Chapter 946: Ants, However Numerous, Can Still Bite an Elephant to Death
The Wanli Sunshine, cruising at a steady pace, gently approached Anqing Port.
Shi Kefa, full of ambitious resolve, intended to roll up his sleeves and get to work on production from here.
But to his surprise, before the ship had even fully docked, he saw a chaotic scene on the pier from afar. Many common folk seemed to be scrambling for scattered grain, and the soldiers, far from stopping them, were actually helping.
Shi Kefa was greatly puzzled. “What on earth are they doing?” he wondered aloud.
Tie Niaofei lowered his spyglass. “I don't understand it either!” he exclaimed. “For the imperial court to actually distribute rations to the common folk—it's utterly absurd! It completely changes my impression of them! If the court had done this a few years earlier, where would these rebels have come from?”
Shi Kefa couldn't help but smile wryly. “Don't be so sarcastic,” he chided. “The imperial court isn't entirely made up of corrupt officials; many honest ones are working hard to help the people.”
Tie Niaofei merely shrugged, a look on his face that clearly said, "I don't believe a word of it."
The Wanli Sunshine, with a detached curiosity, slowly drew nearer.
But just at that moment...
The grain barges remained still, their heavy loads making swift movement impossible. But the hundreds of merchant ships and fishing boats docked at the pier swiftly sailed out of the port, fleeing downstream.
Shi Kefa thought he had startled them. He quickly grabbed a speaking trumpet and called out in a hoarse voice, “Don't be afraid! I am an imperial official, and this is an imperial ship...”
His repeated calls were useless. The boats continued their frantic escape.
Shi Kefa uttered, “Huh?”
A medium-sized merchant ship brushed past the Wanli Sunshine, passing remarkably close. Shi Kefa quickly shouted to the vessel, “Why are you running? I told you, this is an imperial ship!”
From the merchant ship, a middle-aged man dressed in merchant's clothes emerged and yelled back at Shi Kefa, “We know! We're not running because of you. The Huangmei River Pirates are here! You should run too!”
Shi Kefa retorted, “I am an imperial official! How could I flee at the sight of bandits? And what are these Huangmei River Pirates you speak of?”
The merchant frantically explained, “The Huangmei River Pirates are a large band of river bandits entrenched in Huangmei County. They are incredibly fierce, the kind who kill without batting an eye. Their power used to be small; they wouldn't dare attack Anqing Port. But now, the Huangmei River Pirates have joined forces with the rebel Eight Great Kings! The Eight Great Kings—the lunatic who burned Fengyang! Now, the Eight Great Kings are fighting for them on land, and the Huangmei River Pirates are fighting on the water. They're advancing both by land and by river, utterly brutal! Even the Provincial Administration Commissioner can't stop them! You should flee too!”
Shi Kefa stared, aghast.
He turned to look at Tie Niaofei and Jiang Cheng. Both wore expressions of astonishment. The rebels, it seemed, weren't just wreaking havoc in Henan; they had already reached the Yangtze River!
“The river pirates are here!” the sailor on lookout duty shouted.
Everyone rushed to the ship's rail. Looking upstream, they saw a vast swarm of small boats, like an ant colony, densely packed as they surged forward across the water.
The sight made everyone's scalps prickle.
They had all fought river battles on the Yellow River before, but those Yellow River skirmishes involved only a few boats, charmingly small in scale. This was their first time on the Yangtze, and only now did they realize how formidable the river truly was. The river pirates' boats were literally like an ant swarm...
“So many?” Shi Kefa rasped, his voice hoarse.
“There's nothing much to fear, though,” Jiang Cheng remarked. “They're just small boats, not built for ramming. Let's ram them first, and then we'll see.”
“Yes, fight! Protect the civilian boats!” Shi Kefa declared, his spirits lifted. “We must not retreat!”
The Wanli Sunshine engaged full power, surging directly into the ant-like swarm of small boats.
On the pier, Provincial Administration Commissioner Wang Gongbi now also saw the Wanli Sunshine. Just moments ago, when his scouts reported a colossal ship of twenty zhang, he hadn't thought much of it. After all, numbers alone couldn't convey the full impression or impact.
But now, witnessing the Wanli Sunshine's immense hull with his own eyes, he was truly, utterly terrified.
“What a gigantic ship! Where did Shi Kefa get such a massive vessel?” Wang Gongbi leaped to his feet. “Shi Kefa is charging directly at the Huangmei River Pirates! Oh dear! Does he even know how to fight a naval battle? Ants, however numerous, can still bite an elephant to death!”
While he was exclaiming, his personal guards quickly gathered around him. “Master,” one urged, “the Huangmei River Pirates have arrived. They might attack the shore soon. Let's quickly retreat to Anqing City. Don't stand on the pier any longer; it's too dangerous here.”
“What?” Wang Gongbi retorted. “Shi Kefa is fighting fiercely out there. How could this official retreat? If Shi Kefa doesn't retreat, neither shall we! We will hold the riverbank firmly!”
The personal guards could only acknowledge his command. They joined a scattering of low-morale garrison soldiers and stood guard on the pier, clutching bows and spears, nervously watching the river.
The battle on the river quickly began.
Facing a multitude of small boats, the Wanli Sunshine's cannons were unnecessary. The gunports remained closed, all cannons hidden within the hull. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary large cargo ship.
But it was truly massive!
The Huangmei River Pirates were now a little panicked.
Their vessels were merely small fishing boats, carrying two or three, perhaps six or seven men. Their entire boats didn't even reach the Wanli Sunshine's waterline. Watching the colossal behemoth charge towards them, the pirates were startled. “What the hell is that?” they cried.
“It's not a Western warship; even Western warships aren't this big.”
“Could it be... Zheng He's Treasure Ship?”
“Don't be foolish, Zheng He's Treasure Ships have been lost for ages.”
“It's coming!”
“Fire arrows!”
The pirates actually still intended to fight, deluding themselves that 'Ants, however numerous, can still bite an elephant to death.'
However, this was an impossibility.
The ship's firearms roared, “Bang, bang, bang!” unleashing a barrage from above onto the ant-like swarm of small boats. The small boats had no cover whatsoever, and with bullets flying, there was nowhere to hide. In a blink of an eye, the pirate vanguard was shattered.
Witnessing this scene from the shore, Wang Gongbi was overjoyed. “Shi Kefa's personal guards are formidable! So many firearms!”
Wang Gongbi instantly transformed into a cheerleader. “Fight! Fight hard! Well done!” he cheered.
The Wanli Sunshine plowed through the throng of small boats, darting left and right as if entering a no-man's land. The small boats still foolishly tried to get close, hoping to throw grappling hooks and climb aboard, believing sheer numbers would win the day.
However, this tactic only worked against large ships armed with melee weapons. Against a large ship armed with numerous firearms, their approach simply meant being pelted by a relentless, downward barrage. Climbing aboard was utterly impossible.
In no time at all, the pirates were screaming in terror and pain.
Unable to even hold their ground on the water, how could they possibly think of landing and plundering? They no longer dared to charge ashore. At a command from their leader, the pirates swiftly retreated, their ant-like boats fleeing upstream.
“Pursue them!” Shi Kefa commanded.
“No need to pursue them,” Jiang Cheng said, shaking his head. “There are so many of them. Once they reach the complex waterways of the Jiujiang Estuary upstream, they'll scatter and disappear into the reed beds. How many could we possibly catch? Pursuit holds little meaning.”
Shi Kefa's mind cleared. “That's true,” he conceded.
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