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

In mid-September, the sea breeze in Quanzhou Port already carried the coolness of autumn, and when it blew on people's faces, the stickiness of summer was gone.

The seventeenth and eighteenth fast ships newly built by Shang Wanqing slowly glided into the harbor under the watchful eyes of thousands of craftsmen in the entire shipyard.

These two ships look exactly the same as the previous ones, still entirely black with narrow, long hulls, resembling two silent sharks lurking in the water.

But only the experienced craftsmen in the shipyard who had worked with Shang Wanqing for several months knew that beneath the waterline at the bow of these two new ships lay Shang's latest deadly weapon.

On the day of the trial voyage, the sea was calm.

Shang Wanqing personally led the fleet out to sea. Instead of conducting the usual crazy speed tests, she had a huge target made of thick wooden planks, simulating the side of an enemy ship, lowered from an old ship.

The new ship suddenly slowed down when it was about fifty paces from the target.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, below the waterline at the bow, an inconspicuous cover suddenly opened, and a ram, as thick as a bowl and with a heavy iron plate covering its front end, was slowly pushed out by a mechanism inside the cabin, like a poisonous thorn poking out from the shadows, ready to strike.

The ship suddenly accelerated.

"boom!"

With a dull thud, the ram slammed into the wooden target.

The three-inch-thick, hard pine plank shattered like rotten wood struck by a giant hammer, sending countless wood chips and spray flying in all directions. The whole process was so fast it was dazzling.

The ram was quickly retracted into the hull, and the ship only swayed slightly before regaining its stability without any damage.

"This thing is usually stored inside the hull and doesn't affect the speed."

Shang Wanqing stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the pieces of wood floating on the sea, and spoke to the captains behind her.

Her voice was somewhat muffled by the sea breeze, but every word carried a bloody stench: "Once we board the ship and release it, we can easily rip a hole in their midsection."

She knew very well that Ke Zhenchuan had many boats and many people.

When it comes to a decisive naval battle, simply shooting arrows from a distance won't solve the problem.

In the end, the outcome will depend on knives and fists, on a bloody battle of ships colliding.

She wanted to turn every one of her ships into a ferocious sea beast that could bite and ram people.

Back at the dock, she jumped down from the high gunwale and, addressing the excited shipwrights and sailors who had rushed to the scene, gave only one order:

While Shang Wanqing was working day and night in the dock, turning the entire Quanzhou Port into a huge arsenal, another war without gunpowder had already begun in Liu Jingshuang's central command tent on the seaside hillside behind the port.

In the center of the large tent, there was an enormous sand table.

The sand table was extremely detailed, using different colored sand and stones to recreate Ke Zhenchuan's three interlocking strongholds, as well as all the surrounding islands, reefs, undercurrents, and bays.

Every day, Liu Jingshuang would lead all her officers of the rank of captain and above to conduct at least two simulations around the sand table.

"If our ships land here, how many directions of fire will we encounter?"

"If the wind is from the southeast, how long will it take for enemy reinforcements to arrive?"

"After capturing the mudflats, where was the cavalry's first target? Was it their barracks or their granaries?"

Her questions came quickly and urgently, like a barrage of crossbow bolts, leaving no room for hesitation or thought.

Those who couldn't answer were immediately looked down at by her cold gaze, their faces filled with shame.

Besides the sand table simulation, another strange training exercise was also taking place simultaneously on the open ground outside the main tent.

Liu Jingshuang recruited hundreds of experienced fishermen and merchant sailors familiar with the water from Quanzhou and Yuezhou.

These people didn't teach the cavalrymen how to ride horses or how to fight; they only taught them one thing—how to stand firm on a swaying boat, how to move quickly in waist-deep water, and how to jump off a boat that had crashed onto the mudflats in the shortest amount of time and immediately join the battle.

Those black-armored cavalrymen, who were invincible on land, were thoroughly ravaged.

They are kings on horseback, but once they dismount and enter the water, they become as clumsy as a flock of ducks just learning to walk.

Many people were nearly choked to death by the icy seawater during training and vomited for a long time after getting ashore, but no one dared to complain.

They could all see that the general was preparing for a battle they had never fought before.

A battle to the death, to be fought at sea and on the islands, against those ruthless pirates.

September 18th, just after the Autumn Equinox.

An urgent secret report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the southeast, like a black lightning bolt, shattered the tranquility of the capital and was delivered by fast horse to the brightly lit Imperial Study.

Wei Zhao was reviewing a memorial submitted by Li Huai regarding the selection of a site for a pre-positioned granary.

He opened the letter, which smelled of the salty sea breeze, glanced at it, and then laid it flat on the imperial desk.

Hua Jieyu stood aside and glanced at the letter discreetly. It contained only a few words: "Ke Zhenchuan's main fleet has been frequently appearing at the northern entrance of the Qiongzhou Strait recently, while a smaller fleet is moving northeast, seemingly testing the waters. According to reports from sailors of the South Seas merchant ships, Ke Zhenchuan has raised a large flag on Black Shark Island with the words 'Restore the Wei' written on it."

Restoration of Wei?

Wei Zhao looked at those two words with no expression on his face, but inwardly he sneered.

This old dog is finally no longer content with being a pirate who rules an island.

He was trying to cloak himself in the guise of a "loyal traitor to the previous dynasty" so that he could legitimately recruit soldiers and even collude with the old forces who were dissatisfied with the new regime.

That's wishful thinking.

But this just shows that he was anxious.

A true warlord with substantial military power and a solid foundation does not need to rely on such empty titles to embellish his image.

Only those who appear strong on the outside but are weak on the inside, and who are eager to expand their power, will rush to find a seemingly respectable name for themselves.

Wei Zhao did not issue the decree immediately, but leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to ponder for a moment.

Then, he opened his eyes and said to Hua Jieyu, "Go and invite Prime Minister Li here."

Li Huai arrived quickly. As soon as he stepped into the imperial study, he saw the secret report spread out on Wei Zhao's desk, and his heart sank.

"Your Majesty." He bowed respectfully, his gaze falling on the two characters "Restore Wei," and his eyelids twitched involuntarily.

This is no small matter.

A pirate and a rebel who uses the banner of "restoring the Wei dynasty" are completely different in nature.

The former is like a minor ailment, while the latter could shake the very foundations of the nation.

"Your Majesty, should we immediately reinforce the southeast?"

Li Huai's voice was somewhat grave: "Ke Zhenchuan's actions reveal his wolfish ambitions. Once he gathers the remnants of the previous dynasty, I fear the three southeastern prefectures..."

"No increase."

Wei Zhao interrupted him, his tone very calm.

"Liu Jingshuang's 20,000 cavalry, plus Shang Wanqing's ships, are enough."

He stood up, walked to the huge Southeast China nautical chart, and his gaze fell on the Qiongzhou Strait.

"The fact that he raised this flag precisely shows that he's in a hurry." Wei Zhao's voice echoed in the quiet imperial study, carrying a clear-headed insight into human nature: "He's eager to establish a reputation for himself, eager to recruit more desperate fugitives. A person who's eager to recruit people is bound to be insecure. He's afraid that once we recover, we'll gather a large force to wipe him out. Therefore, he will definitely take the initiative and launch a 'war to establish his authority' after the autumn harvest, when our forces are most concentrated."

As Li Huai listened to Wei Zhao's analysis, his tense mind gradually relaxed.

He understood that what His Majesty saw was not the threat posed by the flag, but rather the weakness and impatience of Ke Zhenchuan behind it.

"Then we..."

"We don't need to do anything."

Wei Zhao picked up a vermilion pen and gently drew a circle on the nautical chart at the location of the northern entrance to the Qiongzhou Strait.

"Let Liu Jingshuang and Shang Wanqing wait there."

He put down his pen, staring at the bright red circle on the paper as if it were a trap that had already been set, a cold smile curving his lips.

"He's about to move."