The Rise of the Japanese Empire

[unmerged(9422)]

This is my After Action Report of my current game as Nippon. It is the first one that I have ever written, so it may not be the best...


I started the game about a week ago, and am still in the first half of 1400's. Here is an overview of what I have accomplished so far...

First, I built up my army and navy and sent merchants to Shanghai and Kansai. When year was over I had a diplomat and and colonist. I sent the colonist to Taiwan (and he failed..) and sent navy with 50,000 men to Korea national waters . I then declared war on Korea and crushed their armies and quickly took Kyongju and Yalu. I demanded a tribute of Kyongju and all of their money . I had more colonists and diplomats now (It was about 1421) so I sent more colonists to Taiwan, and once more they failed me. During my war with Korea, the Chinese had to pay tribute to Manchu because they had lost many battles in a war that they were having. Now, Korea and Manchu made a military alliance. Both had small weak armies, so I just declared war on Korea again. Yes, it is dishonorable, but so tempting...

I defeated the Koreans in Yalu and then captured the province. Now, I held off Manchu armies crossing the Yalu. I annexed Korea and then, when Manchu armies were weakened, I invaded them. In the war, which lasted many many years in cold lands of the Manchu I finally captured most of Manchuria and got to keep the entire coastline. During the war, I finally colonized Taiwan. After the Manchu war ended I colonized Vanin. The Chinese colonized Bodgorodsk (north of Vanin). I had taken Jehol and Liaotung and built up my armies there (and in Korea). I now put them on my borders with China and declared war on the mighty Chinese Empire. I had about 30,000-50,000 soldiers there and invaded Liaoning and Heibei with them. The Chinese sent over 100,000 troops there to defend and somehow my men beat them. They have 100% quality from the domestic polcies and one more towards Land than Naval, so these were probably some causes. I soon captured these two provinces and then invaded Heipei, the capitol of China. I soon captured it too and got the nice Chinese maps . I then demanded Liaoning and Heibei as tribute, but the Chinese refused. So, I attacked all of the undefended provinces in Central China and soon captured much of China. The Chinese then offered me Heibei, Liaoning, and Shanghai. I accepted. I then built trading posts and colonies in Indonesia and even Somalia in Africa! I have merchants dominating Arabian market.

I improved my relations with former enemy Manchu and they are now my vassals. I am hoping to annex them... Only seven more years...

I also unsuccessfully tried to build a colony in the Phillipines, but failed. I successfully colonized and province in southern India, though. And a Portuguese trading post has been discovered, so I can see the capitol of Portugal. I now dominate the Center of Trade in Lisbon, too. I have decided to use the rich Pacific Islands as colonies and trading posts so that I can get more money, and focus my empire on the mainland of Asia. Right now, my main goals are to annex Manchu and conquer China. After that, Malaya may become my target, but that will be decided after the long China War is finished...

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed my After Action Report! I shall update it as I continue through the game.

The flag that currently flies over East Asia, Somalia, and Southern India in Europa Universalis II...

 

[Norgesvenn]

I'm looking forward to your take on your home country.

I've never managed to be more than reasonably successful with Nippon.

I'm sure more people will read and respond if you somehow weave a storyline into the AAR. Just a small tip.

 

[Warspite]

Ahh your name must be Musashi, for you are a great warrior. Nice job conquering and kicking butt. It will be interesting to see how far you get with this. I love the Asian nation AARs becuase I like to see if they crumble when the europeans arrive. Can they beat off aggressive colonializm

Good luck, Ill be reading it.

 

[unmerged(6777)]

Hey! That's great! It's interesting to read an AAR about what I think of as the "Far East", that is written by someone who lives there and is probably the most knowledgable about the geography and history of the region.

I'd really love it if you have any comments about how what you do in the game compares to what happened in "real life" history (of which I know, unfortunately, extremely little). Did Japan historically invade the Manchu/Koreans/Korea on a regular basis or is that a "western misconception"? Is there any historical information about Japan from those eras that you could include to give us an idea of your country's history?

One of the reasons I love to read AARs so much is that many are written by people who are far more familiar with the real history of the country and it's nice to get a sense of the culture and background of other people.

Looking forward to reading about you next conquests.

 

[unmerged(9422)]

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone who has posted to my story so far. You have been of great help. I will add a story form and Japanese history into my After Action Report. Everyone please give questions and comments to make it even better and more enjoyable!

My first post was more of a review that shows what has happened so far. The "Prologue" . I played the game after my last post and discovered that it is in the early 1460's and that I had sent colonists to Somalia, but they failed... Now, Oman has colonized it and I found that they can see about two hundred and something provinces that I can't, and I can see about three hundred and something that they can't. I noticed same type of thing with Chagatai Khanate. I now have better diplomatic relations with these two nations. I am hoping to take their maps and hopefully try to diplomatically annex Chagatai Khanate, which will be on my borders if the wars with China continue to go well for me. I also discovered that I actually do not own Jehol, but only captured it during Manchu War. I have been trying to diplomatically annex Manchu, but no luck yet... I almost just want to declare war on them and show them who is boss... There have been many revolts in Japan (That nasty Sengoku Jidai , which means Warring States Period ) but I have handelled them well.

Here is overview of Japanese history For several hundred years during the Yamato Era, which was part of "Kofun Jidai" (Remember, "Jidai" means "Age of", "Period" or "Era" or that type of thing in Japanese. I may use this throughout my tale ). The Kofun Jidai was from about 300AD-710AD. "Kofun" is what large tombs that were built by the Yamato at this time were called. Thus, Kofun Jidai means "Age of Tombs". The Yamato Jidai is from about 400-710. It is referring to the unification of Central and Southern Japan by the Yamato Clan. It is from the Yamato Clan that the Emperor of Japan was from. The Capital of the Yamato was later known as the province of Yamato and is modern-day Nara. It became the first capitol of Japan. After the Yamato pacified much of Japan, they invaded parts of Korea and small coastal areas of Korea were controlled under the Yamato Empire. But then Korean cavalry hordes drove the Japanese out. The Yamato had very friendly relations with the Korean Kingdom of Kudara ("Paikche" to Koreans, Kudara is Japanese name) and China.

Much Chinese influence was imported to Japan at this time. During this time, the Fujiwara family gained much power by marrying it's daughters to the Emperors. It soon became a tradition for the Emperors to marry a Fujiwara daughter and the Fujiwara gained much power in the Imperial Court. Power shifted from the Emperor to the Fujiwara and the Heian Period began. The capital was moved to Kyoto. China and Korea were not so often traded with and Japanese culture flourished. This time of cultural glory and peace lasted for about 400 years. At that time, scandals in the courts began and there became unrest in Japan. Buddhist Monasteries started training Sohei (Warrior Monks) and fought among themselves and attacked cities. The Sohei of Mount Hiei, near Kyoto, often invaded Kyoto itself! Now, the Genji (also known as Minamoto) and Heike (also known as Taira) warriors were called upon. Samurai were thought of as very lowly at the time and were very poor. They started to get paid for guarding cities and fighting against monks and revolters. The warrior class soon earned much recognition. A great man named Kiyomori of the Heike clan soon rose to power and, from winning several wars against the Genji and others, became very rich and powerful. He dreamed of building a great port and opening trade and making Japan really rich off of trade with the Sung Empire (China). The Genji became crushed in their famous wars with the Heike, but regained power in the east (Actually the north, according to modern maps. But in Ancient Japan, maps had Japan sideways. So, what we call northern and northeastern Japan nowadays, was called eastern Japan by the ancients. Through this overview of Japanese history, I will use the ancient map style, so remember this ).

The Genji returned to the west for the final war against the Heike. After many years of fighting, the Heike were destroyed and Minamoto Yoritomo took the title Seii Taishogun ("Barbarian Quelling Great General"). His brother Yoshitsune had become very popular because of the bravery he expressed in the wars with the Heike. Yoritomo was jealous and ordered his brother to commit seppuku (suicide). The Genji and Hojo clans eventually married into eachother and the Hojo became the rulers of Japan.

It was during the reign of the Hojo that the Mongols rose to power and invaded Japan. In the year 1274 Kublai Khan's Mongolian Horde invaded Japan. After many fierce battles in northern Kyushu (Remember.. That would be modern Western Kyushu. Kyushu is southern most of four main islands of Japan) the Mongols were beaten off. In 1281, the Mongols invaded Nippon again. This time with a massive force of powerful Mongolian and Korean soldiers (The Mongols took over Korea and the Koreans played an important part in Mongol warfare). Fortunately, the kamikaze ("Divine Wind") destroyed the Mongol fleet. Japanese pilots in World War II who crashed their planes into enemy ships were called Kamikaze, named after these great storms that saved Japan from the Mongols.

Soon, the Ashikaga family rose to power and the Ashikaga Shogunate had begun. The Ashikaga Shogunate ruled for about 200 years from Kyoto, which was still the capital of Japan. Their reign ended shortly after the Onin War, in which the beautiful city of Kyoto was left in ruins. Now, Japan fell apart and lords of small territories (The lords were called "Daimyo", which means "Great Name" and were roughly equivalent to European Barons) kept armies of Samurai and fought eachother. This era is known as the Sengoku Jidai (Which means "Warring States Period -- I believe I mentioned this earlier ) because there were hundreds of small clans who fought eachother and expanded their territories. The fighting went on and it looked as if these bloody civil wars would never end. This is where I will stop, for this is the time that Europa Universalis takes place in. As I go through my After Action Report, I will tell some history of Nippon from that time. I just wanted to conclude that Korea was invaded twice in the medieval era... They were by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and both failed. The Japanese won nearly every battle fought. I will explain those wars and why Japan lost when the time in game gets there . Hideyoshi had ambitions to build a great Japanese Empire that would include China. He wanted to take Korea as a foothold for his invasion of China. Okay... That is all for today's "Nippon... A History" .

I hope you enjoyed!

 

[Prufrock451]

The maps are vital, but don't share them yet if you haven't filled up the East Indies. Nothing more annoying than the Omanis scrambling to put posts all over Indonesia...

And don't annex the Manchu yet- wait until they take over half of China and _then_ annex them...

 

[unmerged(4007)]

Meiji-Tenno,

Glad to see someone native to the region attempt a Nippon AAR, as so far as I know, mine is still the only EU2 one. The only thing I would suggest is breaking things up into a few more paragraphs. You did it well at the beginning but your last paragraph is difficult to read because text boxes on the forum tend to clutter when the paragraphs get overly long.

Your grasp of English prose is quite good. And your game play is very interesting. I'll be interested to see how you do as things progress and you get the infamous Onin War and Sengoku Jidai events. You were much more aggressive in the beginning than I was (I contented myself with Korea). That may be good, or it may cause some serious difficulties once the revolts kick in along with the stability drops... it'll be interesting to see. Have fun!

 

[unmerged(9422)]

The Voyage of Commodore Hondo

Okay... Thank you for your input Prufrock451 and shawng1! I editted my post there and split it into many paragraphs, so it is easier to read. I think I split them in good places, but I did it kind of fast, so it may not be the best, but I think good enough.

Yes, shawng1, I was quite aggressive early on. For the first year or two I constantly built up my army and a little on my navy and then quickly attacked Korea and Manchu and China.

Prufrock 451, thank you for your advice... I shall stay friends with Oman and work on colonialism in East Indies. At about what time does Manchu start to absorb China? ‚Ç‚à‚ ‚肪‚Æ‚¤?I(Domo Arigatoo! = Thank you!)

Now for the story. Remember that this starts with chapter one because all of what I said before was the Prologue to show you the current position that Nippon was in.


Chapter I - The Voyage of Commodore Hondo

Commodore Hondo had been commander of the Imperial Fleet for nearly 50 years. He had grown old and wise in the arts of warfare, due to the mighty wars against Korea, Manchu, China, and Brunei that he had participated in, during the days of old. It was he who commanded the fleet that carried the 50,000 Samurai to the shores of Korea, who fought fierce naval battles against the Koreans and their Manchu allies, who fought the vicious Chinese Pirates in the Amakusa Sea, and who defeated Zheng He the Great of the mighty Empire of China. Now, Go-Tsuchimikado, our Emperor, has bestowed upon him the honour of commanding the fleet once more in a special mission to scout around the evil Pegu, vassals of the hated Chinese. Commodore Hondo of the Imperial Japanese Fleet consented to the idea and was proud to go.

Hondo replied to the Imperial Invitation with "I shall gladly fight against the friends of those infidels! I shall sail around the Malaya and scout out the Pegu! I dream that one day all of these lands shall be under our rule! We shall be the greatest Empire in history!"

Commodore Hondo was one of the main architects of the Japanese Expansion into Korea and Manchuria, almost fifty years back. He had great ambitions to make the Emperor, the Shogun, and the Imperial Courts the supreme overlords of all of the lands in the great ocean that is south of The Land of the Rising Sun. He wanted those lands to be used for resources and as bases. The resources would help in the main focus of the war -- China. If China could be captured, Nippon would become the largest empire in the world. Even larger than the strange, barbaric lands to the west that we have learned of from the men who call themselves Portuguese of whom we met in one of their colonies on an island south of the lands of India.

Commodore Hondo promised to be back within a year and him and his men boarded their ships. The people of Nagasaki waved Hondo off and soon, the fleet disappeared into the horizon. The old veteran looked out over the endless blue, daydreaming of the day that all of China would be under Japanese control, which he believed to be a truthful glimpse of the future. He smiled to himself, but, withing seconds, all of his dreams shattered. There was a wail from a sailor behind him. Hondo ran back and found that the man was pointing into the distance. Hondo stared through the darkness, trying to make out what the man was pointing at. He saw it -- it was land, and the glorious Rising Sun flag, Hinomaru , was flying high over it.

"What is this!?" Hondo exclaimed "Where is this!? Tell me!!"

The young sailor seemed puzzled, "Sir... This is the city of Shanghai. Twenty years ago we captured it from the evil Chinese. Don't you remember?"

"Oh! Yes, of course I remember it," Hondo replied, his eyes round in surprise, "but, I thought it took alot longer to get there."

"But, Hondo-sama, we have been sailing on this voyage for many many hours! We left this morning and now it is nearly night!"

"Hmm?! I guess I lost track of time..." Hondo murmured sheepishly, "I was busy thinking..."

"Yeah? Of what?" the sailor asked.

"Of conquering Chi-..... None of your business!! Get back to work or I'll have you left in Shanghai!!"

"Ha-... Hai sir... Right away!", and the soldier trotted off, stumbling on a crate along the way.

The old Commodore looked at the city, and remembered the battles that he had once fought on that very spot. He could almost see the enormous Chinese Fleet of Zheng He, fighting that long battle right off of the coast of Shanghai, about thirty years ago. He had won that battle, though it looked as if he would lose in the beginning. He and his men had fought their hardest and won that battle in the glory of Nippon. It was so long ago, Hondo thought, yet, it seemed like only yesterday that the Chinese fleet had turned and fled south and he had ordered his ships to follow them, and in days the great naval Battle of the Sea of Taiwan was under way. His men had quickly defeated the demoralized Chinese fleet.

An aged hand fell on Hondo's shoulder, "Well, are you ready?", Hondo turned and found his old friend, Colonel Fujiwara, of whom, had led the Imperial forces against Korea and Manchuria and had been aboard the Imperial Fleet during many of Hondo's voyages. Hondo grinned back and, without another word, both walked off of the ship into the bustling Japanese port of Shanghai.


How was it? That was Chapter I... I will make Chapter II later on... It shall be titled, "Trouble in Shanghai".

Please give me input on the AAR so far! Thank you!

 

[unmerged(9422)]

Trouble in Shanghai

Right now the AAR has become more of a story type form about Commodore Hondo, but not the whole thing will stay like that. It is just an important event. All of what is happening in this is based off of what happened in the real game. Enjoy!


Chapter II - Trouble in Shanghai

Commodore Hondo and Colonel Fujiwara got off of the ship after their crew and found themselves in the middle of two armies. One of Japanese Samurai and the other of Malaccan Troops.

"Did the Malaccans declare war on us?" Hondo asked Fujiwara, his eyes beaming, "Now we can conquer them earlier than planned! We must return to Japan at once and transport troops down to Malaya!"

"No," Fujiwara replied, "they are still here from when they declared war on us back in the war with Brunei. They are planning to leave within a week."

"I see," the old commodore sighed, "but what is that noise?"

Trampling and screaming was heard in the distance and smoke rose from above the buildings of the city. The army of Samurai, known as the Shanghai Regiment lined up and ordered everyone to get out of the way. The Malaccan troops did the same. Fujiwara, Hondo, and their sailors and soldiers watched as a horde of rebels charged through the city, slaughtering those who they passed. The Malaccan and Japanese troops held their ground and when the enemy got close the Japanese/Malaccan Army and the Rebel Army engaged into deadly melee combat. Fujiwara called his Samurai to fight too. The fighting was fierce and after two days of constant fighting, the Rebels were vanquished. The Malaccan General announced that he was returning home with his army in poor Japanese. He was politely waved off, but the young General of the Shanghai Regiment, Watanabe sneered and said that the Malaccans didn't help fight the rebels, but merely got in the way.

"One day," he said "Their puny nation wil just be another province in the mighty Japanese Empire!!"

Commodore Hondo liked the lad's spirit and praised him for thinking that way. Hondo told Watanabe that one day he would lead his Samurai against China itself and then left the content boy, returning to his ship. The Imperial Fleet continued it's voyage south.

Chapter III - Taiwan and Pegu!

The fleet sailed further on south, and in a matter of days, it arrived at Taiwan port (Taiwan is a Japanese colony ), known as Mombetsu After a day of rest here, the voyage continued. In about a week the Malay peninsula was reached. The beaches of Malacca were spit on as the ships passed . After the fleet made it around the peninsula, it started sailing north, towards Pegu. 7,000 soldiers were in the small country, which was a vassal of China. Fujiwara only had about 2,000 men aboard and sighed that it would be risky to try and conquer them. A larger army would be needed. Nevermind that there were only a few ships left in the old fleet. It desperately needed to be rebuilt.

The Imperial Navy turned back and sailed back to Nippon. The Malay was once again passed (and the beaches of Malacca were once again spit on) and the ships were sailing up the coast of China, when suddenly, a storm struck! In a matter of minutes, the entire fleet was sunk! The beloved Commodore Hondo and Colonel Fujiwara, were gone! The Imperial Fleet was dimished -- on the coast of China.

Chapter IV will be Nippon Prepares for War

Please tell me what you think so far! Thank you for reading! I hope you are enjoying my After Action Report so far. In real life, when Commodore Hondo died due to the sinking of his fleet, I didn't really care. In the AAR, his voyage and everything were made very dramatic. But, in the game, I probably couldn't have cared less about the loss of my commodore (I actually first thought of my beloved fleet which I would have to rebuild....) . He was basically a mere tool, of which I used to expand my empire into Korea and China. Hahahaha... I do miss my ships, though. Okay.. I will write Chapter IV.. After I play it. I am where I am now in the game, so I will have to play again before I can continue...

 

[unmerged(6777)]

This is great Meiji-Tenno!

Thank you very much for giving us such a nice background history to the story...I found it extremely interesting to read that the samurai were originally of such low "worth", and that it was the incursions from the monks that resulted in their elevation to higher status.

I'm also enjoying your story-telling and dialogue. I had a nice laugh at this line:

The beaches of Malacca were spit on as the ships passed

I bet they were!

Looking forward to reading more - both of the story of your AAR, and of the real life history of Nippon.

 

[unmerged(7996)]

Sir,

I salute you.

Your posts keep getting better and better. I am very impressed with the writing and historical detail you have provided.

What part of Japan are you living in? I lived in Sasebo for two years and was in Yokosuka for about six months.

 

[unmerged(9422)]

Thank you everyone!

I want to thank everyone for your compliments! I am happy everyone likes my AAR. I would write more right now, but I didn't get a chance to play again, yet...


MrT... I am happy that you are interested in the history and the AAR. The history that I provided was more of a basic overview. there is much more, but I didn't have the time to tell it all. Yes, the rise of the Samurai Class is very interesting. If you would like more information on it, I reccomend the book Shin Heike Monogatari by Eiji Yoshikawa. There was an excellent English translation of it, The Heike Story. It is a historical novel, so not all people are real, but basic storyline is. Good book..

Backpack... Nice picture Did you like Japan?


If anyone has any suggestions for AAR, please tell.

I will play the game later and I will be able to continue the AAR soon. Please continue reading! ‚Ç‚¤‚à‚_‚肪‚Æ‚¤‚²‚´‚¢‚Ü‚µ‚½?I (Doomo Arigatoo Gozaimashita! = Very polite "Thank you very much!").

Thanks again!

 

[unmerged(6777)]

Domo Arigatoo Gozaimashita for the book suggestion. I'll have a look for it.

See, I'm even learning a new language in this AAR. The other characters that preceded your translation display very strangely on my computer...I think I'll have to download a Japanese character set so I can see what they're supposed to look like,

 

[unmerged(7996)]

Re: Thank you everyone!

Originally posted by Meiji-Tenno

Backpack... Nice picture Did you like Japan?

Domo Arigatoo Gozaimashita!

Do itashimashite

I enjoyed Japan a lot while I was there. Unfortunately, I was gone on travel for work a lot and didn't use the opportunity to learn Japanese. I only ever learned enough to order food/beer, ask for directions, say silly things to girls, and call a taxi. Looking back on it I fear that I was the stereotypical American.

There are three things that stand out the most to me from my time in Japan.

1. The amount of open space and the beauty of Japan's mountains. I really had a misconception of what I would find. I expected people to be crowded together everywhere. While the coastline is densely populated, some of the rural and mountainous regions are fairly secluded, rugged, and very scenic. I went out driving and hiking when I got the opportunity.

2. My visit to the Peace Park in Hiroshima. It was an awkward experience to be there with Japanese tourists and know that they were looking at you and thinking, "Your people did this to us.". I felt guilty. The statue of the A-bomb children was very moving. For those unfamiliar with it, the statue is dedicated to the children who died in the blast and also those who died afterward from the effects of radiation. The inspiration for the statue was a girl who was dying of radiation poisoning. She believed that if she folded 1,000 paper cranes (the symbol of happiness and longevity) she would become well. She ended up making 1,300 but died anyway. Around the memorial are thousands of strands of paper cranes made by schoolchildren.

3. The friendliness of the Japanese people. Although there were some areas where I heard "no gaijin" and was turned away, people were for the most part very friendly. There were several times when I was taking a weekend hiking trip to some random mountain that I would inevitably get lost and need to ask for directions. In the large cities most people speak/remember some Japanese from school. In the mountain towns this is not the case. Each time though, someone would take several minutes to painfully explain to me where I had gone wrong and set me right. I remember one instance in particular.

It was about 10am. I had been driving for about 2 hours and was completely lost, frustrated, and couldn't find anyone to ask for help. Then I saw an older woman working in her garden and thought I would ask her. Well, she looked sort of scared when this foriegner walked up to her, smiled big, and spouted some crazy child speak broken jibberish while pointing at a map. Once she figured out what I wanted though, she smiled back and tried to tell me where to go (much arm waving and slow speech). When she saw that she wasn't getting through to me, she actually had me get in her car with her and we drove about 10 minutes to the turn I had missed. Then she took me back to my car. I couldn't believe how far she went to help. On the way home from my hike, I picked up a small gift of thanks for her and stopped by her house. She was again surprised...and delighted. She invited me in for dinner with her family which was a lot of fun. I don't know want they said and they don't know what I said but we were all laughing.

Anyway, I am rambling now and taking your AAR OT(off topic).

Keep up the good work Meiji-Tenno. I look forward to reading more of your adventures.

 

[Lord Durham]

Meiji-Tenno, I've finally had a chance to check in, and check out your AAR. I must say I'm very impressed with what you've created. I've really enjoyed the story, the attention to detail, the historical background and the dialogue. The focus on Commodore Hondo is extremely well done.

You add an very helpful introspective to Nippon. Keep up the good work, and welcome to the forum.

 

[unmerged(9422)]

It sounds like you had an interesting time in Japan, Backpack!

MrT, I wrote "doumo arigatoo gozaimashita" in Japanese. If the letters came up as strange symbols and squares you will probably need to download the Japanese support thing. "Hiragana" and "Katakana" are the name of the phonetic Japanese characters. Each letter represents a sound. The other alphabet, which is more difficult to learn, is called "Kanji" (Chinese characters). There are many many Kanji and a kanji dictionary would is needed to learn them.

I have not gotten the chance to play EUII again, yet.. The electricity went out and came back on only minutes ago. It went out shortly after my last post was written... Sorry about that! My next post will contain Chapter IV - Nippon Prepares for War.
Stay tuned...

 

[Storey]

I’m enjoying your AAR Meiji-Tenno. One suggestion is to occasionally put in the date just to let the reader know how far along you are in the game. I assume you’re still in the mid 1400 period? I’m looking forward to seeing how you do. Good luck.

Joe

 

[unmerged(9422)]

Chapter IV

Hello! Before I start I wanted to thank everyone who has complimented and given ideas on how to make my AAR better. Please continue!

I wanted to say that, in case you didn't know, or I didn't mention it before, that Commodore Hondo was not a great Japanese commodore in real life. He was one of those random named leaders and I wanted to give him a storyline to make it more interesting. For historical leaders in future, I will say who they were and everything and give historical info in the future (When I get them ). Remember, all monarchs are (or should I say were ) real people. The year is now 1465... This chapter is about my recent five year war of constant fighting with the Chinese Empire...

Chapter IV - Nippon Prepares for War


--Imperial Courts, 1459, only months after the death of Hondo--

"This is an outrage!!" roared Go Tsuchimikado, the Emperor, "Hondo -- Dead!? He was the greatest navyman of myself, my father, Go Hanazomo, and my grandfather, Shoko!! Give me more details!!"

"Sir," said the young Imperial Advisor, Ideyasu, "Our scouts have found the wreck of Hondo's ship off of the coasts of China and Dai Viet, who have obviously become their friends."

"I see... These infidels must be punished.. First, China. We must not tolerate such evil in the region. Ideyasu... Order our men in Manchuria to gather in Liaoning... Now!"

"Hai! I shall order our brave men to get to Liaoning at once! Oh, yes... I had reports that our colonists have successfully expanded Japanese domination in Indonesia. We now control Jakarta and have expanded our influence on another of the main islands of it. Our navymen report that Palawan will be the perfect location to build a colony, for it's port will serve as a perfect resting point for our ships travelling to the colonies. Our first attempt has failed, unfortunately, but there are plans to attempt again."

"Excellent..." the Emperor murmured, only half listening, his thoughts on war with China.

"There have also been huge storms and earthquakes throughout the year, destroying thousands of people and properties. Our tax income has lowered throughout most of Japan.

*In 1459, there were many earthquakes, typhoons, and storms in Nippon that killed and injured many many people and did much damage.*

Ideyasu bowed and left the room, heading for the ports where he could send the Emperor's message across the Sea of Japan to Korea, where it would then be transported to Manchuria by quick cavalrymen, that were trained in the land of Izu, to the east.

*During the medieval era in Japan, the greatest cavalrymen came from the east (Remember, modern day northeast ) . The Genji Clan had many good riders from there. Izu was the name of one of the eastern provinces. It was actually where Minamoto Yoritomo was exiled to (by Kiyomori of the Heike Clan) when he was still a young boy.*

The message soon arrived in Manchuria and all men gathered to Liaoning, preparing to fight. In 1460, the Emperor issued the official declarations of war and blamed the sinking of Hondo's fleet on the Chinese because he had died in there national waters. 30,000 Samurai marched on the Chinese capital of Beijing, in the Chinese province of Heibei.


Okay... That is all for Chapter IV... I shall start Chapter V shortly..

 

[unmerged(9422)]

Chapter V

Chapter V - The Second Sino-Japanese War


"We shall aid you, our mighty allies in this war! We shall destroy our common enemy!" announced the Khan of the Chagatai Khanate.

"The state of Manchuria shall help too!" the Japanese puppet governor of Manchuria.

In the east, Japanese and Manchu troops wreaked havoc upon the Chinese capital of Beijing. In the west, over 20,000 Mongolian cavalrymen brought terror upon the eastern plains of the Chinese Empire. In the southeast, Japanese forces from Shanghai terrorize the neighboring Chinese province of Zhenjiang. The Chinese armies tried to fight off all three forces, but failed.

"It looks as if we shall win this war! For the glory of the Empire!"

The Chinese sent constant streams of soldiers, hundred thousands at a time, at their Japanese and Manchu oppressors, trying to save their capital. Vicious fighting commenced and it is estimated that over 50,000 men died on both sides from the fighting. For five years, there was no gain for either side. Just bloody fighting in the three areas under siege. Five years passed, with this continuing the entire time. There was no strategy involved or needed; both sides just fought. The armies were equal, but the Japanese Samurai, with their Manchu allies beat off the Chinese in every battle.

Now, in 1465... What is this!? The earth itself shook and battle cries were heard over the horizon, which thick dust was rising over. The next day, it arrived. 130,000 Chinese soldiers came into the battlefield. A huge battle was fought. Thousands died on both side, mostly the Chinese, but, in the end, the large Chinese numbers defeated the Japanese and Manchu troops, which now combined numbered about 33,000. Reinforcements came from Manchuria and Korea during the whole war. Peace was now negotiated. 200 ducats went to Japan from China and peace was brought about.

"We could not bring about the final victory we had hoped..." Ideyasu sighed, "We didn't get the territory that we were hoping for..."

It was early in that crisp autumn morning in the Imperial City of Kyoto. A conference was being held in the Imperial courts.

"It is truly unfortunate..." Nijo Mochimichi, the Kampaku , put in.

*Nijo Mochimichi was Kampaku (Chancellor) of Japan from 1463-1467*

"No, it was not unfortunate!" the Emperor said.

Everyone looked at him in astonishment. Go Tsuchimikado had just sat there listening to everyone for the past hour.

"We won the war! We inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese Army, wrecked their capital, and got some money to make up for the troops that we lost, not to mention much extra money. We shall stay away from wars like this for a few years! Our plan will be to work on colonization of the lands to the south. There are many resources there and they should be taken. Those barbarians of the western unknown lands of Europe are gaining power. I can sense it. We must take these resources and build up our armies in the mean time. Then, we shall go on a major expansion into China and the Malay peninsula. The Manchu will also be a goal and will one day be under our complete control. I have exchanged maps with the Chagatai Khanate and have met with officials from the nation of Astrakan. If we can exchange maps with them, we will be able to see even more of these lands of Europe! Our technology is advancing fast. We must take Indonesia at all costs!!"

"Excellent idea, sir!" announced Nijo Mochimichi, "We shall colonize those lands and build up our armies there while taking the maps of people in the lands of Russia. Meanwhile, we shall build up our armies here in Japan to defend our nation from the growing number of rebels and also build up our armies in Manchuria, Korea, and Shanghai for expansion into China. It is ingenious, sir! We shall also want to build up our navy. Everyone will try their hardest to accomplish your goals, my Emperor! Won't we?"

"Hai!", it was unanimous. The plans would begin to be carried out immediately.


That is all for Chapter V. I will need to play again to be able to continue. The year is now 1465. Questions and comments please! Thank you for reading!

 

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Originally posted by Meiji-Tenno
This is my After Action Report of my current game as Nippon. It is the first one that I have ever written, so it may not be the best...


I started the game about a week ago, and am still in the first half of 1400's. Here is an overview of what I have accomplished so far...

First, I built up my army and navy and sent merchants to Shanghai and Kansai. When year was over I had a diplomat and and colonist. I sent the colonist to Taiwan (and he failed..) and sent navy with 50,000 men to Korea national waters . I then declared war on Korea and crushed their armies and quickly took Kyongju and Yalu. I demanded a tribute of Kyongju and all of their money . I had more colonists and diplomats now (It was about 1421) so I sent more colonists to Taiwan, and once more they failed me. During my war with Korea, the Chinese had to pay tribute to Manchu because they had lost many battles in a war that they were having. Now, Korea and Manchu made a military alliance. Both had small weak armies, so I just declared war on Korea again. Yes, it is dishonorable, but so tempting...

I defeated the Koreans in Yalu and then captured the province. Now, I held off Manchu armies crossing the Yalu. I annexed Korea and then, when Manchu armies were weakened, I invaded them. In the war, which lasted many many years in cold lands of the Manchu I finally captured most of Manchuria and got to keep the entire coastline. During the war, I finally colonized Taiwan. After the Manchu war ended I colonized Vanin. The Chinese colonized Bodgorodsk (north of Vanin). I had taken Jehol and Liaotung and built up my armies there (and in Korea). I now put them on my borders with China and declared war on the mighty Chinese Empire. I had about 30,000-50,000 soldiers there and invaded Liaoning and Heibei with them. The Chinese sent over 100,000 troops there to defend and somehow my men beat them. They have 100% quality from the domestic polcies and one more towards Land than Naval, so these were probably some causes. I soon captured these two provinces and then invaded Heipei, the capitol of China. I soon captured it too and got the nice Chinese maps . I then demanded Liaoning and Heibei as tribute, but the Chinese refused. So, I attacked all of the undefended provinces in Central China and soon captured much of China. The Chinese then offered me Heibei, Liaoning, and Shanghai. I accepted. I then built trading posts and colonies in Indonesia and even Somalia in Africa! I have merchants dominating Arabian market.

I improved my relations with former enemy Manchu and they are now my vassals. I am hoping to annex them... Only seven more years...

I also unsuccessfully tried to build a colony in the Phillipines, but failed. I successfully colonized and province in southern India, though. And a Portuguese trading post has been discovered, so I can see the capitol of Portugal. I now dominate the Center of Trade in Lisbon, too. I have decided to use the rich Pacific Islands as colonies and trading posts so that I can get more money, and focus my empire on the mainland of Asia. Right now, my main goals are to annex Manchu and conquer China. After that, Malaya may become my target, but that will be decided after the long China War is finished...

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed my After Action Report! I shall update it as I continue through the game.

The flag that currently flies over East Asia, Somalia, and Southern India in Europa Universalis II...

Look! it's true! Japanese people DO smile alot!



Nice AAR btw - BANZAI!