Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 361: The Nobles
In the Cai Mansion on Kume Island, the dim candlelight in the study flickered, illuminating the faces of the people in the room.

Cai Jian and the head of the Jin family, Jin Zhengchun, sat on the left, and on the right were Jin Yingyuan and Jin Siyi, who had just returned to the island.
Cai Jian looked at Jin Yingyuan and the other person opposite him with an angry look on his face and shouted
"What is going on? How did the angel from the upper country know about the Japanese on the island?"

Since the Battle of Saliu, the country has kept the occupation of Ryukyu a secret for decades.

The Japanese have ruled the Ryukyu Islands for decades, and the people have long been accustomed to it.

During the Chongzhen period, after Ryukyu's continuous efforts, the tribute period of Ryukyu was changed from once every ten years to once every two years, and everything has returned to normal.
But now the Ming court has discovered this matter. Thinking of the teams of fully armed soldiers today, Cai Jian became more and more frightened.
In that war several decades ago, Kume Village suffered heavy casualties due to the Ming Dynasty. Until today, Kume Village has not been able to recover. Today, Kume Village can no longer withstand another Salyu War.
No, this is not the Salyu War. If things really go as he wants, then what will break out in Ryukyu in the future will be a war between the Ming Dynasty and the shogunate.
Ryukyu will become a battlefield between the Ming Dynasty and the shogunate, and the entire Ryukyu Kingdom will be torn apart by this war.

Cai Jian claimed to Zhu Zhiyu that he was a Kume assistant official, but Cai Jian's official position was Sori Tang Rongsi, and he was also a second-rank Zijin doctor in the Ryukyu court. Jin Zhengchun was the head of the Jin family and was granted the title of Ryukyu third-rank Zhengyi doctor.

These two people are the two with the highest official rank in Kume Island, and are also the representatives of the Kume samurai in the Ryukyu court.

Jin Siyi looked at the two angry elders and was about to speak in a panic. But before he could open his mouth, Jin Yingyuan, who was standing beside him, reached out and stopped Jin Siyi from speaking.

Jin Yingyuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke

"After the Chinese envoys arrived in Fujian Province the year before last, the Qing barbarians from the Central Plains suddenly invaded Fujian Province. The Ming Emperor Longwu, who had previously been to Ryukyu to announce the edict, was killed by the barbarians from the East."

"After some discussion, we envoys decided to go to Fuzhou to pay homage to the Qing emperor and continue to pay tribute."

"After the death of Emperor Longwu, His Royal Highness Gui, the grandson of Emperor Shenzong, inherited the throne in Guangdong Province. His Royal Highness Gui was brave and valiant. After ascending the throne, he led his army into Fujian and killed 100,000 Qing invaders in one battle."

"We had just paid our respects to the Qing governor when the Ming army invaded Fuzhou and captured us."

"After the delegation was captured by the royal army, only the chief and deputy envoys were locked up in the residence. The rest of the accompanying interpreters and translators disappeared."

"I guess the Ming court must have interrogated the people accompanying the delegation, and that's how they discovered that Japan controlled Ryukyu."

When Cai Jian and Jin Zhengchun heard this, they were shocked at first, but then they were filled with fear.

Cai Jian also immediately realized why there were so many soldiers in the Ming Dynasty delegation.
Cai Jian originally thought that the heavenly soldiers on the ship today were coming for Japan, but now he suddenly discovered that the heavenly soldiers on the ship were most likely coming for Ryukyu.

Jin Zhengchun could no longer sit still, his face was furious, he stood up and shouted
"Jin Yingyuan, you are so bold. Who gave you the power? Who allowed you to change the tribute without authorization?"

"How dare you, a bastard, destroy the diplomatic relations between China and Ryukyu without permission, causing Ryukyu to lose the trust of the Central Plains. You deserve to die!"

Angry roars echoed throughout the courtyard. Jin Yingyuan looked at the furious Jin Zhengchun with a cold expression on his face. It was done anyway, whether it was right or not. What was the point of arguing about it now?

He only knew that if he could not convince his clan to join the Ming Dynasty, then no matter what the situation in the country was, he would be doomed.

Jin Yingyuan said softly with a blank expression on his face.
"Uncle, what you said is true, but what could we do at that time? Uncle, don't you know how much Tang silver the envoy brought on board this time?"

"If we fail to complete the tribute, we will not have a good ending when we return."

Jin Zhengchun's expression froze when he heard this. The so-called Tang silver was the silver that Satsuma allocated to the Ryukyu envoys to take to the Central Plains to purchase goods from the Ming Dynasty.
After Satsuma occupied Ryukyu, it completely banned Ryukyu merchant ships from going to sea. Ryukyu was a small country, and after losing the income from maritime trade, the national income also declined day by day.
When the envoys of Longwu came to announce the imperial edict two years ago, the Ryukyu Kingdom could not even afford the usual reward silver for the envoys, so they could only mortgage the Yaeyama and Iriomote Islands in the Sakishima Island area to the Satsuma Domain in exchange for silver and complete the last enthronement.
In fact, this mortgage was just a cover. Satsuma had already stationed troops on the Yaeyama Islands and other islands, and actually occupied the Sakishima Island area.
The rice tax on the island of Sakishima had long been collected by Satsuma. The silver that Satsuma gave to Ryukyu was originally the tax silver that the Ryukyu Kingdom should have.
The Satsuma Domain banned maritime trade with the Ryukyu Kingdom and ceded the islands of Senjima and Amami through treaties, which caused a sharp drop in the Ryukyu Kingdom's income.
The Ryukyu Kingdom can't even afford the ceremony expenses for the envoys, let alone the money for maritime trade.
Nowadays, the tribute ships that Ryukyu envoys brought to the Ming Dynasty were almost all silver given by Satsuma to cross to Tang Dynasty.

When the tribute ship returned to Ryukyu, all the goods purchased by the tribute ship belonged to Satsuma, and Ryukyu could not get a penny of the silver.
After decades of infiltration and control, Ryukyu has now completely become a puppet for Satsuma and Central Plains to conduct maritime trade.

The entire Satsuma clan is now waiting for this batch of marine goods as an emergency measure. If they are unable to complete the tribute and bring the goods back to Ryukyu, all the envoys will be punished by Satsuma.

Cai Jian and the other two fell silent after hearing this. How could they not know the situation in the country? Those Satsuma Japanese were rampant in the country. If they could not buy goods, they would be punished. If the goods they bought were too bad, they would also be punished.

This tribute mission was once a highly sought-after position in the Ryukyu Kingdom, but now everyone in the Ryukyu Kingdom avoids it like the plague.
Due to historical reasons, the Kume samurai have always been in charge of the tribute etiquette in the court. If there was no escape, the Kume samurai would have long since stopped wanting to do the tribute.

There was silence in the room for a long time, and Cai Jian finally spoke again.

"Why did the Great Ming Empire station troops in Ryukyu this time? Is it to go to war with Japan, or to punish the country?"

"Now in the Central Plains, the Great Ming Empire and the Eastern Tartars are fighting for supremacy. The Great Ming court stationed troops in Ryukyu this time to intercept the merchant ships sent by the Qing Tartars at sea. Didn't Lord Zhu tell your uncle?"

Cai Jian heard this and shook his head

"I said it, but I don't believe it."

Cai Jian and his men had been in the country for a long time. If there were Qing merchant ships approaching, they would not have been unaware of it. However, in fact, Ryukyu Island had never seen any Qing merchant ships in recent years.
The Ming navy controlled the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian. Even if the Qing court went out to sea, it would never take the sea route to Ryukyu. If so, where would the Ming Dynasty go to intercept the merchant ships sent by the Qing invaders after stationing troops in Ryukyu?

Upon hearing this, Jin Yingyuan nodded slightly and said

"Uncle is right. I also think this is an excuse from the Ming Dynasty."

"Before my nephew returned, he got a piece of news from Fujian Province. Now that the Ming and Qing Dynasties are at war, the Ming Dynasty is short of money, and the Ming Dynasty has completely lifted the maritime ban."

"Although the Ming Dynasty still strictly controls foreign ships at this time, it has completely liberalized domestic maritime merchants and allowed civilians to freely go to various oceans for trade. I heard that even the court has formed a maritime trade fleet to gain the benefits of maritime trade."

"My nephew heard the news in Fujian Province that the Ming Dynasty's merchants were repeatedly attacked at sea last year. Ryukyu is a key point on the sea. The Ming Dynasty stationed troops in Ryukyu at this time, probably to maintain the stability of the Ryukyu trade route." Cai Jian heard this and his heart moved. Last year, there were indeed many more Ming people who were attacked by shipwrecks and drifted to the country. A considerable number of these people were sailors who fell into the water and fled after being attacked by the Dutch and Japanese.

In this era, when going out to sea for trade, one must not only be careful of waves and storms, but also be careful of the people traveling with you. If the timing is right, it is not impossible for sea merchants to immediately turn into pirates. This is a common practice at sea.

Merchants went to Japan to trade. The shogunate would naturally crack down on pirates in Nagasaki Port, but once the merchant ships left the port, it was no longer the shogunate's business.

The Edo Shogunate would not personally go out to become pirates, but even if the Shogunate did not do it, it could not stop other daimyo from doing it. As long as they succeeded in making a profit, they would immediately earn tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Who could resist such huge profits?

In Cai Jian's view, compared with intercepting Qing merchant ships, the reason why the Ming Dynasty stationed troops in Ryukyu to deter pirates and operate trade routes to gain benefits from maritime trade is obviously more reasonable.

Although Cai Jian guessed the reasons why the Ming Dynasty stationed troops, it was of no use at all. As long as the Ming Dynasty stationed troops, there would be a storm in the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Cai Jian looked at Jin Yingyuan below and said in a cold voice

"Since you surrendered to the Qing army and were captured by the royal army, why would the Ming court release you and other rebels back to Ryukyu?"

Jin Yingyuan saw Cai Jian and the other man looking at him, but his face was calm, and he spoke directly

"The imperial court wants me to return home, persuade the Kume clan to surrender, and assist the imperial court in stationing troops."

Cai Jian's expression turned cold when he heard this, and he spoke directly

"Absolutely impossible!"

"If the Ming court wants to station troops, then let Ming and Japan fight for it. We, the people of Kumejima, will never get involved in this matter."

Kume Island is isolated overseas, and Zhu Zhiyu and his people can do whatever they want. These envoys from the upper countries came on large ships, and if things don't go well, they can just leave.

But the Kume clan had moved to Ryukyu hundreds of years ago, and now all the families were thriving on the island, and they had nowhere to escape.

In the Battle of Salau, Kume Village suffered heavy casualties because of the Ming Dynasty. If they were to get involved in such a matter this time, once this matter failed, Kume Island would surely be razed to the ground by the Japanese.
They had made a mistake once before, and they must not make the same mistake again this time.

Jin Yingyuan looked at Cai Jian, who had a determined look on his face, and said in a deep voice
"After the defeat of Ryukyu, Japan banned Kume Island from going out to sea for trade. When they sent people to inspect the land, nearly 10,000 acres of farmland were found on Kume Island out of thin air. As a result, Kume Island had to pay nearly 1,000 shi more grain tax every year."

"Over the years, the population of Kume Island has been decreasing day by day. Many people have died because of Japan's exploitation."

"Since the execution of Judge Zheng, our Kume Village has not produced another judge in the past few decades."

"Because of our Ming descent, the Kume samurai are discriminated against and oppressed by the Japanese everywhere. Apart from this tribute position, we are not allowed to accept any other real positions in the court."

"Uncle, we, the Kume samurai clan, cannot continue like this."

The highest official position in the Ryukyu Kingdom, below the King, is called the Regent. The Regent is the Prime Minister of the Ryukyu Kingdom and is in charge of the overall situation. This position can only be held by a descendant of the royal family from the Shang clan.

Below the regent are the three judicial officials, who are in charge of personnel salaries, taxes, treasury, and the mountains, rivers, and lands of the Ryukyu court across the islands. These are the key positions that truly exercise real power in the Ryukyu court.
The three judges were selected from the samurai in the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Naha samurai, Shuri samurai, Kume samurai, and people from all samurai families in the Ryukyu Kingdom had the opportunity to serve as judges.
The Zheng Fashi mentioned by Kim Eung-won was named Zheng Jiong. During the Salau War, Zheng Jiong served as the Ryukyu Fashi official.

When the Japanese army attacked Naha, Zheng Jiong led the Ryukyu army to garrison Naha and fought fiercely with the Japanese army, sinking seven Japanese warships in Naha Harbor.
However, the Ryukyu soldiers were weak and were eventually defeated by the Japanese. After the Ryukyu defeat, the Ryukyu King and Zheng Jiong were captured and taken to Satsuma. Zheng Jiong refused to sign the treaty proposed by Satsuma and was eventually killed by Satsuma.
The leader of Kume Island was originally the Zheng family, but now the Zheng family on Kume Island has long ceased to exist. Only a few descendants of the Zheng family have fled to the deserted island and lived in seclusion under an assumed name.
It was also after the Salyu War that the Kume clan gradually declined in the court and no judges were produced.
Jin Yingyuan looked at Cai Jian and Jin Zhengchun above and said in a deep voice
"The Japanese first suppressed our Kume samurai in the court, and then deliberately exploited our Kume Island people. The intentions of these Japanese are obvious."

"The Japanese are powerful. If the Ming court had no intention of going overseas, then the Kume clan would be helpless. But now that the Ming court intends to intervene in Ryukyu, we can no longer sit idly by and wait for death."

Inside the study, the dim light flickered, casting distorted shadows behind the people. But no one in the room spoke, and the room fell into a long silence.

In the morning at the Kumejima government office, Zhu Zhiyu, wearing a Dongpo scarf and a black Taoist robe, sat at the table. On the tea table were tea cups, Jinchu cakes, taro powder cakes and other tea snacks.

Cai Jian looked at Zhu Zhiyu, who still looked a little pale, and said

"How did you sleep last night, Master Zhu? Is there anything else you need? If you need anything, please let us know and we will do our best to prepare it."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhiyu also replied

"Thank you Mr. Cai for your hospitality. The room is fully equipped and has nothing missing."

"I have been sailing on the sea for days. When I slept last night, I still thought I was on a boat, but I felt my body swaying constantly. Today, when I stood up and stepped on the ground, I realized that I was on land."

Cai Jian saw Zhu Zhiyu's emotional expression and smiled.

"It is the same for everyone who takes a ship for the first time. Lord Zhu should get used to it after taking it a few times."

The two of them then chatted with each other. Zhu Zhiyu felt helpless as he looked at Cai Jian, who was hesitant to speak and never got to the point.

Cai Jian came over early this morning, obviously he had something to discuss. Zhu Zhiyu also roughly knew what Cai Jian wanted to ask.

The Ryukyu court had already known that the envoys had arrived at Kume Island. Once the Ryukyu court was ready to receive the imperial edict, the envoys would officially go to Naha to announce the imperial edict. Zhu Zhiyu was not prepared to waste time with Cai Jian any more.
(End of this chapter)