My story.
Hello all,Since I saw the Mead hall is dead.I have deicided to post my story here.Please reawaken the The Mead Hall!!!!
{b}Introduction
Feudal Japan
1545.
‘’Beauty and Harmony, all governed by one eternal Law, all that begins must end, the reign of the old Shogunute is over’’.
This is Sengoku jidai, the age of the country at war. For 237 years the Ashikaga shogunate has ruled from Kyoto, bringing peace and harmony. Great power and splendour was theirs, but in 1467.The Onin War(Civil War) of 10 years led to the fall of the old Shogunate.Once the power of the Old Ashikaga Shogunate falied,the warlords of Japan could not be contained, forming clans that eventually led to Japan being divided. The Country is divided into clans fighting for the place to become Shogun
But who will be victorius?
Ten legendary leaders will fight for the battle to become Shogun.But only one will rise to become Shogun.The Takeda are a brave and proud clan, masters of the horse. The Warhorses are famed across the land for their superiority and power; thundering across the plains they are equal to the armies of Hell. Takeda Shingen has raised the Takeda to attain their former glories.And now they hold the power necessary to dominate Japan. Perhaps one day a Takeda could become Shogun?
{/b}
To become Shogun.
Our Story begins with the Takeda.
Chapter 1
Kai Province.
The Home of the Takeda Clan.
Chapter 1
Kai Province.
The Home of the Takeda Clan.
The Bird flew across the rising sunset,a deep yellow rose from the dark lanterns of the earth.It moved to the right to get a perfect angle to balance.But the wind fought against it.Each time it flew the wind blew.This went on for hours until it grow exhausted.
Takeda Shingen,damiyo and ruler of Kai province, watched as a bird flew, gliding through the air, like a ship sailing calmly in the sea. The bird froze as an arrow pierced through his heart,its body fell fast on the ground,its head twisted and body broken . It lay on the ground, two hunters hurried to where the bird lay, and they took it.Takeda smiled. In war you must observe, if not, he thought, then you would be dead, and that was the bird meant, he who is not aware, will be finished.He then swayed away and went into the throne room. His 24 generals dressed in their samurai armour appeared .He sat down on his chair cross-legged.
Takeda Shingen nodded. His most trusted General Akiyama Nobutomo bowed low and then rose.
‘’What news General?’’
General Nobutomo replied ‘’The Shinano Damyio’s have assembled a large army, Daimyo Takeda,their force to be estimated is 12000 Shinano warriors.
Takeda gave a happy smile.
Nobutomo pulled a concerned look.
’'My lord......‘’.Takeda interrupted him.
’'General,we are masters of the Horse, The Warhorses are famed across the land for their superiority and power; thundering across the plains they are equal to the armies of Hell’’.
‘’We shall defeat them; we will need 3000 men to be precise’’.
Nobutomo spluttered.
’’3000 warriors my lord,do you not think that is too small to defeat the Shinano Army?’’.
‘’General do you question me?’’
‘’No,my lord’’,Nobutomo pulled a straight face.
’’Good,we'll need archers,Yari Ashaguri,Cavarly,and Samurai’’.
Nobutomo's face grew angrier,his eyes twitching and his mouth tight.
''My Lord,I beg you to you think.....three thousand men is not enough to face a one hundred thousand strong army!You must be mad!''.
Takeda laughed.
''That is our force General.We don't have as many men,we can only raise three thousand men to be precise''.
Nobutomo blinked his eyes,His face was in surprise.
''My lord....It was....''
Takeda turned his head and stared at Nobutomo coldly
''Did you not think I would find out?Do you think I am a mere fool?Or do you think my brother was more suitable for the throne of Kai,I hear there were rumours of killing me?''.
''My Lord!That is not what I mean!I am loyal to you no matter what!I...we...did not reveal the numbers because it would....would..damage your confidence.You expected more men but we could only raise three thousand''.
Takeda bowed his head like a wise man
''Hmm..It does not matter,what we do now is march forward and crush the Shinano army at dawn,is that clear?
Nobutomo bowed and replied
‘’It shall be done my lord’’.
Nobutomo bowed again and rose, he turned his back on Takeda,The other Generals did the same and they walked out of the throne room.Takeda watched ,then thought for hours.
{b}Shinano province.{/b}
The Damyio of Shinano province Ogasawara Nagatoki watched as he saw the Takeda Army encamped.His horse Yokoshui was scared, he sensed seeing the might of the Takeda Horses, it was true that they were real masters of the horse.His Generals, Suwa and Murakami stared at the Young Shingen, dressed in his famed red samurai amour.
Suwa said ‘’This young man that threatens us shall be destroyed my lord’’.
Ogasawara stared.He nodded his head.
’’We shall see young Takeda,the strength of your might’’.
’’Murakami’’?Ogasawara ordered.’’Yes my lord?’’ replied Murakami
’’Ready the Army ,we march at noon’’.’’Of course my Lord’’.Murakami bowed and then left the 2 of them.
{b}Takeda HQ{/b}.
The Tent was alive,buzzing with noises,The rest of the army was asleep and resting,while Takeda and his Generals discussed the plan to defeat the enemy.
Takeda Shingen was seated among his Generals.Nobutomo explained his plan as everyone watched on the table,where the battle plan map was layed, as he dictated his plan to defeat the Shinano army.
‘’I will be leading the Infantry section; it will be cut into 3 columns ,The Yari Ashaguri and the Loan Yari Ashaguri shall be making the first line of defence, our Samurai will be the strength of our Infantry column as they will fill out the right and left flanks, the Naginta Samurai will be in the middle’’.
Nobutomo turned his head around to see everyone was listening. ’’The Cavalry will be hidden in the bushes ,one here.He pointed to the map’s symbol ,two bushes. ’And one there, Our Archers should be in the first lines,spread thin out and in loose formation,We shall begin the first stage’’.
‘’First.Our Archers will fire flaming arrows while we wait for the enemy to come, if you look at the centre where will they put their strongest forces’’?Nobutomo looked at Takeda.
Takeda thought for a moment, then made his reply.
’’In the right and the left flanks, General Nobutomo.Nobutomo nodded.
’’I see that my hard work has worked off you, you will one day be Japan’s true hero, I am sure of it’'.
‘’Now back to the point, If the enemy will attack us from the right flanks, we shall respond back, how?
‘’They will send their cavalry to attack our samurai,at that moment, we strike! Our Archers shall fire!’’.
‘’Now It is up to young Takeda to complete this’’.Nobutomo bowed.’’This shall be your finest moment my lord’’.Takeda said nothing as he stared at Nobutomo and his generals. Then he raised his hand and stabbed the dagger on the map of Japan.
‘’Shinano Province will be ours by torrmow,Soon all Japan will be under my rule, Our archers will fire first,.I want the Cavalry hidden in the trees. The Archers will be firing until we run out of arrows.The enemy should be damaged at that moment, they shall send their entire warrior force against us’’.
‘’The Yari and Loan Ashaguri will be charging first then the Naginta Samurai shall make a heavy impact and our main force the Katana Samurai will fight when we are losing the battle. Our Cavalry will impact when both sides are at end’s equal. The Shinano will send their horses towards us. We then strike with our hidden Cavarly,the light and heavy will do the work’’.
‘’I laugh at the stupidity of our enemies, for them this will be nothing more than a one, two, three step, first they will engage us, second they will over flank the right but not the left, then crush us by surrounding us, I say’’.
Takeda looked up, his head straight and calm, his eyes staring at the Generals among him.’ ‘They will be defeated, and by one day, The Shinano Province will be ours!’’.
Takeda Shingen rose from his chair and pulled out his Katana Sword. He then walked out of the tent.His hands firm on his Katana sword, He then stopped, and shouted.
’’ SOLDIERS!!! SOLDIERS!!!
Men brust of their tents to see what the commtion suddenly burst out.Takeda Shingen watched and then smiled, he continued .
‘’I bought you here today, to fight. But why you may ask is our army is so small? I shall tell you why, Soliders of the Takeda!I have bought the clan to its former Glory, we shall fight, like hell! Like hell I tell you!!!Our Cavalry will shake the earth as we tremble! I say, it is better to listen to orders! That way. True soldiers! That way, we will win, with courage, think of your loved ones! Think of what will happen If we lose tomorrow! Think! We shall be destroyed! But let us put those words alone, For I promise you by today and torrmow,we will reach the gates of Kyoto itself! We will crush the ones who oppose us, we will last in Glory and Victory for ever, Long live the Takeda!!!
With that he raised his Katana sword high in the Air. The Army cheered.Meanwhile Ogasawara and Suwa watched as the Young Takeda gave his orating speech.
‘’I would not underestimate this lad, this young Takeda, Suwa.Ogasawara replied with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Suwa nodded his head and said
‘’Do not worry my lord, the Takeda have bought only three thosuand men. It won’t be enough to defeat a large army, let alone the Shogun in Kyoto!’’.
Ogasawara did not reply, as he watched Takeda, then he left. Suwa followed him.
{b}The Battle
Early Dawn{/b}.
‘’Those who use an army skilfully do not raise troops twice and do not provide food 3 times’’.
-Sun Tzu ,The Art Of War
The Takeda Army was drawn up. And what a sight it exposed, thought Takeda.As he zoomed his eyes over to the front line, he could see the Bow Ashaguri stretched in a thin long line,their red armour gleaming off the sunlight as they readied their bows.
He the glanced at the Samurai, Many were waiting and some were training. The Naginta Samurai would be useful in the battle as to be proven, he then turned his head to the Yari Ashaguri training and sharpening their spears. The Cavalry were at the back, he noticed, and they would make a devoting impact.The Shinano Army had arrived, he observed seeing the large army facing him. He turned his head to Nobutomo.
’’General, prepare the Army’’.
‘’Of course, Daimyo Takeda’’.
The Takeda army formed in the formation of the Spear point. The bow ashiguri were placed at the front. The Loan and Yari Ashaguri at the middle, and the Samurai,Naginta samurai at the back, the Cavalry at all sides.The Shinano Army had thousands of Samurai and Yari Ashaguri,Bow Ashaguri and Light Cavarly.
‘’Light Cavalry, what they do think of us? ’
said one of Takeda’s Generals.Takeda nodded his head.
’’You see General, they underestimate us!’’.
Both Armies stopped.
The Takeda Bow ashaguri formed into two straight lines.They waited as the Shinanao sent their samurai forward.When they had them in clear sight,they fired,kept on firing.
Suwa watched as his samurai force were being cut down. ’’This is not meant to be!!!’’.Suwa shouted.The Shinano light Cavalry immidealty charged at the Takeda Archers. The Takeda Yari Ashaguri moved forward. The Archers retreated back. And what was very still much of the Shinano Samurai charged with the light Cavalry charging as fast as ever.
Youshi Tujo, commander of the Yari Ashaguri seeing that the fast charge of the Shinano force was going to make a heavy impact. ’’Men, form Spear wall!!’’.He ordered.The Yari Ashaguri moved quickly into the spear wall formation.The Light Cavalry charged first moving deep into the formations of the spear wall, but they were cut down easily as the sharp spears pierced their amour and many fell of their horses. By then the Shinano Samurai arrived, exhausted.
What they saw was a large force of Yari Ashaguri and a entire army facing them.
Their Commander charged so did the others. The Takeda Samurai came out of nowhere and cut the Shinano Samurai to pieces. Suwa observing all of this immidealty broke into anger. He screamed and kicked the tables.Suwa calmed down.
And in that moment he raised his sword high then plunged it down to the ground. He looked at Murakami.’’Send the army forward, we attack their flanks now .Daimyo Ogasawara send the Cavalry now!!!’’.Murakami and Ogasawara nodded and walked to their horses.Murakami raised the first hand.The Shinano Army charged. The Shinano archers fired. The Cavalry of The Shinano galloped fast.
Takeda Shingen smiled.
‘’Generals;it seems our plan is going well’’.Nobutomo nodded and Takeda’s other generals went to their posts.The Army adopted a defensive formation. The Takeda Bow Ashaguri now spread again a thin line fired.The Shinano Army was being cut to pieces.
No matter the samurai fell they still charged. Both armies met. The Takeda Infantry were charging and hacking the Shinano warriors to pieces .But more and more Shinano Samurai and Shinano Yari Ashaguri came forward, replacing their fallen comrades.
Nobutomo sheathed his sword out and with his horse charged down at the battle, 100 cavalry or so accompanied him, their swords gleaming as the horses galloped fast down the hill. The Shinano Cavalry apon seeing the advancing Takeda Cavalry rode forward to meet them.
Takeda looked at the entire battle,men were dying by the minutes,Cavalry were coming and going,some falling and the Yari Ashaguri of both sides fighting well equally.
Takeda’s other General Naitō Masatoyo touched Takeda’s shoulder.Takeda turned around.’’Yes General?’’.
’I think Nobutomo is in trouble my lord.It would be wise to get the rest of the army in the battle.We can’t keep with the Shinano army.
Takeda turned back. ’’You underestimate the enemy Masatoyo,The time is not right to intervene ,If we intervene now! And I mean now, we will lose. No General.I would rather wait,we must let the battle slip into our enemy’s hands. Only then we will strike!!’’.
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Silence is beautiful
The Caravel Mod: a (very much) improved
vanilla MTW/VI v2.1 early campaign
Originally Posted by JuJuBee
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