Dong Liang called in people from the First Fleet and the staff to discuss the matter.

"Führer, I suggest that the First Fleet be sent over to destroy the Spanish fleet first. With the strength of our First Fleet, we can completely defeat the Spanish Luzon Fleet." It was the fleet chief of staff, Richard, who suggested it first.

Guo You actually preferred to stay and contain the British fleet.

At this time, the British fleet had arrived at Hong Kong Island, where there were spies from the Chinese ANBU, and the specific news had already been passed on.

Everyone wanted to see how Dong Liang weighed the situation. According to the estimates of the General Staff, there would be no danger for the south column for the time being, and it might even be possible to deal with the Spanish after the Battle of Guangdong Province.

"The First Fleet is not a match for the British yet. They are all steam-assisted battleships. The British have much stronger firepower than us. Guo You, you should know that the key to a battleship duel on the sea lies in mobility and firepower.

Comparison, this is a calculation question, not a subjective question. What I mean is, you go and destroy the Spanish fleet first, so that the south column can be free to launch operations in Luzon Island, and if possible, cooperate with them to win

Manila."

"Führer, aren't we going to fight on two fronts this time?" Zhao Liewen said.

Originally, everyone just thought that Dong Liang sent his column south just to place a chess piece there first.

Unexpectedly, Dong Liang really wanted to occupy the entire Luzon with his column going south.

"It's a two-front battle, but I won't add more troops to the south column. How far they can fight depends on them. We don't have a deep understanding of these veteran colonists. Maybe they are really paper tigers."

, it will break with just one poke. If that doesn't work, they can also return to Jiajiang City." Dong Liang explained.

In other words, the Southward Column will not divide the resources of the Battle of Guangdong Province. Dong Liang said that he will not increase troops, but in fact he does not mean that he will not increase troops. Zhong Runyi has been active in Fusang, recruiting Fusang mercenaries for the Southward Column.

They use one-time recruitment fees to attract homeless ronin and even poor samurai who have fallen into decline.

There is a shortage of everything in Fusang now, except for people.

Those famous people only care about their own enjoyment and don't care about these things. In their view, it is a good thing that the Chinese can get rid of these unstable factors.

Only Katsura Kogoro and other members of the Choshu Domain's King-repelling faction jumped out and shouted to expel the Chinese. Fuso's warriors should not sacrifice their lives for the Chinese. Everyone should fight together for the rise of Fuso.

They also recruited a large number of people from the Choshu clan to form the Jingzhong group's stormtroopers.

At this time, Changshu Domain seemed to have become the stronghold of anti-Chinese forces.

They opposed the treaty signed by the shogunate and the Chinese, boycotted trade with the Chinese, and refused to use Chinese products. Because these people were so powerful, even the lord of the Choshu Domain, Mori Yoshiuchi, was helpless against them.

Zhong Runyi also mobilized the power of the Chinese Anbu to weaken the opponent by any means, but these people developed very quickly.

At this time, the social contradictions within Fusang were too serious, and the large import of Chinese goods only aggravated these contradictions.

Most of the goods imported by the Chinese, such as silk, porcelain, glassware, soap, sugar, etc., meet the needs of the upper class.

The only things these famous people could exchange for were silver and grain, which the Chinese needed.

The outflow of silver hit small traders and handicraftsmen and accelerated their bankruptcy. The outflow of food made the lives of ordinary farmers even more difficult.

At this time, most places in Fusang can be described as the market is depressed and people are dying of hunger everywhere.

This gave radicals like Katsura Kogoro a breeding ground for development, and many knowledgeable people in Fuso sided with them.

The Chinese cannot give these people what they can give, so they turn against the Chinese.

The incompetence of the shogunate made these people unscrupulous.

Zhong Runyi didn't bother to worry about the shogunate. In his opinion, it would be better if these people rebelled. Then the Chinese army would have a formal reason to station in Fusang.

After all, the problem in Fusang is still the conflict between people and land resources. The only way to solve it is to join the Chinese and rely on the new occupied areas of the Chinese to evacuate the population.

Now that Zhong Runyi is recruiting people here, he is actually solving problems. He feels that he is doing Fusang's good.

When these extra people go to Luzon to help the Chinese fight, his family can get a life-saving money. Isn't this a good thing?

Dong Liang has explained clearly, and everyone has no objections. But if the fleet is gone, what will happen to the safety of the coast?

This must be thought of in advance.

Richard gave a suggestion: "The head of state, I think you can let General Zhang Ming lead all the rocket boats to stay and cooperate with the fort to defend against the British landing. The main force of the British attack on the fort is not the battleships, but the submarine gunboats

, this type of gunboat is generally equipped with only a few heavy guns and rocket launchers. They rely on the mobility brought by steam engines to avoid the firing of coastal defense guns, look for opportunities to get close to the gun emplacement, and then carry out shelling or release rockets."

"Our focus in port defense is actually this kind of submarine gunboat. If their battleships come over, they can become the target of the fort's attack."

…

Since the arrival of his family, Richard has worked more attentively and harder than before.

His wife and family were very satisfied with their current wealthy life in China, and their compliments greatly satisfied Richard's vanity.

This further strengthened his determination to fight for the Chinese nation, and he wanted to make more contributions and hold a higher title.

Dong Liang nodded in approval.

The Anping Shipyard on Dongpan Island has been producing rocket boats, and this small sailing boat has a standardized design and can be produced very quickly.

This small boat, whose appearance imitates the racing sailboats of later generations, although it has no auxiliary power, can achieve faster speeds than most steamships at this time with just one sail.

Coupled with the wolf pack tactics designed by Dong Liang, they are invincible in the offshore.

"Lao Guo, how many rocket boats do we have in service now?" Dong Liang asked Guo Youdao.

Because there were so many, he himself was a little confused.

"Führer, our First Fleet now has a hundred rocket boats, the Second Fleet has more than 30 ships, and the Maritime Guard has more than 50 ships."

That is nearly two hundred rocket boats. This is the result of more than a year of intensive production at the Anping Shipyard.

"Old Lin, let Tong'an Shipyard also go all out to produce rocket boats and try to launch another batch before the war." Dong Liang said to Lin Ben.

Tong'an County was originally an important shipbuilding base of the Qing Dynasty, and Tong'an shuttle boats were a local specialty.

Many of the craftsmen at the Iriomote Island Shipyard were taken away from Tongan by Dong Liang.

The scale of the shipyards here is no less than that of Anping City, and they are all ready-made.

"Okay, I asked them to stop all orders for merchant ships. The materials are ready." Lin Ben said.

The strategy for the naval battle has finally been finalized, and the next step is to wait for the war to begin.

This time the chess player sitting opposite Dong Liang was an Englishman, not a Manchu Guangdong official.

Ye Mingchen had so few chips that he was not worthy of sitting on the chess table and could only act as a chess piece.

Now that Dong Liang's chess pieces are all ready, the only thing left to do is to wait for the British to make their moves.
Chapter completed!