The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

Faced with Qin An's offer to lead the charge, Zhang Xu shook his head: "No, cavalry is our sharpest weapon; how can we use it in this kind of meat grinder?"

He pointed to the rear of the rebel forces, "I'm giving you an even more important task."

Qin An looked in the direction he was pointing, a flash of understanding appearing in his eyes.

"Song Yu is tied up with us, and the reinforcements sent by Wang Bo will surely arrive from the rear. You lead three thousand cavalry to circle around to the rear of the rebels, firstly to intercept the reinforcements, and secondly to cut off Song Yu's retreat and their food supply."

Zhang Xu said in a deep voice, "Remember, don't aim for a quick victory. Just hold out until I break through the vanguard camp."

Qin An was overjoyed; this was exactly the task he wanted.

The cavalry's advantage lies in its mobility, not in siege warfare: "Your subordinate obeys!"

That afternoon, Qin An led three thousand cavalrymen to quietly withdraw from the battlefield, making a large circle along the edge of the Qishan Mountains, and galloping towards the rear of the rebel army. They avoided the rebel sentry posts, taking only rugged mountain roads, and in just half a day, they circled around to the flank and rear of the vanguard camp.

Meanwhile, inside the rebel camp, Song Yu was frantically directing the defense.

A guard rushed in: "Commander, something terrible has happened! Scouts report that Qin An's cavalry has disappeared!"

"What?" Song Yu's heart tightened, instantly understanding the other party's intention. "This is bad! They're trying to flank us and intercept reinforcements, cutting off our retreat!"

He made a decisive move and said to Guan Dadao beside him, "Brother Guan, you immediately lead 15,000 men and make sure to hold off Qin An's cavalry! I'll assign you two strong generals, Lu He and Wu Xing. The three of you work together, and even if it costs you your lives, you must hold them off!"

Guan Dadao, recalling Qin An's ferocity, felt a chill run down his spine, but he still steeled himself and accepted the order: "This subordinate obeys!"

Lu He and Wu Xing were both outstanding among the Eight Warriors. Lu He possessed immense strength, while Wu Xing was proficient in swordsmanship and swift in movement.

The two were no less capable than the Five Tiger Generals, but were only ranked among the Eight Warriors because they were not skilled in cavalry.

The three men led 15,000 troops, traveling day and night, and finally intercepted them in a valley area that Qin'an had to pass through.

With steep cliffs on both sides and only a narrow passage in the middle, this place is an excellent spot for an ambush.

"General, let's set up camp here, dig deep trenches, and build fortifications so that Qin An can't escape!" Lu He said, pointing to the valley.

Guan Dadao nodded: "Good! Pass down the order, all troops immediately construct fortifications. Archers occupy the two mountain walls, the rest deploy along the valley. The goal is not to kill the enemy, but simply to hold them off!"

In less than half a day, the valley was filled with rebel troops.

They dug several deep trenches in the passage, filled them with spikes, and built a fortified raft with logs, completely blocking the passage.

When Qin An led his cavalry to the scene, he frowned upon seeing the fortifications before him: "It seems they are determined to hold us back."

Han Quan roared, "These cowards! They dare not engage in direct combat, only knowing how to use these petty tricks! Captain, let me lead the troops to charge!"

Seeing that the enemy was well-prepared, Qin An shook his head: "A direct assault will only increase casualties! Since they dare to come out, they should be prepared to be swallowed whole by us!"

Seeing that so many rebel troops had been mobilized, Qin An was no longer in a hurry.

They want to drag themselves down here, but aren't we doing the same thing?

With more than 10,000 rebels gone, the main battlefield will be much easier to fight.

Moreover, Qin An also harbored a ambition to completely annihilate this entire rebel army.

With this in mind, Qin An simply ordered, "Pass down the order to prepare bows and arrows!"

Three thousand cavalrymen took their bows and arrows from their horses, drew their bows, and aimed them at the rebels on both sides of the valley.

"Release them!" Qin An ordered.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!" Dense arrows rained down on the rebels, and the archers on the mountain wall were caught off guard, falling to the ground one after another.

Enraged at the sight, Guan Dadao shouted, "Fight back!"

The rebel archers immediately fired in retaliation, but before they could prepare, Qin An fired a successful volley and immediately ordered, "Retreat!"

Three thousand cavalrymen retreated like a gust of wind, leaving behind only arrows scattered on the ground and the wailing of the rebel army.

Just when they thought Qin An had retreated and were cleaning up the battlefield, Qin An once again led his troops to appear in front of the camp.

Just like before, after a round of mounted archery, they quickly withdrew without giving the rebels any time to react.

Guan Da Dao also tried, leading the cavalry of the rebel army to pursue them.

But as soon as they pursued him, Qin An would turn his horse around without hesitation and engage the rebel cavalry in fierce combat.

The rebel cavalry were no match for Qin An and his men; they suffered heavy losses in a single encounter.

Frightened, Guan Dadao and his men had no choice but to quickly retreat back to their camp.

This situation kept repeating itself.

Qin An never intended to confront them directly.

They were simply using this kite-flying tactic to constantly wear down the enemy.

After yet another attack, Guan Dadao was furious: "Bastards! They're toying with us!"

Lu He said in a deep voice, "General, please calm down. This is Qin An's plan to wear down the enemy. We just need to hold our ground and wait until they run out of arrows. That will naturally keep them occupied."

Wu Xing opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything.

This is indeed a solution.

But wouldn't that mean using our own lives to deplete the enemy's arrows?

Guan Dadao also thought of this.

Being passively beaten and losing his men left him feeling incredibly frustrated, yet helpless.

In the end, they agreed to Lu He's suggestion: "Alright, let's hold out and not come out. I don't believe they can hold out for long."

……

In the days that followed, this place became the stage for Qin An to implement his "kite-flying" tactics.

He personally led three thousand cavalrymen, like the most cunning wolf pack on the grassland, rushing to the front of the camp like a whirlwind, drawing their bows and arrows, and accurately landing them on the edge of the rebel camp, causing a commotion inside the camp.

After each successful attack, they would immediately turn their horses around and gallop away along the camp, leaving behind only the dust and the angry curses of the rebels.

Sometimes, Qin An would deliberately have all the cavalry assemble, pretending to charge and attack, which would make Guan Dadao and the others so anxious that they would repeatedly order the infantry to form ranks.

But by the time the rebels, carrying shields and wielding swords and spears, had panted and formed their ranks, Qin An and his men had already vanished.

Only a few arrows, seemingly mockingly stuck in the ground, swayed slightly in the wind.

Guan Dadao was furious at the repeated harassment, but he was completely helpless.

"General, if this continues, the brothers really won't be able to hold on any longer!" Wu Xing said, his brows furrowed as he entered the tent.

His eyes were dark and bluish, and his voice was full of exhaustion. "These past few days have been filled with no peace, day and night. During the day, we were chased by a hail of arrows, and at night, as soon as we closed our eyes, the enemy would beat drums and shout, scaring our brothers into donning their armor and fighting back. In the end, we couldn't even catch a glimpse of a person."

"Everyone in the camp is yawning all the time. Even the guards are dozing off against the palisades. If this continues, we'll collapse before reinforcements even arrive!"