Mount & Blade: Warband in the Sengoku period of Japan

After reporting his work, Chen Daoyuan was about to leave when Shiba Tengao stopped him. Shiba Tengao had sent someone else to tell Chen Daoyuan about the blast furnace situation. The old man, with a kind face, told Chen Daoyuan about something else: "There happens to be a great military strategist from Kyoto these days. Why don't you come with me to the inner quarters to meet him?"

Chen Daoyuan thought to himself, "A strategist? There were only a handful of strategists during the Warring States period. Aside from that pair of sworn enemies who went up the mountain to hunt tigers, could it be Kuroda Yoshitaka or Takenaka Hanbei? Those two probably weren't even born yet..."

"I would be delighted, but I wonder which master of military strategy the Imperial Palace Lord is referring to?" Chen Daoyuan asked casually.

Spokenko didn't keep them in suspense: "Mr. Bu Chuan from Kashima, I wonder if Brother Yuan has heard of him?"

Chen Daoyuan then realized that what Shiba Tsugaku was referring to as "small military tactics" in Japanese swordsmanship. Upon hearing the name, he was also taken aback. Bokuden? Tsukahara Bokuden? He had heard of this person far too much; in Taige 5, he had pestered this old man for a long time in order to become his disciple: "So you are that sword saint?"

Shiba Quan Gao laughed and said, "I didn't expect that Mr. Bu Chuan's name has already spread to the Ming Dynasty. Come, he is currently in the Imperial Palace these days, instructing Quan Zhen and Xin Zi on the art of military strategy."

With that, the two stood up, and Shiba Quan Gao led Chen Dao Yuan to the rear courtyard of the palace.

On the training ground where they had tested their swords, two familiar figures stood facing each other, each holding a wooden sword. One was Shiba Akira, who held a sword with both hands in a mid-stance stance, and the other was Shiba Nobuko, who was short but held a sword with one hand, pointing it diagonally at the ground.

Chen Daoyuan was somewhat surprised. Based on his rudimentary understanding of swordsmanship, Shiba Nobuko's use of a low stance against a mid-stance implied that it was a case of an expert fighting a novice. Moreover, Shiba Nobuko's physique and reach were already at a disadvantage, yet she still used this stance, which showed absolute confidence in her own strength.

As expected, after a brief standoff, Quanzhen finally lost his temper, suddenly stepped forward, and thrust his wooden sword straight at Xinzi's face.

The sudden slash was already fast in Chen Daoyuan's eyes, but Xinzi's movements were even more agile. With a twist of her slender waist, she easily avoided her brother's thrust. At the same time, she slid forward more than a foot, and with a backhand flick of her wooden sword, the tip of the blade struck the hilt of Quanzhen's sword, which he had not yet managed to retract.

"Click"—"Oops!"—"Clang!"

Nobuko's wooden sword struck Quanzhen's ten fingers, which were gripping the sword. Quanzhen cried out in pain, and the wooden sword fell to the ground. Quanzhen covered his hand and took two steps back, looking at his sister with a resentful expression.

"Footwork. Quanzhen, after the thrust, turn to the side immediately to preserve your remaining strength." A gentle and calm male voice rang out.

Chen Daoyuan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a third person standing next to the fencing target in the training ground.

This person doesn't resemble the character card image of Tsukahara Bokuden from Taige 5 at all. First of all, he doesn't look that old. He looks to be only in his forties or fifties, and his hair is still very black, with at most a few strands of silver. He is far from being the silver-haired swordsman in the game.

On the contrary, this person had droopy eyebrows and eyes, looking either listless or very calm and composed, which was more like the image of Kamiizumi Tsunanobu in the game.

After Tsukahara Bokuden finished his instructions, Shiba Senko stepped forward and said, "Mr. Bokuden, this is the Ming general Chen Daoyuan whom I mentioned to you."

"Mr. Bu Chuan, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please give me your guidance."

Tsukahara Bokuden showed no arrogance whatsoever, maintaining the calm demeanor of a middle-aged man as he returned Chen Daoyuan's greeting with unhurried manner: "Greetings, Your Excellency. I look forward to your guidance."

After exchanging a few more polite pleasantries, Tsukahara Bokuden, noticing Chen Daoyuan's persistent and curious stare, couldn't help but ask, "Lord Chen? Are you perhaps eager to spar?"

Chen Daoyuan quickly shook his head: "No, no, actually my martial arts skills are very poor. I have been practicing hand-to-hand combat since childhood. I am not familiar with weaponry. I only rely on my height and strength when I go into battle. I would never dare to spar with you. I would like to ask Mr. Bu Chuan for some guidance."

Upon hearing this, not only Tsukahara Bokuden looked slightly surprised, but the three members of the Shiba family also looked at him with puzzlement.

One person charged into an army of hundreds, killed two samurai, and easily scattered the enemy's formation... You call that "just because he's tall and strong"?

Tsukahara Bokuden pondered for a moment, then smiled calmly: "Since that's the case, let's work together. I'll also be able to see just how good Chen Dian is, so I can teach him according to his abilities."

Chen Daoyuan quickly bowed and nodded, "Thank you for your trouble, sir."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the open space in the center of the training ground. Chen Daoyuan picked out a slightly larger wooden sword from the weapon rack on the side, while Tsukahara Bokuden casually picked up an ordinary wooden sword, weighed it in his hand, and then walked to the center of the field, where he properly assumed an unremarkable mid-level stance.

Chen Daoyuan responded in the same manner.

After a brief standoff, Chen Daoyuan began to move cautiously, shifting to the side and retreating subtly.

Tsukahara Bokuden held his wooden sword and remained stationary, only slightly turning his feet, always facing Chen Daoyuan head-on.

Gradually, the distance between Chen Daoyuan and Tsukahara Bokuden increased. Tsukahara Bokuden remained still. Chen Daoyuan saw that the distance between the two had reached about four meters. He suddenly pushed off the ground and used this distance to burst into a sprint. At the same time, he swung his sword horizontally with both hands, intending to charge up for a wide-range sweeping slash, which was his specialty.

Tsukahara Bokuden also moved. He neither dodged nor avoided, but lowered his posture to face Chen Daoyuan as he charged forward, his wooden sword pointing directly at Chen Daoyuan's exposed ribs as he twisted his body to gather strength.

How could he not know this move? Chen Daoyuan recalled that night at the Kuzukikan. His body reacted the same way. He gave up charging up his horizontal slash and rolled away to dodge Tsukahara Bokuden's thrust.

Tsukahara Bokuden's change of tactics was faster than Kuzumaki Mitsumune's. Instead of trying to pursue Chen Daoyuan's vital points on the upper body, he turned his blade around and stabbed directly at Chen Daoyuan's calf, which he didn't have time to roll away.

"Damn, this old man is ruthless!" Chen Daoyuan dodged while simultaneously stabbing Tsukahara Bokuden wildly with his knife.

This time, however, Chen Daoyuan, who was half-lying on the ground, couldn't reach Tsukahara Bokuden at all. The Sword Saint nimbly jumped a little step to widen the distance between the two. Then, Tsukahara Bokuden sheathed his sword and stepped back, bowing to Chen Daoyuan: "Lord Chen, please get up. I already know your question."

Chen Daoyuan got up from the ground somewhat embarrassed. This match was really ugly. Fortunately, the Sword Saint gave him face, otherwise he would not have had a chance to get up at all and could only crawl around on the ground and let the other party cut him.

"If I'm not mistaken, the hand-to-hand combat skills that Chen Dian has been practicing since childhood are probably the same as the defensive and grappling techniques, right?" Tsukahara Bokuden's tone was still serious, but the content made Chen Daoyuan's heart skip a beat.

"That's true." Chen Daoyuan mainly practices close-quarters grappling and various ground wrestling techniques, since these kinds of skills are the most practical for self-defense and defeating enemies in modern society.

Tsukahara Bokuden nodded slowly: "No wonder, the key to Chen Dian's martial arts lies in the word 'self-preservation'."

"Self-preservation?" Chen Daoyuan was somewhat puzzled.

"Hmm, Chen Dian's height and reach far surpass mine. I've heard that his most commonly used weapon is a three-foot-long heavy sword, and what he's wielding now is also a large katana. But why do you, Chen Dian, prefer to create distance and charge at a faster pace, and why do you use a horizontal sweeping motion?"

"This..." Chen Daoyuan knew that this was probably his subconscious mind at work, but he couldn't figure out the key to it for the time being.

The key point was revealed by Tsukahara Bokuden: "Because Chen Dian is afraid of being surrounded and attacked."

These words were like a wake-up call. Chen Daoyuan immediately realized that whether he was creating distance to maintain high speed or using a sweeping attack, it was all to avoid being surrounded. Maintaining high speed was for a quick escape, and using a sweeping attack was to maintain a safe space.

"So, Chen Dian, you're just used to fighting many against one, and therefore you've forgotten the key points of one-on-one combat." Tsukahara Bokuden raised the wooden sword in his hand and stretched his arm forward: "Distance."

As he spoke, Tsukahara Bokuden gestured a few times on the spot: "Just now, Lord Chen didn't need to sprint at all. He could have just slowly approached from the spot and used his height and long arms to force me with light thrusts. I'm afraid even I would have had a hard time dealing with that."

Indeed, Tsukahara Bokuden was a little taller than the average samurai, but he only reached Chen Daoyuan's neck. His arms were also much shorter than Chen Daoyuan's. If Chen Daoyuan had used a short, awkward movement to extend his arm and stab him, it would have been a natural and powerful advantage.

After demonstrating the movements, Tsukahara Bokuden sheathed his sword and stood still: "Actually, I can't teach you much more, Chen Dian. With your stature, your footwork is not slow, and you have the foundation of reflexes from practicing martial arts since childhood, you just need to figure out the key points and practice the basics of swordsmanship more often. Given time, it won't be difficult for you to become a great swordsman."

"Sir, you flatter me. I still have much to learn. If you do not mind, I am willing to stay by your side for the next few days and ask you for guidance as often as possible."

Having said that, Tsukahara Bokuden could only offer a few words of modesty before agreeing to Chen Daoyuan's request.

In the following days, Chen Daoyuan simply moved into the palace and studied with Tsukahara Bokuden every day with Quanzhen and Nobuko.

Tsukahara Bokuden was a good teacher, and Chen Daoyuan benefited greatly from his guidance in just a few days. Not only did he undergo a complete transformation in swordsmanship, re-establishing a combat logic that suited him, but he also gained some understanding of the spear. The sword saints of the Sengoku period were different from the instructors of the noble children in the later Edo period; they were not only skilled in swords, but also had profound attainments in spears and naginata, which were more useful on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, the swordsman had no intention of staying here permanently, and after giving some pointers, he drifted away.

Chen Daoyuan, however, became interested and did not intend to stop there. He returned to Mikabori to direct Mitsushiro and the others to finish refining the existing ore, stopped the blast furnace, and then continued to refine crucible steel to forge new swords and armor.

Then, Chen Daoyuan returned to the Imperial Palace and continued to hone his martial arts skills with Quanzhen and Xinzi.

However, it was mainly Nobuko who sparred with Chen Daoyuan. Shiba Kenshin, the young master, was inferior to his sister in both talent and enthusiasm.

That day, Chen Daoyuan got up early and, after completing his daily basic training, went to the training ground as usual.

Only Nobuko was waiting here; Senjin had probably gone off somewhere to study his Song Dynasty poetry again.

Upon seeing Chen Daoyuan arrive, Nobuko remained silent, placing her wooden naginata flat and only giving him a glance.

Chen Daoyuan understood her meaning, and similarly put down the wooden spear in his hand, nodded and bowed, and began his sparring with Xinzi.