"The mainland has established a new monarch, and we are also ministers, so we naturally respect the holy will." Zheng Jing softened his breath and said: "Taiwan is isolated overseas, even if it can't start the country, as long as we work together and operate steadily, we can keep the feudal town forever." ”

From Qiguo to the feudal town, Zheng Jing lowered his expectations by another level. As far as the shape shì is concerned, Taiwan's population is still small, and although it has the advantage of geographical advantages, it has no strength to compete for hegemony. Moreover, at present, Taiwan cannot do without the support of the mainland.

"Those clans who want to go back to the mainland will let them go." Zheng Jing sneered: "The people who tend to be attached to the flames, they came to attach themselves when they were poor, and it was my Zheng family who issued official salaries so that they could have no worries about food and clothing." Now it's a different face, which is really disgraceful. ”

"The king is right." Liu Guoxuan echoed casually: "It's useless to stay, and it will cost money and food, so let them all get out." ”

"Luzon?" Zheng Jing groaned that it was difficult to make a decision, but scanned everyone with his eyes.

"King, Luzon cannot be attacked for the time being." Liu Guoxuan shook his head and said: "First, the food is insufficient, and the second is to beware of Taiwan's emptiness and being taken advantage of by others!" ”

Feng Xifan immediately agreed, "This is the imperial court's plan to drive the tiger and devour the wolf, and when our army and the Westerners are defeated, they will be able to reap the benefits of the fishermen." ”

Chen Yonghua sighed secretly, this Zheng Jing learned from his father everywhere, but he didn't learn his father's eloquence. When recovering Taiwan, many generals opposed it, but the former king was able to exclude public opinion and be arbitrary.

"Don't attack for the time being, but you have to do more reconnaissance." Zheng Jing pondered for a while and said: "Although the imperial court has this intention, it also needs to be after the Northern Expedition, to say the least, it will take two or three years. In the past two or three years, we have worked together to run this Taiwan like an iron bucket. In the final analysis, whether it is for the imperial court or for Xiyi. It is all about strength so that they will not be despised by others. ”

………………

As far as the eye can see, it is a magnificent and tranquil, blue and boundless sea. As far as the eye can see, it is connected to the pale blue clouds. The ripples reflect the molten sun, revealing a flame that scales like a scale. Small ripples murmured on the fine golden sand on the shore, crawling slowly.

Since 1609 (the thirty-seventh year of Wanli). Shimazu Iehisa, the lord of the Satsuma Domain, sent 15 ships with 3,000 soldiers to invade the Ryukyus, and the Ryukyu Kingdom had been reduced to the puppet regime of the Satsuma Domain for almost 60 years. But even this has not changed the relationship between China and Ryukyu. According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", in the fourteenth year of Wanli (1616), "Japan had a plan to take Jilong Mountain (its place name Taiwan)", at that time, King Shangning, who endured humiliation and heavy burdens, still did not forget to "send an envoy to hear" to inform China to guard against Japanese aggression.

After the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains. The king of the Ryukyus sent envoys to the Qing Dynasty to ask for canonization. Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty made King Shangzhi the King of Ryukyu, and Ryukyu became a vassal of the Qing Dynasty, but this was only a nominal matter, and there was no change in the actual status of Ryukyu. The Ryukyu Kingdom was still a vassal to both the ostensible Qing Dynasty and the de facto Satsuma Domain, and the income from the tributary trade was still exploited by the Satsuma Domain.

After the rise of the Southern Ming Dynasty, the Ryukyus first became a merchant and then sent a secret envoy to contact the Southern Ming government. Unexpectedly, Zhu Yongxing agreed very simply. He promised to send troops to expel the Japanese people within a few years and help the Ryukyus recover.

Under the unexpected surprise. Ryukyu began to make secret preparations, in addition to spying on the truth of the Japanese people, but also gave great preferential treatment to the Nanming government in the trade of sulfur.

It's finally back to the country! The Ryukyu prince Shang Zhen diligently accompanied the Ming officials stationed in the Ryukyus, especially Naha, which would be a port leased by the Ming Dynasty, which was a condition for the Ming army to help the Ryukyus recover.

For thousands of years. China is the eye of the typhoon of East Asian spiritual civilization. In the Ryukyus, it is full of Chinese-style flower and bird paintings.

The scenery is very beautiful, those hexagonal Chinese-style pagodas and bottle-shaped Indian-style floating pagodas, Chinese-style pavilions and pavilions carved with beams and paintings, ancient pagodas, ancient monuments, temples, and towering pines and cypresses, wildflowers in full bloom. The flowers are full of flowers, which will give people infinite poetry. With its gray limestone peaks and rocks, and quaint Chinese architecture, it can be said that Ryukyu is a magnified rockery and a super bonsai. If you are covered in rain curtains and fog barriers, it is like a fairyland.

And to help the Ryukyus recover, the Ming army did not make much effort. There were no more than 1,000 Japanese soldiers in the Ryukyus, and they were defenseless. Led by Ryukyu guides, the Ming army landed in the fishing village of Mobunin on the south coast. The rocky cliffs of the coast there are not suitable for landing operations. But in this way, the landing of the Ming army was more hidden, and the attack on the Japanese soldiers was more sudden.

The Japanese soldiers, who had not experienced war for decades, were not only caught off guard, but also extremely poorly armed, and even more so, lacked combat experience. After only three rounds of musket fire, the Japanese soldiers were defeated and fled, and then they were wiped out.

"May I ask Shangguan, how many garrisons can your army keep?" Shang Zhen cautiously asked, "The Japanese people are capricious, if they are defeated and return, they must not be worried!" ”

"Three thousand at most." Gu Xichou was looking at Shuri, the capital of the Ryukyus, according to Chinese standards, can only be regarded as the mansion of the great squire in the south of the Yangtze River, "Even the sailors are counted, this is the total garrison." In fact, it doesn't matter how many people there are, as long as there is a Ming army, coming to attack is to be the enemy of the emperor, and the Satsuma Domain, and even the Wa Kingdom, will not have such courage. ”

"Those Xiyi—" Shang Zhen was a little suspicious......

Britain has been very active in helping the Ryukyus to recover this time, and has been paying attention to this matter for a long time. After the Shimabara Rebellion, the Japanese shogunate was extremely fearful of Catholicism, and religious persecution gradually expanded to trade restrictions. The Portuguese were expelled first, then the British, and later the Spanish ships were strictly forbidden to sail. In addition to the seals, Japanese ships must also obtain a "letter from the old man" before they can go to sea, and all Japanese living in foreign countries are strictly forbidden to return to China and will be executed if they return.

The only exception was the Dutch, the Dutch East India Company set up a branch in Japan, assuring the shogunate that it would never spread Christianity, and as soon as the Dutch merchant ships arrived in Japan, the director of the merchant hall immediately submitted the Dutch Tale to the shogunate to report on the situation abroad.

The British were bitter about this, and were angry that the Dutch could maintain their trade with the Japanese. The Ming army helped the Ryukyus to restore the country, and the British immediately saw an opportunity. After several negotiations, the Nanming government was satisfied with the British conditions and "reluctantly" agreed that British ships could anchor at Naha Port in the Ryukyus and set up a trading hall in Naha.

This was a prelude to the reopening of trade with the Japanese, and the British paid the price, but they also saw it clearly, and the prospects were very optimistic. So. In this military operation, the British dispatched three warships with a total of more than 160 guns.

"Xiyi is only allowed to send merchants, but not a single soldier is allowed to be stationed." Gu Xichou explained: "Your country doesn't have to worry, the emperor is also wary of Xiyi. ”

The ends and the means cannot be equally noble, or equally despicable. Help the Ryukyus recover. Although it was only a step in Zhu Yongxing's plan, it was extremely fortunate for the Ryukyuan people, who had always been apprehensive.

For this small country, Gu Xichou didn't understand what was important. Producing sulfur, well, is a reason, but dispatching a large army is inevitably a bit of a fuss. As for what Zhu Yongxing said about the concept of "island chain", he couldn't understand it at all. But so it should be with the Holy One. And he did it faithfully. Turned gorgeously from an intelligence officer, first as an envoy to the Ryukyus, and then—

In Zhu Yongxing's view, the geographical location of the Ryukyus is very important, and in addition to serving as a transit point for trade between Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, it should also serve as a bridgehead to monitor and contain the Japanese state.

What kind of country is the Wa Kingdom? It is a country full of volcanoes and hot springs, and it is restless in the midst of frequent earthquakes. a country that boasts of being a melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures; countries that believe in Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism; a country that is sometimes inferior and suddenly arrogant; A country with an imperial dream in a few tatami cardboard rooms.

What kind of ethnic group are the Japanese people? It is the nation that studies desperately and takes the teacher's knife; a nation that struggles hard but is extremely suspitous; The family Yaxing that pays attention to flower arrangement and tea ceremony has slaughtered tens of millions of foreign people; created a nation of ukiyo-e and friendly Zen silk but also cannibalism; a nation that pays attention to its own folk festivals, but throws the people of other countries into the sea of blood; A people who worship their own shrines but destroy the ancestral graves of other countries; borrowing foreign cultures but trying to assimilate other people's nationalities with their own miscellaneous words and ethics......

A qiē beauty and ugliness are strangely blended here; A qiē good and evil are both cleverly mixed here. One qiē ambition and naked ferocity are smelted here, and one qiē evolution and barbarism are forged here.

Vigilance is a must. Although the current Wa State is still sympathetic to the Ming Dynasty, although the current Wa State is a martial cultivator, its unruliness has been revealed. During the reign of Taizu, the Wa Kingdom killed the Ming envoy and humiliated the Ming Dynasty; Later, there were more Japanese rebellions, and Wanli invaded the dynasty.

And. It was also easy to incorporate Ryukyu into the territory of the Ming Dynasty. This is because a country that relies on others for defense can at most express its own opinion before it becomes aware of a decision that affects its own security, just for reference. More likely, only after a fait accompli. I was told something.

Of course, it was still too early to annex the Ryukyus, but the Ming were destined to play a certain role on the world stage. The current actions are not a privilege for a large country, but a responsibility.

Of course, Shang Zhen didn't know Zhu Yongxing's final plan, and he was grateful that the Ming Dynasty was able to send troops to help Ryukyu restore the country before the Central Plains was restored. Immediately said that he would bear the food and salary of the Ming garrison, 3,000 people is a bit less, it is better to have more. Because Ryukyu is an archipelago, there are more than 50 large and small islands, and the two largest islands, Okinawa and Amami Oshima, must be garrisoned for defense.

"Three thousand sailors will be enough! After this war, the Satsuma Domain will not have the strength to fight again, and the prince does not need to worry. Gu Xichou was quite confident in reassuring Shang Zhen.

In the battle on the island, the sailors came first, and with the small warships of the Satsuma Domain, there were no more than seven or eight cannons, and only one or two less, and the Ming army left more than 20 warships, which was enough to deal with. What's more, there are also British, well, the British are better under the banner of the Ming army, and don't irritate the Japanese shogunate too much.

……………

The sea was covered with broken wood and corpses, and more than 50 large and small Japanese ships were engaged in a fierce battle with the Ming fleet. Or, it should be said that it is tragic, and the miserable side is naturally the Japanese people.

More than a dozen Ming and British warships lined up in battle lines and bombarded them with broadside guns in turn, and the entire sea was suddenly covered in gunsmoke. The Japanese ships also had artillery, but the range was not as good as that of the Ming and British troops, and before they approached, most of them had been hit, or some of them penetrated the hull, or some hit the mast, or some hit the deck, and from time to time the ships burst into flames, or shook and sank.

In the face of such ferocious artillery bombardment by the Ming and British coalition forces, the Japanese army could only rush forward, hoping to approach the range of their own artillery or engage in a continuous battle. The bow of the Japanese army was bound with sharpened thick wood, and the hook rope was used to ram and hook the opponent's warship.

The Ming warships were not as good as the Japanese army wanted. They kept pulling distance, killing and wounding the enemy with long-range artillery while luring them further away from the coast.

Cannonballs whistled over, columns of water rose one by one around them, ships shook violently, and Kayama Shigenu, a retainer of Satsuma Mamoru Shimazu, held the mast hard. I can barely stand on the deck. He glared angrily at the enemy ship in the distance spewing flames in the smoke. It was as if monsters loomed in the smoke, shooting dead cannonballs mercilessly.

For this sudden military attack, the Satsuma clan was strictly unprepared. First in Okinawa and then on Amami Oshima, nearly 2,000 feudal soldiers stationed in the Ryukyus collapsed under the thunderous attack of the Ming army. By the time the Satsuma Domain got the news, the Ming fleet had approached Kagoshima, the door of the Satsuma Domain. And shelled its ports.

There was no need to think about going into battle, although the enemy had strong ships and guns, but there were only more than ten warships, and the numerical superiority of five to one made Shimazu Yoshitoyo, the defender of the Satsuma domain, have great confidence in victory. As a result, Shigeuni, the son of Hisataka Kayama, the general of the Shimazu family who had led his troops to conquer the Ryukyus, gathered almost all the warships of the Satsuma Domain and went out to sea to meet the battle.

However, the progress of the battle made Kayama Shigenu both angry and helpless, and he had already lost more than a dozen warships. But they didn't even touch the enemy's edge.

"Boom!" With a loud bang, Shigenian saw that a warship next to him was hit by a cannonball. The deck was blown up, and the ship whirled in the water, unable to follow him any longer.

Do you want to continue? Biryama gritted his teeth, he couldn't go back with the shame of defeat, it was better to die in battle than this. Until he suddenly found out. The enemy had hidden their strength, and more than twenty warships had cut off their retreat, and the fleet, which consisted of almost all the warships of the Satsuma Domain, was far from the coast and harbor.

The artillery fire continued, and the Ming warship suddenly and quickly and accurately turned over the starboard side, and flew out a volley of destructive shells.

The mainmast was blown off. fell on the deck and fell to pieces; With his expectations and disappointments, Biryama lay down on the deck and returned to the west; One of his legs was blown off and he lay in a miserable position in a pool of blood.

Having lost command and having no way to retreat, the navy of the Satsuma Domain finally came to the end of the road after being flanked by the Ming army.

The tall ship's side was like a city wall in front of the Japanese people, the artillery fired grapeshot bullets at close range, and rows of Ming soldiers leaned on the side to shoot, shooting a dense rain of bullets at the Japanese ships. The deck of the ship was a mess, full of blood and corpses,

Sunk, swirling, smoking, and blazing, the battle was a one-sided slaughter, the sea littered with broken wood, corpses, and desperately struggling widows.

Fight to inflict or annihilate the Satsuma Domain's water forces in a decisive battle and gain sea supremacy! Jianping Bo Zheng Zan Xu took back the telescope, and what the Holy Lord explained should be considered completed. The Satsuma clan lost its water power and could no longer pose a threat to the Ryukyus. As for the scattered garrisons on those small islands, what else did they do other than increase the free labor in the mines? Unfortunately, for the time being, the Shojo was not allowed to directly attack the territory of the Japanese people, lest the shogunate become angry and prolonged the war.

"Uncle." A member of the Zheng clan reminded worriedly: "After this battle, if you ask for the old marquis's deposit, will the widows choke from it?" ”

Zheng Tai had long been in charge of the Zheng group's east-west trade and held financial power, but he lost some confidence in the great cause of opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty in the early days, and once opposed Zheng Chenggong's dispatch of troops to recover Taiwan. Therefore, Zheng Tai secretly stored hundreds of thousands of silver in the Japanese long deformity for the future.

After Zheng Jing killed Zheng Tai, he found out about this money and demanded it from the Wa State. And Zheng Zhanxu, in the name of Zheng Tai's heir, also made the same request to the Wa State. Now that the Wa Kingdom has not yet discussed who should own this money, and what kind of impact the military attack on the Satsuma Domain will cause, Zheng Zhanxu is also unsure.

"It is difficult to disobey the holy order, is it necessary to resist and disobey it for some money?" Zheng Zhanxu waved his hand and said: "The vouchers and qualifications of the silver deposit are all in my hands, if the Japanese country does not repay the debt, I am afraid that the reputation will be lost." You know, it's not just us who is saving silver. ”

"It's a bad debt, but the Japanese don't dare." The clansman smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid that they will delay." Uncle, you think, the old marquis has been saving money for a long time, and many of the people who have been in charge of the long deformity have left. If the Wa Kingdom uses this as an excuse to clarify the situation, it is not known when it will be able to recover the deposits. ”

Zheng Zhanxu narrowed his eyes and thought about it, sneered, and said: "Then play the Holy Lord, please ask the Holy Lord to send a large army to conquer the Japanese Kingdom and be the master for us." Hehe, it wasn't a Satsuma clan back then. ”

"Will the Holy One be allowed to play?" The clansman scratched his head in confusion.

"Most of the saints will agree." Zheng Zhanxu actually guessed in his heart, but his tone was very firm, "And the so-called discussion of the Japanese people is just to wait and see the shape to find out: Which is in the interests of Japan?" Is it to befriend the Ming Dynasty and offend the Taiwanese Zheng family, or is it the other way around? ”

"The Ming Dynasty is like the sun, the saint is wise and decisive, do the Japanese still need to weigh it?" The clansman pursed his lips disdainfully, "What a bunch of fools. ”

Zheng Zhanxu blinked, and was immediately awakened by this sentence. That's right, compared with Zheng Jing and Da Ming, isn't it clear which is more important? Besides, he has savings to match, and his name is justified, will the Japanese be so short-sighted?

Well, the "limited war" mentioned by the Holy One is indeed clever! It not only helped the Ryukyus to restore the country, won the port of Naha, but also attacked the military power of the Satsuma Domain. And there will be no landing, no siege, no attempt to expand the war.

…………… (To be continued......)