Chapter 406: Counter-Strategy

On the deep blue ocean, the waves were surging.

Zhang Yazi's small boat rose and fell upon the giant waves like a leaf on the water.

The hard sail on the boat was buffeted by the wind, emitting a creaking sound.

Glancing at the sun in the sky, he adjusted the direction of the sail, then lay down on the boat, looking powerlessly at the sky and sniffing the salty, damp scent of the seawater.

"Brother Five," he murmured, then gritted his teeth, a thick hatred erupting in his eyes, "The Goryeo people!"

Over these years, the number of fishermen who had died at the hands of the Goryeo people was countless.

Now he had escaped, but Chai Wu's fate remained unknown.

Thinking of the corpses hanging along the coastline, his tears gushed forth like a spring.

"Brother Five, I will definitely accomplish the task you entrusted to me," Zhang Yazi said fiercely.

Then he climbed up from the boat and continued to steer the small vessel westward amidst the gale and giant waves.

Having fished with his father since childhood, he had long mastered how to distinguish directions on the vast sea by the positions of the sun and stars.

After sailing for another night, the next morning, he saw land amidst the red glow of the sunrise.

With a burst of wild joy, he immediately rowed the boat toward the shore.

But before he had gone far, he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves.

Zhang Yazi was terrified in his heart, fearing that the place he had reached was the Ningjin Dusi occupied by the Northern Di.

Without looking back, he took to his heels and ran, but the cavalry quickly caught up and surrounded him!

"What are you doing?" the leading cavalryman barked.

Zhang Yazi looked up and saw the cavalry before him wearing silver Armor; his heart settled, for these were the Armor of Yanzhou soldiers, which he had seen before, so he hurriedly shouted, "What part of Yanzhou is this?"

Although he could distinguish directions at sea, in order to avoid being chased by Goryeo warships.

He had come straight to Great Song from Ancheng Port in a direct line, rather than sailing along the coastline.

Therefore, although he had returned to Yanzhou, he did not know what part of Yanzhou it was.

Hearing Zhang Yazi's Yanzhou dialect, the cavalrymen relaxed their vigilance and replied, "This is Jinghai County."

"Jinghai County." Zhang Yazi was overjoyed, and remembering the task Chai Wu had entrusted to him, he said urgently, "Please take me to see Yan Wang immediately; I have important matters to tell him."

The cavalrymen laughed; Zhang Yazi was in rags and had come from the sea.

Saying he wanted to see Yan Wang was, in their view, simply absurd, and they took him for a madman.

Seeing that the cavalrymen did not believe him, Zhang Yazi said, "Do you recognize Xu Ke and Chai Wu?"

The other cavalrymen still had amused expressions, but the leading cavalryman's face changed slightly.

He had heard the name Xu Ke mentioned by his own Captain, Bai Shang, and when Bai Shang spoke of him, he acted as if this person were terrifying.

"Take him to see the Captain," the cavalry leader said solemnly.

At this moment, Bai Shang was patrolling the city defenses on the city wall.

Seeing the soldiers bringing over a person dressed in tatters, he assumed it was a captured sea pirate.

But the soldier whispered a word in his ear, and his expression immediately turned serious.

"You know Xu Ke?" Bai Shang asked.

"I also know Chai Wu; I call him Brother Five," Zhang Yazi replied.

"Send him to Yancheng; there must be no mistakes." Bai Shang immediately realized this matter was not small; he had at least that much awareness.

A day later, Zhang Yazi arrived at Yancheng under the escort of the cavalry.

Xu Ke received the news and immediately rushed over.

A person coming from the sea who knew his name and Chai Wu's name was in itself unusual.

"Did Chai Wu ask you to bring the information back? How is Chai Wu?" Upon seeing Zhang Yazi, Xu Ke asked like a machine gun.

Hearing this, Zhang Yazi suddenly began to cry, and he recounted everything from his meeting with Chai Wu to his escape.

Learning that Chai Wu's fate was unknown, Xu Ke felt a stifling pain in his heart.

But he knew there were more important matters at hand, so he immediately took Zhang Yazi to the Prince's Mansion.

In the study, Zhao Xu was discussing the military system of the Navy with Mi Wen.

When Xu Ke arrived, he ordered Mi Wen to return.

"Your Highness, Chai Wu's intelligence has been sent back." Upon seeing Yan Wang, Xu Ke pushed Zhang Yazi forward.

At the same time, he relayed the information that Chai Wu had entrusted Zhang Yazi to deliver.

Hearing this, Zhao Xu felt as if a stone had been stuffed into his chest.

He only hoped that Chai Wu could escape successfully.

But he knew that on the front line of intelligence, the cruelty was no less than in war, and sacrifice was sometimes unavoidable.

Looking at Zhang Yazi, he said, "Regardless of whether Chai Wu has suffered at the hands of the Goryeo people, the blood debt the Goryeo people owe Yanzhou, this Prince will definitely avenge!"

"Thank you, Your Highness." Zhang Yazi's eyes were red.

Thinking of his mission, he then recounted the matters at the Ancheng Pier one by one.

"Wulanba inspected Ancheng Port, and Goryeo is building warships to transport soldiers to attack Yanzhou." After hearing this, Zhao Xu could not help but knit his brows.

This news allowed him to suddenly see through the linkage of the Northern Di along the entire line from west to east.

"So that's how it is; this Mule Hongzhen is indeed cunning, using the Third Prince to trigger the Great Song Northern Expedition, and using the Goryeo Navy to transport troops to bypass Yanguan and attack Yanzhou, leaving this Prince unable to attend to both east and west," Zhao Xu mused.

"This strategy is truly vicious; if this had not been discovered, I fear Yanzhou would suffer a catastrophe, but now, Your Highness can only protect Yanzhou; the Northwest cannot be attended to," Xu Ke said.

In his view, dividing forces under these circumstances could lead to losing on both sides.

One could only ensure the safety of one end.

"No, this Prince wants both! And I will make the Northern Di fail in their scheme," Zhao Xu's eyes narrowed slightly.

Xu Ke said, "But how can both be achieved?" He truly could not think of any other way.

"Navy against Navy!" Zhao Xu said with a serious expression.

Chen Shou's Warships would be completed in September, and what was needed next was a three-month drying period, after which they could set sail.

However, this drying process was not strictly necessary.

Because drying was only to extend the lifespan of the wood on the Warships, and he did not need the Sailing Warships to last for a hundred years.

Moreover, besides air-drying, there was also the method of kiln-drying.

Although the effect was not as good as natural air-drying, he had no choice but to force the issue now.

"Does Your Highness mean the twelve Warships that are about to be completed?" Xu Ke realized.

"That's right. Tomorrow, I will have the students of the Naval Academy go to Fanyang to understand the structure of the Warships and practice maneuvering the warships," Zhao Xu said; there were only ten-plus days left until September.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yazi's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "Your Highness, this commoner also wishes to serve Your Highness just like my fifth brother, and in the future, go fight the Gaoli people to avenge my fifth brother!"

After saying this, he knelt directly on the ground.

Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment, then immediately helped Zhang Yazi up.

This Zhang Yazi was a fisherman, and this time he had actually managed to sail a boat back to Yanzhou from Gaoli all by himself.

In such a perilous maritime environment, the fact that he could return alive meant he was simply a rare talent; such a person was naturally qualified to join the Navy.

So he said, "You have performed a great service this time. Since you have this wish, how could I bear to refuse? You should rest for a day, and I will take you to the Naval Academy tomorrow."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Zhang Yazi's body trembled slightly.

Gritting his teeth, he secretly swore in his heart that in the future, he would definitely collect the blood debt owed by the Gaoli people.

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