The Ming Dynasty began in the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign.

Back at the camp, Fang Zhenghua and Gao Wencai were training their men.

The eunuchs were practicing their spear formation, while the Imperial Guards, wielding long spears, kept charging towards the wooden stakes in front of them.

With a sudden thrust, the spear tip slammed into the wooden stake, producing a series of loud cracking sounds...

The rebel army didn't train; they were always fighting, truly using combat as training.

At the beginning of a victory, it's like hacking the master to death with a flurry of blows.

With accumulated combat experience and instruction from Ming generals who had surrendered, the rebel army began to deploy its forces for battle.

Now their main force is no different from the regular army of the Ming Dynasty, and their military formations play a significant role in large-scale battles.

Li Yan and his wife were familiar with the fighting methods of the Da Shun army, but they had never seen Gao Wencai and his group's training methods before, which surprised them greatly.

The matchmaker, being straightforward, couldn't help but ask:

"Your Highness, their training seems rather simplistic. Won't they crumble completely when faced with a stronger army?"

Zhu Cilang shook his head:

"No, the left flank is practicing with muskets, a three-rank rotational firing formation that can easily defeat more than three times their number of troops."

"The soldiers on the right are practicing thrusting, using spears and shields in coordinated infantry combat."

"This training method may seem clumsy, but it is very effective in actual combat. It mainly trains the speed and power of drawing the gun."

"In actual combat, the spear and shield can be used for both offense and defense. They can deal with enemy cavalry charges and severely damage enemy infantry in chaotic battles."

No matter what Zhu Cilang said, Hong Niangzi felt a little disdainful.

The rebel army had no such opponent. They had a huge advantage in the early stages, but became basically useless in the later stages, and their cavalry would collapse with a single charge.

Zhu Cilang guessed what Hong Niangzi was thinking. He just smiled faintly and didn't explain much. Without actually fighting, it was useless to say anything.

Li Yan glanced at his wife, then at Zhu Cilang, and knew that both sides were somewhat dissatisfied.

He suddenly had an idea: to have both sides conduct a drill to see whose personal guards were stronger.

"Your Highness, I have an idea. Let the personal guards of both sides have a drill, and whoever wins will be in charge of training the entire army from now on."

After saying that, he asked Hong Niangzi:

"Madam, the soldiers have not participated in a major battle for a long time, and now there is no war. If they do not train for a long time, they will gradually lose their fighting spirit."

"What do you think of my suggestion? We've got some free time, how about we have a little competition?"

Upon hearing Li Yan's words, Hong Niangzi immediately became interested and smiled, saying:

"Very well, but the Ming army's fighting strength is terrible. I will send fifty men to face Your Highness's entire personal guard. What does Your Highness think?"

Well, Hong Niangzi completely disregards Zhu Cilang's men, feeling that they are all just pretty but useless!

To be honest, the Ming army's combat strength has indeed been weak recently. After Zhou Yuji's battle at Ningwu Pass, the Ming army encountered almost no resistance and surrendered at the first sign of trouble.

Zhu Cilang did not want to reveal his strength, but seeing that Hong Niangzi underestimated his subordinates, he decided to give her a warning.

He smiled slightly and said:

"The Ming army wasn't incompetent, but rather lacked motivation. As someone once said: 'When the Ming army is not in full force, it is invincible.'"

Upon hearing this, the matchmaker smiled sweetly:

"Your Highness, let's not talk about anything else, let's just say whether we should compete or not!"

"Why not? You send one hundred men, and the Crown Prince's personal guards send sixty. Change the musket bullets to white ash bullets. When soldiers are hit, white spots will appear on their armor, and they must withdraw from the battle. How about that?"

Hong Niangzi almost laughed in anger. Her original intention was to defeat the enemy with fewer troops and dampen the morale of the Crown Prince's guards.

But things turned out quite the opposite; the crown prince wanted to show off, so we had no choice but to grant his wish.

"Very well, Your Highness, please forgive my inconvenience!"

Hong Niangzi said to the guards behind her:

"Xiao Cui, select one hundred female soldiers to prepare for a practice match with the enemy. Remember, anyone hit by the white powder bomb must immediately withdraw from the battle."

"Here you go!"

Xiao Cui received the order and immediately went to select the trainees.

Zhu Cilang also called Fang Zhenghua and Gao Wencai over and explained the drill to them. The two accepted the order and immediately went to prepare.

They haven't had a real match yet after training so far, and they want to show their skills today.

During regular training and combat exercises, they always use white ash bombs, and they are very familiar with the training rules.

The ammunition used by the Eastern Palace Guard was different from before. After being modified by Zhu Cilang, it was now made of granular gunpowder and was a fixed-load ammunition.

Compared to before, loading ammunition is much more convenient, efficiency is significantly improved, and combat effectiveness is boosted by two levels.

About a quarter of an hour later, both sides were ready.

The female guards under Hong Niangzi wore soft armor underneath and red outer garments. Since it was a drill, they were not wearing battle armor and were carrying goose-feather sabers.

The Crown Prince's personal guards, numbering sixty, were arranged in three rows. Gao Wencai observed the battle from the sidelines, while Fang Zhenghua served as the commander.

The two sides set up their formations facing each other, with a distance of about one hundred paces between them.

This distance is advantageous to both the Eastern Palace Guards and the Women's Army. The Women's Army has a shorter charging distance, allowing the musketeers to pull the trigger at any time.

Zhu Cilang and his wife Li Yan watched the exercise from the sidelines, all three of them eagerly anticipating the outcome.

The women's army was quite fierce; with a wave of Xiao Cui's hand, they launched their charge...

"Sisters, charge! Take them down! There'll be a reward from the eldest sister!"

They shouted and rushed forward. After about twenty paces, Fang Zhenghua suddenly raised his embroidered spring knife and shouted the order:

"Front row, ready!"

The first rank of musketeers immediately raised their muskets and pointed them at the charging women soldiers.

After about sixty paces, Fang Zhenghua gave the order to fire:

"shot!"

The first rank of twenty muskets spewed forth furious fire.

"Bang bang bang..."

A burst of gunfire rang out...

"Pfft pfft pfft..."

The women soldiers at the front were all hit by white powder grenades.

Because they were wearing inner armor, they could only feel slight impacts and did not experience pain.

Looking down, a distinct white-gray stain appeared on the red uniform. With a sigh, the eleven female soldiers withdrew from the battle...

"Charge! Use the blade to block the white powder bullets!"

Commander Xiao Cui shouted, and the women's army accelerated their charge once again.

"Second rank, fire!"

Seeing that the first round of shooting had forced eleven people out of the battle, the Grand Eunuch smiled smugly. "A blade as a bullet? That's ridiculous!"

Immediate command:

"Second row, fire!"

"Bang bang bang..."

"Third rank, fire!"

"Bang bang bang..."

The three rows of soldiers fired in unison in an orderly manner.

After the third platoon finished firing and withdrew, the first platoon of musketeers finished loading their ammunition and quickly stepped forward to pull the trigger...

When the women's army charged to within about thirty paces of them, the musket volley had already completed three volleys of fire.

Only five women remained of the charging women's army. When the muskets stopped firing, they shook their heads and reluctantly admitted defeat.

One hundred men against sixty, if they were using real lead bullets, the Eastern Palace Guard could easily wipe out the women's army with zero casualties.

Li Yan stared wide-eyed in shock, while Hong Niangzi stood there dumbfounded, muttering to herself:

"Impossible, how could this be? The Shun army has fought against spear formations before, and the Ming army's spear formations were not this powerful..."

Only Zhu Cilang watched the two with a smile on his face, wondering if Hong Niangzi was convinced...

It took Hong Niangzi a long time to come to her senses. She didn't speak to Zhu Cilang, but instead strode towards the women's army.

"What's wrong with you guys? Muskets can't be that accurate! Let me see, are you all hit?"