Chapter 121: The She-Demon Is So Fierce (Please Add to Favorites, Please Recommend)

Just as the ferocious, violent Big Sister Red Lady was urging the fast boat she was on to charge toward the large sand ship Dragon Head, Zhu Cilang paid no attention at all to the small boat Red Lady was riding; he did not even care about those grain-transport boats that had fallen into chaos.

He had only one target, and that was the pontoon bridge where Li Yan was!

He had not known there was such a pontoon bridge, but the moment he saw it, he understood at once that it was the key to today's battle.

If they seized the pontoon bridge, the troops on the north bank of the Wei River could pour across to the south bank without end. The southern city of Tianjin Garrison would be saved!

So after scattering the grain-transport boats blocking the way ahead, Zhu Cilang immediately urged Dragon Head forward at full speed, charging straight at the pontoon bridge where Li Yan was.

Although quite a few soldiers had gathered on the pontoon bridge, before two 12-pounder red-coated cannons they were nothing but a heap of flesh and blood!

It seemed that this bloody battle for Tianjin Garrison was about to be won by him, and that had truly not been easy!

His own troops were really nothing but a rabble; only Shen Tingyang's Sand Ship Gang could truly fight on water. Though their courage was still a little lacking.

Yet with just such a rabble army, he had actually defeated more than twenty thousand of Li Zicheng's troops! How pleased Zhu Cilang was in his heart! His hard-built New Army had now passed the trial of blood and fire; an army that had seen blood and fire and defeated Li Zicheng's veteran camp soldiers was a fierce, battle-hardened force with full confidence!

"Thousand Years! A small boat is charging at us from our right side!"

Shen Tingyang's voice suddenly rang out beside Zhu Cilang's ear. Everyone else's attention was on that pontoon bridge, but he was watching in all directions and spotted Red Lady's boat at once.

"What? A small boat? Let Us have a look." Zhu Cilang reached out and took a telescope from Wu Sanmei, then looked in the direction Shen Tingyang was pointing. At a single glance he saw Red Lady, dressed all in a red water suit, standing at the bow.

"That figure—" Zhu Cilang drew a breath, adjusted the telescope, and looked carefully. He found that this woman was charming and bewitching; even when angry, she was very pleasing to look at.

"Heh heh, and a woman warrior at that, quite fierce!" Zhu Cilang said with a chuckle.

Women generals were very rare in ancient China; even in the open-minded Tang dynasty there were no famous female generals, except perhaps Li Yuan's daughter, Princess Pingyang Zhao, who was fairly well known.

But in the late Ming, an era that ought to have been relatively closed off, many women generals appeared. For example, Qin Liangyu, who commanded the White Pole troops in battle for the Great Ming; Shen Yunying, who held Daozhou against Zhang Xianzhong; the wife of Gao Jie, one of the Four Garrisons of Jiangbei in the Southern Ming, Lady Xing (Li Zicheng's former wife); and Li Yan's wife, Red Lady — all were fairly famous women generals.

Still, seeing a woman general on the front line where two armies were locked in combat was a rather rare thing.

"Thousand Years, that woman dressed all in red is likely the famous she-demon Red Lady of the roving bandit army!"

Cao Youyi, who had boarded the ship with Zhu Cilang, knew a great deal about the roving bandits and had already guessed that the woman in red was Red Lady.

Zhu Cilang, however, gave a meaningful smile. "So she is a she-demon as well. Good, good!"

What did that mean?

The people around Zhu Cilang were all taken aback. What did the Crown Prince intend to do? Could it be that he wanted to subdue the she-demon Red Lady?

"Yidao," Zhu Cilang turned his head to look at his lead guard, "you are a military jinshi, so your martial skill must be quite good, yes?"

"Thousand Years," Chen Yidao cupped his hands and quietly reminded him, "That she-demon probably only came over because she saw your dragon banner. You are a body of ten thousand gold; this subject must protect you!"

"That is true!" Zhu Cilang's eyes shifted, and then he caught sight of his study companion eunuch Huang Xiaobao. He asked gently, "Xiaobao, are you afraid of the she-demon?"

Huang Xiaobao was an honest child. Hearing Zhu Cilang's question, he actually nodded and said, "I am! The she-demon is so fierce; this slave is of course afraid."

That was not the standard answer! Zhu Cilang frowned slightly and thought to himself: You little eunuch ought to step forward boldly; how can you be afraid at a critical moment? But even if you are afraid, it does not matter, because We are not afraid of the she-demon.

"Careful, we are about to collide!"

With Feng San's loud shout, everyone on the light boat immediately grabbed hold of the hemp ropes tied to the deck planks. Then came a boom, and the light boat slammed hard into the starboard hull planks of the sand ship.

Dragon Head had been built to the standard of a warship, and its hull planks were exceptionally sturdy. The light fast boat Red Lady was on struck it and did not move it in the slightest.

"Throw!" Red Lady had just steadied herself when she shouted, then hurled the iron claw in her hand fiercely at the sand ship's gunwale.

The other brave men on the boat who carried iron claws and ropes also threw their claws together. Once the claws caught the gunwale of the great sand ship, they hauled with all their might, pulling their own small boat tight against the great sand ship.

"Up!" Red Lady gave another sharp cry, then took the lead in climbing upward.

The sand ship was still a low-freeboard vessel, and with Red Lady's agility, she of course leaped up in one bound.

She went up from the bow of the great sand ship. Once both feet landed on the deck, she saw a little fat man in a great red python robe, protected by a group of warriors, walking toward the stairs.

That was Zhu Cilang!

Red Lady gave another sharp cry: "Bandit Zhu, where do you think you are going!"

With that shout, she pointed out the direction to the warriors who had leaped onto the deck with her. Together they let out a battle cry, brandished swords and blades, and charged at Zhu Cilang.

The martial skill of the guards around Zhu Cilang was not weak either; they met the charge and fought Red Lady's people into a tangled melee. Zhu Cilang seized the chance and scrambled, stumbling and crawling, up to the top platform of the cabin. When Red Lady saw this, she did not take the stairs either, but pulled back her iron claw and threw it again, hooking the railing of the platform and using the force to spring upward. She really did climb up.

Once up, Red Lady realized something was wrong. The platform was packed with people! This was an ambush!

Red Lady knew things were bad and wanted to rush to one side of the platform and jump into the river to escape. She had only charged a few steps when she actually saw Zhu Cilang coming up the stairs in a panic, and the two came face to face. She did not think twice; she reached out, grabbed Zhu Cilang, pulled him in front of her, and pressed the blade against his neck. Then she shouted: "This old lady has captured Crown Prince Zhu!"

After shouting, Red Lady felt something was off again. Why were the people on the platform not panicking at all?

Just then, a fierce-looking man stepped out from the crowd and said to Red Lady: "You are Red Lady, I take it? This humble officer is Chen Yidao, lead guard of the Eastern Palace. I have heard that your martial skill is high and that you yield nothing to men. Today I would like to test it."

Red Lady had no interest in a duel. She snorted: "As if the likes of you are worthy of being this old lady's enemy—you, you!"

The great she-demon Red Lady's words were only half spoken, because she saw Chen Yidao pull out from behind his back a hand cannon with a lit matchcord, aimed straight at her!

How could this man be so shameless... Red Lady was stunned by the fellow's conduct. Using a fire cannon to duel with her? Why not just drag over a great cannon while you are at it?

"Hmph," Red Lady quickly moved Zhu Cilang in front of her own body as a shield. "You think you can take this old lady with a mere single fire cannon?"

Chen Yidao nodded with deep conviction. "Well said. One fire cannon is indeed too few!"

The moment his words fell, every person on the platform produced a fire cannon and aimed it at Red Lady. One of them, a fellow dressed like a scholar (it was Shen Tingyang), was even holding two hand cannons!

Red Lady already knew things were bad. Not only had she fallen into a trap, she had fallen into the trap of a pack of utterly shameless scoundrels! Yet she still forced herself to say: "You—your Crown Prince is in this old lady's hands!"

Chen Yidao smiled and said: "Do you think he could be the real Crown Prince? To tell you the truth, he is just a eunuch. If you do not believe it, feel his lower body."

Red Lady was a heroine among women; she cared nothing for propriety between men and women, and immediately reached out to feel. The moment she did, of course her face turned pale. The Crown Prince could not possibly be without the instrument of his debauchery!

The one she had captured was Zhu Cilang's study companion eunuch Huang Xiaobao, used as bait to lure her into the trap. The real Crown Prince Zhu was at that moment hiding inside the cabin.

Chen Yidao watched Red Lady's expression change and laughed loudly: "Red Lady, you have been fooled!"

Red Lady knew she had fallen into a trap, but she was still unwilling to surrender meekly. Gritting her pearly teeth, she said: "None of you men are true heroes. To deal with one weak woman like me, you actually used such low and despicable tricks. If you have any skill, fight with real blades and spears."

Chen Yidao laughed: "There is no use trying to provoke me. I am no greenwood hero, so why would I fall for that? But today we do not intend to harm you. It is only that Thousand Years wishes to meet with you and has a few words to say to you. Once he has spoken, we will let you go and will certainly not make trouble for you.

Red Lady, if you have the courage to see the Crown Prince, then send your people away and remain here alone. Otherwise, with all these fire cannons here, not one of the people you brought will leave alive!"

(End of Chapter)