Chapter 1047: Changes in the Situation

"Your Highness, disembark here; I shall go in pursuit now," Zhou Yi said to Zhao Xu as he lowered his telescope.

This pursuit might consume a great deal of time.

Moreover, the sea voyage from Malacca to Tianzhu is over two thousand five hundred kilometers.

This stretch is also very open, lacking even small islands where one could rest temporarily.

If extreme weather such as a storm is encountered during the pursuit, it will be even more dangerous.

"Very well." Zhao Xu pondered for a moment, feeling there was indeed no need to take risks in chasing the remnants of the enemy, and thus agreed with Zhou Yi.

Before long, the Jinghai docked at the port already controlled by the Azure Dragon Army and the Vermilion Bird Army, and Zhao Xu stepped off the ship.

Zhou Yi, meanwhile, led the Sailing Warships, towed by steamships, and headed west.

"Your Highness." After Zhou Yi departed, Qin Shan and Guan Tong, having learned of Zhao Xu's arrival, walked over and gave him a military salute.

Zhao Xu returned the salute, glanced at the Westerners kneeling on the ground with their heads in their hands, and laughed, "You have captured quite a few white-skinned pigs."

He used the insulting term "white-skinned pigs" deliberately.

This group of Westerners had relied on their firearms and artillery to bully other ethnic groups in the world for over three hundred years.

This long-term bullying not only failed to bring them a shred of guilt, but instead led them to believe they were the chosen people of God, a noble race, while all other groups were their slaves; currently, they were even whipping up a wave of white supremacy in the Western Lands.

This intelligence had all been provided by captives from Britain in the Nanzhan Continent.

Furthermore, after arriving in Dongtu, they went so far as to call the Great Song people overseas "swine" and had even launched a "Yellow Peril" theory against Great Song.

As a means of tit-for-tat, he naturally had to retaliate in kind, letting the Great Song people look down upon this gang of bandits.

"Indeed, I thought they had some backbone, but I didn't expect them to be so fragile; they surrendered so readily, not even as tough as the Beidi," Guan Tong said, his tone filled with mockery.

Qin Shan said, "This also has to do with them knowing they were abandoned and the soldiers' low morale; however, after this battle, I have indeed seen that the Western soldiers are just average. Even if given the same firearms and artillery, I could still win."

Zhao Xu wore a satisfied smile and patted the two men on the shoulders, "That is right; the soldiers of my Great Song must have such confidence."

In fact, one can catch a glimpse of this from contemporary history: in terms of combat effectiveness, the Huaxia race can be said to be the pride of the world.

After all, expanding from a small Yellow River basin to the current vast territory—none of this was a gift included with a phone plan.

As for being bullied by outsiders, that only happens when one falls into decline and loses the ability to organize.

Once they hit rock bottom and rebound, and a great leader descends to reorganize them, they will inevitably be able to smash the heads of all invading enemies.

However, every ethnic group has its strengths, and naturally, it has its weaknesses as well.

The Huaxia race values benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust, as well as gentleness and humility; therefore, they act with the conduct of a gentleman, which makes them restrained when facing enemies, unwilling to strike easily unless pushed to a certain point.

The Westerners, on the other hand, are the exact opposite; they are true villains who disregard propriety, righteousness, and shame. As long as it is beneficial to them, they will use any despicable method.

In a confrontation, the Huaxia race naturally often suffers from underhanded tactics.

It is precisely because he deeply understood this that Zhao Xu often said to Liu Fu, Chang Wei, and others, "Treat a gentleman with the rites of a gentleman, and treat a villain with the ways of a villain."

He would hold fast to this rule forever.

"By the way, Your Highness, now that Malacca is entirely under our control, shall we launch an attack on Tianzhu next?" Qin Shan, having been praised by Zhao Xu, laughed for a moment before remembering something and asking.

"Of course. Only when the Westerners withdraw from Tianzhu can their influence be truly eradicated from Dongtu. However, this matter cannot be rushed. According to Zhou Yi, there are still some Stedan troops and indigenous troops remaining in other parts of Yajia, and they need to be wiped out for now."

After a pause, Zhao Xu continued, "Furthermore, we need to integrate and stabilize the five countries of Dongtu and establish stable logistical supply lines. Tianzhu is vast in area and cannot be taken in a short time."

Qin Shan and Guan Tong nodded upon hearing this.

They had been heading south for some time, and the soldiers had been fighting continuously and were somewhat exhausted.

Slowing down for a period would also be beneficial for resting the troops.

As the three were talking, a warship stopped at the port.

A person stepped off the warship and walked straight toward Zhao Xu.

This person was actually Xu Ke.

Seeing Xu Ke, Zhao Xu showed a look of surprise and said, "Why have you come?"

Xu Ke bowed to Zhao Xu and sighed, "Looking at the situation, the campaign in the south has been a great victory. However, I have come this time bringing some bad news."

"Oh?" Zhao Xu exchanged glances with Qin Shan and Guan Tong.

Xu Ke continued, "The warships of the navy at Moro Island discovered the fleet of the Sam Country while patrolling eastward. This fleet was larger in scale than the last one, with a full hundred warships. Afterward, this fleet dispersed, and soon news came from Nanzhan Continent, Ryukyu, and other places about the discovery of unidentified warships, as well as reports of merchant ships being attacked. They must have broken into smaller units and adopted pirate-style raiding tactics to create trouble for us."

Zhao Xu's brows furrowed immediately upon hearing this.

This was the Westerners' old trade. In contemporary Britain, in order to defeat Spain, Queen Elizabeth issued letters of marque, allowing the navy to disguise themselves as pirates to attack Spanish trade routes and warships, thereby causing damage to the Spanish economy.

This was what he called the ways of a villain; now, the Sam Country was clearly picking up its ancestral skills.

A hundred warships not engaging the Great Song Navy in a head-on battle, but instead dispersing across the ocean—this was indeed very troublesome.

If this problem is not solved, Great Song's maritime trade will undoubtedly be affected.

At the same time, he also realized that reinforcements for the Western Lands Allied Forces might be arriving soon.

This Sam Country was here to serve as the vanguard.

"Anything else?" Since Xu Ke said he brought some bad news, there must be more.

Xu Ke continued, "There is another problem coming from the Tusman Empire."

"Tusman?" Zhao Xu's brows furrowed even deeper.

"It seems we currently have no conflict with Tusman, right?" Guan Tong said, feeling greatly puzzled.

Qin Shan remained silent, waiting for the rest.

"There was no conflict before, but given the style of the Westerners, they will create conflict for us even if there is none," Xu Ke said. "I have received news that, under the mediation of the Ross and Britain, Wulanba, representing the Beidi, has ceded all of Ashuer's former territory and the region centered around Tianshan to the Tusman Empire."

"What is the price the Tusman Empire paid?" Zhao Xu's eyes narrowed, and anger flared in his heart.

Zhongtu connects to the Western Lands in the west and Dongtu in the east; it can be said to be the central area of the entire continent, and its position is extremely important.

Historically, the territory in this position of Zhongtu has always had contradictory connections with both the Western Lands and Dongtu.

This time, the Westerners dragging the Tusman Empire into the water must mean they feel their own strength to deal with Great Song is insufficient and they want to borrow a knife to kill.

And the benefits they gave to the Tusman Empire were also borrowed; it can be said that they didn't pay anything at all, yet they found a helper.

"The Tusman Empire army has already entered the Tianshan region, and another part is massing troops on the western border of Tianzhu. If there is any change in Tianzhu, they will provide support to the British." Xu Ke's expression was grave.

Zhao Xu nodded slowly; both of these matters annoyed him.

But he was not to the point of fear, because the current Great Song was already in an invincible position.

However, these were, after all, troubles on the road to the rise of Great Song, and they would eventually need to be eradicated one by one.

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