China has always felt benevolence and righteousness to its neighbors, and even if it is a tributary system established by vassal states, it has always been China that suffers and vassal states take advantage. Those vassal states only need to use some worthless local specialties every year to get a handsome reward from China.

It's just that China under Wu Haoxuan's rule is no longer like that. In state-to-state exchanges, the most important thing is interests. Even between the suzerainty and the vassal states, interests come first.

It took so much effort for the Chinese Empire to defeat Japan and help Korea and the Ryukyus regain independence. Obviously, then, China wants to seek sufficient interests in this regard. Let's not talk about Ryukyu, the country is small and the people are widowed, and there is no oil and water. But North Korea is a different story. The total population of North Korea now stands at more than 10 million. Although this cannot be compared with China, which has a population of more than 400 million, no matter how small the mosquito legs are, they are still meat!

Once China controls North Korea's economy, military, and politics, it can reap very good benefits from North Korea. North Korea is mountainous, but it is also rich in natural resources. Uranium ore resources, in particular, are of little use now. However, someday it will be used.

As for the Ryukyus, it was more of a military consideration. The port of Naha is in good condition and can be used as a home port for the Imperial Pacific Fleet. Direct access to the Pacific Ocean from Naha without restrictions. In addition, the empire could deploy heavy troops along the Ryukyu and Treasure Islands to form a defensive barrier for the empire overseas. In the face of an invasion by a strong enemy, the enemy must first break through the defenses of the Imperial* army on this line before he can pose a threat to the empire itself. When the Ryukyus were in the hands of the Empire, they became a defensive circle for the defense of the empire itself. And in the hands of the enemy, it becomes an island chain to contain China. So, it's better to be in the hands of the Empire.

After the imperial crown prince Wu Haoxuan and the Joseon king Yi Tuo, the Ryukyu prince Shonori determined the general direction. The next details will be discussed by the Cabinet and the General Staff with the DPRK and the Ryukyus.

In the end, an agreement was reached, and Wu Haoxuan, Li Tuo and Shang Dian signed their names on the agreement.

The agreement stipulated that the Chinese Empire was obliged to guarantee the security of Korea and the Ryukyus. Once Korea and the Ryukyus were invaded by foreign enemies. The Chinese Empire had to help Korea and the Ryukyus defend against foreign enemies. In addition, state management, economic construction, police training, and military training in Korea and the Ryukyus must all be guided by China. In the event of the outbreak of war, the armies of Korea and the Ryukyus will unconditionally accept the command of the Chinese* army.

After discussions, the Imperial General Staff decided to deploy an army group in Korea to fully take over the defense of Korea. In the event of another war between China and Japan, this army group will be responsible for the defense of Korea. If the Chinese Navy can defeat the Japanese Navy again in the middle of the war. This army group was to become the first troops to land in Japan. In addition, the DPRK will also establish six infantry divisions with more than 100,000 troops under the training of the Chinese Army. Although the Chinese Army does not expect these Korean troops to have strong combat effectiveness, it should not be much of a problem for them to deal with those Japanese civilians and protect the logistics supply lines of the Imperial Army. Meantime. The Imperial Navy will also lease the North Korean port of Busan and Jeju Island for a total of one million Chinese won as military bases for the Imperial Navy. For future operations against Japan. The lease term is 100 years!

The Ryukyus are weak and have a sparse population. Excluding those who immigrated to the Ryukyus from Japan, there are only 30,000 or 40,000 Ryukyu natives. It would be unrealistic to raise too many armies in the Ryukyus. So, after training hundreds of policemen for the Ryukyus, the Imperial Marines would train a battalion of troops for the Ryukyus. Peacetime. This battalion was used to guard the Ryukyu Royal Palace and served as a port for the Imperial Navy. In the event of the outbreak of war, this battalion would also be at the behest of the Imperial Navy. The Imperial Navy also leased the port of Naha for 1 million yuan for 100 years.

Because the king of the Ryukyus, Shotai, died in Tokyo in 1901. After that, there was no king in the Ryukyus. As the eldest son of Shangtai, Shonori was named the Prince of the Ryukyus since he was a child. Right now. The Ryukyus finally got rid of Japan. Naonori also aspires to be the king of the Ryukyus.

On July 20, 4608 (10) of the Yellow Emperor Era, the Emperor issued an edict and officially canonized Shangdian as the king of the Ryukyus. In fact, this edict was issued by Wu Haoxuan, but it was stamped with the emperor's jade seal. Wu Xingquan is now enjoying himself all day long, ignoring the government and politics, and Wu Haoxuan has the final say in all domestic affairs. Even the jade seal was directly in the hands of Wu Haoxuan. In addition to not being an emperor in name, Wu Haoxuan has become a de facto emperor.

After canonizing Shonori as the king of the Ryukyus, the Imperial Navy protected Shonori and returned to Japan to ascend the throne. According to the agreement reached between the Empire and the Ryukyus, the port of Naha will be leased to the Empire. Of course, this is only Minato Ward. Ryukyu was already very small, and if the whole of Naha were leased to China, there would not be much territory left in the Ryukyus.

The Imperial Navy sent a light cruiser and four destroyers to escort Shonori back to the Ryukyus. In addition to the children of the Ryukyu royal family, he was accompanied by a battalion of the Imperial Marine Corps. The Marine Corps of the Imperial Navy has only been formed for a long time, and its strength is still relatively weak, and there is only one division in total. However, the Navy plans to expand the Marine Corps to about five divisions in the future. In this way, when conducting a landing operation, the Imperial Navy would not need to rely on the land forces, but would be able to accomplish it directly by relying on the marines. Of course, in the face of a more powerful enemy, you still have to rely on the army to come out.

The Imperial Navy's light cruiser Suiyuan, with the destroyers O-3, E-5, O-7, and O-8, escorted the Ryukyu royal family and a battalion of the Imperial Marines to the Ryukyus. In addition to these battleships, there were three transports in total. The Ryukyu royal family was placed on a transport ship.

On the foredeck of a transport ship, Shang Dian was blowing the sea breeze and looking excited. Soon, he will be returning to the Ryukyus. When the time comes, he will ascend the throne there and become the king of the Ryukyus. Although, the current political and military affairs of the Ryukyus are under the control of the Chinese Empire. However, Shang Dian didn't feel that there was anything unacceptable. All these years of solitary confinement in Japan have long been enough for him. Even being a puppet king in the Ryukyus is at least much better than being confined in Japan, right?

These years of solitary confinement have also made Shang Dian understand that there is no free lunch in the world. No matter how benevolent and righteous China is, it is impossible to help the Ryukyus without compensation. If the Ryukyus want to continue to exist, they must hug China's thighs.

After several days of sailing, by July 23, the Ryukyus were already in sight.

At noon on July 23, under the protection of the Chinese Navy, Shonori returned to Ryukyu and went ashore in Naha. Countless Ryukyu people spontaneously came to the dock to welcome Shangdian back to China. Although, the Ryukyus have been annexed by Japan for decades. However, the people of the Ryukyus were always looking forward to re-establishing the Ryukyu Kingdom from Japanese rule.

Finally, now their wish has finally come true. The Chinese Empire defeated Japan, and the Ryukyus were finally about to gain independence.

On the docks, the accompanying Chinese officials read out the emperor's edict, and countless Ryukyuan people fell to their knees and listened to the edict.

The empire announced that it was the canonization of Shonori as the king of the Ryukyus, and that the empire would be responsible for the safety of the Ryukyus. From now on, no country will be able to invade the Ryukyus.

"Hooray! Long live the Empire! The Ryukyuan people rejoiced. In their opinion, with the protection of the empire, the security of the Ryukyus should be as stable as a mountain, and no one can threaten them anymore. Over the years, after Japan annexed the Ryukyus, it has not been less oppressive to them. The Japanese who emigrated from Japan embezzled the property and land of the Ryukyuan people, and often oppressed them, making life very difficult for the Ryukyuan people. Now, everything is fine, and the hard days are finally over.

According to the peace treaty signed between China and Japan, the Japanese officials, police, and garrisons sent to the Ryukyus have long since been evacuated. However, the Japanese who emigrated from Japan to the Ryukyus were not evacuated for a long time. Over the years, many Japanese immigrants have come to the Ryukyus. There are more than the locals of the Ryukyus. According to preliminary estimates, there are nearly 50,000 Japanese living in the Ryukyus.

Under the protection of the Imperial Marines, King Naonori of the Ryukyus stayed in the royal palace of Shurijo Castle. The Imperial Marines left a company to guard the palace to protect the safety of Shangdian. After all, there are still so many Japanese people on the island. If they have bad intentions and kill Shang Dian, it will be troublesome. The Chinese Empire has undoubtedly been slapped in the face!

According to the original treaty, these Japanese should have been withdrawn to Japan. However, the Japanese government continued to procrastinate on the grounds of lack of ships, so that these Japanese remained entrenched in the Ryukyus. The patience of the empire is limited, if these Japanese are slow to leave. The Empire will certainly take some drastic measures.

Ryukyu gained independence, and the king of the Ryukyus was canonized by the suzerain, the Chinese Empire, and it was the accession to the throne that caused the entire Ryukyu to fall into a carnival. Of course, only the indigenous people of the Ryukyus cheered. The Japanese who migrated from Japan were hostile. Many Japanese have lived in the Ryukyus for decades and still call it home. Now, the Chinese actually want to drive them away, how can this be acceptable to them? (To be continued.) )

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