New Shun 1730

After entering the Angel Pavilion and going through the process again, the prelude to the reception was completed.

According to the rules, when the official ships and envoys of the Celestial Empire arrived, they had to stay in the Angel Pavilion. After all, Ryukyu had to prepare a lot of things to welcome them.

Normally, they would wait for ten days or half a month. Liu Yu understood that this was all arranged by the people of Satsuma Domain, so he did not point it out for the time being.

After entering the Angel Pavilion, Ryukyu officials no longer had to kneel all the time and could sit down.

When they needed to talk, they stood up. Normally, both parties had to stand up, because normally, the Ryukyu would not send officials of too high a level to confer titles on the Ryukyu Kingdom, and sending an earl was unprecedented.

Because it was not normal, Shang Che had to stand up when he spoke, Liu Yu only had to sit when he spoke, Zhao Baiquan could sit when he talked to Liu Yu, and Zhao Baiquan had to stand up when he talked to Shang Che.

These things did not need to be called Ryukyu people. Most of what Ryukyu learned was the etiquette of the Celestial Empire, and the core was universal.

"May I ask the angel, how many people from the Celestial Empire are there, including sailors and servants? So that we can ask people to prepare food. Different ranks have different supplies. Please give me a list."

"The Ryukyu Kingdom is poor and the people are poor. There is really no good food. Please forgive me."

When on the ship, Zhao Baiquan had already prepared this and asked Liu Yu how many people were going.

Except for the few cruisers that Chen Qinghai took to blockade Ryukyu, the rest did not enter Naha Port, but drifted on the sea.

The navy does not like and cannot disembark in unfamiliar places. If they enter the port, they will not be able to react in time if an unexpected situation occurs.

Only one cruiser followed Liu Yu ashore as a heavenly ship, and the rest of the troop transport ships followed.

There were a total of 500 Marines, but only 400 went ashore. The rest squatted on the ship to guard the cannons. It was not good to drag the field artillery used by the army directly to Naha.

The remaining sailors, servants, and guards of honor were about 200, and the total number of people who needed to stay in the Angel Pavilion was more than 600, which was about the same as usual, and Ryukyu could accommodate them.

Shang Che took the list, but he actually had a lot of questions in his mind.

For example, why did the Celestial Empire send a Western ship this time? Why did the Celestial Empire send troops this time? What exactly did the Celestial Empire come for this time?

He thought of many possibilities, but never thought that the Celestial Empire knew the truth that Ryukyu was controlled by the Satsuma Domain, because they had been deceiving for 130 years, and they had been deceiving smoothly, and they had formed a kind of thinking inertia, and they would not think about it at all.

This time was still a little different. The earl-level Celestial Empire officials came in person, which made Shang Che feel uneasy.

He was going to test it, so he took this opportunity to ask.

"I wonder what the angel is doing in this small country?"

Zhao Baiquan didn't know what to say, Liu Yu lied easily.

"What is it? There is no rush to talk about it. It won't be too late to discuss it after the King of Zhongshan comes in person. The emperor has his own will."

"Oh, by the way, Prime Minister, I have always heard that Ryukyu is a maritime merchant and trade ship, but I don't know if Ryukyu knows about the ban on religion in the Celestial Empire?"

This matter has nothing to do with the ban on religion. Liu Yu is also playing tricks here. He didn't say that he came here because of the ban on religion, but he said that he would tell the King of Zhongshan that your brother is not of high enough level.

But he turned around and said that it was related to the ban on religion, which sounds related to the former, but in fact it has nothing to do with the former.

Because he added a "by the way", it means that the topic has been diverted.

Shang Che didn't think so much, and never thought that the angel who has always been silly would play such a trick, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"The Ryukyu Kingdom is located in a remote area, but I have heard of it. In addition, there were Fujian merchants who drifted here, and the King of Zhongshan also treated them well, which I have also heard of."

Liu Yu thought, damn, they treated them well, it was clearly house arrest and surveillance to prevent the news from leaking out, and I didn't send people to pretend to be in a shipwreck?

As long as they docked, they were monitored by the Japanese, with food and drink, but not allowed to move around.

You can ask to see the King of Ryukyu, but you have to wait for the King of Ryukyu to summon you. The questions asked are not so much from Ryukyu, but like the standard questions of Tang-style storytelling in Nagasaki.

It was only in the past few years that the Dashun trade was opened, and the use of the opening made the northeast of Taiwan more costly to govern than profitable, and finally made the Spanish and Dutch who were secretly operating there withdraw, and the status of the Ryukyu transit station declined, but finally this kind of deception could be concealed.

In recent years, the main port for trade with Japan has moved to Songjiang, and it has even used Western navigation techniques to sail directly to Nagasaki, so fewer people have fallen into trouble in Ryukyu.

But the problems of the Ryukyu people summarized by the previous waves of people after returning show the depth of Satsuma's control over Ryukyu. Many questions are not what the Ryukyu people should ask or are willing to ask.

It was not time to turn against each other at this time, and Liu Yu continued to lie, so he said: "The King of Zhongshan treated the merchants who fell into the sea well, which was really a great kindness. But how could merchants know so much? You don't know that in the past few years, the Celestial Empire banned Western Catholicism, and the Christians in Fujian and other places rioted, burned Confucian temples, and smashed temples. Ryukyu is very close to Fujian, but I don't know if there are any Catholic Fujian people in Ryukyu?"

Deliberately chose to use the ban on religion to divert the topic, because Japan was also banning religion, and Satsuma was more strict about banning religion. Ryukyu was under the control of Satsuma, and banning religion could trigger "resonance".

Shang Che really didn't know about the riots of Christians in Fujian. After hearing what Liu Yu said, he thought he understood the meaning of the Celestial Empire suddenly sending people to Ryukyu this time.

"Angel, rest assured. Ryukyu has its own Shinto, witches, and witches, so Catholicism is naturally forbidden. Not only is it forbidden, but it is also strictly investigated. Any shipwrecked ship carrying crosses and other objects is strictly prohibited from landing. In order to popularize it, the King of Zhongshan also ordered people to draw some pictures related to Catholicism, and anyone who finds them will be rewarded. The King of Shinto and witches also ordered a strict investigation."

"There is absolutely no Catholicism in this country!"

He thought that the ban on religion in the Celestial Empire had caused trouble and made big news like the Shimabara Rebellion in Japan. As a vassal, especially a vassal that can pay tribute, the Celestial Empire has the power to demand a ban on religion together.

If this is true, then you can rest assured. Anyway, Satsuma Domain is also strictly guarding against Catholicism, and the sea transportation route such as Ryukyu is even more carefully investigated.

I wonder if some Catholics ran away on the ship, so the Celestial Empire sent warships to catch them?

And the Christians were rioting in Fujian, and there is a high probability that they ran to Ryukyu...

From this point of view, it makes sense that the Celestial Empire sent warships, accompanying personnel and soldiers this time.

Liu Yu hummed, cleared his throat and said: "This... um, this foreign religion, it..."

After hesitating for a while, Zhao Baiquan took over the conversation. The ban on religion was closely related to the Li government, and he was more familiar with those official standard answers than Liu Yu.

After telling the official version of the ban on religion and the various disadvantages of foreign religion, Shang Che, the younger brother of the Ryukyu King, said hurriedly: "The emperor is wise. Ryukyu is a small country, and foreign religion is definitely not popular. Recently, no Fujian people have come by ship, and no Western ships have arrived. Yingguili once established a trading house with Naha in the first year of the Tianqi reign of the previous dynasty, but it was closed soon after, and Westerners have never come since then."

When Liu Yu heard that the British had come to Ryukyu for the first time, he panicked and asked: "When?"

"To answer the angel, it was a long time ago. It was in the 43rd year of Wanli in the previous dynasty. Since the 43rd year of Wanli, the British have never come again."

Liu Yu thought to himself that this happened a hundred years ago, which scared me. After calculating the time, it should be the time when the British were tricked by the Dutch in Japan. Although he didn't know what happened, he was relieved. It seems that the Western forces have completely abandoned Ryukyu.

At this time, he pretended to say: "In this case, if Westerners come to Ryukyu, they must report to the Celestial Empire. How can Westerners bypass the Celestial Empire and negotiate with the vassal alone? Moreover, if there are Celestial Christians who have fled here in the future, they can also be captured together."

Three sentences without leaving the ban on religion, let Shang Che completely relieved.

Liu Yu changed the subject and said: "This time, I am not here to confer the title, so there is no need to prepare the altar ceremony. And since it is not a conferment, there is no need to go to the Zhongshan King Temple, just go to the Angel Pavilion. The emperor sent me here for important matters. The prime minister can pass the message to the Zhongshan King as soon as possible."

"Of course, we must observe etiquette, but we must not be extravagant and wasteful. Everything should be simple. Business is important."

Shang Che said yes repeatedly.

The Zhongshan King Temple is used for conferring titles, and any conferring title must mean that someone has died.

It is impossible for the Celestial Empire to have one death and another conferring title, so funerals and happy events have always been held together.

There is an empty seat for the emperor in the main hall of the Angel Hall, which can fully serve as the various functions for the Zhongshan King to meet the angel and express gratitude.

"What the angel said is very true. I will report to the Zhongshan King now. The angel is tired from the journey, so you can rest for a few days. I wonder if the angel has any other instructions. If not, I will leave now and will not affect the angel's rest."

Liu Yu stood up to see him off. When Shang Che was about to leave, he seemed to think of something and asked, "Are there any prostitutes in the city?"

Zhao Baiquan, who was following Liu Yu, was stunned for a moment, and Shang Che, the brother of the Ryukyu King, was also stunned, thinking that he had heard wrongly?

Fortunately, the "Question and Answer Manual" of Ryukyu and Satsuma Domain has a standard answer, and he hurriedly said: "There is none on the Ryukyu Islands. As for the Ryukyu sores (syphilis) rumored by some people, it has nothing to do with Ryukyu. It is just a fabricated saying by some people."

Thinking about the previous communication, he knew that Liu Yu was a "military general" and had fought against Junggar and Luosha. Shang Che understood and thought that the warrior was really straightforward.

He was also smart and smiled: "The Ryukyu Kingdom is located in the south. Now it is Gaoyue. It is hot and hard to sleep at night. Of course, we have to send someone to fan the angel."

Zhao Baiquan thought to himself, Ying Suo Bo, Ying Suo Bo, it's not that bad, right? It's only been a few days, and you can't bear it? It's not that you can't do this during reception, but we are only on the first day, don't we have to restrain ourselves?

Liu Yu on the side smiled and said, "The Prime Minister misunderstood. I am not doing this for myself, but because you can see that I brought a lot of soldiers this time. These are all floating on the sea. They have been floating on the sea recently to do some things. They have been holding back for a long time recently. I am afraid that they will make trouble again because of the jealousy of prostitutes. If there is no trouble, it will be the best, so as not to make trouble and damage the face of the Celestial Empire. I will also be punished when I return."

"This time, it is different from the past. These soldiers do not need to send servants to serve. I also brought people, and chefs and other things are also available. The Ryukyu Kingdom only needs to deliver the rice and flour on time every day. I am the leader of the soldiers. I must be strict in military discipline and cannot mix with the locals. Besides, I can't stay for a few days. I have to go back quickly because there is something important."

Thinking that the soldiers I brought with me can be seen as soldiers at a glance, and it is impossible to hide it, so it is better to make it clear.

It is also good for the Ryukyu side to relax their vigilance and think in the direction of "leading troops to chase Westerners or Catholics".

Seeing Liu Yu insist, Shang Che thought that this was good, as it saved him from having to mobilize the people. Since he was a soldier, a rough warrior, it seemed that he was visiting Ryukyu because of something like banning religion, and it was nothing serious.

"In that case, thank the angel for his consideration. I will report to King Zhongshan and come to receive the order as soon as possible."