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

Stepping out of the command tent, Qin An looked up towards the direction of Xinyang City. The city walls gleamed with a cold, bluish-gray light under the sunlight, like a silent behemoth waiting for its prey to walk into its trap.

He took a deep breath and mounted his horse.

The five thousand cavalrymen behind him were already lined up outside the camp, each one full of spirit, their armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

"Brothers," Qin An's voice rang out at the front of the ranks, "from today onwards, we will camp on the outskirts of Xinyang City. Remember, our mission is to defend, not to attack. But even in defense, we must display the spirit of cavalry!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Five thousand cavalrymen roared in unison, their voices shaking the surrounding area, even drawing the attention of soldiers in the distant camp.

Qin Anle turned his horse around, pointing his halberd forward: "Target: West of the city! Let's go!"

Five thousand cavalrymen, like a black torrent, sped toward the west side of Xinyang City.

The sound of horses' hooves shattered the afternoon tranquility and ushered in the long siege.

Meanwhile, in Xinyang City, Xu Mao stood atop the city wall, gazing in the direction of the imperial camp, his brow furrowed.

When he saw five thousand cavalrymen surging toward the west of the city like a black tide, his grip on the hilt of his sword tightened suddenly.

"Those are Qin An's cavalry." Xu Mao's voice was low and heavy. "Judging from their numbers, they've been reinforced to five thousand men. We're probably in trouble now."

Li Mi, standing beside him, followed his gaze and her face instantly darkened: "He got here so fast!"

Thinking of Qin An, Li Mi couldn't help but grit his teeth.

If it weren't for Qin An, Yangkou Warehouse would probably have been captured long ago, and we wouldn't be in such a passive position.

It can be said that, right now, the person Li Mi hates the most is Qin An.

If he could, he would love to devour its flesh and drink its blood.

Although Li Mi was very wary of Qin An, he knew he couldn't boost the enemy's morale while diminishing his own.

"Even if he comes, so what? Xinyang City has 20,000 garrison troops, and its defenses are strong. No matter how powerful he is, it won't make a difference. Do you think cavalry can attack a city?"

"Attacking a city?" Xu Mao sneered. "Judging from our previous interactions, Qin An's forte has never been attacking cities. He brought so many cavalrymen here, he must be trying to roam around the perimeter and cut off our connection with Ligang Village."

He turned around and looked at Li Mi. "Xinyang City can be defended, but what about the brothers in other directions of Ligang Village? If they encounter Qin An's cavalry, it will be a disaster."

Li Mi's heart sank.

He knew Xu Mao was right; the troops under Li Gangzhai's command were of mixed quality.

This time, in order to take over Xinyang City and Yangkou Warehouse, I have almost emptied out my elite forces.

The defending forces on other sides were of mediocre strength and could not stop Qin An's elite cavalry at all.

"What should we do then?" Li Mi asked anxiously. "We can't just stand by and watch Qin An defeat them one by one."

"Summon the generals and hold a military meeting," Xu Mao decided immediately. "We must immediately send messages to all the strongholds, instructing them to hold their ground and not to give Qin An any opportunity to take advantage of the situation."

Half an hour later, the rebel generals gathered at the city lord's mansion. Xu Mao explained the current situation in detail.

Finally, he said in a deep voice, "Qin'an's cavalry is too mobile; we won't gain anything by fighting them head-on. The most urgent task is to stabilize our position."

"My lord, please write this letter yourself and send an order to all strongholds. Without your command, no one is allowed to send troops. No matter what news they hear, they must hold their ground."

Li Mi nodded and immediately fetched pen and ink: "I'll write it now, but... how do we send the letter out? Qin An's cavalry must have spies outside the city."

"Send assassins." Xu Mao's eyes sharpened. "Choose one hundred brothers skilled in stealth, divide them into ten groups, and send them out of the city at night. Make sure they deliver the message."

The generals accepted the order in unison and dispersed to prepare.

As night fell, ten squads of assassins, taking advantage of the moonlight, stealthily slipped out from the drainage tunnels of Xinyang City, like snakes in the dark, rushing off in different directions.

Meanwhile, in the west of the city, Qin An's cavalry camp had already been set up.

The campsites stretched out along the foot of the mountain, with campfires dotting the landscape like stars. Patrols would ride by every fifteen minutes, the sound of their iron hooves particularly clear in the quiet night.

Inside the central command tent, Qin An was deep in thought, staring at the map.

Xue Ju lifted the curtain and entered, clasping his hands in greeting. He said, "General, the five thousand cavalry have been deployed as you ordered, and patrol lines have been set up in all directions, so tight that even a mouse would have a hard time getting through."

"Well done." Qin An looked up. "Where are the men I sent to Ligang Village?"

"They're ready to go. They're all the most clever scouts in our camp, and they're all very eloquent," Xue Ju said.

Qin An nodded, and was about to say something more when footsteps came from outside the tent. Li Jing lifted the curtain and came in, his face showing some urgency.

"General, I heard you are sending men to the heart of Ligang Village? I am willing to go!"

Since the battle of Yangkoucang, the young Li Jing has shed much of his naivety, and his brows have become more resolute.

Qin An looked at him and pondered, "The heart of Ligang Village is treacherous, and the rebels are conducting thorough checks. You..."

"I'm not afraid!" Li Jing puffed out his chest. "After the previous battle, we've seen blood, so this is a good opportunity to gain more experience."

Looking at the earnestness in his eyes, Qin An finally nodded: "Alright, you take ten people with you."

Although Li Qingwan had seemed quite open-minded before, Qin An couldn't help but give her repeated instructions when he looked at his brother-in-law.

"Remember, safety comes first. Spread the word if you can, otherwise come back immediately. Don't be reckless. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to face your sister."

"Thank you, General!" Li Jing was overjoyed and clasped his hands in a fist salute. "Your subordinate guarantees to complete the mission!"

After Li Jing led his men off, Qin An immediately summoned Luo Sheng: "Send more patrols, especially to the secret passages near the city wall. Keep a close eye on them. We must completely cut off the internal and external communication channels of Xinyang City."

Luo Sheng accepted the order and left.

Late at night, the cavalry responsible for patrolling the north of the city reported that they had spotted several groups of suspicious figures attempting to cross the patrol line.

"Let them go a little further, and make our move once they're out of the city wall area. Don't alert them," Qin An ordered immediately upon receiving the message.

Half an hour later, a short burst of fighting sounds came from the north of the city, and then silence fell.

Just as dawn was breaking, Luo Sheng returned with a troop of cavalry, followed by several prisoners who were tightly bound, and carrying more than a dozen bloody heads.

"General, we intercepted eight squads of assassins, only two of them escaped. These are the letters we found on them." Luo Sheng handed over a stack of secret letters.

Qin An picked up the secret letter and saw that the handwriting was messy and contained many strange symbols, indicating that it was encrypted.

He stared at it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he frowned.

"General, should we interrogate the prisoners again?" Luo Sheng asked.

"No need." Qin An put down the secret letter, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Judging from this, the letter is definitely telling all the strongholds to hold their ground, but people's hearts can't be bound by these cold words."

He looked at Xue Ju: "Pass down the order to continue holding back, and only send small groups of men to harass the city every day, so as not to let the rebels see any flaws."

For the next ten days or so, an eerie calm descended upon the outskirts of Xinyang City.

Zhang Xu's army beat drums and gongs at the East and South Gates every day, but hesitated to launch a strong attack.

Qin An's cavalry patrolled the west and north of the city, occasionally engaging small groups of rebels attempting to leave, but never venturing deep into the city.

Xu Mao, standing atop the city wall, grew increasingly uneasy.

Although he had sent out assassins, he was unsure whether the various strongholds had received the message and whether they would faithfully carry it out.

What worries him even more is that the imperial army outside the city, though seemingly inactive, is like a net that is tightening and tightening, making it hard for him to breathe.

Meanwhile, in the heart of Ligangzhai, Li Jing and others had already spread the news.

The news that "General Li is trapped in Xinyang City and his supplies are running out" spread like wildfire throughout the rebel territory.

The rebels were thrown into chaos.

Inside a stronghold in Ligangzhai, a dozen generals sat together, arguing incessantly.

"Our lord is trapped! How can we stand idly by?" A bearded general slammed his fist on the table. "Even if it costs us our lives, we must go to Xinyang City to rescue him!"

"Save them? How can we save them?" Another tall, thin general sneered. "The imperial army is right there. If we send our small force over there, wouldn't we just be sending ourselves to their deaths?"

"But if we don't go, and something really happens to our lord, who among us will have a good end?"

"..."

After the news spread, they were indeed in a bit of a predicament.

Even though some people said they had received strict orders from Li Mi, forbidding them from taking any rash actions.

However, many more people did not receive the secret message.

If our lord is in danger, and we, as his subordinates, do not offer any assistance, who knows if we will be purged later?

Even those who received the secret message were somewhat uneasy.

If anything were to happen to Li Mi, I wouldn't know how to explain it.

Just as everyone was arguing fiercely, a clear but somewhat arrogant voice rang out: "What's all the noise about? My brother is trapped, I'm going to rescue him! Who dares to stop me?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman dressed in red stride in, with a long sword at her waist.

With a resemblance in her eyebrows and eyes to Shan Tong, she is none other than Shan Tong's younger sister, Shan Bing.

Dan Bing was spoiled by Dan Tong from a young age and had a spoiled personality, but he also developed a good set of martial arts skills.

She always believed that women were just as capable as men, and relying on Shan Tong's position in the rebel army, she also raised a team of two thousand female soldiers, who trained every day and boasted that they were no less capable than men.

"Miss Shan, this is no joke," the bearded general quickly advised. "Qin'an's cavalry is extremely formidable. If you take female soldiers with you, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?" Shan Bing raised her eyebrows. "My brother can fight, but I, Shan Bing, am no pushover either! Besides, the female soldiers I lead are all brave; they might not be any less capable than you grown men!"

She surveyed the crowd, as proud as a peacock: "My mind is made up. I will depart in three days to aid Xinyang City. I, Shan Bing, will be eternally grateful to anyone who is willing to come. And those who are unwilling, do not stop me!"

The commanders at the outposts looked at each other in bewilderment.

They were already worried about how to prove their loyalty, and Shan Bing's volunteering gave them a way out.

"Miss Shan is brave and valiant; I admire her greatly!" The tall, thin general was the first to declare, "I am willing to offer five hundred men to accompany you!"

"This humble general will send out eight hundred!"

"This humble general will send out one thousand!"

Immediately, everyone responded.

They quickly assembled a force of ten thousand men.

Seeing this, Shan Bing revealed a smug smile, completely unaware of the scheming in everyone's eyes.