these people I have no choice but cooperate with people who, without any doubt, are the root of the Tosa peasants' fighting spirit. Yet in some way it our development really benefits from this alliance. Construction on a larger castle in Kochi has already started and Lord Imagawa is gathering his forces to strike against the sneaky Ronin of Awa who are responsible for the death of Asano Harufusa-san.
Another letter from Abe-san arrived the other day with formidable news. The Great Lord Oda has accepted our offer of an alliance. Abe-san reports a very tense conversation:
"So why, estimated emissary Abe, could your struggle with my passed friend Shimazu Takahisa not be settled by words but the Sword?"
"My Great Lord Oda, the Imagawa are no children of war, as you will surely know. Still we seek safety for our wives and children. Shimazu Takahisa-sama, a noble man and great commander, openly threatened to take over our possessions in Kyûshû. The battles were inevitable, so we decided to let them take place on the Shimazu provinces rather than in ours. We feel ashamed to have disturbed the peace of this isle and imbued the fruitful grounds of Kyûshû with the blood of honourable Samurai and we do not want this misery to happen in the lands of central Honshû. Therefore we seek the shoulders of the Great Clans, the Uesugi as well as the Oda, to defend this wonderful peace against anyone threatening to harm it."
"You speak very wonderful words, Abe. But haven't you spoken similar to Takahisa before invading his lands?"
"Lord Shimazu Takahisa-sama and my Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto agreed on an alliance against the possible threats that emerged from the West. The gaijin of this past times were unknown and feared, unlike today. But instead of fortifying his coasts like we did, Lord Shimazu let his troops gather at our borders, always ready to opportunistically grab our lands and hit us into the rear. We could no longer watch both sides and needed to act."
"Is it true that you infiltrated the Shimazu provinces with Men of Shadows, like it is told on the streets? That you disturbed the peasants' peace to use them for your campaign against Takahisa?"
"My Lord Oda, I must fiercely repudiate these rumours as deliberately sowed disrepute of our honourably family. I beg your pardon if I speak openly: it is undeniable that the Imagawa family has always had a good contact to the Men of Shadows. Still they were always used to avoid the bloody battles and not to encourage them. The rebellion in the Shimazu lands came because of the excessive tax rates Lord Takahisa-sama had to impose to finance his expansion into Shikoku and the fierce reign he executed on his vassals."
"Assuming that your words are true, Abe. How would our cooperation look like?"
"My Lord, again I have to beg your pardon for vocalizing my thoughts openly: the Oda clan is in a critical position. Desite the friendly attitude of Lord Uesugi you are defending a multiple front. Rely on our strong back, Mikawa, and defy the rebel forces coming from the south, from Ise. Rest assured that we will not take advantage of a weak position but help defend your lands as if they were ours, for the sake of your admirable line."
"Be it then. Please communicate to your Lord that I am glad to offer the Oda clan's shimmering swords to a new trustworthy ally."
Additionally Abe-san states that our Archer Dojo in Totomi is known all over Japan now and is to be considered Legendary.
Apart from that there is not much to add. Yasunaga-san is restarting the Shinobi recruitment and planning to return to his wife and our grandchildren in next year's summer.

林 実



Letter from Winter 1550
Mariko,
we had an average harvest. After all our taxes were collected, Lord Yoshimoto declared the state of war to be terminated and decreased the tax rate to a normal level. I feel good about lifting the burden of the peasantry a bit, but am equally eager to know what is the real motivation behind this surprisingly charitable act.
The Sword Dojo in Satsuma is going to be finished by the end of winter. Another letter of Abe-san arrived. He states that he is trying to see Lord Takeda and persuade him of abandoning his alliance with the filthy Hôjô who, apparently, managed to rescue some troops from Tosa and ship them to Izu.

林 実



Letter from Spring 1551
Mariko,
another Hôjô attack was smashed into the snowy ground of Totomi last winter. Sadai Tadatsugu-taisho, a very honourably bowman and exceptionally gifted painter I left in charge of the Totomi army when I left 2 years ago sent me these pictures of the attack, including a short report of the battle.

Winter 1550, Battle of Totomi



It came as it was to be expected. Over many moons had the Hôjô increased their army and now they invaded. It was a very cold day with light snowfall when my scouts reported the advancing army. It was led by Hôjô Uiyasu, the only heir to the current Hôjô daimyô performing his second try to snatch these lands from its Great Bowmen's hands. We were prepared to offer them another piercing welcome.



The light fog that lay on the field slowly revealed the Hôjô forces tramping through deep snow like intimidated animals on their way to the shambles.



The closer they came the more confidence arouse in my men's hearts. An army of peasants, without any armour or shelter against our death rain was slowly marching towards us. My right flank reports an Ashigaru unit with strange metallic weapons. This must have been the so-called "Esupingaruda" or "Rifure" or whatever these gaijin call these coward's weapons. The will not help here and they will soon find out.



As soon as their main body is in range my men start the fire. The first volley is devastating. There are shouts to my left: "Kamiame!" I like the word and make it my fire commando. "KAMIAME!" My men echo the roar, followed by the death cries of our enemies. The Hôjô speed up and their unskilled archers send their arrows without any concept into my rows.
The constant approach of the decimated Hôjô units forces me to send in my Yari soldiers, providing them with easy mopping. Hôjô Uiyasu's left flank is routing at the sight of my well trained soldiers, only the main body around him puts up a fight. To my left a Hôjô archer unit tries to skirmish some of my infantry and I command my left archer flank to move around them and attack from they rear.



Soon the matters to my left are settled and the man claiming to lead the clan after his fathers death decides to get away with his life.



The struggle caused some of my men to retreat, a minor flaw on our glorious victory. To my right the routing Ashigaru with the strange weapons rally and approach, calling for some more volleys. Satisfied but decimated they rout a second time and do not come back.



A Great Victory for my Lord. Have enclosed the casualty report.



End of battle notes.

Nearly at the same time arrived a letter from Lord Oda, who assured his total loyalty to our alliance and abandoned the bond to the aggressive Hôjô. Apart from that he announces the maturity of his son, Oda Nobunaga and wishes that the bond of our Great Clans will last beyond the time his son takes over the lead of the Oda clan.





Abe-san reports that his attempt to diplomatically isolate the Hôjô failed and that the Takeda Nobutora-sama remains allied to Hôjô Ujitsuna-sama, despite showing friendly tendencies.
Our expansion is going on as planned.





Ogenkide,

林 実



Summary:
The Hôjô are just too funny. I would attack and smash them if that would not totally expose me to the Takeda. Well, I think I will let them run into me until they decide to turn against Takeda or Uesugi. As for now I am perfectly fine with defending my lands against these poor attackes and thereby slow down their expansion significantly. Apart from Uesugi I have no really strong rival in Honshu, and I think even Uesugi is struggling with keeping his lands under control.
Was a short update that only covered part of my progress. Not much time atm.

[Adam99]

Good progress. Let Hojo keep attacking, seems to be a winning strategy. I would think about maybe looking at Nagato. Irs Ronin, would seal off Kyushu. It could maybe bring more fights though, but worth a look to see whats there...

[patdj]

Already checked Nagato. They will follow soon, the back provinces' garrisons are ridiculous and I may take it without much effort as soon as I can spare troops. But thanks for the advice.