Song Gexing

Chapter 199 Should I continue to act?
"Mr. Zhang doesn't know something..."

With the introduction of several fellow villagers, Zhang Dun now understood the current situation of the Japanese country. He couldn't help but sigh that the emperor had the foresight. These overseas countries were simply vulnerable. If the Song Dynasty had come out earlier to explore and expand territory, etc. too easy.

Although this place is a barren land in the eyes of Song people, the land is a huge wealth, and there is a large population here, which is all labor force.

Why do these Fujian people know so well? It's because these people are maritime merchants who come here all year round. Not only the local area, they have been to Ping An Jing several times.

However, they don't know the information about the Japanese silver mines. The currency of the Song Dynasty can also be used here, and they have never seen them use silver transactions.

This is Zhao Fang's cognitive error. The silver reserves of Japan were actually not as good as those of the Central Plains Dynasty. This misunderstanding was caused by the fact that most future generations only know that the silver production of Japan was very high during the Ming Dynasty.

But in fact, it was because at that time there was an upsurge of mining and mining in the whole country of Japan, and almost all the silver mines in the country of Japan were discovered and mined at that time.

The Japanese country was too small, and once there were silver mines, they were discovered quickly. Unlike China, which was too big, many silver mines could not be discovered at all. It would take advanced detection instruments in the future to discover them.

Of course, the silver output of the Wa country was indeed very high in that era, accounting for one-third of the world's silver, but after modern times, the resources were exhausted.

"By the way, Mr. Zhang, on the sea not far from here is the Xiaoliuqiu Islands. We Han people now make up the majority there, and there is no imperial court or government office."

Lin Sheng, a maritime merchant, suddenly had his eyes lit up and introduced Ryukyu to Zhang Dun. At this time, Ryukyu still existed as tribes and civil groups and had not become a kingdom.

The Ryukyu Kingdom was only established at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. As soon as it was established, it immediately surrendered to the Central Plains Dynasty. This is because basically all people here are descendants of Fujian people.

In other words, those who established the political power were descendants of Fujian people. The local mountain people did not have this awareness, and the population was very small. Moreover, the indigenous people here were not of the same race as the Japanese.

The so-called Yamato nation in the later generations of the Japanese Kingdom was actually formed after fusion, and was not a single nation. Their bloodline should be closer to the Sanhan of the year.

The Ryukyu natives are closer to the people of the Nanyang Islands. At this time, they had just emerged from slash-and-burn farming and were taught how to farm by Fujian immigrants.

This is also the reason why Ryukyu has always been close to the Central Plains dynasty. Until it was occupied by Japan, the largest surnames in Ryukyu were Chen, Lin, Huang, and Li.

The first person to establish political power was the Shang family, who were also descendants of Fujian people. They retained their Han surname and culture after intermarrying with local indigenous people.

When Zhang Dun heard about Ryukyu, he didn't take it seriously at first. Although this place had no connection with the Song Dynasty, people in the Central Plains actually knew about it very early, and the Sui Dynasty recorded information about this place.

The name of Ryukyu appeared in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, but it was called Xiao Ryukyu because Wangwang was called Big Ryukyu.

The officials of the Sui Dynasty did not send anyone to Xiaoliuqiu, but they did go to Daliuqiu. Soochow was the first to go to Daliuqiu, but they did not set up government offices there.

It was not until the Southern Song Dynasty that the Great Liuqiu entered the eyes of the imperial court. In order to protect the flanks of Fujian, troops were stationed in Penghu to supervise the Great Liuqiu.

However, in the Southern Song Dynasty, Wangwang was no longer called Daliuqiu. Officially, it was called Dongfan. There were many folk names, such as Jilong, Dayuan, Taiwowan, etc. It was administratively under the jurisdiction of Jinjiang County, Fujian Road.

Zhang Dun's eyes lit up after hearing Lin Sheng say that sugar cane can be grown in Ryukyu, and his original indifference was replaced by ecstasy.

You must know that there are not many sugarcane planting areas, and agricultural technology in the Song Dynasty was not developed enough. Sugarcane, a tropical plant, has always had a small planting area.

Except for Fujian, Guangdong, Yunnan and other places, basically the planting yield in other places is too low, so we have to give up.But white sugar is a material that the Song Dynasty needs very much today. It is not only a sweetener for consumption, but also a catalyst for gunpowder. A large amount of it is shipped from Jiaozhou every year.

But the land in Jiaozhou was more cost-effective to grow food. Zhang Dun was naturally overjoyed and immediately decided to send troops to Ryukyu to occupy it first.

"Lin Sheng, if this is true, you will have made a great contribution this time, and I will ask your Majesty for a reward."

Lin Sheng was also very happy. As a Song Dynasty person, it was an honor for all ancestors to be rewarded by the emperor. What's more, in the Song Dynasty, the emperor was the son of Renzong who was respected by all the people and had been expected by everyone since he was a child.

At this time, several other businessmen were also excited and expressed their willingness to be the leading party. They could explore not only the Ryukyu Islands, but also various parts of the Japanese country.

When Zhang Junzhi received Zhang Dun's letter, he was stunned for a long time, then he slapped his thigh and said, "Come here! This old man wants to write a letter!"

A memorial was sent out quickly, along with two letters, one to Chen Zongyan, commander of the Fourth Fleet in Fujian Road, and the other to Guo Kui, commander of the Second Fleet in Shanghai.

Chen Zongyan - the eldest son of the fifth son of Nankang County Prince Chen Hongjin. After inheriting his father's military position, he was promoted to the Xitou Enshrinement Officer due to his meritorious service. He was appointed by Zhao Fang to return to his hometown as the commander of the Fourth Fleet.

His father and Zhang Junzhi were good friends, probably from Fujian, and the Zhang and Chen families were relatively close.

Guo Kui is even more remarkable. This is a famous general in the Northern Song Dynasty who is as famous as Di Qing in the history of the Song Dynasty. His life experience is similar to that of Di Qing.

It was also after the Western Army became famous that they marched south, but Di Qing fought against Nong Zhigao in the south, while Guo Kui fought against the Li Dynasty of Vietnam and defeated the Jiaozhi Army at the Fuliang River.

Of course, this doesn't matter now. He is younger than Di Qing and joined the army later than him. He joined the army only after his brother Guo Zun died in the battle of Sanjiangkou.

Like Di Qing, Guo Kui was highly regarded by Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, and Pang Ji. He was personally mentored by the three of them when he was in the Western Army, and he lived up to their expectations and became a famous general.

Huang Daozhou of the Ming Dynasty compiled a list of famous generals throughout the ages, starting with Jiang Ziya and ending with Yu Dayou, Qi Jiguang and other famous generals in the Wanli era of the late Ming Dynasty. Guo Kui was among them.

This reputation is not ordinary. You must know that less than 1000 people have been selected for more than 200 years, and Han Xin, Bai Qi and others are among them.

Two years ago, Guo Kui crusaded against the Wuxi Barbarians in Hubei. Due to his meritorious service, he was promoted to Rongzhou Observer. When the fleet was established, he was sent to Shanghai by Zhao Fang as the commander.

Moreover, his role as commander is concurrent. His real position is that of commander of the six fleets of the navy, which means that he is the commander-in-chief of the navy and concurrently the commander of a fleet.

Zhang Junzhi reported to him and privately messaged him about his next actions.

Two days after Zhao Fang received the memorial, there were endless voices of opposition in the court, who believed that the territory of the subordinate country should not be invaded.

Of course, there are also those who support it. They believe that the Japanese country has not paid tribute for many years since the late Tang Dynasty, so it is not considered a vassal state.

Zhao Fang's head hurt, and he tried his best to suppress the objections. Wang Zhongzheng quietly entered the palace that day and came in with a letter.

"Guan family, a letter from Master Pang."

(End of this chapter)