I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

Oh, and there's another army!

Hong Niangzi suddenly realized that Cheng Youde had led three thousand soldiers and had already advanced fifty miles to set up camp.

"drive!"

Thinking of this, he quickly changed direction and headed straight for the outpost camp.

In the outpost camp, Cheng Youde was secretly meeting with an old friend, Sun Cheng, the prefect of Baoding.

"Governor Sun, when can my men be given a new look?"

"Commander Cheng, don't be anxious. Commander Li said to hold back for now, because something unexpected is about to happen."

"An unexpected turn of events? What unexpected turn of events?"

Cheng Youde was puzzled. The decisive battle was about to begin, so what was going on?

Could it be...

He suddenly remembered the two letters he had helped Ma Chongxi send out and said, "Does Commander Li mean that those two letters are very important?"

Sun Cheng nodded and replied, "It's extremely important; it could change the course of the entire battle."

Cheng Youde naturally didn't believe it, shaking his head and saying, "Governor Sun is unaware of the situation. In my Great Shun... Oh, I misspoke!"

He quickly changed his tune, saying, "In the rebel army, infighting and power struggles are common. It's unlikely that Ma Chongxi will replace Li Yan."

"Even if Li Yan were to take all the blame and willingly relinquish command, Hong Niangzi wouldn't agree. With her fiery temper, even Li Zicheng has to give her some leeway; what is Ma Chongxi compared to her!"

"In my humble opinion, those two letters will not be of much use. Even if Li Zicheng wants to deal with Li Yan, he will have to wait until this battle is over."

Sun Cheng chuckled and said, "Li Zicheng is no longer the rebel king he once was, and his men are no longer the rough and tumble bandits they once were. In the face of power, even fathers and sons, brothers and comrades, turn against each other, let alone fellow soldiers. Just wait and see, there will definitely be a major upheaval in the Southern Route Army, and then..."

"Lieutenant Cheng, something terrible has happened!"

As they were talking, the tent flap was lifted and a trusted aide rushed in.

Cheng Youde said with displeasure, "Didn't I tell you? This general is receiving distinguished guests. Without my permission, no one is allowed to disturb me. What kind of decorum is this, rushing around like this?"

"Red Maiden, she, she..."

"What did you say?"

Upon hearing the words "Red Maiden," Cheng Youde jumped up as if someone had poked him in the butt.

"Red Maiden has suddenly stormed into the camp and is now heading towards the central command tent!"

"Quick, stop her!"

Cheng Youde panicked and hurriedly went to find his knife.

His first reaction was that he had been exposed. If the Red Maiden herself came, she would surely skin him alive!

Sun Cheng realized something was wrong and asked, "How many people did Hong Niangzi bring?"

"About a dozen or so?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Youde quickly asked again, "Explain yourself clearly, how much?"

"Fifteen or sixteen, I think. I was in a hurry to deliver the message and didn't look carefully."

Just then, a familiar voice came from outside: "Where is Cheng Youde? Tell him to come out and see me!"

Cheng Youde was completely at a loss. He looked at Sun Cheng and asked, "Governor Sun, what should we do?"

After a moment's thought, Sun Cheng decisively said, "Hong Niangzi only brought a dozen or so people; she's definitely not here to settle scores with you. I'll hide for a while; you decide what to do!"

"Okay, you hide first!"

Cheng Youde made up his mind and hurried out to greet them.

"Madam, what brings you here..."

As he approached, he secretly observed her and noticed that Hong Niangzi looked rather disheveled, with her hair disheveled and her clothes stained with blood, as if she had just fought her way out of a battlefield.

"Something's happened, come inside and we'll talk!"

When Hong Niangzi saw Cheng Youde, she didn't say anything and went straight into the main tent.

"Madam, what happened to you?"

Cheng Youde hurriedly followed, only to see Hong Niangzi sit down by herself, pick up the teapot, and gulp down the tea.

"Madam, please wait a moment! Someone, quickly, make some tea for you!"

As Cheng Youde was speaking, he suddenly caught a glimpse of half a foot sticking out from under the bed.

He quickly and discreetly walked over and gently kicked it.

"What are you doing standing so far away? Come here!"

"well!"

Cheng Youde glanced under the bed again to make sure the half-leg was back in, then asked, "Madam, what exactly happened?"

Snapped!

When Hong Niangzi smashed the teapot to pieces, Cheng Youde was startled and instinctively reached for the hilt of his knife, only to find nothing.

He glanced at the knife hanging on the wall, secretly calculating whether he could grab it before Hong Niangzi made her move if he rushed over now…

"Something terrible has happened!"

Hong Niangzi, oblivious to Cheng Youde's ulterior motives, said with a gloomy face, "Liu Fangliang is back!"

"Liu Fangliang, the Marquis of Cizhou?"

Cheng Youde felt slightly relieved, then asked, "Wasn't he at Juyong Pass? Why did he suddenly return to the Southern Route Army?"

"He captured Li Yan, and then he tried to capture me, but I escaped!"

"what……"

Cheng Youde was shocked and immediately thought of the two letters.

Hong Niangzi continued, "It must have been Ma Chongxi who betrayed us. He framed my husband and me for treason, just so he could take over the position for himself."

Cheng Youde thought for a moment and said, "Liu Fangliang is on equal footing with General Li Yan, what right does he have to arrest people?"

"Hmph! It must be Li Zicheng who listened to the slander of those villains and wants to punish my wife and me. I wanted to go and reason with him in person, but I was blocked at Zijing Pass and couldn't get out. Liu Fangliang must have planned this all along; he won't let me see Li Zicheng!"

Cheng Youde suddenly remembered what Sun Cheng had just said; it turned out that everything was under the control of the Ming army.

Looking back, how wise it was to choose to join the Ming army!

Hong Niangzi stood up and said, "Take your men and come with me to fight our way back!"

Cheng Youde quickly said, "Madam, please don't be impulsive. I only have three thousand men, I'm afraid... we can't win!"

Suddenly, Hong Niangzi drew a short knife, pointed it at Cheng Youde, and angrily said, "Are you scared?"

"What I mean is that we need to consider this carefully..."

Cheng Youde carefully pushed away Hong Niangzi's dagger and said, "I am not afraid of death, otherwise I would not have gone to Baoding alone to negotiate with the Ming army. However, our forces are too inferior. I am afraid that we will lose our lives in vain. At that time, Madam and General Li will be accused of treason. Who will speak up for Madam and General Li?"

After listening, Hong Niangzi slowly sheathed her dagger and said, "I was too impulsive just now and misunderstood you. I'm very confused right now. Tell me, what should we do in this situation?"

Cheng Youde finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "In my opinion, the most urgent task is to recruit soldiers and expand our forces, then find Liu Fangliang for a decisive battle and rescue General Li!"

Hong Niangzi nodded and said, "You're right. What's the difference between when we rose up in rebellion and killed officials back then and now? Since Heaven won't give me justice, I'll give myself justice!"

After saying that, he got up and walked outside.

Cheng Youde hurriedly asked, "Madam, where are you going?"

"I've heard there are many homeless people in the area, I'll go recruit them myself!"

"Madam, please don't be in such a hurry. Why don't you have some food before you leave?"

"We'll eat when we get back!"

Without looking back, Hong Niangzi mounted her horse and, with her dozen or so trusted followers, left the camp.

Standing at the entrance of the tent, Cheng Youde muttered to himself, "This is too rushed!"

"They are decisive and efficient, but unfortunately, they are too reckless."

Cheng Youde turned to look at Sun Cheng and said, "You knew all along?"

"Know what?"

"You just told me that a major upheaval is about to occur in the Southern Route Army. Are you referring to Liu Fangliang seizing power?"

Sun Cheng nodded: "After Ma Chongxi's letter was sent out, Li Yan might be attacked, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly, and so ruthlessly."

Cheng Youde felt somewhat relieved and said, "Commander Li is truly a brilliant strategist; I admire him immensely!"

You're wrong!

Sun Cheng shook his head and said, "Those words were spoken by His Majesty!"

"what……"

Cheng Youde was shocked and stood there stunned.

"What, you don't believe it?"

"Of course I believe! How could I not believe!"

Cheng Youde quickly shook his head, then, realizing something was wrong, nodded repeatedly.

Sun Cheng added, "You did a good job just now, calm and collected. If it were someone else, they would have panicked long ago."

Cheng Youde chuckled awkwardly, thinking to himself, "Actually, I panicked a long time ago. I was just talking nonsense!"

Sun Cheng clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "Such a serious matter has occurred; I must report to His Majesty immediately. Farewell!"

"that……"

Cheng Youde hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Sun Cheng asked, "Commander Cheng, please speak frankly!"

"I think..."

Cheng Youde glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before lowering his voice and saying, "Red Lady is already a stray dog, why not just get rid of her? I'll have my trusted men lying in ambush, and when she returns to camp, we'll swarm her. Whether she's Red Lady or Black Lady, she'll be a dead woman!"

Sun Cheng's expression changed, and he said, "Do you know that His Majesty captured him twice, why didn't he kill him?"

Cheng Youde said, "Wasn't this a counter-espionage plot to create the current situation? Now that the goal has been achieved, Hong Niangzi has no troops or power and is of no value. What's the point of keeping her around?"

"Commander Cheng, your idea is dangerous!"

Sun Cheng first issued a warning, then said, "It would be easy for Your Majesty to eliminate Li Yan and his wife. The two captures of her were for the purpose of recruiting them. Li Yan and his wife are highly respected among the poor people. If these two can serve the court, it will show the world that the court is determined to punish corrupt officials and restore a bright and just world for the people."

"Let me give you a piece of advice: never tell anyone what you just said, or you'll suffer a terrible fate!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Youde broke out in a cold sweat and quickly said, "Thank you for the reminder, Magistrate Sun. I have learned my lesson!"