Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Where is Home Mountain

Why was Ryukyu involved in modern world politics? Occupying here can effectively control China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. What legends are there in its history of fighting against aggression and defending the country? The three black C's record the heroic deeds of Chinese Zheng's supporting Ryukyu. Now, where are we going to find its mysterious figure? Few people now know that Ryukyu was once an independent country. In the last lecture, I mentioned that when China and Ryukyu were coming and going, it was a great pleasure. When the Ryukyu Kingdom was complacent about its status as "the bridge of all nations", there was a huge turning point in history, and the fate of Ryukyu also changed accordingly. , Entering a "being era", just like the "being employed", "being represented", and "being donated" that have been popular in the past two years, Ryukyu has also embarked on a road that cannot return home.What exactly happened?What broke the tranquility of this magical land?

There is an old saying in China that "people are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of being strong".We have to start from March 4, 1609. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Edo shogunate of Japan, had long coveted the wealth of the Ryukyu Kingdom. On this day, he ordered Shimadzu Iehisa, the island lord of the Kyushu Satsuma clan, to send 3,000 troops. Armed invasion of Ryukyu.Iehisa Shimadzu led 3,000 elite soldiers, set off from Shanchuan Port in 100 warships, and landed on Amami Oshima on March 8, beginning the conquest of the Ryukyu Kingdom. On March 26, they reached Shuri, the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom.The Ryukyu side sent four thousand troops to resist.As we said earlier, Napoleon was amazed by this country. How can a country have no army, how can it have no police, and yet be so peaceful?Even if this country has 4,000 troops, how can it withstand the blows of the Shimadzu Iehisa, who has experienced many battles, is vicious, and is fierce?In the end, facing Shimadzu Iehisa's elite soldiers, Ryukyu had no power to fight back, and Shuri Castle was conquered.Ryukyu King Shang Ning was also forced to leave the city to seek peace, and Shimadzu occupied Shuri Castle on April 5.The king of Shuri Castle, Shang Ning, was imprisoned in Kagoshima in an attempt to annex the Ryukyu Kingdom in one fell swoop.Later, due to the pressure of the Ming Dynasty, and because of the uneven distribution of spoils, this conspiracy failed, but Shimadzu Iehisa still forced King Shangning to sign a treaty, stipulating that the Ryukyu Kingdom should send 8,000 shi of grain to the Satsuma Domain every year.The Ryukyu Kingdom has no food of its own, so it has to import 8,000 shi to him every year.In the future, Japan actually used this as an excuse to say that Ryukyu offered to pay him 8,000 shi of grain every year to prove that this land has been Japanese territory since ancient times.Therefore, Japan's resistance to tribute is not a whim, and has a long history.The reason why Japan takes a fancy to Ryukyu's land of more than 3,500 square kilometers is not to affirm what this land can produce and what it can produce, but the military importance of this land.Occupying this place can effectively control the transportation hubs of China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.What's more, it was an outpost for Japan's subsequent invasion of China.But at that time, a small Japan did not have the means and ability to make China's abacus, so it could only bury this idea deeply in its heart. Coming soon.

"Every man is innocent, but pregnant is guilty." Because of its unique geographical location, the weak Ryukyu has attracted the covetousness of its evil neighbors, and cannot protect itself in the torrent of history.At this time, China, as its suzerain, must stand up and provide effective protection and moral support.So, how does China help Ryukyu? On December 28, 1673, a civil turmoil broke out in the Qing Dynasty. There were three people at the head of this turmoil. The first was Wu Sangui, King of Pingxi, the second was Shang Kexi, King of Pingnan, and the third was King Jingnan. Geng Jingzhong, this is the "San Francisco Rebellion" in the history of the Qing Dynasty. After the "San Francisco Rebellion", China was likely to split, and the Japanese side saw that their good opportunity had come, so they ordered the Ryukyu Kingdom to collect all the brimstones owned by all parts of the country and give them to Geng Jingzhong who was in the rebellion.Although Ryukyu was held hostage by Japan, it still used various excuses to stop the Japanese attempt.In the end, on the eve of the pacification of the "San Francisco Rebellion" in 1680, the benevolent Ryukyu King was rewarded by Emperor Kangxi.The full text of this award has already been discussed before. In 1681, Emperor Kangxi once again rewarded the King of Ryukyu as affirmation of his loyal behavior.

Speaking of which, we have to pay attention.In fact, during this period, Ryukyu resisted Japan several times, and there is one thing that is very encouraging.One of the most famous incidents is the Chinese support for Ryukyu.Speaking of the Japanese invasion of Ryukyu, a Chinese descendant who came to Ryukyu in 1392 under the order of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, a descendant of the Zheng family in the "Thirty-six Surnames of Fujian People", once did a heroic deed.Isn't Japan hitting Shuri?This man led the whole clan to resist, and was finally defeated and captured. The Japanese brutally tortured him with an oil pot to cook him, so they set up a big oil pot and dragged the captured Zheng into the oil at once. In the pot, Mrs. Zheng was still struggling in the oil pan, and with all her strength, she pushed the two Japanese who were holding him down into the oil pan. Finally, the three of them entered the oil pan at the same time.This incident quickly spread throughout the entire Ryukyu territory, and the Ryukyu people have since changed their national emblem.Today, we can still know that there is a red circle in the middle of the national emblem of Ryukyu, and there are three black Cs inside the red circle, which symbolizes the scene of three people being fried to death in an oil pan, and the three black Cs record Chinese Zheng's heroic deeds in support of Ryukyu.

This matter is purely China's internal affairs, and the Japanese are not bothered to get involved. Taiwan has been China's territory since ancient times. Get out of here obediently. Otherwise, I can tell you that my army is not vegetarian. As a Chinese saying goes: "If you are not afraid of thieves stealing, you are afraid of thieves thinking about it." Japan's threat to Ryukyu not only did not stop because of the resistance, but intensified, and even extended the dispute to the island of Taiwan, which is part of China's territory. A major event in the history of Ryukyu subjugation.What is this incident?What was the result?

Although with the full cooperation of China and Ryukyu, the Japanese conspiracy has not succeeded for the time being.However, "If you are not afraid of thieves stealing, you are afraid of thieves thinking about you."This little Japan failed at one plan, and tried another plan. Finally, in 1871, the Japanese got the second chance they had dreamed of. It is said that in December 1871, two ships from the Kingdom of Ryukyu encountered a hurricane at sea. You said it was strange, there was still a typhoon in December, and the two ships drifted to the east coast of Taiwan. One of them was rescued and was sent safely to Taiwan. When we arrived in Taiwan, another ship hit a reef and sank in Langqiao in the south of Taiwan, which is now Beiyao Bay under Hengchun, Taiwan.After the crew went ashore, they clashed with the Gaoshan residents of the local Peony Club. As a result, 54 Ryukyu fishermen were killed by mistake. This is the "Peony Club Incident" in history.

Some people say, what is this matter?The conflict between members of the Ryukyu Kingdom, a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, and the Peony Society under the Taiwan Government of Fujian Province in the Qing Dynasty was purely an internal matter of China.We think this is China's internal affairs, and the Japanese who are cute and make trouble don't think so.Of course, the Japanese knew nothing about it at the time, and they finally did, a year and a half later.Therefore, Japan sent its envoy Fukushima Naechen to the Prime Minister's Office of International Affairs in Beijing to protest against the inhumane acts suffered by the residents under the Ryukyu Domain to which their country belongs.The Qing government sent two representatives, one named Mao Changxi and the other named Dong Xun, the ministers of the Prime Minister’s Yamen, to solemnly declare:

I have heard about the murder of the Ryukyu people by the "fan" people, but I have never heard of it when they harmed the people of your country. Both the husband and the island belong to our land, and the people who belong to the land kill each other, and the judgment is firmly with me.I sympathize with the Ryukyu people and take care of it myself. Why do you want to worry about your country's affairs and worry about it? That is to say, this matter is purely China's internal affairs, and the Japanese are not bothered to ask.And said: Those who kill all belong to the "Sheng Fan", so it is not convenient to rule them out if they are excluded.The "Ezo" in Japan and the "Red Fan" in the United States are not submissive to the king, and this is also the case in all countries.

Speaking of this, you should pay attention to what they said, "All murderers are 'shengfans', so let's ignore them for the time being, so it is not convenient to treat them poorly."It means that the murderers belong to the residents in China who have not evolved well, and they call the ethnic minorities the residents who have not evolved well as "shengfan".Everyone understands what this means, just like we in China used to call ethnic minorities "Yiman Rongdi".Japan also has "Ezo" (referring to the Amo people in Hokkaido), and the United States also has "Red Fan" (referring to Indians). Every country has such unevolved people.But the Japanese don't think so, and the Japanese are delighted to hear this. "Shengfan" has not evolved, so I don't understand it that way, that is, it is not under the control of China.On February 6, 1874, he drew up a "Synopsis of the Conquest of "Taiwan" "Taiwanese" Territory", which declared forcefully:

The "Tibetan" tribes in Taiwan were beyond the reach of the Qing government. ...It is the obligation of the Japanese imperial government to avenge the crime of killing the Ryukyu people under our vassal, and the axiom of levying "fans" can also be obtained from this. If the Qing State used the Ryukyu sent envoys to pay tribute to the country as an excuse to play up the theory of two subordinations, it would be better not to pay attention to it and not to respond to its arguments.Since the real power to control Ryukyu lies in our empire, preventing Ryukyu from sending envoys to pay tribute can be listed as a task after the conquest of Taiwan. At present, we cannot argue with the Qing government in vain.

What does that mean?That is to say, the tribe in Taiwan is beyond the reach of the Qing government, so it is our duty and reasonable to take revenge against the Ryukyu people who killed our vassal.In addition, he added that if the Qing government used Ryukyu's tribute to them as an excuse to say that Ryukyu belonged to both countries, then we would ignore it and pretend that we didn't hear it.Our next step is to prevent Ryukyu from paying tribute to the Qing Dynasty, but this is after the conquest of Taiwan, so we will let it go for now.The most urgent task is to first determine that Taiwan is not Chinese territory, then we Japanese can invade and occupy Taiwan, so they brazenly invaded Taiwan in 1874 because they believed that Taiwan was not under Chinese control.In the face of Japan's armed aggression, how could the Qing government let it go and let it go, and immediately decided to send Lin Zexu's nephew and son-in-law Shen Baozhen as the "imperial envoy to handle Taiwan and other coastal defenses and ministers of foreign affairs" to take a troop tour to Taiwan.After arriving in Taiwan, Shen Baozhen did two jobs. On the one hand, he took the Chinese version of "Taiwan Fuzhi" to protest on the spot to the "Governor of Taiwan's Fandi Affairs" unilaterally named by the Japanese government and former Japanese Army Lieutenant General Saigo Conodo.In addition, Li Hongjie negotiated with the newly appointed Japanese Minister to China Maemitsu Yanagihara. The following is a conversation between them at that time. ... Question: How do you say that Taiwanese Shengfan is not a place in China? Answer: It is a place where China's politics and religion cannot reach. There are also evidences for sending troops there this time. Q: What credentials do you have? No answer. ... Answer: Taiwanese students are like people without a master and have nothing to do with China. Question: Can Shengfan be considered a country? Answer: It's not a country, it's just barbarism. Question: Why is it not my place on Taiwan’s side island? Answer: Since your country knows that Shengfan has killed many people over the years, why not do it? Question: It will be difficult to investigate and deal with the culprit sooner or later. How do you know that I will not do it?Moreover, the people killed by Shengpan were Ryukyu people, not Japanese, so why should Japan be troubled? Answer: Someone from the Ryukyu king once went to Japan to sue for grievances. Question: Ryukyu is our country, why not tell China? Answer: When the peace treaty was not renewed, the princes of Sa (Shansi) and Ma in the country planned to mobilize troops. No matter how much you quibble, the Qing government solemnly declares that Taiwan has been Chinese territory since ancient times, you have to get out of here obediently, otherwise, I can tell you that my army is not vegetarian. Faced with the tough stance of the Qing court, Xixiang was at a loss for reason, but he stated that Japan could withdraw, and you have to make it up to me.The news spread to the Prime Minister's Yamen, Li Hongzhang, the leader of the Prime Minister's Office of International Affairs, begged for compromise, and felt that it was true to take back Taiwan, so let's talk about it, let alone right and wrong. After negotiations, on November 31, 1874, China and Japan signed the "Beijing Special Treaty" in Beijing.This "Beijing Special Article" is very hateful. It stipulates: Japan's military dispatch this time is because "Taiwanese students have arbitrarily harmed Japanese nationals, etc." For the home of the murdered refugees, China has to give 100,000 taels of compensation, Japan’s road and house construction expenses in Taiwan, and China’s 400,000 taels of compensation.Do you understand, 100,000 taels of the 500,000 taels of silver should have been given to the families of the 54 Ryukyu victims, but now they are given to "Japan"; moreover, we have to pay it for the military expenses incurred by Japan's invasion of Taiwan, China Originally, Japan first invaded Ryukyu and then occupied Taiwan, which should be publicly condemned, but the Prime Minister’s Office under the rule of Li Hongzhang didn’t think it was wrong, and it was actually an act of “protecting the people”. How do you say this.This left a pretext for Japan's annexation of Ryukyu in the future.Japan reacted quickly, and Japanese Internal Affairs Minister Toshimichi Okubo immediately formally proposed a plan to annex Ryukyu, part of which said: The status of the two genus Ryukyu has been inherited for a long time since the Middle Ages, and it is difficult to make rapid reforms, so that it is still the same today.Today, China recognizes our conquest of Tibet as a righteous act, and provides relief to the refugees. Although it seems to be enough to show that Ryukyu belongs to our territory, the boundary between the two countries is still not clear.Today, because of the Ryukyu refugees, I have spent huge sums of money and lost many people to protect them. The vassal king should come to the court as soon as possible to show the sincerity of gratitude, but I have not heard of it so far.Now, if the vassal princes are recruited by the order of the court, if they don't come, they must be severely punished.Therefore, for the time being, we can first summon his important ministers, instruct the vassal kings on the reasons for the vassal conquest and the whole story of their mission to China, and order the vassal kings to make a pilgrimage to express their gratitude, and to sever their relationship with China.Set up a sub-camp in Naha, and gradually reformed from the criminal law, education and down to the general system, so as to cite the actual effect of our territory. What does that mean?That is to say, didn't the Qing government admit that I was a "righteous act to protect the people"?I spent so much money and killed so many people because of the Ryukyu refugees. Ryukyu should come to express it. Why there is no movement until now, it may be because I am afraid of China.Are you not coming?I will order you to come.Therefore, Japan called Shichicheng Angui, the three Ryukyu cities, to Tokyo, and Okubo Toshimichi said to him: Since the Restoration, negotiations with foreign countries have been governed by public international law. However, the Ryukyu Domain still has two forms. If it is not reformed today, it will be subject to Chinese interference and will become a factor in disputes in the future.Therefore, our government has considered this and set up a sub-camp in Naha to protect the Ryukyu people. Okubo Toshimichi said, you are two genus now, you have to reform, otherwise you will be interfered by China again.After thinking about it, for your peace, stability, prosperity and strength, we have to set up a barracks in Naha to protect you.However, Chicheng Angui of Ryukyu is not a three-year-old child, and you can’t be coaxed by just a few nice words. He understands very well that although Ryukyu belongs to China and Japan, it is still an independent country, so he refused. up. Okubo Toshimichi saw it, this coaxing is not good, let's just force it. Some people say that the "Peony Club Incident" that has not been resolved fairly and justly is a watershed key point in Taiwan's history. had a profound impact.So after the incident, what strategy did the Qing government propose regarding the fate of the Ryukyu Kingdom? In 1875, that is, the second year after the signing of the "Beijing Special Articles" between China and Japan, the King of Ryukyu received a mysterious document from the Taisho Palace in Japan, which was issued by this Okubo Toshitsutsu. 1. The practice of sending envoys to pay tribute to China and celebrating the enthronement of the Qing emperor shall be abolished. 2. The Ryukyu Pavilion in Fuzhou will be revoked, and the trade business will be under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Consulate in Xiamen. 3. Whenever there is a change of vassal king, the official ship sent by China is conferred by China, and it is used as an example. It will be abolished in the future. 4. When the current vassal king came to the court, he made a decision on political reform and construction methods after studying them. 5. The future negotiations between Ryukyu and China shall be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. This mysterious document made everyone in the Ryukyu Kingdom panic and uneasy.What else was written in this mysterious document?It wrote: Afterwards, it is forbidden to pay tribute to China and be canonized by the Qing Dynasty. The Meiji era name must be followed, and Japanese etiquette and criminal laws must be implemented.In other words, Japan warned Ryukyu that you must sever all diplomatic relations with the Qing Dynasty in China in the future, and you are part of my rule.The Japanese government sent Michiyuki Matsuda, Minister of Internal Affairs, to Ryukyu to force Ryukyu to sever all relations with China in the name of promoting political reform, but was immediately rejected.The Japanese government, unwilling to let it go, immediately dispatched troops to control all key sectors of Ryukyu.In the face of such banditry by Japan, the Ryukyu monarchs and ministers resolutely resisted.At that time, Ryukyu King Shang Tai was ill, but when he heard the news, he immediately regained his energy. It is absolutely impossible to reform the vassal regime."That Chicheng Anji went to Okubo Toshimichi, this time the meeting was not called, so he said to this Okubo: The Ryukyu Domain's long-standing friendship with China cannot be abandoned without reason.If the Celestial Dynasty negotiates with China, if it is recognized by China, it should be ordered. It means, how many years has our relationship with China been, people have been kind to us, our ancestors have received it for eighteen generations, it is unreasonable for you to suddenly ask us to break off diplomatic relations, why don't you talk to China, if China agreed, and we did as we were told.As a result, it took a long time to talk about it.Then, Japan arrested Ryukyu King Shang Tai and other members of the royal family and took them to Tokyo. It also implemented an overseas passport system, stipulating that all Ryukyu people crossing the sea to China must apply for a Japanese passport.In this way, Japan successfully controlled the domestic and foreign affairs of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and forced Ryukyu to adopt the Japanese era name. Soon, Japan successfully set up its police system and supervisory system in Ryukyu.At this time, Ryukyu was not willing to subjugate the country by itself, so in October 1876, the Ryukyu King Shangtai secretly sent his brother-in-law, Xiang Dehong, who was the purple scarf official of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and the Ryukyu governor Lin Shigong, and the governor Cai Dading. The three took a small boat and secretly went to Beijing.As we mentioned earlier, the Ryukyu Kingdom had to wait until the winter solstice to send people out, but this time Shangtai sent people to China, not the winter solstice, it could not be done one day earlier.So the boat went through many hardships, and did not come to Fujian until the 29th day of the second lunar month, where it met Ding Richang, the governor of Fujian, and presented the Ryukyu king Shangtai's letter of love in prison, begging the Qing government to negotiate with Japan.Facing this unexpected event and such a major event, Ding Richang didn't know what to do and was in a dilemma.On the one hand, they were worried that "the land of Ryukyu is barren and the people are poor, and it is an isolated island. It is impossible to protect a dependent state, and the Yiqi Islands will bring the two together."That is to say, Ryukyu is far overseas and is not very important to us, but if we don't help, other vassal states will think that we don't protect their vassal states, and they will have two hearts, which will have a very bad influence.Difficulties have to be dealt with, and you have to deal with them.what to do?Ding Richang reported to the imperial court, suggesting that He Ruzhang, the new ambassador to Japan, handle it. On the way to Japan, Ryukyu will be subordinated to the vassal. The country should not block tribute, and we will discuss the theory with it, and invite the Thai and Western envoys stationed in Japan to comment on the straight song in accordance with the "Public Law of the World". At that time, He Ruzhang was appointed by the Qing court as the first Minister to Japan and was about to go to Japan to take up his post.Ding Richang said that he happened to be going to Japan, so let him negotiate this matter with the Japanese side.After reading Ding Richang's report, the imperial court felt that it was feasible, and on May 14 of the same year, He Ruzhang, the Minister in Japan, was sent to deal with the matter. He Ruzhang is a very thoughtful and calm person.He didn't rush to say what to do, but first investigated the ins and outs of the whole incident in detail.It also made a detailed analysis of the situation in Japan and abroad, so as to know the Ryukyu issue well.He believed that at that time, "Japan was small and poor, and it had no time to defend itself, so there was no time to seek people", and the domestic crisis was rife, "the situation is difficult and dangerous, and it tries to keep its ears to itself", and "it dare not start a quarrel because of this today".Therefore, he wrote to Li Hongzhang saying that we must "fight" for the Ryukyu issue. If the tribute is not stopped, Ryukyu will be destroyed; after Ryukyu is destroyed, it will reach North Korea.Otherwise, it is difficult for me to do it, and the daily affairs require it, and listen to it, what is the country?To refuse is to give up the Ryukyu, and the border quarrel is inevitable.If you want to find a quarrel, you don't have to worry about it for no reason. The Japanese are tyrannical, so Xi must take advantage of it?What's more, Ryukyu is approaching Taiwan, and I will abandon it... Between Taiwan and Penghu, we will not be able to find peace overnight.It is for the sake of Taiwan, the trouble of fighting today is still relieved, and the trouble of abandoning it is even deeper today.Even though it is said that there is a quarrel because of this, we still have to fight, but the situation of Kuang Kui is by no means inevitable? After careful consideration, He Ruzhang firmed his position and proposed three strategies: top, middle, and bottom.The best strategy is to send troops to question Ryukyu and conscript their tribute envoys, implying that Japan must fight. Simply put, "must fight"; "rescue"; the worst policy is to use diplomatic negotiations and its judgments.For the top, middle, and bottom three strategies, He Ruzhang himself is completely inclined to the upper and middle strategies. As for the lower strategy, he believes that it is difficult to convince Japan with words alone, and it is impossible to make it spit out the fat in the mouth.As for specific plans, He Ruzhang proposed three more. If the first two strategies really do not work and you have to make a bad move, He Ruzhang proposes a three-step plan. The first plan: take a step back and maintain the relationship between Ryukyu and China at the next level, "pay tribute but not grant it." If you pay tribute every year and come to the court every year, I will not designate you as the Kingdom of Ryukyu;To maintain the status between China and Ryukyu.The second solution is, if the tribute relationship is difficult to maintain, then the goal is to "save the ball".Invite ministers from various countries to make an agreement and jointly note to the Japanese government, telling it that Ryukyu will always be a foreign domain of Japan, and Japan will never destroy Ryukyu.The third option, if this cannot be done at all, then it must be based on the practice of the previous foreign dynasty.The two genus Ryukyu, surrendered to both China and Japan, were handed over to Japan.But part of it will be handed over to you, and the other part will be given to me, or you will compensate China for money.Compensation money is not the original intention, but the purpose is to let Japan be at a loss for words, let it pay until it can't afford it, and it will return this to China. He Ruzhang felt that Ryukyu must be contested. Why did he propose these three proposals?He also observed the international and domestic situation at that time, and believed that China was still relatively strong at that time, and Japan had many internal conflicts. At this time, Japan did not dare to openly compete with China, so he proposed this policy. Ryukyu has been an independent country since ancient times, and the centuries-old suzerain-vassal relationship between China and Ryukyu is recorded in the annals of history. Life does not want to be the kingdom of Japan belongs to man, and death does not want to belong to the kingdom of Japan to belong to ghosts! Ryukyu used to be an ancient country with a history of more than 800 years, and it was slowly submerged in the dust of history.The development of history is often not determined by one person. Can the "Three Ryukyu Strategies" proposed by He Ruzhang completely solve the Ryukyu issue?Can Ryukyu redeem itself? After reading He Ruzhang's specific plan, Li Hongzhang felt that He Ruzhang's analysis was very reasonable, and among the top, middle, and bottom three strategies, the top strategy and the middle strategy made a big deal out of a molehill, so let's press the strategy.Just implement the next policy directly, why?Li believes that no matter whether Ryukyu can restore the tributary relationship with China, as long as Japan does not launch aggression, it should not attack the south, and then attack China's vassal state North Korea.If Japan does not listen, then we will find the big powers to protest against Little Japan.He believes that this "can send and receive". Therefore, He Ruzhang was ordered to negotiate with Japan.From 1878 AD, that is, from July to November of the fourth year of Guangxu, He Ruzhang negotiated with Japan for nearly five months.Simply put, it is divided into two steps.First, tell Japan euphemistically that we, China, must strive for Ryukyu and not give up the opportunity to turn around.Second, if it doesn't work, then openly and formally argue for it.At that time, Japan had just started the Meiji Restoration for a few years. It did not learn from the good things of the West, but learned from some bad things. What is bad?Its foreign secretary in charge of foreign affairs is now called Foreign Minister. The entire Ministry of Foreign Affairs is on vacation, and there is no one at all. It was not until the end of the summer vacation in August and September that He Ruzhang found the Japanese Foreign Minister Terashima Sonori and implemented his first plan. step.On the seventh day of August, I visited for the first time. I tactfully expressed China's willingness to discuss Ryukyu affairs, pointing out that Ryukyu has long been a Chinese vassal state, and hoped that Japan would withdraw from the occupied Chinese land and restore the tributary relationship between China and Ryukyu.The Terashima sect said it was wrong. This Ryukyu has belonged to us in Japan for hundreds of years. In the past, it gave you something from China and paid tribute to your China. It was wrong not to interfere with it.Now I am worried that Ryukyu will be annexed by other countries, so I have withdrawn its diplomatic rights. Ryukyu is a Japanese territory.The talks ended in vain, but He Ruzhang said that we will continue to discuss through talks.Terashima Zong agreed.Afterwards, He Ruzhang had another meeting with Terashima Zongze. The two parties agreed to meet again at another date, but there was still no result.In this way, He Ruzhang's first move was miscalculated.Only the second move can be performed. On September 12, He Ruzhang and Deputy Envoy Zhang Sigui co-signed and sent a strongly worded note to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The note says that Ryukyu has been an independent country since ancient times, and the centuries-old suzerain-vassal relationship between China and Ryukyu is recorded in the annals of history.Japan's move violates both the "China-Japan Amendment Regulations" and the spirit of international law.It is hoped that the Japanese side will allow the Ryukyu state system and political system to "follow the old rules" and not allow Japan to prevent Ryukyu from paying tribute to China.The following is an excerpt from part of the original text: The Chaliuqiu Kingdom is a small island in the ocean of China. Its terrain is narrow and its products are poor.Hanging alone in the sea, it has formed its own country from ancient times to the present.Since the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1372), he surrendered to China, granted the king tribute, and was listed as a vassal; however, the government decree of the country allowed him to be autonomous, and it has not changed until now.I have pity on the weak and small, and give them preferential treatment; Ryukyu is me, and I am especially respectful.There is a rule of one tribute every two years, without interruption.All the ceremonies are recorded in the "Great Qing Huidian", "The Rules of the Ministry of Rites" and "Zhongshan Chuanxinlu" written by the previous canonized Ryukyu envoys, that is, "Zhongshan History" and "Qiuyang Zhi" written by Qiuren. And the people of your country have recently engraved "Ryukyu Chronicles", which are all clearly recorded.Also, during the Xianfeng period of our country, the Ryukyu Kingdom had signed treaties with the United States of America, France, and the Netherlands. All of the treaties used our year name Lishuo characters. Ryukyu is a country that belongs to our dynasty, and all European and American countries know it. This section is to sort out the history of Ryukyu.Then, He Ruzhang added: Now I suddenly heard that your country banned Ryukyu from paying tribute to our country. My government heard this and thought that Japan, a great country, would not betray its neighbors and bully a weak country. Therefore, it is unjust, heartless and unreasonable.This minister has been here for several months, inquiring about the situation, secretly remembering the friendship between our two countries since the establishment of the "Repair Regulations". There is an invasion of Vietnam", you should abide by it unswervingly, this is what your country knows.If we bully Ryukyu today and change the old chapter without permission, how will we treat our country?And why treat the country that has a treaty with Ryukyu?Although Ryukyu is small, its heart of serving our dynasty is as one from top to bottom, and it is absolutely difficult to submit. On October 27th, more than a month later, Japanese Foreign Minister Terashima Muneze replied to the letter, grasping that "Japan is a great country, and forgives its unwillingness to betray its neighbors and bully weak countries. It is unbelievable, ruthless and unreasonable for this." He made a big fuss with the words of He Ruzhang, using the excuse that He Ruzhang's note was "very rhetoric" and insisting on He Ruzhang's explanation, but in fact it is avoiding the substantive issue of "Ryukyu ownership".Later, it was said that Ryukyu was first managed by Japan for hundreds of years. What do you mean by the Chinese government?You, a Chinese minister, have never studied history. What nonsense are you talking about?What does it have to do with your Chinese Qing Dynasty government in managing the private affairs of Ryukyu, which is owned by Japan in Japan?Therefore, it was flatly rejected.What do you mean?You are blatantly interfering in our internal affairs in Japan, it is not good for you to do so. On November 6, He Ruzhang wrote back and explained that we have said twice before that the Chinese government has always had a very close relationship with Ryukyu. Ryukyu is a vassal of China, and Ryukyu pays tribute to China every year. towards.The reason why I wrote to you was because we couldn’t reach an agreement. The purpose of the written note is to “treat our neighbors favorably”. I am very surprised by your arbitrariness. Our "Sino-Japanese Amendment Treaty" does not stipulate this way. You invaded our vassal state of China, and you didn't tell me what you mean.In this way, the two sides come and go, without any results, and it becomes a verbal confrontation. Just as the two sides were negotiating, on April 4, 1879, the Japanese government officially announced that the Kingdom of Ryukyu would be renamed Okinawa Prefecture, and Naobashi Nabeshima was appointed as the first magistrate of Okinawa.At this point, Japan officially annexed Ryukyu.At the same time, it destroyed all Chinese edicts, edicts, official documents and account books inside and outside the Ryukyu Palace to cover up the fact that it invaded Ryukyu. In the blink of an eye, in October 1879, one day, three foreign tourists in ragged clothes prostrated themselves outside the gate of the Prime Minister’s State Affairs Office of the Qing Dynasty and wept bitterly, causing many passers-by to watch.Who are they?It turned out that the news of Japan's annexation of Ryukyu reached China. King Shangtai's brother-in-law Xiang Dehong and three others in China, shaved their hair and made up, broke through difficulties and obstacles, and came to the prime minister's office to write a petition to Li Hongzhang.In the petition, Xiang Dehong felt the hatred of the country and the family, and wrote: "If you live, you don't want to belong to the Japanese country, and if you die, you don't want to be the ghost of the Japanese country!" Here, we ask for help from the mother country, hoping that the mother country will "do everything from chasing the sun to the country as a ghost."But what can the Qing government do?At this time, Russia is invading China's Xinjiang, and Japan is frequently causing troubles in China's Fujian. Who is more important for coastal defense or fortress defense?The Qing court had no choice.Under such circumstances, at dusk one day in 1880, Lin Shigong once again sent a letter to the Qing court on a hunger strike, asking the Chinese government, Mother State, to help Zibang!After no results, Lin Shigong left a suicide note and left.These two poems were written on this piece of Juedao. One: Since ancient times, how many people are loyal and filial, I have been worrying about my country and my family for five years. When you die, you will still live in the community, Gaotang only relies on brother Xian. Second: For 20 years, I have been half-disobedient, He considers himself a sinner. Old Lei Yier has white hair, It is even more sad to hear the bad news.