Tiger and Wolf Army
Out of jealousy, these male soldiers, seeing that the female soldiers were well-trained and executed tactics decisively, deliberately crowded around them during marches, delayed the transmission of military intelligence, and even attempted to harass female soldiers who were alone.
Bai Wu was trembling with anger. Her temper was like fire, how could she tolerate this? "We are stronger than them! Why should we put up with this humiliation! We have knives and swords, why can't we kill this bunch of trash!" She tried to make a move several times, but Bai Wushou stopped her each time.
Bai Wushou's face was calm, but his eyes revealed exhaustion: "Wusheng, the overall situation is more important... If we start fighting amongst ourselves, we'll be playing right into the enemy's hands."
"The bigger picture! We've endured this for so many years, when will things truly improve!" Bai Wusheng shook off Bai Wushou's hand and glared at Zai Yu, who had also come to dissuade him: "General Zai Yu, you always say that sacrifices are inevitable, but why is it always us women who are sacrificed?"
The three disagreed and got into a fight. Although Lu Yunchu settled Bai Wusheng down, he still ordered her to be caned on the grounds that she had "violated military discipline and undermined morale."
Afterwards, she increased the number of trusted guards and further tightened the separation between the women's army and the main camp, creating more secluded valleys and woodlands as training grounds. Standing on the high command platform, she addressed the silent but resentful women's army below: "I know you are wronged, I know you are angry! I am too! The time is not right, we are short-handed, and we must continue training! Train to the death! We must rely on ability, not on momentary impulses! Anyone who undermines morale will be dealt with according to the law!"
Before subsequent battles requiring the participation of the female soldiers, she secretly instructed Jiang Liu and others to deal with the male soldiers who were most hostile to the female soldiers and who showed obvious resistance and harassment, in order to eliminate future troubles. However, despite this iron-fisted approach, many female soldiers still harbored resentment and privately complained that the general was too lenient.
The problem of camp prostitutes remained unresolved. Many of the women soldiers in the female army had themselves struggled in the mire and deeply empathized with the plight of the camp prostitutes. Some patriotic female soldiers secretly taught them self-defense techniques and even encouraged them to resist.
Finally, a fierce conflict erupted. Several camp prostitutes fought back during their assault, killing an officer. The male soldiers, who had long harbored resentment towards the women's army, used this as an excuse to launch a large-scale rebellion.
The female soldiers who taught resistance techniques stepped forward to protect the women's army. To ensure the safety of the women's army, Lu Yunchu took the initiative to quell the rebellion, suppress the female soldiers and the male soldiers who resisted, and uphold the legitimacy of the women's army and oppose any confrontational behavior in accordance with the will of Heaven.
Back at the women's military camp, facing the incredulous, disappointed, and even angry gazes of some of her comrades, Lu Yunchu felt a profound sense of powerlessness. She gathered her core members, her voice hoarse and weary: "I know you hate it, and I hate it too. But today, if we don't back down, all of us, along with the future we've fought for, could be destroyed here. Change doesn't happen overnight; deep-rooted decay requires time and greater strength to eradicate. Remember today's shame, remember those sisters who died… We will settle this score sooner or later, but not now, not by throwing eggs against rocks."
Most people remained silent, but privately they complained incessantly. Lu Yun Chu was already exhausted from the war and the male soldiers, and she also had to face attacks from her own people. Some girls even used her status as a princess to say that she didn't care about the lives of ordinary people, and their words were increasingly harsh. She could only endure it.
She could understand them, but she was still heartbroken.
Initially, the girls who gathered in the Women's League were mostly just trying to survive, to escape the fate of being sold, abused, and treated as possessions. Later, they saw hope and began to yearn for a better life, to be able to study, to be independent, and to take control of their own destiny. Still later, they had a grander goal: to change this cannibalistic world and create a new era for women everywhere.
But what about now?
They were not living well, and were even more fearful than before. And that seemingly lofty goal, amidst endless attrition and infighting, became so unattainable, like the thick miasma shrouding the southwestern mountains—visible, yet seemingly forever out of reach.
Morale was wavering, and resentment was growing. Lu Yunchu's options were dwindling. She relied on harsh punishments to establish authority, limited rewards to boost morale, and repeated, even laughable, persuasion to maintain their fragile shared goal. Many women felt despair, but they had nowhere else to go. The world was vast, but where else could they find refuge besides here?
In order to motivate all the female soldiers, Lu Yunchu began to intentionally or unintentionally praise the male soldiers. Especially after she publicly reprimanded the camp prostitutes and flogged Bai Wusheng, she used her status as a widow to show her reliance on and understanding of the male soldiers.
This undoubtedly aroused even greater dissatisfaction among the women's army, and even Bai Wushou's gaze towards Lu Yunchu became somewhat distant.
How could Lu Yunchu not be angry? She could have lived a life of luxury, comfortably as the Earl, and even had the opportunity to climb higher. Now, however, she had to endure this infuriating situation. Sometimes she thought that no one could have handled this mess better than she was now, and that she had spoiled them by being too lenient.
Internal management philosophies also diverged. Zai Yu believed that a stricter merit-based system must be implemented within the women's army, using clear rewards, punishments, and promotion channels to force women to achieve merit; acting on emotions would only harm everyone. Jiang Liu, however, insisted that the women should protect each other and maintain camaraderie; otherwise, how were they different from the male soldiers?
Zai Yu scoffed at this: "Foolish! Why have those men been above us for so many years? It's because although there's competition among them, there's also a constraint of mutual benefit! Feelings? The most unreliable thing in this world is feelings!" Lu Yun Chu agreed with Zai Yu and ultimately adopted her strategy, but in practice, she still couldn't completely harden her heart and would still unconsciously show concern. This contradiction made some subordinates feel that she was two-faced and unpredictable, and they cursed her even more harshly.
She began to impose severe punishments, showing no mercy to any female soldier who expressed dissent. At the same time, she delegated the blame to the lower levels: "If you have any complaints, go find a way to get rid of those men yourself. Cursing me is just taking advantage of my good nature. Do you think I respect you?" This was an almost impossible task, and most women could only grit their teeth and accept reality.
The war of attrition continues.
To open a vital passage to the heart of the marshland, the Chu army needed to seize the long bridge spanning the poisonous miasma-filled valley. The allied forces deployed heavy troops in the dense forest on the opposite side and utilized the naturally occurring poisonous miasma in the valley. Inhaling too much of this miasma would cause a painful and fatal death.
Lu Yunchu ordered a full-scale attack. The first wave of soldiers to go into battle were local chieftains who had recently surrendered and disobedient officers sent by the imperial court. They charged into the dense forest and were quickly devoured by the poisonous miasma and the cold arrows of the allied forces. Su Lang, watching his soldiers die so pointlessly, found Lu Yunchu and cried out, "General! This is suicide! The imperial court doesn't treat us like human beings at all!"
Lu Yunchu remained expressionless, coldly stating, "The imperial court has never treated us like human beings." She secretly planned to use this opportunity to guide these oppressed soldiers and peasants, directing their anger towards a higher target. The depletion of their resources might be faster and more thorough. She secretly instructed her spies to spread rumors among the surviving soldiers that "the imperial court wants to use us as a tool to eliminate dissidents."
Finally, the Chu army, stepping over the mountains of corpses, and during a brief respite from the poisonous miasma, with follow-up troops wearing makeshift, damp masks, forced their way across the long bridge.
Wabao was a nearby mountain town with narrow alleys and densely packed houses. After the enemy army retreated into the town, they took the people with them and put up a stubborn resistance.
Street fighting broke out, and it was exceptionally brutal. Enemy soldiers hid in civilian houses, sniping at them, and even using the elderly, women, and children as shields. The attacking Chu soldiers hesitated; they could not bring themselves to fight the civilians. Their attack was thwarted, and their casualties increased significantly.
A senior general, unable to bear the sight, ordered a temporary halt to the attack in an attempt to persuade the enemy to surrender. However, the enemy seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack, resulting in heavy losses for the general.
Upon hearing the news, Lu Yunchu rushed to the front lines. Seeing the retreating soldiers, her pent-up anger erupted instantly. Pointing at the terrified civilians peeking through windows and door cracks, she sternly rebuked the general: "You think you're being soft-hearted, but you're only causing the deaths of my Great Chu soldiers! If you want to be a saint, don't come to the battlefield! Execute him immediately!"
She immediately gave the order: "Burn down any house that resists! Kill them all without mercy!"
The order was carried out without question, and Wabao was engulfed in flames, filled with screams of agony. Some of the male soldiers who carried out the order privately cursed her, calling her the most wicked woman, but were beaten and scolded by other male soldiers who told them to go and die.
Chu Qin's letter arrived soon after: "The women's army is newly established and can rely on passion; however, to achieve great things, it must follow the law. At birth, people seek profit and avoid harm, so we should use military merit and nobility to strictly define the hierarchy, using benefits to drive them and punishments to deter them! In this way, when women establish their own kingdoms in the future, they can be well-ordered. Otherwise, empty talk about sisterly affection will only result in a disorganized mess that will collapse in an instant!"
"Issue the order!" Her voice echoed in the command tent, devoid of any emotion. "From this day forward, the Women's Army will fully implement a merit-based system! Beheadings, capturing flags, being the first to scale enemy lines, and breaking through enemy lines will all be rewarded according to the law! Those with outstanding merit will be rewarded with land, houses, money, and servants! Their rank, clothing, food, and lodging will all be determined according to their rank, and no one may overstep their bounds!"
She began to tirelessly send female soldiers to the battlefield to gain experience, giving them the most dangerous but also the most prestigious missions if successful. She promised that the female soldiers would receive twice the spoils of the male soldiers. At the same time, she openly encouraged them: "Sisters, you have suffered for many years, and now you have strength, why should you wrong yourselves? If you want money, go for it! If you want a handsome man, go for him! It's time to change the rules of this world!"
On the edge of the women's army's garrison, a striking green building was erected. Inside were the handsome male soldiers and officers among the prisoners, as well as some noble boys whose homes had been ransacked.
This move caused a huge uproar within the women's army, with many women feeling extremely uncomfortable and even disgusted: "We resisted oppression, so why have we become the oppressors?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Yunchu rallied the crowd: "Disgusting? Then tell me, when men built brothels and locked us sisters up like livestock, did they ever feel disgusted? Now that we have power and merit, what's wrong with letting these men taste this as well, showing the might of us women? You object?" Her gaze was like a knife as she swept across the crowd. "Those who object are those who still side with men, believing that men are born to be superior! If that's the case, then send them to brothels and let them experience firsthand what it means to be one family with men!"
The dissenting voices were forcibly suppressed, replaced by a deeper sense of repression.
The girls had no choice but to train even harder and be even more fearless on the battlefield. Only military merit could guarantee their own safety from being bullied, and even allow them to bully others. On the men's side, any prisoners of war with even a little bit of beauty were sent to the "greenhouse" as spoils of war; on the women's side, everyone was in danger, fearing that if they didn't perform well, they would lose their value.
Faced with criticism that there were too few tasks for women, Lu Yunchu simply sneered: "If anyone wants to die as quickly as those consumables, they can go themselves. It's good that there are fewer mouths to feed, and it's even better to save food."
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