Part 10: Update 8 (Spring 1179 - Winter 1179)

The Old Way Rises...

Spring of 1179


As he walked through the expanded Koryu grounds, Kiyomori was content. The dedication of the Taira towards to Koryu was already bringing in new teachers and warriors from all over the land. His forces would be stronger, better trained, equipped and most of all more dedicated.

Our mission to create Onna Bushi heroines moves a step closer to reality with the construction of a Koryu School in Settsu. As the second level of the Koryu building chain, it allows the production of Naginata Warrior Monks (When combined with a Buddhist Temple, which we don't have as we lack the required arts to build it) and all Bow Warrior Monks and Naginata Attendants are produced at rank 1.




"We present ourselves to your service as is our duty, my lord" the head monk addressed Kiyomori. "Our bows will sing in honour of the gods and the Taira"
"Your dedication to the gods does you honour" replied Kiyomori. "Your service is welcomed and celebrated by all Taira"

Another large turn for recruitment as our army costs continue to put pressure on our economy. Levy are recruited in Omi, Tango and Kyoto to help maintain order and to reinforce Tomomori's eastern army while keeping costs under control. In addition, we see the recruitment of a new type of unit, the Bow Warrior Monk. Despite having the same upkeep as Bow Attendants, Bow Warrior Monks have significantly higher morale, better melee skills and armour as well as higher accuracy and slightly faster reload. The downside is that they are harder to replenish and recruit as they require both the Koryu Training Ground and a Buddhist Sanctuary, unlike the Bow Attendants which only need a Bushi Training Grounds.




"Your services are needed by Tomomori, friend monk" Kiyomori stated. "Head to Omi and report to him"
"At once my lord" responded the head monk. "As you command, so shall we be"

We need to get our new troops to the front line to bulk up Tomomori's forces with some quality, so we send them to Kyoto with the intention of sending them to Omi and reinforcing our primary forces.


"I hate boats" Ietoyo confided to Mitsukazu "I would rather face a thousand men than step on that ship"
"Duty gives us no such luxuries" Mitsukazu replied "Kiyomori requires us on the mainland and we will obey."
"Do not doubt my resolve or honour. I will do what I am ordered for my families honour" Ietoyo snapped.

With no need for a large force in Awa and with a pressing need for Mitsukazu back on the mainland, we load an army lead by Ietoyo and with Mitsukazu onto our transport ship. Loading and unloading armies takes a full turn, while agents don't consume the fleet's turn when you load or unload them. This leads to some odd behaviour which I will show you when I unload them.


His orders had been to scout the Honda and cause disruption wherever possible, how could such a simple task cause him so much trouble, Nakamitsu wondered. Considering his options, he decided that the farmland to his west were the best target of opportunity. After all, who would bother to defend peasants?

Another turn and another shot at sabotaging the farmland. Since we are running really tight on money and have already slashed construction expenses, agent expenses will be the next to go. I only consider it worth spending the 200 koku as he is only 2 xp off of a level. Since failing gives 3 xp and success gives 15 xp, if he survives he will hit level 2 and so justifies the expense.


As he approached the village under the cover of darkness, Nakamitsu noticed the a commotion in the village square. A mob was forming around a man, their cries echoing through the quiet night.
"Thief!" cried one man.
"He cheated me!" cried another.
Settling into a shadow in a nearby alley, Nakamitsu watched, waiting for the crowd to be distracted. Perhaps luck was on his side tonight. Suddenly, the man broke into a sprint, weaving through the crowd towards the alley in which Nakamitsu hid. The crowd turned to pursue the man and one with unusually sharp eyes yelled "Look! In the shadows, his accomplice!".
Realizing he had been spotted, Nakamitsu beat a hasty retreat, cursing his foul fortune.

Story of my life really, although at 30% chance of success, he has succeeded once and failed twice, which is on par for the course. As is always a plus, Nakamitsu gets out alive which is fantastic, because I can't afford to replace him at the moment.


"I can't do this alone" thought Nakamitsu. "I need to cultivate some help. Rash action will get you killed."
He was going to need the help of some less than savoury characters and he knew just the man to help him. Turning his skills towards the task, he would find the man from the previous night.

As I calculated, he has now hit rank 2. This will be exceptionally useful as it reduces the chance of him being killed if he fails as well as making his actions more likely to succeed. Sabotaging buildings is now going to be a coin-toss of 50% instead of 30%. A rank 2 Monomi is still not very scary and he won't be all that useful until rank 3.


Nakamitsu found what he was looking for in a dingy gambling den. He approached the man and was surprised when he said "You did well to find me, stranger. I'm Rikimori, gambler extraordinaire at your service."
"You almost got me killed" Nakamitsu responded "Only the confusion of two targets befuddled the mob."
Rikimori chuckled. "That it did, that it did. Simple country fools couldn't count cards, let alone catch crafty men. By the looks of you, I doubt its been the first time your life has been in danger."
Nakamitsu shrugged. "If anyone wants me dead, they have mistaken me for someone else"
"You know, you wouldn't believe how often I hear that" Rikimori replied "Had to use it a few times myself."
Nakamitsu nodded "Let's cut to the chase then. I need information and you need coin. My employer can be a... generous man to those with the right contacts."
"I knew I liked something about you" responded Rikimori. "Let's talk price"

Monomi, like all agents, have a cohesion to their skill trees that allow you to specialise in a certain direction. Unlike some agents, the first two skills are pretty mediocre, with Military Spy on the left making them better at supporting armies and Criminal Contacts making them better at supporting towns. The left tree increases survivability and escape, the middle tree improves sabotage while the right tree improves assassination. Nakamitsu needs to be killing key generals and agents, not burning farms, so I put two points into Criminal Contacts so that he makes it significantly harder to perform actions against us if he is in a town as well as making it harder for enemy agents to undertake hostile actions against him if he is discovered.




All men have hidden talents just waiting for a chance to come to the surface and Nakamitsu is no exception. Always a gifted chef, in a more caring time he could have used his skills to delight and amaze the palate of nobles and peasants alike. Fate had other plans for him, however. These gifts of wonder now have an edge, further serving the Taira in the elimination of their enemies.

His Agent detail screen is something that we are all very familiar with at this point in the LP. Like all agents he gets retainers at rank 2, which in this case we have chosen Fugu Cook as it increases the chance that his assassinations are permanent, rather than simply crippling the target. He also had the option of a Monk Disguise to make him more likely to get away if he screws up, but that would be too sensible!


Summer of 1179


"Your loyalty does you great honour" announced Tomomori, addressing his new recruits. "You are serving in the most powerful force in all Japan! Foes tremble before us, the very ground shakes under our feet. You will do your duty, as does the man beside you. We are Taira!"

Almost all of our available funds are now being channelled into the creation of Levy to maintain order and bulk up our forces. I'm getting increasingly concerned that I am about to be stabbed by another clan, the question is which one(s)? I can probably trust my ally, but the large army just south of Omi and also south of Settsu concern me, even if they are defensive at this point in time. I can handle one, but not both.


Leaning over the railing, Ietoyo vomited.
"The fish eat well today" noted Mitsukazu, wryly.
Standing up, Ietoyo shot back "This is your fault, I told you that I coul-" as he suddenly turned pale, leaning over the railing once more and vomiting again.
Mitsukazu grinned. "I must speak to Kiyomori about making you admiral of the fleet, you seem to have the knack for it"

The army let by Ietoyo and Mitsukazu set sail for the coast of Settsu, where they can perform much more useful tasks and earn their pay.


"Land! Glorious, honourable land!" shouted Ietoyo as he touched soil for the first time in weeks. "It's a wonderful day"
"It is good to be on my home soil again" agreed Mitsukazu "There are many dear friends I hope I can visit"

Mitsukazu and Ietoyo are unloaded onto the coastline of Settsu. As I mentioned earlier, the trick with unloading armies and agents from fleets is that you must unload the agents FIRST, as they don't impact the fleet movement. If you unload the army first, the fleet loses all it's move and you can no longer unload the agent on that turn. Considering the default behaviour of disembark is to unload the army and not the agents, it's a trap for new players. You also can't unload both at once even if they are all selected, it will just unload the army instead. It's a real pain when everything else is well polished, but if you know about the tricks you can compensate.


His new friends in low places informed Nakamitsu of a routine reinforcement unit moving through the area enroute to the city. Such an easy target would be good practise for honing his skills as well as disrupting troop movements in the area.

Another ability of Monomi is to Sabotage an army. This kills a portion of the army (about 5% of the total unit size with a decent Monomi) and also prevents the army from moving. The likelihood of success and cost is based on the number and quality of units in the affected army, as well as if they are lead by a general or a captain. As you can see, a reinforcement unit is super cheap to sabotage and has good odds. In this way you can actually speed train a Monomi by using the advanced Monomi to ensure the army is sabotaged and then having your baby Monomi try to sabotage the now immobile army, all for a bargain price. Kind of like those wasps that mind control their prey, really.


Approaching the camp under the cover of darkness, Nakamitsu checked his equipment one last time. The poison he carried was tasteless, colourless and slow acting. If he could get it into the water supplies of the camp, they would be immobilised for some time as the men recovered from it. Easily sneaking between the sparse guards, he entered the supply tent.

Our target is a small force of Honda troops, a Naginata Levy. The odds are good and they really are a target of opportunity, if we succeed we can then proceed to hit them again next turn at the same low low cost. You can speedily level Monomi in this way, assuming the RNG is kind. Of course, that's basically the mantra with Monomi "Hope the RNG is kind".


While unsealing the earthenware vessel containing the poison, Nakamitsu gently nudges a naginata left leaning against the tent wall. As it slowly starts to fall over, he spins and catches it with speed and precision. The sudden movement causes the small vessel to slip from his hand, shattering on the ground. Although none were alerted by the sound, without the poison he can no longer impede the army. Silently cursing to himself, he settles for emptying the water supplies onto the ground as quietly as possible. Collecting the remnants of the poison vessel, Nakamitisu leaves the way he came.

In a surprise to absolutely nobody, Nakamitsu fails to sabotage the army despite his 65% chance of success. On the upside he got out of it alive, which is always a serious plus when talking about Monomi. Also, at 30 koku to gain 3 xp, it's a pretty good deal no matter what.


"My lord, terrible news" shouted the messenger as he rode into the central courtyard, his horse lathered and panting.
Springing to his feet, Munemori demanded to know what was the matter "Out with it, what news?"
"The Hasebe, my lord" the messenger replied. "They claim the provinces of Tajima and Tango as theirs by right. It is war!"

...Fuck. I knew a backstab was coming, but I wasn't expecting it from that province in our northwest. This is why the loss of loyal friends can catch you on the hop, as I have not reinforced that province, thinking it safe where now it is anything but. At least their allies decline to join in, so they should be under some pressure. It's going to be a mad scramble to try to salvage this one.


Autumn of 1179


"I see proud warriors of the Taira before me" announced Shigehira to his newly recruited Levy. "Each man worth a dozen from other clans. Serve Kiyomori with pride and honour, for you are the lifeblood of the clan."

As our spare cash dries up, so does our recruitment. With a fresh war underway, it's a bad time to be caught with no money to raise emergency troops and next to no defences in our northern provinces. On the other hand, our eastern army is a huge regional force and should ensure that at least somewhere we are dictating terms to people.


"I was a fool to trade with such dishonourable men" fumed Kiyomori "They seek to take lands that are Taira by right?".
Pointing to an assistant he barked "You, send word that there will be no more trade with the Hasabe, on pain of death!"

Unsurprisingly, the war declaration from the Hasabe has caused the trade agreement to be broken. This is the worst possible timing, as the last thing we can afford right now is the loss of income, as we now enter a holding pattern with profits reduced to around 1000 koku a turn. It will get us some troops or some basic construction, but it's going to be next to impossible to raise a force of levy for emergencies, let alone finance better troops. Almost every spare koku is earmarked for Onna Bushi Heroines, since I still have a few cards to play.


"My lord, I bring word from the Satake, your loyal servants. He offers his daughters hand in marriage to Tomomori, in honour of your continued glory" the messenger informed Kiyomori.
"The girl is beautiful and her family honourable, but she has more an eye for gold than for honour, I fear. No, she will not wed Tomomori." Kiyomori stated.

With another wife in offering to Tomomori, it looks like a nice deal. A Greedy Wife is one of the better options, since it increases the morale of all units under the generals control by 1, albeit at the cost of increasing upkeep by 5%. It's ideal for Levy generals as the extra few koku per unit is more than offset by the extra morale. I'm not going to accept for two reasons though, the first is that Tomomori leads our elite (and therefore expensive) forces where the extra morale is much less useful and secondly because I really can't afford any increased upkeep right now, even if it is fairly minor.


"Glorious news, my lord" announced the attendant "The wolf and tiger are at war, each seeks the heart of the other!"

Finally some good news! The other two major clans are at war with each other. This is exceptionally useful as it means they are less likely to push into the territory to the east that I want to take for myself as well as making it easier to seize the victory province that I have yet to capture. The risk I run is that one of them overruns the other and becomes a massive power bloc that will put me under enormous pressure during Realm Divide.


"I will not suffer the loss of our northern provinces to treacherous cowards" Munemori informed the Attendant Captain. "Send word to my father informing him I will hold the province or die trying. Scouts report their forces are not overly dangerous, so I only require the attendants to follow."

The Hasebe force doesn't look all that dangerous, so I move up Munemori and his 3 Naginata Attendants to reinforce the meagre garrison in Tajima. This leaves enough troops to keep the peace in Tango, although I will want to recruit additional troops (more money spent!).


Ietoyo thanked the messenger for his delivery. Standing up, he barked orders to his Levy Captain "Kiyomori requires us to join him in Settsu to assist in the defence of the Taira capital. Form up the men and make ready to march."

I'm feeling pretty vulnerable at the moment with this new attack, so I order Ietoyo to head into Settsu, bringing the garrison up to a reasonable number of troops. If the clan directly south of me decides to attack Settsu or Kyoto, the garrisons there are suitable to destroy them and if they head south for Kii I can sally forth and destroy them before they can reach it.


Reading his ciphered message, Mitsukazu recieved his orders. Old friends would have to wait, for he was required to lend any and all assistance to Shigehira in Kyoto and to maintain the order of the Imperial capital. A daunting task for even a skilled Junsatsushi, Mitsukazu smiled at the approaching challenge. The thought of meeting Shigehira again filled his heart with joy, just as the challenges filled his head with plans. It would be good to see the boy again/

I'm on an emergency war footing and that means I need every edge I can get. Mistukazu is that edge. Junsatsushi are incredible at rank 3 and above if you use them right and this is no exception. I need money for him to bribe or do any of his other functions, money which I don't have. I order him to head to Kyoto, the beating heart of my economy to assist Shigehira in keeping my economy running.


"What is happening to the koku?" Shigehira thought aloud. "Each tally works out, yet the result is far less than I expect. What am I missing?"
A voice came from behind him "Not every man who draws wages is real"
Shigehira spun around, a smile forming on his face "Mitsukazu!"

This is what Kyoto looks like at the moment. It has a huge wealth of 2700 koku and is producing the profit of my empire, with almost all the other income adsorbed by upkeep costs. It's not growing fast and I don't have any income to reinvest, especially as now only the very expensive upgrades are available to improve it.


"Here" indicated Mitsukazu "This administrator claims to be paying the wages of two hundred men, yet the watch of the town is barely two dozen. Check your manning census scrolls, others may be trying the same trick"
Shigehira laughed "Not much ever got past you, I certainly never could. Thank you for helping me unravel the problems that plague my duty."
Mitsukazu smiled warmly "I still remember a certain young boy stealing sweets from the kitchen and claiming an oni had gobbled them up"
"I was terrified you would tell father" replied Shigehira.
"And you promised to never try to trick me again" laughed Mitsukazu. "Well, you need not worry. Don't tell anyone I solved this little problem, let them believe it was you. A little infallibility goes a long way to keeping order."

With Mitsukazu overseeing Kyoto, the picture changes rapidly. Kyoto now produces an additional 533 koku a turn over what it previously did with a tax rate boost of 19% (After administrative cost modifications), every koku of which is earmarked for the construction of walls and economic buildings unless it becomes obvious I need troops ASAP. This is my trump card as it offsets the trade loss of the war and then adds another 1 and a half times the value of that trade route. The downside is, if Mitsukazu dies due to old age, I will lose this bonus and if I am reliant on this, it will be crippling.


"Send word to the Isonokami" ordered Tomomori "Let them know that the Taira lay claim to Iga by divine right."

In the spirit of being sportsmanlike, we declare war on the Isonokami, the owners of the Iga province. I can't risk them moving on me when I push east towards the Honda, so I need to eliminate them now. They also have a large force and can only expand through Taira lands or our vassal. Neither of these are attractive alternatives, so they must be eliminated. It also helps that they are Ambitious and Treacherous and I've already been screwed by some upstart clan picking a fight with me. It won't happen twice.


Tomomori surveyed his troops on parade. "I look upon you and see the pride of the Taira. Warriors with the fury of demons and the courage of heroes. Inside every man before beats the heart of a warrior, a protector, a legend. All our foes will melt away before such men, for there is one truth that commands all others. We are Taira!"

This is the force we will use to ensure the destruction of our enemies on the eastern front. Consisting of 9 Naginata Levy, 3 Bow Levy, 2 Bow Warrior Monks and 2 Foot Samurai lead by Tomomori, it's quite capable of standing toe to toe with any army at this stage of the game. It's vulnerable to massed Sword Attendants, but they are allergic to arrows and we have a lot of ranged capacity. Normally I wouldn't run anywhere near this archery rich, but that +10 accuracy boost from Tomomori totally changes how armies are constructed, it's THAT GOOD.


"Alright you miserable motherless dogs" yelled the Samurai Captain. "You heard the general! Form up and move out!"

We move directly to the south, taking a shortcut through the trees and almost reaching Iga on this turn. It's going to be a big fight and if they had walls I would never attempt it.


"You must take this detachment of men and head to Omi to ensure the peace" Shigehira ordered the Levy Captain. "The honour of the Taira is in your capable hands. Do not fail your family."

Emptying Omi of troops has left us with happiness problems, so to counter that we move additional Levy from Kyoto to Omi to ensure order is maintained. We have less need to ensure Kyoto is heavily fortified if our attack goes as planned, especially since Omi doesn't have the walls that Kyoto enjoys.


Winter of 1179


The Kii province administrator sighed. The prestiege offered by such a position was high, but the burden was also heavy. Losses were substantial, even with the additional manpower that the expanded administrative centre provided. He needed additional help if he was going to be able to perform his duty to a standard Kiyomori would find acceptable.

The last of our major constructions has been completed, with construction having all but stopped across the Taira empire. Luckily for us, it's a Shinden in Kii, increasing the income from that relatively rich province, netting us an extra 70 koku or so a turn. Our economy has now stopped growing through normal means until I can restore a more reasonable cashflow. This extra would help, except for the fact that we got another "helpful" event this turn.


"We have to keep the peace" announced the Levy Captain to his new recruits. "Our families safety and our honour depend on it."

Recruitment has also plummeted from the lack of funds that plague us, with only a single levy bring recruited in Tango in order to maintain order there since we moved out Munemori and his troops to reinforce Tajima.


"My lord, Yashima Taira troops approach. The captain reports that he and his men are a gift to demonstrate the loyalty of our sister clan towards us" the attendant informed Kiyomori.
"It is good that we have such friends in these troubled times. Tell the captain I have a job for him and his men" replied Kiyomori.

This is our "lucky" event which happens if the computer holds you in high enough regard (in this case, it was from our sister clan) gifting you an additional combat unit, usually a decent one. The unit will certainly be useful given our combat posturing, but the upkeep has cancelled out the extra income from the Shinden in Kii, slowing further improvements and preventing us from raising Levy in areas where we need them more. The unit appears outside your clan capital.





"Reporting for duty as you ordered, my lord" stated Ietoyo, bowing.
"Excellent" responded Kiyomori "While I require your troops to defend Settsu, you are needed to command the secondary force under Tomomori"
"It will be as you command, my lord" replied Ietoyo, bowing.

Tomomori's army is too large to be commanded by a single general, especially a combat focused one. Instead, I dispatch Ietoyo to assist in the command and control of his large levy force. I ultimately plan to get him his own stack and use him as reinforcements to our primary combat force. We can also dispatch him to kill small armies and gain some experience, as each level Ietoyo gains increases our global tax rate by 1%, something that we sorely need right now.


"You have all trained hard for this day" boomed Tomomori "Your will is strong, your eyes sharp, your aim true. We will seize Iga for the Taira and end the oppression of the Isonokami in glorious combat. For honour, for glory, for the Taira!"

Undeterred by setbacks elsewhere, I need to secure this front with a show of force. Tomomori is the man to finish this. Our force consists of 9 Naginata Levy, 3 Bow Levy, 2 Bow Warrior Monks and 2 Foot Samurai, while the town is defended by 8 Naginata Levy and 7 Bow Levy. Due to the large size of Levy units, the defenders have a numbers advantage however we certainly have the quality advantage. I need this fight to be as low casualty as possible in order to free up Tomomori.

Click here to see the battle!

"Archers, forward!" yelled the Samurai Captain. "I'll make every man who misses his target fetch his arrow."

A map we have seen before, this town has a gentle slope on one side with a far more aggressive set of chokepoints on the other. The gentle slope comes into play after you have come up a very steep hill that funnels very well, so approaching from that side tires out your troops. Best to approach from the chokepoint side and then flank as the hills are much more gentle from that direction.


"Tasted battle and think yourselves big men?" drilled the Samurai Captain "That will get you killed! Every battle is serious, every battle requires your best. We lost a brother samurai today, he died in honourable battle. Let us hope when you fall it is as noble."

The power of Tomomori's archery prowess combined with Foot Samurai and Bow Monks! As I had hoped, our valuable and hard to replace units took minimal losses, with the cheap and easy to replace Levy doing most of the dying. Since we need to leave a garrison force here anyway, we can leave the damaged units to replenish and have minimal loss to our operational combat force. We never even put the Foot Samurai in hand to hand combat!


"Today, each and every one of you acted with honour" announced Tomomori. "Your skills in battle have led you to victory, a crushing defeat upon our foes. Every man fought with the fury of a demon and the honour of the Taira. I am proud to lead such formidable men."

Tomomori sadly got very few kills as he was needed at the rear to protect and command the Levy forces. Look at those Foot Samurai numbers, just look at them! This is why I love those honourable bastards, they just ruin everything despite being so small. The extra 3 levels they gained (from one fight!) means that they will now kill approximately infinite Naginata Levy in melee combat if it should come to that. You may notice that the Bow Monks scored about as many kills as the Bow Levy. This is due to the ammunition limits coming into play. There are 2/3's of the monks and so only 2/3's of the arrows that a Bow Levy unit would have. Each monk hits about twice as often as a Bow Levy and fires twice as often. If both empty all their ammunition, then the reload speed didn't matter and so the volume of arrows from the Bow Levy make up for their reduced accuracy. A huge part of this is the fact that the accuracy buff is a flat boost to the base accuracy rate.


"Did you see Tomomori push a man aside to take the arrow?" a soldier questioned another. "His armour was as unbreakable as his will and it was turned aside."
"I heard he charged the enemy from the front in Tango, fighting for the full duration and claiming many heads" responded another.
"He is touched by the gods, such bravery can only be divine in nature" replied a third.

Our continued use of Tomomori in an aggressive manner in combat has paid off, with the awarding of the trait "Brave". With the way I like to send him in like a weapon, "Foolhardy" might be more appropriate. Regardless, the extra +1 morale to all units under his command is amazing and he is going to be one of the better generals I have ever seen. If we can get him an awesome wife, he could very well become a force of nature!


Tomomori surveyed the courtyard in front of him. While not ornate, the craftsmanship suggested a certain practical wealth for those who lived there. No longer would the Isonokami threaten Taira lands, he had seen to that.

Another province to add to our collection! As is my standard operating procedure, I have occupied the province without looting in order to ensure that I need to leave a minimal garrison here. I was tempted to make a vassal out of it, but with Realm Divide even vassals will turn on you and I need to ensure the safety of my key financial provinces.


"Report" ordered Tomomori.
"My lord, the province has adequate wealth and historically has produced some gifted Monomi. The biggest benefit is the extended granaries and distribution network that allow it to produce food vastly in excess of it's needs" responded the administrator.
"The strength of the Taira grows" Tomomori nodded "It is easier to fight and win with a full belly."

Luckily for us, Yasunobu has been converting the provinces population towards Taira support for a large portion of the game, so Taira support here is very high. The province is not particularly rich, but it has enough wealth to offset any losses caused by the increase in administrative cost and will only need a small garrison. It also has some of the best growth out of any of our provinces. Iga contains a Town, Todokoro, Food Stores, Dry Field Agriculture (Meagre), Trails and Isolated Hamlet. The Food Stores is the other upgrade to the Barter Exchange and is the first building of the Granary chain. It increases town growth as well as providing additional food. This means you can either support larger castles and towns than before or you can use it as an additional +1 town growth for every province.




"A message, my lord" the messenger said, handing Kiyomori a small scroll. Opening it, a smile appeared on Kiyomori's face.
"Iga is secured and the Isonokami are no more" he responded "Our heartland grows ever more secure."

Another threat to our valuable internal provinces has been swiftly eliminated. This is likely one of the last "easy" eliminations as almost every remaining clan will be several provinces in size and lightning raids to eliminate them are no longer possible. In addition, we are now closer to Realm Divide than ever before, only 4-5 provinces away (If I have worked it out right...)


His mission to secure the allegiance of Iga complete with the assistance of Tomomori, Yasunobu knew that Omi was still a hotbed for rebellion and Minamoto sentiment. He was the best, he knew that. He would secure Taira support in Omi and show the world his excellence and skill.

Iga now has a large amount of support for the Taira clan and as a controlled province no longer represents a threat to us. I'm still plagued by money troubles as I desperately try to kickstart my economy while building walls so I send Yasunobu to oversee the settlement of Omi.


Digging through the many scrolls and reports of the Omi province, Yasunobu rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Perhaps there is no corruption here after all" he thought to himself. As he shifted papers, a small scroll caught his eye. "Shipments of night soil? We don't have shipments of night soil..."

While Omi is nowhere near the value of Kyoto, it is our third most valuable province (Neck and neck with Kii) and produces a reasonable amount of tax for our empire.


The ruse had been clever, but not clever enough to fool Yasunobu. Gold from the treasury was being shipped out hidden in the consignments, but that was put to a swift and bloody end. With corruption loss stemmed, the treasury filled faster than ever.

Having Yasunobu oversee the province adds 6% to the tax rate for an additional 94 koku a turn. It's no Mitsukazu boost, but as you can see, Omi has very low support for the Taira. In this way we get additional koku as well as the conversion of the province towards supporting our clan, the two major roadblocks we currently face in this region.


"Leave the wounded and a small detachment here to maintain order" commanded Tomomori. "Ready the rest of the men, we march to Omi."
"As you command, my lord" responded the Samurai Captain. Leaving the tent and facing his men, he barked "We are moving out, form up!"

Having secured Iga, we can't afford to be paying upkeep on an army that size that is just going to sit around. We still need to eliminate the Honda and press east, so Tomomori is marched in that direction, hopefully picking up some reinforcements to replace what was left behind to guard Iga.


"A message for you, captain. It looks urgent" stated the levyman, handing over a sealed scroll.
As he opened it, the captains eyes grew wide. "Ready the men to move out immediately. I only hope we get there in time."
"But the patrols..." protested the levyman
"Damn the patrols, Munemori needs every man we have!"

Out of nowhere, a substantially larger Hasebe army appears and suddenly I'm no longer confident of repelling them at Tajima. I have no choice now, I need to move my entire garrison from Tango to Tajima to bolster my numbers there. This means leaving Tango to riot, a price I have to pay. I'm committed to holding Tajima and have deployed Munemori and his Attendants, knowing full well that if I lose, that entire army will be destroyed to a man, our heir included. Given those risks, the loss of some tax from rioting is a small price to pay if this works. I'm also taking advantage of the unrest system by doing this. The first turn a province starts at negative happiness, you will get a notification of mounting unrest, but you won't ever get riots (I have heard stories of if unhappiness is high enough you don't get the turns grace period, but I have not seen it myself) so I can use this turn to still get the tax and hopefully, if I win, pull out enough garrison troops next turn to restore order and not lose any tax. I'm playing for keeps up here, if I can't hold them then my entire northern sector is basically defenceless...


Reading the scouting reports, Munemori frowned. There just wasn't enough information about the enemy force. That they were about the same size as his army was known, but were they levy? Samurai? Cavalry? His scouts had no idea. Rubbing his temples, Munemori wished for more time. He would not let his father down, he would not let the clan down. Here they would fight and here they would die, if it came to that. They couldn't fail, everything relied on him.

Their army appears slightly larger than mine and both generals are 2 star, so we will have to rely on the terrain being in my favour to help turn the tide. If they have bought quality troops against our Levy and few Attendants, I am likely going to be farewelling our eldest son.


Shigehira was slowly finding his feet as an administrator. He knew that Taira gold was never making it to their coffers, but without Mitsukazu to show him the tricks, he would never have spotted them. Despite the increase in tax take, the troops were costing more than ever. Silently, Shigehira wondered if Tomomori was going to bankrupt them all...

We have added an extra 700 koku tax income and lost 200 koku from trade in the last 4 turns as well as having increased our army upkeep by 600 koku a turn. Our net cash inflow is roughly the same, but it's important to note that of that 700 koku gain, 631 koku is the bonus taxation gained from Mitsukazu and Yasunobu overseeing provinces. Since our Shinden being constructed in Kii added the extra 70 koku in tax take, you can see that capturing Iga was in fact revenue neutral as the increased administrative cost consumed the extra 211 koku even without any garrison troops required. As I expand there is a good chance that my income will in fact go backward and I'm going to have to make tough choices.



Sneak Peak: A final stand