Chapter 901: Brief Account of Dongying Affairs

"Since you are courting death, this King will send you on your way." Zhao Xu punched the location of Tianzhu and let out a cold snort.

He must face the current threat from the Western Lands squarely.

Because the current Xitu Guo are at the peak of the Steam Industry.

Following the normal trajectory of development, in as short as ten-plus years, or as long as twenty or thirty years, they will be able to break through the limitations of steam power and leap into the second revolution of Electricity.

By then, the cost for the Great Song to fight the Westerners will become higher and higher.

The returns from war will become smaller and smaller, or even negative.

Therefore, he must strike them down quickly while he possesses the advantage, just as the Westerners deal with the indigenous people.

While thinking, he also pondered how to break this encirclement against the Great Song.

Looking around, his gaze finally rested on the East Land Southern Region.

Although the North Territory is making a racket, the North Territory relies on mountain passes, and the Northern Di and Ross cannot stir up any great waves.

The south is different; outside the southern borders of the Great Song are all colonies of the Westerners.

The Westerners are very likely to use these colonies as a base to manufacture a pretext for war.

At the same time, the south also has the resource he urgently needs—Rubber.

Before the thermal power plants generate electricity, he must obtain the rubber plantations in the East Land Southern Region.

Otherwise, it will be impossible to produce the insulating skin for Electric Wire, nor will it be possible to produce the wheels for the Bicycle, or the tires for automobiles after the Internal Combustion Engine appears.

Therefore, whether it is to defend against the enemy outside the national gates or to seize Rubber.

The war in the East Land Southern Region is unavoidable.

Of course, this does not mean he will leave the North Territory to its own devices.

He ordered the Armament Department to produce the Cavalry Rifle precisely to deal with the Northern Di.

Placing the focus on the East Land Southern Region does not hinder him from dealing with the Northern Di.

Furthermore, his establishment of the Five Armies is for the purpose of being able to fight a two-front war simultaneously.

Now, Yang Feng is already recruiting soldiers; as long as the source of troops is in place,

and after three months of training,

the Great Song will have a standing army of considerable size.

Next, his gaze turned toward Dongying.

Before heading south, it is necessary to thoroughly resolve Dongying.

He does not want any problems to arise in the east while dealing with the north and south fronts.

Most importantly, as long as the chaotic situation in Dongying does not end, half of the market for commodity exports in Dongying will be missing.

For the sake of his East Lands Trade Circle, he must also settle the Watanabe case.

Moreover, the armies of the northern Viscount have been equipped with the Front-loading Rifled Musket, and the Marine Corps is equipped with the Qin-style Rifle.

This means the time has come to take Dongying with the minimum cost.

At the same time.

Edo.

In a rural residence, Watanabe, who was taking a nap, suddenly woke up.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he got up and went outside, exhaling a breath of turbid air.

"The Warship of Sam Country has arrived; they are telling me that Dongying will soon be saved, and Dongying will not submit to the Great Song," Watanabe muttered.

Just now, he had a nightmare.

In the dream, his army was defeated by the Great Song army, and he also died on the battlefield.

He also dreamed of a blurred figure.

This figure seemed to be Yan Wang, and it was Yan Wang who held a Japanese Sword and beheaded him.

"Great General."

Just then, Maso Taro walked over, and seeing Watanabe's pale face, he showed a worried expression.

Ever since Yan Wang's troops blockaded Dongying and raided the coast,

they had to abandon the coastal cities and hide in the countryside, and even in the valleys.

Fortunately, Dongying is mountainous, and there is plenty of fertile land in the valleys, so they have been able to hold out until now.

However, although the fertile land in the countryside and valleys is enough to support the army,

the hard life has caused dissatisfaction among many Dongying nobles.

Especially after the Four Domains of the north defected to Yan Wang, many people developed the idea of surrendering to Yan Wang.

But intimidated by Watanabe's authority, this idea only circulated, and no one dared to implement it.

But just as this idea grew more and more like wild grass day by day, they finally had hope.

The Warship of Sam Country appeared on the coast of Edo.

This news immediately spread throughout the south.

Those who questioned Watanabe shut their mouths.

"How is the army reorganization going?" Masho Taro arrived, and Watanabe immediately shook his head, as if to shake off the memory of the nightmare.

"Reporting to the Great General, the two-hundred-thousand-strong army has finished reorganization and is ready to fight at any time," Masho Taro said with his head lowered, "At the same time, the Viscounts are also gathering their own troops."

"Hmm, that is good." Watanabe's eyes narrowed, "I believe the Westerners will soon be able to defeat Yan Wang at sea, but before they defeat Yan Wang, we must survive."

Through intelligence from various sources, he learned that the Four Domains of the north had obtained the firearms equipped by the Great Song army from the Great Song.

It was precisely by using these firearms that the Great Song army defeated them.

After obtaining these firearms, the Four Domains of the north are letting the soldiers adapt to them.

At the same time, news also spread that Beitiao Chuanqing was uniting the other three domains, preparing to head south.

However, because the four domains of the North Territory were already riddled with internal conflicts.

They had not yet reached a consensus.

But this was, after all, a bad sign.

Therefore, to cope with the potential attack launched by the four domains of the North Territory, he summoned the army and the southern domain lords.

Internally, he wanted to defeat the four domains of the North Territory, suppress the rebels, and restore his authority.

Externally, he wanted to prove his capability to the Westerners, that he was qualified to be a pawn to contain the Great Song.