"Since the founding of the Shang Dynasty, the country has been strictly following the rules and regulations of the dynasty and paying tribute on time. It has become one of the three major vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, along with Korea and Annan. The Ming Dynasty has also been very kind to the Ryukyu Islands. Not only has it been doing frequent tribute trade with them, but it has also made them rich. In addition, because the country's shipbuilding level is too poor, tribute ships often capsize, and Emperor Taizu also specially sent 36 boatmen from Fujian to the Ryukyu Islands to help them improve their shipbuilding level."

"The King of Ryukyu attached great importance to these people from the Celestial Empire. He settled them on Naha Island and established the Tang Camp. He also included them in the noble family and gave them generous treatment and privileges. These Fujian people settled down for generations. Not only did they help Ryukyu master the superb shipbuilding technology, they also taught them various skills and culture. With the help of the thirty-six surnames of Fujian people, the Ryukyu Kingdom got rid of its primitive state and entered the civilized era."

"Naturally, the 36 surnames of the Fujianese were also highly respected by everyone from the royal family to the common people. They enjoyed high positions and generous salaries in Ryukyu for generations, and some were even appointed as prime ministers. They were given the fifth largest island of Ryukyu, Kume Island, as their fiefdom. Therefore, the Ryukyu people called them the 'Kume samurai clan' and called the Tang Camp in Naha 'Kume Castle'."

Mr. Zhao, who was standing by, was distracted again, but this time he remembered that your wife, Yui Aragaki, was a descendant of the 36 surnames of the Fujian people. The surname Aragaki came from the surname "Lin", and was forced to evolve into "Aragaki" after the Japanese occupation.

No wonder otakus four hundred years later are so obsessed with this pancake-faced beauty. It turns out that her original name should be "Hayashi Yui"...

"In this life, I will never let my children and grandchildren's wives be taken away by others." Young Master Zhao secretly made a vow to protect them.

~~

"For more than a hundred years, the Kume clan has been firmly in control of Ryukyu's diplomacy and trade, earning endless wealth. They then controlled part of the government and the defense of Shuri. And because they were foreigners and could not threaten the status of the royal family, the Shang clan also trusted them, and the two sides had always gotten along well."

While Ma Yinglong was drinking water, Rong Sheng interrupted and asked, "Why can't foreign tribes threaten the status of the royal family? Isn't it enough to get the imperial court to confer a title?"

"Because the imperial throne can only guarantee half of the legitimacy of the throne, the other half comes from their traditions." Ma Yinglong put down the cup and said in a deep voice: "Just now I said that the country still retains a lot of primitive traditions. It is recorded in the history books of the country that the ancestor of the Ryukyu people is the goddess Amamiku. The goddess gave birth to three sons and two daughters, who are the ancestors of the royal family, princes, goddesses, witches and the people. This is of course nonsense, but their people firmly believe it and use it as a reason to accept the king's rule."

"So in the inheritance of the royal family of Ryukyu, the shrine maiden, who is the spokesperson of the goddess, plays an extremely important role. The senior shrine maiden is called a shrine maiden, and the leader of the shrine maidens is called 'Ma Tian shrine maiden'. If the new king wants to succeed to the throne, he must get her approval and blessing, of course, in the name of God."

"So Ma Tian Zhu Nu had great power. She had used the oracle to force the king to abdicate and establish a new king. But she miscalculated because the successor King Shang Zhen was the most outstanding king of Zhongshan. He completely consolidated his power by suppressing rebellions, improving internal politics, and befriending the Kume clan. In the end, he returned the right to appoint Zhu Nu to the king and conferred Ma Tian Zhu Nu as Wen De Da Jun, stipulating that only women of the royal family could receive this title. This not only suppressed Zhu Nu's power, but also ensured that the throne would not fall into the hands of outsiders."

"The current King of Zhongshan, Shang Yuan, is the grandson of Shang Zhen. The current Wen De Dajun is the granddaughter of King Shang Zhen. The brother and sister have completely eliminated the disloyalty of outsiders by integrating sacrifice and politics." Ma Yinglong suddenly laughed and said:

"It is precisely because he is so confident in his home base that Shang Yuan personally led an expedition to the northernmost Amami Oshima to defeat the disobedient chieftain there." He pointed to the northernmost large islands on the Ryukyu map and said, "That is also our destination this time."

"Shang Yuan is on Amami Oshima?" the police officers exclaimed in unison.

"That's right." Ma Yinglong nodded and said, "Because after the death of Amami Oshima's chieftain and Wan Daichika, his colleagues rebelled and refused to pay tribute... Note that the object of Oshima's chieftain's tribute was not the Ming Dynasty, but the Zhongshan Kingdom. In fact, the Zhongshan Kingdom was the hegemon of the Ryukyu Sea. The four or five surrounding islands and tribes had to pay tribute to Shuri regularly, just like the Ryukyu tribute to the Ming Dynasty."

My vassal's vassal is not my vassal... Young Master Zhao suddenly thought of this sentence. It's not good...

"So after several months of planning, King Shang Yuan personally led an army of 3,000 and more than 50 ships to conquer Oshima." Ma Yinglong turned to a map of the sea area of ​​Amami Oshima and pointed to a large bay in the north of the island marked with several black boats. He said:

"They landed in this place called Amami Bay. The latest intelligence shows that the Ryukyu army has fought with the rebels several times, and after a series of victories, they have penetrated deep into their territory. The rebels were defeated and fled in all directions, and the rebel leader has surrendered and was executed!"

Then, he said word by word: "According to the report from the spy next to King Shang Yuan, King Shang Yuan has appointed a chieftain, pacified the people, and put down the rebellion. He has also chosen an auspicious day and will return to the court in two days!"

"Okay, that's the summary of the military situation." After saying that, he took a sip of water and said to the police officers, "Now it's time for questions."

"How many troops are there in Shuri Castle now?" Haierdi immediately raised his hand and asked.

"About five hundred people." Ma Yinglong said.

"Ah?" The police officers were shocked. "So little?"

"There are less than 200,000 people in the whole Ryukyu Islands, and less than 100,000 people live on the main island. It is already remarkable that the king can gather 3,000 direct troops and keep 500 people to guard Naha and the royal city. The 3,000 troops are known as the 'Three Prefectures and Thirty-six Islands, 3,000 Zhongshan Royal Palace Troops'. They are the strongest armed force in the Ryukyu Islands and the guarantee of Zhongshan's royal power." Ma Yinglong thought for a moment and added:

"The combat effectiveness of these 3,000 royal troops is pretty good. Because of the convenience of the Ryukyu International Trade Center, they are equipped with a lot of firearms and armor. At least they can bully those dishonest natives."

"We can only bully the natives..." Zhao Hao secretly sneered. If he hadn't intervened, in a few decades, the Satsuma Domain of Kyushu Island would have sent 3,000 soldiers and more than 100 ships to invade Ryukyu.

He remembered clearly that the Shimazu family's army landed on the Ryukyu main island on April 1, and occupied Shuri Castle on April 5, killing the Ryukyu King Shang Ning and his princes and officials. Since then, the humiliating years of one woman serving two husbands in Ryukyu began.

~~

"So what about their navy?" the police officers asked one after another. This was what they were most concerned about.

"The main force of the Ryukyu navy is the fifty warships they ride on. Their shape is similar to the Ming Dynasty's Fu ships, but the largest one is only about a thousand tons and the structure is much worse. Therefore, the firepower on the ship is very limited, and there are very few tribute ships. There are only a few Portuguese ships, which are mainly used to transport troops and have limited naval combat capabilities." Ma Yinglong replied.

In the punitive operation two years ago, the Coast Guard fleet wiped out the Shimazu navy. Their level was no different from that of other navies, they were all equally useless.

But even so weak, the Shimazu navy, which didn't even have a cannon, was able to successfully defeat the Ryukyu navy and send the Shimazu army to the island.

It seems that not only is the Ryukyu Army's land force incompetent, but its navy is also very sparse.

This is like an unarmed child carrying a treasure through a busy street. It would be strange if he didn't let anyone touch him.

Of course, the good news for the King of Ryukyu is that as long as the Shimazu family cannot break through the blockade of the Tanegashima Water Police Station, they will not pose a threat to the Ryukyu Kingdom.

But the bad news is that the person who targeted him was replaced by Master Zhao.

~~

After Ma Yinglong finished summarizing the military intelligence, the police officers had a clearer understanding of the country and enemy they were facing.

Then it was Wang Rulong's turn. He glanced at his officers and said slowly:

"The strength of the Ryukyu Kingdom is far inferior to that of the daimyo of Kyushu. They are basically a group of chicks under the wings of the Ming Dynasty. This time they are using a butcher knife to kill a chicken. Victory is naturally a piece of cake."

The police officers nodded one after another. Of course they had this confidence.

"But the problem is that Ryukyu is not an enemy country like Japan. We can just fight against the enemy country, and they have no place to complain." Wang Rulong smiled bitterly and said, "But Ryukyu Zhongshan Kingdom is different. They are a model vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. The court has always treated them differently from other countries. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are the most beloved."

Although North Korea always regards itself as the eldest son of the Ming Dynasty and the most loyal dog, since the "Chenghua Liting", they have forged a deadly feud with the neighboring Jurchens. The two sides fight each other all day long, and when they can't win, they go to Beijing to complain to their father. In order to maintain peace on the northeastern border, the Ming Dynasty had to mediate between the two sides again and again. But it is inevitable that one hand can't clap, and this Goryeo stick is not a good thing either... The Jurchens are like wild dogs all day long, and they are endless. Are they trying to plot against my Nurgandusi? So it is inevitable that I am wary of the Joseon Dynasty.

For example, the Ming Dynasty still told the Li Dynasty that the saltpeter in gunpowder was refined from seawater, which made a group of alchemists in the Li Dynasty boil salt on the seashore all day long.

However, the Joseon Dynasty did not lose out. Although it never extracted saltpeter, it accidentally greatly improved the quality of Goryeo salt, making it a new favorite on the tables of Beijing's dignitaries and earning a lot of money.

As the saying goes, distance makes beauty. Compared with the Joseon Dynasty, which was always trying to stir up trouble in the Northeast, the Ryukyu Kingdom, which lived far away overseas and never caused trouble to the Ming Dynasty except for paying tribute too frequently, and always asked for instructions early and reported late, and completely regarded itself as a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, naturally became the favorite of the court. The court also intended to treat the Ryukyu Kingdom well and make it a model for many vassal states.

So if you beat him today, he will definitely go to Beijing to file a complaint tomorrow. Given the Ryukyu Kingdom's overly good image in the court and their continued respect for the ministers in the capital for many years, it is hard to say who the court will side with at that time.

Young Master Zhao estimated that even if he made a few more sets of talisman porcelain for Weng Weng and produced a complete set of color, unedited animation of Jin Ping Mei, Emperor Longqing would at most order both sides to cease fighting and would definitely not favor him and chill the hearts of his vassal states.

Is Mr. Zhao seeking revenge? Is he such a vindictive person? He is simply greedy for her body and wants to eat Ryukyu in one gulp!