Mori, the Road to Kaga, take 2 (1550)

[TWD]

2nd round, to Winter 1552.

Spring 1551.
Two alliances have been concluded between :
- Hojo and Uesugi ;
- Oda and Imagawa.
Imagawa also happens to be at war with Takeda. The Takeda clan could then be a valuable ally for Mori, ensuring a balance of power in the east. The Emissary will therefore head to the port of Sagami.
Troop movements :
The Daymio and his army attempt to take Bizen's castle.
The emissary is shipped.

Summer 1551.



Bitchu is invaded by 180 men, so the YA unit retreats to Bizen.
The castle there is taken with moderate losses : The daymio unit drew the ennemy fire, then Mori archers depleted an ennemy unit. In the end, casualties were mostly suffered by the YS unit (23).
Imagawa sends an emissary, proposing an alliance, but since the plan is to help Takeda against him, his offer is politely refused.
With only two provinces, taxes are set to punitive.

Troop movements :
The emissary in Sagami heads for Kai, hoping to find the Takeda clan leader.
Now... Summer is the best time for invasions... With 180 men in Bitchu, better be cautious, though. The Port in Aki will be completed next season, meaning reinforcements will come in Bizen.
A castle has been built in Suo, west of Aki, but I don't think it is possible to pillage some kokus there, not yet.
- A YA from Aki invades Bingo (not to be kept, but will yield some kokus and may "protect" Bizen from an invasion) ;
- 3stars SA and the Naginata invade Harima ;
- 4stars Horse Archers and YS invade Sanuki ;
- The Daymio remains in Bizen with a unit of YA and the Naginata Cavalry.



Autumn 1551.
Badly managed battle in Sanuki cost the lives of 42 Horse archers... eek.. Fortunately, the battle for Harima was easier.
Our emissary in Kai found lord Takeda, good news !
The Port in Aki was completed : reinforcements !
With those new provinces and little garrison capability, taxes are back to very low.

Build orders and trainings :
We have 600 kokus left from last winter's budget. That could be a mine in Harima but the rebels hold 6 provinces next to it... High risk of invasion. Instead, we start a Tea house in Bizen to help with the loyalty issues.
Mori also decides the clan does not need an Archery dojo in Bizen. Destroying it allows to start a farm in Sanuki.
With 300 kokus left, a YA is ordered in Bizen (written but... forgot :P) and a SA in Aki (replaces YA).
--> 1400/1421 kokus.
Troop movements :
The Emissary proposes an alliance to Takeda.
YA in Bitchu retreats to Aki.
Lord Mori and the two units accompanying him head for Sanuki.
3YA and the 3stars SA heir are shipped from Aki to Bizen.

Winter 1551 :
Takeda accepts our alliance, yeah ! He holds Kai and Shinano for all I know.
Peasant revolt in Bitchu.
No major invasion.
New treasury : 1374 kokus.



So... some of the questions left unanswered last round have met their end :
- Takeda is our ally. He still is at war with Imagawa. Oda (allied to Imagawa) has signed an alliance with Uesugi. And Shimazu has signed alliances with Takeda, Oda and Uesugi (allied with Hojo). Plenty of alliances, little wars.
Maybe an alliance with Oda or Shimazu could work, next. There is a Port in Hizen.
- Expansion-wise : I moved the Daymio into Sanuki with the idea to lock that island for myself first. It is rich, easily defensible and Tosa is great for YA production, not to mention it helps keep Shimazu in check. All in all, it makes a good base to invade Kawachi-Yamashiro.

[TWD]

Round 3. 4 turns, up to winter 1552 (got confused last time, year changes during the spring).
Objective : secure Tosa/Iyo.
Harima may fall in the hands of the Rebels but Aki and Bizen must hold.

Winter 1551.
Build orders and trainings :
Aki starts 4 YA. Mori needs numbers and can't afford quality right now.
Bizen starts 1 YA. The Tea house will complete next season and then Shinobis will be trained.
--> 500/1374 kokus.
Troop movements :
1YA is shipped from Aki to Bizen.
2YA from Bizen go garrison Sanuki.
The Daymio and the army in Sanuki invade Awa, aiming for Tosa next season.
To strenghten Bizen a bit, a YA there swaps with the Naginata in Harima.
There's a port in Owari, now, but the Emissary heads to Shinano to have a better view of what clan owns what province. Which means that Oda is preferred to Shimazu as the second ally. Shimazu would be fine but I'd rather not give him so much income that he can expand to my borders super quickly. Oda, on the other hand, typically has a lot of troubles fighting the Rebels.

Spring 1552.
Bingo is lost to the Rebels. Peasants revolt in Harima... Errr...
Awa is conquered without a fight.
The Tea house in Bizen is completed.

Build orders and trainings :
Mori starts building border watch towers in Bizen. As soon as the south will be secured, expansion from there will restart.
3 shinobis are ordered in Bizen.
--> 800/1174 kokus.

Troop movements :
The SA and YA stationned in Harima retreat to Bizen. No point in fighting there.
2YA from Bizen go garrison Sanuki.
2 YA from Sanuki go garrison Awa.
The Daymio's army invades Tosa.



In the east, Imagawa owns Totomi, Mikawa and Suruga ; Hojo has Sagami and Musashi ; Uesugi holds Echigo and Kozuke. Omi is a rebel province and our emissary is sent there.

Summer 1552.



The Rebels in Tosa (60) retreat in the castle. Mori pillages 325 kokus. The province has a swordsmith and a spear dojo.
Rebels from Iyo (121) invade Sanuki (120). They are a 1 star general YA, a SA unit and a lone YA. A combined charge of Mori king runners decimates their leading unit, following soon in the retreat of their whole army. Losses : 26. Unlocked the Legendary swordsman event, not that Mori needs it...
Harima is lost to the Rebels.

Troop movements :
In the east, Oda doesn't seem to own a lot. The emissary is sent to Owari.
The shinobi from Bizen goes to Sanuki. The first 4 shinobis will contribute to the island's loyalty. Hopefully, taxes will be raised soon.
Securing Tosa and Iyo now would be a good move. The army in Iyo is depleted thanks to the successful defense of Sanuki.
Hence, Lord Mori, 30 YS and 60 YA assault Tosa's castle.
The 4 stars Horse archer leads the Naginata cavalry and 30 YA from Sanuki against Iyo.
A YA from Aki reinforces Bizen while a YA from Bizen goes garrison Sanuki.

Autumn 1552.
The battles for Tosa and Iyo were pretty easy.
On the other hand, Bizen was invaded by 1SA, 2YS and a YA unit coming from Bitchu and Harima. Fortunately the rebels didn't send their whole troops. The defense was successful, our YA unit taking most of our losses (around 50, including 30 or so YA) :



In the east, our emissary found Lord Oda. He has a massive army of around one thousand men but holds only one province.
In the west, Lord Shimazu conducts a siege against Bungo's castle. Mori made it just in time to secure Shikoku.
Other news : the mine complex in Aki and the farm in Sanuki were completed. Income is coming ! As well we finished the border watch towers in Bizen. After a successful defense, the neighbouring armies aren't really impressive.
With shinobis incoming, the tax level is raised to normal.

Build orders and trainings :
With 699 unused kokus, there is some margin to start new buildings :
A mine is started in Iyo and a YA is ordered in Tosa.
--> 800/899 kokus.

Troops movements :
Shinobis : Bizen --> Sanuki --> Iyo (lowest loyalty).
The emissary in Owari approachees Lord Oda for an alliance.
Lord Mori falls back to Awa and the 4 stars general to Sanuki. The latter should go back to Aki for retraining. YA units take their place in the west.

Winter 1552.
That was a calm season.
Lord Oda accepted our alliance proposal. No invasion occured.
New treasury : 2198 kokus.
Lowest loyalty province : Awa (90%).
Takeda has made peace with Imagawa, which means no there is no war anymore amongst the major clans. Shall Mori seek a new alliance ? With who ? Is it safe to ally Shimazu and/or leave him in peace ?



Rich land is secured (total income 2900 ; total expenses 660), so it is probably the right time to start farming heavily.
Where to expand next ? Harima or Kawachi (via Awaji, of course) ? What about Bitchu ? I would like Mori to control central Japan as soon as possible.

See you in 1553.
TWD.

[ReluctantSamurai]

The biggest strategical decision, as I see it, is whether to leave Shimazu uncontested on your southern flank, or strike for richer lands further north. My own personal preference is to avoid two-front wars, but ironically, my favorite faction to play (Oda) is always involved in them

With a 1550 starting date, and Shimazu's tendency to be the first AI faction to accept Christianity, you will likely be facing the arquebus at some point, which in itself isn't a big deal, but if you are still employing lots of YA, they could present a morale problem.

At the least, I'd send scads of shinobi into Shimazu lands to create rebellions, and a ninja to deal with the higher honor generals that result....something to keep him busy, for the moment. An alliance with Shimazu is sure to lead to war, as you will have common borders in two places, eventually.........

So when do the first sohei appear?

[TWD]

Thank you for your input, Reluctant Samurai :)

Oda is also the faction I'm the most used to, even though that's in the easy SJ campaign. Hence the heavy number of YA I train, I guess.
Sohei... They cost 375 kokus and the temple is especially expensive, so I need more income to afford them. I can see a temple started in 1553-4 and warrior monks in the field from 1555... No sooner, I'm affraid.
Right now, a few SA units are what I feel I need the most.

@Shimazu :
Lucid points :) Sending shinobis in his peninsula to delay him sounds like the best solution. I'm not keen on using my still light military to fight him when Harima/Kawachi/Yamashiro/Kii/Ise are uncontested.
I'm not used to gunpowder fights... How to best deal with teppos ? Regular (flanking) charges ?

[Gregoshi]

Very nice write ups TWD. I look forward to more.

[TWD]

Thank you, Gregoshi,

Regarding the year 1553, I'll attempt the conquest of Bitchu (4men, honour -1 general), Harima (3 units) & Kawachi (3 units as well, I guess. At least there are 3 at the beginning of the campaign) a bit later in the day.
3rd and probably last alliance should be with Imagawa.

I noticed I have 2 SA units in Aki, so one could move. There's also the castle of Suo I left unchecked for several seasons, now. I hope I can gain some kokus if I send an invasion force, there.
The budget is still quite tight and income remains my primary concern for now (a mine in Harima and farms in Tosa, Sanuki, Kawachi & Bitchu already amounts to a 1600 kokus investment...). Fortunately, I'll have some ashigaru reinforcements from Shikoku now that the island is secured, so maybe I don't need to train a load of units this year.

@Sohei again : I guess I need a net income of 3000-4000 kokus to afford the buddhist temple. If the above objectives are met, then starting it in 1554 and recruiting a few WM in 1555 should be tight but doable.

[ReluctantSamurai]

The budget is still quite tight and income remains my primary concern for now

Always the early problem with Mori

A suggestion, if I might, about farm & mine upgrades......

I once did a mathematical analysis of the return rate on upgrades, but for the life of me, I can't find it Basically, if a province yields 200 koku or less, it takes 20 years or more just to return your original investment. Hardly worth it. Farms in the 250-350 koku range are worth a single upgrade; 350-450 a second upgrade, and anything above that is worth the maximum. If you have excess koku, as is usually the case much later in a campaign, you can go back and apply more upgrades as you see fit.

A similar situation applies to mines. Copper mines are hardly worth the mine-complex, silver mines when you have koku to spare, and gold mines always.

I tend to build a lot of ports. I guess that's a by-product of playing lots of Oda campaign's where I want multiple training centers for teppo Since your main training center is in Aki, at the moment, I might consider a port in Iyo (to be able to transfer troops there quickly in case Shimazu gets aggressive) and one in Kawachi (when you get there, of course). This would connect your seat of power in Aki with both ends of your empire. The 200 koku income per port will return your original 750 investment+50 in 4 years, which is excellent. But that's just me......

Personally, I'd leave Suo to the rebels, for the moment. The province is dirt poor, and if you don't plan on keeping it, you will likely just create a much larger rebel force when you leave. And at expert setting, the AI will more than likely nestle into that big, commanding, wooded hill in the center of the map that can't be flanked, making for you an uphill battle all the way. Not so great with YA...........Suo and Nagato can be a short-term buffer against Shimazu, as well.

Heading north to Kawachi, and securing Harima would be my primary, short-term goals.

As to dealing with teppo, you probably won't be facing muskets anytime soon, even if Shimazu accepts the Portuguese offer. Arquebus are much shorter range and can be dealt with by using SA. Cavalry will chew them up pretty quick, as well. Against a human player, cavalry is a bit dicey because they will likely be covered by spears, but the AI, even at Expert setting doesn't handle them well and will often leave them exposed.

Anyway, looking promising, so far......