Warring States - Uemoto Requiem (Winter 1549)
One of many things I plan on moving from my LJ for posterity.
This is a crosspost from the samurai campaign. I’m posting it here because it’s easier to get to, and some of you might find this amusing. It’s long and won’t make much sense, so skip it if you aren’t interested. In summary, two samurai clans were at war - the Taniguchi were attacking the Uemoto, and the six PC samurai were fighting alongside the Uemoto.
The Battle of North Gate: The battle started at dawn, and ran most of the morning. Throughout the battle, all of you earned your reputations. Your participation will be discussed in terms of the flashy and daring spectacle of the cavalry preliminaries, the long, brutal fighting at the palisades, or the last minute defense of the Uemoto rear. Among all of the various acts of valor, the following stood out clearly:
Mukai Saneaki claimed the life of Lord Taniguchi Shimbei at five hundred paces before the armies even clashed. Though it may seem to be of little import to Saneaki, it was a shot worthy of the old chronicles, and it denied the Taniguchi army it’s leader. No one will deny that this was a critical moment. By nightfall, Mukai Saneaki will hear the peasants singing about the shot, which proved that Heaven favored the Uemoto.
Shimizu Akira, who was seen by all out in front during the opening cavalry maneuvers, was also noticed for standing and fighting to defend Lord Uemoto when he fell. In the midst of hundreds, both commoner and samurai, friend and foe, his dogged defense of a fallen lord who was not even his to serve stood out as a paragon of samurai virtues.
Akihiro, Rinzan, Harushige, and Gentaro joined two Uemoto samurai and rode against ten times their number when the Taniguchi managed to break out into the undefended rear of the valley. At this point in the battle, Lord Uemoto and both his sons had already fallen, and the weight of Taniguchi numbers was beginning to tell in the main melee at the palisades. Had the Taniguchi flanking move been successful, the day would likely have been lost. Hundreds of villagers witnessed this deed and will recount what they saw for generations.
The fighting was completely finished before mid-day, and the disorganized pursuit of the remnants of the Taniguchi army was called off or finally petered out long before sunset. The only thing left was to collect the dead. The Taniguchi dead were buried in a long trench at the north end of the valley, covered over with dirt, and brief services were spoken to quiet their restless spirits. The Uemoto dead were collected and taken home for proper burials. Lord Uemoto lived only through the night, long enough to know that his valley had been saved, and he expired without speaking another word. A funeral was held the next day, and Lord Uemoto and his two sons were cremated and interred in the family plot outside the castle. Over the next few days, there were a great many funerals, almost two hundred.
Not surprisingly, the North Gate is now assumed to be haunted, and no travelers will linger there after dark. Over the next two weeks, Harushige and Rinzan are forced to make at least two trips there to deal with the unquiet dead. Though such deeds are as valorous as any other, none of the peasants dare speak of such things, save in nervous whispers.
The Aftermath: With the line of Uemoto struck down, the tricky question of who rules the domain had to be addressed quickly. Fortunately Mori Sadahiro specifically stated to the group, in no uncertain terms, that you collectively speak with his voice on such matters. Akihiro, as the ranking nobleman, entered into a lengthy discussion with Lady Uemoto Noriko, the widow of Lord Uemoto. Despite her grief, she remained all business. She requested that Akihiro and the rest of you publicly support her temporary leadership of the domain. The actual agreement that was hammered out was a little different. Mori Sadahiro will rule the fief as regent (through a subordinate), until the unborn child (hopefully a son) of Uemoto’s concubine O-Yuki is of age.
Over the next two weeks, you all get chances to practice administrative skills. You are forced to deal with the headache of running a war-battered fief. The three villages have no leaders, the soldiers are down to 2/3 of normal strength, and most of their officers are dead. You are forced to act as village headmen, making banal logistical decisions, adjudicating disputes, and meting out punishments as necessary. You find it to be relatively easy. Akihiro’s soft touch, combined with Gentaro’s snarl, makes it easy to gain compliance. After a fortnight, a dozen Mori samurai and a hundred ashigaru arrive to assume control of the Uemoto domain. The newly appointed regent is an older man named Tadatsugi Hachiro. He is well known as one of Sadahiro’s oldest advisors and friends. You have no fears for the Uemoto domain in his hands. You all remain in the valley for a few more days, allowing for an adjustment period as power changes hands.
When all is said and done, the six of you ride home to Yamaguchi as heroes, escorting Lady Noriko and O-Yuki to the Mori compound in Yamaguchi. Along with you travel a large entourage: your personal attendants, five servants of Lady Noriko and O-Yuki, a personal guard of two samurai and ten ashigaru. The two ronin (Yoshiharu and Gorobei), who remain in service to Lady Noriko for the time being, amble down the road behind you, moving at their own leisurely pace. Though Yoshiharu would enjoy a horse, the [info]vigus-sized Gorobei seems to frighten animals by his very presence… so they walk alot.
It is early December when you finally arrive at home, hoping for a long, dry, uneventful winter.