The next day, I heard that the prince was in the palace.

Zheng Zhaozuo told Wende Daejun, Shang Zongxian and others on the throne about the situation of the military visit and the most important "Four Articles of Zhao".

"These four points are what Master Zhao of the Celestial Empire has proposed for the aftermath of the incident." Zheng Zhaozuo finally said slowly, "Master Zhao promised that as long as we agree and earnestly implement these four points, we will forgive the past and the two sides will remain friendly as before. Moreover, if there is any trouble in the Ryukyu Islands in the future, the Jiangnan Group will continue to provide great assistance, not only in military matters, but also in people's livelihood, trade, and all-round assistance... That's basically it, please make your decision, Your Majesty."

Hearing that the prince was noncommittal, he asked Shang Zongxian, "What do you think of the regent?"

"My Lord, I think these four points are unacceptable!" Shang Zongxian said angrily, "For example, the first point is that it is only natural to punish the murderer, but what does it mean to purge the pro-Japanese factions on the island? Does this mean that even if there is a piece of Japanese silk in the house, we will arrest them? Is this going to start a big prison?"

"Prince, please don't exaggerate. I have just said that Master Zhao promised not to kill anyone. Those pro-Japanese elements who did not participate in the Naha Massacre will not be killed. They will be released after they have been reformed and turned over a new leaf." Zheng Zhaozuo frowned and said sternly, "The Ming Dynasty and Japan have an irreconcilable feud. As a vassal of the Celestial Empire, our Zhongshan Kingdom should take the initiative to purge pro-Japanese elements with dissenting ideas! Therefore, the Jiangnan Group's request is not excessive at all. On the contrary, those who think it is excessive are the ones who really have problems, right?!"

“You…” Shang Zongxian immediately lost his temper when he was accused of being a pro-Japanese element.

In fact, he was not a pro-Japanese faction, but a localist faction. Most of the Ryukyu samurai were localists. Shang Zongxian simply did not want the pro-Ming faction to take over. But he absolutely did not want to be identified as a pro-Japanese element by the other party at this critical juncture.

Zheng Zhaozuo struck while the iron was hot and said, "Prince, Jiangnan Group still wants us to conduct self-examination and self-correction. The initiative is still in our hands. If you keep procrastinating, when the Coast Guard fleet arrives at Naha Port in a few days, I'm afraid we won't have the final say!"

"Then... who will be responsible for the identification?" Shang Zongxian asked with difficulty.

"Of course, this is up to the Grand Duke to decide." Zheng Zhaozuo said calmly, "But Mr. Zhao has said in advance that I must guarantee the authenticity and completeness of the list."

"You..." Shang Zongxian was so angry that his nose was crooked. Zheng Zhaozuo went to the big island and came back, and he was just taking advantage of the situation!

It's just a new bride sleeping - is there someone on top of her? What's the big deal?

"Okay, brother, stop talking." The high and mighty Wende waved his hand and said calmly, "The king and the princes and soldiers are still in their hands. Do we have any choice?"

"No choice..." Shang Zongxian finally lost his temper. There was no choice at all.

"Then let my brother and Zheng Qinfang take charge of this matter together." Hearing the great prince waved his hand dejectedly, the meeting ended.

After all the kings had announced their departure, the prince went to the back hall to change into a gorgeous robe and ordered people to prepare a sedan chair, and then headed to Seifu Utaki, the most sacred place in Ryukyu Shintoism.

She was in a very heavy mood all the way. Although she was calm in front of the princes, that was just the self-cultivation of a nun. In fact, the prince was very confused when he heard it.

The king's brother was exiled to the north, and the country was in danger. The heavy burden fell on her shoulders. She had been suffering from insomnia for the past few days. She had nightmares when she could hardly fall asleep. She always dreamed that Zhongshan State was destroyed by the devil surnamed Zhao, the people were bleeding, and the women were insulted...

She thought about it and asked many people what to do now. But the final conclusion was that the king of Zhongshan was captured and all his soldiers were killed. Any resistance would be like an egg hitting a rock, which would only bring greater sacrifices and more cruel revenge!

Didn't you see that all the princes and ministers never mentioned the word "resistance"? They didn't even have the courage to fight to the death...

In such a desperate situation, what can a woman like Wen De Dajun do?

Of course, I prayed to God...

The so-called "Utaki" is the place where gods exist in Ryukyu mythology, and it is a sacred place for the protection of a region. Seifu Utaki is located more than 20 miles outside Shuri Castle, on the Chinen Peninsula at the easternmost end of the Ryukyu main island. Here you can worship the highest holy place, Kudaka Island, where the founding god of Ryukyu, Amamiku, descended. Therefore, Seifu Utaki is managed by Mondeku Taigun himself, and it is a sacred place for her to worship the goddess and communicate with the gods.

Because only women can serve the gods, men are completely prohibited from entering the Utaki. The guards and sedan bearers stopped far outside the Utaki, and twenty women priestesses wearing snow-white robes and carrying sacrificial supplies accompanied the Maharaja to worship inside.

The women first cleaned the Sankuli with holy water, set up the altar, incense, candles and offerings. Then they retreated to the side of the Sankuli, lined up, blew the large conch shells in their hands, beat the small drums in their hands, and rang the bells. The sacred music played passed through the Sankuli and spread to the sea not far away, becoming desolate and distant...

Hearing this, the prince held a magic tool in his hand and slowly walked into the "Sankuli", a triangular tunnel formed by two huge rock plates. This was where she communicated with the gods, and even the nuns were not allowed to enter.

The altar was set up in a dark passage. The prince took off his gold-plated shoes, knelt down with bare white feet, offered incense and kowtowed, and began to pray devoutly.

What she spoke was naturally Ryukyuan dialect, and the gist of it was reporting to the goddess that the king of Ryukyu had been captured and the country was on the brink of disaster. She begged the goddess to send down magical powers to help Ryukyu survive this disaster, and she was willing to sacrifice everything for this.

Then he knelt there for a long time, trying to trigger the divine connection and receive revelation from the goddess.

In fact, she didn't hold out much hope, because it had been almost ten years since she took over the throne of Wende Maharaja at the age of thirteen. She had prayed regularly for ten years, rain or shine, but she had never received an oracle like her predecessors. This made her feel very frustrated and felt that she was incompetent.

An hour passed, but still no response.

"I am really incompetent..." Prince Wende, who was feeling guilty, looked up at the pointed dome with disappointment, but suddenly froze.

I saw a faint green fluorescence appearing on the pitch-black stone wall.

The prince rubbed his eyes vigorously. Yes, there was indeed fluorescence. And the fluorescence formed six crooked Chinese characters:

'Jiugaka Island, Phoenix Forest.'

After seeing those six words clearly, I heard the prince's tears streaming down his face and he fell to the ground crying bitterly.

"Oh my God, you finally wrote to me..."

Today, she finally received the oracle!

As for why the oracle is in Chinese characters, it is because, like Korea and Vietnam, Ryukyu has its own language, but not its own writing system, and all writing is done in Chinese characters.

I guess the goddess can only follow the local customs...

~~

The long triangular corridor amplified the sound of the prince's crying, causing the women waiting outside the three warehouses to look at each other in bewilderment.

What happened? Was he bitten by a snake or was he bullied?

But the ceremony could not be disturbed, so the women had to endure the panic and wait eagerly.

Suddenly, they saw Maharaja stumbling out of the Sanku and rushed forward to support her.

"My Lord, are you alright?"

"Hurry, prepare the boat to Jiugao Island, there is an oracle!" Hearing that the prince almost rolled down the stone steps and his thin body fell into Zhunu's arms, she did not care about anything else and gave orders loudly with excitement on her face.

Especially the last three words, her voice was so high that it seemed as if the whole island could hear it!

Sounds so proud...

~~

Kudakashima is located ten miles east of Chinen Peninsula. It is a small, elongated island with a flat terrain, beautiful coral reefs, dense mangroves, and a clear lagoon.

Normally, there would be no one on this island.

But today was clearly unusual. There was a man wearing a bamboo hat and holding a fishing rod, fishing by a shaded lagoon on the west side of the island.

Several women wearing hats and shorts, revealing most of their wheat-colored thighs, were standing guard with weapons in hand.

With a snap, a woman accidentally stepped on a branch and broke it, which scared the man.

"Hey, can you please stop moving?" The man raised his head in frustration, revealing a handsome face. It turned out to be Lin Feng, Lin Daoqian's brother. "You scared my fish away!"

"Boss, be more careful." A small girl with dark skin and big eyes rolled her eyes and said, "Aren't we going to the unlucky place with the surname Zhao? Why are we going to this godforsaken island to fish?!"

"Didn't I tell you?" Lin Feng said, stroking his beautiful mustache with pride: "This is my plan - I call it Lu Dongbin fishing - those who are willing will take the bait!"

"Your plans have rarely worked." The girl muttered softly, "And it's not Lu Dongbin fishing, it's Li Bai..."

"You're itching for trouble, aren't you?" Lin Feng blew his beard and glared, "I've told you so many times, this time the plan will definitely work!"

"But what if that damn prince doesn't see the words we wrote with fluorite powder?" Another older, taller, fairer woman also worriedly said, "Will we just be waiting in vain on this island?"

"It's useless to wait." Lin Feng dropped his fishing rod, rested his head on his hands, leaned against a tree and said, "Think about it, that guy surnamed Zhao captured King Shang Yuan and so many princes. What's the situation on the island now?"

"He must be panicking." said several women.

"As the head of the Ryukyu witch doctors, how could Lord Wende not go and pray to the gods?" Lin Feng said confidently, "Don't worry, I've already inquired about it. This Kudaka Island is the place where the Ryukyu goddess descended, so it is regarded as the highest holy place by them. The purpose of that Saichang Utaki is to worship this Kudaka Island from afar. If Lord Wende wants to worship the gods, he will definitely go there."

"But what if she doesn't look up?" a woman suddenly asked.

"Uh..." Lin Feng was suddenly speechless. In order to prevent anyone from seeing it, he took great pains to write the words so high.

But I forgot that even if I heard it this way, the king might not be able to see it.

"I should look around carefully to see if there is anything magical..." Even though he said that, his tone revealed uncertainty. After saying that, he smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's okay. Even if she didn't see it, we can think of other ways."

"Ah, it's not over yet?" The women all wailed. They had been following Lin Feng for a month. It would be fine if he was just doing business, but he was really out of tune. He had been staying on this island for six days! Who could stand this?