These things were told to Melian by an American captain who had previously docked at Naha port.
The American captain even vividly described to Mai Lian the wonderful battle of the Huai Navy in Ryukyu.
In fact, he didn't see it directly, but Americans like to brag like this.
However, Mai Lian obviously knew the habits of these captains and did not believe his words at all.
Mai Lian is very disdainful of the combat power of the Chinese army. Especially in the battle between the Chinese and the Japanese, no matter who wins or loses, it cannot prove anything.
Although the Chinese had purchased many rifles from American businessmen before, Mai Lian knew that for some ethnic groups who lacked the courage to fight and were full of bad habits, even if they were given considerable weapons, they might not be able to demonstrate their combat effectiveness.
When he arrived in San Francisco, he also saw Chinese people. They had long braids and were very weird. Those Chinese people's eyes were dull and their expressions were numb most of the time. They would mechanically perform the tasks assigned to them.
They don’t even understand what laziness is. From this point of view, their brains are not even as smart as black people. Black people at least know how to find a shady place to sleep lazily behind the back of the farmer.
Similarly, in his eyes, the Japanese had the same weird hairstyles as the Chinese, and these Japanese were shorter in stature. Maybe it was for this reason that they failed in the battle with the Chinese.
Mai Lian couldn't help but crack a curve at the corner of his mouth when he thought of this. If he didn't have to pay attention to his gentlemanly demeanor, he really wanted to laugh out loud.
The American warships parked in the port of Naha did not cause any sensation, because a fleet larger than the Americans had just left the port a few days ago.
As a free port, Naha has always been able to dock ships and warships from various countries at will.
The Huai Navy has just started operating Naha, and the port's defense facilities have not yet been built. So it is still business as usual at the port.
Just in the north, a new military port is breaking ground, and the construction of a fort on the mountain has also begun.
Mailian immediately sent an assistant to lead a group of soldiers ashore, preparing to meet the King of Ryukyu to understand the situation.
However, after the American soldiers landed, they were stopped by a group of Chinese soldiers who set up a blockade when entering Naha Castle. The assistant was told that the soldiers had to register at the Naha City Hall before they could land.
Oh, my God, when did Naha also have a city hall? Is it still registered? Naha Port has always been completely free and open to foreigners. Mai Lian really wonders if she heard it wrong?
Then, news came that a group of guards who had landed ashore had been detained due to a conflict with Naha's castle guards.
Mai Lian couldn't sit still anymore. He wanted to go and see for himself what was going on in Naha City.
As for safety, he has no worries at all. The seven warships on the shore are his confidence.
"Mr. Minister, are you sure you want to argue with those yellow-skinned monkeys? I think you don't need to talk to these natives. You just need to show them the naval guns. If that doesn't work, just fire a few cannons to scare them.
" Fleet Commander Perry said.
Last year in Japan's Edo Bay, Perry only had four warships, which scared the shogunate officials into submission.
Now that his East India Fleet has a total of seven warships, will it still be afraid of the tiny Ryukyu Island?
Perry felt that Mailen's decision to go ashore for negotiations was entirely due to the professional habits of a diplomat. He obviously did not understand these small Asian countries. When talking to these people, cannons were obviously more effective than human mouths.
"Your Excellency, Commander, with your fleet here, nothing will happen to me." Mai Lian still hopes to go ashore to have a look, perhaps out of the curiosity of a diplomat who has just arrived in the East.
"Okay, then I wish you good luck, my minister." Perry said. Perry didn't like this diplomat at all. He was the one who caused the incident last year, but now he is going to sign a contract with the Japanese.
, but a diplomat comes to pick peaches, which would make anyone feel uncomfortable.
However, seeing that Mailian had brought him three battleships and that he was still the fleet commander, Perry temporarily forgave Mailian in his heart.
Seeing that Mai Lian insisted on going ashore, Perry did not stop her.
Mai Lian led a large group of U.S. Marines onto the dock of Naha in a mighty manner.
After walking a few steps, he saw a huge stone wall. What surprised him was that there were legal regulations on the top of the stone wall. What surprised him even more was that these legal regulations were written in English and French below the Chinese.
, one line each in Spanish.
There is a circle of small words written in the corner of the stone wall - "Having seen this inscription, Naha has fulfilled its obligation to inform you. If there is any violation of the above laws, please do not say it was unforeseen."
It is also noted below that "This law only applies to the Naha Free Port. In other areas of Ryukyu, only the laws of the original Ryukyu Kingdom apply."
"Did the city hire French people as consultants? Only these French guys like to enact this kind of statutory law. Looking at the way these laws are set up, they really look a bit like the Napoleonic Code!" Mai Lian thought in her mind.
.
Like most politicians in the United States, Mai Lian was also a lawyer. These laws looked familiar to him, and he was certain that they were not written by these indigenous people.
Zhang Wenhan had known for a long time that the Americans would come, and even knew that they had seven warships.
Mailian was under the surveillance of the Huaihai Navy all the way. There are a large number of fishing boats on the East China Sea. Most of these fishing boats are owned by the Huaihai Fishery Company, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Huaihai Navy, or are affiliated with the fishing company.
Now Huaihai Haijun's fishing company not only has a large number of small fishing boats, but also many ocean-going fishing boats and whaling boats of more than 500 tons.
It's not that Dong Shuheng doesn't care for whales, it's actually that whale oil is an indispensable lubricant now.
Before the development of petrochemical industry, the demand for whale oil was very large, but the imported quantity was seriously insufficient.
Huaihai Navy is now building a large factory, which requires a large amount of lubricating oil on lathes, textile machines, and silk reeling machines.
Ocean fishing boats and offshore fishing boats form a two-level surveillance network. In this way, the Huai Navy basically has a grasp of the activities of foreign warships in the East China Sea.
When Mailian was about to arrive in Ryukyu, Zhang Wenhan was also prepared. The worst case scenario was that the Americans would bombard the port.
Most of the thousand soldiers left behind in Naha are light infantry and cannot fight against the American warships.
However, there are only about a thousand marines on the American warships. If these people land, the Huai Navy is fully confident to stop them.
As for the Americans who wanted to blow up the port or even bombard Naha, Zhang Wenhan was not afraid. Dong Shuheng's words were, "If it's damaged by the bombing, it will be rebuilt anyway."
Zhang Wenhan first informed the prisoner princess Shang Yun about this situation. Princess Shang Yun's character has become more resolute and resolute since King Shang Tai left Shuri City to study with Dong Shuheng.
She handles political affairs vigorously and resolutely, and without her push to promote the planting of sugar cane, I don't know how long we would have been wrangling.
After all, the land is in the hands of the major families, so everyone still has the idea of having food in their hands and not panic.
They didn't know that Ryukyu had been included in China's economic circle, and food from Ryukyu would naturally be transported by merchant ships in the future.
Even if food is grown now, Ryukyu people still don't have enough to eat. The land here is not suitable for growing food crops, but is suitable for the growth of sugar cane.
When everyone switches to growing grain, they will be able to exchange for more grain. Wouldn't it be better to keep everyone fed?
To put it bluntly, these people still don't fully believe in Huai Haijun. They don't know enough about Huai Haijun.
But Shang Yun has already firmly determined to follow Huai Haijun, and his younger brother is still traveling and studying with him!
When Zhang Wenhan reported the situation of the American fleet to Shang Yun, Shang Yun expressed his willingness to accept Master Dong's arrangement.
She knew very well that Mr. Dong must have made arrangements for this matter in advance.
Prime Minister Lin Wenxuan was assigned to Naha Port to negotiate with Zhang Wenhan and the American Minister Malian.
Facing Mai Lian, it is not enough to have Zhang Wenhan, there must be someone who can fully represent the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Such an important position as the hegemon of the Ryukyu Kingdom has never been eliminated. On the one hand, it is because of the actual control of the Satsuma Domain and the Satsuma Domain needs Ryukyu's tribute trade line. On the other hand, it is also due to the balance of Western countries.
No Western power wants other countries to monopolize Ryukyu, so Ryukyu has been preserved in this strange balance.
So this time the Prime Minister of Ryukyu will come forward. If Mai Lian fires cannons, then he will be declaring war on Ryukyu Kingdom, which will definitely offend Britain, France and other countries.
If Mai Lian didn't dare to fire, then there would be nothing to fear, and he would have no choice but to swallow this dumb loss.
After thinking about this clearly, Zhang Wenhan dared to order resolutely to detain the American soldiers who were causing trouble at the checkpoint at Naha's entry into the city.
Facing Huai Haijun, who also used muskets and had a numerical advantage, this small group of American soldiers gave in.
No wonder the British and French look down on American soldiers and call them country bumpkins who are afraid of death. The fact is that these people are like dogs who tuck their tails when they see a beast more ferocious than themselves.
In fact, the American soldiers in this small group cannot be blamed. If they faced ordinary indigenous people, the Americans would not let go of their dignity even to death.
But the so-called Naha Castle Guards in front of me, who were wearing flower-green military uniforms, seemed to be more elite than me in terms of morale and equipment.
The murderous aura of the Huai Navy soldiers who had just experienced the baptism of war in Ryukyu has not faded away. You can even vaguely smell the gunpowder smoke on their bodies.
However, Zhang Wenhan still acted according to the rules and did not touch the minister's assistant. Zhang Wenhan, who was a diplomat, knew about diplomatic immunity, and he did not want to be defined as a barbaric native by others.
Unexpectedly, after beating the young one, the old one came. Mai Lian actually ended up in person, and Zhang Wenhan didn't mind trying to pull the flag and try to deal with him in Naha.
Mailian will definitely not stay in Naha for long. Ryukyu is too small and can only be used as a transit port. In fact, it is not of great value. Today's ocean-going ships can do without this transit port.
It’s not very far directly from Shanghai, China to Japan.
That's why Mailen didn't agree with Perry's suggestion to intimidate Ryukyu. In his view, showing off one's power in Ryukyu was completely meaningless to the United States.