Witchfinder
BuroMil Inquisitor
Battle Royale (noun)
1. A battle involving many combatants, especially a fight to the finish.
2. A passionate conflict, especially one that unfolds in public.
3. A Japanese movie about a group of schoolchildren forced to fight each other to the death on a remote island.
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Background: A new game as the Japanese. I'm still a Civ 3 wuss, so I'm playing on Warlord setting. The world is medium sized, and the landmasses are archipelagos.
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Life was hard for the early Japanese settlers. They founded their first great city in 4000 BC and immediately began work on building an army, as was the custom of their great leader, Tokugawa. He ordered that warriors be trained and sent out to find other peoples of the land who might be brought under the yoke of his fledgeling empire.
Tokugawa was a cruel and hard man, and well known for his militant interpretation of Buddhism. This interpretation would ultimately lead to the development of the supremely skilled samurai caste and their frequent wars against the other nations of the world, but we're getting ahead of ourselves here.
For hundreds of years before the birth of the Christians' god, the Japanese spread far and wide, and developed many new ideas through the thoughts of great sages and masters. Tokugawa encouraged this, as long as they might bring him military advantages. The settlements of Edo and Tokyo became bustling towns, and commanded vital stretches of land where canals could be built to bridge the gaps between oceans.
To the east, Japanese warriors encountered the mighty Chinese, who were great allies of Japan in those early years. Technology and commodities were traded freely. To the south, the backwards Indians were discovered, languishing in their jungle habitat. They were finding it hard to enhance their pitiful culture because of a lack of resources.
Of course, the might of Japan recognised this as a weakness, and determined that the Indian people should be conquered for their own wellbeing. In 570 BC, the Japanese war machine swung into action. Four regiments of ashigaru swordsmen marched south along the recently built war-road. In tow were the newly built catapults for which Mao had kindly provided the plans.
As the army approached Madras, the wizened old leader of the Indians approached the Japanese columns, guarded by spearmen. He demanded to know what brought the Japanese to his lands, so armed for war. Tokugawa responded by snapping open his war-fan and recited a haiku he had written:
The storm wrecks the wooden hut
The castle stands firm
Look to the strength of your home.
With that, a mighty battle ensued. The well armed Japanese soldiers fell upon the city and crushed it completely, burning the place to the ground and salting the earth. The regiments fanned out to hunt down the escaping Indian units, but Tokugawa hadn't reckoned with the tenacity of the old man Gandhi.
The Indian counterattack came in the jungles which favoured Gandhi's swordsmen who were well used to the terrain. Much of the Japanese army was destroyed, and Tokugawa was forced to lead his two remaining regiments back to Edo to rest.
It wasn't until many years later, in AD 130, that the Japanese would return to India in force. Once again, the heavily armed swordsmen took the rebuilt city of Madras, but this time Tokugawa ordered the people spared.
Bangalore was not to be so fortunate. Each woman was skewered on a spike, each man was sent into slavery, and each child was drowned in a vat of boiling water. Sensing the imminent fall of India, Tokugawa played his trump card. Working through the temples, the Emperor had been grooming a new warrior caste, dedicated to honour, mastery of the sword, loyalty to their feudal lord and the principles of Buddhism.
This new warrior elite were the samurai, and they were to dominate the battlefields of the continent for nearly a millenium.
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Coming soon - the Samurai storm Calcutta...
1. A battle involving many combatants, especially a fight to the finish.
2. A passionate conflict, especially one that unfolds in public.
3. A Japanese movie about a group of schoolchildren forced to fight each other to the death on a remote island.
-----------------------------------------------
Background: A new game as the Japanese. I'm still a Civ 3 wuss, so I'm playing on Warlord setting. The world is medium sized, and the landmasses are archipelagos.
-----------------------------------------------
Life was hard for the early Japanese settlers. They founded their first great city in 4000 BC and immediately began work on building an army, as was the custom of their great leader, Tokugawa. He ordered that warriors be trained and sent out to find other peoples of the land who might be brought under the yoke of his fledgeling empire.
Tokugawa was a cruel and hard man, and well known for his militant interpretation of Buddhism. This interpretation would ultimately lead to the development of the supremely skilled samurai caste and their frequent wars against the other nations of the world, but we're getting ahead of ourselves here.
For hundreds of years before the birth of the Christians' god, the Japanese spread far and wide, and developed many new ideas through the thoughts of great sages and masters. Tokugawa encouraged this, as long as they might bring him military advantages. The settlements of Edo and Tokyo became bustling towns, and commanded vital stretches of land where canals could be built to bridge the gaps between oceans.
To the east, Japanese warriors encountered the mighty Chinese, who were great allies of Japan in those early years. Technology and commodities were traded freely. To the south, the backwards Indians were discovered, languishing in their jungle habitat. They were finding it hard to enhance their pitiful culture because of a lack of resources.
Of course, the might of Japan recognised this as a weakness, and determined that the Indian people should be conquered for their own wellbeing. In 570 BC, the Japanese war machine swung into action. Four regiments of ashigaru swordsmen marched south along the recently built war-road. In tow were the newly built catapults for which Mao had kindly provided the plans.
As the army approached Madras, the wizened old leader of the Indians approached the Japanese columns, guarded by spearmen. He demanded to know what brought the Japanese to his lands, so armed for war. Tokugawa responded by snapping open his war-fan and recited a haiku he had written:
The storm wrecks the wooden hut
The castle stands firm
Look to the strength of your home.
With that, a mighty battle ensued. The well armed Japanese soldiers fell upon the city and crushed it completely, burning the place to the ground and salting the earth. The regiments fanned out to hunt down the escaping Indian units, but Tokugawa hadn't reckoned with the tenacity of the old man Gandhi.
The Indian counterattack came in the jungles which favoured Gandhi's swordsmen who were well used to the terrain. Much of the Japanese army was destroyed, and Tokugawa was forced to lead his two remaining regiments back to Edo to rest.
It wasn't until many years later, in AD 130, that the Japanese would return to India in force. Once again, the heavily armed swordsmen took the rebuilt city of Madras, but this time Tokugawa ordered the people spared.
Bangalore was not to be so fortunate. Each woman was skewered on a spike, each man was sent into slavery, and each child was drowned in a vat of boiling water. Sensing the imminent fall of India, Tokugawa played his trump card. Working through the temples, the Emperor had been grooming a new warrior caste, dedicated to honour, mastery of the sword, loyalty to their feudal lord and the principles of Buddhism.
This new warrior elite were the samurai, and they were to dominate the battlefields of the continent for nearly a millenium.
-----------------------------------------------
Coming soon - the Samurai storm Calcutta...
