Chapter 753: The Next Step

"Your Highness, the British Fleet is fleeing toward Dongying. I have already ordered the warships to mop up the fleeing Wu warships and Dongying vessels."

Upon inquiring about the whereabouts of Yan Wang, Zhou Yi immediately came to report.

In front of the command tent, Zhao Xu was eating with Chang Wei, Qin Shan, Guan Tong, and Lv Chang.

After clearing out the remaining enemies, the soldiers discovered a large quantity of Dongying baggage train in the warehouse at the Pier.

This included a lot of air-dried beef and mutton, and they also found some seafood.

It was likely caught by Dongying soldiers in the nearby sea area before the fighting began.

To prevent this food from being poisoned, Xu Lie grabbed a few Dongying soldiers and made them taste it first.

Once it was confirmed to be non-toxic, Zhao Xu ordered these items to be distributed so the soldiers could enjoy a treat that evening.

Since there wasn't enough meat to go around, it was boiled into soup.

But there was definitely enough rice to go around; the grain and fodder left behind by the Dongying people were quite substantial.

"Forget about them. Come, let's eat together," Zhao Xu said to Zhou Yi.

As long as the British Warships had fled, he couldn't be bothered with where they were going.

The war in Gaoli was over; no matter how much the British Warships jumped around, they could no longer affect the outcome of the war.

"Hehe..." Zhou Yi chuckled twice, sat down, ladled a bowl of rice, and went to scoop some soup from the pot.

Since arriving in the Qinghe Sea Area, his nerves had been in a state of high tension, and now he could finally relax.

"Your Highness, now that Gaoli is finished, what should we do next? Should we deal with the Northern Di, head south, or perhaps..." Chang Wei mumbled while shoveling rice into his mouth, gesturing toward the east, implying Dongying.

Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and said, "Of course, we deal with Dongying. These things are rotten to the core; if we don't beat them into submission, they will keep stirring up trouble."

Since Dongying could send troops to Gaoli this time, they could send troops to Wu next time; it would be endless.

He would not give the Eastern Land Alliance another chance to run rampant on the seas and constantly interfere with Da Song.

Furthermore, having taken Gaoli, he would expand his sphere of influence to the opposite side of Dongying.

After all, the narrowest part of the sea between Gaoli and Dongying is only about three hundred and fifty li.

Transporting troops from Gaoli to Dongying is very convenient.

Convenient transport means that dealing with Dongying will be much easier.

There is one more point: various types of Workshops are currently being rolled out across Jiangbei, and in a year or so, Jiangbei's industrial production capacity will be greatly improved.

By then, the goods produced will soon exceed demand.

In order not to hinder industrial development, markets must be expanded outward.

With Gaoli taken, this nearest market is no longer a problem.

Dongying is another major market in the Eastern Land, with a population of nearly thirty million.

Naturally, he wants to hold this market in his own hands.

It is better to benefit himself than to benefit the Westerners.

Let it be Dongying's atonement to Da Song.

Over these years,

Dongying sea pirates have stolen quite a lot of wealth from Da Song.

"Hahaha, Your Highness is right. I have long found these Dongying bastards an eyesore. They supported the powerful clans to deal with us, so it is time for us to deal with them," Lv Chang finished the rice in his bowl and ladled another.

Qin Shan said, "This time, are we going to cross the sea to fight?"

Guan Tong also looked at Zhao Xu, his face full of excitement.

Zhao Xu shook his head, "You aren't needed for now; let the navy and the marines go first."

For him, the most important thing is maritime hegemony.

Therefore, his plan has not changed.

Once the Steamship is launched, he will have Zhou Yi drive the British Fleet away from the sea areas near Da Song, supplemented by the marines to deal with Dongying.

He has already ordered Zhou Yi to expand the marines to thirty thousand men.

Relying on the mobility of the navy, the marine soldiers can quickly transfer from one point to another.

Forming a local force advantage to attack Dongying.

After all, Dongying cannot mobilize troops faster than they can.

In this way, they can keep the Dongying Army exhausted from running around.

Eventually, Dongying will have to submit to him just as they submitted to the Sam Country and Britain, and sign trade treaties with him.

At this stage, achieving this goal is enough; he does not want a full-scale national war with Dongying for now.

The reason is simple.

Blockaded by the Yanzhou Fleet, Dongying is like a wild dog locked in a cage, unable to pose any threat to Da Song.

Using trade to drain their blood and input it into Da Song is enough.

Of course, it is not that he cannot conquer Dongying through a full-scale national war.

But the Northern Di, the Ross people, the British, and the Da Song powerful clans would surely be overjoyed; they would definitely find ways to drag him into the Dongying battlefield.

Furthermore, for the Dongying Shogunate, signing unequal treaties is easier for them to accept.

In a national war, they would inevitably resist with all their might, turning the whole population into soldiers, and he would fall into a quagmire of war.

By then, trade would be impossible, and he would have to pay money to fight.

This is a losing business.

However, he also knows that by only signing unequal treaties, Dongying may submit on the surface, but they will certainly be unconvinced in their hearts.

The gap in technology between the two sides is not yet enough to make them grovel to him the way they groveled to the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, after using trade to drain their blood, making Da Song's industry more refined, and developing epoch-making Weapons against them, he will deliberately loosen the dog leash, let Dongying continue to struggle, and then settle everything in one battle.

Completely castrate Dongying psychologically, so they can never again harbor any desire to resist.

"Many thanks, Your Highness." Hearing that the mission to attack Dongying was his, Zhou Yi immediately became excited, his mouth stretching wide.

Chang Wei looked at Zhou Yi with a face full of sourness, "Zhou Yi, when we return to Yancheng, you must treat us to Wine; you have snatched all the battles of our Prince's Personal Army."

"Of course, of course." Zhou Yi chuckled.

Zhao Xu shook his head helplessly, "It is not as if you have nothing to do; once the matters at sea are resolved, it will be time to head south; we cannot let Great Song continue to be divided like this."

This is an era of turbulent winds and clouds.

The Western Lands have conquered most of the world's regions and have set their final sights on Great Song, this last remaining pure land.

At the same time, the world of the Western Lands is also at the end of the first Industrial Revolution.

In just over ten years, they will naturally enter the Second Industrial Revolution.

They will invest more power into Dongtu.

At this point in time, the longer unification is delayed, the more difficult it will be to unify in the future.

"Cleaning up the powerful clans is also not bad." Chang Wei was satisfied, "This time Wu is truly capable; they actually followed Dongying to attack Gaoli. I really don't know how much they weigh."

"This is the reason why I want to dismantle the Eastern Land Alliance; it has twisted Dongying, Wu, Sam Country, and Britain into a single rope," Zhao Xu said.

Sam Country and Britain are too far away, and he cannot reach them for the time being.

But it is still achievable to first clean up Dongying and Wu.

While eating, the group chatted for a while longer before dispersing.

The next day, he had Chang Wei leave thirty thousand men in Gaoli, while the rest withdrew to Great Song.

Once the situation in Gaoli stabilizes, these thirty thousand men will withdraw one after another, leaving only two thousand men to garrison Rang City.