According to etiquette, the king of Fanbang went to the city gate to greet the angel.
King Shang Tai was particularly excited today, even though he expected something big might happen.
But he didn't expect that the canonized angel would come so soon.
When King Shangtai first succeeded to the throne, he sent several people to the Qing court to seek canonization, but there was no news every time.
For a king of a vassal country, without being canonized by the suzerain country, his position lacks legal basis, which means that he may be overthrown by his subordinates at any time.
But once he is canonized and someone usurps the throne, the Celestial Empire as the suzerain must intervene, because this is equivalent to challenging the authority of the suzerain.
Therefore, when the Central Plains dynasty was strong, the politics of the vassal states would generally be relatively stable, because no one would dare to usurp the throne casually.
Therefore, the first thing a new king of a vassal country should do after he takes the throne is to seek canonization.
However, King Shang Tai did not expect that the angel would arrive so suddenly. This happiness came so quickly!
He quickly asked someone to help him find the robe that had been prepared for him. He had already worn this set of robes several times.
Because King Shangtai was still growing, he had to prepare a new set of robes for his audience with the envoys of the heaven every year.
King Shang Tai is now like an orphan who has been bullied for many years and suddenly found his parents, and discovered that his parents turned out to be billionaires.
"Shang Tai, don't be nervous and pay attention to your manners. You are also the king of the Qing Dynasty." At this time, a woman wearing a princess robe came over.
This woman is graceful and elegant, with a Han woman's bun on her head. She looks exactly like a Han woman.
She is Princess Shangyun, the half-sister of King Shangtai. Princess Shangyun's mother was originally a Ryukyu Han woman. Under the influence of her mother since childhood, Shangyun has been living a life like a Han woman and learning the habits of Han women.
However, because the old king passed away early and Shang Tai was still young when he succeeded to the throne, Shang Yun took on the responsibility of taking care of his younger brother.
In King Shangtai's memory, his sister has always been very strict with him, so King Shangtai is very afraid of his sister.
After hearing his sister's words, King Shangtai quickly became serious again and coordinated with the palace officials to tidy up his clothes.
Then he raised his head and chest, walked several times in front of his sister, and did not stop until his sister nodded.
"Well, that's it! Your Majesty, you have to remember your identity. You are representing the Ryukyu Kingdom now, and you cannot let the Celestial Empire think that we are the same as the barbarians from Annan. We Ryukyus have been learning Chinese culture for generations, and we must make it bigger
The most civilized vassal state of the Qing Dynasty." Shang Yun said.
"Yes, sister." King Shangtai nodded solemnly, "Sister, if the Qing Dynasty can help us get rid of the Japanese, I want to go to the Qing Dynasty to study."
"Okay, sister, I promise you." Shang Yun agreed very much with his brother's decision. Ryukyu is too small, and he can't trap his brother on this island for the rest of his life, otherwise he will become the frog in the well mentioned in the book.
Shang Yun followed his brother King Shang Tai and walked towards the gate of Shuri Castle, followed by hundreds of civil and military officials.
Prime Minister Lin Wenxuan walked at the forefront. He was recognized as a great scholar in the Ryukyu Kingdom, but he was a pro-Japanese faction.
He always advocated compromise with Japan. Every time the Japanese made unreasonable demands on Ryukyu, he would lead hundreds of officials to make arrangements to satisfy the Japanese.
King Shangtai turned around and secretly looked at Lin Wenxuan, who was standing at the head of the hundred officials, with contempt.
Then it returned to its original state in a subtle way.
Cai Mao and the defenders of Shuri Castle stood in two neat rows at the city gate to welcome the arrival of the angel.
Standing at the head of the hundred officials, Lin Wenxuan raised his head and glanced at the approaching Golden Dragon Flag in the distance.
This time the envoys sent by the Qing Dynasty did not shock him much. As the prime minister, he was also the head of one of the largest families in Ryukyu.
He knew the current situation of the Qing Dynasty very well. The Qing Dynasty was overwhelmed by domestic rebellions and had no energy to deal with Ryukyu affairs.
Although the canonized angel was sent this time, he probably went back after the canonization was completed. The Japanese continued to dominate Ryukyu.
You can't rely on missions to destroy the Japanese.
As a Ryukyu official of Han origin, Lin Wenxuan did not want to bow to the Japanese. In fact, Lin Wenxuan despised the Japanese from the bottom of his heart.
They are ignorant, violent, and self-righteous. They think they have learned the essence of Chinese culture, but in fact they are just imitating others.
Japan as a whole cannot be considered a nation now because their culture has no soul.
As the team approached, the sound of neat footsteps could be heard.
King Shangtai visually estimated that the envoy could only have two hundred people at most, but the momentum coming from the opposite side seemed to be that of an army of a thousand people.
Princess Shangyun's beautiful eyes were flowing. He also heard that the Qing Dynasty had been deteriorating in recent years. Why did the guard of a mission have such momentum?
As the team approached a few hundred meters, a crisp whistle sounded from the mission's guards. The two rows of guards, led by the leaders, quickly ran away to both sides. Their footsteps as they ran away were actually in perfect order.
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Cai Mao, who has led troops for many years, can see that these soldiers are much stronger than his own men, and even the Japanese soldiers on the island are far worse than these guards.
Lin Wenxuan was also quite surprised. The attire of this group of guards was quite different, somewhat similar to the attire of the Western Yi. Could it be that the Qing Dynasty learned from the Western Yi and established a new army?
If the Qing Dynasty could do this, it might not be able to rise again.
In the distance, a short and stocky Japanese officer was looking at this side with a monocular telescope.
"Nani, when did the Qing people have such an elite army?" Saigo Takamori did not go to Edo, so this was the first time he saw the soldiers of the Huai Navy.
He was surprised that the formation of these soldiers was even more orderly than his own soldiers.
He had always believed that in East Asia only the Satsuma clan's army could rival the Western Yi's army.
Unexpectedly, I saw a group of troops here today who could move better than Xi Yi.
"General, the guards of these missions are specially trained to form queues. Even if they march so neatly, they may not be useful in fighting. In the words of the Qing people, they are just showy." An adjutant comforted Xixiang Takamori.
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Xixiang nodded, he obviously thought so too.
"We must closely monitor this group of people and do not let them affect the feudal lord's plan." Saigo Takamori told the people around him.
"Hi!" the soldier next to him replied, bending down and lowering his head.
At the gate of the city, two rows of soldiers quickly ran out. As they ran, they grabbed their rifles with both hands and held them diagonally in front of them. The bright bayonets on the muzzles swayed up and down with the pace of the infantry.
12-year-old Shang Tai was stunned. He had an idea, how great it would be if he could wear this military uniform.
Nowadays, many young people in the Huaihai Navy's jurisdiction are attracted by this military uniform and join the Huaihai Navy.
But now the Huai Navy basically only selects soldiers from the farm militia. Ordinary people can only take the military academy examination and become officers directly.
Either go to work on the farm and become a militia, or first become a local garrison militia.
Just when Shang Tai was distracted, Shang Yun gently pulled him and he came back to his senses.
The envoy was seen wearing a court uniform and took out a yellow scroll.
Under the leadership of King Shangtai, everyone on the Ryukyu side knelt down and saluted.
"King of Ryukyu Shoutai accepts the order!"
"I accept the decree from King Shōtai of Ryukyu, long live my emperor!"
…
The entire canonization process was very cumbersome and very tiring for a twelve-year-old boy like King Shangtai.
However, King Shangtai paid great attention to his manners throughout the whole process, and there was nothing rude about him.
After the canonization, the delegation was welcomed into Shuri Castle to rest.
There are no special official residences in Shuri Castle, and the members of the mission are directly arranged to live in the palace.
In the evening, King Shangtai entertained the delegation members at Shuri Castle.
The official envoy of the mission this time was the official borrowed from the Lifan Yuan. Although he was only a minor official in the capital, when he arrived in the vassal country, he transformed into an angel from the higher kingdom.
This errand trip made him a lot of money, and the Huaihai Navy Department gave him a lot of benefits. When he left, the Ryukyu Kingdom would also benefit a lot.
In fact, the deputy envoy of the mission, Zhang Wenhan from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Huaihai Navy, was the talker of the mission.
During the banquet in the evening, King Shangtai personally wanted to toast the main members of the envoy. Taking advantage of this stall, Zhang Wenhan secretly slipped a note to King Shangtai.
This move made the young King Shang Tai stunned for a moment, and he almost showed his weakness.
The moment he received the note, King Shangtai's heart skipped a beat.
He was excited, nervous, and curious at the same time.
It was hard to resist the urge to open it.
When he returned to the room after the night banquet, he left his sister Shang Yun alone, and then he took out the note.
"Where did the note come from, Brother Wang?" Shang Yun asked curiously.
"The deputy envoy secretly gave it to me."
Shang Yun quickly opened the note and saw a simple line written on it: "Requesting to meet the king alone to discuss important matters." However, the signature said Zhang Wenhan, the special envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ryukyu.
Shang Yun looked solemn after reading the note. His two straight eyebrows almost came together.
She handed the note to King Shangtai, and then asked: "Brother Wang, what do you think?"
"Sister Wang, what the deputy envoy is going to say may have something to do with the Japanese in the city! Does the Qing Dynasty want to help us expel the Japanese?" King Shangtai said.
Children always hope to have a powerful parent to help them solve problems that they cannot solve on their own.
"Brother Wang, no matter what the matter is, we must go to see this messenger, and we will adapt accordingly. My sister will go with you, just the two of us, don't tell anyone."
After speaking, Shang Yun asked Shang Tai to change into the clothes of a palace servant and follow him.
I slipped out through the back door and walked all the way to the residence of the envoy. Shuri Castle is not big, and the Royal Palace of Ryukyu is even smaller. It took a few steps to reach the residence of the envoy.
There are no people from the Ryukyu Royal Palace where the mission is staying. All the mission's own guards are responsible for the security of the palace.
The guards politely stopped Princess Shang Yun, and then hurried in to report the situation to Zhang Wenhan. These guards all accepted Zhang Wenhan's orders.
Zhang Wenhan came out in person to welcome Princess Shangyun in.
"Your Highness, I don't know..." Zhang Wenhan had not seen at first that the servant following Princess Shang Yun was King Shang Tai. After this salute, he discovered that the servant following Princess Shang Yun was actually King Shang Tai.
Zhang Wenhan gave Princess Shangyun a thumbs up in his heart, and his favorability score increased a few points. Unexpectedly, this Ryukyu princess was not only beautiful but also extremely smart.
"Your Highness, please come with me." Zhang Wenhan led the two princesses into a reception room, and then asked people to guard outside.