Martial Arts Crossover: It All Started with Hijacking Li Canghai

The fog on the surface of Jiujiang grew thicker and thicker, covering half of the river.

The three tower ships and three Fujian ships of the Dongming faction sailed downstream with the current.

At the bow of the boat, a woman in her thirties was holding onto the railing with both hands, and the river breeze made her plain-colored skirt sway back and forth.

This woman is Lady Dongming, Shan Meixian.

This deal nearly cost the Dongming Sect half their fortune; three ships carrying firearms were transported from Ryukyu and delivered directly to Wagang Village via inland waterways.

"daughter."

Shan Meijing stood beside Shan Meixian, wiping her sword with a piece of silk cloth. The girl was not old, only about eighteen or nineteen years old.

She turned her head to look at the water on both sides.

"Something seems off to me."

Shan Meixian frowned.

Shan Meijing put away the silk cloth and sheathed the sword.

"There should be patrols along this stretch of waterway; we haven't encountered a single small sampan in the half hour we've been here."

Shan Meixian also noticed this situation.

Logically speaking, there are usually many boats traveling along this section of the Jiujiang waterway, and she was just about to send someone ahead to scout out the situation.

A drumbeat came from deep within the thick fog ahead.

Shan Meixian's expression changed. Was that the sound of war drums?

The sailors and guards on the ship held their breath and stopped what they were doing.

The wind dispersed some of the water mist, and five warships with iron hulls broke through the waves and lay across the waterway ahead. The sides of the ironclad hulls had many round holes.

All that was exposed through the holes were the dark barrels of cannons.

Shan Meijing's expression changed drastically.

"This...this is the imperial navy?!"

The Dongming faction's warships immediately began to slow down, and the boatmen hurriedly pulled ropes and furled sails in an attempt to stop the large ships.

Shan Meixian looked at the flags on the ironclad warships opposite her, with a large "Li" character embroidered on the flags!

This is not the navy near Xunyang, Jiujiang.

Shan Meixian glanced back and saw two more ironclad ships emerge from the thick fog behind her, blocking her retreat.

Their three boats were sandwiched in the middle of the river.

Shan Meixian had a bad feeling. This trip involved a special passage document stamped by the Song Dynasty court, and all the paperwork and procedures were done in accordance with regulations.

As long as the opposing side is the imperial navy, merchant ships with official documents cannot be detained arbitrarily.

Shan Meixian pressed down on her daughter's hand holding the sword, signaling her not to act impulsively.

"Meijing, don't be impulsive. Have someone hand over the customs clearance documents, and we'll follow the rules."

Shan Meijing gestured to the people behind her, and a small sampan was lowered into the water along the side of the building.

Two disciples from the Dongming Sect rowed a small boat toward the armored warship.

Li Jing stood under the flagpole of the leading ironclad ship opposite him.

Shen Luoyan stood to Li Jing's right. She had changed into a light blue, narrow-sleeved dress and was slowly waving a white feather fan in her hand.

"General Li, the largest ship in the middle has its hold filled with gunpowder and firearms, while the two ships on either side are filled with ammunition and miscellaneous spare parts."

Li Jing glanced at Shen Luoyan, who then put away her fan and pointed at the opposite ship.

"That Shan Meixian is Madam Dongming. She never puts her business items in one place."

"There's probably a group of Dongming's own men disguised as sailors hiding on that ship on the left. There must be at least two hundred of them."

Li Jing scoffed inwardly; the prince's decision to send them was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

However, he still nodded slightly.

He knew that Qin Han had placed this woman under his command to observe her and see how capable this newly surrendered strategist really was.

Also, let's see if she's truly loyal to the prince.

The small sampan pulled up beside the ironclad ship. Two disciples of the Dongming Sect held up a travel document bearing the official seal of the Song Dynasty above their heads and handed it to him. The soldiers on the ironclad ship took the document and walked up to Li Jing to hand it to him.

Li Jing took it and glanced at it casually. The paper was stamped with the seal of the Ministry of Revenue of the Song Dynasty and the signature of the Hangzhou Water Transport Bureau. The customs clearance procedures were all stamped with red seals in accordance with regulations.

It turns out it was still a case of collusion between officials and businessmen...

As Shan Meixian watched the person opposite her reading documents from a distance, she slowed her breathing slightly. She had dealt with local officials for many years.

As long as there are no flaws in the documents, the naval personnel will usually give them a quick glance and let them pass.

With a slight exertion of force, Li Jing shattered the customs document bearing the official seal of the Song Dynasty with his true energy.

The two Dongming Sect disciples on the small boat below stood frozen in place, not daring to move. Shan Meijing could see this clearly from the ship.

"Are they crazy? They dare to tear up documents?!"

Shan Meixian's face darkened, inwardly cursing herself for being right; the other party's actions showed a complete disregard for the rules of the Song Dynasty.

Young and impetuous, Shan Meijing shouted loudly at the opposite side.

"What do you mean by this? Our Dongming Faction's merchant ships have all the necessary paperwork completed according to regulations. What grounds do you have to block our path and detain us?"

The shout carried on the wind to the other side, and Shen Luoyan, on the bow of the ironclad ship, fanned herself twice.

"Miss Shan, don't rush to scold people. You should think carefully about where this batch of goods is being sent to first."

Shan Meijing recognized the voice; it sounded familiar. She looked closely at the woman speaking and, upon seeing that it was Shen Luoyan...

"Shen...Shen Luoyan? How is it you?!"

Shen Luoyan smiled.

"It's been a long time."

Shan Meixian also saw the face of the woman standing next to the general. Wasn't this the strategist beside Li Mi?

How did you end up on the other side?!

Shen Luoyan waved her fan and continued speaking.

"This area is no longer the territory of the Xunyang Navy. It belongs to the navy of our Prince Qin, General Li. Madam Shan, the firearms on your three ships are supplies for Li Mi."

"My lord, being a high-ranking official of the imperial court, naturally cannot allow you to send these things to those rebels in Wagang Village."

With a stern face, Shan Meixian knew that transporting weapons to Wagangzhai was a crime that would be difficult to explain.

What puzzled her even more was that Shen Luoyan, who was originally the one who advised Li Mi, had suddenly joined the Qin King's camp and was now blocking her way.

Shen Luoyan turned to look at Li Jing.

"General, it seems the other side isn't very willing."

Li Jing stood by the flagpole and gave the order.

"Detain it."

A soldier on the ship's roof waved down a red command flag, and many armored soldiers ran out from the decks on both sides of the ironclad ship.

They lined up along the edge of the ship's gunwale with heavy shields in hand, and several soldiers worked together to push a wide wooden gangplank from one end of the ironclad ship and place it on the edge of the deck of the Dongming faction's warship.

The armored soldiers in the front row stepped forward on the wooden planks, and the soldiers behind them followed with their weapons.

Shan Meijing turned around and shouted at the four women behind her who were dressed in the same clothes.

"To catch the thief, first catch the king! Follow me and capture that general!"

Shan Xiu and the other four protectors drew their weapons and, together with Shan Meijing, the five of them leaped across the water from the deck of the Dongming Sect's main ship.

They landed directly in the direction of Li Jing's warship, with Shan Meijing leading the charge with her longsword.

She leaped into the air, used her waist to change direction, and thrust towards Li Jing's position, intending to take down this leading general first.

Li Jing stood under the banner and sneered. He hadn't just been training troops in Sichuan; his martial arts skills were far beyond what Shan Meijing could possibly match at this time.

Before Li Jing could make a move, Shen Luoyan took a step forward.

This was the first task he had to undertake after joining the Qin and Han dynasties.

She channeled her inner energy and threw the white feather fan in her hand forward. The fan ribs and fan surface were stretched open by her inner energy and spun rapidly in mid-air to meet Shan Meijing, who was rushing to the front.