Iga Ninjutsu is Good (Hattori: Legendary, Domination, V5445)

[Maltz]

Goemon: "Our Yari Samurai has been surrounded on three sides! They can't hold much longer!"
Chisato: "Look, Master Momochi and General Sawada has arrived with the reinforcement!"

[Maltz]

Goemon: "Sawada raised his little army fan~"
Chisato: "The Yari Samurai's morale is saved!"

[Maltz]

Chisato: "Hattori reinforcement, the Bow Ashigaru pulled out their wakasashi!"
Goemon: "Charge into the back of the Sagara mob!"

[Maltz]

Chisato: "The Sagara army is surrounded! They started fleeing!"
Goemon: "The Hattori generals give chase!"

Note: I was afraid of making a landmark from this battle and raising Hattori's clan fame unnecessarily, so I did not end the battle in the first opportunity. I purposely let go a significant portion of the routing army in the hope that the total casualty falls below the landmark threshold. Unfortunately, a landmark was given anyway. It seems that the first few landmarks require only two full-stack army to clash.

[Maltz]

Chisato: "What a great victory, Master! I heard the local farmers are pulling together all the lost weapons of the Sagara army, melting them, and making a memorial statue for the battle."
Sandayu: "Oh? This is not very good..."
Chisato: "Why?"
Sandayu: "Lord Yasunaga wants us to remain a low profile to escape the scrutiny of other Japanese clans... but as a samurai it is always a great honor to have his name remembered this way. "
Chisato: "I see. What's the next step, Master?"
Sandayu: "We have some leftover army to take care of!"

[Maltz]

Sandayu: "Sawada, you lead this attack!"
Takamochi: "What an honor!"
Chisato: "Master Momochi is so great. He gives chances to establish fame to his colleagues other than keeping it for himself."
Goemon:

Note: I was hoping to pick a good retainer for Sawada. But after half an hour of file loading all I got was +7% movement.

[Maltz]

Takamochi: "I am sorry, Momochi, I lost more men in that no-brainer battle..." (auto-resolved)
Sandayu: "Don't worry, we have two seasons to recover until we reach the next castle. Chisato?"
Chisato: "Yes!"
Sandayu: "Your next mission is to scout ahead in Satsuma. We want to destroy Sagara and Ito as soon as possible!"
Chisato: "Certainly!"

[Maltz]

Chisato: "Heading to Satsuma! The border of the province should be around here... oh that's a nice Stable they have in the middle of nowhere..."
Goemon: "Look, Chisato, there is a an emissary coming. Let's follow him and read his letter when he is asleep!"
Chisato: "I like this job!"



Chisato: "So Sagara wants to beg for peace and become a vassal, huh? The HQ must be out of their mind if they agree..."
Goemon: "Yep, Satsuma is famous for its blacksmiths. The HQ plans to develop it into a specialized unit recruitment center for all melee units. If they are in garbage provinces like Hyuga, Awaji, Kawachi, or Wakasa, maybe it is worth some consideration."

[Maltz]

The video of the Higo battle is shown below, preceded by Chisato's assassination of the Sagara daimyo.



End of Chapter 6

[Xehh II]

Awesome, keep up the good work

[Maltz]

I'm thoroughly impressed by your manipulation of the AI. It will be interesting to see what happens come realm divide though, when you can't limit your enemies.
Also, I love the onion heads!

Thanks for responding.
Yeah, the onion heads have very interesting expressions that can often replace a sentence.
The realm divide will be handled by a relatively long pause to prepare for the "next-gen" armies (gold armored melee, +25% accuracy ranged) and well-trained generals. The ninjas and monks will do their fair share of work to weaken the other clans. It will happen at around Chapter 15 of the story (still a long way to go ).

[Maltz]

Chapter 7. Friendly Neighborhood



Chisato: "Goemon, what's the new development in Ise? Last time you mentioned that Sakai replaced Kitabatake..."
Goemon: "Sakai did not last long there. It was immediately replaced by Oda. Oda's army landed on the shore and immediately took the castle."
Chisato: "So they know the trick about not to unload everything in the first place?"
Goemon: "Maybe the beach is too close to the castle..."

[Maltz]

Chisato: "What's the HQ's attitude toward Oda? Still selling military access?"
Goemon: "Yep. Keep peace in Kinki is Hattori's primary interest. This should be quite easy as Oda just declared war to Ikko Buddhists."
Chisato: "Let's hope Oda's army in Ise gets pulled to the north soon..."

Note: Actually at this point, when I hit End Turn, Oda's army in Ise could either leave for the north or head west, stepping right into Hattori's territory (with military access). Of course, I chose to let them head north.

[Maltz]

Chisato: "So there is little to worry about in eastern Kinki. How about potential threats from the west, Goemon?"
Goemon: "We have two weak buffer clans, Bessho and Hanato. Bessho is quite a problem as they have gathered one full stack, and their old enemy in the west is now replaced by their ally. It has no other place to expand. A full stack army is gathering at our border."
Chisato: "Can we avoid a war with them?"
Goemon: "The HQ has sent ninja to assassinate their generals and constantly burn down their castle gates. Both have the effect to recall their army to the castle. Hopefully this can delay their war on us..."

[Maltz]

Chisato: "So there could be trouble with Bessho... how about Hanato?"
Goemon: "The powerful Takaoka clan has declared war on Hanato, so I doubt Hanato could last very long. These two clans used to be allies. Takaoka is getting a bad fame for the betrayal."
Chisato: "Takaoka and the Hattori are trade partners."
Goemon: "Hm... maybe Takaoka merchants can no longer look straight into our guys' eyes. I guess they will cancel the trade soon."
Chisato: "How is their stupid diplomatic decision impacting an innocent third party?"
Goemon: "That's just the way things go here... 100 chances to take an unexpected turn for the worse..."

[Maltz]

Sandayu: "What did you find in Satzuma, Chisato?"
Chisato: "Master, sagara's defence is extremely weak in Satzuma. But they were still strong enough to repel a tiny wave of Shimazu attack. The Shimazu clan took the Ouchi province, but lost Satzuma to Sagara."
Sandayu: "Good. Let's take care of Sagara!"

[Maltz]

Chisato: "Master, please note that the Ito clan is still at war with us. But now Shimazu lies in the middle..."
Sandayu: "Ito clan? Our monk will take care of them. There is a rebel army marching toward the Hyuga castle as we speak. "

Note: It looks like that Ito's army had lost to Shimazu, as the rebel army was relatively small.

[Maltz]

Sandayu: "Let's bring down Sagara (auto-resolved), and build up Satzuma to be Hattori's recruitment center for all melee units!"

Note: In this campaign, I paid special attention to Development Commissioner's ability to lower the effect of resistance to occupation. For the home province of a "great clan" such as Satzuma, I always let the Development Commissioner take it so I can save some garrisons.

[Maltz]

Chisato: "What's the next step, master?"
Sandayu: "Now Ito is gone, so all we need to worry about is Shimazu."
Chisato: "Is Hattori going to declare war on Shimazu? They have no allies..."
Sandayu: "Not necessary. You see the Shimazu army are all out on the field. All we need to do is to give them some distraction, while a rebel army sneak into their last castle."
Chisato: "My distraction plan would costs the clan a lot... And we will have to wait an extra turn from the rebels to act..."
Sandayu: "Don't underestimate the importance of diplomacy, Chisato. After some rapid expansion in recent years, the Hattori clan wants to avoid any extra attention. Let's do things the harmonious way."
Chisato: "Well, as long as the HQ approves my budget..."
Sandayu: "Yep. Practically we are now paying you to buy diplomatic favors."
Chisato: "I am a diplomatic agent as well? Do I get diplomatic immunity if my mission fails?"
Sandayu: "Go distract the Shimazu army!"

[Maltz]

Earlier, in the Omi province...

Hattori Yasunaga: "Sigh... the Hattori clan is surrounded by potential enemies. The turbulent neighboorhood, just like the weather, could quickly change and sink us."
Bodyguard A: "My Lord, what are you talking about? Everybody is buying our military access. If they betray us, they would suffer a bad name in Japan."
Yasunaga: "What if they do not care? Takaoda already betrayed Hanato. The key to stable borders is not military access, but friendly attitudes. The one that worries me the most is Oda. They do not even want to trade with us."
Bodyguard A: "Why don't you send your son to be a hostage?"
Yasunaga: "What are you talking about? Why don't I send YOUR son to be a hostage?"
Bodyguard A: "Sure? But I am a nobody. Maybe +1 relationship?"
Hattori Masanari: "Father, uncle A has a point. Please trasnfer me to Oda's school. This way our clan can trade with them and develop a good relationship!"
Yasunaga: "This is dangerous, but a good idea..."
Masanari: "I have always wanted to do something for the clan. I am sure I will make friends within the Oda family and pursuade them to like us more."
Yasunaga: "OK..."
Masanari: "The Iga schools are all about these religious brain washing crap anyway..."

[Maltz]

Chisato: "Hattori sent its heir to Oda as a hostage? Is it a joke? Did we lose a war or something?"
Goemon: "Nope. It is a bold diplomatic move to solidify our friendship with Oda. Of course they don't call it hostage - instead, a student exchange program. Oda will probably send some nobody's son over."
Chisato: "So now Oda should be extra friendly to us?"
Goemon: "Before they run out of enemies? Probably..."

[Maltz]

Chisato: "At least the east is taken care of. Is there anyway to stablize the west?"
Goemon: "The HQ just signed a trade agreement with the Urakami clan... after 1000 koku of gift. As a friendly gesture the Urakami clan returned 120 koku during the signing ceremony."
Chisato: "Why do we pay them to trade?"
Goemon: "Otherwise they do not agree to trade. The HQ estimated that Urakami will develop into a major power in the Chugoku region and probably replace Bessho to be our new neighbor later, so it is better to develop a friendship with them earlier. Oda is paying for our gift anyway. "
Chisato:

[Maltz]

Goemon: "Good news, Chisato. The Hattori clan just got a new baby!"
Chisato: "Every autumn there is a new baby... my wallet... "

[HopAlongBunny]

Masterful, as ever

[Maltz]

Chisato & Yukimune: "Master, did you summon us? What is your order?"
Momochi Sandayu: "There are new orders from the HQ. I want to gather more information from my ninja. First, what's happening in the rest of Kyushu?
Yukimune: "Hyuga has fallen into the hands of the rebels. The Ouchi clan has replaced Otomo."
Sandayu: "Hm... we have to take a close on eye on Ouchi and hopefully avoid a war with them. We are now pouring ships into the trade nodes. We do not want Ouchi's navy to interfere with us."
Yukimune: "I will make sure that the Ouchi army never takes another province in Kyushu!"

Sandayu: "Chosokabe has declared war on the Miyoshi clan, which will not last for long. The HQ wants us to get to Shigoku as soon as possible. I need to have one ninja with me."
Chisato:
Sandayu: "Chisato, you will go with me. Somehow I feel compelled to bring you to wherever the action is..."

Sandayu: "At the same time we want to develop Satsuma into the recruitment center of our melee units. But we need iron... where is the closest Iron deposit around here?"
Yukimune: "There is no iron in Kyushu or Shigoku. The closest iron is probably Mimasaka..."
Sandayu: "It is good that we just established trade link with Urakami."

Sandayu: "And we need to have a navy. What have you heard about the other clans' navy?"
Chisato: "I heard that clans in Japan have a special obession for Bow Kobaya. "
Sandayu: "So let's produce a large number of Medium Bune! They eat Bow Kobaya for breakfast."


Note 1: Actually iron was the exact reason for establishing trade with Urakami. We only need the iron by the time the advanced armoury is queued. It is fine to lose the iron immediately afterward.

Note 2: The problem that the AI only produces Bow Kobaya has been corrected in a subsequent patch. Later in this campaign we will again battle Wako pirates' medium bune, etc.

[Maltz]

Chisato: "Goemon, we are picked to join the Shigoku invasion! Pack your stuff!"
Goemon: "I heard that Wako pirates are active in the Setto inland sea right now, and sadly we do not have any navy there. As the shipping of monks to Kyushu is delayed, the invasion on Shigoku is delayed, too."
Chisato: " Let's hope someone else get rid of the pirates for us..."

Note: Indeed the AI defeated the pirates for us. But soon the Wako will move their spawns to southern Kyushu, and will continue to appear that for the rest of the campaign. It seems that Wako always spawn at southern Kyushu if the player owns those provinces.

[Maltz]

Goemon (reading Pocket Times): "Buhahaha~"
Chisato: "What's fun in this issue?"
Goemon: "Remnants of the Kibatatake clan took their castle back when Oda was not watching! The clan has revived itself! Strangely it was as unfriendly all of a sudden."
Chisato: "That's... interesting. But then our trades with Oda is broken."
Goemon: "Yeah... that's too bad. But look on the bright side..."

Note: The Kibatatake clan carries a "past grievance -40" with Hattori at the beginning of the game. Strangely, when the clan revives itself, this factor is also renewed, and all of Hattori's past trade relationship with Kibatatake forgotten.

[Maltz]

Goemon: "Think of the military access we can sell them again!"
Chisato: "A new curse to the Kitabatake clan!"

[Maltz]

Chisato: "Right, how about the war between Hatano and Takaoka?"
Goemon: "Hatano made a good effort pushing into Takaoka's territory. But Takaoka's full stack arrived to run it over. Now Takaoka's stack is just outside Tamba castle!"
Chisato: " Would they declare war on us?"
Goemon: "Possibly. The HQ needs to find new enemies for them after Hatano is destroyed..."

[Maltz]

Chisato: "Too bad Hatano did not last. I guess our ninja sabotaged their castle for too long..."
Goemon: "Yeah. They will go down with a fat bank account. Or maybe they are still interested in Hattori's infinite military access? "