1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 889 The Strength of the Shogunate

June 1674, 6, Ryukyu, Shuri Castle.

In 1426, after Shuri unified the three mountains and established the Ryukyu Kingdom according to Shi Shangbazhi, Longtan was excavated, gardens were built, and Shuri Castle was used as the royal city.The subsequent second Shang Dynasty also used this as its capital. Its king Shang Zhen expanded Shuri Castle, and its layout was built on the basis of the Forbidden City of Ming Dynasty.For hundreds of years since then, Shurijo Castle has been the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom and the center of politics, economy, culture and foreign trade of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

In 1609, Japan's Satsuma clan invaded, Shuri Castle was looted, numerous cultural relics and treasures were looted back to Kagoshima, and Ryukyu was forced to pay tribute to the Satsuma clan and the Edo shogunate.

In 1658, the Qisa War broke out. The Qi State gathered more than [-] troops, first attacked Shuri Outer Port (now Naha City), and then attacked Shuri King City, capturing and killing all the Satsuma troops.Subsequently, the State of Qi went on an expedition across the sea to the Satsuma Domain. In less than half a month, it severely damaged the Satsuma Army, occupied Kagoshima, and forced the other party to sign the "Qi Sa Peace Agreement". The occupied Amami Oshima and its surrounding affiliated islands were recovered, and the independence and territorial unity of the Ryukyu Kingdom were restored.

During this war, Shuri King City was almost completely burned, and tens of thousands of residents in the city were massacred by the Satsuma army. The ensuing plague, hunger, and famine followed the entire kingdom for several years, causing all Ryukyu people to suffer endlessly. the abyss.

At that time, Daming was still under the threat of the Qing Dynasty and the separation of the North and the South. It was too busy to take care of itself, and it was impossible to take care of this former dependent country.

Ryukyu King Shanggan missed the kindness of the Qi State in saving the country, so he sent envoys with a letter of state, requesting that he be regarded as a vassal of Qi State.In order to show sincerity, he honored the quality and surrendered himself to the king, and worshiped the King of Qi as the suzerain with the ceremony of the Duke of the country.

In the next few years, Qi State provided a lot of assistance to the Ryukyu Kingdom, helping the kingdom to gradually restore the economy and people's livelihood. At the same time, during the period when a large number of immigrants were stranded in the area every year, the Shuri King City was rebuilt.The Qi State also partially returned the large amount of property looted by the Satsuma clan to the Ryukyu royal family.This move made Shang Zhi and other Ryukyu monarchs and ministers all grateful and praised Qi as a state of benevolence and righteousness and etiquette.

Considering its own strength, and for the sake of future safety, Ryukyu has entrusted all of China's national defenses to Qi State, and even entrusted Qi State officials to act as agents for import and export duties.

The land of Ryukyu is barren, the planting technology is backward, and it is difficult to develop agriculture. Previously, all needed items were obtained through entrepot trade.Unable to establish an economy based on agriculture, wealth can only be obtained through overseas trade.For hundreds of years, the Ryukyu Kingdom has obtained a large amount of material supplies from Ming through the suzerain-vassal relationship with Ming. Ryukyu ships travel between Shuri Outer Port and Fuzhou, go north to Japan and Korea, and go south to Annam, Luzon, Siam, Aceh, Java, etc., spread throughout the entire Nanyang Islands.Ryukyu became rich from such "entrepot trade".

However, from the end of the 16th century to the middle of the 17th century, with Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and other European countries establishing direct trade links with China, as well as the invasion of Satsuma and Japan’s lock-up, Ryukyu’s entrepot trade status tended to decline.Since then, Ryukyu's finances have become more and more difficult, and sometimes there are even situations where they have no money to receive envoys from the Ming Dynasty and borrow from Satsuma.

However, not long after the Qisa War, Qi State had the opportunity to trade directly with Japan, and Ryukyu immediately became a transit point and material distribution center for Qi-Japan trade.A large number of commodities gather here, and countless merchants meet here, and the once desolate "entrepot trade" suddenly flourishes again.

Although the import and export tariffs are controlled by the Qi State, most of the income falls into the pockets of Qi State and their merchants, but even more so, the entrepot trade in the past allowed countless wealth to "spill over" into the hands of the Ryukyu Kingdom, making the royal family Wealth increased rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

When Ryukyu King Shangzhen (after King Qi proclaimed himself emperor, all the vassal states were promoted to king) succeeded to the throne a few years ago, the economy and people's livelihood of the Ryukyu Kingdom had not only fully recovered, but also greatly exceeded the level before the Satsuma invasion. The income obtained also reached tens of thousands of Hanzhou silver dollars.

Oh, that's right, now the Ryukyu Kingdom has completely abolished the previously widely used Yongle Tongbao of the Ming Dynasty and the Kuanyong Tongbao of Japan, and has fully adopted the Hanzhou silver coins (including horns and copper coins) minted by the Qi State.

It can be said that the current Ryukyu Kingdom is deeply controlled by the Qi State, whether it is politically, militarily, or economically.However, it is completely different from the previous barbaric paternalistic control of the Satsuma clan. Qi basically does not interfere too much in the internal affairs of Ryukyu. Part of it was transferred to Ryukyu for the daily expenses of the Royal Government.

Therefore, for the current situation, the Ryukyu Kingdom may be a little bit unwilling, but generally speaking, they are quite satisfied.As a small country, and an island country composed of a series of broken islands, it must not be able to escape the control and influence of the neighboring powers. The Ming Dynasty in the past, Japan decades ago, and the Qi Kingdom today, Gaimo is an exception.

"Your Majesty, the four warships of the State of Qi stationed on the floating island (now Naha City) suddenly departed from the port and headed north to Japan, fearing to attack the shogunate."

Cai Bin, a senior official of the Ryukyu Kingdom, hurried to the palace to report to the Ryukyu King Shangzhen about the movements of the Qi garrison.

"Qi Ri has been in constant disputes over the past few years due to trade matters, why did he suddenly carry out conquest today?" Shang Zhen couldn't help being shocked when he heard this.

"Early this morning, news came from Nagasaki that the Japanese shogunate, in spite of the strong opposition of the Qi State, had beheaded dozens of sailors from the Qi State captured two months ago in Osaka." Cai Bin said solemnly: "Therefore, the Qi State resident Several warships on the floating island were ordered to go to Japan, or to retaliate against the matter. It is said that the Qi State has sent orders to station in Andong (today's Nago City in the northern part of Okinawa Island), Hanxing Island (today's Miyako Island) , Dongyi Island (today's Amami Oshima, Japan) garrison and rotating rural soldiers have entered a state of combat readiness."

"The mainland of Qi is no less than ten thousand miles away from Japan, and the troops stationed in Ryukyu are no more than a thousand. How can you dare to attack Japan rashly?" conflict."

"Your Majesty, the Battle of Qi Sa that broke out in the Year of 1658 ([-]) was caused by the Satsuma clan's innocent killing of the representative of Qi State stationed in our Ryukyu affairs and a dozen businessmen and sailors." Cai Bin reminded: "Now, the shogunate ignores The country dissuaded him, and directly executed more than [-] sailors from the Qi country, the nature of which was evil, comparable to that of the Reform Movement of [-]."

"Hiss..." Shang Zhen heard this, and her heart jumped, "Cai Qing's family intends that a great war will break out between Qiri?"

"Yes." Cai Bin nodded and said: "The people of Qi have always regarded themselves as the protectors of all the Chinese in Nanyang, and even changed what Chen Tang said in the Han Dynasty to, 'Those who offend me and strengthen Qi will be punished even if they are far away. , even if it is far away, it will be saved'. Now, more than [-] people of Qi State have been slaughtered by the Japanese shogunate, how can the Qi State government break its promise and become fat? How can the Emperor of Qi give up?"

"If the Qi Kingdom goes to war with Japan, what should I do in Ryukyu?"

"As a vassal of the Qi State, although the country is small and weak, it still needs to organize the army and fight against Japan with the suzerain."

"...Since that's the case, I, Ryukyu, will wait for the call of Qi."
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On June 6, Hanxing Island.

"The Japanese archipelago was still in a long-term war 200 years ago. The big and small feudal towns were in chaos, and the melee wars lasted for many years. It can be regarded as the period of the Warring States Period. The Tokugawa clan rose in the troubled times of Japan a hundred years ago. Its ancestor Tokugawa Ieyasu, From the age of 6, he was forced to be the hostage of the strong neighbor Imagawa. However, in May of the third year of Yonglu (1560), the Imagawa was defeated by Oda Nobunaga, and Tokugawa Ieyasu was able to return to Okazaki. Actively expand around and accumulate strength.

Later, when Tokugawa Ieyasu established hegemony under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he took the opportunity to expand to Kai and Shinano, and became a powerful force across the five countries of Mikawa, Enoe, Suruga, Kai, and Shinano.

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu was transferred to the six Kanto countries, but at this time, the Tokugawa clan had already grown up and became the most powerful daimyo under Hideyoshi.After Toyotomi Hideyoshi died of illness, his subordinates were divided into two factions, one was the "Wenzhi School", headed by Ishida Mitsunari and Konishi Yukyo-chan.One faction is the "power faction", headed by Kato Kiyomasa and Fukushima Masanori.

According to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's will, Tokugawa Ieyasu acted as the five chief executives of the state, and Maeda Toshiie served as Toyotomi Hideyoshi's guardian.The most powerful Tokugawa Ieyasu, in order to seize the power of the Toyotomi family, took advantage of the discord between the two factions and used provocative means to subdue all the generals who could fight from the powerful faction, and formed an army of about 10 people. The "Eastern Army" headed by Tokugawa Ieyasu.The other faction formed the "Western Army" headed by Ishida Misaka.

On September 1600th in the fifth year of Qingchang ([-]), the two armies fought a decisive battle in Sekigahara (located in today's Bupo County, Gifu County) in Mino Country. His son, Toyotomi Hideyori, was reduced to a daimyo, um, that is, an ordinary little prince.

At this time, no force in the world could compete with Tokugawa Ieyasu, and more than 1603 daimyos who participated in the Western Army were confiscated.Tokugawa Ieyasu thus established his dominance in Japan.In February of the eighth year of Qingcho ([-]), Emperor Goyosei of Japan issued an imperial decree, appointing Tokugawa Ieyasu as the general who conquered barbarians, and established a shogunate in Edo.

In order to completely avoid future troubles, in the first year of Yuanwa (1615), Tokugawa Ieyasu launched the Battle of Osaka and completely eliminated the Toyotomi regime, even Toyotomi Hideyori's eight-year-old son was not spared.So far, the Tokugawa family has unprecedented absolute power in Japan, and is the actual ruler of the country politically. At this time, the shogunate still has military strength far superior to that of the local government. ".

The Tokugawa clan also confiscated and reduced the territories of hostile daimyos, transferred them to their heroes and close daimyos, and designated them as the territories directly under the jurisdiction of the Tokugawa clan, making the Tokugawa clan far more powerful than other daimyos in Japan.According to a rough estimate, the total annual income of the shogunate's Kai, Shinano, Mino, Omi, Echizen, Sado, and southern Mutsu areas is more than 600 million shi.

In addition, the Tokugawa clan designated important gold and silver mines in Sado, Iwami, and Izu, as well as important cities and harbors such as Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Junfu, and Nagasaki, as direct jurisdiction of the shogunate.In this way, the Tokugawa family almost controlled most of the important financial resources in Japan.Therefore, if our Qi State targets the Tokugawa Shogunate, it will face a powerful enemy with huge manpower and material resources and an army of 20. "

Wu Zhonghao, commander of the Black Guards stationed in Ryukyu, Lieutenant Linghui (Lieutenant Colonel), finished reading the information in his hand, then raised his head, looked solemnly at the military and civilian officials and military officials present, and waited for everyone's inquiries.

"As far as I know, since the Battle of Osaka (1615), there has been no major war in Japan, which is called 'Yuanhe Yanwu' by domestic literati and scholars. Now, after so many years, the Tokugawa family can still Organize an army of 20?" An officer of the Army Xuanjie (major) was somewhat skeptical about the strength of the shogunate.

"Although Japan has been in peace for more than 14 years, we cannot underestimate the combat mobilization capabilities of the shogunate." Wu Zhonghao said: "During the Shimabara Rebellion in the 1637th year of Kanei (12), the shogunate organized eighteen vassals. China, with an army of [-], quelled the religious rebellion with an absolute superiority in military strength, which fully demonstrated the Tokugawa clan's military mobilization ability and dominance among the Japanese vassals."

"In other words, just relying on the military power under the jurisdiction of our Ryukyu General Administration, plus the more than [-] armed forces belonging to Yunzhou Zhenyong King, it is not enough in the face of the powerful strength of the shogunate?" Wei (Colonel) Cao Guangsheng frowned and said.

"It's not enough to look at, but in a decisive battle, or when attacking Edo Castle, it seems that the troops are a little weak." Ren Maoyong, the Army's general staff officer in Ryukyu and Lieutenant Zhaoxin (Colonel), said with a smile: "But if With Qi's absolute maritime superiority in this area, it is more than enough to attack guerrilla Japanese coastal towns. However, in view of the differences in the relationship between the shogunate and the daimyo in various places, we still focus on the Tokugawa clan to avoid complications. As a result, according to the staff's war game deduction, the forces we can currently control are a bit seriously insufficient."

All the army officers present couldn't help sighing after hearing this.If only relying on the three battalions and two artillery companies of the army stationed in Ryukyu, more than 300 people, plus the mobilization of some local soldiers, and then uniting with nearly [-] troops of Yongwang, defeating the Japanese shogunate in one battle, what a feat it would be, What an honor.

"Since there are insufficient troops, let's urgently report to the mainland for help." He Shaopeng, the deputy commander of the Ryukyu Fleet and General Mingwei (Brigadier General) glanced at the group of army officers who were still unwilling, and said slowly: "During the waiting period, our Ryukyu Fleet will Cooperate with the Yunzhou Town Navy to block Tsushima, Nagasaki, Osaka, Edo and other places, and block the foreign trade channels and main material exchange channels of the shogunate."

After hearing this, Wang Yansong (formerly Minister of the Ministry of War) nodded his head and said in a deep voice: "The Japanese shogunate killed our Qi merchants and sailors without permission. It is extremely unacceptable to do such evil. For today's plan, we should send a petition to Your Majesty and report to the cabinet to gather the local and overseas armies in Ryukyu and send troops to attack, so as to demonstrate the power of our great Qi."

"It is reported that the Kingdom of Korea has sent envoys to Japan, and they may have secretly contacted the shogunate and conspired with our country." Wu Zhonghao said: "Should our Ryukyu garrison unite with Yunzhou Town to beat North Korea first, so that we can attack Japan before attacking Japan?" , get rid of this worry first?"

"North Korea?" Wang Yansong frowned, "Last month, in the name of Emperor Guangde, Sun Kewang sent envoys to express condolences and condolences to the death of the former Xiaozong's widow, Princess Xiaosu, and concubine Zhang, and he intended to win over North Korea. If we send troops If we hit North Korea, wouldn’t it be a slap in the face of Sun Kewang?...Let’s let it jump, and when we conquer the Japanese shogunate, North Korea will naturally be at peace.”

After everyone heard this, they couldn't help but smile, people usually kill chickens to frighten monkeys, our country of Qi simply prepared to kill a "wolf" to warn the "monkey" that jumped left and right.

(End of this chapter)