View Full Version : Iga Ninjutsu is Good (Hattori: Legendary, Domination, V5445)
In Japan 500 years ago,
a young man began his journey from Kyoto.
Little did he know,
the brutality of the outside world;
Much will he grow,
to cast Iga Ninja's darkest shadow.
His name was thousand miles,
Chisato.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_000.jpg
Hello,
This is my fourth story/AAR with the ORG. My inspiration comes from writing an almost RPG story from the eye of a single character, while making harmless parody of a certain famous religious group. I will try to make appropriate English adaptations to cater to the international readers and add some exclusive content. :yes:
Welcome suggestions and comments.
Clan: Hattori
Version: V1.1 5445 (Chapter 1-11), 5520 (Chapter 12-)
Difficulty: Legendary
Length: Domination
MODS: None
DLC: Hattori, Ikko-Ikki, Sengoku Jidai units, Blood Pack
Table of Content
Chapter 1: Journey of Thousand Mile (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053448401&viewfull=1#post2053448401)
Chapter 2: One Step More (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053453138&viewfull=1#post2053453138)
Chapter 3: Race for the Hill (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053453328&viewfull=1#post2053453328)
Chapter 4: Beach Drops (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053453605&viewfull=1#post2053453605)
Chapter 5: Evasive Invasion (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053454056&viewfull=1#post2053454056)
Chapter 6: Shadow's Call (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053455447&viewfull=1#post2053455447)
Chapter 7. Friendly Neighborhood (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053456360&viewfull=1#post2053456360)
Chapter 8. Dark and Darker (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053457111&viewfull=1#post2053457111)
Chapter 9. Dishonourable Bastards (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053457526&viewfull=1#post2053457526)
Chapter 10. Dawn of Naginata (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053458228&viewfull=1#post2053458228)
Chapter 11. 24 Seasons Later (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053459038&viewfull=1#post2053459038)
Chapter 12. Musashi Gathering (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053459178&viewfull=1#post2053459178)
Chapter 13. Angel of the Night (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053459272&viewfull=1#post2053459272)
Chapter 14. Unlikely Enemy and Ally (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053459343&viewfull=1#post2053459343)
Chapter 15. Endurance beats Might (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053459642&viewfull=1#post2053459642")
Chapter 16. Revenge of Iga Ninjutsu (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053459854&viewfull=1#post2053459854")
List of Videos
Chisato's Assassination #1 & Battle of Kumamoto (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053456137&viewfull=1#post2053456137)
Chisato's Assassination #2 & Siege of Oko Castle (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053457464&viewfull=1#post2053457464)
Kyoto Night Battle (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053459307&viewfull=1#post2053459307)
Black Ship Battle (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053459841&viewfull=1#post2053459841)
Chisato's Assassination #3-5 & Battle of Fukushima (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?141394-Iga-Ninjutsu-is-Good-(Hattori-Legendary-Domination-V5445)&p=2053459974&viewfull=1#post2053459974)
Review of Hattori Campaign (http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDEwOTM1NjY4.html)
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_001.jpg
One. Journey of Thousand Miles
About five hundreds years ago, Japan was deeply divided by its warring clans. Yet one place was relatively sheltered from the devastation - the imperial palace in Kyoto. The emperor of Japan was still respected by all clans, possibly because he did not possess any actual power.
Chisato, literally "thousand miles/kilometers" was a 20-year-old young man who had just passed his exam to become a restroom manager(janitor/servant) in the imperial palace. It was a decent and stable job, and he surely studied hard for it. However, like many young man, he dreamed of doing something great, something to make his ancestors proud. In spring 1545, his fate will be forever changed...
Emperor: "ARGH!~~ OOMPH!~~" :on_tears:
Chisato: "Your majesty, do you have constipation again? :Please let me help you :on_thumbup: dig it out!"
Emperor: "Thank you, Chisato. But I think I will handle this myself in the future, so that people don't the wrong idea. Actually it is not constipation this time."
Chisato: "What is it? Can I help?"
Emperor: "You have always been so nice, and since you are not one of the Ashikaga, why not?... The Ashikaga Shogunate has been increasingly impolite recently. They often just throw me documents to sign without asking my opinion. I am just a stamp to them! How could they do this to me?!"
Chisato: "(Haven't the Shogunate been doing this for hundreds of years?) :on_furious: Cursed Ashikaga rats!"
Emperor: "It will be great if we find a replacement of the Shogun. But I have little knowledge of the outside world... I don't know who can be trusted."
Chisato: "Your majesty, how about I take a look of the outside world for you? I will find a suitable replacement of the Shogun!"
Emperor: "This is a good idea. Let's just say your great grandma suddenly died and you need to take a long leave..."
The journey of Thousand Miles (Chisato) began. He travelled to quite a few towns in the Kinki area (surrounding Kyoto), but everywhere he went, people instantly recognized that he was with the imperial palace. Chisato did not gather a lot of useful information if people had to be careful about what they speak to him...
(The Province of Iga, Spring 1545)
Chisato: "Sigh, I am just not good at this... How can I face the emperor's high hope on me? :on_sleep:"
Momochi Sandayu (33 years old): "Come! Come! :on_lol: Today is the grand opening of the the Iga Ninjutsu school! Hey young man, interested in Ninjutsu?"
Chisato: "Sir, could you tell me what Ninjutsu is about?"
Sandayu: "Ninjutsu is the skills of endurance. Iga Ninjutsu is especiall good because we are truly good at endurance. Graduates of the Iga Ninjutsu school will become a certified Ninja and receive a guaranteed life-long career with the Hattori clan! However long your life is."
Chisato: "Hm, I have never heard of Ninja. People who specialize at endurance... sound like self-torture artists to me. Could you tell me what a Ninja does exactly?"
Sandayu: "Business secret! It is the most exciting career one can ever imagine. There is nothing about self-torture that's for sure. In fact quite the opposite. :on_harhar: I have spoken too much."
Chisato: "I just want to learn about the clans in Japan. I am not into torturing or being tortured."
Sandayu: ":on_furious: Ninjutsu is not like that! Hey, you are from the Kyoto palace, right? How about I give you a special royal discount? Free tuition! And I pay you 50 koku and you become my student, how's that, huh?"
Chisato: "NOOO~ How come everybody knows I am from Kyoto?! :on_tantrum:"
Sandayu: "Ha! First, you speak standard Japanese. Regular folks all carry their regional accents. Second, you walk with your bum shaking left and right. In other parts of Japan only prostitute girls do that, but in Kyoto this is normal for men. Third, the chrysanthemum flowers printed on your robe is the royal seal, and regular people will get their head chopped off if they wear it. Fourth, you have some black tooth. Dying teeth is a common practice only in the palace. Fifth, you are too polite but you are not crazy. Six, you still wear that red dot right in the middle of your forehead. That's just too obvious..."
Chisato: "I forgot to wipe it off... Wow! This is impressive! :on_aww: If I study Iga Ninjutsu, will I become as observant as you? Will I be able to collect very useful information about clans?"
Sandayu: "Collecting information is Ninja's specialty! But it just a desert compared to the main entry, which is murder and arson. :on_sing:"
Chisato: "You are very good at joking, too!"
Sandayu: ":on_sweat:...yeah, anyway, Congratulations, you are a member of Iga Ninjutsu!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_002.jpg
Hattori Yasunaga (daimyo of the Hattori clan, 33 years old): "Momochi, how's today's progress? Did you find any talent?"
Sandayu: "My lord, I got my first student signed up! This is Chisato!"
Chisato: "Very nice to meet you, my lord!"
Yasunaga: "Wow, a young man from Kyoto! Welcome to Iga!"
Chisato: ":on_wait: I will work hard to learn Iga Ninjutsu from master Momochi!"
Sandayu: "Actually, Iga Ninjutsu is all about learning from practice. So... you are ready to take on your first assignment!"
Chisato: "But I haven't learned anything yet! :on_eeek:"
Sandayu: "No worries, you will learn along the way. We will give you appropriate assignments and lessons. You will be perfectly safe."
Hattori Masanari (son of Yasunaga, 4 years old): "But :on_huh: how come the big brother we sent to Ise did not return?"
Chisato: "Huh?"
Yasunaga: "Ah... don't listen to kid's crazy talk. Masanari, go play with your mother."
Sandayu: "Chisato, your assignment is go to Yamato, and find out how much army the Tsutsui clan has. Once you get there, stay there and a messager to get in contact with you."
Chisato: "Er... can I see my room and office first?"
Sandayu: "You are a ninja! A person who endures! Truly good at endurance! The world is your room! Go now! :on_getsome:"
Chisato: "But... everybody can tell I am from Kyoto!"
Sandayu: "Ops, I forgot about that. on_sweat: You should wear this ... Iga Ninja's all-black uniform. Very good taste, right?"
Chisato: "But this makes me even more stand out from the crowd..."
Sandayu: "Who says you will stand in a crowd? You are a bloody Ninja! You walk in the woods and sleep on people's roof!"
Chisato: "This is so different from what I imagined...:on_beg: "
Note: Many of us heard about "Hattori Hanzo". There was even one in the movie Kill Bill. Hanzo is a name that is passed down through the Hattori clan; every Hattori clan lord is a Hattori Hanzo. The most famous Hanzo is Masanari (who is only a little child at this point).
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_003.jpg
(Province of Yamato, Tsutsui Clan)
Chisato: "After 20+ mosquito bites, finally I am here at Yamato..." :on_tears:
Ishikawa Goemon (10 years old): "Psss... Iga Ninja Chisato? Come here!"
Chisato: "What's wrong, little boy?"
Goemon: "Don't call me that. I am employed by the Iga Ninjutsu, just like you."
Chisato: "So you are my contact?"
Goemon: "Exactly. From now on, I am the middle-man between you and the HQ."
Chisato: "Why use a middle man?"
Goemon: "You must be that naive dude from Kyoto. This way they can easily deny any involvement and knowledge of your missions."
Chisato: "What?! So they are not going to try to rescue me if I fail?" :on_scare:
Goemon: "Actually, they only deny involvement when you succeed. If you fail, you will be tortured and reveal everything anyway. Just like the last guy they sent to Ise, he told every thing after taking just 50 beat-ups. :on_yawn:"
Chisato: ":on_bibber: I can't believe they do not arrange ransoms..."
Goemon: "Ha. The things ninja break often cost more than 1000 koku. It is hardly worth it. It only costs 500 koku to hire a new Ninja."
Chisato: "500? I only got paid 50 koku..."
Goemon: "Hey! I have to eat, too. But where does the other 440 koku go? Did Momochi take them all?!" :on_furious:
Chisato: "Hm... anyway, my assignment is to figure out how much army the Tsutsui clan has in Yamato."
Goemon: "This is easy. You just stand in town square and count the number of soldiers when they patrol by. After several days you will have see them all."
Chisato: "But that's very tiring..."
Goemon: "You are a person who endures! A Ninja! Just do it!" :on_getsome:
Note: Goemon is a very famous Iga ninja/thief from the period, stealing from the rich and help the poor like Robinhood. He was finally caught in 1594 and got cooked alive in a big wok. I played video games featuring him as the main character.
Chisato: "After standing 7 days in the market square, I have become familiar with of each Yamato soldier's face! I can count there are one unit of Bow Ashigaru and two units of Yari Ashigaru!"
Goemon: "Not bad. But I would simply steal their paylist and figure that out. Anyway, you have a new mission now! Burn down the Tsutsui castle!"
Chisato: "What?! Didn't they say my mission is completely safe? :on_scare:"
Goemon: "You don't have to literally burn it down to ashes. Breaking the lock of their front gate will work. This way they will be busy repairing the lock and temporarily forget about hiring new units... somehow. Let me help you!"
Chisato: "OK..."
***
Goemon: "OK the guards have past! Go Go!"
Chisato: "What if innocents get hurt if I break their front gate?"
Goemon: "How can that happen? You are a Ninja! You don't care about innocents! :on_furious:"
Chisato: "I can't! Breaking other's property is wrong!"
Goemon: "Ok, ok, I promise you nobody is going to get hurt. Well even if they do get hurt, they will grow back in the next season. :on_sweat: And the gate will be repaired. There is no hard feelings."
Chisato: "Ops, the gate caught my torch's fire!"
Goemon: "Run!~~"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_004.jpg
Goemon: "Ha! Look at the dark smoke rising from Tsutsui castle. Good job." :on_lol:
Chisato: "I wanted to do something to benefit all Japan... But look at me now, I am an arsonist, a criminal! :on_sleep: How do I face the emperor and my parents?"
Goemon: "Well, my goal of life is to become the greatest thief of Japan, so I can steal from the richest rats and redistribute their fortune to the poor."
Chisato: "That's a great goal! But you are still a thief."
Goemon: "...Yeah and we do not murder people like ninjas do. :on_furious: So you can do something to make the ninjas proud, too!"
Chisato: "All right, I will use my torch to burn down all the incompetent clans of Japan to help end the meaningless Sengoku Jidai! This will honor the emperor and my parents!"
Goemon: "That's a positive thought. I will reflect your goals to the management so they assign you more appropriate tasks to increase your productivity."
Chisato: "Thank you!" :on_aww:
Chisato: "There is something that I am not sure I should ask... why do sabotage Tsutsui castle?" :on_huh:
Goemon: "Clan strategies are shared on a need-to-know basis. You are a ninja. You do not need to know."
Chisato: "You are a messenger. So you do not have the need to know, either?"
Goemon: "You do no need to know whether I have the need to know."
Chisato: ":on_beg: I am an official agent in the family!"
Goemon: "Hm... yeah you deserve some reward for your hard work. Well, if you ever get caught, would you swear that you will not reveal anything?"
Chisato: "I swear in Buddha's name!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_006.jpg
Goemon: "Ok. The secret is we Hattori clan plans to attack Kyushu."
Chisato: ":on_angry: What? Not taking the Kinki area first?"
Goemon: "Probably fine for Oda's cheap Ashigaru, but Hattori clan's soldiers are too expensive to support wars on so many fronts. It is better to get to the edge of Japan first and work our way to the east."
Chisato: "So we do not attack any clan east of Iga?"
Goemon: "Precisely. We will establish trade with every clan to our east, for example, the Ashikaga Shogunate, and hopefully sell military access to them."
Chisato: "No attack on Ashikaga? How do I face the emperor? :on_crying:"
Goemon: "Not now. But eventually we will. When we are powerful enough to face the rest of Japan all united together."
Chisato: "I see..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_007.jpg
Goemon: "For now, we can sell military access to both the Ashikaga Shogunate (5 turns in spring, 10 turns in summer, and 20 turns in autumn) and the Asai clan in Omi. That's a lot of koku for us to recruit Ashigaru and feed them."
Chisato: "Are we going to attack every province one by one until we reach Kyushu?"
Goemon: "That's too slow. We will load all available armies on a ship and take northern Kyushu as soon as possible."
Chisato: "But we do not own a port yet!"
Goemon: "That's right, we need to take a port first. The port in Settsu, more specifically. We will take Yamato, then Kii, then Kawachi, then Settsu."
Chisato: "That means we will challenge the alliance of Tsutsui and Hatakeyama. They have four provinces; we only have one... :on_scare:"
Goemon: "I did not say it will be easy. We have to outsmart them. Yet we have one important weapon - ninja a.k.a. you. Each time you sabotage a castle under recruitment, you reduce their stregnth by one to two units of Ashigaru."
Chisato: "Didn't realize I am this important! Wait... how do you know about this?"
Goemon: "You do not have the need to know." :on_whistle:
Chisato: "..."
(Summer 1545)
Goemon: "Chisato, guess what, the HQ gave you a new mission!"
Chisato: "What's the new mission?"
Goemon: "Sabotage Tsutsui castle."
Chisato: ":on_hypnose: That's the same as last season's mission..."
Goemon: "That's not the correct attitude of a professional! You should be resistant to repetition!"
Chisato: "You are right! I will treat every sabotage with passion!"
Goemon: "Yes! Call up your arsonist spirit!" :on_furious:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_008.jpg
Chisato: "The familiar black smoke rises from Tsutsui castle... Again I broke someone else's property. I am worthless..." :on_beg:
Goemon: "Cheer up! Look at it this way - in 16th century, the forestry industry in Japan is fully environmentally sustainable. So all you did was to create a new contract for the handyman to repair the door and thus increases the GDP figure of Japan. Isn't it nice? :on_idea:"
Chisato: "What are you talking about? You are a 10 year old!":on_furious:
Goemon: ":on_sweat:... By the way, congratulations! You are now a level-2 ninja of Iga! The HQ just mailed you the certificate for you to sew it inside your Ninja suit."
Chisato: "What kind of previlege do I have as a level-2 Ninja? Access more secret information? :on_love:"
Goemon: "Not just this - you can hire a retainer yourself!"
Chisato: "Nice! What kind of choices I have?"
Goemon: "You can either choose a bag of clothes of a regular town man, or... ME! I am good at remembering roads, so once you and I join an army, we can help them march further."
Chisato: "The first option is silly... Let me hire you, then!"
Goemon: "Good. I am your official retainer! 10 koku, please."
Chisato: :on_tantrum:
(Autumn 1545)
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_009.jpg
Goemon: "Chisato, did you hear the news?"
Chisato: "Yeah, Tsutsui clan decided not to build a Sake Den in Yamato and many are disappointed."
Goemon: "Blah! :on_furious: Hattori declared war on Tsutsui! Hatakeyama declared war on Hattori!"
Note: It is better to declare war in the fall, so Hattori will have 3 units of Bow Ashigaru instead of just 1, making the castle assault a lot easier.
(Autumn 1545)
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_010.jpg
Yasunaga (daimyo): "Ha, the Tsutsui clan was caught by surprise! Start the assault!" :on_lol:
Sandayu: "Chisato, come and watch us take the castle!"
Chisato: "What an honor to be an observer!" :on_aww:
Sandayu: "No, actually we need more people to carry water. Come!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_011.jpg
Chisato: "My lord, the Tsutsui Bow Ashigaru is defending the wall! What should we do?"
Yasunaga: "There are four walls in the castle, but only one is manned by Bow unit..."
Sandayu: "Let's shoot them from behind!" :on_sing:
Chisato: "Won't they simply turn around and shoot us?"
Sandaru: "Er... strangely, they won't." :on_sweat:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_012.jpg
Sandayu: "This is a good angle! Fire!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_013.jpg
Chisato: "Many arrows struck the lantern pole... many Tsutsui soldiers are spared!"
Sandayu: "Let's move them to another spot!"
Chisato: "How do we move them?"
Sandayu: "We will move, and they will follow us!" :on_idea:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_014.jpg
Sandayu: "No poles, no obstacles, and they have regrouped to form crowd together again. Fire!" :on_lol:
Sandayu: "All of Tsutsui's Bow Ashigaru is killed! Let's shoot the rest of them!"
Yasunaga: "Let's inspire the soldiers together!... what's the slogan?"
Sandayu: "Iga Ninjutsu is Good!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_015.jpg
Soldier 1: "I chanted Iga Ninjutsu is Good, and my kidney stone is flushed out!" :on_whistle:
Soldier 2: "I chanted Iga Ninjutsu is Good, and my incompetence has disappeared! I now have a baby boy!" :on_love:
Soldier 3: "I chanted Iga Ninjutsu is Good, and my wife has disappeared! I live happily ever after!" :on_lol:
Hattori Soldiers: "Iga Ninjutsu is Good! Fire!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_016.jpg
Sandayu: "I chant Iga Ninjutsu is Good, and the enemy shows their bums to me! :on_sing: Fire!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_017.jpg
Yasunaga: "I chanted Iga Ninjutsu is Good, and we run out of arrows..." :on_sweat:
Sandayu: "There are only 30+ Hattori soldiers left in the castle. Time to storm!"
Yasunaga: "Yari Ashigaru in spear wall formation! Burn down the gate! Go!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_018.jpg
Chisato: "Look, a Tsutsui ashigaru gracefully died on top of the sea of Hattori soldiers."
Goemon: "That's probably because he died on a slope..." :on_sweat:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_019.jpg
Yasunaga: "Time to charge in! Bodyguards, get off your steed and come with me!"
Chisato: "Watch out, the Tsutsui daimyo is coming!"
Yasunaga: "Let's fight!"
Bodyguard A: "Don't leave me!~~" :on_crying:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_020.jpg
Tsutusi Junsho (daimyo): "Come, let's fight!"
Yasunaga: "Why did I get off the horse... :on_tears:"
Note: Normally it is OK to just let Yari Ashigaru to handle the rest, but I wanted to take a screenshot of the Hattori daimyo in action. :on_sweat:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_021.jpg
Tsutusi Junsho (daimyo): "NOO~~ how could I lose to that cue ball..." :on_dead:
Yasunaga: "It is good to bring bodyguards... Good! We have taken the Tsutsui castle! Take a good rest and we will hold a meeting tomorrow morning!"
Sandayu: "Chisato, you are invited to the meeting! Don't forget to arrrive 10 minutes early at 4:50 AM!"
Chisato: "What an honor!" :on_aww:
End of Chapter 1
Chapter 2. One step more
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_022.jpg
Chisato: "So Goemon, can you tell me more about Ninja?"
Goemon: "There are three types of Ninja. The Upper Ninja are like master Momochi, who makes strategic decisions. He is the leader of Iga ninja, which operates under the Hattori clan."
Chisato: "Why do we Iga ninja listen to the Hattori clan?"
Goemon: "Becasuse they pay us nicely... we get 1 year paternity leave! The other clans only give 6 weeks."
Chisato: ":on_bird:Why would a 10-year old care about paternity leave... so how does the Hattori clan get their money?"
Goemon: "Samurai Clans are the actual rulers of the lands. The incomes mainly come from tax and trade. But from time to time we get extra incomes. For example, now we have Yamato, we can sell military access to the Kitabatake clan."
Chisato: "Nice!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_023.jpg
(Kawachi province)
Chisato: "Goemon, I heard town folks chatting about a Hatakeyama army gathering here in Kawachi."
Goemon: "Can you verify it?"
Chisato: "Let me climb a watch tower and see... yeah, I can see their banners. They are here!"
Geomon: ":on_aww: Good eyes! Let me report this to the HQ!"
*** a few days later ***
Goemon: "Hum, the HQ thinks Hattori's power is too weak to take on Hatakeyama. But Hatekaya has 3 provinces here; Hattori only has 2. If we can reverse the situation, we will have an upper hand as time goes on."
Chisato: "So what do I do?"
Goemon: "Lord Yasunaga is leading an army to attack Kii, the richest Hatakeyama province. It must be relatively defenceless. But he requires your guidance or the army can't reach there within this season."
Chisato: "I am on it! But I have never been to Kii myself..."
Goemon: "You are a ninja! Just use your superior vision :on_swoon: to scout the road!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_024.jpg
Chisato: "My lord, just keep going west on this road, you will reach the Kii castle."
Hattori Yasunaga: "Good job, Chisato! The castle is in sight! Only the regular maintainance crew is in side. Attack!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_025.jpg
Yasunaga: "There is no place for the defenders to hide! Bow Ashigaru, fire at will!"
Chisato: "Hm... there is a house nearby. Why don't the defenders seek shelters inside the house?" :on_pillow:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_026.jpg
Goemon: "Very well done, Chisato! Even a small mission could make a great difference."
Chisato: "Piece of cake! :on_charm: By the way, what was the long line up in front of the Kii castle this morning?"
Goemon: "They were here for the interview."
Chisato: "What interview?"
Goemon: "Lord Yasunaga is hiring a retainer."
Chisato: "Like I hired you?"
Goemon: "Similar. But retainers for Daimyos are different, though. Finally a veteran captain got the job. He was pretty famous in his time... so now the Hattori clan not only fairs better on the battle field, but also looks better among its generals and people."
Note: While there are multiple +1 Honor/Loyalty retainers, only some carries a low chance to have an additional +1 attack attribute.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_027.jpg
Chisato: "Oh yeah, Goemon, last time you told me about the Upper Ninjas, the decision makers. What about the other two kinds of ninjas?"
Goemon: "Standing in the middle of the tier are Middle Ninjas, field agents who perform away from the spotlight, just like you."
Chisato: "How many of us are there?"
Goemon: "I heard that a clan can have mostly 5 Middle Ninja. I am not sure what keeps them from hiring the sixth. Maybe too many Sake Den is bad for farmer's health?"
Chisato: "Am I Master Momochi's first student?"
Goemon: "He said that to everybody. But you are the first student who survived the first year..."
Chisato: :on_angry2:
Goemon: "The Iga ninja clan is actively looking for new talents. I think they just hired a new guy named Sanetomo..."
Chisato: "Named after Shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo? (note: the son of the first Kamarura Shogun Yorimoto, as seen in the DLC Rise of the Samurai)"
Goemon: "Maybe or maybe not. There are many Kanji words for the same Japanese pronunciation anyway..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_028.jpg
Chisato: "Let me guess... the third class must be the lower Ninja, right?"
Goemon: "Indeed. The Lower Ninja are soldiers who join battles. We won't see them in action until much later... for now, the HQ has a new mission for you!"
Chisato: "What is it?"
Goemon: "Lord Yasunaga is leading a surprise attack to Kawachi, and he needs you to create a distraction for the Hatakeyama army just outside the castle, so they cannot join the battle!"
Chisato: "How do I do it?"
Goemon: "How about mixing some... not exactly digestion-friendly herb exatract into their drinking water? So they will be busy looking for place to... :on_panda:"
Chisato: "That's mean! Anything less harmful?... How about making dead knots on their shoe laces while they are asleep?"
Goemon: "That will take forever..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_029.jpg
Chisato: "OK, here is an idea that works fast and is clean. First, we buy some high-quality spears and bows from local weapon stores, and we rent several dunkey-pulled wagons. Then we approach the Hatakeyama army as weapon merchants. We show them our spears and bows and offer them as free samples. We then offer them to upgrade all their weapons within a week for a cheap fee. The spears and bows come with a life-time warranty. We require payment only at the delivery. The only condition is that they give us the weapons so we can upgrade for them!"
Goemon: "What a fantastic scam! Nobody can resist free samples and life-time warranty! :on_glaugh: Plus they don't even have to pay first! Just the spears and bows, of course. All we need to do is to write a proposal to the HQ so they give us the budget to purchase the spears and bows..."
*** a few days later ***
Chisato: "Buhahaha, the Hatakeyama soldiers are happily waiting for their shiny new spears that will take a week to arrive. :on_lie:"
Goemon: "I am signalling the HQ to attack Kawachi!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_030.jpg
Momochi Sandayu: "Good job, Chisato. :on_thumbup: Because of you, the Hattori army was able to take Kawachi with ease. Now let me present you this certificate..."
Chisato: "I am now a level 3 Ninja?! Great!"
Sandayu: "Keep up the good work and prusue higher levels!"
Chisato: "What will happen when I reach a higher level?"
Sandayu: "Iga Ninjutsu is Good. Iga Ninjutsu is very rich and complex. You will know when you get there."
Chisato: "You can try to explain that to me in simple language..."
Sandayu: "Now your level is not enough, so you cannot understand. Iga Ninjutsu is about learning through practice."
Chisato: "You don't have to use English. Japanese is fine..."
Sandayu: "私はあなたが理解できないと述べた!" (I said you cannot understand!)
Goemon: "Master Sandayu, you left this... the Iga Ninja training plan on you desk!"
Sandayu: "Ops! Er... I have an important appointment with Lord Yasunaga. See you~"
Chisato: "It is all explained on the plan... I understand every word..."
***
Goemon: "There are three career paths of a Middle Ninja. One can either become a professional assassin, a escape expert, or an improvise master."
Chisato: "Improvise?"
Goemon: "Ever watched the show MacGyver?"
Chisato: ":on_furious: That show won't air 440 years later!"
Goemon: "so basically it is about reaching your goal without expensive operation fee."
Chisato: "Sounds interesting! I am going for it!"
Goemon: "Actually all future Iga ninjas are trained on this path. This could save the Hattori clan thousands of koku every season."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_031.jpg
Goemon: "Just got the news, the HQ hired a third Ninja called Yukimune."
Chisato: "So basically all Middle Ninja will have the same skills and... Buddha forbids we even all look the same... :on_tantrum:"
Goemon: "Yeah... but you can always stand out from the crowd by being special!"
Chisato: "How do I do that?"
Goemon: "By approaching your tasks in your unique style! Have it your way!"
Chisato: "Yes! I will be a unique Iga Ninja! Sabotage with passion! Restore Japan's order for the emperor! :on_angel:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_032.jpg
Chisato: "What are you reading, Goemon?"
Goemon: "The Iga ninja just started to circulate a small newspaper called the Pocket Times. While marketed at the general public to spread propaganda in favor of the Hattori clan, orders for ninjas are actually hidden in some articles."
Chisato: "Neat! Any hidden order in this issue?"
Goemon: "You have already done something this season. Take a fishing trip on Lake Biwa! :on_bath: Oh... look at the news - the Omi province has been taken down by the Ikko monks."
Chisato: "So the Asai clan is destroyed?"
Goemon: "They spent all their first-year budget to purchase our military access, so the Ikko nailed them easily..."
Chisato: "And the Ikko started with a larger army, too."
Goemon: "In fact, when our ninja reported the Ikko invasion coming, we quickly managed to sell Asai inifinite military access right before it gets destroyed. :on_lalala:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_033.jpg
Chisato: "Now Ikko buddhists have become our new neighbor with a large stack of army. The HQ must be worried about this."
Goemon: "A little maybe. They are happier to find a new buyer of our military access!"
Chisato: "So now the Ikko will have no fund to expand further..."
Goemon: "Yeah... then maybe we will have a new neighbor to sell military access to!"
Chisato: "Being Hattori's neighbor is a curse... :on_fly:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_034.jpg
(Summer 1546)
Chisato: "It looks that the Hatakeyama army is re-supplied with weapons."
Goemon: "In the meantime Hattori has also gathered enough soldiers. A heated battle is breaking out!"
Chisato: "Do you think Lord Yasunaga will allow us to observe the battle?"
Goemon: "Don't ask, just find a large tree so we get a great view!" :on_aww:
End of Chapter 2
Peasant Phill
05-29-2012, 11:29
As always, very educational and entertaining.
Chapter 3. Race for the Hill
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_035.jpg
Chisato: "Now here we have a good view of the battlefield. From the number of banners they seem to be evenly matched! It all comes down to tactics!"
Goemon: "There is a high hill in the middle. It looks like whoever controls the hill will have literally the upper hand..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_036.jpg
Goemon: "Hattori's hill is higher, and it has lots of trees."
Chisato: "What an excellent defensive position..."
Goemon: "If the Hattori soldiers use their stealth and arrive early on this high hill, they can hide themselves well within the trees. Without knowing this, the Hatakeyama army might decide to rush for the hill without a proper formation...:on_idea:"
Chisato: "So they will be easily defeated?"
Goemon: "Only the first wave is easily crushed. But Hattori's reinforcement is coming from behind. If they can run fast enough, the Hatakeyama army will be hopelessly wrapped in the middle. :on_rolled: That will break ashigaru's morale."
Chisato: "Sounds like a good plan! Should I inform master Momochi?"
Goemon: "I think he already thought about this. Look carefully, Hattori soldiers are already hiding under the trees!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_037.jpg
Chisato: "The Hatakeyama army is rushing toward the high hill! Two generals left behind their ashigaru infantry!":on_football:
Goemon: "A perfect setup to kill their generals!"
Note: After the FOTS patch (v5346) the AI loves high hills - even if the human player already has an army on it.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_038.jpg
Goemon: "The Hatekayama generals bumped into yari ashigaru's spear wall!"
Chisato: "Don't let them escape!"
Goemon: "They are not trying to escape... marching to the hill continues... :on_idle:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_039.jpg
Goemon: "Nice, the Hattori spearwall routed the Hatakeyama generals. The Hatakeyama infantry started their uphill charge!"
Chisato: "And the Hattori Yari Samurai lead the charge downhill! :on_picknose: Easily a winning match!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_040.jpg
Chisato: "The Hatakeyama ashigaru have arrived! They outnumber the Hattori ashigaru! The Hattori reinforcement is still on their way..."
Goemon: "This could be dangerous. We need something to distract them."
Chisato: "Master Momochi is the distraction! :on_hero: He is leading a flanking enemy away so our line hold up!"
Note: AI likes to chase our cavalry with yari infantry. But since this requires micromanagement, the reinforcement stood on their destination for a few seconds.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_041.jpg
Goemon: "The Hattori Yari Samurai has routed their match. Now they charge into Hatakeyama's Bow Ashigaru!"
Chisato: "The Hatakeyama Yari Ashigaru line is broken - they flee downhill!"
Goemon: "Master Momochi led the reinforcement. The final wrap up begins!" :on_lol:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_042.jpg
Chisato: "The Hatakeyama army is completely broken. :on_injured: They flee for their lives!"
Goemon: "That was quick work!"
Note: An effectice tactics for the Hattori clan is to predict which hill the AI is going to rush to (usually the tallest hill on the battlefield with trees), then deploy and hide durable infantry to trap the AI trying to claim the hill. The rest of the army can then wrap up to deliver the final blow. We will see another example in chapter 6.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_043.jpg
Goemon: "The once formidable Hatakeyama clan is largely defeated in the Kinki area. But three hundred men fled the battlefield. We can't let them move around free."
Chisato: "So there is going to be another battle?"
Goemon: "Yeah. Master Momochi probably wants easy battle command experience..."
Note: The battle was manually played to the end to make sure that some enemy do escape. This gives another battle and allows Momochi to reach level 2 and pick a better retainer. He eventually got +10 Bow unit accuracy (rubber bow), one of the better retainers out there.
After the FOTS patch (v5346), if one loads the auto-save file prior a battle, the resulting retainers are no longer randomly selected. A work around is to generate another save file before the battle. On Legendary this can be done by hitting End Turn, which generates an auto-save before the turn ends.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_044.jpg
Goemon: "Indeed, Master Momochi leads the second attack. Lord Yasunaga is the reinforcement this time."
Chisato: "So this way Master Momochi will be the chief commander even if he commands no army?"
Goemon: "Yeah. Apparently experience is also about fame. :on_shrug: So whose name goes on the front page matters..."
Note: Actually for the AIs, all participating generals, no matter they are an reinforcement or embedded in an army, receive the full (or more than full) experience. This is why we see so many high-level AI generals.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_045.jpg
Chisato: "Shall we go ahead and observe that battle?"
Goemon: "You can go if you want... I think I will fall alseep during a one-sided massacre."
Chisato: "Ok... see you later."
***
Chisato: "Darn, it was over before I got there! There goes my precious Sunday vacation!" :on_bash:
Goemon: "Yeah. Some things can happen instantly. Oh, by the way, HQ reveals a new mission for you - go meet up with Lord Yasunaga's army and lead them to attack Settsu this season!"
Chisato: "They have already fought two battles. Do they still have the energy to march that far?"
Goemon: "They don't. Your mission is to give them the last push."
Chisato: :on_down: "I need a push myself..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_046.jpg
Chisato: "Lord Yasunaga, the Settsu castle is right west from there!... I think."
Yasunaga: "Good! Use your last bit of energy to claim Hatakeyama's last province!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_047.jpg
Chisato: "It is getting dark, my Lord. Shall we wait till tomorrow?"
Yasunaga: "This is the last day of summer - we have to attack so we get something else to do in the fall."
Chisato: "Hm, but the Hatakeya soldiers are defending in the castle."
Yasunaga: "Yeah... judging from the height of the walls, this could be a problem..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_048.jpg
Chisato: "Er... my lord, you can take off your telescope."
Yasunaga: "Huh? They are not hiding inside the high walls?" :on_sing:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_049.jpg
Yasunaga: "That was easy work! Thank you, Chisato. We rushed two provinces because of your help." :on_lol:
Chisato: "No problem! All I need is to climb up to a tall tree and the castle sticks out like a sore thumb."
Yasunaga: "Yeah but regular samurai are not insured on falling from trees..."
Note: There are two kinds of level-1 castles where the AI defenders tend to march out of the gate. One is the "+" shaped castle, seen in Settsu, Kai, and a few other provinces. The other is the dumbbell "|-|" shaped castle, seen in Tosa, etc. Both types of castles allow us to easily lure them into traps and destroy. The rest is also easy work by arrows.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_050.jpg
Chisato: "So does that mean I am insured on falling from trees?"
Yasunaga: "And falling from castle walls."
Chisato: "Sounds dangerous..." :on_bibber:
Momochi Sandayu: "If you practice often, you will not fail! Now go and sabotage some nearby castle gates!"
Chisato: "Yes master. On it!"
***
Yasunaga: "So Momochi, we won three consecutive battles this season! That's not an easy feat."
Sandayu: "Yeah. Let's spread the legend that Lord Yasunaga is the avatar of Amaterasu!"
Yasunaga: "Amaterasu, the great god of sunshine?"
Sandayu: "Yeah! Every summer the people loves you more and fights better!"
Note: The +1 happiness bonus applies to the summer season. However, since the game looks at the happiness of each province at the very beginning of a season, we have to consider the happiness effect during spring. For example, if we project a loyalty at -1 during spring, it will become +0 in the summer. But if we project a loyalty of 0 during summer, it will become -1 in the fall and town growth gets a -25 penalty from unrest.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_051.jpg
Goemon: "Good work, Chisato. The Hattori clan has forced a peace treaty with Hatakeyama. We now have no enemies."
Chisato: "But I cannot relax. Master Momochi asks me to keep improving my skills. It will be terrible to fall from castle walls or trees..."
Goemon: "You know, the official doctrine of the Iga Ninjutsu is "Chant Iga Ninjutsu is Good; the master's spirit protects you. If the power of faith helps you, go ahead."
Chisato: "Yeah I have heard testimonies. Some guy released his kidney or bladder stones when he chanted that. Master Momochi is great! :on_aww:"
Goemon: "Ok~"
End of Chapter 3
Chapter 4. Beach Drops
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_052.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, what's new this season? Any new orders?"
Goemon: "Not really. Keep breaking Hanato's castle gates."
Chisato: "But they keep repairing it... I feel that my life is going nowhere. I am only wasting the clan's funds." :on_corner:
Goemon: "That cannot be farther from the truth. By sabotaging a new neighbor clan's castle, you prevent their recuirtment. If they do not have enough soldiers, they will not declare war on us. In addition, since they cannot recruit more soldiers, they will have more funds leftover and will pay more for our military access. Your missions are definitely profitable."
Chisato: ":on_aww: That's great!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_053.jpg
Chisato: "Since the clan is also selling military access to the Bessho clan, I guess we also have a Ninja there?"
Goemon: "Exactly. Yukimune is taking care of them as we speak." :on_groucho:
Chisato: "So if we keep sabotaging all our neighbors' castles, we do not even need garrison troops."
Goemon: "Exactly. We can get away with no defending army for a while. But sooner or later the weakened neighbors will be replaced, and we do not have an unlimited supply of Ninja. So this strategy is only a short-term solution."
Chisato: "So what's a long-term solution?"
Goemon: "Expansion!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_054.jpg
Goemon: "Chisato, you are invited to the birth party of Lord Yasunaga's newborn daughter! A Hattori clan general meeting will follow."
Chisato: "Great! What kind of gift is appropriate for a baby girl?"
Goemon: "You have a bright future, young man." :on_hmm:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_055.jpg
Hattori Yasunaga: "Welcome to the Hattori clan general meeting of Winter 1546. First, let's take a look at the known clans of Japan in Kanji. If you can't read Kanji, you will have to listen to me. :on_sweat:"
To the north of Hattori are the Ikko buddhists in Omi. Omi is the common destination of all eastern clans' westward expansion, so it is best for us to avoid taking possession of it. All we want is to maintain peace with whichever clan that owns Omi. Ikko buddhist currently have other enemies, so their eyes are not on us. Ninja Sanetomo is closely monitering the situation there.
Sanetomo: "The Ikko clan has marched their army away to attack Mino. There is little to worry about."
Yasunaga: "Very good."
To the east of Hattori is the weak Kitabatake clan in Ise. The Kitabatake clan was quite unfriendly to us, so we need to send a Ninja there as soon as possible so they do not have enough army to invade us.
Momochi Sandayu: "We need to hire more ninja!"
Yasunaga: "The Sake Dens are under construction. We will get two more ninjas soon."
To the west of Hattori is the weak Bessho clan in Harima. Bessho is at war with Kikkawa, but it looks like Kikkawa has more enemies.
Sandayu: "If we keep Bessho as a buffer, we should be safe from another powerful enemy."
Yasunaga: "Indeed. We have to use our ninja to control the size of their army - just enough to survive, but not enough to expand. That probably means just a couple of units short of a full stack."
To the northwest is the weak Hanato clan in Tamba. Hanato is sealed off by the successful Takaoka clan. While these two clans just cancelled their alliance. The downfall of Hanato seems unavoidable.
Sandayu: "Takaoka will eventually defeat Hanato. We should find some way to befriend Takaoka."
Yasunaga: "Takaoka's lands are mostly poor - it is not our interest to fight them. Our primary interest lies on the west - the hottest moneymaking spot of Japan - Northern Kyuhu!" :on_sung:
Sandayu: "I will personally lead a full stack of army to start our Kyushu campaign, starting in the northern province of Tsukushi and complete in a counter-clockwise circle."
Yasunaga: "Chisato and Yukimune!"
Chisato & Yukimune: "Here!"
Yasunaga: "You two will board the ship with Momochi. The prosperity of the Hattori clan lies in your hands!"
Chisato & Yukimune: "It is an honor, my Lord!"
Goemon: "Looks like that Chisato is not the only one who offered gifts... :on_hmm:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_056.jpg
Chisato: "I will be part of the great western campaign! I am too excited to sleep!" :on_skip:
Goemon: "But it won't happen until next Summer... 200+ nights away."
Chisato: "Why wait this long? The ships are ready in a season."
Goemon: "Because we do not have one full stack of army yet, and we can use those army for garrison back home. For now, just keep burning down Hatano's gates."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_057.jpg
Goemon: "Hm, I heard that Momochi recruited two more Ninja, Masataka and Mitsukata, from Iga."
Chisato: "Now there are five of us!"
Goemon: "Yeah. Three Ninjas defending home (by sabotaging neighbor's castles) should be a safe bet. Now the HQ must be thinking about hiring monks."
Chisato: "But the Hattori clan only owns small lots in the towns, and they have been used to build Sake Dens".
Goemon: "Yep. The Sake Dens will be demolished to make room for Temples."
Chisato: "No more pubs to go?" :on_scare:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_058.jpg
Goemon: "Look at this frontline news on [i]Pocket Times[/b]!"
Chisato: "Town folks protest Sake Den demolition? I already read it."
Goemon: "That's on the last issue. This one says the traditional Buddhist rebels in Omi have taken over the province while Ikko Buddhists looked away!"
Chisato: "Wow. I did not know repeatedly burning down castle gates could make people this mad." :on_bash:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_059.jpg
Chisato: "Anymore news from Pocket Times?"
Goemon: "Hm... Hattori has established sea trade with Takaoka through Settsu's port. Not a bad start of a long-term friendship."
Chisato: "Why do we want to befriend Takaoka?" :on_huh:
Goemon: "Because we will have no army in Kinki for a while. We want to befriend everybody. The smaller clans only has one province, so we can temporarily stop their expansion by sabotaging their castle. The largest clans are producing new units anyway, so we better make them like us quickly."
Chisato: "I see..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_060.jpg
Chisato: "Lord Yasunaga mentioned he will stay and defend Kinki. How does he do that without army?"
Goemon: "Quite similar to what a Ninja does. He picks a castle and constantly harasses it. I think he is on his way to Omi."
Chisato: "What if the rebel sally from the castle?"
Goemon: "He will run around until the rebels get the dinner call."
Chisato: "What if another clan attacks the province?"
Goemon: "They will have to wait until we cancel the siege. Which will never happen."
Chisato: ":on_gjoy: So Omi will be forever a rebel province?"
Goemon: "Exactly. That made our Kinki defence 25% easier. The other three fronts are now maintain by three Ninja."
Chisato: "So we can throw all units at Kyushu!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_061.jpg
Momochi Sandayu: "Chisato! nice to see you arrive so early."
Chisato: "Yes, I was very excited about this mission. I arrived last night and slept on the deck."
Sandayu: ":on_sweat: Good, good. Well, you must be tired by now. Shipping more than two thousand soldiers with a Bow Kobaya is not an easy task. So you can go ahead and take a nap in the lower cabin."
Chisato: "It is OK. I heard it will take more than 200 days to sail to northern Kyushu. I can rest later."
Sandayu: "This is the inland sea, not the Atlantic Ocean! :on_furious: We will wake you up when we arrive."
Chisato: "Huh...?"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_062.jpg
Chisato: :on_yawn: "Hm... too many people chatting, can't sleep for long. Are we there yet?"
Sandayu: "Not yet. We just discovered that the Ouchi clan is an ally of our target, Shoni clan. Luckily we have prepared gifts to forfeit their alliance."
Chisato: "Ouchi's friendship is quite cheap..."
Sandayu: "Yeah. They are not to be trsuted in the future. Now go back to get some more sleep. We will wake you up when we get there."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_063.jpg
Chisato: :on_yawn: "Are we there yet? Huh? How come I am lying on the sand?"
Goemon: "We tried to wake you up but you slept like a pig. So I carried you down the ship."
Chisato: "Abandoned by the clan? :on_beg: Please give me one more chance!"
Goemon: "Calm down... We were dropped on this beach because Tsukushi beach is too small. We will simply meet up with the army later."
Chisato: "I see... oh, isn't this Yukimune?"
Yukimune: "And you must be Chisato. Nice to meet you! Master Momochi let me tell you that your mission is to accompany his army, while I make sure eastern Kyushu is under control."
Chisato: "It looks like I will see most of the action!"
Note1: Using the ship relay method, it is possible transport an army instantly from one end of Japan to another as long as the relay chain connects. In short, it works like this:
1. Army boards Ship A
2. Ship A sails and merges with Ship B. Important: Ship A must have a little movement left.
3. Ship A sails away, army now with Ship B
4. Ship B sails and merges with Ship C, and son on.
Note2: When unloading units and agents on a beach, if we unload the entire army at once, both the ship and the army will lose all of their movement points. Any agents would be stuck on the ship for another season. However, if we first unload the agents (as in the story), the ship can still use its remaining movement points.
Note3: When unloading units, it is better to unload most, but not all, units first. This way, the general leading the landed unit frequently has a tiny movement left just enough to lay siege on a nearby castle.
In the campaign, Momochi's army left the Settsu port, switched two ships, landed on the beach north of Tsukushi, and took the castle all within the same turn.
End of Chapter 4
Chapter 5. Evasive Invasion
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_064.jpg
Goemon: "Chisato, Lord Yasunaga just got another baby girl."
Chisato: "But I am on a beach in Kyushu..."
Goemon: "You can always prepare a gift and ask someone to bring it back."
Chisato: "Yeah. I heard that the Chinese silk is being traded in Hizen. If I can get silk baby clothes..."
Goemon: "I like your taste!"
Note: In this campaign I tried to find out the mechanics of baby makings in the game. Here are the things I found:
1. Babies are born randomly at the beginning of a season. If we can generate a new random seed (such as by loading a new game save), there is a chance of having a baby born in the next season.
2. Babies cannot be born at the beginning of the game for a number of turns. In this game I could not get a baby until turn 7. I wonder whether this is related to the number of territories and number of existing generals.
3. Subsequent babies cannot be born within less than a year.
4. In this campaign, the most (re)productive Hattori Yasunaga I could achieve was to have a new baby on Turn 7, 11, 15, and 19, four autumns in a row. I did not really need so many sons and daughters - just to see what's possible.
Note: Manually fighting a battle generates a new random seed even if you do not load a game - I guess the game is still "loaded" at the end of the battle.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_065.jpg
Chisato: "Ah... I miss the Sake Dens in Kinki. How did the demolition go?"
Goemon: "I heard the temple has been completed in Yamato, famous for its Buddhists roots. The first Hattori monk, Michiharu, is heading to Kyushu."
Chisato: "Oh? What for?"
Goemon: "So many things for monks to do! :on_sing: We will see... "
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_066.jpg
Chisato: "Master Momochi! It is good to see that you took the Tsukushi castle with ease. What is your order?"
Sandayu: "We took Tsukushi easily because Shoni's army is not around - they are somewhere south. Your mission is to report their exact numbers. We will beat them!"
Chisato: "I am on it!"
***
Chisato: "Master Momochi, Shoni's army is just south of Tsukushi. Their army consists of a large number of samurai."
Sandayu: "Samurai?! We... cannot beat them. :on_sweat:"
Chisato: "So what should we do?"
Sandayu: "The Hattori army will directly attack the Hizen castle! You can do whatever you want."
Chisato: "But what about Shoni's army?"
Sandayu: "They will disappear in Tsukushi. :on_panda:"
Chisato: "oh?..."
Note: The #1 cause of death of Shogun 2 AIs is having their home stolen when their army is away in another province.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_067.jpg
Chisato: "Shoni's samurai army is away, so it looks like Master Momochi took Hizen easily, too."
Goemon: "According to Pocket Times Momochi did not command the castle assault. Let me read the paragraph here..."
General Momochi selflessly allowed his trusted second-in-command, Yari Samurai captain Sawada Takamochi to lead the assault of the castle. The Hattori army fought fiercely under Sawada's command and scored a flawless victory against Shoni's samurai defenders in Hizen.
Chisato: "There are only 45 samurai defenders against two thousand Hattori soldiers... :on_waterfall:"
Goemon: "The general public does not have to know that. Here is another paragraph..."
Being a loyal samurai of the Hattori clan for three generations and a faithful practitioner of Iga Ninjutsu, Captain Sawada has been formally promoted to the rank of family officer."
Chisato: "So this Sawada practices Iga Ninjutsu?"
Goemon: "Maybe? The Pocket Times tends to link any nice person to Iga Ninjutsu anyway. You don't have to take their journalism seriously. :on_shrug:"
Chisato: "Anyway, It is good to see the Hattori clan getting more powerful by the day."
Note: There is a chance to promote a new general after a battle is commanded no existing generals. Conditions:
(1) The scale of the battle is not too small
(2) There cannot be any formal general participating, even as reinforcements
(3) The clan must have more than 1000 in the treasury
The best bet to get new general is to save the game before auto-resolving an easy castle assault. The only drawback of having more generals is that previously promoted generals will receive a loyalty penalty for each additional general promoted after them.
Sandayu: "Welcome to Hizen, Chisato."
Chisato: "Master Momochi, it is good to see you again! Any mission for me?"
Sandayu: "There is always a mission for you. Travel to Higo and try to locate Sagara's army. Sagara is our next target!"
Chisato: "Ok!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_068.jpg
Goemon: "So this is Hizen, the richest place in Japan..."
Chisato: "Huh? I thought Kii or the Gold-mine provinces had the highest profit potential."
Goemon: "Hizen is famoous for its foreign trade. Taking control of this province is taking control of the nearby trade nodes. Even with no trade partners, trade profits easily approaches 10,000 koku per season." :on_love:
Chisato: "No wonder the Hattori is upgrading the trading port here... Do we have so much money for all these construction?"
Goemon: "We do not. So we are extending the military access with the Ashikaga Shogunate. They never leave Kyoto anyway..." :on_sweat:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_069.jpg
Chisato: "Nice, the first trade ship has returned with famed Chinese silk!"
Sandayu: "This is the beginning of Hattori's endless prosperity. :on_lol:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_070.jpg
Chisato: "Where have you been, Goemon? We are leaving for Higo soon."
Goemon: "I just returned from the clan meeting."
Chisato: "You were invited?"
Goemon: "Nope. But the security was loose enough so I pretty much eavesdropped the entire session. Mostly boring common sense..."
Chisato: "So what are the decisions?"
Goemon: "The HQ wants the first army to complete the conquest of Kyushu in the counter-clockwise order."
Chisato: "That's not news... :on_sweat: anything else?"
Goemon: "Grab as many trade nodes nearby and flood them with trade ships."
Chisato: "That goes without saying. What else?"
Goemon: "The HQ noted that the Chisokabe clan is about to unite the Shigoku island. So Hattori must launch an attack to Shigoku in the near future."
Chisato: "But we only have one army, and we still have a number of clans to clear up in Kyushu..."
Goemon: "So there must a second army soon!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_071.jpg
Chisato: "There is no sighting of Sagara in Higo! Better report this to Master Momochi. By the way I broke their gate lock as usual."
Goemon: "Not necessary! Look who is here!"
Chisato: "Master!" :on_aww:
Sandayu: "Chisato! Congratulations for providing an excellent service to the Hattori clan. I am here to present you the certificate of level 4 ninja!"
Chisato: "Thank you!"
Sandayu: "From now on, you proudly wear... this additional black cloth to cover your mouth."
Chisato: "Huh? That's a reward to achieve a higher level?" :on_Mad:
Sandayu: "The key to survival as a great ninja is low-key, Chisato. For your own protection, you should avoid being identified."
Chisato: "That makes some sense. But why do the high-level monks expose more of their body?"
Sandayu: "They do that? :on_totallove:"
Sandayu: "Oh by the way you can still get another retainer. I give you two choices. Either this wonderfully designed disguise makeup kit to becoming a geisha, or this carefully poisoned dagger. Hm... they are not exactly retainers..."
Chisato: "Why do I want to disguise as a geisha?"
Sandayu: "Sometimes some people like to cross dress, you know? It always gives me the extra pleasure... :on_blush: Er... you didn't hear anything."
Chisato: "I will pick the dagger then~"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_072.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, have you heard about other ninjas in the family?"
Goemon: "Sure, from time to time their reports get circulated on Pocket Times. Not long ago there was Masakata's report from Ise, that an large Asai army was spotted and was about to run over the Kitabatake clan, which was chronically weakened :on_injured: by our ninja."
Chisato: "Isn't Asai clan from Wakasa? How did they get there?"
Goemon: "Invasions can go mysteriously ways. Let's hope Imagawa :on_bash: is already defeated by Oda."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_073.jpg
Chisato: "Poor Kitabatake. They had the funds to hire more troops, but their castle gate is constantly under repair." :on_soul:
Goemon: "Definitely they could donate the extra funds to Hattori before they go out. We will make good use of them."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_074.jpg
Goemon: "Chisato, did you hear the news that Hattori monks have arrived in Kyushu?"
Chisato: "Makes sense, the rapidly expanding Nanban religion in Kyushu is seeding unrests."
Goemon: "Actually they are here to create unrests." :on_glaugh:
Chisato: "Oh?"
Goemon: "Brute expansion easily gets other clans angry... although apparently it only applies to us. So we need to avoid taking provinces from another clan."
Chisato: "Then how do we expand?"
Goemon: "We take it from the hands of rebels, who replafce the clans."
Chisato: "Wonderful diplomatic agents!" :on_angel:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_075.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, so what's the HQ's response of the new neighbor Sakai?"
Goemon: "Other than selling them military access? I guess Masakata will keep breaking their castle gates..."
Chisato: "I am glad I did not get assigned to that boring job..." :on_sweat:
Peasant Phill
06-05-2012, 11:28
Maltz
This clearly deserves more attention.
Mind if I dedicate a new article on this and post the story again in the AAR section of the mead hall?
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_076.jpg
Goemon: "Chisato, Hattori has declared war to Sagara! Momochi's army is at the border of Higo."
Chisato: "Sagara's ally Ito has also declared war on Hattori. Must let Master Momochi know!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_077.jpg
Momochi: "Higo is almost undefended! Let's steal it before Sagara's army comes back!"
Chisato: "Master! Ito has also declared war on us. What's your order?"
MOmochi: "We will let the monks :on_gmegap: and their buddhist gospels handle Ito from behind. For now let's focus on Sagara. Chisato, scout ahead and locate the Sagara army."
***
Chisato: "Master, Sagara's full-stack army is not far away from the Higo castle!"
Momochi: "Who is their leader?"
Chisato: "Their daimyo and his son!"
Momochi: "Chisato, the fate of Hattori now lies on your shoulder. Go assassinate Sagara's daimyo!"
Chisato: :on_angry2:
End of Chapter 5
Chapter 6 Shadow's Call
Chisato: "Master, I have never killed a chicken. How do I assassinate the daimyo of the Sagara clan?"
Momochi: "The greatest obstacle to become a good ninja is not to overcome your physical limit, but to overcome your mental burden. Killing is easy and fast. Living with the memory and disturbance of mind :on_stress: is hard and forever."
Chisato: "Exactly, Master. How can I face myself, my parents, and the emperor if I am a murderer?"
Momochi: "In this regard, killing people is mentally easier than killing chicken."
Chisato: "Huh?"
Momochi: "You see, you do not have to eat chicken. Monks eat vegetables, and they only have a slightly higher chance of kidney stones, while meat eaters get higher risks of heart attacks. But enemies... if you do not kill them, they kill you. If you are dead, there is nothing good you can do to this world."
Chisato: "But that does not change the fact that I have to murder a person." :on_scared:
Momochi: "The law during war times is different, Chisato. After the war is over, you murder a person. During the war, you fight for your survival, and your people's survival! A well-harted assassin makes things quick and painless. It is the best he could do to his victims. :on_attention:
Chisato: "Please teach me the ways to make things quick and painless!"
Momochi: "Come!"
In the field of night's deep, Sagara soldiers sound asleep.
Dreams are warm and sweet; upon an assassin quietly sneaks.
Iga Ninjutsu is good; the target he now seeks.
Daimyo sits in his tent, poetry mediocre at best.
Poisoned dagger through his heart, breath makes final pass.
Ninja's mission over, painless and fast.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_078.jpg
Note: A video clip covering Chisato's mission and Battle of Higo will be available at the end of this chapter.
Chisato: "Master! Sagara daimyo's life has been taken! :on_dead: The Sagara army fell into disarray!"
Sandayu: "Soldiers, tonight we will defeat the Sagara army! We march to victory!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_079.jpg
Sandayu: "The Sagara army lost their commander in the dark - this is Hattori's night!"
Chisato: "Another great battle taking place in front of my eyes!" :on_aww:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_080.jpg
Goemon: "Yes, lets find a tallest tree to observe this battle!"
Chisato: "Yeah, let's go!"
Sadawa Takamochi (second-in-command of Hattori's 1st army): "Wait~ Ninja Chisato, General Momochi wants to speak with you again!"
***
Sandayu: "Can you show me where exactly is Sagara's camp?"
Chisato: "Around this (red) area. The camp was on a low flat land surrounded by small hills. There were trees on the hills."
Takamochi: "Hm... the low flat land in the middle is terrible for defence. I think the Sagara army will quickly go for a nearby hill."
Sandayu: "Makes sense. Chisato, which hill was the nearest and largest?"
Chisato: "The hill on the southwest."
Takamochi: "Once the Sagara army goes for that hill, we will have trouble taking them down."
Sandayu: "We can sneak up most of our army to that hill and intercept them. :on_ohlala: The rest of the army attack them from behind!"
Takamochi: "Good idea! The moment our two armies meet is the moment of Sagara army's collapse!" :on_devil:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_081.jpg
Silently, the Hattori army has marched onto the hill beside Sagara's camp...
Chisato: "General Momochi lights the latern from the north! The Sagara army is in panic!" :on_yell:
Goemon: "Looks like the plan works. The Sagara army are moving toward the hill! But there are a lot more laterns there waiting for them..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_082.jpg
Chisato: "Is that Sagara's General? The late-daimyo's son?"
Goemon: "Yeah. He ran up the hill for safety, leaving his soldiers behind. But he bumped right into the thickest part of Hattori's Ashigaru. There is no way he could survive this." :on_attention:
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!
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_083.jpg
Chisato: "The Sagara general was killed! But the Sagara ashigaru swarmed up the hill!" :on_angry:
Goemon: "Looks like we underestimated the morale of Sagara ashigaru. The Hattori line must hold until the reinforcement arrrive!"
Chisato: "The Hattori spear wall is slowly wrapping up the Sagara mob in the middle!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_084.jpg
Chisato: "Heated battle in the forest. Both sides are evenly matched!"
Goemon: "We must quickly create a routing point of the Sagara army!" :on_furious:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_085.jpg
Chisato: "The Sagara Yari Ashigaru also formed their own spear wall! None is making significant advance on the other."
Goemon: "Spear wall is weak on its side! Flank them!" :on_furious:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_086.jpg
Goemon: "Our Yari Samurai has been surrounded on three sides! :on_injured: They can't hold much longer!"
Chisato: "Look, Master Momochi and General Sawada has arrived with the reinforcement!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_087.jpg
Goemon: "Sawada raised his little army fan~"
Chisato: "The Yari Samurai's morale is saved!" :on_aww:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_088.jpg
Chisato: "Hattori reinforcement, the Bow Ashigaru pulled out their wakasashi!"
Goemon: "Charge into the back of the Sagara mob!" :on_punch:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_090.jpg
Chisato: "The Sagara army is surrounded! They started fleeing!"
Goemon: "The Hattori generals give chase!" :on_biker:
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.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_089.jpg
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 :on_pushups: 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. :on_charm:"
Chisato: "I see. What's the next step, Master?"
Sandayu: "We have some leftover army to take care of!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_091.jpg
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: :on_waterfall:
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. :on_sweat:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_092.jpg
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. :on_bath: 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!"
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!" :on_sing:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_093.jpg
Chisato: "So Sagara wants to beg for peace and become a vassal, huh? :on_picknose: 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."
The video of the Higo battle is shown below, preceded by Chisato's assassination of the Sagara daimyo.
http://youtu.be/gEarQF8VsJ4
End of Chapter 6
Awesome, keep up the good work
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 :on_moon:).
Chapter 7. Friendly Neighborhood
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_095.jpg
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: :on_angry: "So they know the trick about not to unload everything in the first place?"
Goemon: "Maybe the beach is too close to the castle..." :on_sweat:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_094.jpg
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: :on_bath: "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.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_096.jpg
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: :on_bibber: "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..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_097.jpg
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: :on_bash: "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..." :on_sweat:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_099.jpg
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!" :on_panda:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_100.jpg
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. :on_sing:"
Note: It looks like that Ito's army had lost to Shimazu, as the rebel army was relatively small.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_104.jpg
Sandayu: "Let's bring down Sagara (auto-resolved), and build up Satzuma to be Hattori's recruitment center for all melee units!" :on_aww:
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.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_105.jpg
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." :on_whip:
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: :on_furious: "Go distract the Shimazu army!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_102.jpg
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: :on_furious: "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?" :on_sweat:
Hattori Masanari: "Father, uncle A has a point. Please trasnfer me to Oda's school. :on_grad: 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: :on_tears: "OK..."
Masanari: "The Iga schools are all about these religious brain washing crap anyway..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_098.jpg
Chisato: "Hattori sent its heir to Oda as a hostage? :on_scared: 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..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_101.jpg
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. :on_sweat:"
Chisato: :on_sing:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_103.jpg
Goemon: "Good news, Chisato. The Hattori clan just got a new baby!"
Chisato: "Every autumn there is a new baby... my wallet... :on_crying:"
HopAlongBunny
06-11-2012, 14:14
Masterful, as ever :bow:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_106.jpg
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: :on_aww:
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. :on_sweat:"
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.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_107.jpg
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." :on_Mad:
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.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_108.jpg
Goemon (reading Pocket Times): "Buhahaha~" :on_lol:
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.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_109.jpg
Goemon: "Think of the military access we can sell them again!" :on_sing:
Chisato: "A new curse :on_sleep: to the Kitabatake clan!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_110.jpg
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: ":on_angry: Would they declare war on us?"
Goemon: "Possibly. The HQ needs to find new enemies for them after Hatano is destroyed..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_111.jpg
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? :on_groucho:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_112.jpg
Chisato: "How are Urakami's iron shipment? The armoury in Satzuma is almost ready for it!"
Goemon: "Unfortunately, a war just broke out between Mori and Urakami, and Urakami's port is under blockade by Mori's fleet. There is no iron shipment yet..."
Chisato: :on_bash:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_113.jpg
Chisato: "Now we are direct neighbor with Takaoka. What is the HQ doing about it?"
Goemon: "I heard that Takaoka is so eager to trade with Hattori that they are willing to sell their pants for it."
Chisato: "Really? But didn't they just dropped our trade?"
Goemon: "Takaoka severed the trade link due to their shameful display of dishonor in declaring war on Hatano. I guess if we promise not to mock Takaoka :on_panda: every time we see them, they will be willing to trade with us again."
Chisato: "But I heard that these clans will get paranoid and drop trades sponaneously anyway..."
Goemon: "Maybe we should make a fat gift to them first to improve the relationship. Since Takaoka is willing to sell their pants to trade, our gift will come right back to us anyway."
Chisato: "Nice!"
Note: From time to time, we see an AI clan so eager to trade with us that it is willing to give up all its cash for it. On Legendary level this could mean a lot of cash. In the above case, Takaoka is willing to pay 10970 koku to trade! After a gift of 6633 koku to raise relationship by 100, that money flows directly back to us (10970 + 6633 = 17603).
The "so willing to trade that I will sell my pants" case seems to only happen when the human player controls the western trade nodes. Do we need more imbalance between the east and west?
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_114.jpg
Sandayu: "Shimazu has been replaced by rebels! Good job distracting Shimazu's army, Chisato."
Chisato: "Actually they were doing strange things with combing armies... I didn't do much." :on_sweat:
Sandayu: "Attack Osumi, now~"
Yari Samurai Captain: "Please let me lead the attack! I will prove my worth!"
Sandayu: "We already promoted Sawada from this Yari Samurai. Do you know him?"
Captain: "Yeah, I was his second-in-command!"
Sandayu: "You fought really hard in the Battle of Kumamoto, facing attacks of Sagara ashigaru from three sides. I have trust in you. Go!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_115.jpg
Captain: Done!"
Sandayu: "Good. What is your name?"
Captain: "My name is Minamoto Takatomo."
Sandayu: "Wow, a direct Minamoto (源) decedent?"
Takatomo: "Actually my father is Miyagi's Miyamoto, but he made a typo on my birth certificate, so it now becomes Minamoto."
Sandayu: :on_exhausted:
Note: Actually it is me who made a mistake in the Kanji above.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_116.jpg
Goemon (reading Pocket Times): "Chisato, are we boarding the ship yet? We really have to hurry. Chosokabe is going to destroy Miyoshi this season." :on_yell:
Chisato: "What's going to happen after Chosokabe takes control of the whole Shigoku region?"
Goemon: "They will actively expand... and there is a good chance they will come after us. We better make the landing before they declare war, or the powerful Chosokabe navy might intercept our shipping chain."
Chisato: "Let me report this to Master Momochi..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_117.jpg
Sandayu: "Yeah I know we should hurry up, Chisato. But this time it will take us almost a year even if we depart this afternoon. We may as well spend one more season to heal up and use the chain transport next season."
Chisato: "How come? Last time we arrived in northern Kyushu almost overnight..."
Sandayu: ":on_sweat: It is complicated. Our monk just arrived in Iyo~ and it will take another two seasons for the stupid rebels to walk from the forest to the castle."
Chisato: "OK~"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_118.jpg
Sandayu: "But since you have nothing to do, why don't you hop on a ship and go to Shigoku first? I can always use more intel when I get there."
Chisato: "Sure! When does the shp depart from the Osumi port?"
Sandayu: "Actually it will be faster if you walk to Bungo and use the port there once it becomes ours..."
Chisato: :on_exhausted:
*** (somewhere in Hyuga) ***
Chisato: "I probably will never return to Kyushu again...:on_bye: Hopefully General Sawada will make a successful conquest."
Goemon (reading Pocket Times): "Yep no problem. Yukimune is providing great distractions for the Ouchi army. Our monk has just handed Bungo into Buddhist rebels."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_119.jpg
Goemon: "It loos like Sawada ordered an Ashigaru captain to lead the attack!"
Chisato: "So there is going to be another general in Hattori clan?"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_120.jpg
Goemon: "Yes, his name is Fujiwara Norioki. Now we have 4 generals to fill the roles of 4 comissioners!"
Chisato: "Let's head to the port and go to Shigoku! A new conquest begins!" :on_hero:
End of Chapter 7
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_121.jpg
Chapter 8 Dark and Darker
(On the ship to Iyo, a grey pigeon flies over the Bow Kobaya and landed on Goemon's shoulder. A paper strip is rolled around the pigeon's leg.)
Goemon: "The Urakami clan has pushed Mori out of the Chugoku region! And strangely Mori's army jumped over Ouchi and took their Buzen..."
Chisato: "Wow. Did the pigeon flies all over from Iga? Some kind of Pocket Times delivery service?"
Goemon: "Nope, I heard that before we departed. this pigeon comes from my Nanban girl friend in Bungo. She says I miss you."
Chisato: :on_waterfall:
Goemon: "Sea sickness? Hm... suddenly Urakami becomes a power to be worried about. And they are allied with Takaoka and Bessho. I wonder where Urakami will turn their attention to?"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_122.jpg
Goemon: "Here we are, Shigoku! Let's cause some damage! :on_glaugh:"
Chisato: "Master Momochi told us to keep an eye out for Chosokabe army... how about the rebel army?"
Goemon: "Rebel army is our blessing. Go take the Iyo castle! We will protect you in the dark. :on_aww:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_123.jpg
Goemon: "Hm... there is report that a Hatakeyama army is sailing north along the shore of Kyushu."
Chisato: "Hatakeyama...? Didn't we beat them up and force a peace treaty?"
Goemon: "The peace treaty has expired. So Hatakeyama technically could declare war on us without public scrutiny. But will they be brave enough to challenge the mighty Hattori?" :on_picknose:
Note: In the end Hatakeyama's army did not attack Hattori. It sailed east after passing the Kyushu-Honshu strait, probably landed in Noto. From experience, Hatakeyama is not an aggressive clan at all (unlike Imagawa's infamous sea invasion). So there was not much alarm raised in the first place.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_124.jpg
Goemon: "Chisato, it seems that we are not along on Shigoku island!"
Chisato: "Somebody is watching us in the dark?" :on_bibber:
Goemon: "At least not in my knowledge... I mean Hattori has landed another pair of ninja-monk on the east shore of Shigoku!"
Chisato: "Go, Team B!" :on_aww:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_126.jpg
Chisato: "Master, here you are! The rebels in Iyo has taken the castle!"
Sandayu: "Good, any sightings of Chosokabe army?"
Chisato: "Not so far. Maybe they are not coming?"
Sandayu: "Oh they will come and we need to prepare. Start the castle assault!" :on_furious:
Chisato: "Master, there is a report of a tiny Chosokabe army escorting a Metsuke southeast of Iyo!"
Sandayu: "Huh? Metsuke? That could be trouble. Go get him!"
Chisato: "Yes!"
Lantern of Shogun flickers candle light;
Avatar of shadow drifts out of sight.
Guard falls by a swift stab, dragged into the quietness of night.
Three men discuss the strategy of fight;
A fourth lowered from tree's height.
Throat slit by a swift swipe, leaving panic to spread behind.
(The assassination of Chosokabe's Metsuke is recorded and will be included in a later video.)
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_127.jpg
Chisato: "Master, the Chosokabe Metsuke has been dealt with."
Sandayu: "I heard that he survived..."
Chisato: ":on_sweat: I overheard that he has a family to feed, so I did not use my full force..."
Sandayu: "Hm... You know he will recover and threaten us again, right?"
Chisato: "Yeah... but he has to do his job. Just like we do our jobs. There is honor in all our doings, even though we have to fight to the death..."
Sandayu: ":on_tears: It looks like you are mature enough for this certificate... You are now a level 5 Ninja!"
Chisato: ":on_aww: What's my benefit of being a level 5 ninja?"
Sandayu: "You receive 15% discount from all Iga Ninjutsu's associated stores!"
Chisato: "Huh? We run stores?"
Sandayu: "Let's just say there are stores who are extra friendly to us. It is secret."
Chisato: "Secret... then how do I know which stores give the discount?"
Sandayu: "It is easy. You know we have Pocket Times in circulation right? For all our friendly stores, you can see a pile of free Pocket Times left by their doors. Go to the owner and speak Iga Ninjutsu is Good."
Chisato: "I thought it is secret... :on_sweat: having a pile of newspaper is pretty obvious..."
Sandayu: "If you are not into Ninjutsu, you wouldn't know Pocket Times is actually a propaganda newspaper... :on_sing:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_128.jpg
Goemon: "Wow, level 5 ninja, congratulations! :on_please:"
Chisato: "I wonder how the other ninja in the clan is doing. Are they following my footsteps, or am I trailing way behind?"
Goemon: "Er... you know, you have been on the road quite much, and they get a head start from Iga's ninja school..."
Chisato: :on_tantrum:
Goemoon: "By the way, team B has reported a large Chosokabe army north of Awa. Since the rebels will take Sanuki only after Chosokabe acts this season, it is likely that Chosokabe's army is coming after Iyo."
Chisato: :on_lightning: "I must report this to Master Momochi!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_129.jpg
Chisato: "What's new in Kyushu?"
Goemon (reading Pocket Times): "It is quite complicated. First, Ouchi's full stack army was trapped in Bungo by our ninja, while Mori's army took Ouchi's Buzen. So by the time Hattori took Bungo from the rebels, Ouchi's army retreated all the way back to their home Nagato."
Chisato: "Oh... so general Sawada will have to deal with Mori in Buzen."
Goemon: "Not really, Mori's army left Buzen for Honshu quickly. They seem to be on their way to fight Ouchi in Nagato."
Chisato: "Why don't they take Nagato on their way to Buzen?"
Goemon: ":on_sweat: These clans always behave irrationally. But there is one common feature - they always leave their back completely undefended." :on_lol:
Chisato: "Does that mean our monks are active in Buzen?"
Goemon: "That's only part of the story. This is also Mori's last province..."
Chisato: "Infinite military access?" :on_sing:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_130.jpg
Chisato: "Master, there is a report that Chosokabe is marching a powerful army to Iyo!"
Sandayu: "Ha, so they finally came. I heard that questionable integrity runs in the Chosokabe family. Hm... I wonder whether we can still profit from them... if they will declare war on us anyway?"
Chisato: "Infinite military access? :on_sing:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_131.jpg
Chisato: "Master, Chosokabe declared war just as expected!" :on_sing:
Sandayu: "The first army of Hattori - it is time to show what you are made of!" :on_furious:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_132.jpg
(In the meantime...)
Ashikaga Shogun: "Welcome to the annual daimyo tea ceremony in Kyoto. Let us calm our mind to receive the tea. Please do not fight over your land disputes. How about we chat about each clan's artistic advances?"
Daimyo A: "We plan to develop advanced naval arts so we can discover heaven in the west!"
Daimyo B: "That's silly! We plan to get the best horse riders in Japan!"
Daimyo C: "Cavalry is useless! We want to be the most cultured clan!"
Hattori Yasunaga: "We will keep growing our crops for a while so we can feed ourselves, and our market will grow."
All other Daimyos: "Buhaha... :on_panda: It is silly to worry about sustainability!"
Yasunaga: "... I will never come to this silly meeting again...:on_bash:"
Note: The AIs are terrible market managers. Possibly due to the Legendary Difficulty, the AIs can sustain higher tax rate without getting a revolt. Their markets shrink very quickly as a result. AI also enjoys discounts on various things such as unit maintainance. A regular Yari Ashigaru costs 62 koku per turn for a Legendary AI, but 122 koku for Hattori. :on_scare:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_133.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, Chosokabe has Metsuke. How about us?"
Goemon: "Sure? We have five of them. They are responsible for overseeing some of our most profitable towns. Together they contribute more than our most profitable foreign trade route. But of course we have other very profitable foreign trade routes. :on_thumbup:"
Chisato: "Hm... that's it?"
Goemon: "They can also catch other clan's agent. But that function can be fulfilled by ninjas and monks. Another unique role for Metsuke is to bribe armies and settlements. For example, as general Sawada is heading to Buzen, he discovers a huge rebel army stationed in there..."
Chisato: "But he also has a small army."
Goemon: "Yeah there is no way he can defeat that army with what he has. So this is what we do. First, we send in a ninja to remove the rebel general. A headless army is much easier and cheaper to bribe. Then, we call up a Metsuke from the nearby Tsukushi castle to bribe away half of the garrison."
Chisato: "Sounds very easy. How much are they asking for?
Goemon: "7150 koku."
Chisato: ":on_angry2: That's enough to buy one full stack..."
Goemon: "But you need time to get that full stack ready, plus you do not weaken the army by the same number of soldiers."
Chisato: "You have a point. But I doubt the HQ will approve such a large operating budget..."
Goemon: "Didn't Chosokabe and Mori just pay for it?"
Chisato: :on_sing:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_134.jpg
Chisato: "What happened to the bribed army?"
Goemon: "The bribed units were expelled from the castle. Luckily they did not wander far away."
Chisato: "So did general Sawada proceeds with the assault?"
Goemon: "Yes, those bribed armies can still join the battle as reinforcement."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_135.jpg
Chisato: "How did the battle go?"
Goemon: "There was no details given on Pocket Times... probably a very easy battle?" (auto-resolved)
Chisato: "Hattori suddenly has a second army... looking forward to its new conquests! :on_aww:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_136.jpg
Chiato: "Master, the Chisokabe army is getting dangerously close! What's your order?"
Sandayu: "A true warrior looks for a chance to charge into a grand battle, but we are true samurais - with looks and brains. :on_charm: How much force does Chosokabe have in total?"
Chisato: "Other than this full stack, there is a rapidly growing half-stack in Tosa."
Sandayu: "So there are two armies. One ninja is enough to keep one army busy... hm... Tosa is Chosokabe's home. Lots of advanced dojo, right?"
Chisato: "And a Fortress."
Sandayu: "How long does it take to get to Tosa from Iyo?"
Chisato: "It will be hard for infantry to get there in one season. They will end up just short of the castle. But cavalry can reach it in the same season, so laying siege is still possible with the infantry as reinforcements."
Sandayu: "What type of fortress is Tosa's fortress?"
Chisato: "It is a dumbbell-shaped fortress."
Sandayu: "Oh? I heard the designer of that fortress has fled Japan to Northern Korea to avoid death penalty by Seppuku. Is the design really that bad?"
Chisato: "I heard it is a paradise for attackers, Master."
Sandayu: "Really? :on_sing: So... we can either attack Chosokabe's main samurai force with our crap ashigaru head on, possibly leave a undesired landmark on the ground, and take no province thie season, OR we can sneak upon Chosokabe's headquarters while its main army is trapped on the field..."
Chisato: "Master, please let me do it!"
Sandayu: "Now!" :on_furious:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_137.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, we have a huge mission - sabotage Chosokabe's huge army! Any suggestions? :on_sweat:"
Goemon: "Hm... how about spreading rumors?"
Chisato: "Like...'
Goemon: "Like the Hattori army is about to attack Tosa?"
Chisato: "That's not a rumor... :on_exhausted:"
Goemon: "Exactly. That's why it will work. What would Chosokabe's army do if it learned that Tosa will be attacked?"
Chisato: "Hm... rushing back to rescue?"
Goemon: "Yes. So if you command the Hattori army and knows that Chosokabe's army will rush to Tosa, what would you do?"
Chisato: "I would set up an ambush." :on_stareyed:
Goemon: "Good. So if Chosokabe learned about signs of the ambush? Like increased cooking smoke over forests?"
Chisato: "They would not rush to Tosa... but wouldn't it continue to march toward Iyo?"
Goemon: "Now what if the cooking smoke arises from the intersection to Tosa and Iyo?" :on_panda:
Chisato: "Then Chosokabe will wait for the ambush army to come out!"
Goemon: "Yes!"
Chisato: "All we need to do is to pay people to spread the rumors and organize a large camping trip inside the forest!"
Goemon: "Yeah!" :on_lol:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_138.jpg
Sandayu: "Good job, Chisato. Let's march silently at night! Our black banner may not be as dark as Chosokabe's black banner, but we are the true terror in the dark! To Tosa!" :on_furious:
Hattori soldiers: "To Tosa!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_139.jpg
Chisato: "Master, that man is Chosokabe's taisho!"
Sandayu: "Hm... he has got some guts huh? Riding right in front of our bow ashigaru. Fire!" :on_furious:
(Note: Taisho, literally "big general". Old fossils who played STW1 must know that "Taisho = commander", as in "The enemy taishou is running away from battle! But his dishonor, and our swords, will chase him to his grave!" and "We have taken the head of the enemy taisho!")
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_140.jpg
Sandayu: "Ha, that coward taisho! Come back any time!... Shoot the Bow Samurai on the wall!"
Chisato: "Is there a reason that the Chosokabe archers defend the only back, but not the side... where we are?"
Sandayu: :on_sweat:
Note: Picking a good deployment spot can lock the defending ranged units into spots that can be easily killed from the side. Once a defending ranged unit is defending a wall, it will not leave until all our deployed units move away from that direction. In this case, the army is deployed on top of the map (back of the castle). So the defenders are glued to the wall facing the top of the map, making them very easy prey for our ranged units which marched to the side. This is a huge flaw of the Fortress-level dumb-bell castle.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_141.jpg
Hattori Bow Ashigaru: "Argh~" :on_dead:
Chisato: "Master, the fleeing Chosokabe Bow Samurai unit has regained their confidence and is shooting at us!"
Sandayu: "Finish them!" :on_furious:
Note: In multi-layered castles (fortress and above), only the top layer provides infinite morale. Therefore, when a defending unit is reduced to single-digit on a lower level, it will rout and attempt to run back to the upper level. As soon as they reach the upper level, their morale will be restored.
However, since the unit's order was to defend the lower level, the unit again attempts to defend the wall but often starts routing on their way there. The result is a infinite loop of a tiny unit running back and forth. From time to time they will start shooting at us (the attackers) if they happen to have some morale left while our units is within range. This is also a good opportunity for us to finish them off.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_142.jpg
Chisato: "Master, the enemy has retreated to the upper level! But we can't really see where they are..."
Sandayu: "Have faith! Shoot them all!"
Hattori Bow Ashigaru: :on_pigdance: "Iga Ninjutsu is Good! Iga Ninjutsu is Good!"
Chisato: "The enemies are defeated by Iga Ninjutsu's guided arrows~ :on_gwow:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_145.jpg
Sandayu: "Tosa is taken! Not a single door is damaged! :on_hero: Except we still have to hire janitors to pull out arrows on the wall."
Chisato: "Chosokabe must be steaming learning that the Hattori army did march to Tosa. :on_lol:"
Video for Chisato's 2nd Assassination mission and Momochi's sneak attack on Tosa is now availabe!
http://youtu.be/rhZ4ppgrwDM
End of Chapter 8
Chapter 9. Dishonourable Bastards
(in the meantime, Omi province)
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_143.jpg
Urakami clan's emissary: "Lord Yasunaga, I repeat - if your clan does not aid us again, we will have to consider to declare war on you."
Hattori Yasunaga: "But we are not even bordered... is this a rogue-clan "I-don't-give-a-darn" threat?"
Emissary: "We can declare war on our former ally Bessho in an eye-blink. We can do that to anybody."
Hattori: "... For now, take these 1000 koku..." :on_tears:
Emissary: "Good. We will be back later this year."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_125.jpg
(on the shore of Bewa Lake...)
Yasunaga's Bodyguard A: "You look worried, my lord. I know Omi rebels have been chasing our back for a few years now... other than that, is there anything troubling your mind?"
Yasunaga: "Such an arrogant emissary... :on_furious: Why does Urakami treat a friend this way?"
Yasunaga's Bodyguard A: "Who says we are Urakami's friend?"
Yasunaga: "Their attitude is friendly..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_144.jpg
Bodyguard A: "Nope. Not anymore"
Yasunaga: "WHAT THE... why they are suddenly unfriendly?" :on_angry2:
Bodyguard A: "It comes from a Dishonouring Treaties penalty."
Yasunaga: "Huh? They did not dishonor any of our treaties..."
Bodyguard A: "I get it! Didn't the emissary mention that they declare war on Bessho? Bessho was their ally not very long ago."
Yasunaga: "What does that have to do with us?" :on_bash:
Bodyguard A: "Obviously my lord did not study criminal psychology. People who feel overwhelming shame and guilt about their behavior often protects their ego and sanity with an extremely aggressive and arrogant attitude in order to avoid facing their conscience. I am sure inside the Urakami emissary's mind there is deep insecurity and low self-esteem."
Yasunaga: :on_exhausted:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_146.jpg
Yasunaga: "How about we take the Urakami emissary and... :on_sung: break his mental defence?"
Bodyguard A: "Sure?..."
***
Yasunaga: "He committed Seppuku, and the replacement is equally arrogant and annoying..."
Bodyguard A: "Looks like there is nothing we can do about Urakami."
Yasunaga: "I get anohter idea. Maybe we can sign alliance deals with Takaoka and Bessho. So Urakami will have to deal with them first before turning to us?"
Bodyguard A: "They are already enemies with Bessho, so it makes no difference. But grabbing Takaoka is a good idea. They are the only two clans left in the Chugoku region anyway."
Yasunaga: "And just in case they will gain infinite military access to us from the alliance, why don't well sell it to them first?"
Bodyguard A: :on_sing:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_147.jpg
Yasunaga: "Now Hattori has two allies in the west! This should stablize the situation quite a bit."
Bodyguard A: "Bessho seems to be nice fella, but Takaoka betrayed its ally Hanato in the past and gained bad fame."
Yasunaga: "There seems to be few dependable clans in the west..." :on_idle:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_148.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, I heard that Hattori has signed military alliance with Takaoka and Bessho. Why?"
Goemon: "Take a guess by looking at the map."
Chisato: "Hm, Urakami has expanded rapidly over the last few years. The alliance looks like some kind of "Realm Divide" of western Japan against Urakami." :on_hmm:
Goemon: "Exactly. The Hattori clan aims to control the entire western Japan. Chosokabe is going down in Shigoku. It is time to plan for the next step - the Chugoku region. If we can put Takaoka and Urakami against each other, there will be lots of opportunities for Hattori."
Chisato: "Hm... does that mean that I will be called to Chugoku to join the action?" :on_aww:
Goemon: "Very likely~"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_149.jpg
Chisato: "But our work in Shigoku has not been completed. Chosokabe still holds Awa and Awaji."
Goemon: "Last time I checked, our monk has incited rebels in both provinces."
Chisato: :on_lol:
Note: Here are a few tips to make sure the incited rebels do accomplish their task:
(1) The size of incited rebellion has a weak positive correlation with the size of army in the province. If there is more than half a stack of defenders, the rebellion is usually doomed to fail. Rebel army is usually very fragile.
(2) Use Ninja to sabotage a large defending army on the field. The sabotaged army must not have its red influence circle touching the castle, or it WILL join the defence when the incited rebellion attack the castle at the end of the turn. This is because that army sabotage expires at the end of the clan's next action instead of at the end of the turn. So by the time the rebel acts, the sabotaged AI army can again join a battle.
(3) If a certain castle is recruiting new soldiers, sabotage the castle first, then incite rebellion. The new soldiers could become available and shifts the balance. If the castle is defendeded by a capable military commander, incite the rebellion first, then assassinate the general so the rebel army is bigger.
(4) Sometimes the AI parks a large stack incide the castle. This makes it almost impossible for rebels to take over. We have to wait until the army splits or moves. It is possible to call up a rebel far enough from the castle, so the defenders cannot return to defend the castle after beating the first wave. The second rebel + army sabotage will get the job done.
(5) The size of the rebel is not affected by the damage received by the defender's unit. It is possible to incite a large rebel to wipe out a heavily depleted army even if they are in the castle. The AI usually move the army away from the castle to avoid elimination.
(6) Incited rebels could take more than one turn to travel to its destination. In the above picture, it will take 2 turns for the Awaji rebel to take the castle.
(7) The incited rebel army could spawn right on top of our agent who has not acted. Then there is no way for our agent to act. The solution is to let our agent move away before inciting the rebellion.
(8) Each save file has a random seed associated with it, so merely loading the same save will not change the outcome of an agent's action. Loading a NEW save file works. The easiest way under any circumstance is to press End Turn and load the automatically generated autosave. Another way to get new random seed is to move units such as ships and armies. The fastest way to generate autosaves at any time is to lay siege on a castle but choose to maintain siege.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_150.jpg
Chisato: "Here I am, Chugoku! There seems to be a lot of Urakami activities going on. Look, there is a rebel army incited in Aki already. Nice work."
Goemon: "There is a small Urakami army in the west. Go sabotage it!" :on_furious:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_151.jpg
Chisato: "How about Chosokabe's army? That full stack with bow samurai is still a serious threat."
Goemon: "Sanetomo is taking it over from us. No worries."
Chisato: "But if that stacks remains parked on the road, Master's army cannot pass..."
Goemon: "Yeah. Momochi will have to wait until the Chosokabe's army dissolves before he can work on the rebel-controlled provinces in eastern Shigoku. :on_sweat:".
Chisato: "Hm... I remember seeing a tiny stack of Chosokabe army somewhere. Where did it go?"
Goemon: "There is a free army roaming nearby?" :on_angry:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_152.jpg
Goemon: "There is a free Chosokabe army? I must tell Momochi about it right away!"
***
Goemon: "Momochi said he already took care of it. That's why he is now a level-3 general. Nice." :on_saturated:
Chisato: "But now I remember there is another tiny free army..."
Goemon: "Why don't you tell me about it just now?!" :on_furious:
Chisato: "So what will happen?"
Goemon: "The tiny free army is laying siege on Iyo castle!"
Chisato: "Do we have defenders in Iyo?"
Goemon: "No! Only janitors from the contracted cleaning company. They also dress like samurais for people to take pictures..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_153.jpg
(In the meantime, in Iyo...)
Samurai Retainers: "Captain, we are being attacked by Chosokabe Yari Ashigaru! There are a couple hundreds of them. We only have 45... What should we do?"
Samurai Captain: "What do you think? We fight to the death! Our contract includes that castle defence! We have been trained for this!"
Samurai Retainers: "Let's show them what samurais are made of!" :on_furious:
Samurai Retainer A: "Take that, Ashigaru Captain!"
Note: Chosokabe Ashigaru Captain wears blue.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_154.jpg
Samurai Retainer A: "Argh... I was over-cofident..." :on_dead:
Samurai Retainer B: "I will revenge for you!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_155.jpg
Samurai Retainer B: "Taste my blade!"
Chosokabe Ashigaru Captain: "Argh..." :on_vred:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_156.jpg
Samurai Retainer C: "Ommmph!" :on_punch:
Chosokabe Ashigaru Captain B: "Er..."
Note 1: Killing the captain of a unit apparently has no effect on its morale. There is no "taisho" assigned to any particular soldier in the captain unit.
Note 2: The battle is rather straight forward. The samurai retainers charge the weaker Ashigaru unit first, rout it, then charge the second unit and fight to the death.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_157.jpg
Samurai Retainer D: "Captain, we are down to the last 12 men!"
Samurai Captain: "We fight until the last man!" :on_devil:
Chosokabe Ashigaru: "We can't beat these monsters! We are losing! Run for your lives~" :on_yell:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_158.jpg
Momochi Sandayu: "Such an heroic battle... I must present medal of honors to these two samurai and all those who fell. Go to Iyo and collect their names!"
***
Ninja Sanetomo: "Master, the cleaning company said these are just contractors... when I visited Iyo, there were another 45 randomly selected janitors working there..."
Sandayu: :on_bird:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_159.jpg
(In the meantime...)
Hojo Emissary: "Great Hattori daimyo! I represent the most powerful clan in eastern Japan, Hojo. It would be a great pleasure if Hojo and Hattori establish a trade relationship. Together we provide much stability and prosperity for Japan."
Hattori Yasunaga: "Hm... what does Hojo wish to gain from this trade?"
Emissary: "Much. Hattori holds various resources that are of core interests of the Hojo clan. We are willing to pay all our accumulated fortune for it."
Yasunaga: ":on_angry: All? You mean everything?"
Emissary: "Yep."
Yasunaga: "Sounds too good to be true. Are you going to ask for my account number and PIN?"
Emissary: "Well, some resources are really important for us. Our heavenly rich income will take us back there in no time anyway."
Yasunaga: :exhausted: "You had my admiration. Please take this 6633 koku as gift~"
Emissary: "We certainly feel your sincerity. But we are giving them all back to you anyway~"
Yasunaga: :on_sweat:
Note: Here comes another valued trade partner and an oppurtunity to present a free, fat gift. Hojo currently has about 17000 koku, which they are willing to ship every koku to Hattori. (It is crazy, I know.) But instead of signing the trade deal right away, we first give 6633 koku to Hojo for a large boost of relationship of +100. Then we sign a trade deal to gain 23128 koku from Hojo (all their cash). We instantly get the 6633 koku back, but with extra good feelings from Hojo. It is unlikely that the extra relationship points really mean anything, and it will drop back down to 0 after 20 turns.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_160.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, I heard Wako pirates have appeared in southern Kyushu. What are they upto?"
Goemon: "They are supposed to raid our trade route and give us headaches. But due to a glitch in their ship factory, all they could make was trade ships. So they are here to give us trade ships."
Chisato: :on_wet:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_161.jpg
Chisato: "I heard Chosokabe has lost their last province to rebels! So master Momochi can finally proceed. I wonder what will be the First army's next mission?"
Goemon: "I heard that the HQ is considering having a second port province connected to Iga. Right now we can only make ONE sea trade partner, which is Hojo. We still have a lot of potential customers. If there are more like Hojo... :on_sing:"
Chisato: "Only two port province are available, Ise and Harima."
Goemon: "Ise's Kitabatake is a good buffer between Hattori and the eastern clans. The First army will go after Harima's Bessho then."
Chisato: "Isn't Bessho our new ally?"
Goemon: "Yeah."
Chisato: "Does that mean we will betray our ally, making Hattori one of the dishonorable bastards of western Japan?" :on_furious:
Goemon: "We do not betray our ally! Not literally. :on_blush:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_162.jpg
Chisato: "How about the Second army? What have they been doing after taking Buzen?"
Goemon: "I heard they were still recruiting local Ashigaru, and waiting for a chance to expand to Chugoku."
Chisato: "Yeah. Now the rebels have taken Urakami's Aki. There is no better timing than this. But Aki used to be Mori's home province, and the resistance there would be fierce."
Goemon: "I heard that the HQ has reassigned the commissions. The commander of the Second army, Minamoto Tomokata, is the new development commissioner. He should be able to calm down the Mori followers better."
Chisato: "How?"
Goemon: "By promising them that their farms will be rezoned to become commercial zones?" :on_sweat:
Note: Swapping commission is easy. For example, originally we have:
General A: Commission A
General B: Commission B
When we click on General A's portrait and click on Commission B, General A will be reassigned to Commission B, while General B will automatically be reassigned to Commission A.
Although such swapping seems harmless to the generals' feelings, frequently this still lowers the subjects' loyalty. Two negative modifiers are possible: (1) Commission lost to an inferior general; (2) stripped off a comission.
The first penalty can be easily avoided by swapping two generals of equal level. The second penalty is obviously a bug, and it sometimes cannot be avoided. The penalty is always applied on the general who is the subject of the operation (in the above example, General A). Therefore, we should always "strip off" the commission from the general with higher loyalty (who joins the clan later) in order to avoid getting dangerously low loyalty on a veteran general.
By the way, I find that AI's metsuke can easily bribe away our 6-loyalty general (about 50% success rate). That really sucks.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_163.jpg
Chisato: "Welcome to Chugoku, general Minamoto. The Aki castle is that way!"
Tomotaka: "Thanks. What's the situation with Urakami?"
Chisato: "I heard a large Urakami army is in the north, attacking Ouchi clan in Nagato. Every season they assault the castle, every season they lost. :on_injured:"
Tomotaka: "Please keep a close eye on them. My order is to go north next."
Chisato: "Sure!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_164.jpg
Tomokata: "Ha, that was easy!" (manual fighting to cut down casualty)
Chisato: "I heard the second army is huge. How come we do not have everyone here?"
Tomokata: "Indeed, I am only leading half of the second army. The other half is under the command of general Sawada Takamochi. Somebody has to defend Buzen from Ouchi, right?"
Chisato: :on_sweat: "Sorry, I forgot about them..."
Tomokata: "But soon we will join force! If Ouchi remains hiding in their castle, we will storm that castle!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_165.jpg
Goemon: "Oh? It seems that Kitabatake is getting destroyed by Oda, again."
Chisato: "I was wondering why Oda took this long. Kitabatake has almost no army thanks to my colleague."
Goemon: "Yep. Now the HQ has to worry about Oda again. Their impolite daimyo is leading the invasion himself. I wonder whether that means war with Hattori next? :on_hmm: How would the HQ respond to the new threat?"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_166.jpg
Goemon: "One thing is certain - we can use Kitabatake's unspend koku~"
Chisato: :on_sing: "Let's hope they come back again~"
(In the meantime, Omi province)
Ninja Masakata: "My Lord, there is no chance that Kitabatake can survive Oda's attack. What's your order?"
Hattori Yasunaga: "We do not entirely object to Oda's return, as long as they are willing to maintain peace with Hattori and trade with us."
Masakata: "It could be difficult to deal with Oda's daimyo Nobuhide. People call him the last impolite samurai of Japan."
Yasunaga: "It would be nice if we can deal with a nicer Oda. :on_sweat:"
Masakata: "I understand my Lord's wishes."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_167.jpg
Masakata: "My Lord, Oda Nobuhide suffered from a terrible diarrhea after his dinner noodle. Then, while he was in the outhouse he again suffered from a terrible stroke. Then, while he was struggling to stay afloat in the pool of..., he again suffered a terrible spasm. Oda Nobuhide's wife resumes commands the clan until her son Oda Nobunaga becomes an adult."
Yasunaga: :on_tears: "Now let's restore trades with Oda~"
Chisato: "Goemon, how does the Hattori clan support all the construction projects and ninja missions? From selling military access and trade deals?"
Goemon: "They look fancinating, but only make up about 5% of the clan's total income in the end. The clan stays afloat mainly from taxing its people."
Chisato: "Yeah. It sucks that when I namely get a 15% discount from stores, after tax the amount even goes over the marked price by 15%. :on_furious: I have heard so much complain. If the tax is hiked one bit higher, many will either starve to death or take a chance and revolt."
Goemon: "From a government's point of view, the ideal tax level IS the threshold before people start revolting."
Chisato: :on_exhausted: "Can't we put higher tax on the rich people? Those who hire hundreds of peasants working on their very fertile farms? They don't need to revolt to stay alive..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_168.jpg
Goemon: "Indeed! That's why we have Metsuke. By stationing them in the richest province, they will squeeze a lot of extra koku from the rich."
Chisato: "How does a Metsuke do that?"
Goemon: "Holding charity dinners, accepting bribes, running VIP golf clubs..." :on_panda:
Chisato: "Nice!"
Goemon: "Actually we have been training our Metsuke in Kinki. In average, Monks in Kyoto get arrested within the first two months of their graduation from the Buddhist school." :on_whip:
Note: With the ideal retainers, a level-4 Metsuke could achieve 11 green stars in Town Overseeing, bringing in 55% extra taxable income, which is later subject to admin cost. For example, if a town earns 5000 koku of taxable income at 30% tax rate and under 40% admin cost, the leve-4 Metsuke earns 55% x 5000 x (1-40%) = 1650 koku per turn for the clan. When all five Metsukes are in action, the clan's income is usually boosted by more than 5000 koku per turn.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_169.jpg
Hattori Ninja: "Master, Bessho's army has finally left its castle!"
Momochi Sandayu: "Finally our chance has come! :on_ohlala: Proceed with our plan!"
Hattori Ninja: "I will put up detour signs on the road so the Bessho army travels slowly!
Hattori Monk: "I will incite a rebel army!"
Sandayu: "Boys, prepare to sail back to Honshu!"
Note: The Awaji island had terrible farming output and was left to rebels. There is a limit on the number of provinces we can rule before triggering Realm Divide. Skipping poor provinces not only increases our power to face the Realm Divide, but also leaves less provinces for the future enemies.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_170.jpg
Hattori Yasunaga: "Trusted and respected generals and agents, welcome to Hattori clan's spring festival general meeting of 1551! Your hard works have certainly been noted and appreciated. Happy New Year!"
Everyone: "Happy New Year!"
Yasunaga: "I am pleased to announce that the Hattori clan has finally figured out what's happening in the rest of Japan. :on_sweat: Let's take a good look."
(1) Eastern Japan
After six years of cruel warfare, four clans emerged victorious in eastern Japan: Hojo, Takeda, Oda, and Date. The four clans are currently friendly with each other, which is very rare considering how much war has been going on.
Hojo-Takeda Alliance
The Hojo-Takeda Alliance is the most powerful force of eastern Japan, or the entire Japan. The Hojo clan is currently very friendly with Hattori due to the well-publized twenty-thousand-koku trade agreement. It is likely that Hojo and Takeda's friendship will last longer, because each of them still has other clans to fight.
Hojo vs. Date
Hojo, while currently is at war with no one, will certainly face Date, who has no other place to expand except into Hojo. However, Date is also at war with Honma, which is famous for its tireless and shameless sea invasion. It is safe to predict that Hojo and Honma will eventually eliminate Date.
[B]Oda's expansion
Takeda is also allied with Oda. This leaves Oda two options (1) expand west and attack Hattori (2) expand east and attack Hojo. If Oda declares wars on Hojo, there is a good chance that Takeda will side with Hojo. So it is more likely that Oda will expand west. We have to keep a close eye on Oda's intention.
(2) Western Japan
We the Hattori clan has been steadily expanding in western Japan, among a bunch of dishonourable oppurtunists. Chosokabe, Urakami, Takaoka have all violated samurai's code and suffered from nation-wide hit in reputation.
Urakami
Urakami has become a public enemy in the region. In the next year or so, they will be taken out by the surrounding clans. Our second army, commanded by general Minamoto and Sawada, will play an important role there.
Minamoto Tomokata: "Do we have permission to declare war on Ouchi? Their full stack has been parking inside the castle of Nagato."
Yasunaga: "Go ahead!"
Takaoka
Takaoka will be our primary competitor in Western Japan. War is inevitable, although clash before the fall of Urakami is unlikely. Agents, please direct your effort to Takaoka afterwards.
Chisato & others: "Yes!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_171.jpg
Yasunaga: "As to how to discourage Oda from attacking Hattori... at least now we are glad to see Oda's attitude returning to neutral. Now let's restore trades with them! And don't forget to renew 20 turns of military access. :on_aww:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_172.jpg
Yasunaga: "Takaoka have declared war on Urakami! Since these two clans were allies not very long ago, Takaoka has suffered another serious diplomatic hit with all other clans in Japan. It won't be long for Takaoka's relationship with Hattori dips to the negative side. Get ready for their 3rd dishonourable betrayal!" :on_furious:
End of Chapter 9
Chapter 10. Dawn of Naginata
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_173.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, I've had this question in my mind for very long."
Goemon: "Go ahead!"
Chisato: "Where does Wako come from? Wako is literally short bandits. They are named after the... not very tall Japanese at the time. But I have never heard about a Wako base in Japan."
Goemon: "I don't know... I only know they are now doing charity, donating trade ships from time to time..." :on_exhausted:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_174.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, I heard there are large construction projects going on in Satsuma. What is it about?"
Goemon: "They are upgrading the castle to a... castle, from a fortress. The tensho will bigger. Essentially for increased unit recruiting capacity."
Chisato: "Hm... when I visit castles around Japan, one common feature keeps popping up. They are all hit by lightning and burnt :on_sweat:, and later rebuild."
Goemon: "And that provides employment for the civil engineers!"
Chisato: "What kind of soldiers are Hattori recruiting?"
Goemon: "Primarily Naginata Samurai, with state-of-the-art armor. The Hattori line will take ages to break!" :on_groucho:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_175.jpg
Chisato: "Why does the Hattori line will be formed by Naginata Samurai? I heard Date uses No-Dachi Samurai for that role, and it is the most feared in Japan."
Goemon: "Well, Date gets cheaper and better No-Dachi Samurai. But seriously when there are a lot of men involved in battle, it will be difficult for a commander to issue charge orders to each unit individually. A passive line is more managable in a large-scale battle."
Chisato: "Hm... I heard legends that thousands of soldiers could receive their orders simultaneously. How can they do that?" :on_yell:
Goemon: "It won't happen here~ well maybe our enemies can do it."
Chisato: "And now we have Naginata Samurai, what will happen to our old line - the Yari Ashigaru?"
Goemon: "We don't need their service anymore. They will be fired."
Chisato: "Even if they are in the middle of the sea?" :on_scared:
Goemon: "Yeah. Swim home!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_176.jpg
Chisato: "But now Master's First Army has sent all its Yari Ashigaru swiming home. Can he still take Harima?"
Goemon: "Ranged unit is all he needs to assault the rebel castle. Plus he will get helps from some garrison units in Kinki. He will do fine."
Chisato: "But there is a huge rebel garrison in Harima. How about we pay a visit to Master using our accumulated vacation time?"
Goemon: "Sure~ There is not much to do besides vandalizing castles gates anyway." :on_sweat:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_177.jpg
Chisato: "Master, how have you been? I hope you allow me to observe the siege of Harima castle."
Sandayu: "Huh? What siege? Oh... you mean that target practice. It is over already." :on_whistle:
Chisato: "So quickly?"
Sandayu: "Yeah. The corpses are all piled up there, go take a look if you want."
Chisato: "Two large piles of corpse..." :on_bibber:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_178.jpg
Chisato: "So how many men we have lost?"
Sandayu: "You mean died from the battle? No... it was only a target practice. A few of them twisted fingers, that's it."
Chisato: "No casualties..." :on_angry2:
Note: Apart from the "Defender's Bane" featured in the previous video, a few other castle designs contain terrain features friendly to the attacker. This particular design contains a high walkway to the back of the castle, accessible if the attackers circle behind along the shore. At first and second levels (Fort and Stronghold), the patrolling defenders come directly in front of the attackers to get shot at.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_179.jpg
Chisato: "Master, now we have Harima's trade port, which clan is our sea trade partner?"
Sandayu: "Unfortunately we have not met new clans we a trade port. The only candidate is the Ikko Buddhists."
Chisato: "But they are unfriendly with everyone."
Sandayu: "Actually they are willing to sell their pants to trade, just like Hojo!"
Chisato: "How much savings do they have?"
Sandayu: "Only about two thousand koku. In order to make them feel better about us, we give them 6633 koku first, which they will give right back to us. Now they are very friendly with us, and our trade relationship can probably last a few more turns." :on_bath:
Note: This proves to be a damaging move as there is a -20 diplomatic penalty on "attacked a friendly clan". When another clan declares war on Ikko-Ikki, they will hate Hattori as well.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_180.jpg
Minamoto Tomokata: "Welcome back to Chugoku, Chisato. We missed your scout reports. Is it time to take Iwami?"
Chisato: "The rebels have overrun the province. But please be careful as the garrison is quite powerful."
Tomokata: "No problem! I will supervise the assault personally!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_181.jpg
Tomokata: ":on_lol: Haha, this is nothing!" (manual fighting)
Chisato: "Why bother building castle... a big death trap :on_idle:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_182.jpg
Hattori Yasunaga: "Hm... it looks like we have a visitor. Oda's army wants to take Omi? If I go to battle, they will shatter the small rebel armies."
Ninja: "Why not? Then we will own Omi province."
Yasunaga: "Omi is a dangerous place. If we own this province, we should be prepared to be attacked by Oda and possibly other eastern clans from Mino and Echizen. We are not ready for it yet. On the other hand, if we maintain the siege on the rebels, Oda's ambition in the west is indefinitely paused at Omi." :on_panda:
Ninja: "I see. So unfortunately my lord's training here has come to an end."
Yasunaga: "It looks like I can use a classified ad to look for a new general..."
Note: The trick was mentioned in my earlier stories. As the AI's army acts after the human's, they are unable to assault the castle. However, since the rebel's garrison acts after the AI clan's, when they sally at the end of the turn, the human general can retreat and come back at the beginning of the next turn. This results in a permenant siege on the castle by the human. The Oda will never get a chance to take Omi. And the AI is not smart enough to realize this.
Chisato: "Goemon, what does the Ikko-Ikki export to us?"
Goemon: "Buddhism scultures? Echizen is the home of fine craftsmen. Last time I checked there were lots in the shop where you get 15% discount."
Chisato: "Great! I always wanted a Bishamon (God of War) statue!" :on_aww:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_183.jpg
Chisato: "DOH! They have sold out. The new shipment is on hold because the castletown in Echizen is besieged by Takeda! :on_bash:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_184.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, what's the mission of this season? Bruning another Urakami castle?"
Goemon: "Urakami clan? It does not exist anymore."
Chisato: :on_angry: "Huh? What happened to their last provinces?"
Goemon: "Takaoka backstabbed them. Very good ally, huh?"
Chisato: "Now there are only three clans in western Japan - Hattori, Takaoka, and... :on_picknose: Ouchi."
Goemon: "It is time to close the door and beat up Ouchi."
Note: Long time ago there was an opportunity to sell military access to Ouchi, but I purposely avoided it in the fear that Hattori will have to declare war on it later. The rebel army incited in Nagato are is usually not very functional.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_185.jpg
Chisato: "But Ouchi has a full stack defending Nagato. I don't think general Minamoto's Second Army has that many archers."
Goemon: "Don't forget that's only half of the Second army. The other half is under Sawada's command in Buzen. His army will sail to the siege!"
Chisato: "Must be a huge battle! Let's go take a look!" :on_aww:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_186.jpg
(auto-resolved)
Chisato: "What do you mean it is already over... more than 3000 men died?! :on_yell:"
Sawada Takamochi: "The HQ asks us to make a serious cut after this battle, so we figured it is probably easier to just pile the corpses and re-group the survivors." :on_sweat:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_187.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, I heard Takeda has taken Echizen. Has Beshamon statue been restocked?"
Goemon: "Nope, our trade with Ikko-Ikki has been cancelled."
Chisato: :on_angry: "But Ikko still has a functional trade port in Wakasa..."
Goemon: "I know. Somehow our trade deal with them specify Echizen to be the trade port..." :on_exhausted:
Chisato: "Hm... so the HQ could at least re-establish with Takeda, who know owns Echizen."
Goemon: "And they did!"
Chisato: "So what can we buy from Takeda?"
Goemon:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WOy6uxbojcg/SMerWPd6eUI/AAAAAAAAD10/HnUnUXFZkfY/s640/IMG_0449.JPG
Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan Hello Kitty~ :on_sing:
Note: I took this picture when I travelled to Japan in '08.
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_188.jpg
(In the meantime, Nagato Castle)
Takamochi: "Congratulations, Minamoto, for the successful merger and... weight loss of our Second Army!"
Tomokata: "Indeed, Sawada. I wonder what the HQ will asks us to do next."
Chisato: "Generals, there is a small broken rebel army wandering in the wild. They beg us to take them out, for they have been lost in the wild for years..." :on_scared:
Takamochi: "Poor rebels..."
Note: That rebel army was incited a few years back, but never had a chance to take the castle as Ouchi's full-stack defended in it.
awesome stuff, man!!! been trying this strategy xD but I may need to chant more Iga Ninjutsu is Good for it to work properly xD
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_189.jpg
Chisato: "Takaoka's castle in sight! How do you like to have it cooked? All charcoal or medium?" :on_sing:
Goemon: "That has to wait. There is an urgent request from the HQ."
Chisato: "Let's hear it!"
Goemon: "The Hattori clan's advance in western Japan has alarmed the Ashikaga Shogunate. We shall take two more provinces, and then we stop completely. The HQ is undecided about which two provinces to take and requests more information from ninjas and monks."
Chisato: "Hm... I think the bigger and richer the provinces, the better."
Goemon: "That's from an economic perspective. What if the clan will be rich enough? Any recommendations for military?"
Chisato: "I heard that Hoki is famous for its bow crafts, and Inaba is famous for its shipyards. There is an extra trading port in Inaba, which shares a tiny border with Harima, so the trade port should be functional for trading purpose." :on_idea:
Goemon: "Sounds good."
Chisato: "But we are already building up Buzen and Hizen for ranged units and ships. Do we need a second base for that?"
Goemon: "Normally we don't. But if we really want to rush-produce a large number of high-end units to take over Japan, this is the way to go."
Chisato: "Are we rich enough for it?"
Goemon: "Our foreign trades should be able to support the construction fee. The HQ should hire accountants to figure out how much army our economy will be able to sustain..." :on_read:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_190.jpg
Chief Accountant: "My lord, we estimate that the Hattori clan's economy will be able to sustain five full-stack armies, three of them consist of elite soldiers, two of them are made up by ashigaru."
Hattori Yasunaga: "That should be enough to conquer Japan!" :on_panda:
Chief: "My Lord, we are meeting in Settsu! The Shogunate's spy is all around us!"
Yasunaga: :on_sweat: "I mean we will have enough soldiers to join the New Year parade. What about our recruitment process?"
Chief: "We approached the problem this way. Each recruitment center, at the Castle level, provides 3 recruitment points per season. A full stack army, if all Ashigaru, requires 10 recruitment points for melee and 9 recuirtment points for ranged units. This way we can figure out (1) whether our current recruitment centers for melee and ranged units will provide enough recruitment points to meet our desired army composition; and (2) when we will accumulate enough recruitment points for five full-stack armies."
Yasunaga: "And the answer to the first question is..."
Chief: "We need a second recruitment center for ranged units."
Yasunaga: "That's not a problem, we will build up Hoki to be the second recruitment site for ranged units. That means we will also take Inaba to connect Hoki. Send orders to the Second Army!"
Messenger: "On my way, My lord!"
Yasunaga: "And the answer to the second question is..."
Chief: "We need 24 seasons to complete the recruitment process."
Yasunaga: "So we will trigger Realm Divide 24 seasons later! I mean to join the parade 24 seasons later. :on_sing:"
End of Chapter 10
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_191.jpg
Chapter 11. 24 Seasons Later
Chief: "My Lord, but that does not include shipping..."
Yasunaga: :on_furious: "Why didn't you just tell me?! We have released that in the news!"
Chief: "It is a rough estimate anyway... :on_sweat:
***
Goemon: "Looks like your advise was highly valued, Chisato. The HQ wants Hoki and Inaba!"
Chisato: :on_lol: "And here goes Takaoka fertile attempt to stop the rebels in Hoki!"
Goemon: "The HQ also released a 6-year ban of aggression with the exception of the above two province."
Chisato: "That should make the Shogunate more comfortable."
Goemon: "But doesn't that also tell the Shogun that we are coming to get you 6 years later?" :on_exhausted:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_192.jpg
Chisato: "I wonder what's going to change in Japan over the next 6 years. Will the eastern clans unite under one banner? Or will they stay divided and fighting each other?"
Goemon: "So far the only big clans at war are Hojo and Date, as we expected. Let's hope for more drama. :on_aww:"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_193.jpg
Goemon: "The Second Army has taken Hoki. Our monk has worked out a rebellion in Inaba. Our new mission is to sabotage Takaoka daimyo's army so it cannot interfere. :on_panda:"
Chisato: "Any thoughts on how?"
Goemon: "Hm... isn't Takeda going to wipe out Ikko-Ikki in Wakasa? How about an imminent attack of Takeda from the east?"
Chisato: "Rumor is not very convincing..."
Goemon: "How about hiring farmers to pretend to be Takeda soldiers to appear on Takaoka's border to Wakasa?"
Chisato: "That would work!" :on_idea:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_194.jpg
Yasunaga: "How's financial situation?"
Chief Accountant: "Everything goes well, my lord. We are now saving up funds for a clan-wide land consolidation. This will not interfere with the army recruitment."
Yasunaga: "Excellent work. By the way, do you want to be promoted to a House Officer of the Hattori clan? Besides a raise in salary and 1000 koku of sign-on bonus, your family also enjoys medical benefits should you... er, did not make it during a battle."
Chief: "Certainly, my Lord! It is my dream to become a samurai!" :on_gwow:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_195.jpg
Yasunaga: "And what's your name?"
Chief: "Abe Noriaki." :on_please2:
Yasunaga: "Ok Abe, welcome to the Hattori clan! Here is your first assignment. Replace me in Omi province. All you need to do is to maintain a siege on the castle. When the rebels sally, you run. When they return to the castle, you return."
Abe: "Sure. For how long?"
Yasunaga: "About six years."
Abe: "So that's what a samurai does?" :on_idle:
Yasunaga: "You are very important! You alone is equivalent to a full stack army defending against Oda. Keep it up and we might have some more exciting tasks for you later!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_196.jpg
Minamoto Tomokata: "That's it ~ the 22nd province of Hattori. Hail to the 5-year long vacation!" :on_woo:
Chisato: "My lord, the HQ has a new order for you. Please report to the training center in Mimasaka. Your training is to run in front of the rebels for 5 years."
Tomokata: :on_beg:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_197.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, it looks like Takaoka is taking our fake Takeda army seriously. They are preparing for an attack to Ikko-Ikki's last stand, Wakasa."
Goemon: "Good. I heard that the HQ is working out a trade agreemtn with Ikko-Ikki again."
Chisato: "Why is it good? There will be no Ikko-Ikki to trade."
Geomon: "But remember they always give us all their cash in signing the trade deal~"
Chisato: :on_sing:
Note: I have yet to figure out what causes AI clans willing to pay everything to trade with human after a certain point. Could it be a specific resource? Or the economic/military strength of human?
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_198.jpg
Yasunaga: "Welcome to the spring festival meeting of 1553! First let me announce an important diplomatic breakthrough..."
(drum roll)
Yasunaga: "We have finally met every clan in Japan! :on_sweat: And here is our assessment of what is going to happen in the next few years."
(1) Date to be defeated by Honma and Hojo
Date has learned to dislike Hattori before we even met them, because Hojo is very friendly to Hattori. This means that we also have something to gain from Date's downfall.
(2) Takeda and Takaoka to declare war
Takaoka had taken out Ikko-Ikki, making it a direct neighbor of Takeda. Since Takeda is allied with Hojo and Oda, the only way Takeda could expand is into Takaoka, a notorious backstabbing-my-best-friend clan for the rest of Japan. Strangely, Takaoka's army has left the province immediately after it took Wakasa. So Takaoka seems to have no ambition expanding into Takeda. Maybe it has its eyes on Hattori? Our ninjas must keep a good eye on them.
(3) Hatakeyama to declare war on Takeda
Hatakeyama has nowhere else to expand (or regain its past glory) except into Takeda. But it is likely that it will be destroyed by Takeda's famous super stack bundle - not if the bundle already travelled to somewhere else.
(4) Oda trapped in Omi, war with Hojo uncertain
Oda might declare war to Hojo if they can manage a second army to go east. Or maybe that second army will be trapped in Omi, too. :on_exhausted:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_199.jpg
Abe Noriaki: "My Lord, did you summon me? How can I be of service?"
Yasunaga: "Last time you tell me that we are planning for a clan-wide Land Consolidation project, right?"
Noriaki: "Yes. It will commence 6 seasons later."
Yasunaga: "What kind of arts should we research afterwards?"
Noriaki: "Right now we still lack the arts to recruit Bow Warrior Monks, Kisho Ninja, and Hattori Bandits. The monks are very useful units in any circumstance. The ninja is... just for show. :on_sweat: The Bandits are an interesting replacement to Bow Ashigaru."
Yasunaga: "I heard about Bandits... they robbed our house when I was 3. :on_bash: But what can they do in the army?"
Noriaki: "They can shoot whille under cover, so the enemies can't see who made the shot... if they are sufficiently far away. They are also slightly more accurate than the Bow Ashigaru, but with 25% less men in the unit."
Yasunaga: "Hm... I don't like last bit. This makes them inferior to Bow Ashigaru's damage output in most situations. Change the recruit plan! We will hire Bow Ashigaru first!"
Noriaki: "Yes, my lord~" :on_sweat:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_200.jpg
Goemon: "Chisato, did you read the latest Pocket News?"
Chisato: "Yep. The famous Takeda stack of doom is feared to arrive in Wakasa in the near future."
Goemon: "That's the front line. Did you read the 4-point subtitle font?"
Chisato: "There is one? Let me see..."
Chisato: "Take... take out Takeda?" :on_angry:
Goemon: "The HQ must be worried about the imminent dominance of the Hojo-Takeda alliance. A balance of power must be restored in eastern Japan. Let the Hattori agents pour into Takeda lands!"
Chisato: "I shall sabotage their farm in Echizen!"
Goemon: "How?"
Chisato: "Burn it!"
Goemon: "It is a fertile farm, they grow rice in the water."
Chisato: "So I will hand-pull each rice sapling at night!" :on_tears:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_201.jpg
Chisato: "I am exhausted... :on_beg: Why don't we let Takaoka weaken Takeda?"
Goemon: "Because Takaoka has cancelled our alliance and become openly hostile."
Chisato: :on_blush: "After we turned most of their lands into smokes? Probably a reasonable response..."
Goemon: "If Takaoka's reputation holds, they will declare war before the buffer period is over."
Chisato: "What does the HQ want us to do?"
Goemon: "There is already a ninja keeping a Takaoka's main army sabotaged in Tajima. Let's see how long we can hold Takaoka for!"
Chisato: "A Takeda army is heading toward Wakasa! It is not a huge stack, but still a threat!"
Goemon: "Sabotage them!"
Chisato: "How?"
Goemon: "er... tier up their shoes at night!"
Chisato: "But my back still hurts from the farm sabotage..." :on_down:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_202.jpg
Momochi Sandayu: "Congratulations, Chisato! You have shown true modesty of a ninja, approaching your missions with nothing but patience and determination."
Chisato: "Master? Weren't you training in Bizen?"
Sandayu: ":on_sweat: The better we are, the more humble we should be. A mature rice stalk bows down. The sea is lower than the river so it receives their water. The large trees attract the wind. The fat pigs goes to the slaughter house first. You are now ready to become a level-6 Ninja in the Hattori clan, the most respected Ninja!"
Chisato: "I am? I am finally there?"
Sandayu: "Yes. Here I present you this mask. From now on your name should be no longer Chisato. But the anonymous. You have no name nor fame, so you can focus on your missions. Clans shall fear your mask, for there are many."
Chisato: "I am not the only level-6 ninja?"
Sandayu: "You are actually the fourth who received this honor. :on_sweat: It is OK, that only shows your modesty to let others reach the finish line first. At the end you all get the same mask. There is no difference."
Chisato: "But I want to advance further like the Master."
Sandayu: "This is already the highest level of ninja."
Chisato: "But doesn't Iga Ninjutsu states that we have to keep pursuing higher levels? Once I reach the higher level, I can understand the secrets of Iga Ninjutsu and the true law of the universe..."
Sandayu: "That's just a saying to shut up the beginners so they stop asking questions that I cannot answer. There are no higher levels. I know as much as you in terms of Ninjutsu... :on_sweat:"
Chisato: :on_eeek:
Sandayu: "Oh by the way here is a helmet you can use."
Chisato: "A bamboo basket covering my head?"
Sandayu: "Double protection!" :on_sing:
Chisato: "So Master, am I going to see you ever again?"
Sandayu: "Of course, there are annual clan meetings... :on_sweat: Oh I almost forgot. You can now shop completely free in Iga Ninjutsu's associated stores."
Chisato: "Free? Like... take whatever I want?"
Sandayu: "Yes. They won't call the Metsuke when you walk out with unpaid merchandise. So don't bother with tag swapping."
Chisato: "So... I can live for free every day? :on_aww:"
Sandayu: "Oh there is a time restriction. You can only shop for free between 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. from Sunday to Thursday."
Chisato: "Does any store open during that period?"
Sandayu: "Who said you have to wait until they open?"
Chisato: :on_exhausted: "So I have to break in? Then of course I do not have to pay..."
Goemon: "Have Iga Ninjutsu stores insured for thievery?"
Sandayu: "Of course~" :on_sing:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_203.jpg
Chisato the anonymous: (murmuring)
Goemon: "I can't hear you with your double protection. Take them off!" :on_furious:
Chisato: "I wonder which clan will be connected to our new trade port in Inaba?"
Goemon: "Oh, the HQ has signed a deal with Honma."
Chisato: "Did they pay all their cash?"
Sandayu: "Of course~" :on_sing:
Chisato: "Master, please return to Bizen to continue your training..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_204.jpg
Goemon: "Ha, Takeda and Hatakeyama has declared war. Hatakeyama already stole Takeda's Kaga! And our monk has incited a rebellion in Echizen. I wonder where Takeda's stack of doom is..."
Hattori ninja: "Chisato, please leave this Takeda stack to me. You go ahead and see what else to sabotage!"
Chisato: "OK!"
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_205.jpg
Chisato: "There is no sighting of Takeda army in Mino! But of course there is smoke in Mino." :on_panda:
Hattori Monk: "Thanks, we will work something out in Mino right away."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_206.jpg
Goemon: "Chisato, Oda has declared war on Hojo! And Takeda has declared war on Oda!" :on_yell:
Chisato: "The HQ's judgment was correct - we must act fast to prevent the domination of Hojo-Takeda alliance in eastern Japan."
Goemon: "And I heard that Oda has sent an emissary to Hattori, requesting an alliance."
Chisato: "So Oda wants to divide Japan up to two sides, Hojo-Takeda vs. Oda-Hattori..."
Goemon: "Yeah. But why would the Hattori goes to war when it cannot expand any further for 4 more years?"
Chisato: "Let's hope Oda can hold off Hojo..."
Goemon: "Yeah. When Date is defeated by Hojo and Honma, Oda will be the next..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_207.jpg
Chisato: "Goemon, what's going on? People are organizing protests on the streets."
Goemon: "Not very long ago the clan decided to give merchants higher status compared to farmers. The farmers are not very happy about this, fearing that they will be ripped off by the merchants."
Chisato: "Hm... merchants pursue profits whenever they can. This goes against our societies' core values. That's why merchants were purposely suppressed so they can't buy anything with their money."
Goemon: "But a rich clan is a winning clan. :on_sweat: Both Farming and Town are both important sources of income. Early on we rely on farming, but towns will provide progressively more income..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_208.jpg
Chisato: "So what should the HQ do about the unhappy farmers?"
Goemon: "I guess there will be a temporary reduction of clan-wide tax."
Chisato: "But won't this also lower the tax on the rich merchants?" :on_huh:
Goemon: "You would think the clan could set different tax levels on different things..."
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_209.jpg
Chisato: "The Ninja team advance to North Shinano! Still no sign of Takeda's monster stack! But there is always smoke whenever Hattori ninjas go."
Monk: "And a rebel army follows the monk!" :on_gmegap:
http://ccc-ccc.ca/tmp/temp_2012/stw2/hattori/hattori_210.jpg
Yasunaga: "Welcome to the spring festival general meeting again! It seems that the last meeting was just yesterday." :on_sweat:
"We will keep an close eye on the eastern clans. For now, our agents are unleashed onto Takeda! :on_sung: We must topple Takeda before Hojo and Honma defeat Date!"
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Chisato: "What's up with the long line up in our recruitment centers? Is half of the public restroom on repair?: "on_sweat:
Goemon: "They are here because Hattori's military power has achieved the highest ranking of "Terrifying". Before people hesitate to join because they are afraid to die. Now they know the chance of they get to sent to the frontline is low... not really." :on_groucho:
Chisato: "Hm? Takaoka has declared war on us? I have not even noticed..."
Goemon: "We already expected them to backstab us... spiritually. They have nothing to stab us. :on_sweat: Our ninja permenantly paralyze their full-stack army, and they can't afford another full-stack. So they are stuck in a permenant checkmate mode."
Chisato: "Hm... the only thing that keeps them alive is that we want to avoid triggering the Realm Divide."
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Chisato: "It looks like Date is about to be defeated, down to their last province."
Goemon: "It is time to use Date's remaining cash! :on_sing:
Chisato: "What a memory for Date's last moment, at least they traded with the Legendary Hattori clan of the west..." :on_exhausted:
End of Chapter 11
Chapter 12. Musashi Gathering
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Chisato: "We have caused total chaos in Takeda's territory! They are suddenly down to two provinces, which were owned by Hatakeyama a year ago... and Hatakeyama has taken some of Takeda's provinces..."
Goemon: "These clans only know about attack, so they will keep going forward, leaving their rear completely undefended."
Chisato: "At least we weakened Takeda in time. What's the status of Oda and Hojo's war?"
Goemon: "When Hojo focused their military in the north against Date, Oda actually managed to steal Hojo's capital, Sagami!"
Chisato: :on_angry: "Hojo did not defend their capital against a clan at war?"
Goemon: "Apparently no." :on_sweat:
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Chisato: "Hm... the Hatakeyama army is making rapid advance on the rebel provinces. Maybe soon they will replace Takeda."
Monk: "Hatakeyama never forgives us for taking their Kinki provinces. Let's topple Hatakeyama!"
Chisato: "Yes, let's do it! I will tie up their shoes at night!"
Goemon: "Now you can shop for free, why don't you try some extravagant approach?"
Chisato: "Like what?"
Goemon: "Like... dump truckloads of instant noodle on the road side? Soldiers love them~"
Chisato: "Yeah!" :on_panda:
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Chisato: "Goemon, I know that Hattori is famous for its Ninja. How about other agents like monks?"
Goemon: "Thanks to our early control of Yamato, we had a good start of hiring capable monks. I think we just had the first level-6 monk in the clan."
Chisato: "Do they have to wear masks, too?"
Goemon: "On the contrary, the higher level the monks, the less clothes they wear. The level-6 monk is half-naked. Nothing on the head."
Chisato: :on_yell: "Why are they not afraid of being targeted?"
Goemon: "There is a Nobel Peace Prize waiting if they get targeted..." :on_panda:
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Hattori Yasunaga: "Welcome back to the general meeting~ It seems that we just had the previous one earlier today...":on_sweat:
Hojo and Honma has defeated Date. This means that Hojo will be able to pull back all its army to fight Oda, unless Honma suddenly decides to attack Hojo. We expect Hojo's power to quickly grow and fill in the vaccum left by Takeda. Agents, remove Takeda and Hatakeyama as soon as possible, so you can focus on Hojo! :on_furious:
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Abe Noriaki: "My Lord, did you summon me again?"
Yasunaga: "Yep. I just noticed one mistake in our plan... Bow Warrior Monk requires level-2 Bow Dojo, so we need to get Way of the Bow first!" :on_sleep:
Noriaki: "Does that mean we will have a delay in triggering the Realm Divide?"
Yasunaga: "Hm, maybe not, because we can train Bow Ashigaru first. But we will have to rearrange the research sequence."
Noriaki: "It is OK, the Kisho ninja and Bandits can wait. They are not very useful anyway." :on_sweat:
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Chisato: "Goemon, I heard that Takaoka has a large fleet on the sea. Has our navy fought them?"
Goemon: "Yeah. Our Medium Bune crushed them like bugs." :on_picknose:
Chisato: "So the Hattori naval strategy is to use nothing but Medium Bune? Sounds risky."
Goemon: "The HQ made the tough decision to delay naval techs to post-Realm Divide. The rationale is if we trigger the Realm Divide early enough, the enemy clans will not have ships better than Medium Bune." :on_sweat:
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Chisato: "Hm... now there is a nother long line-up outside our recruitment centers. Must be about the recruitment commercial featuring warrior nuns. :on_sing:"
Goemon: "Actually they are not warrior monks, they are samurai!"
Chisato: "So we will have some elite Naginata for the future First Army!"
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Chisato: "Goemon, I heard that our trade with Hojo was disrupted because Oda took Hojo's capital, and Hojo moved their capital to Ito peninsula, which does not have a port..."
Goemon: "Yeah. We have addressed that problem."
Chisato: "How?"
Goemon: "Our monk has turned Ito into rebels. So Hojo's capital is again linked to a port."
Chisato: "So we can again sign a trade deal with Hojo. I wonder whether Hojo is willing to pay all their cash?"
Momochi Sandayu: "Of course~" :on_sing:
Chisato: ":on_yell: over 20000 koku earned from this... this is insane!"
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Goemon: "Chisato! Takeda and Hatakeyama have been toppled by our agents! The HQ has issued the new order - Hojo!"
Chisato: "On my way! I am Kozuke province, and I can see Hojo's Metsuke coming!"
Goemon: "Remove them from service!"
Chisato: "Yes!" :on_sung:
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Chisato: "I heard Hojo is planning a counterattack to retake their capital Sagami. Any update?"
Goemon: "Our agents have arrived at the border. Their daimyo Hojo Ujiyasu suddenly had back muscle spasm..."
Chisato: "So that means Hojo will be unable to attack Oda temporarily?"
Goemon: "It seems that there are more Hojo coming down. Our agents will be overwhelmed quickly. :on_stress:"
Chisato: "I will meet them in Musashi!"
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Chisato: "Nice, I heard we have just started hiring elite Bow Ashigaru from Buzen and Hoki."
Goemon: "Yes. The strength of the Hattori army will increase very quickly from now on." :on_groucho:
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Chisato: "Hm... there is another report of Takaoka's navy. They probably wanted to block our trade port in Hizen."
Goemon: "We have been pumping out elite navy non-stop from Hizen. This is just dessert for us. :on_panda:"
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Chisato: "Here I am in Musashi! Let me see.. together there are more than 4 full stacks of Hojo army!" :on_lightning:
Goemon: "It looks like they are gathering around their daimyo. If we stop one of their stacks on their way, maybe the rest of the stacks will wait for them?"
Chisato: "Good idea! Let's try it! Here comes a truck load of *** megazine on the roadside!" :on_sing:
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Hattori Yasunaga: "Welcome back to the annual clan meeting. There is only one simple objective - weaken Hojo as much as possible before we trigger Realm Divide!"
Commissionner of Supply - Sawada Takamochi: "Oh I have one thing to report! We have started shipping new units to Kinki from three recruitment centers. Due to a carefully planned relay chain, all units arrive at their destination the same season it came out from the recruitment center."
Yasunaga: "Excellent work!" :on_lol:
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Chisato: "Report: When we distract the Hojo Horde in Musashi, our monks have been hyperactive, inciting rebellion in many Hojo provinces!" :on_panda:
Goemon: "Good work! Keep it up! But the HQ wishes to leave the two northern provinces of Hojo untouched."
Chisato: "Why?"
Goemon: "Because there is Honma behind Hojo. After Realm Divide they are all our obstacles. Hojo actually serves as a firewall that blocks Honma's expansion. It is better we keep it that way."
Chisato: "Understood!"
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Chisato: "Goemon, I heard that the Wako has reached a breakthrough in technology. They no longer make Trade Ships exclusively." :on_sweat:
Goemon: "Yep, the age of easy free Trade Ships is over. But that changes little of our naval strategy - lots of Medium Bune never fails. And when we park the right-sized fleet at the right place, the Wako actually actively seek battle. Saves a lot of work!" :on_bath:
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Hattori Yasunaga: "Generals and agents, welcome back! It felt like we just had a meeting less than an hour ago... :on_sweat: But we have an urgent situation! Hojo has been severely weakened, and there is no point to wait further to trigger Realm Divide!"
Commissioner of Warfare - Fujiwara Norioki: "But we don't have five armies yet. Enough for four, though."
Yasunaga: "Good enough. We will have three armies in Kinki, one army in the north to take care of Takaoka."
Commissioner of Supply - Sawada Takamochi: "No problem!"
Yasunaga: "The Kinki army will be led by our three best generals!"
Commissioner of Finance - Minamoto Tomokata: "How about the Fifth army promised to me? :on_beg:"
Yasunaga: "The recruit process will continue. So you will get your fifth army as planned."
Commissioner of Development - Momochi Sandayu: "So I will be leading an invasion along Tokaido?"
Yasunaga: "Yes. Tokaido is full of great-clan provinces: Owari, Migawa, Kai, Sagami. So it has to be done by a Development expert. :on_aww:"
Yasunaga: "All agents, slowly pull back from Hojo and work on Oda! They are our closest obstacle!"
Anonymous x 5: "Yes!"
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Abe Noriaki: "My lord, there is report that Oda has had a terrible harvest this year. How about we aid them 2500 koku? They will be very thankful, and you will be further respected among clans."
Yasunaga: "I thought I am already very respected... in fact, I cannot be more respected for some reason." :on_sweat:
Abe Noriaki: "So we simply reject them? There could be negative consequences..."
Yasunaga: "Oh?..."
(Load auto-save from the beginning of the turn.)
Abe Noriaki: "My lord, there is report that... there is no report."
Yasunaga: "Huh?" :on_sweat:
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Abe Noriaki: "Oh yes, there is a report that the friendly Honma clan could be our potential ally after Realm Divide."
Yasunaga: "Indeed, they are far away from us. A military alliance plus my youngest son as hostage would make them extremely friendly. So they will remain our firm ally for 8 seasons at least." :on_bath:
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Chisato: "Report! We have successfully trapped Oda's army on the field! Rebels are all over Tokaido!" :on_panda:
Goemon: "Nice! Tell the HQ that we are ready for Realm Divide!"
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Hattori Yasunaga: "Soldiers! The time has come! This summer, we march to battle! Declare war on Ashikaga Shogunate!" :on_furious:
Generals and soldiers: "To summer's son Lord Yasunaga!"
End of Chapter 12
Chapter 13. Angel of the Night
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Hattori Yasunaga: "Let's bring war to the Ashikaga Shogunate! Attack!"
Metsuke: "My lord, the Ashikaga Shogunate have two full stacks of army defending Kyoto. Please be careful."
Yasunaga: "Hm, I am not worried about their numbers, after all we have three elite armies in Kinki. But I do not like the fact that they will be defending in the Kyoto castle."
Metsuke: "I heard there is a weakness in the castle. With patience, we will achieve a great victory!"
Yasunaga: "I know about that, too. But why don't we fight like a real Hattori man?"
Metsuke: "Challenge them under the summer sun?"
Yasunaga: "Nope, stab them in midsummer night! Night attack!" :on_furious:
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Yasunaga: "What is the battlefield terrain like?"
Metsuke: "There is a tall hill with lots of trees close to us!"
Yasunaga: "Wait a minute... I have seen this before! :on_lightning: It is almost identical to our Kawachi battle with Hatakeyama 11 years ago..." (see bottom)
Metsuke: "Kawachi is about twenty miles south from here. Maybe the continent has drifted due to tectonics motion? There are lots of Volcanos in Japan." :on_sweat:
Yasunaga: "What are you talking about..."
Metsuke: "So how did my lord win that battle?"
Yasunaga: "We sneaked up the hill before the battle began, and then the enemy pretty much took themselves out."
Metsuke :on_exhausted:
Yasunaga: "Well we had to issue a few commands, such as encircling their lines from both sides and a cavalry charge in the back. Let's do it again in Kyoto!" :on_panda:
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Terrain of the Kawachi Battle in 1546.
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Chisato: "Ha... finally we made it to the battlefield! If I can see where the soldiers are..."
Goemon: "It seems that Hattori soldiers have sneaked on the large hill in the middle. The trees and tall grass there provides a perfect cover!"
Chisato: "And the Ashikaga soldiers have no idea! They are quick-marching toward the hill!" :on_panda:
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Chisato: "The Ashikaga Cavalry close in fast... and bump right into Hattori's Naginata!"
Goemon: "Like a toddler walking into a brick wall!" :on_groucho:
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Chisato: "There is their Katana Samurai captain!... no more captain!" :on_sing:
Goemon: "They are not even charging... so far it plays out exactly like the battle of Kawachi..."
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Chisato: "The Ashikaga all-samurai infantry is coming... and it looks like they are prepared for battle!"
Goemon: "A huge clash is going to happen! Can the Hattori gold-armor Naginata resist the charge of the No-Dachi and Katana Samurai?"
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