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

It gets light earlier at sea than on land.

As the first rays of gray-white dawn pierced the sea mist, Shang Wanqing was already standing at the bow of the flagship, her coarse linen coat soaked with icy dew.

She barely slept a wink all night, only managing a short nap leaning against the cold mast in the latter half of the night.

After the wind changed direction, she was on edge, even more so than the ship's mooring lines.

"Mrs. Merchant!"

The lookout's voice came from the high mast, carrying a hint of barely suppressed astonishment.

Shang Wanqing did not respond; she had already seen it.

She suddenly raised the monocular telescope in her hand, and the blurry silhouette of the ship in the distance instantly became clear through the telescope.

Ke Zhenchuan's fleet moved.

Under the cover of night and the wind, the entire fleet moved silently at least three miles to the southeast.

That was not a retreat.

Shang Wanqing's pupils contracted slightly, and she immediately understood the other party's intention.

Ke Zhenchuan, that old fox, adjusted the angle of the ship's bow, turning the entire fleet sideways to the coastline, deliberately leaving a seemingly vulnerable opening on the left flank of his fleet, which is the north side.

He wanted to go around it.

He wanted to take advantage of the favorable winds to bypass the blockade formed by his fifteen ships from the north and head directly towards the relatively weakly defended northern coast of Minnesota Harbor.

"Dream on." Shang Wanqing squeezed out three words through gritted teeth, her voice not loud, but carrying a cold and ruthless edge.

She put down her binoculars and, without the slightest hesitation, issued two orders in quick succession.

"Send the order! Send three ships from the left flank to immediately circle around to their north and block that opening!"

"Send the signal arrow! Let the people on the shore know the fish is changing direction and taking the bait!"

The messenger behind him immediately waved his flags, and the three waiting fast boats, like three sharks that had smelled blood, turned their sails and silently broke away from the main fleet. Under the cover of the morning mist, they cut diagonally toward the gap on the north side of the pirate fleet.

Immediately afterwards, a specially made whistling arrow was shot into the air, whistling sharply as it drew a mournful arc between the sea and the sky, the tail flame of the arrowhead standing out conspicuously against the gray-white sky.

On the shore, the black city wall composed of eight thousand cavalrymen remained completely still.

But when that sharp whistle came from the sea, a large black banner, positioned in the center of the army, suddenly tilted forward.

Liu Jingshuang heard it.

Almost simultaneously, she turned her horse around and said only one word to her adjutant: "Wait."

Immediately, she spurred her horse, and the jet-black warhorse beneath her let out a low neigh, carrying her away from the main group and charging alone up a high slope overlooking the sea to her side and rear.

She did not bring any personal guards, nor did she allow anyone to follow her.

On the high slope, the sea breeze was extremely strong, making her plain-colored robes flutter loudly.

She raised her binoculars, the cold lens pressed against her eye sockets, her gaze piercing through the vast sea, locking firmly onto Ke Zhenchuan's fleet.

She understood the meaning of the signal arrow—the pirates were showing signs of changing direction.

Through the scope, the enemy's changing formations were clearly visible.

Ke Zhenchuan was indeed moving northward, attempting a flanking maneuver. But Liu Jingshuang's brows relaxed slightly.

She sensed something was wrong.

The enemy had too many ships, and their vessels were bulky. During this large-scale maneuver, their formation became noticeably disjointed.

The ships at the very front created a gap of at least two ships between themselves and the main force behind them, resembling a snake that had been forcibly stretched and deformed.

The entire formation was in disarray.

"They tried to go around, but it was too slow."

Liu Jingshuang lowered her binoculars, spurred her horse back to her deputy, and spoke in a calm voice, devoid of any emotion:

"Shang Wanqing has already sent ships to block the gap in the north, and they are now trapped in the middle."

The lieutenant looked in the direction she indicated and indeed saw three black, newly built fast attack ships on the sea, like three precise scalpels, firmly blocking the front of the pirate fleet's northern flank, completely thwarting the enemy's roundabout intentions.

The pirate fleet quickly discovered this change of events.

They seemed to have not expected Xinwu to react so quickly. The three suddenly appearing speedboats were like three nails, pinning them to an awkward position where they could neither advance nor retreat.

Continuing north would inevitably lead to a head-on collision with these three ships. Returning to the original position would be tantamount to admitting the failure of this probing attempt.

More than forty pirate warships stopped on the sea not far from the coastline, like a person who had traveled halfway and found that there was no way to go, standing still and hesitating.

On the flagship, the old sailor at the helm shouted excitedly.

Shang Wanqing didn't speak, she just watched quietly.

She silently calculated the distance, wind speed, and time in her mind.

The southeast wind was still blowing strongly, which was a headwind for her, but a tailwind for her attack.

If she were to order a full-scale assault now, taking advantage of the wind, her fifteen fast ships could be like fifteen red-hot knives, instantly charging into the enemy's somewhat scattered formation.

The oil canisters prepared on board could be easily thrown onto the deck of any enemy ship.

That would be a chaotic battle, a massacre.

She could even picture the scene of a raging fire, with enemy ships in chaos amidst thick smoke and screams.

The captains following her also saw this opportunity and were all eager to fight, their eyes filled with barely suppressed excitement, just waiting for her command.

But Shang Wanqing did not.

She waited a while, until she saw the pirate fleet slowly regroup, abandoning its plan to detour north and shrinking back into a tight formation, before she finally let out a soft breath.

She put down the binoculars she had been holding for so long, turned around and said to the puzzled crew members behind her, "They either leave tonight, or they'll have to try another route."

She knew better than anyone else that Wei Zhao's plan was not for her to act rashly and fight Ke Zhenchuan to the death at sea.

Her task was to stall and wear down the enemy.

It was as if the sharpness and patience of Ke Zhenchuan, this big fish, were being worn down little by little on this seemingly easily attainable coastline.

Then, when he was exhausted, he crashed into the shore on his own.

That's when Liu Jingshuang will close the net.

Shang Wanqing's judgment proved correct once again.

That night, the standoff on the sea continued.

However, everyone noticed that the lights of the pirate fleet were much dimmer than they had been the previous two nights.

In the latter half of the night, when the moon was completely swallowed by the dark clouds, the lookout on watch suddenly let out a suppressed scream.

"Their...their lights are moving!"

Shang Wanqing suddenly rushed out of the cabin and snatched the binoculars.

Through the telescope, the few remaining lights of the pirate fleet were slowly moving westward.

No, not westward.

It's in the southwest.

That's the direction of Quanzhou.