After a burst of shouts of killing, all the soldiers protecting Manager Zhao were killed, and nearly twenty people were killed or injured by Li Mao. Li Mao, carrying a long blood-covered sword, pulled Manager Zhao, who was trembling under the car.

The huge movement woke everyone in the castle. They all surrounded them, looking at the corpses and blood everywhere, their faces full of surprise.

Manager Zhao screamed in surprise and kept begging for mercy to Li Mao. However, Li Mao turned a deaf ear and dragged him to the dead crowd, then threw him to the ground. The blood on the ground dyed the clothes of Manager Zhao red, and even his face was a little bit stained. He looked very embarrassed.

Li Mao looked around the soldiers and said loudly: "If we were united, although the Ming army was large, we might not have the power to fight. But when the dog thief heard that the army was coming, he gave up our will to escape. If he fled, we would not be able to defend the Qingtaiyu Fort and would die. Because the Ming army had sent people to send a message, if we resisted, there would be no chickens and dogs left in the fort after the breaking of the fort. There were only dozens of horses left in the fort, and just over a hundred soldiers. Perhaps we could escape by horses, but your parents and wives were all in this fort. Can they escape? Besides, even if they escape by chance, they would be punished for leaving without permission. Either the whole family became Aha, or they were sent to the front line to die. He was forcing us to die alive, forcing your parents and wives to die. Do you think he should die?"

Li Qin was the first to shout loudly: "It's time to kill, this old dog should have died long ago." The soldiers around him didn't know what was going on. After hearing Li Mao's words, they were furious and responded one after another.

Li Mao put the knife around Manager Zhao's neck and said coldly: "Old dog, I personally send you on the road today. Do you have anything else to say?"

Manager Zhao was full of fear and screamed: "Mr. Li Qian, you can't kill me, I am Prince Li's man. If you kill me, he will definitely not forgive you."

Li Mao shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Old Dog Zhao, Old Dog Zhao, so many soldiers have died, do you think this fort can still be defended? Can I, Li Mao, still eat the food he gave to the Prince's family? By this time, you are still talking nonsense, which is so stupid."

Manager Zhao didn't quite understand Li Mao's meaning for a while, and said with a "ah": "What?"

Li Mao waved his long sword, and his head threw it into the sky, and blood splattered his face. Without blinking, he whispered to the headless corpse: "Let your head find a way out for your brothers."

At this time, a low sound of horse hooves came from far and near, especially in the dark. A soldier who was left on the fort wall shouted loudly: "Mr. Li Qian, the Ming army is here."

Li Mao suddenly changed his face and muttered to himself, "Why did it come so fast?" As he said that, he quickly ran towards the wall of the fort, and at the same time ordered the soldiers on both sides and left and right, "Hurry, hurry, cut off all the heads of these people."

Jimu looked at Li Mao who was kneeling on the ground and looked respectfully. There were dozens of bloody heads beside him; behind him, the gate of Qingtaiyu Fort was completely open. He didn't say anything, but turned his head and looked back. Ma Darui understood, waved his hand, took the lead in slapping forward, followed by dozens of soldiers behind him. After a while, Ma Darui returned on his horse alone and bowed to Jimu, "Guerrilla, there is no ambush inside."

Jimu nodded gently and waved his hand backwards. The brigade of Ming soldiers began to enter the fort. He turned over and dismounted, looked down at Li Mao again, and said in a deep voice: "Get up!"

Li Mao stood up, bowed his head and said, "Thank you, General."

Jimu said: "You said your name is Li Mao, who is the garrison of Qingtaiyu Fort? How many soldiers and people are there in this fort?"

Li Mao replied: "Yes. There were nearly 800 soldiers in this fort, but most of them were transferred to the direction of Tianshui Station fort by Luke Dehun, leaving less than 200 soldiers, and now there are only more than 100 left. There are nearly 2,000 people, most of them are old and weak, and they will not pose any threat to your army."

Ji Mu smiled faintly and said, "Li Mao, being smart is a good thing, because you can judge the situation. But being too smart may not be a good thing, because you are calculating others everywhere and are not worthy of trust. And you happen to belong to the latter. After knowing that Qingtaiyu Fort could not be defended, you killed these people and gave their heads to a gift. I am not saying that this is wrong, but you have been a general in the Qing army for so many years and have done this in a flash, which inevitably makes people doubt you. Of course, I don't need a saint to lead troops to fight. But you have to tell me, why do I believe that you are not a hard plan, but really willing to surrender to our army?"

Li Mao looked ugly. He knew that if his answer was wrong, he would probably be killed immediately. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and finally said: "General, among the people who went to the battle with Lukedekun, hundreds of people had served under my command. Qingtaiyu Fort and Tongyuan Fort also had nearly a thousand people following the battle. If I could convince them to rebel in front of the battlefield and help the general defeat Lukedekun, can I gain the trust of the general?"

Jimu stared at Li Mao for a while and found that his expression remained unchanged, and then he said slowly: "If this is true, I recommend that you be at least Mr. Qian on the Ming Dynasty. But if I find that you have other thoughts, I promise that neither you nor the soldiers under you will survive."

Li Mao knelt down on one knee and said, "I dare not, I am willing to serve the general."

At the Tianshui Station Fort, the Qing army launched several fierce attacks in succession. Nearly half of the Ming army was killed in the battle, and most of the remaining were injured. The bodies of the dead were not cleaned up. Looking around, they were everywhere. The injured were moved into the largest barracks in the fort. The room was filled with a strong smell of blood, and the only few medical officers were busy there, screaming one after another.

The people who came here because of transporting food were temporarily detained by the Ming army in order to hide the real situation in the fort. At this moment, due to insufficient troops, they were transferred to assist the medical officers in taking care of the wounded. From the beginning of seeing the blood, they fainted and screamed loudly to the end of completely turning a blind eye to the blood everywhere. These people, especially those little girls who looked extremely weak, have gone through a long and difficult process.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content later! Han Yong took a few soldiers and walked into the barracks, and the soldiers were holding a bundle of long swords in their hands. He glanced at the wounded in the room, was silent for a moment, turned his head to the soldiers next to him, "Put down the knife. Everyone will give them one if they can move."

The oldest groom changed his face and asked in surprise: "June, can't this fort be defended?"

Han Yong glanced at the groom, picked up a knife and handed it to him. "Dad Zhang, the Tartars fought all night and are still staying outside honestly. They can't capture this fort unless all the people in it are dead. But this fort is too big, and we are not enough to defend every section of the wall. It is inevitable that the Tartars will jump over the wall and steal into the fort from other places. Send these weapons to you just in case, don't think too much, and don't disturb the morale of the army." In the last sentence, Han Yong's tone suddenly became a little more severe, with a little threat.

The groom looked frightened, "I don't mean that, I just want to ask..."

Han Yong waved his hand to stop him and continued to say, "Dad Zhang, because you helped our army to capture Lianshan Pass, I don't want to blame you more. The Tartars outside the fort have killed more than a thousand people, with their actions. Whether you are ordinary people or us Ming soldiers, as long as you are in this fort, you may not be able to survive after the break of the fort. But as long as we are still here, you will not have any trouble, and no matter what, we will try our best to defend. Therefore, it is better not to ask some things, because asking will only make you worry and will not help the matter at all."

As Han Yong finished speaking, he suddenly remembered the drum beats of the march in the distance. His face changed and he said to the soldiers: "You guys stay here and protect them when something happens." As he said that, he ran towards the gate without looking back.

The groom stood there with awkward expression on his face until Feng'er stepped forward and pulled his sleeves and whispered: "Ah Dad, he's right. If the Qing army attacked the Tartars, we wouldn't be able to survive. Now we can only hope that they can defeat the Qing army."

The groom looked at his daughter and sighed and said, "Dad is so old, it doesn't matter when he dies. I'm just worried about you. There are too few people left in the fort in the Ming army, and no one else knows where they go. If the Ming army who went out did not return in time, this Sweet Station Fort would not be able to defend."

Feng'er forced a smile on her face, "Dad, don't worry, I will be with you no matter how alive or not."

The groom patted the groom's head gently and smiled, "Silly daughter."

Lukedehun rode his horse to inspect the soldiers who were about to attack. They had lost more than a thousand people, and their confidence was greatly hit. Lukedehun shouted to everyone: "Kill one Ming army, reward ten taels of silver; kill two, reward twenty taels of silver, and five Ahas; kill three, I guarantee you to enter the Eight Banners of Han; first attack into the fort from the main gate, or kill the Ming generals, and be promoted to three levels, reward a hundred taels of silver, and bring me my personal guards. In short, as long as you attack hard, everyone can get rewards. But if there are any one among you who are cowardly and fail to advance, or who retreat before you get my order, I will be executed immediately, and their families will be demoted to Aha. Now the whole army comes forward and take this fort for me."

The Qing army infantry roared and rushed forward.

Ning Wan, I stepped forward and whispered to Luke Dehun: "Master, the news that the Ming army has taken down Tongyuan Fort and Qingtaiyu Fort will not be hidden for long? The Ming army may arrive at any time, so we must prepare in advance."

Luked said in a deep voice: "I know, so I have never sent cavalry up there. It doesn't matter how many of these Han people die. The most important thing is that I will take this fort before the Ming army arrives, and then destroy all these Ming dogs. Otherwise, I will be the laughing stock of everyone if I lose three forts and one level in a row."
Chapter completed!