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

Seeing that Qin An had truly approved of his idea, Li Jing was overjoyed and couldn't help but feel a surge of pride.

But at that moment, Qin An changed the subject: "Your idea is correct, but you haven't thought it through enough."

Li Jing's excitement froze, and he quickly bowed, "Please give your instructions, General."

"Our five thousand men are all cavalry," Qin An said, pointing to the map. "If cavalry enters the city, they can only be used as infantry, which is like clipping our own wings."

He paused, "What I mean is, the army moves towards Yangkoucang, but doesn't enter the city; it just hovers between Xinyang City and Yangkoucang."

Luo Sheng's eyes lit up: "General, do you intend to... launch a preemptive strike?"

"That's right." Qin An nodded. "If the rebels are heading for Yangkou Granary, we'll harass them. This will protect the granary and tie down the enemy forces, allowing us to fight a decisive battle when the main force arrives."

Having reached this point, Qin An no longer hesitated and immediately issued military orders.

The entire army advanced towards Yangkoucang.

After resting, the army did not delay and quickly headed towards Yangkou Warehouse.

During the march, Qin An did not forget to send scouts to investigate the situation in Xinyang City.

Although there was a premonition that Xinyang City would be in danger after Yuwen Zhi's crushing defeat.

But regardless, we still need to confirm it.

Just as dawn was breaking, a scout rode up and reported gravely: "General, Xinyang City... has fallen!"

"What?!" Wang Hu exclaimed, "Those city walls are high and thick, how could they be lost so easily?"

The scout, panting, said, "The rebels brought Yuwen Zhi to the city walls, making the defenders hesitant to act. There were also people inside the city who came to meet them. They opened the city gates in the middle of the night, and the rebels got in almost without lifting a finger."

Qin An's face darkened.

Xinyang City was an important town in the Central Plains, with city walls three zhang high and a garrison of no less than ten thousand men. Even if Yuwen Zhi was captured, it should not have fallen so easily.

"Who was the person providing backup?"

"I don't know, I only know that they are a prominent family in the city, and it seems that they are also involved with several other powerful families."

"Aristocratic families..." Qin An frowned.

He had long known that the court and the powerful families were at odds, but he never expected that they would dare to collude with the rebels and surrender the city from within.

This is no longer a simple rebellion, but rather someone trying to use the rebels to shake the foundations of Daxing.

"First there were rebel armies in various places, and now even powerful clans are getting involved. At this point, Daxing is probably in real danger."

A thought involuntarily popped into Qin An's mind.

Having heard that there was widespread infighting and rebellions in Daxing, Qin An hadn't paid much attention to it.

It wasn't that he looked down on peasant uprisings; it was just that, generally speaking, such rebel groups rarely amounted to anything significant.

There's no other reason than a lack of talented people.

Even though these rebels were able to cause a great stir at first, the larger their territory became, the more problems they faced.

Conquering the world is easy; governing it is difficult.

Peasant uprisings often stem from a lack of capable individuals to govern the country, and these individuals are usually controlled by powerful families who look down on the regimes of ordinary peasants.

More importantly, peasant uprisings, once they grow in strength, are often accompanied by rapid moral decline.

After all, most people only stand up and fight desperately because they can't make ends meet.

But once things develop to a certain point, these people should enjoy wealth and luxury, and how many people can resist such temptation?

It can be said that for a peasant uprising to succeed, it requires going through numerous hardships, and not just anyone can persevere to the end.

However, if powerful clans were to rebel, the situation would be entirely different.

They possess talent and resources, have a rich foundation, and can command a large following.

If powerful clans were to actually get involved, the intensity of the war would definitely escalate.

The more Qin An thought about it, the more confused he became, and for a moment he felt a little lost.

Just as he was lost in thought, another scout rushed in: "General, we've spotted rebels ahead! About seven thousand of them, carrying banners with the character '单' (single), and they're heading towards Yangkoucang!"

Qin An was not surprised to discover that rebel troops were heading towards Yangcangkou.

Upon hearing the word "single," his eyes instantly narrowed: "Single means one?"

Dan Tong was a veteran of Li Gang Village. He was skilled in using a horse lance and was exceptionally brave. He was one of the top fighters in the rebel army.

"Only seven thousand people? The opportunity has arrived."

Knowing that Shan Tong was heading to Yangkou Warehouse, Qin An dared not delay. He pointed his halberd straight ahead and shouted, "My men, follow me and charge!"

Five thousand cavalrymen, like a black lightning bolt, kicked up clouds of dust and charged toward Shan Tong's troops.

Shan Tong was no nobody; he was skilled in military operations and warfare, so he naturally wouldn't forget to send out scouts.

As a result, when Qin An's scouts discovered the rebels, the rebels also discovered Qin An's army.

By the time Qin An's side attacked, Shan Tong's side was already prepared.

They had already formed a shield formation, with archers hidden within, ready to fire.

From the front of the rebel army, Shan Tong could see dust billowing in the distance, and a large banner with the character "Qin" fluttering in the wind.

"Qin Anyao!" Shan Tong murmured, "He's quite a formidable opponent."

The swift annihilation of the Qishan rebels greatly shocked the local militias, who naturally investigated the situation in Qishan carefully.

As a result, Qin An, who made great contributions in suppressing the Qishan rebels, had long been in the sights of the high-ranking officials of various rebel groups.

The rebels in Ligangzhai had already received news that the imperial court had dispatched reinforcements.

Therefore, just by seeing the flag, Shan Tong already knew who the person was.

Although he already knew how powerful cavalry were, Shan Tong was still shocked when he saw Qin An leading five thousand cavalrymen straight towards him.

Ligangzhai is indeed developing well now and has no shortage of soldiers.

But cavalry is something that not just anyone can afford to do.

Take Qin An, for example. His current position is already that of a commander of ten thousand men. Normally, he is capable of leading a force of ten thousand men.

Even on the imperial side, the number of cavalry was limited; all in all, it probably didn't exceed 100,000.

Qin An was lucky; he took advantage of the abundance of warhorses on the frontier and managed to build a cavalry force of three thousand men there.

Even with Zhang Xu's full support and through careful planning and piecing together resources, after becoming a commander of ten thousand, he could only raise an additional two thousand cavalrymen.

He was able to command 5,000 cavalrymen, which was only because of his outstanding military achievements and the emperor's favor. This shows how valuable cavalrymen were.

As a result, although the rebels had some scattered cavalry units, they were completely ineffective.

Now that he has witnessed a large-scale cavalry charge, one can imagine the shock that Dan Tong felt.

Just by seeing this scene, he knew that his seven thousand men were no match for the enemy.

"We can't let them charge smoothly, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable." This thought flashed through Shan Tong's mind. He picked up his long spear and rushed to the front of the battle.

He shouted loudly in the direction of the approaching imperial army, "Qin An! I know you're a hero! Do you dare to fight me one-on-one? If you win, I'll turn tail and run; if you lose, your men will have to retreat!"

He wanted to buy time by fighting.

The most important thing for cavalry charging is momentum; once they stop, their power is greatly reduced.

Having learned about what happened on the Qishan battlefield, Shan Tong knew that Qin An was a fierce general, and thought that the other party would not refuse after he challenged him to a duel.

His idea was good, but unfortunately, Qin An was not a muscle-bound brute.

He glanced at Shan Tong at the front of the formation, then completely ignored him, pointing his halberd forward: "Kill!"

The five thousand warhorses that had already charged forward accelerated simultaneously, their hooves shaking the earth.

When they were still a hundred paces from the shield formation, Qin An took the bow off his back and shot an arrow.

The arrow streaked across the sky like a meteor, striking an archer squarely in the throat!

"Fire!" Shan Tong roared.

Arrows rained down, and many cavalrymen were hit and fell from their horses.

But that's all there is to it.

The effective range of the bows and arrows was limited; at most, they could only fire one volley before the cavalry had already reached the shield formation.

Qin An, leading from the front, swept his halberd across the battlefield. With a "crack," several shields were shattered, and the rebel soldiers behind him screamed as they were sent flying.

"General, you are mighty!!"

The cavalrymen's morale soared, and like a flood bursting its banks, they surged into the rebel ranks through the breach.

With swords flashing and blood and flesh flying, the rebel army's formation was instantly shattered.

When infantry are approached by cavalry, the outcome is predictable.

The horse aids the rider, and the rider uses the horse's speed; it's a complete one-sided massacre.

Before many rebels could react, they were pierced through the body by the knight's lance.

Qin An held nothing back and immediately unleashed his full power, cutting down enemies without hesitation.

Each strike of the halberd takes several lives.

In just a short moment, hundreds of rebels died at his hands.

Dan Tong's eyes widened in horror.

Who could have known that his men were no match for the cavalry, yet they were so utterly defeated?

If this trend continues, they will probably be completely wiped out.

But he also knew that even if his side was no match for the cavalry, he could not rashly order a retreat.

Otherwise, the army would suffer a crushing defeat.

Without organization and preparation, how can a two-legged creature possibly outrun a four-legged one?

"There is no other choice. In the current situation, we can only capture the leader first."

In just a moment, Shan Tong made a decision.

He looked at his deputy general Wang Dang: "I will deal with Qin An. You will command the army and be prepared to retreat at any time."

Wang Dang clearly had great confidence in Shan Tong's martial prowess. Seeing that he was about to kill the general, he did not try to stop him: "Fourth Brother, you go ahead. Leave the rest to me. I'll act according to the situation."

Without another word, Shan Tong roared, "Qin An, stop your arrogance! I'll deal with you!"

He carried a long spear and led his personal guards straight towards Qin'an.

Qin An's personal guards immediately stepped forward to intercept them.

Although Qin An's personal guards were all seasoned veterans with rich experience, Shan Tong's personal guards were also elite and in no way inferior.

The two sides instantly clashed, fighting fiercely and evenly matched.

This also provided an opportunity for Shan Tong, allowing him to successfully rush in front of Qin An!