Chapter 831: The Use of Old Goods

"Also, to prevent the worst-case scenario, we must make preparations from now on. Have the arsenal fully replicate the firearms, and of course, the steamships as well," Ashley added after some thought.

William and Nuohan exchanged a glance, and William smiled, "Your Majesty, although the situation this time is very bad, we in Britain will win the final victory just as we have in the past; there is no need to be so nervous."

"Yes, according to Bolt, this Yan Wang must have been lucky enough to receive help from a genius from the Western Lands. The steam industry he has built up in just a few short years is far inferior to ours. Moreover, the entire Western world would not like to see a powerful nation rise in the East; they will certainly follow our lead," said Nuohan.

Then, he shrugged, "Even if some countries are unwilling, we can unite with other nations to pressure them, so as to keep the entire Western world consistent on this issue."

"I am not nervous; these decisions are merely me fulfilling my duties as Queen," Ashley shook her head.

Although Britain is now a Constitutional Monarchy and the Queen's power is somewhat limited, the constitution still allows her to make many major decisions.

For example, dissolving parliament, dissolving the Cabinet, appointing the Cabinet, implementing a state of emergency, mobilizing the military in an emergency, and declaring a state of war.

Therefore, the Queen is effectively still the head of Britain.

Even every Prime Minister scrambles to be her private secretary.

After discussing this matter, Ashley had William go to parliament to announce her decision.

Nuohan returned to his office and took a steamship to Frank to begin his visit.

Great Song.

While the Western world was suddenly stirred by waves, Zhao Xu's orders were also heading toward Zhongling Pass and Jian Pass.

After receiving the orders, Chang Wei left the unit of Lv Chang behind and headed south with the units of Qin Shan and Guan Tong toward Jinling.

Meanwhile, Ma Han led his soldiers to Zhongling Pass to rendezvous with Lv Chang.

According to the orders, they would wait at Zhongling Pass for a period of time, and set out once the people transporting grain and fodder from Jingzhou arrived.

In this way, once they took Jiameng Pass, they could store the grain and fodder at Jiameng Pass, after which they could overlook Yizhou from Jiameng Pass and then take the next steps according to the orders.

"Have the Eastern Japanese slaves and the Goryeo people set out?"

In the Prince's study,

Zhao Xu's gaze was fixed on the direction of Yizhou.

After deciding to fight on two fronts, he had been thinking about how to take Yizhou in the most economical way.

Clearly, with the deep intervention of the British and the Ross people, the powerful clans were becoming increasingly difficult to deal with.

Because of an accident in the Battle of Jinling, they were able to capture a large amount of grain, fodder, and wealth, but they were not so lucky at Zhongling Pass and Jian Pass.

Whether it was Ashuer or Xiao Chengdu, they both did the same thing: burning the grain and fodder.

Undoubtedly, this was a scorched-earth policy to prevent him from obtaining supplies during the war.

Thus, as long as the powerful clans could hold out long enough, every war he fought would be a losing business; the more he fought, the more he would lose, and eventually, the war would become a burden on Jiangbei, to the point of affecting the development of Jiangbei.

It must be said that this idea the Westerners gave the powerful clans was indeed ruthless.

Right now, if it were not for the sake of unifying Great Song, he really would not want to fight this wretched war.

But he could not afford not to fight.

Thus, he could only choose the lesser of two evils and fight the war in the most economical way.

Therefore, after weighing his options, he decided to draft the captured Eastern Japanese slaves and the conscripted Goryeo people to transport grain and fodder to Jingzhou.

This time, the Qin Army plus Lv Chang's forces totaled eighty thousand; drafting eighty thousand would be sufficient, and this way, the impact on railway construction and the mines would not be too great.

Most importantly, there was no need to trouble the people of Jingzhou; at most, it would only cost some food to feed the Eastern Japanese slaves and the Goryeo people.

"Reporting to Your Highness, they have already set out. Because the Yan-Jing Line is open, the Goryeo people and Eastern Japanese slaves building the railway could be conveniently pulled away," said Yang Feng.

Chang Wei was responsible for fighting, while he was responsible for logistical coordination.

As for the matter of grain and fodder, Zhao Xu naturally sought out Yang Feng.

"Hmm, besides the matter of grain and fodder, do not forget the equipping of the Qin-style Rifles. The Prince's Personal Army and the Qin-series have already been half-equipped; the rest should be prioritized for the Ningjin Army and the Marine Corps, otherwise Yang Zhen and Zhou Yi will come to make a scene with me," said Zhao Xu.

"Yang Zhen dares? This subordinate will skin him alive," Yang Feng glared.

Then he thought of something else and said, "Your Highness, it is a pity about the replaced Front-loading Rifled Muskets. Are they just to be left in the warehouse to rust?"

"Of course not," said Zhao Xu.

Producing Qin-style Rifles and the ammunition consumed in war all cost Silver.

How could he let the Front-loading Rifled Muskets gather dust in the warehouse?

Although for the Jiangbei army, the Front-loading Rifled Musket was already a thing of the past.

But if taken out, these firearms were top-tier, and trading them for Silver, grain, and fodder would not be a problem.

So he said, "Go find Dong An and go with him to the Ryukyu Hall, the Goryeo Hall, and the Dongying Huiguan; they should be able to take this batch of obsolete firearms."

The halls he mentioned were equivalent to the diplomatic residences of Goryeo, Dongying, and Ryukyu in Great Song.

Among them, the Goryeo Hall was for the envoys sent by the King of Goryeo, and this Dongying Huiguan was no longer the old Dongying Huiguan, but rather the halls for the four northern domains such as the Beitiao and Ono clans; there were four in total.

The Ryukyu Hall was the residence for the envoys of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

The existence of these halls was to facilitate communication with the Prince's mansion.

"This subordinate understands Your Highness's meaning, but this old servant thinks that selling these front-loading guns to Ryukyu is one thing, but selling them to the Goryeo people and the Eastern Japanese is likely inappropriate," Yang Feng frowned upon hearing this.

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "I know what you are worried about, but your worry is unnecessary."

He paused and continued, "First, the immense power of these front-loading guns in our hands is inseparable from the Yellow Gunpowder, and they cannot possibly manufacture this Yellow Gunpowder. We will just sell the firearms and not the Yellow Gunpowder. Furthermore, the conical bullets are time-consuming and laborious to polish by hand, and they may not be able to mass-produce them either."

Yang Feng thought for a moment and nodded slowly.

Zhao Xu added, "Remember to sell each firearm for eighty taels of Silver."

"That is a must," Yang Feng immediately became happy.

The cost of these front-loading guns was only about fifteen taels of Silver, so selling them for eighty taels was definitely a huge profit.

After discussing this matter, Yang Feng turned and left.

Once Yang Feng's figure disappeared, Zhao Xu did some calculations.

The number of firearms being phased out this time was very large.

Even if Gaoli and other countries could not produce Silver, he could still earn quite a lot through barter.

In this way, the losses from the southern campaign could be somewhat compensated.

Just as he was thinking this, it was reported that Xu Ke had arrived.

"Your Highness, I have brought you some good news." As soon as he entered the study, a smile immediately spread across Xu Ke's face.

During this period, due to the urgent situation, his face had always been filled with worry.

Seeing this, Zhao Xu felt a slight sense of anticipation.