The capital of the Ryukyus Kingdom, the royal castle of Shuri.

In the early morning, when it rained to make the air fresher, a group of Ryukyu officials wearing purple and yellow eight-scroll cloth and blue robes walked through the Reijin Gate and entered the main hall, where the Ryukyu King Shohyun sat in the center.

After saluting, Shang Hyun asked, "This king has heard that a fleet of ships from the Kingdom of Japan has arrived in Okinawa and is stationed on Kume Island, but the envoy of the Celestial Empire has come?" ”

Cai Jinyu, the chief doctor, said: "Back to Your Highness, Weichen has sent an envoy to contact, the fleet is from Guangdong, and it has been sent by Shen Youlong, the governor of Shangguo. There is no flotilla, and there are no angels. It is also the same as usual.

Ming Chuan did not submit the credentials, but asked the three officials of the dynasty to go to Kume to receive the letter in person. ”

"Mr. Pan, would you like to go?" Shang Xian looked at the first official, named Pan Ying.

This Pan Ying is the third official of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and his status is like that of the prime minister.

After the Satsuma clan invaded the Ryukyus, although there were no troops stationed in the Ryukyus, an official was established in Shuri of the Ryukyus Kingdom, and officials were dispatched to call it Zaiban. It was the body that supervised the Ryukyu kingdom and supervised the tribute of the Ryukyu clan to the Satsuma domain.

According to the contract signed between the Ryukyus and Satsuma, the appointment and dismissal of the three officials of the Ryukyus must be approved by the Satsuma domain, and in the past, the three officials were elected from among more than 200 nobles, but now there is an additional condition, that is, the three officials must be pro-Japanese.

When the former king of Ryukyu died, this Pan Ying went to Ryukyu to report on Shangxian's succession, so he was able to become the third official.

Pan Ying said: "Back to His Royal Highness, Weichen has seen the envoy of the Imperial State, at this time, the Imperial Envoy Yamae said that the Ming fleet is coming, there must be something strange in it, and it needs to be inspected in detail, and it should not be moved lightly." Therefore, Weichen did not go for the time being, and Lord Cai had sent an envoy to the country, so he could go to negotiate. ”

Gokoto was the Ryukyu honorific title for the Satsuma Domain, but it was rarely used by pro-Japanese factions such as Pan Ying.

"Oh, what do you mean by the envoy of the Imperial Kingdom?" Sanghyun asked.

Pan Ying said: "This time, the Ming fleet came, and the ships used were mixed, including sand boats and fortune boats, but there were also four huge oaring ships and two three-masted plywood ships. In particular, the plywood ships are no different from the Tohoban thieves who haunted the waters of the Imperial Division a few years ago.

Therefore, the lord believes that the so-called Ming fleet is actually a thief from the East, and our Ryukyu country must be careful to deal with it and beware of pirates and plunder. ”

Shang Xian nodded slightly, and said: "What Pan Ying said is very true, my Ryukyu is lonely overseas, and for the sake of friendly Satsuma, there is a lack of elite soldiers and firearms in the country, if it is really a thief, I am afraid that there will be a big disaster, so I should deal with it carefully." But Cai Jin shouldn't go either, beware of changes.

Cai Jin, please choose a messenger and send rice, grain, melons and vegetables to the Ming fleet first, find out the situation, and then make a district. ”

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Your Highness, the envoy of the Imperial Kingdom must also find out if it is a thief from the east who has invaded his territory."

Shang Xian smiled: "How the Satsuma envoy acts, this king is not restrained, let it be." But please also ask Lord Pan Ying to tell the envoy not to be rash, if he really comes on behalf of the governor of Guangdong, or if there is a sealed boat to arrive, if the envoy of the great tomorrow comes suddenly, the Satsuma envoy will inevitably be embarrassed.

Prudently, prudently. ”

After that, Shang Xian walked out of the side door and said to the people who followed, "Go, call Cai Jin." ”

The Ryukyu Kingdom has been a puppet of the Satsuma Domain for decades, during which it has experienced several kings, and every time the king changes, there are envoys of the Ming Kingdom to canonize it, in order to avoid the secret exposure of the two Ryukyu clans, the Satsuma Domain will gather all the Japanese on the Ryukyu Island and move to the remote area of the island to temporarily hide, while the three pro-Japanese officials will invite all the officials and servants who may have dealings with the Ming envoys to preach.

He will tell everyone all the questions and standard answers that the Ming officials may ask, and will prepare some pamphlets and give them to the main officials.

Therefore, the identity of this fleet's visit was particularly important to the Japanese, and if one was not careful, the secrets of the two Ryukyus would be exposed, which would be a huge loss for the Satsuma Domain.

You must know that although the Satsuma Domain claims to be more than 700,000 stones, the actual output is only half, and now it is very important to close off the country and extort taxes from the Ryukyus.

Cai Jin followed the chamberlain to the apse, and Shang Xian was already making tea and waiting, but Cai Jin still abided by etiquette and did not overstep at all.

"Master Cai, just in front of Pan Ying and the officials, you seem to have scruples when you speak, what is the truth of the ship, there are no outsiders here, you have to tell me carefully." Sanghyun said.

Cai Jin sat cross-legged on the mat and said, "Your Highness, that fleet is indeed owned by the Dongfan thieves mentioned by Pan Ying, but there are indeed envoys from the governor of the Ming Kingdom, Zhao Wen and Lord Zhao on board. ”

"Oh, why is that, why did the official envoy of the Ming Kingdom take the pirate ship?" Sang-hyun couldn't help but be a little confused.

Cai Jin said: "Your Highness, the people of Dongfan are not pirates, they are in Dongfan, and they are similar to the people of Tang Rongdi. ”

The so-called Tang Rong land, is Kume Island, most of the immigrants from Fujian live on it, that is in the Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang era, Ryukyu tribute, ask to give the people of the Ming Kingdom, teach Ryukyu etiquette, culture, Ming Taizu moved Fujian 36 surnames to Ryukyu, the actual arrival of only six surnames, later the Ryukyu king moved a lot of Ryukyuan people or settled in Ryukyu Ming people to go, the formation of Tang Rong.

Cai Jin went on to explain: "The Dongfan people went to Nagasaki to trade, but they were bullied by traitors and lawbreakers, framed the Dongfan people, and seized their goods and ships.

The Satsuma Domain was a vassal of the Wa Kingdom, and it was an enemy of Toban, but it was not its opponent, and the Tofan fleet swept away the island of Yaku, and the Satsuma Domain did not dare to fight.

Therefore, Eitsuyo in the Ban Sho Yamae was very worried, fearing that the fleet would be an official ship of the Ming Kingdom, and the matter of Satsuma bullying the Ryukyus would be known to the Upper Kingdom. I am afraid that the fleet is not the official ship of the Ming Kingdom, so if I land on the island, I will use force against the Japanese people. Therefore, Yamae Eitsuo had already gathered the Japanese people in Shuri, and all of them retreated to the building and evacuated at any time. ”

"How do you know that?" Sanghyun asked.

Cai Jin asked: "Does Your Highness still remember Zheng Ziyi?" ”

Zheng Ziyi....... Oh, is the merchant who paid tribute to this king with silk and tea? Sanghyun said.

Cai Jin nodded: "Zheng Ziyi, it's the grandson of Zheng Zhou." ”

"Ah, it is really the fault of this king that he became a merchant after being loyal and good." Sanghyun exclaimed.

When the Satsuma Domain invaded the Ryukyus more than 30 years ago, the three officials at that time were Zheng Zhen, who was himself a Chinese from Kumejima and was one of the few staunch resistors.

"Your Highness, now is not the time to remember Tadashi, and now the old humiliations of the Ryukyus are known to the kingdom." Cai Jin said.

"Oh, I actually know, didn't I say that Mingchuan is here to crusade." Shang Xian stood up in fright, he knew very well what kind of country Daming was, Ryukyu had one country and two subordinates over the years, and he had violated Daming Yang, and he also pretended to pay tribute to do business for the Japanese, which was a big crime.

Cai Jin hurriedly persuaded: "Your Highness, don't worry, the Ming boat is not here to crusade." On the contrary, after Lord Shen learned that our country was humiliated, he was very indignant, thinking that the sins were all rampant among the Japanese people, and that the royal family, officials and gentry of our country were weak and wronged, and they were struggling to support it, which was also difficult, and they should not be asked. ”

"That's good, that's good."

"Your Highness, this is not good."

"What's not good, Kamikuni Harayu, be considerate of Ryukyu, why is it not good."

Cai Jin said anxiously: "This is the understanding of Governor Shen Youlong, not the understanding of the Heavenly Empire. In fact, the last time Weichen went to the Ming Dynasty to ask for a seal, the imperial court has sent an envoy to come, and the boat will arrive soon.

It was Governor Shen who understood our difficulties and mediated on his behalf, and this time the Ming ship came to solve this matter. ”

Sang-hyun asked, "How to solve it?" ”

"Eliminate the Japanese slaves and foreign captives, and sweep away the traitors in the country. Since then, I, Ryukyu, have served the Ming Dynasty with one heart, and there is no second heart. The past and old things are all omitted. Cai Jin said.

"I see, I see. But what does this have to do with the Dongfan people? How did Governor Shen Yulong get involved with pirates? ”

Cai Jin hurriedly raised his finger: "Your Highness, don't say such Meng Lang's words." The Dongfan people are not pirates, and Weichen has also told him that Dongfan is a trading company, called the Oriental Trading Company, and its leader Li Zhaoji is the guest of honor of the governor Shen Youlong.

I heard that the pirates of the Ming Dynasty and the Guangdong Sea were exterminated by the Oriental Trading Company, and they are really righteous teachers.

Governor Shen knew that our dynasty had been humiliated, and he was afraid that the imperial court would blame him and damage the relationship between the two countries for more than 200 years, so he wanted to let our country sweep away the traitors and foreign captives before the arrival of the boat. But if the officials and soldiers of Guangdong Province were sent to come, wouldn't the imperial court know, so they asked the Oriental Trading Company to send troops on their behalf.

This is all the love and care of the Lord of God. ”

Shang Xian nodded, but his face was worried: "However, even if the canonization envoy was deceived in the past, wouldn't it be ....... if the Satsuma thieves attacked again in the future Wouldn't it be another national disaster? ”

Cai Jin said: "My Ryukyu is a Ming vassal after all, how to bend down to serve the Japanese Kou, this is a good opportunity." ”

Shang Xian shook his head: "Ancestor Sheji, don't suffer from military disasters again." Cai Jin, you immediately contact the envoy of the governor of Guangdong and the people of Dongfan. He said that when the canonization envoy came, my country must seriously deal with it, but the domestic situation is complicated and cannot be clarified for a while.

You can welcome the angels first, and after the canonization is completed, you can clean up the country. ”

Cai Jin obviously disagrees with this method, he knows that Shangxian is weak and content with the status quo, and when he sends the angel away, where is his motivation?

"That's it, Cai Jin, everything depends on you." Shang Xian didn't want to listen to Cai Jin's persuasion anymore, and waved his sleeves to let him leave.

Out of the royal city, Cai Jin was just about to get on the sedan chair, but was stopped by the people on the side.

"Lord Cai, my master invites you to go." A servant said.

Cai Jin glanced at it, it was Pan Ying's servant, and he snorted coldly and said, "If your master has something, please ask him to go to the official's house." ”

"Not only my master, but also Yamagae, the envoy of the Imperial Division." The servant said.

"So what?" Cai Jin scolded.

The servant was helpless, took out a booklet from his bosom, and said, "Please read this and make a decision." ”

Cai Jin opened the booklet and found that the records in it were all his own black accounts, all related to smuggling.

During this time, Cai Jin has been partnering with Zheng Ziyi, one of the five major Ryukyus clans, with an intricate relationship, helping Zheng Ziyi smuggle between Shuri and Tamsui and accumulate a lot of wealth.

"Master Pan, what's the matter, do you need to make such a reputation?" Cai Jin did not go with the servant because he did not want to see Yamamae Ronggang.

The newly arrived Jaebanji was a rude samurai who would beat up Ryukyu officials at every turn, and Cai Jin didn't want to be humiliated by him, so he met with Pan Ying that night.

"If not, Lord Cai will be my enemy." Pan Ying said with a smile, and he asked directly: "Your Highness left you behind, what did you say." ”

"It's not that I can't believe you and the Satsuma Clan, and you want me to investigate the Ming fleet clearly, and then report it first, and then discuss it." Cai Jin said.

"It's as simple as that?" Obviously, Pan Ying was a little unconvinced, and he said: "Your merchants, who have traveled back and forth between Tamsui and Shuri many times, do not know the purpose of the fleet? ”

Cai Jin said: "That fleet is extremely domineering, controlling Kume Island, and not allowing internal and external communication, how can I know?" ”

Pan Ying nodded: "Yes, then please inquire carefully, after you know the inside story, first inform me and Lord Shanqian, wouldn't it be good for everyone to coexist and prosper?"

In the future, you can participate in the trade between me and Yamae-sama with Japan, and we will also participate in your trade with Tamsui. ”

Cai Jin gritted his teeth and said, "Okay then." ”

Leaving Pan Ying's mansion, the more Cai Jin thought about it, the more angry he became: "Small amount is not a gentleman, no poison is not a husband." Pan Ying, you forced me! ”

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