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

Outside Lingtou Village, the fire raged on, turning the entire valley red.

Although the village was already in our grasp, we could simply surround it and slowly wear down the patience of the bandits inside.

However, Xiao Yunling was very clear that there must be a secret passage leading to Black Wind Ridge inside this village.

If we stop the attack, it will definitely give these bandits a chance to escape.

Although there were already many soldiers patrolling the mountain, Xiao Yunling was unwilling to let go of this great opportunity to annihilate the bandits.

On the stockade wall, Chen Mo frowned, watching the government troops retreat, but there was nothing he could do.

He turned around and glanced at his brothers behind him.

Although the government troops' attack had not caused any damage to the village, their repeated attacks had clearly instilled fear in many people.

The fire outside was still burning, but the tung oil in the village had run out.

This fire attack can only be used once.

The Zhenbei Army and that female general were far more powerful than Chen Mo had imagined.

Such an opponent is a hundred times more formidable than the local officers and soldiers.

"Evacuate in batches, without attracting the attention of government troops."

Chen Mo gave the instructions in a low voice.

It's definitely going to be difficult to hold the village now. In order to ensure the safe evacuation of everyone in the village, we can only retreat in batches and steadily.

About a hundred people remained to defend the village, while the other wounded were evacuated from Lingtou Village through a secret passage under the cover of night.

Outside the village, the fire gradually subsided.

"attack!"

Before the village could rest, the government troops launched another attack.

This time, their attack was even more swift than before; they even brought in battering rams in an attempt to break down the village gate.

The villagers immediately grabbed their weapons to fight back.

Another burst of sounds of fighting erupted.

Chen Mo had originally planned to evacuate in batches, but the other side seemed to have seen through his intentions and did not give them any time to move.

Right now, all we can do is fight hand-to-hand.

Since the people on the stockade had lost their will to fight, no matter how hard they fought, the government troops had already stormed the stockade.

"Let's get out of here! If we don't leave now, it'll all be over!"

Liang Ming grabbed Chen Mo and prepared to lead him away from the place.

He had fought against Zhao's army many times before, but he was unable to cope with the unfamiliar Zhenbei Army for a while.

Seeing that the government troops had already stormed in, Chen Mo could only grit his teeth and order his men to retreat.

With a single command, the village's defenses collapsed.

Chen Mo jumped onto his horse and, along with Liang Ming, Dong Shuo, and the others, rushed towards the secret passage behind the village.

At this moment, government troops had already rushed into Lingtou Village.

The village has already fallen; if we don't leave now, we'll have no chance left.

Chen Mo arrived at the secret passage, jumped off his horse, and started climbing up the mountain.

The pursuers behind them had not yet caught up. Chen Mo led about twenty people around the woods and entered Black Wind Ridge.

At this moment, the sound of government troops' horses' hooves could be clearly heard along the mountain path.

With nowhere else to go, Chen Mo and his group could only take advantage of the cover of night and slowly make their way deeper into the darkness.

After an unknown amount of time, all around became quiet.

Chen Mo hid behind a tree and looked around.

At this moment, there were only twenty-three people behind him, including Liang Ming and Dong Shuo, all of whom were injured and their fighting strength was greatly reduced.

The nearly four hundred troops that had been organized earlier have now been almost entirely wiped out. Apart from the few dozen people who had entered the stronghold in batches earlier, only the villagers of Lingtou Village on the other side of the sinkhole remain.

Everyone lowered their heads in disappointment, remaining silent.

Chen Mo looked at the group of brothers who had just joined, and felt a pang of sadness.

He thought he could organize an army to fight against the government, but the Zhenbei Army almost wiped out his troops in just one day.

"Guys, we really lost badly in this battle. We've lost Lingtou Village, and many of our brothers are dead or wounded, but at least we're still alive."

Chen Mo walked into the crowd, his voice low.

"We've already evacuated quite a few people, possibly including your families. There are still many strongholds on Black Wind Ridge; we can easily maneuver in the mountains and wage guerrilla warfare against the government troops!"

"fight as a guerrilla?"

Only then did someone slowly raise their head.

"That's right. By taking advantage of the terrain of Black Wind Ridge and engaging the Zhenbei Army, we will definitely have a chance to make a comeback."

Chen Mo reassured her again.

"The government troops are so powerful, we can't even hold our village. How long can we hold out with guerrilla warfare? In the end, we're all doomed..."

Someone said dejectedly.

As soon as these words were spoken, someone immediately echoed, "We are indeed not afraid of death, but we are completely outmatched right now. How can we fight the Zhenbei Army if we stay in this deep mountain forest?"

Discussions gradually arose. The twenty or so people present were mostly refugees who had joined the village. Seeing their former companions lose their lives, they inevitably had thoughts of retreating.

"Why don't we just break up and each find our own way to make a living? It's better than staying in the mountains."

Someone stood up and looked out of the forest.

There must be many government troops pursuing us in the Black Wind Ridge area.

They are safe for now, but how do they rejoin the main force?

"If any of you want to leave, leave now, I will not stop you. But you should think carefully, those government troops will not show any mercy."

Chen Mo said coldly.

Everyone immediately fell silent and fell into deep thought.

"When we chose to rebel against the government, we were prepared to die. Since we've come this far, why not persevere? Black Wind Ridge is so big, with strongholds everywhere, and we also have plenty of food hidden there. As long as we keep a low profile, we can definitely hold out until the government troops retreat."

Chen Mo's tone was firm.

The group exchanged glances, still somewhat hesitant.

At this moment, Dong Shuo stepped out from the crowd, slammed his Guan Dao (a type of halberd) into the ground, and cursed, "You bunch of cowards! Where did your arrogance go when you were fighting the government troops alongside Chen Mo? Now, after just one loss, you've already become such cowards?"

"That's right, the Zhenbei Army is indeed formidable, but now we have the advantage of terrain, which allows us to completely avoid the main force of the government troops and continue to develop our strength."

Liang Ming also spoke up.

Hearing these words, the other people's conflicted expressions lessened somewhat.

This group of people were almost starving to death when, by chance, they sought refuge in Lingtou Village.

Although they only enjoyed a few good days, it was still better than going back to being refugees.

"Alright then, I'll keep going!"

"Let's fight them!"

The crowd gritted their teeth and said.

Chen Mo looked at the crowd in front of him and breathed a sigh of relief.

Despite the crushing defeat, he managed to preserve a small portion of his forces. As long as people are alive, everything is still alive.

That female general will definitely not let this go, and the Zhenbei Army will certainly go into the mountains to search and annihilate her.

There are many outposts they established in advance in Black Wind Ridge. The main outpost in the sinkhole stores the most food and supplies, as well as the original villagers.

Chen Mo was worried that the Zhenbei Army would follow them and find the sinkhole, which would be a disaster.

"Let's pack up and head to the outpost now to see how many brothers are still alive."

Chen Mo gripped the knife and cautiously stepped out of the forest to observe the outside world.