Chapter 900: Hunter? Prey?

"Your Highness means that besides the Sam Country, the fleets of other Westerners are also about to arrive?" Zhou Yi's eyes narrowed slightly.

Not only did he not feel a shred of fear, but a murderous intent surged in his heart instead.

Yan Wang's requirement for their Navy and Marine Corps had always been that they be capable of fighting and winning, and also possess a bit of bandit-like ferocity.

He had trained his soldiers under his command the same way.

Therefore, their Navy was equally bloodthirsty under their valiant temperament.

The maritime crisis about to arrive was precisely the time for them to slaughter in all directions.

"Yes, according to intelligence revealed by the Ross, their actions are coordinated. Because of the distance, the Sam Country might arrive earlier, but the major operations will certainly take place after the other Westerners arrive."

"Now that they are approaching Dongying and Yizhou, I suspect that one reason is to embolden Watanabe, and the other is for reconnaissance," Zhao Xu said.

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment and said, "Now that Your Highness mentions it, it does seem to be the case. That Sam Country warship that engaged us reached Edo, sailing almost along the coastline, and even hung a very large flag; it must have been to signal their arrival to Watanabe."

Then he sighed, "It is a pity the ocean is too vast; our fleet cannot guard it strictly, and there are always loopholes for them to exploit."

Zhao Xu agreed deeply.

Even in the modern era, an age with satellites in the sky, sometimes it is impossible to detect the location of every enemy warship.

Let alone now, when one can only rely on two eyes to search.

Precisely because of this, the Age of Discovery was an era when pirates were extremely rampant.

On the vast ocean, it is very difficult for a navy to deal with pirates and the Privateer Ships privately permitted by various countries.

At present, he does not fear a head-on decisive battle with the Western Fleet.

He only fears them using Sparrow Tactics, dispersing their warships to raid his Merchant Ships everywhere, or even pillaging the coast.

However, he is not without methods to face this situation.

Just as sparrows always need to land on branches to rest when flying.

Western warships always need places to dock and obtain supplies.

The warships of Folangji, Stedan, Frank, and Britain can rely on their colonies in Dongtu.

While the Sam Country can only rely on the important islands in the Pacific.

As long as the islands they occupy are found and controlled.

Their shipping lanes can be cut off, preventing the Sam Country's Navy from entering the waters of Dongtu.

Furthermore, from Dongying to Ryukyu, and then to Yizhou and Luzon, this is an island chain.

Controlling the island chain can also prevent the warships of Westerners from entering the waters of Dasong.

It is just that defense is always passive.

To completely solve this problem, one must ultimately clear out the colonies and strongholds of the Westerners in Dongtu.

Therefore, while defending, the most important thing is to attack.

"The Shipbuilding Department's steamships and Sailing Warships should be ready to launch, right?" Zhao Xu asked suddenly.

Given the current maritime situation, they need to defend on one hand to ensure Western warships do not enter the island chain to launch sneak attacks.

And they also need a certain number of warships to take the initiative and destroy the Westerners' fleet.

The current twenty-four steamships are not enough for this.

Only when this batch of warships from the Shipbuilding Department is launched can they have the spare capacity.

"Almost there. The military steamships will be ready to launch in six days. By then, the fleet will have sixty steamships and sixty Sailing Warships, though the remaining thirty Sailing Warships will have to wait until December to launch." Speaking of this, Zhou Yi was filled with excitement.

"Sixty steamships paired with sixty Sailing Warships is enough," Zhao Xu said.

When he took the Steam Locomotive to Jinghai at the beginning of the year, Chen Shou had promised him that a batch of steamships could be launched in August.

He had indeed achieved it according to the requirements.

The only pity is that the enemy will not give him time to wait for the remaining thirty Sailing Warships to launch.

Otherwise, his naval strength would be even more sufficient.

Thinking of this, he told Zhou Yi his strategy for island chain defense.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi nodded slowly, "Your Highness is wise. If so, this subordinate will organize three warships into a squadron, forming eight squadrons to patrol the waters between the island chain. In this way, even if they suddenly encounter more than ten enemy warships, they will have the ability to cope, and the remaining warships can go on the offensive."

"That is acceptable." Zhao Xu came to the world map in the study, "After the steamships are commissioned, you and the Marine Corps should launch an attack on Luzon."

This is the first step in him incorporating Dongtu into the sphere of influence of Dasong.

"Yes, Your Highness," Zhou Yi replied.

After reporting some other naval matters to Zhao Xu, Zhou Yi prepared to return to Jinghai to wait for the receipt of the steamships.

Just as he reached the door, seemingly thinking of something, he turned back and said sternly, "Your Highness, the appearance of the Sam Country warships will likely affect the current situation in Dongying."

"I understand what you mean," Zhao Xu looked at Dongying on the map.

What Zhou Yi is worried about is that the Sam Country's return will give Watanabe and the southern feudal lords hope, strengthening their determination to resist Dasong.

"I will immediately issue an order to the Four Domains of the North, telling them to raise their troops and head south. At that time, you have Gong Ying coordinate with them; the chaotic situation in Dongying should also come to an end," Zhao Xu continued.

At present, the Marine Corps has also completed the equipping of the Qin-style Rifle.

The Four Domains of the North have also been equipped with the Front-loading Rifled Musket he sold them.

With internal and external pressure, under their joint strangulation, Watanabe and the southern feudal lords loyal to him have only one path: destruction.

The Sam Country's dream of regaining control of Dongying is destined to fall through.

Hearing this, Zhou Yi gave a wicked smile, "Once this subordinate returns to Jinghai, I will send the order to Gong Ying."

Having said that, Zhou Yi took his leave and departed.

After Zhou Yi's figure disappeared, Zhao Xu called for Dong An.

He ordered him to dispatch a diplomat carrying his command to the Four Domains of the North in Dongying, to unite the four domains in heading south.

During this time, they should have adapted to the Front-loading Rifled Musket; it is time to take action.

Dong An received the order and left, while Zhao Xu began to ponder while looking at the world map.

The Sam Country fleet has arrived, and the Joint Fleet and armies of Britain and other Xitu Guo will likely arrive soon as well.

At the same time, according to intelligence provided by the Four Courts, Mule Hongzhen has fallen into madness due to the destruction of Tiemuta and the three royal tents.

After swearing an oath before the altar, he began sharpening his weapons and horses, even conscripting boys from the Northern Di aged twelve to fourteen to replenish his forces.

Previously, the Northern Di regulations stated that one could only join the army at fifteen, which shows his hysteria.

However, this also confirms the weakness of the Northern Di.

Just like Japan during the Second World War, when they faced a shortage of troops in the final stages and could only send thirteen or fourteen-year-old child soldiers to serve as cannon fodder.

Besides this, thirty thousand Ross soldiers have arrived at the Heilong River front and are currently building Lengbao and other facilities.

In this way, the deployment of the Western Lands around the Great Song is roughly in place.

A hunt against the Great Song is about to begin.

It is just that, if the Great Song were still in the era of Zhao Heng's rule, where powerful clans ran rampant, this encirclement would naturally be fatal.

But today, the enemies of the Great Song are facing him.

Who is the hunter?

Who is the prey?

That is not yet certain.