The Wanli Sunshine maintained a steady cruising speed as it slowly approached Anqing Port.
Shi Kefa, filled with ambition, had fully prepared himself to roll up his sleeves and begin tackling real work upon arrival.
Yet before the ship had even fully docked, he noticed something was very wrong.
From afar, the pier was in chaos. Common folk were scrambling madly, scooping up grain scattered everywhere, while the soldiers present were not stopping them at all. Some were even helping.
Shi Kefa frowned deeply. "What are they doing?" he muttered.
Tie Niaofei lowered his spyglass, equally confused. "I don't understand it either," he said. "For the imperial court to distribute grain to the common people… this is unbelievable. It completely overturns my impression of them. If they had done this a few years earlier, where would all these rebels have come from?"
Shi Kefa smiled bitterly. "Don't be so cynical," he replied. "The court isn't entirely corrupt. There are still officials who genuinely care for the people."
Tie Niaofei shrugged, clearly unconvinced.
The Wanli Sunshine continued forward, closing the distance little by little.
But just at that moment, a panicked shout rang out.
"The Huangmei River Pirates are here! The Huangmei River Pirates are here! Run!"
The grain barges remained in place. Their heavy loads made rapid movement impossible. But the hundreds of merchant ships and fishing boats docked at the port reacted instantly, sailing out in all directions and fleeing downstream.
Shi Kefa thought they were frightened by his ship. He quickly grabbed a speaking trumpet and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Don't be afraid! I am an imperial official, and this is an imperial ship!"
He shouted again and again, but it was useless. The boats continued to flee in panic.
Shi Kefa blinked. "Huh?"
A medium sized merchant ship brushed past the Wanli Sunshine at close range. Shi Kefa quickly shouted to it, "Why are you running? I already told you, this is an imperial ship!"
A middle aged merchant leaned over the rail and shouted back, "We know! We're not running from you. The Huangmei River Pirates are here! You should run too!"
Shi Kefa raised his voice. "I am an imperial official. How could I flee at the sight of bandits? And who exactly are these Huangmei River Pirates?"
The merchant shouted frantically, "They are a massive band of river bandits entrenched in Huangmei County. They kill without hesitation. In the past, they were small and never dared to attack Anqing. But now they've joined forces with the Eight Great Kings. The lunatic who burned Fengyang. The Eight Great Kings fight on land, and the Huangmei River Pirates fight on the water. They advance together, brutal and unstoppable. Even the Provincial Administration Commissioner can't stop them. You really should flee!"
Shi Kefa was stunned.
He turned to look at Tie Niaofei and Jiang Cheng. Both were equally shocked. The rebels had not only ravaged Henan. They had already reached the Yangtze.
"The river pirates are coming!" the lookout shouted.
Everyone rushed to the rail.
Upstream, the river surface was completely covered by countless small boats. They surged forward in dense formation, like a massive ant colony spreading across the water.
The sight made their scalps tingle.
They had fought river battles on the Yellow River before, but those engagements involved only a handful of boats. Compared to this, they were almost playful skirmishes. Only now did they realize how terrifying the Yangtze could be. The river pirates' boats truly resembled an endless swarm of ants.
"So many…" Shi Kefa said hoarsely.
"There's no need to fear too much," Jiang Cheng said calmly. "They're all small boats. They can't ram us. Let's ram them instead."
"Yes. Fight!" Shi Kefa declared, his spirit rising. "Protect the civilian vessels. We must not retreat!"
The Wanli Sunshine increased power and charged straight into the ant like swarm.
On the pier, Wang Gongbi had also noticed the Wanli Sunshine.
Earlier, when his scouts reported a giant ship twenty zhang long, he had not fully grasped what that meant. Numbers alone could not convey its presence.
Now, seeing the enormous hull with his own eyes, Wang Gongbi was completely shaken.
"What an enormous ship!" he exclaimed, leaping to his feet. "Where did Shi Kefa get such a thing? He's charging straight at the Huangmei River Pirates. Does he even understand naval warfare? Ants, however numerous, can still bite an elephant to death!"
As he spoke, his personal guards hurried over. "Master, the pirates are here. They may attack the shore at any moment. We should retreat into Anqing City. It's too dangerous to remain on the pier."
"What?" Wang Gongbi snapped. "Shi Kefa is fighting out there. How can I retreat? If Shi Kefa doesn't retreat, neither will I. We will hold the riverbank!"
The guards had no choice but to obey.
They joined the scattered, low morale garrison soldiers and stood watch on the pier, gripping bows and spears while nervously watching the river.
The battle erupted.
Against such a mass of small boats, the Wanli Sunshine did not even bother to open its cannon ports. From the outside, it looked like nothing more than an unusually large cargo ship.
But its sheer size was terrifying.
The Huangmei River Pirates were already panicking.
Their boats were little fishing vessels, carrying only a few men each. None of them even reached the Wanli Sunshine's waterline. As the massive hull bore down on them, the pirates shouted in alarm.
"What in the world is that?"
"It's not a Western warship. Even Western warships aren't this big."
"Could it be Zheng He's Treasure Ship?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Zheng He's ships disappeared long ago."
"It's coming!"
"Fire arrows!"
The pirates still tried to fight, clinging to the delusion that ants, however numerous, could bite an elephant to death.
That illusion shattered instantly.
Gunfire erupted from above. Bang, bang, bang.
Bullets poured down into the dense swarm of boats. The pirates had no cover at all. There was nowhere to hide. In moments, the vanguard collapsed into chaos.
Watching from the shore, Wang Gongbi was ecstatic. "Shi Kefa's guards are formidable. So many firearms!"
He began cheering without restraint. "Fight! Fight well!"
The Wanli Sunshine plowed through the river like a steel wall, weaving through the boats as if entering empty ground. Some pirates still tried to approach, hoping to throw grappling hooks and climb aboard, believing numbers would decide the battle.
That tactic only worked against ships fought with cold weapons.
Against a vessel bristling with firearms, approaching meant being slaughtered from above. Boarding was impossible.
Screams filled the river.
Unable even to hold their ground on the water, the pirates abandoned all thoughts of landing and looting. At their leader's command, they fled upstream in panic, their ant like boats scattering in all directions.
"Pursue them!" Shi Kefa ordered.
"There's no need," Jiang Cheng replied calmly. "There are too many. Once they reach the complex waterways near the Jiujiang Estuary, they'll scatter into the reeds. We wouldn't catch much. Pursuit has little meaning."
Shi Kefa nodded, his thoughts settling. "You're right."