Chapter 537: A Play

Latest website: "We must make the Northern Di believe their conspiracy has succeeded," Zhao Xu said.

Chang Wei was stunned for a moment and frowned, "However, unless Smallpox is truly spreading in Yanzhou, how could the Northern Di believe it?"

Immediately, he suddenly remembered something, "Your Highness, the illness from this Smallpox Inoculation is indeed very similar to Smallpox..."

Zhao Xu smiled and nodded. Human Smallpox is actually a mutation of the Smallpox found in animals, adapted to the human body.

Therefore, the symptoms manifested by the illness are similar.

This time at Yanguan, there were soldiers with severe reactions who even developed pustules on their faces.

If outsiders were to see them, they would certainly think they had truly contracted Smallpox.

Therefore, they could fully utilize this Smallpox Inoculation to direct a play.

Let the merchants spread this news.

Especially at Yanguan and the Lengbao, the commotion must be made even larger.

"However, although your Prince's Personal Army are the protagonists in this play, you also need the Government Office as supporting actors; only then can this play be performed truly well," Zhao Xu said to Chang Wei.

Following this, he and Chang Wei returned straight to the Prince's Mansion.

He called Liu Fu and Mi Wen over and told them his upcoming plan as well.

"Remember, the officials selected must be absolutely trustworthy; there must be no slip-ups," Zhao Xu said with a solemn expression.

Besides faking a large-scale contagion at Yanguan and the Lengbao, he also wanted to fake that Smallpox was spreading among the common people.

Therefore, he had Liu Fu select some officials to go to the countryside in secret to perform Smallpox Inoculation for the villagers, disguising it as an outbreak of the plague in those villages.

At the same time, he also selected several county towns.

"Yes, Your Highness. It is just that doing this will likely have a not-insignificant impact on commerce; merchants from outside provinces will likely not dare to enter Yanzhou," Liu Fu said with a bitter smile.

"There are gains and losses. Relatively speaking, dealing with the Northern Di is more important. Moreover, once the war ends, I will announce that Yanzhou has mastered the Smallpox Inoculation Method and can prevent Smallpox."

This problem,

Zhao Xu had naturally considered.

But after thinking it over, it was necessary for him to trade temporary losses for long-term gains.

Furthermore, once he announced that he had mastered the method to prevent Smallpox at that time,

I fear that merchants and powerful nobles rushing to Yanzhou to receive the Cowpox inoculation would be endless.

Perhaps he could even use Cowpox to make a large profit and recoup his losses.

Mi Wen seemed to have thought of the same thing as Zhao Xu. He said, "Grand Tutor Liu, this Smallpox Inoculation Method is worth a fortune. Moving from great chaos to great order is precisely the right time to promote the wonders of the Smallpox Inoculation Method; it will be of great benefit to Yanzhou in the future."

Zhao Xu gave Mi Wen an appreciative look and said to him, "Your Propaganda Department also has a task: you must coordinate with the Government Office to publish reports in the Newspaper about Smallpox being rampant in such-and-such village; in short, create a tense atmosphere."

"Rest assured, Your Highness, this is my specialty," Mi Wen said with a relaxed demeanor.

Ever since he took charge of the Propaganda Department, he had been like a fish in water.

Whether it was the Newspaper or propaganda in the countryside, these were where his interests lay.

Having settled this matter, Zhao Xu let the three of them return to prepare.

Two days ago, the Northern Di shot Arrow into the city walls of Yanguan City.

In another six or seven days, this play could begin.

"Your Highness, the news sent by Zhou Yi says they are prepared and have already set off for Nanpu Port; the attack on Goryeo has begun."

Just as the three left, Xu Ke arrived at the Prince's Mansion.

Due to the special nature of Zhou Yi's identity, the contact between Zhao Xu and Zhou Yi was temporarily handled by the Four Courts.

"Very good. This time, my contest with Mule Hongzhen has truly begun," Zhao Xu said.

He had Zhou Yi attack Goryeo, one reason being to open up trade routes within Goryeo, and the second being to diminish the influence of the Northern Di on Goryeo.

It could be considered an auxiliary part of his struggle with the Northern Di for influence in this region.

Even if Zhou Yi and his men could not make Goryeo completely submit, he still wanted Goryeo to change from a firm supporter of the Northern Di to one that played both sides.

Thinking of this, he added, "During this time, strengthen the reconnaissance of Ningjin Dusi. I will allocate several Hot Air Balloons to you to assist you."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Xu Ke said with joy upon hearing this; he had long coveted the Hot Air Balloons.

The success of the Hot Air Balloon Troop in scouting the Northern Di's camp this time made him even more restless.

He had originally wanted to take the opportunity to bring this up, but he did not expect Yan Wang to offer it proactively.

Once they had this thing, the people of the Four Courts could infiltrate Ningjin Dusi via Hot Air Balloon.

At this moment, Zhao Xu suddenly remembered Chai Wu, who had been missing for a long time, so he asked, "Is there still no news of Chai Wu?"

Xu Ke's expression immediately darkened, "Reporting to Your Highness, not yet."

Nodding, he said, "Take advantage of Zhou Yi's attack on Goryeo this time; your Four Courts must find a way to strengthen the infiltration of Goryeo. It would be best to grasp the movements of the Goryeo court in a timely manner; that way, finding Chai Wu will be much simpler."

"Yes, Your Highness," Xu Ke's expression became resolute.

He would certainly not waste this opportunity.

Nanpu Port.

Located one hundred and twenty li southeast of the Goryeo capital, Rang City.

The largest river in Goryeo, the Pu River, flows through Rang City, winding all the way to the sea here.

Because Ancheng Port is very close to Yanzhou and the Northern Di,

the Goryeo Navy has always been stationed at Ancheng.

But for Goryeo, the most prosperous place is the Nanpu Wharf.

Here, merchants gather to transport goods via Merchant Ship to Dongying or further south.

At this moment, on the sea, Zhou Yi was observing the Nanpu Wharf through a Telescope.

"There are quite a few Goryeo soldiers patrolling the Pier. What is docked is basically all Merchant Ships; only a few small boats are carrying Goryeo soldiers, inspecting passing Merchant Ships," Bai Shang put down the Telescope, "It is time to give Goryeo a good thrashing."

To him, the sins committed by the Gaoli people against the Great Song were no less than those of the Northern Di.

When the Northern Di attacked the Ningjin Dusi, there were Gaoli troops among them.

Precisely because of this, after taking the Ningjin Dusi, the Northern Di tacitly accepted the Great Song territory that Gaoli had encroached upon.

In the ten years that followed, the Goryeo Navy repeatedly attacked Yanzhou fishermen at sea, racking up debt after debt of blood.

They became accomplices to the Northern Di, building warships for the Northern Di and attacking Yanzhou from the sea.

This time, they even colluded with the Wufeng Pirates in an attempt to wipe them out.

For reasons such as these, he is now filled with hatred toward Gaoli.

Zhou Yi nodded and also put down the Telescope.

He confirmed one thing: ever since the last time they wiped out the Goryeo Navy, the Gaoli waters were truly undefended to them.

Glancing at the fluttering Black Shark Flag, he said to Bai Shang, "From now on, we are the Black Shark Sea Bandits."

As he spoke, a cold light appeared in his eyes.

When Yan Wang put him in charge of the fleet, he had given them instructions.

There is no need for mercy toward the enemy; when necessary, one must even do dirty work.

Otherwise, how could they be called the Black Shark Sea Bandits?

Pointing toward the Nanpu Wharf, he roared at the crew and soldiers, "Brothers, the time for revenge has come! This time, we will strip the Nanpu Wharf clean and make all of Gaoli tremble before us!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill..."

On the Warship, the soldiers immediately began to shout, their eyes filled with fanaticism.