Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 129 Food Road
Outside the Xichan Temple, several guards from Ma Bao's army were already waiting outside the temple.
As soon as Ma Bao came out of the hospital, he was led by his personal guards to a courtyard west of Ludi Lane.
Ma Bao entered the courtyard and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar figures of the soldiers in the courtyard. However, he did not delay and went directly to the backyard to find Ma Ziyuan who had been waiting in the hall.

“Has that person made arrangements?”

Ma Bao walked into the hall, dismissed the guards outside the room, and asked directly

"It's all arranged. I took care of everything myself. I put him in the woodshed in the backyard and gave him water, but he didn't move a bit."

"Don't worry about him. No one has found his whereabouts, right?" Ma Bao waved his hand and asked again.

"No, I brought him in from the back door, and even the soldiers in the courtyard didn't know where he was."

"Dad, who is that person..."

After Ma Ziyuan finished speaking, he couldn't help but ask, with a worried look on his face.
During the journey, he personally hid Deng Shitong in the backyard. Although Deng Shitong remained silent, Ma Ziyuan could see that Deng Shitong was actually a soldier after some contact.

Moreover, this person is not just an ordinary soldier, he must be an elite soldier in the army.
Now, in and around Guangzhou, apart from here, only the imperial guards in the city could have such a person.
Coupled with Ma Bao's obvious hint just now, he already had some guesses about Deng Shitong's identity.
But this is what made him even more panicked. This was no joke.

Ma Bao glanced at his third son, his face was solemn, and he said in a deep voice
"Don't ask too much, this matter concerns your brother's life"

Ma Ziyuan wanted to ask more, but Ma Bao interrupted him with a wave of his hand and continued to ask

"Where is the horse I asked you to prepare? Has it been sent out?"

"We sent them out to inform the troops that my father had returned to the camp. Three people were sent out, each with two horses. They are now in the dense forest in the west."

Ma Bao's expression relaxed when he heard this, but he immediately asked
"How is our group doing now? Are there other people stationed next to this courtyard?"

"After today's surprise attack and evacuation, we counted the number of people. There are only more than 80 people left in our group. Dad and eldest brother are both missing. General Li has transferred 50 people from my group to the north of the city to intercept the messenger. The remaining 30 people are still under my command."

"Du Yonghe and Yan Keyi only came here tonight for a military meeting. Their troops are not here."

"There are only General Li and our group in the west of the city now. General Li's troops are stationed in Xichan Temple, and only our group is stationed outside the temple," Ma Ziyuan replied.

Ma Bao thought for a moment and then said

"That person's identity is sensitive and he cannot stay in the army for long. Take me to see him now, and he and I will leave now."

"You stay in the army. If anyone comes to see you tonight, just tell them that I took the medicine and went to bed. We can talk tomorrow if there is anything."

Ma Bao gave an order, and without waiting for Ma Ziyuan to say anything, he changed his clothes and walked towards the woodshed in the backyard.
Soon, two figures came out of the small door in the backyard and headed west of the Zen temple under the cover of night.
Following the information provided by Ma Ziyuan, Ma Bao and his companions avoided the sentries along the way and quickly left the market town and sneaked into the dense forest west of the city.

The two entered the dense forest and saw six horses tied in the forest, but there was no one around.

The two men mounted their horses and quickly rode south.
Ma Bao and Deng Shitong drove their horses for about a quarter of an hour before they stopped in a dense forest south of Xichan Temple.
Coo, coo, coo

Deng Shitong stopped at the edge of the bamboo forest and suddenly heard a very rhythmic bird call.

The bamboo forest was quiet for a moment, and soon there was a sound of birds chirping like a nightingale, and then four figures jumped out of the bamboo forest and walked towards the two.
Ma Bao looked at Deng Shitong beside him with a calm expression on his face and said

"Li Chengdong is short of manpower and is now besieging the city on various parts of the city wall." "There should be no more scouts to the west of here. I believe you have also explained how to send the letter in your city, so I will not say more."

"Thank you Ma..."

Deng Shitong turned around and bowed to Ma Bao, but when he mentioned Ma Bao's name, his face was a little hesitant.
Ma Bao just waved his hand and said casually

"You can call me whatever you want, Ma Bao, Lao Ma, or Zejun, it's up to you."

Deng Shitong listened to Ma Bao's words, his face became serious, and he said

"Thanks to General Ma for his help. If we can bring back reinforcements this time, I will report General Ma's help to the court truthfully."

Ma Bao's face showed no change. He glanced at the men who had already climbed onto their horses, remained silent for a moment, and suddenly spoke.
"I don't know how you plan to ask for help, nor do I know how many reinforcements you have in Guangdong Province."

"I don't need to talk about the whole journey to Zhaoqing, but if you are still planning to seek help from other places, don't let anyone go to Guangzhou to die."

"In a few days, Li Chengdong's 6,000 troops will arrive at the city of Guangzhou. Except for the troops from Zhaoqing, your local militia will die even if they come."

"If you still have soldiers in other places, you can order them to attack Zengcheng."

"If the Qing army's plan does not change this time, Li Chengdong's people should take Zengcheng as a retreat and a place to store grain. If your people can take Zengcheng, the Qing army under Guangzhou will be in chaos."

Hearing this, the messengers all looked at each other, and then looked at Deng Shitong in front of them.

Seeing Deng Shitong's hesitant expression and no response for a long time, Ma Bao didn't care and said

"This is just a suggestion from me, it's up to you whether you believe it or not."

"Okay, I've finished my work, so I won't see you off any further."

After Ma Bao finished speaking, he didn't even look at them anymore. He just rode his horse and left.
Deng Shitong looked at Ma Bao's receding back, his eyes flickering.
Deng Shitong and the others dismounted and talked for a while, then got on their horses again and left.

In the darkness of night, two people rushed westwards towards Zhaoqing, one rushed northwards, one rushed southwards, and the remaining one rushed eastwards.
To the east was the Guangzhou city they had just sneaked out of.
The man heading east rode his horse for a while, then abandoned his horse and rushed towards the Guangzhou city wall not far away in the night.
This was an arrangement that had already been made in the city. Only four of the five people were real messengers for help, and the remaining one would return to the city to report the news.

Although Zhu Lang released Ma Bao, he did not put all his hopes on Ma Bao.
Although Ma Bao's eldest son is still in his hands, who knows what kind of character Ma Bao is?
Historical figures like Ma Bao are always unpredictable.
A city of Guangzhou plus Zhu Lang, the Ming emperor, might be more important to a hero like Ma Bao than his son. Such a great achievement is not something you can encounter at any time.

If Ma Bao returned to the army and immediately rebelled, detaining the messenger, as long as he could delay for a day or two until all the Qing troops arrived from the rear, Zhu Lang would not only waste a few days, but also have to take a great risk by abandoning the city and fleeing.

Therefore, the city had already made preparations. No matter how many of the five messengers escaped, one of them must return to the city to report the news.

Even if the Qing army captured the messenger, if the messenger did not return to the city, Zhu Lang would simply assume that Ma Bao had betrayed them and then evacuate directly.
If the Qing army let the messenger return to the city, since the messenger had entered the city safely, he would certainly inform the people in the city of the situation outside the city.

In this way, whether the Qing army caught the messenger or not, the people in the city would know it immediately.
The messenger sneaked under the city wall under the cover of night and was soon hoisted onto the wall.
After Zhu Lang found out that the messenger had successfully left the city, he finally made up his mind and started his own plan to defend the city.
Thanks for the reward from the Southern Ming History, I am the speedboat
Thanks to Ying Taohua, Han Nan, Ru Long, Hua Tian Fan De Cuo, Gu Ji You Bing, Shou Ji Dao Chang, Liu Li Zuixin, Yun Jiang Xiao Yao You, Yuan Fang De Hang, yikm, scorpio2004, Qing Ye, White Universe Wind and other classmates for their monthly tickets

Thanks to Mo Lanyun, Mantian Feiyu, Lying on Durian, Huanzhiyi, Xiaoning, Hongjianghuang, Tiangong Kaiwu, Caoyuan Paoma, I smiled at the sky with my sword, Nalu, Riyuesuozhi and other classmates for their recommendation votes
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(End of this chapter)