New Shun 1730

When Naoche returned to Shuri Castle, Ryukyu King Nao Kei was "reciting the text" in a cadence.

Your Majesty the Emperor Gongwei, Daolong, Yao, Shun, Demai, Tang and Wen. To unify the six layers and hang down the clothes, to teach benevolence, one must first teach filial piety; to open the nine layers for ceremony, one can be both a king and a teacher.

The Lotus Dragon Chapter is far away from the tin, and the Shark Island shines; the Mu Feng Zhao is pursued, and the Dan Ying adds color. I bowed five times to the angel and looked at the elephant tower and called three times. The kings of the country will meet to open the map, and the chariots will be written by thousands of people from eight hundred countries; they will follow the laws of heaven and earth, and verify the auspiciousness of the thirty-six winds...

Cai Wenpu, who had studied abroad in the capital, was writing furiously there, helping Shang Jing write poems in return for the angels and flattery to the emperor.

Cai Wenpu's parallel prose is good, while Shang Jing's Chinese is not very fluent, but he can write Chinese characters well. After a while, not only do you have to "recite the text", but you also have to "write it silently".

According to the rules, before the angel leaves, he must give him a poem. This is different from the poetry meeting in the Central Plains. It is a propositional composition. You can prepare it in advance and write down cheat sheets when the time comes.

People from the Satsuma clan were also there, so Shang Che told him what he had seen and heard at the Angel Hall. Both Shang Jing and the people from the Satsuma clan breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Yu was a martial artist. He asked if there were any prostitutes in the city. He was obviously not a serious professional. Although there are Imperial College students studying in Dashun in Ryukyu, they are not military commanders after all, and they do not understand Dashun's "military examination" policy at all.

In this way, the reason for banning religion is very possible. It is very possible that some Catholics rebelled and fled to sea, so the emperor did not send people from the Hanlin Academy as envoys according to the previous rules, but sent warships and soldiers.

Forbidden to teach...

This is quite simple. The people of the Satsuma Domain were also quite strict about banning religion. The Satsuma Domain knew that there were Spaniards in Taiwan, and the Dutch did not withdraw until Dashun was completely closed and the shogunate locked down the country so that the Netherlands did not need Taiwan as a transit port. , so Ryukyu, a place that was easily infected by Catholicism in the past, was extremely strictly monitored.

Although the Dutch once deceived the Japanese by saying that Amsterdam destroyed a statue of Jesus, the Japanese are not stupid.

Obviously the Dutch are willing to talk about anything for the sake of trade, even if the majority of the Dutch are not Catholic, they still wouldn’t believe it. Moreover, the Dutch business office in Hirado used the Jesus calendar year, which also caused the Hirado business office to be sealed and moved to Nagasaki. The Japanese side was also very vigilant, and at least they could distinguish between the Jesus year and the era year calendar.

Since Dashun's purpose of sending the envoy this time seems to be related to the ban on religion, the Ryukyus and Satsuma people feel that there is no need to be too nervous about this matter.

As long as you continue to lie and act, I hope these people can't see it. Hanlin couldn't see it, what could a martial artist see?

Since the Celestial Empire brought soldiers and Western-style warships this time, the Satsuma Domain could also take advantage of this opportunity to quietly examine Dashun's military strength.

Just don't go too far. The samurai who are monitoring the tribute fleet on Kume Island should stay away first.

Just try to observe Naha as much as possible. For example, you can pretend to be a vendor or a food delivery person and go to the boat to take a look.

In the whole of Japan, apart from the shogunate, those who know the most about the outside world are Nagasaki and Satsuma. Whether it is Tang style storytelling or Dutch style storytelling, it is circulated within the shogunate and cannot be shown to others. Nagasaki, as a trading port, and Satsuma, as a powerful vassal that used the name of Ryukyu to engage in sideline trade, both had a certain understanding of the outside world.

It's just that Dashun's navy is in Weihai, and most of its military reforms are in the north. In addition, Liu Yu basically monopolized trade with Japan. In recent years, there have been very few shipwrecked merchants drifting to Ryukyu.

Even if there were, most of them were faked by military officers and students from the Jinghai Palace Official School in Weihai.

Just like Ryukyu has a fixed question and answer manual, the trading company's Tang Feng storyteller and the officer cadet pretending to be a shipwrecked merchant also have a fixed answer manual.

The people of the Satsuma Domain were sincerely curious about Dashun's military power, especially after seeing that Dashun's official ships were changed to Western-style warships.

However, the plan to approach the port warship under the pretense of delivering supplies soon proved unfeasible. Before he could get close, he was stopped by a group of soldiers, who told him that military rules dictated that no one should approach.

A few days later, someone else sent a message to Shuri Castle.

It is said that the angels will practice military drills on the day of their visit. Although this is not customized, there is no need to be surprised when the King of Zhongshan arrives.

Shang Jing didn't understand what this meant, so he asked Cai Wenpu.

"The Celestial Empire has been a culture-oriented country since ancient times. In the past, when sending envoys, there was no attempt to conduct military drills. What is the purpose of this?"

Cai Wenpu replied with an old saying.

"Dance while holding the stems, and if there are seedlings, you will be convinced. The Celestial Dynasty first defeated the Rakshasa, and then conquered the Western Region to show its military power. I thought this was to ask the king to congratulate me. This congratulatory form needs to be copied again." "

After saying this, the last doubt in Shang Jing's mind disappeared, and he thought that it was indeed the case, and it made sense.

The Celestial Empire pacified the Western Regions, but I didn't know this before... Of course, given the size of the Ryukyu Kingdom, it was difficult for Shang Jing to understand where the Western Regions were and how far they were from the capital to the Western Regions.

Nowadays, with the power of victory, the Celestial Empire wants to spread its prestige far away, which makes sense.

It’s just that he himself didn’t realize that he had been domesticated by the Satsuma clan. At this time, he had no idea of ​​using the power of the Celestial Empire to overthrow Satsuma’s control in Ryukyu. Or maybe it was because of the events during the Wanli and Chongzhen years that Ryukyu had completely controlled the Celestial Empire. Desperate.

In addition, overthrowing the Satsuma clan does not seem to be of any benefit to Ryukyu. The trade in Southeast Asia was dominated by Westerners, and Ryukyu could not reach out at all.

Sino-Japanese trade no longer needs Ryukyu as a transit point. If there is a falling out with the Satsuma Domain, now the Satsuma Domain eats meat and they can still drink soup; if there is a falling out, Japan has already locked itself up, how can Ryukyu make money? I'm afraid that by then I will have to eat cycad seeds to survive.

As for the hatred of ancestors, national hatred and family feud, national interests, etc., they may always be just additional options in the face of the royal family's self-interest.

…………

In the Angel Hall, Liu Yu was lying on the bed, thinking about Ryukyu's future.

Once Sino-Japanese trade becomes monopolized, Ryukyu's economic status will decline significantly. Monopolizing Sino-Japanese trade will also include Ryukyu. A profit-oriented trading company will not share a penny of profits with Ryukyu.

Ryukyu dares to trade casually, and as long as the trading company obtains the monopoly, it will definitely seize the opportunity to sink Ryukyu merchant ships.

The trade value is not high, but the military value is extremely high. As a naval base, it is like a lock.

In the chain designed by Liu Yu, there are a total of four locks locking Japan.

North Korea, Vladivostok, Hokkaido, Ryukyu.

Of these four locks, only one Ryukyu is missing.

You can try to let the Ryukyu royal family take a stake in the trading company in exchange for the power to station the navy in Ryukyu. This ensures the Ryukyu royal family's centripetal force towards the Celestial Dynasty. You can also slowly carry out cultural penetration and assimilation by giving "thirty-six surnames".

I was thinking wildly there, thinking that Miss Yui Aragaki would be called Lin Yui in the future. Nowadays, there are not many 36 surnames left in Ryukyu, but I don’t know which family she is a descendant of?

While he was thinking about it, Zhao Baiquan asked to see him. Liu Yu quickly got up and asked, "What's the matter with Mr. Zhao?"

Not long ago, Liu Yu, in front of Zhao Baiquan, laid out a plan for meeting the King of Ryukyu and the officials of Ryukyu a few days later.

Zhao Baiquan felt that this was a bit nonsense. He thought it was just Ban Chao Yu Shanshan who killed the Huns envoy, but according to Liu Yu's plan, this was clearly to kidnap the King of Ryukyu.

No matter what, the King of Ryukyu is also a county king and a vassal of the Celestial Dynasty. If he does this, he will be in big trouble.

"Uncle Ying Suo, what does His Majesty's imperial edict... exactly say? Do you know?"

If it was secretly given by the emperor, that would still be a big deal, but what if it wasn't? Zhao Baiquan felt quite uneasy.

Liu Yu shook his head and said: "I don't know. But the Japanese invasion of Ryukyu during the Wanli period of the previous dynasty is undeniable. I also know about Ryukyu products and Ryukyu tribute goods. I have also checked through the connections. They are definitely not Ryukyu's own. He can deceive others. , but you can’t fool me.”

Zhao Baiquan said helplessly: "My lord, I have to give you some advice. If your lord wants to learn from Ban Dingyuan, I will only verbally oppose it. But if the King of Ryukyu comes to receive the imperial edict, and you take action at that time, you will lose the emperor's face."

"Celestial Kingdom, Ryukyu King, do you still use this kind of deception? When the King of Ryukyu comes to receive the imperial edict, he is convinced by the heaven. If he is guilty, he can be questioned and punished, but he cannot take action while receiving the imperial edict, Ying Suo Isn’t it possible that Bo can’t even figure this out?”

Liu Yu laughed, burst out a sentence in Japanese, and asked: "Does Mr. Zhao understand Japanese?"

"don't know."

Snap...

Liu Yu snapped his fingers and said: "The meaning of what I just said is to finish the ceremony and stand up. Whether the Ryukyu Kingdom is guilty or not will be known when the time comes. Didn't they always say that they don't know about the affairs of the Japanese country? There is no connection. Is the weathervane on the roof not Japanese-style but a coincidence? Is it possible that this language can be learned by oneself?”

"It's not like you haven't heard the Prime Minister of Ryukyu speak before. It clearly sounds like Fujian Mandarin. This Ryukyu dialect also sounds a bit like Min dialect. This means they can't deny it."

"I don't know exactly what is written in His Majesty's imperial edict. But I want to seize the evidence that Ryukyu is having an affair with Japan."

"When the time comes, I will use the Japanese language to deceive. Mr. Zhao, if a group of people get up by then, I will naturally take action; of course, if no one gets up, then it will be up to you to smooth things over."

"But, let me ask Mr. Zhao first, if many Ryukyu officials stand up at that time, what will Mr. Zhao do?"

Zhao Baiquan really had never thought of such a harmful idea, and thought that this method was indeed... insignificant.

Some of the answers given by the Ryukyu people seemed to be flawless on the surface. The Ryukyu people were well prepared for all the questions that a normal Chinese nation could come up with and answered them fluently.

But the language cannot be said to be a coincidence. If a group of people really understand the Japanese language, it is not a coincidence, and there is no way to deny having contact with the Japanese country.

It seems that Ryukyu himself did this.

Ryukyu is so close to Japan, so it is normal to know a few words of Japanese. However, Satsuma Domain and Ryukyu both have guilty consciences and insist on saying that they have no connection with Japan. This is shooting themselves in the foot.

If the evidence is conclusive, then there is something to be said for it.

"What does Ying Saobo think I should do?"

"Mr. Zhao is from the Li government, but I am not. Mr. Zhao might as well ask himself, what does the Li government want? What does the Celestial Empire want? You have to know what you want before you know what to do."

This matter hasn't happened yet, but Zhao Baiquan saw Liu Yu's confident look and was already 80% convinced.

It may be reasonable to say that Liu Yu is not good at it, but when it comes to fighting and understanding the outside world, Zhao Baiquan was also an official in Beijing. He has heard many stories about Liu Yu and absolutely believes in this aspect.

He opposed some of Liu Yu's practices and methods of doing things, but facts and positions are not the same thing. Regarding the word "facts", Zhao Baiquan believed that Liu Yu had the "facts".

The difference is that the facts are not important, but the position after knowing the facts is important.

Messengers are not just here to deliver messages.

Although most of the envoys are used to acting as mouthpieces, it is better to do less than to do more. They have long lost the fierceness of the Han and Tang Dynasties. They are obviously diplomats who want to rely on their few followers to achieve the big event of becoming a marquis.

Even if Zhao Baiquan does not agree with Liu Yu's behavior of imitating Ban Chao, it does not mean that he is opposed to all independent actions with subjective initiative. What he objects to is only the way of action.

Now that Liu Yu has kicked the ball at his feet, Zhao Baiquan thought, yes, what is the Li government pursuing?

If we are only pursuing a nominal dynasty, then the Ryukyu side's liaison with the Japanese country, as long as they pay tribute to the dynasty on the surface, the goal has been achieved, and there is no need to make any changes.

But if that was all, why would the emperor send people to Ryukyu when it was not the time for the canonization?

After figuring this out, Zhao Baiquan nodded and said: "Thank you Uncle Ying Sao, I think I understand. Uncle Ying Sao is a young man who reads scriptures and doesn't know how to reprimand me. The heavens give both grace and power. The power of soldiers and armor lies with Ying Sao Bo; the power of etiquette lies with me. This mouth."

Liu Yu clapped his hands and praised: "Master Zhao, Master Zhao, you finally understand. But I don't know where to start, Master Zhao?"

There is no need for Liu Yu to teach you about such nonsense.

"If what happened in the thirty-seventh year of Wanli is true, then he will recognize the thief as his father. He is clearly connected with the Japanese but says that he is not, and he is deceiving the emperor. The messengers from the Celestial Dynasty come frequently, and the students often go to the Imperial Academy, but they do not speak of the country's humiliation, then they think that the emperor is too dark to guard his vassal. , This is an insult to you."

"However, Ryukyu is a small country, so it cannot stop the Japanese army. This is not unforgivable. But how can we prove Ryukyu's loyalty to China?"

As he talked, Zhao Baiquan found that he had fallen into the trap prepared by Liu Yu, and could not say the next words.

Prove loyalty, how to prove it?

Liu Yu smiled and said: "Look, so what you and I want to do are the same thing. How can we prove that Ryukyu is loyal to China and was just forced to do nothing before? Of course, it is to kill the Japanese envoy, and to Ryukyu There was a big purge, but the Ryukyu soldiers were weak, so I had no choice but to help. Isn’t this still Ban Chao’s move?”

Zhao Baiquan knew that he could no longer refute what he said, so he could only say weakly: "That...that is still different. Ban Dingyuan did not win the consent of the Lord of Shanshan. We are doing this to ask for Ryukyu's consent. This is justifiable. "

"This is not the tyranny of the Han Dynasty, but the royal way of the Celestial Dynasty."

Liu Yu smiled, cupped his hands towards Zhao Baiquan, and said with a strange tone: "So the meaning of the etiquette government is to find a pair of pants to put on before farting."