Chapter 769: The Spoils of War

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The muzzles of the eighteen Sailing Warships flashed with fire from time to time.

At the same time, they adjusted their direction slightly according to the orientation of the enemy warships to facilitate shelling.

Because the British warships needed to evade the fire from the eighteen Sailing Warships, they constantly changed direction while sailing.

But in doing so, they were caught by the twelve Steamships under Commander Zhou Yi, which successfully circled to their flank.

This was like in chess, where one adjusts position to avoid being attacked by the opponent's cannon, only to land in the path of the opponent's chariot.

On the British Flagship, Wolf looked toward the eighteen Sailing Warships in front, then toward the Sailing Warships being towed by the twelve Steamships on the side, and slowly lowered his Telescope.

He knew clearly that he had lost, and lost thoroughly.

"Yan Wang, the British Fleet will surely avenge me; the Western Lands world is absolutely not something you can challenge!" Wolf glared viciously at the Yanzhou Warship and issued his final order, "Full-scale shelling!"

Under his order, the British warships stopped and aimed their muzzles at the Yanzhou Warship.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

This time, the Yanzhou Fleet's shelling came earlier than theirs.

Just as Wolf's voice fell, dense Cannonballs flew toward them.

A Cannonball whistled over and smashed right under his feet.

This Cannonball was cone-shaped, and its front end had smashed into the deck.

Wolf looked at this peculiar Cannonball and froze for a moment.

He suddenly realized that this was the reason the Yanzhou Fleet could defeat them so smoothly.

Bending down, he was about to pull out the Cannonball to see what it was, but just then, with a "Boom," he felt himself fly up, and then he lost consciousness.

The Flagship exploded.

The remaining British warships seemed to have lost their backbone.

Two of the warships headed south, preparing to flee.

But how could Zhou Yi give them a chance? He immediately ordered the fleet to fire at them with full force.

The two warships were hit by Explosive Shells one after another, exploding and catching fire.

Among them, another British warship raised a white flag, choosing to surrender.

Through his Telescope, Zhou Yi discovered that the soldiers on this warship were coming onto the deck one after another, raising their hands.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi ordered the fleet to sink all the remaining Eastern Japanese warships.

Afterward, he led the warships to surround this warship.

It was not that he pitied the British.

These British had come to Dongtu, burning, killing, and looting without restraint, slaughtering the indigenous people of Dongtu without mercy; they deserved to die.

What he wanted was the only surviving British Steamship and Sailing Warship.

In this way, they could be used as trophies to show off, while also understanding the differences between their warships and his own.

However, he did not lose his rationality, as he was worried the enemy might ignite their Gunpowder magazine and perish together.

He specifically sent a small boat to board the British warship.

Only after ordering the British on the ship to throw all their ammunition into the sea did he formally accept the surrender of this Steamship and one Sailing Warship.

While accepting the surrender, the remaining Eastern Japanese warships were all destroyed.

At this time, Zhou Yi looked toward the sea surface.

At this moment, the seawater was full of struggling soldiers.

Some had died in the explosions, some had drowned, and many were holding onto wooden planks to beg for help.

The bloody scent attracted sharks, and triangular fins were everywhere in the seawater.

Meanwhile, the British warships and Eastern Japanese warships were either continuing to burn on the sea or slowly sinking.

The rising smoke looked like a layer of fog on the sea surface.

"Pick up the living British soldiers and send them to Yanzhou to be imprisoned," Zhou Yi ordered.

He was very sharp; perhaps these people could be bargaining chips for His Highness Yan Wang, which could be used to exchange for something.

As for the Eastern Japanese soldiers, he had no mood to care about them.

This naval battle lasted from the morning until the afternoon.

In the end, they did not fail the trust of Yan Wang and achieved victory.

But defeating the British and Eastern Japanese fleets was only the first step.

Their most important goal was still to deal with Eastern Japan.

Thinking of this, he ordered soldiers to fish an Eastern Japanese soldier out of the water, gave him a small boat, and told him to take a message to the Dongying Shogunate, ordering Eastern Japan to surrender.

But after the Eastern Japanese soldier went back, he did not return.

"Wasted one of our small boats for nothing." After waiting for a while, Gong Ying spat into the seawater, "General, it seems Eastern Japan will not shed tears until they see the coffin."

"I fear they are still intoxicated by the illusions given by the Westerners. Since that is the case, there is no need to be polite. Return to Ryukyu to dispatch the Marine Corps; I want to burn down the Shipyard of Eastern Japan," Zhou Yi said.

He wanted to completely destroy Eastern Japan's shipbuilding capability and no longer give them the chance to run rampant on the sea.

"Yes, but before we go, should we leave the Eastern Japanese a souvenir?" Gong Ying smiled wickedly.

Zhou Yi knew what Gong Ying wanted to do, and he said, "Of course."

Having said that, he issued the order to shell Edo.

Thirty Sailing Warships reassembled, arranged in a line, and aimed at the Edo Pier.

Then, the Artillery roared, and Cannonballs landed on the buildings at the pier.

Solid Shot and Explosive Shells fell in a mix.

Amidst bursts of roaring sounds, the Edo Pier ignited a raging fire, and building after building was destroyed.

While the Yanzhou Fleet was forming its battle line, Watanabe fled the port area.

Standing in the distance and looking at the thick smoke rising from the Pier, his heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife.

The hatred in his heart grew like a venomous snake.

Thinking of something, he immediately went to the British Consulate.

At this moment, the British Consul Jack and the Sam Country Consul Aierxun had already received news of the naval defeat.

Jack lay slumped in a rattan chair, his brows tightly furrowed.

Aierxun, meanwhile, sighed incessantly while simultaneously feeling fortunate.

Their Sam Country did not have many Warships in Dongying to begin with.

Three days ago, these Warships had gone to Wu.

However, this naval battle still made him feel very uneasy.

This was the first time a non-Xitu nation had provoked a war against them.

"Yan Wang is declaring war on us, Britain! Never has any nation dared to humiliate Britain like this; we, Britain, must strengthen our presence in Dongtu and teach this Yan Wang a harsh lesson." Jack glanced at Watanabe, but he was in no mood to pay attention to him right now, merely venting his own emotions.

Aierxun handed Jack a cigar and said, "This is not just a problem for Britain, but a problem for the entire Xitu world. Our interests in Dongtu have suffered an unprecedented threat. It is hard to imagine what this Yan Wang will do next, but regardless, he must be stopped."

Jack nodded, "That is correct. The Xitu Guo must coordinate their positions and come up with a countermeasure. This is not just a problem for us, Britain, if they still want to keep their colonies."

"Of course, the most important point is that we should go and understand what has happened in Jiangbei of Da Song," Aierxun said.

He had to admit that he had never looked squarely at any power in Dongtu.

But this defeat of the British Fleet had completely changed them, and they were prepared to treat the issues in Dongtu seriously.