Chapter 698: Response

"Please rest assured, Your Highness. The Ryukyu Kingdom will henceforth be your loyal subject, and your commands shall be above all else." Shang Bin's expression was resolute, his tone categorical.

Zhao Xu nodded and let Shang Bin return to wait with a calm mind.

Once the fleet set out on its expedition, Zhou Yi would take him along.

After Shang Bin left, Zhao Xu turned to Zhou Yi and asked how many Dongying soldiers were currently stationed in the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Seizing Ryukyu and Yizhou had been in his plans all along.

Therefore, during this time, Zhou Yi had been conducting reconnaissance on Ryukyu and the Yizhou region occupied by Dongying.

However, due to intercepted intelligence regarding the Eastern Land Alliance, he decided to act ahead of schedule.

"Replying to Your Highness, there are about twenty thousand-plus. Relying on our Marine Corps will suffice; there is no need for the Prince Mansion Golden Army to take action." Zhou Yi was very confident; if even the Franks were no match for them, these few Dongying soldiers were hardly worth mentioning.

Zhao Xu chuckled lightly; he did not doubt the combat effectiveness of the Marine Corps in the slightest.

But these eight thousand men in the Marine Corps were truly a bit too few.

After all, the Eastern Land combat missions the Marine Corps would face in the future would become increasingly numerous and increasingly brutal.

Thus, he said: "Expand the Marine Corps to thirty thousand men."

In the past, due to population limitations, he could not be bellicose and let soldiers account for too large a proportion of the population, as this would affect agricultural and industrial development.

However, he had already taken the eight commanderies of Qizhou, and next, Chang Wei and Ma Han would soon sweep across Jiangbei.

By then, the population issue would be greatly alleviated.

Furthermore, in the war against Qi, they had captured a large number of surrendered soldiers.

A portion of these surrendered soldiers had laid down their armor and returned to their hometowns to farm.

Another portion hoped to join his army.

It was the perfect opportunity to supplement the Marine Corps with these soldiers.

"Hehe, thank you, Your Highness." Zhou Yi grinned.

As the highest-ranking commander of the navy, he naturally hoped that the soldiers under his command would become more and more numerous.

Having settled this matter, Zhao Xu let Zhou Yi return to Jinghai to make preparations, and told him to take Shang Bin along as well.

Zhou Yi left, and Zhao Xu looked at the map of Da Song on the wall, his brows tightly locked.

If the Eastern Land Alliance were truly established, it would indeed be a trouble for him.

The goals of Dongying, Britain, and Sam Country were very sinister.

Their ultimate goal was to make Da Song split up, just like the Xitu Dalu, forming numerous large and small countries.

In this way, Da Song would no longer be an independent country, but would become a continent bearing many nations, just like Xitu and Tianzhu.

Regarding such a continent, whether they adopted a strategy of balance of power to fish in troubled waters, or colonized them one by one, would depend on their mood.

At the same time, they would use this alliance to target his every strategic step, sealing off his path for outward expansion.

As for the methods to target him, they would naturally be to support proxies, constantly fight proxy wars against him, or even take action themselves.

He was not afraid of war,

and even in a head-on confrontation with the Army of Britain, he had the confidence to win.

But he did not want to keep fighting against the powerful clans under the interference of Dongying and the others.

Because in the end, this consumed the national strength of Da Song, and those who died were all the common people of Da Song.

Meanwhile, Dongying and Britain only needed to sell weapons and watch them kill each other.

Even if he won, what he would get would be a Jiangnan with broken mountains and rivers.

That would be exactly what they wanted.

Therefore, he absolutely could not be led by the nose by them.

This time, upon occupying Jiangbei, if Wu had not joined this Eastern Land Alliance, he would have taken advantage of the momentum to head south and unify Da Song.

If there was no time, he would have to find a way to feed the Liang Family a "hypnotic drug" to temporarily stabilize Wu.

At the very least, he could not let Wu lean wholeheartedly toward Dongying and the others; he had to keep it wavering in the middle.

In this way, he could first sever the interference of external forces, and then clean up the remnants of the powerful clans in Jiangnan.

By then, the war would be much easier, avoiding severe destruction in Jiangnan.

However, to do this, he would have to give Wu some sweetness.

With a plan in mind, Zhao Xu decided to observe the situation for a while longer.

It would be best if he could take advantage of the momentum to head south and finish off Wu; if not, he would consider other options.

After thinking for a while, Zhao Xu left the study.

This conspiracy between Sam Country, Britain, and Dongying had ignited the anger in his heart.

No power should think of letting Da Song walk through a history of modern humiliation under his watch.

Moreover, he ultimately wanted to lead Da Song to destroy the colonial system established by Xitu and secure a bright future for Da Song.

To achieve this, he had to let Da Song achieve comprehensive crushing superiority in military, culture, and economy.

He had returned from the battlefield this time precisely to personally supervise these matters.

As for the various wars, leaving them to the commanders was enough.

"Tell someone to call Liu Fu, Yang Feng, Yang He, and Wang Ying and his son," Zhao Xu said to Feng'er.

He wanted to ask how the reforms and industrial development he had pushed forward were going during his absence.

Acknowledging the order, Feng'er turned and left; before long, the five of them arrived in the study.

Seeing Zhao Xu, Liu Fu said with a grin: "Did Your Highness send the Anti-Yan Coalition scurrying away in terror?"

Yang Feng stroked his beard and nodded slightly, his eyes full of anticipation.

Zhao Xu smiled and told them about the current war situation.

They learned that the Anti-Yan Coalition had been neutralized by him and that Southern Liang had withdrawn its troops.

The Han Family, Wang Family, and Xie Family left one hundred thousand troops in Lu City and fled toward Yi City; the five of them revealed expressions of admiration.

Originally, they thought the Prince's Personal Army would surely have to fight a bloody battle against the million-strong Coalition in Qizhou.

But they did not expect it to be safe and without incident.

"Hahaha... truly a pack of stray dogs." Yang Feng laughed loudly, feeling gratified in his heart.

In his entire life, he had suffered countless indignities at the hands of these powerful clans and officials.

Moreover, if not for these powerful clans causing chaos, how could the Great Song be in its current state?

Today, what they have received is only the retribution they deserve.

After talking for a while about the current war, Zhao Xu asked about the matters each of the five was responsible for.

"Replying to Your Highness, the preparations for the Teacher Academy are basically ready, including the recruitment of students; it can be officially opened in three days."

"As for the Public Schools, there are currently one hundred and six registered; according to Your Highness's wishes, these Public Schools have made use of local private schools as much as possible, and those without private schools are currently being built, aiming to complete them before September and officially have the students enroll on September 1st."

"Regarding the issue of teachers, this subordinate has recruited some scholars to teach the students how to read and write in the Public Schools first; for the Public Schools within Yancheng, we will try to arrange for students from the Technology Academy to occasionally go and give lectures, and once the first batch of students from the Teacher Academy graduates, they can be dispatched to the Public Schools," Liu Fu said slowly.

Zhao Xu nodded, "I only fear that the number of students recruited now is too small; soon the territory controlled by the Imperial Court will cover the entire Jiangbei, you must plan ahead."

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Fu responded, his expression excited.

Although the Yanzhou Government Office and the Imperial Court had merged into one.

But the territory under his administration was, after all, too small, making him feel from time to time that it was still small-minded.

And governing the entire nine prefectures of Jiangbei plus the Ningjin Dusi would truly have the atmosphere of a proper dynasty.