Christmas time in New York is the coldest time of the year, the lowest temperature at night often reaches below minus 10 degrees, this era does not have the 21st century perfect social security system, Li Mu lives on Governors Island, although it is as warm as spring, those poor people in the city are unlucky, almost every day there will be more than a dozen homeless people are frozen to death, adding a lot of trouble to the New York City Police Department.

Also at the time of the New Year, the Ryukyus, located at 128 degrees east longitude and 26.5 degrees north latitude, are as warm as spring.

Thanks to the warm and humid air currents of the Pacific Ocean, there is almost no concept of winter in the Ryukyus, and although it is also the lowest time of the year, the daily temperature is about 16 or 7 degrees Celsius, and the temperature difference between day and night is not large.

On such a day, the most suitable thing is to invite three or five friends to bring a picnic basket to the beach for a picnic, and if you are lucky, you can also watch the whales, even if you don't do anything, lie there and bask in the sun and look at the blue sky and white clouds, which is a great enjoyment.

Perhaps it is for this reason that the Japanese have been coveting the Ryukyus for a long time, and they can't wait to take this beautiful island into their pockets, and as for the people who originally lived on the island, the Japanese probably don't want to accept it.

This is true for the native-born Ryukyuan, and the Japanese are even more eager to get rid of the Chinese descendants living in the Ryukyus.

Putian, located 12 kilometers from Shuri, the capital of the Ryukyus, is a gathering place for Chinese descendants in the Ryukyus.

The city of Putian is not large, with a radius of about four or five square kilometers, and there are about 6,000 people living here, all of whom are of Chinese descent, including descendants of the original 36 surnames and new immigrants who have moved to the Ryukyus over the years.

Although these Chinese are now de facto Ryukyu nationals, in fact they still retain the original Chinese tradition, speaking Chinese, writing Chinese characters, and even because they have not suffered from the poison of the Qing court, most of them still retain the traditional Chinese hair ornaments and traditional clothing, and only those new immigrants will have a yin and yang head that is neither male nor female.

Like countless cities on the continent across the sea, Putian is surrounded by a ring of stone walls, with arrow towers built above the city gates, and the bucket arches and eaves are symmetrical, which is a traditional Han style at a glance.

The streets within the walls were horizontal and vertical in all directions, and most of the streets were made of stone on both sides, and all the doors and windows were quite narrow, and if they were all blocked, the house would immediately become a strong fortress.

The entire city is built on a relatively high hilltop, surrounded by the sea on three sides and pine forests on the other, with only a not-so-wide path leading down the mountain.

All in all, this is a town with a distinctly military overtone, and it is in this almost conservative way that these lonely Chinese people stubbornly cling to their traditions, and I will not move in the face of the changes.

Because of the special status of the Chinese in the Ryukyus, the king of the Ryukyus did not send civil officials to Putian, nor did he send troops to garrison it, Putian was like a country within a country in the Ryukyus, and Pan Tingzhen was recognized as the patriarch and the lord of Putian City appointed by the king of the Ryukyus.

In the past, Putian was quiet and peaceful, and people returned from sunrise to sunset, and their lives could be called stable and happy, but this happiness has become farther and farther away after the Japanese set foot in the Ryukyus, and if it is really according to the requirements of the Japanese, Putian should also be the same as other places, under the jurisdiction of the Japanese emperor and under the jurisdiction of the Ryukyu Domain.

Putian people, who have always been conservative and xenophobic, are naturally unwilling to accept such an ending, so there is Pan Tingzhen's trip to the United States.

Since Pan Tingzhen left, Yang Wei, the head of the Putian People's League, would go to the cliff of the back mountain every day to look, hoping that Pan Tingzhen could bring back good news as soon as possible.

But as time went by, the hope has become smaller and smaller, and although Yang Wei is anxious in his heart, he never dares to write anxiety on his face.

Pan Tingzhen is not there, Yang Wei, who is still in his prime, is the backbone of everyone, and Yang Wei is in a hurry at this time.

As usual, after breakfast, Yang Wei, dressed in an azure robe, came to the cliff of the back mountain again, praying for God's blessing and looking forward to the arrival of a ship on the distant sea.

In fact, this cliff has another mystery, the whole cliff is almost vertical like a knife and an axe, the water depth under the cliff is more than ten meters, you can dock large ships, for hundreds of years, Putian people have carved out a small platform under the cliff, there are ships under the platform all the year round, it is really going to be critical, here is the last retreat of Putian.

In the early years, Yang Wei did not take this back road to heart, thinking that a generation of Putian people would never start this back road like their ancestors, but since the Japanese set foot in the Ryukyus, Yang Wei also had to face the reality, not only to ensure that this back road is worry-free, but also to increase the capacity as much as possible.

The top of the cliff is about 50 meters from the height of the water, there is no road for people to climb, if you want to reach the small platform under the cliff safely from the top of the cliff can only rely on the hanging basket, but how much capacity can a small hanging basket provide, at most three adults at a time, considering the 6000 population in Putian City, Yang Wei really has to think of a way.

"How's the netting going?" Yang Wei glanced at the sky and asked a young man beside him in a deep voice.

This young man is about 20 years old, with a similar figure and appearance to Yang Wei, wearing a sleeveless short coat and a pair of thin-soled fast boots on his feet, looking really capable and neat.

The young man also looked at the sea in the distance before answering, and then bowed down and replied, "Big brother, everything is ready." ”

In order to shorten the speed of evacuation, Yang Wei ordered people to prepare a huge rope net, which was enough to cover this cliff, so that the young and middle-aged could climb down the rope net, while the old, weak, sick and disabled could ride the hanging basket up and down, so that the transportation capacity could be greatly increased and as many people as possible could be evacuated in a shorter time.

"Organize the brothers to practice more..."Although he looked forward to the day when the rope net would never be used, Yang Wei still had to take precautions.

"Don't worry, brother, the brothers are used to boating and boating, so it's okay to climb a net or something." Yang Bang was full of confidence, and his face was full of vigor and detachment at this age.

"Hang up the net tomorrow and try to familiarize everyone who can climb with it... Including women. Yang Wei was ruthless, even if at the last moment, all the gentlemen were exhausted, and he had to ensure that the women and children could escape.

"I'll arrange it when I get back..."Yang Bang's voice lowered, and his emotions were inevitably affected after all.

"Be mental, maybe Uncle Pan will come back with good news in a few days, let's just take precautions." Yang Wei cheered Yang Bang up, although even he was a little lacking in confidence.

"Viagra, viagra..."A young man dressed in the same way as Yang Bang shouted and ran over.

"What's the matter?" Yang Wei half-turned, holding the musket behind his back with one hand, and grasping the hilt of the knife at his waist with the other.

"Viagra, someone from Shuri is here, and there is a Japanese with you." The young man looked resentful, panting and not forgetting to clench the bird gun in his hand.

Unlike the Qing Empire, which was more protective of the people than of Sichuan, the people of the Ryukyus did not ban firearms, so Putian had a large number of firearms, even copper cannons, thanks to the hard work of several generations of Ryukyu people, so that they would not be powerless in the face of threats.

Of course, although firearms are not officially banned, the Putian people do not have too advanced weapons, not even a real rear-loading rifle, most of them are not powerful bird guns, considering the weather conditions here, in fact, there are more applications for cold weapons such as swords.

"Let's go, let's see." Yang Wei glanced back at the empty sea, turned around and left.

What should come will come after all, and sooner or later it will have to be faced.

Downstairs at the towering gate, a middle-aged man dressed in a Ryukyu civil uniform with a dozen guards surrounds a middle-aged Humpty Dumpty man in a Japanese kimono.

Dozens of militia members holding bird guns on the city gate tower lined up, the two earthen cannons have taken off their gun jackets to open the fire door, the black dong cannon mouth pointed directly to the only way down the mountain under the city tower, and the militia members by the fire gate have lit the incense stick in their hands.

There are many pine trees in the Ryukyus, and this kind of earthen cannon is made by selecting a pine tree surrounded by one person, splitting it from the middle, digging out a part of the heart of the tree, and then closing it, and putting a few iron hoops on the periphery, and a simple cannon is made.

This kind of artillery can't talk about the range and accuracy because of its poor sealing, but it is extremely powerful at a short distance, and after being loaded with iron sand and gravel, it can be said that people block and kill people within dozens of steps.

Looking at the members of the armed militia who were waiting on the city wall, the Ryukyu officials had embarrassed expressions, and Humpty Dumpty had a gloomy face, before coming, they already knew that Putian and these Chinese were not easy to deal with, but they didn't expect the attitude of Putian people to be so resolute.

The heavy wooden door wrapped in iron sheet slowly opened, and Yang Wei came out alone with a smile on his face: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Master Pan is unwell and can't see guests, so I've kept you waiting for a long time." ”

Yang Wei speaks neither Japanese nor Ryukyuan, but Chinese, which is unfamiliar to both Japanese and Ryukyuan.

The influence of Han culture in the East Asian cultural circle is unparalleled, although Japan already had its own script at this time, but until the early years of the Meiji era, Chinese has been the official language of Japan, although the Japanese speak Japanese, but as long as the writing is formed, almost all of them are in Chinese, in Japan, only noble upper-class people will learn Chinese, which is completely a status symbol in Japan.

Not to mention the Ryukyus, the Ryukyuan language itself is greatly influenced by the Hokkien language, and the official language of the Ryukyus is also Chinese, so Yang Wei doesn't have to worry that they can't understand Chinese, if the Japanese and Ryukyuan people in these years want to be officials, Chinese is their compulsory course, just like English level 4 in the 21st century...

"Oh, Huo Huo, so that's the case, it's okay, since Master Pan is in good health, I just took this opportunity to visit, please..." Humpty Dumpty took the initiative to talk, although he said politely, but the taste of commanding was still very strong.

This Humpty Dumpty man really knows Chinese, and he actually knows how to make a Beijing film.

"This lord is slow, the disease contracted by Lord Pan is smallpox, in order not to harm others, Lord Pan locked himself in the room and did not see anyone, if this adult has the heart to visit, he needs to prepare in advance, if he is sick, it will be very bad." Yang Wei's words were neither soft nor hard, and in order to prevaricate the past, he couldn't care about accumulating virtue in his mouth.

Smallpox is definitely an incurable disease in this year, the horror of this disease is not that it is not cured, but that it is contagious, under normal circumstances, as long as one person in a city is infected with smallpox, then the city can basically be judged to be a dead city, because the sequelae of smallpox, even if the whole city does not die, the survivors will be rejected by the whole society.

For the Japanese, smallpox is also a terminal disease, and it is a terminal disease that people can not avoid, Japan's population density has been quite terrifying in recent years, once there is an outbreak of infectious diseases, it is not a matter of 18,000 deaths, until the beginning of the 20th century, every outbreak of large-scale infectious diseases in Japan will lead to tens of thousands of deaths, even if it is a mere flu, the death toll will reach tens of thousands.

As Yang Wei thought, almost as soon as he heard the word "smallpox", Humpty Dumpty immediately covered his mouth and nose and took a few steps back, looking at Yang Wei with a frightened expression.

"Let's go, let's go..." The Ryukyu officials also knew each other, and casually arched their hands perfunctorily, and immediately wanted to turn around and run away when they saw the posture.

"Stop!" Humpty Dumpty said sharply, rolled his dead fish eyes and ordered the Ryukyu officials, "You go to visit Lord Pan..."

"I, I..." The Ryukyu officials were dumbfounded, estimating that they had scolded Humpty Dumpty's 18th generation ancestor in their hearts.

"Yes, it's you, you go, go to visit Master Pan instead of me..."

Although the weather was not hot, there were still large drops of sweat oozing out of the foreheads of the Ryukyu officials, and feeling the insistence of Humpty Dumpty that could not be refused, the Ryukyu officials finally relented: "Yes, the lower officials obey the order..."

"So, this lord, please..."Yang Wei led sideways.

God knows what the mood of this Ryukyu official was when he walked into the city gate hole, it is estimated that he followed up the ghost gate, anyway, Yang Wei felt that the Ryukyu official's breathing was extremely heavy, and his body was even more shaky.

After a detour into the city gate, Yang Wei and the Ryukyu officials disappeared from Humpty Dumpty's sight.

As soon as he disappeared from Humpty Dumpty's sight, Yang Wei casually stuffed a bag to the Ryukyu officials.

"My lord, smallpox is menacing, and ordinary people like us can resist it, so please forgive me, just talk to Lord Pan across the wall, don't get too close, otherwise I'm afraid adults won't be able to explain." Yang Wei's words came at the right time.

In fact, it doesn't matter if it's close or not, what Humpty Dumpty wants is to confirm Pan Tingzhen's condition, if he can get a positive answer, then I'm afraid this Ryukyu official can't go back if he wants to.

Just kidding, what if you bring the virus back to Susato...