Chapter 777: Dismemberment Strategy

"No matter which city they choose, they must absolutely not surrender." Watanabe An was lost in thought for a moment, his gaze suddenly turning firm again.

Support from the Western Lands was right before their eyes; to submit to Yan Wang simply because Changqi had been plundered.

The Westerners would look down on Dongying from then on and abandon Dongying completely.

Moreover, deep in his heart, he always believed that the Western Lands could ultimately defeat Yan Wang.

Therefore, this was only a temporary setback.

Even if all of Dongying were plundered once, as long as the Westerners helped Dongying establish a Steam Industry, Dongying could recover its vitality in just a few short years, and perhaps even be wealthier than before.

"General..." Masho Taro opened his mouth, but said nothing, merely letting out a sigh.

He knew clearly what Watanabe An was thinking.

However, Yan Wang's blade was right before their eyes, while the support of the Western Lands was far beyond the horizon.

The Shogunate could firmly resist Yan Wang, but could the domain lords continue to follow Watanabe An after seeing the miserable state of Changqi City?

The two looked at each other in silence, leading the army to slowly depart from Changqi City.

Changqi City had already been stripped clean; what could not be taken away had been burned to a crisp.

The young and strong men and women were either dead or had been carried off.

This city no longer had any value, nor was it worth the army garrisoning it.

As the Dongying Army departed, a Warship on the sea quietly headed south.

One hour later, it arrived at Wufeng Island and reported the observed situation to Zhao Xu.

At this moment, Zhao Xu was at the Wufeng Island Pier instructing Wang Yanzhong regarding the slaves.

Coming to Dongying this time, Wang Yanzhong had assembled a large fleet, with as many as one hundred Slave Ships specifically for transporting slaves.

Each Slave Ship could hold over five hundred slaves.

After all, Slave Ships were not Troop Transport Ships; the conditions inside were harsh, and one only needed to drive the slaves into the hold and cram five hundred people together.

Give them some water and dry rations, and they could hold out until Yanzhou.

Two days ago, with the help of the Marine Corps, Wang Yanzhong had a bountiful harvest.

All one hundred ships were fully loaded with slaves, a full fifty thousand young and strong people.

He had Wang Yanzhong hand over a portion of them to the Ministry of Works for infrastructure construction such as Railways, cables, and mines.

A portion was sold to the Royal Reclamation Groups in places like Qinzhou and Yongzhou to provide convenience for their land reclamation.

Upon learning that the Dongying Army had withdrawn from Changqi, he said to Wang Yanzhong, "Hurry and transport the slaves back; there is another large batch of slaves waiting for you immediately."

"Yes, Your Highness." Wang Yanzhong grinned, his expression excited.

Yan Wang was preparing to take the next step.

Boarding the Slave Ship, he headed toward Yanzhou.

At this time, Zhao Xu summoned Zhou Yi.

It was impossible for Watanabe An not to know that they had occupied Wufeng Island.

Coming to Changqi, he still did not choose to surrender; this meant he intended to continue wearing them down.

Since that was the case, he would not be polite.

"Your Highness, the Satsuma Domain is as wealthy as the Hizen Domain; why not go and plunder the Satsuma Domain this time?" Zhou Yi's eyes shone.

Hearing this, Zhao Xu glared at him, "I let you navy men have some bandit spirit, but that is not so you can completely degenerate into robbers and lose yourselves. I came this time precisely because I was afraid you would lose sight of the priorities."

Indulging soldiers in plunder is a double-edged sword; one must never plunder just for the sake of plundering.

Whether it is slaughtering a city or plundering, it must serve the strategy, not just be for money.

Otherwise, if plundering becomes a habit, once soldiers are not allowed to plunder, it easily leads to mutiny among the soldiers.

Therefore, he wanted the navy soldiers and commanders to realize this problem.

Letting them plunder is an occasional benefit, never a long-term military policy.

Zhou Yi was scolded by Zhao Xu, and it was as if a basin of cold water had been poured over him, cooling him down.

He stood straight, saluted Zhao Xu with a military salute, "This subordinate was muddled; I ask for Your Highness's punishment."

Zhao Xu waved his hand, "Just keep these words of mine in your heart and put them into action."

After a pause, he said, "Now tell me, what place in Dongying is most suitable to plunder?"

Zhou Yi took out a map of Dongying from his bosom and spread it out.

Thinking for a moment, he pointed to the North Territory of Dongying, "According to intelligence provided by the Four Courts, back when Watanabe An unified Dongying from south to north, those who followed him were the domain lords of the south, while those he attacked were the domain lords of the north. Even now, he still relies on the power of the south to suppress the power of the north. Some domain lords in the north are still dissatisfied with Watanabe An in their hearts."

"That's right." Zhao Xu nodded slowly, "This time, with the plundering of Changqi, other wealthy cities along the southern coast will inevitably be on high alert, and the wealthy merchants and powerful officials in the cities will certainly transfer their wealth to the countryside."

After pondering for a moment, he continued, "The people of Dongying are afraid of being carried off, so they will also flee the moment you land. By then, you will only be fighting the soldiers of a single city, and what you capture will only be an empty city without any profit."

"Your Highness is absolutely right." Zhou Yi rubbed his chin.

Zhao Xu continued, "Dongying is narrow from east to west and long from north to south, and it is mountainous, so the transmission of news between the north and south is very inconvenient. At this moment, if you head to the north, they will have no precautions. At the same time, leave a portion of Marine Corps soldiers in the south to harass the coast and pin down Watanabe An's military strength, making him unable to support the northern domain lords. In this way, you can certainly make the northern domain lords even more dissatisfied with Watanabe An."

Zhou Yi smiled and nodded, interjecting, "And then, we can show a little goodwill to the northern domain lords; perhaps we can win over a few northern domain lords to be used by us."

"Hahaha... you have finally become enlightened." Zhao Xu laughed.

Watanabe An wanted to split the Great Song, so he would use his own methods to pay him back.

Let Dongying return to the Warring States period of thirty years ago, before it was unified.

This strategy, regardless of whether Watanabe An surrenders or not, he would implement.

The ultimate goal was to have Dongying broken up into four, or even more, domain states.

When the time comes for Watanabe An to surrender, he would hold the northern domain lords and force Watanabe An to acknowledge the independence of the northern domain lords.

If Watanabe An does not surrender, he would support the northern domain lords, let Dongying fall into civil war, and fight until it is torn apart.

He, in turn, would be like Britain in the native states of Tianzhu, playing both sides among the various domains.

After all, by then, no domain lord with a normal brain would choose to offend him, the person who could easily decide their fate.

They only know how to curry favor with him, seeking firearms and support.

Having settled this matter, Zhao Xu pointed to the Uzen Domain in the North Territory of Dongying and said, "We shall begin here."

"Yes, Your Highness," Zhou Yi said loudly.

Immediately, he issued an order to divide the fleet into two.

Twenty-four Steamships and twenty-four Sailing Warships formed one fleet to head to the North Territory, commanding twenty-four thousand marine soldiers.

The other Sailing Warships formed a fleet, commanding six thousand marine soldiers to continue harassing the southern coast of Dongying, adhering to a hit-and-run strategy.

The reason for choosing the Steamships to head north was precisely to intimidate the various domains of the North Territory and make them feel a sense of powerlessness.

On one hand, it would oppose Watanabe's continued resistance, and on the other, it would cause the ambitious to harbor ulterior motives and choose to cooperate with the Great Song, ultimately achieving the strategic goal.

The next day.

Zhao Xu accompanied Zhou Yi and the northern fleet to the north of Dongying.

Gong Ying commanded the southern fleet, waiting for the right moment to act.