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Yue Yun’s gaze roamed over the map before him.
This was a map encompassing Dengzhou and Goryeo. At this moment, many symbols had been marked on the map, and there were also two attack routes.
During the New Year, he had been planning the expedition to Goryeo. Xiao Ming’s reply to his memorial was actually very simple: it was to let him do what the navy should do, which was to control the sea.
As long as the waters between Dengzhou and Goryeo, and Goryeo and Japan, were controlled, the Great Yu Empire would be invincible.
Because Japan needed ships to reach the Great Yu Empire, and Goryeo also needed ships to reach Dengzhou, as long as they gained control of the seas, they could easily manipulate Japan and Goryeo, instead of being threatened by them.
So, during this time, he had been waiting for Wang Xuan’s intelligence. He needed to know the garrison locations of the Goryeo and Japanese navies.
For this operation, he had assembled forty-eight of all the Great Yu Empire’s warships. A fleet of this size was enough to solve the navies of both countries once and for all.
He was deep in thought when a voice suddenly sounded from outside the door, “General Yue Yun.”
Hearing this voice, Yue Yun was overjoyed. He immediately opened the door and saw Wang Xuan standing outside.
“Commander Wang, I was just thinking of you, and here you are. What a coincidence!” Yue Yun said in surprise, extending his hand as he spoke.
Wang Xuan had ridden hard all the way and was still a bit breathless. Seeing Yue Yun’s outstretched hand, he smiled wryly, “General Yue, won’t you first invite me to have some tea before we talk about Goryeo?”
Yue Yun was pleased. He personally brewed tea for Wang Xuan and brought it to him. “Here’s the tea. Now, let’s talk about Goryeo.”
Wang Xuan took a sip of tea, moistening his throat. He said, “The location of the Goryeo navy has been found. It’s within this Haigucheng port. The Goryeo navy suffered heavy losses in the naval battle with Japan. Now, only one hundred and twenty warships remain.”
As he spoke, Wang Xuan took out a map of Haigucheng. This was something he had sent men to draw meticulously.
Yue Yun felt as if he had found a treasure. He said happily, “Excellent! Now we can finally make our move, otherwise the soldiers won’t be able to wait any longer.”
“It’s not just you; the Emperor is also getting a bit impatient. This winter, many workshops have been built in Qingzhou Province. When spring arrives, these workshops will start producing goods. If we can’t open up trade ports with Goryeo and Japan, these goods won’t be able to sell.”
Yue Yun nodded. He was well aware that Western merchants only purchased items like porcelain, raw silk, and tea from the Great Yu Empire and were not interested in goods like textiles.
So, these goods could only be sold to Goryeo and Japan.
“Is there no news of the Japanese navy?” Yue Yun asked again.
Wang Xuan frowned at this. “Japan is much more cunning than Goryeo. They have dispersed their navy to several different locations, and there are many Japanese pirates who can become part of the Japanese navy at any time. It’s very difficult to wipe out the Japanese navy in one go. So, it’s better to control the waters between Goryeo and Japan, forcing Japan to comply.”
“That is indeed troublesome. It will require more effort from them. However, the immediate priority is to resolve the Goryeo’s plundering,” Yue Yun’s gaze was stern.
Wang Xuan had said what needed to be said and given what needed to be given. He only provided intelligence and didn’t care how Yue Yun dealt with Goryeo. He said, “It’s not easy to come to Dengzhou. I heard the seafood here is good. General Yue, would you like to treat me?”
Yue Yun snapped back to reality. It was already noon, time for a meal. He said to Wang Xuan, “Of course. The seafood in Dengzhou is delicious. I’ll take you to taste it.”
In the official circles of the Great Yu Empire, he feared no one, except these secret guards. This was not only because the secret guards provided them with a lot of intelligence, but he also highly suspected that these secret guards even monitored generals like them.
Wang Xuan chuckled. Ever since his last taste of seafood, he couldn’t stop. This time, since he was here on official business, he naturally couldn’t miss it.
The two left the naval office and headed towards Dengzhou City. Now, this place had become a pure military port; other fishing boats were not allowed here.
Following Yue Yun, Wang Xuan first arrived at Dengzhou City. Inside the city, he occasionally saw yellow-haired and red-haired merchants. These merchants were not from the Great Yu Empire but from the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, France, and even Britain.
Although some of these countries were unfriendly to the Great Yu Empire, Xiao Ming had not prohibited private commercial dealings with them.
After all, a cold political relationship and a warm economic one were very common. While fighting wars, everyone still had to eat. Only items of strategic value were embargoed.
Passing through Dengzhou City, the two exited through the East Gate and arrived at another pier in Dengzhou. This was now Dengzhou’s commercial port.
At this time, many residences had been built here, and merchants were constantly moving in and out of these residences.
Although Wang Xuan had learned from intelligence reports that Dengzhou had developed relatively quickly in the past two years, seeing it with his own eyes still surprised him greatly.
Besides foreign merchant ships, large fishing boats from Dengzhou were also docked at the pier. At a glance, the entire pier was filled with thousands of ships.
“Here we are. The seafood here has just been brought back from the sea,” Yue Yun said to Wang Xuan.
Wang Xuan looked at the pier. Some fishermen were moving seafood from boats to the ground, and some fishermen were selling seafood directly on the pier.
In front of these fishermen, many merchant-like people were haggling, and boxes of seafood were being transported away.
“It’s truly magnificent,” Wang Xuan exclaimed. “Dengzhou City never had such a prosperous scene before.”
Yue Yun smiled, “The Emperor is wise. By designating Dengzhou as a trade port, Dengzhou has undergone a great change in less than three years. I’m afraid in another two years, Dengzhou City’s prosperity will be no less than Qingzhou Province.”
“I didn’t believe it before, but now I do,” Wang Xuan shook his head. Because he collected intelligence and established secret guard branches, he had to travel all over the Great Yu Empire.
In the past two years, he had clearly felt that the six prefectures were getting richer day by day. He used to think that many of the policies Xiao Ming implemented were absurd, but now he felt that all these policies had their own profound wisdom.
With a slight smile, he no longer thought about this matter. He simply ate and drank heartily with Yue Yun there, and only returned to the naval office after they had enjoyed themselves enough.
At this moment, Liu Chen also returned from Blackrock Village. Seeing Yue Yun, he immediately stepped forward and said, “General, Georyo attacked Blackrock Village. If this continues, the common people will suffer even more casualties.”
Yue Yun pointed at Wang Xuan and said, “The secret guard has arrived. They have provided the location of the Goryeo navy. You are to immediately assemble the fleet. In three days, destroy the Goryeo navy. At the same time, prepare the marines. If Goryeo does not submit, we will show the King of Goryeo what we are capable of.”
Liu Chen was overjoyed upon hearing this. They had been feeling stifled all winter, and now they were finally going to act.