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

Zhennan Palace.

The news exploded in Shang Sishao's ears like thunder, almost causing the wine glass in his hand to slip.

"What did you say? The King of Zhongshan was captured? Zhu Tan actually captured him alive?!"

Shang Sishao stood up suddenly, his eyes full of disbelief.

He thought that with the King of Zhongshan's cleverness, he would be able to escape unscathed even if he was defeated by the Ming army. However, he never expected that he would end up like this!
The spy who brought the news was so frightened that he fell to his knees and answered tremblingly:
"Your Majesty, it is absolutely true! The King of Zhongshan's flagship was hit by the Ming army's artillery, and he himself was captured. He is now imprisoned in the Ming army's camp!"

"Trash! They're all trash!"

Shang Sishao was so angry that he kicked over the table in front of him, and the delicious food spilled all over the floor, but no one dared to clean it up.

After the anger, a sense of uncontrollable ecstasy surged in my heart.

King Zhongshan, oh King Zhongshan, you have finally come to this day!
Over the years, he has been working hard and keeping a low profile, all for the purpose of one day replacing the King of Zhongshan and becoming the only king of Ryukyu!

Now, the opportunity has finally come!
Shang Sishao suppressed his excitement and sighed in sorrow:
"The King of Zhongshan has suffered such a disaster. It is a huge loss for Ryukyu! Come on, pass the order down. The whole island should wear mourning clothes and pray for the King of Zhongshan!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

Everyone knelt down one after another, but they knew clearly in their hearts that this was not praying for blessings at all, it was clearly false compassion!
After Shang Sishao pretended to be heartbroken, he dismissed his attendants and only left his trusted guards.

"Go, send someone to closely monitor the movements of the Ming army, and report immediately if there is any news!"

"As ordered!"

Shang Sishao paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, with a lot of thoughts in his mind.

He knew that this opportunity was rare, and if he was not careful, he would lose everything. He had to plan carefully to maximize his benefits and completely crush the King of Zhongshan!
At this moment, a guard came hurriedly to report: "Your Majesty, the Ming army sent an envoy to deliver a letter!"

"Oh? A letter? Show it up now!"

Shang Sishao's heart moved. Could it be that the old fox Zhu Tan wanted to negotiate terms with him?

He took the letter and looked at it carefully. He saw the words "Personally written by Shang Sishao, King of Ryukyu Zhennan" written in neat regular script on the envelope, and the seal of the Ming Dynasty was stamped at the end.

Shang Sishao took a deep breath, slowly opened the envelope, took out the letter, and read it carefully.

The content of the letter surprised him.

In the letter, Zhu Tan actually expressed "understanding" and "support" for himself.

He even expressed his willingness to help him "stabilize the situation in Ryukyu" and become the only king of Ryukyu!

This is simply pie in the sky!
Shang Sishao couldn't believe his eyes. He read it several times and after confirming that he was not mistaken, a look of ecstasy suddenly appeared on his face.

He couldn't wait to look down, wanting to see what conditions Zhu Tan offered.

However, when he saw the end of the letter, the smile froze on his face.

The letter ends with:

"…I hope that the Prince of Zhennan can see the situation clearly and make a wise choice. As long as you are willing to sign an alliance with the Ming Dynasty, recognize the Ming Dynasty's suzerainty, and pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty every year, I promise that the throne of Ryukyu will belong to you!"

The color on Shang Sishao's face instantly faded.

He clutched the letter tightly, his knuckles turning white from the strain.

Recognize Ming's suzerainty? Pay tribute to Ming every year?

This is clearly an attempt to turn Ryukyu into a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty!
Shang Sishao was so angry that he threw the letter in his hand to the ground and cursed: "Zhu Tan, you are going too far!"

"Your Majesty, calm down! Your Majesty, calm down!"

Seeing this, the guards around were so frightened that they fell to the ground one after another, not daring to make a sound.

Shang Sishao paced back and forth angrily, his heart full of struggle and torment.

On one side is the throne that is within his grasp, and on the other side is the ancestral heritage and national dignity. How should he choose? !
Shang Sishao threw himself on the throne in frustration, and he crumpled up Zhu Tan's letter and threw it on the ground. Recognizing the status of the suzerain state and paying tribute every year sounds good! What's the difference between this and directly annexing Ryukyu? !

"Father, what's wrong? Is the Ming Kingdom making things difficult for you?" A clear voice sounded outside the hall, and then a young man in gorgeous clothes walked in. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and looked very heroic. He was Shang Sishao's eldest son, Shang Bazhi.

Shang Sishao rubbed his brows and handed Zhu Tan's letter to Shang Bazhi: "Take a look for yourself."

Shang Bazhi took the letter, read it quickly, raised his eyebrows, and sneered, "This Zhu Tan has a good plan! Father, in my opinion, we cannot agree to the conditions of the Ming Kingdom!"

"Don't agree? That's the throne!" Shang Sishao stood up suddenly, his eyes wide open, his tone filled with suppressed anger.

"Father, think about it. Even if we agree, will Ryukyu still be ours? If the Ming Kingdom tells us what to do, we will have to act according to their wishes. What's the difference between that and being a puppet?!"

Shang Bazhi looked at Shang Sishao fearlessly, and said in a strong voice, "Rather than being a puppet king, I would rather fight for our own world!"

Shang Sishao was silent. He knew that what Shang Bazhi said made sense, but the throne was right in front of him. Did he really want to give it up?

"Father, we can first pretend to agree to Ming's conditions to stabilize them. It won't be too late to drive them out when we are fully grown!" Shang Bazhi lowered his voice, a gleam in his eyes.

Shang Sishao looked at his high-spirited son in front of him, feeling a lot of emotion in his heart. Yes, he still has a chance, he can't just give up like this! "Okay! Just as you say!"

A few days later, a reply letter was delivered to Zhu Tan.

"Oh? He agreed?" Zhu Tan took the letter, unfolded it and read it carefully, with a sneer on his face:
"It's really easy to deceive. This Ryukyu King is nothing more than that."

……

Ryukyu, the Crown Prince’s Palace.

Shang Bazhi was conspiring with several of his confidants on how to use the support of the Ming Dynasty to secretly develop his own power.

"Your Highness, do we really want to cooperate with the Japanese? They are not good people!"

……

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, scorching the earth like a steamer.

The air was filled with a sickening smell of blood, mixed with sweat and fear, making it suffocating.

The crowds of people were so dense that the entire execution ground was surrounded by water.

The people were whispering to each other, but they all kept their voices down for fear of being heard by the ferocious Ming army on the stage.

On the high platform, Zhu Tan, wearing a yellow dragon robe and an eight-tasseled crown on his head, sat upright on the dragon throne.

With a cold smile on his face, he looked down at the crowd below the stage that were like ants.

In the center of the platform, there was a middle-aged man kneeling, wearing prison uniform, with disheveled hair and a haggard appearance.

He is the King of Zhongshan of Ryukyu - Wu Ning.

Wu Ning's face no longer had the dignity of the past, instead it was replaced by deep despair and humiliation.

He lowered his head weakly, letting sweat mixed with tears slide down his wrinkled face.

"King Zhongshan, do you admit your guilt?"

Zhu Tan's voice was high and majestic, echoing over the entire execution ground. Wu Ning slowly raised his head, a flash of anger flashed in his cloudy eyes, he opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but closed it powerlessly.

"Humph! You are so stubborn!" Zhu Tan snorted coldly, stood up suddenly, pointed at Wu Ning's nose, and shouted angrily:
"As the King of Ryukyu, you don't think about repaying the grace of heaven, but dare to collude with the Japanese pirates and intend to rebel! Now that the evidence is irrefutable, what else do you have to say?!"

Wu Ning's body trembled slightly when he heard this.

He just slowly raised his head and stared at Zhu Tan with eyes full of hatred and anger.

He pointed at Zhu Tan's nose and roared, "Zhu Tan! Stop pretending! You just want to annex my Ryukyu, so you made up these false charges! Bah! You are such an ambitious person!"

Wu Ning's words were like a thunderclap, exploding above the silent execution ground. The crowd immediately became agitated, and the whispers gradually turned into angry condemnations.

"King Zhongshan is right! The Ming Dynasty is planning to annex our Ryukyu!"

"We have dealings with the Japanese pirates because the Ming Dynasty exploits us. We are forced to do so!"

"Resist the violent Ming! Defend Ryukyu!"

Someone in the crowd shouted something, instantly igniting the people's long-pent-up anger.

They no longer cared about the threat from the Ming army, and picked up hoes and carrying poles in their hands and rushed towards the platform.

"Protect the prince!"

"Kill these Ming dogs!"

The scene suddenly fell into chaos. The Ming army was caught off guard and was caught off guard by this sudden change.

Zhu Tan snorted coldly.

"You are so bold and rebellious! How dare you rebel! Come here! Kill them all! No one shall be spared!"

Upon hearing this, the Ming army immediately drew their swords and attacked the crowd.

For a moment, screams, the collision of weapons, and roars resounded throughout the execution ground.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of rapid horse hooves in the distance.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw an army rushing towards the execution ground.

The leader was none other than Ryukyu's King of Zhennan - Shang Sishao.

Shang Sishao pulled the reins, and the warhorse stood up and neighed.

He dismounted and strode to the platform, bowing to Zhu Tan and saying, "Your Highness, Prince Daming, I am late in coming to your rescue. Please forgive me!"

Zhu Tan looked at Shang Sishao, a man of extraordinary bearing, with a flash of disdain in his eyes.

He smiled faintly and said:
"So it's the Prince of Zhennan, you've come just in time! These traitors are planning a rebellion, you must quickly take them down!"

Shang Sishao shook his head and sighed:
"Your Highness, you may not know that the King of Zhongshan's collusion with the Japanese pirates actually has another hidden story..."

He paused, turned to look at the angry people below the stage, and said loudly:

"Fellow villagers! King Zhongshan did do some wrong things, but he did it for the people of Ryukyu! Now that he has been executed by the Ming Dynasty, do you still want to continue making mistakes?"

The people looked at each other and gradually quieted down.

Shang Sishao struck while the iron was hot and continued:
"The Ming Dynasty is the Celestial Empire, and our Ryukyu is just a tiny country. How can we compete with it? Rather than sacrifice in vain, it is better to lay down your weapons and surrender to the Ming Dynasty. Perhaps you can save your life!"

Someone in the crowd hesitated and asked, "But...but will the Ming Dynasty let us go?"

"Of course!" Shang Sishao said firmly, "I guarantee with my life that as long as everyone lays down their weapons, the Ming Dynasty will never hold you accountable for your crimes!"

As he said this, he turned around and bowed deeply to Zhu Tan:
"Your Highness, I dare to ask for your mercy on behalf of the King of Zhongshan and the people of Ryukyu. Please forgive their sins!"

Zhu Tan looked at Shang Sishao, then looked at the people below the stage who were already shrouded in fear and despair, and a barely perceptible sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He pretended to be silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Since the King of Zhennan is begging for you, I will spare your lives!"

Hearing Zhu Tan's words, the people immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and fell to their knees, shouting "Thank you, Prince Daming, for not killing us."

Shang Sishao also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his head and looked at Zhu Tan, with a barely perceptible cold light flashing in his eyes.

"only……"

"The King of Zhongshan intended to rebel, his crime is unforgivable! Now that he has been executed, Ryukyu cannot be without a master for a day, so I will temporarily take over the position of King of Zhongshan and handle all affairs of Ryukyu!"

"Prince of Zhennan," Zhu Tan walked up to Shang Sishao, patted him on the shoulder, and said in a friendly tone, "You did a great job. I was right about you."

Shang Sishao was flattered and quickly bowed his head and said, "It is my duty to share your worries."

"Okay, okay, I feel relieved with your words."

Zhu Tan nodded with satisfaction, and then changed the subject:
"However, the fact that the King of Zhongshan colluded with the Japanese pirates is true after all, and I cannot ignore it. How about this, King of Zhennan, when you return, you should reorganize the Ryukyu army and strengthen the defense, so as not to let the Japanese pirates take advantage of you again."

"I obey your command!" Shang Sishao was startled but remained calm on the surface.

Zhu Tan and his entourage returned to their temporary headquarters in a mighty manner.

The back garden of the palace has rockery, flowing water, singing birds and fragrant flowers.

Zhu Tan sat in the pavilion, sipping fragrant tea with a meaningful smile on his face.

"Your Majesty, do you think Shang Sishao will really listen to us?"

Ma He stopped and looked at Zhu Tan who was sitting on the armchair, with a hint of worry in his tone.

Zhu Tan took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Why? Are you doubting my decision?"

"I dare not!" Ma He quickly knelt on one knee and bowed his head, "I am just worried that Shang Sishao is a Ryukyu after all, and he is not on the same page with us, the Ming Dynasty!"

"Humph, those who are not of my race must have different hearts."

Zhu Tan placed the teacup heavily on the table, a cold light flashed in his eyes, "How could this king not understand this truth? However, now is not the time to touch him."

"What the prince means is..." Ma He raised his head, his eyes full of confusion.

"Ryukyu is just a tiny place, and I don't take it seriously. But Ryukyu's location is very important. It is the springboard for the Ming Dynasty to expand overseas, and it is also a bridgehead to contain the Japanese pirates."

Zhu Tan stood up, walked to the window, and looked into the distance with deep eyes.

"This time, I came to Ryukyu to firmly control it in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and Shang Sishao is just a chess piece in my hand."

"Your Highness is far-sighted and I admire you!" Ma He quickly lowered his head, a trace of awe flashing in his eyes.

"But..." He paused, as if hesitant, "Your Majesty, there is one thing I don't understand."

"explain."

"Your Majesty, are we trying so hard to deal with Wu Ning just to hand over the power to Shang Sishao?" Ma He gritted his teeth and finally asked the question in his mind. (End of this chapter)