Chapter 445: Base

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The desperate wails of the Beidi soldiers are mixed with the crashing of seawater against the reefs.

Zhou Yi led his soldiers and quickly fished the Beidi general, whom Zhao Xu had identified, onto the deck.

Seemingly having swallowed quite a bit of seawater, the Beidi general collapsed onto the deck the moment he boarded the ship and began to vomit violently.

After vomiting for a while, he glared fiercely at Zhao Xu, who was sitting on a chair, and shouted, "Who are you people? Do you know who you have provoked? This is the Beidi fleet!"

Zhao Xu completely ignored the hysteria of the Beidi general.

At this moment, he was wearing a golden mask on his face.

This was to conceal his identity.

From now on, when Zhou Yi and other naval commanders act outside and come into contact with important figures, they will also wear masks to conceal their identities.

After all, their external identity from now on is that of sea bandits, so it is not appropriate for them to show their faces.

Looking at the Beidi general with great interest, he asked casually, "Are you called Wulanba?"

When he was scouting the entire battlefield with a Telescope, he noticed at first glance that this general was unusual.

Aside from his attire appearing more noble than the other generals.

When he was struggling in the sea, the Beidi soldiers around him, in order to protect him, dragged him up one after another, not caring even if they were to drown themselves.

It was precisely because of this that this general survived.

Therefore, he guessed that this person was likely Wulanba, the commander of this Beidi southern invasion.

Upon hearing this, Wulanba's expression clearly changed.

But he could not judge what Zhao Xu would do next, so he chose silence.

Zhao Xu sneered, "If you don't speak, I will take it as your admission. Next, I will hand you over to the Yan Wang of the Great Song."

Wulanba turned pale at these words. He stared fixedly at Zhao Xu and squeezed a sentence out from between his teeth, "Who exactly are you? Do you know the consequences of provoking my Beidi?"

"On the ocean,

everyone calls me Ninth Master." Zhao Xu stood up and came before him, "I don't know what the consequences of provoking the Beidi are, but I am very clear about what the consequences are for you Beidi people provoking me."

"When have we Beidi ever provoked you?" Wulanba was both angry and panicked; he had never heard of any Ninth Master.

"Provoking the common people of the Great Song is provoking me. Although I, Ninth Master, am a sea bandit, I am a man of the Great Song. How could I watch you invade Yanzhou with my own eyes?" Zhao Xu shouted angrily, putting on a performance.

The establishment of the Armed Caravan was done in secret.

Therefore, on the surface, there was no Armed Caravan.

The establishment of the fleet was also done in secret, so on the surface, he also had no fleet.

These days, he felt more and more that rather than having a fleet in the open, it was better to have a fleet in the shadows.

In this way, some things that were inconvenient to do openly could be handled in secret without causing other trouble.

"So that's how it is. I never thought that I, Wulanba, after all my calculations, would end up falling into the hands of sea bandits." Wulanba laughed miserably.

Zhao Xu sneered several times and had Zhou Yi order someone to take Wulanba away.

"Your Highness, this is truly satisfying. I never expected that we would even capture Wulanba this time." Zhou Yi lowered his voice, but his body could not help but tremble slightly.

Zhao Xu looked at the maritime battlefield that stretched for more than ten miles.

Within a radius of ten miles, there were sinking warships everywhere.

Or broken wooden planks left behind after the warships sank.

And the corpses of the Beidi soldiers were like leaves fallen into the water, dense and numerous, rising and falling with the waves.

The scene was very cruel, but it could no longer stir any Bolan in Zhao Xu's heart.

If this force landed in Yanzhou, it would be the people of Yanzhou who would die.

Kindness to the enemy is cruelty to oneself.

The barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue; they do not understand benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust.

Forbearance will be taken by them as weakness.

Bullying will only become more intense.

In contemporary history, the compromises made by the Central Plains dynasties when facing invasions by foreign tribes, whether through marriage alliances or annual tributes, never bought peace.

In the end, it still had to be decided by war.

"In the future, there will only be more and more battles that will satisfy you." Zhao Xu withdrew his gaze.

Remembering something, he reminded them: "Do not call me Your Highness on the Warship; I am Ninth Master now."

"Yes, Ninth Master." Zhou Yi scratched his head.

Remembering something, Zhao Xu continued: "After this battle, your reputation will likely spread. From now on, the Warships cannot enter Yanzhou again. Choose an island as your base, just like the sea bandits of Wufeng Island, and also give yourselves a resounding name."

Zhou Yi nodded.

It was naturally no problem for the crew and commanders on the Warships to step onto the land of the North Four Commanderies.

The North Four Commanderies were their territory, and by moving by night and resting by day, they could conceal their tracks.

But a thing like a Warship is not easy to conceal.

It was fine when heading out to sea, as they could travel by night and not be discovered.

But entering the inland rivers, they would inevitably have to dock, which would expose them.

"Your Highness—no, Ninth Master, how about we choose Pearl Island?" Zhou Yi thought for a moment.

This place was very close to the North Four Commanderies, convenient for supplies, and at the same time could control all the nearby sea areas, ensuring that Beidi and Gaoli could never again stir up any trouble by sea.

"No." Zhao Xu shook his head.

This Pearl Island stood between Leting County and Ancheng Port.

It was about eighty li from Leting and about two hundred li from Ancheng Port.

It was just that the island was too small and could not accommodate the constantly expanding navy.

Since we are choosing a location this time, we must choose a strategic stronghold.

After some thought, Zhao Xu said, "Lead the fleet along the coastline of Gaoli toward the east; in the waters between Gaoli and Dongying, you will encounter a large island, roughly the size of a county—choose that place when the time comes."

The location he spoke of was actually the Jeju Island of the modern era.

This island is located below the "chicken beak," looking like a tiny grain of millet.

He had his own considerations for choosing this place.

For the fleet, Warships can carry a large amount of supplies, so there is no need to be too close.

It is enough to set up a supply point at an appropriate distance.

Therefore, the location of the modern-day Jeju Island is just right for him.

Furthermore, what is important is that this island is very close to Gaoli and Dongying, making it very suitable as a transit point for trade.

"Once you find this island, name it Jinyin Island," Zhao Xu continued.

In this era, the islands on the vast ocean have no owners.

Much like landing on the moon or Mars in the modern era, whoever occupies it, it belongs to them.

In the modern era, the dynasties of the Central Plains missed the Age of Discovery.

This caused the vast majority of islands on the ocean to fall under the territory of Western powers.

Even though these islands were right at the doorsteps of other countries, they could only sigh in despair.

The jungle that is the world is just this cruel.

Beneath the veneer of civilization, a beast's heart is hidden.

Enemies are willing to reason with you only because you are strong enough that they cannot do anything to you.

As long as you are weak, powerful nations will swarm to devour you.

Even in the so-called twenty-first century of the modern era, this remains the case.

They have merely learned to beautify their atrocities through the media.