Ryukyu Island, the Ryukyu Kingdom, which later became Okinawa, is where Shuri Castle, the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom, is located.
In the palace, the king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, King Shangxian, was only twenty-two years old, but he was lying in bed and could not get out of bed.
Around the Chinese New Year last year, he was invited by the people of the Satsuma Domain to meet Shimazu Mitsuhisa, and that was it after he came back.
Although there were no visible injuries on his body, Shangxian didn't mention a word about what happened to him in Satsuma Domain, but the fact that he was bedridden when he came back was enough to show what he probably went through.
At this time, two people were sitting and standing at the head of Shangxian's bed.
The person standing is Shang Sheng, the Prime Minister of the country, and the other one is Shang Xian's younger brother Shang Zhen.
I heard Shangxian leaning on the bed and saying to his younger brother: "I'm going to die soon. I am a virtuous brother who should succeed to the throne!"
Hearing this, Shang Zhen knelt on the bedside and cried loudly: "Brother Wang will definitely get better, woo woo woo..."
After hearing this, Shang Xian shook his head with a wry smile, stretched out his hand to touch his brother's hair, and then sighed and said: "Gu himself knows about Gu's body. Gu has something to tell you, please listen carefully!"
"Hmm..." After hearing this, Shang Zhen raised his head, wiped his tears and responded.
Shang Sheng didn't say a word, just stood there with his hands down.
Shang Xian told his younger brother: "We are too close to the Japanese country, and the national power cannot surpass the Japanese country. The only way to preserve it is to regard it as the master. Remember not to offend the Japanese country, especially the Shimazu Mitsuhisa daimyo of the Satsuma Domain!"
Hearing this, Shang Zhen was a little surprised and looked at his brother in surprise.
He knew in his heart that this statement must be what he thought after going to Satsuma Domain this time.
However, didn't he write a blood letter last year?
Thinking of this, Shang Zhen asked with some confusion: "Brother Wang, what about the Ming Dynasty..."
Before he finished speaking, Shang Xian obviously showed a wry smile, then shook his head and said: "Now that I regret it, I shouldn't have listened to the Ming people boasting that the Ming Dynasty is already peaceful and the people are in peace, and it is extremely powerful. It's really childish to think about it. , I still hope that the Ming Dynasty will make the decision for me in Ryukyu! It’s so naive..."
"Then Brother Wang still wrote a letter in blood?" Shang Zhen was a little confused and felt a little contradictory. You know, how much determination does it take to write a blood letter? Why do you regret it so much now?
When Shangxian saw it, he sighed and explained to his younger brother: "Since Gu succeeded to the throne, the Satsuma clan has been greedy and exploited too much, and Gucai is unwilling to give in. Last year, when I saw that Mingren was the nephew of the number one scholar of the Ming Dynasty, he thought he could reach heaven. Listen, you talked about trying to impress the Ming Emperor, now that I think about it, it’s so childish!”
At this point, he paused, took a breath, and continued without waiting for Shang Zhen to speak: "Actually, my father had already told Daming about this when he was still alive, but do you know what happened?"
"How?" Shang Zhen didn't know, so she asked curiously.
There was a hint of self-mockery on Shangxian's face as he said: "The chief minister of the Ming Dynasty was named Ye Xianggao. After he found out, not only did he not help us, but he also ordered that our Ryukyu Kingdom's tribute be changed from once every two years to once every ten years. "
"Why?" Shang Zhen asked strangely upon hearing this.
Shangxian sighed, and then sneered: "Because of Ye's suspicion, the benefits of paying tribute would only benefit the Japanese, so it was changed to once every ten years! After many beggings, until Tianqi Three years is just changed to once every five years.”
This is actually true. Since the Satsuma clan sent troops to control the Ryukyu Kingdom, the benefits of paying tribute certainly fell into the hands of the Japanese. However, some will be left for the Ryukyu Kingdom.
The Ryukyu Kingdom is composed of islands, its area is not large, and its economy relies heavily on maritime trade. Not giving tribute an opportunity would be a huge blow to the Ryukyu Kingdom.
At this time, when Shang Zhen heard Shang Xian's words, he suddenly realized: "So that's it. I've been wondering why I didn't go to pay tribute!"
"Just imagine, the Ming Dynasty's attitude was actually very clear with this approach, but Gu, in desperation, was so childish as to write a letter in blood, thinking that it might impress the Ming Emperor. Alas..." At the end of the sentence, he was so virtuous. The ground sighed, full of the helplessness of the small country.
After hearing this, Shang Zhen said angrily: "Can such a suzerain country behave at all like a suzerain?"
He suddenly forgot how much the Ryukyu Kingdom looked like a vassal state!
During the Jiajing period, Ryukyu people were involved in the Japanese rebellion on the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty. Also, when the Japanese attacked North Korea, Ryukyu provided a large amount of food and materials to the Japanese.
Shangxian seemed to have talked too much at once, so he leaned on the bed and closed his eyes to rest.
Seeing that they were silent, Shang Sheng, who was standing by the side, suddenly asked Shang Xian: "Your Majesty, Jiume Village... Tang Ying, do you need to force it?"
After hearing this, Shangxian opened his eyes and looked at him. After a while, he said: "We have done our best to be benevolent and righteous. It is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to send troops here. Without the Ming Dynasty as their backing, there is no need for us to offend the Satsuma clan. Let's execute it!"
Shang Zhen obviously didn't know what was going on, so he asked a little strangely: "Is it bad to move Kume Village?"
Kume Village is a common name, and its official name is Tangying. It is an extremely special existence in the Ryukyu Kingdom.
In 1372, Chadu, the king of Zhongshan in the Ryukyu Kingdom, paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty. In order to facilitate the exchange of tribute envoys and on the other hand to prevent Japanese pirates, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty sent Fujian boatmen of the 36th surname to settle in Ryukyu. These immigrants were called the 36th Fujianese.
After the Fujianese thirty-six came to Ryukyu, they established an independent village of their own on a floating island in the Kume area near Naha Port. This village is commonly known as Jiume Village, also known as Tangying.
The Kume clan living here, together with the Shuri clan, Naha clan, and Tobi clan, are one of the four major Ryukyu clan groups. The Shuri gentry have long monopolized the positions of high-ranking officials in the royal palace, while the Kume gentry have long monopolized the quota of four official students. Some Kume village nobles were called to the palace and became teachers of kings or princes because they were proficient in Chinese and Confucianism.
It is for this reason that Shang Zhen was confused when he heard them discussing this matter.
Hearing this, Shangxian suddenly showed an angry look and said with a bit of sternness: "What's wrong? The reason why we in Ryukyu are what we are today is all because of the good deeds of those people in Kume Village! Otherwise, we wouldn't be here either. As for offending the Japanese country too much, I ended up in this situation."
Akito from Kume Village has always occupied a place in the Ryukyu court, especially during the Wanli period, when it reached its greatest power.
Zheng Yu, a Ming native of Ryukyu, was born in the family of Zheng's Lake City Hall in Kume Village, Ryukyu Kingdom in 1540. He went to the Ming Dynasty as an official student at the age of 16 and attended the Imperial College for six years.
Needless to say, he is a pro-Mei faction in Ryukyu Kingdom. At that time, his main political enemy was the pro-Japanese prime minister, Ong Kisong, the third official.
In 1605, Weng Jisong was defeated. The following year, the 57-year-old Zheng Zhen was appointed as the new third officer, becoming the first third officer of Chinese descent in the history of Ryukyu.
When Zheng Zong was in charge of the government, Toyotomi Hideyoshi of the Japanese state came to power and wanted to launch a war against Korea. He asked Ryukyu to transport ten months' worth of food for 7,500 people to Bojin in Satsuma Domain, and then try to transport it to Korea.
Zheng Hao refused this request without hesitation, and immediately sent people to report to the Ming Dynasty to report the news that the Japanese were about to invade North Korea.
It is conceivable that the Japanese country would definitely be dissatisfied with Zheng Zou in charge of Ryukyu. Finally, under the instruction of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Satsuma Domain sent hundreds of warships and 3,000 troops to capture the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and captured the Ryukyu King and Zheng Zong alive. He was asked to sign the "Fifteen Articles" which was a loss of power and humiliating to the country, and required the Ryukyu Kingdom to surrender to the Edo shogunate and accept the control of the Satsuma clan. Zheng He sternly refused and scolded him. Therefore, he was killed and martyred for his country.
At this time, Ryukyu actually still yearned for the Ming Dynasty. Because the candidate to succeed Zheng Hao was also recommended by Zheng Hao.
However, it is conceivable that during the Japanese occupation, this situation could not last long, and the pro-Ming faction suffered a heavy blow.
However, Kumemura has always adhered to its principles and never compromised.
In the original history, from 1609 to 1868, when the Ryukyu Kingdom became a vassal state of the Satsuma Domain, the spread of Japanese culture was prohibited in Kume Village. The Kume people refused to wear kimonos and were forbidden to speak Japanese. After the Qing troops entered the customs in 1644, the Jiumi people insisted on wearing Hanfu and net scarves, and refused to shave their hair to change clothes.
Now, due to the butterfly effect, Shangxian, who had never written a blood letter before, wrote a blood letter, which triggered a further reaction from Satsuma Domain's Shima Tsumitsu, which not only made Shangxian difficult, but also caused Kumemura to be attacked.
Originally, Zheng He, the representative of Kume Village, was a positive figure in the Ryukyu Kingdom and would not surrender to the powerful Japanese country. However, the history books of the Ryukyu Kingdom have begun to be revised, and Zheng He was revised into a treacherous villain who used despicable means to attack his relatives. The Japanese Ongisatsu finally caused the Ryukyu Kingdom to suffer revenge. For a long time, Zheng Hao became a traitor that everyone in the Ryukyu Kingdom wanted to beat.
If in the original history, after Ryukyu was annexed by Japan, Ryukyu people began to re-recognize Zheng He and followed him as a hero who fought against power.
At this time, under Shang Xian's instruction, Shang Sheng led a group of soldiers to Kume Village to carry out the tasks assigned by the Satsuma Domain daimyo.
In order to make this execution effective, the soldiers led by Shang Sheng were all close to the Japanese.
Along the way to Kume Village near Naha Port, these soldiers, under Shang Sheng's instructions, began to destroy Kume Village like wolves and tigers, destroying all conspicuous traces of the Ming Dynasty.
Naturally, the people of Kume Village could not be manipulated. All the thirty-six surnames united and confronted Shang Sheng's people at the entrance of the village.
The leader was named Zheng Xiangming. He angrily scolded Shang Sheng and said, "You dare to come to Tangying to act arrogantly. Aren't you afraid that I will report it to the king to punish you?"
"Haha, I am following the king's order!" Shang Sheng was also afraid of Mitsuhisa Shimazu of the Satsuma clan and wanted to "make atonement", so he was naturally active in his actions. At this time, he sneered and said, "The Ming Dynasty doesn't care. What use do you have? I'm not afraid to tell you that your grandfather Zheng Zou, according to the king's decree, is a traitor to Ryukyu!"
