Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 367 Foundation
Shuri Castle, when Lin Cha led his soldiers to attack Shang Sheng's residence, the Shuri Palace was still arguing.
Shang Sheng knew that Kamata Sakyo had sneaked back to Naha, so he found a random reason to return to Naha.

However, in order to prevent Cai Jian and others from taking the opportunity to persuade Shang Zhi, Xiang Guoqi and other three judicial officials were left in the palace to continue arguing with Cai Jian and others.
In the inner hall, the pro-Japanese faction including Xiang Guoqi and the pro-Ming faction including Cai Jian and Jin Zhengchun were arguing constantly. However, at this time, King Shang Zhi of Zhongshan suddenly sat on the throne with a numb face.

The two sides in the court argued for two days. The Japanese were fierce and fierce, and the superior country was powerful. The pros and cons had been clearly stated, but how could this matter be decided based on the so-called pros and cons alone?

The pros and cons mentioned by both sides may be beneficial to the Japanese or the Ming, but no matter which side's claim, the biggest risk will be borne by the Ryukyu royal family, and Shang Zhi simply cannot bear these risks.
Two parties were arguing in the hall, but at this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall, and then a figure with disheveled hair suddenly broke into the hall.
Xiang Xiangxian rushed into the hall with an anxious look on his face and said loudly
"Your Majesty, the Ming army used artillery to attack the Regent's residence. The city was in chaos with constant artillery fire. The Ming army sent troops to capture Naha."

The ministers in the hall all looked horrified when they heard this, and Shang Zhi even stood up from his throne in shock. Cai Jian looked shocked and spoke subconsciously.

"Impossible, why would the Ming army send troops?"

Xiang Xiangxian looked at Cai Jian, who was shocked, but his face was full of hatred, and he shouted angrily
"Cai Jian, you are still pretending here!"

"The Kume people have been living in the country for hundreds of years. The court has been showing you endless favors and honors. How could you, these traitors, dare to collude with the Ming army and invade our Ryukyu territory? You deserve to die."

Xiang Xiangxian's eyes were red, and his angry shouts resounded throughout the hall, but at this time no one cared about it. Shang Zhi looked panicked and asked directly:

"What exactly is going on? Why did the Ming army attack the Regent's residence?"

"Yes, wasn't everything fine this afternoon? Why did the Ming army suddenly attack the regent? What is the regent's current situation?"

The judge Xiang Guoqi beside him also looked frightened at this time and echoed
Shang Sheng is the backbone of these people. If Shang Sheng is killed by the Ming army, what should they do?

When Xiang Xiangxian heard Shang Zhi and Xiang Guoqi's questions, his expression froze. After a moment of silence, he could only speak:

"This evening, Kamada Bugyo of Satsuma sneaked back into the city to discuss the Ming garrison with the regent. The Ming army must have discovered Kamada Bugyo's whereabouts, so they attacked the regent's residence."

Shang Zhi felt a tremor in front of his eyes when he heard this, and he fell directly onto the throne.

The Ming army captured Kamata Sakyo, and the fact that Satsuma controlled Ryukyu could no longer be concealed

Shang Zhi also understood at this time that the so-called garrison of the Ming army was just a cover. The Ming army brought troops here to punish and retaliate.
The Ming army has now captured Kamata Sakyo and obtained evidence. The next step is probably to come to the palace to question him.

But even the Japanese in Kamata were killed by the Ming army, so how could the Shuri Palace stop the Ming army?

Shang Zhi was completely panicked at this time. His uncle Ma Zongyi also had a gloomy expression. Ma Zongyi looked at Cai Jian below and said in a deep voice:
"Lord Cai, what exactly does the Ming army want to do now?"

Cai Jian looked unhappy and said in a deep voice

"I really didn't know about this matter. The Ming army has never shown signs of using force before..."

Cai Jian was interrupted when he was halfway through his speech. Xiang Xiangxian stared at Cai Jian and shouted:

"You traitor, you are still quibbling. If it weren't for you secretly colluding with the Ming people, how could the Ming army occupy the north and south artillery positions in one go? If it weren't for you secretly colluding with the Ming people, how could the Ming army discover the whereabouts of Lord Kamada? You are a traitor..."

Cai Jian looked annoyed and had completely lost his patience. He shouted

"If I really colluded with the Ming army to invade, I should have organized troops in Naha and attacked various cities instead of staying in Shuri Castle and arguing with you, the Ryukyu traitors, you idiot."

The ministers in the palace looked at Cai Jian, who had a gloomy expression, and were stunned. Then they realized
Cai Jian was probably unaware of this. Cai Jian was the leader of Kume and was familiar with the situation in the country. If the Ming army wanted to attack Ryukyu, they would never let Cai Jian fall into danger.

Xiang Xiangxian had a gloomy expression on his face. He no longer cared about Cai Jian and looked up at Shang Zhi, saying in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty has already sent out its troops, Kamada Bugyo has been defeated, and there are no more soldiers available in the country."

"Your Majesty, your precious life must not be put to risk. Please sail to Satsuma immediately and ask the upper domain to send troops to help you."

Shang Zhi heard this and a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes, but before he could speak, Cai Jian below shouted angrily
"That's nonsense, Xiang Xiangxian. Although you studied in Satsuma, don't forget that you are first and foremost a vassal of the Ryukyu Kingdom."

"Now you are trying to persuade the king to abandon the country and flee. Do you want to overthrow my Ryukyu Kingdom?"

After Cai Jian finished speaking, he ignored Xiang Xiangxian who was about to refute him, looked up at Shang Zhi, and said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, before the Ming Dynasty sent envoys to the country, it already knew that the country was controlled by the Japanese."

"The reason why the Ming court stationed troops in the court this time is because the fleet sent by the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was attacked by pirates at sea, so the Ming army decided to station troops to escort it. The emperor did not come here to punish us Ryukyu."

"Ryukyu is weak and was defeated by Satsuma several decades ago, so we had no choice but to submit to Satsuma."

"But if Your Majesty abandons the city and flees to Satsuma at this time, you will be cutting yourself off from the Central Plains and also your own kingdom."

"If the imperial court deprives Zhongshan of his throne, what will happen to the Ryukyu Kingdom? After losing the protection of the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese will have no scruples. The Ryukyu Kingdom will surely be destroyed by the Japanese." "Your Majesty must not flee to Satsuma at this time!"

"Your Majesty, there is no need to be overly frightened. If the Ming army really intended to endanger the country, why would they have gone to such great lengths to appoint Your Majesty as the heir to the throne?"

Shang Zhi's expression changed slightly when he heard this, and he immediately understood what Cai Jian meant. The Ryukyu royal family had previously surrendered to Japan, and it could be said that they had no choice.
But now the Ming court has sent troops to capture the Japanese. If Shang Zhi still flees to Satsuma, it would be a betrayal and rebellion. The Ming Dynasty will never recognize Ryukyu's status as a vassal state again.
Shang Zhi felt a little relieved after hearing the last sentence. He looked at Cai Jian below and said in a deep voice:

"Mr. Cai, what do you think the junior high school should do at this time?"

"I have had several exchanges with Zhu Zhiyu, the envoy of the Ming court. He is definitely not a reckless person. He came here on the orders of the emperor. Since he dared to arrest the Japanese, he must have been instructed by the higher powers."

"Ryukyu is too weak. We cannot resist Ming or Japan. The only thing we can do now is to wait for the negotiation between Ming and Japan. Before that, we must not act on our own."

When the Ryukyu people in the hall heard this, they also felt angry. At this time, the Ming shogunate was fighting over the Ryukyu territory, but they could not even escape. They could only wait for the fight between the two countries to determine their future.

Xiang Xiangxian saw Shang Zhi was silent, but he became anxious. He didn't know whether fleeing to Satsuma would lead to the destruction of Ryukyu, but he knew that if Shang Zhi didn't leave, he would be the one to die.

The Ming army launched a surprise attack and defeated the shogunate's garrison. Once the Ming army took control of the government, those who were pro-Japanese would definitely be completely liquidated by Cai Jian and other pro-Ming factions.

Xiang Xiangxian was about to continue his persuasion, but at this moment, there was another sound of hurried footsteps outside the palace. A palace guard rushed into the palace with a panicked look and said

"Your Majesty, a group of soldiers from the upper kingdom have arrived outside the city. They say that the Japanese are causing chaos in Naha, and the upper kingdom has sent special soldiers to protect the palace."

Xiang Xiangxian heard this, but a trace of despair flashed in his eyes. Since the Ming army was able to send people here, the Ming army must have won in Naha.
The Ming army acted too quickly. They have now arrived outside the palace. Xiang Xiangxian and others cannot abduct Shang Zhi and escape.
Cai Jian sighed in his heart at this time. He also realized that he was being used by Zhu Zhiyu and others.

Zhu Zhiyu and others first used their own Kume people to stir up disputes in the court, forcing Shang Sheng and others to recall Kamada
Kamata sneaked back to the city in the evening, but was attacked by the Ming army at night. After the Ming army arrested Kamata, they immediately sent people to the palace, obviously to prevent Shang Zhi from escaping. This series of actions was obviously premeditated.
In Naha, in the early morning, the streets were still filled with the smell of gunpowder. It was already bright, but the streets were quiet and no one was seen.
"Last night, bandits were causing chaos. The country sent troops to suppress them. The city is under martial law for three days. All citizens must stay at home and are not allowed to go out."

On the street, several teams of Ming army soldiers were parading through the streets. The soldiers from Kume Village who were temporarily recruited were holding gongs and beating them continuously, loudly announcing
The people in the city looked through the cracks in the windows and saw the armored and sword-wielding Ming soldiers on the street. They all looked terrified.
Naha has not heard of war for decades. Last night, the sound of gunfire and cannon fire rang out in the middle of the night. Suddenly, soldiers appeared on the street. Even without the Ming army's propaganda, the people in the city would not easily go out.

In the Naha building, Zhu Zhiyu was sitting in the hall, and Lin Risheng was reporting the results of last night's interrogation.
"According to the confessions of the captured Japanese, the Satsuma Domain had more than 600 soldiers stationed in Ryukyu."

The Ryukyu Bugyosho was the highest institution established by Satsuma in Ryukyu. It not only managed the maritime trade affairs of the Ryukyu Kingdom, but also the garrisons stationed by Satsuma in various places in Ryukyu.
After the Ming army captured Kamata Sakyo, they also thoroughly understood the situation in the Ryukyu Kingdom at that time.
The Satsuma Domain had a total of more than 600 troops stationed in the Ryukyu Islands, including 100 troops stationed on Amami Oshima, 200 troops stationed on the main island of Ryukyu, and more than 300 troops stationed on Yaeyama Island in the Sakishima Islands area.

The number of troops stationed in Satsuma is roughly proportional to the distance between these islands and the mainland of Satsuma. The farther away from Satsuma, the more soldiers are stationed.

Zhu Zhiyu was relieved when he heard this. Ryukyu is roughly divided into three islands: Senkaku, Ryukyu, and Amami. The Satsuma garrisons on the other two islands are only a few hundred. With the current strength of the Ming army, even if the Satsuma soldiers on the two islands got the news, they would not be able to counterattack.
Lin Cha looked hesitant, and suddenly said

"Ryukyu's sea and land have been blocked by us at this time. Japan should not be able to get any news from the island in a short time."

"But if Japan attacks us with all its might in the future, I'm afraid we still won't be able to hold on. Should we take advantage of this time to ask the court for more troops?"

Zhu Zhiyu heard this, but shook his head and said

"Although there were rumors that the Qing army was coming to negotiate peace, there was no concrete evidence until we set out."

"The biggest enemy in the court is still the Qing invaders. The court does not have many naval forces to begin with, so we cannot further disperse the court's strength."

Seeing Zhu Zhiyu's refusal, Lin Risheng stopped talking and reported the situation of the Japanese on the island again.
"There are still two places where Japanese people remain on the main island of Ryukyu. There are still 20 to 30 remaining civil servants in Urasoe Castle, and the other place is Nakijin Castle."

At this time, Lin Cha also said
"The most noteworthy thing now is Nakijin Castle. Nakijin Castle is an important town in northern Ryukyu. The terrain is extremely difficult to attack. There are hundreds of Japanese stationed in the city right now."

"I think we should send troops quickly now to take back the city while the Japanese are unprepared."

Zhu Zhiyu looked at the intelligence in his hand and was about to speak, but at this time, the captain Zheng Shixiong walked into the room and whispered

"Your Excellency, Cai Jian is outside the palace asking to see you. He said he wants to see you immediately."

Zhu Zhiyu and Lin Cha looked at each other, a smile flashed across their faces, and they said

"Let's go to Shuri Castle first. The King of Zhongshan and his men are probably waiting anxiously."

The sound of gunfire rang out in Naha Castle last night. This kind of noise cannot be concealed. Although ordinary people dare not go out, some Ryukyu officials in the city must have fled to Shuri last night to report.

The fact that the Ryukyu monarch and his ministers could wait until dawn to ask questions was remarkable. Now that all the Satsuma people have been captured, it is time to confront Shang Zhi and others.

(End of this chapter)