The Ryukyu Kingdom and the Joseon Dynasty were both loyal dogs of the Ming Dynasty.

However, compared with the Joseon Dynasty, which was founded on great powerism and bordered the Ming Dynasty by land, the Ryukyu Kingdom, which was separated from the Ming Dynasty by the ocean before its establishment, obviously had greater independence in domestic and foreign affairs.

They could even hide the fact from the Ming Dynasty after being raped by the Satsuma clan, and act out the good show of one wife serving two husbands without being exposed.

Furthermore, the reason why the Joseon Dynasty agreed to lend Jeju Island to Jiangnan for shipping was that, firstly, the overall situation of grain shipping was in the interest of the Joseon Dynasty, and the Joseon Dynasty dared not disobey. Secondly, Master Zhao had the leverage over Park Sung-hak and a group of Joseon merchants, and relied on these people to help conceal the truth from Seoul.

In fact, the King of the Joseon Dynasty and the ministers still thought that the Ming Dynasty had only borrowed a small port to replenish supplies and repair ships. They had no idea that half of Jeju Island no longer belonged to them.

Zhao Hao had no excuse or leverage against the Ryukyu Islands. If he pushed them too hard, they would go to Beijing to sue their father. Zhao Hao did not want to give Gao Gong leverage, so his request to lease the port was never met, and even the number of guards stationed in the Ryukyu Islands was limited to 100.

As a result, this happened...

"No matter who did it, we must teach that damned King Shang Yuan a lesson this time, make him compensate for all our losses and meet all our demands. It won't be too late to investigate later!" Wang Rulong angrily asked, "Sir, send our main fleet south!"

Jin Ke and Ma Yinglong also looked at the young master, but Zhao Hao asked calmly, "Brother Jin, what do you think?"

"My Lord, I think this is indeed an opportunity to make the Ryukyu King obey, but sending the main fleet to intimidate him seems a bit inappropriate." Jin Ke said slowly: "Ryukyu is a country designated by Emperor Taizu as a country that will not be conquered. As long as we don't really open fire, they may not be afraid."

"No need to tame them," Wang Rulong said nonchalantly, "Annam and Japan are still countries that will not be tame. Should we beat them up or not?"

"That's why you don't understand. The original text of Taizu's ancestral precepts is, '...If they do not consider their own situation and come to disturb our border, it will be a bad omen. Since they are not a threat to China, it is also a bad omen if we raise troops to attack them lightly." Jin Ke smiled bitterly, "So the premise of 'not conquering' is 'they are not a threat to China'. If they are a threat, why not keep them here for the New Year?"

"I actually don't agree with the so-called 'unconquered country'. I think it's just tying one's own hands." He was afraid that the young master would misunderstand, so he quickly explained: "It's just that the King of Ryukyu has this shield and will not be afraid of the Celestial Empire's fleet. Besides, although we have the title of 'Royal', we are not the real royal army."

"Is there nothing we can do to him?" Wang Rulong said in a muffled voice.

"Of course not, and there is no need to resort to violence. A well-trained family dog ​​should not be beaten with sticks. Harsh words are enough to make it obey. As long as you try to ask the court to issue an edict to reprimand them and order them to compensate us, that will be enough." Jin Ke smiled faintly and said, "Then we can extort a lot of money from them and get everything we want."

He raised his eyebrows and said, "If they dare to refuse, it will be considered as disobedience. When the warships come to the border and bombard the royal city, they will have no choice but to swallow their anger."

"That's right." Zhao Hao smiled approvingly and said, "Brother Jin is indeed mature and prudent. He should be more careful in dealing with vassal states. If all other methods are ineffective, it won't be too late to overturn the table."

"Oh, I understand." After hearing what the young master said, Wang Rulong nodded and no longer insisted on his own opinion.

"But your fleet should be ready to set out as soon as possible." Zhao Hao said with a gloomy expression: "After I find out the culprit, I will immediately order you to go south and kill him without a single trace! Let those lawless sea lords know clearly that going against us will only lead to death!"

"Yes! The loss of this escort mission was not great, and the intensity was not high. We can set out again in early June at the latest!" Wang Rulong responded proudly, and grinned, "In fact, there is no need to investigate. Clean up all these bloody scums, and no one will be wrongly accused!"

"That's right." This time Jin Ke also supported Wang Rulong and said, "Since you have decided to take over the South China Sea, how can you allow others to sleep beside your bed? You can use this excuse to clear away all the garbage!"

"Haha, it seems that Brother Jin also dislikes those sea lords." Zhao Hao understood the meaning of the song.

"I dare not." Jin Ke's expression was stern. He knew that the young master admired those sea merchants and pirates who dominated the South China Sea. This can be seen from the young master's admiration for Wang Zhi and his love for the sea.

But Jin Ke was very worried that the young master would recruit those pirates, not because he was afraid that they would threaten his position. If he could be outdone by those pirates, Jin Ke would not have the face to stay with the young master.

What he was worried about was that it would affect the army that the young master and he had cultivated with all his efforts!

Jin Ke followed Qi Jiguang's ideas and paid great attention to the purity of the army. He only recruited honest country folk. He did not believe that those pirates who had been at sea, burned, killed and looted could be transformed into soldiers with good style, strict discipline, bravery and loyalty.

He firmly believed that even if these people were reformed on the surface, they were still dirty at heart. Moreover, these people were extremely contagious. Once their numbers increased, they would definitely pull the Coast Guard back to the level of the old army...

"Don't worry, I promise you, the Coast Guard won't want any of those people." Zhao Hao knew what he was thinking, and patted Jin Ke on the shoulder. He said meaningfully, "But you have to remember that the Age of Exploration we are in is a bloody and dirty pirate age where the weak are the prey of the strong. If you want to maintain the honor of the army, there are many things you can't do, including those things that must be done, so..."

Zhao Hao didn't say anything else, but everyone present could understand what he meant.

Sir, we still need people to do the dirty work...

"I'll remember this." Jin Ke lowered his head in shame and said, "I will stop discriminating against those people and look at them more objectively in the future."

"Haha, of course I believe you." Young Master Zhao nodded with a smile, then changed the subject and said, "There is no time to lose. I have decided to head south tomorrow!"

"Sir, can we wait for two days?" Ma Yinglong said hurriedly, "There are not many warships that can be deployed at full capacity right now, and we don't have any bases in the Fujian and Guangdong areas. The garrison area needs some time to increase the fleet's self-sustaining capabilities."

This requires traveling to the South China Sea, which is 2,000 miles away. Moreover, the sea is full of mixed fish and dragons and extremely dangerous. How can we just leave like that?

"I'm not going to fight, so there's no need for such a big show. What's the point of scaring those guys away?" Zhao Hao waved his hand and said, "Send a few inconspicuous medium-sized Wuwei boats that can ensure safety and perform some simple tasks. And the fleet will be parked at the dock of the Coast Guard Office. Lord Zhao can't afford to support more."

"Is that so?" Jin Ke heard that the young master missed his father so much that he was eager to support him. He changed his words and said, "The ten light warships in good condition can be supplied tonight and set off tomorrow. A small fleet can go south along the coastal current, so supply should not be a problem."

After a pause, he continued, "But you still have to take a suitable port as a base as soon as possible so that our main fleet can set out there."

"Well, I already have a few targets, but I have to go and take a look first." Zhao Hao nodded and sighed softly, "Alas, mainly because I didn't expect these things to happen, otherwise I should have gone south earlier."

"No one can foresee the future." The three men hurriedly comforted the young master.

Zhao Hao thought to himself, but the problem is, I do have it...but it seems to be becoming less and less accurate. For example, the disappearance of the Chaozhou prefect was something he could not foresee.

"It seems that I have to get rid of my reliance on the Great Prophecy in the future, otherwise it will hurt me sooner or later." Young Master Zhao warned himself.

~~

Just as Master Zhao was anxiously preparing to go south to help his father, the situation in Chaozhou Prefecture further deteriorated...

A large group of people were taking shelter from the summer heat under the shade of trees beside the official road in Zhao'an County, Fujian.

The sun in Lingnan in May is already scorching. It is not far from the seaside, and the humidity is very high. It is stuffy and hot like a steamer. It is impossible to travel at noon.

There were scholars, merchants, warriors, and civilians in the group. The most eye-catching thing was a sedan chair with four bearers, and there were also official titles and avoidance signs. It was obvious that there were officials mixed in, including scholars, farmers, merchants, and workers.

This was naturally the team that Zhao Erye had just taken office. In order not to attract attention, they had set out in batches before. But after entering Fujian, the five hundred people gathered together. Fujian and Guangdong were not peaceful, and the government had no control over anything outside the county. Of course, the more people there were, the safer it was.

It is no exaggeration to say that with the strong supporting lineup around him, it would not make any difference if Guangdong was handed over to him for governance.

At this time, Master Zhao was not wearing the thick and heavy official robe, but only a white silk undershirt. He was barefoot and with his arms open, sitting on a big rock, letting the servant fan him while he talked to Xu Wei and Wu Cheng'en.

"A dozen miles further, we'll be in Chaozhou. What do you think is waiting for me?" He gulped down a mouthful of green bean soup to reduce internal heat, wiped his mouth and asked, "Isn't he going to follow in the footsteps of the Lord of the Palace?"

"It's hard to say." Xu Wei chuckled and said, "The Chaoshan people have gone crazy. They will catch one toad and two toads. The prefect has been killed, so why keep a deputy prefect?"

"Oh, don't scare me." Master Zhao shuddered and the mung bean soup poured down his neck.

"Don't listen to his nonsense, Mr. Dong. We won't go into the city, but go directly to the Coast Guard Office in Anbu to wait for orders. There won't be any problems." Wu Chengen hurriedly comforted him, "Everything happened before you took office. There won't be any problems if you do this. By then, you will have soldiers and ships under your command, so what are you afraid of?"

"Well, that's true. Then go into the mansion quietly and don't make any noise." Master Zhao felt relieved.

I was just thinking about going to the seaside and taking a boat, which would be the safest, when I saw a fast horse galloping from the south of the official road.

The guards around them immediately became alert, but the person coming shouted from afar: "Is that Zhao Zhuangyuan's team in front?"

"Yes, it's me. Who are you?" Zhao Shouzheng stood up and asked.

"I'm a clerk from the Penghu Trading Station, and I've been ordered to come here to report a message!" The man showed his ID card, and he turned out to be from the Special Operations Section of the Security Department.

The guards searched his weapons and took them away before bringing him before Zhao Shouzheng.

"What's up?"

"That big bandit Zeng Yiben has led a large army to attack Chaozhou City. Please turn back quickly to avoid innocent people getting hurt!" the intelligence officer said urgently.

p.s. I am going crazy writing books and taking care of kids every day, so I will take a day off tomorrow.