Dilemma and time issue

[Katsuhisa]

Im good into my Oda Campaign with 5 provinces (have all the required ones except kyoto) and i have about... 19 years left of the game :/ Now here is the interesting issue... everyone is friendly towards me... except for imagawa and hatekayama. Now i have enough troops and economy to go to war against one of them... but in doing so i'll probably piss off their allies. Im more keen on advancing west wards as that would be easier to defend than the bulk of mid japan, but in doing so i would need to draw my main army away from Owari, leaving my eastern side vulnerable to attacks from Imagawa... any hints and tips on how to solve this issue... really dont want to get steamrolled this late, especially when i have the chance to cap about 6 provinces in the matter of 3 or 4 turns :S

[Gulatr]

Use diplomacy, bribe the allied clans to break their alliances with the clan that you want to attack. This is expansive but very effective.

Also consider a naval invasion on another clan, that has no direct border with you, it probably won't have allies that are your neighbors either.

Don't be afraid to leave Owari with less then a full stack, your Yari and Bow Ashigaru can do very well in a siege defense battle, and their upkeep is very low. Throw in 1-2 Katana Samurai with 3-4 Yari Ashigaru and 3-4 Bow Ashigaru and you can hold Owari against a full stack if you play your cards right.

Whatever you do, do it soon, 19 years is not that long, and realm divide will hit you sooner rather then later.

[Keepbro]

Playing as the Oda what I found worked was to take EVERYthing in Middle Japan and with the use of 3 Armies this can be done as one force can sit near Kyoto/Kawachi and defend anyone coming from West Japan whilst in the East everyone will eventually come past Owari or Omi so one force can cover there as well whilst your main force can go on deep strikes in either direction.

I found playing as the Oda great fun especially when taking part in siege battles (watching your men swarm like ants up the sides of castles never get old) and having lots of Ashigaru helps in siege battles more than on set-piece battles.

My advice would be to shore up Key castles such as Owari (or Totomi/Suruga if you've got them), Kawachi and either Harima or Wakasa (depending on the state of the map) as this gives your armies bases to work out of. Also use Ninja to check out the approaching armies and either hit them if weaker than you or hole up if stronger than you, also the bases are close enough for garrisons to help out each other if you get sieged.

Hope this helps