Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 236 Naha Incident
September 17th, 2025

The Chu fleet arrived at the Ryukyu Kingdom's Naha Port and immediately met with the Ryukyu King Sho Tai. After negotiations with Zheng Yulan, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs who arrived with the fleet, the two sides signed the Ryukyu Commerce Treaty. The treaty stipulated that the Chu State enjoyed the same super-national treatment as the European powers.

The next day, the two sides signed the "Naha Port Lease Treaty" again. The treaty stipulated that Chu would lease Naha Port for 99 years, with priority for renewal upon expiration, and the concession would enjoy extraterritoriality.

The State of Chu paid a one-time payment of 22 silver dollars, and would pay 6.2 silver dollars in concession fees every year thereafter, and provide certain military assistance to help the Ryukyu Kingdom train a strong army.

The State of Chu donated 1200 muskets, 50 barrels of black powder, 30 12-pound coastal guns, 12 24-pound field guns, as well as some swords, guns and infantry equipment.

The Ryukyu Kingdom had barely warmed its 22 silver dollars before it handed them over to the Royal South Seas Transport Company, which organized the transportation of no less than 2 men from the mainland to the Ryukyu Kingdom, who would become the core force of the army to be formed.

The Ryukyu Kingdom's demands were very clear;
Regardless of whether they were former Taiping remnants or not, as long as they were brave soldiers with rich experience in bloody battles, or defeated rebel forces or militias, they could all be trained to form combat effectiveness.

And they only want young and strong men, they don’t want women at all.

The Ryukyu Kingdom was confident that it could marry Ryukyu women to these more than 2 young and middle-aged Chinese. It would not be a problem for officers to marry two or three wives, and there would be enough girls.

The Ryukyu royal family was so bullied by the Japanese that they had no choice but to go all in.

in the original history

The Ryukyu royal family collapsed 10 years later, and all royal family members, including King Sho Tai, were relocated to Kagoshima by the invading Fuso Choshu clan army, and finally went to Kyoto where they died in depression.

In today's era

The rise of the Chu State in Southeast Asia was like a lifeline to the Ryukyu Kingdom, which finally took a desperate gamble.

It was only then that Zheng Yulan, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, learned;

It turns out that this purple-scarf official Xiang Dehong is the brother-in-law of King Xiang Tai. No wonder he dares to make the decision so confidently. This relationship is quite close.

Organizing an army is a very expensive thing. The Ryukyu royal family was equivalent to spitting out blood in a big auction, and just gave away the royal tax money bag, Naha Port, with both hands. It can be said that they were very determined.

In Naha Port alone, the royal family could collect more than 10 silver dollars in taxes each year, accounting for half of the royal income.

anyway
If the country is destroyed by Japanese pirates, then there will be nothing left. What is the point of keeping Naha Port?

Choose the lesser of two evils. The Ryukyu royal family is doing this at all costs to save their lives.

After the two countries signed the treaty, the news spread, causing an uproar in Naha City.

The Naha samurai clan gained a high social status through their business, the core of which was the dock transit trade and warehouse leasing business. Now that they have all been moved to the concession, isn't that like the sky falling?
The Naha samurai and the Toma samurai both started out by running port businesses, and they had close in-law relationships. When the situation changed suddenly, they naturally came together.

In addition, there are also external forces involved, the main one being the Japanese tribe from Fuso.

It is no wonder that the Ryukyu royal family is feeling a surge of crisis. Over the past few decades, the Fuso Japanese have been actively migrating to the Ryukyu Kingdom, now accounting for nearly 20% of the total population and gaining a say in many areas.

Take this opportunity
He linked up with the Naha samurai and the Tomahawk samurai, and incited many Naha people who were unaware of the truth to launch a massive demonstration, which soon evolved into a riot of looting and smashing, affecting the fleet anchored in Naha Port.

The police in the city were completely unable to control the situation, and the royal guards were entrenched in Shuri Castle, watching the riots in the city evolve and spread rapidly, completely helpless.

From this
The Ryukyu royal family's control over the domestic situation has declined to a dangerous level.

not long after
The black masses of people shouted slogans in anger and rushed towards the warships, destroying all the carriages and stalls they passed by, causing social disorder.

The warships anchored in the harbor opened their gun ports, revealing the cold muzzles, pointing directly at the uncovered demonstrators on the dock. At this critical juncture, the situation was on the verge of breaking out.

"The Ryukyu Kingdom has been infiltrated by the Fuso people like a sieve. No wonder they are so generous. They are using us as shields." Zheng Yulan, Vice Foreign Minister, stood at the side of the ship, looking at the large crowd of protesters, with a calm expression.

The two generals standing next to him were Major General Huo Haisheng, commander of the sailing fleet, and Major General Dong Kuifa, deputy commander. The two generals smiled proudly.

Major General Dong Kuifa said, "I don't care where they come from. As long as they threaten the safety of the fleet, they must be suppressed."

"That's right." Major General Huo Haisheng answered concisely with two words.

"Oppose the imposed unequal treaties." "Oppose the selling out of the interests of the Ryukyu Kingdom." "Get out of here!" "Naha Port is the home of the people of Naha." "No one can take away our port." "Get out of here!"

Slogans echoed throughout the dock. At the front of the parade, dozens of people were diligently leading the slogans, revealing a strong sense of conspiracy.

There were also many Japanese warriors in kimono among the demonstrators. These short Japanese warriors held katana in their hands and looked around with eyes like poisonous snakes. It was obvious at a glance that they were not holding their farts well.

At this moment

The army infantry regiment that came with the fleet totaled more than 1700 people, fully armed and neatly lined up at the dock. This is the army led by Major General Pan Tianshou, deputy commander of the Second Division, to cooperate with this operation.

The State of Chu had made full preparations to use force for this trip north to Ryukyu and Fuso.

Impressed by the power of the Chu fleet and soldiers, the demonstrators stopped and hesitated to move forward when they were two or three hundred meters away.

Although the slogans were shouted louder and louder, most of the demonstrators did not dare to move forward.

The black muzzle of the gun sent chills down one's spine. The soldiers lined up in neat rows, armed with swords and spears like a forest, standing like solid reefs on the seashore. Any wave that crashed into them would crush them to pieces.

Two or three hundred meters away, the demonstrators continued to raise their arms and shout slogans, making a huge noise.

The Chu fleet watched coldly. Before the other side took any extreme action, they could just shout slogans and demonstrate as much as they wanted. It wouldn't change anything.
Unless it is absolutely necessary, the fleet will not initiate a bloody suppression of ordinary people.

Judging from this chaos, it is clear that the Ryukyu royal family has almost lost control of the country. It is estimated that the wealthy businessmen and powerful families of Ryukyu have long been secretly colluding with the Fuso people and are in cahoots with them.

Even if the Fuso army did not come to attack, it would not be difficult to overthrow the rule of the Ryukyu royal family.

This has nothing to do with the State of Chu. The Chu fleet is here to take advantage of the situation, not to clean up the mess or solve problems for the Ryukyu royal family. Go ahead and make some trouble if you want!

As long as you don't cross the red line, I won't care even if there is a big fuss.

More than 200 meters away from the infantry formation, there were three tall officers of the Great Chu State, standing calmly in front with their hands behind their backs, facing thousands of angry demonstrators.

"We warn you once again that you have entered the legal concession of the Chu State and have substantially violated our interests. We reserve the right to take all resolute actions to suppress this illegal activity."

"You are all hateful invaders! Laba Port is our home, please get out!"

"We reiterate that according to the lease treaty signed with the Ryukyu royal family, this area has already become part of the Chu concession. Everyone must evacuate quickly to avoid accidental injuries."

"We will never give in. The people will not recognize any unequal and traitorous treaty. We will overthrow the traitor Xiang Dehong and take back everything that once belonged to us."

"This is your last warning. Do not cross our red line, otherwise you will bear all the consequences." The leading young officer shouted.

But his words were drowned out by waves of loud slogans, and few people could hear them clearly.

The two sides clashed for about 20 minutes. As the demonstrators' momentum gradually weakened, thousands of strong men armed with knives and sticks surged from the city and quickly joined the demonstrators. Their arrival bolstered the demonstrators' momentum, and they began to rapidly advance, soon crossing the red line.

The three young officers were forced to retreat step by step, and had no choice but to turn around and trot away.

Behind them, the cheering crowd of demonstrators became more arrogant, and some strong men armed with knives and sticks rushed out of the crowd and chased the young officer.

By this time the riots had spiraled out of control and were slumping towards an inevitable conflict.

"All soldiers, listen up! Load your guns and chamber your rifles!"

"Raise your gun and aim!"

"Get ready, let go!"

"Clap clap clap clap..."

The sound of crisp and dense volleys of gunfire suddenly resounded throughout the dock, thick smoke curled up from above the queue, and the hot bullets swarmed over like locusts, knocking down the strong men who were rushing in front with knives and sticks.

The bullets easily pierced the flesh, creating countless bloody holes in the fanatical crowd. Blood spurted out, casting a bloody color on this fanatical demonstration.

The sudden blow made the demonstrators pause, but they could not stop rushing forward under the push of the crowd behind them, but their eyes were full of fear.

"Second row, aim your guns and fire..."

"Clap clap clap clap..."

As the commander swung his sharp knife, dense volleys of gunfire rang out again at the dock, cutting down hundreds of people like mowing rice, causing blood to splatter everywhere and numerous casualties.

These two rounds of volleys of gunfire finally aroused great fear among the demonstrators. In an instant, they were in chaos with shouting and screaming. Many people turned around and fled, running desperately into the city.

They just wanted to escape, escape from this horrible place as soon as possible.

In just two or three minutes, a large number of demonstrators fled frantically, inevitably causing trampling, pushing and other injuries, leaving behind a field of injured people screaming loudly.

Those Fuso warriors who were deliberately causing trouble were finally hurried over by the strong men armed with swords and sticks. After just a moment's hesitation, they were left behind invisibly.

When the tide goes out, you'll find out who's been swimming naked.

See this scene
The infantry commander didn't hesitate at all. He raised his command knife high and swung it down fiercely, ordering, "Aim your guns! Fire..." "Aim your guns! Fire..." "Aim your guns! Fire..."

"Clap clap clap clap..."

"Clap clap clap clap..."

"Clap clap clap clap..."

"Clap clap clap clap..."

After several rounds of volleys of gunfire, there was no one left standing on the dock; everyone was dead or wounded.

Then the swordsman and shieldman stepped forward and began to clean up the dock after the bloody suppression. They killed the screaming wounded with a single sword to avoid the time and effort of medical treatment.

If you don't want to leave, then don't leave.

The imminent crisis was eliminated, and the gun ports of the sailing warships were closed one after another, and the combat alert was lifted.

Compared with the brutality of using artillery, commanders prefer to use rifles to solve the problem, and the intensity of the suppression will be reduced by one level.

The bodies scattered on the dock were quickly disposed of, thrown onto the boat, and then sailed to the sea dozens of kilometers away, where they were thrown into the sea one by one.

The soldiers urged the dock workers to fetch seawater to wash the dock. After just two or three hours, the dock looked brand new.

However, there was still a strong smell of blood in the air, indicating the bloody suppression that had taken place here.

Afterwards, the Fuso people made a big fuss about it, calling it the "Naha Massacre." A total of 672 people died tragically at the hands of the Chu soldiers, which was truly outrageous to both humans and gods.

The official responses from the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Chu State were consistent, calling the incident the "Naha Incident." There were indeed twenty or thirty people killed and injured in the incident, but most of them were thugs who received effective treatment afterwards.

The propaganda of both sides was very different, but this incident shocked Naha greatly, allowing this small and closed island kingdom to witness the ferocious military force and ruthless suppression of the Chu State for the first time.

For decades after that, there were no major disturbances in the Naha Port Concession, which was as well-behaved as a grandson. But that’s another story.

After the incident

The Chu infantry regiment entered the city and assisted the Ryukyu royal palace guards in confiscating the property of the Naha samurai and wealthy businessmen one by one. These people undoubtedly participated in the demonstrations and riots and were the instigators of the entire incident.

While you are sick, I will kill you.

The Ryukyu Royal Palace Guard was led by the purple scarf official Xiang Dehong, who seemed to have a deep hatred and showed no mercy to these wealthy businessmen from the Naha samurai family.

By the end of the day, a total of 132 houses were searched and 2791 people of all kinds were arrested, mostly young and middle-aged men, and all of them were thrown into prison.

At this point, the power of the Naha samurai and wealthy businessmen suffered a devastating blow, and many of the Wa and Tomari clans were also severely damaged.

The soldiers of the Chu army who participated in the operation were all smiling. Almost all of them made a fortune, and their pockets and arms were filled with all kinds of gold, silver, pearls and jade, and they returned triumphantly.

The Ryukyu royal family was the biggest beneficiary. After all, the Chu army could not go too far. They secretly stuffed in some gold, silver, pearls and jade that were easy to get, and finally returned as a whole team.

The Ryukyu royal family sent a large number of carriages filled with all kinds of confiscated gold, silver, jewelry, brocade, silk, rare curios and paintings, and delivered them to the Shuri Palace in batches, making a huge fortune.

Such actions continued until the evening, further strengthening the Ryukyu royal family's control over the entire city.

It must be said that this purple-scarf official Xiang Dehong was also a ruthless character. It is said that he secretly executed more than 700 people on the charge of rebellion that night, which accounted for almost a quarter of the number of people arrested.

However, this is the Ryukyu Kingdom's internal affair, and outsiders have no right to interfere.

anyway
The Ryukyu Kingdom had indeed reached a point where it was difficult to recover from its illness. Without undergoing a thorough healing process and removing the poisonous sores and rotten flesh, it would be difficult to regain its vitality.

The swift and decisive actions of the purple-scarf official Xiang Dehong have indeed brought a breath of fresh air to this stale island country.

According to Xiang Dehong’s own words;

I am not such a mean person that I am willing to kneel down and pray again and again, as long as there is a glimmer of possibility, even if thousands of people point fingers at me, Dehong will not regret it!

(End of this chapter)