"This time you are going to Ming to talk about the Ryukyu matter, and my bottom line is that the garrison of Kume Island cannot be withdrawn, and the lease period can be shortened to five years, or three years!

However, the troops must not be withdrawn, and if the Ming Kingdom threatens with a trade blockade, it can propose that the Ryukyus pay 500,000 taels of ransom fees! In a word, the garrison cannot be withdrawn, and money must be paid for withdrawal! ”

"If the emperor of the Ming Kingdom insists on biting it, he will invite the Ryukyu envoys to talk about it together, anyway, we will insist on this matter, it is the Ryukyu provocation first, and it is reasonable for me to send troops in Eastern Qin!

If the Ryukyus really want to defend themselves, you can argue with them, and the Emperor of Ming should not know the specific situation, which is beneficial to us! The three parties may negotiate a compromise result."

"There is also a talk to the emperor of the Ming Kingdom, Eastern Qin is willing to pay tribute, and it is not a big deal to recognize a suzerain, you have to know this in your heart, everything is in the interests of the country!

But if they ask us to withdraw our troops on this condition, we will not allow it! In any case, the tributary trade was only to maintain diplomatic relations between the two countries. By the way, take advantage of the cheapness. ”

In the evening, Yan Zheng summoned the selected members of the diplomatic corps to the Red Room to explain the matter.

The trip will be led by Ashin, Zhang Sanfeng, and Qiu Ruicai, in addition to twenty students and fifty soldiers.

As the chief envoy, Ashin was eager to visit the Ming Kingdom, and after thinking about it, he asked: "Your Majesty, if you really can't talk about it, don't you need to talk about it?" How long is it supposed to last? ”

"Two months! If you don't come back for four months, I will default to the Ming Kingdom detaining you or harming you, and then I will loot the southeast half of the wall and turn the Ming Dynasty upside down! ”

"Well, if you really want to end this matter, two months should be enough!" Ashin nodded, and with these words, he suddenly became much bolder.

Yan Zheng looked at Zhang Sanfeng again and said: "There is also a way for you to spy on the reality of the Ming Kingdom, in addition to its capital, you also need to go inland, so when you return, you can take the land and water routes, the north and south arteries of the Ming Kingdom is the Grand Canal, you go south from the Grand Canal, you must do more investigation of the coastal situation."

"I see! It's just ......" Zhang Sanfeng bowed and promised, but raised his head with some concern and said: "Your Majesty, the territory of the Ming Kingdom is vast and the population is large!" The real situation is like fire and water, I am afraid that it is extremely unfavorable to us, not to mention that there is trade with the Ming country! So if you can take a step back, let's take a step back! I think the situation in the Ryukyus has stabilized, and whether there is a garrison on Kume Island or not does not seem to affect the overall situation! ”

Yan Zheng shook his head with a smile and explained: "It's not a problem with Kume Island, but if we take a step back, it means that we admit that we have no confidence." In the future, with so many countries around us, when we settle disputes, will it be difficult to bring the Ming Kingdom in? If this is the case, then any small country can pull the tiger skin of the Ming Kingdom as a banner! ”

"This is not the situation I want, so peace must be made through struggle, not by compromise! Only by letting Ming Guo understand that we are not easy to mess with, will they consider our bottom line and understand not to go too far! This is also the main policy of diplomacy with the Ming State now, on the one hand, to ensure that the status quo is maintained, on the other hand, to maintain the struggle, the bottom line and the issue of principle, must be clearly drawn! ”

"This seems dangerous, but in fact it is the safest way to get along, only by drawing a clear bottom line, will Ming Guo act a little more worried! In this way, there will be fewer miscalculations on both sides, and it will be easier to deal with each other! ”

Zhang Sanfeng lowered his head and thought for a while, nodded and said, "What the king said is true, but we can't really turn our faces, right?"

"Haha, it doesn't matter if you turn your face or not, the important thing is that the initiative to turn your face is in our hands!"

Yan Zheng said with a smile: "The bottom line can be changed flexibly, let's make a situation, but it's just a deal without capital, asking for a price all over the sky, and paying back on the ground!"

Without the strength to fully deal with the Ming Kingdom, we will make small moves at most, and when we have the strength, the bottom line will be able to row to the door of the Ming Dynasty! ”

Zhang Sanfeng smiled: "I understand!"

Yan Zheng snorted, and then looked at Qiu Ruicai, who was speechless, and said: "Mr. Qiu, this time you are familiar with the customs of the Ming Kingdom, and you are a rare Ming Guotong in my Eastern Qin, you are a consultant on this trip, you must help me a little more!"

Qiu Ruicai hurriedly bowed and said, "I will definitely do my best to repay the grace of Eastern Qin!"

Yan Zheng smiled with satisfaction: "This gift to the Ming Emperor, you can open the price according to the price, if the Ming Emperor wants to buy it, you can talk about it!" You can talk about it alone! ”

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Two days later, the Eastern Qin mission, along with the Ming mission, boarded a ship bound for the Ming Dynasty.

Under Yan Zheng's arrangement, the return trip was on the Long March and Changying of Eastern Qin.

Now Dongqin has five Long March-class ships and eight class barges, and it is well-deserved as the first navy in East Asia.

After several expansions and technical improvements, the first shipyard was able to launch a ship in three months with skilled shipbuilders.

The annual shipbuilding capacity has also risen to eight, and after the construction of the Zhuqian branch is completed, the annual shipbuilding capacity will soar again.

The only distress was that hardwoods were starting to become scarce, and the wood drying plant was struggling to keep up with demand.

Therefore, in December last year, the Cabinet proposed to open a lumber yard on Ryukyu Ususa Island, which is later known as Amami Oshima, to collect local 100-year-old giant trees.

"Woohoo!" Standing on the deck of the Long March, Wang Heng looked at the huge mast and sails, and secretly thought in his heart.

Although he didn't know how to build ships, this ship was several floors higher than the ship of the Qiantang Sailor. The mast is tall, the sails are high and the wind is strong, and it is fast on the sea.

Ma Wensheng was also at the bow of the boat, seasick, he felt the refreshing sea breeze, looked at the seagulls flying high, and only felt comfortable.

Wang Heng was silent for a while, then turned his head to look at Ma Wensheng and said, "Master Ma, you have been an official in Zhejiang for a few years, how do you deal with the trouble of pirates?"

"Wako pirates?" Ma Wensheng shook his head and said: "This matter is handled by various health centers, but it will be reported to the local government, but most of the time, the officials and soldiers of the health center have no choice!"

"Why?"

"The erosion of the guard is not overnight, and the escape of military households is known to everyone, Lord Wang does not know the coastal guard, he should know the situation on the nine sides! Over the years, how many times have the Tatars entered the customs and plundered, Lord Wang should have a bottom in his heart. These pirates are like Tartars on the sea, the difference is that one uses a horse and the other uses a boat! ”

Wang Heng nodded weakly, and said in a low voice: "Dongqin will be a trouble for my Ming henchmen, it is located between the seas of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong of my Ming Dynasty, as long as you are willing, you can block the sea route of the three provinces!" Its ships are tall and come and go like the wind, and these three provinces can come from day to night! ”

"The Eastern Qin is immortal, and the southeast half of the Ming Dynasty is unstable!" In the last sentence, Wang Heng gritted his teeth extraordinarily.

Ma Wensheng shook his head with a smile and said, "Lord Wang, who can't see this truth?" But even if the emperor is wise and decisive, he doesn't dare to start a war lightly! ”

Wang Heng sighed, when the current emperor ascended the throne, although it was much better than in the Chenghua years, but the displaced people were everywhere, and the bandits were endless.

It has been hard work for more than ten years, but the situation in the past ten years has not necessarily been much better.

Both the internal and external monarchs and ministers understand that the Ming Dynasty is sick now, and they can only slowly recuperate with the people in order to gradually stabilize the situation.

At this time, if you really want to fight with the Eastern Qin, if you can't plow the court and sweep the holes, there will be no peace on the southeast coast.

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