Ming East India Company

Zheng Jiong was so frightened that he almost lost his mind; the cuffs of his trousers were already emitting a foul stench.

As a high-ranking official of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Zheng Jiong was well aware of the consequences if he "colluded with the rebels," but the gleaming knife in front of Bai Ye made him unable to make the decision to sacrifice himself.

After a fierce internal struggle, Zheng Jiong reluctantly said:

"In that case, we'll follow your instructions from now on, elder brother."

Regardless of what happens next, saving your life is the most important thing.

Bai Ye was very satisfied with Zheng Jiong's transformation and immediately ordered that a few horses be brought in for Zheng Jiong to ride.

This made Zheng Jiong feel flattered. You should know that as an island, Ryukyu had a severe shortage of horses. When high-ranking officials went on business trips, they were all pulled by human horses. Riding horses was a privilege reserved for the king.

After riding around on a tall horse, Zheng Jiong's loyalty to the Ryukyu Dynasty decreased considerably.

After dealing with Zheng Jiong, Bai Ye commanded his troops to set up camp in present-day Guiren City.

On the second day after taking control of Jin Guiren City, the Bai family members, along with the newly recruited Cheng Keqin, Feng Luzi, and others, held a battle meeting at noon to discuss the next steps in their advance.

Bai Jingxing first reported on his investigation findings:

"I have interrogated the prisoners these past two days. The Ryukyu Kingdom has about 1,500 regular elite soldiers. With the addition of temporary mobilization, we should be able to muster a total force of 3,000 men."

As for equipment, there were no horses, but there were quite a few arquebuses like the breech-loading cannon, and they were of good quality; they were probably sourced from the red-haired people.

As for the armor, it was mostly Japanese armor, and there was a considerable amount of it; at least one-tenth of the three thousand men were armored.

Feng the Donkey frowned:

"I don't think we have much of a chance of winning! We have less than a third of their numbers, and our equipment is far inferior."

Their training level was also mediocre. Their only advantage was a few dozen more horses, but this small number of cavalry wasn't a decisive advantage.

Feng the Donkey thought about it again:

"I feel the best approach is to hold onto Kijin Castle and wait for things to change. The food in the castle can last for one or two months, and it seems that the Ryukyuans don't have much ability to attack castles. As long as we hold out for a while, they will definitely show a weakness."

Everyone present agreed, except for Bai Ye, who kept shaking his head.

"This method won't work. We are now the guest army. If we drag this out, the Ryukyuans have all the resources of the island to wear us down. We can't win. Besides, the city has food but no water, which is not conducive to holding out."

"Moreover, we have our fleet in the open sea. Even if the Ryukyuans can't find us for a while, they will definitely find us eventually. We can just grab a few crew members and throw their heads into the city. Knowing that their way home is cut off, the morale of the soldiers will be thrown into chaos."

Cheng Keqin also supported Bai Ye's view from the perspective of the fleet.

"Therefore, we should now engage in a decisive battle with the enemy's main force. Once we crush the enemy in one blow, we can take over the entire Ryukyu Islands."

"The problem is that the other side may not necessarily fight us. If I were the King of Ryukyu, it would obviously be most appropriate to stay in the south and observe the situation, guarding Shuri Castle and Naha Port when the enemy situation is unclear."

"Then we'll force him to come out."

The next day, the Bai family army in Nakijin Castle split into dozens of small teams and began to plunder and loot in northern Ryukyu. The cattle and stored grain in the farms were looted, and the unripe wheat was forcibly harvested and burned.

Meanwhile, the Bai family army, while looting, continuously distributed leaflets.

The above is a proclamation to the thirty-six families of Fujian in Ryukyu, prepared by Shirano overnight:

It is said that Ryukyu has been granted titles by the Ming Dynasty for generations and has always adhered to the legitimate calendar. However, its current king is weak and incompetent, submitting to Satsuma, turning his back on China and allying with Japan, abusing the overseas Chinese, and disrespecting the rites of a vassal state. You, the people of Fujian, of the thirty-six surnames, are all old clans of the Central Plains. You were transferred to Ryukyu by imperial decree at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. You have always maintained the dignity and decorum of Han officials and are not private subjects of Ryukyu.

Today, the royal army sails across the sea to punish the rebellious Ryukyu, and to pacify the descendants of the Chinese people. On the day this proclamation arrives, you should remember your ancestors and submit to the Celestial Empire: either capture and execute the Japanese pirates, bind and hand over the treacherous officials, or surrender your cities and submit to the royal army.

Those who return to the righteous path will have their ancestral home restored, their merits recorded, their official positions retained, and their descendants will enjoy honors and favors. Those who stubbornly follow the enemy and collude with evil will be destroyed when the royal army is swiftly pacified, and all will be burned to ashes, leaving no time for regret.

How could the descendants of the Chinese nation willingly submit to barbarians and Japanese invaders? Their fate, their fortune or misfortune, hinges on this one move. They must swiftly return to the right path, to fulfill my intention of appeasement and pacification!

……

"You brat, although there are quite a few Ming people in Ryukyu, most of them are illiterate. How many of them can understand what you're sending out?"

"Of course I don't expect them to be able to understand it, but I think King Shōei of Ryukyu will definitely be able to understand it."

Just as Hakuno had predicted, when this proclamation reached the Sho clan's palace in Shuri Castle in the south, it triggered a huge political earthquake.

For King Shōyō of Ryukyu, these past few days have been truly difficult.

Previously, he had sent Zheng Jiong, the Tang Rong Si, to investigate the crimes of Xiang Kezhi, the guard of Beishan, with the intention of getting rid of this seemingly disobedient border official.

But unexpectedly, not only did Zheng Jiong never return, but a large group of defeated soldiers also fled back from the north a day later, saying that Guiren City had been captured.

This made Shang Yong very nervous. His first reaction was that Xiang Kezhi's crimes had been exposed and he was desperate enough to rebel. Therefore, on the one hand, he ordered the troops to be assembled to prepare for the expedition, and on the other hand, he focused on monitoring the Xiang Kezhi family's power in the south to prevent them from coordinating with the north.

But what happened next gave him even more chills:

After the invaders occupied Nakijin Castle, they not only refused to leave but also looted everywhere. This pained Shang Yong greatly, because Ryukyu didn't produce much grain, and the grain that was stolen and burned was all his money...

What's even more frightening is that these uninvited guests were looting while distributing leaflets claiming to be the "royal army" of the Ming Dynasty, coming to conquer Ryukyu.

This struck at the Achilles' heel of the Ryukyu Kingdom: the relationship between the Han Chinese and the Ryukyu natives.

In order to reward Ryukyu for its "submission", Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty sent thirty-six families of Fujianese to Ryukyu.

These skilled and honest craftsmen from Fujian were an invaluable asset to Ryukyu, a country that had long been engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture.

For two hundred years, the Ryukyu Kingdom had a love-hate relationship with these Han Chinese artisans. On the one hand, Ryukyu's ability to become a "bridge between nations" was inseparable from the help of these Han Chinese, but on the other hand, the Ryukyu kings were always worried that these people would "turn the tables" and replace the Ryukyu Sho Dynasty.

Therefore, the Ryukyu Kingdom, on the one hand, used a lot of the profits from maritime trade to reward Han Chinese artisans, ensuring that they received better treatment than the local Ryukyuans. On the other hand, it strictly limited their rights, especially military power and armed forces, which were never allowed to be controlled by the thirty-six surnames of Fujian.

This fragile balance has finally been broken today.

This edict, addressed to the thirty-six families of Fujian in Ryukyu, directly pointed out the relationship between the Ryukyu Kingdom and the thirty-six families of Fujian, putting Shang Yong under immense political pressure.