Chapter 776: Awe?

"Your Highness, regarding the matter of slave hunting..."

Zhao Xu was chatting with Zhou Yi when Wang Yanzhong, having waited anxiously, could not help but speak cautiously.

Zhou Yi looked toward Wang Yanzhong; they were old partners.

A few years ago, he and Wang Yanzhong had sent many craftsmen and people to Yanzhou.

After joining the navy, Wang Yanzhong had struck out on his own, and his business remained booming.

Recently, Wang Yanzhong had been eyeing Jiangnan, smuggling many commoners from Jiangnan to Jiangbei.

During the war with Gaoli, Wang Yanzhong had also taken advantage of the chaos to capture many Gaoli slaves.

However, these slaves were no longer sold solely to the Imperial Court.

Yan Wang seemed to be formalizing the slave trade, turning it into a proper profession.

After all, for the Agency to capture slaves and then sell them for twenty or thirty taels of Silver was a business with massive returns.

This item could bring in abundant profits.

Most importantly, these slaves could alleviate the labor shortages in the Imperial Manor and the Official Manor.

As for the transformation of the Agency, he had no objections.

Because he was in the navy, he often heard about the slave trade of the Westerners from the captured sea pirates.

These trades were supported by their nations, and they even enacted cruel laws to control the slaves.

By comparison, their treatment of slaves was considered benevolent.

At the same time, he also learned that in recent years, Western slave traders had also set their sights on the Easterners.

Through forced capture, deception, kidnapping, and even recruiting laborers, they defrauded the commoners of Great Song.

Those commoners who were promised high wages for working on plantations eventually discovered they had entered hell.

"I almost forgot. Since I came with Wang Yanzhong this time, Zhou Yi, you should understand, right?" Zhao Xu said.

To him, people like Chang Wei and Zhou Yi belonged to his "white gloves."

While Xu Ke, Wang Yanzhong, and the others belonged to his "gray gloves."

White gloves were indispensable, and gray gloves were also necessary.

The hidden struggles between nations required them.

"This subordinate understands." Zhou Yi smiled and pointed toward Changqi, "However, this Changqi was taken by the Marine Corps. If you are going to capture slaves, you must give the navy some sweetness, right?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Yanzhong pointed at Zhou Yi and scolded him with a laugh, "How long has it been since you left the Agency? Now you've turned your back on us and are asking the Agency for money."

Zhou Yi was all smiles, "If you were capturing them entirely on your own, I naturally wouldn't want a single cent, but now you are picking up leftovers. His Highness has already said that our navy is to take ten percent of the spoils of war this time, and these people are also spoils of war."

Wang Yanzhong was left speechless by Zhou Yi's words. He looked toward Zhao Xu, "Your Highness, I cannot make this decision."

"One tael of Silver per person as a benefit, and you are responsible for the capturing," Zhao Xu said to Zhou Yi.

His words counted as an agreement to Zhou Yi.

In this era, the navies of various countries were actually regular armies while simultaneously being pirates, especially Britain.

Moreover, in order to encourage the navy to extract benefits from the outer seas,

and to give back to the homeland, they clearly stipulated that the navy could keep a portion of the spoils of war for themselves.

It was precisely because of this that the British Army had such high morale.

After fighting a battle, one could return home as a moderately wealthy family; who wouldn't be happy?

As for his own army, his constraints on the generals and soldiers were more focused on ideology.

But sometimes, providing some tangible benefits as a stimulus was also necessary.

As for the Agency, a portion of the Silver from selling slaves was turned over to the treasury as a reward, and a portion was kept for their own use.

Wang Yanzhong and the core members of the Agency had become incredibly wealthy over these past few years.

At this moment, picking up a bargain, it was normal to shell out some Silver.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Zhou Yi was overjoyed.

Wang Yanzhong shook his head, though he was secretly pleased in his heart; one tael of Silver per person was too profitable for him.

In daily life, they also had costs for capturing slaves, and some Agency employees even paid with their lives.

With this matter settled, Wang Yanzhong led the people from the Agency to go with Pan Zhang.

Before long, the people from the Agency escorted a large group of young and strong Eastern Japanese men and women over and sent them onto the Agency's ships.

Zhao Xu had no interest in Changqi City and just wandered around the Pier for a while.

He waited for the Agency's ships to be filled before they departed on their own.

He then waited for the navy to finish transporting the looted gold, silver, jewelry, fabrics, antiques, and so on, before returning to Wufeng Island with Zhou Yi to plan the next offensive.

As for this operation, he was not sure what kind of impact it would have on Dongying.

History proved that Dongying had a masochistic constitution; the harder they were beaten, the more obedient they became. He hoped the Battle of Changqi would leave an indelible shadow on the Eastern Japanese.

Two days after they left, Watanabe An and Masho Taro led their troops to arrive at Changqi City.

Entering the city and looking at the corpses everywhere, the burned-out shops, and the utter mess, Masho Taro's body could not stop trembling.

Clearly, the Yan King Army had looted Changqi City.

These corpses included not only Eastern Japanese soldiers but also many Eastern Japanese merchants and commoners.

Among them, many Eastern Japanese merchants and commoners were holding swords, sticks, and clubs in their hands.

When the Yan King Army entered the city, they must have joined the ranks of the Eastern Japanese soldiers to fight against the Yan King's soldiers.

Watanabe An's expression was equally grave; he had never seen such a tragic scene in Dongying.

It had always been Dongying going to Great Song to burn, kill, and loot.

For thousands of years, the land of Dongying had never suffered such slaughter from others.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that the people of Great Song could also burn, kill, and loot, and were just as fierce.

After walking through the entire Changqi City with Masho Taro, a chill rose in his heart even more.

The wealth of all of Changqi had been plundered, including the young and able-bodied of Changqi City who had not died in battle.

Now, apart from the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, this city no longer had any value.

"General, it is Changqi now, but where will be next? The Shogunate has refused to surrender, and the Yan King Army will not let this rest." Facing the shattered Changqi, Masho Taro suddenly discovered that he did not hate Yan Wang at all.

Instead, in an instant, he was filled with awe for Yan Wang.

This was just like how he had revered Watanabe An back then.

Upon hearing this, Watanabe An's hand could not help but tremble.

This was the question he feared most; as Yan Wang continued to plunder city after city, what would eventually be left of Dongying?