Chapter 127 Discussion

The two businessmen were sarcastic and mocking Ryukyu Crown Prince Shangyi, while they walked towards Zhang Hu's direction boldly.

"Looking at the armor he is wearing, it seems to be similar to the style of the Hatamoto samurai under Lord Shugo and Lord Mino Mamoru!"

"Hmm! Maybe it's the trophies that your Excellency seized from the Ming people in Korea?!"

The two of them had a very tacit understanding of each other's words. One acted as a supporter, the other acted as a starter, and the other acted as a partner, enjoying themselves with Zhang Hu in front of them.

He had no idea what happened to his guardians and Japanese daimyo back then.

"What are you two laughing at? Get out of here." Although I couldn't understand what they were saying, seeing the two guys talking more and more happily, I knew that these two Japanese businessmen wearing clogs had bad intentions. Zhang Hu pressed the button on his hand To the hilt.

"Hey!! Look! Akito's monkey pressed his hand on the handle of the knife. I wonder if his sword will be as carefully maintained as our samurai's swords. I heard from seniors that Akito's swords and guns are all It’s just like this, it’s not on the same level as our samurai swords, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many samurai swords sold to the Ming Dynasty every year.”

"I bet you, this guy is just as good as a knife!"

The two low-status businessmen were so oblivious just because they had been in Ryukyu for a long time and were spoiled by the people in Ryukyu. If they knew that their masters were no rivals, they would have lent them ten pieces of money. No one dared to talk such nonsense in front of Zhang Hu.

After all, my eyesight is poor!

"His Royal Highness, what should we do? Do you want to dissuade him?"

Shangyi quietly knocked on the lever of the shoulder blade, indicating to the people around him to wait and see what happened.

The distance between the three parties was only a few steps away. The two businessmen came to Zhang Hu while they were talking. With their eyes closed, they looked at the Chinese characters on Zhang Hu's military uniform and the recognition flag behind him, "Keelung Army Lectures on Wushu Hall Zhang..." What bullshit Keelung Army?”

"Nani?! Keelung Army?"

Keelung speaks the same Japanese and Chinese, and looking at their arrogant and domineering demeanor, even a fool would know that they are looking for trouble.

Zhang Hu didn't get used to it. Just when the other person exclaimed at his companion's slip of the tongue, it was too late! It’s over!

The stainless steel sword was pulled out from the scabbard and drew a beautiful, firm and powerful arc in mid-air, completely cutting off the rude guy Tian Ling Gai, and then fell on the right shoulder of another businessman. Cut off the head at the neck level.

People looked at the swing of the knife in horror. It was a real cut in two. With one swing of the knife, the lives of two people ended!

Zhang Hu, who was covered in blood from his neck, was holding the steel knife produced by the Hsinchu Steel Factory. He had only one thought in his mind, "Damn it! This knife is indeed a good knife! It can really cut two pieces in half." ah!"

He turned his head and looked at the soldiers from the Shuntian Camp behind him, "These two Japanese were unclean and insulted our Keelung Army, so I killed them."

From the words, expressions and movements of the two guys, the soldiers around them could already tell that what these two people said was definitely not good. The two Japanese dwarfs would be killed if they were killed.

Are we still killing a few people? What are you afraid of!

"What? Two Shimazu businessmen were beheaded by a Keelung Army colonel?"

"Father, everyone on the dock could see it with their own eyes, and I could also see it clearly from the carriage. The two corpses stood upright for a moment before falling to the ground."

In the palace, everyone below Shang Ren was shocked by Zhang Hu's sword. It turned out that the Satsuma merchants who were showing off their power in Ryukyu were like ants, pigs and dogs in the eyes of a small school in the Keelung Military Region. They could only be killed if they wanted to. Kill without any scruples?

Wang Chao wasted no time in bragging for himself, "According to him, even the head of the Shimazu family of the Satsuma Domain would not dare to be so arrogant even if he knew about it. Even if all his samurai Ashigaru were sent to the battlefield, they would not be the only ones in the Keelung Army." Enemies of the Round.”

Political power comes from the barrel of a gun. In other words, whoever has the biggest fist will listen to whoever has the power.

I originally thought that the Shimazu family had a big fist, and since this fist was close to Ryukyu, I naturally had to look at it differently. But today, a bigger and harder fist came, and it was not far away, but the King of Ryukyu inadvertently offended them!

"How many troops did General Qin bring to Ryukyu?" Prince Shangren unknowingly held on to the crown again, for fear that he might make a fool of himself by not paying attention.

"Reporting to Your Highness, according to what my subordinates heard, the General is accompanying Shuntian in a battalion of about a thousand people, and there are six large and small ships, including boatmen and sailors. They carry at least more than 200 large and small artillery pieces. No. If you dare to hide it, please let the Lord decide!”

Wang Chao's words were very humble, but the threatening tone in his words could be heard even by the servants who were waiting for Prince Shangren to change his clothes.

Because of his earlier business relationship, he had developed some friendships, and because he saw the impressive appearance of the Keelung Army on the dock, Wang Chao was already a die-hard pro-Keelung Army faction in Ryukyu.

Faced with the pro-Keelung faction that seemed to have the upper hand, the officials began to quarrel, curse, blame each other, and shirk responsibility.

Whether he will follow the Satsuma Daimyo or be the younger brother of the new strongman, no one can tell.

"Your Majesty, it's not good!"

A guard captain rolled and crawled from the yard to King Shang Ren, panting heavily, and knelt down in front of him, as if he had something to say, but he was out of breath from running away, but Pointing outward.

"Why panic!"

The Ryukyu King only scolded the captain, but he stood up involuntarily, walked to the yard and looked in the direction of Naha Port and the two gates of Ryukyu Castle.

In this era, there was no industrial pollution or smog weather. The air quality and visibility and atmospheric transparency were excellent. Although there was no telescope of the Keelung Army, Shang Ren could clearly see the situation in the distance.

The flag of the Ryukyu King was no longer faintly flying on the turret, but a huge Qin flag.

The Keelung Army had occupied the port and left no chance for Ryukyu.

Shang Ren suddenly felt dizzy and black in front of his eyes, and he was about to fall backwards.

Several servants and guards hurried forward to help the Shang Wangye up and helped him back to the bedroom. They ordered people to bring tea and called people to invite Japanese doctors. It was a busy period.

Looking at the crowd in front of him, Shangren felt annoyed and waved his hand to let these annoying people leave, leaving only the prime minister, the prince and several other court officials in front of him.

He wanted to discuss with these trusted ministers how to deal with this aggressive general from Keelung.

"General Manager Wang, why don't you leave quickly! Can't you see that His Highness wants to discuss matters with us?!" The prime minister showed the style of holding the power of a country and wanted to drive out this annoying guy who didn't know how to live or die.

"Your Highness, just now my family came to the mansion to find me, and was assigned by Lord Qin to convey the meaning of General Qin of the Keelung Army. If my Ryukyu Kingdom is unwilling, they will definitely not force it."

This sounded a bit unreasonable. Prince Shangren couldn't help but signaled the prince to bring a chair to Wang Chao and motioned him to sit down and talk.

"How can you say such things to me?"

"Your Highness, this is it. A few days ago, the Keelung Army said that they would establish diplomatic relations with Ryukyu. To show sincerity, the Keelung Army can take back the Amami Islands in the north of Ryukyu that the previous king ceded to the Shimazu family of Satsuma Domain.

General Qin came here this time to discuss with the prince to see if the prince is willing to accept these places."

I do!

Prince Shangren almost shouted out loud!

Being able to recover the land lost in the hands of his father, no matter what means are used, in front of the people and officials of the country, it is a great achievement that will be recorded in history. When he meets his ancestors in the afterlife, he can also comfort his ancestors!

Looking at Shangren who lowered his head and thought silently, Wang Chao knew clearly in his heart, but deliberately pretended to be at a loss, "Your Highness, I will tell the Keelung Army that the land of Ryukyu will not require you to show goodwill to the Keelung Army. We will take the Amami Islands ourselves!"

How can this be?

Before Shang Ren could speak, the Crown Prince Shang Yi had already handed a cup of tea to Wang Chao.

"Lord Wang, please be patient. Your loyalty to my Ryukyu and my father is obvious to all. I think my father is also happy about the return of the Keelung Army to the Amami Islands. But this matter is serious, so we must take a long-term view!"

"I am afraid that the longer the night, the more dreams there are!"

Wang Chao continued his role as a die-hard pro-Keelung faction.

He continued to use words after words to destroy the psychological defenses of the Shang family father and son, the prime minister, and the officials of the six ministries.

"I heard rumors among the Keelung army that the army came here with great enthusiasm, but unexpectedly met with such cold eyes. The army was in a turmoil. Some people advocated sending troops into the city to punish them severely, while others advocated strictly checking the merchant ships of Ryukyu and saying that they would no longer trade sugarcane and rice with Ryukyu!"

When this was said, everyone could not help but exclaimed loudly, "Please ask Lord Wang to speak for us. We can't do this, absolutely not!"

No matter which of these two methods was implemented, the Ryukyu king would die and his country would be destroyed.

Not to mention sending troops into the city, even if Keelung stopped trading sugarcane for rice with Ryukyu from then on, it would be enough to make Ryukyu starving and piled with bones.

"What if the sugarcane and rice trade was stopped? The losses of his Keelung army are much greater than ours! Anyway, we can't starve to death!"

An official blurted out such a sentence without knowing the seriousness of the matter, and immediately made his colleagues around him look at him with sanitary eyes.

As an official, how could he not be despised by his colleagues for saying such ignorant words that were ignorant of the people's livelihood and farming?

"You! You!"

Prince Shangren pointed his finger at this ignorant guy and was so angry that he couldn't speak.

"Get out now!"

Prince Shang held back for a long time and threw the teacup in his hand and a hard word at the official.

Ever since the Shimazu family conquered Ryukyu, they forced the destruction of rice fields in Ryukyu and planted sugarcane, a high-value-added economic crop, to extract sugar from sugarcane in exchange for money. However, for ordinary people, sugar is just a condiment and luxury, not a necessity like rice.

Since the destruction of fields and planting of sugarcane, islanders in the so-called three provinces and thirty-six islands of Ryukyu have starved to death from insufficient food from time to time.

Today, a large amount of sugar cane is still planted on the Ryukyu Islands, but the buyers of sugar cane have been replaced by Keelung merchants who seem to be easy to talk to. They trade white rice for sugar cane and also exchange the raw sugar that has been squeezed, so that the islanders in various parts of Ryukyu can have enough food and clothing.

Now, just because of etiquette, the Keelung Army has to sacrifice this magic weapon that leaves Ryukyu almost no room for resistance. It seems to be an understatement, but it kills people without blood.

"How much grain is in the treasuries of the country? Including the grain brought by merchants?" Shangren seemed to have his spinal cord pulled out, and he had no strength in his body.

Several people looked at each other and exchanged their respective information in a low voice. The prime minister stepped forward and reported the amount of grain stored in Ryukyu to Shangren.

"The amount of grain in the treasuries, villages, and shops is only enough to support the sugarcane harvest, which is at most half a month."

The number proposed by the Ministry of Revenue officials made King Shangren collapse on the throne like a puddle of mud.

"They are planning before they act! They calculated that we are at this critical juncture and treated us like this!"

"Father! Let's go to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to sue him! Sue him for Qin Hao's abuse of the vassal and plotting against the law!" Shangyi was young and energetic after all, and he actually came up with such a way to deal with it.

Everyone present looked at Shangyi with a look of a fool. Now they have transported soldiers to the city wall, and the gunboats are at the dock, taking over the outbound port. Why are you going to Ming to file a complaint?

Let alone whether you can reach Ming, even if you have the good luck to reach Ming, the documents will be delivered, and so on. I am afraid that the people of Ryukyu have been plowed before the lawsuit is filed!

Moreover, who can be sure that this group of people are Ming people, and not everyone who speaks Chinese is a Ming official.

After all, Shangren has been on the throne for a long time, and he still has a good eye. Although this group of people is under the banner of Ming people, they may be just a powerful force on the sea.

In this turbulent period, I just hope they won't be too cruel. Shangren has given up the extravagant desire in his heart.

The world is getting more and more chaotic. Without military force, you are just a lamb to be slaughtered. You will be eaten when you say it, more punctual than the King of Hell.

A burst of noisy shouting suddenly came from the street outside the palace in the distance, from small to large and from far to near, the sound became louder and louder, mixed with panic and fear, and many people cried.

"What happened outside?!"

The captain of the guards on duty went out for a walk, and returned to the king with a panic expression on his face to report.

"Your Majesty, people outside said that there are two gunboats carrying hundreds of soldiers heading towards Kume Island!"

This time, the prime minister and a group of people collapsed to the ground!

Kume Island is a gathering place for officials' families. In Ryukyu, it is considered a residential area for the upper class.

Almost all the families of officials at all levels of the palace are there, and there are only hundreds of militia guards on the island to protect them. How can they be the opponents of the fierce Keelung soldiers?

What's more, there are two gunboats there to help. You can imagine how the situation will develop next.

"Father!"

"Son!"

The adults in the palace who used to be high and mighty began to cry.

The current situation in Ryukyu is like a thin boy who is hit on the head with a musket by a strong man, but there is a plate of delicious food in front of him, and there is a sharp knife under his crotch, which is so weird and dangerous.

Whether to cut off the trade of sugarcane and rice or to have the musket on the head, it all depends on one thought.

"Your Highness, I beg you to make a decision as soon as possible!"

From the prime minister to all officials and the guards outside the door, they all knelt on the ground in front of Shang Ren.

Should he eat the exquisite food sent by the people in the Amami Islands and gain fame and fortune, or should he reject the goodwill released by the Keelung Army for the sake of etiquette?

If he chose the latter, I am afraid that the group of people kneeling in front of him would tear the Shang family father and son into pieces without the Keelung Army taking action, and then go out of the city to welcome Qin Hao.

Looking at Wang Chao standing alone, Shangren wanted to kick this traitor to death, but he didn't dare.

The current situation forced him to make a decision early, otherwise, he might die in a matter of breaths!

"Mr. Wang, please go and tell the general that I will go to the dock to pay homage to the general in my robes and robes!"

"All the people in the city, from my father and son to all the people above the gentry, must go in their best clothes!"

"All the streets in the city will be paved with yellow soil and sprinkled with clean water, and colorful tents will be set up to welcome the general into the city!"

"I will obey the king's order and convey your will to the Keelung army."

The dark clouds hanging over everyone's heads disappeared in an instant with the edicts of the Ryukyu King Shangren, and people began to smile.

If I had known this would happen, I would not have done it in the first place!

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