According to Ren Xiaosu's plan, he would create some chaos on the refugees' side while they took the opportunity to escape.
After all, it was no longer safe to stay at this place. Ren Xiaosu had already planned on leaving the moment he could start walking again.
They could not head north now since they did not have any status. With the roads to the north full of the Yang Consortium's troops, they would not be able to pass through the checkpoints for sure. They couldn't head east either as the Experimentals were still there. It was even more impossible to go south. That place had now become the main battlefield for the Yang Consortium, Li Consortium, and Qing Consortium!
After the Yang Consortium and Qing Consortium successfully broke through the first layer of defense, they immediately joined forces and closed down on the south. That left the Li Consortium in a sorry state.