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

The standoff entered its second day.

The sun rises from the sea and then slowly slides towards the western horizon.

Nothing happened all day.

More than forty pirate warships stood motionless, like a flock of crows nailed to the sea.

Fifteen black, newly built fast attack craft stood like a silent fence between them and the shore, equally motionless.

On the shore, the black city wall composed of eight thousand new cavalrymen remained motionless.

Time seemed to freeze in the thick air of this sea area.

The sea breeze blew by, but it didn't stir up the slightest ripple, leaving only a suffocating stillness.

For the pirates under Ke Zhenchuan's command, this waiting was agonizing.

They came to rob money, food, and women, not to play a game of who blinks first.

Annoying curses began to emanate from the cabin, but were quickly suppressed by their respective leaders.

For Liu Jingshuang's cavalry, this waiting was the ultimate test of discipline.

They were the most elite warriors of Xinwu, accustomed to charging and killing. But now, they could only sit on their horses, looking at the empty sea, feeling the horses' impatient snorting, and suppressing all their killing intent in their hearts.

The sailors on Shang Wanqing's ship were the most nervous.

They were closest to the enemy and could clearly see the swaying figures and gleaming blades on the enemy ship.

Every moment, they felt that the other would pounce on them like a mad dog.

But nothing happened.

The three parties were like three giant beasts facing off, each knowing that the other was not to be trifled with, and each waiting for the other to make the first move.

As night fell, the calm on the sea was finally broken.

Standing at the bow of the flagship, Shang Wanqing looked at the dense array of ship lights in the distance and issued her first order of the day.

"Send seven ships to follow me north."

No further explanation is needed.

Seven fast boats broke away from the main fleet like ghosts, furled most of their sails, and silently sailed north along the coastline under the cover of night.

They had no lights on, and the black paint on their hulls blended perfectly into the deep night. If it weren't for the tiny splashes made when their bows broke through the water, they would be almost undetectable.

Shang Wanqing held up her binoculars and silently counted the lights of the pirate fleet in the distance.

There were more than a dozen more lamps than last night.

She sneered inwardly. That old fox, Ke Zhenchuan, was also on guard against her night attack.

Both sides stared wide-eyed in the darkness, each believing themselves to be the hunter and the other the prey.

She did not approach any closer, but instead had the fleet stop about ten miles away from the main force of the pirates, like a pack of wolves lurking in the shadows, quietly observing them.

Meanwhile, on the coastline behind Mingzhou Port, a makeshift central command tent was brightly lit.

Liu Jingshuang set up her command tent on a high slope overlooking the sea. This was the highest point of the entire coastal defense line, offering a commanding view of the scattered ship lights on the sea and the continuous defense line on the shore.

She did not rest; the atmosphere inside the tent was even more somber than the sea breeze outside.

"Pass down the order."

Her voice was cold, like the chilling armor outside the tent:

"Tonight, everyone will work in three shifts. Those who are awake must keep their eyes on the sea. Those who are asleep should keep their knives next to their heads. If there is any unusual activity, do not ask for permission; just set off the signal fire."

A lieutenant bowed to receive the order, hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help asking:

"General, are we just going to keep waiting like this? The brothers are all itching for a fight, just waiting for your order..."

"wait."

Liu Jingshuang interrupted him, her gaze remaining fixed on the enormous coastal defense map on the table:

"All His Majesty wants us to do is wait."

She was well aware of Wei Zhao's intentions.

Ke Zhenchuan is a wolf at sea, but once a wolf comes ashore, it loses its claws and teeth.

Xinwu's cavalry are tigers on land, but they are equally ineffective in the water.

Therefore, the key to this battle is not who can kill whom, but where to set up the battlefield.

Wei Zhao chose to set up the battlefield on the shore.

"Shang Wanqing is both bait and hook. Her mission is to keep Ke Zhenchuan, this big fish, firmly tethered at sea, preventing him from escaping or easily reaching the shore." Liu Jingshuang drew a line on the map with her finger, which circled all the shallows in Mingzhou Port where people could land.

"And we,"

Her voice lowered, carrying a chilling murderous intent:

"We are the net. When the fish are exhausted from being dragged and crash onto the shore on their own, we pull in the net."

The lieutenant was startled, feeling a chill rise up his spine.

He finally understood that this seemingly passive defense was actually a meticulously planned massacre.

He said no more, bowed and withdrew to convey the general's orders.

Inside the command tent, only Liu Jingshuang remained.

She stared at the nautical chart for most of the night, repeatedly analyzing all the possible routes and timing of Ke Zhenchuan's attack.

In the latter half of the night, a sudden gust of wind rose outside the tent.

The curtains of the commander's tent fluttered in the wind, and the torches of the patrolling soldiers in the camp were blown about erratically.

Liu Jingshuang put down her vermilion brush, walked to the tent entrance, and looked up at the night sky.

Dark clouds had gathered sometime earlier, obscuring the moon and stars.

The wind is blowing from the southeast.

Almost at the same time, dozens of miles away on the sea, Shang Wanqing, who was resting with her eyes closed against the mast, suddenly opened her eyes.

She didn't need to look; just by the degree of swaying of the boat and the sound of waves crashing against the hull, she knew the wind direction had changed.

It's a southeast wind.

It blows straight from the sea to the coast.

She walked to the bow of the boat, stretched out her hand, and felt the increasingly strong, damp wind. Her face gradually darkened.

The old captain behind her also came over, his face full of worry: "Madam Shang, the wind direction is wrong. This wind is blowing with them."

Shang Wan-qing remained silent.

She knew better than anyone what this meant.

For Ke Zhenchuan's large ships with heavy hulls and deep drafts, a tailwind is like God pushing them forward, instantly increasing their speed by 20-30%.

For their new fast boats, which are light in hull and shallow in draft, fighting against the wind and waves would make the boats sluggish and difficult to control, and their speed advantage would be greatly reduced.

With this shift in power, if war breaks out tomorrow, they will be completely on the defensive.

"Pass down the order."

Shang Wanqing withdrew her hand, her voice sounding somewhat hoarse in the howling wind:

"Have all the ships adjust their formation in advance, with their bows facing the wind and spacing between them. Tell the brothers to move all the oil canisters onto the deck."

After she finished speaking, she turned and walked back to the cabin.

The cabin was dark, so she didn't turn on the light. She just groped her way to her narrow bunk and pulled a cold earthenware pot out from under her pillow.

It was filled with kerosene.