People who have not experienced war do not know the preciousness of peace. The Ryukyu Kingdom encountered two war disasters in just two years, and each time was rare in Ryukyu history.
In the hundreds of years of history of the Ryukyu Kingdom, only a few so-called bad wars were fought during the unification of the three mountains in the early Ming Dynasty, and then the Japanese Shimadzu family began to colonize Ryukyu in disguise for hundreds of years.
Until Xiao Letian landed on the island, the people of Ryukyu knew the cruelty of the land battle in that night of bloody battle, and today they also know the madness of the naval battle. The people of these small countries guarding the barren island have never seen such a miserable scene, a mountain of corpses They had never encountered the scene of a sea of blood in their dreams.
Five days of continuous bombing by the French had brought the mood of the Ryukyu people to the brink of collapse, and the sudden news of peace talks warmed people's hearts like a soothing spring breeze.
I don’t know what happened, but King Shangtai’s order to strictly prohibit the spread of news was not well implemented. In just one night, news of the peace talks spread throughout Ryukyu. The crowd spent a sleepless night in anxiety and hope. Night, a rare peaceful night was wasted like this.
What Gong Cheng said was indeed correct. When the water dog brought back the news of agreeing to the peace talks, the French fleet ceased fire as promised, and the late-night deterrent bombing finally stopped. Moliette used practical actions to show his sincerity to the Ryukyu military and civilians.
Until the morning of the next day, Jin Changsen and other civil servants who were waiting for Gong Cheng on the beach at the foot of Qixing Mountain were filled with hope for the success of the peace talks, and they also saw the same prayer for peace in the eyes of the people.
"Brother Lin, now you know the great wish of the Ryukyu people. For hundreds of years, what we Ryukyu people have only wanted is to survive. The dream of becoming king and hegemony has nothing to do with us. The great dream of the Spring and Autumn Period must eventually be awakened. "
Lin Yuanmiao glanced at him, sighed and said, "The destiny of the country is like sailing against the current, but if we don't advance, we will retreat. Sometimes it's not what we want to do, but what the enemy forces us to do..."
"Hey... forget it, what's the use of talking about this now? I'm already angry. Let's just focus on the present."
Lin Yuanmiao and Cai Mao were typical pro-prime minister factions in the Ryukyu court. They were the first ones to surrender to Xiao Letian, and they were extremely fanatical about Xiao Letian's various ideas of governing the country. Today, this was a real push for the enemy. There was no other way, otherwise he would never betray the prime minister and choose to negotiate with the French.
"Jin, just wait until the Prime Minister comes back to settle the accounts..." Lin Yuanmiao cursed secretly in his heart.
"Bah, you are the surrender faction in Ryukyu, and you are still the surrender faction like stupid dogs. You don't even know how to find someone with thick thighs to hug you when you surrender..." Jin Changsen also cursed secretly in his heart, but the expressions on their faces were still the same. So harmonious.
After a while, the guarding guards on the beach suddenly shouted, "A ship is coming, look, it's really coming..." When everyone took a look, it was a small sampan that was quickly approaching the coast.
The person rowing the boat was the water dog. He was well versed in the nature of water. Every time he shook the oar, the boat would move forward like an arrow. Gong Cheng, who was sitting on it, was as steady as a carriage on a flat road.
Soon the imperial guard standing in the waves received the messenger Gong Cheng. The Ryukyu ministers who greeted him on the beach all bowed and saluted, "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Gong. Please serve tea on the shore."
Gong Cheng smiled and returned the greetings to Jin Changsen and Lin Yuanmiao. The old man had done his homework well in advance. He could call every famous minister by name.
"This is Mr. Jin, the Minister of Rites, and this is Mr. Lin, the Minister of Hubu. This is..." The old man saluted the important ministers one by one. His expression was as formal as possible and as respectful as he wanted.
"There's no need to serve tea. There's plenty of good tea in China. Let's talk about serious matters first. Where's Your Majesty? Foreign ministers have to kowtow to Your Majesty... Oh my, that white flower on the top of my head is... The fort on Qixing Mountain, it’s so majestic, it’s so majestic.”
The old man raised his head slightly and saw a gray-white reinforced concrete building standing on a cliff halfway up Qixing Mountain. The black muzzle pointed at the warships on the sea, looking murderous.
It's not that Gong Cheng has never seen coastal defense forts, but those built in the Qing Dynasty were of the most primitive design style, and even many cannons could not rotate their muzzles. But what he saw today was the latest fort designed by American engineers. It was completely enclosed, leaving only a horizontal gap facing the sea for the muzzle to move freely.
During the five days of fighting, the reinforced concrete buildings were riddled with holes. Taking advantage of the brief ceasefire, countless workers were speeding up repairs.
"It's mighty and majestic. Even the Qing Dynasty didn't have such a fort. Xiao Letian is an outstanding person. He can actually buy such a defensive weapon from foreigners. No wonder even the French suffered a big loss... Here is What is hidden is the latest rifled cannon. When the peace talks are completed, the foreign ministers must visit it..."
Lin Yuanmiao didn't know why this old traitor was talking about this, but he always heard his foreign ministers and foreign ministers calling him this. Lin Yuanmiao's eyes twitched, and he said to himself, you old traitor, don't be our minister in Ryukyu. This small country is not enough. You sell it.
"Mr. Gong is joking. His Majesty is waiting at the Qixing Mountain Seaview Pavilion. You are a distinguished guest of Ryukyu. Of course, His Majesty will see you. Please..."
When Gong Cheng saw that his attempt to visit the fort was in vain, he laughed out of embarrassment and followed Jin Changsen and the others to meet King Shang Tai. However, Gong Cheng did not know that while they were talking, the imperial guard guarding the outside almost had an accident.
I don’t know how it happened, but when Gong Cheng just landed, the Imperial Guards who surrounded the beach suddenly encountered a group of student soldiers. They were children who had received preliminary military training from ten universities and were also the reserve forces of the future army. Official group.
These student soldiers brought tools and clamored to go to Qixing Mountain to help repair the fortifications. However, the Imperial Forest Army received orders not to let anyone in or out. They also knew that important guests were landing on the island, so how could they dare to let these student soldiers pass.
After going back and forth, the two groups of people started to quarrel. Fortunately, this place was far away from the beach, otherwise Gong Cheng would have thought that someone was going to kill him.
What do these student soldiers want? They really want to kill the old traitor Gong Cheng. People like Qin Hui have always been the mortal enemies of the angry youth. When the news spread that the old traitor was going to the island to negotiate, this A group of students who believed in Xiao Letian as a god were the first to quit.
Just when Fan Yan and Liang Kun were meeting in secret, just as King Shang Tai and Jin Changsen were planning, the activists in the Ryukyu student soldiers also began to connect in private, and it took only half a night to formulate a plan to assassinate Gong Banlun. plan.
"Get out of the way... You dare to stop us from supporting the front line. We are the Prime Minister's disciples. We are university students in Ryukyu. We are the future managers of Ryukyu. How dare you stop us."
"How can I let you bury the students with their enthusiasm? Make way for us to go to the fort...make way."
There were more than a hundred student soldiers who attacked the Guards. Soon the scene was in chaos. All the student soldiers shouted rhythmically, "Make way... Make way... Make way..."
The crowd pressed forward according to the rhythm, and the guards joined hands to form three human nets. In this way, the defense line was in danger.
"Calm down, you all, calm down, don't rush in, His Majesty is at Qixing Mountain... Have all your military training been in vain? You have even forgotten to obey orders, oh my feet..."
"Back off, little ancestors, you are college students, we can't afford to offend you, but you also have to think about your future. What should you do if you get shocked?"
The Imperial Guards were like small boats in the storm, swayed by the angry youths, and these college students had been brainwashed by Xiao Letian. If bringing up the Prime Minister's name and scaring them was still effective, now bring out King Shangtai to return the favor. It really has no deterrent effect.
The Royal Guardsmen suffered terribly from being attacked by the student soldiers, but the imperial court issued a death order. If this meeting was affected in any way, no one would be able to get a good result if the military law was ruthless.
Gradually, this group of imperial guards also lost their patience. "They've all been squeezed. Do you want to give me face? If I squeeze you again, I'll beat you... Oh my god, you're so aggressive."
"You brat, why do you look so familiar to me? Damn it, I know your father. You bastard dares to even beat your uncle...beat him."
This is bad. A commander of the Royal Forest Army thought that it was okay for his uncle to beat his nephew, but he forgot that this was a national war. Everyone's emotions were close to the edge of madness. At this time, who cares who you are and what people think Only your own tasks.
"The imperial guards beat people... they beat the student army... These traitors want to betray the Prime Minister, the new army, and our Ryukyus... go with them."
More than a hundred fanatical students united as one and rushed forward to fight with fists and kicks. At that moment, they were not fighting alone. At that moment, they were like the heroic spirits of Ryukyu who had been wronged for hundreds of years. On the opposite side were traitors, and on their side was the truth.
Assault, assault, and assault, the Royal Guards retreated, retreated, and then retreated. Then the students' reinforcements arrived. The number quickly increased from one hundred to three hundred, and the reinforcements of the Guards also arrived. Five hundred Guardsmen surrounded the students.
The two sides were somewhat restrained. The conflict was limited to fists and kicks from the beginning, and no one used weapons. However, it was miserable enough. Everyone present was beaten with bruises and swollen noses and faces, even the one who was deficient in calcium. The man had several broken bones.
At the moment when the situation was at its most chaotic, Cai Hao came with a group of new army guards to support him. "Stop, you are all crazy. Ryukyu hasn't been conquered yet. Do you just want civil strife? Stop it all..."
After all, Cai Mao was one of the left-behind generals appointed by Xiao Letian himself, and he still had a certain prestige among the students. Although the students did not retreat under his pressure, they all put away their fists and kicks, and the melee finally ended.
Just when Cai Mao was about to persuade the students to leave, another group of soldiers came running from the foot of the mountain. The one riding among them turned out to be Fan Lian, the old shopkeeper of Lotte Foreign Company.
"Stop it all...Stop it all. What did the Prime Minister teach you? Whenever there is a big event, you should be calm. The more chaotic the situation is, the more calm you must be. The foreign companies have given you so many bursaries. Have you learned these things? They are all gone. …”
Just as the old shopkeeper was shouting at the top of his lungs, a burst of noise suddenly came from halfway up the mountain, rolling down like a tsunami.
"Assassins, there are assassins..."
