The pitch-black sea is endless, the stars are densely packed in the sky, and a oblique moon hangs in the sky, which is much larger than on land, but not very bright.

A galleon floats on rough seas and sails slowly forward with the help of the southbound current, arriving at Shuri Naha Port at dawn after nearly two days of travel.

This typical Zhejiang-type sea vessel, with both ends of the bow and stern and the stern tower is very high, which can reduce the wind area and adapt to riding the wind and waves at sea; The stern is out of the void, the foremast is close to the bow, the mainmast is in the center of the front, the bow has a longeye, you can look ahead, the stern flagpole is located on the port side of the rear, a large stern lamp is set in the middle of the stern, the flat bow is painted with animal faces, the square stern is painted with peng, and there is a chess shed with a column in front of the stern.

There was a sudden storm on the sea, and suddenly there was a thunderstorm, and the roar woke up Chen Shen and Wang Chong......

Wang Chong asked, "Without Xingdou, can you still see the direction?" ”

"Wang Qianhu doesn't have to worry, unless there is a big storm, the sea conditions in the open sea are generally better than those in the offshore sea. There are 'sea charts' and navigation compasses on the ship, and the helmsmen will 'pull the stars', and the 'Dingtaiyin Battle Song' is familiar with it, and they also know this voyage well, I watched the sky at night last night, and there should be no big storms. Chen Shen replied.

"Thank goodness!" Wang Chong sighed.

Both of them were sleepy, and Wang Chong wanted to know more about the situation in the Ryukyu Kingdom, so he asked, "Shopkeeper Chen, why did Lin Yiguan run to Ryukyu?" ”

Chen Shen smiled and replied: "Wang Qianhu, when you were in Sakai Town, as soon as you heard the exact news of Lin Yiguan, you didn't say a word, so you ran to the dock to find a merchant ship, and wanted to go to Ryukyu to arrest Lin Yiguan, and I couldn't stop you, so I had to come with you." But, to be honest, there are many situations that you don't know, and our trip is not easy! ”

"What do you mean by that?" Wang Chong asked.

"The Lin family opened a shochu shop outside Shuri Castle, and they were rich and powerful, and most of the villagers in the surrounding villages were pirates, and their relationship with the Ryukyu government was intertwined and complicated." Chen Shen replied.

"Isn't Ryukyu a vassal country of the Ming Dynasty?" Wang Chong asked.

"Of course, it is a subject country of the Ming Dynasty, there is no doubt about it. Wang Qianhu, do you know the origin of the Ryukyu Kingdom? ”

Wang Chong shook his head.

Chen Shen said: "It is said that at the time of Hongwu Taizu, the three kings of the Ryukyu Kingdom competed, and Taizu sent a messenger Yang Zai to proclaim Zhaohua, and the three kings of the Ryukyu were sincerely afraid. At this time, the king of Zhongshan, Chadu, immediately ordered the younger brother Taiqi to go to Nanjing with Yang Zai to pay tribute, and the other two kings learned the news, and they were afraid that Taizu would recognize Zhongshan as the orthodoxy of the Ryukyus, so they also rushed to send people to pay tribute. The three kings fought each other openly and secretly, and the conflict continued to escalate. ”

"In the Chengzu period (Zhu Di), there was a tribal leader in Shannan who raised troops and overthrew the Zhongshan King who was regarded as orthodox by the imperial court, but he was mediocre, he sent people to Beijing to ask for canonization, so the father of the head was named the King of Zhongshan, Xuande (Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji) officially gave the Zhongshan royal family the surname 'Shang', the then Zhongshan King Shang Sishao, created the first Shang dynasty, officially classified as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, now as the current Ryukyu King is the King of Shangyuan."

Wang Chong asked: "Shopkeeper Chen, I don't know something, since someone from the Ryukyu Palace sent us a letter, as the vassal king of the Ming Dynasty, King Shang Yuan did not have a reason not to arrest Lin Yiguan for the imperial court, why would someone send us a letter thousands of miles away, can't the local government arrest Lin Yiguan?" ”

Chen Shen smiled bitterly and replied: "The old shopkeeper of the wine shop is Lin Yiguan's uncle, and the old shopkeeper of Sakai Town also came from Ryukyu back then, it is said that their Lin family also produced a wealthy businessman Lin Daoqian, who had been an official in Chaozhou, and most of the Lin family were businessmen. ”

"Lin Yiguan colluded with Luo Wenlong and Yan Shifan, entrenched in Akimepu, Kyushu Island, Japan, and worked hard for Yan's father and son, and now that the traitorous party has fallen, the evidence of its crime is conclusive, could it be that King Shang Yuan dared to shelter the pirates?" Wang Chong asked.

"If we come up with conclusive evidence that Lin Wenjun is the pirate Lin Yiguan entrenched in Satsuma, then, of course, the Ryukyu government monk Yuan Wang has nothing to say, he must help capture this pirate and escort him to the capital to be handed over to the imperial court for disposal, and the Lin family's soju shop must also be confiscated, but I am afraid that there are many shady scenes, and Lin Yiguan is extremely cunning, your errand is not easy." Chen Shen replied helplessly.

Wang Chong was very disappointed by these words, and asked puzzledly: "So, who in the Ryukyu royal palace sent people to cross the ocean, and why did they go to Sakai Town to deliver a message to us?" ”

Chen Shen smiled and replied: "I believe he must know that passing on this news to you will definitely be more effective than reporting it to the imperial court, and I believe that you will not let Lin Yiguan go." ”

"Shopkeeper Chen, please tell me directly, who is this person?"

"There is a prince in the Ryukyu Imperial Palace, and legend has it that he sent a letter from Dongchang, perhaps from him." Chen Shen replied.

"So, after arriving at Shuri Castle, can we contact this prince?"

Chen Shen pondered for a moment, shook his head and replied: "The prince is very mysterious, the dragon sees the head but not the tail, and there are very few people who have seen him, so I can only say try it." However, seriously, if the Ryukyu government doesn't help, with the strength of the three of us alone, it will be even more difficult to capture Lin Yiguan than to ascend to the sky! ”

For Wang Chong, no matter whether the imperial court listed Lin Yiguan as a criminal or not, for the sake of those two national treasures, the arrest of Lin Yiguan was regarded as the number one mission, no matter how many difficulties and dangers he faced, he must not let this disloyal, unfilial, unkind and unrighteous thief go unpunished!

After being silent for a long time, Wang Chong asked: "Shopkeeper Chen, I heard that your accent should be from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, why did you become a naturalized Ryukyus?" ”

Chen Shen suddenly gloomy, sighed, and replied: "According to genealogical records, my ancestral home is Ningbo, and I have been doing business in the Ryukyus for three generations, and our Chen family has also been prominent in Shuri Castle for a while, but I was unlucky, in the early years, on the way to Manila to deliver goods, in order to avoid the Japanese invaders, I led the fleet to capsize during the night voyage, and lost my family's money, but fortunately I picked up a life, but owed a huge debt, so I ran to Sakai Town alone, and opened this silk shop with the help of the Sakai Town Lin shopkeeper. Therefore, in order to avenge the shopkeeper Lin, it is also my mission to arrest Lin Yiguan. ”

The two chatted, but before they knew it, the sky had turned white, and the merchant ship arrived at Naha Port, and Wang Chong and his wife stayed at Chen Shen's house and continued to discuss countermeasures.

In the next few days, they went their separate ways, conducting a reconnaissance of the Lin family's shochu shop and trying to contact the princes of the Ryukyu Imperial Palace.

But the prince never showed up, and in the Lin family's soju shop and nearby villages, there was a group of armed patrols day and night, except for the horse-drawn carriages carrying wine and familiar merchants, it was difficult for strangers to approach.

Lin Yiguan can't get mixed up in Japan, Shuri Castle has such a big industry, I heard his younger brother Wen Tao say, he even has a waist card issued by Jinyi Wei, therefore, everyone unanimously judged that Lin Yiguan took refuge in the Ryukyus as a matter of course, and should be hidden in the Lin family's shochu shop.

Although he knew where he was hiding, as Chen Shen said, it was indeed not easy to arrest Lin Yiguan, but in desperation, Wang Chong decided to turn to the Ryukyu government for help.

So, they came to the acting official office of Shuri Castle, and a master received Wang Chong and Guo Yi in the signing room, and asked Chen Shen to wait outside the yamen.

After a while, he found that another master ran out of the yamen, and the anxious Chen Shen hurriedly shouted: "Master, we ask to see the acting master." ”

The master didn't pay attention to Chen Shen, directly pushed open the door of the signing room, and said to Wang Chong: "Lord Qianhu, Lord Sidai can't agree to lend you troops, Lin Wenjun is also a registered Jinyiwei, he has Jinyiwei's survey documents in our yamen, and you have neither a survey document, nor a letter from the commander. ”

Guo Yi was furious when he heard this, and asked, "Haven't you seen the imperial court's mansion report?" Lin Wenjun is Lin Yiguan who is entrenched in Satsuma, Japan, he colluded with the traitor Yan Shifan and the traitor Luo Wenlong, and led the Japanese to plague our Ming coast. ”

"Guo Qianhu is angry, Lord Sidai asked you to wait for a few days, we have already sent an envoy to Jingshi today to investigate, if Lin Wenjun is a criminal of the imperial court, he will definitely be arrested." The master replied.

"We got the exact news, Lin Yiguan is hiding in the shochu shop outside Shuri City, if you don't act in time, once you let go of the imperial court's prisoners, who can afford to take this responsibility?" Guo Yi asked angrily.

"Lord Sidai saw your waist card, and after listening to your statement, he has made arrangements, and now the Lin family shochu shop and the nearby villages are full of secret sentinels, once it is confirmed that Lin Wenjun is a prisoner of the imperial court, we will never be merciful, please Wang Qianhu, Guo Qianhu rest assured, just wait with peace of mind."

Wang Chong has always adhered to military discipline, and it is inconvenient to refute after listening to his master's words.

Guo Yi slapped the table and said angrily: "We know that the Lin family has a lot of power in Shuri City, are you not afraid of the royal law of the imperial court if you are bought by him?" ”

The master bowed to Guo Yishen and replied: "The Ryukyu Kingdom, from the king to the Li people, are all concerned about the court and abide by the law, and no one dares to harbor the Qin criminals of the imperial court. ”

"In that case, we'll catch it ourselves." Guo Yi stood up and shouted at Wang Chong, "Go." ”

Wang Chong and Guo Yi got up and went to the door, the door of the signing room opened from the outside, and a group of people came in, although they were all dressed as civilians, but at a glance they could see that this was a group of military generals.

The leader gave a deep salute to Wang Chong and Guo Yi, and said: "On the orders of the acting lord, we are responsible for entertaining Wang Qianhu and Guo Qianhu, please follow us to the Guoyi Pavilion for a banquet, please!" ”

The two immediately realized that they were going to be placed under house arrest, and Guo Yi tried to resist, but was stopped by Wang Chong.

Guo Yi shouted: "If you leak the news and let Lin Yiguan go, you people will not be able to eat and walk around!" ”

The master hurriedly bowed down and replied unhurriedly: "Please rest assured that every official of our Ryukyu Kingdom abides by the law and is loyal to our king and emperor, and will never let Lin Yiguan go, please stay for a while." ”

Seeing them being taken away by the Ryukyu officers and soldiers, Chen Shen reluctantly left the yamen.

Wang Chong and Guo Yi were guarded in the Ryukyu National Post House, and on the night of their stay, when they were packing up, they suddenly heard a strange sound coming from outside the door.

So they hurriedly drew their swords and stood on either side of the door, when a letter slipped through the crack in the door.

picked up the letter and opened it to look at it, only to see that it was written: Please Wang Qianhu remember not to implicate the royal family.