Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Is this the final reply from the Haizhou government?"

After the sentry returned to the port and relayed Nie Shitu's message to Ban Dingyuan, Ban Dingyuan's expression immediately darkened.

"Yes, our prefect said that since your country wants to trade, you should show sufficient sincerity and pay 80,000 taels of silver before you can enter the port and dock."

Seeing the sentry's arrogant attitude, Ban Dingyuan laughed.

"Very well, since that's the case, then we can only resolve this in our own Chu way."

Please prepare your nation. From this moment forward, the State of Chu and the State of Wu Zhao are officially at war.

After saying this, Ban Dingyuan saluted the sentry in front of him, turned around, got back into the small boat he had come from, and began to row back.

The Haizhou sentry was completely bewildered, having no idea what was going on, while Ban Dingyuan's small boat had already rowed away into the distance.

Finally, he scoffed dismissively, "Tch, all that pretense, who are you trying to scare?"

Then they continued to collect passage fees from the remaining foreign merchants.

When Ban Dingyuan returned to the Dinghai and told him about the attitude of the Haizhou government, Jiang Mengxuan remained indifferent, calmly holding her teacup without saying a word.

Shen Lang, who was organizing the sand table of the Haizhou defense line, smiled and said, "I suddenly remembered a sentence."

Jiang Mengxuan: "What did you say?"

“Ignorance and weakness are not obstacles to survival; arrogance is. Wu Zhao Kingdom is too arrogant, so arrogant that it thinks it is invincible and looks down on everyone.”

"Since that's the case, then let's tear Wu Zhao's fig leaf completely off and expose his ugliest, true self to the world."

"By my order, the fleet shall immediately deploy into attack formation and capture Haizhou City before nightfall."

At the Empress's command, the Great Chu fleet, consisting of twenty-four main warships, immediately began to get busy.

"Woo——"

The booming sound of the ship's horn echoed across the azure sea.

Foreign merchants, officials, and soldiers who were busy at the port all looked toward the source of the sound.

Only then did they notice that a huge fleet had appeared on the sea surface at some unknown time.

The next moment, a melodious broadcast sounded in the port.

"To all foreign merchants and envoys in Haizhou City, regardless of your current status, please return to your ships immediately. We are the ocean-going fleet from the Great Chu."

We are currently at war with the Wu Zhao Kingdom. To avoid harming innocent civilians, you must sail your ships away from Haizhou Port within two hours.

If the outbreak of war causes you unnecessary losses, please understand. We are only targeting the Wu Zhao Kingdom, not you!

The loudspeaker's announcement made them tremble.

Meanwhile, Wu Zhao's navy on the coast immediately sensed the danger and assembled its ships to prepare for the Chu army's attack.

However, when the Great Chu ocean fleet approached the coastal waters, the officers and soldiers of Wu Zhao's navy saw the opponent they were about to face and their expressions immediately turned very ugly.

The steel-structured ships are so huge that our "Mi" ships look like toys in front of them. How can we fight them?

An uneasy feeling instantly enveloped the minds of all 2700 naval officers and soldiers in Haizhou.

As time ticked by, some foreign merchants, sensing something was amiss, wisely chose to board a ship and flee.

However, many people still firmly believe that the Chu fleet would not dare to launch an attack, because Wu Zhao is the strongest country in the world, so how could they dare to take the initiative to launch an offensive?

Inside the prefectural government office, Nie Shitu learned of the Chu army's impending war but did not take it seriously.

"Where did this insignificant state of Chu come from? I've never heard of it before. How dare they provoke the might of my Wu Zhao Kingdom? I don't believe they would dare to start a conflict."

However, to ensure safety, Nie Shitu still mobilized the four thousand local soldiers who were recently stationed to guard the port fortress.

At this moment, the two sides are on completely different levels in their understanding of war.

Nie Shitu's thinking was to preserve the coastal defense line. Even if the navy's expedition was unsuccessful, the coastal garrison could ensure the safety of Haizhou by preventing the enemy from landing.

Of course, this is still based on the premise that the two armies go to war. Nie Shitu believed that the Chu army would absolutely not dare to take the initiative to start a war.

Shen Lang's tactical approach was to utilize the advantage of artillery to break through the entire Haizhou defense line in one fell swoop, annihilating the enemy's manpower to the greatest extent possible.

The outcome was predetermined from the very beginning due to their respective tactical approaches.

The four-hour wait gradually stretched from dawn to noon.

Just after noon, the two-hour deadline given to the foreigners of Haizhou had passed.

After seeing the Wu Zhao navy's ships densely assembled in one place through his binoculars, Shen Lang revealed a cruel smile.

"Notify the second-tier warships: target Wuzhao Navy, fire freely."

At a command, the six second-class warships quickly broke away from the formation and slowly approached the nearshore waters.

Upon seeing this, the officers and soldiers of the Wuzhao Navy on the opposite bank all raised their sails.

"My lads, the enemy has launched an attack on us. Don't be afraid. They may have bigger ships, but they certainly can't move as nimbly as we can."

"As long as we get close enough to their ship, we'll definitely win! Follow me, attack!"

The naval commander drew his sword and gave the order, and seventy-two Mi ships slowly sailed toward the Chu fleet.

Upon seeing this, Shen Lang smiled slightly and decisively sounded the horn to signal that he could fire.

boom--

On the sea off Haizhou, the first cannon shot was deafening.

boom--

A 150mm grenade exploded directly on a US warship.

The sailboat, which had been sailing, was instantly torn to pieces, and all thirty-seven naval officers and soldiers on board, along with their vessel, perished at sea, with no survivors.

"Boom boom boom——"

The next moment, six second-class warships roared and opened fire on the enemy warships.

The scorching grenades were relentlessly reaping the lives of Wu Zhao's naval officers and soldiers.

As electric power systems become more widespread in the military, the Navy's fire control equipment has also gradually improved, enabling it to hit moving targets at sea with great force and accuracy within its range, achieving a hit rate of over 70%.

The rapid-fire guns, loaded with 150mm and 125mm shells, roared and beckoned to the Wuzhao Navy.

Huge columns of water rose continuously from the sea, leaving the Wuzhao soldiers, civilians, and foreigners watching from the opposite shore dumbfounded.

In just three minutes, more than 50 of Wu Zhao's 72 naval warships had been destroyed.

The wooden hull was no match for the firepower of such powerful naval guns; a single hit would result in the ship being breached and sinking.

Even more remarkably, a 150mm armor-piercing shell penetrated the hull of an enemy ship, and the shell, still in high momentum, exploded on a friendly ship behind it, achieving the feat of taking down two ships with a single shot.

A pool of blood floated on the sea, and countless naval officers and soldiers who had fallen into the sea cried out as they swam toward the shore.

The naval commander was completely dumbfounded when he saw this scene.

The bombardment of Chu army's artillery completely overturned his understanding of traditional naval warfare.

The lieutenant looked anxious: "Sir, our ships can't get close to them at all. Our men can only take the beating. Please think of a solution!"

boom--

Just as the commander was about to say something, a shell landed on the American ship on the flank, and the American ship instantly exploded and scattered.

"Run, run, run!"

The commander was terrified and immediately ordered the officers and soldiers on the ship to jump into the sea and swim back with all their might.

Meanwhile, the six Chu warships that had come out to fight continued to fire at the enemy ships.

The sea only became completely calm after the last American ship sank.

Shen Lang glanced at the pocket watch in his hand and chuckled softly: "Seven minutes and four seconds, annihilation of the Haizhou Navy."

Jiang Mengxuan smiled slightly upon hearing this: "And the coastal defense line, how long do you think it will take?"

Shen Lang thought for a moment and replied, "At most one hour, the naval officers and soldiers can carry out the landing operation. Before six o'clock, Haizhou Port will become the garrison of our Great Chu Navy."