Cherry Blossoms in the Wind: An Isshiki AAR

“On a withered branch;
Peace flows through the laughing winds,
Leaves nestle in earth.”
– Isshiki Yoshinao, 1467​

As the old daimyo of Ise and Shima drank cha and watched the dawning from his castle donjon, he heard footsteps coming up from the back stairwell. Ah well, he sighed inwardly to himself, another day in the life of daimyo begins.

The footsteps stopped, and the master of the guard, Kasigi Sudara, bowed steeply. Isshiki returned a shallow bow and ordered Sudara to report.

“My Lord, war has broken out in Kyoto! The Hosokawa and the Yamana have begun fighting in and around the city, while they mobilized their allies and vassals for a greater war. Meanwhile in the Kanto the Uesugi clan have ordered an assault on the Koga-Ashikaga.” Sudara said this without taking a breath.

“Hmmm.” Yoshi – as he was called by those who he allowed it, Sudara among them – stroked his beard slowly. “The Hosokawa will most likely be eliminated in this conflict, they fight too many with not enough allies. What are the reports on the allegiances of the periphery clans?” Yoshi took a long drag of the warm of cha, his senses being enhanced by the drink as well as the beautiful sunrise – red, a bad omen – he began to scheme.

“Clans Rokkaku, Ouchi and Toki are all firmly in the Yamana camp” Sudara looked down at his reports; “While clans Kyogoku, Togashi and Akamatsu are standing firm behind Hosokawa and the Shōgun’s brother”.

Yoshi asked; “And what of the divided factions?”

Sudara instantly answered: “Shiba, Hatakayama, Takeda have all split in two, the rightful leaders of these clans unanimously siding with Yamana, while the upstarts are most likely using this war as an excuse to strike out on their own.”

Yoshi concluded the meeting by rising and bowing deeper than he had before, to which Sudara responded by almost touching the rice mat on the floor with his nose.
“Would you care for some cha, and perhaps watch this beautiful dawning with me?” asked Yoshi.

Sudara responded with the usual ritual, saying he was not worthy, and Yoshi insisting, with this going on for a minute or so before Sudara acquiesced, ending the dance.

“The Hatakayama are to be our first targets” Yoshi said, his eyes looking very hard at the red clouds, “and from there, whatever smoldering remnants of the clan that controls Kyoto.”

Sudara simply nodded.

After half an hour had passed the tea had cooled, and Yoshi dismissed Sudara, telling him to send for the Master of Arms. Sudara bowed and left the room, the sounds of his footsteps slowly fading away. As he rose from the dais upon which he sat, Yoshi thought to himself:

Blxz said:

It begins. Good luck!

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Thanks, I'll need it, this being my first AAR!

Sorry about some of the small pictures, misguided google searcher who clicked on this link, but Photobucket is throwing all sorts of hissy fits. *Sigh*


I am Isshiki Yoshinao, as you can see from the scroll under my portrait. I enjoy candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach. And of course by that I mean i only have one wife and need a few more, to give my son some company!


So as you can tell by reading this, I am currently filling out my trial period on SamuraiHarmony, a picture and text service operated by thousands upon thousands of men on horses. They give everyone in Japan (at least all the worthy Samurai) detailed information on everyone else in Japan. This costly program currently uses up 40% of the available workforce, and has put the Imperial Court into a long recession. There are also clandestine uses of this network, known as Plotters & Poor, who give up to the minute information on who wants to join your plot to take down the Date Clan (such as Ouchi and until very recently Kono). Then there is the none love (or should I say, find a young wife with one of three regulated attributes that are acquired through daily questionnaires), non-plot usage of the network as well. But who really cares about that?


This is my court. Their names have been changed to a veritable thumb tack (the narrator never really was good with the whole "metaphor" thing) of names from a popular book 500 years or so from now. (Guess What it is!). In addition to this, the eyes of the courtiers have been blacked out with censor bars. This is to delay the progress of the ninja clans in their assassination attempts (I should do this for myself, but I suppose it's too late now). Well, more importantly it is to ensure the Japan-arrazi are not able to harass my courtiers, and they can't do that if they don't know their names or what they look like now can they?

Now, these are my targets. Red is my overall goal, if you can’t tell that is to take over Kyoto, as my more serious previous narrator already said. The blue are a whole bunch of clans that need to be taken over to ensure their safety. I mean look at them, one to two kuni, none of them are even daimyo. Of course there are a few clan leaders (i.e. all of them) who may not look kindly on my taking them over, but hey, it’s for their own good and they’ll eventually come around to it. Or bring about my clan’s downfall. I give it a 50/50 shot either way.

What’s this? An accepted marriage offer? Thank you Samurai Harmony! Thank you! Man, I really am going to learn to loath that father-in-law, but hey, at least I don’t have my own mother as a mother-in-law. That would lead me to commit seppuku, well maybe if I was really Bushi inclined it would but I don’t know about rig-

Touché karma, touché.


WHAT? He dare refuse me! I will let the only option available on this message box express my emotions for me! (For those reading that have poor vision or do not speak English, you probably cannot read this typing if you can’t read those giant letters, but it says KILL! KILL! In BIG RED LETTERS). I don’t see how my many years of gameplay covered up to now could go any worse. Seriously.

I should probably take that back riiiiiight now…
Nah.


Oh bollocks. I suppose I should have taken those safety precautions with the ninja and whatnot, but I suppose there’s no point crying over spilt milk!

It would not be proper if that boy was speaking, now would it. That is why I, the Emperor of Japan, have taken over the body and mind of one his courtiers with my powers, and so am able to know the exact details of his plans and whatnot. Now on with the story. Yoshiharu was not named very creatively by his father, but nevertheless his name shall be Yoshih from here on out. A boy of 10, he is already a very capable, well, boy. Yes, he is a very special little boy!


As you can see here he has alre--
It would seem that the young daimyo has managed to gain access to the image-scroll archive as well as a crayon. This does not bode well for the guards...
As I was about to say, he is already a very greedy boy: all of his toys are never shared. Ever. I asked him if I could play with some of his small equine figurines, but he simply responded with a cold stare. And the words: My. Little. PONY!!!


The Takeda clan and the Toki clan have both offered us hostages, to which our lord (speaking from the courtier's perspective of course. I would never consider such an ungrateful, sniveling little boy the lord of the Son of Heaven!) has accepted. It would seem that he may know what he is doing, eliminating threats through diplomacy. How cute.


Now then, onto warfare. Yoshi v2 has ordered an attack on the already occupied Rokkaku clan. No one is sure of the exact motive behind the attack, although the smart money has already gone to random finger pointing at clans on a map. This does not include my money. I bet 50 koku on the motive being that he wanted the only lake in Japan all to himself. There may also be something to claim that he wants Uji very badly, but is also horrified of the Kurita/Suzuki monster fortress line. Apparently there are fortress consisting of large closets and beds with enough room under the mattress for all sorts of monsters. He is absolutely terrified of going that way to Uji. Considering this reasoning, the war has gone very succesfully, after our lord picked an easy and very vulnerable target, the Rokkaku armies were not seen even once in their own land. Needless to say, they were steamrolled in 18.56 months.


Yoshi v2 may have just watched Inglorious Basterds on Bushi V D, and then misquoted this "Hitler"'s furious outbreak as MINE MINE MINE. He really likes saying it in that way now. No one has slept in the castle since the movie ended, those screams of MEIN MEIN MEIN are very hard to ignore. Yoshi does seem to have very high ambitions for a 10 year old.


Oh my, it would seem that the Monster Fortress theory may have been correct. Yoshi: The Empire Strikes Back has arrayed the Isshiki levies and his own retinue for another surprise attack. This child is most certainly not his father.


Well now he's done it. The young daimyo has captured Kyoto ( Oh how I wish for my home!) and is now solidifying his presence in the Kori. Yoshi: Reloaded is a very good war planner. I'm not sure if he is such a good battle-leader, what with the hissy fits and the urination-in-pants and the arbitrary stops in battle to kill ants with a magnifying glass.


The clan has consolidated its position in central Japan, destroyed two medium sized clans and not lost a single kuni to hostile troops. I'm not sure if hostiles set foot on the pre-war boundries! You've got to give it to him, Yoshi: Judgement Day is an adept planner and quite possibly the next shogun. Or not (if I have anything to do with it. He most certainly hasn't become any more likeable...


He ordered the execution of an Italian mobster's horse today. And then, just to show how ruthless he is, he put the horse head into the mobster's bed. I, for one, have no idea what an "Italian" or a "mobster" is, but they sound very innocent and horse-loving. Ruthless twerp that boy is.


Great. He survived childhood. God knows what his children will be like. If the Father to Son improvement ratio is anything like the last one his wives may not be happy to giving birth to Satan. Repeatedly. On the bright side; he can send me gifts in return for honour! Huzzah! Perhaps he would be interested in our Ponzi-sche--
I mean, um, receive titles in the Imperial court from the Emperor for outstanding service plan! Yes, that's it. No money involved. The Emperor has not been surviving on a cash for honour(aka arbitrary currency that lets you declare war and be liked) system for centuries. No sir!


On a more serious note, our clan has a very high risk of being taken over by the Uesugi. That's all for now, Emperor Fusahito out.

Tamrick said:

Looks like you're off to a rough start on your first AAR, sucks that your clan leader died so early on. I'll be looking forward to seeing how you come back from it!

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Congratulations on your first post and welcome to the forums, Tamrick!
Yeah that really did suck, but I'm glad regency isn't as prohibitive as in EU3. I'm very worried about the Uesugi right now, I just hope to god they don't attack me! :unsure:

Now this is a strange sight to see. Not one, but TWO (2!) Fusazanes have been born to Yoshi MkII, which is quite odd if you ask me. I don't know why the Lord of Isshiki did this, but I have a feeling he is following in his father's footsteps with the whole Japarrazi issue. He even substituted the paintings of his young boys for the stock paintings we keep lying around the castle. The lengths he goes to in order to keep everyone away from those hounds (the Japarrazi) is astonishing.


You may be wondering what is so important about Nose. Well I'll tell you. As a young boy Yoshi and the Temple of Doom had his nose taken from him every day by his father, Yoshi and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. He publicly stated before his assembled vassals that no longer would anyone have his nose.


Yes, the Tsutsui clan is indeed at war with the So clan. And that is the only war they are involved in. Even I, the son of heaven has no idea what is going on here. Hey! What the devil is this!?
*A cloud of smoke explodes behind the Emperor*
I am of age now, and I will be narrating this AAR! screamed Yoshi: The Dark Yoshi.

Hrmph, not if I can do anything about it. You have won this time, but I'll soon be narrating this almost readerless AAR. You can count on it!

Now, where were we? I am Yoshi: Yoshi Harder and this courtier business has been going on long enough.

As the fearless leader of this clan, I will declare war on the Uesugi juggernaut in the morning. During my sleep, the battle plans will come to me like they did against the Rokkaku and the Hosokawa. Good Night!

Author's Note: Yes, he really did die that fast after coming of age. Thankfully he had a nice underage son to take the realm into his hands :mellow:.

No one mourned Yoshi: Yoshi and Robin's death, as he was considered a poor ruler after the guiding hand of his regent was removed from policy. Another plus is that now I, the Son of Heaven may now tell this tale to you once more, with another 15+ years of freedom before the next ruler tries to rob me of my rightful place.


Here you can see that the Isshiki clan has invaded the far inferior Hatakeyama clan, I, as regent ordered this so that we may solidify our southern and eastern flanks. The plan is very simple: we swarm into their lands with 3000+ men per province, while a main army consisting of my personal retinue and some strong levies roams the region, eliminating any Hatakeyama field armies.


This was the result of poor generalship, as a 2000 man strong enemy army managed to defeat over 3000 men in man to man battle. This resulted in a temporary lifting of the southern campaign's sieges. Needless to say, they were begun again and the commanding officers in that battle were ordered to commit seppuku at once.


The war with the Hatakeyama was largely uneventful, and here you can see the end of the conflict being wrapped up by our powerful armies.


Now the Isshiki clan is more powerful than ever. But there is a large problem with our current holdings. We hold two enclaves, one in the north and one that borders Shikoku. I shall make the clan bide their time and continue economic growth, but only until an opportunity presents itself, as is inevitable in this great time of warfare.


The ordering of a new swordsmith as well as a new horsebreeder signals the dawn of a new era. Our retinues will now fight better than our levies, for a mere cost of 500 gold coins that have a hole in the middle. Once completed, I plan on adding spearmakers and bowyers to my realm. After that is finished, I will order a new set of 4 Ret. Infantry and 4 Ret. Cavalry, bringing the total to 4000 hatamoto.



Here I have been invited on behalf on the young leader to join in a plot against the Uesugi clan by some insignificant clan on the east coast of Honshu. The plot strength ratio is way too low for this to be feasible, not to mention I can't invite people into the plot on my own. I immediately leave the plot on behalf of our young lord. But we still somewhere to expand to. Clans in Japan are like sharks: they keep moving or they die.


After a lot of hard work, the plan for our next push is drawn up. Kono is to be attacked in three waves. The first two will cut off the mainland possessions from Shikoku, while the third force will drive ahead and cut off the small island from Shikoku, forcing Kono to either assault us amphibiously or lose their Honshu kori. This plan revolves around our local numerical superiority, which will be ensured thanks to Kono fighting another war with Ouchi. Let the games begin!


As you can see, Kono has been outmaneuvered diplomatically. Due to a tragic fire, a painting of Shimazu clan joining in the war against the tyrannical Kono has been lost to time (missed that screenie ). The initial fights were won with ease and we settled down for some long sieges.
It was only later that i noticed this:

With our blatant numerical superiority we pushed hard against the Kono, but we were beaten to most of their provinces by the Shimazu and the Ouchi. We have two strongholds on Shikoku, but they are surrounded by the Ouchi clan.


Oh Great. Another one came of age. I'll try to delay the inevitable for as long as possible. Then I'll what happened to the last one will hopefully happened to this one. At least he is honest. Seems like a good enough guy to me.


Author's Note:
The victory seems hollow. Strangely enough we will have to fight the Kyushu clans for control Shikoku. After that is finished we will fight the Kyushu clans for control of Kyushu

Here is a map of Japan after we have settled down. I am still fearful of Uesugi, but Yamana also poses a large threat, they have that huge bulge in the middle of my territory :sad:. I now ask you, the reader(s) what I should do first.

• Take down Ouchi
• Destroy Shimazu
• Annihilate Toki
• Sneak attack Uesugi (Plots!)
• Steamroll Yamana

Until we meet again, dear quite possibly non-existent readers!

Ezzezze said:

I think the ideal would be to start a plot against either Uesugi or Yamana and only start a war against one of the others if they also get involved in a war. The best wars are the ones where someone attracts all the levies and afterwards you declare war and take alot of provinces before the victim manages to send armies against you.

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You know the path to my heart . And all of my scumbag rulers' hearts too

Ezzezze said:

If you really want to make a war I wouldn't do it unless you exchange hostages with Yamana. They have many paths to attack you. If the Uesugi DoW you, they may outflank you via Toki but will tend to react to a defending army near their borders where you could hold them off for a bit.

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The problem with a Uesugi/Yamana plot is that there are 0 potential plotters, Shimazu, Ouchi and Toki all hate me. If only Nagao was still around, then Uesugi would be possible

Ezzezze said:

Backstabbing is fun. I think that when Amazon gets around to ship me the game the only clans who will get a hostage from me will be the ones I'm affraid of



Then, the best course of action is making new friends by killing their leaders ( :ninja: ) and then making friends with their heirs. Or maybe building up while expecting that some of those leaders die of more natural causes (although a shuriken killing someone is perfectly natural :ninja: ).

In the meanwhile look for oportunistic wars and try to befriend uesugi or yamana vassals. They have no rebellious ones?

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I'm not really a fan of the :ninja:, I never get them hired I even have a theatre in the province
Yeah, I'm looking for bad vassals, but all of their vassals love their overlands. Its very disconcerting

Camoes said:

Try to improve relations with Toki with gifts or something. Attacking Uesugi would be the most interesting option.

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Indeed, Uesugi would be very interesting, but i think you'll like the variation I put on this plan on the next update.

By the way, no update tonight, but I WILL make it up to you guys with a double tomorrow and maybe even a triple supreme on sunday! Who knows?

So two of my vassals have decided to start separate plots against me. How foolish can you really get? They didn’t even have the intelligence to combine their stupid plots, let alone be strong enough to ever have a chance of actually succeeding. These plotters are the least of our problems.
Our great leader is now a patient man. He is becoming the exact of opposite of his brother, (also Fusazane strangely enough) who is a wroth and ruthless man. This is all beginning to look good for the fate of the Isshiki clan.
Another swordsmith is ordered for Kyoto (Uji). The swordsmiths are able to supply enough high quality weaponry for 1000 of our mounted retinue. Our cavalry retinue now has +.5 shock already, but in building another smithy we can add another 1000 cavalry to our personal force without diminishing this bonus. The same math applies to all four weapon manufacturers: 1 guild = +.5 shock/fire for whatever their unit type specialty may be(spears and bows/swords and horses). When going over the 1000 man cap per guild, the bonus is reduced according to 2.00/X, X being the number of regiments of that unit you have. Regiments are 250 men. Now the whole world will fear our mounted samurai.
Karma be praised, a boy! Fusazane has managed to produce an heir already, and hopefully this one will be an adult before the great leader of our clan dies. Already he is a humble man, however good that may be for diplomacy and honour, only time will tell if he will be able to lead our clan to greatness.
Our rivals to the north, the Toki clan, are weak. We have decided that the time is now to solidify our rear should the Yamana attack. The Toki clan controls 8% of Japan, while we control around 13%. An easy war, or it should be, to say the least. The personal army of Isshiki Fusazane will lead the charge (burgundy arrows) with the aid of levies drawn from our northern vassals. 10000 men per province should be enough to secure the borders and ensure that the war is carried on into their territory, and not ours. The light blue arrows represent the armies of our vassals (their retinues are independent of my command and so go off in large groups into enemy lands) who will charge deep into Toki, disorganizing and their clan and most likely taking most of the spoils for themselves.
The war progresses smoothly, as we secured the border provinces and burn down the heretical shinto monasteries (so as not to lose a dedication bonus with the Buddhists). Our vassals have penetrated the Toki front lines and their roaming retinues cut down any attempts of Toki mobilization. The war is truly a good one, and the Isshiki will soon have control of Central Honshu; bringing with it the ability to strike with impunity at the other four great clans (Yamana, Uesugi, Shimazu and Ouchi).
But what's this I hear from my agents in the east? See for yourselves:

The Uesugi have split in two! Amazing. Our greatest threat has been neutralized, at least for the time being. This will leave us plenty of time to turn our attention East, and more importantly, South. The Yokomi Uesugi are more powerful than their former overlords, as shown here (plot power is a relation of your strength versus the enemies; so the higher the value the weaker they are).
The Shoguns have risen again? This is very bad news for us. They ave a legitimate claim on the shogunate and must be eliminated at all costs. Fortunately for us, they are far from a great power and even if they were a strong force, no one would recognize the legitimacy of the Shogunate after the Onin war.
Yes! We've done it! With our territorial gains from the Toki War we have become the strongest clan in all of Japan, and we still haven't finished off the Toki yet. However, this now means that we cannot engage in plots against our enemies as they any plotters will not be willing to help us further our lead.
Our troops have almost now defeated the Toki clan entirely, and it is only a matter of time before we are ready to launch another campaign.
The Uesugi civil war is almost over. Once it ends we will have to deal with a reunified enemy to the east, but they have lost much of their former power to fringe vassals and encroaching enemy clans such as the Toki and Asakura, as well as the Ashikaga.
You may not be able to tell from the painting, but the Yamana and Ouchi have launched an assault on the Shimazu Clan, resulting in their imminent defeat. We still have some time before the Uesugi levies and coffers replenish, so we have to attack either the Ouchi clan or the Yamana clan to secure our eastern and southern flanks. We choose the Ouchi, as they are the easier target and will allow us to encircle Yamana once defeated.
Our plan is much like the Kono plan: Secure the crossing points so that Shikoku is isolated and take their possesions on Honshu. This will isolate their three realms (Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu), giving us supremacy in each theater.
And So it Begins

The war is going very well. As our troops secured the crossings into Shikoku, they simultaneously seized the Easternmost possessions of Ouchi on Honshu.
The Ikko-Ikki? In my realm! We must eliminate this rabble before their poison spreads through my clan. Fortunately for us, we have quite the forces at our disposal:
And so the Ikko-Ikki threat is destroyed. For now. We mustered an incredible 18000 men against their 10000 fanatics, but their zeal for freedom caused us to take 1:1 casualties despite our vast numerical superiority. This does not bode well for the future...

Yes. More Ikko-Ikki rebels have risen up, this time in Suruga. This province is an isolated enclave inside of Uesugi territory, so we will not devote our time and manpower to defeating this threat. The rebels seize control of the rather swiftly, and now the whole Kori is going to be attacked by these savages:

The unthinkable has happened. Perhaps the three uprisings are connected, perhaps not, but clan Isshiki will have to deal with another huge revolt in our heartland. See for yourselves
The battle ended in a crushing defeat, our forces lost 15000 men, while the Ikko-Ikki barely lost 2000. An embarrassing defeat, without a doubt. However, the Isshiki armies soon redeem themselves:
Yes, we really did muster 23000 men to fight these rebels. The Ikko-Ikki are a plague that needs to be stamped out in order for our clan and Japan to prosper as a whole. Even though we triumphed today and the times before, the Isshiki clan will never be safe from these peasant filth. But enough foreshadowing and melodrama, the most important event of Fusazane's life, as well as the lives of everyone in Japan occured very unexpectedly:
The 2nd and 3rd greatest clans are now fighting eachother, and in order for them to join battle they must cross Isshiki lands. This means that we can choose our target, be it the Uesugi or the Yamana and destroy their field armies with impunity. However, Fusazane is still deliberating on who he wants to attack: On the one hand, the Yamana almost completely encircle the Isshiki clan, while on the other, Uesugi's defeat will open up Northern Japan, the Kanto and the last Ashikaga holdings. It is a difficult choice indeed.
The early fighting between Uesugi and Yamana has given Yamana the upper hand, despite fighting inside of clan Uesugi. Still, Yamana levies flood across Isshiki lands to fight their enemies, while the Uesugi can barely hold them at bay in the former lands of clan Shiba.
With peasant uprisings and the clash of titans it had been easy to forget the fight against clan Ouchi, but now Isshiki forces have been able to convince Chikamori that peace through subjugation would be the best option for his clan and himself. What is left of Ouchi joins the mighty Isshiki armies, as they ready for a decisive intervention in the great war that rages in Central Honshu.

Author's Note:
You may not be able to tel it from the picture, but Yamana clan is starting to stomp on Uesugi, so I have to decided which course of action I take: Attack the weaker clan and engage in a race to divy up the spoils or attack the stronger clan and risk losing everything, or winning it all. The choice is up to you dear readers, and the update will come later this evening. Inaction is most certainly not an option.

It was a long night for Isshiki Fusazane. He was still arguing in his mind over who to attack. If he secured the Yamana clan's lands for himself, the title of Shogun would almost certainly be his. On the flip side of that decision was the chance that Yamana would make peace with the Uesugi and destroy him with their already assembled armies, while his were in disarray from the mobilization calls. The safe decision would be an attack on the Uesugi clan, but that decision also had its consequences. The Yamana would have an opportunity to grow exorbitantly strong, seizing the Uesugi lands before Isshiki troops could take them, perhaps even giving them an advantage over Isshiki in terms and manpower and land. Close to dawn, Isshiki Fusazan, Lord of Shikoku, Ouchi and Center-Honshu made his decision:


The choice was rationalized by his confidence in Clan Isshiki's vast military reserves, which were to be mobilized that day and sent in 10000 to 20000 man armies to strategic points along the Yamana borders, notably the Shikoku Crossings, the Kyushu/Honshu straits and the Yamana-Uesugi front line. In a matter of weeks, Fusazane hoped to eliminate the Yamana armies in the east, contain the salient in the center of Isshiki lands and hold back the rest of the Yamana troops to come from West-Honshu.

Around 50000 enemy troops are in the old Shiba lands, where they were fighting the Uesugi but now fight the Isshiki as well. They are to be eliminated by the Toki levies coming from the North as well as our personal levies and the westernmost Isshiki levies and retinues. On Shikoku the Yamana have two holdings close to Kyushu, these are both to be attacked by 10000 men from the island itself. In the center, the levies that surround it are pouring in, almost 10000 men for each Kori, while in the west a small number of large forces cordon of Honshu, making sure no reinforcements from Kyushu or the main Yamana holdings can disrupt our armies.

An unprecedented force is raised by Fusazane: 200000 men, with 50000 in reserve, are called up for war. These troops are causing the clan an immense deficit, one which has been accounted for and stockpiled for by the illustrious clan leader. 2000 bars of gold are held to be paid to the levies and our elite retinue. Such a force under one man has never been seen nor heard of in Japan, at least since the days of the Minamoto shogunate, if even then.
Yamana forces still hold the balance, but soon they will be flooded by the northern levies, and will be unable to resit being pushed back west. We must hope that our troops can secure most of Shiba before the Uesugi troops react to the changing winds, which have most definitely changed in their favour.
War rages across Japan. The Yamana forces are being given no quarter, and they in turn do not take captives and burn every village they see in their retreats or advances through our lands. But they are beginning to show signs of stress, barely 30000 men remain in the East while their western forces have not been able to penetrate the cordon, resulting in the loss of almost all of their salient's levies and retinues. Fusazane is still not accepting this as a victory, and has not let his guard down against the Yamana, Uesugi or even his own vassals, especially the Ouchi. One misstep and the work of him, his father and his grandfather will all be gone, like cherry blossoms in an autumn wind.

The Yamana pocket is closing very quickly, and their troops in the East have been all but eliminated, their new holdings receding very quickly to a Brown colour, some back to their original Yellow.
The Isshiki armies are routing Yamana troops on all fronts. In Kyushu 15000 men are under Fusazane's personal banner, while another 10000 fight for Ouchi Chikamori and his numerous vassals. Our troops have almost succeeded in isolating southern Kyushu from the rest of Yamana territory, and in doing so will effectively concede the extreme west of Yamana lands. On the isle of Shikoku the two enemy fortresses are still holding fast against our troops, while the chokepoints were vacated. Yamana troops have now lain siege to the eastern half of Shikoku, but have not progressed into Settsu on the mainland. In the far east, Yamana troops have been all but eliminated by a combined force of Isshiki levies and Uesugi retinues, extinguishing the flame of resistance in Shiba. In central Honshu the salient has been cut off and dealt with in detail, only a few pockets of resistance remain, and even they are being stamped out by swarms of our troops. The main holdings of the Yamana still remain unscathed, while we have lost a staggering 100000 of our original force, we do not know what the Yamana losses were or how many troops they still have left to throw at us. A thin isthmus of our territory is threatening to form in the middle of their lands, which would more than likely result in their surrender, having been sliced into 3 large territories with a scattering of smaller enclaves where their mighty clan used to be. Though the storm that is Sengoku Jidai still rages across Japan, it appears to be breaking, a solid beam of light appearing and giving us hope of a renewed Shogunate and our expansion out of the home islands and into the world.

There will be another update tomorrow evening, until then, adios!