Zhang Rui's words made Yang Mi and others secretly happy, and they quickly told Zhang Rui everything they knew about the situation.
After listening, Zhang Rui also had a general understanding of the situation in Ryukyu.
At this time, the population of Ryukyu was probably more than 100,000①, mainly composed of native Ryukyus and Han Chinese who immigrated. Today, there are also some Japanese.
Ryukyu is not too far from Taiwan. Since Ryukyu’s economy requires trade with China, the navigation route is guaranteed.
In addition, from the explanations of Yang Mi and others, we learned that the Satsuma clan did not use much force when they invaded Ryukyu. They only used 3,000 people to conquer Ryukyu, which is enough to show the weakness of Ryukyu's defense.
At the same time, they also found out that although the Satsuma clan had used Ryukyu's money to get rid of its own financial difficulties and turn a profit decades ago. But its current head, Shigehao Shimazu, is a waste of money. His constant advanced consumption has not only accumulated a large number of samurai for them to use, but also consumed a large amount of the Satsuma Domain's remaining balance.
In general, Satsuma did not have much money to support a long battle.
However, the Satsuma clan was not satisfied with the strength of the Etomo clan. But for Ryukyu, it is still a mountain that they cannot shake.
"It seems that you Ryukyus can only rely on me to directly send troops to defeat Japan. You can't help much?" After listening to the explanations of Yang Mi and others, Zhang Rui said to them doubtfully.
"Your Majesty, we in Ryukyu are not completely without troops. We still have hundreds of troops who can help. Of course, there are also many people in Ryukyu who are dissatisfied with the rule of Satsuma Domain who can help." Faced with Zhang Rui's doubts, Yang Mi could only quibble. Answered generally.
"You can solve it without us sending troops?" Zhang Rui didn't mean to be polite at all.
"Your Majesty, atone for your sins. What I mean is that our Ryukyu strength is completely incapable of resisting the Satsuma clan's troops, so I have come to beg Heaven to send troops for support." Hearing Zhang Rui's unkind tone, Yang Mi quickly asked.
"Since I still have to send troops to the North, don't talk to me about useless things." Zhang Rui glanced at Yang Mi and said in a cold tone.
"Yes, I am guilty." Yang Mi felt a chill behind him and quickly knelt down to answer. Even the entire Ryukyu Mission also knelt down.
"You have to be honest. I hate people who are not pragmatic. If you are not sincere in asking us for help, how can we help you?" Zhang Rui reprimanded unceremoniously.
"I am guilty. I beg your Majesty to punish you." At this time, Yang Mi's momentum had been completely suppressed by Zhang Rui, and he did not dare to have any more sophistical thoughts.
After all, if they really made Zhang Rui unhappy, the Yi Dynasty would have no need to send troops, and Ryukyu would really be doomed.
"Forget it this time, I don't want it to happen again." Zhang Rui warned again.
"I thank you Lord for your kindness. There will never be a next time." Yang Mi kowtowed again and thanked him.
"Okay, you all sit back flat!" Zhang Rui instantly regained his composure, as if nothing had happened just now.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, long live my emperor..."
…
"I can understand your country being invaded by little Japan and suffering. If possible, we also hope to send troops to rescue Ryukyu immediately." After the Ryukyu envoy sat down, Zhang Rui on the throne was heard to speak again.
"But you also know that fighting a war requires a lot of money and food support. Our dynasty has just been established. There are many things that the dynasty has to deal with, and there are too many places where money is needed. Whether it is economic or military, we all want to break away every penny. Serves two halves.”
"And we still have the powerful Manchu Qing to deal with in the north. If we still have to send troops to help you fight against Japan, it will be too heavy a burden for our country."
"If you can wait, you will wait until we defeat the Manchus before sending troops to support you?" Zhang Rui seemed to be asking what the Ryukyu mission meant.
At this time, several important officials in the court suddenly saw the familiar scene on Zhang Rui's face. When we first attacked Annam, Siam, Burma and other countries, weren’t they all the same? Not even a lot of lines were changed.
Being able to negotiate foreign wars like a business, they are the only emperor from ancient times to the present!
As soon as Zhang Rui finished speaking, the four members of the Ryukyu mission felt confused.
"We didn't say anything just now. We are preparing to send troops, and we also said that we will wait until the Qing Dynasty is defeated. Although we do not doubt that the Yi Dynasty can defeat the Qing Dynasty, Ryukyu may not be able to wait!
If the Satsuma Domain knew about Ryukyu's plan, they would definitely kill the current King of Ryukyu immediately and support an obedient one, otherwise they would directly destroy the Ryukyu Royal Family, and the Ryukyu Royal Family would be helpless. "
"Does the emperor want our Ryukyus to contribute military expenses?" An idea flashed in his mind, and Liu Jialiang, the deputy envoy of Ryukyus, whispered to the people around him in Ryukyuan dialect.
Suddenly, the other three people also came to their senses.
"That seems to be the case."
In fact, Zhang Rui reminded them from the beginning: "I only said that war requires money and food, but I didn't say that we can't have soldiers. If you want us to send troops to save Ryukyu, you have to pay for money and food. Don't think about it with just a few words about sectarian relations." It is impossible to use the resources of Yichao for free.
As several people from the Ryukyu Mission thought more deeply, they also felt that what Zhang Rui said was understandable.
The Yi Dynasty itself still has powerful enemies to face. If it consumes a lot of resources and energy to send troops thousands of miles to help Ryukyu just because of Ryukyu's credentials and a few nice words, wouldn't it be too stupid? .
Knowing the question, Tiansun Wangchen knew how to answer it.
"Your Majesty, I understand that after all, the Celestial Empire was founded and everything was not easy. I feel very guilty for asking the Celestial Empire to send troops at this time."
"Of course, the current situation in Ryukyu is really precarious and I can't afford to wait any longer. I can only shamelessly kneel down and beg China to send troops to save my life. Although Ryukyu is small, it will definitely do everything it can to save money and food for the rescue army. I just hope that China can rescue the army as soon as possible. Send troops to save Ryukyu from fire and water." Tiansun Wangchen immediately responded after Yang Mi's suggestion.
"Are you really in such a hurry?" Zhang Rui asked.
"Kneel down and ask your Majesty to send troops to save Ryukyu from the fire as soon as possible." Several members of the Ryukyu mission knelt down and shouted again.
"Okay. Wang Aiqing, please immediately ask the relevant officials from the Ministry of War to work out a rough troop dispatch plan and calculate the required food and salary expenses." Zhang Rui ordered to the area where the Ministry of War was located.
"Yes, I obey the order." Wang Kaiyuan, who was the Minister of the Ministry of War, immediately stood up and replied.
…
Note ①: This calculation is based on Ryukyu’s population of 286,787 in 1879.
