A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

At the end of August, while the lingering heat of late summer still lingered, a chilling wind, seemingly carrying a hint of blood, swept across the sea off Quanzhou Port.

Zhang Defa, the captain of the merchant ship "Fuyun", never dreamed that he would encounter real pirates less than a hundred miles from the coastline.

They weren't the kind of scattered, disorganized groups that would grab a few fish and run away.

Five long, narrow, black fast boats, like hungry wolves in the sea, silently emerged from the morning mist, directly blocking their route back to Quanzhou Port.

"Hang up the flag! Hang up the new Wushang flag!" Zhang Defa shouted at the top of his lungs, his palms sweating profusely.

A brand-new merchant flag, embroidered with a new dragon pattern, was hastily raised and fluttered in the sea breeze.

But the ship opposite showed no sign of stopping.

They had a clear division of labor: two ships flanked from the flanks, while three ships were positioned directly above them. The men standing at the bow of the ships were all strong and muscular, each holding a gleaming knife.

"Damn it, they're Ke Zhenchuan's men!"

Some experienced sailors who were used to sailing the South Pacific routes recognized the other ship's design at a glance, and their voices even changed.

Despair suddenly enveloped the entire ship.

"Fire! No, fire the crossbows!" Zhang Defa suddenly remembered something and rushed like a madman toward the things covered with tarpaulins on both sides of the ship's side.

Two months ago, a merchant's wife from the Quanzhou shipyard sent someone to force it onto his ship.

It was described as a new type of ship protection equipment, consisting of two light crossbows with a short range but strong penetrating power, specifically designed to deal with small boats that got too close.

At the time, he complained that the thing took up too much space, was heavy, and was troublesome.

Now, this has become his only way to survive.

"Shoot! Shoot it hard, you bastards!"

The tarpaulin was torn off, revealing two oddly shaped light crossbows.

The boatmen frantically turned the winch and attached the specially made short arrows, following the steps they had practiced countless times before.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

A sharp whooshing sound rang out as a dozen short arrows, like a swarm of angry wasps, hurtled toward the two closest speedboats.

The opposing side clearly did not expect to find such weaponry on a merchant ship and was caught off guard.

One of the pirates screamed as a short arrow pierced his shoulder, and he fell into the sea.

On the deck of the other ship, several arrows were also driven in with a "thud, thud, thud".

There was a moment of chaos within the encirclement.

"Charge! Charge into the shallow water!" Zhang Defa seized the opportunity and shouted at the top of his lungs.

The "Fortune" turned around, billowing thick smoke, and rushed headlong toward the coastline.

When the "Fortune Ship," battered and bruised, stumbled back to Quanzhou Port, the entire dock was in an uproar.

Shang Wanqing was the first to receive the news and rush over.

She jumped directly off the hull of a ship under construction, covered in sawdust and tung oil, her hair loosely tied back with a strip of cloth.

Without asking any unnecessary questions, she immediately ordered the gangplank to be lowered and rushed aboard the "Fortune Ship" in a few quick steps.

As she asked the question, she squatted down and ran her fingers directly over several deep, bone-revealing scars on the side of the ship's gunwale.

"Three brothers died and seven were wounded. Thanks to your crossbow, otherwise none of us would have made it back!"

Zhang Defa was still in shock, his lips trembling.

Shang Wanqing didn't speak; her gaze was fixed on the three knife marks and one arrow scratch on the ship's deck.

She stood up and walked to the other side of the boat, where there were also marks left by the collision and slashing of the other boat.

She examined each scar carefully, measuring their depth and angle with her fingers.

The shipwrights following behind didn't dare to breathe.

They all recognized Shang Wanqing's expression. Whenever she showed this look, it meant that she had found the most crucial clue from a pile of seemingly useless things.

After a long while, Shang Wanqing finally straightened up.

She glanced back at the shipwrights who had followed her onto the ship, her voice not loud, but clear.

"It's the same group of people."

She pointed to one of the deepest knife marks: "This depth, this angle, is exactly the same as the scratch on the wooden plank we pulled up last time."

Everyone was stunned.

Shang Wanqing's face was expressionless, but her eyes were as cold as the ice water used for quenching in a shipyard.

"They had previously searched the nearshore area and then returned to report."

She said, enunciating each word clearly, "The main force should be nearby by now."

That evening, a fast horse carrying Shang Wanqing's urgent military report, which traveled 800 li, galloped out of Quanzhou City and headed straight for the capital.

The letter paper still carried the smell of undried tung oil, and the handwriting was stiff and straight, as if it had been carved out stroke by stroke with a carving knife.

"The main force of pirate ships has been spotted off the coast of Minnesota. There are more than 30 ships, and they are slowly moving north. They are expected to reach the coastal defense line within seven days."

After writing this sentence, Shang Wanqing put down her pen, looked out the window at the fast ships in the dock that were already taking shape, picked up her pen again, and added a line at the end of the letter with even more force.

"My ship can catch up with them. As long as they are stopped on the shore, the sea is my responsibility."

Wei Zhao saw the urgent report late at night.

When Hua Jieyu delivered the letter to the Imperial Study, he had just finished reviewing a document concerning the rations for the northern border troops.

He opened the letter, glanced at it only once, then laid the letter flat on the imperial desk and remained silent for a long time.

Ke Zhenchuan, the old fox who had been lying in wait in the South China Sea for several months, finally made his move.

A fleet of more than thirty main ships—this number was more than he had anticipated.

This indicates that Ke Zhenchuan not only recovered his strength, but may have even absorbed other small groups of pirates on the islands of the South China Sea, and his strength has increased rather than decreased.

Seven days.

He gave Xinwu only seven days.

Wei Zhao leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the imperial desk, his mind racing with calculations.

He didn't call for help immediately, nor did he show any sign of panic.

He simply closed his eyes and mentally reassembled and deduced Liu Jingshuang's defense plan, Shang Wanqing's shipbuilding progress, and the secret reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, his gaze now clear.

He picked up his vermilion pen and, instead of replying to Shang Wanqing's urgent report, personally drafted three imperial edicts overnight.

"Issue my decree. First, the beacon towers along the coast of Quanzhou, Yuezhou, and Mingzhou shall immediately enter a state of war, burning day and night until the enemy retreats."

"Secondly, I order Liu Jingshuang of Yuezhou to immediately lead his 20,000 cavalrymen in three routes to converge on Mingzhou Port and gather there, and to arrive within five days."

"Thirdly, Wanqing, a shipyard owner in Quanzhou, was ordered to immediately set sail with all fifteen of his newly built fast ships to form a temporary patrol fleet, which he would then lead and command."

The eunuch knelt on the ground, writing furiously, afraid of missing a single word.

After writing these three points, Wei Zhao paused. He looked out at the deep night and recalled the murderous words at the end of Shang Wanqing's letter, so he added one last sentence.

That statement set the tone for the entire war situation in the southeast.

"Send the order to Liu Jingshuang and Shang Wanqing."

"In this battle, we will not pursue, nor will we surround; we will only defend."

Wei Zhao's voice echoed in the empty imperial study, calm yet carrying an undeniable determination.

"To keep them tied up on the shore and unable to move is a great victory."