As the last ray of sunlight disappeared into the sky, the temperature also dropped to freezing point. In a valley covered with trees, hundreds of Ming soldiers were curled up and shivering in the cold wind. They could not make fire, had no hot food, and had long-term running around and could not rest well, which made every soldier extremely tired. The dry horse meat and hard cakes made people eat nothing, and many people were hungry and a little disheveled.

In a hidden place a little far from the Ming army in the brigade, several Ming generals wearing cotton armor gathered in a circle and muttered quietly. Among these people, Li Mao was the main one, and the rest were his confidants. After Li Mao surrendered and persuaded nearly 100 people to return to Ming territory with the army, Jimu temporarily formed them into a 100-man team and handed them directly to Li Mao to command. The purpose of this was of course to eliminate the inner vigilance of these newly surrendered Qing troops, but the possible threats were also obvious. These people were prone to joining together, and once they had other thoughts, they could easily cause serious consequences.

Li Mao frowned and turned to Li Qin and said, "Did you really see clearly?"

Li Qin nodded and said, "At that three-fork intersection, the Ming army gradually left the brigade. There were not many people, about two or three hundred people, but they took nearly eight hundred horses away. Originally, each Ming army was equipped with two horses, but now, there was only one horse by each of the Ming army. Mr. Qian, what did you think they were going to do? Even you had to hide it."

Before Li Mao could speak, a person next to him said, "Yes! Mr. Qian. No matter what we do, these Ming soldiers cannot fully trust us. Do you think they will leave us alone and escape directly? If this is the case, we will really die without a place to bury."

Li Mao shouted in a deep voice: "What are you talking nonsense? One of the generals of this Ming army is Jimu and the other one is Gao Qi. They are all here now, as if they want to leave us aside? And what is the purpose of letting Ma Darui take away the eight hundred horses?"

Another man said, "Mr. Qian, this is why it's even more strange! I have some things to say, but I don't know if I should say them?"

Li Mao said: "Say."

The man replied, "If they take these eight hundred horses away and hide them for the time being. Then they will leave us at the right time and then get along with those people. This is a completely explainable understanding. We were originally surrendering people. We used to serve the Manchus as Han people, but now we betray the Qing Dynasty. Even if we are abandoned, we may have a sin in the eyes of others. Mr. Qian, we must consider ourselves!"

Li Mao was silent for a while before saying, "I understand. Li Qin, let your brothers keep a close eye on Jimu and Gao Qi during this period. Once you find something wrong, report it to me immediately. You guys should also serve snacks and keep your brothers stable for the time being. Everything you want to do must be approved by my consent."

A soldier shouted from a soft cry not far away, "Where is Mr. Li!"

Li Mao waved his hand, letting everyone scatter, and walked over to the soldier's reassurance.

The soldier bowed to Li Mao, "Mr. Li Qian, Ji Guerrilla is welcome."

Li Mao was walking and was meeting Gao Qi who was walking in the opposite direction. He hurriedly stepped forward and said hello, "General Gao Shen, is there anything wrong with Ji Guerrilla looking for us at this time?"

Gao Qi shook his head and said, "I don't know, I just got the news."

Li Mao nodded, and the two walked forward together. He asked in a tentative tone: "General Gao Shen, where has Mr. Ma Qian gone? He has not seen him again after night."

Gao Qi replied casually: "Is that so? Maybe I'm going to explore the way! I've been chased by the Qing army these days, and the whistle cavalry suffered heavy losses. Ma Darui is responsible for this matter, and sometimes he will inevitably have to take action in person."

Li Mao said, "That's strange. I heard from my soldiers that when Mr. Ma Qian left, he took nearly 800 horses. Since he was going to explore the way, why did he take so many horses away?"

Gao Qi suddenly stopped and looked at Li Mao with confusion and said, "What did you say?"

Li Mao was also full of surprise, "You...you don't know!"

Gao Qi accelerated his pace and saw Jimu squatting on the ground and painting something. He stepped forward and asked angrily: "Ji Guerrilla, where is Ma Darui!"

Jimu looked up at the two of them and said in a calm tone: "They will detour to Ximucheng, and then wait for an opportunity to withdraw from there to Fuzhou."

Gao Qi smiled angrily and said, "Ximu City? Do you know that Shang Kexi has set up heavy troops in Haizhou and is waiting for us to drill into our pockets! Besides, there are Qing troops within twenty miles of this radius, and Ma Darui only brought about 200 people. How could he easily cross their defense line to Ximu City? Even if they arrive, how could he retreat from there?"

Jimu said: "They don't have to arrive at Ximu City, they just need to make the Qing army mistakenly think that they are going to Ximu City, so as to lead the main force of the Qing army over and buy time for our army to evacuate."

Gao Qi smiled bitterly and said, "This is the reason why you asked Ma Darui to take away 800 horses, which made the Qing army mistakenly think that they were the main force of our army and then pursue them? Ji Guerrilla, have you ever thought that even if Ma Darui and the others really lead the Qing army to the east, we will still go to Haizhou. With fewer horses that can be replaced, how far do you think we can escape? If the whole army is together, the morale of the army is consistent, although it is difficult, at least there is a glimmer of hope. You are asking Ma Darui and the others to die now. Once the news spreads and the morale of the army is separated, how many people will be willing to fight the Qing army to the death?"

Li Mao stood aside, looking at Jimu and Gao Qi in surprise. The other generals arrived one after another, and they were also confused.

Jimu said: "General Gao Shen, you just said it wrong. The Qing army on the north side that came to pursue was less than ten miles away from us. The Qing army on the south side was only more than ten miles away. In other words, at most, they will discover us completely tomorrow. I asked Ma Darui and the others to go east to exchange for the lives of us. Although it was cruel, it was a must. And as long as they could buy us a day, I could take you to retreat to the state safely?"

Gao Qi shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Why do you take us to withdraw back to Fuzhou safely? Do you really think that the only people we have left can break through the heavy defenses of Haizhou?"
Chapter completed!