Originally Posted by
TogakureOjonin
In my example, Musashi was the next to last province I took before the deadline. It was there that I applied the coup de grace to El Hojo. He dos tend to skip around a lot if you let him, so the order in which I take his provinces is intended to force him from place to place, driving him like a sheep.
My strategy for this particular scenario is a bit unusual, in that I immediately abandon Hida and Shinano. I pull troops from West to East in the first turn, to Mutsu. I even pull the ashigaru in the far north down, as I need it to maintain loyalty in recently conquered provinces and still be able to keept the pressure on. There is little risk of aggression from the Rebels during the first 5 years, and they prevent clans from taking the Sado way into the back of the Uesugi empire.
I produce a Yari Samurai in Mutsu on the first turn to balance my little army (resulting in 2 archers, 2 yari sams an ashigaru, and my daimyo available for attack on Turn Two, having pulled the troops from Echigo to Mutsu, from Shinano to Echigo, and from Hida to Shinano, etc.). My first objective is Shimosa, to destroy the Hojo's ability to produce troops (for a few turns anyway--a few vital turns). On Turn Two I attack Hitachi, which Hojo usually abandons without a fight. Mr. Black Teeth (Imagawa) attacks Shinano, so I withdraw to Echigo without a fight. On Turn Three I drop taxes to minimum, leave the ashigaru in Hitachi as garrison, and attack the Hojo capital of Shimosa.
After taking Shimosa I usually wait a turn or two to allow for province loyalty to rise, and for my new troop and agent producing provinces to come online. I will sometimes feint attacks on Hojo to keep him on his toes and prevent him from getting any aggressive ideas of his own. He's busy building a new place to train troops at this point, and doesn't usually have enough troops to launch an effective attack from where he is (Shimotsuke or Kozuke). Once my Spear Dojo in Echigo is ready, I start cranking out a Ysam there and an Archer in Mutsu every turn if possible (and a spy from my Tea House in Dewa each turn, also). If I am lucky, I have inherited a dojo in Shimosa. If not, I rebuild there as well.
I take Kazusa after Shimosa, to assure that I do not get stabbed in the back as I press North. It is important to have ashigaru garrison troops and spies ready, as Kazusa tends to be more rebellious than the other provinces. I then take Shimotsuke, and then Kozuke, feinting against Musashi with my troops in Shimosa if necessary, to prevent Hojo from reinforcing Kozuke or Shimotsuke when I attack. Once this is accomplished I have three armies pointed at Musashi--from Shimosa, Shimotsuke and Kozuke, and at least 120 troops being trained each season. A decent garrison is required in Kozuke to prevent the forces occupying Shinano (usually Imagawa) from invading. If things go well, they have already spread themselves out by attacking the rebels in Etchu, and only a modest garrison is required. A small garrison will suffice in Echigo, as the river provides excellent defensive terrain.
Once Musashi is taken, my last objective in this scenario is to take back Shinano--hopefully better developed now thanks to investments made by whatever faction took it from me (usually Imagawa). My strategic flanks are nicely protected by river provinces (Musashi and Echigo) so I don't need to keep big garrisons in either (but a bit more in Musashi than in Echigo, to discourage any bright ideas ont the part of the Takeda). Taking Shinano usually splits the Imagawa Empire, and threatens Totomi , Mikawa and Suruga simultaneously--freaking them out and usually putting a stop to their fast (and often rash) expansion. If I'm lucky, they break themselves trying to take back Shinano after I take it back from them.
After the final objective in this scenario is accomplished, I send troops up to Sado, sealing up my only strategic weakness. I will often hit and run Totomi to destroy the port and Imagawa's primary troop training facilities. Then I turn my attention on the Takeda, doing what I can to drive them from central Japan before the maturation of Takeda Shingen.
I use spies, not watch towers, to increase loyalty in provinces (they are portable, enabling me to move them where they are needed, have the same effect as a Border Fort, and cost 100 koku). I only build a watchtower early on if I need to see into enemy provinces (Mutsu is a good place in the first turn as it allows me to see into Hitachi, Shimotsuke and Kozuke). I keep taxes at minimum except during the Fall season, when I will raise them as high as I can without running the risk of rebellion. I focus on troop and spy production capability, and avoid improving farmlands--relying on newly conquered lands to yield the koku needed. I use balanced Archer/Ysam armies, and use ashis as garrision when ever possible (but I do use archers and ysams if I must; I try never to have more that 25% of my frontline armies be ashigaru).
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