Youtu returned to Yunzhou from Haizhou and told Shi Ming's conditions in the court hall.

Emperor Zhou Cheng agreed without saying a word: "Isn't Shi Ming worried that if Ojin Island is given to the Japanese queen, Haizhou will be in danger? I will agree to him and send 30,000 Yunzhou soldiers to help him defend various areas."

Coastline Road.”

"Your Majesty, Holy Ming——"

All the ministers said in unison.

Zhou Cheng looked at You Tu with a smile on his face: "You Aiqing is indeed my humerus! You have made great achievements this time, and I must reward you well. Tell me what you want!"

Youtu said quickly: "Your Majesty, everything I do is for the great Zhou Dynasty. I don't dare to covet rewards for your Majesty's sake."

"Haha, why do You Aiqing refuse? I will reward you with Shang Fang's sword!"

Prime Minister He Zhongping twitched his mouth when he heard this. Will he reward Shang Fang with the sword?

Youtu himself didn't expect such a reward. He was stunned for a moment and then said happily: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

He is not even polite anymore. Shang Fang's sword can behead first and then show off. And it can kill anyone except the emperor.

Perhaps this sword will never be used, but it is a direct manifestation of the emperor's power. The ministers who can obtain it are equivalent to sharing part of the emperor's power.

Even though Zhou Cheng, the emperor of the Southern Zhou Dynasty, has limited influence on the country now, he is still the orthodox emperor and the true emperor according to the legal system.

Even if the governor of the eight southern states doesn't take him seriously and his attitude is perfunctory, he still wouldn't dare to openly confront him. No one wants to be labeled as a "rebel."

Unless it's like Su Yuan - if the emperor says you are rebelling, then you'd better really be rebelling.

Zhou Cheng achieved his goal and felt very good.

He smiled at the officials and said: "My dear friends, after we reach cooperation with Dongbo, it will be possible to recapture Jiangbei. Although Dongbo suffered a small setback before, it was still a bit underestimating the enemy. In addition, Su Yuan was so despicable and shameless.

.Once Dongbo gets serious, Su Yuan’s shabby ships will definitely be unstoppable!”

"..."

This statement put a big question mark in the minds of all the officials.

They thought to themselves that maybe the emperor's words were partly true, and maybe Su Yuan was really weak in the navy. After all, his soldiers were all northerners and not good at water.

But the land battle is so fierce!

Even if the Eastern Japanese could take advantage in naval battles, how could they land in Jiangbei and help Southern Zhou seize territory?

Once the Dongbo lands on land, the Bei'an army must not let the Bei'an army beat them until they don't recognize their mother...

Many people were thinking this, but no one would dare to say it in front of the emperor. They could only praise and agree with Zhou Cheng.

There are also some inconspicuous officials standing at the end of the team.

They said nothing, but silently wrote down everything that happened in the court.

What the emperor said, which minister said what... they wrote it down silently. After going to court, they transcribed it and handed it over to the Jiangnan family who supported them.

When these hedging families got the information, they also sent people to Jiang BJ City via secret routes.

Su Yuan first received a letter from Chu Changning.

As he expected, Xuzhou was captured easily, and Chu Changning's troops only suffered less than a thousand casualties. A state was captured with less than a thousand casualties. This record is dazzling enough no matter where it is taken.

For this reason, Chu Changning, who was not satisfied, also asked for war again in his letter, hoping that Su Yuan would allow him to continue to lead troops to attack Qinzhou.

Su Yuan was not as anxious as Chu Changning.

First of all, the situation in Qinzhou and Xuzhou is very different.

The reason why Xuzhou was captured so quickly is also related to the fact that Xuzhou sent half of its troops to support the capital. In addition, Song Qian ran away early and civil strife broke out in the state, so he was so weak that Chu Changning easily captured it.

But Qinzhou's soldiers are very complete.

King Qin's troops came from Qinzhou, and when they reached Xuzhou, they found that the capital had fallen, so they returned without losing any soldiers.

How many people are there in the Qinzhou Corps? According to the summary of various reports, there are about 100,000.

It’s not particularly large, it’s related to Qinzhou’s population and landform.

Qinzhou is located to the south of Mozhou and to the west of Xuzhou. It is a state surrounded by high mountains and ridges, with a very closed environment and very few roads.

It is almost difficult for a large army to enter a place like this. They can only advance slowly in a long line. But in this way, if the enemy is ambushing in the mountains and forests, they can smash your army to pieces by pushing rocks down.

If Chu Changning is rashly sent to lead troops to fight, and if Qinzhou's willingness to resist is strong, Chu Changning's troops will definitely suffer heavy casualties, which is something Su Yuan does not want to see.

In war, people will inevitably bleed to death, but it is better to die less if they can, so he does not intend to agree to Chu Changning.

He wrote a reply and told Chu Changning that he would not go to Qinzhou for the time being and asked him to stabilize and manage Xuzhou well. At the same time, he raised the defense line along the Qinjiang River.

The so-called Jiangnan and Jiangbei, the river dividing north and south is the Qinjiang River.

The nearest place to the north of Qinjiang River is Xuzhou, and the nearest place to the south of Qinjiang River is Yuzhou.

If Su Yuan wants to go south, he has two choices.

The first is to go due south, that is, take a boat from Xuzhou Ferry, cross the Qinjiang River, and land in Yuzhou.

The second is to start from Jingcheng Ferry, first go east, make a circle, then go south and west, and land at Haizhou.

In other words, he could choose to cross the Qin River or take the East China Sea. Either way can lead to the south.

If you look at the straight-line distance, it is naturally closer to crossing the river. For this reason, the Southern Zhou Dynasty court will definitely defend the Yuzhou river bank and deploy a large number of defensive forces.

If we take the East China Sea bypass to get to Haeju, we will not only have to face the risk of enemy defense, but also face rough waves on the sea and deal with climatic factors such as monsoons.

Su Yuan's plan was to make two preparations. For this purpose, Jingcheng Ferry would have to spend time building warships and a navy. Xuzhou Ferry would also need to do some construction work.

Rather than spending a lot of time and energy to conquer Qinzhou, which is located in the "tortoise shell" of the mountains, Su Yuan is now more inclined to improve the ferry. This can also better deal with the naval power of the Eastern Japanese and Southern Zhou Dynasties.

As for fighting on two fronts, it is not impossible, but Su Yuan doesn't like to do it very much. His current troops are not large enough to spread out in all directions and attack in eight places. If he summons a few more times, he can summon a large number of

He might consider military strength.

Everything was developing step by step. The construction inside the city and the training outside the city were all very orderly. After a few days of this, intelligence came from Jiangnan informants. Su Yuan was very angry after reading it.

At the Yamen Mansion of the Ministry of War, Su Yuan, Zhou Shu, Zhao Yun, Lu Wuyou, and Qi Jiguang gathered together.

Su Yuan showed them the information and said coldly: "This cowardly court in Southern Zhou really wants to give Ojin Island to the Japanese. Haizhou Prefect Shi Ming also agreed. If nothing else happens, the two sides will hand over the island in the next few days.

.”

"This is troublesome..." Lu Wuyou shook his head, "It is not a good thing for us to let the ambitious Dongbo get Ozu Island."

The Bei'an Army is certainly not afraid of Japanese invaders, but if they are allowed to obtain Ozu Island and then the land of the Southern Zhou Dynasty, the situation will become very complicated.

Zhou Shu frowned slightly and suddenly suggested: "We want to prevent this from happening."

Su Yuan looked at her: "You mean, we intercepted the Japanese ships halfway?"

Zhou Shu nodded and said something that surprised several people: "This is one of the methods. If we don't do this, we can take the first step and seize Ozu Island."

Seize Ozu Island in advance?

The four of them thought for a moment after hearing this, and their eyes gradually lit up. This was indeed a good idea.

The strategic position of Ozu Island is so high. If it can be captured in advance, it will be very beneficial to the Bei'an Army. Moreover, the Bei'an Army is good at land warfare. After seizing the island, they will not worry about others coming to take it back.

Whether it was the Southern Zhou Dynasty or the Eastern Japanese, it was almost impossible for them to seize the territory that the Bei'an Army had occupied.

"I agree with this idea." Qi Jiguang said. As a naval officer in the Bei'an Army, Su Yuan specially summoned him to participate in this discussion.

Qi Jiguang continued: "We have fifty Eastern Japanese small boats in our hands, allowing our soldiers to use them and pretend to be Eastern Japanese Ashgaru to go to Ozu Island. If the guards on the island are careless, we can easily launch a surprise attack and conquer the island.

occupied."

When Su Yuan heard this, he couldn't help but clapped his hands and said, "What a great idea!"

Several other people also nodded in agreement.

The fifty Japanese small boats captured earlier were now put to use, followed by some newly built multi-oared warships, and up to a thousand troops could be dispatched at one time.

This scale is naturally incomparable with the army, and it cannot take advantage of Su Yuan's 50,000-man naval force. But it is enough to capture Ozu Island.

According to some information, there are not many Kaishu soldiers stationed on Ozu Island, because the island is not far from Kaishu, so Kaishu's previous governors will not send too many guards to garrison the island. Anyway, the distance is enough, if something happens

It's dangerous, just send a ship from Haizhou in time for reinforcements.

Such an idea undoubtedly provides opportunities for people like Su Yuan who are interested in small islands.

Su Yuan made up his mind and said: "We will seize the island first!"

Qi Jiguang said: "Then we will go to the ferry immediately to prepare."

The journey from Kyoto Ferry to Ozu Island is not short, and the situation at sea is complicated, so you must make more preparations.

"Okay." Su Yuan said, "I will also go to this battle to seize the island."

As soon as he said this, several people were shocked.

"Lord, are you going too?" Zhao Yun immediately looked worried, "Is it going to be dangerous?"

Lu Wuyou also shook his head: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, my lord, how can you take such a risk with your wealth? The sea is no better than land, and there are too many unstable factors. If a strong wind suddenly blows and capsizes the ship, won't your lord?"

We are in a very dangerous situation.”

"What Mr. Lu and General Zhao said are reasonable." Qi Jiguang also said, "The last general is willing to lead the sailors to capture Ojin Island for you!"
To be continued...