In front of the main hall of Shuri Castle, Prince Shoji of the Ryukyus gazed at the "Wangokujinryang Bell" with mixed emotions. This bell was cast in 1458 and was erected to show loyalty to the Ming Dynasty. The inscription on it reads: The bell of Ryukyu Kingdom,
The South China Sea is also a resort. It shows the beauty of the three Koreas, with the Ming Dynasty as the auxiliary chariot, and the Japanese region as the lip and teeth. Penglai Island emerges from the middle of these two. The boat is the beam of all nations."
"Alas! I thought the Ming Dynasty was dead, but I didn't expect it to be revived again. This move to surrender to the Qing Dynasty was made too quickly! I've been too unfaithful. I wonder if Cai Zuolong and the others can get the forgiveness of the Ming Dynasty." Shang Zhi regretted it and murmured to himself
Language.
The Ming Dynasty was really good to Ryukyu.
Since Ryukyu surrendered to the Ming Dynasty in the fifth year of Hongwu (1372), it has been a vassal state of China for generations. Even the surname "Shang" of the royal family was given by the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty implemented a "sea ban", and goods from other countries could not enter the Ming Dynasty through official channels. Ryukyu
However, the country entered the country casually in the name of paying tribute. For more than two hundred years, relying on the name of "Chinese vassal screen", they did a lot of business and became extremely rich. The Portuguese Piles said: "The generosity of the Ryukyu people has already surpassed that of China."
Above all people.” When North Korean envoys mentioned the Ryukyu Kingdom, they often said with jealousy, “The Ming Dynasty’s treatment of North Korea cannot be compared with the Ryukyu Kingdom.”
However, being too rich is not a good thing. The people of Ryukyu were originally strong and strong. After getting rich, they "changed the vulgar customs into refined ones". "The people of Zhongshan changed everything and became a land of clothes and etiquette." The folk customs are refined.
, the army’s combat effectiveness is weakened.
Being both rich and weak makes you a fat man in the eyes of the Japanese.
In the thirty-seventh year of Wanli (1609), three thousand troops of the Japanese Satsuma clan invaded Suzhou. The long-inexperienced Ryukyu army was like a mantis blocking a cart in front of the Satsuma army. Oshima and Qui Nhon all fell. King Shangning was frightened.
It was so bad that even the royal capital, Shuri Castle, did not dare to defend it, so it surrendered. Shimazu's army devastated Shuri for seven days, solving the financial crisis in one fell swoop.
In order to flatter Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Shimazu family took King Shonin and more than a hundred members of the royal family to Sunfu Castle in Japan to pay homage to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Poor! The scene was like the Huiqin Northern Hunting of the Song Dynasty. Thousands of Ryukyu soldiers and people bid farewell.
Everyone shed tears of sadness, "The wives, children, brothers and friends of those who traveled far away all came to see each other off...Everyone cried or sobbed, and everyone in the audience had a sore nose...The king and his wife all shed tears along with the palace ladies" (Xi'an Diary).
King Shoning was lucky enough to meet the great statesman Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tokugawa Ieyasu did not agree with the Satsuma Domain's annexation of Ryukyu. At that time, he was seeking to reconcile with the Ming Dynasty. The Ryukyu Kingdom was a die-hard younger brother of the Ming Dynasty, and it could be used to establish diplomatic relations between China and Japan.
The Satsuma Domain was a powerful vassal, and if it were allowed to annex Ryukyu, it would inevitably lose its tail.
Shang Ning presented tributes and Ryukyu songs and dances to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and then went to Edo to meet the general Tokugawa Hidetada. Tokugawa Hidetada hosted a banquet in honor of his father's instructions and made a promise to preserve the Ryukyu royal family. Shang Ning burst into tears of gratitude.
Consider the Tokugawa family as reborn parents.
The shogunate did not agree to the Satsuma Domain's annexation of Ryukyu, which made the Shimazu family extremely dissatisfied. It concealed the shogunate's annexation of Ryukyu's Kikaijima, Tokunoshima, Amami Oshima, Okinagabu Island, and Yoron Island, a territory of about 30,000 koku; and forced Ryukyu to sign a peace treaty.
Shang Ning was released and returned to the country just now after the "Fifteen Articles" of losing power and humiliating the country were released.
From then on, Ryukyu entered the period of "one country, two dependencies" and became vassal to both the Ming Dynasty and Japan.
After the death of King Shoning, King Shangfeng and Crown Prince Shoxian all lived in the shadow of the Satsuma Domain. In order to maintain the country's independence, they urgently needed the protection of the great powers. Requesting the Ming Dynasty for canonization became a top priority. The Ming Dynasty was gone.
The Manchus and the Qing dynasties are also OK. Whoever is more powerful can be his younger brother.
Two years ago, Ryukyu Crown Prince Shang Zhigang sent someone to hand over the Ming Dynasty seal to the Qing court and asked it to be canonized. News came again that the Ming Dynasty had revived and actually conquered Nanjing again.
Shang Zhi panicked and urgently ordered Cai Zuolong, the chief minister, and Zhou Guosheng to go to Nanjing to congratulate Emperor Guangwu.
"Alas! When King Shangqing was on the throne, the territory of our Ryukyu Kingdom started from Kikaijima Island and Amami Oshima Island in the north to Miyako Island and Yaeyama Islands in the south. It was also considered a powerful vassal in the East China Sea. Today, it is like a field."
Looking at the inscription on the "Wan Guo Jin Liang Bell", I shed tears.
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Nanjing City, Guan Mansion, one of the most powerful mansions in the Ming Dynasty.
The chief minister of the cabinet, Guan Shouzhen, is leisurely reading and drinking tea in the study.
The butler came to report, "Sir, the Ryukyu envoy wants to see you."
"The Ryukyu envoy? When he didn't see me, he said that I had something to do and he hadn't returned home." Guan Shoufu took a sip of tea slowly.
"Sir, the envoy also brought this." The steward handed over a banknote.
When the gatekeeper took a look, he saw that this small country actually cost one hundred thousand taels at a time. People say that this Ryukyu country is rich, and it is true.
Among the officials of Emperor Guangwu, Guan Shouzhen is absolutely incorruptible, and he will not take any money that should not be taken. As for the money that should be taken?? It seems that the money from the Ryukyu Kingdom should be taken.
"Let the envoy come in," Guan Shouzhen smiled slightly.
Cai Zuolong, the chief minister of the Ryukyu Kingdom, entered the living room of Guanfu. He has been very anxious these days. He has been in Nanjing for half a month, and His Majesty the Emperor has not been seen at all. The officials of the Concierge Court ignored him. With great difficulty, he got through to the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty.
door.
As soon as he saw Guan Shouzhen, Cai Zuolong fell to his knees with a plop and said, "I will see Mr. Guan Ge."
He could have refused to kneel. The etiquette of the Ming Dynasty stipulates: "All officials are ranked according to their rank. Those who are close in rank should bow to each other. Those who are higher than the fourth rank, the humble one will bow down, and the honored one will sit down.
When receiving a gift, if you have something to do, kneel down in vain."
In other words, officials of the fifth rank and below only need to kneel when they meet the first-rank gatekeeper. Cai Zuolong, a senior official in the Ming Dynasty, belongs to the third rank, which is less than four ranks, so he does not need to kneel. Moreover, he is also an envoy of a foreign vassal, and even more so.
No need to kneel.
But they just knelt down. For the sake of the national interest, why should they care about personal honor and disgrace?
"Well, this envoy is quite knowledgeable." After receiving the generous gift and banknote, Guan Shouzhen felt a little embarrassed and took the initiative to ask: "Is your envoy here to meet with the Holy One?"
"Exactly, please take pity on this small country."
"Hey! You, the Ryukyu Kingdom, are so confused. How can you forget the deep kindness of the Celestial Empire and surrender to the Qing Dynasty?"
"These are all villains who have defrauded the prince, and the prince regrets it too much. Please give the elder a kind word to the Holy One!"
Guan Shouzhen showed off his airs as the chief minister of the Celestial Dynasty and taught Cai Zuolong a lesson. Then he laughed and said, "I have followed the Holy Lord for many years and know the nature of dragons best. Is it not difficult to calm the Holy Lord?"
"Oh, please give me some advice."
"The Holy One has a strong temper but a very soft heart. All you have to do is kneel in front of the palace gate and bear a thorn to apologize. I will see you in a few days."
??
"Your Majesty, the Ryukyu envoy has been kneeling outside the palace gate all day. How pitiful! It's such a cold day that he's shivering from the cold." Ma Huanxi reported to Zhu Hengjia.
Cai Zuolong also gave Ma Eunuch 50,000 taels of silver as a gift. The 50,000 taels were worth the gift, otherwise he would have to kneel for at least two more days.
In fact, Zhu Hengjia's anger has dissipated. If you think about it carefully, you still need to be tough on yourself. If the Ming Dynasty failed to live up to its expectations, it cannot be entirely blamed on Ryukyu.
"Proclaim him to come in."
"The righteous minister Cai Zuolong of the Ryukyu Kingdom comes to meet His Majesty." Cai Zuolong finally saw Emperor Komu and was so excited that his eyes filled with tears.
"Pingsheng. Cai Zuolong, I heard that you carried a thorn to plead guilty. Do you know where the Ryukyu Kingdom went wrong?"
"A small country has been deeply favored by the Celestial Empire for generations, but it turned its back on the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. It is really ungrateful! The prince was bewitched by a traitor, and he has now awakened. When the minister set out, the prince burst into tears and told the minister to get the understanding of the heaven."
"Hmph! The fault of the Ryukyu Kingdom is not that it surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, but that it underestimated our Ming Dynasty! The sage said that the barbarians have no destiny for a hundred years. How can the Qing Dynasty capture the barbarians for a long time? Even if our Ming Dynasty is weak for a while, it will be a thousand years. How can the Ming Dynasty, which has been civilized for ten thousand years, not be able to protect a small country like Ryukyu?"
"Xiao Bang has already made a mistake, and I beg your Majesty to forgive you." Upon hearing this, Cai Zuolong lowered his head even lower.
"Well, the Crown Prince of Ryukyu sent you here, why?"
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has sent his ministers here for three things. One is to celebrate His Majesty's accession to the throne; the other is to ask for the title of King of Ryukyu Nakayama; the third is to ask the Celestial Empire to send troops to Ryukyu to help the small country resist the invasion of the Satsuma Domain of Japan."
After hearing this, Zhu Hengjia smiled and said: "I was right about the first two things. As for the third thing, the Satsuma clan is very respectful to me. I don't want to fight alone. Let's discuss it later."
Cai Zuolong was eloquent and said, "Your Majesty, there is nothing in the world that is not a royal land. The Japanese are unwilling to surrender to the Celestial Empire, so how can we be respectful? Moreover, Ryukyu is Taiwan's barrier. If the Japanese are allowed to annex Ryukyu, Taiwan will be in danger!"
No matter what Cai Zuolong said, Zhu Hengjia refused to send troops. By trading with the Satsuma Domain, the Ming Dynasty could earn a lot of gold and silver, so it was naturally unwilling to take chestnuts from the fire for the Ryukyu Kingdom.
"If China is willing to send troops, Ryukyu is willing to pay tribute of fifty thousand taels of silver every year to use as military expenses."
"Let's discuss it later," Emperor Guangwu refused to let go.
"Your Majesty refused to send troops, so I knelt down and died in the palace." Cai Zuolong cried loudly, and the cuckoo cried blood.
"Bold! You dare to behave disrespectfully in front of me! It won't happen if the Holy Spirit says it can't be done. It's useless for you to learn how to apply for Baoxu." Ma Huanxi compared Cai Zuolong to the loyal minister Shenbaoxu. He was clearly scolding but secretly trying to help.
Things can be done with money, and that's the best thing about Mr. Ma.
The shrill and sad cry touched the soft heart of Emperor Guangwu, and he sighed and said: "Originally, I am about to go on an expedition to the north, and I really don't want to have another dispute with the Japanese. However, your country is really pitiful. So, I will order the Ministry of War to sell a batch of
Firearms, warships, weapons, and armor were sent to Ryukyu, and some instructors were sent to help Ryukyu train its army."
Cai Zuolong was overjoyed: "I wonder how many instructors your Majesty wants to send to Ryukyu?"
Zhu Hengjia thought for a while and said: "In the past, my great ancestor, Emperor Gao, once sent thirty-six surnames from Fujian to Ryukyu. I see, I will send thirty-six people."
This chapter has been completed!