East China Sea, Ryukyu Kingdom, Naha. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The Ryukyu Kingdom is also called Zhongshan Kingdom, the capital is in Naha, but now it is called Shuri Castle, the city is full of Tang style buildings, especially the royal palace is completely a cottage Tang Palace, it can be seen that the Ryukyu Kingdom has been deeply influenced by China, and in fact, the Ryukyu Kingdom and China have a suzerain-vassal relationship for 500 years, and from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, all generations of kings have been canonized by the Chinese court.

The current king of the Ryukyu Kingdom is the ninth king of the second Shang dynasty, Sanghyun.

But at this moment, he is equivalent to a puppet, because since 1609, when the seventh king Shōning, the Ryukyu Kingdom was invaded by the Shimazu clan of the Satsuma Domain under the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, when the Shimazu clan sent his retainer Kayama Hisadaka to the Ryukyu Kingdom with only 3,000 people, and even took Shōnin to Edo and signed an unequal treaty with the Tokugawa family, such as ceding the Amami Islands to the Satsuma Domain, recognizing Ryukyu as a vassal state of the Satsuma Domain, etc., and even sent a monk Tennoji elder Kikukure to regent, At this point, Ryukyu Island has no sovereignty, and the history of blood and tears of one servant serving two masters at the same time has begun.

In the main hall of Shuri Castle, the eighteen-year-old King Sanghyun stood at the entrance of the hall, looking at the back of the Minister of State Shangsheng who left in a hurry, with a strange smile on his face, no one could understand it, because no one usually saw him smile.

Shurijo Castle West Coast Pier is a bay that leads from the sea to Lake Man, an inner lake in the south of the castle.

Naha's largest wharf is deserted, and at most fishermen can be seen at sea, and it is almost impossible to see other merchant ships, for the simple reason that this is the time when Japan is closed to the rest of the country.

Since the second shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Hidetada, has repeatedly ordered the closure of the country, and the third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu has spared no effort to consolidate his father's policy, and the sixteen lockdown decrees can be said to lock the coastline to death!

The lockdown decree was aimed at its own nationals internally, except for chartered ships, smuggling was a capital offense, and merchant ships forbade Spanish and Portuguese people to enter Japan, for the simple reason that the two robbers liked to proselytize and encourage rebellion, so when they were killed, the Dutch were welcomed, because the Dutch did not proselytize and helped suppress the rebels.

Surprisingly, there was no ban on the traditional trading nations of China and Korea, after all, China had all kinds of supplies that they had needed since ancient times, but even so, whether it was the Dutch, Korean, or Chinese merchant ships, had to dock at the Nagasaki or Edo (Tokyo) docks in mainland Japan, because Nagasaki was a direct domain of the shogun, which was easy to control, and the shogunate did not want the daimyo of the feudal kingdom to enjoy the huge benefits of foreign trade and increase their power.

However, although the Tokugawa shogunate allowed Chinese, Korean, and Dutch merchant ships to enter the port for trade, not to mention that these ships had to be monitored and other strict restrictions, the important thing is that there were almost no Chinese merchant ships to trade in these years, because at this moment the Ming Dynasty was also closed off from the country, and occasionally only some smuggling ships or pirates entered the port for trade, and the Dutch ships were too far to travel and inconvenient, although Korea was trading normally, the bird place was already short of materials to meet the needs of Japan, It can be said that Japan is now extremely hungry for some daily necessities, but it has to endure it because of the lockdown order.

The local area is like that, not to mention the occupied Ryukyu Kingdom, because the Tokugawa shogunate did not allow the lower vassals to open docks, and all trade materials had to be poured a few hands to get here from the mainland, and it was also hungry and thirsty.

Forty kilometers west of Naha, there are several small islands and reefs, sunny beaches, and small forests, but there are no people, and this later tourist attraction is still a deserted island, usually inaccessible, and occasionally fishermen rest again.

Five days ago, a fleet of ships appeared in the waters near Shenshan Island, more than 40 ships of all sizes and sizes, if anyone saw it, they would definitely be surprised, after all, they had not seen such a large-scale fleet for many years, but if they knew that it only took them more than two days to arrive here from Hangzhou Bay, it is estimated that their jaws will drop.

That's right, this fleet is the fleet of the Wenzhou First Fleet of the Ming Navy to escort merchant ships, and it arrived here in only two days from Hangzhou Bay.

Did you encounter pirates along the way?

This question will make Zhang Long, who is the vice marshal of the navy, rush to disappoint, and indeed encounter a few thief ships, but when they watched from afar, the navy scared them away with a cannon, and then encountered some unknown ships during the period, but they only watched from afar, after all, such a large fleet of small pirates can't fight at all, not to mention that those ships are still hanging black Daming dragon flags, obviously this is the Daming Navy.

But why did the Ming Navy come here, when did the Ming Navy become so arrogant! It won't be some merchants who deliberately pull the tiger's skin to be emboldened.

No one answered this question.

After the fleet arrived at Kinabalu Island, it found a shelter and put down the Navy Black Dragon Flag, which was only forty kilometers away from Naha, and the situation was unclear, and the two countries did not officially open the premise that their identities could not be exposed, and they would appear as merchant ships for a period of time in the future.

The water on the island is shallow, and large ships cannot dock, but dock in the sea of Sheltered Bay, and if they need to get off the boat and land on the island, they must be picked up by warship or motorboat.

Soldiers were not allowed to land on the island, and the four sea areas were strictly guarded, and Zhang Long issued a military order.

But there were many people on the ship who were not soldiers, and some merchants led by King De and their families, and hundreds of domestic servants, were very unaccustomed to life on the ship, so they landed on the island on their own, and soon set up tent living quarters on the island, because they heard that they would stay here for a few days.

King De and the others came to do business, but Zhang Long's task was obviously more than that, on the night when the fleet arrived at Shenshan Island, a battleship quietly left and went straight to the direction of Naha, carrying a lot of people on board, one of which was Ye Tan, the head of the Military Discipline Department who came with the ship!

Ye Tan walked for three days without any news, and the walkie-talkie he took away could not receive any signal, which made Zhang Long a little restless, especially when he saw King De and others eating, drinking, and having fun on the island, which made him angry.

Finally, on the evening of the third day, Ye Tan returned, and when he left, more than a dozen people came with only two strangers.

"I've seen the general", the two strangers just entered the cabin, and when they saw Zhang Long, they couldn't hide their excitement immediately.

"Who are these two?"

Zhang Long actually had a premonition in his heart.

Jinyiwei's secret agent, Ye Tan smiled slightly.

Under Zhang Chaoming, a burly middle-aged man saluted Zhang Long with a fist, and a white man behind him immediately said: "In Xia Cai Yuanji, I have seen the general of Shangguo"

"Are both of them Jinyiwei?" Zhang Long looked at the two of them with interest, if he said that Zhang Chaoming was what he believed, but Cai Yuanji didn't look like it, he was white and pure like a teacher, and he was a little too respectful.

"The humble position is a Jinyi Wei secret agent sent by Chongzhen for ten years, Brother Cai is actually a native of Ryukyu, is my best friend, is the secretary of the palace, and the humble post has been taken care of for many years thanks to him, this time I heard that the general is coming, and the humble post specially called Brother Cai, he knows a lot of things in the palace." Zhang Chaoming pointed at Cai Yuanji and said.

I'll just say it, Zhang Long smiled and motioned for the two to sit down: "How are the Han people on Ryukyu Island, where is Brother Cai from" said and handed Cai Yuanji a cup of tea.

Cai Yuanji took it and took a sip, squinted his eyes and sighed: "Good tea, I haven't drunk it for a long time" and then put it down and looked at Zhang Long: "The general doesn't seem to be familiar with Ryukyu."

Zhang Long nodded: "I know a little bit about it, and I hope that Mr. and Brother Zhang will advise!" These words were respectful and polite, which flattered Cai Yuanji and Zhang Chaoming.

"Don't dare to instruct, I'll tell the general what I am pointing to, which is useful to the general," Cai Yuanji smiled slightly and then talked eloquently.

The Han people on Ryukyu Island were in the early Ming Dynasty in order to facilitate the two countries, Taizu gave 36 surnames to Fujian boat workers, immigrated to Ryukyu, these Han people immigrated to Ryukyu after the establishment of Naha Tang Camp, later renamed Kume Village, in fact, it is equivalent to the foreign Chinatown of later generations.

Most of the 36 Min people were navigators, scholars, or other skilled people, and their descendants were responsible for navigation, shipbuilding, the compilation of diplomatic documents, translation, and trade with China for generations, so they had a high status in Ryukyu society. During the 500 years from the relocation of the 36 surnames of the Min people to the annexation of the Ryukyus by Japan, the descendants of the 36 surnames of the Min people mostly served as diplomats of the Ryukyu royal palace, and most of the main and middle doctors of the Ryukyu tribute mission were the descendants of the 36 surnames of the Min people.

Because the descendants of the 36 surnames of the Min people live in Kume Village, they are called "Kumi Shi people". They wear hanfu and have a clear political leaning

The Kumi clan, along with the Shurishi clan, the Naha clan, and the Kashi clan, are the four major clan groups in the Ryukyus. However, the core of power in the Ryukyu royal palace was mostly monopolized by the Shuri clan, and the only three officials from the Kumi clan were Zheng Zhen and Cai Wen. The Kumishi clan has long monopolized the quota of four officials and students.

Most of the 36 Min people were navigators, scholars, or other people with special skills, who were responsible for navigation, shipbuilding, the compilation of diplomatic documents, translation, and trade with China in the Ryukyus, and had a high status in Ryukyu society. The "Thirty-six Surnames of the Min People" were valued and given preferential treatment by the Ryukyu Kingdom. After they came to the Ryukyu Kingdom, they received great respect from the royal government and the people, and became a group of people who enjoyed special treatment in the Ryukyu Kingdom

Cai Yuanji couldn't hide his pride on his face when he said this, it was a kind of pride as a Han person, but it seemed that Zhang Long was not too interested in this topic, although he tried to keep listening carefully.

"Mr. Cai, you mean that the Han people have a very high status in the Ryukyus, and there are quite a few of them, right?" Zhang Long couldn't help but interrupt

"Exactly" Cai Yuanji nodded.

"Where is Kume Village? It won't be Kume Island in the west, a hundred miles away from here," Zhang Long asked again.

Cai Yuanji smiled and shook his head, "Kume Village is just west of Shuri Castle, surrounded by rivers on three sides and backed by the sea."

"It's the place to the west by the sea," Zhang Chaoming added, "all of them are Han Chinese, and they are all descendants of the thirty-six surnames in Fujian."

"Sir, tell me about the situation in the Ryukyus, what I know now is that the Ryukyu Kingdom is now under the control of the Satsuma Domain, how many troops are there on the other side, who are the generals, what is the combat strength, and the attitude of the Ryukyu king."

This is what Zhang Long is most concerned about. (To be continued.) )