Takeda - A Shogun 2 AAR (Completed)

[Grimecraft]

congratulations upon your award, definitely deserved it (Y)

[ForGreatJustice]

Down the road I might have to start bribing them or marry off the Takeda daughter or something, but that's a story for another time

An Uesugi-Takeda marriage would make a pretty good chapter subject. I agree, VH or Legendary would NOT make things easy regarding spinning the tale you have in mind. Besides, who doesn't romanticize the Shingen-Kenshin rivalry?

[Robin de Bodemloze]

congratulations upon your award, definitely deserved it (Y)

Thanks! Thank you for voting.

An Uesugi-Takeda marriage would make a pretty good chapter subject. I agree, VH or Legendary would NOT make things easy regarding spinning the tale you have in mind. Besides, who doesn't romanticize the Shingen-Kenshin rivalry?

Haha, who knows what fate would befall our dear Hiroko-chan? Sengoku Japan isn't exactly the best of times to be a woman.

That said a strong Uesugi indeed promises much in terms of intrigue between those two.

Housekeeping note of sorts: real life will for obvious reasons take up more time from now till about the end of the year. I was going to publish the next chapter over the weekend but that clearly got nowhere. I'll try to release at least one new chapter over the holidays as long as I can polish it to the degree I want given time constraints. In any case I'll be back to the one-or-two chapters a week pace after the new year

[Ravenclaw2099]

Am I witnessing some possible foreshadowing?

In any case, even tho I check daily (yes, you read right) to see if there's a new chapter, I can wait til the new year for your return to regularly scheduled programming. Have an awesome holiday season!

[Robin de Bodemloze]

Am I witnessing some possible foreshadowing?

In any case, even tho I check daily (yes, you read right) to see if there's a new chapter, I can wait til the new year for your return to regularly scheduled programming. Have an awesome holiday season!

After a long day that really brought a smile to my face. Thanks - and don't worry, normal service will be resumed after the new year

[Grimecraft]

I agree a marriage would defiantly secure your border quite nicely.

[Robin de Bodemloze]

Haven't had time to write much but took some inspiration from Knonfoda's recent video to make this. Hope you guys like it It's my first serious attempt at video making so would appreciate any kind of comment/advice

I'm still not completely happy with it, especially the sound, but here goes for now. I'll update when I next get to work on it and will post it in the OP once I'm happy with it.

[Grimecraft]

Great video, some of the battle scenes looked epic. And the musketeers give me hope that at some point in your AAR i'll see some Christianity and the rewards that brings with it as well.

[SomaaTheLion]

very nice writing style !

[Robin de Bodemloze]

Great video, some of the battle scenes looked epic. And the musketeers give me hope that at some point in your AAR i'll see some Christianity and the rewards that brings with it as well.

Thanks! I've been getting some pointers on the vid and will probably upload a new version after I get back from my current trip. As for muskets and Christianity...maybe

very nice writing style !

Thanks for reading! More updates after the new year. The next chapter is written but I need to get back home to do the pics.

[Grimecraft]

Thanks! I've been getting some pointers on the vid and will probably upload a new version after I get back from my current trip. As for muskets and Christianity...maybe



Thanks for reading! More updates after the new year. The next chapter is written but I need to get back home to do the pics.

oh you tease

[alexanderswift]

Just binged on reading this and was very sad when I didn't see another chapter
Waiting on the edge of my seat for the next chapter, great work man!

[Robin de Bodemloze]

oh you tease

Nothing of that sort. Never! ............

Just binged on reading this and was very sad when I didn't see another chapter
Waiting on the edge of my seat for the next chapter, great work man!

Thanks for reading! And fear not!

The first update after Christmas will be on the 31st or the 1st. The Christmas break has done wonders for recharging my batteries and the creative mind is fresh after a week of overeating and doing precious little else. I already have the rest of Volume III and some ideas for IV and V in bullet points on my phone, so there is much to look forward to in the new year, if I may say so.

[Derbiean]

I have gorged myself on this and yet i'm desperate for more

Writing style and the pictures are sublime

[Robin de Bodemloze]

I have gorged myself on this and yet i'm desperate for more

Writing style and the pictures are sublime

Thank you sir More there shall be

[Robin de Bodemloze]

XXIV: Rodrigo

1556 – Winter

An agitated Harunobu sat in the war room at Sunpu castle, staring absent-mindedly at a map of the Imagawa domains as his thoughts wandered. The victory over Imagawa Ujizane had been decisive, but a violent storm prevented a prolonged chase, and any survivors of the battle who had not perished in the inclement weather were free to return to the Imagawa ranks. The latest scouting reports from Totomi province – the first on the road to the Imagawa capital in Mino – told of a light defensive force at Hamamatsu castle supported by various companies of troops in the surrounding areas, but insight into the number or quality of men was patchy at best. Harunobu yearned to take the battle to the enemy, but with such paucity of intelligence and no distinct advantage in numbers, the council had been steadfast in its opposition to a hasty attack. Even Toramasa, the most aggressive of Takeda generals, had recommended a cautious approach, much to Harunobu’s chagrin.

“Tono! Great news!”

Harunobu turned to the sight of Kansuke leaning against the door frame, struggling for breath as he regained some semblance of composure. Optimistic, he enquired if more information had arrived from Totomi province.

“No. The situation in Totomi and Mikawa beyond it is not fully clear to us yet, but the gods have gifted us something almost as good – something that would surely aid our cause in battle. Come, and you will see.”

Harunobu sat up eagerly at Kansuke’s words. His chief strategist was not a man known for hyperbole, and such superlatives surely meant significant developments were at hand. Descending through the castle tenshu, Harunobu asked for elaboration repeatedly. Kansuke’s excitement however meant his words came in a jumbled flurry, and the Takeda daimyo was no wiser to the nature of the news as the pair mounted horses and sped away from the castle gates.

* * *

Harunobu followed Kansuke past the various traders and fishmongers that littered the docks. Overcome by the mixed odour of freshly caught fish, cargo from trade ships and the unwashed peasantry manning them, he cursed as he stretched a sleeve over his nose. The docks were unfamiliar territory for someone of his stature, and walking across a maze of raised pontoons made from wood and bamboo caskets, Harunobu could only wonder why in the world this represented the “great news” that had caused so much excitement in his strategist. Perhaps there had been an omen in the waters off Suruga Bay? He recalled that the latest whaling expedition was due to return soon, but surely Kansuke had not dragged him all this way to show him a big fish? Despite examining a litany of possibilities for the cause of this sudden excursion, Harunobu’s surprise was little diminished when, upon reaching the end of the ramshackle pier, he was confronted with a short, rotund man in strangely colourful attire. The man’s pale yet freckled face was framed by rich locks of brown hair tied back in a strange fashion, and his high cheekbones and ample cheeks merely emphasised a pair of small beady eyes. A long, flowing frock of green and red, framed by gold embellishments and bizarre symbols, only added to the eccentricity of the man.

“Harunobu-sama, my liege, it is the utmost honour to present to you the most successful merchant of all Lisboa, champion javlineer, conqueror of pirates and master navigator of the eastern seas surpassed only by Vasco da Gama himself – the one and only… yours truly. My name is Rodrigo José Sousa Miguel Correia Mendes da Costa, and I am most enthralled to see you.” The Takeda had grown rapidly in power in recent years, Rodrigo had heard from his fellow merchants in Macao, and was determined to secure their custom. Kansuke – whom he had met by chance at a local sake den – had promised an introduction of customers after a brief display of his wares, but it went beyond his wildest dreams to be standing opposite the ruler of these lands. If he could unload but half of his produce he would return to Lisboa a rich man, he mused as he put on the best possible show of himself. Meanwhile Harunobu tried with little success to conceal his surprise. Stunned by the sudden flurry of hyperbole from the diminutive figure, Harunobu stood motionlessly, absorbing the merchant’s proud introduction and his onerously long name. He had met individuals of the nanban race before, but nothing could have prepared him for the encounter with this most peculiar of characters.

“Rodrigo Jos-”

“You may call me Rodrigo, my liege. Please, let me show you my wares. There is the finest silk from China, from which you can make the finest of vestments. There are the rarest of spices from the East Indies from which you can make the most delicious of broths and stews. Then there is ivory from Siam, used for ornaments which reputedly inherit its magical medicinal properties…”

“Rodrigo-san, you may peddle your household wares with the merchants in the marketplace. I’m sure they would be suitably impressed. Meanwhile show us what you promised we would see.”

Harunobu found his focus slipping as the stout merchant sped through his cache, and was glad for Kansuke’s interjection. As the nanban produced a rectangular object from his stash, he edged forward for a closer look. The long case was bound by tanned leather, and was of a strange shape, with one end wider than the other. Elaborate carvings – presumably in the nanban language – were plated with gold leaf, and framed a strange emblem of similar colours as Rodrigo’s attire. As the diminutive merchant untied the various hinges on either end of the box Harunobu caught the sight of Kansuke smiling broadly – so this was the cause for all this excitement.

“My liege, I present to you the Portuguese matchlock gun!” Rodrigo said with gusto as he opened the last of the hinges, revealing a finely crafted object. A long tube of black metal was attached to a piece of lacquered dark wood covered in yet more carvings. A strangely shaped metallic device was attached where the metal tube ended, and attached to it was a long piece of hemp cord. Picking up the strange contraption, Harunobu looked at it closely. Chinese merchants had long sold a clumsy fire throwing device, but those had proven to be woefully ineffectual in battle. This was hopefully something different, Harunobu thought as he examined the gun closely from all angles, admiring the fine workmanship.

“No! Careful my liege!” Rodrigo saw his customer looking down the barrel of the matchlock gun, and hurried to point it in a safer direction. He had been lucky to escape the Balinese court alive after the sultan accidentally shot a pet orang-utan with the same device, and would not risk another accident – he would clearly not last long in a land of such war loving creatures as the samurai. “My liege, what you have here is the newest and finest model of the matchlock gun in all of Europa. It was made by the best gunsmith of all Lisboa as commissioned by His Majesty the King himself, and sanctioned for export by the trade ministry only this time last year, mere weeks before I set sail from the docks there. It loads a standard sized round of five-sixteenths of an inch, and fires four shots a minute. This model is the most deadly yet produced anywhere, and is able to kill a man accurately from over a hundred paces. I am confident you will be most pleased with its performance.”

Harunobu looked as Rodrigo took a metallic sphere from a pocket and loaded the gun from the front. On request he ordered for clay jars to be arranged in a stack some hundred paces away, and gave the permission to fire. Rodrigo fiddled a short while with his gun and lit the piece of cord, blowing at the glowing tip gently. Looking at the sky and muttering something inaudible to the heavens, the merchant pointed the barrel of the gun at the intended target and aimed. With a deafening bang, the gun fired amid a billow of smoke, and the uppermost clay jar duly exploded into several pieces.

If even such a poor specimen of a man could kill at so great a distance thanks to this “matchlock gun”, surely if we armed our best soldiers with such things…

Harunobu requested the gun be loaded again, and Rodrigo duly instructed his customer on aiming the weapon, explaining the purpose of each part of the gun with great patience. Lining up the notches on the barrel with the remaining clay pots, he pulled the trigger gingerly, anticipating the ear-shattering noise that accompanied the first shot. Once the white cloud that surrounded him had dissipated, even as his ears rang loudly, Harunobu was delighted to see that a second pot now lay shattered adjacent to the first.

“How many of these do you have? For what would you sell me your goods?”

“My liege,” Rodrigo started, delighted that the demonstration had been a convincing one, “These guns were brought from my homeland in Portugal, many leagues away over the high seas, and I have suffered much for them to arrive here. Nonetheless Kansuke has been kind to me after my arrival in these lands, and the prosperity of your lands impresses me much. I will gladly part with each for a sum of twenty silver pieces, and an ample supply of ammunition for each gun for five more. I have five hundred of such weapons, and I trust they will serve you well in your efforts.”

Harunobu smiled. The price for the guns was high, but he was sure they had happened upon something of great value. By allowing the common, untrained man to kill with such proficiency, the Takeda ranks could be swelled dramatically in a short space of time so long as more of these guns became available. Such ability would surely give the Takeda an advantage in the war of attrition against the Imagawa, and the march south could perhaps soon begin in earnest. The famed smiths from Odawara must be trained to produce such contraptions natively, Harunobu thought, for then the potential for increasing the ashigaru ranks would become almost limitless.

* * *

“Aim…FIRE!!”

Kansuke looked on with a great sense of hope as fireballs exploded from the row of matchlocks, a thunderous bang reverberating through the castle courtyard. He could barely make out the outline of men through the billowing smoke, but the sound of targets falling told of their improving accuracy. At first the men – taken from the finest archers – had been terrified of the noise, but had lately begun to show signs of promise, hitting the targets with increasing regularity. It would not be long before these gunmen could match the archers for accuracy, if not range, he hoped. If they could be trained in time for spring the Imagawa would be met by a loud and deadly surprise the next time the two sides met in battle.

“FIRE!!”

[Radzeer]

Nice end of the year update!
Looks like a new era is coming in the story with the new year. And this AAR has been one of the best readings in 2011.

[Robin de Bodemloze]

Nice end of the year update!
Looks like a new era is coming in the story with the new year. And this AAR has been one of the best readings in 2011.

Thank you sir. Coming from one of the great masters of AAR writing that is some compliment indeed.

There is much to come in the story for the new year, that much is certain. I'm a few turns ahead in the campaign and the Imagawa are turning out to be quite the can of worms

EDIT: Took a page out of your work and added my own list of characters in the OP.

[Grimecraft]

sorry woulda commented earlier, my Internet is on the fritz and so i managed to read but couldn't comment.
initial reaction to seeing firearms: YESSSSS!!!!! HERE COMES THE PAIN TRAIN BABAY! CHOO CHOOOO

[Radzeer]

EDIT: Took a page out of your work and added my own list of characters in the OP.

It looks great and helps tremendously!
But now I have some editing to do too.

EDIT: Ok editing is done, but where are the screenshots?