Lore

### Primer

Following the defeat of the Toyotomi loyalist Western Army at the hands of the Tokugawa led Eastern Army at the Battle of Sekigahara, peace finally fell over Japan. A full 122 years have passed since 1615, and in that time much has changed. Tokugawa Ieyasu founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Military Dictatorship which has brought Japan tranquility following the end of the bloody Sengoku Period. Now, in the year 1737, the Tokugawa Shogunate is well established. Not even the oldest among the population can remember the horrors of the bloody age that preceded the peaceful time they now live in. It was in this peaceful setting that the ruling caste of Japan, the Samurai, quickly became soft. With no enemies to fight, what use was a Warrior? As the country relaxed, so too did it's rulers. Not all Samurai were pleased with their newfound unemployment, and it was among these disgruntled soldiers that our story begins.

**Ryukyu Pact**

In the year 1735, the Miao Peoples of southern China suffered under the Extortionate Qing Dynasty. Having recently decided to implement direct Qing administration in the area, the Qing government ruthlessly pacified the region. Unwilling to suffer their injustices any longer, the Miao chieftains decided to rebel against Qing rule, in hope of securing some level of freedom for their people. The Yongzheng Emperor demanded that Ortai, governor of Jiangsu, brutally crush the Miao and restore Qing authority to the region.

After arriving in the area and occupying every town and village, Ortai continued to lose men to the unconventional warfare of the Miao. Unwilling to let the situation escalate and reach the Emperor's ear, Ortai chose to hire foreign mercenaries for high risk missions. This group of mercenaries, roughly 3,000 men in total, became known as the Wako Unit.

The Wako Unit consisted primarily of non-inheriting sons of noblemen and ronin, despite it's name literally meaning "Pirate Group". The mercenary band immediately proved it's worth, and quickly became known for it's legendary combat prowess. Proving to be instrumental to the Qing's efforts, the combined forces of the Wako Unit and the Bordered Blue Banner stamped out what remained of Miao resistance. Ortai could not possibly hope to pay what he owed to the Unit in money, so instead he used his power as governor and leverage with the Emperor to transfer a total of 15,000 men to the company. Quickly deciding on their ambitions, the leaders of the company booked passage with real Wako and conquered the Ryukyu islands. Here over 150 "Generals" of the Unit proclaimed in a letter to the Emperor their intention to claim their "Rightful Lands" from the Tokugawa Lords. The Majority of these Generals changed their names to older branches in their dynastic tree, with long irrelevant clans like the Takeda, Oda, and Hosokawa being revived. The leader of this expedition is one self-proclaimed Toyotomi Hidenaga. Taking after the example of the second unifier of Japan, Toyotomi Hidenaga (born as "Matsuhide") took the surname Toyotomi and declared his intention to take back the nation.

Shortly after conquering Ryukyu, the Pact rested and recruited. Gathering a huge host not seen since the times of Sekigahara, Hidenaga has assembled an army of 68,000 Chinese, Korean, Thai, Dutch, and Mongol mercenaries; not to mention the 7,000 exiled Samurai warriors seeking land and bearing a grudge against the Tokugawa. Landing a short ways down from Osaka, the Veteran Pact forces completely obliterated the inexperienced Shogunate Army. Now, as 1737 just begins to find it's feet, Japan has thrown itself into chaos for the second time in 200 years.