Chapter 749: The Wind Rises

"Damn it!"

A gust of wind stirred up the yellow sand of the battlefield, sweeping past the front of the camp.

Lamu clenched his fists tightly; the trench in the distance now resembled a giant beast devouring men, and the spikes in front of the trench were like the sharp fangs of this beast.

His Khan was wise; this attack was, for the most part, a probe.

The firearms of the Yan King Army seemed even more powerful than they were during the Ningjindusizhizhan.

Coupled with the trench positions dug before him, he simply could not break through.

"You should be grateful that we, the Northern Di, are holding off the Yan King for you; otherwise, the land you have taken will eventually be lost." Lamu waved his hand, signaling a retreat, while reminding Aersiji.

This was a provocation.

At present, the Ross nation still held reservations about them, which left them feeling displeased.

Now that they had witnessed the prowess of the Yan King Army with their own eyes, it would surely make them change some of their thoughts.

Although they had been rebuffed before Qingbo Bridge, it would be worth it if they could win greater support from the Ross nation.

"Retreating already?"

On Qingbo Bridge, Yang Zhen noticed the movements of the Northern Di army and shook his head lightly.

He wanted to give the Northern Di army before him a sound thrashing.

However, he did not order a pursuit.

His mission was to hold Qingbo Bridge at all costs; this absolutely could not go wrong.

Otherwise, the Prince's Personal Army in Gaoli would be caught in a pincer attack.

Watching the Northern Di army pull up stakes and retreat, he returned to Qingbo Bridge and sat in a chair to study the textbooks compiled by the Yan King.

Meanwhile, in Qinghe County.

Zhao Xu was observing the Britain warships and steamships on the sea through a telescope.

Having decided on the strategy of using the navy to harass the Eastern Earth Allied Forces fleet while attacking on land at the same time.

He had moved south from Rang City and arrived in Qinghe County.

However, because the wind conditions these days were unfavorable for the Yanzhou Navy to engage in battle.

Zhou Yi had not yet launched an attack on the Joint Fleet.

"It's truly maddening; day after day there isn't even a breeze, how much longer must we wait." Chang Wei wished he could wipe out the remnants of the Eastern Earth Allied Forces right now.

Following the ambush at Fengming Mountain and the Battle of Rang City.

The Eastern Earth Allied Forces had only about 130,000 men left, crowded onto the coast of Qinghe County.

Yet, because Dongying was able to continuously transport grain and fodder to the Pier via maritime supply lines.

The Eastern Earth Allied Forces were actually able to maintain a long-term standoff with them.

"Good food is worth waiting for," Zhao Xu said indifferently.

The weather was always fickle; there had been no wind these past few days, but perhaps there would be continuous wind later on.

They waited for another three days.

Zhao Xu received a battle report from Yang Zhen; they had thwarted the Northern Di's attempt to enter Gaoli.

At this, he felt slightly at ease.

In this way, he could focus on dealing with the Eastern Earth Allied Forces.

Another two days passed.

On this day, Zhao Xu was discussing with his generals how to attack the trench positions on the coast.

Suddenly, the flags planted in the trenches began to flap loudly.

"Your Highness, it's a south wind." Chang Wei's eyes lit up instantly.

Zhao Xu looked toward the military flags and revealed a smile; he nodded slowly, "Zhou Yi will certainly launch a surprise attack today; as soon as the Britain warships move away, we will launch our attack."

"Yes," Chang Wei and the other generals replied.

……

On the vast ocean, waves rose and fell.

Thirty-six Sailing Warships divided into two groups and headed toward the waters of Qinghe County.

As soon as the south wind rose, Zhou Yi ordered the fleet to set sail from Jinyin Island.

Ever since receiving the order from the Yan King, he had been waiting for this day.

Although the Eastern Earth Allied Forces fleet possessed Steamships, this did not scare him.

Having joined the navy, he was prepared to sacrifice himself at any time.

Even when facing a powerful enemy, as long as the Yan King gave the order, he still had the courage to fight them.

After another night of sailing, the fleet arrived in the waters of Qinghe County.

At this moment, they discovered the Wu warships cruising and patrolling nearby.

"Launch an attack on them!" Zhou Yi shouted.

His mission was to force the Britain warships out of the bay.

Therefore, their actions naturally had to be intense.

Upon receiving his order, flags of different colors were raised on the battlefield; this was to transmit orders to the other warships.

Immediately, the thirty-six warships advanced toward the bay at full speed.

One group of warships headed straight for the bay's exit, while the other group continued to detour to the north, forming a pincer movement.

Although the order the Yan King gave him was to harass.

But in the process of harassing, one careless move could easily escalate into an all-out engagement.

He had to be on high alert, facing this mission as a formal naval battle.

The patrol warships of Wu soon discovered the Yanzhou Warships that were approaching.

Some warships immediately retreated into the bay, while others headed in the direction of Dongying.

"Madness, madness, the Yan Wang's warships actually dare to attack our Joint Fleet."

On a Wu warship fleeing toward the bay, the Navy general in charge of the warship wore an expression of disbelief.

In the Battle of Yang City, Britain's Steamships entered Jiujiang; it was impossible for Yan Wang not to know.

He thought that these Steamships would surely terrify Yan Wang, making it impossible for him to let his fleet contend with the British.

Moreover, this time there were two hundred of his Wu warships assisting.

Yet, the Yanzhou Fleet appeared nonetheless, and with the posture of wanting to fight them to the death.

"Quickly go notify the British, something big is about to happen." Although the Wu Navy general was nervous, he was not afraid.

The British were right inside the bay, and he firmly believed that the British fleet could easily defeat Yan Wang's fleet.

As for him, he did not dare to clash with the Yan King Fleet for the time being.

Their Wu warships were small, and could only be equipped with eight Artillery pieces, four on each side.

Unless two hundred warships acted simultaneously, three or five warships simply could not contend with the Yanzhou Warships.

Entering the bay, he sailed straight toward the British Warships.

He delivered this news into the hands of Wolf.

"What!" Upon hearing this, Wolf felt a great sense of foreboding and immediately ordered the Warships to head to the bay exit.

If Yan Wang's Warships blocked the bay exit and aimed their side Artillery positions at the bay.

They would lose the maneuverability advantage brought by the Steamships.

Because no matter how they maneuvered, they would ultimately still be inside the bay.

And Yan Wang's Warships would be like having thousands of Artillery pieces set up at the bay mouth; how could they possibly withstand that?

Therefore, they must absolutely not let the Yan King Fleet blockade the bay mouth.

"Lieutenant Wolf, you cannot do this; if your Warships leave, what will happen to the 130,000 Coalition soldiers on the coast?" Yamada Haruno was extremely anxious.

Wolf said coldly: "If the bay entrance falls into Yan Wang's hands, not only the 130,000 Coalition soldiers, but the British Warships as well, will all be buried here."

In Wolf's eyes, whether they were Eastern Japanese or Song People, they were no better than the lowly natives of the colonies.

He could use these natives to kill each other and extract benefits.

But he absolutely did not want to throw his own life and his fleet into the mix.

If this naval battle went smoothly, that would be one thing.

If it went poorly, he would immediately lead his fleet and flee.

"You..." Yamada Haruno wanted to flare up, but he forced it back down; he dared not offend the British, especially at this time.

Looking toward the coast, his eyes slowly closed.