Chapter 731: The Wolf Plan

"Hahaha... Silver is a small matter. As long as you are willing to sell, my Wu can afford any amount of silver." Liang Kai laughed out loud.

He had already handed the blueprints for the Sailing Warship given to him by Yan Wang to the shipwrights of Wu.

Since the founding of the Great Song, his Liang Family had been in charge of maritime trade, and their shipbuilding craftsmanship was second to none in the Great Song.

In just a year or two, Wu could have its own Sailing Warships.

But having Sailing Warships alone was not enough; he also wanted superior firearms.

Therefore, the fact that the British agreed to this matter made him feel a burst of excitement.

Wolf nodded; selling firearms to Wu was equally in the interest of Britain.

First, for a long time, Britain had always been in a trade deficit with Wu, and selling firearms could recoup some of those interests.

Second, based on their analysis of Dongying, the Sam Country, and others, this Yan Wang was not as easily manipulated as Wu and was an extremely tough character.

If they let him unify the Great Song, they could forget about obtaining most-favored-nation status and other privileges as they had in Dongying.

Therefore, they had to do everything in their power to keep the Great Song in its current state of division.

Importing firearms would undoubtedly create difficulties for Yan Wang in his conquest of Jiangnan.

"Of course, we also have one request." A strange look flashed in Wolf's eyes, and his tone suddenly became soft.

Liang Kai was in high spirits and said, "As long as it is something my Wu can do, I will certainly not refuse."

Wolf smiled, "Actually, it is nothing much. The Governor simply wants to sell a type of commodity to Wu: Opium."

"Opium?" Liang Kai understood, "A small matter, a small matter, I agree."

The Liang Family descendants who went to Tianzhu Guo for trade had mentioned that the powerful and wealthy in Tianzhu Guo liked to smoke opium.

In recent years, some Liang Family descendants had also brought it back to smoke at home.

It was said that puffing on the clouds and mist made one feel as happy as an immortal.

So to him, this opium was just an item for leisure and enjoyment; he had not thought of anything else.

Naturally, he agreed readily.

"That is great. Not only will Governor Bolt be happy, but Her Majesty the Queen will also be happy. Perhaps in the future, she will even agree to sell Steamships to your Wu." Wolf dangled a big carrot before Liang Kai.

Sato Masahisa, standing to the side, glanced at Liang Kai, feeling somewhat gleeful at his misfortune.

Liang Kai did not understand the harm of opium, but he was clear about it.

Just after he arrived in Lincheng and met Wolf, Wolf had proposed selling opium to Dongying.

Regarding this matter, he did not rush to agree, but instead consulted the Sam Country envoy.

From the Sam Country envoy, he learned that Britain was preparing to promote opium to all countries in Dongtu, and at the same time, he learned of the dangers of opium, so he refused Wolf.

Of course, Wolf would not give up easily, but because he was worried that Dongying would lean completely toward the Sam Country, after he refused several times, Wolf stopped mentioning it.

But Wu was not so lucky, and he would not warn Liang Kai.

After all, he hoped that everyone in Wu would become sick men addicted to opium.

This was in the interest of Dongying.

By then, even if Yan Wang unified the Great Song, he would be facing a mess full of opium.

At his request, the Sam Country envoy also did not warn Liang Kai.

In terms of relations, Dongying and the Sam Country were closer.

They were also worried that Yan Wang would unify the Great Song in the future.

In that case, Dongying would appear more important in the future.

Therefore, compared to Wu, they were even less willing to offend Dongying.

"Steamships? This... this is simply too surprising." Liang Kai was increasingly delighted, his face full of smiles.

"Then I wish us a happy cooperation." Wolf reached out his hand to Liang Kai.

Liang Kai was stunned for a moment, knowing this was the etiquette of the British, so he also reached out his hand.

After discussing this matter, Wolf's expression became serious, "Then, now we should talk about how to deal with Yan Wang."

He took out a blueprint and spread it on the table, "Currently, your power clans and Dongying's firearms are far inferior to Yan Wang's. Fighting Yan Wang's troops head-on will only deplete your strength, so it is best to maintain the status quo for now. It will not be too late to head north and attack Yan Wang after you are equipped with our British firearms."

Liang Kai, Xie Duan, Han Zheng, and Wang Zi'an nodded one after another.

At this time, crossing the Jiujiang to fight Yan Wang was simply continuing to court death.

"But even so, we cannot just sit idly by." Wolf's eyes narrowed as he pointed to a place, "Now, we need to make this place chaotic, and it would be best if we could control it in our hands."

The place he pointed to was none other than Gaoli.

Governor Bolt had authorized him to take actions favorable to Britain according to strategic needs.

In the past few days, he had received news through Dongying that the Northern Di had established close ties with Ross.

Moreover, Ross was pressuring the Northern Di, demanding that the Northern Di not join the Eastern Land Alliance.

Precisely because of this, no Northern Di envoy appeared at this ceremony.

According to the Dongying people, the Northern Di were somewhat wavering and needed to have two plans ready.

Ross, the mortal enemy of Britain.

Their conflict had spread from the Western Lands to Zhongtu, and now it had extended to Dongtu.

As the Empire on which the sun never sets, the most powerful country in the world, they would not allow Ross to rise.

Now, Ross was intervening in Dongtu affairs by using the Northern Di.

Therefore, how could he let the people of Ross have their way? He was determined to prevent Ross from reaping benefits in Dongtu.

Thus, after careful consideration, he placed his chess piece on the position of Gaoli.

This Gaoli shared borders with both the Northern Di and the Ningjin Dusi.

It was a vassal state of the Northern Di, but secretly it also had trade dealings with Yan Wang.

Controlling Gaoli was equivalent to cutting off Yan Wang's only overseas market.

The development of Jiangbei will inevitably suffer a major setback.

At the same time, because the Ross country's current involvement in Dongtu is not yet deep.

Taking the opportunity to control Koryo can serve as a bridgehead to counter the Ross country's expansion in Dongtu.

There is one more point: if the Beidi truly decide to lean toward the Ross country, controlling Koryo can also serve as a warning to the Beidi.

Making the Beidi Khan choose again between the Ross country and the Eastern Land Alliance.

It is simply killing three birds with one stone.

Of course, there is another very important point; he also considered the Dongying when launching this plan.

He is clear that the Eastern Japanese have always been very eager to occupy Koryo.

This plan will receive the full support of the Eastern Japanese.

After all, he can guarantee the maritime safety of the Dongying and ensure that the Dongying Army can successfully reach Koryo.

Sure enough, the eyes of Sato Masahisa lit up instantly, and he said: "The General will support this plan. The Koryo Army is extremely weak and has very few firearms. As long as the Dongying Army can set foot on the land of Koryo, they can be destroyed in three months."

The envoy from the Sam Country spread his hands; he only needed to act according to the alliance's plan and had no other opinions.

Liang Kai was happy to see the trouble shifted elsewhere.

In this way, he could live a peaceful life, and while training, receive firearms from Britain.

Thus he said: "Our Wu country is willing to provide the necessary help."

He promised to divide the land with Yan Wang by the river, but their attack on Koryo had nothing to do with Yan Wang.

Koryo is nominally a vassal of the Beidi and is even hostile to Yan Wang, so this does not count as violating the promise made to Yan Wang.

Seeing that his plan had been approved, Wolf was excited and said: "We should confirm the attitude of the Beidi once more in the name of the Eastern Land Alliance. If the Beidi remain stubborn, this plan can be launched."