King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

"This King of Zhongshan is even more stupid than I thought."

On the ironclad warship, Zhu Tan gulped down his herbal tea and said to Ma He standing beside him: "This king also overestimated the capabilities of Zhongshan State."

Ma He stood respectfully aside, directing the servants to serve the meal to Zhu Tan. Although he listened to what Zhu Tan said, he did not dare to say a word.

As for the affairs of the country, it is not for him, a eunuch, to comment on them.

Zhu Tan was obviously a little hungry. He gobbled the food up in no time, not looking like a prince at all.

The main reason was that the food prepared by King Wuning of Zhongshan for him was really hard to swallow. In his opinion, it was not food for human consumption.

All the meals were served, and Ma He stood respectfully aside, listening silently.

"The sea route to Zhongshan is OK."

Zhu Tan ate while speaking softly, "But Zhongshan State has few manpower and no experience. It is nothing but a pipe dream to build a port that can accommodate ships in a short period of time."

"Mahe."

"The servant is here."

"Last time at Liaodong Dusi, the people from the Imperial Household Department said how long it would take to complete the construction of the next ship?"

"Your Highness." Ma He bowed slightly and said softly, "The head of the Imperial Household Department once said that even if everyone in the Imperial Household Department worked around the clock, it would take at least five months to build the ships needed for the Eastern Expedition."

“This is based on the existing foundation.”

"Five months."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Tan gently touched his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "Then the time should be about the same."

"Draft a memorial and send it to the emperor, asking him to send some craftsmen to Ryukyu and to gather food and supplies."

"The Ryukyu Islands are a small country. If we really rely on them to build a port, it will be a waste of time."

"Yes."

"Oh, there's one more thing." Zhu Tan threw a piece of pickled meat into his mouth and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, the news of my arrival here will also reach the ears of the other two countries."

"They will definitely make some moves recently."

As he spoke, Zhu Tan looked at Ma He, squinted his eyes and smiled, "Let those Japanese get ready and release them in the next few days."

"Yes." Ma He said softly, "I understand."

……

In the evening, in the southern part of Ryukyu Mountain, the capital.

"King, the Ming King Lu has arrived at Zhongshan Pu Tian City, we..."

Inside the palace, a sturdy man with a slightly dark complexion looked at the person sitting at the head of the seat and asked softly, "Don't we need to send someone over?"

"What did you do in the past?"

The Nanshan King Chengchadu, who was sitting at the head of the throne, frowned, glanced at the man, and said, "The Great Ming Lu King can go wherever he wants. Who can I control?"

"Besides, what would this prince do in Zhongshan?"

"Do you think Wu Ning is a good thing?"

Chengchadu's words were very impolite, causing the middle-aged man to frown slightly, but he still suppressed his anger and said, "Your Majesty, Zhongshan and my Shannan are still superficial allies after all, and we accepted the title of the Ming Dynasty together."

"Now that the Ming King Lu has arrived in Ryukyu, we should all..."

"When I meet the King of Ming, what do you want me to say?"

Cheng Chadu frowned even deeper and said, "I have accepted the title from the Ming Dynasty, but that does not mean I am a slave of the Ming Dynasty!"

"If the Ming Lu Wang came to Shannan, I would certainly give him a courteous reception, but he bypassed Shannan and went directly to Zhongshan, which shows that Shannan is nothing in his eyes."

"Since you look down on me, why should I try to curry your favor? What's the benefit?!"

Hearing this, the man stopped talking, a smile appeared on his face, he drank silently, and thought to himself.

Who do you think you are? Why would the Prince of Ming Dynasty look up to you?
It's a pity that you, Cheng Chadu, have been to the capital of the Ming Dynasty, but you have no vision at all.

It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Prince of Ming Dynasty to come to Ryukyu in person, but it is ridiculous that the superiors did not see it.

The night before, the banquet was over, and the man got on the carriage alone and went to his mansion with his servants.

Not far from the palace, the man said softly, "Notify them that we will not rest today and will set off directly back to Sashiki."

The servants on both sides were stunned when they heard this, but they didn't dare to say anything more and agreed silently.

The man in the sedan chair was Shang Sishao, the Sajiki Ansi of Shannan Kingdom. Ansi was the name of an official in Ryukyu. He had great power, but the scope of his jurisdiction was roughly equivalent to a village in the Ming Dynasty.

The capital of Shannan Kingdom was not far from Sashiki. At midnight, the group had entered Sashiki and returned to the Shang family mansion.

After entering the courtyard, Shang Sishao found that his son Zhang was sitting quietly in the pavilion in the courtyard, his eyes shining.

"father."

Seeing his father coming back, the boy immediately stood up with a bright smile on his face.

"Why aren't you sleeping yet?"

Shang Sishao had a smile on his face. He walked a few steps forward, pulled his son to sit down, his eyes full of smiles.

The young man in front of him is Shang Sishao's baby. He is smart, thoughtful, and doesn't look like a fifteen-year-old boy at all. Sometimes he behaves more mature than his father.

The boy's name is Shang Bashi. In the original time and space, he was the founding monarch who unified the three kingdoms of Ryukyu and established the first Shang Dynasty.

"I am sitting here waiting for my father. I also want to hear the news from the capital."

Shang Bazhi smiled and asked directly, "Dad, will the Prince of Daming come to our Shannan? When will he come?"

Upon hearing this, Shang Sishao gently touched his son's head and then sighed.

The news that the Ming Emperor had issued an edict to Ryukyu had spread throughout Shannan, but people across the country did not take it seriously, even the King of Shannan, Chengchadu, did not take it seriously.

Shang Sishao originally had no intention of going to the royal capital to inquire about this matter, but he could not resist his son's constant persuasion, and he himself could see what was going on, so he went.

"The Ming Dynasty's Prince Lu did not come to our Shannan. He went to Zhongshan."

Shang Sishao said to his son, "I told the king that I was going to Zhongshan to see the King of Lu, but the king reprimanded me."

"Why did he scold his father?" Shang Bazhi was stunned when he heard this and asked, "Does he see the problem?"

"Maybe he can see it." Shang Sishao shook his head and said, "But he just doesn't want to."

"Perhaps in his opinion, the Ming Dynasty wants to take over Shannan territory."

"If the Ming Dynasty intends to establish a province in Ryukyu, wouldn't that be a godsend?"

Shang Bashi said directly: "As long as the Ming Dynasty intervenes, Ryukyu will be unified, and the king can live a life of leisure and wealth."

"Heh." Shang Sishao smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's not that simple."

"Although Shannan is small, it is the king's own territory and is not restricted by anyone."

"If the Ming Dynasty really wants to take over Ryukyu as a province, he will lose his ruling power, and how can he still be so arrogant and domineering?"

Hearing this, Shang Bashi frowned slightly and said nothing more.

"Besides, the fact that the King of Lu of the Ming Dynasty went straight to Zhongshan State shows that in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty royal family, Zhongshan is obviously closer to them."

"If Shannan moves closer now, it will be seen as flattery, and the king will be unhappy." Shang Bazhi thought for a moment, then raised his head and said, "Dad, do you still remember why your son advised you to go to the capital to ask about this matter?"

"Of course I remember." Shang Sishao said, "You said at the beginning that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and asked me to persuade the king to accept it."

"But now..."

"Son, remember, there is an old saying in the Central Plains," Shang Bazhi said, "If you do not take what God has given you, you will suffer from the chaos."

"It means that if you don't cherish the opportunities God gives you, good things will turn into bad things."

"Dad, the king is not going to Zhongshan, but you can go."

"Ok?"

Hearing this, Shang Sishao frowned slightly and said softly: "Going directly to see Prince Daming without going through the king? If the king knew about this..."

"If he knows, then he knows. What's the matter?" Shang Bazhi whispered, "Dad, don't you feel suffocated working under such a king?"

"If my son ever works under such a king, he will definitely not be able to bear it."

Normally, if the father heard his son say such outrageous words, he would be furious and would give him a few slaps first.

But Shang Sishao was not like that. Instead of getting angry, he thought carefully about his son's words and even showed some approval in his eyes.

"Don't say such things again until you are fully grown."

Shang Sishao smiled and said to his son: "We are in Sashiki now. If we were in the capital..."

"I can only tell you this." Shang Bazhi said, "Dad, think about it carefully. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"If you can gain the support of the Ming Lu Wang, why can't you become the Shannan Wang?"

"He has ruled Shannan for long enough. Look at Shannan now. It doesn't look like a country at all."

"It's not easy to get the support of the prince of Ming Dynasty."

Shang Sishao shook his head slightly and said, "Dad is just an official. It is really too rash to ask to see the prince..."

"What if you give His Royal Highness Prince Lu a great gift?"

Shang Bashi said directly: "Have you forgotten that some Japanese sailed out from Japan a few days ago and their ship ran aground on the shore?"

"You wanted to treat them with courtesy at that time, but it was my son who told me not to treat them well and asked you to take people to disarm them. Aren't they still imprisoned now?"

"These Japanese are the best gift for the Prince of Ming Dynasty."

Hearing this, Shang Sishao really reacted, and after a while he figured it out and asked, "Is this okay?"

"Definitely!" Shang Bazhi said directly: "Dad, think about it, in the past, we often saw Japanese sailing to Ming Dynasty from the sea, but in the past half month, there have been fewer ships going back and forth."

"Why? This must be the Ming Dynasty taking action against the Japanese!"

"My son thinks that the visit of the Ming prince to Ryukyu must have something to do with the Japanese."

"Since Japan is the mortal enemy of the Ming Dynasty, wouldn't it be a way to please them if we offer them Japanese prisoners?"

Shang Sishao was a little dazed when he heard this, and it took him a while to figure out what his son was saying.

He then smiled softly, patted his son's hand and said, "Son, where do all these ideas come from?"

"Even if these things were placed before my father, I still wouldn't be able to see through them."

"I have read all the books you brought back for my son, and I understand them all." Shang Bazhi replied, and then said, "Dad, this can definitely be done!"

"The Ming Dynasty must be planning to attack Japan, so the prince came to our Ryukyu."

"But even if there is an opportunity, Jin cannot go directly to meet the Ming Prince Lu. He should first write a letter of divorce, saying that we have Japanese in our hands and ask the Ming Prince how to deal with them."

"This can also help us test the attitude of the Ming Dynasty, and also help us understand the attitude of His Royal Highness Prince Lu."

"If His Royal Highness Prince Lu asks us to take the person over, then that's a natural thing to do."

"If His Royal Highness Prince Lu has not said so, then we will wait and submit a letter to His Royal Highness Prince Lu offering captives, which is not taboo."

After hearing these words, Shang Sishao knew that his son had already thought of everything and planned every detail.

Including all the relevant people would not only make the King of Shannan speechless, but also give them a chance to get close to the Prince of Daming without breaking any taboos, thus achieving three goals at one stroke.

"Okay, Dad will do it tomorrow." Shang Sishao touched his son's head again, his face full of relief.

Even if it's for his son, he has to give it a try.

……

The next day, morning.

Zhu Tan stretched his body and woke up from his sleep, feeling that everything in front of him was shaking.

After so many days, he still couldn't get used to sleeping at sea, and he always slept very lightly.

It's not that he couldn't live on Ryukyu Island, but Zhu Tan knew that once he settled there, there would be a lot more things to come.

Wu Ning, the King of Zhongshan, would definitely try every means to stuff women into his room and do everything he can to please him.

Zhu Tan never thought of himself as a gentleman. If someone gave a girl as a gift, he would accept it, but this time was different.

This time he went to sea, he represented the Ming Dynasty court, which was considered a state visit.

If he were to indulge in extravagance and debauchery in Urasoe Castle, wouldn't this be an embarrassment to the old man once the news got back to the imperial court?
He's not that stupid.

As soon as Zhu Tan stood up, Ma He came in, bowing. When he came to Zhu Tan, he bowed and whispered, "Your Highness, the King of Zhongshan came early in the morning and has been waiting downstairs. He said he has something important to tell you."

"Important matter, what important matter?"

Zhu Tan was a little impatient and frowned, "Has he gathered all the people he was asked to prepare?"

"I didn't see any big moves from Zhongshan." Ma He whispered, "But the King of Zhongshan didn't come alone. This time he brought an official and a dozen women."

"Girl, does it look good?"

“Uh…” Ma He didn’t expect Zhu Tan to ask this question. He was suddenly stuck and then hurriedly said, “Well, it’s hard for me to say.”

"It's hard to say, it's just not worth watching."

Zhu Tan shook his head and said, "Go tell Wu Ning that he can come up, but the woman doesn't have to. There is no precedent for this."

"I am not a sex-hungry ghost."

"Yes."

"Oh, by the way, if he insists on giving it to you, then accept it and give it as a reward to the meritorious soldier to warm his bed."

Zhu Tan pinched his nose and said, "We can take Penghu to have more children later."

Ma He had no idea what was being said. He just nodded and walked away quickly.

Zhu Tan didn't even change his clothes or wash up. He just leaned lazily on the bed, picked up the herbal tea beside him and took a big sip.

Wu Ning promised everything yesterday and everyone was cheering, but today he didn't take any action. It seems that there are still smart people around him.

But it doesn’t matter. Zhu Tan never intended to let Zhongshan Kingdom build the port alone from the beginning.

(End of this chapter)