Chapter 518: Center of Gravity

"Your Highness, this is the Five Peaks Island Master, Lu Zheng."

In the front courtyard of the Prince's Mansion, Lu Zheng was held to the ground by two soldiers.

Upon returning to Leiting Wharf, Zhou Yi had personally escorted Lu Zheng to Yancheng.

In this naval battle, they had crushed the conspiracy between Gaoli, the powerful clans, and the Five Peaks Island as if they were dry wood and rotten branches.

Among the three, it was the Five Peaks Island that truly posed a threat to them.

Now, the fleet of the Five Peaks Island had been defeated by them, and the Island Master, Lu Zheng, had also been captured.

He was naturally excited and wanted to seek praise in front of him.

"Lu Zheng?" Zhao Xu was slightly surprised; he had been confident that Zhou Yi could handle this crisis.

But he had not expected that he would even capture Lu Zheng. Nodding slightly, he said, "Zhou Yi, well done. I did not misjudge you back then."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi was so happy that his eyes crinkled into slits.

What he most desired was the recognition of Yan Wang.

After all, he and Liu Fu had entered the Prince's Mansion at the same time.

Now that Liu Fu was the Tutor of the Prince's Mansion, he did not want to be left too far behind by him.

Otherwise, he would lose too much face in front of Liu Fu.

"It is all thanks to the warships built by Your Highness. Whether it is the warships of Gaoli or the warships of the Five Peaks Island, they are nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs before us..." Zhou Yi was still in the excitement of victory, spitting as he spoke.

"Hmph, the Black Shark Sea Bandits are indeed the lackeys of you, Yan Wang!"

While Zhou Yi was still talking to himself, Lu Zheng suddenly looked at Zhao Xu, snorted angrily, and wore a fierce expression.

The attention of Zhao Xu and Zhou Yi returned to Lu Zheng.

Looking Lu Zheng up and down, Zhao Xu said, "So what if the Black Shark Sea Bandits are my lackeys? At least they are fighting for the interests of the Song People, while you are nothing but a degenerate who slaughters your own kin, forgets your ancestors, and is willing to be a dog for Dongying!"

"You..."

Every word of Yan Wang was like a needle. Lu Zheng was immediately stung with shame and anger, but he could not utter a single word of rebuttal.

Because everything Yan Wang said was the truth.

"What 'you'? Did I say something wrong? You were not forced by circumstances, nor were you persecuted by others; you just wanted the glory and wealth that Dongying gave you. To put it bluntly, you just want to eat the dog food that Dongying gives you!" Zhao Xu shouted sternly.

"I will kill you!"

Lu Zheng was, after all, a pirate by trade, a desperate man.

Out of hatred, he immediately wanted to break free from the soldiers like a mad dog and attack Zhao Xu.

Seeing this, Xu Lie snorted angrily and kicked Lu Zheng in the stomach.

Lu Zheng's body immediately curled up like a shrimp, cold sweat pouring out from the pain.

Zhou Yi glanced at Xu Lie, and he could not help but feel a shiver in his heart.

This close guard of Yan Wang was indeed highly skilled.

"Take him down for interrogation. Get every piece of information you can out of him," Zhao Xu ordered.

"Don't even think about getting a single word out of my mouth," Lu Zheng still refused to submit, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"The last person who talked tough like you,

now even tells what he did when he was three years old," Zhao Xu smiled coldly.

That Deputy Commander of the Black Iron Guard, Zhuoge, had indeed been very stubborn at first.

Various tortures were applied, yet he said nothing.

Later, he decided to try a torture that seemed gentle but was actually very cruel.

It was to have jailers watch him in shifts day and night, neither beating nor scolding him, just not letting him sleep.

After enduring five days and five nights, this "tough guy" almost went insane and finally honestly poured out everything he knew.

It also verified the fact that the Yuan Family had indeed colluded with the Northern Di.

It was just as he said: in the current situation of Da Song, facts are not important; who has the final say is what matters most.

Therefore, he did not waste time and continued to make a case of it.

"Is that so? I would like to see what kind of ability you, Yan Wang, have!" Lu Zheng let out bursts of evil laughter.

Zhao Xu could not be bothered to pay attention to him anymore and just waved his hand, letting the soldiers take Lu Zheng away.

"Your Highness, on the way back, this subordinate also took the opportunity to destroy the Han Family's warships at the Lai County Wharf," Zhou Yi said after Lu Zheng's figure disappeared.

Zhao Xu nodded, "Very good. It is time to give these powerful clans a taste of color; do not think that they can sleep soundly after provoking me."

Then, he said, "However, for the near future, the activity range of your Black Shark Sea Bandits should be controlled to the west of Jinyin Island. Do not continue toward Dongying, and put your main energy into Gaoli."

"Is Your Highness worried about Dongying?" Zhou Yi was puzzled.

Actually, when he saw the warships of the Black Shark Sea Bandits, he had understood.

The Wufeng Pirates and their Black Shark Sea Bandits were both secret forces supported by others.

They belonged to Yan Wang, while the Wufeng Pirates belonged to Dongying.

This time, the defeat of the Wufeng Pirates was equivalent to cutting off one of Dongying's arms.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu rolled his eyes, "Who have I ever been afraid of? But one must eat a meal bite by bite; if the stride is too large, it is easy to tear one's crotch."

After a pause, he continued, "My original intention in cleaning up Gaoli was not just to teach Gaoli a lesson; the main purpose is to import goods into Yanzhou and obtain the resources needed from Gaoli. It is not for the sake of fighting."

This is a matter of strategic direction; the current focus is still the Northern Di and Gaoli, as well as the domestic situation of Da Song.

There is no need to spread the flames of war further.

Zhou Yi suddenly realized.

He had almost forgotten that he belonged to the Black Shark Trading Firm.

At present, the threat of the Northern Di has not been lifted, and the situation within Da Song has become severe again.

Once the powerful clans tear off their masks, cut off domestic trade, and restrict resources, Yanzhou will be in trouble.

Therefore, their most important task is to find alternative markets and resource supply bases for Yanzhou.

If it is just fighting and killing, consuming a large amount of resources without any profit.

The fleet will only become a heavy burden for Yan Wang.

This is the reason why Yan Wang decided not to waste resources on Dongying.

"Yes, Your Highness, this general understands," Zhou Yi said.

"Let the navy soldiers rest for a few days; next, it is time to collect the debts that Gaoli has owed over these years," Zhao Xu laughed.

Zhou Yi chuckled twice, his eyes revealing anticipation.

After Zhou Yi left, Zhao Xu looked toward the direction of Dongying.

He does not know much about the Dongying of this world.

But judging from the sparse information obtained, the Dongying of this world did not follow the Great Song's maritime ban and still has a lot of exchanges with the West.

This makes Dongying's technical level higher than that of the Great Song.

The fact that Wufeng Island possesses warships equipped with Artillery is proof of this.

However, colonizers are never kind people.

He believes that Dongying will not obtain any important technology.

This is the reason why Wufeng Island is still using dilapidated flat-bottomed boats.

Therefore, defeating Wufeng Island this time will provide enough deterrence to Dongying.

Before they figure out his true strength, they should not act rashly.

Of course, this victory will also bring corresponding negative effects.

The name of the Black Shark Sea Bandits will surely spread further.

More people will regard them as a threat.

But there is no way around this; in the Age of Discovery, the most brutal thing is the struggle for maritime hegemony.

This is the price he must pay to head toward the ocean and develop maritime trade.

Just as he was thinking, Feng'er reported that Xu Ke had arrived.

Withdrawing his wandering thoughts, he let Xu Ke enter.

Before long, Xu Ke arrived before him in quick strides.

His expression was gloomy, as if he had bad news.