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

"Ma He, do you know the history of Ryukyu?" Zhu Tan's voice showed no emotion.

Ma He was stunned. What happened to the prince? Why did he suddenly ask this?

Although he was confused, he still answered honestly:
"Your Majesty, I know a thing or two."

"Ryukyu has been a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty since ancient times. It has paid tribute and been a vassal every year..."

"Humph, surrender? You are nothing but a bunch of fence-sitters!" Zhu Tan sneered and interrupted Ma He's words;
"Back then, when Japanese pirates were wreaking havoc on the southeastern coast, the Ryukyu King Zhongshan not only did not think about helping the Ming Dynasty, but instead secretly colluded with the Japanese pirates to make ill-gotten gains! If not for this, why would I have mobilized my army to personally conquer Ryukyu?"

Ma He was horrified when he heard this. He knew that the prince was right. The King of Zhongshan in Ryukyu was indeed not a good person. He had been doing double-dealing things for many years. But...

“Your Highness, even if the King of Zhongshan deserves to die, Shang Sishao may not be reliable! After all, he is the King of Shannan, so there is no guarantee that he will not…”

Ma He seemed to be hesitant to speak, but his worry was self-evident.

Zhu Tan glanced at Ma He, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips: "Do you think that I will really hand over Ryukyu?"

Ma He was shocked. Did he guess wrong? Did the prince have other plans? He lowered his head and said, "I am stupid. Please explain it to me, Your Majesty!"

"Although Ryukyu is only a small place, its geographical location is very important." Zhu Tan walked to the table, picked up the map on the table, pointed to the location of Ryukyu and said:
"It connects Japan to the north, Luzon to the south, Annan to the west, and Ming Dynasty to the east. It is a must-pass place on the Maritime Silk Road and the gateway to the southeast coast of Ming Dynasty."

"If Ryukyu falls into the hands of others, it will be like a time bomb buried on the southeast coast of our Ming Dynasty, which may explode at any time!"

Zhu Tan's voice was deep and powerful, revealing a chilling murderous aura.

"As for Shang Sishao."

"It's just a chess piece in my hand."

"Chess piece?" Ma He was puzzled.

"Yes, a chess piece used to contain the local forces of Ryukyu and paralyze the Japanese pirates!"

Zhu Tan's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, "Ryukyu is not a monolithic entity, and the forces of various parties are complicated. Although Shang Sishao does not govern the Zhongshan area, he is the king of half of Ryukyu after all."

"This time, I support him to take the throne in order to let him and the old noble forces restrain each other and consume their strength. In this way, my Ming Dynasty can reap the benefits!"

Ma He was stunned. He never thought that the prince would have this idea!

Using barbarians to control barbarians and killing people with borrowed knives, this tactic is really brilliant!

"Your Highness is far-sighted, and I admire you!" Ma He praised sincerely.

"That's not all," Zhu Tan said with a sneer on his face. "I have already spread the word that I will hand over the affairs of Ryukyu to Shang Sishao. At the same time, I will dispatch troops from Ming Dynasty to help him 'quell the rebellion' and strengthen defense. Humph, if this news gets to the ears of the Japanese pirates, what do you think they will think?"

Ma He thought about it for a moment, and suddenly realized:
"The Japanese pirates must think that the Ming Dynasty has relaxed its vigilance against Ryukyu. Then they will come back again, and Ryukyu will become a trap to catch turtles in a jar!"

"That's right!" A cold light flashed in Zhu Tan's eyes, "I will make sure those Japanese pirates never return!"

Ma He was so excited after hearing this that he wanted to fly to Ryukyu immediately to witness the end of those Japanese pirates with his own eyes!
"Your Highness, what should we do next?" Ma He asked, suppressing his excitement.

"Pass the order down, the army will rest for three days, and then follow me to conquer Ryukyu in one fell swoop!"

Zhu Tan's voice was filled with irresistible majesty.

"Yes!" Ma He responded loudly, turned around and walked away.

……

Three days later, the sea was covered with warships like a forest and the flags blocked out the sun.

Looking at the magnificent scene before him, Ma He was extremely excited, as if he had already seen the scene of Japanese pirates' heads rolling.

"Your Majesty, we must teach those Japanese pirates a lesson this time, and let them know how powerful the Ming Dynasty is!"

Ma He rubbed his hands excitedly, as if he could already foresee the joy of victory.

Zhu Tan stood at the bow of the ship, his cloak rustling in the sea breeze. He looked into the distance, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.

"Of course, I will make sure those pirates never return!"

The army assembled successfully on Ryukyu Island, and Zhu Tan divided the army into two routes according to the plan.

He and Ma He led the team, pretending to go to the Ryukyu Palace to help Shang Sishao "suppress the rebellion."

The other group, led by Lan Yu, ambushed at the place where the Japanese pirates might land, waiting for their prey to fall into their trap.

At the same time, Zhu Tan spread the word.

Ryukyu has many treasures!
Money is inexhaustible!
Presumably, those Japanese pirates would be fooled.

Lan Yu led the elite Ming army and ambushed in a dense jungle.

In order to confuse the Japanese pirates, they deliberately left some traces of panic escape nearby and also discarded some broken weapons and armor in some conspicuous places.

"General, if we do this, will those pirates really be fooled?"

A young general came up to Lan Yu and asked in a low voice.

Lan Yu sneered, patted the young general on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry, those pirates are greedy by nature. As long as it is profitable, they will do anything!"

As Zhu Tan expected, when the news of Shang Sishao's ascension to the throne reached Japan, it immediately caused an uproar.

When the Japanese pirate leaders heard the news, they were extremely excited, like sharks smelling blood, and couldn't wait to pounce on it to get a piece of the pie.

"There are so many gold and silver treasures on Ryukyu Island? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

A one-eyed Japanese pirate leader shouted excitedly, his saliva almost dripping out.

"Yes, yes, we must rob to our heart's content this time!" The other Japanese pirate leaders also echoed.

"Pass the order down, assemble the army, target Ryukyu Island!"

The one-eyed Japanese pirate leader excitedly waved his hand and gave the order to send troops.

Soon, a huge fleet of Japanese pirates sailed towards the Ryukyu Islands.

Each of them had an expression of greed and cruelty on their face, as if they had already seen victory and wealth beckoning to them.

However, what awaits them is a death trap!
The Japanese pirate fleet successfully landed in a hidden bay on Ryukyu Island.

In order to avoid alerting the enemy, they did not rush to attack, but instead sent out an advance team to scout out the actual situation.

The advance team moved cautiously through the jungle, fearing an ambush by the Ming army.

As they walked along, they found many weapons and armors discarded by the Ming army, which made them more convinced that the Ming army had been defeated.

"It seems that the Ming army is just so-so. They were scared to death by us!"

A Japanese pirate said proudly.

"Haha, of course, our Japanese warriors are invincible in the world!" The other Japanese pirates also laughed proudly.

At this moment, a Japanese pirate walking in front of the team suddenly cried out: "Oh no, there is an ambush!" Before he finished speaking, a deafening shout of killing suddenly rang out in the surrounding jungle, and countless sharp arrows fell from the sky like raindrops, shooting the unsuspecting Japanese pirate advance team into hedgehogs.

"Kill!"

Lan Yu took the lead, holding a huge machete in his hand, and rushed into the Japanese pirates' team like a tiger descending from the mountain. Wherever he went, blood and flesh flew everywhere and screams were heard.

"Baga! How could this happen?!"

The Japanese pirate leader was horrified to see his advance team being wiped out in an instant.

He couldn't understand why the Ming army would set up an ambush here when it was obvious that they had already been defeated?
However, at this moment, he no longer had time to think about these questions.

Because the Ming army had surged in like a tide and surrounded them.

"Kill all these pirates, leaving no one alive!"

Lan Yu roared, waving the machete in his hand and rushed towards the pirate leader.

"Baga!" The Japanese pirate leader waved his sword to block in panic.

However, his strength was far inferior to Lan Yu's, and he was chopped in half by Lan Yu in just one round.

The Japanese pirates lost their leader and their morale was immediately thrown into chaos. They threw away their weapons and armor and fled in all directions.

"Want to run? It's not that easy!"

Lan Yu sneered and ordered the entire army to pursue and annihilate all the Japanese pirates.

The morale of the Ming army was high and they chased the Japanese pirates all the way. The Japanese pirates suffered heavy casualties, blood flowed like a river, and the entire beach became a living hell.

Lan Yu led the Ming navy and swept across the entire Ryukyu Sea like a gust of wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

The Japanese pirates' warships were as vulnerable as paper in the face of the powerful firepower of the Ming army, and turned into wreckage floating on the sea.

Blood surged on the sea and the wails of the Japanese pirates resounded through the sky, but they were soon swallowed up by the waves and returned to calm.

On the other side, Zhu Tan also dealt with the former subordinates of King Zhongshan cleanly and efficiently in the palace.

He had no intention of playing any "soft policy" with these two-faced guys, and directly ordered the execution of all those stubborn guys.

Only a few guys were left who were so scared that they were pissing their shit and crying for their parents, expressing their willingness to surrender.

Inside the palace hall, there was still a faint smell of blood in the air.

Shang Sishao, wearing traditional Ryukyu royal robes, stood trembling in front of Zhu Tan, with a fawning smile on his face, like a pug wagging its tail to beg for mercy.

"Your Majesty is so powerful that I admire you wholeheartedly!"

Shang Sishao bent over, speaking in an extremely humble tone:

"Now that the prince has captured all those traitors, Ryukyu can finally usher in a truly peaceful and prosperous era!"

Zhu Tan sat on the throne that originally belonged to the King of Zhongshan.

He held a cup of fragrant tea in his hand, looked at Shang Sishao with a smile, and said nothing.

Shang Sishao felt uneasy when he was looked at by him, and the smile on his face became a little stiff.

He carefully looked at Zhu Tan's face and asked tentatively, "I wonder what your Highness's plans are next?"

Zhu Tan put down the teacup, stared at Shang Sishao sharply, and said slowly:

"This time, I came to Ryukyu to enforce justice and save the people of Ryukyu from the dire situation. Now that Ryukyu has just been settled, there is a lot of work to be done, so I will naturally lend you a helping hand."

Shang Sishao was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately knelt on the ground, shouting:
"Your Majesty is merciful! I thank you on behalf of the people of Ryukyu!"

"Get up." Zhu Tan said calmly, "I have decided that from now on, all citizens of Ryukyu must learn Chinese and Ming culture, respect Ming as their suzerain, pay tribute every year, and be vassal every year!"

The smile on Shang Sishao's face suddenly froze. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but did not dare to refute.

Do all citizens have to learn Chinese and Ming culture?

This, this is even more harsh than the conditions for a vassal state!
Seeing that he didn't respond for a long time, Zhu Tan narrowed his eyes.

"Ok?"

I think of Zhu Tan's decisiveness in killing Wu Ning.

Shang Sishao's heart skipped a beat.

I could only respond submissively: "Yes, yes, Your Majesty is absolutely right..."

Zhu Tan curled up the corner of his mouth into a sneer. He knew that Shang Sishao would definitely not be happy about it, but he just wanted to erode Ryukyu's culture and independence bit by bit, and eventually turn it into a complete vassal state of the Ming Dynasty!
"In addition," Zhu Tan paused and continued:

"In order to better help Ryukyu develop, I have decided that Ryukyu must send 5,000 young and strong people to Ming Dynasty every year to learn advanced technology and culture from Ming Dynasty and contribute to the construction of Ryukyu."

"what?!"

Shang Sishao exclaimed in shock. This time he could no longer remain silent. "Your Highness, this... this is too many, isn't it? Five thousand people! This will seriously affect Ryukyu's production and life!"

Zhu Tan's face darkened, he slammed the table and shouted:

"What? Are you questioning my decision?"

"I dare not!" Shang Sishao was so frightened that he trembled all over and quickly knelt on the ground.

"It's just... it's just that these 5,000 people are too large. I'm worried..."

"What are you worried about?" Zhu Tan interrupted him coldly:
"Do you think that I will treat them unfairly? If they go to Ming, they will not only learn advanced technology and culture, but also receive generous treatment. This is a great thing! Why, do you think that I will capture them and make them laborers?"

"I dare not! I absolutely do not mean that!"

Shang Sishao was so frightened that cold sweats broke out. He had no doubt that if he said one more wrong word, this decisive and ruthless Prince Lu would definitely chop off his head without hesitation!

Zhu Tan looked at him coldly, with a hint of contempt in his eyes.

This Shang Sishao is really a spineless person who is afraid of death!

"In that case, it's settled!"

Zhu Tan stood up and looked down at Shang Sishao, "I hope you can take care of yourself and don't let me down!"

Shang Sishao lay on the ground, not daring to breathe, until Zhu Tan's figure disappeared at the entrance of the hall.

He dared to slowly raise his head, the flattery on his face was no longer there, replaced by gloom and resentment.

"Damn it! Damn King Lu!"

"Even rabbits will bite when they are angry!" (End of this chapter)