"The mainland has established a new monarch, and we are also ministers of the Ming Dynasty, so we naturally respect the holy will..." Zheng Jing softened his tone and said: "Taiwan is alone overseas, even if it cannot be established as a country, as long as we work together to stabilize its operation
, you can also keep the vassal town forever."
From Qiguo to Fanzhen, Zheng Jing lowered his expectations. In terms of the situation, Taiwan's population is still small. Although it has the advantage of terrain, it does not have the strength to compete for hegemony. Moreover, Taiwan still cannot do without the support of the mainland.
"Those clansmen who want to return to the mainland will let them go." Zheng Jing sneered: "Those who follow the trend of the world came when they were poor. It was my Zheng family who gave them official salaries so that they could have enough food and clothing. Now it's another person.
What a shameless face."
"Your Majesty is right." Liu Guoxuan echoed: "It is useless to keep them and it will cost money and food. Let them all get out."
"Lu Song?" Zheng Jing pondered, having difficulty making a decision, but scanned the crowd with his eyes.
"Your Majesty, Luzon cannot be attacked for the time being." Liu Guoxuan shook his head and said, "Firstly, there is insufficient food and salary, and secondly, we must beware that Taiwan is empty and others can take advantage of it!"
Feng Xifan immediately agreed, "This is the imperial court's plan to drive away the tiger and devour the wolf. When both our army and the Westerners are defeated, they will be able to reap the benefits."
Chen Yonghua secretly sighed. Zheng Jing learned everything from his father, but failed to learn from his father's talents and strategies. When he regained Taiwan, many generals opposed it, but the late king was able to overcome everyone's opinions and was dictatorial in his heart.
"We won't attack for the time being, but we need to do more reconnaissance." Zheng Jing pondered for a while and said: "Although the court has this intention, it still needs two or three years after the Northern Expedition. Take advantage of these two or three years.
, we work together to manage Taiwan like an iron barrel. In the final analysis, whether it is the imperial court or the Western barbarians, we must rely on strength to not be looked down upon."
………………
Looking around, there is a majestic and quiet, boundless blue sea. In the distance as far as the eye can see, it is connected to the light blue clouds and sky. The ripples reflect the melting sun, showing scales of flames. Small
The ripples whispered and crawled slowly on the golden sand on the shore.
In 1609 (the thirty-seventh year of Wanli), the lord of the Satsuma Domain, Shimazu Iehisa, sent Hisaka Kayama with fifteen ships and 3,000 soldiers to invade Ryukyu, and the Ryukyu Kingdom became a puppet regime of the Satsuma Domain for almost sixty years.
.But even so, it has not changed the relationship between China and Ryukyu. According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", in the 14th year of Wanli (1616), "Japan had a plan to take Jilong Mountain (its name is Taiwan)." At that time, King Shangning, who endured the humiliation and heavy burden, was in the country
Despite the dilapidated situation, he still did not forget to "send envoys to hear the news" and inform China to prepare for Japanese invasion.
After the Qing Dynasty took over the Central Plains, the King of Ryukyu sent envoys to the Qing Dynasty to request canonization. Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty named King Shangzhi the King of Ryukyu, and Ryukyu became a vassal of the Qing Dynasty. However, this was only a matter of name and had no influence on the actual status of Ryukyu.
Change. The Ryukyu Kingdom still surrendered to the Qing Dynasty on the surface and the Satsuma Domain in reality at the same time, and the income from tribute trade was still exploited by the Satsuma Domain.
After the rise of Nanming, Ryukyu first contacted the Nanming government through merchants and then sent secret envoys. Unexpectedly, Zhu Yongxing agreed very simply. He promised to send troops to expel the Japanese within a few years and help Ryukyu recover.
Surprised by the unexpected, Ryukyu began to make secret preparations. In addition to spying on the Japanese, they also gave the Nanming government great discounts in the saltpeter and sulfur trade.
The country was finally restored! Prince Shangzhen of Ryukyu diligently accompanied the Ming Dynasty officials stationed in Ryukyu to visit and give guidance, especially Naha, which would be a port leased by the Ming Dynasty. This was a condition for the Ming army to help Ryukyu regain its country.
For thousands of years, China has been the eye of the typhoon of East Asian spiritual civilization. Ryukyu is full of Chinese-style flower and bird paintings.
The scenery is very beautiful, with hexagonal Chinese-style pagodas and bottle-shaped Indian-style pagodas, carved Chinese-style pavilions, ancient pagodas, ancient monuments, temples, towering pines and cypresses, and wild flowers in bloom. The clusters of flowers will give people a sense of wonder.
Endless poetry. The gray limestone peaks and rocks, coupled with the simple Chinese-style architecture, can be said to be an enlarged rockery and a super bonsai. If it is covered by rain curtains and fog barriers, it will be like a fairyland.
The Ming army did not expend much effort in helping Ryukyu recover. There were no more than a thousand Japanese soldiers in Ryukyu, and they were defenseless. Under the guidance of Ryukyu guides, the Ming army landed at the fishing village of Mowenren on the south coast.
The cliffs on the coast are steep, which is not suitable for landing operations. But even so, the Ming army's landing was more concealed, and the attack on the Japanese soldiers was more sudden.
The Japanese soldiers, who had not experienced war for decades, were not only unprepared, but also extremely poorly equipped and seriously lacking in combat experience. After only three rounds of musket fire, the Japanese soldiers were defeated and fled, and were subsequently wiped out.
"Excuse me, Shangguan, how many troops can your army retain?" Shang Zhen asked cautiously: "The Japanese are capricious. If they are defeated and return, you must worry about it!"
"At most three thousand." Gu Xichou was looking at Shuri, the capital of Ryukyu. According to Chinese standards, it can only be regarded as a large squire's residence in the south of the Yangtze River. "Even counting the navy, this is the total garrison. In fact, it doesn't matter how many people there are.
, as long as there are Ming troops, coming to attack is an enemy of Ming Dynasty. Satsuma Domain, and even the Japanese country, will not have such courage."
"Those Western Yi——" Shang Zhen had some doubts...
Britain was very active in helping the Ryukyus recover this time and had been paying attention to the matter for a long time. Since the Shimabara Rebellion, the Japanese shogunate was extremely afraid of Catholics, and religious persecution gradually expanded into trade restrictions. The Portuguese were first expelled, and then
The British later strictly prohibited Spanish ships from sailing. In addition to the red seal, Japanese ships must also obtain a "letter from Lao Zhong" before they were allowed to go to sea. Japanese living abroad were also strictly prohibited from returning to the country and would be executed upon return.
The only exception was the Dutch. The Dutch East India Company set up a branch in Japan and promised the shogunate that they would never spread Christianity. At the same time, as soon as the Dutch merchant ship arrived in Japan, the director of the merchant store immediately submitted the "Dutch Wind Storybook" to the shogunate to report on the overseas situation.
.
The British were grudges about this and were jealous of the Netherlands' ability to maintain trade with Japan. The Ming army helped Ryukyu recover, and the British immediately saw an opportunity. After several discussions, the Nanming government was satisfied with the British conditions.
, they "reluctantly" agreed that British ships could berth at the Ryukyu Naha Port and set up a business office in Naha.
This was a prelude to reopening the trade with Japan. The British paid a price, but they also saw clearly that the prospects were very optimistic. Therefore, in this military operation, the British dispatched three warships, with a total of more than 160 warships.
Cannon.
"The Western Barbarians are only allowed to send merchants, but they are not allowed to station any soldiers." Gu Xichou explained: "Your country does not need to worry. The emperor is also on guard against the Western Barbarians."
The purpose and the means cannot be equally noble, or equally despicable. Helping Ryukyu recover. Although it is just a step in Zhu Yongxing's plan, for the Ryukyu people who have always been anxious, they are currently extremely lucky.
For this small country, Gu Xichou didn't understand the importance of it. The production of nitrate was, well, a reason, but sending out a large army would be a bit of a fuss. As for the concept of "island chain" that Zhu Yongxing said, he couldn't understand it at all. But.
His Majesty wanted it to be so, so he carried it out faithfully. He made a magnificent transition from an intelligence officer to becoming an envoy to Ryukyu, and then——
In Zhu Yongxing's view, Ryukyu's geographical location is very important. In addition to serving as a transit point for trade between Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, it should also serve as a bridgehead for monitoring and containing Japan.
What kind of country is Japan? It is a country full of volcanoes and hot springs, and is restless in frequent earthquakes. It boasts that it is a melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures. It believes in Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism. It sometimes has low self-esteem and
A country suddenly arrogant; a country dreaming of an empire in a cardboard room with a few tatami mats.
What kind of nation are the Japanese? They are the nation that studies hard and takes advantage of their teachers; the nation that works hard but is extremely suicidal; the nation that pays attention to family pleasures such as flower arrangement and tea ceremony but massacres tens of millions of foreign people; the nation that created Ukiyo-e
, a nation that eats Yuzen silk but eats people's courage; a nation that pays attention to its own folk festivals, but throws people of other countries into a sea of blood; a nation that worships its own shrines but destroys the ancestral graves of other countries; a nation that borrows foreign culture but wants to use it on its own
To assimilate other people’s nations with miscellaneous words and ethics...
All beauty and ugliness are strangely blended here; all good and evil are strangely mixed here. All ambitious progress and naked ferocity are smelted here, and all evolution and barbarism are forged here.
Vigilance is a must. Although the current Japanese state still sympathizes with the Ming Dynasty, and although the current Japanese state is a martial arts cultivator, its unruliness has been revealed. During the reign of Emperor Taizu, the Japanese state killed the Ming envoys and humiliated the Ming Dynasty; later, there were more
The Japanese pirates caused chaos and Wanli invaded the dynasty.
Moreover, it is also easy to include Ryukyu into the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Because a country that relies on others for defense can only express its own opinions for reference only before knowing the decisions that affect its own security. What is more likely is that
, only after the fait accompli was reached, some situations were informed.
Of course, it is too early to annex Ryukyu, but Ming Dynasty is destined to play a certain role on the world stage. The current action is not a privilege for a big country, but a responsibility.
Of course, Shang Zhen did not know Zhu Yongxing's final plan. He was extremely grateful that the Ming Dynasty could send troops to help Ryukyu recover before the Central Plains had been restored. He immediately expressed that he would bear the food and wages of the Ming Dynasty garrison. Three thousand people was a bit small, and it would be better to have more.
Because Ryukyu is an archipelago, with more than 50 large and small islands, the small ones should not be taken care of for now. The two largest islands, Okinawa and Amami Oshima, must be guarded by troops.
"Three thousand land and sea troops will be enough! After this battle, the Satsuma Domain will definitely not be able to fight again, so the Crown Prince need not worry." Gu Xichou reassured Shang Zhen quite confidently.
In island operations, the navy takes priority. The small warships of the Satsuma Domain only have seven or eight cannons, and only one or two. The Ming army left more than twenty warships, which is enough to deal with them. Not to mention the British
People, well, it would be better for the British people to use the banner of the Ming army and not to irritate the Japanese shogunate too much.
……………
The sea was filled with broken wood and corpses, and more than fifty Japanese ships, large and small, were engaged in a fierce battle with the Ming fleet. Or, it should be said that it was fierce, and the Japanese were naturally the ones suffering the most.
More than a dozen Ming and British warships lined up in a battle line and bombarded them with cannons on their sides one after another. The entire sea was suddenly shrouded in smoke. The Japanese ships also had artillery, but their range was not as good as that of the Ming and British troops. They had not sailed yet.
Most of them were hit, some penetrated the hull, hit the mast, or hit the deck. From time to time, the ship burst into flames or swayed and sank.
Faced with such ferocious bombardment by the Ming and British coalition forces, the Japanese army could only bravely rush forward, hoping to get close to the range of their own artillery or engage in a follow-up battle. The Japanese army's bows were all bound with sharpened irons.
The thick wood and hook ropes are used to ram and hook the opponent's warships.
However, the Ming warships were not what the Japanese wanted. They kept widening the distance, using long-range artillery to kill the enemy while drawing them further away from the coast.
The cannonballs roared over, water columns rose one by one around them, and the ship was shaking violently. Satsuma Mori Shimazu's retainer, Kayama Shigeto, held the mast hard and could barely stand on the deck. He stared angrily into the distance.
The enemy ships were spitting flames in the smoke. They were like monsters, looming in the smoke, shooting deathly shells at them mercilessly.
The Satsuma Domain was severely unprepared for this sudden military attack. First, Okinawa, and then Amami Oshima. The nearly two thousand feudal soldiers stationed in Ryukyu collapsed under the lightning-fast attack of the Ming army. By the time the Satsuma Domain got the
According to the news, the Ming fleet has approached Kagoshima, the doorstep of the Satsuma Domain, and is shelling its port.
There was no need to consider going to war. Although the enemy had strong ships and powerful artillery, he only had more than a dozen warships. With a numerical advantage of five to one, Satsuma Domain Morishima Tsuyoshitoyo had great confidence in victory. Therefore, he once led his troops to conquer Ryukyu.
With the desire to establish meritorious deeds, the son of the Shimadzu family general Kaguyama Hisaka's son, Kayama Shigenen, gathered almost all the warships of the Satsuma Domain and set out to sea to fight.
However, as the battle progressed, Huashan Chongnian was both angry and helpless. More than ten warships had been lost, but he had not even touched the edge of the enemy.
With a loud "Boom!", Huashan Chongnian saw that a warship next to him was hit by a cannonball. The deck was blown up, and the ship was spinning in the sea, unable to follow him and continue to attack.
.
Continue? Huashan Zhongnian gritted his teeth. He could not go back with the shame of failure. Rather than doing this, it would be more glorious to die in battle. Until he suddenly discovered that the enemy had hidden its strength and more than twenty warships had cut off
Their retreat, and this fleet composed of almost all the warships of the Satsuma Domain was far away from the coast and port.
The artillery fire continued, and the Ming warship suddenly turned quickly and accurately to the starboard side, firing a row of devastating artillery shells as if they were flying.
The main mast was blown off and he fell to pieces on the deck. Huashan Zhongnian, with his expectations and disappointments, lay down on the deck and died; one of his legs was blown off and he fell in a miserable posture.
Lying in a pool of blood.
Without command, no way out, and attacked from both sides by the Ming army, the Satsuma clan's navy finally came to an end.
The tall ship's side was like a city wall in front of the Japanese. The artillery fired grapeshot at close range. Rows of Ming soldiers leaned against the side and fired a dense rain of bullets at the Japanese ship. The deck of the Japanese ship was in a mess.
There is blood and corpses everywhere,
It sank, spun, smoked, and caught fire. The battle had turned into a one-sided massacre, and the sea was filled with debris, corpses, and struggling Japanese.
Strive to severely damage or annihilate the Satsuma Domain's water forces in a decisive battle, thereby gaining control of the sea! Kenheibo Zheng Zanxu took back the telescope, and what the Holy Emperor told him should be considered completed. Satsuma Domain lost its water power and could not pose a threat to Ryukyu.
As for the scattered garrisons on the small islands, apart from increasing the free labor in the mines, what else can they do? Unfortunately, the Holy Emperor is not allowed to directly attack the Japanese territory for the time being, lest the shogunate become angry and prolong the war.
"Uncle." A member of the Zheng clan reminded him worriedly: "After this battle, if we ask for the old Marquis's savings, will the Japanese get in trouble?"
Zheng Tai was in charge of the Zheng Group's East-West trade for a long time and held financial power. However, he initially lost confidence in the cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty, and he opposed Zheng Chenggong's sending troops to regain Taiwan. Therefore, Zheng Tai secretly saved dozens of dollars in Japan.
Be prepared for a fallback.
After Zheng Jing killed Zheng Tai, he discovered the money and demanded it from the Japanese state. Zheng Zanxu also made the same request to the Japanese state in the name of Zheng Tai's heir. The Japanese state has not yet negotiated who should own the money. Military
Zheng Zanxu also had no idea what impact the attack on the Satsuma Domain would have.
"It's hard to disobey the sacred order. Do you have to refuse to disobey the order for some money?" Zheng Zanxu waved his hand and said: "The certificates for depositing the money are worthy and they are all in my hand. If the Japanese country refuses to pay back the debt, I am afraid that its credibility will be lost.
.You know, we are not the only ones who have long-term savings."
"The Japanese don't dare to default on their debts." The tribesman smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid they will delay. Uncle, please think about it, the old Marquis has been saving money for a long time, and many of the people who handled it have left their posts. If it is the Japanese country,
I use this as an excuse to clarify the situation, but I don’t know when I can get my deposit back.”
Zheng Zanxu narrowed his eyes and thought for a while, then sneered and said: "Then I will inform the Holy One and ask the Holy One to mobilize a large army to conquer the Japanese country and make the decision for us. Hehe, then we will no longer be a Satsuma clan."
"Will the Holy Spirit play it accurately?" The tribesman scratched his head in confusion.
"The Holy Emperor will most likely agree." Zheng Zanxu was actually guessing in his heart, but his tone was very firm, "And the so-called discussions by the Japanese were just to wait and see the situation to determine: Which is in Japan's interest? To befriend the Ming Dynasty or to offend Taiwan's Zheng Zheng
's, or the other way around?"
"The Ming Dynasty is at its peak, and the Holy One is wise and decisive. Do the Japanese still have to weigh it?" The tribesman curled his lips in disdain, "What a bunch of idiots."
Zheng Zanxu blinked and was immediately awakened by this sentence. That's right, compared to the Ming Dynasty, it is clear which one is more important? Besides, he has savings to match, so it is justifiable. Would the Japanese be so short-sighted?
Well, the "limited war" mentioned by the Holy One is indeed brilliant! It not only helped Ryukyu recover and gained the port of Naha, but also attacked the Satsuma Domain's military strength. Moreover, there was no landing, no siege, and no attempt to expand the war.
.
…………(To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!