The two names of the Salt Gang and the Red Flower Society smashed Ma Xingkong into a half-daze, and under the persuasion of the Salt Gang, he was half worried and half proudly agreed to the other party's opinion; Since the marriage has been agreed, it is a little inappropriate for Ma Xingkong to return to the north now, Cheng Huaixiu has already arranged for this, bought them a big house in Yangzhou, and helped contact some salt merchants' dart lists, and the Pegasus Dart Bureau will mainly operate the southern route from now on.

When Cheng Huaixiu told Chen Jialuo about this, Chen Jialuo was stunned for a long time, but now that the wood is in the boat, and Ma Chunhua looks good, Chen Jialuo agreed half-pushed, and agreed to get married after Honghua will take Jiangsu.

Unexpectedly, he came out on vacation and gained a wife, visited Ma Xingkong and his party again, and after finalizing the matter, Chen Jialuo's vacation was almost over, and he took Cheng Huaixiu back to his territory.

A few days after his return, he received a letter from Clevour, he had received an order from London, he was about to be transferred back to China, and he wrote to Chen Jialuo to say goodbye, and at the end of the letter, he also said that due to the needs of the war, the saltpeter produced by the East India Company could no longer be supplied to the Red Flower Society, and in the friendship with the Red Flower Society, he reminded him in advance, hoping that the Red Flower Society could prepare as soon as possible.

Now that the Red Flower Society has begun a new round of military expansion, to expand the Red Flower Society's army to 300,000 people, the demand for saltpeter is growing day by day, and now there is such an important source channel, where should it be rediscovered?

Chen Jialuo walked slowly to the wall, opened the curtain to reveal a map of East Asia the size of the whole wall, and after carefully looking for a long time on the map, Chen Jialuo's eyes stopped in an area near Taiwan, this place seems to produce not only saltpeter, but also sulfur, is it now to take down this place?

I had an idea in my mind. Then the next thing is to see if this matter is feasible, Chen Jialuo immediately sent someone to invite Wu Sihua; When Wu Sihua arrived, Chen Jialuo brought him to the map and asked, "Mr. Wu, do you know anything about Ryukyu?" ”

That's right, Chen Jialuo's chosen target was the Ryukyus, and the Ryukyu Islands are scattered across the vast ocean between Taiwan and Japan. Produce sulfur, saltpeter and other things, it seems that there is also red copper, which is necessary for the military industry, plus the geographical location of this place is extremely important, is to hold the East China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean "throat", later generations of rice country stationed a large number of troops here, if the safflower will be able to occupy some natural harbors here, whether it is to attack Japan or cross to North America in the future, it is an excellent choice.

"My subordinates know something about the Ryukyus, too!" Wu Sihua slowly told Chen Jialuo about the recent situation in Ryukyu, "Eleven years ago, after the twelfth generation of Ryukyu Shangjing Wang, his twelve-year-old third son Shang Mu ascended the throne and was canonized as the king of Zhongshan by the pseudo-Qing Dynasty. ”

"Mr. Wu is really knowledgeable." , Chen Jialuo praised, "I heard that the Satsuma Domain often invades the Ryukyus, but is there such a thing?" ”。 If you want to send troops, you always have to find an excuse, and Chen Jialuo vaguely remembers that Ryukyu was later annexed by Japan. But I can't remember the exact time, and I don't know what the situation is over there now!

"During the Wanli period, during the Imjin War, the Kawakawa shogunate sent the Satsuma clan to invade Korea with an army, and the Shimazu clan extorted money from the Ryukyus, which was rejected by the Ryukyu king. The Shimazu clan then led an army to attack the Ryukyus. captured the Ryukyu king Shunin and forced him to write an oath to send 8,000 koku of grain to the Satsuma Domain every year, and since then Ryukyu has paid tribute to both the Central Plains and Japan; In the thirty-second year of Kangxi, the Satsuma Domain even cut off the five northern islands of the Ryukyus. ”。 Wu Sihua dotted on the map, "Since then, Ryukyu has almost become the forbidden territory of the Satsuma Domain, and the Satsuma Domain has therefore taken the tribute income of Ryukyu and the Puppet Qing Dynasty into the bag, plus the Ryukyu and the Central Plains Maritime Trade Income, the Satsuma Domain has become the number one strong domain in Japan!" ”

It is not unrelated to the fact that the Satsuma clan was able to have enough capital to become the main force of the Shogunate Movement and become one of the principals of the Restoration Government in the late Edo era, a hundred years later. Wu Sihua talked in detail about how the Satsuma Domain squeezed the Ryukyus and humiliated the Shang family, and Chen Jialuo asked after listening, "Mr. Wu, if you contact the Shang family in the name of my Red Flower Society and help him get out of the control of the Satsuma Domain, is the Shang family willing?" ”

"The Shang family can't ask for it!" , Wu Sihua replied categorically.

"Oh? My Red Flower Society has not yet established a country, and most of the Central Plains is still in the hands of the pseudo-Qing Dynasty, why is the Shang family willing? Chen Jialuo was slightly surprised!

"The chief helmsman did not know that Ryukyu had many contacts with Fujian, and in the Ming Dynasty, thirty-six Fujian people established Kume Village on the floating island near Naha Port, and these people were called the Kumi clan, and most of them served as high-ranking officials of the Ryukyu royal palace! These people cherished their homeland and had a great influence on the Ryukyu king; Moreover, the Ryukyuan people have many business halls in Fuzhou, and their subordinates have been there a few times, and the prestige of my Red Flower Society has already spread to the Ryukyu country! Wu Sihua suggested, "If the chief helmsman is interested in Ryukyu, his subordinates can go for a walk!" ”

"Don't be in a hurry, it's a big matter to send troops, and you still need to discuss it carefully!" , Just inquiring about the situation in the Ryukyus, the strength of the Satsuma Domain is still unclear, "How is the strength of the Satsuma Domain now?" In Mr. Wu's opinion, if we want to help the Ryukyus recover the five northern islands, how many troops and ships will we need? ”

"Today, the lord of the Satsuma Domain is Shimazu Shigehiro, whose young name is Zenjiro. Because of his short stature, he was also known as the 'Takanawa Dismounted General'. Wu Sihua's first sentence almost amused Chen Jialuo, "He is seventeen years old, and because of his young age, the feudal government is mostly at the hands of his maternal grandfather Shimazu Takashi!" Although this Shimazu Shigehao is young, he also has a bright atmosphere, loves to study Lanxue, and is proficient in Dutch and Chinese! ”

Hey, it's a pity that you were born in the wrong country, if you were born in France, you would have made a difference based on your height alone! Chen Jialuo smiled and continued to listen to Wu Sihua, "This Satsuma Domain is located in a place where volcanic typhoons often occur, and the people live in a difficult situation, coupled with the heavy burden on the feudal finances caused by the Hajj and the help of the shogunate to build a large number of buildings, so the armament of the Satsuma Domain is not outstanding, and it cannot be compared with my Red Flower Society!" All you need to do is a Tier 3 battleship with a detachment! ”

"Well, since Mr. Wu said so, let's go to Ryukyu for a walk! Test the idea of the King of the Ryukyus! Since it is a soft persimmon, then it will be pinched, the navy has been idle, since the war with Spain, it is almost idle, just give them a chance to fight, "I will ask Su Changquan to arrange a warship to escort Mr. Wu over, if Ryukyu is willing to cut off the tribute to the puppet Qing and Satsuma domains, and is willing to let us open mines and garrison troops in Ryukyu, my Red Flower Society will help them out!" (To be continued......)