The year 1905 was later called the Year of China, because the whole world was as calm as water, but as long as the countries that had relations with China were not at peace. Blood and fire are the main themes in these countries.

The most unfortunate was Russia, first the Russian expeditionary fleet was captured by China in one fell swoop, and completely lost all its ocean-going combat capabilities. Then the whole of Siberia was lost because of bean sprouts, and then the main army was annihilated by China one after another, losing Central Asia. In the end, the Chinese soldiers came to the doorstep, Yekaterinburg, the birthplace of Russia, was shelled, and Ufa became precarious. The gains of the Russian tsar's centuries-long eastward and southward expansion were lost in a year, and now even the entire area east of the Ural Mountains was almost lost.

And then there's Japan. Feng Guozhang, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Chinese Army, wantonly slaughtered Japanese nobles and distributed their money and land to Japanese civilians during the funeral of the former Japanese king Meiji on the grounds that Japanese officials had withheld the salaries of Japanese officers and soldiers hired by China and had raped their families. Feng Guozhang's massacre may have been condemned by Western countries, but the Chinese army's move to give all this money and land to civilians has won the praise of the world. Taisho, then the king of Japan, wanted to come forward to investigate the matter, but was told that he was not allowed to interfere in China's military and political affairs. Looking at the Chinese army with a fierce light in his eyes, Taisho could only endure the pain of watching the Chinese do whatever they wanted in Japan. Feng Guozhang only stayed in Japan for three weeks, but the cleanup of the Japanese nobles was carried out for more than three months.

After that, the old aristocratic system in Japan completely collapsed, and only a few nobles remained who benefited greatly from this operation, and finally completely fell to China. However, the small number of people and the influence of China can no longer influence Japan's policy. It is the re-emergence of Japanese civilians who have really benefited from it. Some of those who were quite prestigious among the common people quickly entered the Japanese political arena and became the rising stars of Japanese politics. And what China didn't expect was either. The spies who infiltrated Japan in order to spy on Japan's situation in those years had a large number of supporters in the Japanese civilian community because of China's covert support in the early years. They entered the Japanese political arena as spokesmen for the interests of the Japanese people. Eventually, with the support of China, they eventually took control of the Japanese government. This is equivalent to the fact that all the important members of the Japanese government are Chinese spies, which is an outcome that even the entire Chinese leadership, including the emperor, did not expect. Of course, that's an afterthought.

Halfway through the year, China's most notable political activities in the Ryukyus are its political activities. First of all, the Ryukyu King Shotai took the initiative to ask the emperor to request the succession of the fifth son to the Ryukyu royal family, and when the news came out, European and American countries decided that this must be a political conspiracy of China, and China used its influence to force the Ryukyu King Shotai to recognize his stepson. However, this determination was soon overturned because of the Chinese government's indifference to the matter, which stated that the royal inheritance was an internal affair of the royal family and had nothing to do with the imperial court. This was followed by the rejection of the Chinese royal family. Unexpectedly, Shang Tai was in a hurry. asked to see the emperor in person, and the sincerity of his words and deeds did not look like he was coerced. To outsiders, it was Shang Tai's plea that worked, and the Chinese imperial family finally agreed to pass the fifth son to the Ryukyu royal family. However, the queen's unwillingness at the full moon banquet could not deceive people. At this point, the talk of coercion has vanished.

But that's where things turned. On August 12, when Shotai returned to Shurijo Castle to feast on his own family at the Ryukyu Royal Palace, Shotai of the royal prince in his arms laughed and laughed with everyone. From time to time, he looked affectionately at Wang Shizi in his arms. No matter what rumors are rumored by the outside world, the affectionate licking of calves in Shang Tai's eyes cannot be erased. However, just when everyone thought that the king of Ryukyu was still in love with the prince, the attendants around him suddenly discovered that the old prince had passed away. So the joyful welcome banquet of the prince became the funeral party of the old prince.

Shang Tai's death marked the complete end of the lineage of the Zhongshan royal family. But on his deathbed, he confirmed the inheritance of Wang Shizi, and also kept the incense of King Zhongshan alive. The death of the old prince and the young age of the new prince suddenly paralyzed the national politics of the Ryukyus, except that the funeral of the Ryukyu royal family continued according to the old rules by the elders of the Shannan and northern tribes. All other administrations were halted because they were not stamped with the gold seal of the King of the Ryukyus. But fortunately, the new Ryukyu King had a strong backing force, and it was on the night of Shotai's death. A telegram from the old prince reached Beijing. That night, the Chinese government held an emergency meeting. After that, he sent Wu Tingfang, the secretary of the Criminal Department, together with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Liang Dunyan, to urgently send an envoy to Ryukyu.

How will China handle Ryukyu affairs? Faced with a new Ryukyu king who is a son of the Chinese royal family and has no resistance to the Ryukyus, will China directly annex the Ryukyus? This is an important event that has a bearing on the political relations between China and its vassal states, and it is also a major event that determines the direction of China's foreign politics. Therefore, countries in Europe and the United States, Southeast Asia, and West Asia are all paying close attention to the Ryukyus' every move.

"Although the Ryukyu King is the fifth son of the emperor, he has already succeeded the Ryukyu royal family, so for the imperial court, the Ryukyu King is just a foreign vassal king. Whenever the king of the Ryukyus was involved, China treated him as the same as a foreign vassal king. On this basis, the imperial court needed to state that China would not interfere in the internal affairs of the Ryukyus, and that the rule of the Ryukyus was a basic principle for the Ryukyus. If you have no other opinions, then, without violating the above two principles, then we will move on to the following topics. ”

At the very beginning of the meeting with the various families of the Ryukyus, Liang Dunyan first confirmed the basic attitude of the imperial court towards the Ryukyus, which made everyone present, especially the two elders of Shannan and Shanbei, a little overwhelmed. They originally planned to ensure the independence of the Ryukyus, and they were ready to negotiate with the imperial envoys, and even forced each other to die, but they didn't want the court and Ben to be uninterested in the Ryukyus. But since the imperial court does not interfere in the internal affairs of the Ryukyus, what else is there to talk about?

"You may think that since the Imperial Court does not interfere in the internal affairs of the Ryukyus, there seems to be nothing to talk about. In fact, the Ryukyu king is too young to handle government affairs before he becomes an adult, and the imperial court will not intervene in the internal affairs of the Ryukyus, so how to ensure the stability of the political situation in the Ryukyus for more than ten years? And how to ensure that after more than ten years, the king of the Ryukyus can smoothly take over the affairs of the Ryukyus? The king of the Ryukyus is my emperor's own title, and as a suzerain, he must have an explanation for the vassal king. In order to ensure that the Ryukyu King would be worthy of his name after more than ten years, the emperor hoped that everything would be stipulated in the form of a law to ensure that the Ryukyu King could effectively take over the internal affairs of the Ryukyus when he became an adult. ”

Wu Tingfang's words cannot be refuted. Otherwise, once the Ryukyu tribes collectively boycotted the Ryukyu king ten years later. or ask for a hypocrisy to establish a constitution to overthrow the Ryukyu king, so what has the court done with these things all these years. It's good to annex it directly by force, but Ryukyu has lost the country anyway. Do you still pay a prince to go in? It is precisely because it is necessary to maintain the face of a benevolent and righteous country, but the actual interests cannot be lost, so only when it is written clearly in black and white, can the future adult Ryukyu king take over the Ryukyus logically. The establishment of the relationship between the clans and vassals in the form of a law was the main purpose of the Shoshu of the Criminal Department who came to Ryukyu.

The words of the imperial envoy are very reasonable, in the political arena, more than ten years is enough time to launch N coups. The elders of the Shannan and Shanbei clans also agreed, so they discussed it one by one.

Maybe it's because of the climate, maybe it's because the king of the Ryukyus is too small. On the third day of the old prince's burial. The king of the Ryukyus, who had just succeeded to the throne, began to fall ill and did not improve for three days with medication. At this time, the empress who was far away in Beijing knew about it, and a decree took the king of the Ryukyus to Beijing. The sudden death of the old prince, the new prince was too young to handle state affairs, and the imperial envoys could not interfere in the internal affairs of the Ryukyus. However, the backlog of government affairs has affected the normal administration of the Ryukyus.

Under these circumstances, the imperial envoy proposed that Xiang Chengde temporarily act as regent of the Ryukyu king, so as to facilitate the normalization of Ryukyu administration. Although the elders of the Shannan and Shanbei tribes were unhappy about this proposal, they did not oppose it. This is not only the strong military force of the imperial court, but also Xiang Chengde is also Shang Tai's nephew. Because his father Xiang Dehong is Shang Tai's brother-in-law. Xiang Dehong is a well-known figure in both China and the Ryukyus, and his most famous deed is that he smuggled into China in 1876 and asked the Qing Dynasty for help to prevent Japan from annexing the Ryukyus. And claimed that "I don't want to be a Japanese person in life, and I don't want to be a ghost in Japan." However, at that time, the Qing court pursued a policy of appeasement and was unwilling to interfere too much in Ryukyu affairs. Eventually, the Ryukyus were overthrown. Li Hongzhang, who was the governor of Zhili at the time, was interested in helping and won it in the negotiations with Japan. Give Xiang Dehong the opportunity to return to the South Island as the king of the Ryukyus. But Xiang Dehong's original intention was to recover the entire territory of Ryukyu rather than a partial region, so he still refused. However, the ambition to restore the country has not been rewarded. However, he never returned to his homeland for life, and died in Fuzhou, China in 1891. And Xiang Chengde is Xiang Dehong's eldest son. And the imperial court also saw Xiang Chengde's status as a Ryukyu royal family and his father's sacrifice for the restoration of the country, so it proposed to make him the regent of the period when the Ryukyu king could not govern in person.

He thanked Chengde for his gratitude to the imperial envoy, but he wore the Han costume given by the imperial court and took office. I have to say that Xiang Chengde does have the ability to be the prime minister of a country, and the government affairs that have been piled up for many days are quickly sorted out and handled. However, the establishment of the laws of the Ryukyus vassal domains was hampered, first of all, by the question of the responsibilities and obligations of the two vassals.

As a suzerain, it is natural to protect its vassals, and the vassal states also need to show loyalty to the suzerains in the form of tribute. This is normal for China, which has had vassal states since the Western Han Dynasty, and most of China's dynasties have adopted a policy of softness towards vassal states, hardly interfering in their internal affairs, but providing them with free protection when they can. In ancient China, such a way was certainly feasible, first of all, no tribe or country around China had the ability to destroy China, and as long as China did not have internal strife, foreigners could only obediently bow down and be vassals. In this case, the Central Plains Dynasty provided free protection for the vassal state to let the other party come to claim the vassal, first, it could show the great power of the Central Plains Dynasty, and second, it could satisfy the emperor's selfish desire for exotic luxuries through the tribute of the vassal state.

But now times are different. First of all, China is no longer a single country, and the Western powers are capable enough to destroy China if they are willing to join forces, and the current emperor has never seen anything, so he has no interest in the exotic luxuries of this era (except for real money, of course). Secondly, the vassal states are no longer the dispensable wild lands in the mouth of the Central Plains Dynasty, and with the development of the economy, the vassal states can also provide a lot of benefits for China. With the changes in the current world situation, the vassal states outside China have become China's barrier and the first line of defense to ensure that the mainland is not attacked, which is the most realistic strategic need. Therefore, when the status of both the suzerainty and the vassal state changes fundamentally, the former suzerain-vassal relationship naturally no longer applies.

"Ryukyu is a small country that lacks the ability to protect itself. Even Japan, which is in a remote corner, can destroy it, so the Ryukyus need to rely on a large power to provide military security. You don't have a problem with that. At the meeting on the relationship between the clans and vassals of China and Liuliu, Liang Dunyan stated his opinions one by one.

For this point of view. It is recognized by the whole Ryukyus. Neither Shannan, Shanbei Elders, nor Xiang Chengde have any opinions.

"Since the Ryukyus, as a vassal state, regularly paid tribute to China at the request of the suzerain, China, fulfilled its obligations as a vassal state. Then, as the suzerain, China naturally has to exercise its responsibility as the suzerain, which is to provide armed protection to the vassal states, so as to ensure that the vassal states are not invaded and oppressed by foreign enemies. I'm sure you don't have a problem with that. ”

The Ryukyuan people who attended the meeting nodded yes.

"There is an old Chinese saying: taking history as a mirror can know the rise and fall. When this dynasty summarizes the history of the rise and fall of previous dynasties. A very important phenomenon has been found in the question of vassal states -- the question of the loyalty and nature of vassal states. Liang Dunyan's words made the faces of everyone in the Ryukyus turn white on the spot. Does this mean that China thinks that the Ryukyus are betraying China? Ryukyu would never dare or have to, this is a great wrong.

"Your Excellency the Special Envoy Mingjian-" If it weren't for the abolition of the kneeling salute in China, the Ryukyuan people present would have had to kneel and kowtow. The two elders of Shannan and Shanbei are already pleading: "Ryukyu has always respected China as its father, and it has never changed. The annual tribute has not been broken, and the loyal heart of the Ryukyus can be learned-"

Xiang Chengde couldn't bow even more: "My father was secretly ordered by the former king to smuggle into China to ask for help from the Qing Dynasty, although the former Qing Dynasty was unwilling to ask about our country's affairs and my country eventually fell to the hands of the Japanese. The father of the family will never return to his homeland for the rest of his life, and the son of the family, Lin Shigong, even committed suicide to clarify his ambition. What's more, if it weren't for the grace of our emperor, the emperor would have rescued the former king from Japan and helped us restore the country. I'm afraid that the lower officials and others are still imprisoned at the hands of the Japanese today. My emperor is so gracious, and the lower officials are grateful to Dade in front, where do they dare to have the slightest disobedience. Please take a clear look at the envoy—"

"Oh, everybody, please get up, please get up. The imperial court did not have this intention, and did not have this intention. Seeing this, Liang Dunyan hurriedly stood up with a panicked face and helped everyone: "This is the official's mistake, and he didn't make his words clear, which frightened you." But at this moment, Liang Dunyan nodded with satisfaction in his heart. If you can scare the Ryukyuan people with one sentence, then the negotiations will be smoother later.

The Ryukyuan people did not know the true purpose of Liang Atsuhiko, but they were puzzled by his words and did not know what he meant by what he was about to say.

"The vassal states to which this official refers are the northwestern states. If you are familiar with Tang history, you should know that when the Tang Dynasty marched into the Western Regions, all the countries in the Western Regions regarded the Tang Dynasty as their suzerain. However, in the battle with the Great Eclipse in the Western Regions, Heng Rus. The vassal state of Qarluq actually accepted bribes and defected, so that the Tang army of the western expedition was almost wiped out. A little treasure can make a vassal state surrender to the enemy. And when I went west to Russia this time, there were also many tribes who went to Qin and Chu. If our army can't conquer it for a long time. I'm afraid I will repeat the mistakes of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, our emperor has long thought about a good strategy, which is to redefine the relationship between the clan and the vassal in the form of a law. However, thinking about the establishment of a suzerain-vassal treaty with the northwestern countries first may cause disgust among the countries, so my emperor is also undecided. At this time, the death of the first king of the Ryukyus gave my emperor a glimmer of opportunity. Even if they first agreed with the Ryukyus on the laws of the clan, and then spread it to the northwestern countries with the Ryukyus as a precedent, they would have nothing to say at that time. Liang Dunyan asked you with a smile: "Actually, when it comes to the relationship between our dynasty and the vassal states, I am afraid that Korea is closer than the Ryukyus. However, the Emperor decided to negotiate with the Ryukyus first on the laws and regulations of the Clan, rather than Joseon, so you should understand the intentions of our court. ”

"Clearly, the emperor of the kingdom is gracious, and the Ryukyus will be toothless." Of course, the people of the Ryukyus understood that China was actually looking for the Ryukyus to show the northwestern countries. As for the first one to find not North Korea but Ryukyu, one is that the timing is right, and the other is that if it is not for the loyalty of the Ryukyus, why should I consult with you, does the little Ryukyu have the qualifications to consult with China?

"If only you could understand. I just told you about the collapse of the Ryukyus, so have you ever wondered why I allowed the Ryukyus to be annexed by Japan? In the final analysis, the former Qing Dynasty regarded Ryukyu as a place outside the country, and it was okay to be a vassal, and it didn't matter if it was lost. You must know that the former Qing Dynasty also has the ancestral training of not cutting an inch of land, and those who have signed a land cutting agreement The emperor failed to enter his ancestral temple until the fall of the former Qing Dynasty, and the incense of the descendants was punished. However, why did the cession of Ryukyu not arouse the slightest discussion in the country? Because Ryukyu is not my land. ”

"Extremely, very much, does the envoy have a good plan?" Xiang Chengde was a little nervous, because he felt the meaning of the words.

Liang Dunyan looked at everyone and said: "Throughout the dynasties of our country. Regardless of the Han, Tang, Song and Ming dynasties, at the beginning of the founding of the country, they could revitalize the country and work hard, but it was passed on to future generations and their descendants were unfilial to their descendants, so that they lost their land and lost their country. Therefore, our emperor took precautions and established laws to pass on to all generations. The Statute of the Clan is one of them. In order to prevent future generations from having a loser like Xiang Cixi, the merger of the Ryukyu land into China was the solution to the problem. Liang Dunyan paused after speaking.

"No. My lord. Xiang Chengde, the two elders of Shannan and Shanbei were the first to stand up and speak: "Ryukyu has been restored by the great grace of the kingdom, and today the kingdom wants to annex our country to China, and we are powerless to resist. However, the people of the Ryukyus were afraid that they were mistaken and resentful of the fact that the Lords wanted to annex our country. Please think twice about the Special Envoy. ”

"Who told you that China was going to annex the Ryukyus?" Liang Dunyan was full of anger.

Xiang Chengde was blinded by Liang Dunyan's words, so he had to say carefully: "Didn't Lord Fang Cai say that he wanted to annex my country into China?" ”

"I'm talking about the annexation of the land of the Ryukyus to China, not the country of the Ryukyus!"

"This ...... Is there a difference? ”

Hmph-Liang Dunyan rolled his eyes, turned his head and ignored Xiang Chengde. Wu Tingfang, who had not spoken on the side, smiled: "I told you a long time ago that these things were said at one time, you have to sell it, now it's okay." Then Wu Tingfang said to the people of the Ryukyus: "Everyone, listen patiently to what I have to say. The Ryukyus are located outside the eastern coast of our homeland, and they can maintain the tranquility of the East China Sea, but if they fail to do so, the entire eastern coast will be in danger, and the importance of its strategic position must never be ceded. In order to ensure that future generations would not dare to cede Ryukyu in the event of an unfilial descendant, the new suzerain-vassal relationship drafted by China was to imitate the feudal system of the early Zhou Dynasty in China. It means that the land of the Ryukyus will be annexed to China, and then the emperor will divide the land of the Ryukyus under the name of the Ryukyu king, and the country will be named the right of autonomy of the Ryukyu country. As for the move of first merging and then dividing...... Hehe, the emperor, especially a big emperor like China, this face is still enough. This is not Chongyang's knighthood ceremony is coming. Do you understand? ”

At this time, the people of the Ryukyus realized that the reason for doing this was actually that the minister was patting the emperor's ass, and it had no real impact on the Ryukyus. But he didn't agree on the spot, just said that he would go back and discuss it first. Liang Dunyan nodded in agreement.

Early the next morning. Xiang Chengde and the two elders of Shannan and Shanbei gathered together at the Chinese Consulate in Ryukyu and agreed to merge into China. There was no objection in principle to the new Clan Ordinance. But Liang Dunyan said to Wu Tingfang: "Don't you smile a little treacherously? ”

Five days later, on August 19, the Ryukyu Regent and the two elders led about 10,000 Ryukyu people to petition outside the Chinese Consulate in Ryukyu that the Ryukyus had been restored to the country because of the emperor's favor and were under the protection of China. In addition, the old prince designated the five sons of my emperor as the new king of Ryukyu, so I asked my emperor to agree to merge Ryukyu into China, so that the emperor's grace can evenly benefit the people of the world. The news reached Beijing. Emperor Da Lezhi, and then sent a message to Ryukyu: I know the hearts of the people of Ryukyu. I am very relieved. However, the will of the people cannot be violated, and the annexation of Ryukyu to China should be allowed. However, China has no intention of annexing the Ryukyus. Therefore, he also returned the original place to the king of the Ryukyus, and his actions were still the rules of the vassal state, and he ordered the Qincha Liang Wu and others to draft regulations as the law of eternity.

Two days later, on August 21, only 16 articles of the Ordinance were issued. China still does not interfere in the internal affairs of the Ryukyus, and the Ryukyu State has completely independent political, economic, administrative, and personnel powers, and its semi-independent diplomatic power is limited to all countries in the Ryukyus except for China and other vassal states, and its diplomacy must not contravene the general principles of Chinese diplomacy. However, the Ryukyus still maintain the right to conduct diplomatic activities in the name of the state, and China must not interfere without reason. This means that the Ryukyu Kingdom is still the original Ryukyu Kingdom, but nominally it has changed from an outer domain to an internal domain. As for the deployment of full military power by the Chinese General Staff Headquarters, the countries of the world do not even want to say anything.

The advent of the regulations on the suzerainty and vassal states of China and Ryukyu not only clearly stipulates the rights and obligations of the suzerainty and the vassal states from the law, but more importantly, it is the first step for China to go out of the country and lay out the world. With the Ryukyu precedent, the initiative was given to annex the northwestern states, and such a high degree of freedom of suzerainty and feudal regulations was an attractive prospect for the former vassal states of China in Southeast Asia.

The principle has been established, and the negotiation of the details naturally does not need to be such a heavy minister as Liang Wu. At the farewell banquet held for the two ministers of Liang Wu on the night when the Ryukyu delegates signed the feudal regulations, the regent of the Ryukyu Kingdom made the following request to the special envoy of the imperial court to Chengde: This year is the year of the implementation of the national education plan in our dynasty, and since the Ryukyus have been incorporated into China, the people of the Ryukyus, who are also members of the Chinese people, are naturally included in the national education plan. School facilities have been selected in various parts of the Ryukyus, but it is not known when the imperial court will be able to send Mr. to the Ryukyus, and in addition, two special envoys have been asked to pay for the relevant education funds on behalf of His Majesty.

This question was of great interest to the reporters at the banquet, but Liang Dunyan insisted that the Chinese court should not interfere in the internal affairs of the Ryukyus, and that the education of the people was among the internal affairs. But Xiang Chengde has a different view, first of all, Ryukyu has been merged with China, so the original Ryukyu people naturally become Chinese people. In addition, our emperor has announced that the world will implement education for all, why should he ignore the Chinese people in the Ryukyus. Our emperor Endeze is the people of the world, and naturally he will not ignore the people of the Ryukyus.

No matter how Liang Dunyan and Wu Tingfang explained, Xiang Chengde and the second elder were very shrewd and never mentioned the word "country", and they always talked about the annexation of Ryukyu to China, which was a law just signed. Since it has been annexed, it should be treated equally, and the emperor is not only the emperor of the Central Plains, but also the emperor of the land of the Ryukyus. Liang Wu was speechless, they can't say that the emperor's kindness is flawed and doesn't care about the people of Ryukyu.

Liang Dunyan, who was anxious when asked by reporters, grabbed Wu Tingfang's sleeve and said urgently: "MD, I'm fooled." Why don't we tear up the clan regulations. ”

At this time, Liang Dunyan and Wu Tingfang were both gloomy. (To be continued.) )