After Lin Hongye left, Wang Yuanfang said to Deng Fei: "Do you really want to buy sulfur?"
Deng Fei said: "Yes. Old Chen specifically asked me to come before I left."
Wang Yuanfang said: "I thought you were just looking for an excuse. When will the Shimazu family plan to clean up?"
"Don't be anxious, you have to eat your food one bite at a time." Deng Fei said: "We are going to deal with the Xishan Dynasty this time, Ryukyu is just a helper. Besides, we are blind to the situation here, so we need to understand it clearly first."
In fact, in the telegram sent to Deng Fei the day before yesterday, Zhao Xin specifically mentioned his thoughts on Ryukyu. Zhao Xin wanted neither Okinawa nor the Amami Islands, he wanted to control the Sakishima Islands.
The reason why Zhao Xin did this was after careful consideration. The purpose is to connect Taiwan Island and the Sakishima Islands together in the future to form a stable island system. Nothing else, the Sakishima Islands are too close to Taiwan Island.
Nineteen years ago, in 1771, a major earthquake occurred 40 nautical miles southeast of Ishigaki Island in the Yaeyama Islands. Later researchers determined that the magnitude of the earthquake reached 7.4 on the Richter scale. This earthquake caused the largest tsunami in the history of Ryukyu. According to records, the wave height at that time exceeded 80 meters, causing the death of 10,000 residents on Ishigaki Island and Miyako Island, accounting for one-third of all residents. After the tsunami, the soil of the Yaeyama Islands was severely alkalized due to being soaked by sea water, and a large area was abandoned.
Since the land by the sea is abandoned, it shouldn't be a big problem to spend money to rent it and renovate it.
At the end of the telegram, Zhao Xin told Deng Fei that when he met people from Ryukyu, he would only talk about buying sulfur and ignore the rest. Never mention renting an island. Maybe the King of Ryukyu will send someone to find you, and we’ll talk about it then...
After Lin Hongye came ashore, he first went to the Naha Administrative Office to report the intention of the Beihai Navy to the people of the Supreme Emperor Shimazu's family.
The official name of Naha Advocate is "Ryukyu Zaiban Advocate". In 1628, the Satsuma clan stationed Zaibanbo in Ryukyu to monitor and interfere in Ryukyu's internal affairs. Responsible for handling official affairs between Salyu and managing trade practices on a daily basis. The government office where he lived was called "zaibankaya" by the Ryukyu people.
After listening to Lin Hongye's story, Gong Ping Qinyun, who was a member of the army, was silent for a moment and asked: "Are the Northern Pirates going to buy sulfur?"
Lin Hongye, who was sitting at the bottom, replied respectfully: "Exactly."
"They didn't mention the landing?"
"No."
Gong Ping Qinyun nodded and said: "Very good. The doctor in charge should go and report back to the king. I will watch over here."
After Lin Hongye said goodbye and left, Gong Pingqinyun immediately wrote a letter about the incident and said to one of his subordinates: "Go to Gaomong City immediately and give the letter to the head of the family."
Shuri Castle Royal Palace, inside the second-level hall.
When he learned that the fleet outside Naha Port was the town of Hokkaido that had killed the Satsuma clan, King Shomu was overjoyed, but he tried his best not to reveal it at all.
At present, there are many spies installed by the Shimazu family in the palace, and everything King Shangmu says and does is being monitored. If he says something now, the Shimadzu family will know about it within an hour.
King Shangmu is already fifty-one this year, and his health and energy are somewhat weak. In the first two years, the crown prince Shang Zhe died again, which was a huge blow to him, so he had to appoint his only four-year-old grandson Shang Wen as his heir.
Now that the damned Shimadzu family has taken control of Ryukyu's government, it's okay for him to be alive, but if something happens to him, six-year-old Nao On's fate is unpredictable!
Thinking of this, he turned his attention to Ma Guoqi, the third official (prime minister) standing below. This is Shimazu Sainobu's yes man, and there are many in the same court, and he controls the court tightly. What does Shang Mu have now? I dare not discuss anything with him.
After Lin Hongye and Ma Guoqi retreated, Shang Mu first went to see six-year-old Shang Wen and confirmed what he was thinking. Then he pretended to be tired and left. After returning to the dormitory, he said he wanted to rest for a while. While the other chamberlains were retreating, he quietly said to the only trusted chamberlain: "Go and see if Takashima Oyakata is here. If he is here, please invite him over, and be sure not to disturb others."
The servant thought to himself, "Oh my God, the Shuri Palace is just a place as big as a palm. If the king wants to see anyone, he will definitely alarm others." So he looked worried and said in a low voice: "The Third Chief Officer will definitely find out. What should I say to you then?"
"I just went to see Shisun, and I felt something in my heart. I wanted to ask him about Shisun's studies." After Shang Mu finished speaking, there was a trace of sullenness on his face, and then he quickly left.
The Chinese name of the Takashima Oyakata mentioned by Shomu is Cai Shichang. He is the 13th generation of the Cai family from Kume Village. He is currently the second-ranked official of the Purple Gold of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
It is said that since becoming a vassal of the Satsuma Domain, the officials of the Ryukyu Kingdom have to have a common name; for example, the current Third Siguan Ma Kuniki, his common name is "Yonabaru Oyakata", but he did not tell the Manchu officials when they were beaten to death. .
The so-called "Oyakata" is the highest title for Ryukyu nobles and cannot be awarded to those who are not responsible for the management of state affairs. In principle, a yakata should own a fiefdom of one house. However, Ryukyu is such a large territory that it is impossible to award fiefdoms to all yakata. Therefore, many yakata's fiefdoms only have one village, which is called "wakijitou yakata". ". Cai Shichang is a tyrant.
In 1758, the 21-year-old Cai Shichang was selected as an official student by the Ryukyu Prince and was sent to the Imperial Academy in Beijing to attend Ryukyu official school. The schooling lasted for four years, specializing in Confucian classics and state governance. In 1782, Cai Shichang served as a tribute envoy to the Manchu Qing Dynasty several times, and participated in the compilation of "Ryukyu Code". For his meritorious service, he was promoted to the Purple Gold Doctor and was awarded the title of Takashima Oyakata.
In the history of Ryukyu, only two figures who devoted themselves to spreading the thoughts of Confucius and Mencius, promoting Sinology, and changing social trends were recognized by future generations. One is Cheng Shunze and the other is Cai Wen. They are both descendants of the Fujian people with the 36th surname; Cai Shichang is Cai Wen's nephew.
At present, if the court wants to ask who else Shang Mu can trust, it is probably this person.
After the chamberlain left for half an hour, Cai Shichang came to the dormitory. After meeting Queen Shangmu, the monarch and his ministers first talked about Shisun's studies for a while, until two chamberlains who were the informants of the Shimazu family went down to serve tea. Mu then begged in a low voice: "Ru Xian, help me!"
Cai Shichang was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly lowered his head and said: "The king has something to do, and I will never give up even if I die."
"I order you to quickly contact the Beihai people in Naha and ask them to help us conquer the remnants of Shimazu."
"My lord, I accept your order!"
"Please remember, apart from the fact that the country cannot be separated from others, all other conditions can be agreed to!"
After leaving Shuri Castle Palace, Cai Shichang secretly complained in his heart. The king asked Beihai Town to send troops to help, but the problem is that there is no money to give. Now Ryukyu's poor treasury is full of rats!
I think that after the "Battle of Fuldan City", Zhao Xin used Manchu prisoners of war, including Fukang'an and Duerjia, to blackmail Qianlong's 150,000 taels of gold. After five years of fermentation, it has long been The paper can't contain the fire, and now the news is spreading between the government and the public.
The large and small vassals in the surrounding areas now know that there is a rebel "Prince Zhao" who "treats money as life" in the far north outside the pass, and he only cares about gold.
Tokugawa Shogunate: "Oh, I can't bring up the past, just a handful of bitter tears. I can bear it!"
Satsuma: "I'm gone. Do you see me yelling everywhere?!"
It is said that in the late period of King Shomu of the Ryukyu Kingdom, there was a shortage of resources, food harvests were poor, and the financial situation has been poor. Among the various vassal states brought to the Qing Dynasty, Ryukyu and Li Dynasty were the most diligent in traveling to the capital, earning three melons and two dates from tribute trade.
In terms of sea trade, the Satsuma clan was finished. Shimazu Sainobu fought to death and did not do business with the Sendai clan, which occupied southern Kyushu, and there was no income at once. As for Nanyang trade, although it can make some money, it is now controlled by the Shimazu family. King Shangmu has to report in advance if he wants to use a big boss.
After leaving the palace, Cai Shichang went to Lin Hongye for a casual chat and found out that one of the big bosses from Beihai Town was named Deng and the other was Wang. So after he returned home, he wrote a handwritten letter and asked his servant to take it to his nephew Cai Jian in Kume Village. He now holds a high position as a Ryukyu official, and his every move is noticed, so even if he is ordered by the king to contact Beihai Town, he cannot come forward directly.
So on the second night, a small fishing boat set off from the seaside northwest of the Tenbi Palace in Kume Village, circled on the sea, avoided the surveillance of the Naha beacon, and landed on the Thor.
When Cai Jian, who looked surprised and uncertain, was brought to the brightly lit poop to see Deng Fei, he immediately took out his uncle's letter and put it on him.
Deng Fei was stunned after reading the letter, wondering why Zhao Xin had guessed it right again? I was thinking about this when the opportunity came. In fact, this matter is not complicated at all. The most important thing is never business, and it is difficult to succeed in half-hearted business. Zhao Xin said "maybe" in the telegram, which was half uncertain.
Is Ryukyu important to Beihai Town? The future is important, the present is not important at all. It’s great if you can get it, but don’t worry if you can’t get it. Putting away the few pieces of materials from Shimadzu's house was easy in a matter of minutes. Moreover, even if we get the Sakishima Islands, we still need to transport people and supplies and set up a transportation line. Moreover, it is winter now, and the wind and waves are too strong when sailing southward through the Tsushima Strait.
The main purpose of going south this time is to deal with the Xishan pirates and teach the Xishan Ruan family a lesson. Don't think that if the Manchus can't deal with you, no one can deal with you. By the way, we can attack the Dutch in Batavia to shock the Nanyang area. Of course, it would be better if we can draw some people back.
Deng Fei first took the letter to Wang Yuanfang to discuss it. Wang Yuanfang thought about it and put forward his opinion.
"When I went to Minami Kyushu to fight the Satsuma Domain, you know I was there. When Shimazu Sainobu escaped, he took away all the Satsuma Domain fleet. Now we have no idea where those ships are. If we do it in a hurry, Shimazu Sainobu and his men escaped by boat. Should we pursue him? Where should we pursue him?"
Deng Fei agreed: "Let us send troops so blindly that we don't even know the distribution of the opponent's forces, strongholds, and ship berths. When the time comes, we will leave, and the Shimadzu family will come back." Let’s not talk about what will happen to Shang Mu and the others, Ryukyu will be completely in chaos."
"So, the scholar's rebellion will not happen in three years. Cai Shichang wants to use such a worthless letter to encourage us, let's just dream!"
After the two discussed it, Deng Fei wrote a reply letter to Cai Shichang. He did not ask Jiang Fan or Zhong Huai for help. Based on their characters and positions, he would definitely urge Deng Fei to send troops to assist, or he would write a reply that was only half-covered.
It's meaningless. This is not an appeal for rebellion. The matter of war must be stated straightforwardly and clearly.
Deng Fei writes very slowly, almost stopping to think for a while after writing a few sentences. After he finished writing the letter and packed it up, he asked someone to go to the warehouse to bring a silver bar, two brand-new lanterns filled with lamp oil and several packs of matches, and handed them to Cai Jian.
"The money is for your hard work, and this lamp is also a gift for you. The reply to Mr. Cai is in the letter, keep it."
As soon as he got the silver bars, Cai Jian's hand sank. He thought that this one only cost more than ten taels. What a generous move. Look at the shiny silver appearance of the lantern, which is also a rare thing. As for the matches, let alone the matches, he traveled to Minzhe with the ship. Now this thing has been sold in Minzhe for a box of 2 taels of silver. Some wealthy officials and wealthy families have to show it off when entertaining guests. Last one. Some people also tried to imitate it using sulfur and saltpeter, but none of them succeeded.
After that, he returned to Kume by boat, rushed to Shuri Castle early the next morning, and handed the letter to Cai Shichang. Cai Shichang opened the letter. It took him a long time to get used to the writing format from left to right and top to bottom. He also despised the countless "typos" and the vernacular style of the letter, but he also understood the content above.
Deng Fei said in the letter that Ryukyu was once a vassal of China, so Beihai Town helped with this. However, the help cannot be in vain, the issue of cost is very important. If you don't have enough money, you can slowly raise it. If you really can't raise it, just discuss it with your King Shang Mu and see if there's anything you can come up with.
At the moment, he has urgent matters. He will take the fleet to Nanyang in a few days, which may take a month or two. Taking advantage of this period of time, he asked Cai Shichang to find out all the details of the Shimazu family in Ryukyu, so that when the time comes, his actions would be targeted to avoid hurting innocent people.
Once the situation is clear, you'd better send someone with the information to wait at Akune Castle in Izumi County, Minami Kyushu. That place is now under the jurisdiction of Beihai Town. I will send someone to say hello to them. Wait until we meet there to discuss it. Then he would return with his carbine, and with lightning speed, he would wipe out the remaining members of the Shimazu family and restore peace to Ryukyu.
Cai Shichang didn't know whether to laugh or cry after reading the letter. He thought that the rumors were true. These people in Beihai Town were really after money. Such a money-grubbing person can actually win against the Qing Kingdom and the Island Kingdom. What a miracle in the world!
Afterwards, he reported the situation to the palace through King Shangmu's personal servant. When King Shangmu heard that the people in Beihai Town were asking for money, he thought it was okay. If he really wanted to help without money, he would be upset.
Isn't it just a little money? As long as the Shimazu family can be killed, the trade routes on the island country can be reopened, and Ryukyu's tax revenue and maritime trade income are not all theirs. Furthermore, being able to connect to Beihai Town would provide an additional trade route.
After thinking about the details, King Shangmu sent a message to Cai Shichang, don't the people in Beihai Town want money, so give them fifty thousand taels! This matter is your responsibility. The problem was that Cai Shichang couldn't do anything alone, so he had to find an opportunity to go back to Jiume Village to discuss the next step with his family.
At the same time, Shimazu Sainobu, who learned that the Beihai Navy had not landed, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He informed Miyahira Qinyun to sell all the sulfur in the warehouse to Beihai Town as much as possible. As for the cooperation between the two parties in mining mentioned by the other party, Lin Hongye refused. In short, tell them to get out of here!
Two days later, the Thor left with three thousand kilograms of sulfur bought from Naha, costing a total of four hundred taels of silver. Before leaving, Lin Hongye, the doctor in charge, kept apologizing to Deng Fei, saying that they had rummaged through the warehouse and that they could only find this much.
So after the Northern Navy fleet left Naha Port, it headed west until the beacon tower on Kume Island sent back a message confirming that the fleet had really left. Shimazu Sainobu returned to Shuri from Takamiya Castle. , continue to be his shadow king.
By the way, after the Ryukyu Kingdom became a vassal state of the Satsuma Domain in the 17th century, the Satsuma Domain set up eighteen "Yuanban" beacon towers on the Okinawa islands to monitor all incoming and outgoing ships.
()
Set a small goal first, such as remembering in 1 second: Shukeju
