A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

It was already dark.

Chen Mo, with his remaining seventy-odd men, cautiously returned to Lingtou Village.

Fearing that the Black Wind Ridge stronghold would be exposed, Chen Mo dared not lead them into Black Wind Ridge. Moreover, the pursuers behind them might still be close behind. Chen Mo could only lead his troops back to Lingtou Village and think of another way.

The seventy-odd people behind him all looked ashen-faced.

They were no match for the Zhenbei Army in the ambush on the mountain path just now; it's a miracle they're still alive.

"Everyone, take a short break!"

Chen Mo said in a deep voice.

Fortunately, the evacuation was carried out in batches, and more than a hundred people remained in the village.

There was no response from behind, and the village's garrison, seeing them retreat, already knew what had happened.

Back in the village, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began to treat their wounds.

They lost a lot of supplies on the mountain path, and now they are only relying on the little food left in the village. Let alone defending the village, even if the government troops besiege it for several days, they will not be able to hold out.

Just when everyone thought they could rest for the night, a soldier guarding the village rushed over and shouted, "A large number of government troops have arrived outside the village and have surrounded it!"

Upon hearing this news, everyone was immediately taken aback.

Without hesitation, Chen Mo picked up his weapon and strode towards the village.

It was dark outside, and torches lit up the village.

In the firelight, a neatly arrayed army could be seen outside the village.

A chilling atmosphere swept over us.

Compared to the previous vanguard, it was completely different.

"They came way too fast, giving us no chance to catch our breath..."

Chen Mo had a bad feeling.

There were at least four or five hundred government troops outside, all fully armed.

On the contrary, there were less than two hundred people left in the village, and many of them were injured. Their morale had plummeted to rock bottom.

"Abandon the first fortress, and everyone retreat to the second fortress wall."

Chen Mo quickly gave the order.

The brothers who stayed behind quickly set off and retreated to the second stockade wall.

The stockade wall was built earlier and is therefore more sturdy.

We don't have enough troops to defend right now, so we can only concentrate our forces to hold off this wave.

After everyone finished making arrangements, the government troops rushed into the first stockade wall and came to stand in front of them.

The government troops did not attack immediately, but instead lined up and waited, bringing forward all the siege equipment.

The villagers held their breath, a sense of unease creeping into their hearts.

The atmosphere was quite oppressive at the moment.

After an unknown amount of time, the government troops outside the village parted to form a path.

A horse slowly emerged and approached the village.

The man on horseback shouted towards the village, "Listen up, bandits inside! The Zhenbei Army has surrounded the village. Surrender now, and the general will spare your lives. If you resist, not one of you will be spared!"

Upon hearing these words, a commotion inevitably arose in the village.

"Release the arrows!"

Chen Mo didn't waste any more words with the government troops and ordered the archers to counterattack.

Surrendering now would be a dead end.

With a whoosh, several arrows pierced the night sky and shot directly at the officer.

The officer quickly reined in his horse and retreated, dodging the arrows.

"The government troops never keep their word. Even if we surrender today, they will still execute us! Brothers, hold the stronghold; they can't break in!"

Chen Mo encouraged loudly.

Everyone lowered their heads and remained silent.

Some of those present had experienced the ambush on the mountain path and were still shaken, harboring a nameless fear of the government troops.

At this moment, another shout came from outside the village: "Chen Mo's rebellion is none of your business. As long as you cut off Chen Mo's head and open the village gate, the general can guarantee that all of you can leave safely."

After these words were spoken, the village remained quiet, and no one made a move.

Most of these people were desperate refugees who had nowhere else to go. Even if they surrendered, they would have nowhere to go, so they might as well stay here and give it a shot.

"Let your female general come and speak to us herself!"

Chen Mo shouted outside again.

"Yes! Bring that female general over here. I want to see what she looks like. If she's pretty, we'll capture her alive and make her Brother Mo's wife!"

I don't know who shouted that.

The onlookers burst into laughter, and the atmosphere became less tense.

Outside the village, Xiao Yunling sat on her horse, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, and a cold smile inexplicably curled at the corner of her mouth.

In her eyes, the group of people in the village were nothing more than a bunch of unorganized bandits.

Relying on their village, they tried to put up a stubborn resistance and even dared to utter arrogant words.

Seeing that persuasion to surrender had failed, Xiao Yunling ordered, "Rest for a while, and launch an attack when the bandits are relaxed."

Suddenly, the village and its surroundings fell silent.

Seeing that the other side had stopped shouting, Chen Mo knew that a fierce battle was about to begin.

There are definitely still many soldiers lying in ambush around the village.

Although there is a secret passage leading to Black Wind Ridge outside the village, the evacuation of so many people will surely attract the attention of the government troops.

The only solution at this moment is to hold off this wave of attacks and wait for the government troops' momentum to weaken before withdrawing in batches.

Night was falling.

The villagers dared not let their guard down at all; even when they closed their eyes to rest, they kept their weapons firmly in their hands.

After an unknown amount of time, a series of noises suddenly came from outside the village.

"The government troops are attacking!"

Someone shouted from the village, and everyone immediately woke up.

At General Xiao's command, the Zhenbei Army outside the stronghold immediately launched an attack on the city.

"Prepare to engage the enemy!"

Chen Mo shouted.

He had thought the government troops would besiege the village for several days, depleting its food supplies, but he hadn't expected the female general's offensive to be so swift.

The villagers raised their bows and arrows and shot at the government troops outside.

However, the government troops were extremely well-equipped. Their raised wooden shields blocked all the arrows, and after crossing the trench, the siege ladders were quickly erected on the stockade wall.

The government soldiers climbed up the ladder, and just as the first soldier was about to reach the top of the stockade, Chen Mo immediately gripped his sword and slashed down fiercely.

The government troops' offensive was so fierce that they gave Lingtou Village no chance to rest.

"Pour the oil!"

Chen Mo shouted again.

The brothers who had been guarding the stockade wall immediately took out tung oil and poured it down.

Immediately, several flaming arrows shot out, and the outside was instantly engulfed in flames.

This is Chen Mo's final solution for defending the village. As long as they can withstand this wave, they can buy the village some time to rest.

A huge fire broke out.

The government troops outside the village screamed in agony, and their advance immediately slowed down.

Xiao Yunling, mounted on his horse, stared at the raging fire outside the village, his eyes still sharp.

She did not underestimate the enemy, but she had not anticipated that such a small village would have such a tight defense.

If I'm not mistaken, the stockade wall is made of rammed earth, so it's not vulnerable to fire attacks.

"Withdraw in succession."

Xiao Yunling gave the order decisively.

This probing attack is to see how many tricks Lingtou Village still has up its sleeve.

The government troops quickly retreated, leaving behind only a sea of ​​fire.