Chapter 914: Settled Outcome

"Kill, charge up, kill them!" After his initial shock, Ogawa Tora roared at the soldiers beside him.

But only silence answered him.

The soldiers did not move forward, nor did they retreat.

As the Yan King Army drew closer, they raised their flintlocks above their heads one after another.

They had surrendered.

For them, there was no hope left.

The armies of the Oda Clan and the Mori Clan had entered the city, and the Yan King Army had arrived as well; they were caught in a pincer attack.

Among so many soldiers, not everyone had the courage to face death.

And if one wanted to live, surrender was the only way.

"Cowards, a bunch of cowards..." As the soldiers surrendered one by one, Ogawa Tora shouted in anxious anger.

But soon he shut his mouth.

Coalition soldiers, having flanked them from the rear, swung their muskets and knocked him off his horse.

Watanabe An also fell from his horse.

Ogawa Tora, who had fallen to the ground, still wanted to struggle, but dozens of bayonets were immediately aimed at him.

Watanabe An, however, seemed as if he were possessed, still muttering to himself incessantly.

By this moment, the entire Baihe City had been completely brought under control.

Before long, Dong An, along with Zhitian Shanze and Maoli Yousheng, arrived at the Nanmen.

Pan Zhang also happened to arrive at this time.

"General Pan!" Seeing Pan Zhang, a thick smile rose on Dong An's face as he stepped forward to embrace him.

"Administrator Dong." Pan Zhang also began to smile.

Both serving as officials and generals under the Yan Wang, meeting in Dongying was naturally exceptionally cordial.

Then, he spoke with some regret, "It is truly a pity; we still arrived a step too late and did not capture Watanabe An alive with our own hands."

"Hahaha... The two of them and I didn't expect it either. One can only say that after the General's training, their two clans are no longer what they used to be." Dong An looked at the two people on the ground, trying to distinguish who was Watanabe An; he had truly never met the man himself.

Pan Zhang nodded slowly, feeling a bit more comfortable in his heart.

Dong An was right; weren't the armies of these four northern domains trained by their Marine Corps?

Looking at Zhitian Shanze and Maoli Yousheng, he said, "I will record this merit for you and report it to His Highness."

During his time stationed at Wufeng Island, he had also frequently visited the four northern domains.

He was no longer a stranger to the lords of the four domains.

"Many thanks, General Pan." Zhitian Shanze and Maoli Yousheng bowed deeply.

Pan Zhang waved his hand and asked again, "Who is Watanabe An?"

Zhitian Shanze rushed to point at Watanabe An, "It is him! And he is Ogawa Tora, Watanabe An's accomplice."

"You two bastards!" Upon hearing this, Ogawa Tora was furious. He stared fixedly at Zhitian Shanze and Maoli Yousheng, then sneered at Pan Zhang, "Don't be smug too early. Although we have lost, your doomsday is coming too. The Westerners will avenge us."

"That's right, the Westerners will avenge us." At this moment, Watanabe An, who had previously seemed possessed, appeared to be stimulated by the word "Westerners." He suddenly sobered up, his eyes gleaming, and a sneer even appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Westerners? You really do revere them like gods." Pan Zhang said with no lack of sarcasm, "It's a pity that in their eyes, you are forever just a dog, and they will not risk their lives for a dog."

"Hahaha... Keep talking tough. When the Westerners slaughter you Song People until not a single one remains, I hope you can still laugh like you do today."

Watanabe An's face was twisted and insane.

"Truly pathetic." Dong An shook his head. He said to Pan Zhang, "You cannot wake someone who is pretending to be asleep. Don't waste your breath on him; lock them up and wait for His Highness's orders."

Pan Zhang nodded, "I will listen to Administrator Dong."

Thinking of something, he turned to Zhitian Shanze and Maoli Yousheng, "The fighting in Baihe City is over, but there are still vast southern lands that have not been controlled. You continue to lead your troops south and recover the entire south."

"Yes, General Pan." Zhitian Shanze and Maoli Yousheng were filled with excitement.

They had long been drooling over the fertile lands of the south.

Now, they had finally defeated Watanabe An and could take them into their own pockets.

After giving orders to the Oda and Mori clans, Pan Zhang ordered others to make contact with the Western Route Army led by the Beijiao and Ono Clan.

Five days later, he received a reply, "The 200,000 troops led by Yamada Haruno have been completely annihilated by the Western Route Army. Currently, the Western Route Army is continuing to move south to completely occupy the territory of the southern domains."

Upon receiving this news, Dong An sent men back to Yancheng to deliver the war situation in Dongying to the Yan Wang.

In just four days, Zhao Xu received the war report from Dongying.

"Good, Dongying is finally completely pacified." After reading the war report, Zhao Xu said to Yang He.

He had just been discussing matters with Yang He, among which was the situation regarding Dongying.

Of course, it was not just Dongying, but also included Gaoli.

"Congratulations, Your Highness. In this way, Gaoli and Dongying can all be incorporated into our Great Song's East Lands Trade Circle."

The term "Trade Circle" was exactly what the Yan Wang had proposed when discussing matters with him.

Regarding the Yan Wang's establishment of an East Lands Trade Circle that encompassed all the nations of the East Lands and used the Song Yuan as the unified currency for trade settlement, he felt nothing but shock in his heart.

Although he had learned many things from following the Yan Wang.

He had never dared to imagine such a grand plan.

Once this East Lands Trade Circle was established, Great Song's goods could circulate freely in all the nations of the East Lands with zero tariffs.

At the same time, the nations of the East Lands would be their markets, their sources of raw materials, and their national labor forces could also be used by Great Song at will.

If this were combined with the second industrial revolution, Great Song's wealth would grow at an astonishing speed.

Making Great Song as wealthy as the current Western nations, or even surpassing them, would not be a problem.

"Indeed." Zhao Xu nodded, "Prepare yourself and accompany this King on a trip to Dongying; bring the official merchants along as well."

Regarding Gaoli, Great Song had already achieved control over it in terms of military, culture, and trade.

According to the treaty signed between the King of Gaoli and Great Song.

In terms of culture, Gaoli has already abolished the Gaoli script and is currently promoting the script and language of Great Song.

Moreover, the newspapers controlled by the Propaganda Department have also taken root in Gaoli, and the Gaoli Imperial Court cannot interfere with the newspapers' discourse.

This is equivalent to controlling Gaoli through public opinion.

In terms of military affairs, it is naturally the garrison in Gaoli.

This garrison is not only responsible for monitoring the domestic situation in Gaoli, but also for protecting Great Song merchants doing business in Gaoli as well as the economic interests of Great Song.

In terms of trade, the Song Yuan is already circulating in Gaoli and will gradually replace Gaoli currency.

Furthermore, according to the treaty, Gaoli implements zero tariffs on Great Song goods and allows Great Song merchants to sell table salt and acquire mines within Gaoli.

In short, it is equivalent to saying that what Great Song merchants can do domestically, they can also do in Gaoli.

However, for important trades, he naturally does not open them to all merchants; all important lifeline industries are handled by official merchants under the Commerce Department.

Private merchants can only participate in other trade that does not involve core interests.

Although he values commerce, he also understands that one cannot allow trade to grow wildly, otherwise it would be digging one's own grave.

It is necessary to ensure that the national trade group firmly suppresses the private trade group.