The last time I ended this game diary, Tanegashima Tomokata was in enemy territory during winter with a handful of units. Stuck without a way of retreating back to Shimazu land. The Ito clan didn’t let Tomokata off scott free. They sent an army to attack him. But, the army consisted of a single bow ashigaru unit left with 29 men. The only defending unit from Hyuga.
Tanegashima took them all down, by himself. His army decimated from the attrition and close battles. With some reinforcements in the next season and Hyuga undefended, they managed to capture Hyuga and the Ito clan has finally been destroyed. Now Tanegashima really thinks nothing can stop him. He gets illusions of grandeur which reduces his loyalty to the Shimazu clan.
Shimazu Takahisa is a wise and cunning man. Acknowledging this general's lack of loyalty, he strips him of his Commissioner of Warfare title. He instead makes him the Commissioner of Finance and will make him defend Shimazu regions and towns behind enemy lines. Tanegashima will never be used as an offensive general ever again, well, at least not until he is loyal to Shimazu again.
Now with the Ito dead, Shimazu Takahisa ponders on his next target. To the north, the Shoni clan is powerful and holds many regions. Most troubling is the fact that they are also allied to the Sagara clan who are Shimazu's allies. If war breaks out, the Shimazu could loose a valuable ally. The Sagara have one single large army that could cause problems but they only own a single region. The Shoni are clearly the biggest threat.
It didn’t take long for the Shoni to declare war. Within the next season, they immediately declare war on Shimazu. Luckily, Sagara decides to be neutral and does not join any side. However, the Shoni has military access agreement with the Segara. They catch Shimazu by surprise by sending an army through Segara territory to attack the Shimazu capital, Satsuma. Only defended lightly, Shimazu's Daimyo knows he needs to recruit a few units. The Shoni army is about 2 seasons away from the capital.
On top of the land threat, the Shoni also sent a fleet of ships to attack Shimazu trade ship and trade routes. Now the Shimazu will be financially under pressure and with no real fleet to protect and fight back, they will be hurting for a year or two as they get a proper fleet built.
1551, the assault on Bungo has begun. Yongo Yoshimune leads the assaulting army. Most of the Shoni forces are focused on Bungo, it was a very close fight. Using the hill and forest covers, Yoshimune tried to starve the defenders instead of foolishly trying to assault their fortress. His tactics work, and Bungo falls to Shimazu.
Back in Satsuma, Takahisa commands his own son, the heir to the Shimazu clan to lead the defending army against the Shoni army that is now destroying the infrastructure of this region. By 1552, Shimazu Yoshihisa(heir of the Shimazu) has a decent sized army to lead. He has recruited a new unit of No Dachi Samurai, samurai with huge two handed swords that are excellent shock trooper. But they are vulnerable to arrows.
The Shoni army was beaten back, but they retreat to Sagara territory. Not having military access, Shimazu clan quickly made a diplomatic deal with the Sagara for indefinite military access through their region. Now the Shimazu are on the path to claiming the southern island of Japan.
By 1553, the southern island of Kyushu is Shimazu’s except for Sagara’s single region. The Shoni fleet has been beaten back and trade ports are now being reclaimed. The Shoni are left with 2 regions in the Chogoku isles north of Shimazu’s territory. The Sagara surprisingly cancels their military access agreement with the Shimazu. They are now indifferent to Shimazu but their alliance is still in effect. Kyushu was relatively easy to conquer as the Shoni didn’t have a proper defending army once Bungo fell.
But they surprised the Shimazu by sending a very large army lead by their Daimyo and his heir to Buzen. Buzen was reinforced with defending forces but this will be a very tough fight. If this battle goes well, the invasion of Chogoku would be much easier… I think.
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