Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

These Taiwanese prisoners were also settled along the Fujian coast and joined up with the remaining rebel forces.

They were collectively known as "Yacht Princes," and in the Tang Dynasty, they were granted status and required to pay taxes to the government.

After resupplying in Fuzhou, Luo Shunqing continued his journey back to Hangzhou.

Chapter 3332 Ancient Ryukyu Kingdom

Yang Yao, the naval commander of Penghu, led a large group of Tanka people straight to the Taipei area.

That place is the Kingdom of Ryukyu!

Its sphere of influence extends to the Tamsui River basin in Taipei and the coastal plains of northern Taiwan.

They began trading with Fujian during the Han Dynasty, and their exchanges became even more frequent during the Song Dynasty, when they even purchased lychees produced in Fujian.

When the fleet arrived at the coast near Hsinchu, the Tanka people quickly moved their homes and disembarked.

Yang Yao gathered the yachts together and addressed them, saying, "You will not have to pay taxes for the next ten years, and merchants will regularly bring goods."

"Don't get into conflict with the Ryukyuans. I will designate an area for you to build houses and settle down on the shore."

"You can choose to continue living on the boat if you wish; the decision is yours."

"Communicate more with the people of Ryukyu, and it would be best to intermarry with them."

A group of Tanka people listened quietly; their willingness to migrate here was purely for the ten-year tax exemption.

Yang Yao continued, "Don't spread out too much. If you encounter the pirates of Vaishya, gather together immediately, take up your weapons, and fight them!"

Those who perform meritorious service will be richly rewarded, and will also receive posthumous compensation.

"I will leave behind a squad of soldiers to teach you how to fight. Now, distribute your armor and weapons!"

All of them were equipment discarded by the Ming army, all leather armor, and many swords, spears, and even bows and crossbows.

"Commander Yang, the King of Ryukyu has arrived," said the merchant and translator accompanying the army.

Yang Yao handed the Tanka people over to his deputy general and went to see the King of Ryukyu.

This King of Ryukyu not only knew basic etiquette, but also had a Chinese name, Lin Xiu.

Lin Xiu raised his hand in a gesture of respect and said in broken Fujian dialect, "This humble prince greets the general!"

Yang Yao couldn't understand and needed a translator from Fujian Maritime Merchants.

He observed carefully and found that the man's appearance was no different from that of a Fujianese.

The outfit was quite interesting; she was dressed entirely in linen clothing, with half of her chest exposed, and her necklace was made of strung copper coins.

Copper coins are not used for trade here; mainland copper coins are considered ornaments in Ryukyu.

"Have you thought this through?" Yang Yao asked.

Lin Xiu replied, "This humble king is willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty!"

Yang Yao said, "Very well. From now on, you will be the Pacification Commissioner of Ryukyu of the Great Ming Dynasty."

"The people of Ryukyu will continue to be governed by you, and they must pay tribute to the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty every year."

"The people of Ryukyu will not be required to pay taxes to the court for fifty years. If bandits from Vaishya come to plunder, I will send troops to protect you!"

"Thank you, General!" Lin Xiu said happily.

Yang Yao added, "The Ming Dynasty's investiture envoy will arrive in a few months. You must greet him properly then."

Lin Xiu said, "Yes."

Archaeological discoveries suggest that the Ryukyu people existed at least as early as the Han Dynasty.

They make a living by growing rice, and have also learned how to smelt iron and use coal.

However, judging from ancient records, the Ryukyu people had very poor iron smelting and forging techniques, and often traded grain with Fujian merchants for ironware.

Their average height is about 1.65 meters for men and about 1.6 meters for women. They practice burial, but the graves are not filled with soil.

The entire Ryukyu Kingdom suddenly disappeared during the Southern Song Dynasty.

Iron smelting and rice cultivation techniques also disappeared, leading to a severe decline in productivity on the island of Taiwan.

It wasn't until the late Ming Dynasty that the islanders of Taiwan learned how to cultivate rice again from immigrants from Fujian.

The culprits who caused the demise of the Ryukyu Kingdom in Taipei were most likely the people of the Vishayya region in Tainan.

The Vishayya people frequently sailed from southern Taiwan to plunder. They not only raided the Ryukyu Kingdom, but also repeatedly robbed the Han Chinese in the Penghu Islands, and even came to the coastal areas of Fujian to loot.

Therefore, the Southern Song Dynasty had no choice but to station its navy in the Penghu Islands.

Because he could no longer bear the plundering by the Vaishyas, King Lin Xiucai of Ryukyu agreed to submit to the Ming Dynasty in exchange for the protection of the Ming navy.

"This is a gift from His Majesty, on my behalf." Yang Yao took out a precious sword.

Lin Xiu took it over and saw that the scabbard and hilt were inlaid with gemstones, and the sword gleamed coldly when drawn.

Lin Xiu grew increasingly fond of it, and knelt in prayer towards the sea, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness and generosity!"

Yang Yao was invited to visit the capital of Ryukyu. Along the way, he saw many golden rice fields, and the agricultural technology here was truly impressive.

But there were no cities.

Even the capital of Ryukyu was only surrounded by wooden fences, which could only protect against wild animals.

The houses along the way are all stilt houses, in the same style as those in Fujian, Guangdong and Southeast Asia.

That evening, the nobles of the Ryukyu tribes all came from various places to welcome and entertain the Ming general around the bonfire.

As Yang Yao drank the local rice wine, his mood became increasingly cheerful.

He was seriously wounded and captured during the Dongting Lake naval battle. After recovering, he was transferred to Shandong to work in the navy and even fought in the Yalu River and the Seto Inland Sea.

Last year, Yang Yao was transferred to Penghu as the commander.

This desolate place was like an exile, but Yang Yao was unwilling to be lonely.

He spent three months thoroughly researching the surrounding area, and then formulated a development plan, for which he received commendation from His Majesty Zhu.

How could the king of Ryukyu possibly submit willingly?

Chapter 3333 Native Pirates

Last winter, Yang Yao took his only three warships and sailed around the waters off Taipei, firing his cannons and then easily defeating the Ryukyu army.

Only through a combination of coaxing and intimidation did they manage to get the King of Ryukyu to obey.

Next, he will go and fight the Vishayas in Tainan!

.....

Penghu Islands.

People who could no longer make a living along the Fujian coast kept fleeing to the islands to seek a living.

At first, there were only able-bodied young men. After they established themselves, they also took in women to reproduce and procreate.

By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, three to four thousand Han Chinese had settled in the Penghu Islands.

They make a living by growing rice and fishing, and in recent years they have also started growing sugarcane.

Salt, cloth, and other daily necessities were transported by merchants from the Quanzhou area.

Dai Chengsi, the esteemed Director of the Maritime Trade Office of Fuzhou, was exiled here.

Considering the many contributions the Dai family had made to the Ming Dynasty, their active efforts to raise money to settle accounts after the case was exposed, their voluntary confession of a large number of people involved in the case, and their assistance to the court in filling various loopholes in the Maritime Trade Office, Zhao Yuan ordered that the Dai family be treated leniently.

Only Dai Chengsi and his wife were exiled; their underage children were sent back to their hometown.

The Dai family was fined one million strings of cash and had their franchise license revoked.

The situation was much worse for Li Bangyan's family; all of his sons were corrupt and lawless.

Even Li Bangyan's underage grandson was exiled with his son and daughter-in-law to settle and farm in the barbarian lands of Hunan and Guangxi.

The Ming Dynasty Code stipulated that collective punishment did not apply to women and children, but there were also more detailed rules.

First, the principle of collective punishment by execution does not apply to women and children.

Second, the punishment of collective exile does not involve women and children of brothers or other relatives.

Third, it does not involve infants.

Like Li Bangyan's sons, whose wives were all exiled, their grandchildren naturally went with their biological parents.

While Li Bangyan was thinking about having another son, he was also hoping that one of his sons would suddenly die.

If his son dies, he can take his underage grandson to live with him!

"Husband, it's already noon, and the sun is scorching. Let's find a shady spot so we don't get sunburned," his wife advised.

Dai Chengsi sat on the beach, enjoying the sea breeze; the humid weather caused sweat to accumulate on his skin.

He stood up, dusted himself off, and walked slowly and dejectedly.

Along the way, the Han Chinese people on the islands they encountered were very happy because they were harvesting rice these days.

Although we are now under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty and will have to pay taxes, the court has also sent troops here, so we no longer need to be afraid of those damned Vaishya people!

Two fishing boats suddenly sped back to shore.

During the rice harvest season, they shouldn't have gone out to sea to fish. However, the imperial court sent convicted officials to manage the islands, and these officials, fearing for their lives, sent some fishing boats to guard the nearby waters.

The villagers on duty for guard duty had their rice harvested with the help of the corrupt officials.

"They're here! The pirates are here!"

Several people jumped off the fishing boat and ran and shouted along the way.

Dai Chengsi, who had been depressed, suddenly perked up and ran to a big tree, swinging his hammer to strike the hanging gong.

"Dang-dang-dang!"

The sound of gongs echoed across the island, and the villagers dropped their grain and farm tools, running home to collect the armor and weapons issued by the government.

The villagers on duty, who were responsible for guarding the woodpile, hurriedly lit the beacon fire.

The Han Chinese who migrated from Fujian mainly settled on three adjacent large islands.

Smoke signals rose from the three islands one after another, and soldiers at the naval base on the main island quickly began to assemble, beating gongs and blowing horns.

The Penghu Navy has only three warships, and none of them are very large. They are responsible for protecting the Penghu Islands and Quanzhou, and occasionally cracking down on smuggling.

At this moment, all three warships are in the naval port.

Dai Chengsi said to several villagers, "As we have practiced before, people from nearby villages, immediately assemble here!"

"Don't take any food or valuables, just bring your parents, wife, and children. At this time, human life is the most important thing."

"Go and spread the word immediately. If you encounter any disobedient people, be sure to persuade them to come over."

"The government will send grain to compensate for any lost grain!"

Before long, two or three hundred bamboo rafts appeared on the sea.

These bamboo rafts even had sails and could be partially folded to form a screen around the edges to block arrows.

Each time the pirates of Vaishya set out, their numbers ranged from a few dozen to several hundred.

The largest pirate raid encountered during the Southern Song Dynasty involved more than a thousand pirates.

In its most successful battle, the Southern Song navy captured over four hundred prisoners.

During the harvest season, the Han Chinese people of the Penghu Islands dared not turn off their lights. They would stay up all night lighting firewood outside their houses and dress warmly to be ready to deal with pirates.

……

The pirates from Vaishaya, who arrived on bamboo rafts, seemed a little bewildered when they saw the smoke signals.

I've never seen this before!

They approached the shore in their bamboo rafts to observe, and finding no danger, they rowed to safety.

Moreover, the pirates didn't take the Han people seriously.

These two hundred-plus bamboo rafts were divided into six or seven teams, each planning to land at different locations.