Looking for a key to unlock your game as Oda at Expert level? Try this....
First, set production to build archers and a yari. As you have more koku than you need for now, get quality troops, not ashi.
On turn one you can bring to bear 420+ troops on Ise while still leaving nothing without a garrison except for Kii. It's ok to leave it so because we are also attacking with the one unit that was there.
You should have the Daimyo, 3 ashi and 4 samaurai archers to attack with, if you've juggled things right. Mino sends a unit to Owari to cover there and other provinces split their force to assure a garrison everywhere.
So, how's this gonna kill the monks and archers that are in Ise? First, the AI force is all honor 0. Then, the AI is a bit too clever and splits his force allowing you to confront two monks on the hill far to the front. He places a monk in the woods on the right to catch you off-guard. The two monks on the hill will come down when you get close to arrow range. His archers are off at a distance and not a threat, yet.
Now you shoot hell out of monks, archers on hold, and maneuver either an ashi and the Daimyo or two ashi to take their flanks. The monks are going for your archers. They may or may not actually reach your archers but the losses from archery and flanking units, plus a charge from the Ashi behind your archers can be expected to break the monks morale. Assign an Ashi to each to pursue them from the field.
By now his archers are headed at you from your right flank. Face them and begin an archery duel. His last monk unit will come tumbling from the woods,too. Keep up the archery duel, prepare to receive his last monk unit with your ashi and Daimyo flanking again. When your other two ashi have COMPLETELY chased the retreating monks from the field, recall them as they will likely be needed to break the archers. Before you run out of arrows, reserve one unit's arrows to sting the monks into attacking. The last monk, when you break him, will affect the archers morale as they'll be close. (The first two monks were too far away to have much morale effect). A general assault on any units not yet routed should wrap it up. Pursue! Use your Daimyo to kill off the Taisho and they won't rally. You should lose around 100 troops, the foe usually half of his.
Ise will now be under seige. The castle is large and may take 5 seasons to fall. DO NOT
attempt a storm. Save your troops (probly couldn't take it anyway...) for the next province to be taken... Yamashiro.
Set taxes to punitive for the first harvest. An average harvest will net over 3K. Build yari and archers, a port and a castle (I like it in Kii). Set taxes back to normal after the first harvest. (It was a WAR tax, see? hehe)
While you're holding seige there is little threat cuz the other clans are also weak so your small garrisons are safe for now. I like to keep two units in Owari just to keep Imagawa honest. He's looking at Shinano so if I don't tempt him, he'll go there. Mori is still eyeing Tajima. Uesugi has four provinces to garrison so he's too busy, too.
After each season the beseiged will have lost troops so shift a unit from your seigeing force in a chain to Kawachi. it's too valuable to tempt Mori there and Mori seems VERY sensitive about Harima and will try to keep in balance there, thus tying up his forces.
When the castle falls, after 4-5 seasons, leave one unit to garrison and take the rest to the Yamashiro border. Using the same methods as before take as many troops as you can and attack immediately in Yamashiro. Try to bring at least one Yari, six archers and 3-4 ashi, and the Daimyo. Depending on how long it took for Ise to fall, the Yamashiro force can be as high as 540 troops. Don't despair, tho!
You'll find the AI is being clever again and has split his forces. Advance to the hill
in the center and place your six archers in two lines on the face of the hill with your foot behind them on the hill. The left flank will be taking the most pressure, btw. Advance your Daimyo to taunt the few units to the front and a monk will come running to attack. Archers will probly rout him by themselves. Before long more monks will come from the left flank. Use archery, frontal and flank attacks to take them out. It's easier than it seems cuz they don't come united. They can be defeated in detail. It's important to use the archers as the holding force, counter-attack with troops from behind them and the flank. As before, almost all of the AI force is honor 0 and once you get one running the rest get shaken badly. Having elevation and using archery and flanking units makes Yamashiro yours before the 3rd year is over.
Why, you may ask, should you risk this strategy? Well, left alone these forces will grow and they can receive a Taisho with rank enough to make it a lot worse. The longer you wait, the more you'll need and lose in taking them later. By attacking early you remove immense threats, freeing up all the garrison units normally used to surround Ise and Yamashiro, increase your koku by about 800 and it all happens BEFORE your rival clans can create large threats on your borders. Best of all, you will capture a castle in Yamashiro and Ise and ANY unit created in Yamashiro comes with honor 1! With a six year investment (already begun) you can be turning out honor 1 monks in Kii, AND honor 1 ashi in Owari, AND honor 1 archers or yari in Yamashiro in just 4 more seasons.
I want to point out, again, that this strategy may well be useful only to pros who feel some assurance in taking on monks with only ashi and archers.
Your thoughts are invited.
(PS: I've posted an Addendum, farther down. It expands a bit on variation in AI defense)
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Wind fells blossoms, rain
fells steel,yet bamboo bends and drinks
[This message has been edited by ShaiHulud (edited 04-13-2001).]
[This message has been edited by ShaiHulud (edited 04-13-2001).]
[This message has been edited by ShaiHulud (edited 04-13-2001).]
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