"Good, that's great!" After hearing what Tang Baolu said, Zheng's father and son answered in unison.
In the past, Zheng Yu was still struggling with his identity, whether he was a Ryukyu or a Ming person. After hearing these four points, he was no longer confused.
I am a Ming Dynasty man when I am alive and a Ming Dynasty dead man when I die. No one can change that!
The reason is that the four major demands put forward by Don Paul are highly consistent with the interests of the Kume samurai!
Although the 36 surnames of Fujian people had been traveling to Ryukyu for nearly 200 years, they had always been highly respected in Zhongshan Kingdom and were promoted as Kume samurai as a whole, becoming part of the ruling class. However, the indigenous princes and samurai always regarded them as outsiders. For example, they gave them fiefdoms in Kume Island overseas, never allowed them to control military power, and made them live in Kume Village instead of the royal city, etc.
Of course, this is also related to their strong sense of being the proud subjects of the Celestial Empire and their unwillingness to consider themselves as Ryukyuans. In Kume Village, they built ancestral halls, Confucian temples and clan schools, used the language of the Ming Dynasty, taught the culture of the Ming Dynasty, wore Ming Dynasty clothes and followed Ming Dynasty customs. They maintained clan settlement and basically did not intermarry with the Ryukyuans... They had no intention of integrating themselves, so why should they ask others to treat them as their own people?
In fact, the two sides could live in peace all the time, all thanks to Zhongshan's reliance on the Ming Dynasty. The Kume clan monopolized the tribute from Ryukyu, so they were naturally invincible. But invincibility does not mean victory, and there were many people and things that did not get along with them and made them uncomfortable.
The "Naha Massacre" is a living example - although King Zhongshan has always handed over the Naha officials in charge of Naha Port affairs to the hereditary Kume samurai, he has never allowed them to get involved in the north and south forts at the gateway to Naha Port.
Moreover, there are quite a few pro-Japanese factions among the Ryukyu nobles. This is what the Zheng family father and son hate the most. Those people assisted the Japanese in their subtle cultural, religious and economic infiltration of Ryukyu, which would not only affect the legitimacy of the Ming Dynasty in Ryukyu, but also might attract the covetousness of evil wolves.
Now Mr. Zhao wants to hand over Naha Port and the surrounding sphere of influence to the Kume clan. He also wants to eliminate the Japanese influence in Ryukyu. He wants to fully promote Chinese education, thoroughly consolidate the orthodox status of the Ming Dynasty, and take the initiative to assimilate Ryukyu. This is exactly what the Kume clan has always dreamed of, okay?
Anyway, Zheng Yu has decided to fight for the "Four Articles of Zhao" all his life!
~~
The happy time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was noon. A man in a black police uniform came in and whispered something in Tang Youde's ear.
Tang Youde nodded slightly, then smiled and introduced the man to the Zheng family father and son, "This is Deputy Chief Huang who works for our young master. I have been ordered to invite you two to have lunch with the young master."
The father and son were flattered when they heard this, and hurriedly greeted Huang Xiaohu. Huang Xiaohu was serious, and after nodding to greet the two, he extended his hand and said, "Please come in, my two distinguished guests, the young master is waiting for you."
"Okay, hurry up." With 'Zhao Si Tiao', the Zheng father and son were able to put themselves in the right position. They quickly followed the two out of the camp and onto a cape on the back mountain that protruded out of the sea.
Zhao Hao chose the venue for the banquet at the highest point of the cape, where the view is excellent. Looking at the vast sea and sky, one's mind will also become broader.
Moreover, the typhoon had just passed, the temperature was not high, and there was a sea breeze blowing on my face, so it was not hot at all.
So, under the parasol high on the cape, they met the amiable Mr. Zhao.
As soon as they saw Zhao Hao, the Zheng father and son immediately knelt down and apologized, saying that they had not taken good care of the young master's subordinates, causing so many Ming Dynasty men to die, and that they deserved to be put to death.
"You're better now. The matter has been investigated clearly. The responsibility is not yours. You don't care about defense, and you don't have an army. We can't force you to do anything." Zhao Hao generously helped Zheng Zhaozuo up and sighed, "It's my fault too. I thought too highly of them. I thought Ryukyu was a powerful maritime vassal state after all. They had fought against the Japanese pirates for many years without any problems. Protecting the safety of the merchants and fleets of the Celestial Empire was a piece of cake. I didn't expect them to be so despicable that they allowed the Japanese pirates to burn, kill, and loot under the royal capital and come and go as they please. They are rotten from the inside out!"
"Yes, yes." Zheng Zhaozuo nodded heavily. He was also an old fox, so he naturally knew that the purpose of Mr. Zhao's characterization was to reshuffle the Zhongshan Kingdom. "I also hate the current situation of Zhongshan Kingdom. Unfortunately, we, the thirty-six surnames of Fujian people, are outsiders after all. No one will listen to our honest advice. Instead, we will be envied and thought that we want to turn the tables."
"What are you talking about?" Zhao Hao asked the father and son to sit down at a long table covered with a navy blue tablecloth, and pointed at the snow-white beach, clear water and beautiful coral reefs in the bay and said, "Does this place originally belong to them? What is King Shang Yuan doing here with his three thousand royal soldiers? Are they here to inspect?"
"He came to quell the rebellion. What you said is that the Amami Islands and the Sakishima Islands originally had their own masters. It was not until the generation of King Shangyuan's grandfather that Zhongshan Kingdom established its current territory through continuous conquests." Zheng Zhaozuo quickly replied, "In fact, even their king is a fake!
Then he lowered his voice and said, "The previous royal family was abandoned by the nobles because of their immorality. The great-grandfather of the current King Shang Yuan was called Jin Wan, who was actually a powerful official at the time. After becoming the new king, he was afraid that the imperial court would not agree to let himself, who had no blood relationship with the royal family, succeed to the throne, so he changed his name to Shang Taijiu and lied that he was the king's younger brother and asked for the title. Only then did he get the title of King of Zhongshan. This matter is not a secret in Ryukyu, but it has been kept secret from the imperial court."
After saying this, Zheng Zhaozuo lowered his head in shame and said, "At that time, Jinwan was worried that the people of Kume Village would report him, so he promised us huge benefits. For example, he promoted the 36 surnames of Fujian people to samurai, handed over Naha Port to us for management forever, and no longer restricted our number of official students, etc. ... in exchange for our silence. Now that I think about it, I really forgot my principles for the sake of profit. I am extremely ashamed!"
"Alas, this cannot be considered as forgetting one's principles for the sake of profit. You have not harmed the interests of the Ming Dynasty. It is understandable that you have seized the opportunity to greatly improve your own situation!" Zhao Hao waved his hand and said, "This incident just shows that the so-called orthodoxy cannot always guarantee the legitimacy of rule. In fact, where does the legitimacy of rule come from? It comes from leading the people to live a good life. Whoever can lead the people to live a good life is the legitimate ruler, and everything else is nonsense!"
The father and son were terrified by Master Zhao's outrageous remarks, but they thought he was probably talking about the King of Ryukyu...
Zhao Hao pointed to a few cycad trees not far away and said with a joking smile: "I heard in China that during the day, the King of Ryukyu was thinking of some excuse to cheat the Ming Dynasty for money... oh no, to pay tribute. At night, he dreamed of standing on three mountains and conquering the world."
Zheng and his son could not help laughing when they heard this. They had never thought that the Ryukyu King's arrogant and greedy behavior would be known to the Ming Dynasty. It was ridiculous that they thought that no one in the Ming Dynasty knew what they were doing on the island.
"As for the common people of Ryukyu, they collect cycad fruits during the day and grind them into powder to satisfy their hunger. At night they dream of going out to sea to make a living and escaping from this 'cycad hell'." Then Zhao Hao said again.
The father and son were embarrassed for a moment. Zheng Zhaozuo sighed and said, "I didn't expect that the young master knew Ryukyu so well that he even knew about the 'Cycad Hell'."
The so-called cycad is also called banana leaf palm. The seeds contain a lot of starch, which can be used to replace flour to satisfy hunger after being ground into powder. However, the seeds contain toxins. If not handled properly, they can easily cause food poisoning. There have been tragic deaths from eating cycads by mistake. In addition, it is difficult for ordinary people to remove the wood fiber in it, so eating too much of it can easily cause abdominal distension and burst the intestines.
The Ryukyu Islands had a harsh environment, backward agriculture, and a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Only the nobles and the rich could eat rice all year round, and the common people had to rely on cycads to fill their stomachs when they encountered famine. Some poor people even relied on cycad powder all year round, so people often died while walking on the streets. Therefore, it was called the "Cycad Hell".
Of course, right now it can only be considered the first level of hell. When the Japanese come and suck blood from Ryukyu like crazy every year, the Ryukyu people will experience what the eighteen levels of hell are.
"This shows that the Ryukyu natives are incompetent in governing the country." Zhao Hao knocked on the table and emphasized: "As the representatives of the Ming Dynasty in Ryukyu, you have the obligation to save the Ryukyu people from suffering and lead them to live a good life! I believe that in the future, when the people no longer have to rely on cycads to fill their stomachs, everyone will recognize your governance. No one can shake your legitimacy!"
The father and son felt their blood boiling after hearing this, and they felt that the road ahead became extremely clear and bright!
We are not traitors to Ryukyu. Our goal is to lead the people of Ryukyu to live a good life and turn Ryukyu into an overseas wonderland of the Ming Dynasty!
Zheng Zhaozuo nodded heavily, stood up and saluted Zhao Hao again, saying: "I and the thirty-six surnames of Fujian people swear to follow you till death and follow your lead!"
Zheng Yu also followed his father and kowtowed to Zhao Hao happily.
"Okay, then we are completely family now." Zhao Hao happily helped Zheng Zhaozuo up again, reassuring them, "Welcome to join the big family of Jiangnan Group. Just do your work with confidence. We at Jiangnan Group do things uprightly. It is said that a single flower does not make spring, but a hundred flowers in full bloom make the garden full of spring. Wherever the group goes, it will benefit the places, and will never kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. We hope that everyone can share the prosperity and create a beautiful prosperous world! This prosperous world is by no means a carnival of the rich and powerful where 'the rich enjoy wine and meat, while the poor freeze to death on the streets', but a world of great harmony where the old have a place to live, the young have a place to grow, and the widowed, lonely, and disabled are all taken care of!"
After thousands of trials and tribulations, Mr. Zhao's ability to incite has reached the level of a pyramid scheme master. Zheng Zhaozuo was completely relieved by his righteous speech. Zheng Yu's eyes were red with excitement. He felt that he had a goal in life - that is to follow Mr. Zhao and fight for the realization of universal peace for the whole world! He would die without regrets!
p.s. I'm still busy today, but I'll be done tomorrow and continue writing the next chapter.