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

That night, the sea off Quanzhou was eerily quiet.

In the distant twilight, the lights of the pirate fleet resembled a small cluster of fireflies, flickering in the wind, rising and falling.

Shang Wanqing's fifteen fast ships, like a black dagger lying across the water, hovered motionless on the flank of the pirate fleet.

On the shore, Liu Jingshuang sat quietly on horseback, the sea breeze blowing the hem of her plain dress. Her gaze passed over the continuous flames of war and landed on the dim light and shadow where the sea and sky met.

A captain who had served her for many years finally couldn't contain himself any longer, urging his horse forward and lowering his voice:

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

"They're calculating." Liu Jingshuang didn't turn around; her voice was calm, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

The captain was taken aback.

"We need to calculate how long our boat can hold out, when the people on shore will get tired, and when the wind direction will change."

Liu Jingshuang withdrew her gaze from the distant cluster of ship lights, her tone completely calm:

"Ke Zhenchuan is not a reckless man. He has been fighting water battles for half his life and has more patience than anyone else. He is waiting for an opening when we can't hold out any longer."

She knew very well that Wei Zhao had placed her and Shang Wanqing here not to fight a quick and decisive battle of annihilation.

Ke Zhenchuan has over forty ships and nearly ten thousand outlaws under his command. If they were to clash head-on at sea, no matter how fast Shang Wanqing's ships were or how sharp her crossbows were, she wouldn't have the upper hand.

Wei Zhao's strategies were never based on mere brute force.

"Then let's cook it." Liu Jingshuang said, dismounting from her horse and walking to a pine tree on the shore that was slightly bent by the sea breeze. She then slowly sat down against the trunk.

Her action silenced all the restless cavalry commanders behind her.

The fact that the general is not in a hurry means that everything is under control.

"Pass down the order: three shifts in rotation, people rest, but the horses never stop."

Liu Jingshuang's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to everyone's ears: "Tell the brothers to keep their eyes open and their hearts steady. Let's see who gives up first."

As night deepened, the waves lapped against the beach, making a monotonous and repetitive sound.

Time seemed to pass exceptionally slowly in this deathly silence of confrontation.

In the latter half of the night, the wind direction changed.

The sea breeze, which originally blew from the southeast and carried salty, fishy moisture, gradually weakened and eventually stopped.

Before long, a dry and cool wind blew out from the inland, swept across the sand dunes, crossed the coast, and blew towards the vast sea.

Lu Feng.

Almost the instant the wind shifted, Shang Wanqing, who was resting with her eyes closed against the bow of the flagship, suddenly opened her eyes.

She didn't need to look; just the slight rocking of the boat and the loose feeling of the sails no longer being billowed by the wind were enough to tell what had happened.

She stood up, walked to the bow of the boat, and stretched out her hand to feel the wind blowing from the shore.

"Madam Shang, the wind has shifted!"

The old captain walked over from behind, a hint of delight in his voice: "That's good, those bastards won't get any advantage from the tailwind!"

Shang Wan-qing didn't speak, but her expression didn't relax.

She knew better than anyone that Lu Feng's appearance meant that both sides had been dragged back to the same starting line.

Ke Zhenchuan's heavy warships will slow down without the wind.

However, their own light-hulled, shallow-draft fast boats are also affected by the wind, and their agility advantage will be weakened.

This may not necessarily be a good thing.

A gambler forced into equal circumstances often makes even more reckless moves.

She did not adjust the fleet's formation, maintaining her flanking pressure posture.

But she turned around and gave a brief order to the sailors behind her.

"Move all the kerosene cans to the bow of the ship and place them in the most convenient spot."

The sailors were stunned for a moment, then reacted and quickly got to work.

One by one, tightly sealed earthenware jars were carried out of the cabin and neatly stacked on the deck on both sides of the ship's side, gleaming dangerously in the dim starlight.

The atmosphere on the ship suddenly became even more tense.

Everyone knew that Madam Shang was about to risk her life.

The time before dawn is the darkest moment of the night.

The moon and stars were obscured by thick clouds, and the boundary between the sea and the sky became blurred, as if the whole world was soaked in an inkstone so thick that it could not be dissolved.

In this absolute darkness, a sudden change occurred.

In the distance, several ships in the pirate fleet suddenly lit up with lights several times brighter than usual, their light like sharp swords piercing the darkness.

Immediately afterwards, a series of rapid, continuous sounds of oars breaking the water came from that direction.

"Lady Shang! They've made a move!" the lookout on the mast cried out in alarm.

Shang Wanqing grabbed the binoculars and stared intently at the light source.

Through the telescope, the entire pirate fleet appeared to be moving forward.

Their direction was not directly opposite Quanzhou Port, but to the west, that is, to the left flank of the coastline, showing a clear shift.

There, there is a huge mudflat known by local fishermen as "Crescent Bay".

Shang Wanqing's mind went blank for a moment, and she instantly understood Ke Zhenchuan's intention.

The tidal flats have a gentle coastline and hard sand, allowing large ships to run directly onto the beach at high tide.

Most importantly, cavalry simply cannot gain speed to charge on such soft sand!

Ke Zhenchuan, that old fox, spent a whole day and night not waiting for the wind, nor for the garrison of Xinwu to tire. He was waiting for the tide!

He was waiting for the highest tide that would allow him to sail directly onto land!

"They're going to seize the beach!"

Shang Wanqing's voice was hoarse with urgency. She turned sharply and shouted at the messenger behind her, "Fire the signal arrow! Highest level! Notify the shore!"

A specially made whistling arrow, accompanied by a sharp whistle, shot into the dark night sky.

It exploded at the highest point, a purple flame, like a drop of eerie blood, lingering in the sky for a long time.

"call out--"

As that piercing scream tore through the night sky, Liu Jingshuang sprang up from under the pine tree and mounted her horse almost simultaneously.

The movement was executed in one smooth motion, as fast as lightning.

She didn't even need to look up at the purple flame; just by hearing the direction the sound came from, she knew that the situation at sea had changed drastically.

"General!"

The captains and several generals around him also mounted their horses, their faces filled with surprise and uncertainty.

"The pirates have moved! They're going to attack Crescent Bay! Is it too late for us to block them?"

Liu Jingshuang did not answer; she simply raised her binoculars and glanced in the direction of Crescent Bay.

Too far.

By the time her cavalry arrived at the mudflats, Ke Zhenchuan's vanguard would likely have already landed and established a beachhead.

When cavalry face off against well-rested infantry on the beach, it's a massacre.

Going to block the road is tantamount to going to your death.

She put down the binoculars, her face showing no sign of panic; instead, her eyes became as cold as ice, frighteningly calm.

She knew very well that this was the most dangerous part of Wei Zhao's entire plan, and also the last chance to close the net.

She did not order the entire army to rush towards that mudflat.

She simply turned her horse around, facing the five thousand cavalrymen who had already assembled in the darkness, a dark, imposing forest like an iron fortress, and gave an order that caught everyone off guard.

"All cavalry, immediately disperse to the sand dunes on both sides of the mudflats!"

Her voice was crystal clear in the wind, carrying an undeniable determination.

"If we can't defend the beach, then defend the exits on both sides of the mudflats!"

Liu Jingshuang's gaze swept across the distant sea where the shadows of ships could already be seen swaying, and a cold smile curled at the corner of her lips.

"Let them go."

"Once you're up here, none of you will be leaving!"

Upon receiving the order, the five thousand cavalrymen did not hesitate for a moment.

The neat rows of sand dunes, like ink thrown into water, instantly spread out to both sides, turning into two black tides that silently surged toward the undulating sand dunes on both sides of Crescent Bay.

The sound of hooves pounding the soft sand was no longer crisp and clear, but a deep, rumbling sound, like muffled thunder.