After one stick of incense, only a dozen of them finally came out of nearly a thousand people. Ji Mu didn't say a word, but he didn't show too much disappointment on his face. He just asked someone to prepare horses for them and ordered the entire army to gallop southwest, where it was the direction to Qingtaiyu Fort.

The others in the fort heard the sound of horse hooves gradually fading away, and their nervous moods were completely relieved. They did not expect these Ming troops to give them the opportunity to choose, and they did not expect that they would really leave like this. They thought of the three roads that Jimu mentioned and stayed motionless. After a long time, someone finally stood up and walked into the warehouse where food was stored. The hungry stomach was satisfied for the first time.

Someone took the lead, and some people responded. At first, there were only a few people, but in the end everyone rushed to the warehouse. The door was broken and several big holes were taken out on the wall. They crowded each other, snatched each other, and took action against each other. In the end, the warehouse full of things was swept away.

Some people were afraid of revenge after the Qing army came back, so they picked up a knife, took the things they stolen, and took their families to the mountain. Some people tried their best to fill their stomachs, and then lay there motionless and left to fate. Although some people did not leave, in addition to eating themselves, they also scattered the things in several places. They wanted to wait and see the situation later before making other choices.

In troubled times, the choice of the common people is often more difficult than the choice of the powerful, because their destiny is never determined by themselves.

When Jimu walked halfway, two whistle-riding horses came towards him. One of them pushed the man tied to his horse and clasped his fists to Jimu and said, "Guerrilla, the Qing army of Qingtaiyu Fort has not come out. Instead, it sent five people to the Tongyuan Fort to investigate the situation. Four of them were killed by their brothers, leaving this living mouth."

Jimu looked down at the Qing army and ordered: "Give him a horse and let him go back."

The Qing army was obviously surprised, "You want to let me go?"

Jimu said: "After returning, I told the garrison of Qingtaiyu Fort that Tongyuan Fort had been taken down by our army. When our army arrived, if he did not lead his troops out of the fort to surrender, after our army broke through, there will be no chickens and dogs in the fort. Get out!"

The Qing army hesitated for a moment, quickly stepped onto the horse, turned his head and looked at Jimu hesitantly before speeding away.

Ma Darui said: "If you let him leave, the Qing army in Qingtaiyu Fort will be prepared. Once this happens, we will definitely have a lot of trouble when we attack."

Jimu said: "When we ignited the beacon of Tongyuan Fort, and Qingtaiyu Fort did not send reinforcements, the Qing army guards in the fort were cautious and did not get the plan to lead the defenders in the fort out of the fort to annihilate. In the fort, he must have made some preparations. The method of our sneak attack into Tongyuan Fort at night is no longer applicable to Qingtaiyu Fort. And we then arrived. How much more preparation can he make in this only time? Tongyuan Fort is a medium fortress, with less than one hundred guards left; although Qingtaiyu Fort is a little larger, there will be no more guards. Even if it is a strong attack, it is not a problem to take it down. Letting this scout back and let the Qing army in the fort understand their situation. Forcing them to flee in panic is the best result. Even if it is not possible, it can also use this to attack the morale of the Qing army in the fort, which will also help us capture Qingtaiyu Fort."

Ma Darui thought about it and finally bowed: "It's still a far-reaching consideration for guerrillas."

Jimu turned his head and looked at the slowly moving army, turned his head and ordered Ma Darui, "You go back and urge them to speed up the journey and arrive at Qingtaiyu Fort as soon as possible."

Li Mao stood on the arrow tower, looking at the fire ignited in the distance, his face a little anxious.

An old man in silk clothes climbed the arrow tower and looked at Li Mao standing there motionlessly, and said angrily: "Mr. Li Qian, the beacon fire in Tongyuan Fort has been ignited for a long time. Why haven't you sent troops?"

Li Mao replied without turning his head: "The enemy situation is not clear, so it is not advisable to send troops. Moreover, we only have more than a hundred people, so we can send reinforcements. If the enemy comes to attack Qingtaiyu Fort, how can we defend against the enemy?"

The old man sneered: "It's just a few thieves under Liu Mazi. Mr. Li Qian is really careful! But I want to tell you that Tongyuan Fort is the tax land of Prince Li. If there is any loss, I will report it truthfully. Mr. Li Qian should not blame me at that time."

Li Mao said coldly: "You can do whatever you want."

The old man was immediately embarrassed and stunned for a moment, and finally left with anger.

Li Mao glanced at the old man, spitted on the ground, and hummed with contempt in his tone, "Old thing that relies on people's power."

At this moment, Li Mao suddenly remembered the slight sound of horse hooves in his ears, and his heart was suddenly lifted up again. He went down from the arrow tower in three or two and walked quickly towards the gate.

Looking at Li Qin who was covered in blood and helped in by two soldiers, Li Mao asked anxiously: "Li Qin, what's going on?"

Li Qin replied: "It is the main force of the Ming army. We were sneak attacked by their scouts not long after we left the fort. The four brothers were shot and killed by them, and I was captured. Tongyuan Fort has been taken down by them, and Fenghuo deliberately released us to lead our army."

Li Mao's face suddenly changed and he asked, "How many of them are there, and where are they now?"

Li Qin shook his head and said, "The night is too dark and I can't see clearly. But from the sound of horse hooves, it should be more than a thousand riders. After they let me go, they kept rushing here. Although I kept urging the horse to speed up, according to time, they would arrive at a maximum of one incense stick of time."

Li Mao changed his face, and the Qing soldiers around him were also full of horror.

One of the soldiers said: "General Qian, we only have more than a hundred soldiers. Such a large fort cannot be defended no matter what."

Another soldier said: "Mr. Qian, let's run away before the Ming army came!"

Li Qin saw Li Mao’s face look ugly, hesitated for a moment and said, “Mr. Qian, the reason why the Ming army let me come back is mainly to ask me to bring you a message. They said…” Li Qin paused for a moment before continuing, “The Ming General said, if you had not yet surrendered from the fort when they arrived, they would launch an attack directly, and after breaking through the fort, they would not leave the family or dog to leave.”

This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Li Mao's face turned pale and he had no words for a long time. Amid the noise of the soldiers, a soldier hiding at the end of the crowd moved quietly and finally ran to the back of the fort.

After a while, the old man who was talking to Li Mao first brought twenty or thirty soldiers, holding weapons, and drove a carriage, and hurried towards the gate. Behind them, there were people crowds and whispers, the soldiers responsible for patrol and the people in the fort who were awakened. They looked at the old man who was rushing out, and before they could make any clear clear what had happened, they were confused and worried.

Seeing the old man, Li Mao frowned even tighter, and turned to look at Li Qin. The latter understood and hurriedly walked around the old man and walked behind the fort. Li Mao hurriedly met him and looked at the old man and said, "Manager Zhao, what are you doing?"

Manager Zhao sat at the front of the carriage. He didn't get out of the car when he saw Li Mao, but said in a relaxed tone: "Mr. Li Qian, the Ming army is coming soon. This Qingtaiyu Fort must not be able to defend. But the things in this car belong to Prince Li and he must not fall into the hands of the Ming army. I'll leave first, you can do whatever you want."

Li Mao thought for a while and patiently advised: "Manager Zhao, Qingtaiyu Fortress has high walls. Although we only have more than a hundred soldiers, there are nearly two thousand people in the fort. There are sufficient weapons in the fort, and everyone can fight. Moreover, we can send people to inform Erbeile about the situation here. As long as we can stick to Erbeile's leadership, the Ming army will die."

Manager Zhao chuckled twice, "Mr. Li Qian, although I have never led the army, don't lie to me! Although there are indeed nearly two thousand people in this fort, as you said, there are indeed nearly two thousand people, but see who they are. Old, young and small, it is difficult to pick up weapons, so how can we resist the Ming army? Besides, the Tianshui Station Fort where Erbeile is currently located is nearly fifty miles away. By the time he arrives, there will probably be no living person here. You should make way for me now. When the Ming army arrives, you can't even leave even if you want to."

Li Qin roared angrily: "None of you can leave." He ran over with dozens of soldiers holding weapons, surrounding all twenty or thirty people around Manager Zhao. The soldiers around Manager Zhao also drew out weapons and opposed them.

Li Qin was the garrison of Qingtaiyu Fort, but because he had just been transferred, he did not have much control over the guards in the original fort. Manager Zhao was different. He was a servant of Daishan's family and was specially sent here to collect taxes from several nearby forts. The soldiers around him were either followed by him before or were deeply trusted by him. These people were not controlled by Li Mao at all, but were loyal to Manager Zhao.

Manager Zhao looked at the scene in front of him and stood up in shock, glared at Li Mao and shouted loudly: "Li Mao, what do you want to do?"

Li Mao said: "I just want Manager Zhao to stay and fight the enemy with me."

Manager Zhao sneered: "Li Mao, you are the guardian of this castle, but I am not. Even if you lose it in the end, it is your fault and it has nothing to do with me. But if these things are lost, Prince Li wants my life. Don't think I will stay here for you to bury."

Li Mao looked at Manager Zhao and said calmly: "Manager Zhao, I still hope you stay, otherwise I will have to take some measures."

Manager Zhao said with a sarcasm: "Li Mao, what do you want to do? What can you do? What dare you? I am the Prince Li, how can you do it if you are a dog slave?"

Li Mao pulled out his long knife and stared at him and said, "Manager Zhao, I'll ask you another question, are you willing to stay?"

Manager Zhao was obviously a little surprised, but he still said with a hard neck: "So what if you don't stay?"
Chapter completed!