Chapter 1: Folding Barracks - Bloody Battle
The blood-red color filled the originally beautiful and charming phoenix eyes of Deng Erniang in green robe, making her almost become a killing god descended to the earth. Just one shot from the box gun in her hand could knock down an enemy soldier.
"You bunch of bastards, I'm going to kill you all!" She muttered fiercely while raising her gun and shooting.
A gunner named Liuzi nearby reminded him, "Brother, they are still regular troops after all. If we continue fighting like this, I'm afraid our brothers won't be able to hold on!"
"No, didn't you see that more than ten of our brothers have been buried alive? I can't swallow this anger and can't let their deaths be in vain!" In the blink of an eye, Deng Er Niang fired several more magazines of bullets.
"Look, the enemy has another platoon of reinforcements, and our numbers are dwindling. Boss, are you just going to watch everything you own go to waste?"
Deng Erniang closed her lips and thought for a moment, "Well, these bastards got it for free. Lao Hong, pass on my order. Tell the brothers to retreat. Let Xiao Si'er and Ah Huo accompany me to cover the retreat."
Gunner Lao Hong still wanted to persuade Deng Erniang to leave first, but seeing that Liaobazi had made up her mind and knowing her heartless temper, he had no choice but to call on Liuzi's brothers to withdraw from the battlefield under the cover of lush woods and scattered terrain.
Deng Erniang fired a few more shots. Seeing the enemy firepower becoming increasingly fierce and her capable general Ah Huo also injured, she said somewhat unwillingly, "Xiao Si'er, Ah Huo, let's go. These pigtail troops have gotten away with it. When we regroup, we'll show them how powerful we are!"
The two agreed and followed her into the dense forest. After turning left and right, they successfully escaped from the battlefield.
On the other side of the battlefield, an officer noticed that the opposite side had ceased firing and asked the soldiers on this side to stop shooting as well.
"What happened? Did the bandits retreat?" he asked.
"Sir, aren't the people from the third platoon coming to reinforce us? Why don't we chase them and wipe them out completely?" suggested an adjutant.
"Don't be impulsive. Don't chase after desperate enemies! Who knows what tricks these bandits have up their sleeves? We'll have plenty of opportunities to destroy them later. We'll soon reach Huaiyin County. Rest there for the night, restock some supplies, and then return to the barracks to report."
The adjutant saluted and then ordered the soldiers to clean up the battlefield and move on.
The chill of spring brought life back to life, and another lunar year passed. Although we had entered the Jianghuai region, more or less in the south, the chill of late winter and early spring still permeated the canal area, causing considerable discomfort to the farmers on both sides. However, the canal crews sailing south from the north were accustomed to it and took it for granted, including the cargo ship.
Since escaping Luyuanzhuang, Yin Chuan recuperated on the boat, spending over half a month to fully heal the crossbow wound on his back. While Elliot's tampering with the crossbow wasn't fatal, it still injured his shoulder blade. Furthermore, Yin Chuan wasn't aware of Elliot's intentions, which inevitably weighed heavily on him. This, coupled with the entire ordeal, slowed his recovery. With no other options, Baohan had to dock the boat at a temporary gathering point for the Cao Gang near the eastern pier of Huaiyin County.
While recovering, Yin Chuan was constantly held on the boat by Du Yunzhang, Linlang, and the others, not allowed to leave. Firstly, they were worried that his injuries hadn't fully healed and might relapse, and secondly, they were wary that after the Luyuanzhuang incident, someone from the organization was still secretly monitoring them and might launch a surprise attack at any moment. Yin Chuan acted nonchalant, but he was actually feeling rather uncomfortable because Du Yunzhang and Linlang wouldn't let him off the boat even during Chinese New Year. He heard that the temple fair in Huaiyin County on the 28th day of the first lunar month was bound to be lively and exciting, so he insisted on going. After much persuasion, Du Yunzhang and Linlang discussed it and, feeling that after so long, the organization wouldn't do anything malicious at the temple fair with so many people watching, they agreed to Yin Chuan's request.
"However, you'd better be a little careful," Baohan reminded them the day before departure. "This area of the canal is often infested with bandits, from all sorts of hilltops, big and small. Sometimes they even rob our boats. The largest and most powerful of these hilltops is Black Cloud Village. The bandit leader is a woman, known as Green Robe Deng Er Niang. She's said to be from outside the Great Wall. She's bold, straightforward, and generous. She has over 200 loyal followers."
"There is also a female bandit leader? This is very interesting!" Linlang was quite interested when she heard it.
"But we have been here for quite some time. How come we have never encountered any bandits?" Du Yunzhang asked.
"You don't know. I heard that just after the New Year, the Yuan government sent a regiment of regular troops to station near Huaiyin County, making the surrounding bandit groups afraid to act rashly, so we didn't encounter them. But this time, with the temple fair, merchants from all over the country are gathering in the county. Maybe the Black Cloud Village will take the risk and come out to rob people. That's why I'm reminding you to be careful."
Du Yunzhang sneered and patted his waist, "Black Cloud Village? And a female bandit? Let her come. The mirror box in my hand is not vegetarian. At the very least, it can protect Yin Chuan and Lin Lang."
The three of them got off the boat in the afternoon. It was only a few miles from the pier to the county town. Along the way, there was a constant stream of people from all over the country carrying loads and pushing carts to go to the temple fair. It didn't look like there would be bandits robbing them, so they felt relieved.
The temple fair in Huaiyin County is held near the Zhunti Temple near Nanguan. The street in front of the temple is lined with pilgrims, tourists, vendors setting up stalls, restaurants and teahouses on both sides, creating a prosperous and lively scene.
Although Yin Chuan and the other two had been living in a canal thoroughfare like Wuhe County for many years and were no strangers to such scenes, they still felt a sense of novelty when they suddenly came out for a stroll after being stuck on the boat for so long.
Just as they were strolling leisurely, their horses unfettered, they suddenly heard shouts and neighs from the east end of the street, followed by the pedestrians scrambling to either side. Yin Chuan and the other two were standing in front of a small flower stall. Upon hearing the noise, they immediately turned to watch. They saw a group of fully armed soldiers approaching from the east. In front were over thirty war horses, with officers and cavalry sitting on them. Behind them were over three hundred infantrymen carrying long rifles, all wearing the same uniform. The only strange thing was that these soldiers all had braids on the back of their heads, which looked neither Chinese nor Western, and felt inexplicably awkward.
"Isn't it the Republic of China now? Why do these soldiers still have braids?" Linlang asked curiously.
"You don't know this, do you?" Du Yunzhang explained in a low voice. "The current President Yuan has a group of capable generals under him. The most famous are said to be the 'Five Tigers and One Dragon.' The 'Five Tigers' refer to the five generals Wang Shizhen, Feng Guozhang, Duan Qirui, Cao Kun, and Zhang Xun, while the 'One Dragon' refers to Prime Minister Xu Shichang. Among them, Zhang Xun, one of the 'Five Tigers', was very nostalgic for the former Qing court. Even in the Republic of China, he refused to cut his queue. And not only himself, he also forbade his troops to cut their queues. Everyone called his army the 'Queue Army.' Look at this group of people, they are most likely Zhang Xun's 'Queue Army.'"
Linlang suddenly realized and secretly sighed that there were so many strange things happening in the Republic of China today.
Yin Chuan suddenly frowned and pointed at the infantry behind the group of soldiers, "Why are they so lawless?"
Du Yunzhang and Linlang looked in the direction he pointed, and found that many soldiers had begun to rob street vendors and pedestrians unscrupulously, and even frolicked with young women among the tourists.
Du Yunzhang, full of justice, was not going to stand for this. Seeing the officer at the front of the cavalry ignoring him and marching forward arrogantly, he suddenly felt a surge of energy and stepped forward to block the officer, "Stop! Sir, don't leave yet!"
The officer was startled by the person who suddenly blocked his horse's way. The adjutant and guard next to him immediately raised their guns and pointed them at Du Yunzhang, waiting for the order from their superior to capture the man.
"Who are you? What do you want to do by stopping in front of my horse?" asked the officer.
"Are you the leader of this team?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"Didn't you see the soldiers behind your team committing illegal acts in broad daylight?"
The officer looked back and replied nonchalantly, "What illegal activity? What's so strange about brothers finding some extra entertainment?"
Du Yunzhang was furious when he heard this. "Are you a happy person? You are the National Army. Is this the kind of military discipline you should follow?"
The officer glanced at Du Yunzhang with contempt, then said to the adjutant beside him: "Get this man out of the way! Don't let him block our way."
"Hey, do you hear me? Get out of the way!" The adjutant shook his whip and shouted arrogantly. Several guards nearby also responded and raised their gun butts, intending to go forward and drive Du Yunzhang away.
"You didn't open up this street, I can walk however I want, you have no right to stop me!" Du Yunzhang didn't back down at all. He raised his hands and pulled left and right, snatching the spears from the hands of the two guards. This really caused trouble. When the guards behind him saw this, they immediately surrounded him with five or six more, all pointing their guns at Du Yunzhang.
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