The Li family fleet, flying the banners of the Grand Ming's Admiral of the East and Admiral of the Eastern Sea, was sailing in grand formation across the boundless waters of the Ming Eastern Sea.
Along the way, they had encountered quite a few merchant ships from the Ming, Silla, and Japan. They had even come across a few pirate ships of unknown origin, whose crews clearly didn't know what they were getting into. But the Li family fleet had ignored all those small flotillas and continued north on its own course.
Their destination was Dagu Port in Tianjin, on the Bohai Bay, and Laolongtou at Shanhai Pass. They were going to strike at the Jurchen invaders who had breached the pass, not hunt pirates.
At the head of the fleet were ten of the fifteen clipper-style battleships Annie had left behind. Behind them followed over a hundred armed merchant ships and broad-bellied transport ships seized in the South Seas.
These included medium-sized square-rigged ships with tall masts, medium-sized three-masted North Sea square-riggers, large three-masted broad-beamed square-riggers, and large three-masted North Sea square-riggers. Of course, mixed in among them were also quite a few large and medium-sized junks that some bearded admiral had somehow gotten his hands on.
And so the Ming Li family's northern expedition fleet sailed north with the wind, its imposing appearance leaving the other merchant ships aghast.
"Admiral!"
"To the east lies Yizhou. The Jurchens destroyed our Li family trading post there and looted all the goods. I hear they also took quite a few shopkeepers and workers prisoner. Should we bombard the place and teach them a lesson?"
"If we send a few warships that way now, they'll reach Yizhou by tonight at the latest. After the bombardment, they can turn back and catch up