Takamoto: "Let's attack!"
Motonari: "Oh wait, I forgot something important. We have to sign trade agreements before we expand."
Takamoto: "Before or after we expand, does that make a difference?"
Motonari: "A small difference. Trade partners are naturally jealous. They don't like us to make more money than them out of it. So the smaller and less resourceful we are, the better the deal."
Takamoto: "I see..."
Motonari: "But when we grow extremely powerful later, the fact that we have the resources they want may give us a better deal.



Takamoto: "Kikkawa is willing to pay us to trade!"
Motonari: "We need a lot of money at the beginning to boost our army. Let's sell military access to them, starting with 5 seasons."
Takamoto: "Wouldn't that be risky?
Motonari: "The Daimyos magazine gives Kikkawa a Weak military power ranking. As long as we stay ahead of them, they should not get the wrong ideas. Besides, now they have their miliary access to us, if they attack, they are going to be looked down by all other clans. The military access actually functions like an implicit peace pact. Besides, when they buy our military access, they will have no money left to hire more army! So they will stay weak and fall behind us."
Takamoto: "I see!"