Chapter Twenty-Five: Surrender

  Wang Qiniang rushed to Guo Shanfeng and punched him in the face, he was furious with this damned guy. Guo Shanfeng saw that Wang Qiniang, who had driven him into Chicken Cry Lake, was also particularly angry, so he swung his arm and another punch came down like Mount Tai pressing down on him. His head was a few inches higher than Wang Qiniang's, but he slightly gained the upper hand.

  Wang Qinyan had long practiced his fist and footwork, and his hand technique was excellent. He took a big step forward, suddenly appearing beside Guo Shanfeng's side. With a twist of his left hand, he dodged the punch aimed at his head, while his right hand had already grasped Guo Shanfeng's thigh. At the same time, Guo Shanfeng's two hands came down simultaneously, grasping Wang Qinyan's waist. The two men let out a loud "Hah!" in unison, but neither could budge the other, and they froze in place for a moment.

  The two of them clashed, and in a flash, they were entangled together. Li Qing couldn't help but look on with flying eyebrows and colorful expressions. This mountain wind was indeed not ordinary, it could actually contend with Wang Qiyan. If it were himself, he would probably be defeated in three to five moves.

  The two men were locked in a stalemate, their faces dripping with sweat. At this point, there was no room for technique; whoever weakened first would be thrown down. The two men gritted their teeth and held on for a moment, but Guo Shanfeng had been tied up for most of the day, his muscles stiff and uncoordinated, and he gradually couldn't hold on any longer. Wang Qinyan, on the other hand, was full of energy and vigor. As soon as he saw that his opponent was weakening, he suddenly gained momentum and let out a loud roar, using all his strength to lift Guo Shanfeng's massive head off the ground. With a heavy thud, he slammed Guo Shanfeng to the ground.

  This fall made him dizzy, with stars dancing before his eyes. He struggled to get up, but was kicked again by Wang Qiniang in the waist, and immediately curled up into a ball, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

  "That's enough!" Li Qing shouted loudly, "Qiyuan, retreat!"

  Wang Qiniann's face was unwilling to retreat to one side, a pair of cow eyes staring at each other, as if they wanted to choose someone to bite.

  After a while, the mountain wind finally picked up.

  "How's it going? Are you ready for a head-on confrontation?" Li Qing said with a smile.

  Guo Shanfeng was filled with discontent, wanting to argue something, but thinking of his current situation, he couldn't help but hang his head in despair. Grandma's, facing off against the government troops, still wanting to talk about fairness? However, speaking from the heart, this big bearded man's kung fu is actually not bad, no fancy moves, every move powerful and forceful. Even if I'm in top condition, I don't have a grasp on winning. Moreover, looking at that general up there, it seems like he doesn't want my life either.

  "The general has a plethora of talented subordinates, I'm impressed." Guo Shanfeng said in a low voice.

  "Hey, surrender is the best!" Li Qing slapped the table. "Guo Shanfeng, you've been a bandit for many years, harassing the countryside, killing people and looting goods, and even ambushing soldiers. Your crimes are heinous! Do you know what fate awaits you?"

  The mountain wind blew past, and Li Qing's loud shout shattered his small idea. "Just seeking a quick death!" He closed his eyes.

  Li Qing smiled: "Just seeking a quick death? Don't you want to live?"

  Guo Shanfeng suddenly raised his head, looking at Li Qing's ambiguous expression above. His already fragile heart was shattered in an instant. Li Qing's few words made him fall from heaven to hell and then back to the mortal world, leaving him bewildered and torn between life and death. He had no idea what Li Qing meant.

  "Don't you want to live?" Li Qing asked again with a stronger tone.

  "General!" On one side, Wang Qinyan heard Li Qing's meaning and couldn't help but get anxious, thinking to himself that he was still prepared to cut off a few pieces of the turtle egg.

  Li Qingli ignored him, staring only at Guo Shanfeng. At this time, Guo Shanfeng's spirit had been completely crushed by Li Qing. He hesitated for a moment before falling to his knees and begging, "General, spare my life, I want to live."

  Li Qing let out a sigh of relief, this time he was truly alive. Although this mountain bandit was a bit of a rogue, he was indeed a talented individual with impressive personal combat skills. Watching him fight alongside Wang Qiannian in the mountains, he had a certain flair to his movements. Although this guy had blood on his hands, in this world where might makes right, it's every man for himself, and anyone who didn't have a few tricks up their sleeve was just prey waiting to be devoured. A ruthless individual like him was exactly what Li Qing needed.

  "Very well!" Li Qing nodded, "You may have committed great crimes, but with the enemy at our gates, I'll spare your life. You're still a man of some worth, and I'll wipe out all past charges against you. Who knows, maybe one day you can even become an officer? But if you betray me, you'll know my methods!"

  Guo Shanfeng unexpectedly escaped with his life, which was already a great joy. What's more, when he went up the mountain to become a bandit, there were several who weren't forced by circumstances. Seeing that being a bandit was getting harder and harder every day, who wouldn't want to turn over a new leaf? At this point, he knocked his head on the ground: "This humble life was given by the general, from now on I will serve the general as a cow or horse, even if it means going through boiling water or fire, I won't dare have a second thought. If I have any treachery in my heart, may heaven strike me with five thunderbolts and let me be pierced by chaotic arrows, cutting off my descendants."

  "Alright!" Li Qing waved his hand, "I'm not patient enough to listen to these empty words. I'll be watching what you do from now on. Tang Hu, go tell Feng Guo that the men under Shan Feng are to be confined in their camp and are not allowed to beat or mistreat them."

  "Yes!" Tang Hu's eyes watched as General San said a few words and made a fierce bandit surrender, full of admiration. Wang Qiniang's face turned bright red again, with a bellyful of words stuck in Li Qing's heart, feeling unbearably stifled.

  "Get up!" Li Qing said calmly.

  The mountain wind crawled up and stood in front of Li Qing's case, "You go to Feng Guo's tent first, after you have made achievements, there will be no less good for you."

  "Yes, General, I understand. I will definitely do a good job."

  "Hmm!" Li Qing took a sip of tea and said casually, "You escaped into the Chicken Crowing Marsh and managed to come out alive, that's quite impressive. I've heard it's a place where no one can survive."

  Guo Shanfeng hastily said, "Otherwise, General, I know that there is a path in this Chicken Cry Marsh that leads directly to the barbarian's side. So every time the government troops come to surround and wipe out, they escape from there, and after the wind has passed, they come out again."

  Indeed there was a way. Li Qing suppressed the excitement in his heart, "Is this really the case? So to speak, you often run to the side of the barbarians?"

  Guo Shanfeng said: "Yes, in the past when we weren't fighting wars, we would often bring some goods to sell across Jimingze and make some silver money."

  Li Qing's face sank: "I'm afraid it was snatched from this side?"

  Guo Shan's face turned pale, "General, forgive me."

  Li Qing sighed and said, "Forget it, forget it. I thought you were a talented person. Let's not mention what happened before. How many people know about this road?"

  Guo Shanfeng was confused by Li Qing's abrupt speech, "Only Xiaoren knows, even his brothers don't know, they can only follow Xiaoren together."

  Li Qing nodded in satisfaction, "Not bad, you've kept it a secret. Where are the barbarians near Jimingze?"

  Guo Shanfeng nodded and said, "There was one before the war, but I don't know if it's been moved. Your Excellency knows that the barbarians are nomads, they were originally here, but after a few days, who knows where they'll move to?"

  "Where was that tribe of barbarians before? How many people were there?"

  Guo Shanfeng thought for a moment, "It seems to be called the An Bone Tribe. Looking at their scale, there are probably about 1,000 tents, with several thousand people?"

  A thousand tents of tribes, about one or two thousand soldiers can be gathered, Li Qing calculated in his heart.

  "Alright, now that you've joined our side, don't be petty anymore. From now on, call me 'boss', got it?" Li Qing said with a warm smile after getting the information he wanted.

  "Yes, I understand, Master!" Mountain Wind replied with a bow.

  "Hmm, you go to Feng Guo's place first, comfort your subordinates, and also return the dozens of people who were caught earlier. Tell them that they are no longer mountain bandits, but official soldiers, and are now part of the Changsheng Camp. Do you understand?"

  The mountain wind was like a dream, and the former mountain bandits had turned into good officials and soldiers in the blink of an eye. This contrast was quite large. Under Yang Yidao's leadership, he walked towards Feng Guo's camp, but his mind was still a bit confused.

  He saw Shan Feng walking away, Wang Qi Nian was somewhat excited, and walked quickly to Li Qing's front, "General!"

  Li Qing shook his head and said, "Qiyuan, I know what you want to say, but this Guo Shanfeng is of great use to me, and he's also a talented individual. From now on, you two will be colleagues, and I won't allow you to go looking for trouble with him."

  Wang Qiniann suppressed his temper for a long time before saying in a low voice: "I understand, General."

  Li Qing said seriously: "Qi Nian, through this battle, have you understood your own shortcomings? You used to be a soldier, only responsible for charging forward, bravely killing the enemy was enough, but now you are an officer, a majestic Eagle Wing Captain, with thousands of men and horses under your command. Although it's not yet, but sooner or later you will have them. Fighting like before is absolutely not acceptable. Like this time, those soldiers could have avoided death."

  Wang Qiniang lowered his head and said, "The end will know."

  "I've already told Mr. Shang, you three - Feng Guo and Jiang Kui - must go to his place every day for a lesson, I'll also teach you when I have time. From now on, you should be aware that you are an officer, one incompetent general will exhaust the entire army, got it?"

  Wang Qiniann's face was full of shame, "I will understand, from now on I will definitely work hard to learn the way of being a general."

  Li Qingxin nodded, "Alright, this time the people who died will not only be buried heavily, but also those with families will be heavily compensated. The silver needed can be asked from Mr. Shang."