Zhao Chuhu, who was below the mountain, was killed and his family slaughtered; the captors on the mountain were also hanged to death. After Zhang Feng informed Tieshan that they had the intention of surrendering, Qiu Fu no longer paid much attention to the siege of Beishan.

  At this time, on the mountain, the people who avenged Lao Si's death also returned to the mountain village.

  "Big brother, are we still going to surrender?" The three men, who had been silent for a while, were broken by Ding Wu.

  Li Shui also raised his head and looked at Tie Shan. After they reported their revenge, they became more concerned about their own lives. Now both of them were waiting for Tie Shan's decision. As for Tie Feng, the three of them didn't consider him at all, even if they confessed, they wouldn't bring him in.

  "We can't go back on our word, since we've already made a promise to Brother Zhang. We should keep our commitment; besides, if it weren't for Brother Zhang and his men taking the hit for us, how could we have avenged Fourth Brother's death so easily?" Tie Shan said firmly, patting Old Second's shoulder.

  Li Shui and Ding Wu both let out a sigh of relief. Since the big brother had already made up his mind, they also put it down and now it's life or death that depends on heaven's will.

  "Cough, cough... Big Brother... what time is it now? The people from the foot of the mountain have arrived?" Iron Wind, who had been sleeping until now, walked out with a headache, he didn't know how he had inexplicably fallen asleep, and only vaguely remembered that he seemed to be talking to someone...

  "It's nothing now, little brother, you should rest for a while. Looking at your miserable appearance, what if there really is a fight, how will you be able to kill the enemy?" Tieshan Bian said with a hint of eye movement towards Ding Wu, thinking to himself: "What's going on here? Didn't he take the medicine already?"

  Ding Wu innocently shrugged his shoulders, he had already increased the dose of anesthetic, and to be on the safe side, he also inserted a calming incense in the room. A normal person would have slept until tomorrow, who could have thought that Tie Feng woke up just over half a day later?

  Just as Tie Feng was about to go back to rest in the house, one of their subordinates walked in from outside and said, "Several masters, the villagers have all packed up and are waiting for your word before we head down the mountain."

  Tie Feng was taken aback and looked at his older brother in confusion, wanting him to provide an explanation.

  Tie Shan knew he couldn't hide it any longer, so he opened his mouth and said: "It's like this, while you were sleeping, we've already avenged Lao Si's hatred for some reason. And surrendering to the mountain is a decision we made long ago. As for why we hid it from you..."

  Before Iron Mountain could finish speaking, Iron Wind became enraged. He suddenly realized that he hadn't been sleeping at all - his brothers had deliberately tricked him. In a fit of anger, Iron Wind shook off Iron Mountain's arm and stormed out in large strides.

  "You're all cowards! I'd rather die than surrender!"

  Tieshan and others didn't have time to stop him, they chased after him but were shaken off his trail soon...

  "Big brother, I hope nothing happens to Xiao Wu, I'm afraid he might rush down the mountain in a fit of anger..." Li Shui said worriedly.

  "Alas... I understand him, my younger brother won't do something that would send himself to his death, he'll only think of ways to escape the encirclement, it's just that I don't know when we'll meet again next time." Tieshan sighed, this younger brother has finally parted ways with himself.

  "Alright, let's not mention him anymore. We should also hurry up and prepare. Tomorrow morning, we'll take everyone down the mountain." Tieshan turned around

  The next morning

  A pair of soldiers were patrolling at the foot of the mountain when the leader suddenly discovered movement in the woods, and hastily signaled his men to prepare for battle. One hand grasped the alarm arrow at his waist, ready to alert others if necessary.

  Yesterday, I heard that someone broke through the pass, and a team of ten people couldn't stop him, so they all got beaten with military sticks. The team leader didn't want his own butt to be bruised, so he concentrated on staring at the forest.

  "Hey, General! We mean no harm!" With a shout, Iron Mountain led the way with a white flag and walked out, followed by the villagers from the mountain village.

  One by one, carrying their burdens and luggage, standing behind the Iron Mountain, looking at the Ming army on high alert with a hint of fear.

  "This military officer, we are surrendering after coming down from the mountain. You can see that none of us have any weapons." Tie Shan walked forward with kindness.

  "Halt! One step closer and you'll be killed without mercy!" The squad leader shouted, knife in hand.

  "Boom!" A fire arrow exploded above the crowd, and soon a large group of Ming soldiers rushed over. The villagers in the mountain saw this scene and became even more frightened.

  "Who shot the arrow!" A hundred households dressed man came over and asked.

  "Report to the superior, it was I who released them. This group of people said they were surrendering after coming down from the mountain, but I was afraid there might be a trick so I shot an arrow as a warning." The squad leader hastily added his explanation.

  That hundred households nodded and came to Tie Shan's side, asking: "Are you their leader?"

  "Yes, we are surrendering and coming down from the mountain." Iron Mountain replied.

  "Alright, men! Bind them up for me! Take the rest of you and lock them in the camp under close guard!"

  "Sir! You..." Ding Wu was about to speak when he was stopped by Tie Shan, who shook his head and didn't say a word, but silently looked at the crowd behind him that still seemed frightened.

  ……

  "Are you guys the leaders of this North Mountain?" Qiu Fu looked at Tie Shan and others who were tied up below and asked.

  "In response to your words, it is indeed us."

  "You're quite bold, aren't you? Daring to rob military rations and kill soldiers. Tell me, how do you want to die?" Chufu looked at them with an expressionless face.

  "This... I and the others are willing to accept punishment for our crimes, but please, sir, you must ensure that those innocent villagers are treated fairly and given a proper household registration!" Tie Shan said in a low voice as he knelt on the ground, no longer caring about his own life or death, now only thinking of seeking guarantees for the people of the village.

  "Bang! Bang! Bang!......" His fingers tapped lightly on the desk, Qiu Fu remained silent, and the atmosphere became solemn and heavy.

  "Commander Qian! Commander Qian!" Zhang Feng broke through the obstruction of the outer guards and rushed in, bowing his head to pay respects: "Commander Qian, considering they were forced into committing crimes due to being oppressed by Pinggu County Magistrate, please be magnanimous and lenient!"

  The fingers that were about to move stopped, and Qiu Fu looked at Zhang Feng with a cold face: "Zhang Zongqi! Do you know what crime it is to trespass on the military commander's account? This thousand households will think of your merits in providing intelligence, and since it's your first offense, go down and receive thirty military clubs yourself!"

  "Sir......" Zhang Feng struggled and wanted to say a few more words before being taken away by the guards.

  Tieshan hastily said: "Sir, we are willing to take the blame and die, please don't punish Zhang brothers, he was just momentarily anxious!"

  "What are you going to die of? Who told you to go and die?" Qiu Fu said calmly, as if he hadn't just asked Tieshan and the others to choose a way to die.

  "...Tieshan and others were bewildered, unsure what this thousand-household leader meant."

  "I heard that you guys were originally soldiers, but you deserted the army, right? Now I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourselves with a task, are you going to do it or not?"

  "Dare I ask, sir, what is the errand that requires us few convicts to attend to?" asked Tieshan with respect.

  "It's simple, you will be transferred to the Great Wall border as a convict and join the vanguard camp to fight for our great Ming dynasty. Although it's a nine-to-one chance of death, it's better than being beheaded by me right now...". Qiu Fu stood up and walked in front of Tie Shan, looking at this robust and determined man, he knew that these people would definitely agree...

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