Ming East India Company

A few days after the Battle of Kijin Castle, Shirano led a large army south, with the heads of Shōei and other important Ryukyu leaders at the head of the column, and prisoners tied up in rows in the middle.

To prevent the prisoners from causing trouble, Shirano deliberately starved them for two days before setting off. They were only given a small amount of water and food each day on the road, and anyone who couldn't keep up with the group was dragged out and beheaded on the spot.

Anyway, they'll be used as laborers in the future, so we should weed out the weak ones now to ensure the survival of the fittest.

Strangely enough, they encountered no resistance along the way, and Shirano led his army to Shuri Castle without bloodshed.

Wherever they went, the Ryukyuan natives and soldiers surrendered one after another.

Even the farmers of the northern Ryukyu region, whose fields and produce had been burned by Hakuno in the past, now obediently surrendered without any resentment.

This made Shirayuki start to wonder. Logically speaking, he couldn't be considered a "gentleman" on Ryukyu Island so far. He had done some robbery, murder, and arson. Why were these Ryukyuans surrendering so quickly, one after another?

Surely everyone in this place can have Stockholm syndrome!

Something unusual must be going on. Hakuno was starting to lose confidence. After arriving at Shuri Castle, although the rest of the clan believed that there was no organized resistance force inside the castle, Hakuno still ordered them to spend the night outside the castle.

Out of caution, Bai Ye decided to send Pang Shipu disguised as a servant into the city to gather intelligence and assess the city's resistance.

Ever since completing the reconnaissance mission last time, this kid has been very decisive and can be considered a "promising talent" in Bai Ye's eyes.

Most importantly, this guy learned the basic Ryukyu dialect in just a few days by following Bai Wenyue and Bai Jingxing; his brain is practically zero.

With a mix of trepidation and unease, Shirano spent his first night at Shuri Castle.

The next morning, before Bai Ye even got out of bed, Bai Ling pulled him out of bed.

"You brat, you've gotten yourself into big trouble this time!"

"What's going on? Have the Ryukyuans attacked?"

"No, the scout you sent yesterday is finished this time."

"What?"

Bai Jingxing, who was very impatient, barged in:

"Wild boy, why didn't you ask before sending someone to investigate?"

Your guy, Pang Shipu, is only good at the local Ryukyu dialect. He's fine for interrogating prisoners, but if you let him talk to people on his own, he'll be exposed within three sentences.

"Don't even mention him, you could make me pretend to be a Ryukyuan and I wouldn't be able to do it right. After all, the same language sounds completely different to outsiders and locals; it takes years of practice to fake it."

"Ah!" Shirano realized that pretending to be a spy wasn't so easy, and couldn't help but slap his thigh:

"What a pity, such a promising talent!"

Baiye is currently in the early stages of its business and is in dire need of talent. It would be a real shame to let such a promising talent slip away.

"Ever since you came to the island, you've always acted on your own initiative and made all the decisions. Now you're getting what you deserve..."

Bai Ling started her hairdryer routine again, and Bai Ye, too lazy to argue with her, went outside the tent to calm himself down.

However, the moment Bai Ye stepped out of the tent, he was stunned by the scene before him.

In the distance, Pang Shipu walked at the very front, followed by a long line of Ryukyu prisoners.

These prisoners, disheveled and with their hands tied behind their backs, staggered in line to the front of the Baiye military camp.

However, Baiye still keenly noticed that most of these people had fair skin, few yellow teeth, and no calluses on their hands.

These people were clearly Ryukyu nobles.

Bai Ling, who had chased after Bai Ye, was also stunned:

"Did he catch all of these by himself?"

Bai Ye quickly went to Pang Shipu's side, and after confirming that he was not missing any limbs, he excitedly patted him on the shoulder:

"Good lad, I'll reward you with forty taels of silver this time."

Bai Ye quickly ordered his men to escort the prisoners aside, and then invited Pang Shipu into the tent to ask what had happened.

As soon as he entered the tent, Pang Shipu took out a package from his body. After opening it, letters were scattered all over the ground. Baiye saw that they were all letters of surrender written by various nobles of Ryukyu.

What's both funny and frustrating is that although the characters on it are all Chinese, the sentences are very awkward, with many words and phrases written in hiragana instead of Chinese characters.

Moreover, the handwriting was crooked and uneven, clearly the work of a group of Han Chinese craftsmen with low levels of education who were temporarily brought in.

"Reporting to the general, after I entered the city, I was recognized after only a few words. However, instead of killing me, they took me back to the palace and treated me to a good meal and drinks. They also rushed to surrender to me."

I dared not make that decision myself, so I gave them a suggestion: imitate the scene of Liu Shan's surrender in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and have them bind themselves and line up to leave the city.

Pang Shipu reported in a proper manner, his face filled with doubt and bewilderment at this magical realism.

Those inside the tent were also puzzled after hearing Pang Shipu's report.

Bai Jingxing went even further and said:

"Are these guys a bunch of idiots? Even if they couldn't win and wanted to surrender, they should at least send someone to negotiate terms and assess the situation first. Now they've come knocking on our door without even discussing anything. Are they really that cowardly?"

Bai Ling also found it unbelievable:

"Could it be that you, wild child, are truly a reincarnation of a dragon, unleashing your divine power?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Bai Ye glared at Bai Ling, then regained his composure.

"Separate these people and interrogate them one by one. No, bring two of them to me and I'll interrogate them myself."

Hakuno is already confused by the strange behavior of the Ryukyuans along the way, and now he can't wait to find out the answer.

Soon, two Ryukyu nobles of considerable status were brought in. Bai Jingxing and Pang Shipu acted as interpreters, and Bai Ye began the questioning:

"Who are you? What official positions do you hold?"

The two prisoners answered respectively:

"My name is Shang Hong, Prime Minister of Ryukyu."

"My name is Xiang Shen, a legal official of Ryukyu."

Baiye thought about the official system in Ryukyu. These two were basically among the top five most important officials in Ryukyu, and their status was indeed not low.

Why are you willing to surrender?

Shang Hong answered with a look of terror on his face:

"During the last major battle at Jin Guiren City, I heard from the prisoners who escaped that the Heavenly Army had the ability to strike thunder into the ground, could create thunder on flat ground, were impervious to swords and spears, and could walk on water and fire as if on flat ground."

When we heard this, we all believed it was Amaterasu descending to earth, so we dared not resist and all thought of surrendering as soon as possible to save our lives.

These words left those present even more confused. What on earth was going on? The battle of Guiren City had just ended. Was this some kind of exaggerated statement?

Suddenly, Bai Ye's mind lit up, and he blurted out:

"I know, it's our signal cannon."

Before anyone present could react, Shirano quickly ordered the two to be dragged out and kept under strict guard to prevent them from "revealing the secrets of heaven."

Then he addressed the people inside the tent:

"It's our signal cannon. These bumpkins mistook it for a landmine."