Pre-Emptive strike?

[Vasa]

Right now I'm playing a campaign as Date. I'm the dominant faction in northern Honshu and am spending most of my resources subduing the Takaoka, Hatano, and Hatakeyama in the South.

I have a number of vassals, one of which is Oda, whom I liberated from Hatano. I noticed a few turns ago that the garrison in Owari disappeared. I see now that the Oda army is moving up the coast, which I control almost exclusively. I'm afraid they're about to attack one of my territories (their temperament is aggressive) which would force me to waste a lot of time and resources regaining. They have no garrison in Owari and I have a large stack of samurai in Totomi nearby. Should I send them to subdue the Oda? I only want to attack them if and when they declare war on me, but by the time their intentions become clear it may be too late.

[r0x]

i dont know if this is a bug or working as intended but the AI can have an army without a single province left (happened to me 2 or 3 times last game). so if you strike preemptive there is still the chance they take your town an make it their new home.

[Death_Sheep]

The Pre-emptive strike can come to bite you in the back later on in terms of alliances broken and the like, and is a HUGE factor in how fast people dislike you in Realm Divide.

I'd hold off, and maybe position some troops to watch that area, it may pay off in the long run.

[kronpas]

Right now I'm playing a campaign as Date. I'm the dominant faction in northern Honshu and am spending most of my resources subduing the Takaoka, Hatano, and Hatakeyama in the South.

I have a number of vassals, one of which is Oda, whom I liberated from Hatano. I noticed a few turns ago that the garrison in Owari disappeared. I see now that the Oda army is moving up the coast, which I control almost exclusively. I'm afraid they're about to attack one of my territories (their temperament is aggressive) which would force me to waste a lot of time and resources regaining. They have no garrison in Owari and I have a large stack of samurai in Totomi nearby. Should I send them to subdue the Oda? I only want to attack them if and when they declare war on me, but by the time their intentions become clear it may be too late.

You can do some sort of preventive measures. I myself prefer ignitng revolts with my monk army (yes, lots of them since they are incredibly cheap consider their usefulness) with my army standing by waiting for rebels to take the city. With 4-5 well trained monks you can cripple the whole clan without declaring war against them.